Kaiser lay low on the backside of a hill, jagged rocks pressing into his chest as the sun beat down atop him and sand was whipped onto him by the strong winds. With some tan camo netting draped across the front of his binoculars and head to prevent glare from the lense, he patiently observed the North.
He had been here for an uncomfortable time, not daring to look away from his optics for fear he'd miss a sign. Despite the conditions, his patience paid off. Soon the three figures he expected to see came lazily driving into view. Only portions of the enemy heavy tanks could be seen as they skirted the unsteady hillsides, alert and ready for any counterattack.
A bubble of anticipation emerged within him at seeing his competent foe as he shimmied back and turned to his side. Hugging his bino's to his chest he let gravity take him as he rolled a few times downhill before stopping himself and breaking into a run. With haste, he sprinted to his Tiger waiting idly behind him.
Arriving at the side of his steel steed, he shook himself violently like a dog. Dislodging any remaining sand that clung to him as he grasped at the blistering surface of his vehicle. Atop the chassis he stomped three times, signaling his crew to come out for a breath of fresh air. Something they were thankful for as they had to wait in preparation within the mobile oven of a vehicle. Even with fans internally and hatches open, one almost wished to be knocked out of the match.
All but the most dedicated. It was somewhat rousing even as the heat sapped his crew's strength to see Kaiser moving with vigor and purpose. As their four heads emerged and began fanning themselves, Kaiser did one last check of his 'preparations' and addressed his crew.
"Kuromoromine is advancing in our direction. As explained, we'll wait for Sokolov's signal before revealing ourselves and engaging as their heavy tanks descend a hill into one of the designated ambush points within the terrain feature. Once those heavy's go down, either they or us won't be coming back up. Drink some water and get ready. Virtanen's calling this our last 'Hail Mary' so do your part and we'll see if luck remains on our side."
"Thought you didn't like luck Colonel?" quipped West, dousing his face with a canteen of water.
Tugging on the slack of a cable before securing it onto a hook, Kaiser grunted and wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers. "I wouldn't rely on it but against not only the older Nishizumi sister but her second in command Itsumi, and the Maus? We'll need to stack the deck however we can."
"Is that why you've concocted this so-called 'plan' of yours?" asked Laura wiping her neck with a spare rag.
Kaiser did the same with his forehead and the sleeve of his blouse. "Worrying about your performance?" he snarked. "Just leave the hard parts to me and our dear "Von Belle."
A cry of embarrassment rose from Belle as she lunged out at Kaiser. Dodging her hand he grinned as she complained over thinking that her nickname had finally died out.
"He's only paying respect to our royalty" laughed Katya.
Belle turned abruptly in her hatch, whipping her silver braid around. "Not you too Katya!"
As the girls playfully bantered, Laura felt compelled to emphasize her worry. "You know, this is as ludicrous as it is inventive. I'm almost worried you don't care for your own safety, let alone your body being in one piece."
Kaiser gave a fake laugh. "Ah, Laura. You almost make me blush."
"She's not the only one concerned with your mental health" called West over Belle and Katya who joined him in raising their concerns.
"Perhaps a bit more restraint would cause less worry amongst us" smiled Katya, her fears for him clear.
Belle took the moment to finally land the soft blow on Kaiser who chuckled at the impact. "We know you want to win but let's not have a broken arm like with Saunders. We'd like to have a still-breathing commander after this."
Kaiser gave an entertained grin. "You're all too much, really," he said sarcastically. "If you can't imagine this then I'm sure they won't predict it. Nowthen, times short. Get ready for the signal. Once it sounds, every second will count on us."
With the sudden change of his tone and expression, his crew mimicked and took a solemn attitude as they descended into their positions. Kaiser remained out his hatch with his head low as the Tiger slowly began encroaching forward.
Meanwhile Kuromoromine's "KommandoGruppe" proceeded along cautiously. The rhythmic churning of tracks and humm of engines were interrupted by the occasional acceleration as the massive vehicles fought against gravity to stay a steady course on the difficult terrain.
Maho's Tiger led the way, followed by Erika's Tiger II and the Maus in the rear. Stringing along such a behemoth, it was found wise to clear ahead so that the vehicle could take the easier routes even if unsafer as opposed to struggling to descend and climb every other elevation.
