Non Combatants
KMS Graf Zeppelin
"Dreihundert meter!"
"Das Zeil!"
"Hängend!"
"Feuer frei!"
"Prawda truppen! Sie kommen!"
Snap!
Photography student Kido Tanjiro looked down at his digital camera. "Perfect." He thought. The image depicted the Freiwilligenkorps mortar team in front of him all ducking as the 8cm round fired. One more of the likely thousands of photographs he'd taken over the last few days.
Many of the student soldiers had curiously questioned his presence on the ship, being from Graf Zeppelin's companion vessel U-571, but the girls had largely accepted him. Until he began taking pictures of them, and of anything else he could find, during the heat of battle, to the annoyance of the girls trying to defend their home.
Now, Tanjiro found himself surrounded by the beleaguered remains of the Volunteer Korps, who stubbornly clung to the ship's evacuation hub at the Sensha-do garages. Of the dozens of Kuromorimine tanks scattered around, only two were still operational. One was the colossal Maus, and the other was a lone, heavily worn Elefant. From his spot, Kido could see the Commander using a rangefinder, attempting to tag the Pravda IS-2 that had been harassing them for most of the morning. The photographer quickly zoomed in on her and snapped a picture, watching as she pinched her throat mic and shouted something at her crew. The massive Pak 43 gun fired, rocking the tank destroyer only slightly, in stark contrast to the deafening blast. Kido didn't get a chance to look for the beast's target before something distracted him.
Several explosions rocked the Black Forest line, raining clumps of dirt on the defenders. One of the squad leaders, newly minted Unterfeldwebel Noriyori, jogged forward and looked around frantically. Tanjiro stood up to take a picture of her, standing tall and armed with an MP-40, only for her to grab his jacket and push him down.
"Get outta the way!" She barked as the shutter snapped, raising her gun and firing at a pair of Pravda girls directly behind the unwitting correspondent. "Resche flanke!" She shouted at her subordinates. "Feuer verschieben!" A few girls responded in kind, all firing their weapons in the direction of the breach. Incoming rounds struck one, a young Obergefreiter, and caused Kido to duck. He watched, horrified, as a medic ran to the fallen soldier's aid. He only broke line of sight when Noriyori nudged him with her boot.
"You can't take many good pictures from down there." She said teasingly, helping the stunned Photographer to his feet. The Sergeant guided the boy to a foxhole not far away, filled with a pair of girls who looked worse for wear.
"Here. Right here." Noriyori pointed at the spot between the soldier girls. Kido obeyed, sitting down and fiddling with his camera for a moment. He was about to line up a shot when a gun dropped from above and landed in his lap.
"What the…?" Was all he could manage before a handful of stick magazines and stripper clips followed. He looked up to see the Unterfeldwebel dropping more of them to the girls around him.
"I-I don't know anything about guns." Tanjiro stammered. "I'm a non combatant, Ma'am."
"No such thing today, kid." Noriyori muttered, loading her own weapon and heading off. Kido looked down at the MP-40 in his arms, dropping it when he found that it was coated with the fallen soldier's blood.
"Here." One of the wounded girls said, pointing at the gun with her bandaged hand. "Pull that back. And into the notch there." Kido did, pulling the cocking lever all the way back and resting it in the notch. "That's safe." The girl, an Obersoldat, gave the gun a once over. "Look into the chamber. That hole up there." Tanjiro looked to find that the chamber was empty. "Empty? That means you're out. Press that button and pull the magazine out."
The Photographer, with some guidance, was able to reload his new weapon with no issue. "Now you're ready. Anything wearing brown enters your line of sight, shoot them until they stop moving." Tanjiro shuddered, beginning to regret his decision to cover the Kuromorimine-Pravda conflict.
"Shwestern!" Sergeant Noriyori called out again, looking around at her Comrades. "Attack incoming! Prepare to defend yourselves!"
The other girl in the foxhole, an upperclassman Gefreiter adorned with a damp eyepatch, clumsily shouldered her Kar98. She struggled finding a proper sight picture, having to use her off eye, but the gleaming bayonet on the end of the rifle likely negated the need for accuracy. Not that she could use it much, Tanjiro thought, given that both of her legs were tightly wrapped in bandages. Kido reached for the camera around his neck with one bloody hand, quickly snapping a picture of the battle-weary girl.
