A/N: So welcome once more to the climax of the Overlord Arc, soon we'll move on to another operation I haven't decided what yet so I'll ask you all (see the poll on my profile).
Last week was the last pre-written chapter so expect more sporadic updates as we go on.
Still I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, enjoy.
Muse Section: Chapter 9
6th June 1944 Pont sur Dives, Normandy
The quiet chirp of birds was all Honoka could hear across the gentle breeze that was blowing that morning, the loud crump of naval gunfire that had been audible in the distance had ceased for now. The soft rustle of clothing, and occasional rattle of equipment were the only indications of the team that were advancing up in formation behind her.
She checked her watch, sighing.
07:20 the troops must be landing on the beaches soon then.
Her mind flashed to her sister who would probably be jumping ashore at the head of her platoon right now. Honoka was worried as any good sibling would be, Yukiho had only got her commission recently, but right now she had to focus on her surroundings otherwise she wasn't just putting herself at risk but her friends as well.
And something wasn't right, the atmosphere felt wrong. Like there was a faint almost unknowable smell of danger in the air, a sense of foreboding that her instincts told her to pay attention to. It burned in the back of her mind, a hot coal among smouldering embers.
The Ginger NCO surveyed the silhouetted trees that rose over the next hedge indicating that they were nearly at their objective ready to begin a pincer movement on the German position. One of the trees though looked off. It was missing some branches on one side of it's trunk. And only that side...
Honoka put up her hand quietly signalling the team to halt, everyone crouching onto one knee as was expected. She turned around and beckoned over Hanayo with her hand silently, the brunette sprinted up the formation the grass rustling alongside.
"What is it?" the soft high voice of Hanayo called to her. Honoka glanced back to confirm who she was talking to.
"Does something feel off to you?"
Both girls listened to the sounds of morning for a moment in the few moments of silence followed.
"No…not really, why do you ask sergeant?"
"Something feels…wrong to me, I mean look at that tree it looks like someone snapped those branches off."
"It could be that the storm we had did that…" Hanayo pointed out.
"True, true…" Honoka gave a low hum, before rummaging through her webbing for a few moments, a silent 'aha' coming from her mouth on her finding and pulling out her binoculars. "I'll go take a look then". Honoka signalled for the squad to stay where it was before she sprinted the short distance to the hedge in front of her.
Honoka pushed her way slowly through the dense undergrowth until she could see the field beyond. Unsurprisingly it looked remarkably similar to the expanse of grass behind her. The expected that a dry stone wall blocked off her potential advance into the woods, and there was not a German in sight.
In theory; but Honoka couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
She was about to turn back, her fears only partially assuaged. Then a glint caught her eye. It was only brief, lasting less than a millisecond. The glint of something metallic in the tree was all the proof she needed, to confirm that she would not be easily strolling into those woods.
Honoka smirked, plotting out her plan of attack on the probable German position, she scrambled back through the foliage and across the field to her waiting compatriots.
She took in the size of the force she had at her disposal one last time, before signalling for everyone to gather around her.
"Right, it looks like Jerry is waiting for us over that hedge. But he's hidden right now my guess is that he's going to ambush us when we cross that next field." Honoka glanced at Hanayo who merely shrugged.
"So what are we doing then, do we go around, or deal with them where they stand? We've got no heavy firepower remember Nozomi and Eli are off flanking the enemy position." Nico asked the obvious question that hung on everyone's mind.
"Oh the plan is quite simple. On the other side of the hedge is a ditch that should provide enough cover, we advance like everything is normal and when we're there Mika and Hideko set up the PIAT in cover and blow up the wall in front of the tree with the broken branches."
The resident Anti-tank girl sighed placing the PIAT on the floor and twisting it sharply while placing her body weight on it to cock the spring loaded weapon.
"So I take it you two are happy with the role of fire support?" Honoka raised an eyebrow at the girl's reaction.
"It's not what we're made for but I'm sure that Hideko can manage, she's normally like this anyway sergeant don't read too much into it." Mika answered.
"So while those two rain fiery death on the Germans, the rest of us will move up using fire and movement as well as flanks to sweep clear the rest of the enemy."
"Sounds good." Nico noted giving her assent to the plan.
"Ok then any questions?" Honoka was greeted by a round of shaking heads. "Great! then let's get this done quick we can't have any hold up otherwise panzers might be pouring across that bridge to the beaches by lunch."
Honoka's little joke reminded everyone why they were there for a second.
The squad moved slowly towards the hedge dispersing a few meters between them they moved to the few gaps that existed in the hedge.
Honoka motioned them to move forward, they walked into what was undoubtedly the enemy's kill zone, the tension growing with each passing moment. She could feel the sights of the enemy on her, Honoka rapidly began questioning her tactical acumen like she always did when she did something borderline suicidal.
Quietly Honoka motioned as Hideko and Mika crossed the boundary between the two expanses of grass for them to get into position. The last thing Honoka saw before she heard the distinctive pop of the PIAT and all hell broke loose before was a slight movement behind the wall.
"SCATTER!"
The stones of the wall erupted skywards as the PIAT bomb exploded right on target flinging the Germans hidden behind it around like ragdolls. The Paras obeying Honoka's order ran in all directions spreading out across the field some joining Hideko and Mika in the ditch while firing, others going to ground where they stood.
