Chapter 20:

"Luna team is asking for instructions, Miho. Do you want them to meet up with us?"

"I'm still worried about that extra tank Saunders has, Saori. If it's able to break free from Pravda's T34s and enter the treeline to our east, it could threaten Rabbit, Mallard and Duck teams in their hiding place. That would spoil the little surprise we have waiting for Maho. Tell Makoto's team to assist Pravda for now, and let Katyusha know Luna is on the way."

Saori smiled at her friend. "Will do, Miporin."

"Your sister isn't falling for the trap you set, Nishizumi-dono" Yukari fretted. " I thought those Tigers would've attacked us long ago."

"She's definitely thinking far outside the box today, Yukari. I wonder how my mother would feel about Maho breaking so severely with her long-established Kuromorimine doctrine." The Anglerfish commander once again held her binoculars to the front-facing viewing slit near the top of her Panzer IV's cupola. "Something is happening. I don't see the second Kuromorimine Tiger anymore, just Maho's tank."

"Your sister's tank is still staying well out of our gun's range, Miho" Hana murmured. "It's almost like they know what you're trying to do. I have an unpleasant feeling about this."

"Me too" Miho replied with a frown. "It's like I'm missing something really important." She sighed, "We may have to force the issue this time, Hana, and that's the last thing I want to try against my old school."

. . . . .

Inside the cupola of the Kuromorimine Tiger bearing the number 212 on its turret, Maho was also studying her enemy with high-powered binoculars. She spoke on her tank's intercom, "Minna, I'm certain that if we do not attempt engagement with Ooarai soon, Miho will make use of those three other Ooarai tanks she has hiding in that grove of trees to her left. She'll likely plan on forming up with them for a frontal assault." The elder Nishizumi sister laughed despite the foul mood she was in, "It's too bad her reinforcements won't remain operational much longer. Communications, what's the status of Tiger two?"

"Our second team is nearly in postion, Maho" her radio operator confirmed. "They report being undetected."

"Excellent! The Tiger will destroy at least two of those worthless relics, forcing Miho to confront us directly with what little she has left." Maho grinned evilly, "And that decision, minna, will be the mistake that costs her the match."

"Are you certain about the location of her other tanks, Commander?" her gunner asked. "I can't spot any other Ooarai assets on my weapon's targeting scope, just Miho's Panzer."

"I have no doubt Miho has hidden them there. I carefully re-examined the tactics my sister employed during the finals against us, and the unorthodox method she used to defeat St. Gloriana during their latest exhibition match. I won't allow Kuromorimine to fall victim to Miho's cheap tricks again. Today, I'm calling the shots, including the shot that will knock out her pathetic Panzer IV just a few minutes from now. Crew, be patient." Maho remembered the last radio call from her second-in-command and scowled, "Though Erika's negligence and inability to defeat that rookie team's under-gunned Panzer and the clumsy STuG it was paired with is a serious loss of face for our school, make no mistake. Today we will prevail."

. . . . .

A group of increasingly anxious teens crowded closely around the television set in Makoto's house had a birds-eye view of the large area of flatland east of the town, watching Makoto's Panzer power its way at maximum speed toward the ridge behind which Saunders' remaining three Shermans were sheltered.

"I hope our girls know that Kay's tanks are waiting for them" Ryo fretted. "They're headed straight into a trap."

"Hai" Taro agreed. "If they keep going, they'll get blasted by multiple rounds the second they reach the top of that hill. It'd be a real shame for their battle to end that way."

. . . . .

Out of viewing range of the nearest camera drone, the T34s of Katyusha and Nonna began setting the last stage of their own plan in motion. The Pravda machines had raced as far east as the battlefield boundaries would permit, then gained even more speed, running south on lower ground and using the undulating terrain to stay out of sight of their adversaries.

Katyusha's stern voice crackled in the headsets of every member of both crews. "I will tolerate no further mistakes when we engage Saunders this time! No more sloppy maneuvering or missed shots! The penalty for failure will be most severe! Is that clearly understood?"

