The Legends Still Live On
Bogen Siebundzwanzig-komma-fünf: Glorreiche Zwecke
Kapitel Zwei: Vorschau – Glorreiches Land
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It was thunderous, to summarize the sounds of all the war machines when they all rolled out and took off. It matched up the overall mood pretty well, all things considered, as this final match between Ooarai High School and Schwarzwaldspitze Gymnasium was greatly anticipated to be intense.
Obviously, the German school's combat prowess needed not to be explained with their long history of merciless victory. But one thing made abundantly clear by the Ooarai bunch over the course of this season was that, despite all of their disadvantages, they were incredibly fierce and not to be underestimated. They were a one-of-a-kind team, with a very strong overall character to them, none more so than their Jagdstaffel's undisputed top ace: Erika-Dietlinde Hartmann.
"If it were easy… everyone would do it," Loki observed the distinctive Bf 109 K-4 as it flew closer to the fight from where he was among the grandstands. The dark-haired God of Mischief somewhat understood the blond-haired ultra-ace's position here, namely in the 'sibling spats' department. While he bet there wasn't a single family quite like his own when it came to family fights – most of which often resulted in the threat of destruction or the actual destruction of an entire planet – just taking what he knew about the two Hartmann sisters he could reasonably guess it would be an entertaining show, at least. The sorcerer knew that Erika was in the weaker position here, which drove him to his comment: there weren't many who would be so confident in facing such an overwhelming enemy with pretty much zero advantages on their end, but Erika was one of the few who was.
It wasn't like he was really rooting for either side, though. No, he was simply here to revel in the chaos that was bound to unfold as a result.
Endless
Waste
Our patience runs thin
One of the most rewarding attributes of Ooarai's combatants was the amount of patience each of them had now, especially so for the Panzerzug. While the last fight against Pravda showed a glaring lack of it that nearly cost them the match, they had come to learn from this mistake quickly enough to be proficient at it in the next fight.
It was a worthy attribute especially for Schildkröte, the team of Student Council members that had previously operated Ooarai's Panzer 38(t), because now they operated a Jagdpanzer 38(t), a tank destroyer that was well-suited to ambushes. Patience was a necessity for those kinds of tactics. It was so far a success, as Schwarzwaldspitze had yet to uncover that the light tank destroyer was hiding among shrubbery, lying in ambush.
Here!
We stand ready!
Let the battle begin!
While the Jagdpanzer 38(t) was doing its own thing, the rest of the Panzerzug was merely waiting for Schwarzwaldspitze's land forces to approach. They had situated themselves atop a hill with a commanding view of the landscape. While greatly outnumbered, they were not strictly guaranteed to be defeated, as Manfred Nishizumi was a clever guy.
Not only was it his idea to send off the Jagdpanzer 38(t) to sew chaos among Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzers, but he also made use of the Ki-10 belonging to the Jagdstaffel in a reconnaissance role. The German Panzerkommandeur was also a natural in improvising, if it came down to it, which it most likely would. Because when did Ooarai ever have the advantage?
Well, Erika had an answer for that question: never. So, upon spotting the flying armada of Schwarzwaldspitze, she didn't mention that fact and kept the mood light, saying to her Jagdstaffel, "Showtime, assholes!"
"Language!" she heard Leah Mulberry – member of the Public Morals Committee and pilot of Ooarai's D.520 – instinctively reprimand. That was kind of the raven-haired English girl's thing.
In response, Erika huffed in disappointment. "Fine," she mumbled, before clearing her throat and trying again. "Showtime, a-holes!"
The whole situation was amusing to the rest of the Jagdstaffel, leading to a round of giggles echoing throughout the channel.
(Hit! Back! Charge!)
As their forces arrive
But they all quickly refocused as they entered battle with Schwarzwaldspitze's massive Jagdgeschwader. The Germans chose to open the battle with an air raid on the Ooarai Panzerzug, calling on their usual blitz tactics.
The resulting air battle was fast-paced, filled with deflection shooting and blink-and-you'll-miss-it eliminations. Because many of Schwarzwaldspitze's fighters had previously been equipped for ground attack, the Ooarai fighters were able to shoot them down much more easily than otherwise possible thanks to the situation providing them with the energy advantage.
(Shove! Go! Push!)
Leave no foes left alive!
"Um, Fräulein Staffelkapitän… do you have any specific orders for us?" the ninth-year Alena Klose asked over the channel in the midst of battle. While having grown a lot over the past year in attitude, she was still notably timid when dealing with her superior, stuck in that position between being skeptical and trusting.
