…
…
…
"PUT YOUR HANDS UP, YOU PAVIE FUCKS!"
Axel Syrios roars, brandishing his BAR. A cadre of Elysian soldiers and Munafik Pavolians with green armbands accompany him. The startled enemy truck drivers, guards and haulers never got the chance to even think about fighting back - not after the strange group cut through the thick fog in a hurry.
So, the enemy logistics crews stopped their vehicles, threw away their weapons and raised up their arms in surrender. Axel and his cadre bind the wrists of the captured enemy, search them for holdout weapons and march them over to transport trucks turned into Prisoner of War cells.
Axel pulls one of his Munafik officers aside and urges him, "Have your troops get as much intel as you can out of them, got it?"
The Munafik officer salutes him and proceeds to interrogate the prisoners in Pavolian.
Meanwhile, Magni leads the rest of the troopers to secure the perimeter and to ransack the trucks. Magni pulls away the tarpaulin from one of the trucks.
"Jackpot!" Magni grins, "Ey, Soldier Boy. Look at this!"
Neatly-stacked piles of Pavolian caliber 7.5cm tank shells and cans of machine gun ammunition are spread out before him. His troops find more shells, ammo, fuel and other supplies stashed away in the other trucks.
"Fuckin' a!" Axel remarks, joining Magni aboard the back of a captured truck, "Leader and the LT are gonna be over the moon with all this!"
"Heh, yeah!" Magni cheers. He picks up a 75mm shell from the stack and pores over the Pavolian markings, "Elysium put me to prison for being a thief. Now, they're making me steal Pavie shit by the truckload."
"Talk about an upgrade, huh?" Axel laughs, patting Magni's shoulder, "You're doing it for Auntie Sora now. For Elysium."
Magni glances at his motherlode of a haul again and snickers, "Yeah, and business is gooood."
Their chatter is cut short by the metallic churn of tank treads and the rumble of engines coming from behind them. One by one, the Pavolian tanks of the Elysian 4th Tank Company arrive.
Silhouettes of the 4th TC appear majestic at first, but as they clear through the fog, the repurposed tanks show their myriad of scars.
Pockmarks of deflected machine gun shots and deflected tank shells appear on their hulls. Their treads creak and rattle, threatening to run off the road wheels. The green cloths hanging from their radio masts are singed and tattered. Some of the tanks even no longer have their MG34 machine guns at the cupolas, torn clean off from their hinges.
More than that, the tank commanders in the cupolas are covered in soot that masks their faces and turns the faded royal blue of their old uniforms and the green Munafik armbands into smoky gray.
Ollie Kureiji emerges from the lead tank of the formation. She wipes the soot and sweat off her face and turns to Axel and Magni.
"We're low on ammo! Fuel too! Give us everything you've got, soldiers!"
Axel and Magni salute the blackened Lieutenant and get to work with their teams. Ollie, Altare, Anya and Vesper, meanwhile, crawl out of their damaged tank and spread out their battle map on the battered hull of the Garuda tank. The other tank commanders join them too while their tanks are restocked.
"We're still a ways off from our objective at the cape, but Kovalskia seems to be throwing everything she's got on the Northern salient." Ollie reports to her crews, "Radio's full of chatter right now, but the other salients are clinging on. Tank Companies 1, 2 and 3 are all engaged with the enemy. They're turning the tides in some battles, but not all. We can't expect much help from anyone else."
Altare leans forward and scans the map. He points towards hills along the coastal road near their position.
"We should establish a supply base here - and a field hospital for Rifle Company H." Altare suggests. He folds his arms and adds, "Let's set up the mortars of Dingo and H Company here too so we have a battery. We don't have the element of surprise anymore. We're going to need every card we can get."
"Good idea, Sergeant." Ollie nods, "That'll put the load off of BATCOM. We'll be able to advance faster too if we're not lugging around those mortars."
Altare salutes Ollie.
"I'll give the orders to the boys." Altare offers.
Ollie sends him off with a salute and then turns to Vesper.
"How much longer do you reckon we'll have this fog hanging over us, Corporal Noir?" Ollie asks.
"An hour more at most. The sea breeze will pick up and disperse the fog naturally over time. That last encounter held us back for quite a while, so we'll have to double-time swing." Vesper answers in a matter-of-factly tone. He adjusts his glasses and looks at the battered tracks of the Garuda tank, "The question is if our tanks will be able to keep up top speed in their condition."
Ollie folds her arms.
"We'll have Dingo Company bring some mechanics and technicians with us. They'll repair our tanks at the cape." Ollie replies with a frown, "We'll have to make do until then."
She then turns to Anya with an inquisitive gaze.
