The Seige Part 1

Just as Houston had anticipated, he watched schools from California, Florida, New York, and Iowa depart. The school commander bid their farewells to Houston. He nodded at them and saluted for their work, and they saluted back, wishing him and the other major school powers who were staying, luck.

As he saw them boarding the Carrier that would take them back to America, another carrier was dropping off reinforcements to help with manpower. The American Tankery League had sent professionals to the field. Houston said nothing, only staring at the reinforcements until the surroundings slowly quieted down. He could only remember the sounds of battle and the screams on the radio from the people he once knew... in Dallas.

Flashback

Dallas, Texas

The scene showed a sixteen-year-old Houston with a dirt-covered face and a slightly torn tankery uniform. He was carrying a wounded fifteen-year-old boy wearing a U.S. WW2 fighter pilot uniform.

"HANG IN THERE!! I'M GETTING US OUT OF HERE!" Houston shouted as he continued carrying the wounded boy who had been shot down.

"Don... It hurts..." The boy spoke weakly, trying to cover his wound as he slowly bled.

"It's going to be alright! Just stay with me!" Houston said with a trembling tone as he held the pilot in his arms.

Quickly entering a destroyed building, Houston gently laid the pilot down and checked for wounds. He found a piece of metal rod sticking out of the pilot's stomach, and it was lodged inside. Doing his best to save the pilot, Houston's tankery glove became stained with blood. Just then, he heard the marching of the enemy school team approaching.

"Don... Are we going to die?" The boy asked, tears running down his cheek.

"No... Red... we are not going to die," Houston said, doing his best to hold back his tears...

End of Flashback

Commander Houston," Scott spoke up, catching Houston's attention as he stared off into space. Houston turned to his tank gunner, his face showing a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" Houston asked, turning to Scott.

"Are you alright?" Scott looked at his Commander, standing by his side.

"I'm fine, just... I really hope that the people the League has sent us are as skilled as they claim," Houston said, spitting on the ground before heading back to his camp where the rest of his unit was. Scott watched Houston's back and sighed, following him.

Returning to his camp, Houston pulled out a pack of cigarettes he had been smuggling and lit one. As he smoked, he observed the League players checking their M103 heavy tanks, counting their men. They had nearly eight hundred and fifty men, but with his forces divided to defend their lines, Houston's main concern was for his and Graham's Vice Commander's ability to defend the city with limited men and supplies behind enemy lines.

All he could hope for was that they could hold the city a little longer until he formulated a plan to break through enemy lines. For the people who lived in this land, the city was known as Sweskia, but for Jefferson and Graham Vice Commander and the men holding the city within enemy territory, he dubbed it "The Alamo."

Houston received reinforcements from the South while, in the North, just as Maho had predicted, the Federation unit also arrived a week earlier than the American reinforcements. The port town was bustling with college women offloading their Chieftain British tanks. Despite the gains and losses on both sides, the chain of command remained in effect. Houston would still be the Marshal Commander for the American League Team, with orders to be followed by Graham, Muller, Elijah, and Wesley.

The Federation team would continue to follow Maho, Miho, Kay, Darjeeling, and Katusha. With the manpower in place, Maho and Kay prepared to move their forces alongside the Federation team to retake the city of Sweskia, where Vice Commander Jefferson and Joey had heavily fortified with their one hundred and eighty men.

Meanwhile, in the city of Sweskia, also known as Fort Alamo...

The scene shifts to Jefferson sitting in his private office, writing letters to Houston about their status. As he sets down his pen and looks up from the letter, he begins to think about what important information he should include.

His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of an M24 Chaffee tank returning from scouting. He starts yelling to alert everyone in the city they are defending.

"HEY! THE FEDS ARE COMING! THE FEDS ARE COMING!" The scout yells, running around to make sure everyone is aware. People quickly stop what they are doing and head to their defensive positions. The remaining Texas Rangers get in their tanks and find defensive cover.