The chatter of Nico's Sten tore through the residual silence in the aftermath of the explosion. The grey clad figures obviously stunned at their discovery fell before her hail of lead.
"MOVE UP! PUSH AROUND THEIR FLANKS!" Honoka ran diagonally across the field yelling to her assembled team mates. She looked behind briefly while designating the point she wanted her assault to follow with her hand, seeing Rin barrel past immediately afterwards. The crack of Hanayo's rifle and the pop of grenades against a backdrop of gunfire reminded her that she had a strong base of fire and the element of surprise on her side.
The sudden burst of fire erupted from another part of the stone wall. Another German machine gun opened up the sound of ripping cloth filling the air. Honoka threw herself to the ground bullets tearing up the dirt and grass surrounding her.
The ginger sergeant grimaced; a burst from her Sten did little to keep down the new threat. Honoka watched one of her team keep running towards the objective, her cries for her to get to cover falling on deaf ears. The NCO winced seeing the poor girl get cut down by the crushing fire. The bullets tearing into her jacket ripping of chunks of her flesh blood trickling down her clothes and staining the grass as she fell to the earth.
Honoka glanced back at her team after firing off another burst from her Sten at the Germans. Hanayo and the others providing cover were also coming under fire from the enemy, the brunette ducking behind the lip of the gully she was holed up in, rounds flying over her head.
Honoka saw Nico pointing frantically in her direction trying to alert the Mika and Hideko to the new threat, before running across the short distance between them.
The slight thud of a body landing beside her made Honoka jump, her head snapped around to see Rin lying next to her, mercifully unhurt; the two girls poured fire on the Germans temporarily shutting them up covering Nico's sprint past.
The echoes of battle were everywhere, but Honoka cocked her ear listening
"Rin! I need you to see how Eli's lot are doing, Jerry might've set up more than one ambush. You think you can out run a bullet?"
The glint of joy in the cat-like girl's eyes was palpable nodding furiously. "You can count on me Honoka, leave it to Rin ~nya." Her speed meant that it was almost like she had vanished from the NCO's sight, her gaze following the rapidly retreating silhouette of the runner watching her vault the hedge.
The buzz of bullets drew the ginger's attention back to the gun that was holding up their attack. Throwing caution to the wind Honoka pulled out a grenade preparing to throw it in a dash towards the enemy. The 'pop' that came behind her though and the explosion that shredded up the enemy position in a similar rain of metal and mud, dashing any of the NCO's plans for a glorious rescue of her team.
Wasting no time Honoka scrambled to her feet sprinting for a gap in the wall that would enable her to fire on the enemy's flank.
"Come on MOVE!" she screamed as she ran, pulling up one of the luckless volunteers by her webbing mid-run. Her legs smacking against the hard earth, another explosive round went into the ground causing the earth to shudder and further destroying the cohesion of the German soldiers.
The crack of a rifle was accompanied by the girl that Honoka had half shoved and half pulled with her falling to the ground, blood spurting from her neck, staining her strawberry blonde hair a garish shade of dark red.
"Fuck, Sniper!" Honoka's yell caused some of the girls who had been advancing to go to ground once more. The sergeant clenched her teeth in frustration, vaulting the low stone wall, nearly tripping over the dead body of a German soldier.
Sprinting to the nearest cover the Honoka's blue eyes noted that Nico was already there, duelling with a German twice her size, her bayonet already bloodied.
The colossal man was already covered in multiple small cuts implying that Nico had the upper hand. The muscular man swung at the lithe girl, Nico ducked inside his guard like a flash, his hand passing through thin air. He paid heavily for his lack of agility, Nico's blade sinking into the Germans belly Nico's forward momentum propelling him onto his back. The girl was relentless quickly withdrawing her blade stabbing it quickly into the bald man's heart, the slight register of pain on his face fading, the life draining from his eyes.
"Learn to dodge next time" Nico leant back against a tree, her sigh heavy with fatigue.
The ginger sergeant yanked down resident starlet behind a tree root opening up on the flank of what remained of the German position. The few dazed men that were still standing cut down by her and Nico's combined hail of mall calibre fire. Five quick cracks that finished off a few of them showed that Hanayo still had an eye on the position. The few remaining coherent Germans pulled back over the beyond the treeline into the small copse.
The solitary sound of a German rifle drew Honoka's attention to the tree that alerted her to the ambush, the small flash of green and grey indicating that particular piece of vegetation to be the sniper's nest. The next bullet took out a chunk of wood from the root Honoka was taking cover behind sending splinters flying. Honoka swore quickly pulling out and checking the weight of her Sten magazine, it was considerably lighter than before.
"Meh" The sergeant slammed the magazine back into the receiver and opened up on the offending tree with the rest of her magazine with a long aimed burst. Honoka systematically destroyed the tree, leaves and branches raining down from the sky, before long the sniper was also brought low his speckled green camouflage coat getting caught on one of the branches and suspending his now dead body a few metres off the ground.
It was over. Honoka smirked at the fact that the attempted ambush by the Germans had been turned on their head; clearly they hadn't expected the Paras to fight back.
