To Kaiser's West, Gloriana had patched in the emergency call. "Tiger sighted holding advance point to the primary objective on hill 605. Orientation East-Southeast. Unable to breakthrough."
The information was relayed freshly from the Comet and Matilda he had just dispatched, to the Bishops providing indirect fire and providing frontline reports to the team as a whole. With this Darjeeling gazed at the map on her lap as she sipped at her tea. The auburn liquid inside swirled gently as her vehicle bucked against the terrain as they raced to their objective.
"Continue as planned, utilize the heavy reinforcements, and make a breakthrough. Milk Tea is en route."
Any doubts that may have arisen with the order were assuaged at the unusual monicker. Milk Tea was none other than Alice and Darjeeling's code name. All they had to do was get their foot in the door and their commanders would handily settle the score. It was all but sure to the crews of the Churchill and Black Prince, all except the commander of the latter.
Assam would follow orders, undoubting of their correctness but she was cautious of the Panzer IV and its two squad vehicles. They had hardly given a fight before retreating northward. Assam even knew of the leader of the enemy squad. Alexander Knight, no more than a failed initiate when he attended St. Gloriana. Yet a single transfer and he suddenly found himself as third in command and behind a successful campaign this season.
Assam was smart enough not to dismiss an opponent, no matter how… insignificant he had shown himself to be just months prior when he was on their side. And yet she couldn't help but feel he was carried or gifted with nepotism at his tenure on Transcendence. Was it personal? Surely not. Was it reasonable suspicion? Perhaps but she had seen the recordings of Transcendence's past matches this season. He was no one-man army but he was trained and equipped to be a thorn in her side.
One thing she knew. Even when he was a student of St. Gloriana, he showed tenacious loyalty no matter his performance. With that, she felt he could not be disregarded. With One Churchill ahead of her, and another behind with its turret rotated backward, she advanced towards the dreaded Tiger's last known position. If she was to be flanked by the boy and struck between a rock and a hard place, she would at least hold her position until her commander arrived to settle the score.
Assam's caution was well-reasoned and warranted. At the very moment she circumnavigated the lower tributaries' southern boundary counterclockwise, Knights squad was on the move to give them a nasty surprise.
Rather than encircle and trap the opponents, Knight was seeking to regain the lost ground and repel the opponent to buy time and hold the center flank's preferable terrain once more. How? He enacted an audacious plan recommended to him by Kaiser and considered a last resort to himself.
At the moment, Diana and Damian's tanks were rushing around the northern boundary to meet the moving Gloriana heavy tanks and bolster Kaiser's defense. And he, he was at the bottom of the lower tributary feeling uncomfortably reminiscent of the underwater infiltration mission he had run with Kaiser none too long ago.
He could have sworn he felt a drip of water seep through the rubber seals keeping him and his crew from drowning within their steel coffin. No, it was just his sweat. He realized as he wiped his forehead. He wasn't the only one nervous. The underwater amphibious modification for the Panzer IV was waterproof, provided fresh air through the funnel, and was certified safe. It just didn't ease their nerves as they slowly moved across the murky depths of the lake with no visibility.
The sound of him and a few others nervously tapping their feet against the interior, anxious to get out of the water echoed within the hull. His pessimistic mind began to flood with thoughts. 'God that was a terrible word to think of… flood' he winced at the word in his mind.
'What if we get stuck down here?'
"The radio still works."
'What if the vehicle breaks down?'
"There is oxygen and the radio has a hand-cranked backup battery."
'What if I miss the enemy or am unable to direct my team?'
"Believe they can lead themselves"
'But what if-'
"We have faith in you"
Every time his mind brought a negative possibility, he would hear the voices of Kaiser or Virtanen assuring him of the very questions. He had after all asked the very same things before the match. It was their confidence that instilled his own. He had no time to worry only to act.
And somehow, worry still found a way to persist under his bravery. The murky waters clouding his viewports began to thin as they began ascending once more. A lurch followed by sputtering from the engine signaled a problem. In an attempt to prevent a lapse and water backflowing into the exhaust, the driver increased the RPMs. The engine revved and sputtered out fumes as it fought back the water.
