"Crime butchers innocence to secure a throne, and innocence struggles with all its might against the attempts of crime."

Maximilien Robespierre

II

IN THE ARMY NOW

It only took a few minutes for the Kübelwagen to get to the forward camp where the 77th Panzergrenadiers were making the last preparations for the day's operation. The car stopped near a couple of Hanomag half-tracks equipped with 75mm guns on their backs. Ysabelle jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped, quickly followed by the grenadiers, and searched for the command staff.

She found them gathered under a canvas stretched between two trees. Between them they had a small table and a map of the region, fingers pointing at different locations as the group kept talking the final details for the operation.

"We'll flank them from the south," Colonel Messner was explaining Maria and Anja, "and pound them until the enemy starts to converge on your position."

"I still don't like it. We'll be exposed there." Maria was extremely serious, thinking furiously as she glanced at the map. Her expression was close, but not quite equal, to the one she'd assumed back in the night they'd faced the British paratroopers.

"It's rather too late to quit, Fräulein." Master Sergeant Aschenbrenner replied. He was a tall and muscled man, with a thick blonde moustache, and Ysabelle was actually terrified of him, especially due to how fearsome he looked in the black SS uniform."I'll lead the charge if that makes you more comfortable."

"That's not it." Maria's voice was completely leveled, as if she didn't even realized the tone of scorn in the big man's voice. Her very next words confirmed that she was completely engaged in her tactical thinking, oblivious to such minutiae. "And the B1 cannot keep up with the other tanks. You should stay behind, in this farm over here, to support our retreat."

She was speaking rather mechanically, oblivious to how her words sounded to the others and to what her position in that meeting actually was. For a moment Ysabelle felt proud of how brave she was, but Messner seemed to have seen something else in her attitude. He placed a hand over her shoulder.

"You won't be there for long." He promised Maria. "The SS independent squadron shall come from north shortly after. Meanwhile I'll coordinate the artillery to guarantee you'll always have an escape route."

The girl nodded before his words. "That sounds good."

Then Anja patted her in the back.

"Stiff up, Führerin!" She said energetically. "It's us we're talking about! With some guts and smart improvisation we can do anything!"

Only then did they notice Ysabelle and her two companions as they approached them. Colonel Messner was the first to turn at the trio waiting outside of the canvas, soaking under the rain.

"What the hell happened to you?"

The two young grenadiers saluted the officer, before Eren replied.

"Fräulein Ackerman over here insisted in joining the scouting of the enemy front."

Messner narrowed his eyes as he evaluated the girl top to bottom. To him those girls were proving to be both resourceful and problematic. If they didn't knew how to stay away from trouble how could he expect them to survive to the end of the day?

"So what did you find?"

Eren opened his mouth to reply, but Ysabelle was quicker than him.

"We've found several of the new Shermans with the 76mm guns, Oberst, sir!" She replied, trying to keep her voice leveled. It wasn't easy with the soaked clothes sticking to her skin and making her shoulders tremble with the cold.

"Several?" The colonel was surprised that she decided to make the report by herself. The question was, once again, made to Corporal Jäger. Once again, Ysabelle beat him to the punch.

"Yes. There were also several of the older models and also armored cars. They outgun us in every regard." She made a short stop to let the information sink in. Then Messner inhaled to say something, and she resumed talking. "There were also some units standing on the hills, over-watching the landscape, forming an arc up to the south. They will see us coming in."

This time Messner snorted. Although he was a rather comprehensive officer, he still didn't like when people trampled him like that. Meanwhile Maria realized her friend was unprotected under the rain, as at least the two soldiers had their helmets on, and pulled her by the wrist, so she could find some cover in the little space left under the canvas.

"Is that normal procedure?" Maria then asked the colonel.

"I beg your pardon?" Messner turned towards her.

"The tanks standing on the hilltops?"

"Sometimes. The commanders like to have a good view of the field. Of course they will blast everything they see if it comes too close."

Maria assumed her thinking posture again, hand on her chin, eyes lost in infinity. Beside her, Anja caught the glitter in her eye.

"Had an idea?" She asked, smirking viciously.

"Maybe…" Maria smiled and turned at Messner. "Sir, if you are willing to allow it, I think we could do a slight modification to the plan of action. It might improve our chances."

Now Messner was astonished with the insolence of those girls. Change a battle plan at the last minute was way beyond normal German doctrine. Then again, he wasn't a normal commander and, furthermore, they were living desperate times.

"I'm all ears, Fräulein Nitzschmann." But before Maria could talk he turned at the scout team again. "And you get under some shelter and try to get at least some dry underwear. We're moving out in couple minutes." He allowed a moment for his words to sink in and then added, "Good work."

Maria was also smiling, looking directly at Ysabelle. "Good work." She told her. "I'm proud."

"Yeah!" Anja pointed with her thumb to the other side of the camp. "Now go see if Tammeke or someone else can get you some dry clothes. We don't want you all soaked up inside that tank, do we?" And then she placed an arm over Maria's shoulders. "And now you tell us what this plan of yours is."

