Turtles

Back In Control Part 2

But not the 38t.

It was eerie, how evenly matched the two tanks were going to be, if she remembered the specifications of the Crusader right. Both tanks had the exact same top speed on and off road. Both tanks had the exact same thickness of frontal armor. Or almost the exact same, I doubt the extra millimeter they've got will really matter. The 38t was a meter and a half shorter, ten tons lighter, and with a better power-to-weight ratio, making it much more agile. On the other hand, the Crusader had a much bigger and more powerful gun. All in all, the vehicles themselves were essentially a push.

Which meant it was going to come down to crew skill.

Insert sarcastic comment here, right?

Koume leaned back a little, as the tank reached the spot she'd indicated and Koyama left the road. The jolt as the treads returned to an unpaved surface would've smashed her face into the turret if she hadn't been expecting it. She raised her fingers to the mic at her throat.

"Miho, this is Koume. We've left the road and are entering the ridges now. Expecting to make contact shortly. How are things on your end?"

There was a short pause before Miho replied.

"Looks fine so far, Koume. We're going to set up at point B3," the B, of course, stood for Boko, "and we're good to reach it in about three minutes or so. Saint Gloriana should reach it in about fifteen or so, unless they speed up." Which they probably won't until they get the contact report from their scout. "It's got a sort of low ridge that shields us from the view of anyone coming from the northwest. If Saint Gloriana comes around the corner and they're not expecting us, we'll have them dead to rights. But..."

"Completely exposed to view from these hills?"

"Yes."

Which only reinforced how urgent it was that they killed that Crusader.

"I don't want to put pressure on you guys, Koume..."

"I know," Koume said simply. If Miho had gotten what she'd wanted, she, Koume, Saori, and Hana would likely be on the schoolship, having returned from their trip to the shore earlier in the week and likely not even knowing or caring about this match.

But here they were, and this was what they needed to do to win this match.

"Win this match." Just listen to me. As if we have a chance of winning. And what happened to "having fun", anyway? Are the Council's delusions rubbing off on me? As much as Koume wanted to blame those three for this, though, she knew she couldn't. She knew very well where she'd learned to always think in terms of victory.

"And in any case, we're not the ones with pressure on us, Nishizumi-chan."

The unexpected voice came from her throat mic and from the radio operator's seat simultaneously. Koume looked at Kadotani in surprise. The pigtailed girl had managed to tune the tank's radio into the intercom net of the throat mics.

"I know," Miho replied, sounding both a bit surprised and a bit subdued. "I'm going to do my best, I just hope that-,"

"Miho, you're going to do fine. But that's not what you're talking about, is it, Kadotani?"

"Well, it is to a degree. I'm talking about the Ankou Dance." Kadotani crunched a chip.

"The what?" Koume said.

"The... Anglerfish Dance?" Miho said over the radio. "Saori, why did you just make that noise?"

Saori wasn't the only one who'd made a noise at the mention of the dance, or whatever it was. Behind the gun, Kawashima had made a sort of involuntary whimper. At the tank's controls, Koyama had flinched. Oh, this really can't be good.