It was with this practical formation that the three vehicles sliced through swaths of land so easily thereby catching Transcendence off guard. It was here once more that the Tiger descended halfway down a slope, and began skirting a hill to recon the surroundings ahead with the Tiger II and the Maus would simply drive along the ridge line to catch up.
Yet despite the innocuous atmosphere, the silence prevalent around them, and it was the same as any other repetitive maneuver, the three vehicles halted abruptly. Maho gave the order to stop as she observed her surroundings. Ordering her team to stay in place, her vehicle began ascending to scout alone.
"Erika, stay with the Maus. I'll push ahead alone."
"Somethings off, isn't it?" asked Erika, a feeling of unease settling in her stomach.
No response came, the answer obvious from Maho's actions. The Maus settled in, finding an area to hull down itself on the hilltop as the Tiger II began surveilling the area around. Both Erika and her gunner scoured the distance with their eyes as Maho ascended the summit of the next hill.
Far away and to their rear, Sokolov watched with bated breath. His dicker max lay just behind the crest of the rocky hill he hid behind, its barrel nearly lying atop the surface due to its gun depression. The spackled browns and tans along its body made it nigh unnoticeable.
From this position his brow furrowed as he realized the golden moment hadn't passed, it didn't even come. As if they had a sixth sense, their targets strayed from their usual practice. In stalking them he had gotten a baseline for their maneuvering and now as he lay in wait they switched it up? He was beginning to become exasperated at the unusually perceptive instincts they showed.
However, this final counter lay on him to initiate. He had waited too long to assist the Prokovs and O'Diveley. He could not let his patience and ruminating further endanger their position.
The Tiger II was constantly moving, unwilling to show any glaring opportunities to strike especially as its turret scanned in their direction. The Tiger was now out of his sight which left the Maus as a prime target. Large, even with its hull hidden, motionless, and most tantalizingly, the prevalent, square rear of its turret faced them at a nearly flat angle.
With urgency, Sokolov assisted his gunner in gauging the distance, adjusting for the drop of their 105mm shell. This first shot would not miss. The Tiger II did another lap around, shifting itself and scanning over Sokolov's position with its gun. With slow breath's his team waited as their enemy's barrel passed over them.
"Fire."
The Dicker Max's light chassis rocked heavily from its gun's recoil. Its large projectile lobbed into the distance at the unassuming "super heavy tank" before impacting with a deafening explosion and spalling steel fragments all around.
Despite the weight of the Maus, it still rocked from the impact of a 105mm shell. Without anyone the wiser, the crew struggled to regain themselves and resume control of their vehicle to retaliate only to find that it wouldn't respond. Atop the turret, a white flag had emerged and shut down the vehicle as disabled.
Sokolov and his crew held their celebrations in as the loud ping of an empty shell resonated and the clunking of another was inserted. The Dicker Max held its position, not wishing to catch any eyes with sudden movements. Seeing the tiny white flag, Sokolov turned to the Tiger II, his next target. A sudden pit opened in his stomach as he found the barrel aligned in his direct sight.
Being the first match he had fought in his new vehicle, Sokolov hadn't accounted for one factor of his new weapon. The muzzle blast. Opposed to his Stug IV the Dicker Max had a muzzle break and a much larger gun. With its barrel so low to the ground, the muzzle break had sent the propellant gasses out and sent a large plume of dust and sand up momentarily, exposing their position.
Sokolov hadn't noticed this or when the Tiger II had quickly taken aim. He couldn't even give a hasty command to reverse as Erika gave counterfire. The long-barrelled, high velocity 88mm cannon had little drop or delay for its round as it struck the DIcker Max. Threading it's shot in the little exposed cheek next to the barrel itself. The thinly armored tank destroyer was immediately disabled with Sokolov uttering perhaps the first curse word anyone had heard from him.
Despite his frustrations, he had done something significant. Kuromoromine had mistakenly assumed the troublesome 'Ace crew' of the Stug IV was out of the fight. Not knowing they had a new vehicle and as such suffered the loss of a major support vehicle.
With the realization of this fact, Erika heard gunfire from the south, it was the unmistakable fire of a Tiger. Panic began to rise as Erika tempered it and gave the order for her crew to move over the hillside and assist their commander. Worry was a natural emotion, the dependency on her commander and likewise to assist each other was Erika's foremost concern as she fought to remain collected.
