"All right, listen up!" Kay was shouting, almost screaming at her fellow tank enthusiasts, the Panzerfahren team of Saunders. "Big news! Like seriously big news! So big, I was like wow, is this for real until they handed me the rulebook!" Waving an 115 page thick rule book around, which were all supplementary rules and exceptions to existing Sensha-Dou rules. "But fret not, I'm gonna break the news-ow, Naomi, what was that for?"
"You're leading them on." Blowing a big bubble from the rare red bean paste flavored bubblegum she had ordered online, the short haired gunner of Kay's personal tank put her leader back in line.
"Long story short, after 3 years and change, the International Panzerfahren Committee has finalized the rules for the Kriegsmachine Festival." Kay had practiced saying that word on her way to the hangar, where all the members were waiting for their leader to show up.
"The what?" One of the girls asked.
"A big no holds barred extended competition that simulates a real war with real tanks! It's a free for all between however many schools sign up and there is tons of extra rules. Usually the match lasts for a few hours, right? This special competition can last weeks! We're given supplies to set up camp, there are air drops that we have to chase after for rations and stuff, we have to protect our tanks against sabotage and we can even mess with other teams out of tank. We can infiltrate, steal from them, even kidnap people, but it's all regulated to hell and back so there's no foul play." Kay glanced at Alisa. She had already told her that if she messes up, the staff is going to be quick to disqualify all of Saunders. "It's like a real war."
There was a moment of silence while everyone processed these news and then rampant chattering broke out. "Woah, woah, stop! I'm super excited too, but there's some really big caveats! The principal said that if we want to attend, we have to make sure we win and heck yeah we will win. The other big caveat is that we hafta meet the rule requirements and that's a bit of a problem."
Alisa grumbled something that sounded like idiotic rule under her breath and Kay ignored her deliberately. "First, we gotta double practice because we need to get some out of tank maneuvers down pat. We're getting paint guns since real guns are obviously totally no go, so we gotta practice shooting and stealth. We'll make the American military look like scrubs after we're done!" Kay didn't really believe that but she had to get her girls riled up. "I already got to try shooting one of those babies and it's hella fun! Hurts a bit when you get hit but not nearly as much as the ringing in your ears when your tank gets a full broadside."
The hangar was full of super excited girls now. They would get to do operations outside of tanks like real infantry? That was new and super unexpected.
"But wait, there is more!" Kay had one last ace up her sleeve before she dropped the big bomb on everyone. "The school that wins the competition will not only get to call themselves the national champions of Japan but also, and I am serious, the winning team gets a big fat bonus to their budget! They didn't tell me exactly how much but they said approximately three times of our half-yearly budget!"
The room exploded like Kay had just had her M4 Sherman fire into the crowd. There were loud questions Seriously and a few of the girls were jumping up and raising their fists to the sky, shouting in preemptive victory. The mood was starting to escalate, with one of the more shameless girls taking off her uniform and whirling it around.
"You riled them up too far, Kay." Naomi could tell that Kay realized this too.
"If you're that excited, the final hurdle will be easy-peasy for you!" Kay felt the mood drop just slightly. "… there is one more caveat." Kay was not excited about this one either. "All schools got kinda a national theme going, right? We're pretty American themed and for the competition, all teams are required to speak the designated language for their theme country."
There was unanimous outcry about this. "Yeah, yeah, I know, English is bloody hard! It sucks! But the fun! The money! Our glorious victory! We got 4 and a half months before the competition and the principal is having a real life American fly in drill some real American English in our heads. Like they say over there, Hell yeah, lets do this!" Kay didn't know if they actually said that over in America. She had never even been close to that country.
=== Tea and Cola ===
Four and a half months later.
"Внимание!" Nonna shouted as loud as she could, her subordinates surrounding their tanks in heavy winter gear; fur hats, fur boots and heavy jackets, all reminiscent of the Soviet Union military. "Вольно!" Nonna, despite Katyusha's complaints, shoved a wooden stool in front of her, Katyusha taking the stage herself.
"Товарищи! [It's almost time to show those other schools that there can be only one victor in this grand battle and that it is rightfully Pravda's! We'll smash them like bugs with our superior might! Look, even the gods of winter are on our side! The snow and cold is our element!] Приготовьтесь к битве!"
The Kriegsmachine Competition took place on a special super large carrier that was owned by the committee itself. A prohibitively expensive, colossal ship that dwarfed even most school ships. The goal was to make Panzerfahren a famous sport worldwide and hopefully making it eligible as an Olympic discipline.
The super carrier, The Warship, was long and wide enough that it was moving at a snail's speed, at best. All the other schools had to come there to off load their tanks and attend. Various translators, all specializing in translating foreign languages into Japanese, were present on broadcast stations. Unmanned flying drones circled the ships, over a hundred in total, and every tank came equipped with a special broadcast antennae that was prohibited from being hacked because it fed the broadcast station with audio.
The northern third of the carrier was artificially kept cold, simulating the cold winters in the Soviet Union, Northern America and the northern European countries. The southern part was the opposite, simulating the hot summers in southern Japan, the southern reaches of Italy and Spain and so on.
