Crimson Beetle's Tempest

Vincent paced in his quarters trying to calm himself after the meeting. He received a lot of praises and congratulations but it didn't matter to him. For him, there was no honor in battle. There was only survival between the enemy who were laying their lives to kill him and his squad. He just did what had to be done and yet, the wrong intel got on his nerves. An uninvited visit disturbed his thinking as two men entered his tent.

"I believe that you have performed rather valiantly in Nuval."

"General?"

The person on top of the command chain greeted him and shook his hand. Doug Moriarty took the initiative to visit a highly contested area which would have caused a lot of headache on the part of his advisor team. The charismatic leader wore a peaked cap tightly fitted with field goggles.

"Let's keep things informal, shall we?" He chuckled and looked at the clipboard in is hand "I'll cut straight to the point. The reports about you have been very impressive. Officially, I am here to congratulate you."

"Thank you, sir."

"Unofficially, there is something else." He pulled a chair and sat. "You know, I very much like the way you handle things. I've been hearing so many praises about you from the other commanders."

Kevin Aster, the commander of 1st Platoon nodded.

"As you know, the 1st and 2nd are still not field ready. We do have a logistical problem for parts and other supplies."

"I am fully aware of it."

"And here is my dilemma. We are having problems with getting the full approval of the congress to support our cause. They see our fight as a waste of valuable resources. The President himself is having a hard time since he already announced that he didn't want to take part in Europa."

He immediately understood that the problem was way beyond the General.

"What do you want to say sir?"

"Let's not be hasty now. Just hear me out on this." He paused. "I want you to go back to Vinland and share our heroic story. Spare no details and you'll find our citizens and the congress convinced before you even try. As such, you will be awarded the Medal of Valor and you get to see your family."

The General unconsciously stepped on a landmine. Everyone in the 5th platoon knew that it wasn't a topic to be discussed. Vincent composed himself and made sure to not cross any line. The top brass may be friendly but one wrong move and he could find himself in court martial.

"As glorious as it sounds, I respectfully decline the offer." He pronounced the words slowly. "This is where I am needed and I have no talent in propaganda work, sir. I am sorry but my soldiers need me here."

"Nonsense! This work is just as important. We need to secure the people's trust so that they can change the minds of our politicians which will then provide us with more assets to secure a supply route from here to Vinland. Do you not truly see why I am unable to deploy the entirety of our battalion?"

Kevin hid a smirk by looking the other way. Getting the General to raise his voice was never a good sign. Vincent's blood boiled over the mere presence of his colleague.

"I don't mean to undermine the importance of the job. I am just worried about my men."

"What is this talk about 'my men' and 'my soldiers'? Captain Vincent Crow, I will remind you that all of you are my soldiers, Vin and Pinarian! Everyone! Are we clear on that, soldier?"

"Yes sir!"

Doug, cleared his throat realizing that he pushed too far as well. It was clear as day that he was facing problems greater than anyone could imagine.

"For the mean time, while 1st and 2nd are still unfit for combat, I will have Kevin fill in for you."

"I am deeply honored." Kevin bowed slightly.

Time slowed. He was nearing the edge of his patience. As disabled as Kevin's platoon was, the man himself was unfit to cover his command as well. Kevin Aster and Colin Summers were always opposed to the idea of reorganizing their troops. They liked to maintain their platoon's "purity" by excluding Pinarian soldiers. Their condescension towards locals was a constant conflict in the army.

Emerald Foster of the 3rd, Zack Richards of 4th and him were the only commanders open minded to see the potential of the native soldiers and volunteers for their tactical knowledge of terrain and indomitable will. All three of them working together was the sole reason the Bolan defense line remain unbreached.

"Sir, with all due respect, I urge you to reconsider. Our utmost priority is the report I passed to my superior officer about Captain Aster and Captain Summers failure to include data regarding new enemy units in their report."

"I'm sure everything will be sorted out, but first, let us look at the bigger picture."