Knight could begin to hear the sounds of cannon fire as his cupola ascended above the water line. As he watched his barrel stick out the water first from their swim, he radioed Diana and Damian. "What's your status?" he asked in a worried voice.
Diana and Damian radioed at the same time, the siblings stepping over each other verbally as their tanks fired and frustrated each other.
"We've just-" began Diana as Damian cut her off.
"We've intercepted the enemy's advance but-"
Diana took over again. "There's no sight of Colonel Kaiser!"
"Dammit, Diana!" Argued Damian back on the comm.
"Stick to fighting and being quiet!" snipped back his sister.
"Quiet!" snapped Knight. In a rare showing, he demanded order. "Will one of you hold down the damn button and succinctly tell me what's going on?!"
Silence met his ears as his vehicle leveled, water began rolling off the sharp edges of his chassis and the increasingly heavy patter of intensifying rain met the top of his turret.
"Diana you tell him" ceded Damian as he focused on the fight.
Somewhat embarrassed at being told off, Diana was quick to the point. "Kaiser's further up in elevation and separated by jungle, further than we thought. We've engaged the enemy heavy column and are currently impeding their progress. Two churchills and-"
"A Black Prince." finished Knight. Diana needn't ask how as she saw the sight of his vehicle emerge from the waters to the flank of their enemy. Knight himself saw the Black Prince sitting a mere thirty meters ahead of him. A quick assessment showed he had arrived unexpectedly on their flank as the Black Prine and lead Churchill were slowly advancing while engaging his T-34-85 and Firefly. The rear Churchill still held its gun to the rear as it advanced.
His arrival wasn't unnoticed for long, however. The rear Churchills driver noticed his presence and reported it. Immediately the column halted as the rear vehicle's gun began rotating to face him and the Black Prince jerked suddenly as its entire body began rotating with its gun.
"Get us between the Black Prince and that rear Churchill! Ordered Knight. The Panzer IV bucked forward as it found purchase on the wet soil below it. "Gunner fire!" On his command the gunner did so, dislodging the rubber seal that kept the barrel clean with ease before shifting left and right.
An erratic movement at first sight, one that seemed to mirror the panic among Gloriana's heavy tanks but the purpose lay in removing the rubber seals around the turret ring. Now moving, they dislodged and tore themselves, freeing the ease of traverse for the gunner as they approached their enemy. An expected loss of equipment with such a tactical insertion.
Yet as they approached the Black Prince, Knight's vehicle bucked again It wasn't clear at the moment, but the engine's waterproofing had been faulty in its hasty application. The engine was slowly dying on them as they lost torque. The Black prince, swiftly turning to face them, was then struck by a reverberating impact. A cursory glance back showed the source being the Firefly's gun, evident by the vapor trail it had left behind in the high humidity.
A begrudging reminder that despite the imminent threat to their side, if they exposed themselves to Damian or Diana, the two siblings would not hesitate in sinking their fangs into the exposed armor.
With what little time was bought, Knight clenched his jaw as he watched his loader close the breech. Both the enemy Heavies aside from the lead tank still engaged with his allies were seconds away from locking onto his slowing tank. Swallowing his pride, Knight damned his expectations of himself.
"Driver, steady vehicle. Gunner, focus the Black Prince. Rear track and engine first then work our way front and up."
"Sir?" asked his loader.
Closing his eyes in frustration, Knight sighed deeply. We aren't making it out of this one. If this is the hand we're dealt, I intend to do whatever damage we can. Give the gunner a straight shot and be sure that these are the fastest reloads you've ever done.
Hearing his words, his team leaned forward, the loader nodding in grim understanding. As Diana and Damian rained supporting fire from above, he informed them of his plan. Something they didn't like but understood his conviction.
The Black Prince began reversing to get a better angle on the Panzer IV while enduring the counterfire from ahead. The Panzer IV's first shot rang out. The 75mm round struck the flat armor covering the Black Prince's rear tracks. The round embedded itself and knocked some of the interior track systems loose, evident by the steel components going slack with the track.
