Lily just looks different now. It's not an expression, not body language, not any sounds she made. The difference was in temperature. She looked cold. The most discomforting thing about this was that it almost felt this was her natural state.

Bad thought, go away.

¤ I am still capable of carrying out the mission. We should not waste anymore time
"sure. But what about that guy?"

You point over to the corpse with a smashed in head.

+ Anon is right, we can't leave a dead guy here!
¤Just get him in under the tank, We can take care of that when we get back

They all look at you, and there isn't really any point of arguing. You drag the man a few yards, and shove him underneath the IS-3. The larger bits of head are put beside him. It really looks horrible.

"if we're done here, lets get Grey"

Miranda is eager to go somewhere else, skips ahead, heading towards the vehicle hall. You alone go to the infirmary, in a somewhat futile attempt to look inconspicuous. You help her get out of her "hospital dress" and into some better suited clothes. Her eyes light up when she is presented with a pistol holster and an M9 with three magazines.

"Just in case, alright?"

Her broken grey eyes light up just a little bit, and she puts the holster in place, with surprisingly little effort. Her physical condition is actually improving a little, she can actually walk by herself now, even if you are Lily usually help her.

She inspects the black painted, standard issue gun. when she is happy with how it looks and feels, she checks the safety is engaged and then puts a magazine in, and chambers a round

'I won't let you down'
"Most important job you have tonight is still showing us the way. We really want to avoid a firefight if we can"
'yes'

No one is around right now, so you hurry out towards the cars
Both of the vehicles have short range radios fitted to them. Just get it in the 12V outlet and push the button, easy. But you still show how they are used to the others.

"right, we better get going as soon as we can, i'll drive on of the cars, anyone else up for the other one?"

The entire situation resolves itself without words, and in a matter of seconds. First of, Natalya, Miranda and Grey either shuffled or started looking towards the Mercedes, while Lily moves a step towards you.

"So, you're all taking the Mercedes i see?"
'Do i hear dissatisfaction in your voice? i thought you like big boxy things?'

Grey didn't mean this as an insult or anything of the sorts, but rather a somewhat crude joke. But Given the mood Lily is in, she is going to throw herself at the bait like a priest at a kindergarten. So you have to defuse this before it gets any worse

"Yeah, guess you have a point there. You coming with me, Lily?
>yes

The engines are started up, and after a quick radio and instrument check you set off into the night.

You are the chase car for tonight, so you just have to follow for a while now. There is a silence between you, and you feel there is an elephant in the room that has to addressed.

"Lily, about earlier..."
>You are more uncomfortable about it than i am. You don't have to bring it up if you don't want to
"sure?"
>The Jagdtiger was made to destroy Allied armor that the long 88 mm gun could not hurt. The first such vehicle was the IS-3. And it rolled through the streets of Berlin in 1945. I never got the opportunity or shoot at an IS-3, but killing the crew is second best, right?
"I'm not sure what part of this scares the most"
>you being a little bitch and needing comforting?
"Love you too, Lily"

She remains silent, that cold feeling is all gone now. She takes her shoes and socks off, and places them firmly in your lap, and resting her back against the car door

>Please?

...a light foot rub won't be too distracting, right?
>thanks, but... maybe there are others like me out there. Do you think there are?
"Lily, to anyone else i'd have said something like "yeah, sure! of course there are others and yada yada yada..." But the case is i'm noy going to lie to you. And to be honest, i don't know. You knew how much work it took to get the Jagdtiger working. Several months and we had a very sizable team of very good mechanics and engineers. Everywhere there are any tanks like yours in museums and alike, there is usually another one that is easier to fix or use. Then again, one of the other guys crews back at the base said something about him attempting to restore some "big german box" but failing to do so. Short version, i don't know"
>okay

The mood wasn't the best after that, but those things had to be said.

