Despite all the time they had spent in their respective tanks, Nakajima and Hoshino still left them for each other's company. The three girls of the Student Council didn't notice while Erika and Yukari were so fixated on the screen and the match they wouldn't have noticed if Genghis Khan and his horde had thundered by stark naked. If they had tanks instead of horses, it might have momentarily gained Yukari's attention at least.
Nakajima wasn't sure if they were consciously mirroring the enemy or not. Erika had sat on the rear of the turret of the T-50 and Yukari had sat on the hull between Erika's legs. With the blonde girl on top of the dark-haired girl, and with her hands in her hair, it looked very much like the Pravda Captain piggy-backing on her second in command.
Nakajima thought they made a very cute couple.
Erika had given little thought to Yukari's latest presentation of her lack of understanding of the concept of personal space, except that her curls under her fingers were soothing. Erika needed soothing. Eliminated from the match, she was now powerless to do anything but watch. Watching meant she had to speculate what Miho would do now and Erika did not like to speculate. She needed to know everything. Every last detail.
At least Pravda's immediate goal was obvious. They had half a dozen crippled tanks to repair. Erika hadn't realised just how much damage they and Turtle team had inflicted and neither apparently did Miho. If she had, she would have risked the wrath of the IS-2 and attacked while the bulk of Pravda's tanks were immobile. But Miho didn't know and the advantage was lost and Erika had to fight hard not to tear out Yukari's hair. Even though her gunner would probably considered it a great honour to be scalped by her…
The five remaining Oarai tanks had withdrawn to a position that Miho had called Boko Hill. Erika conceded that on the relief map the position did resemble a bear's face and ears. That didn't mean however she was happy with Miho's florid nickname. The position was commanding but in this weather, the lack of visibility stole the range advantage. Following Oarai's trail, Katyusha would never directly assault such a position. She would surround it using the cover of the gloomy day and then attack from all directions hard and fast and put T-34s in amongst the Oarai machines before they could react. Duck team and their little Type 89 would be blasted clean off the hill.
Miho had to know that. She had to know that. Erika realised she was kneading Yukari's head like a cat.
Miho must have known it because they abandoned the hill. They split up, with Mallard team ploughing on alone while the Rabbits carved a path for the low-slung StuG. Duck team followed Anglerfish.
"What's Nishizumi-dono doing?"
"If I could read Miho's mind, she'd be even more nervous around me." Erika replied. It was ironic though considering the way the Nishizumis seemed to communicate telepathically. "She's annoying Katyusha."
"Annoying her?"
"She'll have three trails to choose from and she'll have to decide whether or not to divide her forces. She won't know if she's following the flag tank or nothing. Why though?"
"Why though?" Yukari echoed.
They studied the map together. Mallard team was headed nowhere in particular while that seemed to be true for Miho as well. Only the Rabbit and Hippo seemed to have an actual destination and it made no sense. They were headed for a shallow valley and Miho couldn't possibly think that Pravda would allow themselves to be ambushed in such an obvious location. Unless that was the trap, making Pravda avoid the obvious ambush location and blunder into another. Or it was a double bluff. Or a triple bluff.
"Damn it, Miho! What are you doing?!"
"If we don't know, Pravda won't know either!" Yukari said brightly.
"The Miho Style. Leave everyone so confused they don't know if they're in a Sensha-do match, a basketball game or shoe shopping."
"If it works, it works."
"If it works, Fluffy." Erika agreed.
The Oarai machines converged on the valley and then to Erika's astonishment; proceeded to drive all over it until it was a giant mess of tank tracks carved in the snow. To what point and purpose Erika did not understand, not until the five tanks came to a halt on one of the ridges of the valley and the crews disembarked. Then she had an idea, only for Miho to surprise her again.
On the screen it was clear the Oarai team were cold, despondent and tired. It was also clear that Miho was trying to rally them to one last effort. What was not clear was why Miho thought the best way to do this was to start dancing.
"Maybe the pressure's gotten to her." Yukari said quietly as her idol performed the Anglerfish Dance knee-deep in the snow.
"Snow madness." Erika said and watched the other Oarai members join the dance. "I never thought I'd be happy to have been eliminated."
There was a ripple through the crowd. The lurid dance had them completely bemused and the question they all asked was whether Oarai had forgotten they were being observed. Erika had seen New Zealand Sensha-do teams perform a Haka before a match but she couldn't recall a performance during one.
"Erika-san…" Yukari said and nodded to their left. The President had apparently decided to show solidarity with Miho by dancing too; much to Momo and Yuzu's visible exasperation as they were forced to join in either side of her. "Should we-" Yukari started to ask.
"You start dancing and I'll kill us both."
"You threaten that a lot." Yukari declared meekly.
There were two spectators watching the performance who remained entirely stone-faced. They held a silent conversation without even glancing at one another.
'Why is your little sister dancing?'
'I don't know, mother.'
'Let us never speak of this.'
'I agree.'
Fortunately, when the dance was done, the Oarai girls took up shovels and Erika's respect for her Captain was rekindled as she understood what she intended to do.
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Katyusha chafed at the delay but she had to keep her temper in check. Her diminutive stature meant she was not suited for repairing wheels and tracks in heavy snow. Knee-deep for them was waist-deep for her. She knew it. They knew it. Although ranting and roaring from her cupola would have fit her dictator persona, it would win her no favour among the girls struggling with cold, heavy metal amidst swirling snowfall.
Klara wasn't making friends with her cheery attitude. This was not snow, she insisted. This was the clouds sneezing fitfully. Snow was a great storm that buried trees whole and left families huddling together for warmth in the one room the twelve of them together in their little house. "Holiday in old country." She declared in her flawless Japanese but out of earshot Katyusha. What scared the Pravda girls was that she appeared to be entirely serious. She was utterly immune to the weather and if anything, she seemed to feed off of the cold.
"Why is she here again?" Katyusha asked.
"She signed the wrong piece of paper." Nonna answered, completely deadpan.