The Black Prince stopped reversing as its gun continued to spin, THe driver inched the Panzer IV forward a hair, the engine whining and transmission jerking forward as it struggled to create power. The Panzer IV drifted forward in neutral, narrowly avoiding the two guns, still tracking it as a second round was inserted in the breech.
True to Knights' request, it was perhaps the fastest his loader had ever worked. The second round struck above the first impact point, black smoke emitting from the paralyzed tank's engine as it lost its power.
Again the loader hurriedly worked as the Black Prince's gun settled onto their stilled vehicle. The 17lb shell fired as soon as its gunner caught sight of the Panzer IV. Perhaps in a panicked rush to eradicate the threat they posed, she had forgotten to account for the distance between the sight and bore alignment.
The seventeen-pound gun ripped into the side of Knights Panzer IV, eating at the steel along the chassis and disregarding the spaced armor but not delivering a lethal blow.
Both vehicles rushed to load another round, Knight's loader wisely held onto the shell in her hands as Knight called out the incoming impact. Immediately after the shaking settled, the shell found itself firmly locked within the breech and the gunner shifting their aim.
Inside Assam's Black Prince, the same was unfolding. Her loader raced to load another shell, unknown to either crew that they were neck and neck with their reloads due to Knight's order to hold. But as the tip of the shell faced the open breech, a violent rocking struck the Black Prince.
Diana's T-34-85 had sent a round into the side of their turret, having used her and her brother's previous shots' vapor trails to adjust their aim. The shot violently rocked and surprised the crew. Most notably, the Loader who lost in focus, dropped the shell. Assam looked down, seeing the back of her loader's head and the shell loudly clanging. The same look of expectancy and shock surely lay on her loader's face as well at that moment as she reached down with haste. Assam looked out her viewport with wide eyes.
The Panzer IV fired once more, aimed center mass at the crew compartment on the open flank. Two shells disabling the vehicle left all surprised the Black Prince had not shown its flag of defeat yet the third impact delivered the desired result. The Black Prince and its commander were eliminated with little effect on their opponents and by no more than a suicidal surprise attack reminiscent of Chi-Ha-Tan.
Interrupting the intense seconds between the two tanks, The rear guard Churchill had finally spun its turret around and fired. The shell ate through the spaced armor on the Panzer IV's right side, shaking Knight's crew inside. Suddenly they were sent rocking the other direction as another shell slammed into their left side.
The lead Churchill had reversed and angled itself to his friends while turning to deal with him. Unfettered, he and his crew continued to fight. The next shell was on its way as his gunner began to shift left to engage the exposed side of the lead Churchill.
Luck was no longer on their side however, both Churchills with their smaller shells loaded notably faster than their Black Prince ally and fired simultaneously. The Panzer IV reverberated from both impacts as its white flag popped out from atop the turret, almost mockingly, directly in view of Knight.
His defeat had been mere seconds after the minor victory over the Black Prince, something now buried amidst his feelings of frustration. Even the sight of Assam emerging from her cupola, frustration clear on her face even as she daintily placed her teacup atop the turret gave him no satisfaction. He felt the pointed glare she gave even as he hid within his tank and watched the two Churchills continue to press his ally's position.
The stinging regret of his defeat, even as he had predicted it, even though he knew he should not have hoped for a miracle, left him despairing hollow. As if to encourage him past or even chastise him for self-beratement, his RO patched his headset through. Diana and Damian began shouting in his ear.
"Good job Alex!" Shouted Diana into his ear.
As he jumped from the volume Damian joined in. "You helped pull pressure off us! Without their lead tank, they're disorganized!"
"We'll be sure to pay them back!" continued his sister as the firefight between the four tanks intensified.
"And if the commanders won't take notice of your sacrifice then we'll celebrate after all of this" offered Damian trying to keep his cool under fire.
"You, and your crew, were really cool!" added Diana rather embarrassingly for herself and Knight.
