Chapter 8

Trafalgar sat down on one of the free chairs with the rest of the tank commanders of the Oarai team and the SC. "Do you have any update on finding new tanks or updates for the ones, we have?" Anzu Kadotani started. "No, but I am my crew devised a strategy for the fight against St. Gloriana. George told me, which tanks are against you: four Matilda IIs and a Mk. VII Churchill." Momo just stared at him. He knew that knowing about your enemy and the surroundings beforehand is the advantage they need and so, he decided to put the map on the table before him.

"You can do your ambush there," he started and pointed at a certain point in the rocks, "but they will be waiting for it to happen. So, be ready to pull back into the city." As he said that, his finger traced a way from the rocky part towards the city. "And what next, mr. Tactician?" Anzu asked/teased him. "Simple hit & run strategies. That means take one shot and ride away." Miho nodded in approval. "We should aim for their tracks or destroy the tanks only in case we can."

Traf silently thanked her with his eyes. "Also, this is the simplest plan to make. The simpler the plan, the lesser is the chance it fails." This time, Erwin nodded with a smirk. "Have you ever read tacticians' books?!" Momo shot back at him. "No. I simply studied the tactics used in WW2 and after, that were suited for tankery warfare only. Or just pictured them in my head."

"That explains how he and the two newbies acted so fast… Or at least part of it." That was Yuzu muttering for herself. "Okay… I'll tell you what happened yesterday in my tank." And he got lost in memories of that day.

"George, tell them the basic info about Panzer 38 (t)!" he shouted and earned a nod in response. "The closest target is Panzer 38 (t)! Armor can be penetrated by all of our cannons!" Traf grabbed an APCBC shell and put it into the chamber. "Target locked! Feuer frei!" the commander shouted as the shell left the chamber and flew towards the light tank.

"Target destroyed! Next is Panzer III G! Distance 200 meters! 37mm is useless against its frontal armor!" Traf whispered to the radioman, who repeated it. And right after that, another Panzergranate 39 flew towards its target with surprising accuracy, boosted by the less to no chance of missing by using the 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 cannon.

'Heh… This is the reason why German engineering skills with tanks are considered superior...' he thought and smiled. "Next tank is 400 meters away and it's a T-34/85! 75mm cannons are almost useless, but still can penetrate it." George nodded a bit. "Next up is T-34! Distance 400 meters! 75mm can still pen it!" Traf almost automatically aimed at the driver's hatch and chose Panzergranate 40 this time to make sure that the penetration was clear...

"Okay… that is enough for now." Momo cut in and stopped him from remembering more about the training. Only Miho, Anzu and Erwin weren't taking notes from his story. "Both my crew members are really natural in their respective areas. With our help, you'll stand a chance against stronger schools." Most of the girls nodded or muttered their agreement with him. "You told them what to do and they just did it!" Momo disagreed almost immediately. "That was only the last bit of training they needed. We only need to repeat it several more times and we'll reach something like hive mind, while in 'combat mode.'"

Traf suddenly nodded towards Miho. The youngest Nishizumi got the meaning and sighed. "Yesterday before the training, I got a strange call," she started after a while. "The one, who called me, was my Onee-chan. She told me that she found two tanks with our markings on them. But, they will be returned after the Tournament."

Traf knew that he had a surprised stare on his face at the moment, like the rest of the gathered commanders. What the…?! he thought and fought the urge to pass out. Traf suddenly had a strange feeling forming in his guts. It was a mix of fear, surprise and… hatred? "I have a bad feeling about this…" he muttered and held his head in his hands.

Renta Tsuji stared at the mail from an unknown source. It told him about preparing one of the biggest school ships that were out of commision for a new school. What the…?! They'll have five T26E4 Super Pershings and a Maus of all things?! I got too deep into this mess and I have no way back… he realized and internally cursed himself for his own stupidity.

"Sending a message to Tsuneo's tank factory and prolonging the time needed for creating the super heavies is my only hope now…" the MEXT official muttered. He now knew that his anger towards Oarai got him into a corner and he must maneuver himself out of it. I'll call off the fight against Selection University and offer Tsuneo a job as the head mechanic of Oarai's Sensha-Do team.

Renta nodded in approval to his own plan. They had more than enough demands for his taste. And he'll show them that the Nishizumis and Shimadas will work together to defeat their teams with ease. But, he must work slowly and carefully. One wrong step or a too hasty one will expose him and everything will come to an end.

4 days and 19 hours later. city of Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture

Darjeeling resisted the urge to roll her eyes, when she noticed Rosehip and her crew in the Crusader and ready to go. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked the pinkette. "To meet my brother and his crewmates, Darjeeling-sama!" the hyperactive girl answered. "With a tank? Are you sure that his crew has one?" Darjeeling countered calmly and sipped tea from her mug.

"I think so and I want to see if they are worthy of entering Sensha-Do! Oh, look! There their tanks are!" Rosehip shouted and pointed at the road beneath them. So, they got a nice toy then… Darjeeling thought and smiled. A Tiger I was a rare sight outside Kuromorimine. "You can have your 'meeting' then. You have two hours to finish it." The pinkette smiled and rushed towards her tank.