Kuromorimine Girls High School was situated in the temperate zone, a more than sixty square kilometer large zone that was in the center of the carrier. They too were preparing for battle. It was just after high noon and the battle was set to commence at 12:30 PM. "Stillgestanden!" Maho Nishizuma, Overall Commander of the public favorite to win the competition, was addressing her troops. While Saunders and St. Gloria learned English, Pravda was taught Russian and Kuromorimine had to learn German, which was quite the trial of endurance for them.
"[We are about to participate in history. The first ever Kriegsmachine competition, a great battle royal between all willing high schools in Japan, is about to commence with us as its center point. Make no mistake. It is not our desire to win. We are not participation with the intention of fighting off the Russians, the Americans or the British. Is it but our duty to achieve complete victory! To prove victory with our infallible tactics and might! We are the people's hope. We are the pride of Germany!]"
Maho's speech was not as well received as she had hoped because not all of them spoke German well enough to understand all of it. "Erika."
"General Major Nishizumi." Erika slammed the heels of her boots together and saluted. "[A more… simplistic manner of addressing the troops might be worthy of your consideration.]"
Maho cleared her throat, put her heels together and saluted before raising her hand. "Sieg Reich!"
=== Tea and Cola ===
Three days had passed since the battle begun and Kay was glad that Saunders had such a large amount of tanks. "[How are repairs coming]?" Her role had expanded from just commanding her girls and tanks in battle to literally running a small army and she did her best to avoid being crushed by it. Everyone else has to be struggling with the same issues. Shortage of supplies. The prolonged camping, meaning putting up new camps or protecting old bases. And morale. We lost 12 tanks over three days so far. Damn Pravda, we shouldn't have chased them into the cold zone. Kay was a good commander but not an exceptional one. She definitely was not made for running an army by herself.
"[Repairs on three M4A1 Sherman's will be done before light breaks. We're short spare parts to repair the M4A6 Shermans that got damaged. If we cannibalize one of the undamaged M4A1, we can put all four of the M4A6 back in service.]" One of girls that had previously worked as a driver was doubling as a mechanic. Her short, brown curly hair was in dire need of a shower and her face was covered in grime and smears of oil.
"[Do it. Have the scouts come back yet?]" Kay was a little overwhelmed with everything. Naomi luckily handled supply management for her and Alisa handled scout assignments and raiding parties. That left Kay with general base and personnel management, battle commanding and every truly important decision. A battle was usually over within a few hours. This competition was really pushing her to discover new skills and new sides of herself.
A sharp whistle sound caught her attention. The scouts are back. Sabotage at night was an important aspect of warfare. After listening in on the transmission frequency that Chi-Ha-Tan used, Saunders learned that Pravda had torched their base camp and stolen all of their supplies. They must be holding out on willpower alone out there. Kay had always been optimistic about fighting and she preferred to play fair, but in this competition, sabotage was fair game. And to stand against a chance against Kuromorimine and their insane tenacity, she needed every advantage she could get. They had found Pravda's and Kuromorimine's transmission frequencies earlier that day but since none of them spoke even a lick of Russian or German, it was completely useless to them.
"[Hurry up!]" Alisa's angry voice echoed from twenty or so meters away. Of the eight girls dispatched as scouts, five were still on their feet, including Alisa. Two had been shot and been grazed. Another had been shot and hit right in the shoulder. The paint bullets hurt but not more than a half-serious punch from Kay hurt. "[Get her to the medic right away!]"
The medics were basically just medics in name only. Since the injury was superficial at worst, their job was to determine what damage the shot would have caused if it was a real bullet. They were not affiliated with Saunders directly but supplied from the staff and completely impartial.
"[What happened?]" Kei's English was above passable and she could hold a decent conversation, although she sometimes forgot a word or two in her instructions during combat. And the word shit slipped out a lot since the competition had begun.
"[Not out here.]" Alisa shook her head and pointed to Kay's tent, which was just slightly larger than the others and a dark green and brown.
They all had genuine second-hand military tents from America. Saunders had spared no expense to make them as genuinely American as possible and it paid off. The broadcast of Saunder's activities pulled in more than 60 million people worldwide, more than 50 million of those from foreign broadcast stations that just re-broadcast the feed and cut out the translator and supplied their own. Over the last three days, Panzerfahren had become gradually popular in the eyes of foreign nations.
"[We ran into a scouting troop from Ooarai and they opened fire on us from atop a hill.]" Despite being the one that bemoaned the English classes the most, four of them every day, Alisa was almost at the top of her class now. "[We returned fire and I want to say I am pretty sure we hit one of them lethally, but that is not really why we hurried back. Nor is it that Mayushi got shot. On our way back, we had to shake Ooarai and by complete coincidence we found an enemy camp. St. Gloriana is only about five kilometers to-]" Alisa took out a compass from her pocket. "[East. Kay, we can't waste this chance. I am absolutely certain they didn't spot us. Their guards were drinking tea, for fucks sake!]"
"[Get everyone that scored A in the drills together. We'll give Darling a little midnight visit.]"
"[Darling? You… Kay, you laid your hands on someone in St. Gloriana?]" Alisa had always suspected that Kay swung that way. There were not many other reasonable explanations regarding her lack of boyfriends.
