Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament!
Chapter 30: Tied Knots and Bonds
Spectator Stand, France
The flash exploded into smoke as it covered the camera lens, drowning the screen with debris and dust. The screen flickered through different angles, all showing how much smoke engulfed the scene of interest.
"Wow," Emma stared at the spectacle. Hearing herself, she realized that every spectator were silenced as they stared in awe towards the screen.
The screen sparked a static as the image refocused. When the smoke cleared, the arena's setting became clearer. In the alleyway road, four tanks lay surrounded by an army of Russian tanks.
Right in the center, a defiant German Panzer IV stared down a Russian IS-3 that weighed nearly twice as much as the former. On the sides of the IS-3, two T-34-85 lay vertically up from the ground, sandwiched between the IS-3 and the buildings surrounding them, their gun barrels deformed from the gravity impact on the ground.
However, even in this dense dust; the visible, white fabric waved atop the masses of steel, gleaming as the sun shined through the dust. Three bare flags fluttered atop the site, two off the rear ends of the T-34-85 that stuck to the air in their positions.
The last one stuck up below the other two, right above the dome shaped turret of the heavy tank.
The screen scoreboard tallied up, and suddenly all the lights indicating active tanks on one side completely disappeared, and the graphics withdrew.
The speakers chimed as they made its announcement. "Suvorov's flag tank has been eliminated! Ōarai Compound Team wins!"
The atmosphere crossed the breaking point. The crowd became euphoric, the area booming with their cheers.
"YEAH!" The majority of the crowd went as they stood and whooped.
"They did it, John!" Emma loudly shouted, hugging him too tightly for his comfort.
As the area riled up, Isabelle and Daniel sat there as they let the surrounding scene express their pure excitement.
"Well, they really did it," Isabelle said with a smile as Daniel's hand patted on her shoulder.
"Those little bastards made it, Isabelle! They're in the big league!" Emma came up shouting right into Isabelle's face with a voice louder than the equilibrium.
"Yeah, yeah they are, Emma."
"I still can't believe it! They actually did it! Hey, Wittmann! Ya Kraut! Look here! They-!" Isabelle look back at Hans Wittmann's last position, now empty seat. "Huh, he's gone."
South section of town, France
As the dust was still settling, Erik Katukov walked alongside the exterior left side of his IS-3 on the busted concrete road. His left fingers dragged along the metal sides, letting the cold, dusty texture accumulate on his fingertips as he traced up towards one of the kill shots. An 85 mm metal shell embedded itself on the side hull near the engine deck. Its armor slope was negated as the shell traveled perpendicularly into the armor. He tapped the 85 mm lightly, it was still warm.
Erik continued tracing around the IS-3 towards the right side. Aside from all the glances from failed shots, the second kill shot was found embedded onto the turret's curved side, at just about a perpendicular angle at the tangential spot. From the shell's angle of attack, their rear ends were raised up high to show the tracer and computer units that does the penetrative work of the shells on target.
Erik traced the flow of the shell towards its original firing position, up in the air right by Erik as the two medium tanks that did the deed fired while under the effects of gravity. Now, the two tanks lay in a mess on the ground, disabled and immobile.
The crews were slowly getting out, no doubt affected by the shock of the impact. As they staggered out of the T-34-85 right besides Erik, the cupola remained shut as the driver and underbelly hatch opened for evacuation. The crew that got out shouted into the tank, calling out for someone still remaining inside.
He thought about the girl that stared at her from the cupola as she careened the T-34-85 off the rubble to make the shot. In that stunning moment, he felt like he was looking at a polar opposite version of himself. It must've be her, Erik thought of the commander of the tank who executed the daring move. The eyes he saw made more sense now. They weren't filled with determination, but of hesitation. He looked at the closed cupola hatch again and sighed with a small smile of consolation before moving on.
He continued towards the front of his heavy tank. "I'm sorry, commander," a little voice perked from the front through a triangular hole that made up the driver's hatch. Erik looked inside towards Naydenov's face, shrinking away from his commander. "I didn't see the two tanks fast enough…"
Erik gave a sigh with a smile towards Naydenov, "It is quite alright my friend, it just shows that we all need to stay attentive to our surroundings, not just you. You did your job wonderfully."
Naydenov was still crunched up into his seat, a large dose of guilt still apparent in his aura. "W-what will you do now, commander?"
"The match is over Naydenov, you can call me by my name now," Erik told him. He then glanced over his right peripheral and saw several figures approaching. "As for me…"
He looked over towards the front of the tank and saw five female individuals cladded in dark navy blue blouses, with white collars coming out on top. His eyes quickly caught the girl in the foremost, with her brown hair only just reaching the shoulders.
Erik cleared his throat with a cough and clicked his tongue, "You must be Miho Nishizumi?" He said in English with a mild accent.
Miho reacted with a surprised look upon hearing him, yet her voice carry a low demeanor, "So you speak English?"
"A useful skill to have in this international market," Erik said. He then extends out his right arm, hand still covered in a black glove, "but first, a congratulations for your victory."
Miho eyes the arm cautiously for a second before using her respective arm to grasp it. As her hand gripped it, Miho's eyes went wide; Erik then firmly grasped with his hand and shook. As he let go, Miho was still left incredulous at her hand, and then Erik's own. "It's cold…" Miho muttered.
"Okay, okay, so we did win against you, huh?" A high-pitched voice echoed from the left side of the IS-3, as a child-like girl walked out of the rubble into the clearing. She took off her helmet that expelled her poofy blonde hair. "Yeah, it's all thanks to Katyusha's top-notch thinking!"
"Ah, 'Drifting Snow,'" Katukov said as he looked towards the girl.