A loud battle cry caught the photographer's attention, including everyone else on the shattered line. An MG 42 in front of the foxhole opened up on the attackers, likely cutting down several, before incoming fire forced the girls to duck. Taking a chance and peeking up, the assistant took a hit and slid down the embankment, landing in a lifeless heap directly in front of Kido. The gunner looked back at her friend with a horrified expression, but continued her onslaught moments later. Despite her effort, invaders trickled past, pouring through the gap in the line. The Obersoldat to the left raised her weapon first. Her target collapsed, falling to the side, but more came in behind her. The wounded soldier on Tanjiro's right fired next, her rifle nearly jumping out of her weak grip. Kido looked up again and saw one girl nobody had targeted yet, running towards Noriyori with her bayonet raised. The Photographer, terrified, squeezed the trigger. His MP 40 fired, slowly spitting 9 by 19 bullets through the air. One struck the Pravda girl in the leg and she fell, catching the Unterfeldwebel's attention. The NCO drew her pistol, but before she could fire, more rounds struck home, finishing the girl off. Noriyori glanced to the side and spotted Kido, with his gun smoking.
"Good shot." One of the girls said. Tanjiro looked to the right and found the badly injured Gefreiter trying to reload her rifle. She had opened the bolt, but her bandaged fingers were having trouble gripping one of the clips in her lap.
"Here." Kido felt he could at least help with this. He picked up the bullets the girl was trying to grab, before slotting the strip into the gun's magazine. With his now slippery and bloody thumbs, he pushed the rounds down, feeding them into the empty gun. The Gefreiter nodded at him as the Photographer closed the bolt.
"Vielen Dank." She said tiredly.
A deafening roar suddenly filled the air, drawing everyone's attention to the cloudy sky. A large, silver gray aircraft flew over their heads, lining up a shot.
"The mercenaries have jets now?!" One of the defenders shouted in disbelief.
"Unterstellen!"
Instead of attacking the Black Forest girls, the plane continued, firing at the Pravda position with a loud blast. A second followed, doing the same. When the soldiers lifted their heads, they watched as the two mystery planes were joined by more from the shattered Luftwaffe, who's Focke Wulf's and Messershmitt's broke through the clouds and strafed the stunned and confused attackers.
"They're ours!" Someone cried with joy. Unterfeldwebel Noriyori shifted herself on the berm and sat down next to the machine gunner.
"Zurücktreten, Mädels." She said, taking off her helmet. "It's over. Good work."
As Kido looked around, the girls around him began to relax. A Medic came forward and began tending to her earlier patients, starting with the badly wounded rifleman in Tanjiro's foxhole. The Photographer, meanwhile, set his MP-40 down and readied his camera, taking pictures of the activities around him. The Sani comforting the Gefreiter. The machine gunner keeping Pravda's heads down, making them easier targets for the air force. The planes dancing in the sky, making pass after pass. He began tracking one BF 109 as it made a few lazy circles around the battlefield, before turning in the team's direction. The pilot passed over, allowing Kido to take several pictures, before abruptly banking in a turn.
"Shall we pack up, Unterfeldwebel?" One girl asked, catching the Photographer's attention.
"Yes. Everyone collect your gear. We're rotating back to the garages."
Little by little, the weary soldiers obeyed, picking up their weapons and helping each other to their feet. Tanjiro slung his weapon over his shoulder, offering a hand to the Obersoldat at his side.
"Thank you." She said. "Hey… what was your name again?"
"Tanjiro." The boy replied. "Kido."
"Ah. I'm Hatsuyo. Estelle."
"Well met." Kido said with a weak smile. "I just wish it were under better circumstances." He gestured to the battlefield, and their worn in uniforms.
"Yeah… me, too."
"Hey… what's she doing?" Somebody asked. Everyone turned to find the MG-42 gunner pointing at the sky. The BF 109 from earlier had completed its turn and was now flying directly at them.
"I dunno." Estelle answered slowly. She pulled off her Stalhelm and waved it at the plane, only for the Messershmitt to reply with gunfire.
"What the fuck?!"
"Sheiße!"
"Take cover!"
Everyone dove to the ground as the dirt was raked with 13mm rounds. The plane lifted as suddenly as it dove, barely clearing the nearby trees. Kido instinctively reached for his camera, snapping nearly a dozen pictures as the plane banked for another run. Several of the girls waved frantically at the aircraft, only to be shot at in reply.
