Girls Und Panzer: The World Tournament!
Chapter 13: Prowling Puma
Ōarai Girls High School, Ōarai Carrier
Miho woke up late for school, rushing out her apartment and slamming her door shut.
"Ah!" Miho realized something as she ran down the stairs and came back, locking her apartment door before departing again.
A year on the Ōarai carrier and she still has some clumsy habits.
Miho hurriedly walked down the road towards the high school. Passing by the diners, convenience stores, and bakeries on the way. She still took the time whiffed the air of the fragrance of pastries and dishes of the various shops. It put her mind at ease to be at something… normal. For a relative term of normal at least.
"Good morning, Miporin!" Saori's nickname for Miho was heard, a voice she didn't expect at this time, but a sense of strain and struggle was heard in her voice. Miho looked back and saw her coming, dragging a large blob of hair. The blob groaned as it was dragged on Saori's left shoulder, and Miho saw it was an extremely sleepy Mako.
"Good morning Saori, good morning Mako," Miho said, trying not to laugh at this ridiculous situation.
"Can you please help me with this sleepyhead?!" Saori shouted in desperation. Miho made her way over and hoisted Mako on her right shoulder. Mako was fast asleep, unresponsive to their actions. The shaking and dragging has not stirred her a bit.
"What happened to her?" Miho asked.
"These friggin' time zones have been making her sleep life miserable. She tried her best the last few days, but I think her body has taken its toll."
"Should we even be dragging her then?" Miho asked.
Saori looked at Miho as if dumbfounded. "I dunno, this has became such an everyday occurrence I never gave a thought…"
The two girls and their power napping friend stood idly on the sidewalk as they thought about the situation. A biker passed by, bells jingling.
"Well…" Miho wanted to make a sentence, but the scenario was just plain absurd. "We're almost at the school, it'd be too late to take her back."
"Yeah, let's just drop her off at the nurse's office," Saori agreed.
After dragging Mako to the nurse's office and freaking the nurse out, Miho and Saori headed back to the class. When they arrived at the home room, Hana was already there. "You two are late," she said bluntly.
"Yep, we are," Saori said.
Miho chuckled lightly at their predicament. With their practice schedule, they'll be out in only a few hours.
"Don't slack off on your studies though. It's unfortunate that we still have school despite the tournament, but we're all still students," Hana said.
"Geez, you're sounding like our mother or something," Saori said.
The girls all laughed at that as their homeroom teacher came in. "Alright, lesson is starting. I see the two latecomers have arrived."
"Y-Yes!" Miho and Saori answered before the class began as usual.
Once the lunch bell rings, the three were already walking down the hallways and heading towards the Sensha-Dou field.
"Isabelle is quite a great helper, huh?" Hana said.
"Yeah, she's knowledgeable on tactics, gives great advice, and her two other cadets are great instructors on their field!" Miho said. Their presence here really helped accelerate the training of the Ōarai compound team.
"You think Mako is going to be awake by the time we get there?" Saori asked.
"We can't be so sure, you know Mako," Hana said. "Maybe we should make an alarm clock based on tank noises."
"I tried that once, she didn't like it," Saori said. "She claimed she was going to have a heart attack if that continued."
Miho laughed at that, but felt there was something missing in the hallway as they were walking on. A short distance later, she turned to look behind her.
"Miho? What's wrong?" Hana asked.
"Oh, um, usually Yukari would be here, right?" Miho said.
"Yeah, and?"
"She'd try to pounce on me from behind, like the last two days…" Miho said.
"Maybe she's already moved on ahead to surprise you from another place?" Saori said. "You caught her yesterday, remember?"
"Yeah… maybe I'm just overthinking it," Miho said.
"Right, let's go!" Saori said as the trio continued to the tank field.
Approaching the tank field, they noticed the usual crowd of the school girls showing up for practice was a lot smaller than usual. Miho wanted to pass it off as just them being early, but a certain demographic was noticeably missing.
Saunders.
"What's up with that?" Saori asked once Miho made that discrepancy clear.
"Well," Miho said, "they did say that they wanted to fly back to the carrier to get better tanks, I guess today was the day they wanted to."
"Hey, the American's helicopter is missing too!" Saori pointed out.
"Huh?!" Miho looked towards the direction Saori was pointing, at the general area the helicopter was at yesterday. It truly was gone.
"Maybe they just found a better parking place?" Hana suggested.
The trio got closer to the group present, mainly Ōarai students and some from Pravda. Some of them were asking advices from the instructors present on their Tankery skills. Only Ami and that American cadet, Kyline Lee, were present.
"They should all be here if one of them is…" Miho thought about it. The missing helicopter, Saunders, just… what?
Miho made her way into the crowd, brushing past students, some saying their greetings but Miho was trying to get to the instructors.
"Miho! How are you?" Ami said towards Miho.
"I'm fine, instructor Ami," Miho explained. "Where is Isabelle?"
"Isabelle? She left along with Hawkins." Kyline said, buttinginto the conversation upon hearing that name.
"What?" Miho asked.
"She went along with Saunders when they left this morning on the Galaxy."
"What about the helicopter? Your Black Hawk?" Miho continued.
"Black Jay? Loaded up into the Galaxy," Kyline explained nonchalantly. "It's rather amazing how many stuff you can put inside the C-5M Super Galaxy. Three Shermans and the Black Hawk are in that plane last time I saw it."
Wait, why do they need a helicopter with their plane?! Miho thought frantically. "Wait, if the other cadet, Hawkins, is with Isabelle. Why are you here?"
"Oh, turns out one of the Saunder kids actually knows how to co-pilot a Black Hawk! Can you believe that? They didn't need me so I elected to stay behind to supervise your training."
So they're taking the helicopter to be use it?! Miho couldn't think straight. Her mind racing like a detective being thrown clue after clue. The helicopter going with Saunders on their plane was a strange thing, but adding that with Saunder's plane was going towards their school carrier somewhere on the other side of the world now. If they need to use the helicopter, they need to land and... with a good half of the world now at their finger tips...
"Wait, where's Yukari?!"
Airspace - Outskirts of Bovington, Britain
The hard rain of the night sky poured down on the spinning rotor blades of the UH-60 Black Hawk "Black Jay". Each contact on the blades sent the droplets spinning in various directions and velocity, some splattering on the windows of the sliding doors of the helicopter's fuselage.
