The Ether Conflict
Chapter 2: The Antelope
As the midday sun blazed over the lands, a lone tank crawled through the dirt road, speeding at about 25 km/h. The trail it was leaving behind it was a cloud of dust, resembling the tail of a comet. It was a German Panzer IV ausf H, painted brown and equipped with a type of armored skirts known as the Schürtzen. The left side skirt of the hull bore a blue-and-white symbol, the emblem of the Oarai Girls High School, or what was left of it, since it was really scratched and faded. The right skirt, however, bore an anime-style Anglerfish that was on top condition, looking more cute than ferocious.
In the opened commander's hatch sat Miho, lazily gazing at the grassy hills that surrounded them. Though she was admiring this tranquil view, only the engine of the tank and its treads made any noise, and a thoughtful expression had settled on her face.
"Are you okay Miss Nishizumi?"
Snapping out of her train of thoughts, she looked down at the right side of the turret and spotted Yukari peeking out of the opened loader's hatch.
"I'm fine Yukari, just thinking things," Miho said in a nostalgic voice, before getting inside the tank, but leaving the hatch open. Looking around, everyone's hatches were open, so that the air would circulate inside the tank and cool it down a bit, since it had no air ventilation. Saori was quietly reading a novel, Hana was gazing at the grassy hills and Mako was driving the tank.
"Have you been thinking about our school?" Yukari asked.
"Yeah...I was just thinking how we all were before the Apocalypse. When we were all together and practiced Shenshadou," Miho answered back with a melancholic tone, sighing.
"It really was nice back then. If only the earthquakes never happened," Hana said, having taken an interest in the conversation.
"At least we still have the tank!" Saori said.
"And we are all together," Mako said from the driver's seat.
"I guess you are right," Miho nodded in agreement. "Though I hope the rest of our friends are fine," she said, traces of sadness mixed in her voice.
"I'm sure they are fine Miho," Hana told her, before continuing. "There must be an explanation for what we saw."
"For all we know, it could have been set up to cover their tracks. If they really had been attacked, there would have been a lot more bodies," Mako explained.
"I just hope my parents are okay," Yukari said with a concerned voice.
"I'm sure they are fine Yukari. After all, we checked the carrier and found no one on it," Miho said.
"I wonder how my parents would react if I told them I became a mercenary," Saori said with a thoughtful expression. "They would probably be all dramatic about it."
"My grandma would probably still scold me for not waking on time," Mako said half-jokingly, causing the rest of the girls to giggle.
Standing up from her seat, Miho started gazing at the grassy hills yet again, supporting her head with her hands and placing her elbows at the perimeter of the cupola.
I wonder how Sister and Mother would react if they learned that I have become a mercenary, she thought.
Looking up at the sky, she noticed clouds gathering in the distance. Gray and ominous, they started to gather up, and a single bolt of lightning appeared in the clouds.
It seems it will be raining later, she thought, before diving back to the tank to check the map and the tank's position, this time closing her hatch.
12th of May 2 Y.A.
14:35 pm
Route 29
On a dirt road, not unlike the one the Panzer IV was, was a Panzer V "Panther" moving towards the designated rendezvous point. It, too, was picking up a dust cloud behind it, as it was moving at a brisk pace of 30 km/h. The Panther was painted sand yellow, but its turret was not the standard turret the Panther had. It was like an IS-3's turret, though narrower and taller, in order for the 7.5cm KwK 42 L/70 gun to be able to depress. Inside it were four people, a commander, a gunner, a loader and a driver.
"Are you sure we are going the right way?" the loader asked.
"For the fifth time, my dear loader, yes," the commander answered back, clearly irritated.
"Just making sure, Commander."
"I'm not a child you know."
"That's why you were complaining for thirty minutes straight, that our last mission was difficult?" the driver piped up.
"But these guys with the helmets were really skilled...and creepy. We put our lives on the line for a bunch of papers that have gibberish written all over them! I just can't understand what the Director thinks. Does he want to kill us?!" the commander complained hotly, flailing her hand while holding the papers.
"First of all, if someone didn't want to fucking build a new turret for the tank, we would still have the money that we painstakingly made the last month, and as a result, my dear Commander, we wouldn't have to take this mission!" the loader yelled at the commander.
"I think both of you should calm down. We made our choices and these are the results," the gunner calmly said, before changing the subject. "What's your opinion of the Anglerfish Team?"
"I can't wait to meet them! They were the ones that turned the Senshadou tournament upside down! And then is the match against Selection University!" the commander spoke like a true fangirl.
"You would have met them if you hadn't got banned by your own stupidity," the driver yelled.
