The Ether Conflict
Chapter 8: Preparations
Sliding the cabin's door open, Miho steps out of the helicopter, followed closely by her team, Maho, Nonna and Katyusha, who is now on top of Nonna's shoulders.
"I wish the seats were a bit more comfortable," Saori groans as she stretches her legs a little, feeling a little sore.
"It is a military helicopter, after all. Luxury isn't top priority for the designers," Mako says, having woken up from the landing's shaking.
"So, this is from where we will be attacking?" Katyusha asks as she gazes at the base that had been set up to function as Blackout's forward HQ for the final phase of Operation Downfall.
Looking at the base, which is set up about 100 meters away from the girls, Miho can clearly see a lot of tents and an open space that is full of tanks, some of which are really familiar to her. "Yes. If I remember correctly, we must be about 10 to 15 kilometers away from the enemy's stronghold," Miho answers Katyusha's question. "Are you sure you want to participate?" Miho asks suddenly, which greatly surprises Katyusha, Nonna and Maho, albeit only Pravda's commander shows it.
"Of course! These wretches dared to make Pravda their enemy, so they will be crushed by our might, like insects under a boot!" Katyusha angrily says, raising her left hand and shaking it a little.
"We were asked to participate because Blackout can't allocate enough units to storm both potential targets. It would be bad if their leaders were allowed to escape and rebuild their organization again," Maho says with a stoic expression. "Also, anyone who is participating today, is here of their own volition." Maho adds.
"Just making sure," Miho says, sighing internally. She would like if the girls wouldn't participate in this battle, but she can't force them to do so. They chose this, but then again...
"I told you, no means no!" she hears a voice yelling and everyone turns to look at some approaching figures.
"I couldn't care less about your opinion, Elpida," a blonde girl says at a taller blonde girl, with a red-haired girl standing between them.
"What's going on?" Saori asks two boys that seem to be walking a bit faster than the others, reaching Miho and her friends first.
"You know, Odysseus and Assam are fighting...again," Tyler says, having a grumpy expression.
"They have been yelling at each other the whole flight," Reiji adds. "Well, Odysseus has been yelling, Assam hasn't raised her voice that much," he corrects himself.
"What for?" Miho inquires, her curiosity growing slightly.
"Assam said that Annabelle would be safer in the Churchill, since it is a heavy tank, so she should be its driver for the duration of this mission," Tyler answers, before adding. "Assam also said that Odysseus is a really reckless individual, so leaving Annabelle with her would be improper of her."
"Which caused our commander to go ballistic," Reiji sighs, slowly shaking his head.
"Both of you, stop arguing this instant!" Annabelle shouts and both Assam and Odysseus fall silent. "I'm sorry Assam, but I'll have to decline your offer. Also, I don't know how to drive the Churchill, which is a potential hazard for the whole crew." Odysseus is about to say something at Assam, but she receives a death glare from Annabelle, shutting her up for good. "I'm sorry for this, girls," Annabelle apologizes to the others with a smile, having finally reached them. "How was your flight? I hope it was less noisy than ours," she briefly glares at Assam and Odysseus, with Assam looking away in embarrassment for her unsightly behavior and Odysseus just looking away with a pout, crossing her arms under her chest.
"It was fine," Hana smiles.
"Katyusha was recounting grand tales of Pravda's might against those who dared to oppose us!" Katyusha says in a suprrior tone.
"Hey, shrimp, you still haven't thanked us for saving you!" Odysseus says with an irritated expression, though she probably wants to do something other than just standing around doing nothing, like creating trouble.
"How dare you speak like that to the Mighty Katyusha?!" Katyusha angrily shouts, pointing a finger at Odysseus. "You should feel honored to have saved me. In fact, YOU should be thanking me for allowing you to save me," she says in an arrogant voice.
"Technically, we saved you," Reiji says, but he gets ignored.
"Wow, such ego, much arrogance," Tyler whispers to Reiji and they both start snickering.
"Odysseus, that's enough," Annabelle glares at her friend and commander, but when Odysseus is bored, she'll raise hell to find something entertaining to do.
"Oh mighty empress, Katyusha the Great, I am honored to have been graced with the opportunity to save you," Odysseus says in a mocking tone full of sarcasm, going as far as to perform a curtsy, which has the desired effect of infuriating Katyusha.
"I will not tolerate your childish act, anymore!" Katyusha says in a...childish manner. "I'll have you bow before me and ask for forgiveness! Nonna, make her bow!" Katyusha orders Nonna, and Nonna puts Katyusha down on the ground, before taking an intimidating step towards Odysseus.
"Whatever, I think it's time for my morning run!" she waves excitedly to the girls as she slowly walks away from her group.
"But you never do morning runs," Reiji says with a slight amusement, while Tyler tries to stifle his chuckling, both knowing well enough what is about to happen.
"Then it is the perfect time to start! Au revoir, everyone!" she waves as she starts running, with Nonna following (more like hunting) closely behind her.
"Run Forest, run!" Tyler shouts at the fleeing figure of his commander, and both he and Reiji burst out in laughter.
Everyone has a dumbfounded expression on their faces, trying to understand what just happened. "That idiot!" Annabelle groans. "Can't she stand in one place without doing anything stupid for more than a second?" she groans, before turning to face the girls. "I'm really sorry for my commander's behavior," Annabelle apologizes.
"This is exactly why I can't let you be with her, Lady Annabelle," Assam says.
"Not now, Assam," she responds to Assam. "Reiji, Tyler, come with me. We need to make sure our commander won't do anything even stupider," she sighs, before walking towards the direction Odysseus run off.
"Aye-Aye, Captain," Tyler says jokingly, before waving goodbye at the girls and following Annabelle.
"Have a nice day, everyone," Reiji says, before he, too, follows Annabelle.
"I can't believe how this girl made it in St. Gloriana. Maybe Anchovy was right and Elpida did manage to forge her admittance papers," she mutters to herself.
"Wait, this girl is a student from St. Gloriana?" Katyusha gawks at Assam and even Maho looks at her in surprise, though barely showing it on her face. "Aren't your school supposed to be all about prestige and elegance and be...ladylike and stuff like that?" Katyusha asks Assam. "Because this girl, who is supposed to be a commander, definitely wouldn't get accepted in your school."
"Is that true?" Maho whispers at Miho, who silently nods, listening to the conversation between Katyusha and Assam.
