Obligatory but rather pointless disclaimer: I do not own Girls und Panzer. The former is straight-up illegal, and while the latter seems fun, I'm sure there's a ton of paperwork that I'd have to fill out.
"Ito Risa, from Blue Division High. Three years of experience as a loader."
One by one, the assembled students stepped forward, giving their name and background. The attitudes and demeanors of said students were varied: while there were more than a few who were fairly easygoing, many more were nervous. Some students wore cheerful expressions and treated the event as the beginning of something quite exciting, while others stood at rapt attention as though they'd be punished for making even the slightest movement without authorization.
"Shimizu Yuu, no experience."
Observing the new recruits was a relatively tall woman with shoulder-length brown hair, Commander Takahashi Mao. Unlike her recruits, who were dressed in their personal clothes of varying levels of practicality, comfort, and visual appeal, the commander was clad in her team's competition uniform, cleaned to perfection the previous day in order to ensure she made the best first impression possible to her new subordinates.
"Takebe Saori. Two years as radio operator."
At the beginning of the previous school year, Takahashi had inherited the position of force commander for the Ibaraki University Sensha-do team, a group whose performance in prior years could best be described as "average." Now entering her last year on the team before graduating, Takahashi had decided that, in order to leave a legacy she could be proud of for her successors, she would definitely improve her team to at least the upper third of the national standings.
"Nakajima Yuu, Jaktosota High School. Spent one year loading guns.
"Sasaki Nana, also from Jaktosota. Been driving for six years."
As each girl made her introduction, it was noted by team manager Ueno Daiki, who would make record of it on his clipboard. Prior to the beginning of introductions, Ueno's quick count had indicated that they had 20 new recruits. When added to the 57 students who were returning to the team after having participated the previous year, it looked like there were going to be just enough new girls that Ibaraki could afford to fill every crew position in battles where they fielded all of their tanks.
"Shimizu Asai, graduate of Pravda High. Served as gunner for two years."
"Tanaka Mai, former Yogurt student. Gunner for three years."
One of the tanks under Takahashi's commander, a french BDR G1B, had seen its entire crew graduate at the end of the previous year. The second BDR that the team had was missing only a radio operator. Takahashi had spent quite a bit of time contemplating whether it would be better to split the experienced crew from that vehicle up to avoid having a vehicle crewed entirely by freshmen or leave them as they were in order to preserve existing team dynamics as best as possible. None of the other vehicles needed more than two positions filled; between the rest of the tanks, there was a need for three new radio operators, two new drivers, four new gunners, and five new commanders. Three of those new commanders would also have to take on additional duties in their tanks as a result of the small space not allowing for five crew members.
"Anzio's Ono Erika. Still a tank-virgin."
"Hasegawa Nozomi, from Bonple. No experience."
"Arai Haruna, Viking Marine. Likewise with regards to lack of experience."
The first girl in the lineup who had admitted that she'd never operated a tank before had done so nervously, as though she were worried that having as little prior experience as possible would cause the others to look down on her. Later girls who were in the same situation were significantly less afraid to speak up about it, especially as it became obvious how not alone they were. Out of the twenty new members of Ibaraki's Sensha-do team, only five of them had been participating since they were in middle school. Eight of them would be doing it for the first time.
"Ishii Natsuki. From St. Gloriana, but I wasn't on their Sensha-do team."
"Sakurai Aki. Three years as a commander on the St. Gloriana team, with an additional three years before that."
The last girl in line finished the introductions by boasting an impressive history unmatched by any of the others. Following this, the recruits stood in silence, waiting as Ueno finished recording data for the last of them.
"Is that everybody?" Takahashi asked. She looked up and down the line of assembled students, where even those who had been previously easygoing had adopted an air of seriousness upon being addressed by their commander. Seeing that none of the students were raising any objections about being skipped, Takahashi began her introductory speech.
"Welcome to the Ibaraki University Sensha-do team! I'm Commander Takahashi Mao. Call me however you like; If I don't like it, I'll send you a memo express-delivered via 17-lb shell." A few students laughed quietly at Takahashi's comment, although she noticed that there were at least a couple that seemed nervous or forced, as if the girls in question thought they might be punished for thinking that Takahashi's unfunny jokes weren't funny.
"Starting when I finish talking to you, we'll be doing a series of tryout battles. You'll be randomly assigned a partner from among your fellow freshmen. This will be your partner for the the entirety of tryouts, so try to get along with them."
"After partners have been decided, you'll be assigned to a tank with three of your upperclassmen. We'll do a battle in which the two of you perform the roles not covered by your upperclassmen, then the two of you will switch positions and we'll do another battle. Tomorrow, you and your partner will be assigned to a different tank, and we'll do the same thing again. This will happen every weekday for two weeks. At the end of this, we'll use data from your performance in the tryout battles to decide what your permanent position in the team should be. Any questions?"