"Mistakes were made, what can i do about it now?", the commander answered nonchalantly.
"One does not simply modify a Senshadou regulated tank and gets away with it. You were really lucky that you weren't banned forever!"
"Doesn't it bother you that they became mercenaries? I never expected for them to do such a job," the loader said.
"I'm sure they had their reasons. You didn't expect with all the chaos that they wouldn't have to take a life or two, did you? You do remember how we all met, right?" the commander said with a serious voice.
"Yes, so remind me to never hand you any knives," the loader responded half-jokingly.
"Whatever. We should be there in about five minutes. After we meet with them, we will receive orders on what to do," the commander said, eyeing the clouded sky through the cupola's vision ports.
14:39 pm
Grid Point H45
Coming to a halt, the Panzer IV stood motionless in the middle of a crossroads. Opening her hatch, Miho emerged from it and started scanning her surroundings. Everywhere she looked there were hills, more like big mounds of soil, making their location an ideal position to be ambushed. Near the crossroads stood an old decrepit house, barely able to stand. Its door and windows seemed to be broken, a clear sign that someone had broken inside it to loot whatever it had. Diving back briefly, she came out with a pair of binoculars and started to scan the small hills more carefully.
"Miporin, are we sure this is the place?" Saori asked, having too emerged from her own hatch.
"Yes, this is the location where we are supposed to meet," Miho answered back, continuing scanning the hills.
"Miss Nishizumi, I think i can hear an engine," Yukari said from her own hatch.
"Are you sure it isn't our engine?" Hana asked Yukari, not hearing anything except for the monotone sound of their own engine.
Closing her eyes and focusing a bit, Miho could hear an engine at the distance. Opening her eyes and looking with her binoculars at the direction of the sound, she spotted a Panther with a really weird turret, painted in sand yellow. Taking a better look, she could see a chibi antelope painted at the left side of the upper glacis. Lowering her binoculars, Miho dived back inside the tank.
"The Antelope team is here. Everyone, lets go and greet them. Mako, don't shut the engine, we might need to escape from here, since we could get ambushed at any moment," Miho said.
"Yes!" everyone responded, before exiting the tank and standing in front of it. All the girls could see the alien-looking tank coming closer and closer.
"What a weird looking turret," Saori whispered to Hana.
"Indeed. I think it's the first time any of us has seen anything like this," Hana answered back, intrigued by what she was seeing.
"Isn't this the coolest thing you have ever seen Miss Nishizumi?!" Yukari said, bouncing up and down with excitement, her eyes sparkling for some reason.
"Calm down Yukari," Miho said and Yukari instantly stopped bouncing, a small saddened expression on her face.
"Yes Miss Nishizumi," Yukari said, looking at the ground.
"Don't be like that Yukari, I'm sure you will have time to check their tank," Saori said to cheer up her friend and Yukari instantly raised her face, her eyes once again sparkling at the prospect of checking out this weird-looking war machine.
"So easy," Mako simply said, which earned giggles from the rest of the girls.
As the Panther was closing to the girls, it stopped about 10 meters away from them. Miho took a few steps forwards, stopping about 5 meters away from the Panther. Out of the hatch came a blonde girl. Standing at the engine deck of the tank, she said something at the rest of the crew that were inside, before jumping down on the ground.
"Hello," the blonde girl waved at Miho as she approached her. "You must be Miho Nishizumi. Nice to meet you," the blonde girl said,raising her hand for a handshake.
Raising her head to be able to look at the blonde girl that was about 173cm tall, she noticed the strange color of her eyes, which was light purple. The blonde had a smile on her face, but Miho could tell that something terrible was hiding beneath this facade, which made her feel very nervous.
"Y-Yes, nice to meet you too miss..." Miho trailed off, shaking her hand and trying to remember if she had ever heard the blonde's name.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Elpida Papaioannou, I am the commander of the Antelope Team. However, most people call me Odysseus, since it is easier for them to pronounce it than my real name," the girl said, releasing her grip on Miho's hand. In front of the Panther stood three figures, presumably the rest of the crew.
"The redhead with the green eyes is my driver, her name is Annabelle Morris," Odysseus said while pointing at Annabelle, who was slightly shorter than Odysseus. She waved back at Miho, though her movement was a bit sluggish, like she wanted to sleep.
"The guy with the blonde hair and blue eyes is my loader, his name is Tyler Davis," Odysseus said, but this time didn't even turned around to look at him, much less point at him.
"What is this, favoritism?!" the blond boy that was slightly shorter than Annabelle said, pointing at Odysseus accusingly, with Odysseus turning to face him and sticking her tongue out, causing the Anglerfish team to sweatdrop at her behavior.
