The four girls were due to meet with the Marauders for the morning, to sit in for another meeting. It was otherwise a very normal morning, all things considered.

"No. Like I had told you, I'm not going to recklessly throw you into danger when you are still so new to everything here." "But how do you expect us to get experience when we aren't even experiencing anything. All four of us are just sitting at home, beating up sheets of metal while reading books. That's not exactly what I would call practical experience." Like normal, Rhyde and Qheria were arguing again. "There is still a lot you have left to learn.." ".. and there is very little time left to learn it, so why are we wasting time here? From what you've said, we should be expecting our families to come pick us up anytime now. We've got a lot of knowledge that can be of use to you, just giving up on it at that point and having us leave, wouldn't that just be a giant waste of your time? We don't want to get dragged off either, if we have nothing to show for our efforts, things are going to get a lot harder for us. Give us a CHANCE!!"

Yuxzn stepped in at this point. "If I may, sir, this might be a good opportunity to at least get some information, especially considering how none of the reports they have read have actually included our own tactical implementation of dealing with Destroyers." Yuxzn was discreetly talking about their usage of tar to block up the enemy's weapon so that it explodes, something the others still did not know about. "Qheria, if you were to be faced with the task of taking out an enemy Destroyer who was preparing to attack, how would you do it?" "Uh, tank mines? Wait, we probably don't have those. It's a shame, because an explosion from its underside could destroy the treads, bust the engine, and maybe even kill the people inside. Oh, maybe just the old classic of digging a big trench and hiding it, so that a tank would drive over it, fall in, and get stuck. If done right, the gun is usually pinned into the ground too, so the whole thing is completely useless. Then it's pretty easy to even get on top, open the door, and kill all the occupants." Qheria didn't even take long to think up a few rough strategies, borrowing from her Terran memories.

Yuxzn and Rhyde were both stunned. This single question had already gotten them a lot of new information. Yuxzn wanted to look into this further. "Wait, you're using a lot of Terran again." Terms like 'Tank Mine', 'Treads', 'Engine', and 'Gun' were all brand new, and needed some explanation. Yuxzn resumed after that was cleared up. "Ah, so the way these things pull themselves around, its like taking out someones legs. Hearing where the heart of these weapons are is also very interesting, but it sounds too complicated to work with. The main barrel, however you called it, that's what we had been targeting. Clogging it up resulted in the whole thing destroying itself. It sounds like even taking out its strange legs would make the task so much easier."

Rhyde thought about it for a moment. "There is a camp not far from here where a few of the bandits had acquired some Destroyers that weren't working fully up to specs, the barrel's firing ranges are much too low. The Fortress doesn't care about them if they don't meet their expectations. However, being so weak, they made suitable testing targets. Usually, if their weapon was weaker than normal, we would be cautious about using our usual approach. A weak weapon might not have the usual explosive reaction we had been depending upon. However, it is exactly as mobile as the rest, so it makes for a good experiment."

Yuxzn considered this for a moment. "Ah, I see where you are going with this. The Destroyers are parked in two locations, usually we would have to divide our forces to deal with all 5 of them. There are no leaders in the area, and no Fortress activity at all, so this is about as harmless as it comes. We can leave their party to address one location while we take care of the other. This way, if they need backup, we won't be far away." Having been given the parameters of the mission, the tactician was, as usual, quick to make the rest of the plan.

The plan was set for just after an early lunch, hoping that the heat of the day would work in their favour. Rhyde and Yuxzn had some of their Marauders in a nearby location, executing their plan. Qheria was in charge of their team of six. They were to expect two tanks, and had to figure out a way to take them out using the same trap Qheria had brought up before. There was also a supply of Tar available, in case this didn't work. Thanrie was standing by at the tar stock, making sure it was ready to use if it was required. Qheria was personally digging the trench with Zyuixqs and Lwyn. Lwyn was still being treated as an elf, so she wasn't expected to dig much, but that only encouraged her to want to dig more. Mhyl was keeping watch with Chyurae, as they had some of the best vision in the group, and no real weapons or physical ability.

"Mi'lady Lwyn, maybe you should just go with Mhyl and Chyurae and help them out?" "Are you kidding? Watching is just boring. I've spent a lot of time getting work done before, digging a stupid hole isn't a problem at all. Can't I help here?" Zyuixqs didn't understand Lwyn's hardships. Back at the Inn, this would be an everyday thing. At least this time she wouldn't be blamed for everything. She was deep in warm happy thoughts when she tripped over her shovel and fell into the hole. Qheria helped her out, understanding why Lwyn was finding this rough. "You still need to be careful. We don't want anyone to get hurt out here. Here, I have an idea, why don't you start setting up some coverage for this hole, so that we can just apply it when we're done." Lwyn grumbled at not being able to fit in with the other humans, but understood. Qheria felt sorry for the little half-elf.

