“Do you see the tank, Frau Tea Cup?”


    “Yes. Which is exactly why I want to go back to the hotel and sleep in for the day."


    Tanks. It has become an integral part of modernized warfare during the Second World War. At first, in the previous World War, they were nothing more than armored mobile artillery that could be crewed and driven through enemy flanks. They were monsters, even in their prototype stages. Due to the various engineering advancements and leap in technical knowledge, the capability of tanks have flourish significantly.


    There were various types and models built by different nations. For example, the British Sherman Firefly medium tank which was widely used among its forces as well as the Commonwealth Unit. Then the iconic American born M3 Stuart Light tank that was suitable for hit and run missions. But how could we ever forget the one Iron Beast that constantly changed the tide of battle the second it steps onto the stage – the German Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E… or the Tiger I tank destroyer.


    “As much as I should be taking pride as my skills in being a desk clerk in a Swiss Chapel, I don’t like the idea of conducting a live drawing session – while that menacing death on wheels is staring at me with it’s one eye.”


    “Don’t worry, everyone in the camp thinks I’m part of an Inspection Group from the Waffen-SS. They’ll be led to believe I will be simply conducting regular examinations of the prisoner barracks as well as the underground water piping and filtration system. Just carry on and pretend you’re jotting down notes I’m rambling about.”


    “Could you pretend to speak rubbish louder to me. That guard I made eye contact with is staring at me even more than he should be. I-I think he saw the blueprints of the prison camp I’m working on!”


    “Pay him no mind. This is war, far from their home and city. Of course they would long for the companionship of a female."


    "I seriously do not like where this is going, Mr. SS Officer."


    "Fret not. As you said, I am an Officer. So, if he comes close, I’ll just yell ''GET BACK TO WORK DUMMKOFF, SCHNELL! RAUS-RAUS-RAUS!'', and he will not question us... And I told you to at least wear a matching uniform! The fact you look like a walking tea cup is drawing too much attention!"


    “Tch. My skin is super sensitive. The last time I dressed up in your godforsaken German uniforms, I ended up with rashes all over my body for an entire week!”


    "For the great good of saving hundreds of innocent lives, that is a sacrifice worthy of offering."


    "If I told you to give up schnapps to save a child, would you?"


    "......... I''ll... give you my response... in three weeks."


    "..."


    Tanks of any caliber were not always posted on the front lines. No, sometimes the army needed to keep some in reserve, in case the production plants were not capable of manufacturing enough spare units. There would be moments in periods like World War 2, where such tanks were necessary in quelling mass anti-Nazi riots in Berlin, fight against armed resistance groups, or even be present as a show of force and authority to occupied nations that have the inkling to rebel.


    So, it wouldn’t be too suspicious to find one or two tanks posted in a prisoner of war camp, especially near the capital of Germany. Along with those iron monsters that were marching around the dirt fields of the prison compound, there was a peculiar pair of individuals that were undergoing ''inspections'' of the barracks in a prison camp. It was designated Schtalag 12.


    "Mr. German. You''re in my line. How do you expect me to draw an accurate diagram if you give me a crappy pencil that keeps breaking off at the tip, and having terrible lighting! It''s a miracle my writing doesn''t look like that of a drunkard."


    "Ausdauer und hingabe!"


    "Muttering ''perseverence and dedication'' in German isn''t going to help me improve my drawing skills!"


    One was an Officer of the Waffen-SS. Despite wearing the notorious black uniform and the red arm-band, he was a rebel against his own organization and didn’t carry the markings on his armband to heart like most of his comrades. Following after him was a small girl who claims to be just under 30, but her height was conflicting the facts. She also wore this odd nun habit that had blue decorations making her look like a china cup. Hence why we call her China Cup for the duration of this excerpt. For the record, she was quickly scribbling some sketches and drawings of the barracks, security booths, prisoner quarters, and even the storage supply for both food and weapons (overcapacity prisoner beds).You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    “Fraulein. I want you to make sure you get every square inch of this location in your drawings. Once we collected the necessary information, we will compile the diagrams and present them to the German underground that we will be meeting tonight in the Valhalla Haufbrau beer garden. After we make contact with them, we shall strike to break free the Allied and Civilian Prisoners from this camp before they are executed tomorrow.”


    “Slow down, slow down! I need your body as a shield to keep wandering eyes from seeing me writing too much detail. If they catch on, they could shoot me.”


    “If they so much as look at you in a dirty manner, I will shoot first.”


    “You may be wearing the SS uniform, but you can’t even kill a rabbit for dinner!"


    "... I don''t want to get Bethany dirty."


    "Just admit it. You''ve never fired a gun."


    "Exactly! Ever since the start of this lousy war, she''s never been fired once for any reason! That am I proud of, and deserve some kind of achievement to pop out of no where and tell me I''ve done a good job. One day, this system shall be established, and everyone in the world will know - I''ve never fired a single bullet."