"[It's a joke, a joke! St. Gloriana's commander is Darjeeling, right? Just cut out some letters and it becomes Darling!]" Kay really wished her subordinates would appreciate her sense of humor some more.
"[Roger!]" Alisa quickly saluted, the same way the American Army did, and walked right out of the tent.
I really wish they would permit us to at least talk in Japanese in private. All the English was getting to Kay. She even had nightmares about being stranded in an American army base and everyone speaking in really complicated and formal terms and not being able to communicate. For over four months, they had twenty hours of English lessons per week, supplemented by self-study on weekends and having to put what they learned to use during infantry drills. They had gone and absolved a hellish training regimen to win. They could talk in Japanese if they whispered to each other so the audio couldn't be picked up but they were asked by the broadcasters to keep that to a minimum.
Alisa rounded up twelve people. Ten of them were going to be a decoy while Kay and she herself were going to nab their commander. Capturing a commander didn't have any immediate effect under the rules as the next highest ranking member of St. Gloriana would just take command temporarily. But it gave them great leverage with St. Gloriana and even other teams. Kay, however, secretly had other plans.
Outfitted with night vision goggles, courtesy of an American sponsor, the Saunders squad set off without much of an explanation beyond what Alisa told them. Their goal was to put the St. Gloriana base camp under fire and raise hell.
"[No sign of Ooarai.]" One of the girls that was an especially good shot with a sniper rifle, of which even Saunders only had four total, reported in over their short range radios. "[3000 meters to target.]" Imitating American military as much as they did, they still couldn't make sense of the strange non-metric system the Americans used.
Kay was wielding an M4 Rifle, loaded with cartridges that fired paint bullets leaving behind the Saunders signature blue color on impact. Additionally, she carried two M45A1 CQBP Handguns, loaded with the same cartridges. Alisa was carrying the M4 as well and also a Colt RO635 SMG, a Submachine Gun. The remainder of their squad was using the M4 while two of them carried the Barret M90, a Sniper Rifle.
None of them could match any kind of professional soldier but they out-classed almost any kind of amateur or hobbyist at this point. Kay opted out of bringing their single M203 Grenade Launcher because that thing fired something very similar to the actual ammunition used by their tanks and the goal was to distract Gloriana, not take them out.
"[1000 meters.]"
"[Radio silence. Switch to code.]" Kay had come up with a few specific words that only the Saunders troops would make sense of in case they met Gloriana on the battlefield. Their shared theme language would be an issue.
Making it to the perimeter of Gloriana undetected, Kay spotted several guards, the British tanks encircling the base, the guards spotting mostly L85A2 Rifles. Kay also spotted two L111A1 Heavy Machine Guns, mounted on top of tanks and operated by two girls each. That's gonna be trouble. If they start firing on us with those we'll be covered in paint and declared KIA. Showing hand signs to split into groups, Kay then pointed away from the L111A1. Assault in 30 was the final sign.
Alisa followed Kay through the thicket of the underbrush and got in position. The second they sounded the alarm and shouted Enemy Attack, the guards would be distracted. Non-lethal. Kay stared at Alisa intensely for a moment until she finally showed the sign that she understood.
And then the first shots were heard. The guns were still nearly as loud as real ones, a special mechanism that was designed to imitate the pressure and tenacity of a real firefight with lives on the line.
A siren went off, not loud enough to carry on for more than two kilometers at most, and in contrast to Kay's expectations, the guards at the back of the camp didn't just become distracted, they moved away from their post. The American commander and her subordinate immediately moved in, moving crouched as quickly as they could. The commander's tent was easy to identify but the situation became hectic almost immediately after.
"[Who is attacking us?!]" Kay recognized that voice, it belonged to Rosehip. ["Get everyone out there! Whoever it is, we'll teach them to attack Great Britain!]"
She didn't even wait for an answer before deciding to go out there in numbers. And why is Rosehip even in command? Kay looked at Alisa and peeked out from cover, the backside of a large tent. Carefully aiming, she shot just past the head of one of the guards operating the L111A1. "[Sniper! Cover!]" Kay shouted, with as girly and British an accent as she could. It had the desired effect. Everyone covered for a moment, which Kay and her aide used to move up. The camp was three circles. A circle of tanks, a circle of tents and then all the important supplies and such in the center, the smallest circle. Kay and Alisa moved from tent to tent, heading towards the much larger commander's tent that was unfortunately almost across the camp from where they had infiltrated.
The sound of gunfire filled the night and the camp and Kay really hoped that her girls would get out in one piece. They really need to be taught a lesson or two in base security, Kay thought. She could have easily started a fire but she didn't want to seriously damage Gloriana's capabilities. And finally, they made it to Darjeeling's tent. A guard was posted in front of it, a guard that wasn't moving. On three. Another hand sign.
The guard only saw a shadow move out from beside the tent before she was swept off her feet by a blonde and then had the nozzle of a Rifle to her forehead. "[Open your mouth and I will shoot without mercy. And to sweeten the pot, I will set fire to your supplies. That will be quite the kaboom.]" Alisa enjoyed making threats in English. Somehow, they sounded more terrifying in English than they did in Japanese.