Flying about 750 feet above the ground, Black Jay made steady progress towards the objective. The pilot and co-pilot fumbled with the different devices and switches needed to maintain the Black Hawk's instrumental navigation in this terrible weather.
Inside the passenger area, two ladies were present for this operation. Isabelle sat on one set of chairs, checking her comms over and over again to ensure working order. The other was putting on some of the gear that the ACA brought into Ōarai. No privacy inside the Black Hawk as she changed out of her clothes into the suit.
"That was some ride, huh?" Yukari asked the crew through her comms, trying to break the awkwardness as she closed up one last zipper.
"In all honestly, you two lot made it all rushed!" Alisa said from the co-pilot seat. "It was supposed to be a straight flight from Ōarai to Saunders carrier. But then you brought up this stupid operation of yours."
"This 'stupid operation' is one for the playbooks. No one has done this kind of scouting before," Isabelle said. Though the space between them was short, the sound of the helicopter made the comms necessary to even hear each other.
"Did you know how hard it was to explain to the control tower at Southampton Airport on what purpose a C-5M Super Galaxy from Japan had landing on British territory whilst carrying a U.S. utility helicopter?!" Alisa screamed through the comms. "It wasn't easy!"
Isabelle chuckled at that thought. "So Yukari, how does it fit?"
"It's a bit… hard to move in," Yukari said.
Isabelle made a small chuckle, "That's our prototype model: S.B.S. Mk.I. Well, we say prototype, but it's really an experimental model. It's a glorified scuba suit fitted for tight insulation on the user's body, meant to keep in heat and moisture depending on the environment. The material for the suit, boot, and gear are made of fiber that softens the noise it makes on contact."
"Uh…"
"Basically, you can run and put your palms on stuff and it wouldn't create as much noise."
"Oh, wow. Is it really alright for me to use this?" Yukari asked.
"Don't worry. This first model was the Ordnance people's attempt at a DIY project. An expensive DIY project, but anyone can pretty much make the same thing with the right material and dedication. Nothing on it is classified, only patented."
"I feel like a video game character with all this on…" Yukari says. The suit was not too heavy, and was quite thin layer-wise. Despite that, the suit has indeed kept her body heat insulated, as Yukari was quite warm despite the weather outside. "So we really got confirmation from the International League to conduct this scouting?"
"Yes, in fact, that confirmation was the only thing allowing us to land at the airport in the first place." Isabelle said.
Yesterday - Ōarai Girls High School, Ōarai Carrier
On the tower overlooking the tank field of Ōarai, Yukari found herself in a great conversation with the American cadet Isabelle Bradley.
Isabelle was very knowledgeable about the various military equipment and tactics there were in the field of Tankery. The two shared information back and forth as Yukari told Isabelle what she knew about Sensha-Dou and the other about Tankery.
"So the two prominent schools in Sensha-Dou is the Nishizumi and Shimada style?" Isabelle asked her.
"Yes! Both are very fierce and committed to their fighting styles!"
"Does the same apply to Miho Nishizumi down there?" Isabelle asked, gesturing to the commander of the Ōarai compound team on her Panzer IV.
"She's… got a rough history with her family," Yukari said as of matter of fact. "Right now, she's paving her way to make her own style of Sensha-Dou."
"Making her own, huh? That must be nice."
"Yes, and we're all helping her make that a reality!" Yukari said. "This World Tournament is another stepping stone for us to help Nishizumi-dono achieve that!"
"N-nishizumi-dono?" Isabelle said, not familiar with some of the Japanese lingo. "Well, I'm sure you'll be able to achieve that."
"It's just that… the world's style of Sensha-Dou, Tankery, is a lot different than any of us imagined. It's just so out of our league…"
"Didn't Ōarai go through the same things during the Japanese nationals last year?" Isabelle asked.
"Yeah, but… we had more equal sittings even if we're outnumbered. Tanks were limited to a maximum of 20 even in the finals, with only 10 in the first rounds. Scouting was easy, since our opponents were all school, I just have to costume myself in their uniform and it is pretty easy after that…"
Isabelle seemed to have taken an interest in Yukari's statement in her scouting method.
Yukari sighed, "If only we could scout out the enemy, we would have a better tactical advantage in the matches…"
Isabelle took a swig out of her canteen of water on this statement.
"Oh well… we just have to try out best on the information we got from our practice match."
"There is one way you girls can do this…" Isabelle offhandedly mentioned.
"Huh?" Yukari looked at Isabelle.
"There is a way, an insane way, that you girls can have a chance at scouting the enemy."
"H-How?"
"Solo infiltration."
Yukari heard the words and her mind made sense of what she heard. "Infiltrate the facility… alone?"
"Yes, as I said, insane."
"Do you believe this is the only way?" Yukari asked.
"It is the only method I could possibly support." Isabelle said. "I brought along gears on the Black hawk for this kind of experiment, but…"
"But?"
"No one in the cadets have ever taken the idea seriously. The concept came about during the 60's. Today, with the new specialization of special forces to a more combined-arms oriented form of combat, the solo infiltration concept had fallen out of favor."
"An insane method…" Yukari restated the words.
"It's only for those crazy enough to try it, we have no basis on its actual utility."
"If that's the only way we can do this…" Yukari said, "I'll do it!"
"What?"
"I said I will give it a go!"
"You're kidding, right? Highly trained soldiers today have no faith in this form of operation. You're just a high school student, Yukari."
"Isabelle, I may not be as tough as you military cadets, but I'm pretty strong in my own rights," Yukari said, doing a small bicep flex.
Isabelle looked at Yukari with a face of dumbfoundedness. She then chuckled. "Yukari, you're an insane SOB you know that?"
"I've never been that normal of a schoolgirl to begin with," Yukari said with a renewed sense of confidence.
"Alright, alright Yukari, I get it," Isabelle conceded. "I can handle most of the operational preparation, but there is one problem standing in our way."
"What?"
Isabelle pointed out towards the ocean horizon, "The Atlantic Ocean."
Yukari looked over the tower out to the endless view of the ocean.
"That's right, the ACA only have a helicopter on hand for travel. Our Black Hawk doesn't have the range to even make a significant distance across the ocean," Isabelle said.
Yukari thought about it, at their location now in the southern hemisphere, it'd be a long way if they wanted to go to Britain.