Katyusha's face of smugness transformed to curiosity as she looked up, "You know me?"
"I do, I've heard a lot of you from a close source," Erik responded as he returned his look back towards Miho. "It seems Ōarai team's fighting prowess was considerably bolstered by this young women."
"What I-, young-, ah...Uh, its not really like that…" Katyusha stumbled upon the words. "Miho Nishizumi here was the one who made the right calls and… wait, what source?"
"I suppose the name 'Legend' fits your style quite well here."
"Mr. Katukov," Miho quickly interjected.
"Please, Erik is just fine."
Miho stood firm, "Erik, you know what we've been fighting for this match; I want my answers."
Erik nodded, "Right, I suppose we best get down to business, but the rubbles of this ruin is hardly a secured location. What say we move to somewhere more… sheltered?"
West of town, France
As the afternoon pass by with the sun settling towards the west, the aftermath procedures of the match was underway.
Loud whirs of engines and machines echoed throughout the little mock town, towing away the many immobilized vehicles and rubble. Shouts of French and other languages broke through occasionally, usually accompanied in the order of shouting, a loud crash, then many more loud shouts in what can be presumed to be rude words.
In a distance outside from this mess, a tan canvas tent was erected. Two BA-10 armored cars stood outside as gate guardians for the shabby tent flaps as the events transpire inside.
The simplistic exterior was compounded by the interior. No floor matting as the grass spurted up around them, and the only noteworthy decorations were a large wooden table in the center and a few folding chairs. No windows were present to let light in, only a single LED lamp hung from above on a hook.
Inside, the respective captains that made up the Ōarai coalition sat inside with the Russian commander. Somehow, Darjeeling was able to get some piping hot water in for tea, with a set of fine china for everyone involved.
"This is better," Erik said as he adjusted the lighting from his seat position on the end of the table farthest from the entrance, "Although… there are a lot more people than I expected…"
"Yeah, sorry to crash your little parade here," Kay said, sitting across Darjeeling, closest to Erik.
"Ms. Nishizumi was transparent to us about her predicament," Nishi explained, sitting next to Kay on her left.
"We want to be as involved as we can to help out!" Anchovy chimed, sitting across Nishi; to the right of Darjeeling.
"So spell it out!" Katyusha finished off, sitting towards the right of Anchovy.
"Calm down you girls," Erik instructed, using his left hand in a calming motion to bring about silence. "All in due time."
"A few more minutes couldn't hurt, everything in its own time," Anzu said sitting across Katyusha. To her left at the other end of the table, Miho sat looking right into Erik's position. With the exception of the blowing wind outside, no other ambient noise permeated around them. Not even from Mika, who sat in the left corner of the tent nearest to the entrance, her kantele rested unused on her lap as she seemed to slightly doze off from latent fatigue.
Anzu heartedly chewed on a dried sweet potato as Darjeeling finished setting a teapot full of black tea. She poured a portion and slid a cup over towards Erik's direction. He grasped it with his left hand, though pausing as he glanced towards Darjeeling, who returned his sight with light confusion.
"You don't use additives?" He asked.
"I simply do not have any at the moment," Darjeeling chirped, "I hope you understand the circumstance."
"Keh keh, you students," he used his left hand and reached into the right breast pocket of his gymnastyorka shirt uniform. He pulled out what appears to be a plastic tube, in a shape not too unlike disposable shampoo bottles, filled with a creamy white product. "You need to learn to improvise in this world," He states defiantly as he poured a nice helping of this substance into his tea.
Darjeeling curiously looked on as the two items mixed. "I see, condensed milk?"
"Yes, plenty more at home too," Erik closed up the tube in the same left hand as he dips a finger from his gloved right hand into the tea and stirred. "Really sweetens the tea into a delectable product. Want some?"
"Uh, isn't that tea, like, scalding hot?" Kay asked with concern as Erik nonchalantly moved his right hand in a circular motion.
"He can't feel anything in his right hand," Miho answered.
Erik smirked as he shook the remnants of the tea off his finger and handed his additive towards Darjeeling, "You catch on fast, Miho Nishizumi."
"Wait, what do you two mean?" Katyusha asked.
He put his right arm back on the table, producing a rather uncharacteristic CLUNK. As the interests grow, he finally pulled the sturdy black glove off his right hand.
Small gasps fluttered as the limb revealed not flesh, but a mechanical contraption that fully resemble that of the human hand. The mechanical nature extend to the whirs and tubes that moved each digit independently, which Erik demonstrated by having each finger move independently as the machine whirred with each motion. As he moved his arm more, the whirring could be heard not from the end of his arm, but extending down further into his arm. From the exposed metal, red plates form the exterior like flesh to protect the large tubes and wiring that run down to his arm. It was a complicated piece of engineering that Erik laid out on the table top.
"Lost it in an accident about one and a half years ago," Erik answered the question that is in everyone's mind. "People seem to forget about all the deadly weapons a tank possess… the cannon, the machine guns, the personnel weapons, and…" he paused as he looked around at the girls, right as he caused the intricate machine to move in its own fascinating way,. "...and the heavy, steel tracks. Don't worry, it was only up to the elbow"
Some of the girls closer to Miho gulped as Erik finally picked up the cup of tea and sipped heartedly.
"Erik Katukov," Miho addressed from across the room, reining in the conversation. "We won this battle today, we defeated your IS-3 in that alley. On your terms told through your messenger two nights ago, I am now asking for you to hold your end of the bargain."
Erik placed the cup down, now nearly empty. "Right, I suppose so."
"Please, tell me what you know about Kuromorimine."
Erik's left hand, its flesh bare as always, reached towards his left breast pocket. "To be blunt, not much."
