Federation Stadium
The time finally came to draw for the tournament. As she and her friends looked for their seats, Jouko looked all around the stadium, and recognized several famous schools she had heard about. Pravda, Saunders, Kuromorimine, St. Gloriana, Chihatan, Anzio, all of them were there. Legendary figures, prominent commanders, girls of great stature in the Sensha-do community, all were here, in one building. Outside, she maintained a serious personality, but inside, her heart felt like it was about to burst from the magnitude of who was present with her inside that stadium, for who couldn't be awed by being in the same room as living legends? She truly was in the presence of giants.
After absorbing the atmosphere of the stadium, she, along with her crew, took their seats with the rest of Continuation's students waiting for the draws. After several commanders of different schools performed their respective draws, the announcer's voice then rang loud and clear.
"Continuation High School, please come draw for your match."
Rumi stood up and made her way to the stage. After ruffling about in the raffle box for a few seconds, she gripped a paper, and pulling it out, confidently held it high in the air for all to see.
"Continuation High School faces Koala Forest Girls' Academy for the First Round!"
Chatter filled the stadium as Rumi made her way back to her seat. Koala Forest: based off of Australia, and rumors had it that their commander was an actual koala, with a literal tree inside the tank it occupied, and that the insides of their tanks were upside down, but those were simple rumors, and since rumors were rumors, they couldn't be true. Returning from the stadium, Continuation got to work preparing for their first match. They outlined their plans for the individual tanks, having each one fight according to the set plan drawn up during this meeting. When it came to the Sturmi, however, Rumi simply said,
"As for you, Jouko, fight to your heart's desire."
Continuation
Jouko and her crew spent the next few days in preparation for their first tournament battle, Jouko training her aim and training her crew in their respective roles, and adding on their tactics and technique. This was their time to shine, their first appearance on the big leagues, and they didn't want to disappoint. Weeks of training and preparation, matches and duels against fellow classmates had led to this moment, and failing was the last thing they wanted during this, especially since so much was on their shoulders.
Hannes continued to develop her driving, trying to avoid obstacles and imaginary shells by training in forests, mountains, and open fields, wherever it was possible to practice. Frisell was thinking up ways to make better radio reports, them being more clear, concise, and to the point, something she had been trying to do since the first practice, as well as trying to improve on her Japanese with Jouko's help, while Löfström continued to find new ways to speed up her reload, still trying to think up of faster technique to help better progress in a fast reload speed. She was less cautious than she was a month ago, and was now managing around nine shells a minute.
As for the rest of Continuation, some crews had expressed interest in the style of the new crew, and had approached them for advice on how to get to the same skill level as the Sturmi crew seemed to be. Always willing to lend a helping hand, the Sturmi crew began to teach the others on their respective fields, of different ways to load a shell, to how to better easily maneuver using steering levers, some good, short radio reports on reporting a situation without taking too long or too many words to explain what was going on, and, most importantly, how to hit every shot your tank fired. Granted, it wasn't perfect. Some issues were found, but where there was an issue, there was always a solution.
Thus, a new style, called by some the "Saariselkä Style" after Jouko's, and her friends' birthplace was conceived, emphasizing as perfect coordination as possible among a crew, and unpredictability for a team, yet coordination that would come with that unpredictability. It put more emphasis on the individual crew rather than the team as a whole, allowing each to act on their own volition, unless overruled by the Commander in favor of a certain plan. For now, it would be restricted only to Continuation, but soon enough, it would spread to all of Sensha-do, if it would get the traction it needed.
Sensha-do Battleground
The day of the match finally came. It took place in unfamiliar territory, in more desert areas. The crew had spent so much time practicing that they had forgot to change the color of their tank from white to light brown, so because the white armor of Jouko's Sturmi would be somewhat easy to spot, it meant that there would be no sniping for today's match.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Mika for the formalities, she watched as Rumi talked for a while with the Koala Forest Commander (well, Vice Commander, apparently their Commander was an actual koala, it turns out the rumors were true aside from the upside down interiors) and, standing parallel to their opponents, bowed with the other commanders, wishing their opponents a good match. Ami Chōno was officiating, alongside three other judges per the rules, and viewing the new talent for Continuation, possessed interest in Jouko and her crew.
Heading back to her Sturmi, Jouko briefed her crew on what was going to happen in the match.
"For this match, we're fighting in unfamiliar territory, that unfamiliarity being desert terrain. Keep in mind that we're still using our white paint, so we'll be pretty easy to spot, especially close-up. We'll be doing no sniping this match, unfortunately, so we'll have to get our hands dirty. Hannes, be as agile and unpredictable as you possibly can. Löfström, be sure to load as fast as humanly possible for you, and Frisell, keep constant and consistent with your radio reports. We need our team to know what we're up to at all times regardless of any situation we're in. Understood?"