They needed a high performance aircraft capable of carrying them all the way there…
Wait… Yukari realized. Only one vehicle on this school carrier has anything like that. "I think I got our ride."
"Huh?"
"Just give me a moment!" Yukari told Isabelle as she started heading down the tower.
Present Time - Airspace - Outskirts of Bovington, Britain
"It was so much trouble getting that Black Hawk in and then out of our Galaxy once we landed! Isn't there an easier way we could've done that?!" Alisa said. She was evidently cranky from the 14-hour straight flight from the ocean area near Argentina all the way to Southampton Airport, Britain.
"Can it, Alisa. Focus on flying. We're already here, might as well make the most of it," Isabelle said before turning her attention to Yukari, who was clipping on belts and a load bearing gear to hold various items. "When you get down there, this weapon will probably be your best friend."
Yukari looked at Isabelle and saw her extending her arm out towards her with a weapon in-hand. It was a pistol, something similar to the ones Yukari saw in the "Panzer Glory" store the other day. But this one looked a bit stream-lined, like something out of a sci-fi fantasy moviel. It didn't look like a World War II pistol.
"What's this?" Yukari asked, taking the pistol in hand. She handled it like she held the Walther P-38 pistol. It was slightly more complicated and… strange.
"This is officially called the D.S. 1027, but I like to call it 'Night night'."
"'Night, night?'"
"It's a tranquilizer gun, Yukari. Thing was built by our ordnance people too, and it's optimized not against animals like big games or livestock, but against humans."
"Is this safe? Legal to use?" Yukari was concerned. She'd imagine receiving something like a silenced pistol to use, but she got herself what was arguably a chemical weapon.
"Oh it's safe, trust me, we tried it on a lot of different people. Young, old, and the such. We haven't found anyone with an allergic reaction to the content of the tranquilizer. Overdosage is rare too. I don't know the detail, but apparently the drug is quite flexible in a single dose. One or two shot is probably enough to set someone to dreamland once it starts circulating in the blood."
"Huh…" Yukari said as she inspected the D.S. 1027.
"The gun operates on a manually-operated slide system," Isabelle said as she reached over and showed Yukari how to cock the slide. "The darts come in magazine containing ten rounds and each are propelled via gunpowder to maximize range and effectiveness on skin or thin clothes layer. That's why it comes with an integral suppressor to subdue the gunpowder flash and noise report. After each round fired, you'd have to cycle the slide yourself to load the next one."
"Isn't this kind of… impractical?" Yukari said as she loaded a magazine into the tranquilizer gun.
"This is your last resort weapon. You're better off not getting the enemy's attention at all. Try to gather your intel without stirring up the entire base. This is an infiltration, not a raid."
"Alright…" Yukari said, still uncomfortable.
"5 minutes!" Black Jay's pilot, Hawkins, said through the comms as they approached their target.
"Once you get on the ground, you're on your own," Isabelle said. "If you get caught, there's nothing you can do but simply wait until the British take you back to Ōarai at the day of the match in an, well, prisoner exchange."
That's assuring, Yukari thought.
"Don't worry, we can give support from up in the air via reconnaissance and advices."
"Got it," Yukari said. She felt her blood pumping as the Black Hawk made a swing to the right.
"Nervous?" Isabelle asked.
"Yeah…" Yukari said. "I've never done this kind of thing before…"
"Well, if you mess up, it just might be the last time we do this. So just stay calm and carry out your objective."
"Can you recount the objectives for me, please?" Yukari asked. "Everything's still processing and I'm not certain I got it all right in my head."
Isabelle smiled at her enthusiasm, and began the operation briefing, "In four days, Ōarai will be in a match against the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment cadets of the British Army. You're objective is to infiltrate the 3rd RTR cadet's home base, the Bovington Training Camp, and obtain intel on what equipment they will take to the match. We will be landing you on the west side of the base. This weather is expected to last until dawn and will cover the deployment and extraction from being spotted. Once you've landed, you will make your way on foot towards the base."
Yukari nodded as she confirmed her understanding of the operation. "Okay… I think I got it."
"Good."
"One minute!" Hawkins interrupted.
"Alright, get ready," Isabelle said.
Yukari stood up, the suit on her weighed down on her with the various gear attached. She headed towards the fuselage area with the sliding doors. She took off the heavy helicopter headset she's been using and putting an earpiece on her left, connecting to a radio device strapped on the gear just above her left breast.
She checked the holster on her right, the tranquilizer in place. Her heart pumped heavily on her chest as she looked out the sliding door windows. Outside she could see the light of the camp that the 3rd RTR calls home. The light also showed the large size of the camp. She gulped out of nervousness, suddenly she felt as if maybe she was over her head at the moment.
The helicopter lurched backwards quickly, nearly throwing Yukari off balance as she felt the inertia play in when the helicopter came to a halt as it lowered itself to the ground. What little light came from the chopper illuminated the ground.
Yukari opened the door, dragging it to the right and it swung open. The wind and rain violently entered the opening of the helicopter, covering Yukari's senses. She stepped forward and dropped out of the helicopter. The weight of her equipment and the height she was dropped off had her brace as she landed hard. The ground, muddy from the rain, squished as her boots and hands plant on it to absorb the gravity force.
"Be careful down there!" Isabelle said through the comms as the Black Hawk ascended out of the area.
Yukari took a few deep breaths, and looked up. She was landed in the middle of the forest. The only sound all around her was the peppering rain, but she got up, standing on the sinking mud. She quickly moved to the cover in the woods behind a tree. Taking her radio system, she manipulated the simple controls. It consisted of only a small turn-knob for a set amount of frequencies and a button to send on the ear piece.
Yukari felt around her body, looking for the radio device. Feeling it, she twisted the knob, feeling distinctive clicks for each preset frequency set up, with additionals to spare. She returned the knob to its original position, and pressed the button on her ear piece.
"This is Yukari. Isabelle, can you hear me?" She said.
"Loud and clear. What's the situation, Yukari?" Isabelle came through.
"Seems like you dropped me off in the middle of a forest…" Yukari said.
"If you move forwards in the direction we dropped you off, you should end up on the outskirts of the base."
"Alright, I'll let you know if I got eyes on the base," Yukari said.
"Roger, out."
