As soon as you arrived at the base, without a word to the paratroopers who had accompanied you back, you picked up Dolcherr’s body from the back of the tank and sought out the nearest staff officer; a curt demand to know where the casualty collection point was. You didn’t bother thanking him after he told you, and merely departed for it. You laid Dolcherr before the attendants there, and as they coldly laid him into a body bag, you wondered if you should have fallen to your knees, embraced him, done anything. No, he wouldn’t want that.

“Sorry buddy, but if I’m going to take care of Roland and Linda,” you told Dolcherr’s oddly peaceful face, “It’ll be a long time before I catch up. You won’t mind waiting for me a while, right?” With that, you turned, and left back into the cold autumn night. The time for mourning was over. No matter how much you wanted more time, the Luftpanzers were on their way, and you had to meet back up with your officers and crews and get to the drop zone.

Lieutenant Roland Bartholomeu was waiting at the command post with the unit commander Colonel Talmeier, and the second he saw you, he grinned broadly. “Won’t the Judge Above come and smack me down, you made it!” he came forward and embraced you tightly, “I knew you were too tough by half to get killed just because your plane went down in flames! Man, it’s good to have you back.” Bartholomeu looked back at you, then around, “So where’s Dolcherr? He was on your plane, yeah?” His smile faded, “…Something happen to him? What’s with that look?”

>Tell Bartholomeu about Dolcherr’s death. He was Douran’s friend almost as much as you had been, he deserves to know.
>Feelings couldn’t get in the way of the mission. Telling Bartholomeu the truth would only disrupt his focus on the task at hand, and those to come. For now, he’d have to be told a lie; that Dolcherr was currently missing and that you didn’t know where he was.
>Other?

------
Last thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2813651/
Past Threads Archive Pastebin (Luftpanzer is at the top, currently only thread 1 of course): https://pastebin.com/UagT0hnh

>>2853556
>>Tell Bartholomeu about Dolcherr’s death. He was Douran’s friend almost as much as you had been, he deserves to know.

>>2853556
>>Tell Bartholomeu about Dolcherr’s death. He was Douran’s friend almost as much as you had been, he deserves to know.

>>2853556
>Tell Bartholomeu about Dolcherr’s death. He was Douran’s friend almost as much as you had been, he deserves to know.

>>2853551
>Tell Bartholomeu about Dolcherr’s death. He was Douran’s friend almost as much as you had been, he deserves to know.

>>2853556
>>Tell Bartholomeu about Dolcherr’s death. He was Douran’s friend almost as much as you had been, he deserves to know

“Lieutenant,” you said quietly, gesturing backwards, “Come out here.” Bartholomeu was quiet as you led him out of the command tent, though he must have already known the reason that you’d have to take him outside. “…Staff Sergeant Dolcherr was mortally wounded in the service of the Kaiser. I saw him die. I brought his body here. I’m…sorry.”

Bartholomeu said nothing. He stared straight ahead, then he pushed past you to the wall of a cottage; the lights were out, that particular place apparently not having been commandeered in the battalion’s capture of the village. He leaned against it, his arm in front of his head for a few moments, before he let out a pained exclamation. “Rrgh!” he growled as he slammed his other fist into the wall, let it stay, and then fall. You came up behind him, put a hand on his shoulder, waited for him to turn around, and only took it off when he did.

“I should’ve been there,” Bartholomeu muttered, “It’s happened again. Was around somewhere else dicking about, thinking everything’s fine while my friend’s getting fucking murdered. I’m a real shit heel.”

“There wouldn’t have been anything you could do,” you reassured Bartholomeu. Hypocrite, you thought to yourself, but this wasn’t for your benefit. “He was injured when the plane was struck, captured, and shot fatally afterwards.”

Bartholomeu’s eyes were white fire. “You know who did it?”

“I do. I killed the bastard right after.”

The Lieutenant’s eyes calmed, the corners of his mouth sagged. “Then…there’s that at least. Damn it all, though. I know it’s dumb, but I was sort of hoping…that we’d not have another funeral like Grabb’s…Are we going to tell Linda?”

Would you? “No time for that,” you sidestepped the question, “We aren’t even close to getting out of here. We have to focus on the mission, and surviving.”

“…You’re right.”

“I’m going to go assemble the other officers, the company,” you said, pointing off where you planned to do it, “I’ll give you…some time. Just come around when you’re fine.”

“I’m fine, Captain.” Bartholomeu wasn’t fine. He never had a second face like you had, and the anguish still stained his face, but he insisted on this nevertheless. You simply nodded, then left him. You wouldn’t tell the rest of the officers about Dolcherr’s death; Bartholomeu had a right to know, but it would distract the rest of them. Dolcherr had been a pleasant and popular figure, after all, and he wouldn’t want people being distracted by feeling bad about him; a great many would for a man as him.

“Captain!” one of the paratroopers, Vang, came up to you shortly after you had begun gathering your company. “Err, the tank-“

“It’s yours,” you said quickly, “I don’t care who takes it or does what with it.”

“Well, it’s, uh,” he stuttered, “The girl inside…she’s coming around.”

Maybe it was because you’d rescued her that you felt a responsibility towards her well-being. Maybe it was because she might know something that could help you unravel the mystery of how the Revolutionary Army knew you were coming, or maybe you just really, really wanted to talk to a woman, but you found yourself moving back for her as soon as Vang brought the news he did. That woman…she was being held in a shed by a Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelian outpost, and you had scarcely any idea of why they’d be doing that. She had been drugged, as well, but seemingly not abused in any other way. All you really knew about her was her appearance; somewhat ratty, black haired, and narrow. You could potentially recall more, especially considering the finer points of her figure and her complexion, but you’d need a second look.

As you assumed your better self, you decided that that was the reason you were heading to see her.

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“Hrrmff.” Was the first thing she said. She propped herself against a tree, her wavy black bangs falling over one eye, leaving the other exposed. The lamp light was bright enough nearby to notice that it was a dazzling shade of blue. Overall she seemed quite dour, even moreso than she’d been when incoherent; it was hard to tell if she was still feeling the effects of the drug, or if she naturally looked tired and drowsy.

“Well, hello,” you said, striding up with a broad smile, “Are you feeling alright?”

The woman looked at you blankly, then to your uniform, the dark Luftpanzer crew jacket, then to your cap, and the emblem of the Imperial Luftwaffe on it. “…It’s a lovely night to fall in love. Can I have these bonds removed?”

>Start asking questions. You had to know some things as soon as possible. (What ones?)
>Purposely ignore the code phrase and flirt with her. (Can still ask questions after)
>Ask a paratrooper to escort her to Colonel Talmeier; your priority was your company.
>Other?

>>2854422
>>Ask a paratrooper to escort her to Colonel Talmeier; your priority was your company.

>>2854422
>Ask a paratrooper to escort her to Colonel Talmeier; your priority was your company.

The wounds are still too fresh to waifu just now

>>2854422
>>Ask a paratrooper to escort her to Colonel Talmeier; your priority was your company

In another time, you’d try to sweep this woman off her feet, regardless of how little you knew of her, no matter how much her appearance matched your tastes, solely for the adventure of it. In spite of trying to be your other self, though, you still couldn’t quite muster such a desire. It would pass. These feelings were familiar and they had come and gone long ago; not a very kind way to view grief, but sorrow was a particularly cheap and bitter sort of wine. You couldn’t change this quickly, though. The taste of blood was still on your tongue, and not enough had been done to salve the wounds on your soul.

“Vang,” you told the Fallschirmjäger who brought you back here to show you the woman, “Take her to Colonel Talmeier. He’ll want to see her. If she’s using that code phrase, she’s one of the intelligence operatives.”

“I am Owl Three,” the woman said bluntly, “Can I have my bonds removed? Whoever put them on me tied them very tight. It’s not comfortable.”

You had to go attend to your company. The Luftpanzers would be getting dropped soon, and once they did, you had to get them ready to go as quickly as possible. Time would be even more of the essence if the drops went poorly. You’d seen the transport pilots in action; they’d gotten quite a bit of practice obliterating the stocks of Luftpanzer Is and could drop Luftpanzer IIs, your current designated equipment, with a good chance of nothing going wrong. However, that was in ideal conditions; now it was night, with enemy anti-aircraft positions active; the only point in your favor was that the drop sites were taken and that the droning buzz of twin engine long ranged fighter planes kept the skies clear, for now.

“Excuse me? My bonds, if you please?” the woman who claimed to be operative Owl 3 asked after you, “Is this because I didn’t tell you how I felt?”

“Vang, take off her bonds, please.” You sighed.

-----

“Gentlemen,” you said to your officers, saluting Lieutenants Bartholomeu, Covacs, and Fischer. The latter two were confident, standing straight; they remained ignorant of Dolcherr’s death. “All your crews that are combat capable are in attendance?” All three officers answered in the affirmative. “Great. We’ll talk while we walk. The drop site is a nice big clearing to the north, and our transport pilots have been advised on the ideal routes of approach to avoid getting shot up. Since they’ve got to fly low and slow in order to do this job right, let’s hope that the folks under the Duke Di Vitelstadt or whoever don’t mind our guys buzzing them.”

To the north, the Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia had been fighting a faction of Halmeggians who were apparently affiliated with the Duke Di Vitelstadt, whom you had heard was a prominent leader among Halmeggian aristocracy. Their allegiance to the crown was unknown, but as far as you were concerned, the enemy of your enemy was probably your friend. They apparently had mobile, mechanized elements as well; you wondered for a moment if a thought could be given to contacting them. You could always use backup, after all, especially if it turned out opposition between you and the Halmeggian Royal Family that you were meant to rescue was particularly thick.

“Captain,” Covacs raised the first question as you were on your way to the drop site, “The initial plan was to capture the airfield. Once Pelican company lands, we may have the numbers to capture it. Lieutenant Bartholomeu explained that you made this decision, however…is it not too risky?”

“We’re out of time, Covacs,” you explained, “If we couldn’t take that airfield as soon as we dropped it would have been too late. If Raven and Pelican company manage to take it while we’re gone, then that’ll be nice, and we can fly back out.”

“That would be nice, yes,” your pessimistic subordinate muttered. “So long as we don’t take until dawn and enemy aircraft rise with the sun.”

“Then you’ll have to be extra motivated, eh?” you said to Covacs, “What’s wrong, are these Vitelian clowns intimidating?”

“They weren’t supposed to know we were coming,” Covacs said. “Something’s up.”

Dolcherr had had the same sentiment, and he had suspected a traitor, who was working with the Revolutionaries. Though if you brought up Dolcherr… “Maybe they did know we were coming,” you pretended to propose, “Maybe there’s…” No, you stopped yourself. What if you brewed distrust between the men of your unit, between that of your allies? This might be a mystery you would have to take on yourself…

“Maybe there’s what?” Damn, not a thing passed by Covacs.

>Nothing. Forget it, I was rambling.
>I think there’s a traitor among our forces. I don’t know who, but there’s no other way these guys would be prepared for us this way.
>Maybe there was an intelligence leak? Like the Royal Guards HQ was in contact with got caught and gabbed?
>Other?

>>2854678
>>Maybe there was an intelligence leak? Like the Royal Guards HQ was in contact with got caught and gabbed?

>>2854678
>>Maybe there was an intelligence leak? Like the Royal Guards HQ was in contact with got caught and gabbed?

>>2854678
>>Maybe there was an intelligence leak? Like the Royal Guards HQ was in contact with got caught and gabbed?

>>2854678
>Maybe there was an intelligence leak? Like the Royal Guards HQ was in contact with got caught and gabbed?
Our own intel team was grabbed, who knows who else might’ve been captured.

A theory that seemed plausible crossed your mind. What if there was no traitor? What if the Halmeggian Royal Guardsmen that had been informed of your mission had had some of their people captured, or a similar sort of intelligence leak? Dolcherr had been insistent that it was a traitor, but…

“Maybe there was a breach of intel,” you offered, “Perhaps some of the Royal Guards that HQ were in contact got caught maybe, and they gabbed?” It was a decent enough theory, and it avoided having mistrust placed in your allies; that wasn’t something that could be afforded at this point.

“So you’re saying that the castle’s already fallen, and that we’ve failed this mission before we’ve even begun,” Covacs said darkly, “What an encouraging theory.”

“Well, not necessarily-“ you tried to course correct.

“Then we shall have to rescue them,” Fischer said confidently, “Our path is still clear as though we walk through a field in daylight.”

Covacs, and Bartholomeu for that matter, clearly did not share such romantic sentiment, and neither did the troops for that matter. You heard muttering among them, concern, and doubt; they had expected to break through and relieve a castle under siege, not to have to search for the Royal Family, likely among the enemy’s strongest concentrations; if they were alive at all. There would be nothing more demoralizing than breaking through and discovering a mound of noble corpses. For all this to have resulted in nothing…

“No,” you said firmly, “We’ll be able to save them, no matter what’s come of them.” You said this out loud, but it was mostly to yourself. The thought of the blood price paid for this being all for naught was…your façade was split for a moment, and white hot anger peeked out. Merely thinking about the possibility of failure now filled you with a rage so violent that your head began to pound against your skull. “We’ll get them,” you repeated.

While your officers speculated worriedly among themselves, you found yourself calmed by walking back on your theory in your own head. There was a good reason for Dolcherr’s suspicions to be towards a traitor; so far as you knew, the Royal Family and their Guardsmen hadn’t actually been informed of where you would drop, nor when, merely that you were coming. The situation here was too perfect for the Revolutionary Army to have merely guessed; this was hardly the only place in the country that this sort of operation could have been done, and the Luftpanzer Project wasn’t even reported as mobilized. It was hardly top secret, but for anybody to have assumed it would be able to respond rapidly would have been a huge leap. Part of the operation after all had hinged on how the enemy wouldn’t anticipate an attack that didn’t come down right on top of them, as one might have expected otherwise from foot infantry paratroopers without mechanized capabilities.

Then again, some of the Reich’s intelligence agents had been captured. Perhaps they had been tortured, given some sort of truth serum chemical, to make them spill the operation’s plans? That woman, who claimed to be Owl 3, did appear to be drugged, but…how then did the Revolutionary Army find them? They didn’t seem particularly subtle or clever in their workings. Did the supposed traitor rat out the intelligence agents, and was that to find out the plan, or did they already know and were merely working to wipe out all of your prepared advantages?

The important part of it all, though, was that in spite of what you said to your men, for the sake of Dolcherr, you still believed that Castle Delamil, where the Halmeggian Royal Family was holed up, as well as its Royal Guard garrison, still held out. They’d stand their ground for…who knew how long. You weren’t much a praying sort, but the Judge Above knew that you prayed that your tanks would get here soon.

“Here they come.” Bartholomeu said, binoculars in hand and looking to the horizon, as he’d been doing for an uncomfortable while now. The rumble of the five engine planes churning the air around them could be heard from far away; those planes were not the quiet sort. The capacity for heavy airlift came at the cost of being anything close to sophisticated or graceful.

Given the great risk of some of the drops going bad, you knew that all of the available Luftpanzer IIs would be dropped, all eighteen of them that existed (not counting the non-combat prototypes). Hopefully that’d be enough. Hopefully you’d have more than you could crew, and you could leave some back here for not being able to crew them all; after all, the full formation was only meant to use sixteen, with five in three platoons with your own tank being separate, seventeen in a pinch in case you felt like an escort; however, with Dolcherr dead and there being a few missing from the company, you’d probably lack a personal escort, sticking with one of the platoons.

You hadn’t been intending to hold your breath, but you felt faint all of a sudden as the first flights began to lumber downwards, and you heard the drumming of flak fire, perhaps some rifle fire, attempting to interdict these vital transports as they came in, and you realized you hadn’t taken a breath when your head lightened.