Kevin tried to veer the topic back to the propaganda. Before anyone could say another word, Vincent's radio burst out loud.

"Sir, I have eyes on an unidentified tank plowing through our barricade." The scout reported. "There are over ten other units following behind and infantry too."

In the middle of the day, an enemy unit decided to attack and managed to pierce through their blockade. With forces stretched thin and manned by new recruits, it gave the army a hard time to keep Shion forces at bay.

"Is the unidentified unit the 'Kafer'?" Vincent asked.

"No sir, it is a completely different one although I am sure that three of them are present."

Cold sweat was beading on his temples. It was not long ago when they found out a completely new model and another one came out. He was itching to charge through the field but he wouldn't make it in time. Kevin and General Doug faded from his vision as he concentrated on the task ahead.

"Keep your eyes on that tank and describe it to me soldier."

There was no reply. He repeated his orders but the receiver stayed quiet. He dared for a third try but was cut off when the scout answered

"They've got eyes on me. I've been spotted! I need to get out of here."

"Negative! Keep your eyes and-"

"Agggghhhh!"

The line was cut off, his scout's fate was already sealed. He dialled a different frequency holding his breath for his Lieutenants to reply. Cindy answered hastily after a few seconds and sounded like she had a grasp of the situation before even being briefed.

"My squad is almost done with the preparations captain. We are ready to move out in 2 minutes. Over and out!"

"Good!"

His eyes darted at the coordinates of the breach and spotted that Squad 3 was the closest who can stop the rogue unit. He dialled Len's frequency and hoped that they would answer. Failing to stop the advance could break the deadlock and turn the tide to the enemy's favor.

"Squad 3, do you copy?"

There were many things that looked suspicious in the military but none was as bizarre as the recruitment of a child in their ranks. Amy respected her captain and more importantly, her Lieutenant who was keeping the said boy inside a tank for safekeeping.

"Hey Gina, our orders are to scout their numbers. Aren't we going too far ahead?"

"Can you please stop talking to me while I'm doing recon? As long as we do our jobs properly, we get to go back twice as quick."

Amy felt her heart sink being partnered with Gina who never hid the fact that she was reluctant getting along with Vin soldiers. Both of them got along as a group, just not together. A small book she always kept almost fell out of her pocket.

"Why did you bring your diary here in the field, Amy?" Gina asked with a lazy tone. "Boss told us to only bring essentials."

"For your information, this is not a diary. This book contains every victory and points for improvement our squad needs. I shall write something in my daily log as soon as this ends." She peered through her binoculars. "Do you see it?"

A single medium tank, too fast for its size, dashed ahead leaving its companions. As scouts, they were taught on how to recognize enemy units but she could not recognize its features to existing models. The whole body was bold with shining silver, unafraid to be seen. The barrel of its main gun was long unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"We have located enemy unit. There is an unidentified tank moving ahead."

"How long until contact?" Len asked.

"With its current speed, in two minutes."

Formerly a scholar studying in a known university, Amy had a knack for knowledge. The prospect of travelling other countries filled her with excitement. Her research led to applying in the military and being deployed in the frontlines meant that she could further her studies on a firsthand experience. To be able to witness different cultures and their history might give her a clue in her research, the history of the Valkyrurs.

"We need to isolate the lead tank from the main force. I need to see how well our rounds work on it."

"What's our task?"

"Cut off their escape route by giving the illusion of closing the gap they created. It would demoralize them and they would push back for a retreat. Squad 2 will reinforce you and Gina. "

Len was asking for a very risky tactic but her complete faith in him erased all doubt.

"Give them space to run. We only have Black Rose and Squad 2's tank at our disposal. Pelt in a few shots and change location."

"Yes sir."

"Order! Take caution in enemy interception fire!"