A foreign-looking girl in the latter half of the line raised her arm.
"Are there no practices on the weekend?"
"Weekend practices are for upperclassmen only until we get all of you settled into your new positions," Takahashi replied. "You're free to show up to observe if you want to, but you won't be doing anything and I won't require you to be here. Once everybody's been assigned to a crew, these practices will become mandatory. Anything else?"
Another girl raised her hand. Takahashi glanced down at her copy of Ueno's notes to get the girl's name.
"Arai-san?"
"You've said that we'll be doing practice matches starting today... are we not going to receive training for the various roles before our first match?"
"Your upperclassmen know enough about the remaining roles that they can walk you through it. This will be your training. Anything else?"
There were no further questions.
"Very well. Anybody who has no Sensha-do experience, go to Ueno over here to get your team assignments. Everybody else, see me."
One by one, the recruits drew strips of paper with numbers on them to determine their groups.
"Alright, time to meet your teammates. Group one, please step forward."
One girl stepped forward, followed a few seconds later by another.
"Talk to Ueno so he knows who's in your group, then follow the signs we've put up to the garage. Group two, step forward."
Takebe Saori had been placed in the seventh group, so it was a bit of a wait before she and her partner were called forward.
"Takebe Saori, group seven," she told the man with the clipboard as she handed the strip of paper back to him. A rather tall girl with hair that reached past her waist followed soon afterward, wordlessly handing her paper to the manager. As the commander began to call for the next group, the two of them departed in the direction of the garage.
"I'm Takebe Saori."
"Ueno Anna. Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise. Mind if I call you Anna?"
"If you do, I'll probably just start referring to you as 'Saorin' as revenge."
"Fair enough. You were someone who didn't have any prior experience with Sensha-do, right? Why'd you decide to take it up?"
"I actually wanted to do it back in high school. Mum wouldn't let me, said it was too dangerous and she didn't want to see me get hurt," Anna said. She smiled slightly. "Guess you could say that this is my teenage rebellion."
"No, I think it's a little too late to be engaged in teenage rebellion by the time you've graduated high school..."
Anna waved her hand, dismissing Saori's objection. "Delayed teenage rebellion, then. What about you?"
"Me? I was a pretty good kid. Never really felt the need to rebel in any way."
"Not that," Anna said. "Sensha-do. Why'd you start doing it?"
"My friend wanted to do it, and it sounded kind of fun," Saori replied. "Also for the boys. Can't forget how they said it would make me popular with the boys."
"Did it?"
Saori frowned. "Not that I ever noticed, no."
They walked along in silence for a few seconds before Anna presented another question.
"Is it scary?" She kept the volume of her voice low, as if afraid that her fears might be overhead by someone else.
"What, having second thoughts?"
"No," Anna replied. "Yes. Maybe."
"It seems scary at first, but after a few battles you realize how safe it really is. You'll be completely enclosed by the tank's armor, which is reinforced by more modern materials that don't have a chance of being penetrated by the rounds we'll be using. It's actually really safe."
"That's what I used to think... rather, I told my mum that tank armour is meant to keep people safe, but she responded that tank guns are meant to break through that protection. I guess that, despite how exciting it seems to be, I'm not entirely sure that mum wasn't just being overprotective when she said it's not a safe sport."
"Well, I don't know the specifics of it, but we're not going to be using authentic shells in our matches. They're made to have the same mass and velocity of historic shells, but are constructed to shatter when they hit armour instead of penetrating."
"They're fake rounds? So if one of them hits someone, they'll still be safe?"
"I don't think it's possible to make an seven kilogram object that hits somebody while traveling faster than the speed of sound that won't hurt or kill them. It's just that they're safe to be used against tanks."
"Oh."
"Basically, just remember that during a match, you should be in your tank, not on your tank. That should keep you safe."
The two girls walked in silence for nearly the rest of the distance to the garage.
"Are you still worried, Anna?"
Anna shook her head in response.
"I actually feel a lot safer now."
"Sorry, it looked like something was bothering you."
"Well, hearing that they're not real shells made me feel safer, but I guess hearing that the gun isn't as powerful as the real thing makes it seem a bit less exciting."
"I think you're complaining about two things that can't both be solved, Anna."
By then the two of them had arrived at the garage that was marked with their team number. A young woman with a rather boyish figure came out to greet them.
"Are you team seven?" she asked.
"Team seven, Ueno Anna!"
"Takebe Saori. I place myself in your care."
"Saito Yumi. I'm the commander of Don Four," she said, pausing to take a look at her new recruits. "Either of you have any prior experience with tanks?"