>Rolling for Luftpanzer ADR Drop begins now. For the drops of all 18 tanks, I’m going to ask for six sets of 3d100. I won’t demand that these be rolled by all different people, you can do it more than once, but I figure it might be more “fun” this way instead of having 3 6d100.

>The DC for a proper drop will be to roll under 75. Upon failure, depending on the degree of failure, there will be a different result. If the roll fails by less than a degree of ten; ie a 75-84, it will be a missed drop and the plane won’t release the tank, and will fly around to try again. A failure by a degree of ten will be a failed drop, and a failure by a degree of twenty or more will be a major failure. What exactly happens is being kept purposefully vague here, because the failures will be rolled later to determine what brand of failure or major failure it was; what those will be will be revealed when the time comes.

>So with that, I’ll need six sets of 3d100 rolls, DC roll under 75.

Rolled 63, 48, 5 = 116 (3d100)

>>2854878

Rolled 86, 32, 28 = 146 (3d100)

>>2854878

Rolled 20, 55, 22 = 97 (3d100)

>>2854878

Rolled 7, 38, 39 = 84 (3d100)

>>2854878
Tanks from the sky baby!

Rolled 77, 28, 60 = 165 (3d100)

>>2854878

Rolled 88, 73, 46 = 207 (3d100)

>>2854878
Woops

Nice rolls.15 successful,1 retry and no major failures.

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>>2854901
>>2854904
>>2854918
>>2854921
>>2854926
>>2854922
15 out of 18 Tanks not bad people, it seems paratanking works.
>Pic related

Rolled 54 (1d100)

Pretty good rolls. I'll be doing the reroll; if this one fails, though, it won't be able to reroll again; 75+ will be a minor fail.

Anyways for each fail here, I'm going to need a roll on the following chart.

>1-25: Minor deployment failure: the tank's suspension or treads are damaged by harsh impact, or the tank is somehow stuck in terrain by bad deployment. It will be temporarily inoperable until a significant time investment either repairs it or frees it from being stuck.

>26-60: Major deployment failure: The tank is rendered, for the purposes of the mission, disabled, most likely to be scuttled later. The supplies within such as ammunition and fuel are relatively intact, however, and recoverable.

>61-100: Catastrophic deployment failure. The tank is rendered a twisted hulk of steel and aluminium, with all supplies within practically destroyed or unable to be recovered.

I'll be heading to bed, so see you all tomorrow, but until then I'll need two, or potentially three rolls of 1d100 for each failure.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>2854991

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>2854991

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>2854991

>>2855076
Good god, that plane must not have just merely fucked up, it crashed straight into the ground.

>>2855076
>>2855290
Huh, we only needed 2 rolls, but yes if this last plane existed it would have been a plane crash worthy of a tv series or something. Anyway
>>2854996
Good Roll, This tank shouldnt be to hard to recover
>>2854997
This one might need to be disassembled so the enemy cant recover anything unless were able to fix it. We are doing good overall bois

>>2855358
We can leave the spare tank to support the paratroopers since the other tank is a loss. We have the full 16 we need for our company anyway.

The first plane came down, the roar of its engines almost deafening as it descended slowly, as though coming in for a landing towards the lines of flares marking the drop site. Your heart froze a few beats as it blasted overhead, skimming the ground, and watched parachutes catch the wind from the open hatch of the plane, dragging a pallet out, onto which a Luftpanzer II had been loaded. The plane was up and away before the Luftpanzer had stopped sliding across the ground, and you dared to look at the delivered package. It had been a flawless delivery, and your heart regained the confidence to beat once more. A cheer went up; the dust from the landing was not yet settled, yet it was a good sign; a relieving omen that things were going to begin going right. Of course, there were seventeen more panzers to drop, but the first impression here shone more than any of the rest would.

In spite of it being the middle of the night, the transport pilots were really showing their stuff. The entire first wave went spectacularly, save for one that was dropped too late, perhaps not secured to its pallet tightly enough, and it spun around before digging itself into the ground; a crew that went out among others to retrieve the dropped tanks from the landing lanes reported that it had gotten jammed into the dirt, and that several of its treads had been twisted or broken; it would be repairable, but not on the timescale you wanted to work on. It had helpfully slid out of the landing lane, thankfully, because of its late release, so it wouldn’t be in the way. So the second wave came, and all of their payloads were dropped smoothly as well, in spite of some worrying moments. Flying low to the ground in such a massive plane made every little movement seem precarious, but you couldn’t argue with the results as the first combat ADR deployment of Luftpanzers was looking to be going even better than tests had indicated it might proceed.

Of course, the third drop was where a few things went wrong. One of the planes failed to drop their Luftpanzer; it was wobbling on the way in, so you supposed the crew didn’t feel confident releasing the tank. If things were really going bad they would have ditched it and likely destroyed the tank, and you were thankful this didn’t happen. However, the same wasn’t the case for another transport that came in too fast; it dropped its Luftpanzer, and the parachutes failed to slow it down enough as it tore free of its restraint to the pallet and tumbled end over end, sending up a great plume of dust and dirt as it finally stopped, right side up but with its treads a ruined tangle, the turret unseated and its gun bent at an ugly angle; it hadn’t been completely destroyed, but you would guess that it had been far too heavily damaged to be useful. It could at least be salvaged, you supposed.

When the plane that hadn’t dropped came back around, it made up for its earlier botch with a successful ADR deployment, and as it flew away, a set of following planes appeared, higher and faster, to drop workshop crates and optional parts kits; they would be descending somewhere nearby, steadily and slowly, and the Glider Company wouldn’t be far behind this flight either. Unfortunately, you would likely not be able to meet with said troops; the whole point of this drop was to head towards Castle Delamil as quickly as possible, and the company was busily organizing itself into its platoons as crews checked over their tanks, and withdrew what they could out of the disabled tank; the stuck one would be left, potentially to be used by the Fallschirmjäger if they so chose.

In the meantime, you had selected your tank, with your loader and driver. They weren’t close friends, crewing with them as part of a test formation felt like more a job than kinship, but you supposed they’d have to become friends now that you were stuck together in this struggle for life or death. You did at least remember their names; the loader, Corporal Jalsen, and the driver, Corporal Laurence. Beyond that…well, you didn’t interact beyond drills and exercises. You thought that maybe Jalsen was in some kooky eastern cult, where the Holy Orders still held sway in the hearts of the Judge’s faithful, and Laurence didn’t speak much, and when he did it was in an extremely thick Emrean accent. You didn’t particularly care who was from where, but you did understand that many in the Reich had a disdain for those from ethnically Emrean territories.

You’d have some time on the road to get to know them better, perhaps. For now though, you had to get to your vehicle, which had mercifully survived the drop. It was…

>A Luftpanzer II Model 100 “Ein”, named for its one hundred millimeter low velocity “mortar cannon.” Capable of firing a broad variety of munitions, with its standard load being a mix of high explosive shot, white phosphorous “marking” munitions, and shaped charge shot capable of penetrating armor, its fire is imprecise at range but its firepower is devastating. Lacks a coaxial machine gun.
>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.

The model in the OP is an Ein, but don't feel too pressured by that.
Edit: Loader, not Gunner

>>2857674
What kind of enemy are we going to be up against? If we're expecting those tanks from the train to make an appearance, I'll take the 37.

>>2857674
>>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.
Seems better in general. Not a specialist by any means but it'll get the job done.

>>2857674
>>A Luftpanzer II Model 100 “Ein
Company commander's gotta have that making smoke

>>2857761
Marking*

>>2857709
>What kind of enemy are we going to be up against?

Precise information on that is delightfully lacking. Given that Halmeggia, as well as its military, has fractured both along factional lines as well as independent bands with objectives as unknown as their allegiance, as well as the Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia's presence, there really is no general statement to be said about what will definitely be encountered.

However, Halmeggia's armored corps are primarily made up of relatively lightly armed and armored vehicles, little better protected than the Luftpanzers themselves in some cases. The 37mm cannon should be able to combat most of these cases, but your personal knowledge of the Halmeggian armory isn't exactly comprehensive; there may very well be heavier threats that cannot be destroyed with the 37mm cannon, but will be vulnerable to the 100mm's shaped charge shot.

However, you also have three platoons of five, each with a mixed complement of arms, so theoretically you won't have to do without one or the other unless you had an eventuality where you had to go it alone.

>>2857674
>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.

I'd rather we not hinder our accuracy anymore than is necessary if there's the possibility of confronting real armour in the near future, also we need that coax gun, considering the healthy stock of molotovs these revolutionaries are sitting on

>>2857674
>>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.

>>2857674
>>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.

>>2857674
>Luftpanzer II Model 100 “Ein”, named for its one hundred millimeter low velocity “mortar cannon.” Capable of firing a broad variety of munitions, with its standard load being a mix of high explosive shot, white phosphorous “marking” munitions, and shaped charge shot capable of penetrating armor, its fire is imprecise at range but its firepower is devastating. Lacks a coaxial machine gun.

>>2857674
>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.

Coaxial gotta coax. Too many firebombs to feel comfortable about.

>>2857674
>A Luftpanzer II Model 37 “Fuchs”, armed with a thirty seven millimeter anti-tank cannon and a coaxial machine gun. Rather plain in comparison to its brother model, its more conventional armament makes it more capable of combating armored vehicles at range. The two models working in concert can theoretically take on any threat, though as the Model 100 is better suited for fortifications and static positions, the Model 37 is the more capable model for engaging light armor and individual infantry.
Dont think we will be seeing to much fortifications. Self-propelled is fun, but we only need some dudes to out flank us or a tank to outmaneuver us and were boned. Flexibility is better then being a ace at 1 thing here.

Your company command tank was a “Fuchs” model of Luftpanzer II; technically a command variant, though really the only difference was that the radio was more expensive and slightly beefier. You’d had the option of having the ten centimeter gun variant, but as you’d heard advised many times in the past concerning something entirely different, it wasn’t the size, but how you used it. Granted, when a woman’s experience (or self-esteem) was lacking enough, she could be blissfully ignorant of any deficiencies, and perhaps the same could be said for an unprepared and inexperienced enemy as well. In any case, you anticipated that if you had to personally deal with any threats, you’d rather have the more flexible if whippier armament.

To be quickly mounted on your tank by field workshop staff were also electrically fired smoke grenade launchers, capable of instantly obscuring your tank and everything around it in plumes of thick white smoke. There was some risk in these inventions that were so new that only an experimental unit could be found using them currently (though they’d apparently been cleared for proper deployment as well); small arms fire could prematurely detonate these grenades, leaving you without their protection and with them improperly deployed, but the potential boons were speculated to far outweigh such risks.

For now, though, as your company took the final steps towards reorganizing, you took your tank back to the Field HQ to report the issue to Talmeier personally. Could you have used the radio? Why yes, yes you could. However, you were wary of your transmission of the landing’s progress and success reaching the ears of the traitor, potentially, should they have existed…that, and you would have merely been waiting anyways.

-----

“Excellent,” Colonel Talmeier said concerning your news, “A full complement, in spite of the risk. The pilots will have to be commended, greatly. When can your company move out?”

“Ten minutes for final preparations to be finished,” you guessed, “That was all I had to report, really. We don’t happen to have any maps, do we? Or guides? The things we were provided were…well. I’d practically have to head to Castle Delamil based on dead reckoning.”

“There were maps prepared by our intelligence agents,” Colonel Talmeier said, with bitterness in his voice, “However,” he looked over to Owl 3, the woman you had rescued, who was staring blankly at the sight of some staff officers poring over papers. “While information from both operatives Owl 2 and 3 have given us a clearer picture on how events have gone wrong thus far, they were unable to escape with any of their physical intelligence material, including the detailed maps we were meant to be provided. Owl 3!” he said loudly, getting the woman’s attention. She turned, her face still a mask of bemusement, and stood beside the two of you. She was slightly taller than the rather stout Colonel, but still shorter than you, creating an odd descending stair out of all of you. “Owl 2 is with Raven Company, acting as their consultant. As Owl 1 is missing, and your independent operations will require you to have some sort of intelligence agent, I am now assigning you Owl 3, Captain Roth-Vogel.”

You saluted in response. “I understand, Colonel. I will take good care of her.”

Colonel Talmeier cocked an eyebrow. “…Not the response I was expecting. Very well.” He put his hands behind his back. “…Owl 3. Will you be able to act as a guide to Captain Roth-Vogel’s unit, as they make their way to the objective at Castle Delamil?”

“I’d be a poor guide.” Owl 3 said flatly. “I have an idea, though, if the Colonel and Captain will consider it. To the north, there is an armed faction under the leadership of the Duke Di Vitelstadt. He is a leader among the aristocracy, and is well known to have a poor opinion of the government, however,” Owl 3 raised a finger, though her expression still remained at best annoyed. “He was also well known to be a friend to the Royal Family. If we are able to get into contact with them and perhaps reach their territory, they may be willing to provide an escort of sorts, perhaps even military aid.”

“Some radiomen have been isolating signals from varying parties,” Colonel Talmeier added, “We may be able to find the Duke’s channels through this, but we would still need to reach them.”

“Do you have a plan where we don’t need to make a detour?” you asked Owl 3.

“If you were to throw caution to the wind, perhaps,” Owl 3 said disapprovingly, “Then you could draft potential deserters or militiamen to your cause. Not all army and police units decided to join with a side, and not all civilians decided to simply lie down and do nothing. Self-protection communities have sprouted up, and strong personalities were being seen and heard to draw people to them, maybe to make their own bid for power, or to create some semblance of order. Ignorant of the Kaiser’s sympathies, his mission, and likely of precisely what the Reich’s troops look like, they’ll see us as the foreign invaders that we are without a local escort. So they will probably fight, even if they would have a positive opinion of us otherwise, and if you were to force their help after defeating them, even if they were sympathetic before, then they may not remain such afterwards.”

“Say that we tried to negotiate, saw them ahead of time and advanced under a white flag,” you suggested.

“Then you put your trust in a party that may simple capture you or hold you hostage.” Owl 3 continued to have a terrible critical tone in her voice. “That would hardly be an ideal way for your mission to end, would it not? You have an entire company of armored vehicles. Quite a powerful force for an aspiring warlord to press their claim over the country, or maybe a city, or even just to destroy one enemy they have particular spite for.”

“I don’t see why the Duke couldn’t do something similar,” you challenged sorely, “What if he’d like to be the new king?”

“As a significant player in politics even before the country fell apart, he’ll likely be much easier to contact, and work with,” Owl 3 replied, “Unlike stray vagabonds, he can be properly negotiated with, and since our mission is to rescue his friends, he will be quite likely to offer help. That said, if you think that wouldn’t be worth the time, then my best suggestion is to smash through any opposition that even appears like they might react with hostility, and go by, as you say, dead reckoning.” Though Owl 3’s words weren’t disapproving of such an idea, her tone certainly was.

“As your part in this mission is of critical importance,” Talmeier interjected, “Whatever plan you go through with, you may request whatever support of the units here that you wish, so long as your requests do not inhibit our ability to hold this position. Otherwise, as the Luftpanzer company and its assault towards Castel Delamil are your responsibility, Captain Roth-Vogel, I will leave it up to you whether or not you wish to garner aid from the Duke Di Vitelstadt. We will be doing our best to contact him and reach a mutual agreement regardless of whether you divert yourself to benefit from such a treaty.”

>I think I’ll be fine without the help of any fancy pants aristocrat. We’re paratroopers, and tankers. I’d like to see if anybody in the world could stop us, let alone the scraps of army and policemen and rebels.
>We’ll find somebody who’ll help us on the way. I’m a charming guy, as you might be able to tell; unless this country’s chock full of complete jerks there’ll be another group that wants to help the Royal Family, surely.
>Alright, I’ll go meet with the Duke’s forces. Just keep me updated on if they’ll approve of me coming for them, I don’t want to run into their guns right after smashing through the Revolutionaries between us and them.
>Other?