Yet as her heavy tank began descending the hill without hesitation, Erika noticed another vehicle doing the same on the hillside across from her. Both Tanks were heading downhill into the saddle between. A black cross on the front of the opposing tank showed it was her commander. But why was she rushing to her position when she should have been engaged?
An epiphany struck like lightning in her mind. 'Something isn't right.' It was too late to correct her vehicle as it began to descend due to its weight and the sound of a roaring engine emerged from behind. Snapping her head to the side, Erika saw past her gray strands of hair to see another Tiger with a white eagle upon it overtake them with a solitary figure riding atop.
Kaiser's Tiger crossed the Tiger II's path, cutting it off while receiving fire from Maho's vehicle across the 'saddle' and bewildering Erika's crew. In the few seconds that his vehicle passed the front of Erika's tank, Kaiser strained his body, twisting and exerting himself to launch the steel cables he held.
Like a weighted lasso, the two thin and sturdy cables struck against the Tiger II's lengthy barrel. The first hit with a loud metallic smack before falling and being sucked under the Heavy tanks tracks. The second achieved its intent. The loop wrapped itself onto the barrel and quickly snapped itself taut as Kasier's tiger bypassed their target and pulled a U-turn.
Amidst the dangerous maneuver sand assaulted Kaiser from the enemy Tiger's shell which narrowly missed his vehicle thanks to its abrupt turn. With the burst of sand raining onto him and his goal achieved, Kaiser fell back into his cupola with urgency.
A wise decision as his vehicle now slowly faced uphill and tied to the still descending Tiger II was immediately jerked down and dragged away by the descending tank. Thrown into Laura's lap with a shell stabbing his neck, Kaiser fought back to his seat to see the effects of his daring stunt.
It had proved fruitful. Staring out the rear of his cupola he saw the Tiger II's turret now facing an awkward angle to its right and lowered. The combined weight and force of his vehicle against the larger Tiger II was too much and damaged its hydraulic turret traverse. It wasn't disabled, evident by the still roaring engine but its gun was hardly a concern.
That left their focus to fall on the oncoming threat. With another narrow miss from Maho's Tiger due to their unpredictable descent, Westhoffen promptly reversed to keep just behind the Tiger II and mitigate their exposure.
Within seconds the three tanks would converge at the bottom of the 'saddle.' Watching Maho's Tiger intently, Kaiser saw it begin to shift to his left to strike their side. A slow shift of movement caught his eye to the right, the Tiger II's barrel despite not having hydraulic pressure to raise itself continued turning. Fighting till the end, Erika's crew was using the manual system to continue fighting.
"West!" shouted Kaiser. "Get ready! You're gonna be reorient us left!"
Taking deep breaths, West hurriedly shifted gears as he tensed himself. "My left or yours?!"
"Yours!" Shouted Kaiser as their descent was coming to a stop, the rear of their tank colliding with the rear of the Tiger II and the steel cables sliding off its slow-moving barrel to be sucked underneath them.
"Now!" ordered Kaiser. The Tiger II slowly drifted to the lowest point of the saddle where upon Kaiser's order West shifted their tank chassis. In an impressive turning maneuver, the thin blonde boy was able to manipulate the Tiger into a 180-degree left turn that closely placed their tank beside the Tiger II.
Unexpecting such a difficult maneuver, Kuromoromine's commanders were left surprised as Maho's tank now chased around Erika's Tiger II in pursuit of their enemy's rear. To the chagrin of Erika's crew, Kaiser's Tiger slipped underneath their long barrel, hugging their side and forcing their vehicle below it by bashing the steel tube up and out their way.
A goose chase between two Tigers began with Erika as an unfortunate buffer for Kaiser. With the much larger heavy tank in between, both Kaiser and Maho emerged from their hatches to direct their vehicles. A dance began to the tune of engines.
The Tiger II tried shifting to disrupt Kaiser's vehicle yet in doing so also impeded Maho. Realizing this Erika's tank sat quietly in understandable frustration. Completing a full lap around the Tiger II, Kaiser ducked in his hatch as his tank ran under the large barrel once more. Popping out, he caught a glimpse of Maho.