"Excluding Ron, nope," Erika answered flippantly as she descended onto an enemy 109. "Just shoot down as many as you can." A short burst of guns from her own 109 and the enemy Gustav was eliminated.
"I thought you said you had a plan!" Leah's voice came over the channel next, sounding chiding as always.
"Of course I have a plan!" Erika retorted as she zoom climbed back up to higher altitudes, searching for her next target all the while. "Just because it sounds and looks stupid doesn't mean it actually is!"
"Why do I have the feeling you just called all of us stupid…?" Anna Novat muttered, just loud enough to be heard over the channel. Even though she heard it, Erika chose not to respond to that, instead focusing on lining up one of the multitude of Schwarzwaldspitze's late Bf 109Gs and shooting it down.
Facing the storm
Battered and torn
Fighting for our glorious home
The air war was quite the spectacle to those observing, as it was utter chaos at every bank and roll. Though Ooarai's Jagdstaffel only had seven hands available to fight back with – of which one, the Me 163, was only there for a few minutes at most thanks to its limited endurance – there was nothing held back by them in the least bit. It was one of the aspects that made up Ooarai's character: their stubbornness. Even while so drastically outmatched, it just didn't seem to matter to them, because they've been there and done that numerous times already.
They had learned full well by now to operate as a cohesive group. Whenever one of them was attacking, there was always someone there to have their back, and whenever one of them was retreating, there was always someone to cover them and continue putting pressure on the enemy. They never gave Schwarzwaldspitze a break from being attacked and never made it easy for them to attack.
Come take our hand
Together we stand
Defending our glorious land
On the ground, Ooarai's Panzerzug was caught up in a very last-stand-like scenario, trapped on the hilltop like they were as Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzerabteilung pressed on to surround them. Though the multinational platoon was able to inflict at least some loss on the Germans, said battalion just shrugged it off and kept pushing without falter.
Manfred understood that was his brother's thing, a teaching passed down from their father. 'Weiter vorrücken,' or 'always advance.' The younger of the two brothers always hated those teachings because of how serious of a picture it painted of the Arts of Warfare. He wasn't in this for the reputation. He was here to just have fun.
Though, if he had to be honest, that was a lie now. He was here now because the fate of his new school rested on this single fight. And he was highly invested in making sure it stuck around.
"There!" he called out upon spotting a gap. "On their right flank! Go!"
"Yay, now we can stop sitting on a hilltop twiddling our thumbs like a bunch of jackasses," Makoto Reizei sarcastically cheered from the driver's seat as he piloted the Panzer IV H according to Manfred's commands.
"Hey, you were the one who said you wanted to fight beside friends," Samuru Takebe pointed out from opposite him, in the radio operator's seat.
Silence!
Falls!
As the screams fade away
The sounds of battle quieted down after Ooarai's Panzerzug made their great escape off the hilltop. After getting past the enemy Panzers, they had rolled past their rearguard made up of numerous knocked out Flakpanzers. This was a deliberate move on Manfred's part to have the weaker tanks in his lineup go after the AA vehicles, to at least make them useful. Ooarai's weaker tanks – most obvious of which was the I-Go otsu – did not have the firepower to punch through the thick armor on many of the German Panzers.
The Ooarai Panzerzug could hear the moans and groans of the Germans who crewed the Flakpanzers, because of some of the bumps and bruises and other painful but not overly life-threatening injuries that came as a part of being in such an exposed vehicle.
"Sorry, it's nothing personal!" Noriko Isobe – a short-statured water polo player with some no-nonsense short, dark brown hair on his head and eyes of the same color – apologized to all the Germans with a wave while standing out of the I-Go otsu's commander hatch as the Ooarai Panzerzug passed them by. Despite having the most pathetic tank in the platoon, the crew of athletes within were incredibly aggressive boys, and it made them able to take out any light-armored vehicle with little effort. Hence, they had quite the field day dealing with enemy Flak.
Home!
Of the fallen!
And the home of the brave!
Upon reaching the east bank of the Rhein, the Ooarai Panzerzug briefly stopped as the history buff crew for the StuG III F took the time to erect a sign they had brought along. It said 'Ludendorff-Brücke' on it, meant to be a little humorous reference on their part when they heard of how there was a temporary bridge built across the river just for this fight.
But the foursome of history buffs also silently honored everyone that had fallen all those decades ago battling for the very bridge they were referencing. The impromptu memorial didn't last very long, but it was just something they felt they should do, because who knew when they would get the opportunity to do so in person again. Not only did they have a great love of history, but they also had a great deal of respect for it. It only felt right to pay respect to all those that had died there.
