The Ether Conflict
Chapter 7: Birth of the Wolves
Wednesday
25th of May 2 Y.A.
8:55 am
Blackout Main Base
Hospital building
Inside a large hospital room, which has several medical beds, are several girls, happily talking to each other. After the infiltration teams returned from their missions, Orange Pekoe, Naomi and Carpaccio were admitted to the base's hospital, where they were treated for their wounds. There was some friction between Assam and Odysseus, who seemed eager to argue with each other, even after two years of not seeing each other. Thankfully, Annabelle was there to keep them at bay (mainly Odysseus) and in the end they managed to have a decent conversation. Miho mostly spoke with her sister, catching up on what happened these 2 years they were separate, but also checked on how the rest of the girls were. Right now, though, only Annabelle, Assam, Anchovy and the girls that were admitted to the hospital for their injuries are inside the hospital room and chat with each other.
"I had heard Anzio was always good at making Italian food, but I never expected you to be able to make something so good that isn't from Italy," Annabelle says as she practically devours the crepe Anchovy had made earlier in the day, when she borrowed the hospital's kitchen, which surprisingly had a lot of different ingredients; she expected it to have food with no salt and a lot of jelly. Thus she made breakfast for all the girls, though she might have gone a bit overboard with the number of servings, as the girls ended with 3 crepes each.
"Hey, just because our school is themed after Italy, that doesn't mean we can't cook other types of food or dessert," Anchovy answers back, having already eaten her own share.
"I am amazed that they even let you use the hospital's kitchen," Carpaccio says, having eaten her share of crepes too. "This is a military base after all."
"I bet that blonde girl Assam was arguing with, had to do something with it," Naomi says, chewing some bubblegum. "She seems like the type that can do anything she wants and doesn't care for any consequences."
"Actually, it was Miho that asked for permission to use the hospital's kitchen," Anchovy informs the rest of the girls. "The whole time I was making the crepes, she was there supervising me."
"I have to say, I never expected Miho and her friends to do such job," Assam admits openly to the others. "Or you lady Annabelle, for that matter."
"I guess she had her reasons for becoming a mercenary," Annabelle responds to Assam. "As for me, this is the path that I chose. At least with this job, I get to have a room to stay and a plate of food to eat. Also, someone needs to keep an eye on Elpida, to make sure she won't do anything stupid. You know how she can be sometimes."
"Indeed," Assam sighs lightly, remembering all the trouble Odysseus kept creating back to the carrier. "She can be really difficult to deal with, most of the time. She just behaves like a little child."
"But being a mercenary is a dangerous job," Orange Pekoe says, having finished her breakfast. Anchovy stands up and starts gathering the plates. "Wouldn't it be better if you came back to the carrier?" she asks Annabelle with a calm tone.
"I appreciate it for you being concerned over my well-being, but this is the path I chose and I intend to follow it till the end," Annabelle responds back with a serious expression.
"Even if it means you might lose your life?" Naomi asks and silence feels the room.
"Yes," Annabelle curtly nods. "But enough with me, what about you? It must have been hard living on the carrier."
"The first year was really difficult and we had some incidents with bandits, but after establishing connections with the other carriers, it became a lot easier," Assam informs Annabelle.
"We started exchanging resources and helping each other, so we really don't need to worry too much about food or fuel anymore," Anchovy says as she moves towards the room's exit to go the used plates back to the kitchen.
"And we also trade with nearby towns for things we can't produce ourselves," Orange Pekoe continues. "We even take escort requests from traders from time to time."
"At least everyone is doing fine," Annabelle sighs lightly, glad that the girls in the carrier are doing fine. Looking at a clock that hangs in the wall opossite from her, Annabelle stands up, pushing the chair she has been sitting a little backwards. "Well, I guess I should get going. Need to start preparing for the next mission," she says to the rest of the girls. "Have a lovely day everyone," she exclaims and walks to the exit of the room, but stops, turning to look at Assam. "Before I forget it, the helicopter leaves at 10, Assam, so you better be at the helipad by 9:30," she says to Assam and then leaves the room to go and prepare her equipment for the next mission.
"Are you sure about this Assam?" Orange Pekoe asks worryingly. "Darjeeling said that participation isn't mandatory."
"I know, but Darjeeling also said she couldn't find a replacement gunner for the Churchill," Assam responds. "Plus, I can't let lady Annabelle alone with Elpida."
"Why are you so against her and Annabelle be friends?" Orange Pekoe asks Assam. "Is it because of what she did to the Cromwell?"
"That is one of the reasons, yes," she pauses for a second, before continuing. "But the main reason is that she isn't befit of being anywhere near nobility. She is reckless, lacks elegance and proper etiquette, doesn't behave like a proper lady should and speaks very casually to her," Assam scoffs.
"Wait, that redhead that was here minutes ago, is nobility?" Anchovy asks as she enters the room, returning to it after leaving the used plates in the hospital's kitchen.
"Yes. She was a transfer student from England," Orange Pekoe answers to Anchovy, who sits on the edge of Carpaccio's bed, which is on the left side of Orange Pekoe. "Since she had excellent grades and behavior, not to mention that she was from England and a noble family, she was accepted instantly."
"What about the girl you call Elpida?" Naomi asks, still chewing her bubblegum. "And why did she call herself by the name "Odysseus"?"
"We really don't know much about her," Assam admits. "Even Darjeeling doesn't know that much, and whatever she knows, she refuses to share it with the others."
"As for why she calls herself by that nickname, she says that it is easier for people to pronounce it than her real name," Orange Pekoe answers Naomi's second question.
"Do you think she could have somehow forged her admittance papers?" Anchovy asks and everyone turns to look at her.
"No. The admittance papers are made in the carrier and each copy has a unique serial number, as well as other security measures. It is virtually impossible to forge them, unless you have a lot of time and money to spare," she informs Anchovy.
"You won't really know until you try," Naomi says to Assam.
"What about her past?" Carpaccio asks with a curious tone.
"We tried to run a basic background check on her, but came up with nothing," Orange Pekoe answers Carpaccio. "It's as if she didn't exist before coming to the carrier."
"That's unusual," Anchovy says.