It felt as if the two siblings were shouting in his ear yet as their voices pounded at his eardrums, he didn't take off his headset. Instead, he hid a small smile of embarrassment behind one hand, turning away from his crew who looked at him knowingly.
Bashedly hiding his face from his crew he lowered the volume and interrupted the Frost siblings. "Focus on the match you two… and thanks."
Hearing his choked words, Diana grew a beaming smile and quietly pumped a fist as her tank fired once more. Damian smirked slightly, nodding in relief. Now they felt obligated to show their own conviction as their friend had.
As the Churchills worked their way up in the direction of the two siblings, taking hits but advancing regardless, the rain began pouring even heavier, a potentially brief yet heavy downpour enveloping the land. If one was inclined to believe such things, it was not a good omen.
The Frost siblings prepared to engage the Churchills in a skirmish as they encroached, discussing which direction to take, tactic to perform, and expectancy of survival when suddenly, the enemy heavy tanks stopped in place, holding the road. They were waiting for something.
On Kaiser's end, things had stagnated once more, he was in the midst of contemplating reinforcing Knight's squad when Virtanen urgently radioed him with unfortunate updates. In essence, the rain had made the elevated terrain precarious and bogged down his heavier vehicles as they simply sat still. To worsen it, as the Matilda's were no longer being thoroughly suppressed, the Bishop's indirect fire was only intensifying and growing in accuracy.
"Alright, see about pulling the defense further uphill to steadier ground, I'll have Nat and Val fall back to reinforce your position in case any reinforcements try to ascend the steeper approach. Stay calm and collected, head in the game. You good?"
A shaky breath met Kaiser's ears. "Y-Yeah, just a bit jumpy. Can't see anything past this rain and the damn mud!" the audio muffled slightly as, presumably, one of the Gloriana SPGs landed a shell near VIrtanen. "I'll manage!" assured Virtanen. The line went quiet as Kaiser weighed his next movement with consideration to his friend and notably, the most vital piece of in this match.
Then a small cruiser tank burst forth from the vegetation ahead. How it had come from the north and evaded their lines and scouts was unknown to him as he watched it approach from an angle unnoticed by his crew. The last he had heard of its position, it was in the south with Gloriana's main force. Yet undeniably, a Crusader tank charged his Tiger without delay.
Covered in mud and vegetation it had run through hoping to attack their rear, the Crusader came in recklessly. Upon seeing their squared silhouette in the hazy rain, the Gloriana tank began serpentining and fishtailing. The movements slowed it down as it began sliding in the thick mud, churning the road into a slurried mess.
"Belle gun to the left, Westhoffen begin reversing to our right in third gear" ordered Kaiser.
His Tiger jerked suddenly and began moving, the sight certainly stirring worry for the Crusader's crew as they seemingly kicked it up a gear and began racing faster. Emboldened by the thought that they realized Kaiser's intent, they shifted their course.
In a vain distraction, their 57mm gun fired, plinking harmlessly against the Tiger's armor as it continued turning, directing its gun further away from the Crusader as it closed in. They hoped to race past the Tiger's rear which was backing towards a thicket of trees and vegetation to protect their rear from the Crusader's speed and force it to drive within their line of fire.
What they couldn't have known was this Crusader's particular love for speed. With an overclocked and modified engine, the Crusader seemed to puff flames from its exhaust as it nearly lost traction from the sudden torque.
Fifty meters, twenty, ten. The lumbering Tiger was still steadily reversing but there was certainly enough of a gap for the Crusader to slip past and open fire. It was as the Crusader's barrel had just passed the front track of the Tiger, the large beast suddenly jerked and swung its weight in place.
"West, second gear! Swing hard left!" shouted Kaiser. Westhoffen dutifully did so, fighting against the transmission mid-movement as the RPMs lowered and pulling the wheel with all his might. Suddenly 54 tons of steel bore down on the Crusader in its sprint and collided with its back right side.