There were many rumours about what had brought a Russian girl to a Japanese school. Some suggested she was a SVR sleeper agent. Others thought she was an active SVR agent who was here to steal Japanese tank technology for the Motherland. A third body believed she came from a family so nostalgic for the Soviet era they had sent her to Pravda to experience a vague approximation. The most alarming theory Katyusha had heard was that she was an adult Russian soldier posing as a schoolgirl who believed that Katyusha was her Messiah. This of course was ludicrous. Pravda had its issues but even they couldn't accidentally admit an adult as a pupil.
There were three T-34/76s left operational, including the flag tank. Of six T-34/85s, two had been eliminated outright and a third was too damaged to be repaired in the field which left three including her own and Klara's. With the 85 having to be abandoned, she had six T-34s, the KV-2 and Nonna's IS-2 against the five surviving Oarai tanks. She had lost six tanks outright and only eliminated three Oarai tanks in return. Although, of the remaining Oarai machines only two were a threat to her. Nishizumi had lost the support of Itsumi and her T-50 and that would be preying on her mind. She was alone now. Alone with just her Panzer IV and StuG to take on Pravda's eight machines. The B1 bis and M3 were of no concern to Katyusha. Although she was appalled by her losses it seemed that the worst was behind them now. She calculated the two 7.5cm guns might claim another two tanks before they were eliminated in turn and it gave her a tingle to think she had gifted the StuG one of those guns. She lost two tanks to her act of compassion.
She folded her arms and glared around. Just let anyone dare criticise her for that.
They set off once more, eight white tanks looking ghostly enough even without the T-34s riddled with scars from glancing hits. They kept a loose formation, wary of more Oarai ambushes but Katyusha didn't think they would try to hit and run anymore. They weren't mobile enough for that anymore. She suspected Miho would make a stand somewhere, gambling either that she could eliminate the flag tank during the assault or that Katyusha would leave it somewhere in the rear, where a sneaky Oarai machine could pounce on it. She suspected the latter. It was tempting to order the T-34 into the trees and hide for the rest of the match but she couldn't help but feel that would be playing straight into Miho's hands. If Katyusha was in her shoes, she would position her remaining tanks in a defensible location and have them pound the Pravda forces hard, gaining their absolute attention, while in her own tank she went hunting for the flag tank. Anchovy had tried this against Oarai and very nearly succeeded. If her team had had more time to familiarise themselves with their new P40 tank, it would have been Anzio on this field today. Miho was at home in her Panzer IV and her crew had already demonstrated excellent mastery of their vehicle.
"The flag tank stays with you." Katyusha told Nonna. "They want us to separate it, leave it vulnerable, and we'll keep it beside our best tank and our best gunner!"
Nonna smiled silently at the compliment and offered neither praise nor criticism of this strategy. Sometimes this stoicism annoyed Katyusha but she had also learned that when Nonna was quiet instead of offering a teasing comment, there was an implied approval. Klara would likewise smile mysteriously and Katyusha was never sure if the girl understood her or made very intelligent guesses of what was being asked of her.
Neither of them had any advice to offer when the Oarai trail suddenly split into three. She was not going to divide her forces and allow two of her T-34s to run straight into the StuG and Panzer IV. Without hesitation she chose the central trail and they ploughed onward; confident their Captain knew what she was doing. Katyusha was not sure though. Trying to divide her forces made sense but it was obvious and Miho would know that she would know that… So was it another bluff? She rubbed her eyes. Fighting this younger Nishizumi was proving difficult as the other was easy to predict while Miho kept offering her choices which led her around in a circle.
Literally at it turned out because the trail they followed was joined by two others. Katyusha had to make them stop and allow herself a moment to think.
"They split up only to regroup without pause." Nonna remarked.
"I can see that!" Katyusha snapped, annoyed by the needless comment. "But why? What's the point?!"
"To vex you?" Nonna offered and Katyusha glared at her before then glaring at the snow. Nonna seemed to be right and it seemed now Miho wasn't fighting her team but her personally. "Perhaps she hoped our divided forces would converge here and start shooting at each other." It could well have worked. "She's a deceitful one."
"A cunning opponent." Nonna amended.
"That's what I said!" Katyusha glared at her again and Nonna remained as poised as always. She looked to her left and saw Klara looking just as relaxed. The other commanders looked at her and she could see they were confused by Oarai's movements. "Vpered!"
Katyusha consulted her map. What lay ahead was a valley that made her think of Waterloo. A shallow valley between two ridges. A neat battleground for two armies to fight in. Defending the first ridge would not be as sound as defending the second from an attack from the first. The Pravda tanks would have to descend into that valley and then climb the second ridge to make their attack and if Miho had chosen to make her stand there, it would slow the Pravda's tank assault. Giving Miho precious time to attack the isolated flag tank; or so she thought. But was that what Miho would do or just what she wanted Katyusha to think? She rubbed her eyes again. Miho would have her unsure of the colour of snow at this rate.
They approached the first ridge cautiously, in case this was Miho's chosen battleground but the dark rise was silent and still. She could feel the thrill of anticipation amongst her girls and with it a grudging respect for this new enemy. She also detected a hint of paranoia considering how Oarai had hit them without warning so many times thus far. Katyusha worried and then dismissed the idea that they would crest the ridge and be faced with the Oarai tanks at point-blank range. Miho didn't have the firepower or manoeuvrability for that. Too many fixed guns. Instead the Pravda machines reached the top and were confronted with something else.
"Don't swear." Nonna chided.
"Don't swear?! LOOK AT IT!" As far as Katyusha could see there was nothing but tank tracks. Trails that snaked over each other, back and forth, up and down, all over this ridge, the valley floor and the slope of the next ridge. She looked back instinctively, expecting to see the entire Oarai force having circled around behind them but she could only see her own tracks. "What's the point?! Are they just wasting fuel?!"
"They want us to split up to try and find their trail. Did they leave the valley from one end or the other? Did they leave from the other ridge? Are they still on the other ridge?" Besides a slight tautening around the eyes, Nonna seemed entirely unconcerned by the uncertainties thrust upon them.