With affirmative nods and shouts of "Understood!", Jouko ordered Hannes to start up the Sturmi's engine, and with the press of a button, the sleeping giant was awoken with a loud roar. Everyone's heart was racing, but Jouko's heart was racing far faster than everyone on the team combined, even faster than the engine's individual revolutions. This was it, their first official Sensha-do tournament match. So much was on the line that they couldn't afford to lose. They determined that they would it their all to ensure victory, no matter the cost.
"Let's go, Hannes! Drive forwards!"
500 meters away, first target. Enemy flag tank is well protected, we might as well mess up their formation.
"Stop here, Hannes."
Feeling the tank come to a complete stop, Jouko quickly took aim at the leading Matilda, and once she had found her shot, gently retracted her fingers on the trigger, sending a shell straight into the Matilda's turret ring. A large column of smoke erupted from the Matilda and a white flag protruded out of one of its dozen hatches moments later, indicating a knockout.
"Alright, let's get back to our team before we're turned into scrap metal. I've got a plan in mind."
The rest of the Koala Forest tanks, spreading out in a disorganized manner, opened fire at the Sturmi, but before one could land, it was long gone. Seconds later, the rest of Continuation appeared, nine tanks strong, ready to wipe out the rest of Koala Forest Academy and sweep them under the rug, to move to the next round of the tournament. But, where was the Sturmi?
"Frisell, tell them we'll go around and try to take out their flag tank from behind, hopefully we won't be noticed easily."
Circling around close to the boundaries of the relatively small battlefield, the Sturmi maneuvered around the Koala Forest tanks, who were too preoccupied with the Continuation tanks in front of them to notice, or even care. As the two sides began firing at each other, the Sturmi had moved to a position where Jouko now had a clear shot on the enemy flag tank, the Sentinel. It was perfect. Seeing the end of the match right before her, Jouko smiled, muttering silently under her breath:
This will be an easy match.
Taking careful aim, she sent another shell zipping through the air, heading for the Sentinel, expecting her hit on the Sentinel to be a knockout, match-winning blow.
"What?!"
At the last possible moment, one of the M3 Light Tanks close to the Sentinel drove right into the shell's path, and absorbed the shell hit in favor of the flag tank, getting knocked out in the process.
"Quick, Löfström, reload before they spot us!"
Löfström desperately slammed another shell into the chamber as Jouko once again took careful aim, but the enemy Sentinel was now engaging in evasive maneuvers, now aware of the danger behind it. Stamping her foot and letting out a huff of frustration, Jouko decided sniping wouldn't do anymore at this point.
If we can't snipe it, looks like we're gonna have to get more personal.
"Hannes, move in through the midst of those Koala tanks, chase that enemy flag tank best you can. They'll be distracting our team with their remaining tanks to allow that flag tank to get away, so make sure it stays here."
With an eager nod, Hannes slammed her foot on the tank's throttle, and the Sturmi bolted forward, straight into the Koala formation. In the ensuing chaos, Jouko fired as much as she could, shooting indiscriminately and at the moment metal entered her scope's vision, immobilizing two tanks as she focused on hitting the escaping Sentinel, escorted by a fellow Matilda as Continuation continued to rain down shells on them, some willing to help Jouko in her efforts to end the match, others eager to get the glory of killing the enemy flag tank, others wanting to steal some of Jouko's thunder. However, the surviving Koala tanks were still proving a nuisance.
Continuation hadn't gone without losses, however. Ever since the rest of Continuation had entered the fight after Jouko's early snipe, three T-26s and a BT-5 had gone down to combined Matilda and M3 Grant fire, while Rumi's Panzer had suffered some serious damage, forcing it to withdraw to a location near the starting position in order to keep safe. But not counting Jouko, they had knocked out four Koala tanks, and were ready to join in mopping up the final few tanks, but a sudden radio message from Frisell made them stay back and be left to witness the final goose chase.
"No need to go in, we'll handle this ourselves."
As the chase continued, Sturmi was bouncing several shells, and everyone inside knew it couldn't hold much longer. The side logs had been splintered to oblivion, and the concrete armor at the front was chipped off. Hannes was turning this way and that, trying to avoid both incoming rounds and possible tank collisions. But after a couple of minutes chasing the elusive tank, the Sentinel finally entered Jouko's sights. In the split second of decision, and acting on instinct, she fired straight into the Sentinel's engine, right as the Sturmi itself was hit in the rear. This time, the round found its mark, with no stupid tank to move in front at the last moment to block it.
The hit to the Sturmi had knocked it out too, but that didn't matter. The match was over.
The announcement rang loud and clear:
"Victory for Continuation High School!"
As the team reunited after the match, Jouko congratulated each and every one of her crew, giving them compliments, praises, as much happiness she could heap on them. As they emerged, they were surrounded by their teammates in celebration, showered in praise, embraced by everyone. It was the first official tournament match they had participated in, and they had arguably delivered the best performance of the tournament so far, outmaneuvering and dealing with a good number of Koala Forest's tanks before delivering the final blow to the Sentinel.