Looking at the clock that is hanging in one of the room's walls, Assam stands up. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get going," she says politely. "Have a nice day, everyone," she smiles and proceeds to exit the room.
"Please be careful," Orange Pekoe says back at her.
"Why did you decide not to participate, Duce?" Carpaccio asks Anchovy. "All the other schools will participate in the final phase of this operation."
"Because unlike the other schools, our tanks are not that good in real warfare. Against infantry, sure they can do wonders, but against other tanks or anti-tank weapons?" Anchovy says with a bitter expression. "We are just cannon fodder at best, liability at worst." Silence feels the room for a few minutes, before Orange Pekoe finally breaks it.
"I just hope everyone will be safe," she says with a concerned expression. "As unlikely as such an outcome might be."
"All of the carrier commanders will be there, including Miho!" Anchovy exclaims quickly. "What could possibly go wrong?"
"You'd be amazed at how wrong things can go in a battlefield," Naomi says with a serious expression.
"That sounded really ominous," Anchovy professes.
"Anchovy, could I ask you to bring me a cup of tea?" Orange Pekoe asks.
"Sure, no problem," Anchovy responds back and stands up, starting to walk towards the hospital's kitchen to make some tea for everyone.
1 hour later
En route to Blackout's forward HQ
ETA: 25 minutes
Two Blackhawk transport helicopters soar through the sky as they make their way towards Blackout's forward HQ. After the successful completion of phases 1 and 2 of Operation Downfall, preparations for the commence of phase 3 had already begun. But because Blackout had to provide security for the carriers, for the time being, and help the JSDF eliminate R.I.J.A. bases across Japan, their resources and available units were running thin. So, they asked the carriers to help with this problem by participating in the final attack. Thankfully, for Blackout, almost all carrier commanders accepted, though each one had a different reason for it. Inside one of the helicopters sit Odysseus and her team, along with Assam who insisted on escorting Annabelle for the duration of this travel. On the other helicopter sit Miho and her team, along with Maho, Nonna and Katyusha. The girls spent most of their time chatting with each other, mainly with Katyusha recounting fights against bandits and how they faced their ends against Pravda's might.
"And then the whole building got destroyed in a huge explosion as the KV-2 fired its cannon!" Katyusha says excitedly, making an explosion gesture with her hands.
"Seems you had your hands full these past 2 years," Miho says at Katyusha.
"Nah, these shrimps could do nothing against our tanks," Katyusha says, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "But enough with Pravda's grand achievements. What I want to know, Pirozki, is how and why you and your friends joined a PMC," Katyusha says with curiosity. "And what happened to your carrier? Is everyone fine?"
"Katyusha, it is impolite to ask such personal questions," Nonna warns Katyusha, before turning to face Miho. "Please excuse her impoliteness, Miho," Nonna says.
Miho merely shakes her head a little. "It's ok, Nonna, I don't mind answering," she smiles at her a little. "Girls, do you mind if I answer Katyusha's questions?" she asks the rest of her team, since it involves them too. The girls shake their heads to show that they do not mind, minus Mako who is sleeping. Seeing that, Miho turns to face Katyusha, before starting to answer her questions. "You see, when the earthquakes happened, we weren't aboard the carrier. We randomly stumbled upon it in a beach one day. Though we found it beached and completely devoid of any people, so we don't really know what happened," she pauses for a little, before continuing.
"We suspect that the carrier was running low on supplies, so they had to beach it," Hana comments and both Katyusha and Nonna nod in agreement.
"Sounds reasonable. All of the carriers did this," Maho says. "Though it is quite weird for everyone to just outright abandon it."
"Maybe there weren't any supplies to loot from the nearby areas?" Nonna suggests, but Miho shakes her head.
"We thought about it, but when we searched around the carrier, we found a lot of supplies and belongings just lying around."
"Additionally, there were traces of a battle in the beach," Yukari says with a concerned expression. "Rabbit's M3 Lee was completely destroyed and the beach was full of small craters, bullets and blood stains."
"You mean someone attacked your carrier and even killed your friends?!" Katyusha shouts in surprise and both Maho and Nonna look at Miho with alarmed expressions.
"We aren't sure yet," Miho informs them. "It could be a ruse from the Student Council to cover their tracks. We also checked the M3 Lee for any bodies, and although we did find some, they were too big to be Rabbit team," she says with an uneasy tone.
"So they could still be somewhere out there," Maho says and Miho nods.
"As for how we joined Blackout," Miho turns to face Katyusha. "the events that lead to this started about a week after we stumbled upon the carrier."
Six months after the earthquakes
Somewhere in Japan
In a deserted road, a lone tank colored brown moves slowly on it, the asphalt under its metallic treads cracking slightly under the weight it must support. The evening sun shines brilliantly in the blue sky, feeding the plants on the ground with much needed sunlight they need to survive. From the cupola of the tank stands out a highschool girl, her light brown eyes lazily gazing her surrounding, the cool breeze that flows by, gently rustling her light brown hair. In front of her she holds a map of Japan, filled with various markers made with a pencil.
"Miporin, are we there yet?" a voice calls from inside, so Miho folds the map and dives inside the tank, leaving the cupola's hatch open.
"We should be arriving any moment now, Saori," Miho answers to her ginger haired friend, who is reading a manga.
"We better be, or we will have to walk the rest of the way," Mako says from the driver's seat, glancing at the fuel indicator that shows the fuel tank is almost empty.
"I wouldn't mind," Hana says from the gunner's seat. "We have been crumpled inside the tank for over 7 hours.
"I agree with Hana. I'd love to stretch my body a bit," Yukari says, trying to stretch her hands as much as she can inside the tank.
"And have a bath!" Saori complains. "Ah, the the sweet feeling of hot water soaking your body," she says dreamily, closing her eyes and imagining herself submerging her body to some hot water.
"Maybe we will find a hot spring or something along the way," Yukari says optimistically.
"Though it would be nice, the map doesn't show any hot springs near the gas station," Miho informs Yukari, and both she and Saori sigh in defeat.
"Then the map might be wrong," Mako says back to Miho. "Gas station up ahead and it seems there is another building with it."