"Excuse me?" a female voice calls to the group, and everyone turns around to find a woman with light brown eyes and hair, wearing a black uniform and holding a clipboard. "I'm looking for some students from the carriers that should have arrived with the Anglerfish and Antelope team," she says with a polite smile.
"Is there something that needs our attention?" Maho asks the woman.
"I was sent to escort you to the command center," he says at Maho, then turns and looks at Miho. "Miss Nishizumi Miho, you and your team will need first of all to go to the supply depot to receive some new equipment; a person from the logistics department will escort you there," she informs Miho and her friends. "After that, you are to report to the command center for the briefing." Looking around the group a little, the woman develops a confused expression. "Where is the commander of the Antelope team? I am supposed to escort her too."
"Don't worry about her, I am sure she will be there... One way or another," Assam says and everyone stays silent for a second.
"R-Right," the woman responds. "Then, if you would follow me please," the woman says.
"I'll see you later, Miho," Maho tells her sister, before following the others. Now, only the Anglerfish team remains in the space that is used as a helipad, the helicopter pilots long gone from their vehicles.
"I wonder what new equipment they will give us!" Yukari says excitedly, bouncing up and down. "Maybe it will be new guns? No, maybe a cool upgrade to our tank, or even a new tank!"
"Yukari, please calm down," Miho says at her friend, so Yukari stops bouncing...at least for now.
"I, too, wonder what new equipment they want to allocate us," Hana admits. "It might be something Blackout recently made."
"I hope it is something that will make Mako forget her fear of heights," Saori says and Mako immediately responds.
"What you seek already exists, and it is called sleep," Mako responds with her usual sleepy voice. "So you should let me sleep more, preferably in the mornings."
"Not happening," Saori immediately shuts down Mako's clever suggestion.
"Miho!" a voice suddenly yells and Miho can feel something hitting her from behind, two arms wrapping around her waist. The force of the hit threatens to throw her down on the ground, but Miho is barely able to remain standing. Looking back, she spots a 16 years old girl with long black hair, who is slightly shorter than her, hugging her from behind, her bright green eyes looking at her own light brown with excitement.
"How have you been, Yuki?" Miho smiles at the young girl, slightly patting her head.
"I missed you so much! I haven't seen you in a month!" Yuki says in excitement, hugging Miho tighter. "Where have you been? I wanted to see you!"
"Sorry Yuki, but we were very busy," Miho apologizes.
"It's okay, I understand," Yuki responds, releasing Miho from her hug.
"Hey, don't we get a hug, too?" Saori complains, pouting a little at Yuki, so the girl goes and hugs her.
"Sorry, Saori," she says and then grins a little, "or should I say, Mom?"
"Yuki! I-I told you not to call me that!" Saori stutters, her cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment.
"Why? You were the one who took care of me the first few months, taught me how to cook, clean and other things," she answers back in a sincere tone, looking at Saori with puppy eyes. "Can't I call you Mom? Please?"
"B-But..." Saori stutters a little as she finds herself conflicted between denying or granting Yuki's request, but Yuki's gaze slowly but steadily tips the balance in her favor. "Fine, Fine, you can call me Mom," Saori relents under Yuki's puppy eyes. "I'm really going to regret this," she mutters to herself, but smiles anyways.
"Thanks Mom!" Yuki says, causing Saori's cheeks to turn red in embarrassment again. Releasing Saori, she goes and hugs Mako.
"How have you been, kiddo?" Mako asks with a smile, ruffling Yuki's hair a little.
"Hey, stop it!" Yuki playfully laughs, as she tries to stop Mako's hands from further messing her hair. After fixing them, she goes and hugs Hana.
"You won't believe what I found a couple days ago in the forest near the base!" she says excitedly at Hana, who smiles at her.
"What did you find?" Hana asks.
"I found a clearing that was full of Lunar Tears!" she almost shouts from her excitement, and even Hana's eyes seem to be lighting up a little.
"That's wonderful!" she says in a delighted tone. "Lunar Tears are really rare."
"I know, right? Can we go at night to see them glow?!" she asks with hopeful eyes.
"Sure, it would be really nice," Hana responds and Yuki starts bouncing up and down like Yukari was doing a few minutes ago.
"Thank you very much!" Yuki says joyfully.
"Hey Yuki, how have the exercises been going?" Yukari asks the girl with a grin and Yuki turns her head to face her, having a grin of her own.
"Very good. I can easily lift 10 kilograms with each hand," she grins back.
"Impressive," Yukari answers back, "but you will need to do a lot better, if you want to surpass me."
"It shouldn't take too much time," she says, releasing Hana from her hug and facing Yukari with her whole body. "Miho will be mine in the end," she declares.
"We'll see about that," Yukari responds. Both girls grin at each other, sparks flying out of their eyes and colliding mid-air.
"You know...I'm here too," Miho says at both girls with an awkward smile. "Anyway, did they send you to escort us on the supply depot?" she asks Yuki.
"Ah, yes!" she exclaims, remembering why she came here in the first place. "Follow me!" she says, as she starts leading the girls to the supply depot.
As they slowly make their way towards the supply depot, which is at the edge of the base, near their position, Yuki turns to face the girls, starting to walk backwards. "I have a surprise for you!" she says with anticipation, barely able to contain her excitement at what she is about to tell the girls.
"A surprise?" Saori asks, and everyone looks at Yuki with curiosity. Yuki eagerly nods her head.
"Yes! I think you will really like it!" she answers back.
"What is it, then?" Miho smiles at the black haired girl.
"I passed the test that is needed to receive infantry training!" she says cheerfully to the girls, bouncing up and down a little. "I begin next week! If everything goes well I should be able to transfer departments and..." she trails off as she sees the faces the girls have.
None of them shares her enthusiasm. Instead, they all have faces full of concern and worry.
"Did...did I say something bad?" she asks slowly, her voice filled with fear, seeing the gloomy expressions the girls have.
"No, no, you didn't say anything bad," Miho quickly reassures her with a smile. "It's just that..."
"We are really happy you passed the test and can receive infantry training, but you shouldn't change departments," Hana says in a calm voice, her eyes etched with sadness.
"But why?" Yuki asks loudly, stopping dead on her tracks. The girls too stop walking, standing a few meters away from her. "If I changed departments and then worked as a soldier, then I could-"
"But it is dangerous!" Saori almost shouts at Yuki. Since they are close in the base, a few people start looking at their direction with interest, though they only spare one or two seconds, before continuing with their jobs. "Being on the battlefield isn't an easy thing! What if you get injured, or worse!?" Tears start forming on Saori's eyes, her mind already wandering into possibilities that are best left untouched. "You wouldn't be the only one affected by it!"