The nearby sound of gunfire however indicated this was only the beginning. They may have triumphed but she didn't know about the others. Honoka motioned for the remainder of the team to form up on her, the girl who had been cut down by the machine gun was patched up but in a bad way, the one hit by the sniper was dead.
Honoka ordered the girls to set up a temporary defence, facing the direction of the bridge, her eyes turned to the surrounding countryside.
"Looking for Rin?" Honoka glanced over to find Hanayo at her side her worry for her boisterous friend showing through, her nervous fiddling giving it away, she was constantly adjusting her glasses fiddling with her rifle bolt and webbing straps.
"Yeah she should be back any-" Honoka's eyes strained seeing a figure vault the hedge once more sprinting towards her position. "Speak of the devil."
Hanayo gave an amused hum at the comment before running out to greet her friend.
"What's the latest Rin?"
The girl paused slightly catching her breath before answering. "Eli…said that she needs help immediately…she's…pinned down . Rin saw that they had at least four MGs on them and more."
The news hit Honoka like an anvil. "Four? How many casualties?"
"At least three maybe more…"
The moans of the wounded were punctuated by the distinct chatter of German machine gun fire. It sounded like Eli had walked right into one of the ambushes. The constant gunfire adding to her apprehension for the safety of her friends, and Kotori, but silence would be worse; silence meant that the guns had fulfilled their purpose and her friends were probably.
"Everyone get up we're moving to relive the other team, things are going badly for them, if we don't help they could be wiped out." the sergeant turned to Rin. "Go to Eli and tell her that we're on the way then help from her end, Hanayo you too."
"Right" the response was simultaneous from the both of the younger members, before they ran off over the fields of France.
"The rest of you on me, we've got a squad to bail out. Leave the wounded for now we can come back to them." The girls shifted uncomfortably at the thought of leaving their wounded comrade behind but all the same they got up and followed their sergeant, watching her steer a path to the left of the woods
"So much for tactical planning" Nico muttered softly just within Honoka's earshot.
The squad were on edge keeping an eye out for any change in the status quo, any change in the fire rate of the guns keeping their friends suppressed. Honoka tapped her finger on her Sten nervously checking the map for possible flanking routes. As it was there was an easy one, a path that led to the side of the German position from what Rin had told them where they could enfilade them, but there was no guarantee that the Germans weren't watching it.
The Ginger sergeant sighed, she was doing something stupid again the path wasn't the best option but they had no time to look for others, they'd have to improvise on the fly if this all fell apart.
Honoka motioned for the rest of the squad to follow her before she jogged across the road in front of her and up the small unbeaten track. She glanced behind checking to see if the team was actually following her every few steps.
Honoka increased her speed gradually becoming surer of the path she had chosen, the nettles and thin branches whipped at the NCO's exposed hands and face, the sounds of battle growing ever louder and louder, Honoka leading her troops pell-mell into over the crest of the slight hill in front of them bringing into view their objective.
The orchard was bordered on all sides by a stone wall similar to the one they had encountered earlier. The tracer fire of the machine guns streaming past and into the meadow below where Honoka could clearly see the majority of the other team either wounded and dead or huddled around Nozomi's Bren Rin and Hanayo a little distance away pouring fire into them.
Honoka threw herself against the wall taking aim at the busy German position the rest of the team established itself alongside her, she slipped a grenade out of her pocket, it would be a slaughter.
The Germans hadn't noticed them yet they were too busy firing on their friends in the meadow below, or scurrying around fetching ammunition. They were also down a slight slope as well that slightly hid Honoka from discovery, as well as giving her the height advantage.
Honoka waved at the others, pulling the pin on her grenade throwing it for all she was worth. Nico and others followed suit. The soft thuds of their landings were masked by the noise of gunfire and combat orders. But at least one German looked down at his feet before being thrown into the air in three pieces. The explosions were deafening causing Honoka's ears to ring; she opened up with her Sten, firing bursts at every figure that moved down there. The combined hail of death from Honoka and her comrades cut down numerous enemy soldiers, crippling their ambush.
Honoka looked down the slope to her Friend's position and waved at the blonde haired girl to advance. The Germans tried to switch their angle of fire but the lack of cover meant that they paid a heavy price in men.
The battle cry from the bottom of the slope drew her attention for a few seconds marvelling at the spectacle, Nozomi had picked up the Bren and charged up the slope firing from the hip at point blank range. The rest of Eli's squad had engaged in hand to hand combat with cold steel. Rin especially was enjoying herself cutting through the enemy like a blur of steel and blood. Only Kotori stayed back each crack of her rifle sending an enemy soldier down like a ton of bricks.
"Ah Fuck it! Fix bayonets!" Honoka's order was accompanied by the sound of multiple blades being unsheathed and the metallic clicks of them being fixed into place.
"CHARGE!" Nico took up the initiative to begin screaming across the orchard at the already confused and terrified Germans.
Honoka and her team smashed into the German flank, cries and pleas of mercy could be heard echoing across the field, Honoka's blade sinking into the back of a retreating officer. The girls fought tooth and nail to clear the remainder of the orchard using implements used for centuries: the butt of the rifle, the bayonet, their wits and their dexterity.