Hearing this, Miho peeks out of the tank's cupola with a pair of binoculars. Peering through them, she spots two buildings on the horizon, one that has the distinct shape of a gas station, colored green and blue. On the other side of the road is a building that has a small parking area in front of it and a big neon sign that reads "Hot Springs", though it seems like both buildings are without electricity. "Either God exists and he heard our prayers, or we are extremely lucky," she mutters to herself as she lowers her binoculars. Diving back inside the tank, she marks the hot spring's location on the map, before turning to face the rest of her crew. "It seems there is a hot spring across the gas station."
"Yes! Our prayers have been finally heard!" Saori cries in joy, raising her arms in the air, with a part of them protruding out of her opened hatch.
"It will be nice to have a proper bath after so long," Hana says with a smile, and Yukari nods in agreement.
"Yeah. It would be nice to bathe with something different than bottled water," Yukari complains.
"First of all, we will stop at the gas station to refuel the tank and see if we can find any supplies," Miho says and everyone nods in agreement. "Also, we will need to check out the other building to see if there is any electricity or even a generator."
"Yes!" everyone responds, having cheered up from the prospect of taking a normal bath with hot water after only God knows how long. Reaching the gas station after about five minutes, Mako stops next to one of the gas pumps and shuts the engine down. Everyone exits from their respective hatches and jumps down on the ground.
"OK everyone, listen up," Miho orders and everyone looks at her with a serious expression. "Me and Saori will go and look for supplies inside the gas station. Mako, I want you to refuel the tank," she says and looks at the pumps for a moment. "The pump must be electric, but seems to have a lever for manual use too," she points at a lever next to the pump. "Yukari, I want you to operate the pump, till the fuel tank is full and then I want you to fill the empty fuel cans we have. Hana, you'll be on sentry duty. If you see anyone, tell Mako to turn the engine on. If they seem to have any malicious intentions, fire a warning shot with the coaxial, that should scare them off." Looking at the girls one more time, the girls nod back in agreement and everyone starts moving.
While Miho and Saori go inside the gas station to scavenge for any supplies, Mako grabs the pump's nozzle and puts it on the fuel tank. Yukari, who has already taken her position besides the pump, sees Mako signaling her to start the pump, so she starts turning the lever clockwise and after a few moments, fuel starts getting pumped in the fuel tank. Hana sits on top of the Panzer IV's turret, scanning the surrounding area with a pair of binoculars. "It really is like we found ourselves in a different world," Hana muses, looking at the landscape, which is devoid of any humans and animals, only an eerie silence filling the air.
"Do you think...the rest of the girls...are safe?" Yukari asks, panting a little from operating the fuel pump manually.
"The chances are quite high actually," Mako says, looking inside the tank momentarily to see how much fuel has gone in. "We found the carrier completely abandoned. The only signs of something happening were on the beach and even then, what we found led nowhere."
"I'm sure everyone is fine," Hana says calmly, smiling to Yukari for a brief moment.
"I hope so," Yukari murmurs quietly, thinking about her parents and their safety. Without any leads as to where the carrier occupants went, she couldn't track down her parents. What if they are in trouble? What if they are dead? She dreaded the answer to these questions, but she wanted to know. Wanting to take her mind of these kind of thoughts, she looks at the tank in front of her. The Panzer IV ausf H, a german medium tank used extensively in WW2 and one of Ooarai's Senshadou team's best tanks. Looking at it, memories from her time on the carrier come back on her mind. How she would train with her friends after school, the uphill battles they had managed to win during the tournament and then, the match with Selection. This tank, despite the punishment it had received from all the fighting, would always be ready to serve her and her friends, help them achieve their goals. Even after six months of intense use, it still kept working, even without any mantainance. Though it was still operable, these past few months had left their markings on its hull. The Schürzen plates on both the hull and the turret were rusted by the nature's forces and the cartoonish anglerfish that was painted there, the Anglerfish team's emblem, had nearly faded. At the back of the turret three metal boxes had been welded on the Schürzen plates to hold supplies. At the plates on the sides of the turret, five sleeping bags were tied, covered with a waterproof sheet to make sure they wouldn't get wet when it was raining.
"Yukari, the tank is full," Yukari hears a voice saying to her, so she stops turning the lever, panting slightly. Mako removes the fuel pump's nozzle from the fuel tank and after closing its lid, she puts the nozzle back to the pump. "I'll get the fuel cans down to fill them up," Mako informs her and climbs up the tank to retrieve the fuel tanks that are, too, tied on the turret's Schürzen plates.
Meanwhile, Miho and Saori are scouring the inside of the gas station's mini-market for any supplies it might have. After looking around for a few minutes, they both meet at the cash register.
"What did you find?" Miho asks Saori.
"Lots of water bottles," she answers, though she seems a little bit down for some reason. "It should last us for a few weeks if we load them all somehow."
"Is everything okay?" Miho asks in concern, seeing Saori's sour expression.
"Everything edible in here is spoiled!" Saori yells out suddenly. "The only things I found were three jars of honey and a ton of canned food! Canned food!" she shouts and then lets her head drop down. "I'm sick of eating it. I want to eat some homemade food for once," she says dejectedly. "Am I asking that much?"
"You just have to be patient," Miho says with a sympathetic smile, placing her right hand on Saori's left shoulder. Saori raises her head and reluctantly nods.
"I...I guess you are right," she says slowly, looking Miho in her eyes. "Sorry for my outburst."
"Don't worry about it," she says. "Let's start moving the supplies to the tank," she adds and Saori nods in response. As Saori grabs the jars of honey, Miho grabs two six-packs of bottled water and starts carrying them to the tank. Exiting from the mini-market, both she and Saori approach the tank, with Yukari silently sitting in the front of the tank, gazing in no particular direction, while Mako is tying the fuel cans on the turret's spaced armor. Putting the packs of bottled water down on the ground next to the tank, Miho goes to Yukari. "Yukari, could you help me and Saori with the supplies?" she asks and Yukari turns to look at her.
"Sure thing, Miss Nishizumi!" Yukari says cheerfully, glad to help her friend. After half an hour of transferring the supplies and somehow managing to fit them in the tank, all girls enter inside it from their respective hatches.
"These supplies should last us for at least three weeks," Miho says as she slumps in her seat, the muscles in her arms aching a little.
