Chapter 1
In Which Ayako Ishiguro Meets Her Team and is Dismayed
Ayako Ishiguro stared at True North High School's unimpressive sensha-dō team hangar.
It was a single Nissen hut in the thirty foot span pattern, not exactly decrepit but showing signs of age and wear: some rust streaks down its sides and peeling paint on the red façade. It stood on its own in a corner of the campus some distance away from the other buildings, like an unpopular younger sibling banished to the opposite side of the room.
It was a far cry from the facilities at Kuromorimine.
She hadn't wanted to leave, of course, but the company her father and mother worked for had opened an office in Aomori prefecture. They had both been assigned as team leaders at the new location and had insisted that she move with them. She had tried arguing that she could continue on at Kuromorimine and visit their new home during the holidays, but her parents believed that the family should stay close together.
"It is almost the whole length of the country away from Kuromorimine's home port," her father had said. "And besides, a change of scenery will do you good. It broadens the mind and improves adaptability." Ayako also had a sneaking suspicion that they didn't particularly approve of her old school.
So she had moved as well, with many sullen silences.
The farewell party with her old sensha-dō teammates had been an awkward affair. They had all wished her luck and said all the right understanding words, but there had been an undercurrent of dismissal. The other problem was that none of them knew how to have a good time at a party.
The worst thing, though, the thing that gnawed at her, was what was left unfinished.
She had been at Kuromorimine for two years. During her first year, the team had lost for the first time in nine years to those arrogant fools from Pravda High School. The next year had been far worse, with the upstarts from Ōarai, outgunned and outnumbered, humiliating them on a national stage. It was enough to make her think that she was bad luck. And now, she would not have the chance to help rectify the situation at the next National Championship.
She would have to make the best of things. It was a popular saying of her father's. The very first day at her new, much smaller school, she had tried to find out if they had a sensha-dō program. It had occurred to her that it would be somewhat improbable for a small school she had never heard of to be involved in the sport. None of the students she talked to knew if a team existed. It certainly wasn't on the list of electives. Then, just when she had resigned herself to being tankless, as it were, she had spied a yellowing piece of paper pinned to a noticeboard, advertising for new sensha- dō team members. Someone had hand-illustrated the flyer enthusiastically with an odd juxtaposition of armoured vehicles, stars and hearts.
So here she was. She tried the door of the hut, found it unlocked, and strode through.
"Heads up!"
A red and white blur swerved to avoid her, hit the wall and rebounded to land flat on its back on the concrete floor. She realized it was a girl in hockey gear wearing rollerblades. She stared in fascination. Was she hurt? Should she call for help? A tennis ball that the girl had been using as a puck rolled slowly towards the shadows in the back of the building.
"How's ya getten' on, b'y?"
Another girl with short black hair and green eyes was sitting in an old office chair, spinning around in it idly. She was wearing the school's uniform of a maroon blazer with white piping, white dress shirt, red and blue striped tie and a plaid skirt.
"I'm OK." The first girl sat up and used her hockey stick to lever herself back onto her skates. "Sorry about that, eh?" she said, addressing Ayako.
"I apologize for distracting you," said Ayako. "I am Ishiguro."
Hockey girl pulled off her glove and offered her hand. "I'm Hayley. That's Liza-san over in the chair." Liza gave her a friendly wave.
"Are you with the school's sensha- dō team?" asked Ayako, shaking hands with Hayley. "That's why I am here. I saw the advertisement for new members."
Hayley and Liza looked blank. "We gots an advertisement?" Liza asked Hayley.
Comprehension dawned on Hayley's face. "Oh yeah, I remember that. That's been up since… uh… well, before I came here anyway." She took off her helmet revealing shoulder length blond hair. "So, you want to join, eh?"
"I do," said Ayako. "I have two years of experience as loader and second-in-command in a Panther Ausf. G tank. I was with Kuromorimine before I transferred here," she finished proudly.
Hayley whistled. "The big guns, eh? Too bad about the finals."
"Yes," said Ayako shortly, attempting to forestall any further discussion about the Championship.
"Those Ōarai girls really ran rings around ya there, b'y," said Liza sympathetically.
"Remember how they took out the Maus?" said Hayley. "That was hilarious!"
"And when the Jagdtiger went into that ditch! Lard tunderin', I handy 'bout died b'y!"
They both giggled at the memories, but stopped when they saw Ayako's expression.