"What about you, Miss Melfissa?" Ollie asks her, "Would you be able to cross No Man's Land from here?"
Anya glances over Ollie's map and shakes her head.
"The cape is the best place for me to exfiltrate. We have to get there before the fog clears." Anya insists, "It's going to be a tall order even at the best scenario, so I'll need every advantage I can get."
Ollie's gaze sharpens.
"Can you do it?" Ollie tests, "Will you do it?"
"I wouldn't have gone this far if I wasn't serious about seeing this through." Anya answers without hesitation. She clenches her fist, "Kaela Kovalskia has to pay for her crimes. By hook or by crook, she will suffer by my hand. I swear upon Mother Towa and my keris."
"I have no choice but to believe you." Ollie shakes her head and looks Anya in the eye, "What I wanted to ask is: will you really be able to make it back here? Going through enemy lines once is one thing. But a round trip?"
Anya falls silent.
The sea breeze blows by them, thinning up the fog slightly.
"You were a HaKugrenadier once too, Miss Ollie." Anya finally says, speaking in Pavolian, "You know that we will do what we must."
"I know that, but…" Ollie replies timidly.
"I will do what I must, but I will tell you this: I'm afraid." Anya admits. She turns away from Ollie and faces the sea, "This mission will succeed, or I will die trying."
"Miss Anya…" Ollie croaks.
"But until then, I am the Loader of your tank." Anya stands in attention and turns around towards Ollie, "I trust that you, your troops and your tanks can pave a way forward for me."
Ollie takes a deep breath and nods.
"We, too, will do what we must." She replies.
Anya opens her mouth, but she's interrupted before she can reply.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BRA-BOOOM!
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BRA-BOOOM!
Ollie and Anya shield themselves from the blasts but their ears ring, their lungs clench and their hearts pound against their chest. All around them, the soldiers of Dingo Company and the Munafiks drop what they're doing and throw themselves to the ground, seeking any shelter.
Ollie grits her teeth, fighting through the pain and the smoke and roars.
"4th TC! BACK IN YOUR TANKS! WE MOVE - NOW!"
Magni rushes towards her and warns, "We're not yet done resupplying, ma'am!"
"It doesn't matter! Kovalskia's pissed we took out her vanguard, I reckon." Ollie rebuffs him, "We'll resupply later. So, hop to it, soldier!"
"Understood!" Magni salutes her, but his voice is muffled by another Pavolian barrage.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BRA-BOOOM!
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BRA-BOOOM!
Ollie raises her voice.
"LET'S GO BEFORE THAT BATTLECRUISER JOINS IN AND FUCKS US UP!"
Her shrill cry spurs Altare and the other tankers to return to their vehicles. Magni and his troops leave the Pavolian supplies and join up with Axel's forces.
Anya climbs up the side of the Garuda tank first and helps Ollie and Altare aboard through the cupola. Vesper vaults over the front of the hull and shuts the driver's hatch behind him.
Under the barrage of mortars and heavy artillery, the Elysian 4th Tank Company, Dingo Company and their Munafik allies resume their assault.
…
Sea breezes from the Emerald Bay strengthen further, thinning out the once thick, impermeable fog over the peninsula. Ollie sees this shift before her eyes as she scans the battlefield from her cupola. She even starts using her binoculars again, searching for the silhouettes of their still-hidden foes.
Ollie grabs her radio and signals her force.
"We're approaching the cape. Tanks, spread out. First rank, HaKu IV's, load armor piercing. Second rank, III's, load high explosive."
The tank commanders acknowledge her over the radio and they comply with her orders. Under Ollie's cupola, she hears Altare helping Anya load the main gun as instructed.
The other HaKu IV's of their unit speed up and join the Garuda while the lighter HaKu III's follow a short length behind.
Ollie nods, satisfied. She presses on her radio handset again.
"Infantry, I want the bazooka teams to capture the high points and secure our flanks. Half-tracks, get ready to intercept HaKugrenadiers and keep our supply line clear. The HaKugrenadiers won't be far behind. Believe me."
Axel and the infantry commanders follow suit.
Just like that, they advance in loose formation and spread out. Pavolian and Elysian artillery continue their near ceaseless duel in the distance, but blasts continue to go off along the coastal road.
Ollie's expression sours and she presses her radio handset a third time.
"BATCOM, this is HQ2. We're approaching the vantage point. Are the 12-inch guns of Fort Orobala prepared?"
Kiara Takanashi's voice answers her from the other end.
"Acknowledged, HQ2 - and negative on the 12-inch guns. We're working on reactivating them. My entire unit's scrambling to provide fire support throughout the Dog White Zone. We're spread thin."