"It is good to know we have some food to spare," Hana smiles. "Though it would be good if we could have found some medical supplies."
"And something else than canned food," Saori adds grumpily, cursing her luck a little. The sun has already start setting by now, the day giving its place to the night and its starry sky. "At least now we can go and check out the hot spring," she says somewhat cheerfully. "At last, some hot water to bathe~"
"Mako get the tank across the road and drive it inside the building. Hana, rotate the turret so it faces backwards," Miho orders. Mako starts the engine and starts rotating the tank, while Hana rotates the turret so that it faces backwards.
"Wait, you are planning to ram the tank in the building?!" Saori asks incredulously as the tank starts gaining speed, quickly approaching the building.
"Yes", Miho curtly answers.
"Brace for impact," Mako says in a monotone voice, just as the tank crashes on the wall. Chunks of concrete and concrete dust get flown all across the building's lobby, as the tank's treads effortlessly crush some of the concrete chunks along with some leather couches and the reception's wooden desk, with splinters flying all over the place. In fact, the tank almost collides with the inner wall, but Mako manages to stop the tank in time. As it rocks back and forth for a few seconds, Miho signals the girls to stay put, as she looks through the cupola's vision ports. After a minute of observing her surroundings through the cupola, Miho speaks to the rest of the girls.
"It doesn't seem like anyone else is in the building," she says slowly, looking one last time around the lobby and the corridors that connect with it, before turning to face her crew. "It should be safe to get out of the tank now. Mako, shut the engine down. We will split in two teams and search the building for anything useful."
"And after that we can bathe in the hot spring!" Saori exclaims cheerfully. So the girls exit the tank and split into two teams and start exploring the building. After about 40 minutes, they all return back to the tank to report their findings. Miho and Yukari managed to find more water, as well as a pharmacy that had a dozen rolls of gauze, two boxes of painkillers and some disinfectant. On the other hand, Saori, Hana and Mako found a generator that thankfully had some fuel in it and managed to activate it. After putting the looted supplies inside the tank, they all went to the hot spring, which was located in the room behind the lobby.
"Ahh, I can feel all my worries melting away," Saori sighs in pure bliss, as the spring's hot water envelops her body up to her neck.
"Hot water really helps your body to relax," Hana says with a smile, enjoying this moment of luxury as much as she can.
"After having to bathe with bottled water these past few weeks, it really is a god-sent gift," Yukari admits, looking at the starry sky, which is visible thanks to the hot spring being outside and having a low lighting level. "The stars are really beautiful."
"They are," Miho says quietly, admiring them as they dot the dark sky like shining gems. Mako is quietly sleeping, having put her head on Saori's left shoulder, despite her friend's constant warnings that you should never fall asleep while bathing.
"Do you think our families are alright?" Saori asks suddenly, she too gazing at the starry sky, but with a concerned expression. "I hope my parents are doing well. They must be really worried," she says the last part in a whisper, so no one hears it.
"I'm sure everyone is fine," Hana says at Saori. "We just don't know where they are."
"But what if something has happened to them and we don't know it?" Yukari says with a concerned tone. "What if we never meet them?"
"It doesn't matter right now," Mako says bluntly and everyone turns to look at her.
"Mako, how can you say something so insensitive?!" Saori berates her friend. "Aren't you worried about your grandma?!"
"I am, Saori," Mako answers back. "She is the only family that I have been left with, since my parents..." Mako pauses for a little, before continuing. "The thing is, worrying about things we can't influence and control in any way isn't going to help us survive."
"You are half-right," Miho says with a smile and everyone turns to look at her. "I too worry about my mother and especially about my sister, but worrying too much won't help me survive in this world and make sure all of you are safe. But, your grandma isn't the only family you have. We all, here, are a family too. The rest of the teams back in the carrier, our classmates, we all are a big family. We help each other when in need, we smile and laugh in joy when happy, we cry tears when sad and in pain," she says with eyes full of determination. "At least that's how I feel about you and the girls back in the carrier. That's why I can remain calm, even when I don't know the fate of my mother and sister...because I know you will always be by my side to support me," she finishes and smiles at her friends again.
"Miss Nishizumi!" Yukari cries as she slams herself on Miho's side and hugs her, crying emotional tears. "You are such a kindhearted person!" Miho pats Yukari on her back to calm her down, smiling warmly at her.
"Heh, thanks a lot," Mako grins back at Miho.
"And that's why you are our commander," Saori says with a smile. Hana says nothing, but gazes at Miho with a serene smile. The girls stayed at the hot spring for about 40 minutes more, before exiting and getting dressed back to their school uniforms. After that, they decided who would keep watch first, in case any people showed up. They also decided that Mako didn't need to keep watch, since she had been driving the tank the whole day. And so the girls went to sleep, to rest their bodies from all the exhaustion and fatigue they had accumulated throughout the day.
8 hours later
Opening her eyes slowly, Miho blinks a few times and rubs them with her right hand, stirring from her seat slightly. Looking around the tank's dark interior, she spots Mako, Saori and Hana sleeping on their seats. The girls decided to sleep inside the tank this time to keep themselves somewhat warm, since they couldn't light a fire inside the building, in case something caught fire. Folding the blanket she was covering herself with, neatly, she looks around one more time.
Where is Yukari? she wonders, remembering that the last one to keep watch was supposed to be Saori. Did she forgot to wake up Saori? Exiting from the tank and looking around, she finds Yukari next to the tank, boiling green tea in an electric stove. "Good morning Yukari," Miho waves at her friend and proceeds to climb down the tank.
"Good morning Miss Nishizumi," Yukari waves back and then pours some tea in two plastic cups.
"Why are you still awake Yukari?" Miho asks as she receives a plastic cup full of steaming green tea. "Wasn't Saori supposed to keep watch last?" she asks.
"You see, I really didn't feel like sleeping, so I let Saori sleep a bit more," she answers, before taking a sip from her own plastic cup.
"Are you still worried about your parents?" Miho asks quietly and Yukari nods.
"I just can't stop thinking about them. Where are they, what are they doing?" she says, looking at her cup's contents and swirling it a bit. "What if something has happened to them? I just can't stop these thoughts from flowing into my mind."