"Why is their commander so childish?" Saori wondered aloud.
Taking a few steps forward and stopping besides his commander, a boy with short brown hair and hazel eyes, that was the same height as Hana, spoke with a calm and composed face. "Commander, I think you should behave properly," he said. Miho only after hearing him speak, noticed that his Japanese were perfect and not accented, like the rest of his friends.
They must be foreigners, she thought for a moment.
"Party pooper," Odysseus said with a pout, looking away from him.
Sighing slightly, he turned to face Miho, before speaking.
"My name is Akaza Reiji, it is an honor to meet you Miss Nishizumi," Reiji said, bowing slightly.
"Uhm, you don't need to be so formal," Miho said quickly, flailing her hands a bit.
"Well, you are famous, so it's only fair we show the proper respect," Odysseus said with a serious expression, throwing the girls off, since mere moments ago she was acting like a child.
"Reizei Mako, Takebe Saori, Isuzu Hana, Akiyama Yukari and you, Nishizumi Miho," Odysseus listed the names of each person in the Anglerfish team, before adding. "The strongest team Ooarai had. The team that managed to bring victory against all odds not once, but twice. And now, one of the most elite squads Blackout has, known as Black Wolves," she said with a mischievous smile. Miho and the others instantly felt a shiver running through their spines.
"Please stop scaring the others," Annabelle told her commander and close friend.
"Oh come on, it's fun teasing them," she said cheerfully, once more making a drastic behavior change. "That reminds me, have you contacted HQ on what we should do now?"
Having forgotten about it, Miho quickly turned to face Saori and told her to get in touch with the HQ and inform them they had met with the Antelope team.
"Do you mind if I ask you something about the tank?" Miho asked.
"Yeah, sure," Odysseus answered back.
"I heard that this Panther is salvaged from Kuromorimine. So...I was wandering if you had heard anything about the school ship or my sister," Miho said hesitantly.
"Well...we found the tank about a year ago abandoned at a field. So we don't know anything about the state of Kuromorimine, or any other school ship for that matter, but I'm sure your sister is fine. She is the heiress of the Nishizumi style after all," Odysseus said with a smile, though this time Miho couldn't say for sure if it was a facade or a genuine smile.
"Yeah, you are right," Miho smiled back at Odysseus.
"Miporin, I've got our orders!", Saori said as she walked quickly towards Miho, a piece of paper in her right hand. Taking the paper, Miho cleared her throat, before reading loudly the orders for everyone to hear.
"Both the Anglerfish and the Antelope teams are to proceed towards the bandits' main base. You are to infiltrate it and sabotage it for the upcoming assault force that will be sent to capture the base in two days time," Miho finished talking, an eerie silence hanging in the air.
"It seems it's time to hunt," Odysseus said with a grin. Thunder could be heard at the distance, as lightnings illuminated the dark sky, rain starting to fall.
Both crews enter their respective vehicle, but before Miho can enter through her hatch, a cannon report is heard. Looking at one of the hills, she spots an orange light coming towards her. Widening her eyes in response, she literally dives inside the tank, landing on the commander's seat with her hands and face. The shell barely misses the cupola and hits the ground, the impact throwing mud everywhere.
"Miho are you-" Hana tries to ask her friend if she is okay, only to be cut short from her.
"Mako get us out of here, we are under enemy attack!" Miho yells, as she tries to quickly turn her body upright, hitting Yukari slightly in the process.
Closing her hatch, she desperately tries to find from where the shot came, her eyes furiously scanning the surrounding hills as more shots start hitting the ground around the tank. Seeing a flash at a nearby hill, she spots a lone Soviet T-50 light tank, standing motionless and shooting at them.
"Hana 9 o'clock, at the top of the hill!" Miho says and the turret of the Panzer IV starts to rotate. Finding her target, Hana aims and fires, the 75mm shell arcing as it makes its way to the tank. After a few seconds, a light illuminates the hill as the light tank burns brightly, fire consuming its body. A shell slams on the frontal plate of the Panzer IV and explodes, shaking the whole tank violently, causing the crew to get stunned for a split second.
"What was that?!' Saori yells.
"They hit us with an HE shell!" Miho yells, before grabbing her binoculars and exiting her hatch to have a better view. Rain pours on top of her and inside the tank as she scans her surroundings. Peering through the binoculars, she quickly spots a T-34-85 on top of the hill in front of them. Before she can instruct Hana to target it though, a thunderclap is heard from her right and the T-34-85 explodes, its flaming turret making a short flight through the air, before landing on the wet grass and soil.