A piercing stare impaled him as he responded with a mirthful grin. Their eye contact was then broken by the heavy tank buffer once more. Soon the Tiger II began traversing in place, spinning clockwise as the two tanks circled it counterclockwise.
Kaiser's tank fired a shell at Maho's vehicle, skimming the engine and puncturing the exhaust valves with no real effect other than a puff of black smoke. As his crew reloaded they were met with a sudden jolt. The Tiger two reversed into them, halting their game of tag. As West tried to break the tank free, the pressure suddenly released as the Tiger Two drove forward. From behind emerged Mahos tiger sending a round that clipped his Tiger's turret, displacing a smoke launcher and releasing a thick cloud of smoke behind them.
Seeking cover amidst their reload, Kaiser directed his west to pursue the Tiger II as a buffer once more. The slow hand-cranked turret of the large vehicle came to greet their eyes as West swerved hard to the side to avoid the shell.\
The Tiger II's 88mm cannon fired, unable to suddenly adjust with its damage it didn't strike true but did impact the rear of their target. Damage had been dealt to Kaiser's engine, black smoke sputtered out as the engine began to suck in air desperately trying to produce its usual output.
With a fresh round in the breech, Kaiser intended to duel Maho but was now obligated to eliminate the TIger II nuisance. The larger heavy tank's size left it vulnerable at close range with speed the TIger maneuvered to the front of its chassis and fired into the side of its exposed turret finishing one loose end.
Maho had not sat idle as her vehicle closed the distance from behind. A sudden jerk left then right from Westhoffen temporarily shook off Maho's gunner long enough for him to begin turning the vehicle. Maho's Tiger stayed persistent closing the gap between. As both tanks reloaded, West received a shout of confirmation from Laura once the breech was secured and a daring order from Kaiser.
With Maho's tank just behind them, KAiser's Tiger performed a tight drift, straining the vehicle's tracks against its tonnage. The loose sand beneath them gave a loss of friction and sent the Tiger gliding even further than anticipated. With a sudden 270-degree clockwise drift, two of the track discs dislocated and were sent flying outward, embedding themselves in the sand. Amidst this, Maho's vehicle drove into Belle's line of sight and she fired.
The shot was fast, sending Laura into her immediate drill of reading a new shell as Westhoffen began to report loss of steering and engine performance. As Kaiser's tank began to slowly turn and face the foe that overshot them, the damage was evident. Belle's round had sheared a semi-circle out of the lower half of Maho's Barrel which now slumped at a fifteen-degree angle halfway down its length.
Yet as Kaiser gave a mischievous grin at his success, Maho returned it with a look of determination. As her vehicle turned and began circumnavigating his own, her tank unexpectedly fired. With the damaged barrel in the way the round and following pressure snapped the remaining steel off as the hefty tube was sent spinning ahead to impale the rocky sand like a disposed pike.
Her Tiger now encroached with a damaged barrel half its usual length intending to finish off his own crippled tank. Kaiser stared at her figure outside the cupola of her handicapped tank. It was unpredictable. It was a declaration. It was many things but most of all, it was exciting.
That same feeling of indescribable thrill welled within Kaiser as he ordered his crew in tandem with Maho's vehicle. Both were on the reload, both were speeding, unwilling to expose a flank or flat surface to the other. Finally, Kaiser gave the order to advance.
Without question, West began fighting the controls to get the Tank to steadily proceed as he wished. Seeing their advance Maho corrected her course to face Kaiser's tank head-on rather than expose her side continuing to maneuver.
"West! Offset it! Pull right!"
"I'm trying! She's fighting me!"
"Just make it happen!" ordered Kaiser.
West let a shout of frustration out as he fought the vehicle for control. The rest of the crew sat in quiet tension as sure enough, they began to drift to the right of their oncoming foe.
"Belle! Get ready!" ordered Kaiser. The silver-haired gunner licked her lips, gripping her controls with sweaty hands that nervously sought a comfortable grip.
"Fire!" On command, Belle sent the 88mm projectile outwards, intending to blind the enemy gunner's sights. The round met its target and fired almost simultaneously. The close proximity of their vehicles left little margin for error as Maho's tank received the damage so did Kaiser's.