>can you promise me that if i am the last...
"yes?"
>n-no, never mind, it was nothing

Before you are given a chance to pry a little bit the radio chirps to life

'shitbox come in, shitbox come in'

>they are making fun of your car
"ehh, let them have a laugh"

"This is shitbox actual, go ahead"
'the off-ramp is up ahead, be ready to slow down when i do'
"Roger that Grandpa, i'm ready on the brakes"

Lily laugh at your swing
>yeah, that really is an old man’s car
“don’t be like that, i kinda like it”
>you like everything that has an engine
“...fair enough, you have a point”

The right hand indicator of the Mercedes starts flashing. You ease of the throttle to give it some distance for the braking. Just like anticipated, it slows down to a crawl and heads off the main road onto a small dirt track after a few minutes. You reach for the radio and push the little button
“say thanks to Grey for me”
¤ Grey is happy to help. There is going to be some miles of gravel road ahead. But be ready to switch of all lights, we are are going to get close to the main road, and maybe checkpoint
“Roger that, Grandpa”

You give some distance to the car in front because of the smoke and dust being kicked up by the tires. This distance does however give you some opportunity to play. True to your nature of being a man, you must show off your skills with any engine powered vehicle. You show Lily a little bit of revmatching (even if she could already do that before), heel-toe and the art of lift off oversteering, and why this is the only way to slide a car powering the front wheels. Sadly, you still haven’t worked out a proper answer to why one would even do that in the first case. Lily giggles a bit at you as you struggle to come up with anything to say. She does however say that she likes the little chirping noise the turbo makes under lift off. You leave the topic of cars, and discuss other things. She is driving the discussion, always making sure you are either speaking or thinking. And, just like she said, it does work wonders against being tired. The little clock underneath the speedo says 22:09. The target is be able to leave the depot or whatever it was at 01:00 at latest.

You zone out. Most of your focus is diverted to thoughts. The sound of the gravel hitting the wheelwells is drowned out, so is the grunting of your engine, and the growling of the one in front. Lily’s occasional time updates are also blocked out.
She is giving you time updates. She checks the map, time, distances and speeds, update you on if you are ahead or behind schedule. Not only because to actually feed you the information, but to keep you awake as well. She truly is amazing, even if she has a little strange dual personality, like a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on. First of the calm, relaxed and really girly Lily when she is just along with you. And when she had to, or just got out with other people, turn very professional, decisive and almost cold. And you liked both of them. You have pretty much already decided you really are going to stick around with her. You do love her. And you still remember the way she screamed when the base was under attack, and she thought you died. She was scared beyond words. And even thinking about that felt like someone jamming a bayonet in your chest. No, some kind commitment to Lily has to be made. Sadly, there is a war going on, and you have to make sure you both…

>...Anon, are you even listening to me now?
“sorry, i was lost in thought i guess”
>what is it this time?

If she either makes a very good effort to play, or if she is genuinely interested, you are not sure. But if definitely sounds like she wants to know if anything is wrong, and to help you if it is

“i was just thinking about us. in this war, and…”

Somehow you can’t complete the sentence, and you are left with your words left in your mouth

>And what??

Her voice isn’t quite as soft and sweet as it usually is when she is alone with you. Something is different, but, what is it

“and… after it. i-if you want to”

You add that second part, almost like an afterthought. To not make her angry? offended?

>You have promised me. When i was a shaking and crying wreck, when they fixed the engine cover. You said you wouldn’t leave now, or ever. I am going to hold you to that
“That makes me very happy. I just... wanted to know i had something to never leave”
>are you sure that was what you wanted to ask and not what we are going to do, together, after the war?

That was what you wanted to ask. You knew what she was going to say, but you needed some kind of... confirmation. That was such a strange word right now. What did you need confirmed? All that was said was obvious.

“yes. I think i meant that. it’s just that. But you don't really age, do you? i mean that is bound to look strange at some point”
>not like you, no. But if we-... No, WHEN this is all over, and the time comes for me to sort of... get rid of my connection to the Jagdpanzer, that will change.
“i’m getting a bit curious to that process, but i’m left a bit in the dark here”

Lily suddenly gets shy, and looks back to her feet, now placed on the floor in front of her

>when the time comes, it will just… happen. But for now let’s drop it. Please?
She seemed to go shy whenever that subject was brought up. And right now isnt the time to pry.

¤ shitbox, do you read me?

You grab the little device, and hand it over to Lily. And like everything that had been said for the pst hour was blown away by the wind, she gives you a big smile and takes the radio

> Go for Shitbox
¤ please turn lights off. We think we have seen something through the trees. We will stop and take a look
> Roger that Grandpa, going lights out

It pleases you greatly that Lily has understood the virtue of sounding cool over the radio. A few seconds later, the big Mercedes slows to a halt. Somewhat surprisingly, Natalya jumps out of the passengers seat, and Miranda from the drivers’. You both jog over to Natalya, and she points out through the trees.