Yukari looked around the tree, nothing around the area. Deducing it was safe, she made her way forward through the forest.
Endless tree trunks were in front, the darkness cast from the trees had her blindly trace her way through with her hands, trying not to fumble. As the trees thin, the light became clearer. It became blinding to her adjusted eyes when she made it to the clearing of the Bovington Training Camp.
The large facility seemed to glow with the light it made in comparison to the woods. As Yukari's vision adjusts to this, she could make out various security measures. Fences, towers, patrolling guards, in the distance made up the base territory.
Yukari got back to her mic. "This is Yukari, I'm currently outside the base."
"Excellent Yukari. What do you see?"
"I can see large fences surrounding the facility."
"You're going to have to find a way to get in. Look for gaps in the barrier to get through."
"Got it."
"Remember, this is a solo infiltration, in other words a sneaking mission. Make sure nobody sees you or it's going to get messy."
"Got it, okay, I'm ready to go."
"As I said earlier, we'll be monitoring your situation from the air. Contact me if you can get through the barriers, otherwise there's no point in continuing. Out," Isabelle said.
Releasing her finger from the send button, she reached for one of the larger pouches on her gear and pulled out a binocular. She looked closely onto the base property
Wow, I'm looking right into a British military installation… Yukari thought of her situation. In any other situation, what she was going was espionage. The thought of that was exhilarating!
Down on the base, it was a large open space between the fence on the side she is now, and the row of buildings on the right and far side of the base from her location. Some towers were up, and the light beams moved.
"Searchlights, huh?" Yukari said to herself, though she could barely hear her own thoughts in the incessant rain. She got up and got closer to the fences, staying low to the ground and avoiding brightly lit areas. Sometimes the light got a bit brighter as a searchlight in the distance pass by and Yukari darted to cover, even if it was unlikely the searchlight user would see her from the distance they were at.
About 50 feet from the fence, she looked closely for any breaks in the fence for her to slip through. Maybe if she had a wire-cutter, it would be a breeze to get through, but she wasn't provided any. Yukari made a mental note to bring one along next time.
If there was going to be a next time.
Though the searchlight flash around the center of the base, it didn't have a standard pattern and skimmed the border of the base a few time. Yukari ducked each time the light came, heart racing each time.
She looked and looked, nothing in the fences. Was the mission already doomed from the start? The searchlight came around again and a glint off the fence caught her eye. She crawled over the muddy ground, the mud catching on her as she dragged her body over the ground. Reaching to the glint, she found her blessing.
"A break in the fence…" She said. It was a very small hole caused by a rip on the bottom of the fence. The ripped part extended outwards toward Yukari, but it seemed big enough to crawl through. "Isabelle, I found a hole in the fence, I'm going to try and crawl through it."
"Alright Yukari. Make sure the fence is not electrified before trying." Isabelle said.
"How do I do that?" Yukari asked.
"Look for any warnings, or wires. Regulation dictates that if the charge on an electrical fence is dangerous, warnings should be placed to warn anyone around it. Plus, there might be a hum from the electrical current."
Yukari looked at the fence, examining around each fence post and the such. "No warning and there doesn't seem to have any wires, it seems safe. I'm going through."
"Be careful."
Yukari crawled through, nudging through the fence hole as the metal mesh bends away from her body as she forced herself through.
On the concrete ground of the base, the hard floor made her feel back in society. Now on the other side of the fence, she crawled forward to the cover of a cement roadblock dotting the outskirts of the base as a searchlight waved over her area.
"Isabelle, I made it inside."
"Great, we're one step closer to a successful mission. Not bad for a rookie."
"Alright, I'm going in."
"Whoa, wait just a moment, let me brief you on the interior of this place from what we can see up here," Isabelle said.
"Okay, shoot," Yukari said.
"From what we can see here, the tanks are most likely parked inside the large building on the eastern side of the are you are in. You should be able to see it."
Yukari looked over the roadblock and took her binocular. On the other side of the camp, near the towers, a collection of large buildings were present at the area. "I think I see it, is there a tower with a searchlight by it?"
"Around that area, yes. It should be the largest building there."
"I think I see it," Yukari said. It looked like a large hangar, with large double doors facing towards the center of the base. To the right of that she could see what appears to be repair shops attending to some broken down tanks, the small sparks fly around as they mechanics work on the metal beasts.
"Remember Yukari, the cadets only have a region of the entire base. Stay within that fenced area of the base. If you go outside it towards the other parts of the base, you will be put under the jurisdiction of the British military and they will get you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Yukari said. "I'm moving out."
"Roger that, out."
Yukari stayed around the border of the base, avoiding the center area where all the light and attention are at. She crawled under the roadblocks, and at each clearing she darted to the next one when the lights turn away. No one was present at the west area surprisingly, in fact she hasn't seen one British cadet yet.
The time she reached one of the buildings on the southern side of the base, she was short of breath. Working as a tank loader gave her endurance, but it's still nothing compared to dedicated boot camp. She took a moment for a breather, looking around the corners for any guards.
Nothing yet. The worse there could be was that there was a sniper watching the area.
She used the alleyway and corners the buildings provided to move rapidly closer to the eastern side. The cover gave her darkness to move more confidently without being seen. Turning one corner into an alleyway, she froze with surprise.
Two cadets in front of her at the end of the alleyway, carrying weapons while covered in a poncho. Illuminated by the lights at the base center, their silhouettes were unmistakeable. One had a smaller weapon, probably a submachine gun, but the other had a long rifle similar to the one Yukari saw at the Panzer Glory shop.
She took out her tranquilizer and pointed at their general direction while inching away slowly back behind the buildings. She hid herself behind the corner, then looked down the alley to make sure she wasn't spotted before darting across the alley towards next building.
Her heart was beating like a mad machine, sweat was building up inside her while the rain droplets stayed on her exposed skin and hair. The cold air brushing up her face and the warm interior of her suit made for a very strange body condition. She beared with it as she moved forwards. Inside each building she passed, she sensed various activities going on inside, though she pressed on with her objective.
Find the tanks, get the intel. Find the tanks, get the intel. Yukari reminded herself over and over as her motivation. She was there for that purpose. She can't mess up or she'd be a bother to not only Isabelle and the Saunders whom she bothered to get them here the first place, but Miho for disappearing when she should've been practicing with them on the tank field.