"You stupid bitch!" Somebody screamed at the pilot. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"Tanjiro! Hatsuyo!" Noriyori barked. "Run to that Elefant! Use their radio to call off this fucking idiot before she kills us!"
The pair bolted, dodging the plane's machine guns as they ran to the friendly tank. The scuffed and worn Elefant, with a wolf painted on the turret, was in the process of reversing away from the battlefield, which made it easy for Estelle to flag down the commander. The third year girl, with long black pigtails, peeked up out of her hatch when Estelle haphazardly climbed aboard.
"Kommandant! Does your radio work?"
"Yes…" The girl said with a bewildered expression. "Why?"
"Our position is being attacked by a friendly plane!" Hatsuyo pointed at the BF 109 Tanjiro was photographing. The Commander quickly reached for her microphone.
"This is White Wolf 6 calling Iron Dragon!"
"Go ahead, White Wolf."
"Infantry positions receiving friendly fire! Order air wing Berta to wave off!"
"U-understood. Relaying message!"
As the trio watched, sure enough, the Messershmitt took a hard left, just before unleashing a torrent again. Estelle sighed with relief, before thanking the Elefant commander, who offered the pair a lift back to their spot. The ride was short, but the Obersoldat could already see the aftermath.
The machine gunner, Heidi, was on the ground being tended to by surviving members of the mortar team. She slowly rolled side to side, missing most of her arm. Anika, the team's Medic, was lying lifelessly next to Cathrin, the wounded rifleman. If one looked closely, they could see the bloodied ground through the hole in her chest.
"Unterfeldwebel!" Estelle called out. "Odette!"
The NCO stood up from helping Cathrin, who was miraculously still alive. Albeit, covered in Anika's blood. Odette approached the pair as the Elefant stopped behind them, the crew disembarking to help where they could.
"Noriyori-sama…" Hatsuyo began. "I'm sorry. If I'd been faster, I cou-"
"It's alright, Estelle." The Unterfeldwebel placed a hand firmly on her friend's shoulder. "You did all you could." She eyed the girl's Photographer companion. "Go ahead, Mr Non-Combatant."
"Ma'am?" Kido asked. Odette nodded to the carnage around them.
"I plan to write a strongly worded letter to the Luftwaffe."
Later that day…
It had been a few hours since the climax of the Battle of Kuromorimine. A light rain was falling over the exhausted remains of the Volunteer Korps. Soldiers who had been wounded were being treated, any dead were being buried, and the few Pravda prisoners were being escorted away.
Tanjiro Kido found himself seated next to his newfound friend Hatsuyo Estelle, who watched as the remaining tanks of the Sensha-do team were parked out of the way. Word had spread of Vice Commander Erika Itsumi's survival, and she was currently recovering in the medical tent behind the pair. Commander Nishizumi had abruptly left the camp after some brief excitement, but nobody seemed to know or care why.
Kido, meanwhile, scrolled through the hundreds of pictures stored in his digital camera. Some were mundane, others horrifying. A shudder ran through him as he passed over Heidi, writhing and crying, missing nearly her entire arm.
The boy looked up at the sound of a rumbling engine and spotted a plane landing on the makeshift runway nearby. Given how badly damaged the airfield was, some engineers had decided to turn part of the parade field into a landing strip to receive and send aircraft, especially given the proximity to the evacuation hub. The Luftwaffe's few HE 111's had proven themselves priceless when it came to ferrying people away from the vessel. Though, the ship had lost contact with Saunders' C5 Super Galaxy shortly after takeoff, and news of its crash landing emerged soon afterwards.
"Hey, Kido." Estelle said. "Does that plane look familiar to you?"
An eerily familiar Messershmitt BF 109 puttered along the grassy landing strip, and Tanjiro immediately recognized its markings. Yellow tail rudder and engine cover, a splotched paint scheme of green and brown, complete with a yellow '5' and a black triangle on either side of the Balkenkreuz. Kido looked down at his camera's screen and tapped a few buttons, quickly finding the plane in the gallery.
"Yes it does." He replied. Estelle nodded.