"Hai!"

"I have Luna team on the radio, Katyusha" Nonna spoke. "They report their Panzer is nearing the ridge. Do you wish them to continue on?"

"No. Have them stop well back and be prepared to shoot in the direction of the hill. Our upcoming action will undoubtedly flush one of the Shermans loose, while we engage the two Saunders tanks nearest to us. Their task is to ensure it does not survive to reinforce Maho's Tigers, and I demand nothing less from them than a quick, efficient kill! Tell them that!"

"Understood. Relaying your orders now."

. . . . .

Behind the ridge, Kay stood on top of her Sherman's turret, just high enough to see past the rounded crest of the hill. "Those crazy rookies in that Panzer IV are still charging across the field straight at us! All tanks hold position and let 'em have it in their belly plating when they reach the top." She chuckled as she dropped into her turret, "I thought Miho would've trained her new girls better than that!"

"All tanks are signalling guns loaded and waiting to fire, Kay" her radio operator said. "This'll be easier than shooting fish in a barrel!"

"Hai! One bucket of deep-fried Ooarai Panzer, coming right up!" Kay exclaimed. "Served with a side of fries!"

"Or a side of Saunders' shells!" her gunner grinned.

"That's the tastiest kind!" the commander laughed.

. . . . .

Makoto heard Usagi's relayed instructions and told her driver, "Stop us here, Minako-chan. Ami-chan, angle your gun up until it just clears the top of that hill. Katyusha thinks we'll have a target to shoot at somewhere up there soon."

Her Panzer quickly braked to a halt. "Our gun is elevated, Mako-chan" Ami acknowledged a few seconds later. The blue-haired girl's right index finger gently caressed the smooth cold steel of her gun's trigger. "I'm ready to fire."

"Good. Now we wait. Or... do we?" A feeling of impending danger suddenly swept over the brunette and she began rapidly scanning the field around her Panzer through the narrow ports cut into the rim of her cupola.

. . . . .

Yuuichirou pointed at the tv screen and blurted, "Ha! Minna, there's two Pravda tanks creeping out of the bushes way back behind the Shermans!"

"This should be good" Haruka chuckled. "They caught Saunders with their pants down. Or their skirts, I suppose I should say."

"Mako-chan's tank is in trouble too!" Yuji suddenly groaned as the view from the drone widened. "There's a Tiger off to their right, moving fast towards Luna team!" The sixteen-year-old boy yelled at the screen, "Spot it, Mako honey! Spot it before it's too late!"

. . . . .

Loud booms from both T34's powerful guns echoed over the hilltop as their shells quickly laid waste to the rear armor of the first Sherman.

"White flag confirmed" Nonna calmly spoke. "One Sherman down."

"Target the next tank in line!" Katyusha screamed into her microphone. "Reload and fire immediately!"

. . . . .

"Pravda's got the drop on us!" Kay's stunned voice warned her crew via intercom, the girl realizing she had become too fixated on killing the lone Ooarai Panzer. "Both tanks! Full power! Drive across the top of the hill!" Her Sherman's huge radial engine roared and the tank leapt forward, its thrashing tracks clawing their way up the ridge.

"Miho's sneakiness must be rubbing off on Katyusha!" Saunders' embarrassed blonde commander fumed. "I should've known better than to let my guard down!"

. . . . .

"Step on it, Minako-chan!" Makoto suddenly bellowed, her eyes springing wide. "Tiger on our-"

Minako's hands and feet instantly became a blur and her Panzer began moving forward but before the Luna team's commander could finish her sentence, a shell from the approaching Kuromorimine tank impacted the lower rear armor of her tank's turret, jolting the Panzer hard. The tank's intercom immediately filled with panicked voices.

Startled by the painfully loud and unexpected impact, Usagi blurted, "Ahhh! Someone shot us!"

"Are we out of it?" Rei gasped.

"We're still moving!" Makoto replied breathlessly. She squinted through the front viewport. "And I don't see a flag! We're still in this!"