Ollie heaves a sigh. She opens her mouth, hoping to berate Kiara at first, but Ollie stops herself. She rubs her temple instead and softens her tone.
"This is war, BATCOM. Artillery is the king of the battlefield. We need you to be ready for when we get a visual on the enemy cruisers - or else we'll lose the board and lose the game."
The radio falls silent for a moment. Then, Kiara answers.
"I swear that the coastal guns will be ready when the time comes, HQ2. Mothers' speed! Holy Mothers damn me if I don't!"
"I trust you." Ollie reassures.
"Thank you, Miss Kureiji. Until then, I'll leave some field guns on the horn for you. My mortars won't be able to help you that far north. Not from this distance."
"We have mortars of our own, don't worry." Ollie reassures her, "We'll need your howitzers soon enough. Over and…"
Before Ollie could end the transmission, gunfire erupts from the hills.
"CONTACT! CONTACT!" Axel Syrios yells.
Ollie bit her lip and hailed Kiara again.
"Scratch that, we need your howitzers now, BATCOM. Put them on standby. I will relay coordinates once we get them."
"Understood, HQ2. We're standing by for your fire mission. Over and out."
Up ahead in the distance, the silhouettes of soldiers appear in the thinning fog. Ollie grabs her binoculars and squints hard. She sees the Pavolian soldiers in Hakugrenadier garb.
They're spreading out new rolls of barbed wire and are repositioning the lines of sandbags that once belonged to Rifle Company H. At the same time, they're lowering the Elysian flag and digging holes in the dirt and on the cracked segments of the coastal road.
Holes big enough for anti-tank mines.
Ollie clicks her tongue.
"It's always positional warfare with you, Kaela…" Ollie mutters.
She turns towards Axel on the half-track behind her and hollers.
"Corporal Syrios! They're setting up fortifications and minefields. Take your forces and fan out in our flanks. Don't let them finish! We're not gonna let them control the cape!"
Axel salutes Ollie and promptly coordinates the new orders to his forces over the radio. His trucks and half-tracks pull away from the Ollie's ten tanks.
Ollie glares at the Hakugrenadiers blocking the road and takes her own radio and calls her commanders.
"HaKu III's! Targets: machine gun nests and roadblocks, ten o'clock, twelve hundred! Twelve o'clock, thirteen hundred! Two o'clock, sixteen hundred! High Explosive! Button up and fire at will!"
At Ollie's command, the HaKu III's of her column halt, train their guns at the busy Hakugrenadiers and fire!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
High-explosive blasts rock the Pavolian positions, tearing up sandbags and Hakugrenadiers alike. Ollies HaKu III's reload and fire another barrage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Startled Hakugrenadiers drop their sandbags, barbed wire rolls, and unarmed machine guns and mines and scramble for their weapons. Pavolian half-tracks likewise rush onto the scene.
Ollie's HaKu IV's, however, are prepared. She peeks through the periscope and gives the order.
"HaKu IV's! Targets: Pavolian half-tracks, dead ahead! Eighteen hundred! Armor piercing!"
Her heavier tanks halt this time and fire their own barrage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Armor-piercing rounds fly true. Most find their mark and strike the lightly-armored Pavolian-half tracks, disabling them. Some start leaking fuel and are set ablaze.
Ollie hears screams of agony, but the thinning fog hides most of the carnage. She clicks her tongue and pops out of her cupola with her radio handset.
"All tanks. Target: Infantry. Eighteen hundred. Use all the machine guns you've got."
Ollie gives her command but her voice croaks at the last minute. She hears the dying screams of her enemies, so she cocks her own MG34 machine gun and whispers beneath her breath.
"Put them out of their misery."
Ollie fires first.
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT!
Machine gun fire mows down scores of HaKugrenadiers and frightens away the survivors into falling back. At the same time, Axel's half-tracks break through the rest of the Pavolian line alongside the road. They retake the sandbag lines of Rifle Company H, leaving the Elysian flag flying at half mast.
Ollie takes a deep breath and calls upon her tanks once more over the radio.
"Continue the advance!"
…
And so, the tanks of 4th TC roll forward again down the battered coastal road. They crush the pulverized remains of the incomplete Pavolian road block beneath their treads and carry on.
However, spirits are not high. The tank commanders of the 4th TC look tired and sullen. Ollie's red-and-white hair is haggard and slick with sweat and soot.
Ollie glances at her MG34 machine gun and hums. She dips under her cupola and turns to Anya.
"I need a new belt for my machine gun." Ollie says.
