Chapter 13

As it turned out, the ARVs were nearly finished with the upgrades already. Tùzǐ and Blitz topped off their fuel tanks just in time to greet the newly-upgraded T-60 and Panzer II as they awoke. They quickly outlined the situation that had unfolded while the upgrades were underway. To Tùzǐ's surprise, the other two youngsters were eager to join Blitz's scouting detail even after hearing that they might encounter a tier 10 tank.

"That's how ya know a tank's scout material," Blitz joked. "Tier 2 armor, tier 10 confidence!" She broke into maniacal giggles at Tùzǐ's dumbfounded expression, and Tùzǐ couldn't help but crack a smile of his own.

The team rolled out of the town shortly afterward. The scout detail broke into two groups to cover more branches of the maze of valleys ahead. Sport took the T-60 under his wing, while the Panzer II - who went by the nickname "Twitch" - joined Blitz and Tùzǐ. Both groups were to eliminate enemy scouts if possible, but their main goal was simply to make sure the column didn't run into a fight unawares. If a high-tier bandit appeared, they were to report it and fall back to the rest of the team.

Scouting, Tùzǐ quickly learned, was nerve-racking business. His optics warily flicked from bush to rock to tree, constantly half-expecting to see the sleek outline of the AMX 50 B staring back at him. In a way it was worse than his flight from the Death Star and its minions - at least then his only goal had been staying hidden. This time he was actively searching for hostile tanks.

Hostile tanks, however, proved to be in short supply. After nearly an hour of uneventful travel some of the team's younger tanks had started to excitedly chatter over the radio that they must have given the bandits the slip. Tùzǐ did his best to ignore them and keep his mind on the job, but privately he couldn't help but agree. They had nearly reached the end of the foothills - if the bandits were going to appear, surely they would have done it already.

As they passed through a wide section of valley flanked by high, tree-lined slopes, Twitch suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Do you two hear something?"

Tùzǐ and Blitz stopped beside him and listened, scanning the valley walls. Tùzǐ didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, but Blitz signaled to a nearby thicket of bushes. "Take cover!" she hissed.

The two younger tanks didn't need to be told twice. Once they were hidden in the thicket, Tùzǐ followed Blitz's gaze to a break in the trees on the far slope of the valley. Several moments went by in silence, and then Tùzǐ caught the sound of another tank over the three scouts' own idling engines. A Panzer 1c painted with dull red camouflage crested the ridge at the gap in the trees and began scanning up and down the valley floor.

"Now what?" Twitch whispered. "He'll spot us if we move. Should we shoot him?"

Blitz shook her turret and switched on her radio. "Narida? Bandit scout's got us pinned around the next bend. Hasn't seen us, but we can't move. Left slope, about 300 meters past the corner, break in the treeline."

"Just a moment," Narida answered. Blitz nodded and turned back to watch the bandit. Several seconds passed, then Tùzǐ heard a cannon shot from the corner. Less than a second later an explosion swallowed up the bandit scout, completely obscuring it from view. When the smoke cleared the Panzer was gone, leaving only a smoldering crater where it had stood.

Blitz grinned. "Beautiful. Thanks!" She turned to Twitch. "First rule of bein' a scout: if it looks like a fair fight might happen, don't fight. We had numbers an' surprise, he had high ground an' good cover. That's a bit too fair to risk it. Besides, why fight when we've got a lovely heavy who can just munch him for us?"

The trio broke cover and continued slowly up the valley, back on high alert now that the bandits' presence had been confirmed. A few hundred meters farther along, the valley made another bend and opened out onto rolling, grassy hills.

Blitz peered around the corner and almost immediately reversed back into cover. "They're waitin' for us," she announced into the radio. "That AMX and about a dozen flunkies."

"Another group coming up behind us!" Sport reported. "They know we're here. Retreat's blocked off."

"Scouts, fall back to the column," Narida ordered. "Form up with mediums as a rearguard. Heavies to the front. Artillery, prepare to fire on the AMX as soon as she's lit up."

Tùzǐ, Blitz and Twitch turned and hurried to rejoin the team, weaving between tanks to reach the rear as the column advanced. They reached their positions just as Sport and the T-60 sped into view around the bend in the valley with two bandit Hellcats in hot pursuit.