However, after doing away with the celebrations, the team approached Koala Forest Academy with Rumi to customarily thank them for a fun match, as per the rules of Sensha-do. As Jouko approached the Sentinel, Wallaby, who seemed to be the school's Commander, was speaking to the koala she was carrying at that moment, everyone having been a bit roughed up from the match, yet still in good spirits despite the loss. But what was strange was why she brought a koala to a Sensha-do match. Didn't it place animals at risk to have them inside a tank during combat?
"Say, commander, fine performance eh? Our opponents are approaching us right now for handshakes."
"Well, pleasure to meet you, Commander-"
"Ap-ap-ap! She's the commander here, you'd best shake 'er hand first."
"Huh? Who?"
The koala began to chew some eucalyptus leaves it was fed as Wallaby pointed out that the koala was the Commander, not Wallaby. Jouko was extremely perplexed, but after some encouraging from Rumi, reached out to shake the Koala's hand. Grabbing hold of it, she felt it hard to let go, as its grip was extremely firm, more firm than she would've liked. In fact, she was starting to feel numb. Seeing the situation, Wallaby reassured her with a giggle,
"Oh, don't mind her, sometimes she gets a bit too sportsmanlike."
"It's not that, I think my hand's about to explode..."
"Alright, Commander, that's enough."
After finally letting go, Jouko waited for her hand to turn red again after having much of its blood vessels blocked from the tight grip of the koala. After her hand's blood vessels were refilled, Jouko continued on and shook the rest of the Koala Forest team's hands with her crew before returning to Continuation's side to return to the school carrier, mission accomplished and a job well done that day.
Continuation school carrier
Arriving back at the school carrier, Rumi gathered everyone for planning the next battle, where after congratulating everyone on a successful battle, she broke the news of their next opponents in the tournament.
"I'm going straight to the point. We're facing Saunders next."
The room was quiet, save for the faint heartbeats that could be heard as everyone took in the news. This school wasn't some no-name school like Koala Forest, no, this was none other than Saunders University High School, the richest school which had the most tanks, most materiel, and a sniper with superb aim, like Jouko. This was gonna be a hard match, especially since it was the quarterfinals, the furthest they always got in tournaments before being eliminated. Would this be any different?
Mika first broke the silence to give her thoughts.
"The winds are growing stronger against us, we are about to face a hurricane with no shelter from the powerful gusts."
Jouko understood, but she knew she had a capable tank, a capable team, and a capable person in herself to stand up to Saunders, especially their sniper. She and her crew had already proven themselves as arguably the best team yet in Continuation. They had improved on their performance, working hard to fix everything they got wrong, and improving on where they could find any potential for improvement. There was nothing to worry about, right?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Mika.
"Jouko, are you willing to face their sniper?"
Jouko, confident in her capabilities, simply responded with an affirmative nod. The mood in the room was dark, but everyone knew that as long as Jouko was in the match, they had a chance of victory.
Rumi outlined the plan: "We'll meet their tanks using our usual guerrilla warfare tactics. We'll be fighting in dense jungle, again not our home turf, but with more cover unlike in our match against Koala. Jouko, since you've agreed to, deal with that sniper so it doesn't give us a hard time. The plan is finalized?"
Affirmative noises confirmed the plan.
In the few days preceding the second round, Jouko and her crew practiced hard, maneuvering through dense forests on the school carrier and firing at long-range targets to get an idea on what the match would be like. They also worked on repainting the tank, given that white armor against a green backdrop was basically a free ticket to having your tank's white flag to pop out within the first 5 minutes of the match starting. The logs were replaced, and the concrete re-plastered on the frontal armor, as well as fixing all the dents and scratches and damage caused by the battle, finishing fast enough to allow some time to practice.
Nishizumi Residence
"Blue Division High School's flag tank has been knocked out! Victory for Kuromorimine Girls' Academy!"
After a short exchange of fire between both sides, Miho and Maho's flanking duet had ensured victory. The match replay was pleasing to see on Shiho's end, to see how coordinated the two sisters were, how skilled they seemed to be in handling their tanks, it was as if they were clockwork. A slight smile was forming on her face, but she wasn't quite satisfied with Miho yet. However, Kuromorimine was one step closer to winning the coveted tenth consecutive tournament victory. All that was left was four more battles, though those battles would be harder as the tournament progressed. But, it had been the same for the past ten years, what could possibly go wrong now?
Her attention was averted to more news on the television. Particularly, the reports from a match between Koala Forest Girls' Academy and one Continuation High School. As footage of that match was displayed, the reporter was detailing the events of the match and pointing out how one of the Continuation tanks, the Sturmi, systematically knocked out one tank after another, before finally dealing the finishing blow to the Sentinel flag tank, achieving victory and allowing Continuation to move on to the quarterfinals. The maneuvers shown were impressive, but also quite concerning.