Joey, within the city, starts ordering the remaining men to their positions. Vice Commander Joey grabs his binoculars and spots a large force approaching. He recognizes half of the Kuromorimine unit, including Saunders. What unsettles Joey more is seeing that they are joined by a whole unit from the Federation — six hundred tanks against the one hundred and eighty American defenders.

Maho, looking through her binoculars, observes the well-defended city, contemplating a strategy to overrun the defenders. Kay drives her Sherman tank next to Maho Tiger I tank and speaks up.

"I bet the guys in the city are surprised by what we've brought," Kay remarks as they hear distant yelling from the city, signaling the Americans getting into position.

"They have two choices: surrender or fight," Maho replies, her gaze fixed on the city.

"We're in luck; the Vice Commander from Grand Lake High desires a truce," Kay points out. The two watch as Joey walks to the middle of the field, holding a white flag of surrender.

Maho and Kay leave their tanks and approach Vice Commander Joey, who still holds the white flag. The three meet, and Joey clears his throat before addressing them in Japanese.

"Marshal Commander Maho and Commander Kay... How many times are we going to fight over this city, back and forth?"

The scene transitions to Jefferson still in his office, giving five letters to five Texas Rangers to deliver a message for help. They are under siege.

"Give this to the Major and the Marshal Commander. Godspeed, you Rangers," Jefferson sends off the Rangers to deliver the message to Houston and the other Commanders in need of assistance. Just as Jefferson is about to resume his tasks, one of the Rangers rushes up to him.

"Sir, you need to see this..." The Ranger urgently said, leading Jefferson to a wall overlooking the field. Seeing the scene laid out before him, Jefferson's eyes widened in shock as he realized they were surrounded from all sides.

The scene cuts back to Joey, Maho, and Kay. After their brief conversation, Maho handed Joey a paper outlining the terms of surrender. As he read the contents, the focus shifts again to Jefferson standing among his men, spotting the trio in the distance.

"Why is Vice Commander Joey out there?" Jefferson questioned, addressing his men.

"He's trying to negotiate our way out of this situation," one of the men responded.

"Fire the 105..." Jefferson commanded, shocking both his men and Joey's. When questioned, he repeated himself, "You heard what I said, fire."

As the crew of the M4A3 105 loaded a shell, the defenders prepared themselves for what was about to happen. Back with Joey, after reading the paper, he glanced at Maho and Kay, shocked by the demands outlined in the surrender terms. Before he could react, the sound of a tank firing made all three of them jump. A 105 shell struck one of Kay's Shermans, rendering it immobile. Seeing this, Joey turned to the commanders in a mix of panic and reassurance.

"Commander Maho and Kay, I had nothing to—" Joey started to explain, but the stern glares from the two commanders silenced him. They quickly ran back to their lines, leaving Joey behind. He rushed back into the city, casting the white flag aside and marched toward Jefferson, who was also approaching.

"Are you out of your mind? I'm trying to negotiate a truce here!" Joey exclaimed in frustration to Jefferson.

"A truce? If we're going to negotiate, we'll do it from a position of strength, not weakness," Jefferson shot back, his voice firm. Joey let out a sigh of frustration, muttering to himself and clenching his temple in irritation.

"We're not about to submit and beg. That would make everything we've fought for meaningless," Jefferson asserted firmly.

Joey took a swig from his canteen, clearing his throat before responding, "Losing this city means nothing to me..."

"What was their response?" Jefferson inquired, noticing Joey still holding the paper.

"Terrible!" Joey crumbled the paper and tossed it to Jefferson. "Surrender at their discretion, Jeff..." Joey managed to say before wheezing and coughing.

"Perhaps they'll take us both as prisoners..." Jefferson speculated.

"Well, it seems like we've all just been promoted," one of the Rangers quipped, pointing to the Federation unit shifting into an attacking formation. A flag waving among them bore the words "Show no quarter."

"In a matter of days, all our Commanders will know our situation," Jefferson mused, still watching the formidable Federation force.

"Jefferson, when will our reinforcements arrive?" Joey asked urgently.

"Soon... very soon..." Jefferson replied, his tone laced with a mix of hope and determination.