"But-"
"She is right, you know," Miho says slowly. "Your actions don't affect only yourself, but also those around you. How do you think your friends would react if they learned you got injured, or that you died? How do you think WE would react?" Yuki just stares at Miho. She never gave it any thought, really. Her mind starts wondering what if she got injured, if she died? How the others would react. She starts feeling butterflies in her stomach, the answers her brain gives her back making her shiver unconsciously. "And let me ask you another question," Miho says with a very serious and severe expression, one that almost resembles her mother's. "Are you prepared to kill? To end lives? To stain your hands with other people's blood?"
Yuki can feel her blood freezing, her body trembling slightly from the pressure she feels. "I-I..." she stutters, her mind trying to find an answer to Miho's question. If in her weapon's sight was an enemy, would she pull the trigger? Killing to protect something or someone is one thing, but...killing because it is your job to kill is a lot different...and a lot more difficult for a person to justify that action. "I am," she answers hesitantly, not being entirely sure herself.
"Yuki! You should never kill someone!" Saori shouts at the young girl, who takes a step back. "Killing is bad!"
"Then why are you killing people, huh!?" Yuki shouts back like a rebellious teenager, and Saori just stares at her. "Hell, even now, you are preparing to go and kill people! If it is so bad, why are you still doing it!?"
"Because we don't have a choice," Mako bluntly answers, looking Yuki directly in the eyes. Any sleepiness she might have been showing before, is now gone, her expression full of seriousness. "When we joined Blackout, they gave us two options; either this, or leave the base. You on the other hand, you had a choice to avoid it."
"But the reason I want to change departments is because I want to protect Blackout!" she snaps back at the girls. "I want to be able to defend my home, not cower behind a desk, praying a stray bullet or shell won't hit me!" Lowering her head, her hair cover her eyes a little. "I lost my home once...I don't want to lose it again," she whispers to herself.
"Yuki," Miho says softly, walking in front of her and placing her hands on her shoulders. "We don't have a problem with you taking the training. We just..."
"Are afraid of you changing to the Infantry department," Yukari says with surprising maturity. "Not only because you might get hurt, or die...but because it could really scar you mentally. Killing someone...isn't as easy as you think. Do you remember how we all met you?" she asks and Yuki raises her head to look at her, nodding reluctantly. "Do you think the girls have forgotten what they had to do back then? Even if it was to protect us, to keep us alive...it hurt them. It still hurts them. Even I and Mako were scarred by it, because we couldn't do anything at that time." Yuki wants to say something, but the sadden looks the girls have developed, make her words get stuck in her throat. "Every time we have to pull a trigger, unpleasant memories resurface. ALWAYS."
"I don't care!" she yells and pushes Miho's hands away from her body. She feels awful for doing this, but she also feels angry and frustrated. "I will do whatever I want!" she yells even louder and runs away from the girls, towards the base.
"Yuki, wait!" Saori shouts and starts running behind her, but as she passes next to Miho, Miho grabs her right forearm to stop her.
"Let her be, Saori," Miho slowly shakes her head to indicate at her friend not to run after Yuki. "Give her some time to calm down and think for herself. She is a teenager after all, so it's only reasonable she would act first, rather than think," Miho smiles warmly to Saori, who seems to have calmed down somewhat from her friend's words and warm smile.
"Y-You are right...Sorry," Saori apologizes with a saddened expression.
"There is no need to apologize; you did nothing wrong," she says with an understanding tone, before turning to the rest of the girls. "Come on, we need to find the supply depot." And with that, the girls continue walking towards the base, in search of the supply depot, though the air around them is...not that cheerful, to say the least.
In a quiet and remote part of the base, behind some crates stacked upon each other, sits a young girl with black hair, gazing the ground between her legs with her bright green eyes. She just sits there, looking at the ground, lost in thought. Why did she yelled at them? Why did she felt so angry suddenly?
Maybe she overreacted...scratch that, she did overreact. The girls were just worried about her. They didn't mean anything bad. They are older, so they know how the world works a lot better.
Yet...she didn't want to accept that, she still doesn't want to. But now that she has cooled down a bit and thought about what the girls told her...they are absolutely right. She never had thought about the consequences of her actions, what they could mean in the bigger picture, who they could affect and how much. But now that she had time to think to herself...
The sadness she could create if she got injured or died, the grief and sorrow her friends would feel...the tears Miho would shed... It makes her sick to her stomach. It makes her feel angry, infuriated with herself. How could she be so stupid, how could she disregard the feelings of the others!
"I just want to be able to protect my new home... I don't want to lose it," she whispers, a few tears forming on her eyes. "I want to protect my friends. I want to protect the girls, like they protected me," she says and grits her teeth in frustration.
When her village had been attacked, she felt so powerless against the bandits. She had lost everyone so quickly... She wanted to tell her parents so many things, her parents wanted to tell her many things too...but the last things she ever heard from them was to run for her life, before everything blacked out. She didn't even get to see her parents' bodies, which probably became food for the wolves, if they didn't rot out in the open first. Why does she have to be powerless every time? Why isn't she allowed to protect what she holds dear in her heart?!
Feeling a warmth in the back of her right hand, she raises her right arm, and looks at the back of it. On it, a strange symbol glows in a bright golden color. It is a circle that has three prongs intersecting it, their ends forming a pentagon at the center of the circle. "Maybe they are right," she mutters, and a smile slowly forms on her face. "But with this...I can protect everyone. My home, my friends, the girls, Miho," she stands up and the symbol, that looks more like a rune, starts glowing even brighter. "With this power, I can protect them without putting myself in danger, without being scared of any consequences."
Clenching her right hand like she is holding something, a katana with a simple wooden hilt appears, a red piece of cloth tied in it that floats in the air like it is in water. The blade, despite being jet black in color, glistens under the morning sun. "With this blade, I can achieve my desires." She looks at the blade with a sad expression, one word coming to her mind.
Mother, she thinks and as if the sword understood her, the blade pulses with black energy for a second. Releasing her grip, the weapon vanishes in thin air and Yuki starts walking towards the Logistics building, to report for any other duty she might be needed for.