As the Continuation v. Koala match was displayed, Maho silently walked in, taking her seat next to her mother, followed shortly after by her sister, Miho. They viewed the footage of the Sturmi, all impressed with the excellent performance. Miho was the first to speak up.
"It's excellent tanksmanship..."
"But also may pose a challenge if they face us."
"Maho, Miho, should I assume this is doubt?"
Miho kept quiet, but Maho continued.
"With all due respect, Mother, I am stating fact, but there is still a chance they will be knocked out. They are facing Saunders next."
"Saunders... defeat is assured for them, then."
"One cannot be too sure, which is why we must up our training in preparation for a potential match against that tank."
"I agree with Onee-chan, that tank is too much of a threat to pass up-"
"Enough of this."
Maho quickly shut her mouth and dipped her head, waiting for what her mother had to tell her.
"Do not doubt the Nishizumi Style. This tank will be no match for us if we do fight against Continuation, I assure you.
There will be no increases in training. I'm confident that this tank will be dealt with in their match against Saunders. In the meantime, continue with the usual training and ensure no mistakes will be made in the future. We cannot afford to lose this tenth consecutive win."
"Hai, Okaa-san!"
"Thank you. Now, I must be left alone. Good night, both of you."
As both Nishizumi sisters stood, bowed, and left, Shiho turned her gaze back to the television, seeing the faces of Jouko and her crew on their Sturmi, the very same foreigners she had read about weeks before. Jouko, that tall, intimidating girl was the commander, and possessed remarkable aim. While outwardly, Shiho expressed confidence in their sure defeat, inside, she held the same concerns as her daughters did, if not more. She was a rising star, and her style was similar to the Shimada, yet at the same time different. Something had to be done in order to keep the Nishizumi above all, though it would be easier said that done.
In a few days, Continuation would face Saunders. To her knowledge, Saunders had a sniper of their own, and she was probably the best shot in Sensha-do at the moment, not counting Jouko. Then again, Jouko had much potential, and had proved herself in the past few matches. Unless she and her crew were taken care of, Kuromorimine's chances of winning their tenth win would grow slimmer. If Saunders, the richest school in Japan, couldn't beat a measly school possessing what was probably the best tank commander in Sensha-do, then surely the might of Kuromorimine could finish the job.
For now, though, their next opponents, Neutrality High School, would need more focus. They were no better than Koala Forest, and their match against BC Freedom had been close, despite the fact BC was undergoing a schism in their ranks. If all went according to plan, they would be an easy pushover and Kuromorimine would be in the Semifinals by lunchtime. After that, either Gloriana or Saunders, then Pravda, and the coveted tenth win.
Sensha-do Battlefield
The day had come for the Quarterfinals match between Continuation vs. Saunders. One school was the richest in Japan and could boast a miniature army of hundreds of quality tanks, and a gunner considered the best shot in Sensha-do, the other school simply possessing mostly interwar tanks but crews of high quality, specialized in unconventional tactics, as well as its best tankers in ages, probably ever. Jouko's performance during the match against Koala Forest had spiked much interest at Continuation, so a match like this, usually considered to be a one-sided affair, had more balanced opinions.
On the battlefield, Jouko surveyed at the enemy team. While they were shorter than her, they bore similarities to Americans she had met in her few visits to America. They enjoyed eating big meals, were very loud and raucous, save for the sniper, and generally nice, if you didn't get on their bad side. Apparently every school was taking the country representations of their schools quite literally. Saunders' commander was Megumi, another student who was going to All-Stars next year. Her Vice-Commander, named Kay, was next in line to succeed her, as well as Alisa, the one to take the mantle of Vice-Commander on Megumi's graduation.
As Jouko approached, she was greeted first by Kay, the energetic, friendly Vice-Commander.
"Howdy, great to see ya! Wow, you're a big one."
Jouko giggled and replied, "Heh, great to meet you too. I see you bear similarities to Americans I've met in Finland and America itself."
"Hah! Welcome to Saunders!"
"Say, who are those three behind you?"
"Short one with pigtails is Alisa, a chaotic girl who tends to lose her mind during matches. Kinda hard to sit through her breakdowns but hey, once you get used to it you get used to it.
Tall girl who looks like a boy is Naomi. She's pretty quiet, but really good when it comes to tanks. She can hit targets from far distances, uses that powerful 76mm cannon really well, all around great addition to the team.
Last but certainly not least, the girl with the dark long hair is Megumi, our Commander. She's graduating high-school next year, so we're hoping for a good run to give her a grand farewell."
"I see. Let's have a good match?"
"Of course! Sensha-do's always about the fun and games!"