Also

>Request certain aid/materiel from Colonel Talmeier. Or don’t, if you don’t want to potentially weaken the paratroopers.

>>2858447
>>Alright, I’ll go meet with the Duke’s forces. Just keep me updated on if they’ll approve of me coming for them, I don’t want to run into their guns right after smashing through the Revolutionaries between us and them.
>Don't bother the paratroopers.Let them focus on taking the airfield.
Also ask the Colonel what went wrong without mentioning we suspect a traitor.

>>2858447

>>2858457
Seconding

>>2858457
Supporting as well

>>2858447
>>We’ll find somebody who’ll help us on the way. I’m a charming guy, as you might be able to tell; unless this country’s chock full of complete jerks there’ll be another group that wants to help the Royal Family, surely.

Elevate the peasants!

>>2858447
>>2858457
Supporting,
Vang, Halzi and other para's need all the help they can get. We on the otherhand are going to need actual mooks who arent going to be too relevant. Lets make this a good one!

“Alrighty then, I’ll go meet with the Duke’s forces, then. Just keep me posted on if they’ll approve of my visit, I don’t want to run into their guns right after smashing through the Revolutionaries between us and them, you know?” You gave an uneasy smirk, “And don’t worry about us, Colonel. The grunts need all the help they can get, far be it from me to take anything from them. If I need anything, I’ll politely ask the Duke Di Vitelstadt for it, and if he doesn’t feel like being compassionate…” You gave a bit of a goofy thumbs up, “Well, if we couldn’t do it anyways, then the Kaiser asked the wrong people to do this!”

Colonel Talmeier smiled slightly at your performance, but the young woman didn’t seem very amused. A shame. Talmeier saluted, and you salted back, keeping your other hand in its pose in a mockery of proper military decorum, though unlike any other time, Talmeier didn’t clear his throat, or forcefully correct your stance. He merely said, “I look forward to the report of your success, Captain.”

“It won’t be long, Colonel. Although…” you lowered your hands, “When you said you had a clearer picture on what went wrong, what did you mean by that? Besides these people having been totally ready for us.”

“Totally prepared would be inaccurate.” Talmeier said, scratching his broad chin, “They were indeed waiting for us, however, this Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia, or at least this contingent of it, either underestimated our abilities or overestimated theirs. Owl 3, if you would explain that.”

Owl 3 sighed, and brushed one side of her bangs back behind her ear, leaving the other rather oddly over her other eye. “Rather than concentrating on eliminating your paratroopers, the RAGV has decided to merely stand in this place and wait for you, taking a passive stance when an active one would have certainly inflicted more damage. However, you are hardly their current focus. The Duke Di Vitelstadt, and what I’ll guess is his allies in the Aristocracy, advanced southwards in force. They had assembled several hours ago, when our outpost was raided and I was captured. Even then, the Revolutionary Army seemed to take exception to this, and devoted the majority of their striking power towards attacking the Duke’s forces. This was…” Owl 3 twisted a long, wave strand of black hair around her finger, before throwing it back over her shoulder. “…Unwise. They appear to believe they hold the initiative over other factions, so judging from their lack of progress, I’d guess their assault was haphazard and depending on the Aristocrats being unprepared. It says something about the political state of Halmeggia before all of this that, evidently, the Duke was completely ready for a fight.”

“That is the extent of our fortune,” Colonel Talmeier said, nodding, “Besides that, the airfield, contrary to reconnaissance, has been heavily garrisoned. That turned out to little affect deployment of Luftpanzers, praise be to the Judge Above for such slight mercy, however, it also means that close support attackers and more reliable aerial resupply is unable to use said airfield, in case it were needed. The only combat aircraft with the range to reach us now are long range heavy fighters. Medium level bombers were not mobilized for us, and the Reichsmarine’s patrol bombers, while possessing the range to come here and return to the Reich, are unlikely to come to our aid with any timeliness. We are near as good as alone. In addition…” Talmeier’s eyes tightened and his mouth curled down, as though he were thinking about how to say his next sentence. “Our networks may not be as secure as thought. Somehow, the Revolutionary Army knew we would come here, and prepared to interdict us. Only their arrogance and our good fortune prevented disaster. However…” the Colonel was being rather vague about all this; did he also suspect a traitor, but refused to outright say it for the same reason you did; to avoid sowing distrust among the ranks?

“When our outpost was raided,” Owl 3 said, “We were able to set fire to most of our sensitive material. Some of it may have been salvaged, though.”

“Or…” Talmeier glared at Owl 3, though he said nothing. You could guess what he may have stated, though; one of the agents could have been coerced to talk. Understandable? Maybe, but it would be no comfort to the Luftpanzer Battalion. Nor would it be to you. Owl 3 didn’t show any discomfort, despite having obviously inferred as much as you had from Talmeier’s expression. Was she confident in her innocence, or uncaring? It had to be from the former, from how easily maintained her bored expression seemed.

“Well, Colonel,” you said lightly, “They messed up, and now we’re here. I’ll bet money nothing stops us at this point, yeah?” You took Owl 3 roughly by her arm and tugged the woman to your side; she almost tumbled over, unready for your sudden departure. “Time’s a wastin’. Let’s mosey, lady.” You gave one last hasty salute to Talmeier, and went back out the front of the cottage command post.

-----

“You didn’t have to do that.” Owl 3 said flatly, still being pulled along, “I am confident that I said nothing to the enemy.”

“The air was getting stuffy in there,” you said, “And we do have to get moving real soon.”

“I was told somewhat of your character, Captain Reinhold Roth-Vogel,” Owl 3 said bluntly, “I’m of the mind that I should be careful around your sort. I hope that this isn’t some move to garner favor from me as justification for uncouth behavior.”

“You wound me, my lady,” you feigned offense, “If I did a favor you certainly don’t seem very appreciative, er…Owl 3?” You shook your head, “I’m sure as hell not calling you Owl 3 for this whole thing. What’s your name?”

“Does it matter?”

“You know my name,” you pointed out, as you caught your tank back in your sight, “It’s a bit unfair for me not to know yours, isn’t it? Especially after I rescued you, and all.”

“Fine. My name. I am Winnifred Von Löwenkreuz.”

Ooo, a noble girl. What a prize. “This work seems a bit dirty for you, milady, no?”

“…Hmph. Maybe.”

“So you have a castle? Manor? Fancy house?”

“I have nothing,” Winnifred said dully, “Not anymore. Such hardly matters, though. Is my living situation relevant to all of this?”

“I’m trying to not see you as some faceless intelligence spook, cookie,” you said haughtily, “I’m more a gentleman than you’ve heard, after all. They teach you not to treat your comrades like crap in the paratroopers, since you never know if the one guy you meet up with after you hit the dirt might be somebody you despise.”
Winnifred said nothing to that. Once you reached your tank and ordered your loitering crew to mount up, though, she asked, “So will I be stuffed inside of this vehicle?”

“Well, honey, even as thin as you are, there’s really no room at all to spare inside a Luftpanzer II. They’re built for maximum weight and space efficiency. You’ll have to sit outside. I’ll lend you my jacket if it gets too chilly for you, alright? Don’t need you poking anybody’s eyes out.”

Winnifred glared at you. “Do you treat all women you meet with such a crass attitude, Captain?”

“Sheesh, just trying to lighten the mood,” you muttered. It was hard enough to try as it was; feeling miserable and letting it show on the outside would only bring everybody down. You had strength enough to wear this mask, as ill-fitting as it might be, but your tolerance for it would wear thin if some refused to smile at it. “Really though, that blouse seems pretty thin for an autumn night. Tell me if you’re uncomfortable, at all.”

Winnifred stared at you with her one showing eye. “I will, then.”

“Gentlemen,” you announced to the company from atop your tank, having come back and seen the formation in proper order, “Our first order of business is to press northwards and link up with a potential ally, a Halmeggian noble by the name of Duke Alfonso Di Vitelstadt! Remember your manners in case you meet up with him or his friends, though, we’re probably going to encounter enemies on the way! I don’t have any clue who we’ll meet, but if you see any of these Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia clowns with the red and yellow armbands or anything like that, then don’t feel the need to show any mercy. They had their chance to get out of the way, now if they’re even a distraction, they’re getting blown away!”

With that preamble out of the way, though, you would have to detail your plan. There were a few different ways you could do this, each one having its ups and downs.

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The easiest way would be to disperse into the open ground to the northwest, where there was unlikely to be much in the way of heavy enemy forces; you could worm your way through enemy lines and likely reach the north with little trouble. Another option was one that could potentially help both the Duke and Colonel Talmeier both; by hugging your side of the river and going north along the small road that appeared to lead up there, you could establish a route between friendly forces, so that you could properly link not only your own command, but the rest of the paratroopers with the potentially friendly Duke’s troops. Alternatively, you had a very flashy idea; the Revolutionaries had been weak the last time you had been over the river, and with the paratroopers holding the bridge, you could easily make your way back over, turn northwards, and burn a trail of destruction through the Revolutionaries and strike their main effort in the rear, both ruining that force and also potentially doing a great favor to the Duke’s men. There was also the possibility of running into some of the missing paratroopers from your shot down plane, as well; the potential for glory was appetizing indeed, but that was also the riskiest plan, as it would involve purposely seeking out a concentration of enemy forces, and also destroying it, before even moving on to the Castle Delamil that was your true objective. The potential boon, though, would be the favor from the Duke gained for such a deed.

Though you’d already decided what you would do long before you stood up on top of your Luftpanzer.

>Take the easiest way; punch through the weakest, most open parts of the lines, and make your way to the Duke as quickly as possible.
>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.
>Victory goes to the bold! Range back across the river and deliver your full vengeance upon those who had offended you from before. Blaze a trail of devastation through the Revolutionaries, strike their main effort in the rear, and in one stroke decapitate their offensive while also likely earning the favor of the Duke; he’d certainly not hesitate to render any aid possible after such a move.
>Other? (If you have an alternate idea, you can ask questions to have a better idea of how to facilitate your other plan.)

>>2860150
>>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.

>>2860150
>>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.

>>2860150
>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.

Time's a wastin'.
If we didn't have to rescue the Royals then I'd say attack across the river.

>>2860150
>>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.

>>2860150
>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.
Not only will we be fast as fuckboi we can help both our allies and "allies?" if we do this right. We need to be more careful since being bold cost us a dear friend [Spoiler]T_T Dolcherr I cry everytime[/Spoiler]

>>2860150
>>Attack down the side of the river; you wanted to help out the paratroopers, and this would do so while not being too arduous a task, as you slipped between the enemy concentrations around the airfield and on the other side of the river.

>>2860150
Far be it from me to go against such a decisive majority but,

>Victory goes to the bold! Range back across the river and deliver your full vengeance upon those who had offended you from before. Blaze a trail of devastation through the Revolutionaries, strike their main effort in the rear, and in one stroke decapitate their offensive while also likely earning the favor of the Duke; he’d certainly not hesitate to render any aid possible after such a move.

I feel like there may be more of a price than we would expect to collaborate with the duke. I feel that taking the price up front in men and material in an attack would be better than parlaying from a position of relative weakness.

>>2861524
Supporting this, if only to be a contrarian asshole at this late stage

Hey guys, so I had something planned to do for this next update, only, the thing I was planning isn't nearly ready as it turns out, so instead of blowing you all off even longer I'll be concocting something messy and less well planned but not so hampered by lack of prepared materials. Sorry for the wait!

>>2862344
Amaze us tanq! And thank you in advance for trying!

You explained your plan in little detail; New Reich doctrine emphasized small scale objectives and tactical flexibility; you’d merely tell your men what sectors of responsibility they’d be responsible for, and what the ultimate objective would be. The company would attack down the riverside road you’d briefly passed over; from the sound of how the situation was developing, that would open up a route of communication between your unit and the Duke’s potentially friendly, or at the very least not outright hostile, forces.

“Our main objective is a bridge along this road, about sixteen klicks northeast of here,” you said, “That bridge crosses a point on the river that’s supposed to be held by the Duke Di Vitelstadt’s troops, who’ll hopefully think our mission to save the Halmeggian Royal Family’ll be an idea they can get behind. I know, I know, supposed to be and hopefully aren’t what you want to hear right before an offensive, but it’s the best we’ve got. Not like we’d rather sit on our hands, yeah?” You pointed to Covacs, “First platoon’ll have responsibility over the west side of the path and onward. Intel’s not suggesting that there’s any heavy enemy concentrations over the fat lot of nothing that’s out there between here and Delamil, but keep an eye out anyways. Fischer and third platoon’ll be the main effort, as they’ll push straight down the road. Keep an eye out for any enemies looking over the river, but in case you take fire from across there, go ahead and peel west. Bartholomeu and second platoon’ll be in the back. Anything pops off from across that river, they’ll take care of it, as well as anybody you might blow past. Make sure to share a bit, yeah? Wouldn’t want second platoon to be left with nothing but smoking ruins to check out after all!”

A few encouraged whoops and hollers rose from your men, though that was hardly out of the ordinary. The demeanor you often took, even if it wasn’t a true reflection of your feelings at this time, never failed to brighten morale. Even Covacs’s skeptical raincloud seemed to let some sunshine in, though Bartholomeu’s face….remained troubled. Maybe he couldn’t ignore that he knew your upbeat tone was fake, but you’d expected such. It was why he would remain firmly in the rear, until he either put his feelings aside or he could prove that he could operate in spite of them.

“Once we get past our picket lines, I want us moving in three-two bounds,” you added, “No moving in blocks like we’re battleships. Rearguard’s an exception, of course. Any questions? Ones that I can answer, Covacs? Alright, swell. Let’s get this thing going, then.”

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After some positioning, and small reconnaissance to ensure nothing big was lurking in your assembly area, you were all ready to move out. This would be a simplistic attack, so far as you could see right now; the likeliest place to have an actual concentration of enemies would be at the bridge that was your objective, though it was possible for others to be lurking around, whether they were taking up defensive positions or probing your own lines. Where would you be though, you thought…all Luftpanzers had radios in them (ADR deployment had risks of damaging said radios, but Luftpanzer I testing had influenced the design of the II in order to reduce the risk of such) so you’d never be out of contact with anybody, but the platoon that you accompanied would have the increase in firepower as well as the benefit of your presence there.

>Go with first platoon; they had the most ground assigned to them, they needed the help.
>Go with third platoon, as the road and your progress down it would be what you needed to pay the most attention to.
>Stay with second platoon. You could trust your officers, but it would also let you keep an eye on Bartholomeu, as he wasn’t looking good…
>Someplace else?

Nasty, nasty delay. I apologize. The part I'm delaying for is actually what I've been working on the longest, ironically- oh well. It'll have its chance to pop up.

>>2862930
>Go with first platoon; they had the most ground assigned to them, they needed the help.
All the choices are appealing, 1st Platoon is guardimg the flank, the main road held by 3rd Platoon and 2nd in the rear "just in case". If we can secure our flanks before hitting the bridge it will be a boon for us since there will be no "SURPRISE PETROL BOMB, ITS NOT A PRANK BRO" kind of shit

>>2862930
>>Go with first platoon; they had the most ground assigned to them, they needed the help.

>>2862930
Go with third platoon, as the road and your progress down it would be what you needed to pay the most attention to. Everything we've seen so far besides the Vitellians searching for downed paratroopers has been associated with the main roads/bridge so that's most likely where the highest concentration of enemy will be.

Also just in case we meet up with Duke forces early we will be right there.

Seeing these 37 and 100s makes me really miss the m/32.

>>2862930
>Go with third platoon, as the road and your progress down it would be what you needed to pay the most attention to.

>>2862930
>>Go with first platoon; they had the most ground assigned to them, they needed the help.

>>2862930
>>Go with third platoon, as the road and your progress down it would be what you needed to pay the most attention to.