After Yuki had practically run away from them, the girls went to the base and started searching for the supply depot they were supposed to be escorted. Thankfully, the depot was close by and they only spent about 5 minutes of searching, before finding it.
Approaching the supply depot, which was a huge room made out of prefabricated walls and a roof, one of the two guards, that stand in front of the door to enter the depot, raises his hand to signal the girls to stop walking. "State your name and business, please," he says in a neutral voice, eyeing the girls with a slight suspicion.
"Nishizumi Miho, leader of squad 59," she says, saluting the two guards. "Me and my squad were informed that our presence was required on the supply depot to acquire new equipment."
"We were informed that a personnel from the logistics department would escort you here," the guard says, eyeing the rest of Miho's team. "Is any of the girls that person?"
"The person tasked with escorting us here had some urgent business to attend to, so she left the moment we found the supply depot," Miho lies, not wanting for Yuki to get in trouble.
"Hey, don't these girls look familiar to you?" the second guard leans in and whispers at the first guard's ear.
Taking a better look, the first guard's eyes almost pop out of their sockets, as he realizes who the girls are. Shit, they are the Black Wolves! he cries out inside his mind. I hope I wasn't disrespectful towards them or anything, I was just doing my job!
"Is everything alright, sir?" Miho asks in concern, seeing the man is sweating profusely.
"Ah, y-yes, everything is alright! Then you are clear to enter", he says and salutes the girls, before taking a step sideways to make way for them. The girls salute back and enter the depot. After the door behind him clicks closed, the man audibly sighs, wiping some of the sweat from his forehead. "That was scary."
"What came over you all of a sudden?" the second guard asks his fellow soldier, seeing his scared expression.
"Dude, these girls were the Black Wolves!" he says incredulously at the other guard, whose body stiffens upon hearing the name. "Who knows what would have happened, if they had been offended."
"Come on man, they are girls," the second guard tries to reassure the first guard, though it is more like he tries to reassure himself nothing bad will happen. "They can't be that scary."
"Have you heard the rumors about them?" the first guard says back and a brief silence ensues.
"Point taken," the second guard curtly answers back, and both soldiers resume their guarding duty.
Entering the supply depot, the girls find themselves being surrounded by boxes, stacked on each other and creating towers of various heights. Also, the towers of boxes are placed next to each other, creating a literal maze on the fairly large building.
"This is like a maze," Saori says as she scans her surroundings, seeing only boxes upon boxes of various stuff.
"This is awesome! I wonder if all these boxes hold new equipment!" Yukari squeals and tries to run towards a random box, in order to peek inside it, but gets stopped by Miho.
"We have a job to do first, Yukari," Miho sighs as she holds Yukari by the back of her uniform, making sure she won't run anywhere. "You can look at the boxes all you want after we finish."
"I wonder if someone is supposed to meet us here," Hana wonders aloud. "Or are we supposed to find this new equipment on our own?"
"Maybe we are. Or we are supposed to be lost in this maze of boxes, damned to wander around aimlessly for eternity," Mako says and she starts trembling, though she keeps her usual sleepy expression...for a moment.
"Mako, do you feel cold?" Saori asks in concern, seeing her trembling body, and everyone turns to look at her.
"G-G-G-G-G-Ghost!" she stutters, raising a trembling hand and pointing beyond Miho, her face paling and sweating a lot.
Everyone turns around to look at the direction of where Mako is pointing, and each and every one of the girls can feel their blood freezing. In front of them stands a figure that is a little taller than Miho, wears the standard Blackout uniform along with a helmet, and judging by the body proportions, is probably a girl. What has scared the girls out of their wits, though, is the gas mask the female figure wears, its tinted glass that covers the eyes making the figure seem ominous, soulless. Combine it with the audible heavy breathing that the figure produces and the fact that the temperature seems to have fallen a degree or two, it really is like a ghost has suddenly appear.
"Are you the Black Wolves?" the figure asks, her voice sounding muffled through the mask.
*THUD*
Removing the gas mask, the girls find the face of a young woman who is no older than 24, her light black eyes gazing back at them with a confused expression. "Is your friend alright?" she asks as she points back at Mako.
Everyone looks back, only to find a petrified Mako lying on the floor, her face as white as fresh snow and her eyes looking at the ceiling, where the fluorescent light bulbs that light the depot, hang from.
"Mako, get up from the ground right now, you'll get your uniform dirty!" Saori scolds Mako, as she goes besides her to help her stand up.
"Y-Yes, she is fine. She just gets scared easily," Miho smiles at the woman in front of her. "Anyway, we were called here to receive new equipment."
"Ah, yes!" the woman says in revelation, as if the answers for the mysteries of the cosmos were suddenly in front of her. "Please, follow me!" she says and starts heading deeper in the box maze. Having no other option, the girls start following her, passing between stacks of boxes, until they come across a cleared area that seems to be located at the middle of the building. "Please wait here; I'll bring your new equipment immediately," the woman says and suddenly disappears behind some stacks of boxes.
"And thus, the maze claimed another lost soul, her body never to be seen again," Mako jokes, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"I wonder what they will give us," Yukari exclaims in anticipation, starting to tremble a little from excitement. "Maybe it will be a new gun, or a super cool uniform that let us cloak!"
"I think...that's at least 70 years in the future," Miho smiles awkwardly at her friend.
"It might be equipment for the tank?" Hana suggests. "Though it would have been sent at the engineers in the Motor Pool most likely, if that was the case."
"Whatever the case, I bet we are the Guinea pigs, testing a prototype one of the mad scientists that inhabit Blackout's R&D department made," Mako says with a seriously sleepy expression.
"Why are you so distraught of anything new?" Saori asks Mako.
"It's called being cautious," Mako answers back.
"Sorry for the wait!" the woman's voice is heard directly behind Mako, and Mako jumps in the air like a scared cat, landing on Saori, who is barely able to both catch the flying Mako and keep her balance. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she apologizes, looking at Mako with a sheepish smile. Walking to a nearby crater, she puts on top of it a black bulletproof vest, which looks just a tad bit thicker than the one the girls currently wear. "This is one of the new toys you will receive," the woman says as she looks at the girls. "The guys from R&D call it "Dragon's Armor" or something stupid like that, bunch of nerds," she murmurs that last part. "but, the note they gave me states the vest should be able to stop a knife from passing through it, and even a shot from a revolver at point blank range. Since the vest is still a prototype and pretty costly to make, it has been issued only to elite squads. I'll go get some for the rest of you, too," she says and vanishes into the maze of boxes once again.