When the time came, both teams were called to do the pre-match formalities. Jouko and her tank crew stood out like a sore thumb due to their heights, which amused some of the spectators watching the match.
"Commanders, please bow."
"We wish you a good match!" both sides shouted, and the crews manned their tanks to begin the match. As both sides waited for the starting round to fire, Jouko was giving instructions to her crew on how the match should progress.
"Like I said before, we're going after that sniper. Hopefully we'll deal with her long enough to help our teammates. We can't afford to risk just going for the enemy flag tank early. Take out the biggest danger to us, and it's smooth sailing from there. Got it?"
"Yep!"
"Any questions?"
"What if we take too long, or get trapped in the forest?"
"For the first question, Hannes, if we take too long, we risk losing the match, but we can't allow that sniper to try a shot at our flag tank. If we get trapped, try to retrace our steps, I'll be guiding you along the way."
"What if we... try to go back once the sniper is far away?"
"She's a good shot, so no doubt we'll be white-flagged once we turn back."
"What if-"
A burst from the Bofors gun signaled the beginning of the match, interrupting the QnA session and shutting it down permanently as Hannes maneuvered with the rest of the tank force as per the plan. After a few minutes of driving with the pack, Jouko's Sturmi abandoned the formation, driving into the wooded areas nearby, leaving the rest to fight Saunders' main force as she would engage in her own fight, sniper on sniper.
Using her binoculars, Jouko kept a close eye on the Firefly, the enemy sniper, and subtly followed it into the dense forest as she played some pieces by Sibelius, albeit very quietly. Hannes did her best to maneuver as Jouko gave orders, and seeing the Firefly take its position, she stopped the tank. Pushing her face into her gunnery visor, Jouko took several seconds to estimate the distance of the enemy and the angle of her gun as a shell was pushed into the turret.
One-and-a-half kilometers away, 21 degrees upward. No wind to worry about this time.
By the time her evaluation was completed, however, she noticed the Firefly turning its turret towards her position. They had been spotted.
Acting fast, she pulled the trigger and fired a single round at the Firefly, but it missed by mere inches due to the rush of the moment. Seconds later, a muzzle flash could be seen from the Firefly's position, and more eternal seconds passed before the shell finished its course, impacting and shattering the ground around them, tearing up patches of dirt and grass and sending them flying into the air, dislodging the Sturmi.
With mere seconds to think, Jouko instinctively opened the hatch and yelled, "Quickly, Frisell, the smoke grenade!"
Frisell grabbed a smoke grenade from a compartment and tossed it to Jouko, who activated it and tossed it outside, before quickly closing the hatch again. A few seconds passed as Jouko waited anxiously for the Firefly to budge, hoping that her ruse of making it look like her tank was knocked out had worked. Indeed, it did, somehow, and the Firefly, fooled, began to move from its position to rejoin the main Saunders formation, assuming that it had gotten its prey. By now, Lofstrom had reloaded another shell, and Jouko took aim at the Firefly a second time. After calculating for a few seconds, Jouko pulled the trigger, and fired.
The wait felt as if everything had frozen, all anxiously hoping her shot would find its mark. Seeing a slight flash, Jouko emerged from the cupola and looked through her binoculars. There was damage on the Firefly, but to her dismay, saw it had survived, with no white flag. She had hit, but it wasn't powerful enough to indicate a knockout. After recovering from its blow, the Firefly noticed that the Sturmi was still very much operational as well, and realizing its potentially fatal mistake, had to act fast. It began to turn its turret again, and targeted the Sturmi's position. Jouko muttered words of anger and regret under her breath.
For goodness' sake... I should've stayed with the main formation... we're too far.
"Hannes, get us out of here, and try to move closer to that Firefly. Apparently these shells won't work at this distance."
Hannes slammed the throttle, and managed to get the Sturmi out of the way of an incoming shell, driving into the trees, disappearing into the thick woodland of the forests. Moving through dense forest was difficult, but Jouko's guidance was a great help for Hannes, who was lucky to have a commander who knew forests well, growing up in a similar environment to this. It was through the use of the sun, knowing which direction from where the sun seemed to have gone in its path from east to west, that Jouko was able to navigate.
Unfortunately, given the density of the forest they were in, Jouko had lost sight of the Firefly, and was now desperately trying to find it again. The hundreds of trees around them were making it very difficult to find that tank, and after minutes of seemingly hopeless searching, Jouko decided to call it quits on the chase, thinking that the Firefly was heading back to attack the main force. But, just as she was about to give up and order the Sturmi to maneuver out of the forest to engage the main Saunders force in a surprise attack to hopefully take out the flag tank, she heard a shell fly past, and seconds later, another.
Looking behind, it was the enemy Firefly.
You're not getting away easily...