Miho's eyes widened. "Eh?"
Erik then took out a small envelope colored buff. An envelope only the size of a smartphone, with the otherside showing a flap sealed by string closure around the buttons. He waved the envelope in the air lightly. "This here, is the most concrete information we have on Kuromorimine."
"Just that?" Anchovy commented, also incredulous that all this was for a little flap of paper.
Erik then held the envelope flat between his fingers towards Miho Nishizumi, a gesture of offering towards her. "It's more real than anything else you've got, I assure you." Miho's eyes took a cautious look towards Erik and his item.
"Sounds like a trick to me," Nishi commented towards Miho.
Miho looked at that paper for one more instance before saying, "I need to know."
Erik looked into Miho's eyes as if examining for any remnants of hesitation, then he flinged the envelope like a card straight across the table towards Miho, falling onto the table and stopping just short of her seat. Miho picked up the envelope and inspected it. It seemed just as lightweight as Erik presented, no secrets around it except for what's inside.
"Whenever you're ready, Miho Nishizumi," Erik said, in an almost taunting way.
Miho looked down at the envelope and steadied herself as she unraveled the string ties. She unfolded the flap and reached in, her peers watching her. Her fingers caught on one single slip of parchment. She felt the feeling of printed laminated paper, a photo? She caught her grip and pulled it out.
Miho stared at the image for a while, then lightly gasped.
"What is it, Nishizumi?" Anzu asked as the others wait anxiously.
Miho stood and placed the single photo onto the center of the tabletop, its small size caused everyone else to come in for a closer look.
A color photo showed a predominant blue color of a large body of water. The structures all-around shows that of a large port with stacks of shipping containers, cranes, and other industrial items.
Two things differed from that simple image, from the angle the photo was taken as. A large bulkhead showing a red paint trimming around the waterline took up a large portion of the image's right side, with the sunlight shining through the structures atop. In the far distance on the left though, a large traditional building complex stood, eyeing from right across the port from where the bulkhead is.
"What's this about?" Kay asked as she held the photo closer to inspect.
"That bulkhead…" Miho started. "That's Kuromorimine…"
Katyusha then grabbed the photo and inspected it. "How can you tell? Just looks like any big ship to me."
"That's the aft of Kuromorimine… I know those detailings!" Miho explained as she let the others examine the details.
"The building complex in the background," Erik said as he took another sip of tea, "is the Carius Academy school buildings, bordering around Jade Bight in Germany."
"Erik, what's the meaning of this? Why is there this photo of Kuromorimine close to Carius Academy? Why are they there?"
"Indeed, why are they there huh?" Erik reformed that question towards the group. "I don't have any information about why the two are together." Miho was incredulous that Erik would suggest that Suvorov, the school they fought over, has so little on what they promised. "But, if you'd like to hear a perspective from someone's who've kept an eye on them, that's something I can offer."
Miho looked back at the photo.
"It's better than nothing," Anzu said to Miho.
Miho sat back down and sighed, "Very well, Erik. Tell us what you know."
"Well," Erik picked up the tea cup again as the laid back on the chair. "Let's see… I first got word of this… three months ago, now?"
Three months?!
Tver Suvorov Military School, Russia (Three months ago)
I first got word of this… three months ago, now? I was with a team of intelligence cadets in training at the Command and Information Center of Suvorov, they were in the process of being trained in OPSEC with the team. It wasn't until about midday when…
"Commander!" Yashin clicked his heel in a ready position as he stood behind Katukov.
Katukov turned around and saw his personnel marksman at ready. "At ease, what is it?"
"Received a report of interest from identity code D578CK, heavy activity involving the 'Crocodile' of 'Wilhelm Scream'."
"Outbound or in?" Katukov turned as he eyed the file that Yashin held.
"Out."
Katukov took the file. "Just another mill of the day load training?" he asked as he opened the file.
"No sir, at least five ships heading out of port. Ships also confirmed to be of the 'logger' types."
Erik looked into the file carefully at the detail. "Interesting… Very well. Tell 578 to keep tabs with his sources on the direction of the convoy."
"Yes, commander!" Yashin saluted and went onto his duty.
D578CK was an insider source in Germany, he was responsible for reporting on us about Carius Academy's activities. The event concerned around Carius' naval assets, which we like to keep an eye on since they usually mean transport of supplies or tanks. 'Logger' was a nickname for a class of transport ship. One of those transport ships can hold twenty Panzer IV tanks, or ten Panther tanks. Either way, with the number of ships involved, Carius was transporting a typical load for a tournament match. The curious part, as you might have imagined, was that the tournament was still three months away, and they were going out. Thus, their purpose piqued my interest. The first hypothesis was that perhaps Carius had taken a job as a glorified courier and were shipping new tanks from the factory to buyers, but then, three days later...
"Commander, we've got a development in the tracking of 'loggers' three days ago."
"What is it now?" Katukov handed his current work in his left hand to a colleague as he strolled towards Yashin's sides with a tablet in his right.
"Sir, the types have confirmed to be traveling north for about 300 miles on the side of Denmark. However, the convoy had made a sharp turn towards the east as of 0630 local time. Instead of the predicted route around Norway, we are now speculating they are heading through the Skagerrak strait."
"Well that is good, that limits the destination to a few." Katukov brought up a satellite map on his tablet as he scrolled with his left fingers. "Maybe not Poland, rail would've been cheaper...Think it could go to those three countries here?" Katukov pointed on the map.
"No sir, I've just confirmed with the league representatives, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are not officially scheduled to receive any tank shipments. We are also not officially expecting anything, else we'd gotten word from the administrators at Kaliningrad."