Picking the vest up, Miho starts inspecting it. "It seems to be the same weight as the one we are wearing," she muses, examining the vest carefully. "It is a little thicker than our current vests, but it shouldn't restrict our movements more." Looking at it one last time, she puts it on top of the box, then proceeds to remove the vest she is currently wearing and puts it next to the new one. Picking up the new one, she puts it on and turns to face the girls.
"How do I look?" she asks and spins around herself once.
"It seems the same as the previous one," Saori says, looking at Miho's new vest. "Though the extra pockets for magazines could be troublesome inside the tank."
"As long as you don't put any magazines in them, you should be fine," Mako says to Saori, who turns around and sticks her tongue out to her.
"It also feels slightly heavier," Miho says as she jumps lightly a few times, before bending over to see how flexible the vest is. "and the flexibility seems to be marginally worse than the previous vest."
"The vests seem to be made separately for each squad," Hana says and points at the top center area of the vest. There, the head of a wolf that is howling is imprinted, with white outlines and black fur. Miho runs her fingers over it for a second, feeling the ruggedness of the stitched emblem.
"Even though I don't like our squad's name, I have to admit the emblem looks cool," Saori admits, staring intently at the emblem. "Maybe this will make me more attractive," she mutters.
"Hey girls, brought you your gifts!" the woman that had vanished says, appearing from behind some boxes, holding 4 vests on her hands. Handing a vest on each girl, she then approaches a wooden crate that has a crowbar standing beside it. "By the way, the guys on the R&D said they would appreciate it, if you could gather some performance data when out on the battlefield." Picking up the crowbar, she starts prying open the crate in front of her. The girls look at her with an incredulous expression for a moment.
"Are you serious!? How are we supposed to test them out there?" Saori asks the woman while removing her current vest to put on the new one, but she gets no answer back.
"I don't think any one of us is in the mood to get shot or stabbed," Mako says dryly, putting her own vest on.
Opening the crate, the woman puts the lid and the crowbar next to her on the ground and retrieves a shell from inside it. Yukari's eyes widen in excitement and before the woman can say a word, Yukari is already in front of her, holding the shell she retrieved from the crate mere moments ago.
"Ohhhh, I have never seen a shell like this!" Yukari says excitedly as she marvels at the shell, examining it as best as she can. The shell looks like a standard HE shell, but it feels a lot more...fragile and like it is full of a liquid. The tip of it is orange, and two orange lines run from it till the bottom. "What is it?" she asks the woman. By now, the rest of the girls have gathered around Yukari and look at the shell she is holding.
"This is something the guys in R&D made a couple days ago. It is called a Napalm shell," she explains and upon hearing the name, the girls adopt a serious expression on their faces. "As the name suggests, the shell explodes upon contact with a surface and will throw napalm at a five-meter radius. As you understand, this shell is perfect against personnel, but useless against armored targets."
"This is awful," Hana says, gazing at the shell solemnly. "Even the enemy doesn't deserve such a fate."
"Yeah...burning to death is just..." Saori trails off, grimacing at the thought of someone burning. The girls had seen their fair share of people burning during missions, but it didn't mean it had gotten any easier with each time.
"The mood sure got gloomy," the woman comments, seeing the stares of the girls as they gaze on the shell. "Anyway, my job is done here. For your weapons, check the crate that is marked with gray stripes," she says and points at a crate behind the girls. After that, she wears her gas mask and disappears behind some stacked crates once again.
"And thus, the evil ghost disappeared once more, ready to claim her next victim's soul, trying to sate her never-ending hunger," Mako jokes once more to lighten the mood and all the girls giggle at her remark.
"OK girls, listen up," Miho says. "Get your gear ready and then help Yukari to transfer 10 of the new shells at the tank. Swipe them with 5 HE and 5 APDSFS. I'll be going to the command center for the mission's briefing."
"Yes!" the girls respond to her. Before leaving the supply depot, she approaches the gray striped crate and retrieves a Glock-34, along with two magazines of ammunition. Exiting the supply depot, she starts making her way towards the command center. She is actually excited, since she will see all of her friends from the other carriers after so long; 2 whole years have passed since the last time she saw them. She hopes that everyone is fine and none of them had to go through terrible things, however unlikely that possibility might be. She starts wondering if Koume will be here, secretly hoping she won't be. Her instincts tell her this battle is going to be a bloody one, for both sides. The thought of her friends dying...it is sickening. She can only hope that they won't be the case.
"Hope, huh?" she mutters to herself, her thoughts drifting to her sister. She can still remember the sad expression she had in the helicopter. Even if she can hide her feelings from the others, Miho can always see them. She is her younger sister after all. Maho probably hoped she didn't have to kill, in order to survive...she still doesn't want to believe it, but time moves only forward, never backwards. She'll come to terms with it, one day. Because this is the cruel truth of the world they live in.
"Oh sister, you must have gone through a lot of hardships too," Miho murmurs. Wanting to think of something less depressing, she starts looking around her, lazily gazing at the passing personnel or the tents the base has. Entering the Motor Pool, which was just a huge dirt lot for the different vehicles to be parked and serviced, she starts scanning the vehicles, noticing some that she has never seen before, colored black to signify they belong to Blackout.
These must be the new prototypes Yukari has been hearing about back at main base. I wonder, where does Blackout find the resources to build and maintain such complex and expensive machines, she thinks, now gazing at a Type-10. How Blackout came in possession of these MBTs, since they were supposed to be in service only in the JGSDF, now that's a mystery she'd like to know the answer to. As she moves deeper in the Motor Pool, she starts seeing more and more tanks from the school carriers, along with several of their crews. The girls still wear their school uniforms, which give Miho a nostalgic feeling, remembering the good old days once more. The girls also wear black bulletproof vests, probably provided by Blackout for the duration of the mission. They seem to be happily chatting among themselves, something that surprises Miho, expecting some of them to be at least nervous. Then again, these girls volunteered to participate in the final phase, so they either do know how a battlefield can be...or they will know soon enough. Miho can only hope they will make it out alive and not in a body bag. The girls, upon seeing and recognizing Miho, either wave at her, or walk towards her, in order to greet her and see how she has been for these past 2 years. Some even comment on how cool she looks with all the military gear she is wearing, which makes Miho blush slightly from embarrassment. As she keeps walking, she comes across some of Saunders' tanks, mainly some M4 Shermans, M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbos" and a lone M4 Sherman "Crocodile", a variant of the iconic M4 Sherman that was armed with a flamethrower, instead of a working gun.