"I'm sure they are fine, Yukari," Miho says warmly at her. At this moment, Saori exits from her hatch and makes her way towards the girls.
"Good morning," she says in a groggy voice. "Argh, why is it so bright?" she asks covering her eyes with her right hand, while she let them adjust. "Wait, did I overslept?!" she cries out in alarm, looking outside the hole the building's wall has, the sun happily dousing everything in its light.
Both Miho and Yukari giggle at their friend's alarmed expression. "No, I just didn't feel sleepy, so I took your shift too," Yukari explains to Saori, who somewhat calms down.
"It's not good for your body, if you don't sleep enough," Saori somewhat scolds Yukari.
"I know, but I can always catch up some sleep inside the tank. It's not like we will need to use the cannon for anything," she says, filling a plastic cup with tea and handing it to Saori.
"Good morning everyone," Hana says as she approaches her friends. Yukari has already poured tea in a fourth plastic cup, so she hands the cup to Miho, who gives it to Hana. "Thanks a lot," she says and takes a small sip.
"Now that everyone has woken up, we can get ready to continue our journey," Miho says to the others. Suddenly, all of the girls hear a faint popping sound coming from outside. "What was that?" Miho asks. Another faint popping sound is heard and the girls, getting curious, exit the building in search of the sound's origin. What they find though, is black smoke rising behind a hill very close to them.
"That is not good," Yukari says in alarm, her face paling a little. Another faint popping sound is heard and another trail of thick, black smoke starts rising in the air.
"What do you mean, Yukari?" Saori asks in confusion.
"These smoke trails have been produced by fire," Yukari starts explaining. "If we combine it with the popping sounds-"
"It would mean that something exploded and caught on fire," Miho finishes her sentence, and Yukari nods grimly. "It could mean that someone is in trouble," she says quickly and turns to face the others. "Saori, go and wake up Mako; tell her to start the engine. Yukari and Hana, pack the equipment in the tank; I'll try and see if there is any town or village in the direction of the smoke," she orders and everyone rushes inside the building.
In less than five minutes, everything had been packed and the tank was already on the road, making its way on the smoke trails at full speed. Miho's upper half stands out of the cupola, looking at the smoke and then at the flapping map she has opened and placed on the cupola's edge. Tracing a straight line from her relative position to where the smoke is, on the map, she finds nothing of importance, no roads, no towns, no nothing. Thinking for a second, she closes the map and looks for a moment at the cloudy sky, before diving back inside the tank.
"OK, listen up girls," she says through the intercom to catch the girls' attention. "The map isn't showing anything that could lead to where the smoke is."
"It could be a small village," Mako suggests. "It would explain why it isn't being shown on the map."
"Maybe there is a dirt road that leads towards the smoke?" Yukari says to Miho, who seems to be thinking.
"Hmm...maybe. But then the question becomes, why would there be an explosion in a rural village?" she wonders aloud.
"Miporin, there is a dirt road on our right!" Saori quickly says. "It might be leading to the smoke!"
"Mako, follow the dirt road!" Miho commands and Mako directs the tank onto the dirt road, which seems to scale the hill, going over the top and descending from the other side. As the tank closes on the hill's top, Miho peeks out of her cupola and upon reaching it, she orders Mako to stop. Raising a pair of binoculars and peering through them, she spots the source of the fire. On a distance of about a kilometer, a huge refinery stands, fire consuming most of its structures. Two huge tanks like spherical structures are ablaze, when they suddenly explode, raining fiery debris in the surrounding woodland, which has already caught fire. The explosion is so big, that Miho can see the shockwave clearly for a few seconds, before it disappears, only a gentle breeze reaching her, along with the sound of the two explosions. Who would build an oil refinery in the middle of a forest?! Miho wonders incredulously in her mind, scanning her immediate environment.
"Did you see that, Miporin?!" she hears Saori shouting in an alarmed voice through the intercom. Miho doesn't respond as her eyes keep scanning the rest of the landscape and find a really roughed up village at the foot of the hill.
"Mako, start descending the road as fast as you can, there is a village at the foot of the hill and it seems to be in trouble!" Miho orders as she ducks inside the tank, and Mako starts following the dirt road. As they reach the village, Miho orders the tank to stop. Looking through the cupola's vision ports, Miho notices that there are only damaged buildings. Some are riddled with bullet holes, other miss entire walls or have collapsed and other seem to be burning.
"What happened here," Saori asks with wide eyes, unable to take in what she is seeing.
"It's like we found ourselves in a warzone," Yukari whispers.
"Something really bad happened here," Hana says slowly, looking at the damages the buildings have.
"Mako, advance slowly. Yukari, get an HE shell ready. Hana, Saori, if you see anything hostile, fire warning shots," Miho orders and the tank starts advancing slowly.
"Wait, we could seriously injure someone if we misfire, or even kill them!" Saori says loudly. Even Hana seems uneasy with the idea of firing the machine gun and the cannon near a human, even if it is for warning purposes. "Wouldn't they get scared just by seeing a tank coming their way?!"
"Whoever raided this village, Saori, isn't going to be one person," Miho explains. "So I doubt they might get scared by a WW2 era tank. They might even try to capture it. Consider this. Would you get approach a dog that keeps barking and showing its teeth, or a dog that just sits on the ground and does nothing?" An eerie silence permeates in the air of the cabin, only the sound of clacking treads and the engine working filling it. As the tank slowly moves between the buildings, the ground starts showing blood stains and even blood pools on it. Noticing that, the girls audibly gulp. Miho scans her surroundings for any signs of life, but finds none.
"Miho, in front of us," Mako says with a slightly trembling voice, and when she looks forward, her heart sinks in her stomach. A woman, who seems to be holding an unconscious girl and a sheathed sword in her hug, appears, slowly limping towards the tank. Her clothes are ripped and bloody and her body has a lot of scratches and bruises. Her bright blonde hair seem to have dirt all over them and be bloody in some areas. The girl she is carrying has long black hair and seems to be a lot better, as her clothes seem fine and her body has only a few scratches at her arms and legs. The sword seems to be a katana with a simple wooden hilt with a red piece of cloth tied around it, sheathed in a black scabbard. Mako slowly approaches the woman, who stops walking, and stops a few meters away from her.