"You're not helping!" Katyusha waved her fist at her. Miho was clearly trying to rival Mika for her ability to make her blood boil. It seemed to Katyusha that was the exact purpose of ploughing up this terrain; to irritate her. She guessed if she detached tanks to scout, one of them would be eliminated by a concealed Oarai force just as before. "Nonna, stay here with the flag tank and the KV-2 and watch that ridge! Keep us covered!" The IS-2 could annihilate any attack that materialised in the valley below and keep overwatch on the far ridge with its long powerful gun. The KV-2 would struggle to attack up a slope and was much better positioned here.
Having started the match with an almost two to one advantage over Oarai, Katyusha led just five tanks into the valley to seek five Oarai tanks. At least she knew her back was covered by the person she trusted most in the world.
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All of Miho's actions had been to buy time. The snow was falling but not nearly as heavily as before and they needed that snowfall to literally cover their tracks. Snowfall obscured their movements and left Pravda guessing. She needed Pravda to keep guessing. If they developed absolute certainty, Oarai had no chance. They needed their opponents full of doubt and leaping at shadows. That was why she had divided her force into three and then regrouped. She hadn't held out much hope that Pravda could be tricked into firing on each other but it was a possibility that couldn't be overlooked. Sadly, they had heard no gunfire in the distance that announced this had come to pass. Pravda had held their nerve. For now at least.
"What if this doesn't work?" Saori asked.
"We lose." Mako answered for Miho. It was a simple, brutal and honest response. If this plan didn't come off, she was out of ideas and Pravda's superiority in numbers, mobility and firepower would tell. They would remember this match, but those that came after them would have no reason to think of Oarai in years to come.
Five tanks with six guns between them. One tank had to be kept well back for its own safety. With only one gun remaining in the M3, Tsuchiya had been redeployed to the B1 bis to give it a full crew complement. As Aya and Saki were without a gun now, they could load for Ayumi, leaving Yuuki free to act solely as their radio operator. The redeployment had created a brief moment of levity as the tousle haired Tsuchiya contrasted sharply with Sodoko and her crew and Sodoko insisted she at least comb her hair before entering her tank. The comb was still there; hopelessly entangled and mocking Sodoko's sense of order and propriety. Pazomi however was relieved to have help loading the 75mm howitzer.
The funny thing was that Miho wasn't concerned about the result of the match now. The fate of Oarai was secondary to her biggest worry which was what Erika would say to her after she had decided to reinvigorate the team in the least likely fashion possible. The anticipation of Erika's teasing or loud ranting was worse than either could be in the event. She was glad when Pravda arrived and after a long hesitation, finally began to advance across the valley.
It was tempting to fire immediately. To let Hana try her best to eliminate a T-34 on the slope but they needed to wait until the other guns could have an impact. Firing too soon would only expose them to the IS-2 that sat menacingly on the far ridge. Even from this distance, its 122mm gun looked huge and threatening. It could annihilate any of them at this range and their only advantage was the poor visibility would make it difficult for them to identify the different Oarai tanks. Everything was in place it seemed.
"Okay…" Miho took a breath, held it and then released it. "Open fire." She commanded.
They were spaced well apart along the ridge so the flashes of their guns would not merge together into a single obvious signal to the Pravda tanks. It also meant their fire converged on the line of Pravda machines. Miho had ordered them to aim for the central tank, guessing it would be Katyusha's but no shots connected as the cold barrels sent them short. It was however a signal to the Pravda tanks that the enemy was present and the final showdown had commenced.
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Firing uphill was difficult but so was firing downhill. Katyusha had that to balance things out. That and much heavier firepower and her fang jutted over her lip as her comrades behind her opened fire and one of the KV-2 shells flew over her head to detonate above her with a clap of doom. The response from the Oarai tank was pathetic by comparison; a mere yap. She heard the IS-2 fire but Nonna reported no hit. Not yet.
"Klara, take a 76 and go right!" She commanded. She could see a single muzzle flash to her right but the sound was muffled by the wind so she couldn't identify the tank. Ahead of her, two guns fired together which meant either the B1 bis or M3. There was only a single flash to her left. Miho then was detached and trying to circle around, or she or the StuG were holding their fire and waiting for a clear and decisive shot. Perhaps they thought they could defeat them here in the valley and then counterattack. Brave but foolish. "Nonna! Keep a sharp eye on the flag tank! They may be trying to encircle us!"
"They will watch the rear." Nonna replied and then fired again. She was closer this time.
The tiny First Years in the KV-2 worked like fiends to deliver shot after shot on the far ridge. They were relieved to be well away from the thunderous detonations of their own shells but determined to make them count. They could see a double flash of guns betraying either the American or French tank and they aimed for it as they were big targets they might actually hit. But even if they didn't, their shells raining down on the enemy were spectacular and terrifying. The shells landed hard, burying themselves in the whiteness before striking the iron-hard frozen ground and creating star-shaped patterns in the snow. Black stars that steamed, craters of heat in the frigid wasteland, and though they struck no tanks; the shells still loosened bowels and teeth. Though their muscles were already sore and screaming, Alina and Nina wrestled shot and propellant into place and rammed them home and another shell went screaming across the valley.
Pazomi and Tsuchiya worked with an equal fury, pummelling the Pravda tanks with the smaller shells of the B1 bis while Gomoyo made the barrel of their little 37mm glow hot as she delivered a futile but furious fire on the Soviet machines that took the blows to the face with no apparent damage. If Sodoko's glare of disapproval could have buckled steel, she would have annihilated all five Pravda tanks below by herself.
Behind them, Noriko bounced up and down, frustrated with being out of action and unable to see anything. The thunder of guns meant nothing to her. "What's happening out there?!"
"The hordes of Hell advance but we hold them here. The line is drawn and they shall go no further."
Akebi, Noriko and Taeko all stared nonplussed at Shinobu. "… What?" Akebi squeaked.