That's strange, Miho thinks, looking at the Crocodile with a really confused expression. I don't think the SLF ever authorized this vehicle for use within the league. As Miho tries to think how Kay managed to acquire such a vehicle, she hears some voices, and one of them is really familiar to her ears.
"I told you, I'm not interested."
"Come on, don't be shy. We just want to have some fun."
Turning towards the direction of the voices, she spots a single girl with long blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes, standing in front of a tank. In front of her is a man with brown hair and eyes, wearing Blackout's standard uniform and a few steps away from him stand about four men, probably his friends or squadmates.
"Dude, stop annoying every single girl you see in front of you," one of his friends say with a serious expression.
"Shut up Yuji," the man answers back to his friend. The man grabs Kay's left hand and forcefully drags her closer to him...or at least that's what should have happened. Instead, Kay holds her ground and actually pulls the man a little towards her. "You are a feisty one, aren't you?"
"I would suggest letting her hand," the man hears a voice saying and everyone looks towards the origin of the voice, only to find a girl with light brown hair and light brown eyes glaring at him. Kay widens her eyes in surprise, recognizing the girl as Miho, but says nothing for now.
"And who are you, little girl?" the man asks and lets off Kay's hand, turning to face Miho. Several schoolgirls and personnel from Blackout have gathered around, to see what all the ruckus is about. Noticing the emblem that is stitched on her vest, the man frowns. "Ah, you are a member of the Black Wolves, huh?" he says with slight disgust in his voice, and his friends take a few steps away from Miho. "You think you are tough, just because you are a member of an elite squad?" the man says and tries to push away Miho with his right hand. Miho grabs his outstretched hand and twists it, while simultaneously dragging it down, forcing the man to kneel in front of her.
"I didn't woke up one day to this position, you know," Miho responds to the man with a neutral tone. "Me and my friends worked hard to earn this status, so showing a little respect wouldn't hurt," she says with a severe expression, not unlike the one her mother has most of the time. Though they did work hard, Miho and her friends didn't do it so that they could earn the status of an elite squad. That happened kinda on its own. Still, she wouldn't let anyone ridicule the hard work of her friends. The man murmurs something under his breath and clenches his left free hand, but before he can even think of punching Miho, she has already drawn her pistol and aims it directly on his forehead. The man instantly freezes and sweat starts dripping from his face, which has paled considerably.
The man named Yuji slowly approaches Miho and his friend. "I think he learned his lesson," Yuji says to Miho, who upon seeing him approach, holsters her gun, and releases the other man's hand from her grip.
"Just make sure he won't cause problems anymore," Miho says at Yuji, who nods in response.
"Will do, ma'am," he salutes Miho, before turning to face his friend. "Come on, we have to make a really long chat," he says seriously to his friend, while dragging him away.
With this situation over, most of the people disperse, although some of the schoolgirls whistle and cheer Miho for a little bit. Miho just sighs in response, glad this is over with no one getting hurt.
"Mi-ho, who would have thought you'd be such a badass!" Kay whistles in surprise, putting her left hand over Miho's shoulders. "Girl, only 2 years have passed and you've become such a cool gal!"
"Thanks, I guess," Miho smiles at Kay's compliment, though she feels a bit embarrassed from the praise. "It's nice to see you are doing fine after so long," Miho says, happy Kay is as energetic and cheerful as ever. "By the way, shouldn't you be at the command tent with the others?" Miho asks curiously.
"Yes, but I wanted to check on these beauties over here!" Kay says and points at some tanks that are next to her. At first glance, they look like normal Shermans, but the turrets seem...larger and so does the barrel of their cannons.
"Wait...aren't these...M4 Shermans? Why are they equipped with 85mm guns?" Miho asks, totally baffled at what she is seeing.
"Yep!" Kay answers back. "After all the carriers established connections with each other, we sort of run an experiment with Pravda. Since they had a bunch of ZIS-S-53 85mm guns lying around, we thought of equipping a bunch of Easy 8s we had with them." Pausing for a second and looking at the tank, she continues." But, we needed a new turret for the gun to fit inside, so we spend one year in designing and producing the turret. Don't ask me how, it is a really long story. Anyway, we tried field-testing them against bandits, but we couldn't get any definite results."
"I see," Miho says with a thoughtful expression. "So you brought them here to gather data about their performance?"
"Pretty much. Though, in theory, they should be packing a bigger punch than the 76mm they had, so they should perform better."
"That reminds me!" Kay exclaims and quickly turns to Miho. "How is Naomi? Is she okay?" she asks, her voice full of concern for her friend's well-being.
"Don't worry, she is fine," Miho reassures Kay, who sighs in relief. "She had some bruises here and there, but she is good now."
"I can't thank you enough for saving her!" she responds back.
"Excuse me," a male voice is heard behind the girls, and both turn to face a man that holds a clipboard. On his right arm, the emblem of the logistics department is etched. "Are you Saunders' commander?" he asks Kay.
"Yep, it's me alright!" Kay playfully salutes the man.
"And you must be the leader of the Black Wolves," he says, having noticed the squad emblem at Miho's vest. "They are waiting for you at the command center. If you go that way and make a right turn there, you should see a building with 2 guards in front of it," he says at the girls, showing them which way to follow. After that, he leaves the girls alone to continue with his own duties.
"I guess we should get going!" Kay says enthusiastically. "It would be bad if we left the other girls waiting for too long."
"Yes," Miho nods in agreement, and both girls start walking towards the command center, following the road they were indicated.
"May I ask you a question?" she suddenly asks Kay.
"Sure, go ahead!" Kay responds back.
"Where is Alisa? I expected her to be with you," she says to Kay with curiosity.
"I left her back to the carrier. Someone needs to keep everything in order, while I'm gone," she winks at Miho, before adding. "I'm sure she'll love the paperwork!"
Miho can only imagine what kind of "pleasant" words Alisa could be using for her dear commander right now. The two girls happily keep chatting, catching up with each other about their adventures for the past 2 years.
Opening the door to the command center, a prefabricated building just like the supply depot, both Kay and Miho enter inside it, with Miho closing the door behind her. Looking around, the building is full of computers, people typing things on them, while others run around the place with various documents in hand. In the middle of the building lies a big wooden table, where a map of the region lays open, with several aerial photographs showing the potential enemy strongholds. Around the table sit the commanders of the carriers, along with a few other girls.