Meanwhile at the Ooarai airfield, all of their fighters were being rearmed with another pool of ammunition, as well as having any damage incurred fixed.
"OUT OF ALL OF US, YOU HAVE AN ENTIRE DAMN COLLECTION OF TOOLS AT YOUR DISPOSAL! IF ANYONE WERE TO HAVE SOLDER, IT'S YOU!" Antonella Silva yelled at Natalie McBraun, who was hastily working under the cowl of the Bf 109 K-4 to fix a severed electrical wire for one of the ammunition counters.
"THAT'S EXACTLY MY POINT!" the Canadian yelled back to the American, finally settling for just crimping said wire back together. "I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING!"
"YOU ARE WASTING A LOT OF TIME HERE!" Erika yelled at the both of them from within the still-running 109's cockpit, the canopy swung open for the time being.
Facing the storm
Battered and torn
Fighting for our glorious home
After finally solving that issue, all of the Ooarai fighters were back in the air. Soon enough, they intercepted the massive Schwarzwaldspitze Jagdgeschwader. Erika noted that many of them were loaded up for a ground attack, which was good for them as it would give them the advantage basically by default in air combat. But those jets flying ahead were huge problems, way too fast for any of her own fighters to intercept, excluding the Me 163. The rocket-powered fighter wasn't coming in until later thanks to having to refuel again.
As they approached, the blonde ultra-ace saw the leader of Schwarzwaldspitze's main formation just spontaneously blow up. "Ooh!" she oohed, surprised yet greatly impressed, before growing a smile as she quickly figured out the cause. "Haha, Helma just can't seem to miss, can she?"
Come take our hand
Together we stand
Defending our glorious land
Over the makeshift bridge across the Rhein, the air battle that ensued quickly turned desperate once again. Only this time, Ooarai had help from their own Flak-Batterie. That meant Schwarzwaldspitze fighters began to fall in greater numbers this time, turning the tide further out of the Germans' favor.
Eventually, all of the Ooarai tanks were able to cross the bridge to the west bank. It was just in the nick of time, as the very next German airstrike finally collapsed the temporary bridge, preventing anyone from crossing over anymore.
That wasn't necessarily a good thing, as with their objective failed, Schwarzwaldspitze's Jagdgeschwader refocused its efforts onto eliminating Ooarai's Jagdstaffel. Even though the Germans were much fewer in number now – to the point where they were actually at the numerical disadvantage in the air – they still had some incredibly powerful weapons at their disposal, one of which was their Ho 229 V3.
Said flying wing quickly took out Ooarai's Ki-10 after its unsuccessful strafing run on the bridge, and later took on the rest of the Ooarai Jagdstaffel all by itself. It screamed past Erika's Bf 109 after missing its pass on it. "Wow, that's intense," the blonde commented, watching the flying wing zoom back up to higher altitudes at great speed. "Though, seeing such a rare aircraft going all out is quite the spectacle."
"We're getting our asses kicked and that's all you have to say?" Nadine's sassy retort came over the radio. Nadine was one of the newest pilots in the Jagdstaffel, flying an N1K2-J. She had average-length blonde hair and blue eyes, with a violet hairband on her head as well. She was an avid gamer, having a preference for the tactical aspect of war games. So she already knew the basics of air combat from that.
Almost immediately after she said her piece, Nadine's Shiden-Kai was ripped apart by the Ho 229's second pass. After evading the flying wing again, Erika kept her eyes on it as it retreated. "Did someone say something?" she asked, having sworn she heard a voice over the radio a few seconds ago.
As quippy and sarcastic as she could be – and she gave those aspects of herself plenty of exercise – Erika still had plenty of seriousness in her, most aptly demonstrated when she gave a rousing speech a few days ago to the entirety of Ooarai's Arts of Warfare program in preparation for the final battle against the Germans.
"You know what life likes to do?" she questioned the crowd at one point. "It likes to make losers out of people." The blonde saw some people grow insulted looks at the remark, and she hurried her speech to fix it. "I mean… it likes to take things away from us. Life wants us to lose things that are important to us, just for kicks. But, right now, life has given us a chance… A chance, to give a shit."
She paced slowly before everyone, still giving them her attention, as she continued on, "For far too long, that was my problem: not giving a shit. But now, I do give a shit." She spread her arms out nonchalantly. "And not just because I'm one of the idiots who lives here." Slowly bringing her arms back to her sides, she allowed a second of silence to pass to build up her words. "But because I've come to see all of us," she gestured to the entire crowd with one of her arms, "as family."