"I've been a radio operator on a Panzer IV for two years," Saori reported. "Anna's new to this."
"Oh? We're actually in need of a new radioman after our last one graduated. It's one of the positions we're going to observe you in."
"And the other position?" Anna asked.
"Loader. We've got our own already, so you won't be permanently taking that position with us, but we'll at least observe you trying it out and pass along our recommendations. C'mon, let's show you around."
Saito led the two recruits into the garage. An armoured vehicle twice as tall as them waited within, upper glacis armour sloping back from a rounded front, meeting up with a turret sporting a cannon nearly five metres in length.
"The 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36," Saito announced, gesturing in a grandly overstated manner towards the vehicle. "Or the Jackson, if you feel like being a little bit British. Built by the US near the end of the second World War for... something or other, I guess."
Neither Saori nor Anna could help themselves from giving their upperclassman an odd look.
"History isn't really my strong point, okay?" Saito said. "Well, I could actually recite some background about it if I needed to, but it's not really necessary for you to know all that. Ask Wada if for some bizarre reason you want your ears talked off with all the little details."
"Don Four, is that the team's name?" Anna asked.
"Sort of. Sorry, I screwed that part of it up. Let me start over." Saito stopped talking for a second, likely to mentally organize her information before she resumed talking. "We're usually Don Four, but I'd forgotten about how we're temporarily changing callsigns for the benefit of new recruits. Four's for when we're battling with the full team. Since we're just doing a pair of five-vs-five skirmishes today, we'll be going by Don One instead."
"Don is constant, though? It doesn't ever change?" Saori asked.
"Yep, it's part of the system our school uses for team names. Don's the call sign for our tank destroyers. London means light, Monkey is medium, and Harry is heavy. Only exception is the commander's tank; They're technically a medium, but they respond to the sign Charlie Zero. Think you can keep that straight?"
"I-I'll try." Anna's eyes were fixed on the ground at Saito's feet.
"If you don't think you can manage, it doesn't really matter for the moment," Saito said. "Force commander for this skirmish is going to be in Harry One on our team and Monkey One on the other side, and neither of them are being used to test you recruits in commander or radioman skills. You can get by for the time being just by remembering our sign."
"Okay. I can manage that."
"Excellent! So, decide between yourselves who's going to take which position first."
Saori and Anna turned to each other to discuss the matter.
"Anna?"
"Is serving as radioman hard to learn?"
"Not particularly. If all the radioman's going to be doing in this match is talking to the command tank, it should be simple. You don't really need that much preexisting skill to do it."
A look of relief appeared on Anna's face. "I see. So radioman is a position that can be done without any need for skill..."
"...I know you're just rewording what I told you, but the way you phrased that is incredibly irritating."
Anna stifled a laugh upon seeing Saori's usually cheerful demeanor crack. "So, which would you prefer?" she asked.
"Well, I guess I'd rather start with the job I'm familiar with..."
"When you've decided, go ahead and climb in," Saito told them. "I've got to go find out where a certain pair of slackers ran off to, so don't touch any controls until I get back here. Saori-san, the crew positions should be in roughly the same place as what you're used to from your old Panzer IV, but with the gunner and loader switched."
"Got it." Saori looked at Anna, waiting for her to confirm that the two of them were in agreement about which jobs to take first. Upon a nod in her direction, she approached the M36 and climbed on top of it. Behind her, Anna managed the same feat with only a little difficulty.
About to climb down into her position, Saori stopped as she felt Anna tugging on her sleeve.
"What is it?" she asked, turning to face the other girl. Anna responded by gesturing at the turret.
"Is that really safe?"
The armour on top of the turret was noticeably thinner than elsewhere on the vehicle. In addition, rather than having a hatch through which the crew members could enter, the rear half of the turret roof was merely folded forward, adding to the visual that the roof was much less protected than the rest of the vehicle.
"It's probably safe," Saori said. "They coat these with carbon something-or-other, so even armour that's fairly thin can resist the most powerful shells anyone would be firing at it. It's not like the top of the tank is going to have many canons firing at it anyway."
Anna appeared unconvinced, reaching out to touch the roof as she could somehow confirm its strength that way.
"The Sensha-do league really emphasizes matters of safety. If they couldn't find a way to make this tank safe, they simply wouldn't allow it to be used in a match," Saori assured her. "Granted, they don't really seem to care that there are people who conduct battles while sitting on their tanks, but that's neither here nor there. Remember what I told you before?"
"In the tank, not on it?"
"Right." Seeing that Anna remained hesitant, Saori decided to change her approach. "For the time being, let's switch positions. Radioman gets to sit down in the hull where it doesn't really matter how strong the roof is or isn't, so you'll feel safe down there. Pay attention during the battle; if you still think sitting in the turret is unsafe after our first match, we'll explain your position to Saito-senpai and ask if we can just keep the same roles for the second match."