>>2862930
>>Go with third platoon, as the road and your progress down it would be what you needed to pay the most attention to.

Much as you would have liked to keep an eye on Bartholomeu, you had to put some faith in his ability to keep it together. So you attached yourself to Fischer’s platoon; if the Duke Di Vitelstadt’s troops happened to push through and meet you in the middle, you would meet them earliest on the roads. In addition, you anticipated the highest concentration of Revolutionaries around the roads, having been led to believe such from your own experience on the other side of the river. Ergo, with your tank’s firepower backing up third platoon, you would have the strength in that tip of the spear to push through whatever you encountered quickly enough for your flank to not have to slow down.

“All platoons, kill your lights, move forward,” you gave your order over the company channel, “Make sure to identify your targets, I don’t want my first words to this Duke to be an apology for shooting his guys. Make sure to be nice to the lady, Lieutenant Bartholomeu. I’m trusting her with you for a good reason, you know?” Owl 3, or rather, Winnifred, couldn’t be made to ride on top of your tank when you were expecting battle. As your designated intelligence asset, it would make you look quite silly if you put her in a place where she could be wounded right off the bat. It couldn’t be helped; maybe you could find a motorcycle or something for her along the way, if she could drive, at least. The Luftpanzer II barely had enough room for you and your crew in it; you would have had to fold her twice in order to cram her in the little space left inside.

As Fischer moved out, leading the 37mm armed half out ahead and leaving the 100mm mortars behind, as per your march orders, you stayed with the big gun tanks. It made things nice and balanced, and you could pay attention to other things besides the unknown front. Although you couldn’t poke out of the cupola very comfortably (apparently the designers saw no need to let one such as yourself stick more than your head above it; it was uncomfortably narrow for your shoulders), you could at least emerge enough to be able to listen to the world around you, instead of being blind and deaf inside the tank. To the west, you heard a skirmish going on, sounding like it was coming from the top of a short hill. You knew there was a paratrooper squad around here, and knew they would be ranging outwards; that hill was probably a good position to take. There was a village somewhere down the road too, you remembered from aerial photographs that formed the rough maps you had; roughly marked as well on this map. If you were going to secure this road, you’d probably have to deal with that, as well. Or perhaps the enemy would be kind enough to cede that ground and withdraw? May as well hope that they just rolled over and died with that line of thought, though, as there was still certainly a battle going on in the direction of the northern bridge; one that included cannons, at that.

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From first platoon’s direction, a red flare suddenly shot up, then an another.

“We’ve made contact with the enemy,” came Covacs’s voice over the radio.

Well, that was fast. “Details?”

“Nothing more than a picket. Our forward element spotted them fleeing, they didn’t stay to fight. Shot those two flares as they ran. They acted strangely. Instead of retreating towards where the village to the north is, they’ve gone east. Towards your path.”

“They’re retreating to the river?” you asked.

“Yes. I’ll guess that means they have friends near there. You’ll have an audience for your poetry, Lieutenant Fischer.”

“Indeed.” Fischer said, apparently having listened in. “A cloud shall descend upon this foe, ‘fore the gale sweeps them away.”

You hoped that he didn’t transmit orders in such a way to his platoon, though you’d been around him enough to know when he was talking about laying down smoke. There was barely enough time to duck down back inside the turret before the booming THOOMP-POW of the mortar cannons belonging to the tanks beside you erupted, their shells passing by their twin section ahead of them and bursting into white flowers on the road ahead, where a thin copse of trees formed a channel; a possible ambush point. They fired once more, one after the other, and another smoke plume rose behind the first set.

“Captain,” Fischer came on again, “I shall take my forward element around the left to attack the enemy from the side, whilst they are either blinded by or focused upon the cloud. I have instructed my heavy element to follow you and your commands directly, if you wish to take any actions whilst I conduct my assault.”

Ah, Fischer. Always one to take the initiative, even if perhaps sometimes it would pay to think more on the matter. What would you do, though? It didn’t seem correct to simply sit and wait for Fischer’s element to finish their attack, did it?

>Remain behind and wait for him to announce contact; then you could charge through the smoke.
>Go to the right while Fisher went to the left; regardless of whether there were enemies at this ideal choke point or not, you’d be coming from either side.
>No, you could sit and wait. What if you were needed elsewhere, after all? You could come when you were requested for aid.
>Other?

>>2864172
>Go to the right while Fisher went to the left; regardless of whether there were enemies at this ideal choke point or not, you’d be coming from either side.

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>>2864172
>Go to the right while Fisher went to the left; regardless of whether there were enemies at this ideal choke point or not, you’d be coming from either side.
Oh boi, here we go

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>>2864172
Also who are the paratroopers on the far left?

>>2864255
One of the squads from Raven Company's 1st platoon, who are covering the north side. They're pretty widely dispersed, as the paratroopers are still rearranging their spots, and will probably do it again when the gliders come down.

>>2864172
>>Go to the right while Fisher went to the left; regardless of whether there were enemies at this ideal choke point or not, you’d be coming from either side.

>>2864172
>Go to the right while Fisher went to the left; regardless of whether there were enemies at this ideal choke point or not, you’d be coming from either side.

Maybe there are mines in the posies i dunno

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>>2864272
Cool, hope they dont fuck up. Meanwhile were going down the Highway with Fischer and Bartolomeu has rear guard makes sure we dont get bodied from behind and 1st Platoon (Tank) goes for the flank and the town thats... here? and the... fields?

>>2864172
>>Go to the right while Fisher went to the left; regardless of whether there were enemies at this ideal choke point or not, you’d be coming from either side.

“Sounds good, Lieutenant,” you told Fischer, “I’ll swing up the right by the riverside and hit whatever’s on the other side from the opposite angle.” You switched to the alternate channel; one designated in the books for exactly this situation, when you would personally take over forces. “Alright, gun wagons, follow my lead.”

You utilized the cover of the smoke as far as you could before you dared going slightly on the downslope towards the river; emerging directly out of the smoke was too predictable a move, after all; best to come out of the side of it at least, and naturally not to immerse yourself in it if you wanted to maintain situational awareness- as well as proper breathing. Yet, through the wisps of smoke, you caught a glimpse of headlights across the river…

“We have solid shot loaded, Jalsen?” you slipped back down into the turret. He nodded. “Alright.” You peered through the gunsight, but the same smoke that protected you also kept you from getting a clear picture on whatever was across the river from you. “Tch. Laurence, turn half right and keep an eye across the river. I want to know if you see so much as a leaf rustling.” Then, into the radio. “Heavy Section, keep an eye out to our two to three o’clock, something pulled off the road across the river. A pair of headlights, at least.” The company net transmission light flickered, so you switched to that instead of waiting for a response from your help. “Send it.”

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“Fischer’s gotten busy,” you heard Lieutenant Covacs say, “He was reporting a lot of contact. Not too well dug in, unknown numbers. I’ve got visual on the farms, and I’m seeing suspicious sorts prowling about. Not Revolutionaries from what I can see.”

“Civilians? Like militia?” you asked, “Revolutionaries’ve got some of those too.”

“No. They don’t look like it. They look like…police, maybe. Leather helmets. They’re in fighting holes, and I’ve spotted an anti-tank gun.”

That was a first, and nothing to joke around about. The most the thickest part of the armor on a Luftpanzer II was meant to take was perhaps a shot from a 25mm light anti-tank cannon, and that was the turret armor, to say nothing of the hull.

“I require aid, Captain!” you heard Fischer come on again, “There are many, and they are using the woods as effective cover to try and approach us.”

Well, no time to think, as usual. Only time to act decisively.

>Gamble on the village garrison not being hostile. Send Covacs to hit the party Fischer is fighting in the flank while you remain where you are and watch for the target across the river.
>Covacs will have to help Fischer, but you can’t risk the village being party to hostiles who could hit you with that gun. Have him destroy said gun before moving to help, while you stayed in position.
>Advance through the smoke and hit the enemy from the other side; Bartholomeu can take over river watch, and the smoke should defend you from the rear, even if you end up quite close to the enemy on the other side of it…
>Before anything else, you had to take out whatever was over the water. Advance out of the smoke proper and get good vision on that possible fire support, you couldn’t let them linger long enough to figure out what the situation was, and you were in proper position to interdict them quickly. Advise Fischer to pull back in the meantime, and for Covacs to help with that, avoiding provoking the village.
>Other? (There’s a lot of ways to take this, after all)

>>2864580
>>Advance through the smoke and hit the enemy from the other side; Bartholomeu can take over river watch, and the smoke should defend you from the rear, even if you end up quite close to the enemy on the other side of it…
I would suggest pulling back since this isn't an ideal situation but it would only give the enemy more time to react to our appearance and there's nothing we can really do besides attack anyway. Better to close with the enemy now and rely on their presumed lack of antitank assets.

>>2864580
>Advance through the smoke and hit the enemy from the other side; Bartholomeu can take over river watch, and the smoke should defend you from the rear, even if you end up quite close to the enemy on the other side of it…
SO MUCH SHIT GOING ON. Well let Bart take over river watch, Covacs needs to make sure not to hangage the town if the Civs arent loading the AT gun. He should pull out of its range at least before we start screwing with it.

>>2864580
>>Advance through the smoke and hit the enemy from the other side; Bartholomeu can take over river watch, and the smoke should defend you from the rear, even if you end up quite close to the enemy on the other side of it…

>>2864669
Wait no, he shouldnt pull back but be ready if they start loading the damn thing.

>>2864580
>Advance through the smoke and hit the enemy from the other side; Bartholomeu can take over river watch, and the smoke should defend you from the rear, even if you end up quite close to the enemy on the other side of it…

>>2864580
>Advance through the smoke and hit the enemy from the other side; Bartholomeu can take over river watch, and the smoke should defend you from the rear, even if you end up quite close to the enemy on the other side of it…
Hey, tanq, how you been?

Update soon! Sorry for the massive delay, don't really have much of an excuse besides general block.

>>2866463
I have been well! Well, besides the general lack of productivity, but I'm hoping at least to make tonight eventful, for what's left of it.

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“Heavy section,” you picked up the radio again and spoke to your attachment, “Your platoon needs our help, so we’re going to turn to the eight o’clock and go through that smoke. That’ll hit the enemy from the other side, should put them off balance. Follow my lead once I turn.” Then, on the company switch, “Maintain your attack, Fischer, I’m coming to help. Bartholomeu, advance to twenty meters or so from the smoke on the road, keep an eye across the river for potential armored threat. Covacs, hold position, and keep an eye on that village. Don’t do anything to provoke them.”

“I strongly object to doing nothing, Captain.” Covacs retorted.

“Whatever you do, don’t piss off that gun, whoever it belongs to,” you told Lieutenant Covacs, “Free reign besides that. Is that all right?”

“I would rather-“

“Captain,” Fischer started to say again.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Covacs, you do you, no time for discussion.” You switched back to platoon net as you gave Lawrence the order to turn about. “All right, as soon as we come out the other side of this smoke, be ready for a hairball. Red lights, fire at everything that moves on two legs. Watch out for guys running at you with bottles, they’re petrol bombs that ignite on breaking. Hit ‘em fast and hit ‘em hard, go!”

By that point, you and the heavy section had turned around and dived into the smoke. The ten centimeter smoke shells were efficient indeed; you didn’t pass through the dense, white, cotton-like clouds as quickly as you thought you would. You were tempted to strap on your gas mask, but thankfully, you passed through the toxic smoke quickly, and the smoke cleared away from the gunsight as you rolled into…utter chaos.

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From the edge of the woods you spied trace rounds bouncing about, the stark light of low-light red headlamps casting long shadows through the trees. More shadows darted from tree to tree; you finally had the chance to better see how the Revolutionaries fought, and it seemed they were well accustomed to fighting like rats in the shadows. Unfortunately, for them, so were Luftpanzer crew. Unfortunately, for you, there were even more Revolutionaries swarming in from the front and right, and to put a cherry on top of that, a set of bright lights coming down the road; definitely vehicles, and from the chugging of engines barely audible over rattling machine gun fire and cannon bursts, most likely tanks.

You had gotten the drop on these guys, at least; you could see alarm on the faces of the Revolutionaries as your bunch must have seemed to dissolve out of the smoke; a flank they had expected to be a front but had been caught too off balance to respond to in their haste to attack Fischer’s section.

A whole line of targets, but altogether too many to take on all at once. You would only have a few moments of surprise, though.

“Jalsen,” you began to address your loader…

>Keep AP Shot loaded
>Load Canister
>Load High Explosive
Also
>Direct targets for yourself and the two tanks attached to you in 3H. Your tank is equipped with a coaxial machine gun which can be used in attacks against infantry and other soft targets.
>The 10cm heavy gun tanks have the following munitions; High Explosive, Smoke (WP), Shaped Charge, and Bursting Fragmentation. You may direct them to load whichever round and fire at a general target.
>Any actions that you wish to take, such as advancing or retreating, may also be specified.

>>2866804
>>Load High Explosive
Fire one round at the infantry+coax then focus on the tanks coming up the road.
10cm tanks also load HE;let's clear out the infantry before they can close in on us.

>>2866804
>Load Canister
If the infantry closest to us is in range of Canister then do that, otherwise high explosive.

Shotgun canister round for us along with the coax.
10 cm to load bursting frag at the infantry as well. Killing them would be great, but getting them to scatter away from Fischer is the ultimate goal.

>Any actions that you wish to take,
Radio everybody about tanks coming down the road.

>Us
Skirt around the infantry to the left and link up with Fischer to turn around to the oncoming tanks and any infantry that don't run.

What I'd like to ultimately do when we get a chance to order the other groups is:
Covacs to advance to the infantry as long as he's outside of the anti-gun range. If he isn't then hold position.
Bartholomeu to be prepared to fire if the tanks pass through the smoke from the road .
More likely that they will advance down the road and try to follow us around the smoke and hit us while we're turning in which case he can dash through the smoke and surprise the tanks in turn.

>>2866804
Can you tell me about the types of rounds and what they do again. I am either not that well versed in these and what they do best.

>>2866848
Canister is basically a big shotgun shell but for a cannon, Smoke (White Phosphorous) lays down thick, heavy, and coincidentally toxic smoke along with a compound that burns the shit out of whatever it touches, producing thick white smoke the whole while. Shaped Charged shells are able to penetrate armor that would otherwise be resistant to other Luftpanzer shells be they 37mm or 100mm, and Bursting Fragmentation sends fast moving splinters of metal all over the place that are really not fun for anything soft within quite a wide radius, even though basic armor protection protects against said splinters and the explosive force sending shards everywhere isn't as heavy as pure high explosive.

High explosive shells blow up and armor piercing shot is solid metal meant to go through armor plate. I figured these would be self evident but it's good to be thorough imo.

>>2866804
>Load Canister fire with Coaxial at infantry in front
>Heavies load Bursting Frag and fire at the area to the left of the Infantry (the Infantry on the left of the one in front of us) and on the right (infantry that is currently in the rear of the read arrows.
>3L Should deal with the Infantry in front of them and not hold back with the coaxial. Procede to join up when those hostiles are down.
IMPORTANT QUESTION: How does Shaped Charge work?

>>2866854
Thanks, dont answer my last question at the end of my post>>2866864, unless you forgot to tell me we can detonate shaped charge from a distance.

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>>2866804
>>2866864
>>2866867
Like follows on my shitty over-drawing because I dont have a Tactile pen.