Two years ago, no one would have been laughing at my old school, Ayako thought. Then Liza's words registered.
"Why do you talk like that?" she demanded.
"I am speaking in the dialect used by the inhabitants of Newfoundland," said Liza seriously. "I understand it is rugged land populated by hardy fisher folk. My own family here in Aomori has been in the fishing industry for centuries."
Everyone else Ayako had met so far at True North sounded more like Hayley. "I see. Clearly you must feel some kindred attachment with them."
"This school was founded to exchange Canadian culture and know-how," said Liza. "So we act the part. The Newfoundlanders struck a chord with me."
"Will you introduce me to the other members?" asked Ayako.
"There's just us two," said Hayley.
"What about your tanks?"
"We gots this one!" Liza, reverting to character, gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.
Sure enough, there was a tank back in the recesses of the hangar. It was a… Sherman? But the turret looked different. She walked around it.
"It's a Ram Mk. II, late version," said Hayley.
"I've never heard of it," said Ayako. But if it was like a 75 mm Sherman, it was no match for a Panther.
"Twenty nine tons, one six pounder gun, one coaxial machine gun, one hull machine gun, five crew," Hayley rattled off.
"How can you fight matches with one barely crewed tank?" Ayako asked in disbelief.
Hayley shrugged. "We don't. The sensha-dō club is mostly just an excuse for us to hang out here. I practice my hockey skills and Liza… what do you do here, anyway?"
"Oh, I just watches ya roll around on them skates. It helps me relax after class."
Ayako was speechless. Hayley clapped her on the shoulder. "Well, welcome aboard, eh? See you tomorrow!"
Ayako fled back to the residence hall.
That night, Ayako dreamed she was fighting a match with Hayley and Liza against her old comrades in Kuromorimine. Everywhere she looked, heavy tank destroyers would come at them out of nowhere, pointing their huge high-velocity cannons at her. Hayley and Liza were ludicrously unconcerned and instead of firing their own gun, would shout "Bang!" instead, and then laugh uproariously. Ayako woke up, heart thumping, just when she was convinced that they were about to be blown away.
She sat up and ran her fingers through her long brown hair. This was unacceptable. She remembered hearing an American saying, something about making lemonade with lemons. It would be a challenge to weld this apathetic twosome into a crew worthy of her old school, but the bigger the challenge, the greater the reward.
She stopped by the school's administrative offices at lunchtime and officially signed up for the sensha-dō team. She was told that it was a non-credit, extracurricular club. "Not like your old school, eh?" said the friendly office assistant, handing Ayako a key to the hangar. She also confirmed that there were only two other members.
The moment classes were over for the day, Ayako hurried over to the hangar. As she had hoped, she was the first one there. She took advantage of this to have a good look around.
Voices outside presaged the arrival of Hayley and Liza, the former carrying her hockey equipment. They stopped when they saw Ayako.
"Good afternoon Hayley-san, good afternoon Liza-san!" Ayako greeted them.
"Uh, hi," replied Hayley. "You're here early, eh?"
"Yes, I wanted to examine the club's equipment and supplies. I am pleased to see that we have some ammunition and fuel for the Ram."
"Yeah…" replied Hayley cautiously.
"I suggest we get some practice time in. There appears to be a small gunnery range that we can use."
Hayley and Liza gave each other a look. "I tolds ya she was keen…" murmured Liza.
Hayley shrugged. "OK. Give me a hand to load the shells while Liza refuels."
Hayley climbed up onto the Ram's olive drab hull and Ayako passed her several six pounder practice shells which she stowed carefully in the racks.
"I am intrigued. How did True North end up with a sensha-dō team with only one tank?" said Ayako.
Hayley paused in her work. "The way I heard it, about nine years ago the school decided to get into sensha-dō. They bought this tank, built the hangar and set up the training area. They advertised the new elective and got a lot of students on board. Then the recession hit, the budget was cut and they never got any more tanks. They couldn't participate in the tournament, so most of the team members lost interest and drifted away. A few die-hards stuck around and kept things going. The school still provides a bit of money for us, enough to cover an overhaul of the vehicle every year and some fuel and ammo."
"And are you one of those die-hards?"
Hayley shrugged again. "Maybe. I don't know."
Ayako listed on her fingers. "I saw track imprints in the dirt outside, so you've been driving this tank recently. You watched the National Championship finals. You know all about this tank despite the fact that it's an obscure type."