Kaiser spun in his seat, the only one able to watch the scene unfold in its entirety within his vehicle, as the Crusader was clipped and diverted at full speed into the vegetation. Immediately as its course was changed, the front left collided with a tree trunk, snapping the track and sending it spinning onto the road where it rolled over itself once before steadying itself upright in a a groaning mass of smoky steel.
Kaiser watched as the tank sat immobile and Belles's gun continued turning, just as it had since his order. With her precise following of orders, the gun steadied within seconds on the Crusader.
"Fire."
The 88mm shell signaled the end of the Crusader's fight. Inside the Tiger, small breaths of relief emerged from his crew once more as they relaxed in the moment of respite. However, Kaiser kept his eyes firmly on the Crusader. His crew continued their service as Katya scanned the channels for updates.
His eyes did not waver as he watched the black smoke emitting from the disabled vehicle's rear, with a frown on his face. Narrowing his eyes, he could see through the rain small whisps of white smoke. His eyes widened as he saw what couldn't have been mistaken as anything other than the lick of a flame from behind the turret.
With haste, Kaiser threw off his headset and tossed aside his clipboard with his cover. Unlatching his cupola he received confused questions from his crew at his sudden actions. "Come with me or leave without me!" he ordered to their confusion. To add to their bewilderment, he added an extra rule. "Driver, loader, gunner stay!" before disappearing into the deluge of rain outside.
Laura looked at Belle with wild eyes. "Is that his way of saying 'don't abandon the match?"
"But that leaves only Katya to go with him!" pointed out Belle.
"She's already gone!" announced West as he shifted the Tiger once more into a defensive position facing West.
Katya showed her improvement in stamina as she stayed behind Kaiser as they ran to the tank. With a closer look, it became clear why he had acted. The overclocked engine was spitting small flames from the rear chassis as black smoke and fresh steam emitted from it.
The two climbed the vehicle wet and warm from the rain and heat of the engine's fire. It was clear the inside was filled with smoke as well, the sounds of coughing coming from within. Kaiser began banging against the outside hatch with his fist at first then, took a shovel off the tank and began bashing it against the turret.
The girls inside must have been disoriented from the collision and resulting flips, unable to properly unlatch and open their hatches.
A few moments of banging and Kaiser was prepared to have Katya radio the officials for help. Thankfully, the driver's hatch opened and the girl coughed as she crawled out. Soon one by one the hatches followed. The commander's cupola opened and a familiar head of red hair emerged with a plume of smoke from within. Without regard for comfort like Katya had with the driver, Kaiser grasped Rosehip by her collar and pulled her out with ease.
Soon the two had all five Gloriana girls out of the vehicle and assisted in putting out the engine fire once they had regained their senses. The matter had taken a remarkably short amount of time. Kaiser would discover upon returning to his vehicle with Katya and without waiting for a word of thanks from his foes, those minutes were vital.
The first thing he saw in his tank was Laura leaning over and operating the radio system. Her violet eyes shot at him in a panic. "Emergency message from the Knights squad!"
Kaiser dropped into his seat and threw on his headset as Katya did the same, only to land atop Laura. As the two fumbled around Kaiser radioed Knight. There was no reception. Radio silence? Or perhaps he was defeated? Next, he radioed Diana, Knights's second in command.
"Sir?!" shouted Diana, her voice flustered.
"What's going on Frost? Where's Knight?"
"Alex is gone!" she declared, her tone and delayed response showing her attention was elsewhere.
"Then what's your situation?" asked Kasiser shifting focus.
"We-" there was a loud impact followed by a grunt from Diana before she continued. "We're currently holding off the enemy's heavy tanks! Two Churchills!"
The line went silent as Kaiser awaited her to finish. It was an agonizing few seconds until she spoke once more.
"Two more tanks showed up! They're not like any others! Damian says he says they're Centurions?"
Kaiser realized the situation, thankful for Diana's ever-present professionalism she kept the info concise even if she clearly hadn't been thorough in reading the intel he provided. Next time he would have to see that she and Knight sat separate on the way to a match.