>>2866804

>>2866838
This, but make fragmentation our alternative instead of HE in the event we aren't in range to use canister shot. If we can minimise any visible explosions from any HE it could keep the approaching vehicles (and that AT gun) unaware of exactly what the infantry in the woods are dealing with until they're right on top of us so they don't come in armour-piercing shells a-blazing

Rolled 52, 33, 43, 16, 34, 18 = 196 (6d100)

“Load canister,” you told Jalsen, who promptly did so. You liked up one unfortunate fire team in the gunsights, who realized just a little too late that their route of approach was no longer safe. A single spread of shot from a 37mm canister shell was unlikely to wipe them all out, certainly, but the rest could be cleaned up with the coaxial. In the final moments that your loader was finishing replacing the shot, you sent an order to the section you had taken over; “Focus your fire to the left. Fischer’s platoon is under some bad pressure, get Frag out there. I’ll protect against close fighters.” A quick switch to Company, “Button up, Fischer, frag’s coming to scratch your noses.”

“Canister loaded,” Jalsen relayed to you.

“Perfect.” You looked back down the gunsights, and the enemy had had time to scatter; an unfortunate side effect of having to command and gun at the same time. They still weren’t out of range for you to reach out and touch them with this munition, though.

As you heard the THOOMP-POW of the mortar cannons beside you, you pulled the trigger with the intent to turn these revolutionaries into mist.

>Roll 2 sets of 2d100. First two are for your canister shot and following coaxial fire: the second two are for your two companion tanks.
>To explain how damage works, it depends on degree of success; ie how many tens you beat the DC by with a roll. Each fire team target is five man sized soft targets, so to wipe one out, you need to hit it with five degrees of success worth of rolling under the target.
>So for your DCs, there’s a DC 60 for the Coaxial first, then a DC 70 for canister; MG can hit up to two, and canister from 37mm is limited to three. The Bursting Fragmentation shot from the 100mms has a DC roll under 90 and no damage limit to soft target units.
Also rolling for Fischer’s combat. They’re firing against small enemies dispersed and skulking through cover, which halves their DC to 30 and the damage potential for their weapons by one, dispersing their fire against all three nearby targets approaching them.

Rolled 41, 43 = 84 (2d100)

>>2866987

Rolled 25, 92 = 117 (2d100)

>>2866987

You watched all but one of the enemy fireteam vanish as you let loose the canister shot, then made the slight adjustment to rake two more with coaxial machine gun fire. One remained, stumbling, running, behind a tree. This was the terror of your war machine; in the hands of an elite fighter, even one panzer could tear a swathe of destruction through the ranks. The best friend of infantry was the ground, and when they were caught out of it, they were shockingly vulnerable.

You heard the report of a ten centimeter fragmentation shell splitting into hundreds of pieces with a sharp CRACK-KOW. If it was on target, then there was no way anything near it lived. An even more terrifying weapon. You’d seen the results of targets and flora that had been ripped to pieces by Bursting Fragmentation shells; you little wanted to see what happened to what poor souls this latest shot had landed in. Curiously, there was no second explosion; a dud, perhaps?

“Captain,” you heard Fischer on the radio, “One of your shots obliterated a group of malcontents. Your aid is appreciated.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you said, stealing a peek in the command cupola while Jalsen loaded. “Jalsen, keep canister coming. Fischer, I’m taking your heavy section directly to you to link up with you. We’ll need your signal lights blinking. Is there more infantry in the way?”

“Assuredly. These men’s confidence betrays such.”

“We’ll keep a watch out. Fischer, try and stay where you are until I get there. Covacs, if you can help without the gun in the village being able to target you-“

“It won’t. I’ve deployed my light section to help you.”

“…Right. Bartholomeu!”

“Canister loaded, sir.” Jalsen said in the midst of the flurry of communications. God damn it, you had too much to do.

“Lieutenant Bartholomeu, do you copy?” you pressed.

“I copy, sir.”

Sir? “There’s vehicle contact coming down the road, not too fast. Platoon sized element from the lights. I want you to be ready to attack them as they come out of our smoke should they advance further down the road.

“Why would they come through the smoke? Covacs asked, presumably from his comfortable position of watching policemen mill about a farm with an antitank gun.

“It’s a way they could maneuver, alright? Bartholomeu, relay my plan!”

“Ambush at the smoke.”

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Rolled 2, 19, 55, 96, 12, 6, 9, 80 = 279 (8d100)

“Good enough. Keep watch over the river as well.” What the hell was up with Roland? He was much slower to respond than normal. All he had to do was wait, though. As for you… You flipped the switch to the platoon frequency. “If you’ve got a shot about ready to go, hold it, and move to the left. Hug the smoke, and curve around the woods, we’re reforming the platoon to our direct ten o’clock, going around the enemy concentration. Go, go!” Back to company. “We’re coming, Fischer.”

“They have renewed their charge with greater ferocity, Captain,” Fischer said, wariness in his voice, “There are more than there were before. They will soon be in-“

The Luftpanzer II ahead of you suddenly flashed its orange signal lights many times in rapid succession on the back of its command cupola. Enemies Close.

Damn. This time, as you looked around, the enemy seemed ready for you. Would you be quick enough to keep them from bombarding you? Could you do anything?

>Keep charging through; Luftpanzers were decently swift, and you could count on it being harder to hit a moving target. Push forward!
>Stop your Luftpanzer, signaling for the one behind you to keep moving; yours was the one most fit for close quarters combat
>A tank was a burden in this situation; disembark with your combat kit, including grenades, and teach these mongrels yourself that a paratrooper hardly needed a tank to dispatch them in the darkness.
>Other?

Fischer continues to fight; first six are his, Covacs's light section is also firing, but on the move with machine guns, reducing their accuracy. However, the enemy is charging Fischer; unless they're wiped, they'll be able to conduct attacks next turn, but as they're leaving cover they will not have their half DC cover bonus, though they still reduce max damage from dispersion and being really close. Thus, 3 for 60 DC MG fire, 3 for DC 70 canister for limit 1 and 2 each, and DC 20 roll under for the last two of Covacs.

>>2867017
>>Stop your Luftpanzer, signaling for the one behind you to keep moving; yours was the one most fit for close quarters combat

>>2867017
>>Stop your Luftpanzer, signaling for the one behind you to keep moving; yours was the one most fit for close quarters combat

>>2867017
>Stop your Luftpanzer, signaling for the one behind you to keep moving; yours was the one most fit for close quarters combat

>>2867017
>Stop your Luftpanzer, signaling for the one behind you to keep moving; yours was the one most fit for close quarters combat

>>2867017
>Keep charging through; Luftpanzers were decently swift, and you could count on it being harder to hit a moving target. Push forward!

You felt around your post for the signal lights buttons, each with a small point of light in the color they lit, one blue, one orange. You signaled Advance to the Luftpanzer behind you; in a time such as this it was far more convenient than sending a radio message. “Driver, halt,” you said over the intercom, “Keep an eye out for any guys coming for us, don’t hesitate to evade if you see something bad right on top of us.”

Even in a night such as this, with the moon and stars bright in the sky, and red lamps preserving night vision, a dark wood was hardly any brighter than normal. Every movement was suspect; though without paratroopers moving about on foot, identification of the enemy could be done with a mere glance and a guess. You couldn’t keep watch on anybody directly at the moment, much as you as a commander needed to be up to date on how a battle like this was going; had it been wise for you, the top of the chain of command for the Luftpanzers, to be isolating yourself? Maybe not, but your ass was the sole one you could ask anybody in good conscience to leave behind. You could only hope your crew felt the same.

“This doesn’t feel like a good idea.” Jalsen said to you, but not over the intercom; Lawrence was, as usual, mum.

“We’ll make it,” you reassured your loader, “If we have to bail I’ll cover you and Lawrence, is that better?”

“Cathedra Deos.” Jalsen muttered, seeming to be scornful.

“En avant! Fo’warde! Came Lawrence’s warning. You looked to the front from the cupola; indeed, a few shadows were daring to move forward. Dropping back down into your seat, you traversed the turret to the left; if you had high explosive loaded, you could have fired behind a tree; canister itself wasn’t particularly effective against tree trunks, though the next time a shadow showed itself at this range they’d learn that the darkness was still not their friend.

>Roll two sets of 1d100 for close combat; one for the canister shot, one for machine gun. DC 40 and 30 for each respectively, as the targets aren’t too visible.
With or after said rolls,
>Maintain position so you can continue firing from a stable platform
>Reverse direction; you’d isolate yourself further, but you might be able to lure the enemies coming after you further away from the rest of the section.
>Press forward; this situation wasn’t ideal and hopefully you’d provided a good distraction.
>Other?

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>2868436

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>2868436

>>2868436
>>Press forward; this situation wasn’t ideal and hopefully you’d provided a good distraction.

>>2868436
>Press forward; this situation wasn’t ideal and hopefully you’d provided a good distraction.

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>2868436
>>2868697

Did you hit anything? It was too dark, too much brush and trees obscuring your field of fire to tell for sure. You didn’t like being uncertain, especially when it was concerning whether or not a Revolutionary with a petrol bomb was skulking up to throw fire over your engine…that thought was growing less and less pleasant by the moment, as you scanned your surroundings and still only saw either flitting shadows, or worse, nothing at all. You saw a bright explosion of flame from Fischer’s direction; from the look of things a petrol bomb that managed to miss its target, thrown from way too far away, and your mind was made up.

“Get us out of here, Lawrence. Follow the others!”

You weren’t even finished giving the order when Lawrence kicked the luftpanzer into gear; man of few words that he was, that was enough to tell you that he hadn’t particularly approved of the situation either. Good for him, he could get you all out of it now.
Suddenly, out in front, a body popped up in front, shuffling forward in the red lamplight, just off of the right of the front, looking about ready to heave his petrol bomb. At your front armor? That wouldn’t harm the tank much. Maybe he was waiting for you to pass? Not much time to decide.

>Evade to the left. You could gain enough speed to leave him in the dust.
>Try to traverse the turret to engage. Hitting while on the move would be difficult, though, especially off road.
>Unlock the hatch; if he was intending on throwing as you passed, you could kick open the hatch and blast him with your submachinegun before he could throw a thing.
>Stop the tank; you could try and get a good high explosive shot around the side and make sure he wasn’t a threat, even if it might leave an opportunity for more attackers to approach.
>Other?

>>2868860
>Unlock the hatch; if he was intending on throwing as you passed, you could kick open the hatch and blast him with your submachinegun before he could throw a thing.
Inb4 someone hs us

>>2868860
>>Unlock the hatch; if he was intending on throwing as you passed, you could kick open the hatch and blast him with your submachinegun before he could throw a thing.

An idea crossed your head. It was probably mad, definitely dangerous, but in all likelihood would be completely unexpected.

“Driver, full speed ahead,” then, to Jalsen, “Might want to duck down a bit,” as you unhooked the turret’s side hatch latch. Neither you nor Jalsen knew each other well, but you had been around one another long enough to respond quickly and decisively, practically taking shelter in whatever nook of the tank he could cram himself lower into. It was something people learned quickly; Linda had said Dolcherr had been so well practiced in responding to your “ideas” that he could preemptively take cover from the extremely rapid development of collateral.

You kept a careful eye on the tree coming up, the fellow hiding behind it, and guessing right when you’d be passing by…you kicked open one of the doors. It swung out, and ever so slightly lit up by the dim light of the interior, your shadow hanging over the Revolutionary, you saw the whites of his eyes widening as your sights passed over him for but a moment.

>Roll up to 3 sets of 1d100, averaged, roll under 50

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>2869037

Rolled 78 (1d100)

You only saw the Vitelian’s head snap back for but a moment, but you knew immediately, for that fraction of a second where the flash of your gun brightened the night, that you had nailed the guy. He wouldn’t be throwing anything at or on your tank. The movement was so quick, so confident, that you were back inside and already closing the hatch as impotent return fire splattered against the armor.
>Enemy DC roll under 10; due to absurd low roll

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Whatever quick pricks had tried to get fire on you were still too slow to catch you. Certainly, their bullets were hitting where there had been an opening, but their aim wasn’t nearly precise enough to catch you while the moment was still there.

“Woo!” you couldn’t help but let out a shout in catharsis.

“Have you ever considered, the Judge and his Earthly Court preserve us, that you belong outside of a panzer?” Jalsen asked irritably.

“Earthly Court? The hell is that supposed to be?” you poked at Jalsen verbally, “A tank’s the only way I can be an ace, baby. Boy, are those fellas pissed.” Bullets continued to ping off of the rear armor as you raced out of the sparse wood, quickly reuniting with the heavy section, Fischer’s light section and his own tank nearby. The burning pool from a missed petrol bomb still lit up his platoon with a hot glow, but from the look of things the intensified assault had been fended off, for now. “Fischer, status?” you asked him over the radio.

“Sure as the tides, another wave approaches,” he reported, “The vehicles you foretold have also turned their lights off; they are preparing to assault us proper.”

“The village is still quiet,” Covacs reported, “Looking at the police people. They’re certainly not making any effort to help or approach. They’re just sitting there, watching.”

“No news.” Bartholomeu reported, “All is clear.”

Well, now that you were all back together, what to do now?

>Pull back north and force any attackers to come over open ground at you; you’d rather not continue being attacked from the woods.
>The enemy must have been off balance, no? Turn all forces inwards and punch through! (Also draws Bartholomeu and 2nd Platoon northwards, and Covacs’ whole force south to put everybody closer)
>Go towards the village. If the police there aren’t making any effort to help what they know must be revolutionaries, maybe you could pass through their territory? Perhaps sway them over?
>Other actions?

>>2869103
>>Pull back north and force any attackers to come over open ground at you; you’d rather not continue being attacked from the woods.

>>2869103
>>Pull back north and force any attackers to come over open ground at you; you’d rather not continue being attacked from the woods.

>>2869103
>Pull back north and force any attackers to come over open ground at you; you’d rather not continue being attacked from the woods.

“First and third platoons, disengage and pull back north. I don’t want us fighting in these woods if we can help it,” you said, “If they want to hurl firebombs at us they can run across open ground and get shot up by machine guns. Second platoon, stay where you are. The armor contacts went away, but I don’t want anything charging down the road and surprising the Fallschirmjäger.”

“Smoke’s fading,” Lieutenant Bartholomeu reported.

“Do whatever with your big guns. If you need to keep up the smoke, then do it. Just keep anything from getting past that road.” You breathed a sigh of relief as you and Fischer’s heavy section linked with his reversing light section, and together with Covacs’s light section you retreated northwards. The enemy coming up didn’t pursue you; they seemed content to hide in the trees, especially after the large amount of casualties inflicted in the skirmish that had just ended.

Finally, you felt comfortable opening the top hatch again and letting yourself out. The fresh night air combined with the fact that, for now, you weren’t getting shot at, gave you a few seconds of bliss before you returned to the task at hand and peered through your binoculars at the place where you’d disengaged with the Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia: nothing. You had expected maybe some movement, more tanks to come up, maybe the tanks from before to come up and probe, but no. Whether it was because the enemy was intimidated by your strength or their objective was only to hole the line, you waited some minutes, and nobody came out to disturb your men, neither to the north nor south.

“Covacs,” you eventually said over the company net, “I’m coming over to your group. I want you to show me that village with the police and the anti-tank gun.” Without waiting for the officer to respond, you disconnected your throat microphone and headset from the radio set, tucked the dangling wire into your jacket pocket, and pushed your way out of the Luftpanzer. It was difficult not to feel invincible with so many of the tanks around, in spite of their short stature. What you’d give to know what the Vitelians had thought of your platoons smacking them around…though it’d been close. You’d lost nobody, as was proper, but it had been closer than you would have liked. Sure, the Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia had a name that indicated a certain level of ideological devotion, but they weren’t defending against invaders…well, invaders to their country at least. Could they think of Halmeggia as part of Greater Vitelia or whatever the hell while there were still plenty of native Halmeggians to object to such? Or was it, you bit your thumbnail as you walked along, a breeze whipping across your face, that they somehow deemed you enough of a threat to their plans to need to eliminate? Did they know what your mission was?