Hayley gave her an unreadable look and finished loading the ammunition.
"She's all gassed up and ready to go, b'y," announced Liza.
"We must decide on crew positions," stated Ayako.
"I's the driver!" said Liza.
"We've been taking turns firing the gun," said Hayley. "You were a loader, right?"
"Loader and second-in-command," said Ayako. "I will act as both commander and loader if you will be the gunner."
"That works for me, eh?"
They slid the hangar's large rear doors aside and climbed inside the Ram. Ayako realized that there was only the single turret hatch. Sitting in the loader's position, all she had was a periscope to see outside. Clearly another crew member was needed if they wanted to fight the tank properly. Oh well. It would do for now.
"Start up!" she commanded.
The engine roared into life. "Driver, advance!"
Liza eased the tank forwards, tracks clattering on the concrete. There was a slight bump as they traversed the threshold, then Liza pressed the accelerator and the Ram picked up speed over the turf. The Continental radial engine purred away smoothly. Ayako felt again the sense of excitement, of invincibility, that she always got when riding tanks.
"Driver, head for the gunnery range," she ordered.
"Yes, b'y!"
"You must address me as commander."
"Yes, commander b'y!"
Ayako quashed her irritation. They crossed the square practice field and pulled up facing the single gunnery butt at the end of a kilometer-long range. Ayako grabbed a six pounder round and shoved it into the breech. "AP up!" Then, as commander: "Gunner, prepare to fire!"
"You got it, skipper," said Hayley.
"I said call me commander!"
"Sorry, eh?"
Ayako gritted her teeth. She adjusted her periscope to view the target downrange. At this distance, it was just a tiny white blot. She moved over to the commander's seat and grabbed a pair of field glasses from a stowage bin. Sticking her head out of the hatch, she focused once more on the target. That was better. She could clearly see the bull's-eye.
The counterweight on the end of the gun barrel depressed a few inches and the turret motor whined as Hayley made aiming adjustments.
"Fire!"
There was a brief pause and then the loud bang as the gun fired. The recoil mechanism absorbed the shock and the empty shell casing clanged into the canvas bag under the breech. A puff of dust erupted a foot or so below the target board.
Ayako now had to scramble back to the loader's position, yank out another shell, load it and return to the hatch. The stink of propellant filled the turret.
"Fire!"
This time, the shot was high. Ayako did her loading routine again. The third shot hit the lower right corner of the target. Hayley gave her a thumbs-up.
"Do you want to try it, skipper?"
Ayako stared at Hayley until she corrected herself. "Commander?"
"No, you are the gunner. We will move and have you try again."
Liza relocated the tank and Hayley aimed and fired. This time it took four shots to score a hit. Ayako shook her head. Hayley wasn't the worst gunner she had seen, but she lacked consistency.
"Gunner, cease fire. Driver, we will return to the hangar."
They parked the Ram and clambered out. "So, what do you think of her?" asked Hayley, slapping the glacis. "She's a bit better than a standard Sherman and probably as good as a late model Pzkpfw IV."
Ayako digested this. "The Panzer IV was the brainchild of Heinz Guderian, the master of Blitzkrieg. This is…"
"The product of Canadian ingenuity! This was the first tank Canada ever developed," said Hayley proudly.
"I can tell," said Ayako. She went on briskly. "We'll continue our practice sessions here daily. We also need to recruit a loader so I can concentrate on command."
Liza looked over at Hayley. Hayley sighed. "This is fun and all, but what's the point? What are you trying to do?"
Ayako met her gaze levelly. "I am trying to bring you up to Kuromorimine's standards. I want us to be the best."
Hayley nodded grudgingly. "That's a noble goal, I guess."
"You don't fully agree?"
Hayley's expression firmed. "Excellence is worth pursuing, even if we can't apply it."
"Good! I will see you here tomorrow afternoon."
It's a promising start, Ayako thought. But this was only the beginning of what she wanted to do.
Author's Notes:
I started writing this fanfic before Maple High School was introduced, so True North is now a second, more obscure Canadian-themed school. The Ram was an attempt to create an indigenous tank by combining the chassis of the M3 Lee with a new hull and turret. It was used mostly for training, but some variants saw combat like the Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier, the Sexton self-propelled gun and artillery observer versions of the Mk. II.