Almost on the east side, she looked out from the last building of the row and peeked the corner. The mechanic workshop she saw earlier was now about 100 meters away from her, and it was a distance from the hangar. The distance between her location and the hangar was nothing but open space.
Gotta get around, Yukari thought as she made her way towards the repair shops. It was still active as mechanics used their machinery and tools on the tanks. Crates were stacked about on the way and she used them for cover from the open.
Approaching the workshops, her body froze as a backdoor opened on the workshop, right in front of her. She ducked behind one of the crates, hoping no one saw her. After some moment, she peeked around the crate and saw two individuals outside. A metallic flick could be heard and a flame. Looked like the two are having a smoke break.
"So you heard about them schoolgirls?" one of them spoke. Yukari close enough behind her crate to hear them in this rain.
"You mean Ōarai? Yeah, heard they passed first round. Messed up the Americans real good." Another voice spoke out.
"And we're next up," The first voice said.
"You're not worried, are you? We managed to beat them during that practice match about three weeks ago."
"Think they'll be the same? Three weeks ago, it was just us 11 tanks against their 11, Frank. Now all bets are off. We're playing the League's rules now. They have gotten themselves a team of 30 tanks, and who knows if they got reserves."
"It'll be fine, Edwards. Don't worry too much about it. At least we don't have to worry about a heavy guard duty tonight."
"Yeah… that's a fortunate thing tonight. Ōarai doesn't have the capacity of a scouting operation. They're not sufficiently trained for that kind of operation and they don't have the numbers. It's reasonable to give most of the team rest tonight before the order to move out."
"Yep, after all the training from the last few days."
"We're not moving the tanks until this rain stop, right?"
"Yep, and it won't stop until dawn. All the tanks are under cover at the moment so this rain won't damage any electricals."
"On the other hand, now we're at overtime working on any faults in the regiment's tanks."
"Don't say that Edwards, use this moment to know more about your tank's inside than your girlfriend's."
"Jesus man, sod off."
"Hey, you two! Breaks over! Get in here!" A voice called out from inside the workshop."
"Sir!" The two cadets said as they extinguish their cigarettes and walked inside.
Yukari, still outside, breathed easily as she began to move again. She crossed through all the workshop sheds to the other side. Judging from the area, she was nearing the south-east corner of the base territory.
Looking towards the north, she saw the large hangar making up a large part of this side of the base. "Isabelle, this is Yukari. I'm nearing the hangar."
"Roger that, Yukari. You're on the south side, right?" Isabelle came back, Yukari regaining confidence knowing that they're still on her side.
"Yeah, I can see a door here, I'm going to go in."
"Whoa, wait a minute. Security in that hangar ought to be pretty tight. Be careful, don't go waltzing in casually."
"Uh, okay, got it," Yukari said, though she really just want to get out of the rain.
She approached the hangar side entrance, looking for any windows to the inside to see if there were anyone waiting for her. There was nothing, the whole steel hangar was isolated from the outside world once the doors were closed.
Yukari approached the side door, holding her breath as she slowly checked the knob. Oh good, it's unlocked… Yukari thought in relief when the door handle turned with her hand. Pulling it slowly and gently, the door opened like a well-oiled machine. Not a sound was made as Yukari peeked in through the now opened door. To the left, then to the right.
No one, Yukari thought again at ease. She entered the hangar, closing the door gently without a sound. The room she ended up was not the main hangar, but it seemed to be the management section with all the paperwork, computer, and files about in an office setting. A window was present and she looked out into the main hangar section.
Tanks! Yukari saw in delight. Then she remembered her role, looking around one more time for any guards she missed. Surprisingly, there was no one, at least from the viewpoint she was in.
Yukari inched towards the door and once more opened it up as softly as she could. To her surprise, there was really no one in the open area of the hangar. What there was, however, was her prize.
Three rows of the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment Cadet's tanks were lined up inside. Shermans, Cromwells, Comets, Churchills, Achilles, and much more! They were in rather pristine condition for the abuse they've been through.
"Isabelle, I'm inside. I see the tanks," Yukari said in her mic as she walked around, looking for any guards she may have missed.
"Excellent Yukari, make sure you gather intel, we need more than your words for proof," Isabelle said.
"Got it, out." Yukari said, she finished her rounds in the hangar and determined there really wasn't anyone inside the hangar but her.
With that assertion, she reached to one of her gear pouches and pulled out a slim digital camera. She reached one end of the hangar and took a photo of all the tanks in the rows. "There's one for the books…" She said to herself.
Snapping photos of the tanks, some of them more meticulously than other. Not for the scouting, but for her own personal possession and maybe as a reference when she makes her new tank model sets.
She then come across a rather unusual set of vehicles. What the heck? Yukari first thought when she saw them. Armored cars?
Yukari wanted to check on Isabelle for this. "Hey, Isabelle. What are the restrictions on vehicles in the Tankery matches?"
"Only those that the League approves, why?"
"There's some… armored cars here in the hangar. Are these important?"
"Armored cars? What kind?"
"Looks like… AEC models."
"They might be legal, will have to recheck the approved vehicle list. Gather intel just in case."
"Alrighty then," Yukari said as she brought up her camera.
"Should you really be talking like this? Aren't there guards around?"
"No, there's no one in the hangar. I'm the only one here."
"Really?" Isabelle said in surprised, then in a hushed voice "Hmm… she wouldn't do that…"
"What do you mean?" Yukari said.
CLICK
Yukari reacted in quick fashion. She looked towards the direction of the noise. The next thought that came was that she needed to move, fast.
The air cracked as it was pierced. Yukari took a small leap backward as her legs responded to her thoughts before she registered. A ear-shattering whistle filled her head as she heard something bounce around at a speed she couldn't comprehend.
All this came to her before she touched the ground. She landed waveringly as she braced her legs and an arm to keep her balance. As she came to a stop, she pulled out her tranquilizer gun.
"I've been waiting for you, Legend!"
A female voice called out and Yukari aimed the gun towards the direction. The figure was a short distance from Yukari about halfway down the hangar besides the Achilles tank destroyers and she had something… a pistol in her hand.
"Huh? You're not the Legend…" the female said as she held up her pistol. The voice was recognizable to Yukari. She thought about it, then various features on the female became recognizable.