Assam sits at the left side of the big table, drinking tea and conversing with a graceful and kindly girl of average height and build, that has blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes and wears her blond hair in a French braid tied at the nape. She is Darjeeling, the overall commander of St. Gloriana Girls High School. Next to her stands a rather energetic girl of average height, with pinkish red hair and a pair of orange eyes. She seems to be filling Darjeeling's cup with tea, while participating in the girls' conversation. She is Rosehip, a rather unique student in St. Gloriana, thanks to her energetic personality and lack of elegance.
Next to them sits a beautiful girl with long, straight blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes, holding Katyusha in her hug like a doll, with Katyusha visibly trying to escape her grasp. Her name is Klara, a transfer student from Russia and a trusty comrade of Katyusha. Despite being foreign, she can speak fluent Japanese, something that had surprised Katyusha during the match against Selection University.
On the right side of the table sits Miho's sister, Maho, along with a medium-sized girl with long light blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes. Erika, the vice-commander of Kuromorimine's team and would-have-been overall commander after Maho had left the school. But thanks to the apocalyptic events of 2 years ago, she'll probably be a vice-commander for the rest of her life. Miho notices that all the girls wear their Senshadou uniforms, which greatly surprises her, since Assam and Katyusha didn't wore them last time she saw them.
Noticing Miho, Erika nods to her as a sign of acknowledgement and Miho nods back, before approaching the table with Kay.
"Ah, Miho!" Darjeeling says elegantly at her, and everyone turns to look at her. "It is so good to see you are still fine after such a long time."
"I feel the same, Darjeeling," Miho smiles at the St. Gloriana's commander. Miho takes a seat next to Erika, with Kay sitting on her right.
Noticing that some people are missing, Miho turns to Katyusha. "Katyusha, where is Nonna?" Miho asks, just as the door to the command center opens, the towering figure of Nonna standing in the doorway, dragging behind her the limp body of Odysseus. One has to wonder how the guards let her enter, while dragging a body behind her or why the rest of Blackout's personell don't bat an eye in this bizarre sight.
"Target secured," she calmly declares, dragging Odysseus till the table and putting her in the seat next to Kay, before going and sitting next to Klara, who still holds Katyusha.
"What happened?" Miho asks slowly, looking at the unconscious Odysseus, whose left cheek is being poked by Kay.
"She crashed in a wall," Nonna calmly replies.
"In a wall..." Miho repeats slowly, and when Nonna nods back, everyone from her side sweats a little.
"How have you been, Elpida?" Darjeeling calmly asks the unconscious blonde, having put down on the table her cup of tea. As if these words were magic, Odysseus shoots up like a spring, pointing a dramatic finger at Darjeeling.
"I did nothing wrong with the tank and i'm not paying for it!", she shouts, causing everyone inside the building to look towards her direction for a moment. Odysseus quickly sits down on her seat, so everyone continues with their own business.
"I see you haven't changed at all, these past 2 years," Darjeeling comments, taking a small sip of tea from her teacup. "How has Annabelle been all this time?"
"Fine," Odysseus answers meekly, avoiding eye contact with Darjeeling. "Though I'm sure Assam has already informed you about her."
"Indeed she has," Darjeeling calmly says, taking yet another small sip from her teacup. "And I'm glad both of you are still fine."
Odysseus say nothing in response, lazily gazing at the open map and photographs that are on the table.
"How does this girl knows Darjeeling?" Erika leans closer to Maho and whispers at her, while Kay introduces herself to Odysseus.
"Apparently, she is a transfer student at St. Gloriana," Maho whispers back at her vice-commander.
"That's...a bit hard to believe," Erika says in disbelief.
"Trust me, I find it hard too," Maho responds back to Erika.
"Good, seems like everyone is here," Teruo, known also as the Coordinator, says in his booming voice, approaching the table after checking some information in one of the computer terminals with a guy from the IT department. "For anyone who doesn't know me, my name is Shimanuki Teruo, also known as the Coordinator."
Standing at the head of the table, he puts down 2 photographs, that show 2 very well fortified bases. "First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for your participation in today's operation. As you know, we have narrowed the enemy's stronghold position to 2 locations," he explains, pointing at the two photographs he had put down previously. "One of the bases is hidden within the mountains, which would put you girls at a disadvantage, especially since your numbers are quite high," he says and everyone nods. Fighting with a tank in a narrow road or ridge could really mean the end of the girls, since the tanks have very little space to maneuver.
"So, we will send you at the other location. The base is located here, and is surrounded by a forest, which unfortunately your tanks cannot cross. The only way to approach the base is by crossing over a small hill from the East."
Looking at the regional map, the girls can clearly see the base's location marked with a black square. All around it is a forest, with only its east side being clear of trees, creating a "corridor" of sorts, with the trees acting as the walls of that corridor.
"Weather forecast says the weather is going to be awful during the last phase of operation Downfall, so don't expect any air support, unless the weather gets better."
"From what we have seen with our drones, the enemy has dug in all around the base." He points at another set of photos. "They have dug trenches, set up mortar positions, machine-gun and anti-tank gun emplacements all over the place. We also believe they might have some artillery pieces, so you should be careful when advancing. We also spotted some vehicles that look like tanks, so assume they have some of them too."
This time he passes to the girls some sheets of paper. "This sheet has all the information I just told you, plus it has the available tanks that will be on your disposal. I'll leave the planning up to you, since you seem to know each other quite well; you leave in 2 hours."
And with that, Teruo walks away, going to another computer terminal and looking at the information that scroll through the screen.
Miho starts looking through the sheet of paper, and as Teruo said, it has all the information he told them. On the back of the sheet, the different tanks the schools have brought are listed, so Miho quickly reads through the list.