Honoka loosed off a burst at a clump of Germans who were on the verge of breaking sending them down wounded or fleeing for their lives, rifles discarded. More Germans began to filter away gradually; the paras smelt blood and took up firing positions and poured hell into the rapidly fading grey figures running back towards the bridge. Most fell to the ground wounded or dead, the withering fire of Sten and rifle, combined with Nozomi's Bren to make an inescapable kill zone.
Men fell like they were wheat harvested in the autumn. Only one sergeant remained standing stumbling over the ground fleeing for his life. Honoka gave the order to cease fire. The end of her bayonet dripping with blood. The whole affair had been bizarre, archaic, something out of the Napoleonic wars not the 20th century. She looked around seeing the rest of the section in a kind of shock over the events.
She ran around checking to see if they had any casualties, a Cut on Rin's forearm and a knock to the head for Eli were as bad as it got fortunately.
Honoka put on a smile; she walked up to Eli in the middle of the gore. The ground was littered with bodies, less than Honoka had expected but still enough to make her stomach curdle. Blood stained the green of the leaves and the first buds of the apples that dotted the surrounding trees, the few wounded groaned their dying breaths.
"How are you doing then?"
"We're fine, things were a bit sticky but thanks to you we've broken what looks like their main defences." Eli gestured to the other side of the orchard where the bridge was just visible a few hundred metres beyond.
"We should move on it now then." Honoka noted; Eli nodded in agreement. Both looked across at Rin making sure the girl was in earshot.
"No more bayonet charges though." they said in unison.
The team chuckled at the groan that came from the shorter ginger runner behind them.
"Rin bring up the engineers, they're going to be needed very soon; and see if they've got any white phosphorus grenades."
"Understood sergeant." the runner dashed off as though she hadn't just fought in exhausting hand to hand combat, the assembled women watched astounded
"Eli, Hanayo on me we're doing some recon. The rest of you take five until the engineers get here. " Honoka vaulted the wall, jogging out of the orchard; blue eyes sparkling.
"If they'd defended here we would've had a much harder time about it…" Eli examined the now deserted network of sandbags and slit trenches that were visible from behind a row of small shrubs that concealed the three scouting paratroopers.
"No doubt about that, this level of defence is a bit much for a bridge of this size." Honoka scanned the simple girder construction that spanned a small expanse of water that was the River Dives.
"At the very least we should have an easier time of it than before, there's nobody on this bank so we can turn their defences against them." Eli gave a slow hum of agreement to Hanayo's observation.
"I'm still worried about the activity on the opposite bank, if they've got some kind of radio there…" Honoka let the implication hang in the air for a brief moment, before she gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Ah well that's what the phosphorous is for and even then we don't have to hold the bridge. If we charge them now occupy those defences they'll find it hard to stop us from planting explosives. 'Especially considering how badly we gave them a damned good thrashing'." Honoka's mock posh voice teased out a smile from the two girls lying in the dirt beside her.
"Shall we go link up with the others then?-" Hanayo's question was interrupted by a crack from the other bank, German soldiers had opened up on their position in a slightly panicked warning display.
"No point sticking around here!" Honoka exclaimed jumping up, bullets rattling through the trees and impacting the ground near her feet.
"Wait a second…Honoka!" Eli's shout faded as Honoka sprinting through the Norman undergrowth back to the orchard noting that the engineers and Rin were back.
Her arrival was followed a few seconds later a panting Eli and a flustered Hanayo whose glasses were nearly falling off of her face clutching her rifle haphazardly between her arms.
"Don't do that again! Not everyone has your energy or your luck Honoka!"
"Sorry Eli-chan" Honoka clasped her hands together bowing in apology before turning back to the assembled squad with not a hint of remorse in her face. "So as I was saying…"
Eli sighed with Honoka proceeding to rattle off the plan of attack which consisted of Phosphorous used as a smoke screen and a liberal application of covering fire as they occupied the defences on their bank.
"Rin do the engineers have phosphorous?"
"Hmm. Oh yeah! here catch." Rin threw three green and black cylinders in her direction; causing Honoka to stumble back trying to catch the metal canisters She briefly read the black capital letters in the cylinders seeing the 'No.80 PHOS' printed on the smooth metal container.
"Great!" Honoka addressed the remainder of the soldiers pocketing the grenades. "Right everyone let's move check your ammo and it's a two meter spread towards those trenches. Run and fire in the open!"
The section advanced quickly across the orchard arriving soon at it's opposite edge in a tense silence.
The crack of a rifle shattered the calm a bullet ricocheting off of the stone wall in front of them from the opposite bank.
"Bloody Hell!" Honoka heard Nozomi swear the squad all ducking down. She looked across the bridge seeing a small contingent of enemy troops hunkered down in the hedges and a few sandbags near the other end of the bridge.
"We need to keep up momentum!" the energetic sergeant shouted, pulling a few of the soldiers near her up by the scruff of the neck, she vaulting over the low wall providing the only cover between her and the defences around the bridge. "Kotori you stay here and provide cover fire the rest of you on me!" her shouts carrying back over her shoulder to her colleagues over the 'snap' and chatter of sub-machine gun and rifle fire.
Honoka fumbled with her pockets trying to retrieve the phosphorous grenades that Rin had thrown at her earlier sprinted for her life her Sten hanging by its sling. Bullets flew through the air flinging dirt and moss was thrown skyward thumping into the ground.
