ARC II chapter 28

Viewing platform for VIP #1

Kay looked with barely concealed shock and happiness at the screen, when she saw the Tiger I take out the sniper that got Alisa in their latest match, which also ended their progress in the renewed Winter cup. Even Naomi can't make that shot! she thought and turned to see the girl in question note something on a piece of paper.

"Hmm…" she hummed and Kay opened her mouth to ask her team's best sharpshooter about it, but she didn't need to.

"He studied the map beforehand and most likely picked possible spots for the StuG to use. And then, by looking at the hole in the IV H, he only needed to confirm his suspicions about the location, on which he was aiming right after Nishizumi was taken out."

And then, Kay made a mental note to not try to ambush Trafalgar Jameson. Ever.

Mika blinked several times after hearing the announcement. The "White witch" was beaten? she thought and only then noticed the suspicious lack of reports on the Tiger I E and one of the Panthers.

"Well played," she said to no one in particular as she started playing Säkkijärven Polkka on her kantele to calm her nerves. She was nervous like this only once before - when she had to fight against her younger sister's forces in that battle to save Oarai.

"We lost the remaining KV-1s and most of the T-26s! Orders?" one of the remaining T-26 commanders asked and Mika smiled. It's time.

"I need you to distract them enough to let the wind carry my shot on their flag," she calmly responded and signalled to Aki and Mikko to prepare to take the fight to the enemy.

Yuri glared at the nimble Soviet light tanks as yet another one somehow dodged a shell fired by her tank, only to be taken out by the T-34 or M24 Chaffee of all things. We're lucky that we have only one casualty, she thought as she spotted the BT-42 sitting just out of range for most gunners to take out, even if ther guns would do so at 2 km.

"Fire on that last T-26 with HE ammo," she said with a bit of anger in her voice as she spotted a chance to get their first kill in the tournament.

Surprisingly, the smaller tank didn't dodge, but rather took the shot and then, she cursed.

"The enemy flag tank is moving towards ours!" she shouted and a few seconds later, she cursed again, as the BT-42 took her Panther out.

"The enemy flag tank is moving towards ours!" the voice of the overcomfident Panther commander shouted and Traf paled. He had a few options, one less favorable and/or likely than the other. But at least a few of them were worth a shot, but anything he wanted to say was cut off by a predictable shout of a certain cyclops.

"FIRE!"

That's not going to work. Not against Mika, or anyone with enough common sense or thick enough armor, Traf thought bitterly, knowing that she prefers firing, whenever the enemy enters the soghts, not caring about if it really hits or penetrates, and sighed in exasperation. After all, Kawashima seemed to be of an one-track mind, be it in battle or outside it. Because well… people like her weren't suited for command, unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Takashi, gas to the floor! George, load HE! We have only one shot at this," he said as he made up his mind, fully knowing that this stunt would most likely end up in them being KOd, due to a busted transmission. And his crew knew it as well, but they wanted to save the flag tank before Mika reaches it.

"Now, this is podracing!" Takashi cheered, when the Tiger I shot forward at almost the same speed as T-34. This will work. I am sure of it!

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Tsuneo's eyes threatened to bulge out o his skull as he saw what Trafalgar and his crew were doing. I'll have a talk with them about not doing this ever again, he vowed to himself, but at the same time prayed that the crazy stunt will work.

After all, it was all he could do at the moment. And he hated every single second of it.

Viewing platform for VIP #1

"They won't make it," Alisa commented without sparing another glace at the screen, but Kay felt that it might not be the case. After all, that Tiger I's crew was breaking expectations, sometimes even without trying. I don't want to think about just how efficient that crew would be, if it was full… she thought and felt a shiver running down her spine.

"Thinking about how Darjeeling looks in bed?" Naomi asked her with a smirk, breaking her train of thought, butat the same time creating a picture that she didn't want to part with. At all.

"Y-yeah… and what about you and Assam?" Kay answered and noticed the very deep blush that formed on Naomi's cheeks, unwillingly giving Kay some ammo for teasing later on.

Mika heard that sudden roar of a strained engine and smirked, knowing that the Tiger and Panther have no chance to reach her in time, because they'll have busted transmissions after not even a half of the distance from Jouko's former position. But, she still couldn't shake off the bad feeling she got after the engine roared.

"The wind blows in our favor. They won't reach us in time," she said as she restarted playing her favorite song to calm her nerves, hoping that her mother or sister weren't watching.

Viewing platform for VIP #3

Chiyo was undecided on what to think. On one side, she wanted to start yelling in her eldest daughter's support, but on the other, she cheered for Oarai, because Miho and Alice seemed to have a stronger firendship than she ever had with Shiho and she wanted to support the friend of her child. It was simply maddening!

But then, she saw how that Tiger I E took down the StuG hidden in the trees, like it was just sitting on a flat land with a golden camo, knowing that the crew planned doing something like that for at least a few hours before the match. And now this reckless stunt, she thought as she watched the Tiger move at (for it) breakneck speed, that threatened to bust the transmission.

Well… this is interesting, she thought and smiled as she understood what was the goal of that stunt.

Hoshino couldn't believe her eyes, when she saw the Tiger I E seemingly flying on the snow, but that ended soon, because it went to a sudden halt just as it fired a single shell in a seemingly random direction. Only it wasn't random at all.

The shell struck home and the BT-42 was suddenly without most of its gun. If she isn't blind, she'll say-

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" Kawashima's voice broke through her thoughts and the BT-42 was met with a barrage from the 12 present tanks, hiding it in a brief smokescreen made by the impact of shells against the thinly armored menace.

"All tanks of Jatkosota disabled! Oarai wins!"