"Ada." The girl called out. Another soldier nearby, one of the girls from the mortar team, looked up at her. The Obersoldat pointed at the Luftwaffe plane. Ada eyed it, then nodded. The pair wordlessly stood up and headed for the craft, which had taxied to its parking place. Tanjiro copied the girls' movements, following close behind Estelle. They traipsed through the mud, shouldering past the flight crew as the pilot climbed out of her plane.
"Oi!" Hatsuyo barked. "Pilotin!"
"Eh?" The girl had only just removed her goggles when the soldier was suddenly nose to nose with her.
"Nice plane you got here." Estelle growled. The pilot glanced around and smiled nervously.
"Uhh… thank you?"
"Yeah, we got a real good look at it." Ada threw in, gritting her teeth. "Yesterday. When a certain… friendly fire incident occurred. Sound familiar?"
"I…"
"Of course it does." Estelle answered the question. "Does frantic waving from one of your allies mean nothing to you?!"
"Look, I-I'm sorry!" The young Pilot squirmed. "The lines were so close together! A-and it was hard to tell who was who! Besides… we-we had orders to ignore signals from the ground!"
"Kuhscheiße!"
"Even when that signal is coming from one of us? In uniform?"
"Hey! What's going on here?" Kido turned to see a trio of Feldgendarmerie girls approaching, having heard the angry shouting. Unbeknownst to the Photographer, however, Noriyori had also noticed the absence of the three.
"Does the Luftwaffe get off on shooting its fellow soldiers?!" Estelle demanded, grabbing the girl's leather jacket.
"No! I told you, I'm sorry!"
"Hey! Break it up! Now!"
One of the military police girls grabbed Hatsuyo by the collar and pulled her away from the pilot, another started to do the same with Ada, while urging the now riled flight crew to back off. She was distracted, however, when Estelle threw a punch, clocking the Feldgendarmerie girl in the mouth.
"I said 'Let go'!"
"Hey!" The cop's partner tackled the Obersoldat to the ground before she could attack the pilot again. The scuffle continued, with the third officer grabbing Ada's jacket and giving her a stern warning not to move. Nobody noticed Unterfeldwebel Odette Noriyori's arrival until she drew her sidearm and fired a shot in the air.
"Unteroffizier." Odette shouted at the girl on top of Estelle. She looked up.
"Unterfeldwebel. I take it this one is yours?"
"All three of them." She nodded to Kido and Ada. "I request you let her up, please."
The officer slowly obliged, letting Estelle stand, her raincoat now covered with mud. Odette helped her up, while the officer the girl had punched approached, blood trickling out of her mouth.
"I want her rank and serial number!" She demanded, revealing a missing tooth.
"I'm this soldier's superior officer." Noriyori said, stepping in front of Estelle. "I take full responsibility for this matter."
"Then it'll be you losing that new stripe, Unterfeldwebel." The injured cop growled.
"Is that a threat?" Odette eye'd the girl's shoulder boards. "Fahnenjunker?"
The girl narrowed her eyes at Noriyori, before the third officer approached.
"That's enough, Yvette." The Lieutenant pointed at Estelle and Ada. "These two attacked a Luftwaffe pilot unprovoked, before assaulting one of my officers." She stated. "According to UCMJ article 128 Element 2 subsection B, the both of them shall face immediate demotion and confinement, possibly even bad conduct discharge."
"The initial confrontation was not unprovoked, Fraulein Leutnant." Noriyori argued. The officer deflated slightly, tilting her head.
"Can you prove that?"
"I can." Odette gestured to Kido. The Photographer approached the girls and held out his picture of the plane next to them. As the Officer examined the picture, occasionally looking up at the real aircraft, Odette explained. "Earlier today, this pilot was involved in a friendly fire incident that wounded several of my soldiers. And killed three of them." The Feldgendarmerie girl looked up in surprise. "Respectfully, you're threatening to court martial the wrong people here, Fraulein Leutnant."
All three officers eyed the Luftwaffe pilot, who was glancing around nervously at her flight crew. The Leutnant eventually relented with a sigh.
"Very well. We'll investigate. I'll need you and this… boy to stay here. In the meantime… take command of your soldiers, Unterfeldwebel. Don't let me see either of their faces again."
"Hai, Fraulein Leutnant." Noriyori said with a curt nod, before eyeing Estelle. "Take Ada and check on Heidi." Hatsuyo nodded and stepped away, shaking the pain out of her hand.