Anya nods and scrounges through their ammunition reserves. She dips her hand into an ammunition can and pulls out an unusually short belt of machine gun ammo.
"This is the last we've got." Anya frowns grimly, "We've got about twenty shots for the main gun too, evenly split."
Altare holds onto the breech of the main gun and chimes in, "The rest of the Company didn't get the chance to resupply much either. I reckon we're all in the same boat, ammo-wise."
Vesper glances over his shoulder and remarks as well, "Our fuel isn't looking so good either. We've been pushing the tanks past their limits here. We'll be running on fumes before long."
"I know that…!" Ollie grits her teeth and slams the commander's chair with her fist, silencing her crew. She steadies her breath and raises up her hand in apology, "I know that, but we have to keep going."
Altare, Vesper and Anya lower their heads, weighed down by fatigue. But they do not protest and carry on as they were.
Altare peers down the rangefinder of the Garuda tank's main gun.
"We shouldn't be too far from the cape." Altare says with a brighter tone, "I can actually see the cape's lighthouse from here and…"
Altare pauses.
"And what, Sergeant?" Ollie asks.
Altare turns towards Ollie and reports, "Pavolian armor! They're occupying the cape and the lighthouse!"
Ollie's face grows pale. She climbs out of her cupola and whips out her binoculars.
"HaKu V's… a lot of them. At least a dozen."
Ollie's radio crackles with Axel's voice.
"Garuda Leader, this is Dingo Leader! I've spotted something else. It's hidden behind the lighthouse, but it's there. I… I think it's a tank, but it's not like anything we've seen before."
"A new model…?" Ollie gulps.
She points her binoculars at the lighthouse again and strains her eyes. True enough, she finds the strange silhouette of a vehicle. It looks somewhat like a HaKu V Panther, but its unusually low and stealthy profile and larger caliber gun sticks out from the rest.
Ollie furrows her brow and combs her memory.
"That's…" Ollie starts, struggling to recall old terms, "That's a tank destroyer variant of the HaKu V! Penghancur HaKu. A PengHaKu! It's got an 8.8cm gun!"
Axel clicks his tongue over the radio.
"One of those big boys!? As if the normal HaKu V's weren't bad enough!"
Suddenly, Axel gasps.
"And bloody oath, mate! That PengHaKu's commander - i've seen her before. The enemy sniper! She's a maniac!"
Ollie squints and searches for the PengHaKu's commander. Eventually, she spots them, still obscured by the fog.
"It's a woman… with feathers in her hair." Ollie remarks.
Somehow, even through the fog, Ollie feels as if that woman was glaring right back at her. It makes her shudder.
"Feathers…!?" Anya pipes up from inside the Garuda tank, "That's gotta be Agent Satwa - the veteran Keris Abu-Abu we couldn't catch in the crackdown!"
Anya tugs on Ollie's uniform.
"She's just as dangerous as Corporal Syrios says she is. She's a true believer of Zeta Vestia. Don't underestimate her!"
Ollie shudders.
"Let's not take any chances, then." Ollie decides. She presses on her radio handset, "Corporal Syrios. Have your mortars fire on their positions - and keep firing! Get your bazooka teams in position too."
Axel answers her firmly.
"Will do, ma'am! They're still setting up, but I'll have them fire as soon as they're ready. Over and out!"
Ollie turns the knob of her radio, changing the frequency, and presses on her handset again.
"All tanks, take cover and load armor-piercing! Aim for the tracks and fire at my command!"
Her commanders acknowledge the order. Their HaKu IIIs and IVs angle their armor, take cover behind boulders and hill crests and train their main guns at the HaKu V's and the tank destroyer.
Ollie turns the knob again and calls Kiara.
"BATCOM, this is HQ2. I have coordinates for your fire mission. Fire immediately!"
Ollie relays the coordinates of the enemy force. Kiara promptly answers.
"Acknowledged, HQ2. Howitzers are preparing to fire for effect! Three minutes. Over and out."
Ollie gulps. Beads of sweat trickle down her brow even as her breath fogs up in the cool wintry air. She turns her radio knobs one last time and calls her own forces.
"ALL TANKS! Target: HaKu V's and a tank destroyer. Twenty-four hundred. Armor piercing. OPEN FIRE!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
4th Tank Company fires armor-piercing shots at the HaKu V's and the PengHaKu's treads from extreme distance. Many shots fly wide or bounce off the thick, angled front armor plates of the advanced vehicles.
The enemy HaKu V's answer immediately.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Their shots whiz past the Garuda and strike the rocks and the hill crests in a ferocious volley. Dirt, snow and soot burst out into the air, striking Ollie's face.
Ollie shields herself from the debris and hollers to her radio.