It felt a little disappointing to be sidelined like that right after being praised, but Ysabelle came to the conclusion that it was just how things were. Looking around to search for the grenadiers, she realized they had already ran away to join their comrades around the nearby Hanomags. The rain had calmed down a little, but it still soaked.

And, in all truth, it was a little hard to have the commanders of the unit that close while they ignored her. Especially Maria, who was now involved in some tactical discussion with Messner, Aschenbrenner, and one of the infantry officers. Ysabelle never had many friends in her life, being seen as weird by many of the people she knew, and even admitted it to herself from time to time. Her passion for armored vehicles and guns also spooked most of her potential friends, and even in the BDM she'd only managed to make a handful of close relationships, albeit not necessarily friendships. That meant she'd become really attached to the few meaningful relationships in her life.

And Maria was even more special to her. Her deep knowledge about tanks, that even went to areas she'd never truly indulged in, like tactics and combined arms warfare, and the fact that she was the sister of a well-known panzer ace, all of it made her a true hero to her eyes. She believed in her and would follow her anywhere.

Even so, she realized she didn't have anything left to do there, so she simply turned away and walked to the Panzer IV, parked between two large trees, the Char B1 Bis standing nearby. She quickly found herself running as the rain started to thicken once again.

The commander's hatch of the medium tank was unlocked, and she opened it to squeeze inside before closing it again. She dropped over the commander's seat, right between Hanna and Simone, who were chatting while they waited for the order to move. The later was especially impressed when she noticed the sorry state of Ysabelle's clothes.

"What happened to you?"

"Long story."

"You disappeared for a while." Hanna told Ysabelle. "You had us worried."

Defeated and finding herself without stamina to hide her escapade, Ysabelle decided to simply tell the truth.

"I went on a scout mission to the American lines."

"You did what?" Simone was shocked. "That's dangerous!"

On the other side of the fighting chamber, Hanna raised an index finger.

"In fact, we're about to drive this metal box into a probable kill zone. So… danger gets somewhat relative at this point."

"Maybe, but see how soaked she is!"

"Have you managed to find something we can use?" Hanna asked Ysabelle, after chuckling softly at Simone's shriek.

"Yes." In spite of the cold that made her shiver, Ysabelle started to once again feel the pride from before. "Führerin Nitzschmann is right now conceiving a plan to make us break through the enemy lines!"

The girls weren't completely naïve, of course. They knew all odds would be against them once the attack started. They also knew that the main goal for the 77th Panzergrenadiers was to entertain the enemy long enough for the true attack, made by a heavy SS Panzer squadron, to storm through the north and make the real damage. Even so they had faith in their commander, and hope she was a true tactical genius in the making. They had to, it was better than simply accepting that they had no chances of succeeding whatsoever.

"She will." Hanna's voice was little more than a whisper, like a prayer to some anonymous god who defended the desperate. "I believe in Nitzschmann too."

"Well, that's good to know!" Again on the offensive to solve the most immediate problem, Simone leaned over Ysabelle. "But we still need to find you something dry to wear, or you'll get a cold. I think there's an extra uniform somewhere in the tool box. Wait here."

She opened the loader's hatch and exited the tank. Outside the day seemed to be getting darker, and not the other way around, as the black clouds gathered tightly. Fortunately for Simone, the rain had stopped for a couple of minutes.

"When we were back at the farm or the groupings before that," the girls still in the fighting compartment turned to Meike, who had suddenly entered the conversation. She was facing to center of the tank, embracing her seat, her chin on the top of it, "all that could happen if we failed in our tasks was for us to make a bad figure of ourselves, maybe being expelled. Now things are a little different, isn't it?"

Meike seemed depressed. She was one of those persons who required a good amount of sleep every night, something that had been hard to get lately. Although that explained the vague eye circles now ornamenting her pretty face, it wasn't the real reason for her mood.

"That's it." Hanna told her, sounding almost like a teacher who saw her favorite student realizing what she'd been telling her all along.

"At least it's simple."

"Having second thoughts in deciding to come with us?"

The drowsy girl then glanced directly to her friends, finally letting her thoughts go and focusing on the immediate reality.

"Don't even mention it." She sighed and shrugged, and then looked at Ysabelle. "You look terrible."

"It's a long story."

Right after that, Simone dropped back into the loader's post, holding an old and ragged uniform.

"It was the only one I could find." She told Ysabelle. "Let's see if you can put it."

Ysabelle raised her hands to start taking of the shirt, and inadvertently touched the rectangular shape in her breast pocket. She immediately brought it out, her eyes stumbling upon the grey tinfoil wrapping the chocolate bar. Around her the other girls yelped in surprise. Once the rationing began, as everything in Germany started to fall apart, such delicacies got rarer and rarer, to the point that everyone inside that tank hadn't even seen a chocolate in months.

Looking around her, Ysabelle noticed her friends were now leaning forward, their eyes locked onto the bar in her hands.

"How did you get that?" Simone asked, completely baffled.

"I got it from the Americans." Ysabelle replied simply.

"What?"

Ysabelle allowed herself a moment to smile warmly as she recalled that incursion into the enemy lines. And then she started to unwrap the chocolate, with a tearing sound that flooded the fighting compartment.