Kay found Darjeeling in a compromising situation. Half dressed, or half naked, Darjeeling was only wearing the bottom part of her uniform, the black boots and her dark brown skirt, looking visibly unwell. "[Don't move, Darling.]" Oh, shoot. I slipped. "[You're coming with us. Not a word or Gloriana will lose their commander.]" Kay had her M4 pointed right at Darjeeling's exposed chest. I should at least give her time to get dressed.
"[Kay, we need to go.]" Alisa hissed from the outside. "[They're shooting less which means we either lost or they're retreating.]"
"[Sorry about this, but we gotta go now.]" Kay grabbed a bundle of red clothing on a small folding chair and threw it into Darjeeling's arms. "[Move!]" Kay wanted to win and if she had to treat Darjeeling a bit rough to get out of this in one piece, then so be it.
Pushing the unarmed Darjeeling, who tried to remain composed but was still visibly unwell and unnerved by Kay's appearance in her tent, through the front of the tent, Kay noticed Darjeeling exchange a single look with her guard. Pushing her hard, Kay nodded to Alisa, who pulled up the guard and shoved her as well. They couldn't leave her behind or a retreat would become difficult. Alisa would have knocked her out with the butt of her rifle if the rules allowed for that but that was a clear violation of the rules and would have gotten all of Saunders disqualified on the spot.
They could hear the sounds of tanks being started up and Rosehip's unintelligible shouting in the distance. Then the first tank shell roared over the camp and hit the trees. "[Shit! Who is shooting at them?]"
Alisa could make out only a single word amidst the confused and tense shouting of the British camp. "[Finish. Must be Jatkosota High.]"
"[What are they doing, attacking in the middle of the night?]" Kay figured that visibility must have been near zero. They only had dim lamps at the camp and they were surrounded by trees. The carrier was far away from civilization, too, so no light radiation in the sky, making it a really dark night. Kay hadn't even needed to take off her night vision goggles inside the camp, that's how sparsely everything was lit.
Darjeeling stumbled over a tree's roots and fell. "[Commander!]" The guard opened her mouth but was shut up immediately
"Are you okay?" Kay responded in Japanese without thinking and quickly covered her mouth. There was no outright penalty for doing so as long as the staff deemed it an involuntary response. "[Are you hurt?]" Pulling Darjeeling off the ground, Kay felt that she was all wobbly on her legs. Shit. Putting away her rifle, carrying it on her back since with a belt, Kay picked up Darjeeling, carrying her piggyback. She's heavier than I thought.
Alisa didn't like how this was developing. Keeping the guard in check, she was ready to shoot her if necessary, Kay's orders or not.
Panzer shells started flying over the camp and the British were mounting a counter offensive. Kay hurried as much as she could but carrying a person really slowed her down.
"[Alle Panzer, Feuer!]" Maho's voice echoed through the forest like it was being transmitted by a speaker. She was really into this extended game of war.
"[Открытый огонь!]" Katyusha's voice met Maho's just half a second after the German's order.
Kay, Alisa and the guard all ducked and jumped to cover as tank shells started filling the air. Kay managed to keep Darjeeling on her back during all of that. "[Holy shit! Alisa, did you invite Pravda and Kuromorimine?!]" Kay tried to count just how many tanks there were out there based on fire cycles but it was far too chaotic for her to make sense of it. "[It's like that thing out there, that big fight with everyone for themselves!]"
"[Battle Royale?]" Darjeeling suggested without making any attempts to have Kay put her down. She wasn't feeling any better.
"Yeah, that." Kay slipped up again. Even if the staff most likely had no way to monitor them in this situation, it was about fair play and adherence to the rules. And as tiring as it was, getting fully into character and following the rules was fun.
"[What do we do now? Going out there and we'll be blown up, run over or shot at.]" Alisa peeked out of cover, the backside of a large tree, and saw half a dozen Pravda tanks roll by not even a hundred meters away. "[What is Pravda even doing here?]"
"[Chasing Kuromorimine. Rosehip had a run in with Kuromorimine earlier today and they've been chasing us ever since. Pravda is completely focused on them.]" Darjeeling was much more eloquent than this, usually, but the situation didn't allow for any great British Grace.
"[In any case, there is no way we can stay here, we need- are you nuts?!]" Alisa shouted at the guard that suddenly made a run for it and took aim. Stupid bitch. Opening fire with her M4, Alisa hit her four times in the legs, covering her in blue paint. "[Don't blame me for her recklessly charging out there.]"
"[I was expecting casualties. You made the right-]" Kay's words were drowned out by a shot from a Pravda IS-2. The explosion of the shell threw dirt, twigs and stones all over the place and Kay shielded her prisoner with her body from the mostly lightweight barrage. "[Damn. We're sitting ducks out there. We're going! Hold on, Darjeeling.]"
Stop calling her that! Alisa was strangely upset by this entirely inappropriate nickname. Only when they actually started running did she realized that the extra three letter had been there that time. Shells were hitting the ground, creating holes and felling trees, all around them. Forget like a war, this is war! A real one! All players had been advised to get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible if they found themselves in the middle of a tank battle, but that was akin to running away and abandoning the battlefield.
Kay ran so hard that Darjeeling had to try very hard not to fall off or repeatedly bump against Kay's back, each step shaking their bodies as hard as the shells around them shook the air. But Darjeeling was not actually that worried. She had a hunch about what the American girl was really after.