Amy found herself scared to advance. Being a soldier instead of a scholar was something she never imagined happening but it was the reality she was in. She held her ragnite necklace, an heirloom passed down in her family, and prayed for safety. It was a ritual she always to steel her nerves.

Both of them ran around different directions while shooting bullets at the enemy to give the impression that more of soldiers were hiding in the forest. The enemy became cautious and their speed greatly decreased. In the best scenario, Amy wanted to be surrounded by her friends in an attack but all of them had their own roles to play. Two shocktroopers were following her and she feared that their tactic might have been exposed but multiple bullets whizzed past her and directly hit the enemy chasing her.

"Len said you might need back up." Charles whispered, hiding in the bushes.

"It would have been nice to arrive earlier."

"No can do. We engaged the enemy tank and didn't even manage to dent it. The Black Rose and the lancers are going to face it so Len had us come here to support you."

Ray and Terry, a soldier and volunteer respectively, had the built to wield an anti-tank lance always often stayed with the Len and Jake as a precaution. Written on her notebook were the specific jobs they each had. She and Gina were the in charge of scouting. Charles and Rosa was the bread and butter of the team, the shocktroopers. Norm, who preferred to stay in one place, was their sniper along with Michael whose job is the engineer. She suddenly shivered at the thought of giving Wool a designation in the future.

"Hey Amy!" Charles called. "This would be easy if we had a Valkyrur at our side."

"Why are we talking about this right now?" she snapped.

"Because it would be easier if someone like that appeared in our side. I haven't met the woman of my life, Amy. There is no way I'm going to die without having a son."

She found herself relax even though her companion was slightly panicking. She was reminded by the tale of the Valkyria who defeated the Darcsens in Europa in order to achieve peace. Charles was right, it would be easy to push Shion back if they had one at their disposal but she was satisfied just having her squad with her. Based on their strategy Norm would already have eyes on the whole field at a vantage point. True to her thoughts, enemy infantry dropped one by one clearing a small portion of their problem.

"Why didn't he send just one lancer to deal with the tanks?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping that they would be able to handle it."

Forming 2 columns of five, ten armored vehicles composed of 3 Assault, 1 Medium and 6 Light tanks moved forward at low speed. There was already a few distance between the border and the vehicles. She was thinking of a way to halt their movement by throwing grenades at the tracks of the lead tanks.

"Don't do it." Charles held her arm. "It's too dangerous.

"This is the best chance we have to attack!"

On the other side, an explosion caught their attention. Rosa threw her grenade but only did little damage to an Assault tank. Amy's worst fear was realized when her friend caught a bullet on her shoulder throwing her back to the bushes.

"Man down! Medic!" Gina yelled.

"Don't stop me Charles! I have to-"

"Order!" a woman commanded from the rear. "Everyone, give it your all and attack!"

Squad 2 had sneaked between the enemy and the breach with the opponent's glowing radiators exposed. Their tank fired a shot that directly hit the weak spot of a light tank that immediately caught on fire. Two lancers fired and eliminated the Assault tank at the head of the column. With the lead and the rear disabled, the whole force became sitting ducks unable to move.

Surviving crew climbed out of their knocked out vehicles and when the thought of the operation was done, the remaining tanks fired at the disabled rear to make way for a retreat. They sacrificed their incapacitated comrades to escape. The horrible sight of humans burning as they flailed helplessly was going to hunt her nightmares. Cindy, commander of Squad 2, personally approached the tortured bodies and ended their pain.

"I can't believe they left just like that? Good thing, Squad 2 came just in time, huh?"

"Yeah…"

Amy looked at the fleeing enemy and caught sight of their allies' placement. A realization came to her as she almost vomited out of disgust. Their timing was too perfect to be called a coincidence.

"I take it back." She held her necklace. "Charles, we were the bait."

"What kind of tank is that? It is definitely not the empire's design."

A single tank of shining crimson raged towards their position. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Len wanted to be cautious by taking the enemy down with a surprise shot at the side but his move proved ineffective with no visible damage. It kept its deep red tone with no scratch at all.