"ALL TANKS! Fire again and then pull back to a fallback position on the coastal road. We can't fight them from here. We have to draw them into the bazookas!"
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM!
Ollie's tanks fire another sparse volley with even less accuracy than before. Altare, in particular, lands a hit on a HaKu V's tracks and immobilizes it. However, the rest of the Company cannot replicate the success.
TC4's shots fly horribly wild.
So, the tanks all reverse and back up towards the bends of the coastal road. The Pavolian reply, however, is ferocious - and organized.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
The HaKu V's find their marks much better this time around. More shots strike the frontal armor of Ollie's tanks. Ollie's HaKu IV's withstand the withering barrage, but her HaKu III's are not as lucky.
One after another, Ollie's HaKu III's are viciously pierced. Those lighter-armored tanks stop moving and burst into flames. Some of their crew manage to scramble out of their wrecked vehicles, but many more are burned alive.
"S-second Platoon's gone…" Ollie gasps, watching the last of her HaKu III's engulfed in flames. Her heart aches.
But the enemies aren't done.
The PengHaKu's main gun locks on to a HaKu IV.
Ollie grabs her radio and yells.
"GARUDA-6. Take cover immediately!"
The HaKu IV, Garuda-6, complies immediately and reverses into the cover of a rock outcrop.
Then, the PengHaKu fires like a thunderclap.
BRRAAAAM!
The tank destroyer's shot crushes the rock outcrop and pierces the side of Garuda-6. It finds the ammunition rack of the vehicle and…
BOOOOM!
Ollie winces from the heat of the blast. The tankers inside the vehicle don't even get the chance to scream. Their deafening silence rings in Ollie's ears.
"DOUBLE TIME! PULL BACK! DOUBLE TIME!" Ollie yells frantically.
Thick smoke billows from the wrecked HaKu III's and the smoldering remains of the HaKu IV. Ollie's few remaining tanks retreat behind that dark screen.
Ollie bites her thumb and turns away.
Moments later, Ollie's radio crackles with Kiara's voice.
"This is BATCOM! Firing howitzers for effect!"
"About fucking time!" Ollie curses to the air. She clears her throat, takes a deep breath and presses her handset to answer Kiara, "Acknowledged, BATCOM. Give em' hell and keep it coming!"
Right on cue, Elysian howitzer shells streak through the foggy skies and slam into the Pavolian position.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BRA-BA-BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BRA-BA-BAM!
BATCOM's barrage is quickly followed by the whistling of mortar shells from Dingo Company.
BAM! BAM! BA-BA-BAM!
BAM! BAM! BA-BA-BAM!
BAM! BAM! BA-BA-BAM!
…
Ollie takes out her binoculars and regards the smokey infernos of the twin barrages. She furrows her brow.
"Did we get them…?" Ollie croaks.
To her dismay, even as howitzer and mortar shells rain upon the Pavolian positions, nine HaKu V's charge through the smoke - damaged but undaunted. They chase after the last few HaKu IV's of Ollie's Company and close the gap.
The enemy tank destroyer of Agent Satwa also emerges. Its heavy 8.8cm gun sweeps through the fog. Ollie can't help but feel like the TD is searching for the Garuda.
Searching for her.
Ollie doesn't have time to give any more orders.
Thunderous gunfire erupts from the seas beyond the cape. The blasts of BATCOM and Dingo Company's artillery pale in comparison. Ollie's face grows pale.
And then…
BRA-GOOOOM! BRA-GOOOOM! BRA-GOOOOM!
Titanic explosions rock Ollie's position, thumping against the earth and the coastal road like a myriad of earthquakes and aftershocks. A super-heavy shell strikes the earth beneath one of Ollie's HaKu IV's and detonates, tearing up the bottom of the tank.
The blown-up tank flips and flies towards the Garuda. Ollie scrambles to duck back into her cupola. She closes the hatch in the nick of time, right before impact.
WHAAAM!
Ollie, Altare, Anya and Vesper are thrown off their seats. None of them were able to brace themselves for impact, so they slammed into the walls of the Garuda tank and grunt in pain.
Blood drips down the top of Ollie's head and streaks down her cheeks, mixed with bitter tears. She gnashes her bloodied teeth, but can't say anything coherent. The rest of her crew, despite their own injuries, rush to Ollie's aid.
"Ma'am!" Altare cries. He sees the blood and turns to Vesper, "She needs help, Ves!"
Vesper nods and attends to the Lieutenant. Anya, meanwhile, fetches the first aid kit. Vesper finds the worst of Ollie's wounds and bandages it. He manages to do so, but once Ollie regains a bit of her strength, Vesper has to keep Ollie still for her treatments.