The youthful face, the tri-colored uniform with sleeves rolled up, the wide energetic eyes...
That hair color mixture of coffee brown and shining blonde yellow flowing at her shoulders…
"Emma?" Yukari said, slightly lowering her weapon.
"Yukari?" She said, then chuckling, "Ha! Who've thunk? You're the Ōarai scout?"
"You expected me?" Yukari said, bewildered.
"I knew Ōarai didn't have the capacity for a large-scale scouting attempts like the Americans or Russians typically do, but I do know you girls have a history of scouting regardless," Emma explained. "I thought it was the 'Legend' who had a part in this too,judging from that conversation we had in the Panzer Glory store. Y'know, taking the responsibility as a commander to scout ahead on the enemy."
Yukari listened intently as she kept her weapon trained on Emma. Despite their acquaintanceship, they were enemies now.
"But, I'd never imagine it was you, Yukari! Ha! This just became more interesting!"
"If you'd knew we were coming, you should've improved the defense here. I made it all the way here due to it."
"And what?" Emma said, eyeing on Yukari, "ruin an opportunity for an exciting fight against an Ōarai student?"
Yukari gripped her gun more firmly on that statement.
"I thought it was the 'Legend' who does this, so I waited patiently in my Achilles the last three nights alone in this hangar after everyone's gone to sleep. I never said a word of possible infiltration so I, alone, could fight her when I see her step foot in our hangar." Emma said, then gestured her pistol towards Yukari, "But I guess you will have to do as well!"
Emma holstered her pistol, a Webley revolver. An archaic weapon in a world of automatics, but compared to Yukari's tranquilizer gun, it was a whole lot better.
"Now then… Yukari, I'll show you the thrilling experience of Tankery's 'scouting'!"
Time seemed to stay still as Yukari and Emma faced off in the empty line made from the two rows of the cadet's tankery equipment. Though Yukari had her tranquilizer gun trained on Emma, she looked no less confident even with her firearm put away."
"Draw!" She shouted, and in an instance, fired a shot, nicking Yukari's hair. Yukari yelped and dived to cover behind a Comet. She scrambled about using the tanks as cover. As she moved between two of them, a shot rang out.
"Agh!" Yukari yelled as she felt a heavy blow on her left arm. Her body was thrown slightly to the right as the force pushed her. She leaned on a tank, trying to take on the pain on her arm.
"C'mon, Yukari! I'm expecting more from you!" Emma said as if stalking her.
Yukari, however, was in no right mind to fight. She moved swiftly, making distance between her and Emma's voice.
"Yukari? Talk to me! Anything going on down there?!" Her radio shouted at her.
Now isn't the time! Yukari frantically thought as she reached to her earpiece, her left arm heavy from pain. "I'm currently in a gunfight," She whispered in a hush before reacting once more when a shot whizzed by her direction.
"What? With the entire base!?" Isabelle said as though her deepest fears were realized.
Finding cover behind another tank, Yukari corrected, "No, it's a cadet named Emma."
"Emma? You mean 'Puma' Emma?"
"What?" Yukari said, first time hearing that name.
"Emma Brooke? She's known as 'Puma' in the Tankery community for her sneaking tendencies. In matches and scouting ventures, she's known to surprise opponents and take them out before they realize what's happened. She's rather famous for her energy and viciousness."
"Couldn't I have known this earlier?!" Yukari shouted. A bullet soon struck near her location, the rubber round ricocheting as it bounced off the tanks. Yukari moved about as she avoided direct contact with Emma. So that's why she's in a tank destroyer group?
As she hid, she heard a loud clatter of metal hit the floor with a clack clack. Yukari moved around the tank walls and saw Emma, exposed as she was reloading her top-break action Webley.
The significance of seeing Emma in the open hit her late, she suddenly caught herself with the situation and aimed her tranquilizer gun. One or two shot is probably enough to set someone to dreamland, Yukari recalled as she aimed the tranquilizer up and fired. It had a light recoil and made little sound with the suppressor, coming out more as a poof. The noise the dart made when it hit Emma's flesh made a more distinguishable sound as the pressure-activated syringe plunged into her.
"Ah!" Emma winced in pain as the needle digged in her skin. She looked at the impact point on her left arm and pulled out the tiny syringe. She laughed as she tossed it away. "You think this will work on me? I've had drug resistance training, Yukari! Is this all you brought?"
Crap! Yukari thought. Was that really a thing? Her tranquilizer gun is starting to feel more and more useless. She changed position so Emma didn't find her there, but she felt like she was a mouse in a den of mouse traps and a cat.
"Isabelle," Yukari said to her earpiece, "This tranquilizer isn't working! It didn't put down Emma, she said she got drug training or whatever!"
"Calm down Yukari! There isn't such thing as immunity to tranquilizers! You got to increase the dosage!"
"A-Alright," Yukari said nervously. In the interior of the hangar, the rain pattered on the roof sent an ominous sound throughout the area. The disturbance drowns out the smallest noises.
"There you are!" Emma's voice came. Not from the ground, but… from above? Yukari looked up in horror to see Emma staring down on her on top of the Comet. She quickly dived away as Emma's bullets rained down, hitting her in the back twice.
Her tender body ached as the impact of the bullets affected her. The hard-hitting rounds of Emma's Webley revolver did its damage on Yukari.
".455 caliber," Emma said. "Traveling about 180 meters per second. Delivers an energy of about 300 joules per bullet." Yukari tried to crawl away as Emma stepped down onto the concrete. "Better fight for your life, Yukari!"
Yukari was determined to, in a sweeping motion, she used her legs and tripped Emma. She fell back and Yukari got up, aiming her tranquilizer gun at her.
Nothing fired when she pulled the trigger, she looked at it. Was it broken? Emma was getting back up very quickly. Yukari troubleshooted herself through the gun's action. Magazine was in place, round was sea- oh, She came to the problem, the manually-operated slide action. She racked the slide quickly, ejecting a cartridge as Emma brought up her revolver.
The two fired and both felt the impact, Emma has a dart on her left shoulder squeeze its content into her while Yukari was punched on her right abdomen as a shot rang out. This time, the pain made her feel faint. Emma made her escape from her exposed position. Yukari decided to do the same and stumbled behind a few tanks.