The dull flashes coming from across the bank and the sound of the German guns was drowned out by a loud chatter from a Sten. Honoka glanced behind her shoulder throwing herself at the last few meters seeing a few of the section Stopped and firing from a stable position. Nico was just behind her and emptying magazine after magazine into the opposite bank. Although she couldn't see Kotori at the edge of the orchard where she was supposed to be, Honoka shrugged it off her mind returning to her still ringing ears
I'll have to have a go at Nico for deafening me later. She smiled at the thought of the playful arguments that it would create.
Honoka skidded the final few feet along the jagged dirt and tarmac, the ground biting angrily at her shins and knees. The NCO bit her lip trying to block out the pain while she pulled the pin on her grenade before throwing the heavy metal container as far as she could. Taking a few seconds to watch it trace a graceful arc through the sky Honoka heard the sound of a body impacting the cover next to her.
"Kotori?!" Honoka stared at the Brown haired sniper who was currently taking aim next to her "What are you doing here you had a much better firing position up there " the incredulous sergeant threw her hand up gesturing at a position closer to the orchard.
"I'm not letting you leave me behind again Honoka-chan! I'm following you until death do us part." The determination in the girls golden eyes was clear and her point was emphasised by the crack of her rifle finishing her sentence
Damnit Kotori, normally when you do stuff like this it's sweet but right now? Honoka's face went through several iterations of frustration and the usually softer look she used for her friend.
Tuning her gaze away from the penetrating look that the sniper was shooting her, Honoka rapidly pulled the pin on another smoke grenade throwing it some distance to the left, before lobbing the last one right behind the German sandbags.
Honoka smiled all of the grenades had landed on the opposite bank and now the burning chemical would provide visual cover as well as drive back the enemy, especially after that last throw. The three successive pops of the grenades' explosions covered the opposite bank in billowing white smoke.
The cries of those men unfortunate enough to have been caught in the chemical echoed across the narrow river, tearing at Honoka's soul. She felt a twinge of guilt for using such a cruel weapon against people who at the end of the day were humans as well.
The girls come first Honoka. She chided herself. Half of them would be dead if we continued in the open.
"COME ON! MOVE UP!" Honoka shouted to the rest of the section giving off a quick burst on her Sten, watching Nozomi sprint with an unearthly speed that shouldn't be possible when carrying a machine gun.
The smoke cover and the concentration of firepower appeared too much for the Germans who fell back under a blaze of lead, Honoka watched Eli and Hanayo rapidly cause the Germans to hit the deck suppressing them with well-aimed rifle fire. The slow steady thud of Nozomi's Bren delivering the coup de grace with one German was gunned down trying to make a charge in the direction of the bridge.
"ENGINEERS MOVE! We haven't got all day!"
The commanding NCO of the engineers, a Sergeant with light blue hair, gathered her team and ran out into the fray, bullets ringing off of the girders in dangerous ricochets. The small group of about five girls worked furiously wiring up the explosives and occasionally ducking and shooting at the retreating figures of the German soldiers.
A low whistle came from Nico's direction. "Those engineers are braver than I thought." The black haired girl leaned on the sandbags her Sten hanging limply at her side. Nozomi and Kotori kept up a withering wall of fire at the rapidly receding German soldiers, they quickly disappeared into the undergrowth of Normandy.
"Is that it ~nya" Rin asked also lowering her weapon with the passing of the immediate threat. A brief calm descended the few remaining wisps of phosphorous drifting away on the opposite bank.
"Probably not but we don't need to hold this place for long. So by the time it kicks up again we'll be gone." Eli's dry assessment of the situation echoed over a more silent battlefield. Naval artillery and the distant sound of planes making them remember they weren't the only people fighting for their objectives right now.
"Charges ready to go sergeant!" the blue haired engineer NCO called back from near the rusting grey metal barriers either side of the road deck.
"Ok over you go. Keep an eye out everyone." Honoka watched drily the engineer sling the bundles of plastic explosive over her shoulder, carrying the fuses in one hand climbed over the side of the bridge making her way to its underside.
"Do any of you hear that?" Hanayo asked turning her head towards what must've been the direction of the noise.
Honoka shook her head listening intently for a few seconds, there was nothing except the distant sounds of the landing. "I can't hear-".
A low rumble was audible, just slightly but it was getting louder and louder, closer and closer. The bushes on the opposite bank started shaking and the noise became a high whine.
Nico leaned over the sandbags trying to see if the source of the noise was visible "What is that?" Honoka shook her head in answer to Nico's question.
The front shrubs abruptly lurched forward with a loud 'CRASH' being crushed under the front wheels of a grey hulking machine.
"Oh bloody hell! HALFTRACK!" Honoka yelled a warning to the engineers exposed on the bridge.
The girls on the bridge looked up dumbstruck at the noise and at Honoka's shout, they stood motionless like rabbits caught in the headlights.
The halftrack's MG opened up bullets pinging off of the rigid metal structure. Too late the engineers snapped out of their trance. Two fell clutching their limbs blood springing from the holes carved from their bodies by the lead projectiles. One fell guttering , her own life-giving blood betrayed her filling her lungs, her body having been torn open by the short sharp burst of fire. She fell her body impacting the ground with a crack her blonde hair spilling out from her helmet. Her eyes looked on unseeing, like those of a dead fish.