"You think they'd let us?" Anna asked. "Takahashi-senpai wanted to test all of the recruits out on all of the positions."
"What else would they do, kick you off the team?"
"I don't want to be kicked off..."
"No, I mean they obviously wouldn't do that. Who would be of more use to them: Someone who refuses to take a certain job in the tank because she doesn't feel safe in it, or someone who takes no position at all because she's not on the team to begin with?"
"I guess you're right." Anna paused briefly before bringing up another concern. "But Saorin, this only makes me safe. You'll still be in the turret."
"Anna, I plan on joining this team regardless of how you feel about it," Saori told her. "I feel perfectly safe in the loader's position, so it's not a problem."
"Did you always feel this way about danger? If this is how all Sensha-do practitioners are, then maybe mum was right about it not being the right activity for me."
"I was scared at first, too. Eventually, you just learn to trust the tank's armour to protect you. You become brave and face your fears."
"Rather than becoming brave and facing your fears, I get the impression that a more accurate phrasing would be becoming reckless and losing your common sense."
Saori laughed. "Maybe it's a bit of both, but either way it's pretty fun. Are you going to get in the tank or not?"
Not long afterward, an tall girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail climbed down into the tank, taking her position in the front left of the tank's hull.
"Saori-san, Anna-san, you both in there?" Saito's voice called out to them from above the tank.
"We're both here," Saori replied.
"Good. Wada and I are going to finish some pre-operation checks out here, but it should only take us a short while. Sakurai will show you the basics of your tasks."
The girl in the driver's seat bowed her head. "Sakurai Ayumi, pleased to meet you. Your job in a nutshell is as follows: There are shells behind you. They need to go in the gun to your right."
"The knowledge imparted by your advice blows my mind, senpai."
"I know, right?" Sakurai laughed mischievously. "Ah, you're standing in for Erina, which means part of your duties include telling random anecdotes. Saito may be judging you based on how well you load the gun, but I'll be judging you based on how Erinaful you manage to be."
"Now, a more detailed explanation of that other job. After you've loaded the gun, move out of the way so it doesn't hit you while recoiling, then call out 'clear'. While we're moving, you'll keep watch on our rear and right sides for enemies."
"Radioman, you'll keep watch to the front and right. Your headset has a switch near where it plugs in to change your microphone between interphone and radio modes. Other than that, it should be set up for communication with the commander's tank."
"Ayumi, you done tutorializing them?" Saito-senpai's voice called out from above.
"Something like that, yes."
"Excellent." Saito climbed into the tank turret, accompanied silently by a tall girl whom Saori presumed was their tank's gunner. "Saori, Anna, this is our gunner, Wada Erika. Erika, these are our temporary teammates, Takebe Saori and Ueno Anna."
Wada nodded her head in acknowledgment of the two recruits.
"Well, might as well get some experience for you two as soon as possible," Saito said. She threw her arm outward, pointing dramatically to the front of their tank. "Ayumi, take us out of here."
From the observation tower of the Ibaraki University Sensha-do club's training grounds, Takahashi Mao watched the training battle unfold. Well, the term 'watch' could really only be used in the loosest sense here, as trees made any direct observation of the battle more or less impossible, not to mention that a safe distance for observing Sensha-do was at a distance of sever kilometers. Still, the tower came equipped with computerized viewscreens that displayed each participating tank's transponder data, which provided at least a general idea of what was going on. Taking advantage of the fact that one team was currently making a strategic withdrawal, Takahashi skimmed through her copy of the notes on the new recruits.
"Ueno, there's a girl here who has experience listed but no school. If you don't remember what she said during introductions, try to ask about it before she leaves today."
"I don't skip information when taking notes," the team manager replied, somewhat irritated. "Not everybody stuck to the same format when giving their history, and she didn't mention her school at all."
"Well, ask her-"
"Already looked it up," Ueno said, holding up his phone.
"Already? Is there some place you can get information like that so easily? If I'd known that, I would have just had you compile this information ahead of time..."
"I wouldn't be able to do it for anyone," Ueno informed her. "I was curious because she's Anna's partner, so I searched the web without really expecting any results. Turns out she's from a school that people have taken quite an interest in."
Ueno slid his own notes in front of Takahashi. It was nearly identical to the copy that she'd been given, with the exception of a single line where he'd written in some additional information after copying it.
Takebe Saori. Two years as radio operator, Ooarai Girl's High School. Command Tank.
"Well," Takahashi remarked, no longer talking to Ueno but merely thinking out loud to herself. "That is interesting..."