The two combatants moved across the hangar, one attempting to hunt down the other. She's crazy! Yukari thought as she moved towards another tank, her hand gripping the area she was hit on her belly. Her body was aching in pain, crying out for a time to rest. Emma's relentless pursuit made that impossible, and Yukari pushed on.
As Yukari leaned next to one of the Churchills, hiding behind its large suspension, she looked across the area to see the office room that she crossed through to get inside.
An opportunity to dash out? Run away? She already got enough photographs in her camera, it's probably got most of the tanks in this hangar. If she can make it out and back to the helicopter, she's scott free! She didn't have to continue fighting Emma if she can escape under her breath.
She steadied her breath, looking around the corner of the Churchill for Emma. Was she still searching? She could make a straight dash to the door from where she was.
Yukari decided and made a run for it. Bursting from cover through the open section between the rows and to the other side. It felt like time slowed down as she made her run. Her legs felt wobbly, affected by her exhaustion just getting her and the pain on her upper body.
As she passed by a Sherman, she saw something flash and felt a grip around her neck. She was thrusted back, losing her grip on her tranquilizer pistol as it flew somewhere in the room. Yukari felt her legs unable to propel her forward as she was held back. Her toes barely touching the ground as she was leaned back, her arms struggled with the strong grip around her neck.
"Surrender, Yukari!" Emma shouted behind her, arms around Yukari's neck. Yukari continued to struggle then she felt a small kick on her left leg, bringing her down lower than Emma, who kept her grip. It was tight, but she could still draw breath. However, how long it was going to stay that way was now up to her holder.
Surrender wasn't in Yukari's vocabulary, however. She put up a fight against Emma. She tried to thrash about, moving her arms and body violently against her grip. It wasn't any use. Emma didn't budged. Compared to Emma, she was a student. Emma is a military-trained cadet, and she was making good use of it.
"Give it up, Yukari," Emma said again. "Don't make… me, choke you out."
Yukari noted the slur in Emma's voice, she felt the grip on her weaken.
"H… Hwah? What's goin…" Emma continued, confused.
Yukari took the chance, she thrusted violently towards her right. Emma's grip weakened with the sudden movement. Yukari took that moment and freed herself from Emma's iron grip. Almost by instinct, she grabbed Emma's right arm and shifted her weight forward, letting Emma's body weight ride over her back.
The motion sent Emma flying, over Yukari and right onto the concrete ground, back first. Yukari didn't stop to think about what just happened and tried to locate her tranquilizer gun. She distanced herself from Emma, who was starting to get up, soggily, and looked around the ground.
Where is it?! Yukari thought in her mind, as she looked around the tanks. She got down on the ground and looked under the tanks. "Ah!" She cried out as she found the gun right under a Cromwell. She crawled under the cruiser tank to grab it, the body suit gave her body a rough feeling as she made the movements. She grabbed the gun and attempted to slide out. Out on the other end in between the two rows, she saw Emma looking frantically for her. She looked slightly disoriented and confused. Yukari took this chance to aim the tranquilizer gun at her.
She pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. Yukari internally cursed as she realized the slide wasn't cocked again. She racked the slide, but it made a sound louder than the gun did when it fired.
Emma heard the sound and turned around. She cocked her Webley revolver with its distinctive CLICK and aimed it towards Yukari, with Yukari aiming her tranquilizer towards Emma.
The two fired at each other once more and as Yukari heard the dart leave her gun, she felt an impact on her lower abdomen. The force hit her harder than the rest, hitting the soft tissue and organ down below without the ribcage to absorb any of the damage. She fell onto her back gripping the area in pain while Emma reacted to the dart that landed on her chest, penetrating through her uniform and hitting the skin underneath.
Emma made a hasty withdrawal behind cover as Yukari recovered. Her right side lower belly seemed to pain as if sore. She checked to make sure nothing was bleeding as she took cover behind an armored car. Taking a few deep breath as she tried to block out the pain. "Agh!" Yukari cried out in a muffled voice, arm above her mouth. She gripped her hit area to try to mitigate the pain.
"Yukari, what's your status?" Isabelle came back.
Yukari lifted a finger to her earpiece, "I'm being beat up real good..." She said in a joking matter.
"Try to hold on, Yukari. We can't pick you up in the middle of the base, you have to get yourself outside to the extraction point."
"I know, I know!" Yukari said. "I have to take care of Emma first. I'll get back to you when I'm done!"
"Good luck!" Isabelle said.
Could've used that a few minutes ago… Yukari thought to herself. She steadied her tranquilizer pistol towards her front as she moved. Her whole body ached now, burning with pain. Turning tank corners and being covered between the tanks, she kept an eye for Emma. Was she waiting to pounce on her again, or was she on the prowl?
Yukari heard heavy breathing, one she could hear inside despite the rain drops. The noise came from a distance, between the tank destroyers. Yukari checked her gun for a loaded round and steadied herself towards the area. She neared the source, right next to an Achilles. Inching forwards, gradually turning the corner, she came upon Emma.
Her slump body was propped up on an Achilles, her arm and upper body propped up by one of the bosses on the Achilles' hull side, and her left arm dangled with the gravity. Her revolver in her left hand with its action open. Yukari, looking at her body confused, motioned carefully towards her body, making sure it wasn't a trick. As she got closer, Yukari worried that maybe Emma was in a bad condition from the darts that she pumped into her..
Yukari put her hand up to check a pulse, but the small nudge sent Emma's body stumbling to the ground with a thud, her revolver clattering on the ground as it left her grip. Yukari checked for breathing and heartbeat, and came up confident that Emma was indeed, technically speaking, asleep. Emma didn't snore, but she laid there asleep, her breath coming out like a cat's purr. Yukari laid Emma in a more dignified position next to the Achilles before herself collapsing, resting upon the Achilles' bogie suspension.
Yukari took a breather, her mind was now clouded with thoughts of pain. The spots she was hit at pulsed as she felt some heat as the wounds swelled. Beyond that, she was exhausted, feeling a pressure on her mind and body as it rang for a moment to unwind. She was so tempted to fall asleep, but she knew she can't, not in enemy territory. After a moment, she lifted up her left arm, the pain now bearable, and touched her earpiece, "Hey, Isabelle. It's me. I took out Emma, she's fast asleep."
"Great work, Yukari. Is there anyone else after you?"
"Doesn't look like it. All clear here," Yukari said.
