"There must be some mistake."

Maki holds her tongue. Thinks scathingly, That's what I want to say. But even she knows better, knows that this isn't the time or the place and it likely never will be, considering where she is and who she's become.

Been forced to become.

She hands the blue-haired woman a slip of paper.

Umi reads it once, then again, and she clearly isn't happy. She frowns at Maki, and Maki almost bristles defensively until she realizes that the commander's eyes are too dead for the look to be called a glare.

"They sent a kid as a replacement," Umi says dully. She folds the paper and tucks it into the pocket of her army jacket. "A kid," she repeats, and she turns her head to look over her shoulder. Maki follows her gaze to the rest of the crew.

A small, orange-haired girl kicks at the dirt uncomfortably. The taller one to her left is staring mindlessly at the sky.

It is the twin-tailed woman who catches Maki's attention. Her arms are folded against her chest and her eyes are lit in a quiet ferocity, staring steadily at the newbie, accusing Maki of some unknown crime.

Maki is speaking before she can stop herself. "I was supposed to be a medic, it's what I was trained for," she tries to explain, and she realizes too late how pathetic she sounds.

"I don't care what you were supposed to be." Umi's voice is clear, her words bare and true. "Whatever it was, you don't need it anymore." She tilts her head and contemplates for a moment.

Maki scowls.

Umi asks, "Have you ever been inside a tank?"

The tank is cold and dark, and when Maki settles into her place she sees the bloodstained floor and gags.

"A medic, was it?" Nico mutters, pulling her jacket tighter around herself despite its already massive size.

Maki bites back a retort. She turns her attention to the rows of shells before her. They glint weakly in the dusty air, a metallic gleam of dirty yellow. It is a dim light, but bright enough to shine in the shadows of the tank. She picks up a shell to gauge its weight, shifting the object awkwardly in her arms when it turns out to be heavier than expected.

She hears a snort and whips her head over just in time to see Nico turn away and lift her jacket's collar so it covers the lower half of her face.

"Is there a problem?" Maki demands.

Nico shrugs, but when Maki irritably shoves the shell back into its place and accidentally knocks over three more in the process, the gunner suddenly snaps, "Don't treat them like that!"

Maki looks at her in surprise and is met with the fiercest glare she's ever known.

Nico's eyes are ablaze and her fury seems to spark around her, a rage undoubtedly caused by Maki but, for whatever reason, is not aimed at her.

Nico is wordless as she inches over and reaches past the rookie to fix the crooked shells. Gentle clinks of metal ring throughout the hatch as she works, and Maki observes a tenderness she hadn't been expecting from the temperamental tanker.

Minutes pass, and the shells are properly in place, but Nico is still at it, adjusting, reordering, the rest of the world forgotten.

Maki leans back and turns away.

The earth explodes and the world is on fire, and Maki doesn't know what she's doing.

She fumbles with the shell, punches it until it finally loads properly. Nico is screaming at her and the tank is rumbling. Umi keeps shrieking commands so loudly that Maki wonders if even the enemy can hear her.

"Clear!" Maki coughs and ignores Nico's scornful finally.

The gunner yells, "On the way!" A deafening boom, and the tank rocks with the recoil.

In the distance, a flash of light. Rin giggles nervously as she steers the way through fallen bodies and flaming ruin.

"Again!" Umi's voice is hoarse, either from the smoke or all her shouting. She ducks to avoid a spray of bullets. "Fire!"

"Maki!" Nico demands, and the newbie bites her tongue and reaches for another shell.

Next to the driver, Honoka lets out a whoop as she shoots a few rounds from the machine gun. She leans her head back, peering over at Maki and commenting, "You're being too slow."

Maki's ears burn. An explosion almost knocks the tank over, but Rin jerks the wheel and the tracks slam safely back to the ground.

"Pay attention to the fucking field, Honoka," Nico growls as though nothing had happened. Honoka sticks out her tongue and turns back, and Nico swivels her glare to Maki. "And seriously, what the fuck's taking you so long? Umi told us to-."

"Fire!" The commander's voice yells again, followed by a dull thud as her hand slaps the top of the tank impatiently.

Maki loads as quickly as she can. "Clear!"

"On the way!" Nico pulls the trigger. Moments later, a far-off rumble sounds. She curses when she fails to see any obvious signs of casualty.

"Aim better, Nico." Umi's voice holds no accusation, only urgency. She orders again, "Fire!"

They camp out for the night.

Inside the tank, Maki hugs her knees to her chest and balls her hands. It helps the trembling a little.

A canteen bumps against her arm, and she glances up to see her commander holding it out in offer. Maki accepts it hesitantly.

"Drink," Umi tells her. "And eat. Stretch your legs before you sleep. Otherwise, your muscles will cramp."

Maki means to respond, but her voice dies in her throat. She simply nods instead.

"Get her to move, too." Umi gestures with her head at the girl curled up on the other side of the tank.

Nico's eyes flick over to them briefly, and then back to the floor. She shrinks further into her jacket. Her hands barely reach out of the sleeves, and her body seems to sink into its largeness. Maki thinks it must be a very warm jacket.

"She hasn't been taking care of herself lately. But the gunner and the loader are a team — I want you two to start acting like it." Umi doesn't wait for a response before disappearing back out the hatch.

Maki uncaps the canteen and tips her head back as she drinks, swallowing each mouthful slowly. She wonders why she's the one who has to take care of her senior.

They walk outside for a bit.

The night air is cold, bracing after the stuffy confinement of the tank. Maki breathes deeply. Nico burrows her face deeper into her jacket's collar.

Umi and Honoka have already retired back inside. Rin has been sprawled out on the tank's front for the past couple of hours, peering endlessly at the starry sky above.

Nico is taking small sips from the canteen, and she persistently stays one step ahead of Maki no matter what the pace. Maki rolls her eyes and follows.

"You need to get faster," Nico states. Her gaze remains fixed on the path before her.

"I know."

"I should be able to fire immediately."

"I know."

"We have to kill them before they kill us." Nico's voice wavers and she quickly bites down on the canteen's mouth.

Maki watches her.

Who was killed before I showed up?

She can't bring herself to ask.

After sixty seconds, Nico lowers the canteen and takes a shaky breath. She demands lowly, "Did you hear me?"

Maki pretends not to hear the strain in her voice. "Yeah. I'll get faster."

It's the middle of the night, and Maki wakes up to the sound of whimpers.

Nico is twitching. She kicks violently, and her fingers claw at the sleeves of her jacket. Her jaws part and a quiet sob escapes. "Nozomi," she chokes, and then bolts up with a cry and outstretched arm.

Maki opens her mouth without a single word to say.

Nico turns to her, and her eyes are brimming with loss and confusion, hurt and fear, a vulnerability Maki had only suspected existed... But then she blinks, and the hardness returns.

Without a word, Nico lies back down, covering her head with the jacket.

Seconds later, Maki does, too.

The muscles in her arms burn, and Maki loads the next shell with gritted teeth and muffled pain.

"Clear!"

"On the way!"

The tank rattles. Red and gray bloom in the horizon.

Honoka lets out a howl of excitement as she fires round after round. Maki is already reloading by the time Umi's command sounds.

"Fire!"

"Clear!"

"On the way!"

Rin carries the tank onwards, charging through enemy fire and dodging around hostile missiles. Maki pushes the next shell in.

"Fire!"

"Clear!"

"On the way!"

Not once does Nico take her eye off the enemy. Maki makes sure she doesn't have to.

"Not bad," the gunner remarks. Her words are almost drowned out by the clatter of the empty shell hitting the floor.

The loader allows herself a single smile before picking up another one.