¤ Look, lights

Lily brings her map and spreads it out on the cars bonnet. She checks her watch, and a lot of numbers scribbled in the top corner before she says anything.

>That is probably the checkpoint. 
¤ Checkpoint or not, there is no point in waiting here
“She is right. I feel the light is just good enough for a slow pace, i could take the lead now if you want to”

Natalya nods and turn towards Miranda

¤ Little girl, think you can follow the boxy thing without lights?
+ Yes i can!

She starts digging around in her backpack, finally diffing up something that looks like it came from a late 90s spy movie

+ Night vision!
“great, if they work, go for it, but let’s get back in the cars, we still have a long way to go”

You try to help Grey out of the Mercedes’ back seat, but she dismisses your hand and walks over to your car on her own legs.

“right, Miranda try not to get too far away. If you loose me, get on the radio
+ Yes!

You lead the way towards the final stretch to the depot
For another half hour, Lily is doing her best to keep your head working, and making you not fall asleep. In the middle of a discussion regarding where to go to holiday in some years, you are interrupted by Grey

'i think we're just a few miles out now, the entry should be right here'

Grey was right. Soon you are faced with a very impressive looking gate. Well, it would have been impressive unless someone had steamrolled it with a tank. You start to feel somewhat uneasy, even a bit nervous. So much so that you grab the little radio.

"hey, you told them we were coming, right? because this feels a bit..."
'We have been waiting fro you, please come in'

You did not recognize that voice, and get your thumb away from the "send" button at once

"who was that?"
>i don't know, honestly

Gray leans forward in her seat, and gets her head between the front seats

'they are decommissioned, not dead'
"that doesn't make me feel any better

You flick the lights to full beam, put the car in first and slowly let it crawl on idle revs. And after just a few minutes, tanks. Row upon row of tanks. So far nothing but M60s. Maybe 50 or so of them. Most likely A3 variants, judging by the ERA mounts. Sadly, there are no actual tiles left on any of the tanks. Behind them is what you came here for, maybe 40 or so M551 Sheridans. They have the same gun as the M60A2, firing the same ammunition, and most importantly, the same MGM-51 Shillelagh guided missile. However, this adventure just took a turn for the creepy. There is someone sitting, standing or leaning on almost every tank. Them just staring with empty eyes at you would be bad, but they are all... damaged. Worn, dirty, and torn clothes. Bruises, scars, and more than a few black eyes. some of them more than the others. One couldn't even stand, but rather just lied down on the top of the turret, only raising her eyebrows as you passed by.

Lily had her hood covering all of her head, trying to disappear into the seat
"something wrong Lil?"
>they do not like me here. They will rip me to shreds if they find out who i am
"honestly, i'd be more worried about your friend in the car behind us"
>not with Miranda there aswell

the radio crackles to life

'you're not going very fast for a war'
"i'm just a little confused as to where i'm going"
'turn right as soon as you can, big hangar, green doors. i'll be waiting'

You take a right, and you stop counting tanks at the point where you reach about 100. You finally see the big hangar, and just as advertised, with big green doors. Strangely, it looks more like a place you would park or store an airplane. You can't see any runway or control tower, but that might be because of the darkness as well. The big green door with some large, white army looking letters on slides open about two feet. A figure appears in the opening and waves at you.

You turn off the engine, and the great V8 next to you dies down a second later

>anon, i'm really not comfortable with this
"i'll be with you, no matter what"

You exit the car, and head over to the other side to get Lily out. She really is afraid. You make sure she is close and then gesture to the other car to get them to follow you. The lights turn on inside the hangar, and illuminates the figure. All light is coming from behind, you can only see her outline

'come on in guys, we're all in the same boat'

Natalya takes the lead, and Miranda follows. You are just a step or two after with Lily. Inside the hangar, the woman who waved you in, two men and a single Tank. But it's a strange vehicle, a very large turret, strangely long. The hull is relatively short, and the gun seems to be a strange combination between a howitzer and a dedicated AT gun.

'So, i heard you guys needed some missi-... hang on second, hoodie girl, i've seen you before. Take it off. Right now"

The men behind her reacts quickly and reaches for their weapons, but without drawing them