"Yukari, come with me, now!" Miho says quickly and exits the tank, jumping down on the ground and quickly running to the woman, who upon seeing Miho and Yukari approaching her, crumbles to the ground, exposing her bloody and bullet-riddled back. Both Miho and Yukari gasp at the woman's serious injuries, quickly kneeling in front of her. "Yukari, take the girl inside the tank and have her sit with Saori. Also when you come back, bring some gauze and disinfectant, we need to treat her wounds," Miho says with a shaky voice, her hands slightly trembling. She knows that the woman will probably perish, but she holds onto the hope that she can somehow survive her wounds. As Yukari lifts the unconscious girl and quickly moves her to the tank, Miho looks at the woman. "Don't worry, you will be fine," Miho says, even if she knows that things won't go as she hopes, her eyes tearing up a little. The woman looks at her and grabs her right hand, startling Miho a little at her sudden movement. Miho looks at her emerald green eyes, who seem to be slowly getting drained of the life they hold and gulps.
"Please..." the woman croaks, using sheer willpower and her last scraps of strength she has to talk. "Take Yuki...and the...sword with...you." Her grip on Miho's hand starts faltering and her right hand drops on the ground, as her head does too, her eyes becoming unfocused and dull. "Please...I beg you..." she says, before letting her final breath escape her lips. Miho covers her mouth with her left hand, tears rolling across her cheeks.
"Miss Nishizumi!" Yukari shouts as she runs over to Miho. "I've brought the..." she trails off as she sees the woman. "Oh no," she whispers, as tears start forming in her eyes. Even the girls inside the tank start tearing up, with Saori audibly crying.
"Hey, who are you?!" they hear a voice yelling and looking further down on the road, they find two men with assault rifles running to their direction. Seeing this, Miho grabs the sheathed katana and stands up like a spring, grabbing Yukari by the right hand and almost dragging her to the tank.
"Yukari, get inside now!" Miho yells, as a flurry of bullets passes by them, striking the tank and bouncing off the armor. The turret starts rotating and the cannon gets aimed at one of the buildings next to the two hostiles. After a second, a cannon report is heard and the building next to the enemies explodes in pieces, as the HE shell crashes in the wall and detonates. The men fall to the ground to avoid getting hit by the flying debris, before scurrying in the direction they came from. Entering the tank and closing her hatch, Miho takes a moment to catch her breath and calm down, before speaking. "Mako, get us back on the road where the gas station was now, I doubt these guys are alone here!" she says with a panting voice and Mako rotates the tank on the spot and starts heading back from the road they came, while Miho sets the katana next to her seat.
"Thanks for covering us, Hana," Miho says gratefully to her friend.
"It was no problem at all, Miho," Hana answers back with a smile. It seems the shock of getting attacked has somewhat calmed the girls, since they have stopped crying tears.
"How is the girl, Saori?" Miho asks.
"Sh-She is still unconscious," Saori stutters, still affected by the woman's death. "But she seems to be stirring a lot, s-so she will probably wake up soon." Silence fills the cabin, as the tank slowly ascends the hill, the girls not really in the mood to say anything after seeing a woman dying in front of them and getting attacked by unknown men. Saori looks at the unconscious girl with a sad expression, sniffling from time to time, Mako is driving the tank, Hana keeps peering through the gunner's sight, in case anything or anyone else decides to attack them, Yukari just seems to be looking in no particular direction and Miho scans their surroundings through the cupola. By now the sky has been completely covered by dark clouds, an eerie silence filling the air. It's almost like the calm before a storm.
"I don't like it," Miho whispers, getting really unnerved for some reason. "It is too quiet." The tank reaches the top of the hill and starts descending it, following the dirt road back to the normal one. The black-haired girl that sits with Saori groans a little, opening her eyes slowly. Seeing this, Saori turns to Miho.
"Miporin, the girl is waking up!" Saori says urgently and everyone turns to look at the waking girl. Even Mako looks at her momentarily, before turning to look forward. Opening her eyes, the girl looks all around her, slowly at first, then faster and faster as she realizes that she is in an unknown place, with unknown people.
"Wh-Who are you?" she reluctantly asks, her face betraying a scared expression. "A-And where am I?"
"My name is Nishizumi Miho," Miho replies immediately with a warm smile, in order to calm down the girl a little. "These are my friends, Takebe Saori, Reizei Mako, Isuzu Hana and Akiyama Yukari," Miho introduces her friends and they greet the girl. "What's your name?"
"M-My name is..." she pauses for a little bit, pondering if she should tell them her true name or not. The girls don't seem dangerous to her, they actually took the time to introduce themselves, so she decides to tell them the truth. "My name is Konoka Yuki. I'm 14," she says, but then wonders why she even told them her age. "Where am I?" she asks again looking all around her one more time.
"You are inside a tank," Miho answers and the girl looks at Miho with a confused expression, before gasping in surprise.
"You are from Senshadou?!" the girl says cheerfully. "I have heard so many things about it from my grandpa, he even promised me he'd let me go watch a match if I was a good girl," she says and then sheepishly smiles at the others. "That is, if they were any matches happening anymore, ehehehe...THE VILLAGE!" she suddenly yells on top of her lungs and Saori is forced to cover her ears. "The village, we were attacked by some men with guns. M-My mother took me by the hand and...and we started running, but something heavy hit me in the head and everything blacked out," she pauses for a second, an expression of fear and terror forming on her face." Wh-Where is my mother?" she asks in a barely audible voice and the smiles from all the girls instantly vanish. As the tank reaches the main road, Mako stops the tank, waiting for further orders from Miho.
"Your mother..." Miho starts saying slowly, thinking it is better if she tells Yuki her mother's fate, than any of the other girls. As her team's commander, it is the least she can do. "When we entered your village, your mother approached us while carrying you and a sword. Shortly after she collapsed on the ground, so we tried to help her, but..." she pauses a little, taking a deep breath. "she had several gunshot wounds on her back. She died from blood loss, most likely," Miho says and the effects on Yuki are instantaneous.