Shinobu sighed. "I'm sat here with you. How would I know what's going on? Why are you asking?" She sighed again. "What happens will happen." She declared resolutely.
"We should in there!" Noriko insisted.
"Doing what?" Shinobu asked patiently. "Losing the match for our side?"
Noriko glared at her and then resumed bouncing, flinching as a KV-2 shell overshot the ridge top and landed with a flash behind them. It seemed to push them up the slope.
Klara pressed onward, flanked by the 76, and she knew she faced either the Panzer IV or StuG as she felt the wind from a shell from a high-velocity gun whip her face. She ducked back down into the turret. "Full speed to their left. Elina, go to their right!" That would split their attention, though Klara could not tell if they could identify the two different breeds of T-34 in the gloom. They would go for her if they could. Her 85 fired and her opponent almost immediately responded, leading Elina to yelp over the radio.
"Gun disabled! GUN DISABLED!"
"Charge them!" Klara snapped in response and glanced to her right to see the command immediately obeyed. The T-34/76's cannon was shorn off almost at the turret and it fired its machineguns defiantly as it valiantly charged up the slope. "Eliminate that tank, please." Klara commanded her gunner who sighted on the dark shape ahead of her. It fired and for a brief second she saw it illuminated, saw it was the Panzer IV and as the ten pound shell whipped over her head, she replied and rewarded with the Panzer IV being illuminated again as Pravda shot crashed home.
"Captain, we have eliminated the Panzer IV!" Klara let her gunner report her victory as she ordered her driver to bring them around and attack the centre of the ridge.
"The Panzer IV?" Katyusha thought aloud and a shot cracked on her tank, loud and hard. Regardless, she stuck her head out of her turret and looked around and felt an awful dread. Ahead of her two guns fired on a single tank and to her left only a single gun fired… Had Miho remained here and sent the big B1 bis or M3 to seek the flag tank? That made no sense. But if she was here, then what else could she be doing? Unless, unless…
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Hippo team was having a good match. They had eliminated two of Pravda's T-34s, including an 85mm variant. They knew that must have grated on Pravda as without the gift of the long-barrelled KwK 40 L/43, they wouldn't have been able to make those kills. They would have been forced to come to this match wielding the Panzer IV's old KwK37 which struggled to pierce 50mm of armour at fifty metres. They would have been spitting tennis balls instead of heated darts. It would have been better than being forced into the Tanuki but still, without their long gun they had understood why boys flinched at talk of castration.
Two Pravda tanks eliminated. But they felt it should have been more. Saemonza had cursed as so many of her shots obstinately found the spaces between the Pravda tanks rather than slamming into them. They were proud to have eliminated a Matilda and a Sherman and now T-34s. But they were the tank destroyer of their team; they should have been shouldering more weight. They pursued nothing short of perfection.
Erwin had not liked the plan. It was too risky, she believed. Too sneaky. All it would take was one sharp eye and they would be ignominiously knocked out and mocked for such a silly scheme. Although, perhaps that would deflect the mockery they would get for performing the Anglerfish dance with the Captain in the snow. Erwin straightened her collar but it did little to rebuild her dignity. Especially as a little voice in the back of her mind told her she had enjoyed wiggling in the cold. She let the Erwin persona pummel that little voice for a moment and then spoke. "I think we're ready." She declared.
The others grunted. They were freezing. Caesar had her scarf, Erwin had her jacket and Oryou had hers but the StuG was not a winterised vehicle on the inside, especially with the engine off. It was the engine that concerned Oryou now.
"Don't you dare fail me, boy." She warned and then hit the ignition. It coughed and grunted and stirred like someone with a hangover and then reluctantly came to life.
"Let's hope we're not frozen solid like the Rhine." Caesar declared.
The Pravda flag tank were doing their best to watch the rear but they couldn't help but look back to observe the fight. They couldn't see the other T-34s but they could see the IS-2 and KV-2 and the two giants were raining hell on the enemy. They were glad they weren't in the KV-2 with its cruelly heavy shells and even more punishingly heavy turret. They were even happier they weren't on the receiving end of those shells which filled the valley with thunder and drowned out the reports of the other tank cannons firing. The crew of the KV-2 seemed to be determined to win this themselves or at least exhaust their ammunition so nothing more would be asked of them.
Oarai was returning that fire with a fury of their own and it was hard to believe there were only five tanks out there. True, two of them had two guns but even so, it sounded like there were four dozen tanks fighting out there. It made their hearts pound and while it was an honour to be the flag tank, it also severely limited their participation. They had spent the day as spectators, except when they had found themselves under attack by two light tanks and found themselves crippled, panicking for several moments that they had been knocked out and they were responsible for the reigning champions being knocked out by these obviously insane amateurs. Fortunately, that hadn't been the case and they had been able to conduct repairs. It made them shiver in anticipation of facing Kuromorimine again.
"Soon be over." The commander declared happily. "Then we can all have a nice hot bath."
"It might be too late for my toes." The gunner said ruefully. "I knew I should have worn stockings and socks."
"Yes you should." The commander grinned at her.
"At least my sweaty feet aren't stinking up the tank." The gunner retorted and the driver giggled. "Maybe we should find a way to weaponise the smell in there, and use it against Kuromorimine."
"We'll need it. They'll be out for blood this year." The commander frowned thinking about the circumstances that had led them to become champions. She looked at the distant ridge speculatively and then dismissed it. They had won. That the victory hadn't been clean… Did it really matter? They hadn't acted maliciously after all.
"Aren't they always out for blood?" The gunner asked. "When did Kuromorimine ever fight softly?"
"They won't fight 'softly' but they've always been cold and professional. Then we stopped them from winning a ten year streak and now they're angry. Very angry. They won't want to just defeat us; they'll want to humiliate us."
"Just like the Vozhd wants to humiliate them." The driver mused and they shared another giggle.
"Soon be over." The commander repeated and then felt an icy prickle that had nothing to do with the weather.