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“Psh,” you turned your head and spat. No, that was paranoia. You weren’t even heading in the direction of Delamil yet. More likely, they’d attacked with such ferocity, perhaps, to try and intimidate you. If that was the case, their fight against the Duke must not have been going well, to trade bodies for time in such a way. The sounds of battle from the north were raging with just as much intensity as earlier, and an even more raucous battle was brewing up to the east, with the telltale sounds of far off guns and the impact of artillery across the river.

“Man,” you said to Covacs as you sauntered over to his platoon, spying him leaning on his tank and smoking a pair of cigarettes, “I’m almost getting the feeling we’re the sideshow here. Point out the farm police and the gun, won’tcha?”

Covacs heaved himself up and pointed you in the direction needed. The farms themselves looked like grain farms, though oddly, they seemed like they’d been planted, and recently.

“What sort of crops do you plant just before winter?” you asked.

“Winter wheat,” Covacs answered, “It sleeps over the winter and sprouts up in the spring.”

“Right,” you looked over the farm fields; you knew where Covacs had pointed out, but you felt compelled to give the whole place a look-see. “Seeing a few of what looks like farmers mixed in there. About two dozen and a half police, you think? That ain’t much.”

“You’re leaving out the gun.” Covacs noted sorely.

It was dark, but there was plenty of moon and starlight, and through binoculars over the open ground you could easily discern the general shape and look of the policemen; useful information for later. Their uniforms seemed to be blue, and they wore dark, close fitting helmets that must have been leather, with ornamental spikes atop them like old helmets from the last century, like the sort that the Kaiser’s Life Guards once wore on parade. They were decently armed with rifles, and had set up dugouts and shallow walls of cover as shoddy fortifications, though they seemed ill concerned with only a few active watchmen at each place. A few of the places bristled with old, round, water cooled machine guns that looked like they were almost as old as you were. The anti-tank gun itself was a typical model; probably not police issue, a 37mm gun that had been housed in a relatively elaborate position; pointed towards your direction, with its gun crew looking outwards. Though there was something funny…

“Lieutenant,” you said, keeping the binoculars to your eyes, “Call me crazy, but…are those boys in blue lookin’ at us?”

“They’ve been watching for a while now,” Covacs didn’t seem very perturbed, “They’ve made no attempt to approach, range us out, or do anything. They’ve pointed their cannon over here and just sat there.”

“Huh.” You let the binoculars down again and looked at Covacs, “Why do you think that is?”

The sallow eyed lieutenant shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly. “Who knows. Maybe they don’t know who we are and are just being careful. Maybe they just want to be left alone. There’s no Revolutionaries in or near there, if anything the Revolutionaries are keeping good and far from those fields.”

“That the case…” you said, contemplating. “Good work Lieutenant. Keep me posted.”

“Difficult to do anything else here at the moment, Captain,” Covacs said as he let his cigarettes fall to the ground, kicking dirt over them as he did so.

You visited Fischer in turn, who had similarly little to report, although what there was had been extended into clearly practiced verse. You excused yourself partway through upon realizing such, and got back to your tank. Colonel Talmeier would probably want an update; and you wanted one from him as well. Once you raised a special mast and got back in, you spun the radio frequency dial to get to the Battalion Command channel, and raised the Colonel.

“Bird Dog Actual? This is Griffon Actual.” You said, “Griffon has encountered a significant enemy concentration while en route to link up with the Duke. We’re keeping in a defensive posture for now. No casualties, light if any damage.”

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“Defensive posture?” Talmeier responded, “Griffon Actual, what are you doing in a defensive posture?”

“Well, it seemed unwise to attempt to force through. The terrain was poor, and there was an unknown but assuredly large amount of enemies.”

“Griffon Actual, I know how you feel, this night in particular,” Talmeier was being oddly…lenient? Nice wasn’t a word that would usually describe him. “All of your men are volunteers. They came here knowing the risks. You should know this is war, men die in wars.”

“Co-er, Bird Dog actual, I-“

“The mission, Captain,” Colonel Talmeier said firmly, “I’m allowing you great freedom in pursuing your objectives, but you cannot misuse said freedom for the detriment of the mission. No more taking up of defensive posture, time and speed is of the essence and you cannot be rendered immobile. I care not what actual you take, so long as it means that you are progressing forward. I order you to leave whatever defensive position you have taken up, immediately, and proceed to the Duke. If the enemy concentration is too much, then go around them.”

“That will leave your north open to a large concentration of Revolutionaries, though.” You pointed out.

“Griffon Actual, Pelican has been released and are on approach. They will arrive shortly.”

You shut up. Pelican was the glider air landing paratrooper company; if they were coming, having been loosed from their tow planes and currently drifting silently towards the drop zone on the westerly wind, then the current woes of the Fallschirmjäger having too much ground to cover would quickly be alleviated.

“Griffon Actual, do trust your fellow commanders, won’t you?” Talmeier said, “I expect to hear prompt report of your success. We have not been able to directly contact the Duke, so be wary of how you initiate your first meeting. Bird Dog Out.”

Well, shit. Colonel Talmeier was riding your ass now; you had to get moving.

>Call the whole unit to the north; maybe the farm police people, whoever they were, would let you pass through.
>Call the whole unit over and prepare an attack on the farm. You couldn’t risk these people being hostile and firing on you or barring you access; they were a lot weaker of a target than the Revolutionaries you were avoiding anyways.
>Dive back into the fray; you couldn’t leave this contingent of RAGV soldiers here, not with a good conscience, though casualties might be inevitable unless you were really lucky…
>Other plans/concerns?

>>2869601
>Call the whole unit to the north; maybe the farm police people, whoever they were, would let you pass through.

A single tank, lights bright, turret facing backwards ( if it can) forward to negotiate.

If the Rags want to just have to road they can have it. Bart should drop some more smoke on the road to make it seem like we are still there. If we try to push through again they will be ready and we will suffer badly.

If the Paratrooper are getting reinforcements they will probably be okay. Regardless we need as many operating tanks as we can for the mission. As bad as it feels we are the priority.

And if the PoPo won't let us through we will have to go over them.

>>2869601
>>Call the whole unit to the north; maybe the farm police people, whoever they were, would let you pass through.

Also ask Owl 3 of she knows who these people in the village are. Probably one of those self-defence groups but see if there's any way to identify their affiliation.

>>2869601
>Call the whole unit to the north; maybe the farm police people, whoever they were, would let you pass through.

>>2869601
>>Call the whole unit to the north; maybe the farm police people, whoever they were, would let you pass through.

>>2869601
>Call the whole unit to the north; maybe the farm police people, whoever they were, would let you pass through.

You decided the best action would be to go along the path of least resistance; the less fighting you had to do, the faster you’d move, and the best way to do that seemed to be to try and gain passage over the farm here. That would let you move around the recently formed Revolutionary concentration and practically make it straight to where the fighting between them and the Duke’s forces was going on.

“Lieutenant Bartholomeu, I want you to deploy smoke shells on the point where cover was first laid down. We’ll feign an offensive with that, but I want you to curve back around to the east, then link back up with us to the north. All platoon leaders, once we’ve all met back up again, we’re going to see if we can pass through this farm. Once we’re all here we can try and negotiate with the garrison guarding it.”

You debated going on ahead with your plan to negotiate passage with the police at the farm while 2nd platoon was on its way up, but you remembered that you had Owl 3 attached to your formation; the odd female agent you’d recovered from enemy territory, and had promptly stuck onto you. Female accompaniment was rarely unappreciated, as far as you were concerned, but Owl 3, or if she’d tolerate being called by her name, Winnifred Von Löwenkreuz, didn’t seem particularly friendly. Some slander about you being anything but the picture of a gentleman. In any case, she was your best readily available source of information about Halmeggia; you had a feeling that these police on the farm might be an independent protection group of the sort you’d heard about, and not interested in factionalism. That could be quite a boon to you, if that were the case; they might let you through in such a case if you promised no harm towards them.

When Bartholomeu arrived, faster than you expected, you found Owl 3 as quickly as you could.

“Hey, honey,” you said to her as she clung to the rear of a Luftpanzer turret, as though the still tank could throw her off; apparently Roland hadn’t deigned to give the lady a smooth ride. “I want to ask you a few questions. Go ahead and come down here, I want to bring you over with me.”

Owl 3 was perhaps too eager to slide off the tank and join you, though she kept a good distance from you. “The mode of transport you’ve given me is hardly ideal.”

You shrugged. “Sorry, babe. Tell me,” you started to step along back to the woods’ edge where the farm could be observed from, “There’s a group of what look like policemen on this farm here. I just want to make sure that I’m right about that, and about who they might be with.” Owl 3 was handed your binoculars and pointed in the right direction. “They’ve got a big gun. That’s not normal for police, right?”

“Those are Halmeggian police, yes, but it wouldn’t be too unusual for them to have that gun, actually,” Owl 3 stated, rattling off information as though rehearsed endlessly, “Some military units were suspected of disloyalty, so their equipment was distributed to the police. The army had to assist the police in recent rioting, as well, so their access to one another’s equipment is to be expected.”

“So we can expect to see some tank with Police written on them?” you asked sarcastically.

“Of course not.”

“Rioting though, huh. What do the Halmeggians have to be so unhappy about?” You asked.

“The ringleaders were suspected to be Vitelian agitators,” Owl 3 said, “Halmeggia has always had a strong alliance with the Reich, but with the formation of the protectorates and the chaos to its east, public sentiment is that the relationship to the Kaiser isn’t what is best for the country any more. Additionally, the Parliament was failing to address the concerns of the people they represented. Important issues such as trespassing by foreign militants over the border and rising food prices were failing to be resolved. Oh, and there was also the matter of aristocratic privileges. There were recent increases in taxation directed at them. They were unhappy, to say the least.”

“Is there anybody who wasn’t pissed at the Parliament?”

“No.” Owl 3 answered flatly. “These people look like normal policemen. Revolutionaries clearly identify themselves using at least an armband, and often have more indicators of whom they’re fighting for. There’s no flags or anything of the sort either to say they’re with another group, and despite the proximity of the Revolutionary Army, they aren’t fighting them. They’re probably a group of policemen who didn’t manage to meet up with any large groups, so they’re staying in that village. Probably agreed to protect the villagers inside from being molested.”

“Molested? Why?” you wondered aloud.

“The Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia is well known for employing forced conscription,” Owl 3 said matter of factly, “That bunch is rather out of the way, otherwise I would think the Revolutionary Army would be more affronted by their presence. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some sort of agreement to not bother each other.”

“An agreement? What a pain in the ass,” you groaned, “I was hoping we could pass through their territory. It’d be a hell of a lot easier than fighting the Vitelians some more.”

“It would be a treaty over not attacking one another, not coming to the aid of the other,” Owl 3 corrected you, “Though I doubt that they would parley with you, if you came to them flaunting your power. The Revolutionary Army isn’t the only opportunistic band of armed brigands roaming the country now, and if you come up to them brandishing arms you might spook them.”

“They’ve been watching us so far, they don’t seem particularly scared.”

“That could change very quickly.”

“Well,” you offered, “I was thinking I’d roll up with the turret turned around, lights full on. It’d be pretty obvious I wouldn’t be coming looking for a fight then, right?”

“I have a better idea,” Owl 3 said without even giving any regards to your plan, “Instead of fighting men advancing on them with a war machine, what if the person you sent to speak with them was somebody who would be the least likely out of you all to be a threat?”

You blinked at Owl 3. “I can’t ask that you do that, can I? You'd be more than a bit at risk.”

Owl 3 frowned even deeper at you than her normally downcast face seemed to do anyways, almost forming a scowl. “It hardly matters if you ask or not, I am going to go do that because it’s the most logical action to take. Or do you doubt that I am capable of negotiation?”

>Fine then, knock yourself out. Don’t need to get so snippy about it.
>All by yourself? Honey, at least let somebody escort you there and back. You don’t want to end up in a shed again, do you?
>I like my idea better, and I think I can go faster in my tank than you can get to them on legs.
>Other?

>>2872932
>>All by yourself? Honey, at least let somebody escort you there and back. You don’t want to end up in a shed again, do you?

>>2872932
>>Fine then, knock yourself out. Don’t need to get so snippy about it.

>>2872932
>Fine then, knock yourself out. Don’t need to get so snippy about it.

>>2872932
>All by yourself? Honey, at least let somebody escort you there and back. You don’t want to end up in a shed again, do you?

>>2872932
>>All by yourself? Honey, at least let somebody escort you there and back. You don’t want to end up in a shed again, do you?

>>2872932
>All by yourself? Honey, at least let somebody escort you there and back. You don’t want to end up in a shed again, do you?

They may want to talk to a Reich soldier as well just in case they don't believe you.

“You’re going all by yourself?” you asked with a smirk, slouching down a bit, “Honey, at least let somebody escort you there and back. You don’t want to end up in a shed again, do you?”

“…and who would be escorting me?”

“Yours truly, of course,” you said, obvious answer that it was.

Winnifred Von Löwenkreuz took a slow, steady breath in, and then let out a long, weary sigh.

“Hon, you’re not nearly the first girl to do that around me, you’re going to have to be a bit more cutting than that. Besides, say you’re with the Kaiser’s folks and they don’t believe you. You are pretty casually dressed, after all. Wouldn’t it be better if you had a soldier of the Reich along with you?”

“Perhaps. Would onlooking sharpshooters from the Revolutionary Army not recognize you, though? And by extension, suspect me?”

You thought on that, then took your cap off and held it in your hands. “Better? Now I’m just some guy in a leather jacket.”

“…It’ll do.” Owl 3 decided, “Come on, then.” She set off at a brisk pace, and you strode in long steps to keep up.

“So how’s your night been?” you asked, barely beyond the trees.

“Is this a proper time for small talk?” Owl 3 replied harshly.

“I don’t see what else there is to do while we’re walking.” You pointed out innocently.

After a short pause, Winnifred bluntly said, “Captain, you are a puzzling man.”

“How nice of you to say.”

“To go from being a soldier in a raging battle to a louse in practically the blink of an eye. I’m uncertain if you’re actually sane.”

“It’s how I stay sane, honeybun.” You almost laughed, “Everybody’s got their way of doing it. Some of us dance in the rain, others,” you tapped her on her slight shoulder, “Already have that raincloud over ‘em all the time, if I’m guessing right.” Another mouth was speaking for another mind. The wretch still huddled in the deep pit of your mind, too weak and morose to take back over, but still resolute enough to demand to be recognized as the real Reinhold, no matter how much you wanted, perhaps needed, to fully become the mask you wore.

Owl 3 made a dismissive grunt. “Is there a point in acting so familiar?”

“We’re comrades, aren’t we?” you asked, as though it should have been obvious. “We could be facing the end of our lives. I think it’s better to find some fun in what could be left on that ticking clock, don’t you?”

Owl 3 slowed, turned her head, and looked over your face. “That smile.”

“Yeah?” Always a winner, you knew it. They could never resist it for long.

“My father had that look,” Owl 3 didn’t seem to be reminiscing positively, though. “When he told me everything would be alright, while he was being arrested. You wear the smile of a condemned man.”

That smirk on your face felt like it was starting to melt off. “Oh. That’s…unfortunate.”

“I am the daughter of a family declared traitor to the throne,” Owl 3 said, level, numb, perhaps. “Does that change anything? Am I still your, as you say, comrade?”

>That’s all in the past, isn’t it? Does anybody really care about that?
>You’re awfully persistent in trying to throw me off your back, aren’t you? I’m just trying to be friendly.
>Well, you’re also a spy that was captured and drugged, and I already knew about that. Yet here I am still. I’m easy to please.
>Other?

>>2873928
>Well, you’re also a spy that was captured and drugged, and I already knew about that. Yet here I am still. I’m easy to please.