Available vehicles
Saint Gloriana Girls High School: Churchill MkVII x1 (infantry tank) , Churchill AVRE x1(infantry tank) , A15 Crusader x2(cruiser tank) , A27M Cromwell x2(cruiser tank) , A39 Tortoise x1 (heavy assault tank)
Pravda Girls High School: T-50 x2 (light tank), T-34 x5 (medium tank), T-34/85 x4 (medium tank), KV-2 x1 (heavy tank), IS-2 x1 (heavy tank), IS-3 x1 (heavy tank), T-44 x2 (medium tank), SU-152 x2 (tank destroyer/self-propelled gun)
Saunders Girls High School: M4 Sherman x5 (medium tank), M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbo" x2 (medium tank), M4 Sherman Crocodile x1 (flamethrower tank), M22 Locust x2 (light tank), M4A3E8 Sherman MkII "Ruskie" x2 (medium tank)
Kuromorimine Girls High School: Panzer II ausf L "Luchs" x1 (light tank), Panzer V "Panther" ausf G x5 (medium tank), Panzer VI ausf E "Tiger" x5 (heavy tank), Panzer VI ausf B "Königstiger" x2 (heavy tank), Panzer VIII "Maus" (superheavy tank), Jagdpanther x3 (tank destroyer), Elefant x1 (tank destroyer), Jagdtiger x1 (tank destroyer), Sturmtiger x1 (self-propelled gun), Flackpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" x1 (self-propelled anti-aircraft gun)
Blackout PMC: Ram III x3 (APC/IFV Hybrid), Panzer IV ausf H x1 (medium tank), Panther S x1 (medium tank)
Wow, the 64th National Tournament was gonna be really interesting, Miho whistles in her mind, seeing some rather "lethal" machines at the list, such as an IS-3, a Tortoise, and even a Sturmtiger. Having read the list, Miho looks at it with a thoughtful expression. We will have 65 tanks to command, which can be a real nightmare, she thinks. Though, 3 of them are artillery, so we will have to leave with them some, in order to protect them. Then...if the number falls to 50, we can divide the units by school and each commander gets 9 tanks each...
"So...who is going to be the leader for this operation?" Odysseus asks and everyone turns to look at Miho, who is deep in thought.
"I believe we all agree for Miho to be the overall commander," Darjeeling says and everyone nods in agreement.
"Eh?" Miho says, as she snaps back to reality.
Blackout's Main Base
Administrative building, Floor 4
Director's Office
Opening the doors to the Director's office, a brown-haired woman, that is in her mid-30s, enters, holding two sealed envelopes in her right hand.
"Director," she says as she stops in front of a large office desk, before leaving on it the two envelopes. "We got an urgent transmission from the JSDF," she says and the Director puts down a report he had been reading, turning his attention to the brown-haired woman. "Also the guys from the IT department finally managed to decipher the documents the Antelope team managed to bring back."
"I see," he says, grabbing one of the sealed envelopes. "Thank you Misako. Please wait here for a bit."
"As you wish," the woman responds, sitting in one of the chairs that have been placed in front of the Director's desk.
Opening the sealed envelope, he retrieves a folded letter from inside, and unfolding it, he starts reading it.
Confidential, do not show it to anyone except the recipient.
We have information regarding the enemy numbers in the region of operations. Intercepted radio signals suggest the enemy has a very sizeable military force. Also, there have been movements of an unknown third force in the vicinity. Caution is advised. We will update as we learn more.
JSDF 3rd tank battalion
Commander Chōno Ami
An unknown third force, huh? The Director thinks. Maybe...
Putting the letter aside, he takes the other sealed envelope and opens it, retrieving yet another folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, he starts reading its contents.
The following you are about to read, are to never be mentioned.
Document status: Blacklisted
Japanese Self Defense Force, Black Lotus branch, Department of Genetics Engineering and Paranormal Phenomena
Subject 23: Nishizumi Miho
Codename: Wolf
Transmission Log: Progress of Subject
Day 1: Subject has been injected with Serum Black. Although the success rate is low, we believe that there will be no complications. We expect the Serum to alter the subject's genetic make-up in a couple of days.
Day 5: Subject seems to respond well to Serum Black. The molecular binding works as intended and the changes in the subject's DNA structure are smooth and without complications. Dr. [Redacted] says that we should be seeing results in a few days.
Day 10: The changes have been completed. We expect the subject to be able to draw out the [Redacted] energy any day now.
Day 15: The subject has successfully manipulated the [Redacted] energy and gave it the form of a sentient black wolf, that obeys her every command. The girl is the first successful test subject of the high-level Serums. This is going to be a great boost to our project's validity.
Day 18: It seems the subject has lost the ability to invoke her powers at will. Dr. [Redacted] says that perhaps invoking extreme emotions at the girl will help her draw them out, though he looks reluctant about the idea himself. I have a really bad feeling.
Day 23: What have we done?! It was all a mistake, we should have never pushed the girl this far! Her powers are out of control, she is slaughtering everyone in the underground lab! I have managed to seal myself in one of the emergency rooms, I hope the subject will not be able to enter it. For the record, it seems that her appearance has changed. Her eyes have changed color from light brown to red and her hair from light brown to black. She also seem to have heightened senses, reflexes and power. This must be a side effect of her powers. One theory I have, is that the power is just too great, so it interferes with the subject's body in unknown ways. I just hope I will make it out of here alive.
Day 24: The subject has been captured. We had to use 3 tranquilizer shots to put her down(Note: The subject is a kid!). Her appearance changes seem to have receded and she says that she doesn't remember anything. Her memory must have been tampered somehow. The mother came earlier and took the subject. The project has officially been disbanded, but I fear it's too late. We have opened a door that can never be closed. This girl, is gonna be either our salvation...or our downfall. This is the last entry of Dr. [Redacted].
Having read the document, the Director puts the paper down on his desk, before turning his attention at Misako. "Misako, could you please bring me the Antelope team's reports from the mission they recovered the encrypted documents?" he asks Misako.
"Of course, Director," Misako responds, already walking towards the door.
Before she can leave the room, the Director adds one more thing. "And please tell the Black Mambas to come to my office. I have a special assignment for them."
A/N: Finally done with rewriting! It have taken a long time, but the chapter had managed to reach almost 11k words! I hope you liked this new rewritten version! Next up for rewriting will be Chapter 9. It might take a bit of time, but I am aiming at 15k words with it!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!
Explanations: RAM IIΙ : A tracked vehicle that looks like a cross-over between aν elongated and chubby version of a T-55 chassis and its engine, it's equipped with a 25mm autocannon and a coaxial machine-gun. It can carry up tο 8 soldiers and it can reach speeds of up to 45-50km/h.
M4A3E8 Sherman MkII "Ruskie" : A modified version of the M4A3E8 "Easy 8" Sherman tank with a slightly larger turret to house the ZIS-S-53 85mm gun