"I see, so that just leaves two specific countries who could receive this."
"Yes, commander. Sweden and Finland. But no matter what sir, these ships are not registered under any merchant trade codes, so they aren't supposed to be transporting anything for trade purposes"
"Hmm, alright, keep an eye on them; see if maybe they have a tracking number or some-"
"Commander!" Another individual called his attention across the room as he ran up towards the two. "Incoming intelligence from our the Northern Fleet liaison!"
"What is it now, Corporal Smirnov?"
"Commander, a Zeppelin-class school carrier has been tracked since last week, it's only just today as it passed through the Barents Sea region that we have been able to identify it as the top Japanese school carrier Kuromorimine."
"Kuromorimine? What are they doing up in the Arctic Ocean?"
"From the ship's track log with the correspondence of the Pacific Fleet, Kuromorimine traveled there from the Bering Strait, commander."
"I'm aware of that strait, I'm asking if their motives have been identified."
"None that I'm aware of, commander."
Katukov analyzed at the two pieces of information at hand. "The situation is developing. Corporal, I want a constant track on that Kuromorimine school carrier. Same for you Yashin, same priority as the Carius Academy convoy."
"Yes, commander!" The corporal stated as he returned to his station.
"You think there's a correlation?" Yashin asked.
"Maybe… if the events continue at this pace… Have you and Yuri in QRSF on standby...with a 48 hours notice to action."
"Yes, commander!"
I had my reasons to believe there was correlation between the two. My first thought was joint-training or something like that, not a trade or purchase. Foreign exchange was not beyond the realm of possibilities either, I'm sure many students in Japan have been eagerly looking at foreign schools for higher education. However, it was also within the possibilities that both events were complete coincidence and that they were not related. But about one week later, I found myself at the operations command room with the new intels.
A large multi-screen monitor spanning across a wall danced as six different screens portrayed their essential information, ranging from maps with GPS coordinates, weather conditions, time, and health reports. One screen remained black as it sat reserved for use. If these screens weren't enough, several intelligence operators sat in the room with their own set of computers to monitor the situation and information.
"Hometown, this is Former leader, we've got sighting of the targets at the coordinates. Current distance, five kilometers, over."
Katukov leaned over the microphone as the other intelligence cadets in training processed this information on the screens. He spoke to Yashin, designated Former Leader, "Roger that, Former Leader."
"Sending out drone now, Hometown. ETA to position, two minutes."
"Copy that, prepare to conduct reconnaissance procedures from your pos."
"Why are they in Gotland, anyways…?" Another voice crackled in.
"Former 2, check your channel, you're in with Hometown."
"Whoops." A small crackle sounded as the other contact disappeared from the channel.
"Keep him in check, Former Leader."
But Former 2 raised an interesting point that Katukov has been mulling over since two days ago. Passing the Skagerrak strait, the transports avoided all major ports of Sweden and as they were making a turn to what seemed like Finland, they hit the largest island in the Baltic Sea.
Nothing was particularly odd about their landing at Gotland, Sweden. No, what was intriguing was that the Kuromorimine carrier followed the same exact path towards Gotland.
After that, the Quick-Reaction-Scout-Force was deployed, all of two men.
"Hometown, drone is ready to send visuals."
"Send it, Former Leader."
A green text appeared over the single blank screen saying [VISUALIZING]. A moment later, the black screen flickered and an overhead view of the darkened earth began playing. With the sun just barely rising at the region (and only early morning in Katukov's position) the landscape has only just the dawn's minimal light. A heads-up display showed on-screen to show the statistics of both the drone and the environment. As the camera focused, its recognition software picked up the people below, and soon square overlays appear on each object the software has identified as a human.
"At least fifteen individuals in the immediate vicinity," Erik read off the statistics. "...plus estimated thirty more in general area."
"Confirmed on the ground, Hometown," Former Leader spoke. "Former 2 has identified armored vehicles down at the area, Tigers."
"Panzer VI Ausf. E's…" Barov said from his computer desk.
"Yeah, someone write down the tanks in the scene. Panthers, Tigers, all of them and the numbers for each."
"Yes commander!"
"Hometown, we've gotten a visual on one of the individuals on the ground for identity recognition, sending image now."
In one of the screen, the image was rendered. A high-definition one from a digital camera in Former team's possession. The angle showed their position from the target of interest, their view of the land at dawn faced towards only one side, while the other remain with their backs facing towards the camera. Both sides wore black or grey attire, but the side facing the camera have an attire of grey jackets with black skirts. One of the individual's face became clear as the facial recognition software acted in the command center. Once the image finalized, a profile image was popped up.
"Maho Nishizumi of Kuromormine Girl's Academy," Erik Katukov recited the titled identity.
"So the top brass of Kuromorimine's tankery is down there."
"Technically it's Sensha-dou," Erik interjected. "And I suppose the individuals facing opposite of them are Carius Academy personnel. Former Leader, can you identify anyone in the other group?"
"Negative Hometown, all their backs are turned to us. No facial recognition can be acquired."
"Can we get the drone to get a more lateral view for that?"
"Negative Hometown, not at the altitude its flying. Any lower for a shot will risk detection."
"Very well Former Leader, activate microphones then, see if we can work by audio recognition."
"Roger that Hometown," Yashin said. "Standby, microphone initializing...momentarily…"
As the software boots up, Katukov examined the scene still being played from the drone. By Maho Nishizumi's group and Carius Academy's group, there was present two Tiger I tanks for each side. However, zoomed out, a large assortment of German tanks can also be seen in the general vicinity. Two sides of them were separated with a 100 meter distance between, with a further distinction made in their type of camouflage. One side had only the tan Dunkelgelb coat of paint on them, with black emblems. The other side was a lot more liberal with with their camouflage, with the two Tiger I tanks facing each other providing an interesting comparison. The tank on Maho Nishizumi's side had only the plain tan color, but the other had a myriad of colors in brown and green that breaks up the profile much better on the camera than the other.