"Len! It was almost a point blank shot and it didn't do anything." Jake's voice was filled with worry. "This looks like bad news!"

"Keep your wits! Every tank has its weakness. We just have to find it."

"We might not get the chance to!"

Jake shifted the lever to veer the tank to the left. The enemy tank had no turret and so it moved its entire body to line its cannon to the Black Rose. They didn't want to test the firepower of the unit but all they could do was pray that their tank could take a hit. With a massive explosion, the enemy fired. Its shell grazed the right side but the impact shook the whole vehicle. Raging like a bull, it raced towards them once again.

"What am I supposed to do at this point?"

"It is a tank destroyer, yes?" Wool asked.

Through the thick of the commotion, Len was forced to take Wool inside the tank. At first, he thought that it was the safest place for him to be but they clearly outclassed in gun, mobility and defense. They were in the brunt of the frontline and there was no place safe. He pushed back the sickening thoughts as his mind searched for solutions.

"Let's try to get intel on this guy?"

"Have you gone crazy, Len?" Jake shouted. "You wanna set Black Rose ablaze? There are a lot of ways to do that without us losing our lives."

"Let's try something new. Ray and Terry, I'll take it attention and aim for the radiator on the rear!"

Both lancers had to change their positions because the enemy was not staying still.

"Len!" Terry called. "Bad news, there's no radiator here in the back and there is something huge on its back."

"Looks like a beetle's horn if you ask me." Ray added.

"Okay. Try firing at its engine."

They fired consecutively and went back to the bushes for cover. They had limited ammunition so it was important for them to save it for critical hits. The enemy took notice of the enemy behind and turned its body to the lancers. The act itself confused Len because it left the enemy exposed. He confirmed that there was an unusual modification in the rear. Curved perfectly like it was sculpted, two horns sprouting from a single curved bar was attached to its rear; its purpose unknown.

Len anticipated the tank to fire blindly on the location of his lancers but it only sat still.

"They are provoking us!" Jake snarled.

"A mistake they will never repeat ever again."

Black Rose's cannon lined to the rear of the enemy tank. Hitting it squarely at their range would immobilize the enemy.

"Not effective…" Wool interjected.

The child's voice was drowned on the loud humming of the tank and the mechanism of their autoloader. It was quite rare to have a tank modified but Len wanted to maximize his infantry by having as little crew in the tank possible.

The Black Rose's 75mm gun fired and connected to its target. Its armor piercing bullet was a direct hit and the enemy was shoved a few meters backward. Dust lifted as the tank skidded on the soil and moved no longer. Jake released an exasperated sigh of relief.

"Confirmed knockout!"

"We can't be too sure. I want to inspect it up close."

Len opened the hatch and attempted to climb out but his hand was pulled back. Wool held on to his jacket tightly.

"It is still alive. I can smell it. Not effective…"

Wool tugged once again at Len's arm. Looking at the boy who displayed a unique sense of smell, he felt his instincts fire up as if something wrong was about to happen. The child hugged his leg awkwardly, causing him to lose his balance and get dragged back inside the tank. Machine gun fire instantly rained on his previous spot as bullets engraved were the opened hatch.

The dust settled revealing an undamaged tank with its commander at the top. Even at a distance, he could see the enemy's ornamental crimson armor made of plates sewn together. He raised his arm and their engine spurred to life. With its rear charging ahead and the metallic horns raised slightly, it crashed on the tanks side and dug itself into the gears to destroy the drive sprocket.

"Let them taste defeat!"

The commander's shout was loud enough to be audible inside the Black Rose. The tank skewered like meat was being lifted as a weightless toy. The gravity inside the tanks shifted and they were pulled to the right side. Len could clearly see the face of the enemy looking straight at his eyes with a wide smile full of bloodlust. His helmet was design with a horn that perfectly resembled the shape of his tank's horn. Len knew at that moment that they were fighting someone out of their league. They were already out of options.