"N-No, m-m-mom is..." she whispers, tears starting to run across her face. Lightnings start falling on the background and thunder fills the air. "This can't be true! My mother can't be dead!" she cries out in desperation, flailing in Saori's tight hug, who fears Yuki might try to exit the tank and run back to the village, which would be a correct assumption. "Let me go, I need to go back to the village!"
"No!" Saori cries out too, her eyes already shedding tears. "You will die if you go back!" she says at the struggling girl. Suddenly, an explosion is heard from behind the tank, and the tank starts rocking back and forth for a few seconds. The girls cry out in surprise and Miho stands up, partially exiting through the cupola and looking at the back of the tank. From the dirt road they had been driving for the past few minutes, a total of six pickup trucks are driving towards them, their beds full with either people, or a welded HMG. Her eyes widening as much as it is humanly possible, she dives back at the tank and screams through the intercom. "Mako, get us the hell out of here!"
Mako, not questioning her friend's order, rotates the tank left and starts driving as fast as she can, though trying to outrun civilian trucks with a tank is easier said than done. Heavy thuds start pummeling the tank's armor, as the HMGs open fire, but only managing to scratch the paint and dent the spaced armor a little. A few lucky shots hit the fuel cans that are tied at the turret's Schürzen plates, with diesel leaking out of the bullet holes and down the road.
"What is going on, Miss Nishizumi?!" Yukari asks in alarm, as an RPG warhead lands on the road next to the tank, showering it with chunks of broken asphalt.
"We are being pursued by hostile vehicles, probably the same men that attacked Yuki's village!" she says quickly, and another RPG warhead streaks by, missing the cupola by mere centimeters. "Hana, rotate the turret backwards and use the coaxial to scare them. Yukari, be ready to load an HE shell," she commands and both Hana and Yukari do as they told.
"Miporin, what are you doing?!" Saori asks in concern. Yuki is just cowering, hugging Saori tightly, her whole body trembling in fear.
"We need to scare them off, or they will catch up with us! Worst case, they'll get a lucky hit with the RPGs!" The coaxial starts rattling, Hana directing its fire in front of the trucks, careful not to hit them. Although the trucks swerve away from the machine-gun fire, they keep pursuing the Panzer IV, so Miho changes tactics. "Hana, fire a shell, but DO NOT hit them!" she orders and Hana aims the cannon in the space between the trucks. A second later the cannon breach kicks back and an HE shell exits the barrel, passing really close from two of the trucks and harmlessly detonating in the distance. Four of the trucks break hard and swerve violently left and right, but the remaining two keep moving forwards unfazed, slowly reaching the tank. To make matters worse, both of them have a man with an RPG each, meaning that if they come into a certain range, Miho and the others are as good as dead. Before she can utter any orders though, she spots one of the trucks moving next to them and a man aiming an RPG at them. "Maho, stop the tank!" she yells and Mako brakes the tank as hard as she can, the treads grinding and sparking in the asphalt for a few seconds, before completely stopping. The truck continues forward and the man fires the RPG, missing the target and hitting the dirt next to the road, a small explosion throwing dirt everywhere. The truck then drifts to a stop about 7 meters in front of them, and the man with the RPG launcher reloads a new warhead, then aims it at them.
"Miho, behind us!" Hana says, and looking back, Miho finds the second truck stopped, another man aiming an RPG launcher at them. As more adrenaline keeps pumping in everyone's blood stream, Miho finds time slowing down, her senses becoming sharper, her reflexes faster. Her mind starts blurring, instinct taking over and discarding any logical thoughts she might have. The thing with the humans is that, should they get cornered and their lives threatened, they'll do anything to survive, thanks to the instinct of survival. And that's exactly what happens with Miho and the others. As she looks at the gray colored truck, she finds herself uttering something, something she normally wouldn't dare to say...something she will regret for the rest of her life, probably. As time returns to normal, she hears the gun breach kicking back and a split second later the gray truck transforms into an unrecognizable mass of twisted, burning metal, its occupants nowhere to be seen. Widening her eyes in response, she covers her mouth with both hands, as she realizes what she has done. Hana quietly removes her shaky hands away from the gun controls and covers her face with them, tears rolling from her eyes. "H-Hana...I-I'm..." Miho tries to say how really sorry she is for what she has done, but she finds herself unable to utter a single sound.
"Wh-What have I done," Hana whispers in a barely audible voice, completely ignoring Miho. "M-My mother...w-would be ashamed of me."
A powerful explosion shakes violently the whole tank and Mako shouts in alarm. "Miho, we lost the right driving wheel!" Miho looks forwards and finds the other man with the RPG, trying to load another warhead on it as fast as he can.
"Saori, fire the machine-gun now!" Miho yells, crying and sniffling audibly.
"B-But..." Saori stuters, still shocked with what happened moments before.
"Saori, fire the machine-gun now, or we all die!" Miho manages to say, the words almost getting stuck to her throat. Saori wants to argues, but being ordered by her commander and with what has happened till now, any logical thought processing has gone out of the window, so she grabs the bow machine-gun and closes her eyes. "I want to go back home!" she screams and pressing the trigger, she blindly fires at the truck, which quickly gets riddled with bullet holes, along with its occupants, their blood splattering everywhere. After firing for 3 seconds, she lets her hands drop limply to her sides, crying audibly, with Yuki still holding her tight. Miho just feels horrible, the urge to vomit being really strong. She had to order two of her friends to kill humans, when she had no right to do that whatsoever. What would her sister say if she saw her now? What would her mother say? Would they hate her, be disgusted by her? As she starts falling into her own little hole of despair, with Yukari and Mako helplessly looking at the others, not able to do anything, all the girls hear braking sounds and then a male voice shouting.
"Get out of the tank, or we will shoot on sight!"
With the tank being immobilized, and probably surrounded, the girls don't stand a chance. They feel utterly crushed mentally, with what they have done, so they quietly obey and exit the tank, lining in front of its right side. The tank is surrounded by four white pick-up trucks, their beds having welded HMGs on them, which no one is manning right now. The tank's armor and Schürzen plates have various degrees of dents, with the plates on the right front of the hull, being really twisted from the RPG warhead that hit the right driving wheel. Lots of metal shrapnel lie on the ground, some small, other bigger. In front of the girls stand five men, dressed in casual clothes and holding various weapons, like assault rifles and pistols.