Honoka and the girls watched on with unbridled horror and surprise at the scene unfolding before them. The engineers began running back to the safety of cover; the two wounded dragging themselves through the hail of death below the relative safety of the metal side of the bridge dropping down into a slit trench panting.
A loud cry followed by a splash followed Honoka looked down stream to see the blue haired engineer floating face down the murky water around her stained a muddy red. Clutched in her cold dead hand was a mess of wires.
The charges…fuck! What now? Honoka's mind raced trying to find an answer to that question, the ripping sound of machine gun fire temporarily reordering her priorities.
"Hideko! Target that half-track now!" Honoka screamed, he machine gun tracing its deadly arc towards their position.
The loud pop followed the sergeant's order the shell tracing a lazy arc towards the half-track exploding in a near miss.
The Half-tack disgorged its cargo of soldiers while clods of dirt spiralled into the air. The PIAT Crew worked silently in the face of targeted fire and their previous failure. "Last one! Mika's admission of an empty ammo container meant this had to count.
Hideko fired off her last shot towards the lightly armoured vehicle. The shell once more traced the same curved path, this time hitting the front of the grey armour exploding hot metal slicing through both man and machine culminating in a large fuel explosion.
"Open fire on them!" Honoka's cry was immediately followed by a hail of bullets pinning down her team.
"We're too bunched up sergeant; none of us can get a clear shot off!" Eli yelled crawling towards Nozomi's Bren Gun.
The rest of the section tried to gun down the new arrivals, but were pinned down by the rapid fire of the enemy MG.
No PIAT, no charges pinned down, how are we going to do this? How can we do this?
A large explosion ripped through the German squad, sending two of them flying and silencing the gun. The survivors were chased off or cut down a new loud thudding sound, bullets kicking up dirt all around them. A new machine had opened up on them on their side of the bank. Four flashes were visible just beyond the leaves and the moss.
The Germans fell back to the burning wreck of the half-track. The sharp cracks of a rifle coming from across the river as well, causing at least one grey clad soldier to fall to the floor blood flowing into his lungs through the new hole in his throat.
"What's going on?" Kotori enquired, Honoka shook her head in reply; as bewildered by the spectacle as the rest of her squad.
A female figure in a white jumper wearing a black beret burst out of the foliage from the opposite bank. Honoka saw that she was carrying a satchel of some kind and grasped on old Sten in her right hand.
"Hold your fire!" her sharp order brought down the weapons of the section which had jumped up pointing at the new player in the engagement when the satchel girl ran onto the bridge.
Machine-gun fire followed her, the Germans noticing the girl opened fire once more their rounds ringing off of the metal of the steel structure.
The owners of the final two weapon flashes on the opposite bank revealed themselves, two people stepping out of the Bocage. Clad in the green and brown dappled smocks of the parachute regiment, red berets perched on the red and blue hair of each girl. They fired their Sten Mk Vs into the German position keeping their heads down moving slowly with the training that only came from years of training and combat experience.
"Umi…Maki My God!" Honoka exclaimed the identities of the new arrivals becoming glaringly obvious.
"Looks like we didn't need to look for them after all." Nico's grin was replicated on the faces of every section member watching their friends move tactically in their direction, covering the end of the bridge.
The girl with the satchel vaulted the opposite side of the bridge, the metal walls now providing her with cover.
"Covering Fire!" Honoka yelled clutching her Sten scrambling down the bank to see what satchel girl was doing. The remaining squad stopped gawking at the arrival of their previously lost comrades and opened fire on the German position pinning them down so heavily that if they took anymore cover they would be miners not soldiers.
Honoka watches the girl clamber around the underside of the bride muttering to herself as she went. Finally a look of satisfaction appeared on her face and she unslung her satchel planning it on a small metal pan below the bridges structure before taking a small box and a trail of wire out of it. Her task seemingly complete she began climbing back up the bridges exterior taking care not climb up on the side opposite the German soldiers.
"What are you doing?" Honoka shouted at the girl anxious to confirm her suspicions.
"Quoi? Désolé je ne comprends pas." The girl shouted back a look of annoyance crossing her face at being questioned while she clung on for dear life bullets pinging all around her.
Crap doesn't look like she speaks English. Still that looks like a detonator box better tell the girls we're pulling out.
Honoka climbed onto the slight ledge protruding from the bridge near her foot and extended her hand to the satchel girl.
The girl smiled gratefully clasping Honoka's hand, both of them edging their way back onto the Paras' bank. They both crashed onto the soft muddy grass, the satchel girl landing on top of Honoka. In any other situation they might've laughed, now however they both scrambled to their feet jogging up the bank Bullets still zipping through the air in all directions.
Satchel girl waved across the river at the people still fighting on the opposite bank gesturing for them to join her.
The Sergeant watched Umi tap Maki's shoulder and both girls began moving across the bridge, Maki walking backwards covering the Germans delivering the occasional burst of walking fire. Two more girls emerged from the opposite bank one clad in a green blazer and bonnet carrying the light machine gun that had been firing until a few seconds ago, the other sprinted for the bridge dashing for their bank, her purple hair flowing behind her creating the impression that she was wearing a cape of some sort.