Ollie, however, stubbornly tries - and fails - to lift herself up.
"TC4's… gonna get slaughtered." Ollie hisses. She clambers back onto the commander's seat and croaks, "Everyone… back to p-position. We have to… do a fighting retreat."
"The tracks are shredded, ma'am." Vesper reports grimly, covering his own wounds with a gauze, "We're not retreating anywhere. Not in this tank at least."
Ollie lowers her head. A spell of lightheadedness grips her, but she holds onto her seat and forces herself to sit upright.
"This savagery…" Ollie muses beneath her breath in Elysian, "Just how much has Zeta poisoned your mind, Kaela?"
Altare looks on, watching Ollie's agony. More shots from the approaching HaKu V's whiz by and strike the ground near the Garuda, but Ollie sits still in grim silence.
"We have to make our choice, ma'am. What are your orders?" Altare urges her. He approaches Ollie and insists, "That 'Agent Satwa' is calling naval gunfire on us. She's not pulling her punches - and her tanks are closing in."
Ollie doesn't answer him.
Altare can't find the words to say either. Vesper and Anya also fall silent.
But then, the Garuda tank's radio crackles. Static muffles the voice, but parts of the message still come through somewhat.
"Atten- … all units in… Northern salie-... be advised…"
Ollie raises her head. She tries to reach for the radio's dangling handset, but it's too far away. Sharp pain grips her, pinning her down to her seat.
Altare takes a deep breath and picks up the radio handset. He slams the machine with his fist and adjusts the frequency, clearing up the signal somewhat. He presses on the handset and replies.
"This is HQ6. Repeat last message, sender - and identify yourself."
The radio crackles again.
"Acknowledged HQ6, this is HQ1. Attention all units in the Northern salient. Be advised, I have Close Air Support inbound to your location."
"HQ1…?" Altare gasps, "Lt. Colonel Hakos?"
"That's right, Sergeant Regis." Bae confirms firmly, "Give me the sitrep of your unit - and where is Lt. Kureiji?"
"She's getting medical treatment. I'll give the sitrep." Altare volunteers.
So, while Vesper continues to treat Ollie's injuries, Altare tells Bae about their grave situation. Altare furrows his brow and concludes his report.
"Will you give us the order to retreat, ma'am?" Altare asks.
"Negative, HQ6. Rally your tanks and hold the line there. I have reinforcements inbound to your position, but you need to buy them time. Can the 4th Tank Company do that?"
Altare dares to push open the cupola of the Garuda and looks up to the clearer skies. He sees a flight of Elysian dive bombers roaring through the skies.
A flight of four SB2C Helldivers.
The Helldivers zip down from the heavens and dive towards the advancing HaKu V's. They drop their bombs and promptly pull up. Many of their bombs find their mark.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Altare sees the foremost HaKu V take a direct hit to the top of its turret. The advanced tank blows up and screeches to a halt, stalling the rest of the formation. It leaves only a small gap between the wrecked tanks to cross through on the coastal road, turning it into a bottleneck.
"We might just be able to do this…" Altare determines.
Ollie looks up to Altare, still wincing from the pain. She declares, "Sergeant Regis. Command my forces. Don't even give them the chance to shoot us!"
Altare salutes Ollie dutifully, "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"
Altare takes the radio handset and answers Bae.
"We'll hold the line, ma'am. Over and out."
…
Altare turns the knobs of the radio and calls the few remaining tanks of their unit.
"Attention all tanks of TC4. This is HQ6, taking command as Garuda Leader. The Pavolian HaKu V tank company is advancing towards our position, but we have to delay them as best as we can. The enemy battlecruiser has its sights set on us too, so spread out and brace yourselves!"
The last three tank commanders acknowledge Altare and follow his orders. They take up positions behind the burning wrecks of tanks and train their guns towards the bend. Altare, with great effort, turns the crank of the turret traverse of the disabled Garuda and points the main gun at the bend as well.
Not long after, the thunderous gunfire from the seas erupts again. Altare closes the cupola hatch and holds onto the breech of the Garuda's main gun.
BRA-GOOOOM! BRA-GOOOOM! BRA-GOOOOM!
Powerful explosions rock TC4's position again. Some blasts strike close to the Garuda, rattling it like a tin can, but they do not do any more damage.
The other tanks of TC4 report to Altare as well. They, too, weathered the explosive storm. Altare heaves a sigh of relief.
"They're going to assault our position next. The Garuda will fire first. I need the rest of you to follow through!"
The commanders confirm Altare's plan.
Then, they wait.
