Dein Weg ist Mein Weg

Chapter 42: From Fire to Frying Pan

"Still think those are just some Crusaders?!" Caesar grunted as she pushed a fresh shell into the breach. A moment later the gun roared as Saemonza sent the shell flying across the desert sands.

"You really wanna go over this now?" Erwin snapped back, almost losing her footing as yet another shell slammed into the StuG, and grumbled quietly to herself. "Fine, I was wrong!"

The fact that they were being pounded not only by Crusaders, but also a pair of Comets was aggravating enough, but the larger sticking point was how or why the cruiser tanks were even there. The last time Erwin had spotted the platoon, it had been heading south and away from their current location, with not the slightest inkling of evidence that they were planning on turning back. And yet somehow, the five cruiser tanks had snuck up completely on their position, taking out Anteater's Chi-To before anyone from Ooarai even knew they were there. The only good news, if there were any, was that at least the cruisers were rushing towards them at top speed, meaning their shots weren't very accurate and giving Erwin and Sodoko time to get their tanks turned around to face the new threat.

"Dammit!" Saemonza cried out in anger as she fired another shell. "I can't hit a damn thing in this heat. It's like shooting into a house of mirrors."

"Yeah, well I hope you're ready for a couple years of bad luck then," Erwin remarked. "Keep firing, and let's hope Janus and Azusa can do without us for a little bit." The tank rocked once more and a flurry of sand kicked into the air beside her as another stray shell from the cruisers impacted just beside the StuG. "Janus!" she called into her handset, and spat out some loose dirt that had gotten blown into her mouth. "Janus, we've got a problem. A big problem!"

"Erwin?" Maho replied a moment later. "What's going on?"

"It's the Crusaders," Erwin called back, sensing the panic start to build in her voice. "They're here! And... uhh... it turns out..."

"It's not five Crusaders, Commander," Sodoko tattled, like the goody-two-shoes she was. "It's three Crusaders and two Meteors."

"It's Comets, Janus!" Erwin corrected bitterly. "We've got three Crusaders and two Comets pounding us with all they've got!"

"How?!" Maho yelled back. "You said they were going the other way? There's no way they could have gotten here that fast! And why are they attacking you and not us?! To do that they would have had to have known where we were going to-..." Maho's voice died out and disappeared, but a fresh volley from the cruisers blasting their position and the ear-shattering noise of both the StuG and Char B1 responding in kind gave Erwin other things to worry about.

"Ugggghhhhh!" Saemonza groaned, before a loud ping off their roof cut her off. "I hate this. Half the time I aim I just see lakes of water that aren't there, and the other half the damned tanks aren't even where they look like they are." She slapped one of the adjuster cranks in frustration, sending it spinning for a second or two, and bitterly leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and pouting. "Y'know, I'm getting more and more respect for your Rommel-guy by the minute. Anyone with the patience to fight out in the desert like this for three years deserves a medal."

"They deserve a whole rack of medals, if you ask me," Caesar concurred and brushed her sleeve against her forehead, trying to clear away the sweat, but to little avail. Erwin was about to join in with her own agreement, but a new call over the radio cut her off before she could even begin.

"This is Phoenix. All tanks... full retreat." Maho's voice was distant and distracted, bordering on terrified as it sounded across the airwaves, but Erwin's growing frustration at the situation she was in made her not very interested in the particulars of Maho's message.