Naomi fired another shell at the retreating Sturmi. Whoever was commanding that tank was really good at her job. Was it that same girl from Finland she met before the match? If so, no wonder, some rumors say her grandfather was friends with the White Death himself. Well, she was about to face someone related to the White Feather, an expert sniper that could be of Simo's caliber, and she was determined to prove once and for all who was the superior shooter.
Seconds passed as Naomi watched to see if her shot had landed. To her dismay, the Sturmi was out of there before it could come within 100 meters of her shell.
"Dagnammit, Sandy, drive us down. We're hunting that tank down even if we get knocked out. The longer we keep that thing occupied, the bigger the chance we get of winning this match."
Sandy began moving the Firefly down into the forest, giving chase. Naomi tried to keep her eyes on that Sturmi, initially able to maintain sight of it. However, as they both descended into the trees, both lost sight of each other.
"Chloe, can you radio the other tanks? We gotta warn them about this Sturmi."
"Commander Naomi, we can't transmit any messages in this dense forest. At best we'll only get badly garbled audio."
Dangit, looks like we're gonna have to settle this one way or another.
"Alright, Sandy, I'll look outside to try to get a better view so as to catch that Sturmi again. Drive according to my orders, don't let up the chase."
The Firefly continued to drive through the dense forests as Naomi used a map to try to navigate. Minutes passed by with little knowledge of the main combat that was going on with the rest of her team. All her orders were to try to snipe the enemy flag tank or knock out as many as possible, yet here she was, stuck in some stupid goose chase with another sniper either trying to do the same thing or possibly even assigned to knock her out specifically.
More minutes passed, there was no announcement of victory yet. But, there was something that caught Naomi's eye. Painted in dark-ish green, with the white and blue Jatkosota symbol prominent on its side, it was none other than that cursed Sturmi. Eureka.
"Sandy, drive to our left, I've finally caught sight of that tank."
As Sandy drove the Firefly to a suitable shooting position against the Sturmi's rear, Naomi took aim and fired. Miss.
"Jenny, another shot!"
As the shell was slammed into the barrel, Naomi took another shot. and it missed again.
Now it knows we're here for sure...
"I've gained sight of it again! Hannes, drive faster and get us as much distance as you possibly can, but evade as many shells and trees as possible."
Hannes obeyed, but was confused on why Jouko was being so, well, typical. This was normal stuff, was there something to it?
"Don't question it Hannes," piped Löfström, "Commander Jouko knows best, so it's best to listen to her. Don't forget about less thinking, more acting."
So, she increased the speed of the Sturmi and swerved this way and that, avoiding trees and shells as best she could, though she was unable to avoid several trees which did manage to impact the Sturmi, causing it to slow several times, but despite this they continued to gain more distance between them and the Firefly. Minutes passed by as the chase dragged on. Shells were continuing to zip by them, some close, some far, but no hits on the Sturmi.
Jouko and the crew didn't know how the main battle was progressing, and Frisell's radio was unable to work properly due to bad signal in thick forests, but they had good faith in her teammates, as well as her fellow tank crews. They just had to keep up this flight until the next phase of the plan could be executed, and it was coming up very quickly. Jouko was looking for a good spot to execute the plan, and she finally saw one.
That Firefly was not letting up the chase, and was still firing away, shots zipping by growing ever closer to hitting the Sturmi. But, at the perfect opportunity, enough distance was finally met for Jouko to execute the next part of the tactic. At a small clearing in the forest, a lucky coincidence, Jouko shouted,
"Now! Drift left!"
Hannes, with renewed confidence, pulled the lever as fully to the left as possible. The Sturmi's tracks tore up the grass, which helped in slowing the turn until it was now facing the Firefly, which was rapidly closing the distance between itself and the Sturmi.
"That tank's speeding up, don't let it get away, Sandy! Jenny, keep those rounds coming in!"
Shot after shot after shot was hurled at the Sturmi. Naomi needed to take this thing out before the team could lose.
Come on, give me a hit, just one. Dumb Continuation drivers, too good at their job... It's getting away from me...
Seconds passed as that Sturmi gradually gained distance. Naomi fired shell after shell at its general direction, but didn't seem to hit anything but the ground or the trees surrounding the both of them. Just as she was about to give up, things took a turn for the worse.
That Sturmi suddenly executed a drift, and in some extremely lucky circumstance, it was doing so in a clearing, perfect for drifting. Now, its barrel was pointing directly at her Firefly. Frantically, Naomi attempted to run.
"Oh no."
With split-second precision, Jouko fired, sending the shell directly into the Firefly, knocking it out in a bright and brilliant mixture of orange and black, shortly thereafter followed by a small white square transposed in front.
There was no time to celebrate. Now, they needed to rejoin the main fight as soon as possible before things got any worse. Given they were in a part of the forest where the signal was stronger thanks to the clearing's lack of trees, Jouko demanded radio reports.