Kay's breathing was wrecked, her throat burning and her chest full of piercing pain, but finally, finally they made it out of the immediate combat zone. They could still hear tanks firing in the distance, and for a moment, they saw a number of large shadows hurriedly flee the battlefield. I presume those must be Jatkosota's tanks. One of the tanks was trailing behind the others and the British girl thought that smoke had to be raising from it, but it was near impossible to tell in the darkness without night vision goggles like Kay and her subordinate were wearing.
Kay couldn't keep going and put Darjeeling down, who immediately raised her hands slightly, no higher than about halfway to her head, because of Alisa's rifle. It was bad form for a British to surrender, things like those were to be reserved for the French, so she kept her gestures to a minimum. It really bothered her that she was essentially half naked still and the top part of her uniform had been lost when Kay dove for safety earlier. Thankfully, none of her own girls could see her in this miserable state. I must rethink my stance on insisting on Tea Time when we only have foreign imports left. She had grossly miscalculated how much tea her British forces would consume over the course of this competition.
The American commander was on the cold ground, the grass slightly wet, and started to take off her coat. All American participants were supplied with clothing that looked highly similar to that of the real American army during training and combat operations. Kay just wore that over her usual clothes. "[Here.]" In an act of chivalry, Kay handed her coat to Darjeeling, who hesitated. Putting on an American coat of warms was… not as bad as being half-naked, she decided. She would have definitely refused a coat from Kuromorimine, who wore uniforms highly reminiscent of the German Bundeswehr, or a Pravda uniform, which hadn't changed much.
"[Commander, we need to go.]"
"[I can't. Nope. No way. I'm FUBAR.]" She loved that acronym. "[Fire the signal flare. The Germans and Russians should retreat if they see our color in the sky. They'll think the might of America is about to come down on them and they can't handle us if they're already fighting each other and the British.]"
"[Reconsider that order! That'll make it look like we are helping the British.]"
"[That's the idea.]" Kay looked at Darjeeling. "[Think of it as the start of our own special relationship.]"
"[I worry Rosehip will notice my disappearance and chase after me. I am still unwell because of a slight mishap that occurred the day before, but I can at the very least return the good faith that you have shown the British and help you walk. I am correct that you intend to take me to your base camp for negotiations or ransom, yes?]"
I hate this woman, Alisa's thoughts were easy to read because she kept her rifle pointed at the unarmed British Commander.
"[Alisa. That's an order.]" Kay pulled rank on her co-commander and watched her pull the signal flare pistol she kept tugged away on the back of her belt.
Firing the signal flare high in the sky, the battlefield changed. The two American and one British girls couldn't hear it, but the spotters and operators of both the Russian and German forces were barking orders and relaying commands until both Katyusha and Maho were in the know that Saunders was on their way. Each army had their own unique signal flares and each spotter was trained to recognize them, even in the dead of night.
"[On behalf of St. Gloriana, the British will not forget this.]" Darjeeling knew better than to play proud. Pravda and Kuromorimine would have shown up even if Kay hadn't kidnapped her and without Saunders scaring them off with a bluff, Gloriana would have taken heavy losses, if not even end up eliminated.
Kay pulled out her radio. "[Code Orbit.]" That takes care of that. Code Orbit meant that they were using the threat of intervention by force to split up a multiple way battle in progress. But it was to remain a threat. Kay didn't want to have the entire base get kicked out of their field beds and sleeping bags.
"[Rapporto.]" A voice on the radio demanded.
"[Missione di successo.]" Another voice answered, hidden completely in the dark. "[Gli ordini si prega.]"
"[Tornare alla base.]" Return to base. It was Anchovy's voice that was issuing the order. She knew that in this big brawl between all the powerhouses, there was no way for Anzio to compete fairly or head-on. She had thrown an enormous tantrum at first over hiding and pitching the big schools against each other, but Carpaccio and Pepperoni convinced her that they had no chance of winning otherwise.
With both the Russians and the Germans retreating, the British counted and cut their losses and retreated to their base, putting everything on high alert. Meanwhile, Kay managed to rest up enough to return to her own camp. She had lost one member of the squad that had taken the broadside of the L111A1 and protected her comrades. Those that were KIA had to leave the base and head towards the nearest staff relay. They did so under the risk of exposing the base, so they were allowed to remain at base, but not do any chores, relay information or consume supplies until the base relocated or the school mounted an offensive so they could slip out without attracting enemy attention.
"[Good job, all of you.]" Kay looked in the general direction of the girl that had been killed and then she averted her eyes. "[If Makie was here, I'd tell her she did good in protecting her friends and teammates from the British gunners.]" She wasn't allowed to just thank the girl in person because of the rules but there were instances where it was completely acceptable to bend the rules. "[Cycle the guards, keep an eye out for Pravda and Kuromorimine, just in case. If they show, shoot first, talk later and don't even bother with questions.]"
Grabbing Darjeeling by her right arm, Kay pulled her along. "[Move!]" She made a little show of being rough with her for her girls. The British were still their enemies. But hopefully not for much longer.