The section poured on fire covering the four other girls arrived, the bursts of sub-machine gun fire and Hanayo's mad minutes filling the air.
"We're pulling out; our friend here has set charges on the bridge so we need to move!" Honoka took in the weary nods of the girls still firing at the Germans, the remaining engineers all looking shell shocked nodded slowly.
"On my mark, you four stay here covering us then pull back ten seconds later." Honoka circles her hand around Rin, Hanayo and her machine gun team, all four girls nodding in understanding.
"Got it Sergeant! Rin'll keep them off you."
"Try not to get shot now you lot, things tend to be more interesting that way."
Honoka rolled her eyes at Nozomi's comment, she watching Nozomi let off another burst the brass casings fall from the bottom of the Bren.
"MARK!" Honoka watched everyone make a dash for the treeline, the two wounded engineers carried by their comrades. Satchel girl trailing a spool of wire, that lead back to the charges under the bridge no doubt, Honoka herself began sprinting away following her squad into a deep ditch a small distance away from the bridge itself.
Satchel girl set about wiring up the detonator box that she had produced earlier, Nozomi and the rest of them crashing through the shrubs screening their position from the Germans view seconds later.
"Hit it!" Honoka yelled to the satchel girl, the brunette blinked slightly taking a moment to process what Honoka had said before twisting the plunger on top of the box.
An almighty roar of the charges detonating rolled across the squad the heat could be felt even as far away as they were, the noise was deafening, and the shockwave rolled over the countryside with the ground shaking, the shrubs bending backwards. The plume of water created by the charges and the bridge crashed into the shallow water was huge; drops of water began raining down on them. Honoka risked a look over the shrubs to see that they had been successful the entire structure had been brought down and was nothing more than a mangled mess of twisted metal.
The squad began cheering their ears still ringing from the explosion the sergeant noticed Umi slumped up against Maki exhausted; the redhead's blush even fiercer than normal. Honoka wandered up to the both of them, her grin barely contained by her face.
"Sergeant…sorry we got a little lost-" Maki's response and curt nod was cut off by Honoka wrapping both of her arms around the pair. Both girls stiffened slightly at the sudden contact but soon settled into the hug.
"Don't you two scare us like that again OK?" Honoka felt tears prick the corners of her eyes both girls nodding in response. The three of them stayed like that for a few more seconds before the ginger sergeant released them from her grip. Both girls were blushing furiously and their eyes were also tearing up, although Honoka knew neither would admit it.
The rest of the section gathered around the two prodigal members, Kotori practically tackling Umi with her hug when Honoka pulled away. All the girls were welcoming the members back into the fold, the hugs and soon tears flowed freely.
Honoka felt a solitary tear roll down her cheek at the touching sight in front of her. She stood up viewing the touching reunion before her the girls fawned and fussed over Umi and Maki; questioning them about what had happened, gasping when they saw Umi's wound.
A light tap on her shoulder caused Honoka to turn around; the girl in a white jumper who no longer had a satchel was standing behind her, looking her up and down. Honoka blushed at the close scrutiny of her gaze, realising that she hadn't gotten a proper look at the girl who had come to their rescue and helped her friends.
She was stunning, simply amazing.
Honoka looked her up and down dumbstruck by the simple beauty of the girl in front of her.
Her clothes were simple, her black stockings ripped in places drawing Honoka's eye up her legs, her knees had a light dusting of mud from when she had fallen on Honoka earlier. Honoka's gaze sauntered upwards to her sumptuous thighs. Her skirt was simple but it accentuated her wide hips perfectly. The woollen jumper wasn't exactly the sort of thing someone would wear in June and the white fabric was also speckled with mud and grime in places, it hung around her body loosely, yet somehow emphasising to Honoka's view the modest swell of her bust. Her neck traced a slender line from her collar to her jaw line. Her brown hair fell about her shoulders in messy waves, simple black beret perched on her head pushed back far over her crown.
Her face was a vision, a piece of renaissance artwork at its finest and made flesh. Her skin was soft and inviting, yet it followed clearly chiselled lines, like the finest marble it was smooth. The gentle curve of her lips made them appear plumper than Honoka suspected was humanly possible, the two pink outcrops appearing like two finely carved pink opals. Her nose drew a gentle line drawing Honoka's gaze to her forehead. There it sat in the middle of her face, dominating all else like a slab of marble, yet Honoka found it charming, the way her fringe sometimes intruded on the pristine clearness of her forehead, it had an almost magnetic quality to it Honoka could feel herself being drawn to, wanting to stroke it, to kiss it. The forehead perfectly proportioned her face and drew attention to her eyes, the piercing green making them shimmer almost like emeralds, their expressive quality not lost on Honoka, she looked into the mysterious depths of the Frenchwoman before her.
She was smitten.