Another sign was the craziness in the tank assortment. The side with clean tan paints had a wide variety of tanks; Panthers, Tiger IIs, Tiger Is, Panzer IV(70), Jagdpanther, Jagdtigers, and even the monstrous Maus.
"I'm gonna take a guess and say that's the Japanese side," PFC Arozov joked from across the room. No one reacts.
Then on the other side, it was much more organized, with Tigers and Panthers and… that's it.
Must be Carius, Katukov thought. They were the one with restricted payload.
"Hometown, microphone should be active in 4...3...2.1!"
Soon, the same screen with the drone's image was now showing a small window for audio that records the decibel changes. First, the sound was of static as the directional microphone calibrates. It soon toned down as the microphone finally catches its first dialogues.
"...対処部わじゃないです," was the first transmission sent, spoken by a feminine voice.
"Nuts, they're speaking in Japanese. Anyone's an interpreter here?" The room was silent on Katukov's question. "I see… Corporal, go ask the office to see if there's any Japanese interpreter, we've got some text that needs translating."
"Yes commander!"
"At least let's hope there's a interpreter down there too translating between the two.
"選択わじゃないです...西住まほ," The answer came, this time form a male.
"Curses…Carius guys are speaking Japanese too?" Katukov went. "Former Leader, you and your comrade got any special interpreter skills up your sleeve?"
"Uh, that's a negative, Hometown."
"So audio's useless right now… nevermind that. Keep recording for future records."
The conversation continued, with the tone in voice becoming more confrontational. Hints of exasperation and frustration sounded from the female's voice, but the male's voice remained constant; presumably someone on the high ground of this negotiation.
As this went on, another personnel entered the room. "Commander Katukov, Specialist Yadinov here sir!"
"Hello Comrade, you are our interpreter?"
"Yes, commander!"
"Okay, dialogue's in this headpiece here, listen in."
Yadinov then took on the headpiece onto his ear as he listened into the dialogue.
"...something about bargains…" He coughs, as if catching up.
"I can't accept terms like that…" The female voice said.
Then the male voice spoke, "Understand the position you are in, Nishizumi. We can just pack up and leave right now if we want; these dips in our finances are inconsequential. I cannot say the same for you, however."
"But-"
"My position on this matter is final. These are the terms for our business here in Sweden. I will give you ten minutes on this matter to decide. The future of Kuromorimine lay on your decision here."
"If I accept these terms… Kuromorimine might not have a future…"
The figure speaking seems indifferent, as the drone live stream now showed the group parting ways as Kuromorimine were left watching the other move towards their closest Tiger tank and climbing atop. The tank then rumbled as it departed from the area.
"Focus on the remaining group," Katukov said as the directional mic aimed towards the Maho's group.
"What's going on Captain?" One voice said.
"That didn't end well, did it?" Another brash voice spoke.
"...their terms are withheld," Maho spoke.
"What?!"
"They'll only accept this wager if they leave their terms withheld."
"But...that's going against a blank check."
"What could they do then if… we lose?"
"Honestly? Pretty much anything they want if they win."
"It's too dangerous Captain! We can't put the whole school at risk because of this!"
"If we don't do this, we're done for either way." Silence filled the group as they compose themselves. "Don't worry girls, we're better than this. We come across an obstacle, we strike hard and keep striking; just remain calm, and we can get through this."
"...understood Captain, we'll do our best with the maneuvers!"
"Get into position girls… and may luck be in our favor. I'll radio it in."
Katukov listened to the course of event before being suspicious on the lead-up. "Oi, oi, oi. Are they about to start a tank fight?!"
"Uh, maybe?" Barov spoke.
Right on that note, the drone image made a small alert beep as it alerts the viewers toward new details in the video feed.
"Commander! We've got at least two whole Panzer Division down there about to go active!"
"Oh son of a-, get Former team out of there!"
West of town, France (Present)
"And that's all that we've observed three months ago before we had to disengage," Erik concluded his story with a sip of tea. He clacked the empty cup back down onto its saucer. "That photo right there was taken one month ago from our inside source."
"That's it?" Miho asked. "That can't be it! Please, Erik, you've got to have more on what happened with Kuromorimine, you said you'd tell me everything you know!"
"Hold on, I believe the deal was specifically worded as 'if you want to know more about Kuromorimine' and 'we'll tell you all we know,' not 'we know everything about Kuromorimine,'"
"Yeah..., but-"
"You've got to look at the words carefully. No one waste words in wagers, especially when in comes with complying with them."
"Oh, don't bring those legal terms into this," Katyusha chastised. "You know very well the context of that deal when you sent that messenger to us, don't go chickening on us like chopped liver!"
"Calm down Drift," Erik said. "I've already told you all we concretely know about Kuromorimine with that photo there; everything else is my projecting our perspective and theories on this matter.
"Theories?" Miho asked.
"Yes, I've been thinking deep into the matter of this meeting, but I can't promise that it's all true though. However, if one analyzes the context behind Kuromorimine and Carius Academy meet-up at Sweden of all places, it becomes harder to say that they just happen to be there on coincidence."
"Well, Sweden has a very healthy tank development cycle going on in there," Kay said.
"But what relevance does that mean for their meeting? No, the reason is far more rooted if you look at the culture of Tankery, and its more...insidious sides with the world."