"Do you hear that?"
It was a long moan that they recognised as ice breaking as they had heard from the icebergs that infested their home waters. It was not a sound they expected to hear on land. They turned in the direction of the sound and the three girls screamed and dropped back into their tank as the Ghost of Kuromorimine Vengeance came at them, complete with Generalfeldmarshall commanding it.
"FEUER!"
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It had taken the efforts of the whole team to conceal them. They had been able to help to a certain point but then they had had to climb aboard their steel coffin and let the others bury them alive. While Pravda had been finishing their repairs, Oarai had been toiling away with frozen legs and hands. They had piled the snow onto the StuG until it had resembled any other snowdrift with a heart of bush or rock on this ridge. That was why it had been necessary for the other tanks to drive all over the ridge and the valley; to conceal the disturbed snow. To make Pravda think nothing of it.
Hippo team had huddled in their StuG, completely blind to what was going on outside. Their main concern was the tank freezing solid and becoming useless while their own health had been secondary. This was a last desperate roll of the dice and they knew it. It wasn't just about winning the match but saving their entire school. If they caught the flu or lost a few toes to frostbite, it was a worthy price to pay. At least they thought so. It was likely that their parents would have different feelings.
They had waited and waited until they had heard the distant rumble of massed tank engines. They had heard them and then felt them and they had shivered for different reasons as they feared one of the Pravda machines blundering straight into them and it seemed that one of them passed within inches of them. They had listened and heard them pause and they knew that they were trying to fathom out the mess they saw in front of them but how could they possibly draw the right conclusion? It was insane what Oarai had done.
Then the enemy had rumbled onward and Saori had reported to them that Pravda was doing exactly as they had hoped, leaving their flag tank behind. There was the KV-2 and IS-2 to worry about but they weren't unduly concerned. They had one shot to make count. Saori reported the movement of the T-34 flag tank, telling them when it moved to watch the rear of their ridge and then the KV-2 had told them what it was up to; the snow doing little to muffle the sound of its bellow. The same went for the IS-2.
When Oryou had started the engine, Erwin had forced her hatch open. They had wedged a piece of cloth under it so it didn't stick and refusing any help, the newly dubbed Arctic Fox had heaved the weight of snow away and then climbed up to provide eyes for their blinded vehicle. Oryou stirred the engine and then the V-12 Maybach engine had wrenched them free of the ice. The upper hull remained buried while the cannon was released with an embarrassingly phallic motion that made Erwin blush, and then blush some more for blushing in the first place.
The enemy flag tank was only a short distance away and Erwin saw its crew spot her. She heard them scream and the flank of the T-34 called to her. Standing out of her turret, she could bear witness to the power of her war machine in a way she had fantasized about from the beginning and there was only one language she could give the command in.
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Yukari squealed as Erika's arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her to her feet and shook her. Not for the first time she was unsure if Erika was hugging her or trying to kill her and the noises she was making made it difficult to make the distinction. She decided it was joy rather than murder. They had just won after all. But she wasn't used to Erika expressing joy after a victory and she found it a little unnerving right before her own elation struck and she twisted to return the glomp with all the passion of an Akiyama. It took them a moment to recover their wits and then they were both embarrassed by the display.
Meanwhile, the Student Council seemed torn between joy and sorrow. It was hard for Erika to tell through their many tears just exactly what it was they were feeling. On one hand, winning this match brought them closer to their ultimate goal. On the other, they still had a mountain to climb. And in the finals, their opponent would be able to bring twenty tanks… She pushed that thought aside. For this moment, she wanted to enjoy the victory over Pravda.
The Council recovered their poise enough to look like dignified officials when they congratulated Miho. There was nothing dignified about Yukari going to hug her around the middle and instead tackling her into the snow as she took the Captain by surprise. Tangled up in Wolf team's gunner was how Katyusha found her.
Erika thought that Katyusha looked very, very tired and for this Erika could not blame her. The succession of mind games that had been played on her would have left any commander exhausted and for Katyusha, it had been an ordeal. Katyusha was understandably aggrieved as right up until the last moment she had thought herself to be winning and her victory inevitable. Then she had been stabbed in the back by an enemy hiding in the snow.
Miho quailed ever so slightly under Katyusha's icy blue gaze and perched as she was on Nonna, it meant Miho had to look up to her. Look up to her disapproval.
"You kept making me doubt myself." Katyusha said quietly. "You kept making me second and third and fourth guess everything I did. You made me see traps that weren't there until I couldn't see the trap that was there." She took a deep breath. "I should never have given you that cannon."
Erika would have agreed and looking around, she thought the other Oarai team members agreed as well. No more so than the smug members of Hippo team whose grins would have given the Cheshire Cat a run for his money. But Miho did not. "You gave us a fighting chance and everyone will remember that. You didn't have to but you did. You could have crushed us and you made it a fair match."
It appealed to Katyusha's ego but she was still rankled by the ambush. "You fight like Keizoku." It was certainly not a compliment. "But you have to if you want to win. I thought you were finished after you lost your light tanks. I was wrong…" Katyusha took another deep breath. "I'm absolutely not mad about this! Believe me!" And no one did. "But you girls weren't all that bad…" She couldn't look Miho in the eyes as she said this but she did say it. "Nonna!"
The tone was apparently all the command that the giantess needed because she knew what to do and lowered Katyusha to the ground. She looked small in front of Miho but with Nonna standing behind her, she looked utterly tiny. Which was the point. It made her extending her hand to Miho all the more significant.
"I'll come to the finals." She declared. "Give Katyusha something to enjoy there." She didn't even seem aware she was speaking in the third person and it made Erika wonder how much of the 'act' was actually an act.
"Is she mad at me?" Miho asked Erika later.
"She's going to get a lot of flak over the StuG." Erika answered. "And what you did… That would piss anyone off."
"You think so?" Miho got that worried look so Erika put her hands on her arms to reassure her.