"Frisell, tell our team we have just dealt with the Firefly. Ask them their status and that we're on our way. Hannes, drive as fast as you can. We have to get there before Jatkosota gets knocked out of this tournament."
After doing so, Frisell gave a mournful reply: "Nearly all of our tanks are gone, only Rumi's Panzer is left as well as Mika's BT-42. We're close to the action, we'll just have to drive right from where we're facing."
As soon as she heard the words, Hannes drove like never before, driving through thick woods, avoiding trees, bushes, and other natural obstacles that stood in the Sturmi's way, as Frisell continued to ask for updates on the situation, and Jouko stuck her head out of the cupola to listen closely for the gunfire in the distance as well as use her binoculars to look for the way out, using the sun as well to guide them out. As the sound of shells being fired grew louder and louder, Jouko climbed back into her seat and readied the cannon as the brightness of the open fields grew more and more prominent.
Finally emerging from the dense forests, the Sturmi ended up on the right flank of the Saunders team, just as the BT-42 was taken out,
leaving the Panzer flag tank undefended and alone. But there was a clear shot on the enemy flag tank, the M4A1(76) Sherman. Jouko readied to fire. She knew the Continuation flag tank wouldn't survive for long, so she needed to act now. Taking aim, Jouko fired a desperate shell at the flag tank.
"Come on, we almost have you..."
Megumi was not allowing victory to slip. Those tanks were as good as toast. As long as that cursed Sturmi didn't show up and ruin everything at the last moment, they were well on their way to the Semifinals.
"Keep up the chase! We're slowly whittling down their numbers! Vice-Commander Kay, give me a status report!"
"All good, Commander Megumi! We're pouring in more lead into them, but those stubborn tanks won't allow that lead to dig itself warm and cozy into them. We're trying our best, though!"
Nobody had heard of Naomi since she last reported she was chasing after an enemy Sturmi into the forest. Was she still in the match and knocked out the Sturmi, or had the opposite happened? No time to think now, the match is as good as won. Just one more minute and they'll be in the Semis, if nothing went wrong.
"Uhh, Commander Megumi?"
"What is it, Kathy?"
"Enemy Sturmi to our three!"
Aw, crud. Naomi did get knocked out.
"It's aiming at us, keep firing! We'll kill that flag tank before that Sturmi kills us!"
"Commander Megumi, it's about to fire!"
No, not now. They were so close... they'd just taken out the tank guarding the flag tank. They weren't about to get smoked right when victory was in their grasp. Climbing out of her cupola, Megumi spotted a flash from the Sturmi, knowing full well what it meant.
Was this it? Was this gonna be the end of the match? It couldn't be, there was no chance. Ah, whatever, there was always next year for Saunders. Hopefully it would go better, shame that Megumi wouldn't be there to command them.
Bracing for impact, she expected the shell hit that would end her and the team's chances of getting Saunders to the Semifinals.
"NOT THIS AGAIN!"
Unfortunately, fate was against her for a second time, in the same form. Another Sherman, commanded by Kay, drove into the shell's path and was immobilized.
"No, not again! Quick, Löfström, another shell!"
Another shell was pushed in within seconds, and Jouko once again took aim. Shells were flying their way, as the rear Saunders tanks were firing at them, breaking formation to attack. They were bouncing many shells, and the concrete armor was starting to crack.
Megumi, eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable end of Saunders' run in the tournament, heard an explosion, though felt no impact.
What had happened?
Recovering from being shaken, she took a few seconds to process it, but she realized as her mind cleared. Kay had deliberately driven her tank straight onto the shell's path just before the shell could traverse the distance, and had taken the hit for Megumi. As she looked back at the wreckage, having stabilized herself, she could see Kay smiling and waving to her amidst the smoke, her tank's white flag having popped out to her left. Her heart was racing like never before. Kay had given her a second chance, and she couldn't let it go to waste, especially not now.
"Come on... just one good hit... please..."
Keeping watch for that Sturmi, it was still heading for the Saunders formation. Some tanks had broken off the chase, trying their best to shoot it, but it was evading shells, and though some were impacting, they were bouncing off. Seconds later, a flash came from where the Sturmi was. Megumi could see the incoming shell, and ducked inside her tank for cover, slamming the hatch shut.
This time, there was an impact, the shell rocking the tank in all directions from its power. Megumi was violently thrown around, and temporarily blacked out. She came to moments later, and regaining a grasp of reality, turned her head to the left to see that a white flag was flying in the air, and her tank reeking of copious amounts of smoke. Her heart sank.
Once Jouko had found the perfect opportunity, seeing Saunders' flag tank in sight, she pulled the trigger and fired. At the same time, a shell from one of the M4s shot straight at Continuation's flag tank, and it was a photo finish.
Both flag tanks were immobilized, and it was hard to determine which had gone down first. If both flag tanks had been knocked out at the exact same time, then there would be another match the following day to determine a winner.