I should watch them to ensure that nothing valuable escapes Assam and myself. Those three boys will definitely be a part of something big. "We'll follow Rosehip-san's tank for 30 minutes. After that, we'll move to the starting point." Her crew nodded in response and she soon saw the speedy Crusader riding towards the city center with an impossibly fast Tiger I right behind. "Interesting. The Tiger surpassed its maximal speed by about four km/h and is not failing… The driver is really skilled." "Yes, he is, but it looks like a kitten chasing a mouse to me…" Assam replied with a smile.

"We chose those two correctly then…" Darjeeling breathed out a sigh of relief. "We should head to the meeting point now…" Orange Pekoe muttered with a bit disappointed look on her face. And so, Darjeeling chose to stop following the two speedsters and head towards the rocky area near Oarai.

Rosehip was enjoying the race with the Tiger I. She never expected to see a heavy tank move like a medium one and a faulty one at that. Suddenly, a barrier appeared before her tank and she was forced to stop and turn around. And of course, she was staring at the turret of the German tank.

One of the hatches opened and a boy in a Kuromorimine-like tanker jacket showed up. "You are really good, but I think that our little chase forced us to join the battle. We can finish it there." Rosehip looked out from her tank and nodded with clear enthusiasm. "Good. Takashi, take us to the starting point!" he shouted and slid back to the tank.

The Tiger turned and sped away from the alley, leaving Rosehip and her crew alone. "We should get to Darjeeling and inform her about this…" she said and grinned. She will have a really good time today. And no one will take it away from her.

Miho stared in disbelief at the Tiger, as it stopped near their tank formation. "We chased a wild Crusader III. Its crew and we agreed to finish the small battle at the match. " Anzu rolled her eyes at that. "The commander was the infamous speedster Rosehip. It was actually her and George's idea to do it and I agreed."

Miho sighed. She heard enough about Rosehip to know that this situation should happen sooner or later. "Allright, you will bait Rosehip and take her away from our main group. We can't let her get near us. Understood?" she announced. "Jawohl, mein Kommandant!" Trafalgar saluted and slid back to his tank.

I hope that they remembered about aiming at the top armor of the infantry tanks, if they have weaker cannons… she thought and grabbed her binoculars to observe the area with Yukari. She lied down on the rocky ground and put the binoculars to her eyes. For a few minutes, nothing happened, but suddenly, the Crusader III was the first tank to enter the observed area with the Churchill and Matilda IIs right behind.

"Trafalgar! Go lure the Crusader away!" she commanded with the throat microphone. And as soon as she said that, Miho and Yukari rushed to their Panzer IV. "Mako, wake up! Keep the engine up, but silent to avoid giving up our position." The sleepy driver nodded in response and started the engine.

Miho slid into the tank right as it started moving. She smiled, when she noticed that the StuG got rid of its flags and thus lowered its frame. But, it still had the bright red and yellow camouflage. "Let me ride towards the city first. The Crusader should get lost there and end up in a dead end street again." Miho knew that the Tiger crew relied on luck now, but it was still better than nothing. "Granted. See you later." "Commence operation Jerusalem!" he shouted and his tank sped up at unnatural speed away.

His operation's name sounds a bit… strange, but at the same time fitting… she thought. "Go push back those Crusaders like the Muslims did, Knispel!" Erwin encouraged the boys. Really? Did she just call him Knispel?! Miho would never understand Erwin and her crew's nicknaming spree, which Trafalgar only boosted by calling her Rommel and her team Anglerfish team.

"Go straight to the ambush zone. Most of them would chase us anyway." Miho silently thanked the boys for taking care of that part of the plan. "Understood, Knispel." She looked at Mako. "Get us to the ambush zone. We'll have to wait now." The driver nodded at that. "Commence operation Snake!" Miho announced and smiled, when everyone cheered at the progress in plans, which meant that the end of the match was near.

And she smiled for herself, because she never thought about commanding being easy, thanks to the boys.

Rosehip was grinning right now. She knew that something was up thanks to her surroundings. They are smart. To set up an ambush here makes it harder for us to maneuver out from the volley. "Our primary target is still their Tiger. We must get behind it and shoot at the weak armor to take it out."

"There are no enemies in sight, but I have a strange feeling…" Rukuriri's voice suddenly announced. And Rosehip noticed something strange. It looked like something big hid behind a set of boulders. "I'll go investigate it!" she said to the rest of the team and prepared to tell her driver to get her there, but Darjeeling's voice told her otherwise. "They want us to split up and take us slowly one-by-one. Don't do it. It might be a wild animal too."

Rosehip sighed and called off her last command to investigate the boulders. Darjeeling was right and she was alone without her Crusader platoon that stayed back at Ark Royal. And that was her only reason to follow orders for this (one and only) time. "Fine…" she finally sighed to the comm channel. Yet, that strange feeling of dread was still there and she was growing more paranoid by each passing second.

BANG! A round from a cannon suddenly flew towards Darjeeling's Churchill, but only destroyed the left tracks. Rosehip turned her head and saw the Tiger with a still smoking barrel aiming again at the Churchill. "Let's take down the threat! One Matilda, go with us!" Rosehip shouted excitedly and grinned. I am coming for you, Onii-chan! she thought and gave the long awaited orders to her driver.

A/N:

And… The battle with St. Gloriana will be in the next chapter. Also, the mystery set in the previous chapter has a meaning with this story, so it will be revealed later.

Anyway, see ya later!