"You buried a StuG and concealed it by churning up a whole valley. You went to a lot of work to put one of ours behind enemy lines. And if it hadn't been able to start its engine; you'd be a Sensha-do joke for the next twenty years. But you got away with it so now you're going to be known as the crazy bitch!" On impulse, Erika hugged her and Miho squeaked much as she had when Kay of Saunders had grabbed her. Except Erika didn't hold on for so long, although she did follow it up with a good shaking. "Good for you, Miho. Good, good, good for you!" She shook her again until Hana and Saori rescued her.
There was no post-match party. Everyone was tired, cold… Pravda had never been known to celebrate with their opponents either. Erika sensed considerable bitterness from their side and she could understand why. Pravda had worked hard to defeat Kuromorimine, only to have their victory undermined the disaster that had overtaken the finals. They had been determined to have a clean win this year as reigning champions and now they had been knocked out of the running by a school that had come out of nowhere. Defeated by a gun they had provided. Defeated by an opponent who fought a little too much like their bitter rivals at Continuation High. At least they knew none of Oarai's tanks had once been Pravda's; although that was small consolation.
There was a lot of work to do. Tanks to restore and winter modifications to remove. But that could wait. What she needed now was a bath. A long one. So long that she would struggle to believe in snow and ice by the end of it.
[][][][][][]
"They only won because they used a cheap trick." Shiho declared.
"Actually, it was sheer skill."
"Skill?"
"Miho has shown great ability to adapt to the situation and solve problems with lateral thinking. She recognised the potential for her Soviet tank to infiltrate Pravda's formation. She recognised that Pravda would overlook a tank as insignificant as a 38(t). She saw how to make Katyusha not see an ambush had been set for her." Maho nodded. "Miho's sound judgement combined with excellent teamwork and trust led them to victory."
Her mother made a noise that told her what she thought of lateral thinking and those who avoided a straight fight. She translated that noise into actual speech. "This is heresy." She declared and Maho had to fight hard not to sigh. Even now after an accomplishment like this her mother still believed that her way was the only way to win. "In the finals, show them how a true warrior fights!"
It amused Maho that her mother did not ever consider the outcome of Kuromorimine's match against St Gloriana to be in question. This amusing thought was the only respite she received though because by 'them' she meant Miho and it was an order to crush her sister's team. To crush her sister. But then something else struck her. "Are you going to tell her about your intent to disinherit her?"
Her mother's jaw tightened because she had not given the proper response but Maho thought she saw doubt in her mother's eyes. She was likely the only person besides her father who could recognise the subtle signs and she knew that ability bothered her mother, even though it meant the only people who could recognise her moments of weakness were her loved ones. But that doubt was there and it meant that the victory Miho had desperately clawed from Pravda had earned some measure of recognition from their mother; even if it wasn't quite respect. "No." She said. "Not today." Which meant that her mother was no longer certain of Miho's motives which was understandable. The ferocity with which Oarai had fought made little sense in such a contest and Miho had no reason to fight so hard to make it the finals she had no chance of winning. Their mother had suspected her of rebelling and trying to embarrass Kuromorimine but the opposite would occur if the Nishizumi Style steamrolled her.
Miho had earned a respite. For now at least. And Maho's path was clear. "I swear on the name of Nishizumi, they shall be defeated." She could only hope that Miho put up such a fantastic struggle that when she lost, her mother didn't rub salt into the wound by telling her she was out of the family afterwards.
[][][][][][]
Elation was a fleeting emotion. Winning over Pravda after a long, gruelling match left a positive feeling for only a short while before the reality of the situation struck them. The battle against Pravda was over and that left them facing the finals where they would be outnumbered even more than they had been before. Some held out that they might face St Gloriana again and having faced them once before, they would know what to expect and how to beat them. Erika had no doubts. They would face Kuromorimine and Oarai's eight tanks would face an equal number of Panthers and Tiger IIs along with twelve other tanks. It would be the finals so Kuromorimine would break out its biggest and meanest tank destroyers and if Duck team was hit by a shell from a Jagdtiger or Elefant they would be left with bloody noses, ears and eyes and with hearing problems for the rest of the week. They wouldn't be able to play volleyball when they couldn't even stand up straight.
Oddly though, Erika realised she felt less trepidation than when they had been facing Pravda. It was because she knew Kuromorimine. She knew their tanks inside and out and she knew their doctrine forwards and backwards. It wasn't just an opponent she knew, it was an opponent she had once been. She didn't need to imagine herself in their shoes; she still owned her former Kuromorimine uniform complete with boots.
Nakajima and her fellow gearheads were working on the Porsche Tiger and with the T-50 restored after its encounter with the T-34/85, it left her and Yukari with no maintenance to perform. Instead they sat on the floor and went over the Pravda match while some of the many cats that had made the hangar their home circled them, occasionally rubbing against them.
"We could have done it." Yukari was saying. "If the Student Council hadn't made their attack, we could have taken out their flag tank!"
"We could've. But we didn't. And we still won."
"We could have won the match though!"
"We played our part. Just like we did against Saunders and Anzio. And St Gloriana."
"I want us to land the winning blow though." Yukari pouted.
"Well that's not going to happen. Not against Kuromorimine." She had a vision of Maho's Tiger coming at them and while it was possible for their 45mm gun to pierce a Tiger's flank or rear armour; they would have to be within ten metres to do it. If they were within ten metres of Maho's Tiger, they would be amongst a dozen other Kuromorimine tanks.
"You said that about Pravda."
"If it's pouring with rain when we face Kuromorimine maybe we can get that close."
"We were driving circles around T-34s and the weather wasn't that bad."
"We looked like them."
They were saved from further argument by one of the cats leaping into Yukari's lap and curling up to sleep. Yukari didn't know what to do with this.
"President." Erika called and the little redhead who was 'supervising' Momo and Yuzu's overview of the Type 3 drifted over to them. "Why do we have to put with all the cats in here?"