"Like how tankery is used more for military exercises than an actual sport?" Miho asked, recalling from Daniel Marshall on the topic.
"A bit like that," Erik conceded. "Tankery is so ingrained in the world culture now, it's hard to see whether tankery or culture is the one changing to suit the other's needs. There's proponents on both sides in current academics, but one for the latter view is on how traditional practices have become readopted as practices of Tankery. Such as in Sweden, one practice has resurrected in a form of high-stake wagers between participants."
"What practice?" Anchovy asked.
"No," Mika broke her silence as she stood up. "You don't mean… Holmgang?"
Erik clicked, "That's exactly right, missy."
"What's Holmgang?" Nishi asked.
"Holmgang… it's a… I thought it was just a rumor!" Mika sat back down, still shocked about the practice.
"Holmgang's a term for duels extending back to the early medieval ages in Scandinavia," Erik explained. "It may not be same as it was back then, but its been adapted used today for Tankery wagers. High-stake ones too."
"But it's not that big of a deal, is it? It's still like any gambling sites...right?" Kay said.
"Oh, you have no idea. Anything can happen in holmgang. In rumor, there's been lots of things put on the stake for holmgang: wealth, territory, equipment, disputes. What I listed may sound trivial to you, but I'm talking about literal countries betting what they have left in their treasury, their border lines, their very military, in tankery holmgang. In some cases, I've heard of some very prolific legal cases settled 'out of court' actually being settled under conditions of holmgang."
"That's a pretty big deal…" Anchovy thought on the implications.
"But why would they settle it with this practice?" Miho asked.
"Well Miho, when a country has in possession a bunch of tanks, and our very culture has created a sport around them, the culture of sport betting also comes over to tankery with their very loose legality lines. Those many countries that use them for holmgang? It's not surprising most of them are impoverished nations using what little resources they have to gain a few meters of land, a few gold bars, from holmgang if tanks are all they have to use."
"What business would they even have in Sweden then? If they are from so far?" Mika asked.
"Sweden is the second-best place next to Switzerland to resolve conflict between international groups. Holmgang is rarely practiced by the Swedes, it's everyone else who comes in for the act. The Swedes don't care, it's not their business to interfere; all they ask is that the institutions call ahead for a spot to resolve their differences. Everything else is off the records for them, unless someone dies; but that hasn't happened yet."
"If it's off the records… anything can happen," Darjeeling comments.
"But, Kuromorimine…, no, my sister doesn't have a reason to be involved with anything like that."
"Does she not, Miho?" Erik asked. "It isn't so surprising once you look at the finances and the economy revolving around Tankery.
"What do you mean?"
"Miho, do you know how much fuel a tank company of medium tanks need to move one hundred miles?"
"Uh, around 1,250 gallons of fuel?"
"1,250 gallons of fuel; nice, right on point. Let's wrap our heads around that, 1,250 gallons of fuel for a tank company to move 100 miles. That's already about 3,750 American dollars right there if we assume three dollars per gallon of gasoline. But that's for a tank company, about 17 tanks in your western organizations with medium tanks and those fun efficiencies."
The other girls at the table then turns to Kay, who realized late that the spotlight was on her in this conversation. "Uh… yeah! Those numbers, they sound about right. Yeah… no objections."
"Now, let's take Kuromorimine into the equation, a private school that primarily runs on German tanks that just simple guzzles fuel like the embodiment of Tantalus. And not only that, but are operating expensive German equipment with a spare parts and maintenance cost that just skyrockets."
"I've never seen any concerns of finances in my sister's view while I was still there. If it was that bad, surely it'd be a bigger factor in our financial meetings."
"Miho, Kuromorimine is a private school; it has the family wealth and influence behind it, but it still relies on sponsorships to support many of its programs."
"Sponsorships for the school?"
"Money from the outside of course. Investment! Kuromorimine was the long-running champion of Sensha-dou in Japan! People love to throw money at this success if they can get a bite of the popularity in return."
"It was a pretty big deal at that time…" Anzu reminiscence at the past.
"I wish we had that kind of money…" Anchovy glumly said.
"Still nothing on us," Kay replied.
"They had a steady thing going on with the sponsors; until the 62nd National High School Sensha-dou Tournament. of course…"
Miho's mind went cold when Erik mentioned that tournament.
"The 62nd… you mean…" Katyusha connected the dots.
"The 62nd tournament, the tournament where Kuromorimine's victory streak was utterly ruined by one little detail...sitting right across from me right now."
"Hey, that's a bit too much," Nishi defended Miho.
"Now, one defeat like this isn't actually a big deal despite the immediate fallout. Failures happen, institutions have recovered from worse setbacks. Then the 63rd National High School Sensha-dou Tournament rolls around, with Kuromorimine already in a precarious situation, and they lost again. Just to rub that in, its to the same person who caused their defeat last year, and from a no-name school that they outnumbered nearly three to one. What kind of impression does that give to the sponsors?"
"Nothing good, that's for sure," Anzu said.
"If Kuromorimine wasn't in danger of scraping the bottom of their barrel, they must've surely did when they deployed their tanks once again to your aid against that University team or whatever. A lot less than their usual, but far from affordable for an average operation."
Miho reflected on all of Kuromorimine's operations since she left. All of Kuromorimine's deployments from that point on… how much did it all really cost?
"Whichever the case, something had happened that caused Kuromorimine to want to settle a deal with Carius Academy under Tankery holmgang, despite their less-than-favorable bargaining position."
"A wager for finance?" Darjeeling asked.
"Indeed. Carius Academy does have finances for support, but assuming the case that Kuromorimine is indeed having diminishing returns and prestige, they don't have much to offer in return."