"How many did we lose?" a well-built man, presumably their leader, asks one of the other men.
"4 people and 2 trucks," he says in a low voice, as to not be heard by the girls, who look at the men uneasily, wondering what will happen to them.
"My God, and it must have been the first time they killed anyone, judging by their expressions and reactions," the well-built man says. "They could become quite deadly in the future."
"If we can make them to join us, they could be very useful when raiding more secure places," the man says to his leader.
"Boss, the tank is stuffed with supplies!" another man says, standing at the engine bay and checking the metal boxes welded at the back of the turret's spaced armor.
"OK, take 1 more guy with you and start transferring the supplies," he answers back, before turning to face the man that he was talking first. "No, this is too risky. Do you see the girl with the bright green eyes and black hair?" he says and points at Yuki, who has an expression that is a mix of fear and hatred, glaring at the bandits with a lot of killing intent. "She is from the village we raided. We cannot take her with us."
"Then why don't we kill her and take the other girls?"
"Because if we kill her, the other girls obviously won't come with us willingly, idiot!" he scowls at his subordinate's lack of thinking. "Anyway, you two," he says at the guys that stand by idly, waiting for orders. "Kill the girls," he says in an emotionless tone. "And make it fast, we don't have a lot of time." He turns to face the girls, who look at him wide-eyed, their bodies shaking with fear. "Consider this a merciful death. If I was to take you back to camp, even as new recruits, worse things could happen."
"I'm gonna kill you!" Yuki suddenly screams and runs towards the well-built man, trying to punch him. The man catches Yuki's fist with his left hand and grabs her by the throat with his right, lifting her in his eye level. Yuki tries to free herself from the man's grip, but her strength is nowhere near enough to achieve this.
"Leave her alone!" Saori shouts and would have probably run to her aid, if it weren't for the two men that aim at the girls with their weapons.
Ignoring Saori's shout, he turns to look at Yuki. More lightnings start hitting the ground, thunder resounding louder and louder in the air. Rain starts falling, lightly at first, getting heavier as time passes. "A miracle would need to happen for you to kill me in your current predicament."
Yuki just spits on his face, which the man doesn't take kindly." It's your funeral," he says as he retrieves his pistol from a holster tied in his left thigh. The men that are aiming their guns on the girls get ready to fire too, though the girls don't flinch or cower away. Their bodies stop trembling and their faces become neutral. They just keep staring at the bandits, like they have already accepted their fate, something the bandits find slightly unnerving.
Is that it? Miho thinks sadly, as she prepares herself for the inevitable ending that is approaching her. Is this how things end? With me and my friends getting killed by bandits? She looks at the distance, observing the lightnings that fall in the background, the rain pouring heavily down on earth. Despite the bad weather, she finds its chaotic nature charming, calming, serene. She starts feeling a weird emotion bubbling inside her, something like anger, but more...dangerous. I refuse to accept this, she says in her mind, clenching her hands to fists. Did we survive all the chaos, just to die in the middle of nowhere? Her expression changes from a neutral one, to one of anger. Did I ordered my friends to taint their hands with human blood, and the sacrifice they made will go to waste?! She shouts in her mind. The man places the gun on Yuki's head, who flails her body as much as she can in a desperate attempt to free herself. I can't accept this! She roars mentally, clenching her fists as hard as she can, adrenaline entering her blood stream once more. The emotion she feels bubbling inside her becomes stronger and stronger, threatening to take control of her reasoning. "I won't accept this!" she roars on top of her lungs, and everyone turns to look at her. Moments later, the report of a sniper rifle echoes in the air, barely getting drowned by the roaring thunder. The man that was on top of the tank, moving its supplies, falls to the ground, a single bullet hole at the side of his head.
"Sniper!" one of the bandits yells and the two bandits that are aiming their guns at the girls fall to the ground, one shot killing them both. As the rest of the girls hit the ground, covering their heads with their arms, Miho has only one thought occupying her mind: Save Yuki. So, stooping down for only a moment, she grabs a sizable metal piece of shrapnel and sprints towards the well-built man. Seeing her, the man lets Yuki fall to the ground and aims his pistol at Miho, but hesitates to fire for a moment. Her eyes are cold, calculating, emotionless. It's as if she is hunting her prey, ready to strike. Her eyes change color from light brown to red for just a fraction of a second and seeing this, the man fires his pistol and the bullet hits her right forearm, cleanly passing through it and somehow missing the bone. Miho flinches in response, but doesn't stop sprinting, only tightening her grip on the shrapnel piece, causing her hand to bleed lightly. Reaching the man, before he can fire a second bullet, she thrusts the shrapnel on his throat, piercing all the way to his spine. The man lets his pistol slip out of his hand, falling to the ground and making gurgling noises, before stopping his movements altogether. Miho can feel her wound on her hand starting to burn like fire, her head becoming dizzy and her vision blurry. Falling to the ground, her eyelids start closing, becoming exponentially difficult to even think. She can hear a lot of different voices and shouts jumbling together, but she can't understand what they are saying. The last thing she hears is a request for MEDIVAC and someone yelling her name.
"We were extremely lucky. One of Blackout's teams was returning to base after a mission, when they stumbled upon us and saved us. After that, we got transferred at one of Blackout's bases, before being transfered to the main one," she finishes her story and just in time too, as the pilot says through the intercom that they are landing in 30 seconds.
"Wow..Katyusha is in awe of you and your comrades," Katyusha says in awe, amazed by Miho's story, having new-found respect for all the girls of the Anglerfish team. On the other hand, Maho can feel her stomach churning, feeling really sad for what her younger sister had to go through, just to survive, and angry with herself for not being there to support her when she needed it the most. It feels like her heart has broken a little after what she has heard. Though one question lingers on her mind. Why did Miho stay in Blackout? Why did she become a mercenary? Before she can ask her, the pilot speaks through the intercom.
"We have arrived at the forward HQ," he says, as the helicopter touches down and shakes gently for a moment.
"Guess that's our stop," Miho says, before walking towards the cabin's door and sliding it open.
A/N: Finally rewrote the chapter and it is a lot bigger than the original. Anyway, 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!