"I must admit, when I was told we would need to dig a hole, I didn't expect we would need this much of a hole." "Tanks are pretty big, we need to get it fully stuck. Oh, maybe we can pack the bottom with some of the tar? That might help with messing them up." Zyuixqs and Qheria continued to dig for a while more, stopping when a tired Lwyn showed up with some carefully woven plants and grasses, switching to English. "Qheria, what's the chance anyone is familiar with morning cartoons? Because this looks cheesy." "Don't worry, Lwyn. Just like none of us knew about such cartoons before our other memories, the bandits won't be so elegantly educated in the comedic arts." Lwyn was careful to lighten the mood with a funny reference, so Qheria went along with it. Deciding that the hole was deep enough, Qheria and Zyuixqs padded the base with some tar while Lwyn worked to get the whole thing covered. They were ready.

"Thanrie, we've got things ready. Mhyl will be nearby, letting you know what is going on. I'll have Zyuixqs on the other side, with Chyurae watching for him. Meanwhile, this is my idea, I'll have to personally bait some tanks." "It's like you want all the fun parts to yourself. Watching over some muck is like the worst job ever. Fine, I'll stay here, maybe I'll get to personally wreck some shit. However, do me a favour, at least bring Lwyn. If you are going to put yourself in the open, she can do something to watch over you. Oh, and another favour, if there are too many bandits, please bring them this way. I want my own fair share, thank you very much." Qheria passed on an update for Thanrie in English, who returned some personal requests.

"Wait, Qheria, you're missing something. How is Chyurae going to pass anything to Zyuixqs? Mhyl and I can speak English, but those two don't share anything." "Simple, Chyurae would bring Zyuixqs to you, and you'll explain for Mhyl." Thanrie didn't like this part of Qheria's plan, but there wasn't much help for it. It just gave her an uneasy feeling that they were forgetting something else.

After Zyuixqs was updated, she went to go meet up with Lwyn, who was updating each of the elves. "Lwyn, Thanrie thinks it would be a good idea if you came with me. Unlike any of our other.. scouts.. if I get attacked by a bandit, you can actually shoot them. Really, it's not a bad idea. Also, having a bit better eyes on hand to work myself out as bait really isn't a bad idea either." In a way, they had an elven scout for every human.

Lwyn wasn't the most excited about standing watch, but being told she would probably get to use her new crossbow made it much better. She had made sure to get all of it's blades back, so she had a full 800 set. Qheria meanwhile got her stuff on and approached the Bandits. She waved to the guards, who went to call the alarm, only to both fall over before they said a word, their throats both sliced by the same blade. Qheria went back a bit and scolded Lwyn. "Stop that, being bait means I need them to know I'm here. Don't silently kill them before they can raise an alarm." Lwyn put away the other blade she had taken out for throwing, ready to put another spin on it. Maybe she was a bit too excited.

Having lost the guards, the two of them maneuvered into a better position. Inside, they could see all three tanks parked. "That's not good, who moved a tank here? We aren't ready for three tanks." Qheria was getting concerned at this break in the plan. Lwyn casually gave a quick retort. "Too bad we can't just move it back or something." Qheria paused at this moment of brilliance. There was no witnesses currently, but nothing could possibly raise a bigger alarm. Qheria picked up Lwyn, completely surprised at this sudden turn, and ran towards the closest tank. It wasn't exactly like the Terran tanks she knew of, but it was surprisingly close. She slipped Lwyn inside and joined her.

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"Lwyn, I'm going to drive this thing. The gun has it's own scope, please use that to watch our surroundings. I'm going to cause a commotion." "Okay, but remember that the others don't know about this part of the plan. We don't want to get mistaken for the enemy." "Yeah, that will be your job too." "Wait what?" Qheria gave no time for further explanations, and Lwyn had to take her seat as the whole thing suddenly came alive. It seems no one had thought of ignition keys here either or something.