"Technically, it's their property and we're trespassing." Anzu replied and Erika had been at Oarai long enough to know it was entirely possible she was serious but also that Anzu was a relentless troll and could easily be making it up. It was impossible to guess which was true so Erika didn't bother to think about it. "Planning for our next battle?" She asked.
"Fluffy thinks we could have done better against Pravda."
"Who cares?" Anzu waved her arm dismissively the way that she did. "We won!" Now she pointed her hand at Yukari. "You should be thinking about how we're going to win our next battle." She chided. "How we're going to defeat Kuromorimine."
"We could be facing St Gloriana." Yukari replied.
"Only if Darjeeling gives Kuromorimine plague-laced scones before their match." Erika mused. "Or we poison St Gloriana and the judges decide Kuromorimine must have done it and get disqualified so we face St Gloriana."
"Could we do that?" Anzu inquired.
"Last year maybe. Now I think the referees will be more thorough and find us out."
"Pity." Anzu sighed. "Is it worth it to find some new people to crew the Tanuki so we have another tank?"
"It'd give them something else to shoot at… But no, not really. New people wouldn't have the time to train enough not to be a liability."
"Shame. We could do with ten tanks."
"Ten?"
"I'm assured the Porsche Tiger will be ready before the finals." Anzu said and then louder. "And if it isn't, I'll have Sodoko confiscate and wheel-clamp all the vehicles of a certain automotive society."
"Maybe we should help them then." Yukari suggested.
"No, Nakajima was quite adamant we'd just get in the way." Erika explained. "Apparently it's a job for pros… Even though they had never touched a tank before all this."
"They do fix up all our machines quickly though. Even though they had never seen them before." Yukari pointed out. "And they've had plenty of practice for when they get the Porsche Tiger operational."
"Practice in our little tanks." Erika replied. "A sixty ton tank with an 8.8cm is a wholly different beast. Maybe they'll go mad with power."
"If it works." Anzu said.
"If it works…" Erika agreed.
"It'll work!" Yukari protested. "You'll see! It's a wonderful tank!"
"I'm sure it is, Fluffy." Anzu assured her and Yukari turned scarlet. "And we may have another surprise to improve our strength."
"What surprise?" Erika inquired.
"It's a surprise, silly!" Anzu reached out and flicked her nose. It was more than a cheeky gesture as the moment of eye contact told Erika. It was a reminder that they weren't even. "Will Kuromorimine have any surprises for us though?"
"Kuromorimine doesn't do surprises. Unless you count taking an unsuspecting opponent by surprise. But everything else is straightforward. They find the enemy and they shoot him down. It's the philosophy of the Red Baron but it applies on the ground."
"So just lots of big, mean scary German tanks coming at us. Good, good. You can find a way to beat that. You and Nishizumi."
"That is why you pressganged us into service."
"Exactly!" Anzu beamed. "Now's the time for you to earn all those perks we promised."
"Free school meals. Yay." Erika deadpanned and then glanced around. Mako was asleep on the wheels of the Panzer IV yet again with six cats asleep around her. "And she gets all her tardies thrown out."
"She's very motivated." Anzu said.
"It shows." Yukari said and Erika glanced at her, not quite certain if she was being herself or doing an impression of her sarcasm.
"Of course the real perk is that you get to stay here at Oarai. Unless you want to go back to Kuromorimine, or join Chi-ha-tan."
"I'd last ten minutes into a Chi-ha-tan training match before turning my tank on myself." Erika declared. "Why couldn't we have been matched up against them in the first round? That could have been interesting."
"You mean easy."
"Exactly."
"Are you planning to spy on Kuromorimine?" Anzu asked Yukari.
"She won't let me." Yukari pouted again.
"Because if Kuromorimine catch you, they'll put you in the Cooler for a week."
"Kuromorimine has a Cooler?" Anzu asked, intrigued.
"Technically it's an isolated detention room but the function is identical."
"They'd have to let her go eventually."
"Eventually." Erika agreed as ominously as she could. "But there's nothing we need to learn about Kuromorimine that we don't already know. They're motivated, they'll have a powerful line up that outguns and out-armours us and their commander is our commander's sister and won't hesitate to demolish her." Although Erika could not believe that Maho wouldn't feel eviscerated having to do it. "We have what we need to work with. We'll have to fight like we did again Pravda; ambush and harass without presenting them a target they can overwhelm with firepower. Pravda had one KV-2. Kuromorimine will have tank destroyers that make a KV-2 look like a baby."
"I never did officially make you our Morale Officer, Itsumi. I'll have to put Momo to fixing that."
"Go away, you horrible little gremlin."
Anzu tutted but left nonetheless. The two members of Wolf team looked at the Porsche Tiger that was nearing completion. The final stretch would be mounting the turret to the hull and then ensuring everything worked.
"We'll have one 8.8." Erika thought aloud. "And they'll have half a dozen at least. And except for one scout, they'll have 7.5cm guns on everything else."
"It won't be a battle where our armour matters." Yukari agreed. "Guderian believed it was better to be a fast runner than to have a thick skin."
"And now modern tanks are both…" Erika said pointedly. "And missiles make the skin worthless anyway…"
"But we're a fast runner and we can torment their tank destroyers. They can't fight us!"
"That's what the Big Cats are for." Erika replied, thinking of Koume. "And they'll love to hunt an impudent little tank attacking the jagdpanzers."
"You're being negative."
"I'm just thinking about how to fight them. Every action we take has a counter-action so we need a counter ready for their counter."
"Like attacking the tank destroyers and leading the Big Cats into an ambush."
"Which is why they'll probably drive us off and ignore us." This was how Kuromorimine frequently treated Continuation High's harassing attacks unless they involved significant firepower; like T-34s rather than T-26s. "So we have to find a way to attack them without them knowing what the real attack is. Or make them fight where they can't concentrate their firepower."
"So, a forest then?"
"Maybe." The answer would lie in the battlefield they were given. If it was a wide open plain, they were doomed. Something urban would be more advantageous, denying Kuromorimine their range advantage as well as hampering their ability to move; fifty ton vehicles always struggled in close urban environments. "We'll figure something out. After we see how St Gloriana fights."