Despite the decreased velocity of the barrel Maho's Tiger fired and hit Kaiser's barrel denting it inward. As the two vehicles were about to pass each other in a simulation of armored vehicle jousting, Kaiser's left track had given in. The few remaining discs gave way and the left track unfurled itself with a snap sending the Tiger careening left and into the path of Maho's vehicle.
With the sound of 140 tons of steel impacting at 20 mph. The vehicles jolted to an immediate stop as the crews inside were tossed about and the commanders atop were nearly thrown out. Streams of black smoke emerged from both tanks as inside emergency lights flickered red, signaling internal damages and the engines slowly came to a stall.
Maho collected herself with a groan, keeping her composure and silently masking the pain. Her brown irises looked up from the top of her tank to see past the streams of black smoke her tank's barrel, snapped in half now laying next to another, albeit this one bent at an awkward angle from striking her turret.
A look further showed the front of her tank touching the front of the other as both lay face to face akin to two deer interlocking antlers. But most noticeable of all was the white flag before her eyes and on her tank.
It was nearly impossible to notice the slight change in expression she held as her hand turned to a fist atop her turret. A bitter feeling rose within as the pure white cloth taunted her. Suddenly something flew and landed in front of her. Almost striking her torso she looked at the offending object in surprise. It was a tan officer's cap. Looking up she saw Kaiser outside his cupola like her and with a hand against his stomach, nursing a new bruise under his uniform.
He looked her up and down, certainly noticing her flag of defeat. Yet as she wished to avert her eyes, he pointed down. The same flag had emerged out of his turret. A strange feeling began to replace her prior bitterness as the smoke began receding and the drones above reported the sight. In the distance, sirens sounded signalling the match's end. Despite her team's defeat, her defeat, she couldn't say she felt disappointed. Wrestling with this new feeling, she watched as Kaiser leaned back against his cupola ring and let a smile slip. Something undeniably genuine from the cryptic boy. She couldn't quite hear what he said but read his lips. "It was fun."
He then threw his head back and looked up at the sky, relaxing in his seat under the bright sun. Maho felt a sense of bewilderment from the strange boy. After all, how was she to react to such a confusing man? Even with this befuddlement, she felt a sense of similarity. It had been fun. 'Perhaps Miho was right' she thought.
Following his lead she reciprocated with a small nod to herself and a gentle smile. Something he witnessed from the corner of his eye and smiled in satisfaction at. Turning upwards she gazed at the beautiful, bright blue sky. Above a lone plane circled amidst the clouds. The desert winds whipped and whirled the loose sand around their tanks leaving them to feel as if they were isolated in their own world.
The momentary serenity was broken as both crews emerged from their hatches with mixtures of sighs, coughs, and groans.
The match was over but for the two commanders now taking it easy, it felt as if a rivalry was born.
Left out to sweat for a bit under the sun, joyous cries came from the two tigers as the recovery vehicles finally towed them back to the stands. This time, however, perhaps due to the heat and a few sustained heat casualties in the crowd, there was no rowdy welcome as they were brought back.
Only the sights of both teams defeated vehicles and the few survivors greeted them. With the nearest air conditioning being in town it seemed that the crowd had been dispersed and invited for after-match celebrations by both schools once night and the ensuing cool came.
Instead, a temporary discussion was held between Maho, Erika, Virtanen, and Kaiser as their teams began to organize the transportation of their vehicles and preparation for the celebrations.
Virtanen had been waiting atop his Panther, speaking with the commanders of the three vehicles that had been assaulting him in the ravine a half hour before. His conversation was put on hold as he trotted after KAiser who had insisted on his attendance. What for? He found out as they entered the relief of a large tent near Kuromoromine's site.
A few chairs sat around an empty table as a couple of Kuromoromine students carried the last of their tactical supplies out the other end. In the middle sat Maho and Erika. Just as their first meeting, the two boys sat down across from their most recent foes.
Virtanen's usual tension in formal settings resurfaced as Erika held the same demure expression. Kaiser had since lost his state of euphoria from the battle's end and seemed indifferent once more. The only outlier was Maho, showing a satisfied smile that tugged at her lips and she seemed content to sit in the three's presence.
The first to act was Maho nonetheless. Standing she offered a hand over the wooden table. "Foremost let me congratulate you on our battle." She turned to Kaiser. "And for your daring attack. It was as you said, fun."