Setting to full speed, she bashed aside one of the other tanks, and then barreled through the side of a nearby tent, as she drove hastily out of the camp. This commotion rose the alarm, assuredly. "Yup, they're getting into the other tanks.. hmm, what does this button do?" Lwyn fired the main gun while facing one of the tanks, hitting the gun in a really dangerous location, causing it's ammunition to detonate. That was one tank down. The other one was mobile and managing a lot more cautiously, weapon ready to fire. Qheria didn't want to end up being shot at, so she was gone. She dashed the tank a short distance towards their trap. "Lwyn, I know this sounds crazy, but you'll need to jump out. I'll slow down for a bit, but you'll need to tell the others what is going on. Tell Chyurae to move from the hill he's on, him and Zyuixqs needs to move farther from Thanrie's location, cause I'm going to be using that position to dodge the trap. Probably stay with the two of them, you can help with communication." Lwyn was going to be assigned something simple, it was almost depressing if something stupidly insane didn't precursor it.

Lwyn leapt from the tank as requesting, her natural finesse again proving dependable for this action. Meanwhile, Qheria turned 90 and begun her loop. Their enemy spotted her just as she dove behind a hill, the hill taking the shot for her. She guided her followers back in a loop around and returned back towards the trap. Instead of sticking to the smooth path, as projected, she climbed up the side of the hill, very unsteadily, which dramatically slowed her down. The maneuver looked like she lost control, even if that was just a feint. Her pursuit was closing in quickly, given this advantage. She cleared over the incline and set back down on the steady ground, clearing the trap successfully, and rounded another corner. Her pursuit did not waver, and stuck to the level ground. Right at the trap, the ground gave way and the vehicle fell in, stuck. However, the gunner knew she would be just nearby, and was preparing to fire. As the gun struck the ground, the gunner fired.

The entire tank exploded with considerable force, killing any occupants. Shards of the vehicle went flying in the explosion, scattering everywhere. Some of the flaming metal went towards where Thanrie was waiting, contacted the Tar, and it ignited in a blaze and a blast. The tar was, after all, very explosive and flamable, that's why it was being used for its purpose. It was very dangerous to stay near a large supply. The tar under the tank had itself propelled the flaming parts of the tank to such a distance. Thanrie was in serious trouble, Qheria didn't even know about it at the time. Having removed all the other tanks, all that was left was the one she was in. She drove it to the edge of a hill carefully, got out, and then forced it to shift over the side. The tank fell upside down.

It wasn't until she was close that she realized the blazing inferno wasn't just the other tank. Zyuixqs himself was carrying the unconscious and heavily burnt and bleeding Thanrie from the inferno. Zyuixqs himself was suffering from serious burns by braving the fire. Mhyl was providing directions for a safe place to set Thanrie down, while Lwyn was following instructions to weave another leaf mat to use as a stretcher. Chyurae was carrying some water, as he had been instructed. Like a medical rescue expert, Mhyl had full control of the situation, and was doing her best to help the fallen Thanrie. Qheria ran as fast as she could to them.

"What's going on? Is Thanrie okay? What happened?" "We forgot that leaving Thanrie by the Tar really wasn't the safest place when it came to fire and explosions. Thanrie got caught in the blast, she's heavily injured. I'm trying my best to take care of her, but we have no actual medical equipment. I'm not sure if I can save her, not with what we have. At least if we can get her underground, we would have access to more stuff, but this world doesn't have anything close to a hospital." "Please, just do your best." Qheria was devastated by Mhyl's news. This was all her fault, she was responsible for where everything was. She should have made sure the tar was better secure, she should have had Thanrie in a safe location, she should never had added the extra tar that increased the explosive force. She blamed herself for everything.

The worst part was that she was also so late to the scene. Everything was already moving without her, it was her fault, and she couldn't even help. She went at least to help Lwyn, but she was just wrapping things up. "Lwyn, I'll carry that for you. I just want to help." Lwyn conceded to Qheria's request, seeing in Qheria's eyes just how she was taking things. "Qheria.. don't be so hard on yourself. We all.." "Lwyn, please, stop." Lwyn went quiet at this request. She couldn't help someone who didn't want to be helped, and she knew that Qheria could be pretty stubborn.

Once safely on the stretcher, carried by Qheria on one side and Zyuixqs on the other, the group followed Chyurae into the nearest underground entrance, and headed for a place to bring Thanrie. Lwyn got directions from Zyuixqs and ran off to get some help. Mhyl worked constantly to deal with burns and other injuries. She suspected a few bones might even be broken. Zyuixqs stayed on hand, doing whatever he could to help, and even Mhyl put her best effort in using very simple Izhaethyx to provide instructions. Being proficient in 'take that' was valuable to this situation, she didn't regret her language studies in the least. This would simply be yet another reason why she would need to study Izhaethyx further in the future. Chyurae stuck around as well to help where he could, especially since he was actually able to understand her more complicated Elaethyx instructions.