"Nice, Yukari, get back here ASAP. Helicopter's fuel won't last long."
"Right, let me take a few more photos, then I'll be on my way back."
"Roger, let us know once you're ready. We'll come get you. Out."
Yukari let out a breath as she got up, camera back in her hand and her legs feeling like jello, and got to work. Deeper details were needed, and she walked around the hangar taking at least a photo of each individual vehicle before exiting. She made sure a few of the photos were suitable for herself as well.
Back outside the rain, Yukari believed she was in the clear with the lack of any reaction in the base. The rain had muffled the combat that happened inside the hangar. The mechanics in the workshop a distance from the hangar are still working on their tanks, noisier than the rain as a machinery whined up for action. Yukari make her way back to her landing zone on the other side, but on the way she noticed a large tarp covering something by the repair shops, illuminated by some light posts nearby.
She thought it may be covering cars or trucks from the weather, but it looked much too big proportion-wise for it to be utility vehicles. She walked closer to it, staying in the shadow until she had no choice but to enter the illuminated circle around the tarp. The tarp flapped about in the rain and wind, held down by cables tying it down to whatever was underneath. The wind did show that the whole thing wasn't a solid object, and no way it was a truck.
Yukari reached to get under the tarp, to find out what the cadets were hiding...
"Hey! Who's that?!"
"Intruder!"
Shit.
"Get us down at the landing post, Hawkins!" Isabelle cried out. The alarm on the base was blaring now. The red alarms on the corner of the base were brightened and rotating with the sirens sending out a screeching BWEEEEOOOOOO in repetition. Even at their height and the weather, the alarm reached the noisy helicopter.
"What if she's caught?! We're risking the capture of the entire crew here!" Alisa said, but her hands moved on the controls complying with the order.
"Can it, Alisa!" Hawkins said. "She was able to send that distress signal, she's definitely on her way out!"
"God damn it! Can't any intel-gathering go easily?!" Alisa shouted out in frustration.
Black Jay heavily tilted forward as it gained speed towards the original landing zone. Among the darkness in the forest, it was hard to find the right position visually, but the instrumentals remember the helicopter's last landing position and Hawkins used that data to guide it there.
As the coordinates near the precise numbers, Hawkins pulled up the Black Hawk to quickly stop over the position. The helicopter lowered down onto the ground, just hovering a foot above for a quick getaway.
"C'mon girl, you can do it. C'mon…" Isabelle said to herself as she unbuckled herself and opened the fuselage door on the side towards the base. She looked out towards the darkness of the forest, in contrast to the light of the base in the background and the helicopter's lights.
It was a long wait, it felt like it at the very least. Isabelle and Alisa looked out into the forest. It was very hard to see anything farther than 30 feet even with the light.
"She's not coming… She's not coming!" Alisa pointed out.
"Steady girl, don't lose your head," Isabelle said, clinging on to faith. Yukari's gone so far into the mission, she can't mess up now!
A large CLANG was heard on the helicopter's body, Isabelle taken by surprise. Then some more came in. We're being shot at?! Isabelle made of the surprising sounds. However, if there were bullet flying around here…
"She's coming! Get ready, Hawkins!"
"Right!"
In the distance, the sounds were becoming more clear. Rata-ta-ta-ta! and Blam! could be heard echoing off the trees. Isabelle was almost at the edge of the fuselage, as if she was ready to jump out and get Yukari herself.
A figure popped out, hidden by her dark suit that the first thing Isabelle saw was her face. She was invisible until about 25 feet away, and when she did, Isabelle extended her arm. Muzzle flashes could be seen in the forest background, firing towards them.
"C'mon, hurry!" Isabelle yelled towards her. She was running with all her might and made a small leap towards the helicopter, her hand gripping Isabelle's. "Go!" Isabelle ordered Hawkins, and she felt the force of the helicopter lifting itself.
Isabelle pulled Yukari into the helicopter's fuselage before closing the door. Bullets ricocheted off the helicopter body as it impacted on the steel. Hawkins brought the helicopter into motion as it left the area, its occupant safe from the angry cadets below at being played by a high school.
"Hey, Yukari," Isabelle said towards the wheezing figure on the helicopter floor. Her condition was a mess. Aside from being exposed in the wind and water, the run back had caused her to catch mud, leaves, and other wilderness items in her hair and suit. The suit was hydrophobic, but some specks of mud still remained.
Isabelle helped the figure up to a seat for a better resting position. Yukari was out of breath, wheezing heavily. Her heart raced like never before from the physical exertion. She was very tired, her body sore all over.
"I…" Yukari wanted to say, "I think we stirred them up a bit…"
Isabelle smiled heartily, patting Yukari on the back. "Congratulations girl, you are the first ever Tankery member to pull off a successful solo infiltration on an enemy base."
Yukari let out a small laugh among her attempt to catch a breath. "Yeah… I did good."
Her head rested alongside Isabelle's body as she closed her eyes. Her body and mind worn out from the taxing situation. For everything she did, she wasn't even a military-trained personnel. Just a girl with a lot of guts and dedication.
Isabelle let the sleeping student rest easy as she reached in and retrieved the digital camera. She previewed it, making sure each photo was taken properly. Shermans, Comets, Cromwells, all the tanks were accounted for. Isabelle almost made a laugh when she found that one of the photo was Emma's sleeping body. A memento for her victory? It was definitely one for her to keep.
"Heading to Southampton Airport!" Hawkins said as the helicopter corrected its course. Black Jay had done its duty in a scouting tactic and it was time for them to rest.
Isabelle couldn't help thinking just how much more interesting the Ōarai girls could possibly be.
Did I mention I like Metal Gear Solid? No? Well I do.
This is my interesting spin on the 'scouting business' of Tankery with the Girls Und Panzer cast. I hope I did okay with it because it will be an important thing in the story. I had the same kicks with it like I did with the tank battles, it was all rather interesting. Don't worry though, we're still going to jump into the tank battles very soon. This is Girls Und Panzer, after all.
Since it's a new dive for me, what did you think? Does this mission need any work? Was there anything you felt was missing? Did I screw something up? Feel free to write a review telling me what I can do to improve if you felt like it was lacking. I always appreciate feedback. If you want to keep up with the story, don't be afraid to Follow and Favorite the story as well!
Shout out to my UK readers out there, these next few chapters are for you.