"Then...that would explain the unfavorable deal," Nishi said. "How dishonorable!"
"As they said, Kuromorimine was going against a blank check if they are staking it against withheld terms. If they win, they get their slice of the money to continue on; they lose, the blank is there to be filled with Carius Academy's desires."
"That is a lot you gave us Mr. Katukov," Anzu started, "But all we've got is your words on this matter, which may or may not even be the real context behind this photo you gave Miho. What's your proof for all this else?"
"I have none that I can give."
"So how can we trust this?"
"All I've given you is a perspective, my view of this situation that I've gathered from the information available on Kuromorimine and Carius Academy," Carius picked up his tea cup and pointed it towards Miho. "And I give you my theory from all the information here, Miho Nishizumi. Kuromorimine has a problem and they tried to solve it with Carius Academy under the conditions dictated by Holmgang at Sweden. And they lost, Miho. Kuromorimine has lost again. Now what exactly happened to them because of that, I don't know, but something did."
Miho processed this information carefully. Everything happened so fast; after being in the dark so long, she's finally gotten something out of it. But that something was just a photo and a perspective, and she became suspicious at the details.
"If it you need more correlation of holmgang happening," Erik adds, "'Holmgang' in Old Norse translates to meaning 'a stroll on an island.' Guess what sort of landmass Gotland is?"
"Forgive me, Erik," Miho said. "But it's really hard for me to think I got anything out of this at all."
"I don't expect anyone to take this information lightly," Erik said. "But that's what we commanders have to do, don't we? We use the information given to us and act on them. As I've explicitly said, all this is just a perspective, a theory, that I can't prove; but I personally find it convincing even if none of you all do. Besides, if you wanted more direct answers, your next opponent in this tournament just so happens to be one of the two parties directly affiliated with this issue. Perhaps ask them." As he said those words, he looked closely at a watch he had on his left arm. "Oh, how the time has passed. I'm afraid I must be off now."
"But Erik-" Kay tried to object.
"I've told you all I know, girls." Erik continued as he replaced his black glove over his prosthetic. "Any more time here is a waste in the productivity of Miho's search. I have other business I must attend to before I return to my cadets." He got up from his seat, with all the other girls in the table rising as well in formality. Erik walked around the mass at the bordering areas of the tent as he headed to the exit.
"Erik!" Miho called out, with him returning for one more glance. "...Thank you for your time."
Katukov smiled at this generosity. "It was an honor to fight against you, 'Legend.' May we meet again under more favorable terms." He said before he left the tent.
The girls were left inside as the lamp swayed in the air, the light still shining all-around.
"Well…" Anzu broke the silence. "That was something."
Miho watched as Katukov disappeared from her sight, then she raised the photograph back into view as she looked at the image of the Kuromorimine carrier in the vicinity of Carius Academy.
"What is going on, sister?"
"Once they all leave, pack up the tent." Katukov told the diligent cadets outside as they saluted his presence.
"Yes, commander!" They said. The lighting outside showed the approach of dusk as the sunset set the sky ablaze in a bold orange gradient. The shadows on the landscape broadened as the lowered sun shined laterally across the terrain. One stray cadet started running up towards Katukov.
"How'd it go?" Naydenov asked him.
"They took it well," Katukov answered. "She took it better than I thought."
"Sorry for leaving you alone in there, I'm not good around people. I prefer tanks, they're… a lot more quiet."
"No worries, Naydenov. Each of us have to approach situations whicccchhh-" Katukov stopped as the path had a tall girl standing in the middle, staring towards the coastline. Erik sighed as the two slowly approached this girl "-which we are most comfortable of…"
They slowly approached her, to which she turned to face her attention towards them. Her dark green jacket emboldened the red shirt underneath, just as her brunette hair highlighted her sky-blue eye color. Katukov approached with a hint of caution and admiration.
"Blizzard" Katukov said in Russian as he faced her. "...of Pravda."
"She's waiting," Nonna said as she gestured him towards the coast. From her pointers, he could see a lone girl standing closer the coast, her blonde hair flowing from the winds.
Erik took a breath, "Alright then… Naydenov, make sure no one interferes."
"Understood."
Erik pursued alone towards the girl, whose features became more pronounced upclose. As he got closer, he paced his steps, gauging his time to contact. As her hair fluttered, so did Erik's pale blonde strands as they waved around in front of his face.
As he closed to within hearing range, under the weaving winds from the sea, the girl turned towards him, alerted. She then quickly turned away, her arms closing up in signs of apprehension. Erik pursued on until he was within pacing distance from her, just out of arm's reach.
"Lovely sight, isn't it, Klara?" Erik attempted to break the ice as he stared out into the shining water that was the English Channel.
Silence above the waves permeated the atmosphere as the no eye contact was made. Erik looked over and saw Klara still tucking herself away.
He sighed, "So... still silent to your older brother?" The girl made a significant shiver on that note. Erik waited a few more moments before exhaling a deep breath. "Very well, perhaps next time," he said as he began to take his leave.
"Wait…" Klara finally spoke just as Erik made his first steps away. He stopped in place. "Is it really alright to call you brother, still?"
"Of course, we're family after all, Klara Katukov."
Klara turned around and faced Erik. "You shouldn't use that name anymore."
"Why?" Erik asked, slowly approaching Klara. "It is who you are, no matter what the two said."
"No… not that," Klara said, her voice audibly shaking. "How can you call me that after what I…"
Stop the bleeding! A voice cried out inside.
Who did this?
The arm can't be saved, its ruined!
Klara's eyes once again diverted away from Erik. Erik paused his movement as he felt a little ache at his right side. He moved the mechanical arm slightly, stretching and flexing the machine, to alleviate this feeling. "What happened in the past doesn't change our relation."