>>2873928
>>Well, you’re also a spy that was captured and drugged, and I already knew about that. Yet here I am still. I’m easy to please.

>>2873928
>>You’re awfully persistent in trying to throw me off your back, aren’t you? I’m just trying to be friendly.

>>2873928
>You’re awfully persistent in trying to throw me off your back, aren’t you? I’m just trying to be friendly.

>>2873928
>You’re awfully persistent in trying to throw me off your back, aren’t you? I’m just trying to be friendly.

>>2873928
>>You’re awfully persistent in trying to throw me off your back, aren’t you? I’m just trying to be friendly.
>>Well, you’re also a spy that was captured and drugged, and I already knew about that. Yet here I am still. I’m easy to please.

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“You’re awfully persistent in trying to throw me off your back, aren’t you?” you said, feigning being hurt, “I’m just trying to be friendly.”

“Why?” Owl 3 asked, “Is it because I’m a woman?”

You couldn’t help but snicker at that. “Well, yeah.”

That seemed to catch the disgraced noble off guard. “Hrmph. I suppose you’re honest when it comes to that matter, at least. Though I don’t appreciate my question being ignored. I’ve told you what I am. What do you think of that, from what you can see through the haze of your libido?”

She was really focused on that, huh? It didn’t matter that much, in your opinion, but if the girl was actively pushing for an answer…that was progress. “Wellll,” you started hesitantly, “You’re also a spy, who was captured, and also drugged. When we started talking, I already knew that much. Yet here I am chatting it up anyways. What can I say? I’m easy to please.”

“Perhaps too easy.”

“Are you criticizing my taste, honey?”

Owl 3 lacked any interest in joking with you. “So, do you suspect me, then?”

“Of what?”

“You know what.”

“I actually don’t.”

Owl 3 glanced at you, then looked back away in irritation. “Really. The thought of me compromising important intelligence didn’t occur to you? Especially when you were the victim of the consequences of such?”

You shrugged. “Didn’t you say that you didn’t squeal?”

“Why believe me? Your commanding officer certainly didn’t when I told him. You’ll believe me just because I said so?”

Maybe it was less based on evidence of anything that you believed what she said. Perhaps you needed it to be true. So you simply answered, “Why not?”

Winnifred (could you call her by her name yet, you wondered) said nothing. She merely stared at you sideways, and you looked back at her. She seemed to try and study you, her face ever so slightly strained with a dozen questions being debated in her head. You weren’t particularly fond of awkward silence, though. “Are you cold?” you asked, “It’s pretty chilly tonight.”

“I’m used to it.”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t cold. Are you?”

Owl 3 frowned, said nothing for a few more moments. “I am.” That was all the excuse you needed to take your jacket off and drape it over the girl’s shoulders. “…That isn’t necessary.”

“Indulge me.” You looked back at the policemen ahead; they were about twenty meters away now, still watching you, though while you had been walking another policeman had walked over, rifle in hand, and joined his compatriots in keeping an eye on you. You stretched your arm out and waved at them. “Hey!” you called out, “We’re here to talk a bit, can any of you come over?”

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The Halmeggian police officers seemed to discuss that between themselves momentarily, before one stepped forward of their own initiative. “Wait right there!” he called out, pointing towards you. You didn’t have any intention of going any further forward anyways, so you spread your hands out, as if to say, sure. The man with the rifle and one at the gun remained, while the lone officer approached, steadily, pausing a few times to give you a better look over as he got a better view of you and your companion. In doing so, you also got a better look at what a Halmeggian policeman looked like. His uniform looked identical to the Reich’s standard infantry uniform, though it was blue rather than sienna. The Reich did export equipment to Halmeggia; was this an export or a copy, you idly wondered.

“Hey, buddy,” you said brightly, “I know this girl’s stunning, but there’s no need to be shy.” You could feel Owl 3 smoldering beside you as you said this.

“Who are you?” the policeman demanded. As much as he tried to look intimidating as he did so, the man was not only shorter than you, but his face was a fair bit too small for his head. He looked somebody more at home in a pub than in a war.

>I am Captain Reinhold Roth-Vogel of Kaiser Henrik’s Luftpanzer battalion. We’re here to save the Royal Family, and I want to ask if we can pass through your farm here. Figured it’d be rude to just barge in.
>Just some passers-by, though we’ve got a message for you from the bunch in the woods over there. They say they’re with the Reich, and want to know if they can come through.
>Woah there buddy, where I come from, we introduce ourselves before asking questions. How about you say who you are first?
>Other?

>>2876380
>>Just some passers-by, though we’ve got a message for you from the bunch in the woods over there. They say they’re with the Reich, and want to know if they can come through.

>>2876380
>>Just some passers-by, though we’ve got a message for you from the bunch in the woods over there. They say they’re with the Reich, and want to know if they can come through.

>>2876380
>>Just some passers-by, though we’ve got a message for you from the bunch in the woods over there. They say they’re with the Reich, and want to know if they can come through.

I'm fairly sure this is just us being cheeky, but I don't want to tell them our mission even if we have to tell them where we are from.

Especially that we are enemies of the Vitellians and intend to help what's left of Halmeggia.

>>2876380
>>Other
Let Owl 3 take the lead, she’s the intel specialist

>>2876557
Supporting

>>2876380
>>I am Captain Reinhold Roth-Vogel of Kaiser Henrik’s Luftpanzer battalion. We’re here to save the Royal Family, and I want to ask if we can pass through your farm here. Figured it’d be rude to just barge in.

>>2876557
Supporting this as well.

>>2876557
Soup porting also

Would it be a good idea to reveal your identity, you wondered. Without much in the way of identifying marks on your person to the unenlightened with your cap and belt off, as well as the jacket having been put on Owl 3, you could play yourself off as a local, or a passerby. Then again, perhaps you should exploit the asset you had; Owl 3, after all, was right here, an intelligence specialist, and the one with a much better clue on who was who and what was what. You imagined the very likely scenario where the police officer would ask a question you didn’t know the answer to, which would certainly land you in hot water no matter if these independents were amicable to your mission or not. So you put your hand on the small of Owl 3’s back and pushed her forward slightly in vague suggestion.

“This is Captain Roth-Vogel of the Kaiser’s Air Force,” Owl 3 said.

“Uh,” you coughed, unsure of what the spy was thinking.

“I,” she straightened her posture and put her hand on her chest, “Am Ingrid Von Allessiwise, heir to the Countess Von Allessiwise. You have heard of my family, yes?” Winnifred spoke with a completely different tone; instead of her usual dull and bitter at best way of speaking, she seemed to run over with haughtiness and pride. The accent she adopted to match it was one with a hint of northerly Imperial, almost twangy with Emrean coloring that gave her new voice a unique exoticism, as though she’d arrived from another world.

The noble lady’s alter ego disarmed the Halmeggian officer. Where he once stood ready to draw his stubby sidearm, his stance relaxed some, into one that was more uncertain than cautious. “I’ve, uh, heard of Allessiwise. Up north a ways. What’re you doing down here? Especially, you know, here.”

“I’ve come down to meet with the Duke Di Vitelstadt in my mother’s name,” Owl 3 confidently followed up, “My way was blocked by Revolutionaries, until the Captain’s men aided me. They are in communication with the Duke, and are on a mission to deliver me to his side.”

“You, uh,” the policeman became even more uncertain, “They’re with the Reich? And the Duke? Uh…”

“As I was saying,” Owl 3 cut off the policeman. “The Captain here and his men are escorting me to the Duke, who very much expects me to arrive, unharried. There is a large force of Revolutionaries to the east of here, so we would like to pass through your territory.”

“Well…” the policeman was completely off balance, torn between two choices, “That’s...well, not that easy to-“

“You would draw the ire of the Duke?” Owl 3 challenged, putting her hands on her hips, “You are a brave man if so

“Uhhh,” the policeman fretted, tugging at his belt, “Well, see, I can’t really-“

“Then who can?”

“The captain.”

“Take me to him.” Owl 3’s persona didn’t hesitate, compromise, or tolerate refusal whatsoever, it seemed. You wondered how much of that identity was Winnifred’s actual personality and how much was played up for effect.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh,” the blue uniformed fellow was really squirming now, and he looked to you. “Does he have to-“

“He comes with me, yes.”

“…Alright,” the man deflated, “I…guess you can come to talk with him. I don’t think he’ll like what he hears, though…”

As you trailed behind the man, you whispered over in Owl 3’s ear, “Sheesh, did you have to lean your heel on his balls that hard?” Winnifred merely grunted at that, so you asked the more pertinent question. “Is this Von Allessiwise a real person?”

“Of course she is, as is her daughter. Do you think I would make up an identity from whole cloth?”

“I don’t think that guy knew who Von Allessiwise was either. I’d guess he was just pretending, yeah?”

“The holes in a plan shouldn’t be easy for an enemy to find, Captain.” Owl 3 said dully, still quietly. “I was concerned you would say something that would be difficult to adapt to, at first. You seemed ready to do so.”

“I thought better, and of my lovely assistant.”

“Do not flirt with me in front of these men,” Winnifred said wearily, “Nobility of proper stature is meant to be respected by-“

“I’m flirting with a Von Löwenkreuz, am I not?” you teased, “I don’t see why I can’t flirt with a Von Allessiwise too. Two noble girls for the cost of one. I’m an ace of a lady killer if I’ve bagged two heiresses, no?”

“Do it so that this police captain does not think you a buffoon, then,” Owl 3 advised harshly. “My idea counts on you being an intimidating killer.”

The police officer led you through the farm and village, explaining himself shortly to a few patrols he met on the way. The figures of all of the officers indicated that they were all rather sedentary sorts; all had at either more fat or less meat on them than advisable for a warrior, and you could ever so slightly see in their eyes, their posture, the way they took one step carefully after the other with shoulders slumped, that they were all unready for this conflict, not held here by their own will, but presumably, by that of a leader whose will was mighty enough for all these tired fellows. Presumably, the captain you had heard about. This one wasn’t a Primo; hopefully that meant you wouldn’t have to shoot him.

The two of you were led up into a single story cottage whose first floor rose above the ground, a small patio deck circling the place. The policeman called no warnings or signals, there were no guards, and you could hear a conversation within. A woman who had lost her young son, apparently, and a man inside telling her that it would all be alright.

“Captain Soeli,” the policeman announced with a confidence you thought he’d lost as he led you in. “These people want to meet with you.”

You made your way into the room, and gave this Captain Soeli a look over, him sitting on a stool facing the woman he was hearing out. He was broad of body, and rather heavyset and fat, but the thickness of his arms and hands betrayed that he was no soft wristed pencil pusher. His lips were covered by a coarse, thick black mustache, groomed into neat points at the end, and even in a time like this his uniform was straight, buttons polished and his boots clean. His eyes were so small as to disappear into the shadow of his brow and the bulk of his cheeks, but they were too intense to hide; his look was like that of a hawk in the sky, and he carried himself like he was as invincible in his element as a bird in the clouds.

“Leave them here,” Soeli said as soon as you stroke in, “I will deal with them. M’am, I have more business to attend to. Ask for a Sergeant Pralen, he will help you find your son.” His eyes followed the woman out as she pushed past you, and then settled on you and Owl 3. “I should introduce myself. I am Captan Soeli, with the Santi Arrofini police. My men and I arrived here in the midst of all this chaos to try, despite everything, to uphold order and peace, as is our responsibility, for at least one small place in these trying times. What are you here for?”

Owl 3 began her spiel as she had with the poor officer from earlier, laying out her false identity, and her mission that happened to have the same ultimate goal as your actual one, though it included the fiction of you already being allied to the Duke. Unlike his man, however, the Captain cared little for Winnifred’s façade’s forcefulness. He verbally parried her whenever she tried to press him, and whenever she tried to interrupt, the Captain would demand she stop talking and let him finish his thoughts.

“As I was saying,” he said after the second time that had happened and Owl 3 gave you a look like she thought it unwise to further test the captain. “You would like to pass through, however, I have this town’s welfare to mind after, as well as that of my men. From the combat I was hearing earlier, these men of the Reich are enemies of the Revolutionry Army. I hardly like the bunch, however, I was able to negotiate with them a sort of peace, and thus far they have upheld their promise to me to leave this village as well as my men undisturbed. Were I to let you through our grounds, I believe the Revolutionaries would very much disapprove.”

“The Duke can guarantee you his protection in exchange for this favor,” Owl 3 said.

“I’m sure he would say that,” the police captain said, arms resting in his lap as he leaned forward on his short wooden stool, little eyes piercing into the both of you. “Yet he is not here, and the Revolutionary Army is. I have no doubts whatsoever that they would wipe me, my men, and this village here all out before the Duke Di Vitelstadt could utter the order to aid us. We are allowed to exist because we do not trouble the Revolutionaries, and are at the same time too threatening to try and simply roll over to coerce.” The captain looked only at you next. “Captain of the Kaiser’s men. I understand that you have a mission, but all we wish is to be left in peace. I would ask that you consider that, and do your best to ensure that fighting does not reach this refuge. Is that understandable? Acceptable?”

>’Fraid not. See, there’s not that many of you here, and I really need to get through here fast. The Revolutionaries might not want to fight you, but if you stand in the way I won’t be so hesitant. You can let us through or we’ll roll right over this place.
>If that’s how it is, I won’t force you to let us through, then. I guess we’ll have to take the hard way after all.
>How about this. I’ve got a platoon of tanks I can spare to help you and the villagers here get to our unit down south. That way, you’ll be protected by them and the Revolutionaries can’t get you. Deal? (One platoon will be missing for the next combat, potentially longer. Also state which one to escort.)
>Nah, not acceptable. You aren't doing anything here but putting off being offed by the Revolutionaries sooner or later. How about you help us fight them, and that way you'll be on a winning side?
>Other?

>>2877678
>How about this. I’ve got a platoon of tanks I can spare to help you and the villagers here get to our unit down south. That way, you’ll be protected by them and the Revolutionaries can’t get you. Deal? (One platoon will be missing for the next combat, potentially longer. Also state which one to escort.)
The first

>>2877678
>>How about this. I’ve got a platoon of tanks I can spare to help you and the villagers here get to our unit down south. That way, you’ll be protected by them and the Revolutionaries can’t get you. Deal? (One platoon will be missing for the next combat, potentially longer. Also state which one to escort.)

I'd normally say stick to Winnifred's persona of a hired killer but the Capt doesn't seem to be buying it.

Send Bart with the people, we can link up with him after we've met with the Duke. He hasn't been particularly able in combat terms but he should be able to do this.

I'm sure the Capt will be pissed once he learns that our unit down south isn't staying long but he doesn't have to know that right now.

>>2877678
>>’Fraid not. See, there’s not that many of you here, and I really need to get through here fast. The Revolutionaries might not want to fight you, but if you stand in the way I won’t be so hesitant. You can let us through or we’ll roll right over this place.
He seems to only care about keeping the village safe so I doubt he'll be willing to take the risk of moving everyone south if he thinks he has any choice in the matter. He can choose between possibly pissing off the Revolutionaries or definitely pissing off our armor company. I think it's clear which option is the safer one.

>>2878021
Supporting

>>2878021
+1
>>2878171
Eh, we might need them later on. Say to exfiltrate.

An alternative appeared in your mind. “How about this?” you said as amicably as you could, in contrast to Owl 3’s play (or perhaps not much of a play at all) at rigidity. Maybe an escape would be more favorably received, though it would decrease your combat ability. “I’ve got a platoon of tanks I can spare to help you and the villagers here to get to our main unit down south. We’ve been kicking the Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia all over the place, they can protect you from them just fine. Then the rest of us pass through, everybody’s happy. Can we make a deal on that?”

“You would have these people leave their homes? Become refugees?” the captain asked. “Not all of this place’s people are accounted for anyways. I was just speaking with a woman whose child was missing, how could I in good conscience demand an evacuation without full accountability of our charges?”