Deathly silence grips the battered bend of the coastal road. Only the pained grunts of Lt. Kureiji, the beating of Altare's heart and the intensifying gusts of the sea breeze fill his ears.
Soon enough, the enemy HaKu V's enter the bend.
Altare steadies his breath. He watches the lead tank weave between the wreckages of tanks through the rangefinder of the Garuda's main gun. The enemy tank scrapes its side armor against the wreckage but manages to make it through.
But, before the other tanks could join their vanguard, Altare fires the main gun.
BOOM!
An armor-piercing shot tears through the treads of the lead tank, stopping it in its tracks. The remaining tanks of TC4 follow through, as instructed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Their shots strike the thinner side armor of the HaKu V and pierce through it. They find its ammunition rack, blowing it up! The HaKu V's turret pops off like a champagne cork and skids down into the sea.
Altare promptly swings his gun towards the next tank coming through the wreckage and repeats.
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Together, they stall the second HaKu V, but they aren't able to destroy it. Fortunately, that stuck HaKu V blocks the bottleneck on the coastal road and prevents the other tanks and the tank destroyer from advancing through the road.
And yet, the Pavolians are stubborn. Altare wipes the sweat of his brow when his radio crackles with Axel's voice.
"Garuda Leader, those Pavies are trying to climb up the hill. They wanna get up behind you! That big damn thing with the big gun's making it's way up too! Over!"
"Slow them down with your bazooka teams, Dingo Leader." Altare answers him sternly, "Our tanks are sitting ducks. We won't be able to fight a pincer."
Axel answers him.
"We're running low on rockets, sir. Those bastards are tough and sneaky. It's been hard to get a clean shot on them all afternoon… but we'll find a way!"
"We're counting on you, Axel." Altare pleads.
"Will do, Leader. Over and out!"
In short order, muffled rocket launches swoosh from the distance, followed by small blasts that echo from the hills around the coastal road. Machine guns of Dingo Company and their Munafik allies open fire too, laying down suppressing fire on the HaKu V's.
Altare brings out his binoculars and sees HaKu V commanders scrambling back into their cupolas.
"That's one problem dealt with…" Altare pulls up the sleeve of his uniform and checks the watch, counting the seconds. His emerald green eyes sweep the seas and find the silhouette of the Pavolian battlecruiser.
But then, the Garuda tank's radio crackles with Kiara's voice.
"HQ2, this is BATCOM. Do you read me? Fort Orobala's guns are primed and ready for their fire mission! Over."
Altare grabs the radio handset and replies.
"This is HQ6 filling in for HQ2. We read you loud and clear. I have a visual on the Pavolian battlecruiser, the KPP Darussalam. It's roughly stationary for now, providing naval gunfire for the enemy. Relaying her coordinates to you now!"
He proceeds to give Kiara the rough coordinates of the battlecruiser. Kiara pauses for a moment before she answers him.
"The coastal batteries can hit them, HQ6. Standby for 12-inch coastal gun fire."
Altare takes a deep breath and stares down the silhouette of the battlecruiser. He feels the barrels of the battlecruiser's main batteries trained towards his position. All the while, he listens to the cacophony of gunfire and explosions masked by the hills along the coastal road.
Kiara's voice comes again from the radio.
"12-inch guns, firing for effect!"
...
BAAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!
BAAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!
Super-heavy shells streak through the foggy skies, this time coming from the Exclave instead of towards it. Altare watches those shells arc and strike the sea around the battlecruiser. Tall towers of water shoot up come crashing down upon the vessel.
Kiara calls Altare immediately.
"HQ6. Give me a sitrep of the barrage."
"No hits, but the shots were close." Altare answers her, "Don't worry about getting hits, Miss Fenix. Just force that vessel to move. We don't want it taking potshots at us."
"Understood, Sergeant Regis. We'll saturate the area and keep the battlecruiser on its toes. Over and out."
True enough, pillars of thick black smoke emerge from the smokestacks of the battlecruiser. The vessel starts moving away from its position and its main gun batteries cease its bombardment of the coastal road.
Altare has no chance to rest easy, however. A column of HaKu V's and the tank destroyer of Agent Satwa forces its way through the blocked main road. They use their vehicles like bulldozers to shove the wreckage of tanks off the road and into the sea.
"Shit!" Altare curses. He turns to the other tank commanders pinned down in the bend, "Everyone, this is it! Load armor piercing and get ready!"
Anya rams an armor piercing shell into the breech of the Garuda's main gun, but she tugs on Altare's uniform.
"That's our last AP shot, Sergeant Regis."
Vesper and the wounded Ollie both look up to Altare, waiting for him to speak. He tugs on his scarf and answers without hesitation.