"But-"
"And what happens to the records doesn't change our blood lineage."
Klara seems comforted by his words. "You say that, but… you know that they won't let me back."
"Mother and father's words can land on deaf ears for all I care; what they did to you was unforgivable after the accident."
The voices returned. How could she have let this happened?!
Does she even know she's a Katukov?
Such an embarrassment...honestly.
"They have every reason to," Klara timidly replied.
"No they don't," Erik continued. "As your brother, I find it disgraceful that our family pride has caused us to lose our compassion."
"Did it hurt then, when you gave me those papers transferring me away?" Klara asked Erik.
Erik was silent for a moment. "Yeah."
Klara sniffed, "Father was really eager to send me away after that."
"Actually… I was the one who got the paper and currency for you," Erik answered. "Father would have been satisfied with you freezing in the streets."
Klara's head seem to scrunch up even further within her uniform. "... so no one cares for me there anymore."
"Not now, no. But that's only because I'm here now." Erik was now right about in front of Klara, maintaining eye contact as he puts as much sincerity as he can to his words. He used his left hand and grasped Klara's shoulder. "When I'm back there, there will always be a place for you to call home in Mother Russia."
"You…" Klara said, a stiffle in her voice. "You're sure?"
"Absolutely, I promise that to you, sister."
Klara ducked her head. Erik could've sworn he saw tears, he gestured Klara closer and the two hugged. Klara held tightly as she held onto a source of deep comfort for her. She dug her head into his jacket as he patted her head with his warm left hand.
They stayed like this for a while.
Klara soon loosened up as her composure returned. He smiled back first, she smiled in return.
"How's that cover story working out by the way?"
Klara made a small laugh, "It wasn't needed at all. Ms. Katyusha barely looked past the city Novosibirsk before everyone accepted me in."
"'Drifting Snow' is a good girl for taking you in, and so is 'Blizzard.'"
"You do like using code names a lot…" Klara said, reminiscing.
"Like our young days… Well, you've changed definitely, you're not a tank driver anymore."
Perhaps a joke in bad taste as Klara's expression soured slightly. She cradled Erik's right mechanical arm slightly. "Does it still hurt?"
"There are worse pains than this."
"Everytime I feel the pangs inside, I always think it's because of the remnants of your arm."
"Does that not reinforce our familial bond?"
"...I guess so," Klara affirms.
A scuffle seems to start down the path Erik came up towards the coast. He glanced down the road to see Naydenov holding off a few other cadets. It seemed quite confrontational.
"We have so much to catch up on, sister," Erik said as the sun nearly finished its course down over the horizon. "But I must go now, my team needs me. So does yours."
Klara was saddened that the time to depart must come so soon, but she nodded in acknowledgement. "...one more hug?"
"A quick one," Erik said as they quickly embraced. "See you later, Klara Katukov."
"Goodbye, brother."
She released and he gave her a heartful smile as he started to walk away, he heard, "Erik!" and he turned around once more towards Klara. "Thank you, for everything."
"Your welcome."
He departed, with a concern that it would be a long time before he saw her again. However, urgent matters must now come first.
"Move it, Naydenov! I want to speak to him!" Yashin shouted at Naydenov, facing away so that he didn't see Erik approach.
"Commander has ordered me to not have him disturbed."
"Order rescinded," Erik said as he butted into the conflict. Nonna walked away upon Erik's arrival, heading up towards the coast to Klara. "Ah-" Erik tried to get her attention, but she was gone. He was disheartened, he wanted to say some more for Klara's sake.
"Commander!" Yashin butted close to Erik, Naydenov helpless to control him. "I have an objection to raise!"
"What happened to your eye?" Erik asked. Yashin's right eye area has a small black spot with a small spot that showed significant physical trauma. He covered it with his right hand upon it being noticed.
"Commander, how did you not exploit our strong initiative against them? Did you not know that you had every opportunity to eliminate Ōarai from the very start?!"
"I knew."
"Wha-? You knew, commander?" Yashin said disbelieving. "You knew that and yet offered them mercy? Commander, this match is going to be aired in all international television regarding this tournament. How are you going to explain the commandment and the public on your intentional sabotage of Suvorov's performance. What are you going to say about our position in this tournament, the world?!"
"Yashin," Erik straightforwardly said to him. "If D578CK's reporting is correct, it won't matter who wins the final, or even the semi-final. Once this tournament is over, Suvorov will remain as the top competitor in all of Tankery."
Very ironic how the summer break ended up too busy to write the story, while university time became my freest me for it.
But bloody hell, I finally got a chapter out. I apologize for the long wait and am gonna apologize in advance in case the next chapter takes abnormally long as well to come out.
I've gotta thank user Lightarc for constantly keeping in touch with me on the progression of the chapters. Honestly, I feel like I would've been so busy it would have just dropped from my list of priority; but he kept me in touch about that and I was encouraged to keep the story going at a pace I can afford it too.
Not to say that the pacing between the last and this chapter would be a norm, just that Summer was a new form of busy with an internship. University actually provided me a lot more time in the day to write than Summer, so I'm gonna step up the paces for these chapters as we are heading into the climatic moment of this plot.
There's a lot of old and new readers that have joined this story in between these chapters, and I want to say thank you everyone for your support. I really appreciate it, to see this fanfic still attracting new readers almost two years after I've started this puts a warm smile on my face.
If you haven't already, please also Favorite and Follow the story for the fastest notification on whether I release a new chapter or not. Please Review the story as well if you have the time, I'm always eager to hear what you think about the story.
I look forward to seeing you all on my next upload!