Knight was inoperable, and the Frost siblings were under assault by Darjeeling and Alice. Outnumbered and regrettable to say, outskilled, it was clear what his course of action should be.
Guiltily, he glanced behind to the east, where Natalya and Valerya awaited him with Virtanen to their rear. He turned back west, watching through the droplets of rain splashing against his viewport.
"Frost- Diana, I'll apologize later but the mission-"
"Alex will understand and so do we!" she interrupted in a huff. Kaiser was taken aback by her sudden change in tone towards him as she continued. "We didn't call to beg for help! We called to give you a heads-up! So go and help the commander, we'll buy you time and pay them back for Alex's sacrifice!"
Kaiser was mildly impressed at her sudden fortitude. He had once been able to cow her and keep her stubborn streak in place yet after her time with Knight it seemed she had grown indifferent to the possibility of his anger. He immediately ordered West to fall back as he began concocting another plan.
While listening to Diana's combat in his ears he noticed the Crusaders crew shivering under the ran as they sat outside their tank. Turning to the storage unit behind the turret, he tossed a couple of tarps over as his tank drove by. The girls wrapped themselves, as Rosehip[ stood up trying to thank him once more yet he was already gone, his face forward, headset blocking her shouts as he replied into his headset with a smirk. "Since you're going all out Diana, be sure not to embarrass yourself in front of our school, especially not Knight. It'd make for an awkward date later."
She couldn't spit a retort back before the line went dead, instead huffing her embarrassed insults to no one unwittingly.
"He has a point, don't want to embarrass your man after that little show he put on" taunted her brother over the comm.
"Now is not the time!" whined Diana as she looked out her viewport to see the mayhem unraveling around them.
During their talk the two centurions had begun advancing rapidly uphill to their position, unfettered by their fire and supported by the Churchills, it was Damian who insisted on a countercharge.
As she explained the situation to Kaiser, Damian had hatched a plan to ignore the Centurions and eliminate the Churchills to limit the reinforcements that would pass through. The two siblings, much like their friend and commander, had accepted their defeats as inevitable. And just like Knight, they intended to bite back one last time.
Upon her annoyance with her brother and Kaiser, The sibling's Firefly and T-34-85 were interweaving along sparse vegetation in their path as they charged downhill.
Darjeeling's Centurion performed elegantly as it shifted itself and came to a halt as it diverted off the path, keeping its turret on the two siblings as they raced past. On the other hand, Alice Shimada's performance was terrifying.
Even with a crew she had known for one season, the immaculate teamwork stunned the Frost siblings. The small girl stood out her cupola enduring the rain with her tiny frame as she headed straight for the two, unflinching even as Damian's Firefly fired past her at a Churchill. Her eyes lay firmly on them even as the sound of clashing steel resonated from behind.
The game of chicken was won by Alice, the Frost siblings aiming for the Churchills behind her that were firing nonstop. Their tanks pulled left and right, allowing Alice to pass the middle when outrageously, the girl spoke into her mic and her tank shifted ever so slightly.
The front left corner of her Centurion struck the side of Damian's Firefly and her rear right hit Diana's T-34-85. The two consecutive impacts allowed her to spin her vehicle 180 degrees with her barrel aimed at Diana's tank.
Darjeeling fired first from behind, striking Daina's tank in the engine, causing smoke to begin pouring as it charged. Alice fired not a moment later. Its 105mm shell found not the kill of the T-34-85 however, but instead the Firefly. Still in its reload, Damian had driven his vehicle to intercept the shot with the side of his tank.
As the Firefly powerlessly crashed into a watery ditch, Diana claimed her prize. The two Churchills, both of which had landed shots that further damaged and smashed into the front of her tank began reversing too late. As she came speeding down, her tank pulled a sudden turn, losing traction with the mud, and came flying sideways as its right side collided with the front of the Churchill to the right.
Just as she intended. With a stable gun and point-blank aim, her 85mm cannon fired into the side of the second Churchill's turret, disabling it. Not a moment later, the two centurions delivered two 105mm shells to rectify the loss of their ally.
-Chapter End-