The judges closely reviewed the footage as both teams gathered in their own respective areas, anxiously waiting to hear the results. Minutes passed by that felt like hours. Jouko's stomach was twisting into another knot each passing second. She had to pray her shot made it before Saunders' shot did. If it was a draw, at least they had another shot at the semifinals, and maybe Jouko could try sniping the enemy flag tank the first opportunity she got.
Unfortunately, it was all not to be.
After minutes of review, the announcement rang out loud and clear: "Continuation High School's flag tank was knocked out eight milliseconds before Saunders' flag tank! Therefore, victory for Saunders University High School!"
Her shot had come too late... by eight milliseconds.
Eight. Milliseconds. Jouko was devastated. Eight milliseconds?! Collapsing to the ground, she couldn't afford to show her face, she couldn't hear the distant cheers from the Saunders team. This was their shot, this one last chance for Rumi to get Continuation to the Semifinals, and she had blown it all away by eight milliseconds.
Give me a break. Eight milliseconds my foot, I'll be treated like a bag of garbage by everybody now. I had this chance for Rumi, for the school, for all my friends, and I blew it all away thanks to my stupid decision to go after some tank.
Mustering the courage to stand up after a few minutes, she faced her team defeated, expecting backlash, criticism, and all sorts of verbal, perhaps, even physical abuse. She had come too late to save her team, all because of her focus on a single tank. Expecting the worst, she dejectedly stood in front of her teammates, ready for the screaming, berating, yelling, spitting, and bullying. However, she was met with compliments, and congratulations instead.
"Well, we might have lost, but your performance against that Firefly was definitely the highlight of this performance. Don't blame yourself, we should've been more careful."
Touko's words came as a surprise. Mika came next:
"From hearing Frisell's reports, you must be lucky to have a tank team like that. Your driver and loader have served you well, and we of course shouldn't neglect your radio operator."
Rumi came last. Jouko expected the worst criticisms, given this was her last tournament before going to university, but all she got was compliments from her as well.
"It's truly unfortunate that Continuation never got to the Semifinals when I was with them, but this was the closest we've ever gotten to getting there, all because of you, Jouko. Don't beat yourself over it, you did well today. I can see Continuation going to the Semifinals soon, and I'm sure it will happen when you're still with us."
As the others expressed their agreement, Jouko felt tears coming to her eyes, but quickly did away with them, trying to make it look like she was wiping away sweat, and embraced Rumi. She was unlucky that match, but what she was lucky to have were supportive classmates. Everyone else gave their compliments, before leaving to meet with the Saunders commanders.
As Continuation drew near to Saunders' camp, Kay was the first to greet them.
"I forgot your name, Jouko, isn't it?"
"Yes, that was a fine match we fought."
"Well I'll be, turns out I got lucky driving forward a bit, you are one heck of a tank commander!"
Jouko smiled, "My father always taught me to be mobile and accurate at all times."
Alisa was busy celebrating over winning the match, so it was Naomi's turn to talk with Jouko.
"Say, you were the commander of that Sturmi I was fighting during the match, am I correct?"
"The same."
"Impressive work, you really know your way around tanks, given your age."
After Naomi, Jouko was introduced to Megumi, the commander of Saunders.
"Pleasure to meet you, Jouko. Your team fought well, and I'm impressed by your skills against Naomi. I see great potential in you. I hope you will see more success in the next tournament."
Jouko, who minutes before was full of considerations about abandoning Sensha-do, now felt proud, all of her dissatisfactions, disappointments, and depressive mood was gone. Now, she felt ready to take on the world, and eagerly shook Megumi's hand with renewed vigor. She had received compliments from everyone as far as the eye could see. That's what a supportive community and good sportsmanship does to you, after all.
After both teams departed to their respective carriers, Jouko called her family. It was the first time in weeks, she had been too focused on Sensha-do to remember about them.
"Mother, Father, please forgive me for not calling you earlier."
His parents reassured her, "Oh, don't worry, Jouko, we know how much you've been working on Sensha-do. We watched your matches in the tournament, my goodness, you were amazing!"
Jouko smiled, and they talked long into the night about how Aarne and Antero were doing in their shooting competition. They were doing quite well, and were still in the competition. In fact, they were going to face each other in a battle for 1st place in a week. Jouko told her parents to wish her friends good luck for her, before saying goodnight, doing her nightly devotion and prayers, and going to bed, bummed out over the tournament loss but satisfied with her performances during the tournament.
With Continuation's defeat in the Quarterfinals, yet another opportunity to get to the Semifinals had been tragically dashed, but it was the closest they had ever come to their desire. Although they never got to the Semifinals, their performance during that year's tournament had reinvigorated them all. They were confident in next year, that they would indeed get that desired Semifinals placement. All because of four Finnish friends, three of whom joined because one was so interested in a Japanese sport called Sensha-do.