She shook her head lightly as she continued, "Yes, I know we all have our moments where we just can't get along. Families will fight, that's a given." Erika then gestured to herself with one hand. "I'm personally guilty of this, as a few of you know." Letting her hand fall back down, she slowly paced. "But the thing about family… is that you'll be willing to do anything for them. No matter what little petty grievances you have with them, no matter how annoyed you get with them, no matter what little ticks of theirs just drive you insane…" She stopped and fixed the crowd with a look of sincerity. "At the end of the day, no matter what, family always sticks together."
Yet, Erika knew that she had come very, very, very close to alienating herself from the concept of family. Her most recent fight with Manfred several weeks ago – the one where both had gotten extremely physical – had ended with them battered, on their knees, her holding him by the neck with one hand and the other poised to strike his face. But after a moment where everything was still and silent and Manfred was left to wonder whether or not she would really do it, she finally broke down and let out a tortured scream, releasing him and shrinking back as she dropped her face into her hands.
It was by far the most vulnerable Manfred had seen the blonde, perhaps ever. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to regret it in the long run. Oh, sure, in the present he absolutely hated having to see her like that. It absolutely tore his heart apart. But, being the more logical between them, he could see the good in this. Namely, that it was a step in the right direction for her mental state.
(Einmal in der Nacht war nicht genug
Es dauerte vier, bevor ich zufrieden war)
"Erika, this is madness!" Manfred tried to further reason with the blonde. He and Erika had descended into having an argument after their fight. Neither had enough energy to get to their feet, but enough to keep their fight continuing at least with words.
"Is it madness?" she hissed at him, trembling with the amount of rage still coursing through her. "Is it?" The lines of bullshit the vibrant brunette kept uttering just made her so pissed at how he couldn't understand her. "Is it!?"
(Und ich habe es geliebt
Ich habe jede Sekunde genossen)
"Yes!" Manfred retorted, as if it was so blindingly obvious. "You think this madness will end with you standing atop a podium!?"
"If I don't, then what!?" Erika turned things back onto him. "This is not some fairytale story where everything can turn out good in the end! You cannot be so naive as to actually believe that Scheiße, can you!?"
Manfred didn't know what to say to that and went silent for a few seconds. "Why are you doing this?" he finally asked, voice thick with emotion for what she was doing to him being like this. "What are you hoping to get out of this… endeavor of yours? Just to get what you want? Because congratulations, you got it!"
(Auf meinem Rücken gelegt, ritt, von hinten befestigt
So weit wie möglich auf dir gesunken)
"I don't need you telling me what I want!" Erika snarked back. It was ridiculous, she knew, to stay so heated, but her pride demanded she not back down.
"Then you tell me what you want!" Manfred threw her words back in her face. And it worked, as Erika suddenly had all the heat flood from her and fell silent. But the vibrant brunette kept venting his frustrations. "Is it to get me to hate you? Because it's working!"
"If it's working, then why are you still here?" she returned with a low voice. The little bit of bite in it was emphasized when her blue-eyed gaze turned icy.
(Und weil ich so unglaublich eng bin
Es war nicht sehr schwierig)
"I never wanted to win," Erika said, still glaring coldly at Manfred. Yet he could see the hurt in her eyes as she did. "I never wanted a damn trophy, I never wanted a place of honor, I never wanted my name written across the skies for all to see!"
Her emotions started becoming more prominent as she talked, evidenced by her heavy breathing and little twitches of her facial features and how her fists were clenched tight.
"All I wanted was to be recognized as her equal!" she started again, practically yelling now and voice hoarse with emotion. "All I ever wanted was to have my sister back!"
In the present day, it was crunch time for the Ooarai Panzerzug. They had been chased down finally by Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzerabteilung, or what remained of it, anyway. Shortly after coming up with a plan, Manfred put it into action as all of his own remaining tanks charged in with a mighty battle cry. It was a passing thought, but the cry reminded him of Vikings, for whatever reason. Maybe with how rag-tag yet fierce his team was, or something like that.
Facing the storm
Battered and torn
Fighting for our glorious home
In the air, Wolf had nay but a moment to recognize what the hell just happened when everything around her just inexplicably blew up. Her Me 410 was absolutely annihilated, with only the cockpit remaining intact. "GET OUT, NOW!" she yelled out, hoping her gunner heeded before fumbling around to get out herself.
"You're kidding, right?" Anna said to Erika over comms, looking like she was expecting her to say she was joking. "No, I'm not getting involved in your little sibling spat. That's a family issue."