"What do we do until then?"
"Just keep training." Erika shrugged. "Relax. Try not to think about all the little complications around the great big complication."
"…What?" Yukari stared at her.
"We've got a school to save and we've got a whole bunch of personal issues to deal with in the meantime. The Captain has her family, I have my temper, Hana has her mother, Mako has a whole bunch of baggage… The Student Council…" Erika sighed. "When I started here, all I wanted was to pass my classes and graduate. Now the survival of a two million ton ship depends on my skills driving a tank… I thought I'd be at least twenty before I was dealing with that kind of pressure."
"I just wanted to practice Sensha-do." Yukari shrugged. "To enjoy it. How do you enjoy it when you know your team might not exist in a few months?"
"That's why I didn't tell you. Or Miho. Miho was actually enjoying Sensha-do… You… You looked like you were going to have a stroke if you got any happier. Now here we are preparing for a contest with people who hadn't even seen a tank in real-life before a few months ago, versus people who grew up in them!"
"There's your temper again." Yukari said and then grinned as Erika glared at her. "Maybe we should take some time off. Go hiking again."
"And hope we find another Panzer IV?"
"Why not?" Yukari beamed.
Erika thought about it. "Why not?"
[][][][][][]
Koume had been concerned about Erika. Her previous email had been an alarming mess of regrets and frustrations and anger. A lot of anger. There had been a rumour at Kuromorimine that their former alumni had attacked the Student President of Oarai and left her unable to speak and Erika had confirmed she had strangled her but that the President was healing. She had also made it very clear that she knew she had stepped over a line but she couldn't say why she had gone so far. The Pravda match had been a very big deal it seemed.
And in its aftermath, Erika was now much calmer. She was also certain that Oarai would be facing Kuromorimine next. She said she didn't want to fight her old school but it was inevitable.
Koume wished she had her confidence. They had faced St Gloriana many times before and knew them well. Their pre and early-war British tanks were inferior to their mid and late-war German tanks, particularly their Panthers. St Gloriana relied heavily on their Infantry Tanks which while well-armoured lacked in firepower and speed. St Gloriana had always made up for these shortcomings by utilizing terrain, positioning themselves in ways that forced their opponents to face them where the guns were at their most effective. And as part of their British traditions, they were fast loaders. A St Gloriana loader could ensure their gunner could keep up a withering fire.
So the upcoming match would not be easy although the St Gloriana commander was unlikely to do anything bizarre. The eccentricities of their previous Captain had become legendary and no one at Kuromorimine wanted to face a maniac like her. The new Captain carried herself with poise and dignity. If not for her obsession with tea, she could have been a Kuromorimine student. And she had beaten Oarai in an exhibition match. It had been a close match though this had been dismissed at Kuromorimine as the result of St Gloriana underestimating this new opponent. They did not think less of St Gloriana for the result; especially when two of their former students had been leading Oarai.
Oarai was a dirty word at Kuromorimine however. This championship had been launched with the goal of regaining their honour by delivering Pravda an absolutely shattering defeat that would permanently erase the stain of the last tournament's defeat. Instead Pravda had been knocked out by a no-name school and that meant that Kuromorimine had been beaten by a school that couldn't even defeat a school that used junk tanks. The Captain had gone to watch that match but she would not talk about it, instead ordering them to focus on their own upcoming challenge. Maho was obviously preoccupied with her sister but she still directed their training with the same clinical professionalism she always had. No one dared mention Oarai in front of her. The general consensus was dismay that instead of a grand finale to restore Kuromorimine's honour they would face an opponent they outnumbered two to one. That made them angry.
It seemed to Koume that only she and the Captain were concerned that Oarai would put up much stiffer resistance than this. Perhaps after the St Gloriana match they would be calmer and more professional.
She considered her Panther. It seemed impossible to her that such a mighty machine could be defeated by anything less than its equal and yet they knew Oarai had used a 38(t) of all tanks to cripple multiple T-34s. The others might have dismissed Oarai but she would not. She knew Miho and Erika too well now. The others would dismiss a T-50 as a failed design of little consequence but she would not.
But first they had to defeat St Gloriana.
(9,738)
Author's Notes;
I wrote this in five days. Unfortunately, they were five entirely disconnected days. I intended to have this out in time for Erika's birthday but due to health reasons; that never happened. Originally I planned to spend a week I was supposed to be recovering from surgery writing but that was cancelled. For a fourth time.
Anyway, this chapter. It concludes much like canon match except I cut out the chase. GuP has a lot of chases and the Saunders and Pravda matches both see Oarai tanks knocked out at range by a master gunner while chasing them down their flag tank. I changed that up. Presenting the match from the spectators' viewpoint and then Katyusha's was also a pleasant change of pace. In both matches though, the Pravda flag tank is knocked out by a buried StuG. I had to give Hippo team their moment of triumph as well as indulge in the irony of Katyusha having provided the means for Oarai's victory. I also wanted to show how Miho's plans look to people who don't know what they are; the Miho Style as it's called. Lots and lots of confusion.
I'm presenting Shiho in a warmer light I think but she does say she intended to tell Miho she was disinherited after the Pravda match, and then she doesn't. I interpret that as Miho having earned some respect from her mother, but she can't openly admit it. Not until the finals. She's still cold and aloof though. As she's meant to be.
This chapter probably seems disjointed. As I said, health issues. It's also extremely hard to write a Sensha-do match without being repetitive which happens anyway. The way that matches work does not translate into a long narrative. But the next chapter will see Kuromorimine vs St Gloriana which is a story I only have to adapt. Much more straightforward.
Still working on my other project; the Forest. Presently on Day 51 just shy of 150,000 words. It's not even winter yet and I have 150,000 words down and over a hundred more days to write. I used to think an 80,000 word novel was an impressive accomplishment and my longer novel Game at 138,000 was a rare aberration and now I've written Flower of Oarai and the Forest.