    "Honestly. I don''t know what type of generation we will have in the far future, but given how human genetics are going, I have no doubt people who could virtually be soldiers in some kind of imagintive game would laugh at you."


    "..........Ausdauer und hingabe!"


    "Sure."


    The China Cup scribbled some words down into her small pad. Due to the poor lightning, the fact it was nearing dusk, and being a bit jumpy at the German soldiers marching around the camp with full loaded Kar98 rifles and MP40 submachine guns, made it difficult to work under pressure. But she endured like the good girl from the Swiss Church would.


    "Fraulein. You''re shaking too much."


    "Can you blame me? I''m just desk clerk! I have zero combat skills and I obviously don''t live a secret double life where I can transform into a Witch at the drop of a hat! How can I not abide to my human instincts for survival!"


    “I am a member of the Technical Hygiene Department of the Waffen-SS. They won''t question us one bit as we are in charge of inspecting camp filtration and sewage system. This include providing health reports of the prisoners to the Red Cross whooversees the regulation of the Geneva Convention! We are completely harmless! I''m not some kind of crazy gun-toting idiot like my co-workers!"


    “Yes, yes, yes. The bunny youfreed from dinner will remember your kindness and tell it to her descendants for the years to come.”


    “Fraulein. I feel that you’re mocking me. I don''t like this feeling.”


    A certain German Officer put on a scowl. He may not have done this in history, given his position as a member of the notorious Waffen-SS, but it felt appropriate to express his dissatisfaction when he saw the flat expression on the China Cup girl’s face. His said partner was finishing up the last of the sketches, she was already finalizing some empty spaces that needed to be filled.


    They had to make sure they acquired all the necessary details. Where the guard barracks were, where the prisoner housings were all placed, the time it takes for sentries to patrol certain lanes in the camp as well as the hours where they exchange new staff. All of this was put down on a series of specialized paper that would not be damaged even if it was thrown into a barrel of water or intentionally burned.


    The rebel Waffen-SS hoped that by collecting the information of P.O.W. Camp Schtalag 12, he could free enough Pilots and Tank drivers back to the Allied Forces. Then, he could use further intelligence to lure the ‘enemies of his nation’ to strike at key targets. Anything to make this horrific war end sooner so Germany and the Nazi Party would lose control of everything. Of course, he will be recgonized as the ‘Anonymous Agent working for the Confessing Churches’.


    “There. I’ve finished all of the schematics of the camp. We should leave, or else that Tiger tank staring at me would make even my frail body crumble—BUGYAFFF!”


    “You dummkoff tea cup! I told you not to walk with your head down! Not only did you bump into a German soldier, you got the guards riled up for stepping on their officer''s foot!”


    “Wh-what are you panicking for!? You said yourself, you’re a member of the Waffen-SS. Don’t soldiers the rank of private and corporals freak out when they so much as see you from one mile away?”


    “The one you ran into is a General of the Wehrmacht! His rank is already seven levels higher than the patches on my shoulders. Even worse, the Wehrmacht hate the SS! I can’t use my usual spiel of ‘if you cross me again, I will have you court-martialed, shot, AND sent to the Russian Front!’. That man has every rightto use that on ME! Good god, he even has the Knight''s Cross with the Oaks Leaves swords and diamonds!! The h*ll? I-is this man from the Fuhrer''s Staff!?”


    “Th-then what do we do? What do we do!? I don’t have any pockets on my nun robe! Th-there’s no where to hide the diagrams we’re copying!”


    “…………………………………………………”


    “… No. I’m not stuffing my brassiere.”


    “Your nun cap. It has space underneath it, right?”


    “I told you I’m not stuffing my brass…What?”


    As much as a German Tiger Tank was a scourge of the battlefield, being one of the few behemoths in the war that could easily change the tides of battle in a single howling cannon shot, there are times where it was a godsent. For example, it was useless in cold environments like the Eastern and Siberian fronts. The overlapping gear tracks could easily freeze over each other from mud and snow, effectively jamming the drive system. They overheat like crazy, and it takes longer for the main cannon to load in rapid succession.A window of opportunity for smaller Allied Tanks to pelt the sucker from all directions.


    Or, in this case, it had no eyes to witness anything shady. For instance, even with its one barrel staring at a certain Waffen-SS soldier stuffing piles of specialized paper under a certain China Cup’s nun cap, it really could not see anything. The driver on duty was having a siesta inside, so essentially zero witnesses.


    “… I look stupid. I can hear children screaming ''Frakenstein, Frakenstein'' in my fattened head.”


    “Just smile and nod, Fraulein. Smile, nod, and say ''ACHTUNG! JAWOHL HERR GENERAL!''”


    "...Sniff."