Ignoring Virtanen's curious stare and Erika's glare, Kaiser quickly shook Maho's hand. "Glad to hear it," he said taking his seat once more.
Maho addressed Virtanen next, catching him off guard. "And an equal congratulations to the opposing commander and the effort you showed in holding out. You have quite the reliable friends."
Bashfully Virtanen stood and shook her hand. Despite being taller than her he acted like a little sibling being praised, earning a snicker from Kaiser. Maho then turned to Erika, giving a friendly yet questioning look.
Begrudgingly, Erika mulled over what to say before casting her eyes downwards. "You performed well. I cannot complain as to your skills."
Kaiser took on a patronizing grin and leaned forward onto one hand. "Is that so? I'm flattered to hear it." Earning a glare from Erika beneath her bangs, Kaiser turned to Maho as she sat. "I can gladly say you didn't disappoint."
Maho seemed to sit a little straighter, a little pride taken in the compliment. "Then I would like to continue with the brief time we have" she began. "Recognizing your capabilities and now with formal recognition situated, I would like to formalize ties between our schools."
Virtanen and Kaiser looked at each other in surprise with a cursory glance at Erika who surprisingly had no rejections. Aside from Saunders, this would be the second school to close relations with them and it would be Kuromoromine at that.
Maho continued, taking their surprise as a positive sign. "We can discuss the details at a later point with more comfortable settings. For now, I would like to trade contact information and close ties between the commanders of both schools."
"We would be glad to" agreed Virtanen without hesitation.
Maho nodded, happy at the acceptance, and then exchanged contact information. "Now then you may refer to me by my first name from here on, as for Erika I'll leave that to her. May I refer to you in the same manner?"
Virtanen wasn't about to refuse now and again instantly replied. "Of course! My name is Austin, in case you don't recall."
"My memory is just fine" laughed Maho. Thank you, Austin."
Virtanen let a bashful smile out, insisting it was nothing when he realized something. His eyes quickly turned to Kaiser who had crossed his arms and seemed displeased. He had forgotten that he hated going by his first name.
Silently watching his peer, all eyes soon turned to him awaiting a response. Seeing Maho and even Erika look at him, Kaiser took a deep breath out of annoyance. He turned to Erika and called her attention. "Are you going to do the same Erika?"
It was a clear taunt. One to rile the girl into refusing and therefore as a vice commander giving him an excuse to do the same. Yet the gray-haired girl seemed to catch on and with a leer said "Yes I am, Adam."
Kaiser turned quiet as Maho joined in. "My mother insists that networking is a vital skill for adults and I am inclined to agree."
At the mention of her mother, kaiser recalled that he may have been on thin ice with the Nishizumi family. The epiphany of possible recourse, if he disassociated with the eldest daughter, was enough to force him into agreement.
With pleased smiles from Maho and Virtanen and a smug grin of minor victory from Erika, the meeting was wrapped up. "Adam, Austin, if you'll excuse us, Erika and I have preparations to undertake for tonight's festivities."
Austin raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought Kuromoromine didn't hold after-match parties?"
Maho waved away the notion. "Your information is outdated. With this year's changes, we have begun to introduce our own spin of celebration regardless of wins and losses. It's still hectic even this far in the season so we must oversee its organization." With that, the two girls left.
Kaiser pulled Virtanen to the side and said the needed to leave immediately. Being dragged along, Virtanen begged to know why.
"We have to get in contact with the school's logistic branch and catering services to notify them of Kuromoromine's intent to join the celebrations. Then we have to contact Kuromoromine and coordinate the planning, food, and cleanup afterward. God forbid we leave a mess for them, dont bring enough to satiate both schools and the audience, or even worse. We bring too much food that's left over and taken out of our budget."
Virtanen's eyes widened as he looked over at the formation of disabled vehicles and recalled the arguments with the student council and its president over funding. Realizing the urgency he took off at a sprint with Kaiser at his side.
Thankfully the process was somewhat alleviated as Maho seemed acquainted with the difficulties and had Erika dispatch a male and female student from Kuromoromine to relay information. It was beginning to look like a night of festivity, one of the grandest Transcendence had seen yet, was about to take place.
-Chapter End-