Getting to the commander's tent, Kay shoved Darjeeling inside. "[Finally alone.]"
As a British Commander I should stand up to her but… her motives seem strangely ulterior. And what she just said… could it be? Now, it would not surprise me if she succumbed to my British grace and charm, and still, a battlefield is no place for thoughts such as that, I'd say. Darjeeling very much liked to be in character as well. And after learning British English for four months, she really enjoyed Panzerfahren even more. She was not a fan of infantry operations however and sabotage seemed like something the underhanded Germans or Russians would do. "[Commander Kay, I appreciate your feelings, I really do, but perhaps it is more than a small misuse of your troops to pursue personal, emotional goals.]"
Kay didn't have to be a genius to pick up on what Darjeeling what saying. "Wow, wow, hold it!" She slipped again and suddenly stepped up to Darjeeling, grabbing her arm. "That's not why I abducted you!" Kay whispered to the British commander. "I wanted an alliance. I read in class that America and Britain have a special relationship and I thought we could, too."
"A special relationship?" Darjeeling kept her voice as low as possible, too, which was difficult because she was now blushing. So she really wants her and me to be… like that? It isn't that unusual for girls engaged in Panzerfahren to have girlfriends, but… for me, the commander of the British forces, to indulge in pleasantries with the commander of the American forces during this competition?
A normal girl would have kept trying to clarify things, to clear up this misunderstanding, but not Kay. This was not what I had in mind but if she's that flustered, this might totally work! It really helps that she's pretty and smart at the same time. "Yeah… a special relationship." Grabbing Darjeeling's hand and forcefully intertwining their fingers, Kay put on her best seductive look, a slightly aggressive smile, her eyes narrowed a little, some of her curly hair falling over the British girl's shoulders. "How many times have we met on the battlefield? I never, ever, said anything because we go to different schools and were enemies but here… we don't have to be. I can be true to my feelings." Taking the hand she was holding and putting it on her large chest, Kay smirked. "Feel how hard my heart is beating, being this close to you?" Of course it's beating like crazy. I nearly puked my guts out running out of that battlefield. But I guess a third of it is maybe because she is really damn hot. Maybe half even. Maybe-
"T-This won't do." Darjeeling tried to pull her hand away but her body was refusing to supply her with any strength. I've sometimes… fantasized about her, but to be right in front of her… and she is saying she wants to have a relationship with me? Usually, Darjeeling was a very proud and calm girl, but she was also easily influenced by her own assumptions and ideas. "W-We can't. It wouldn't be right. I cannot betray my school like this." And still she left her hand on Kay's chest, still blushing, still excited and nervous.
This is gonna be easy. Kay was smirking on the inside. Getting even closer to Darjeeling, Kay smirked wider on the inside when the girl reluctantly backed away, a little less than necessary to remain apart from the American. "You said it yourself. An Englishwoman will do anything in love and war." Kay quoted Darjeeling to herself. I am not even holding her hand in place anymore and she's still touching my boobs. I am getting pretty darn excited here myself, though.
Darjeeling had her face averted from Kay, who kept pushing her back until the British girl felt the field bed's metal bars against her bare legs. There was no more room to back away without sitting down on the bed. She had to make a stand, right there and then. "Listen. I welcome your feelings, but-"
"Oh, you welcome them? So this is mutual then." Kay forced herself up against the British girl and whispered in her ear. "That makes me happy." Now for the finishing touches. Putting her hand softly against Darjeeling's chin, Kay slowly turned her face towards her, staring deep into her eyes. Woah… I am getting butterflies here. I need to dial it back a notch. Turning Darjeeling's face a little more, Kay moved in for a kiss on her cheek. Her stomach was giving her trouble, now that she was putting the actual moves on her. I was just planning on bribing her or maybe leveraging her with her troops as ransom but this is… so much better. Damn am I nervous though. I'm having lengthy mind monologues on my own even.
Darjeeling's feelings as an Englishwoman demanded she no longer let herself be pushed around like that. Suddenly turning her head, her hands buried into Kay's long blond hair, the British girl surprised the American with a sudden kiss on the lips. Reversing the flow of their private meeting, Darjeeling pushed up against the charming commander, her lips firmly sealing Kay's mouth. She was not brave, not bold enough to attempt more than just a kiss, but she stood up to the American, stood up to all of America, it felt like. And that feeling gave her courage, granted her temporary bravery. When she broke away, ignoring Kay's fiercely scarlet face, Darjeeling remained as calm as a teenage girl possibly could in such a situation. "I never would have expected you would come and steal me away in the midst of night. A selfish and daring thief, taking what isn't hers and proclaiming it is theirs from there on."
Kay couldn't formulate a response, not even a clear line of thought. Her throat was burning, her chest on fire and it felt like her legs would give in any moment now. This is not how this was supposed to go! Her mind finally roared in defiance. But more so than being taken by such surprise, she couldn't let Darjeeling take control of this. This was her camp, her army, her ploy.
The kiss that had left Darjeeling proud of being an Englishwoman, one that could stand up for herself, was quickly returned by Kay, both of them stumbling towards the back of the tent because she was too forceful. Crashing down, Darjeeling was on her back, only her butt and her feet sound on the ground. She supported her upper body with her elbows, looking straight in the face of the American beauty in front of her, who was on her knees, refusing to break the kiss off even as they fell. This bodacious woman!