"Fire!" Wool shouted.

The blast from Black Rose's cannon slightly pushed it into the air and was released from the clutches of the beetle horn. The tank fell from the air and fell to the ground with a large crash. Wool turned the turret while the enemy was focused on Len. A visible dent peppered with burn marks was only a few meters away from the position of the commander. Wool fired their last round that closely missed the enemy who was unfazed and kept his arms crossed.

"Interesting." He laughed. "You are interesting! Tell me your name, soldier of Vinland."

"I am Len, commander of Tiger Squad. And who might you be?"

"You have good eyes, Len of Tiger Squad. They are worthy of my introduction."

The commander removed his bulky helmet to show his true appearance. His dark hair was tied to a bun in the rear center of the head with his face sculpted with sharp features, an expression that demanded respect and authority.

"It is me, Ryu Shiroyama, Commander General of Shion 2nd Armored Division. This has been an enlightening duel, is it not?"

"I have no time to ponder on the philosophy of this fight! Remember this, we will make you pay for everything you have done to this country!"

"Such courage for an immobile tank lost in the glory of our heated battle." Ryu paused. "Your vehicle has fought with honor against my Kabuto and that is something that I can respect."

Len clenched his fist and swallowed his pride. Ryu never took him seriously from the start since they never really stood a chance at all. He could only match the stare of the General taking pity on him.

"Now that greetings are done, I shall take my leave." Ryu fixed his helmet. "I was supposed to be here for a different matter but engaging with you is enough for me. I shall see you again on the battlefield, hopefully in a grander scale."

Ryu went back inside and closed the hatch. They headed back to the point they breached. The fight was over and they successfully repelled the enemy advance. But at what cost?

The rest of Tiger Squad arrived a few minutes later, shaken by the event. Len gave them orders to steer clear of the retreating Kabuto tank which was also relayed to Squad 2. There were no casualties except for Rosa who was injured by a bullet wound and was being treated with ragnaid by the medic.

He climbed out of the tank and saw the damage. It was a miracle that the Black Rose didn't break apart. The point where the shell hit was severely morphed and the surrounding metal melted forming a crater. Pieces of the tracks were scattered on the ground and the wheels were torn off. The drive sprocket was also smashed to pieces by the horn. The tank was barely salvageable but it would take a long time to repair it to operational condition.

"Hey guys, in case you didn't notice, we survived. Thank you very much!" Jake forced a joke, his forehead was bleeding. "Anyway, someone help me bring this guy to the medic."

"Is he-"

"Bleeding and possible head trauma, hurry up!" Jake swayed. "Come to think of it, I'll be accompanying the little kid to dreamland."

Terry dropped his weapon and rushed towards Jake and to get Wool out of his hands. The boy was small in his arms and was clearly too young to experience the horrors of war. Just an innocent child forcefully dragged into the chaos. The medic took the child after treating Rosa and placed him beside her on the ground. He leaned on the rear of the tank and slowly slid to the ground. His heart stabled and the adrenaline wore off. Everything suddenly came back to him. The single instant when he gave up hope kept rewinding and played continuously in his head.

His squadmates checked on him and gave looks of concern. They were proud to have a leader who could take on the enemy's commander general and fight on an equal basis. He should be drowning in overwhelming achievement but grief and anger flooded within him.

Len looked at the chaos that surrounded him. One wrong move and he could have lost it all and the guilt he felt slowly ate him on the inside. An hour has passed but in his mind, he could still see the enemy tank in the horizon.

"As long as I am the squad leader, I promise that this would never happen again."

A/N:

Hello everyone. It's been a busy life (work and binge-watching tv shows) and it delayed releasing new updates. Currently done until chap 5 so I'll start to open the flood gates a little and release a chapter weekly. I'm also having a few drawings done so that you guys can have a general idea of what the characters look like.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Cheers!