Qheria again felt dramatically out of place. It was her job to protect her friends, and she had failed, so now Mhyl was cleaning up after Qheria's own failure. Qheria made sure Thanrie's weapon was put away safely, it hadn't suffered much damage at least, but that didn't feel like nearly enough. Mhyl called for Qheria at one point, saying that from here she would need a hand, and that the boys had to leave. Dealing with all of these injuries while Thanrie was fully dressed in heavy armor was not easy, it would have to all go. The boys were cast from the room, and Qheria worked with Mhyl to get all of Thanrie's armor off.

"I know you think of yourself as our leader, as our protector. I know that's why you think this is your fault. I'm not even going to claim you didn't make any crazy calls, that whole deal with stealing an enemy tank was probably far too rash, and it tripped all of us up. It was your own plan, you need to have more confidence in yourself." "How can I trust myself for anything, after this." "Because you care. You did your best, and you are deeply caring for the impact of what went wrong. I know you will take this to heart, I trust you. I'm pretty sure both Lwyn and Thanrie do too." ".. Lwyn tried to say something like that." "Yeah, and Thanrie would probably too, if she wasn't in this state." Mhyl tried to support Qheria as best she could through this tragic moment, but Qheria wasn't convinced. Mhyl was too busy to do anything more, first she had to save Thanrie.

Lwyn arrived soon after. She had found Yuxzn, who was confused as to why they had suddenly disappeared. He was further concerned in that there were only two tanks and the spot the girls were working at was a raging inferno. He had quickly deduced where they would have fled to, and found Lwyn. Lwyn replaced Qheria with helping Mhyl, so Qheria went outside. Just outside, Zyuixqs was waiting seated just around the corner, waiting for anything that might be asked of him. His devotion to helping Thanrie was remarkable, especially considering the extent of his burns. Chyurae had started worrying about the same burns and was trying to offer water. But there before her stood the last person she wanted to face right now, Rhyde.

Qheria faced Rhyde, already utterly defeated. "I know, you told me so. I know, this is all my fault. I know I let everyone down in my own recklessness and ignorance. I know..." "Yes, but at this point what you seem to be missing is that you've finally learned something. So did we, your idea worked remarkably on our side. Your own insight into that matter was sound, but you still have more to learn. I'm certain that this time, you will take to heart what is needed." "I don't understand, why aren't you being as critical as usual. Certainly this is when you should be saying that this is why we should have just given up and gone home and.." "I have absolutely no reason to be critical of your actions, you certainly seem to be doing a great job of that for me. From a leader to a leader, I know, taking responsibility of others is very hard. Every single mistake you ever make will come back to haunt you. The burden you carry, the burden you shoulder, it's nothing easy. You should take a break to recover, you will need to give yourself your own chance to heal. I'll have people help Mhyl with what she's doing. We will use what supplies we have."

He then turned to Zyuixqs. "As for you, as it seems that your team's medical staff is at their limit, I would highly recommend you take the chance to recover as well. Looking after the girl is admirable of you, but take care of yourself as well. I would hate to have to explain anything to your father too. Yuxzn, lacking other experts, how do you gauge Zyuixqs' injuries?" "Sir, as far as I can tell his simple burns shouldn't take much to recover from, but they will only get worse if not treated." "Ah, so there you go Zyuixqs, your own medical diagnosis. I will make sure someone is around shortly to treat your wounds, you should go get some rest."

Zyuixqs did as he was instructed, still not saying a word. Thanrie's injury seemed to be troubling him as well. Rhyde then went to knock on the door, to which Lwyn answered. "Yes, hello, boys not allowed. Doctor's orders." "Ah, I see. Please let Mhyl know that additional supplies will be here shortly. We have some medical staff that should be on their way as well." "Ah, that's awesome. Sorry, rather busy, please wait outside or something." Lwyn closed the door, leaving Rhyde outside. Lwyn's precision in matters of responsibility sometimes felt to Rhyde like how Yuxzn did seemed, somehow.

Mhyl continued her efforts long after supplies came, and even kept working with the medical staff. Late into the day, worn out completely, she fell asleep at Thanrie's side, still trying her best to take care of Thanrie.