Darjeeling forced herself away, and felt like she threw away a fist sized lump of solid gold. When Kay tried to exert even more control over her, she put her full palm on the American's face. "Halt it."
Kay had no intention of obliging so, taking Darjeeling's hand and kissing her palm. "To kiss your palm is to appeal to you, isn't it?"
The blush that she so thoroughly beat just a minute ago returned with all of its embarrassing might to the British's face. "You appeal to me plenty already. Your manners and etiquette are terrible. Slow and steady wins the race. Know thyself and win all battles."
"So you want me to stop?" Caressing the cheek of the proud girl in front of her, Kay just then remembered that she was supposed to negotiate an alliance between teams with her. Not simply seduce her. To begin with, wasn't she only pretending to be into her? Yeah, I think I can totally forget about pretending here. I wanna gobble her up like a hamburger, indulge until I explode.
"Yes." Darjeeling pinched the skin on Kay's hand and finally got her to back off. "There is no danger of me going anywhere with so many of your armed girls outside." Now that she was starting to fight off the excitement she felt over the girl she liked suddenly proclaiming her feelings for her, Darjeeling felt the sickness from drinking bad tea come back. "You do not, by chance, have some quality tea in your possession?"
Good that I came prepared with a gift for all of the major schools for a situation just like this. Well, not exactly like this. I wouldn't be caught dead making out with one of the Pravda or Kuromorimine leaders. Kay, trying to appear polite, helped up Darjeeling, not by picking her up like a damsel but simply extending her hand, not as her captor but her equal. "I do have something good."
Calm down, my raging heart. Trying to calm herself with the prospect of finally being able to drink some quality tea, she hoped that Rosehip was not turning the base upside down for her whereabouts. But I almost cannot believe she would come and get me like this. To take me away at night, back to her base. To even carry me when I couldn't walk well enough on my own. I was definitely mistaken about the quality of her personality. But I am ever so glad I was. She appears brash, crude and wild on the surface, and while she certainly has the charm of an untamed lion, she is also beautiful in pursuing her desires and goals. As an Englishwoman, I could settle for no less than the most outstanding of women to be my partner.
Oh shit. Has there ever been a plan in history so simple that went so wrong? I just wanted to go in, grab here, take her back, work some magic on her and get her to agree to team up until we get rid of Kuromorimine and Pravda. How exactly did I go from thinking about her as an enemy commander to wanting to wanting to rip off her clothes, sink my hands into those nice boobs of hers and have sex all night long? I suppose it could have gone way worse, but in a way, I am totally screwed! Alisa is gonna grill me and if we end up as the only teams still alive, Darling is so gonna grill me too because I'll have to squash her British forces. Either way, I'll be [whole roast]!
"I got your namesake tea. Not a lot, but I can definitely brew a pot." Kay's voice was loud enough to penetrate the tent, and might have been for a while, because someone knocked on the tent, startling both of them. "What is it?"
"[Staff has issued a formal warning for Commander Kay of the American forces.]"
"[Oops.]" Kay had totally ignored the rules and just kept conversing with Darjeeling in Japanese. [Got it, got it.] Kay hoped that the staff at least didn't hear anything about her seducing Darling. I meant that as a joke but it looks like Darling Darjeeling has really become my Darling now! That's gonna make for one heck of a story back home! Kay started preparing tea the same way she would have prepared any cheap brand of tea.
"[What are you doing?!]" The British commander angrily interrupted Kay, seeing how she was mishandling the tea. "[That is absolutely not how a lady would prepare tea!]"
"[I'm the furthest thing from a lady, you know.]" Kay was almost proud of that. "[But I'm not gonna let you handle boiling water and stuff, so if you wanna show me-]" Kay turned back towards the very small kettle she had and looked over her shoulder. "[You could direct my hands.]" Her reaction is going to be priceless. There is no way someone that had a crush on me is gonna be able to- H-Hey! Stop! Don't come over here! Stop, stop! It was a joke! Hey!
"[What a bothersome lover of mine you are going to be.]" I can't believe I just said that with a straight face. How unrefined of me. "[If you insist on not letting me prepare the tea myself, I must teach you the proper way of brewing and pouring tea. As an Englishwoman, it is my duty and purpose to educate all those that do not know the wonders and effort required of producing excellent tea, for no less shall be served to an Englishwoman.]"
I've been thinking this for a while now, but… "[You're really elo… elo… what was it, oh whatever… well spoken, aren't you?]"
"[You on the other hand seem to have lacked attentiveness during the lessons.]" Darjeeling now stood right behind Kay and moved her arms just past Kay's sides, grabbing her wrists. Her chest, while it wasn't as big as Kay's, was still large enough to properly excite the American, hard pressing against her back. "[With tea, it is all in patience and grace of the person brewing it. What you lack I shall compensate for.]" She preferred just drinking tea instead of brewing and pouring it herself. ["We cannot help the quality of the water, but know that is it very important.]" Talking against Kay's shoulder, Darjeeling's breath tickled the girl's neck, trembling a little from the unknown sensation. But Darjeeling was of a different mind, focused completely on the tea.