"If it is for me, then it is for you, too," the blonde answered back. The Austro-Bavarian looked to retort, but Erika continued before she could. "I know you're Bruno's sister. It's obvious. Don't insult me by saying otherwise. I don't know what exactly happened between you two, but we have more serious problems at hand that require our attention."
Come take our hand
Together we stand
Defending our glorious land
While Erika did have a point, Anna still hated the idea of having to directly undermine her brother. The two Novat twins had a complex relationship with each other. As young kids, they were very close and did everything together. But as they grew up, they started breaking away from each other as Bruno's isolation and distancing of himself ramped up, which resulted from how everybody gravitated towards Anna. She had always been more beloved by everybody, while it was the opposite for Bruno in that almost nobody liked him compared to how many liked his sister.
The perceived favoritism grew to the point where he eventually just snapped and gave a big 'screw you' to the family by disassociating himself from them completely, choosing to instead go attend Schwarzwaldspitze rather than sticking beside Anna. Six years later, none of which saw any contact between the siblings, and here they were. Though she initially had no idea what brought on the change in her brother, over the years Anna had thought about it deeply and realized that it was her fault in a way. She had never noticed how unfair it felt to him for her to get all the favor and him getting nothing.
Erika's implication to Anna was like asking her to give yet another reason for her brother to hate her. Finally, Anna sighed, "Oh, what the hell, we're practically fighting for our lives anyway." In the end, she knew she had to fight for victory anyway, as, like Erika said, there was so much more at stake. Namely, the continued survival of their home. "Fine, I'm in. Happy?"
Facing the storm
Battered and torn
Fighting for our glorious home
It was just the two of them still in the air for Ooarai. While there were only two still in the air for Schwarzwaldspitze as well, the two still remaining were some of the Germans' most elite. Helmine Bimmel was not particularly special in her talents as a pilot, but the fact she actually was a pilot this time around made Erika a little nervous, as during the time she knew her, Helmine had not been one. So she didn't really know her as an opponent, which opened the way to potentially nasty surprises. The other remaining pilot on the German side was Isabel-Justina Hartmann, who needed no introduction for her own abilities.
Down on the ground, only two tanks were still up: Ooarai's Panzer IV H and Schwarzwaldspitze's Tiger H1. And they were both in the middle of a fast-paced duel through tight residential streets. Now, the lighter Panzer was in a little hideaway waiting to jump back out to catch the heavier Panzer by surprise.
"And…" the vibrant brunette Panzerkommandeur prepared to give the order to his crew and begin his plan. However, several seconds passed where nothing happened, killing the moment. "… Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't time that right."
Soon, however, he heard the telltale sound of the Tiger's Maybach HL 230 V12. It was perhaps best described as a roar that was smooth as silk.
"And… NOW!" Manfred ordered, which signaled Makoto to floor it in reverse. The Panzer IV rammed straight into the Tiger I, which had its turret turned to face them during the approach, anticipating an adversary where they were. But the ram had caught the heavy tank by surprise, and the Schürzen on the Panzer IV did their job when the Tiger's HE shot flew towards it, absorbing the blow with no damage to the tank itself.
Come take our hand
Together we stand
Defending our glorious land
"You do realize you'd have to be the best pilot in the entire world to defeat her, right?" Anna saw fit to point out at one point in the midst of the aerial battle.
"Well, luckily for us," Erika started as she pulled up and looped back around to the action, focusing on Isabel's actions and waiting for the opportunity to strike, "I am."
"Oh, so modest!" the Austro-Bavarian quipped back before they both went silent to focus on fighting.
Said fight consisted of many head-on engagements due to how similar both sides' aircraft were. Anna flew an Fw 190 D-12 and Helmine flew the nearly-identical Fw 190 D-13, while Erika had her Bf 109 K-4 and Isabel had her Bf 109 G-6, both similar enough that any dogfight between them came down to pilot skill.
Down on the ground, Manfred had been chased down by Michael for a long time now. Yet he was no closer to escaping. So he chose to head back to the campus square. The chasing Tiger fired a shot, which missed partially due to Makoto's driving, and that was when Manfred found his opportunity. "Drive back around onto their flank!" he ordered.
During the time it took for the Panzer IV to line up a clear shot on the Tiger's side, the heavy tank had already reloaded and had its gun aimed directly at the lighter tank. But it was now or never, and Manfred decided anyway to command, "Fire!"
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Part of Projekt Erika.
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The author does not claim to own "Girls und Panzer," the music used, or any other references made. "Girls und Panzer" belongs to Actas. The music used belongs to Sabaton. Any references made belong to their respective owners.
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