Ami spun around in her seat. "Our turret is jammed, Mako-chan! It won't rotate left or right!"

"Try jiggling it back and forth, Ami-chan! We really need your gun!"

"Hai!"

"Which way, Mako-chan?" Minako called over the intercom. "We're still heading east towards that ridge, and my engine is at full power!"

"Keep going! We're climbing the hill! With our turret disabled it's our only chance to lose that Tiger!"

"Hai!" Minako kept the accelerator pedal pressed firmly to the floor. "But what about the Shermans on the other side?"

"To hell with the Shermans! Drive around them! Drive over them if you have to! One more hit from that Tiger and we're finished!"

"Doing it!" Reaching the bottom of the ridge, Minako quickly declutched and shifted to a lower gear while her Panzer began tilting up the grade. "Minna, hang on!"

For a brief instant, Makoto's mind had a flashback to Ooarai's match against St. Gloriana. 'We were faking a damaged turret that day' she thought. 'But now it's really happening and this time we've got an angry Tiger on our tail!'

. . . . .

The teens in the house could scarcely believe their eyes, as the two Saunders tanks and Makoto's Panzer roared up opposite sides of the hill, reaching the crest of the ridge and momentarily becoming airborne at the same instant. Yuji held his breath as he watched his fiancee's tank pass tightly between the pair of speeding Shermans. "That was so close!" the boy gasped. "They almost collided!"

"Watching this match leaves me with mixed feelings, Haruka" Michiru remarked. "One moment it appears as a kind of mechanical ballet, and the next it takes on many of the characteristics of a Sailor Senshi battle. I had no idea Sensha-do was so intense!"

Her companion grabbed another handful of popcorn from her bowl. "It definitely isn't like auto racing, Michi-chan. At least out on the track we aren't trying to kill each other."

. . . . .

Another pair of shells burst from the barrels of Pravda's T34s, both narrowly missing Kay's Sherman as it dropped from sight beyond the hilltop.

"What is that Panzer doing?" Katyusha blurted, still standing with her upper body exposed above her T34 while Makoto's tank roared past. "Ten days in the gulag for disobeying my direct order!"

"They aren't students of our school, Commander" her loader chuckled. "You can't give them detention."

Her radio operator spoke, "The Ooarai tank reports a single Tiger I in the field beyond the ridge, Katyusha. The Panzer's turret is jammed and refuses to turn, so they have temporarily withdrawn."

"Pursue those Shermans!" Katyusha snapped at her driver. "We'll release a barrage from the high ground and kill them from there! Tell that Panzer to turn around and follow us!"

The girl at the radio objected, "But their gun-"

"They can aim it like Anzu's Hetzer!" Katyusha bellowed again, waving her arms wildly. "By angling their hull! Must I do all the thinking around here?"

"I shall instruct them to re-engage."

. . . . .

Now safely past the Saunders tanks, Makoto raised her head out of the turret and gave her damaged Panzer a quick visual once-over. "Our turret is stuck with the gun pointing straight ahead, Minako-chan. You'll be assisting Ami to aim it at targets from now on. Follow the T34s back up the hill but be ready to stop hard on my command."

"Helping Ami aim her gun isn't a problem for the best Panzer driver Luna team has ever had!" the blonde at the controls boasted, sharply pivoting her tank around with a firm pull on the left track's control lever.

"You're the only driver we've ever had, baka!" Rei replied. "Except for that brief experiment with Ami during our first week of practice, but we won't talk about that."

The blue-haired gunner blushed red but Minako ignored the miko's verbal jab, gunning her Panzer up the back side of the ridge. "Don't worry yourself about that silly turret problem, Mako-chan. I'll point our gun exactly where Ami needs it to be. After all, I'm incredibly multi-talented, in every way you can imagine! And probably some ways you can't!" she giggled. "Just ask my Taro if you want examples!"

"Examples? I'd rather not" the tall brunette shuddered. "Save that kind of talk for after the match, ok?"

"But I was just-"

"Shut up and drive, Minako-chan!"

. . . . .