“…How long ago did this child go missing?” Owl 3 asked.

“I’m told he left yesterday evening. He has still not returned. His mother is, especially given recent events, justifiably distraught.”

Owl 3, Winnifred, rather, gave you a glance. “What if we were to look for him? I will have the ear of the Duke. Once we reach him and his soldiers come over here, they can be directed especially to keep an eye out. That will be far more eyes than you can muster on your own.”

“Yeah,” you jumped back in, “You’re pretty undermanned, right? We can help you a lot. Besides, once us paratroopers and the Duke meet up, we’ll have the Revolutionaries pushed out lickety split. I bet they won’t have to even spend the night out of their places.”

The captain’s brow creased, and he closed his eyes in thought. “I feel as though this could be a mistake.” He opened his eyes once more, “But I also see little other chance for escape. I will place my trust in the Duke and the Kaiser, then. I beg you not to betray that faith.”

-----

The sacrifice in your manpower would be acceptable for the new speed you’d gain in your movements. A single platoon was certainly worth it. You watched the Captain exit, and as he very briefly shared with you and Winnifred, did his best to prepare an evacuation as subtly as possible, to try and fool any onlooking Revolutionary scouts until the last possible minute. They would be escorted out at the same time the rest of your unit passed on through; if done right, the Revolutionaries would have no chance to react. Meanwhile, you continued to chat with Winnifred on the way back.

“So obviously the stuff with us having an alliance with the Duke already was a convenient lie. Something that’ll probably come true anyways. What about looking for that missing kid?” You asked, “That’s pretty nice of you to offer.”

“It would be a wasted effort.” Winnifred said flatly, with no hesitation. “I would advise not sparing a single moment for any search.”

“Come again?”

“The Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia has no qualms about opportunistic conscription. They hardly limit this to able bodied men.” Owl 3 was as level as usual explaining this, though it was rather ugly news to you. “They are known to use women and children in combat, should the situation demand it, though more often they are used for other duties. I don’t doubt for a moment that this missing child is one of the Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia’s newest recruits.”

“That’s awful.”

“The Revolutionary Army of Greater Vitelia believes their cause to be just enough to excuse it.” Owl 3 had no anger, no sadness, she merely said it how it was. “They are desperate, as well, because back in their main front, they’re losing ground. It’s quite a thing to see what people will do when they think they have no other choice. They’ve almost assuredly come here in a gamble to get a new windfall, to increase their manpower and resources, so that they can push back in their home country.”

“They’re losing, huh?” you said lowly, “So if they’re beaten here, what then? No more Revolutionary Army?”

“I doubt they will be so willing to lay down their arms. So many have died, after all.” Owl 3 put forth, “Your people have undoubtedly taken casualties. It’s a feeling everybody has, to make all of the sacrifice worth it. To not simply lie down and vanish, even if it’s only for the sake of merely inconveniencing the enemy. The Revolutionary Army is a heavily factionalized organization, even if those participating here were beaten, the civil war in Vitelia would likely continue, slow and grinding as ever, and with how broken up it is, it’s even more likely to last longer than it should as every patriot for a new Greater Vitelia will die for their own set of causes on their own.”

“Even if they get the upper hand here though, will the Halmeggians be alright with it? Being dragged into that stupid mess out to the west?” you asked.

“There will be plenty who support them, if they’re properly considered. There’s plenty in Halmeggia who have much, and plenty more who covet that wealth. The relationship between the city folk and the aristocracy is strained in this country, and I know for a fact that the Revolutionary Army intends to break up the possessions of the aristocracy here to both fill their coffers and win the loyalty of the citizenry.”

“Nobody’ll really mind that?” you asked.

“Nobody cared when it happened in the Reich.” Winnifred suddenly seemed downcast. “When Von Hohenholz, Von Alderburgh, all of the nobles who opposed Kaiser Henrik had their plots discovered, and they were moved against preemptively, shortly after Henrik’s coronation, not one person objected to the arrests.” The woman had been wearing your jacket loosely on her shoulders, as you’d first put it on her, but now she was slipping her arms through the sleeves. “There was nothing but praise when their possessions and properties were liquidated, redistributed, because they were traitors and their wealth was used for an economic regrowth, a boom. Everybody forgot those people. They had it coming.” Owl 3 stared straight ahead, her visible eye heavy, “I didn’t think my family deserved to lose everything for the sins of my father, but, well, they were traitors. I suppose I had it coming too, just like the rest of them.” The spy zipped up the jacket, pulled at the sleeves some so her hands didn’t disappear inside the cuffs. “…I never thanked you for giving me your jacket. That was rude of me.”

“Nah, it’s not a problem,” you said hastily, “I do what I do expectin’ nothing. So long as this chill’s being kept off you, I’m good.”

A few silent moments passed. “…I expected you to say at least something about my history,” you couldn’t tell if Owl 3 was appreciative or if she was sulking, “Most who hadn’t already heard of my house tend to not be sympathetic after I summarize the details.”

“Yeah. And?”

“You proposed to negotiate with those people, to offer them help, and apparently you had the idea that you were going to follow through on those promises one way or another. I just…want to know your opinion on my history. Given that you…it seems a sloppy way of putting it, but you seem to be rather distracted by thoughts of doing the right thing, if not the best thing.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” This rather threw you off. This rather prickly woman was suddenly asking you your feelings? No, you thought, she was an intelligence agent. Maybe she was trying to measure you up, to see how flexible you were. To see if she would have to trick you just like she tricked the police captain, perhaps. “You mean to ask if you think the Kaiser and his Reich did the right thing? If throwing your folks in jail and taking all their stuff was the right thing?”

“Yes.”

>I’m a here and now kind of guy, hon. Everything’s going pretty damn well right now, isn’t it? I think everybody got out better from all that, from where I can see. The past’s already happened, may as well accept it and move on with what we got.
>Maybe it wasn’t good, but it’s not like all those guys who got arrested and frisked were planning on doing anything good either, yeah? It’s not nice, but it was justified. They played with fire, and they got burned. If I were you, I’d be mad at my dumbass dad.
>I’m sorry to hear you got crapped all over. That probably wasn’t right, though I know why people wouldn’t sympathize with you. Pretty hard for them to when most people work for their bread and they look up and see people sitting in castles and mansions, but still. Not like you did nothing wrong by having that stuff, right?
>Other?

>>2878903
>>I’m sorry to hear you got crapped all over. That probably wasn’t right, though I know why people wouldn’t sympathize with you. Pretty hard for them to when most people work for their bread and they look up and see people sitting in castles and mansions, but still. Not like you did nothing wrong by having that stuff, right?

>>2878903
I should also add, if there's anything else you want to ask or speak with her about, you can write that in.

>>2878911
Other questions:
-So how long have you been in Halmeggia? (Also how long has it been since the Kaiser cracked down on the nobility?)
- How did the RAGV manage to blow your cover? Do you think there is a traitor?

>>2878911
When are we going to waifu her?

>>2878923
> (Also how long has it been since the Kaiser cracked down on the nobility?)

Well, to be specific, it was certain factions in the nobility, not all of them in general, though it was certainly a decent chunk. As for the time, it happened shortly after he was crowned Kaiser, in 1923, and it's late 1932 now, so it's been nine years since. Answering this here because it's something Reinhold would already know anyways, generally.

>>2878903
>Maybe it wasn’t good, but it’s not like all those guys who got arrested and frisked were planning on doing anything good either, yeah? It’s not nice, but it was justified. They played with fire, and they got burned. If I were you, I’d be mad at my dumbass dad.
>>2878923
Supporting those as well

>>2878903
>>I’m a here and now kind of guy, hon. Everything’s going pretty damn well right now, isn’t it? I think everybody got out better from all that, from where I can see. The past’s already happened, may as well accept it and move on with what we got.

>>2878903
>>Maybe it wasn’t good, but it’s not like all those guys who got arrested and frisked were planning on doing anything good either, yeah? It’s not nice, but it was justified. They played with fire, and they got burned. If I were you, I’d be mad at my dumbass dad.
>>I’m sorry to hear you got crapped all over. That probably wasn’t right, though I know why people wouldn’t sympathize with you. Pretty hard for them to when most people work for their bread and they look up and see people sitting in castles and mansions, but still. Not like you did nothing wrong by having that stuff, right?
A mix of both. Obviously it sucks for her family but her father knew the stakes.

>>2878903
Just noticed also
>Not like you did nothing wrong by having that stuff, right?
This should be "anything" instead of "nothing," of course.

>>2878929
There's nothing stopping you from trying, but she's rather wary of that, it seems.

>>2878903
>Maybe it wasn’t good, but it’s not like all those guys who got arrested and frisked were planning on doing anything good either, yeah? It’s not nice, but it was justified. They played with fire, and they got burned. If I were you, I’d be mad at my dumbass dad.

Your father used your family as a tool for a conspiracy, and the Kaiser responded to it as such. It just makes sense to fully dissasmble a tool that was used against you. Say a machine gun takes up a position in a cottage, the right thing for me to do would be to blow that house to smithereens to protect my men and complete our mission. Long after that mission is done and my men are gone though, the family that lived there has still lost everything. If the world was better homes and families would not have to be used as tools of conflict but we do not live in that world. The best we can do is not be too caught up in only looking at our own interests and help out others when we can.

Man. This wasn’t a subject you had much practice in talking about; Kaiser Henrik was stunningly popular in the Reich, especially Zeiss proper where you lived. He was young, barely older even than you, and beautiful, with a boyish face more fitting for a classical revival sculpture, and long golden brown locks that tumbled off his head like golden fleece; some even directly compared him as such as the Renaissance Kaiser, a practical reincarnation of his ancestor Alexander. Aesthetically striking, cunning as a fox, and extremely generous with his personal wealth, it was difficult to find a person who had anything bad to say about him, especially from young women who properly appreciated his bachelorhood. There were critical voices, no doubt, but they came from circles of society that had lost favor; and the Kaiser let them speak their minds as much as they wanted, letting their theories and assessments of his hidden, apparently unseen true character wash off of his back line rain off a glamorous coat which no filth attached itself to.

Yet Winnifred’s story was such that it considered none of the blinding glamour of the Kaiser’s popularity; merely if what had happened to her in and of itself, was right. You certainly knew of the events that transpired, the conspiracies that had been swiftly defeated by the Kaiser’s trusted confidants and allies in the early days of his reign, just as anybody else did. The trials had been highly publicized, as had been the redistribution of their properties. Your own opinion on the matter itself, though, in relation to this noble woman’s plight?

“Well, maybe it wasn’t good,” you started off trying to be balanced, “but it’s not like all those guys who got arrested and frisked were planning on doing anything good either, yeah? Not nice, but it was justified. They played with fire, and got burned. If I were you, I’d be more pissed at my dumbass dad than anybody else.”

Winnifred’s eye twitched ever so slightly from your jab at her father, as did the corner of her lip, though she remained quiet and attentive, so you continued.

“I certainly wouldn’t appreciate it if my own family knew that I could be hit by collateral damage in their shenanigans but went through with whatever they were doing anyways. Like, say if I had a buddy that cosigned a loan with me before flying the coop. That guy wasn’t really a good friend, right, despite anything that happened before? In that case he was just using me, just like, whether he intended it or not, make no mistake your father was using you, your whole family, when he was throwing his weight around like he did.”

It wasn’t your style, though, to end on that sort of note, especially not towards a girl. You’d learned well enough (the hard way) to avoid women who were into having their daddies shit talked, and judging for Winnifred’s expression, regardless of what she thought of your logic, she didn’t like having her father called trash. Her situation was certainly pitiable, and despite being ruined by the Reich’s judiciaries, here she was still serving. That meant she was deserving of sympathy, no?

That, and you were still wondering if you should oblige your instinctual, nay, your personal warrior’s code, to try and get into this lady’s pants, if only gradually and a little at a time. Your current goal was to see what her other eye was like. Baby steps, after all.

“Though, I’m sorry to hear you got crapped all over. I can’t think of how that would have been right, though I know why people don’t think much about that. It’s hard for them to do that, after all, when so many work for their bread, and they look up to nobility, and see them sitting in castles and mansions eating cake. But it’s not like you did anything wrong yourself just because you were born where you were, yeah?”

“Funny.” Winnifred said dully, “For three years after I would have made a similar comparison of myself to them. I doubt many of those who believed themselves looking up from the bottom know what true hunger and despair is, much less learned it while not yet an adult.”

“Sounds like you need a drink,” you said, trying to grin.

“Don’t assume some progress is a call for haste,” Winnifred chastised you.

Progress, huh? “So long as I help you feel better about things.”

“I have had nine long years to think about things, Captain.” Winnifred said, her face set in a wistful frown, “I merely wanted to know what you thought of it. How much that I think you can trust me.”

“So did I give the right answers? Do I get a prize?”

Winnifred said nothing.

“We’ve got some more time before we get back to business. If there’s anything you want to get off your chest-“

“Captain,” Owl 3 said, “You hardly have to act as though this is the last night of your life.”

“Fine, fine,” you held up your hands defensively, “Business then. How long have you been here in Halmeggia?”

“Classified information.” The agent said immediately, “Long enough. That’s all I can say.”

Drat, you had been counting on being able to ask just about anything, but it seemed like she’d tell you her three sizes before anything she wasn’t cleared to share, from the tone she had taken. “Alright then. Are we allowed to speculate, then? On how the RAGV managed to blow your cover?”

“I would be curious of how they managed that as well,” Owl 3 opened back up, “Because I haven’t a clue. As far as I was concerned, one moment we were safe, then the next we were surrounded. I’m sure you may have perceived by now, the Revolutionary Army lack subtlety, they don’t handle their matters with much finesse. They agitate loudly, in the streets, and force their will with strength of arms and popular discontent. I can share that they are shamefully simple to infiltrate, from reports of our…contacts.”

“And said contacts are?”

“Presumably exposed and dealt with, or unwilling to come to us anymore. Though they were not directly affiliated with the Reich.”

“Do you think they sold you out?” you asked, and then made the wary next step, “Do you think there’s a possibility you had a traitor amongst you?”

“For the first, they would have had nothing to gain from such.” Owl 3 said, still looking straight ahead, “As for a traitor…it is a possibility. I doubt that either Owl 1 nor2 would have any motivation for such, though.” She turned her head slightly, “I suppose I would be quite high on the list of potential suspects, wouldn’t I?”

>Woah there, I didn’t imply anything like that. It was just an idea.
>Yeah. I guess you would be, though you’ve got a rock solid alibi, don’t you?
>Really? How so?
>Say nothing
>Other?

>>2881030
>Yeah. I guess you would be, though you’ve got a rock solid alibi, don’t you?

>>2881030
>>Yeah. I guess you would be, though you’ve got a rock solid alibi, don’t you?

>>2881030
>Yeah. I guess you would be, though you’ve got a rock solid alibi, don’t you?

>>2881030
>Yeah. I guess you would be, though you’ve got a rock solid alibi, don’t you?

Like you said, the revolutionaries seem pretty straightforward with their tactics. If you had sold us out during an interrogation and they had just been keeping you in that shed because it was close by, you would have told us you had been compromised if you were still on our side. If you had told them about us beforehand, I don’t see why you where captured at all. You are smart enough to find a way to get that information to them without risking arrrest if they still get suspicious if you. The last possibility is that there is another party in the mix that you are working with, that’s the only reason I could see you would be here if you sold us out and you were still found in a shed on the side of the road.

>>2881030
>Yeah. I guess you would be, though you’ve got a rock solid alibi, don’t you?

Aight, I wanted to get out another update, but for whatever reason I'm just feeling too wasted to write more within what time the thread's going to likely be alive for, so I'm cutting here. Thanks all for playing/reading, I'll be back around on Saturday evening.