"Miho, take care of anyone that is in front of us, we will take care of anyone on our six," she heard Odysseus calls through the static of the radio.
"OK, just make sure you will be safe," she responds, diving back at the tank once more.
Odysseus giggles in response, before cutting the transmission. As the Panther positions itself to look at the hills on its back, Hana manages to destroy yet another T-50.
"That's strange. Why are they just sitting motionless?" Hana wonders aloud.
"They might be inexperienced on how tank warfare works," Miho says, a small grin forming on her face.
As the shell exchange continues, Miho spots three T-50s rushing towards them, firing their cannons on the move, but missing by a wide margin.
"Mako, reverse the tank slowly. Hana, hit the tanks that are descending the hill!" Miho ordered.
The Panzer IV starts to slowly move backwards, as the turret aligns itself with the light tank in the middle. A cannon report is heard, that coincidentally matches the exact time a lightning falls in the landscape. The shell escapes the barrel, smoke following it from behind, and propels itself through the air, only to hit the upper glacis of the light tank. Penetrating its flimsy armor, the shell cuts the driver in two and hits the ammo rack of the tank, cooking the ammunition and causing a huge fireball to consume it. Its metal wreck skids on the muddy ground for about five meters before coming to a halt, the flames already consuming it, a plume of black smoke rising to the sky. The surviving light tanks go for one of the Panzer IV's flanks. Its turret starts to rotate to the left and once Hana's crosshairs are over the Soviet light tank, she fires and the tank bursts in flames, the shell hitting the engine block and destroying it completely.
"Hana, target at 3 o'clock, one hundred meters and closing!", Miho says quickly as the T-50 fires, the shell missing by a wide margin.
The turret rotates to the right as fast as it can, but its speed is not enough to target the light tank.
"The turret isn't rotating fast enough, we won't make it!", Hana whispered, concentrating her hardest to fire the moment the tank enters her sight.
But out of sheer luck, or sheer idiocy of the enemy crew, the light tank swerves suddenly on its right, in a bid to throw off Hana's aiming, but unavoidably passing in front of the 7.5cm KwK 40/L48...and Hana isn't any ordinary gunner. The moment the light tank enters her field of vision, she pulls the trigger, causing the tank to rock backwards, as the shell launches itself out of the barrel and passes cleanly through the engine block of the enemy tank, landing about 50 meters away from its intended target . The engine instantly catches fire, but due to its momentum, the tank keeps rolling for another 20 meters before coming to a halt, being nothing more than a metal coffin on fire. The crew tries to escape, but it is too late. The flames are already consuming their bodies, as evidenced by their hair-raising screams that come from the insides of the wreck.
As the Panzer IV comes to a stop, Miho exhales loudly, since the threats on their side have been neutralized. Looking at the back of the tank almost instinctively though, she finds to her utmost horror that another T-50 has somehow sneaked behind them, aiming directly at the engine block at point blank range.
"Mako, rotate, rotate!" she screams, terror written all over her face.
The tank starts rotating counterclockwise, but before the T-50 can fire, a loud bang is heard, followed by the sound of grinding steel. Miho looks with a surprised expression at the miracle that has happened in front of her. The Panther has rammed the T-50 with such force, that it has forcefully moved it sideways at least 5 meters. Reversing a bit, the Panther's gun aims at its wounded prey that makes no move, its crew probably stunned from the impact. The Panther fires, and the turret flies off for a short distance, before hitting the ground with a thud. Miho opens her hatch and sees Odysseus doing the same.
"Thanks for saving us!" Miho yells at her.
"No problem. Though I think we may have overstayed our welcome here," Odysseus responds back with a silly grin, before diving back inside.
By now, the rain has stop falling, as the warm sunlight of the sun manages to pierce through the dispersing clouds that covered the sky. Miho looks at the numerous plumes of smoke that litter the landscape, originating from blackened metal wrecks. Diving back inside the tank, she closes her hatch.
"Mako, take us out of here," she says tiredly, exhaustion finally catching up with her.
The two tanks slowly make their way towards their destination, their tracks leaving their own marks at the wet and soft soil.
A/N: Here is the rewritten chapter 2. I think it is better than the original. Once again, special thanks to SeekerMeeker for helping with the revision of the chapter. Anyways, as always, suggestions, questions, corrections, reviews or PMs are greatly appreciated. Also, English isn't my native tongue, so expect some grammatical errors here and there. If you found the story interesting and had a great time, favorite and follow. Have a nice day/night and until the next chapter, stay safe!
Explanations
Y.A. : Years after the Apocalypse