"Ah sergeant, I suppose I should introduce you." Maki appeared next to them as if by magic, making Honoka worry about how long she was staring, or if it was obvious. "This is Kira Tsubasa leader of the A-RISE Resistance group" the redheaded Medic continued, "she started out in Paris then ended up here, she might be staying with us for a while…"
Maki introduced Honoka to Tsubasa, Honoka put out her hand to shake Tsubasa's, the other girl took it shaking it a few times. Honoka struggled to maintain her composure she absorbed every detail of the moment; the smoothness of her skin, the way that her face turned red and the fact that her knees felt like they would give out any second. She almost whimpered when the dazzling resistance leader let go of her hand.
"So you're from Paris then? Ever been to the Champs-Élysées? What's it like?" Honoka spluttered out, briefly regaining her composure.
Tsubasa raised a quizzical eyebrow waiting for a few moments before Honoka remembered that she didn't speak English.
Bollocks bollocks bollocks, why didn't I study French better in school. Honoka inwardly cursed her past self for her lack of an attention span.
"Errr…Voulez vous…" Honoka struggled for the word for go "Peloter?" her compatriots faces were of little help, Maki simply turned red which wasn't much use as an indicator. "Voulez vous de peloter ma Champs-Élysées?" Tsubasa looked taken aback by Honoka's question, a blush dusting her cheeks for a few seconds before she giggled at the bewildered ginger's question, her laughter pealing across the countryside like a wind-chime in the soft summer breeze.
"What did I say wrong?" Honoka asked Maki who was red from head to toe her face buried in both hands in frustration. The redhead certainly didn't have Umi's patience or Kotori's diligence.
"My God Honoka! What you said was not 'Have you been to the Champs-Élysées?' you asked her if she'd like to feel up your Champs-Élysées."
"So what is the past tense for the word for go then?"
"Partir into Partis but that's not important! You do know she's fluent in English! Honestly I can't deal with you sometimes, I'm going to get Umi!"
"Wait what?" Honoka was surprised at this revelation "You speak English?!"
"Very well, my mother was an Englishwoman you see so I speak it fluently as easily as I can breathe." The resistance girl's voice came out clear, with only a slight French accent cutting through Honoka's ears like a burst of sunshine.
"So why didn't you answer me back then in English?"
Tsubasa laughed again, "Because it's a weird question to ask someone you've just met on the battlefield." Tsubasa took a step forward narrowing the gap between her and the flustered ginger like it was nothing. "But to answer your question I have been there and it is very picturesque; although it wasn't anywhere near half as lovely as you are." Tsubasa lowered her voice for the last part, lacing it with suggestion and insinuation.
Honoka gulped her blush rising again at the compliment. Her knees began to fail her once more. "Really." She stood frozen to the spot by Tsubasa's aura amazed at how she could be paralyzed so easily by this girl she had just met.
"Of course, that road is only buildings but you on the other hand…are something else." Tsubasa stepped forward again, what little space remained between the two felt charged with electricity and emotion.
The magnetic pull of Tsubasa's words, her body and her aura was becoming impossible to resist, Honoka's brain going into overdrive blood rushing through her ears so hard that she could hear it, the thump of her chest, she was sure, was all too conspicuous.
Tsubasa closed what remained of the distance between them, her body just barely touching Honoka's. It was easy for her, like taking a bite of food.
Tsubasa lightly traced her hand affectionately up Honoka's arm, drawing the ginger in closer to her face until her lips were mere millimetres from her's, Honoka felt goosebumps rise under her jacket. Both girl's examined the other's face intently memorising every detail. Honoka gulped again, the tension in the atmosphere was nearly unbearable. Yet she was almost disappointed when Tsubasa continued her journey stopping next to Honoka's ear.
"I might still take you up on your earlier offer though at some point in the future, Honoka-chan~" the resistance fighter drew away quickly opening up the gap that had existed between them again. She flashed a grin at the completely seduced sergeant before she walked off to introduce herself to the rest of the group.
Honoka collapsed, her knees giving out from underneath her, overawed completely, she almost felt as though she had been stripped by the charming Frenchwoman and that she had become her clothes, because without her Honoka felt naked.
"That was not fair." She muttered to herself staring out over the Norman countryside. "How smooth can one person be?" a smile grew on her lips recognising the challenge at hand. "Well next time we'll just have to beat her, won't we?"
If she sticks around this is going to be an interesting war.
A/N: So yeah...Honoka is so gay for Tsubasa. :) Still KotoHono fans despair not she isn't out of the picture yet.
Over 8k Words I'm actually quite impressed with my self. It's over double my previous record.
Once more I ask for you all to give your views on the Poll on my profile about the Revolutionary fic I have brewing, this is the last time I'll actually remind you here but still your views are valued. as are your views on where we go after Normandy, this is kind of an alternate history fic after all.
And now it's actually on my profile because like an idiot I forgot to make it visible for those of you who made the effort, sorry about that
Obligatory poor french apology, (although Honoka's is supposed to be terrible)
Glossary:
Half-track: A light armoured vehicle incorporating both wheels and caterpillar tracks used by both Allies and Axis often as an infantry transport. for those who are interested the mark used is a . 251
Phosphorous grenades: Used as smoke grenades and anti-personel grenades by British and commonwealth forces in WW2 the smoke emitted would caused burning and blistering of the skin, the mark used as mentioned is a Mk.80 PHOS technically designed for use by Tanks smoke grenade launchers, but it is closest to what we know as a true smoke grenade.