"Then we're going to make it count. Switch to High Explosive when it's done!"
Anya snorts.
"Now I understand why the Manor House fell that day." Anya remarks. She glances at Altare and at Ollie, "Because of people like you who just won't give up."
She bumps Altare's shoulder with her fist and urges him.
"Give em' hell, Sergeant!"
Nods to Anya and mans the immobilized Garuda tank's main gun once more. Through the rangefinder, he sees the first enemy vehicle that pushed through the wreckage.
Agent Satwa's PengHaKu tank destroyer.
Altare lowers the gun and aims for the tank destroyer's tracks. He lines up his shot and shouts.
"ARMOR PIERCING! ON THE WAY!"
Altare fires.
BOOM!
His shot flies true. It strikes the edge of the tank destroyer's treads, but it doesn't break it. The other tanks of TC4 fire their shots too, but they bounce off of the PengHaKu's wildly-sloped armor.
"Reload!" Altare urges Anya, "High Explosive!"
Anya swiftly slams an HE shell into the gun breech.
"Up!" Anya confirms.
Altare trains the main gun again at the PengHaKu's treads.
"HIGH EXPLOSIVE! ON THE WAY!"
Altare fires a second time.
BOOM!
He hits the treads like before. This time, though, the blast shreds the tread links, immobilizing the tank destroyer.
"We got it!" Altare cheers.
However, the other HaKu V's force their way through the blocked main road regardless.
Altare's face grows pale.
…
Before the enemies could fully breach the block, though, the Garuda's radio crackles one more time with Bae's voice.
"Attention HQ6, this is HQ1! Do you read me?"
"Madam Hakos!" Ollie pipes up from her seat.
Altare answers Bae on Ollie's behalf.
"This is HQ6. We read you, ma'am, but we're pinned down and trapped on the coastal road. We're at the end of our rope."
Bae's voice, however, doesn't lose its confident edge.
"Hold the line, soldier. Reinforcements have arrived. 13th Sherman Platoon is flanking the enemy."
"Thirteenth Sherman Platoon…?" Altare mutters, "Didn't we only have twelve?"
Either way, tank gun fire erupts from behind the hills. Altare climbs up the the cupola with his binoculars in hand. He quickly finds a platoon of eight Elysian Sherman medium tanks. They climb over the hills and pass by the position of Axel's Dingo Company and the Munafik allies.
The Sherman tanks fire on the move and hit the sides of the HaKu V's forcing their way through the coastal road. One shot from the lead tank zips through and hits the PengHaKu's flatter side armor and pierces through it.
One by one, the outflanked Pavolian tank force takes hit after hit from the reinforcements. Many HaKu V's go up in flames and the PengHaKu ceases to move. Pavolian tank crews scramble out of their doomed vehicles and flee into the diminished fog.
The path to the Dog White Zone cape now lies mostly clear.
"We stopped the Pavolian tanks…" Altare gasps, still unable to believe his eyes. He shakes his head in disbelief but sees the burning hulks of HaKu V's tanks before him, "Mother Kanata, we did it!"
Seven of the Sherman tanks spread out and push on to take the cape and the lighthouse grounds. The lead tank, however, drives around the hills and stops by the Garuda tank.
The Sherman tank's cupola pops open and the curious figure of Lt. Colonel Baelz Hakos emerges in tanker's gear.
Altare promptly salutes her. Ollie, too, squeezes through the hole of the cupola and salutes Bae too.
Bae salutes Altare and Ollie back and nods.
"Hell of a fight you two put up." Bae remarks. She takes off her leather tanker's helmet and fans herself, "But this battle has only just begun."
She glances at the pockmarked hull of the Garuda tank and adds, "Can you hear me, Pavie spy?"
Altare and Ollie climb out of the Garuda tank and allow Anya to emerge.
"Loud and clear, Lieutenant Colonel." Anya answers with thinly veiled disdain, but she still salutes Bae.
Anya hops off the Garuda tank and turns towards Altare and Ollie.
"That's my cue to go. Thank you for taking me all this way, Sergeant Regis. Lieutenant Kureiji."
"Hold on!" Altare stops her.
He hops off the tank too and brings out Anya's keris and its sheathe. He hands them back to Anya.
"We'll be waiting for you to return, Miss Anya." Altare insists.
Anya snorts. She takes the keris and draws it, taking a look at her own reflection on the blade. Then, she turns to Altare and smiles.
"Don't wait too long."
With that, Anya cuts off the green armband tied around her uniform and runs into the thinning fog. A strong gust of sea breeze blows in and whisks the torn green fabric towards the heavens.
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