Kay endured and endured, let her arms and hands be directed by this girl she realized now, she really liked. I heard of love at first sight, but love at first kidnapping has got to be unique! I'm not even 100% sure I do like her, sure feels like it, but what the heck, pretending got real pretty damn quickly! It's like I'm in an American movie! Although there aren't enough explosions for that.
It took Darjeeling all of fifteen minutes of being Kay's puppeteer before the tea was ready. "[I had to do without much of the proper procedure, but this should be of adequate quality.]" It was only enough for about two cups of tea and Kay was not exactly the tea type, so she let her guest, or prisoner of war, have both of them.
Slowly and gracefully sipping the still steaming hot tea from a cup, Darjeeling felt her life spirit return. She just sat there, quietly drinking and contemplating her situation. Kay was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, staring at the girl whose current status defied her capacity of explaining. Prisoner? Girlfriend? Leverage? My crush? Someone who has a crush on me? All of those?
"Hah." Darjeeling's singular sigh of relief brought Kay back to reality. "[So-so, I suppose.]" She didn't even have a proper tea cup to drink from, only a metal cup, and still, the quality of the tea leaves made up for a lot.
Kay eventually got tired of sitting around and watching, stood up and stood right in front of Darjeeling. Sink or swim! "Darjeeling." Her serious and intense look made the other girl look at her in earnest. But Kay couldn't keep that look up for long. Scratching her own cheek, she smiled awkwardly. "[So… let's go out.]"
Darjeeling was so surprised that some of her tea went down the wrong pipe, then she choked on it and started coughing. I didn't expect her to be so forward. Is there no limit to her boldness?! Is that the American Way? Speak first, think later? But still, did they not say Associate with women of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for it is better to be alone than in bad company? I… reckon that Kay is a fine match. A capable commander. A beautiful woman. An honest person that values sportsmanship and fair play. There is little I could ask in addition to that.
"[No, seriously! If we feel the same about each other, nothing's stopping us!]" No half-baked tactics! If I'm all tingly and feeling good about being with her, throw reason to the wind and let's just go and do it! Kay didn't need to look for any deep reason why she liked being with Darjeeling. Those feelings she had experienced were enough for her.
"[I certainly can't fault you for being honest with your feelings.]" Her hands were shaking a little, the girl unable to completely hide her nervousness. What do I do now? I ought to accept, to agree, but the words just won't leave my mouth.
Not 100% honest, but she doesn't need to know that. Little hidden truth here and there didn't hurt anyone. All is fair in love and war, she said so herself.
Finishing her cup of tea, Darjeeling wanted to have another but to get up and get another cup without giving Kay an answer would be terribly bad form. "[I suppose I don't have time to think about it.]"
"[Nope,]" Kay said with a large smile. "[What's there to think about? You like me, don't you? And I couldn't ask for anyone better than you as my girlfriend. Actually, maybe I'm a little out of my league here, but I don't give a shit.]" Kay proceeded to laugh proudly.
She really is abrasive, but… I don't dislike it. "[If you're that insistent, I am happy to oblige.]" Darjeeling put her cup down on a small folding table next to the field bed and got up, aiming to get a hold of the remaining tea before it got cold. But her plans were obliterated by Kay.
Finding herself swept off her feet, the British girl returned to blushing, suddenly carried like a princess by her newly found lover. "[W-What are you doing? Let me down this instant.]"
Kay didn't object or even say anything but instead turned her head just far enough to push a kiss on those lips that smelled so fragrantly of tea now. Her long blonde hair mixed with that of her partner, shielding them from curious eyes. And this time there was no holding back, no decency. Their lips parted and met again more than once every second and Darjeeling's arms found their way around Kay's neck, pulling her so close, it must have hurt the back of the taller girl. It was an act of strength for Kay to remain standing like that, feeling the fire in her chest burn wildly, more and more so, with each kiss, each repetition and pledge of their bond formed on strange occasion.
But even Kay's strength had its limit. When she let her new partner down, the British girl, still wearing Kay's uniform, kept her arms tightly around the neck of her significant other. I've dreamed of this. To be swept away by passion and passionate acts. It is… it is so unlike me, to engage in it like this, but not even an Englishwoman is immune to the temptations of someone like Kay. She opened her eyes in surprise when she felt her buttons come undone. Kay was looking at her already, eyes half closed in a seductive expression.
Her words were just whispers once again. "I have to insist you return my uniform." Opening the third of six buttons with just one hand, Kay really enjoyed the flaming scarlet that showed on Darjeeling's face. Her curves were showing as Kay kept unbuttoning the uniform, the center of her chest revealed, the blue bra catching Kay's eye in the dim light of the tent. There's no way we can fit onto my field bed together but it's gotta be pretty sturdy right? Sweeping forward, and Darjeeling off her feet, Kay whirled around once, and luckily for her, the lady never took her hands off her neck.
Before she knew what Kay was aiming to do, it was already over. The American commander swept her off her feet, literally, grabbing the underside of her thighs, lifting her up and setting her down on her lap after she herself sat on the field bed. With her legs spread, her feet still reaching the ground, and her chest nearly bared, Darjeeling felt where this was headed by instinct. Grabbing the rim of the uniform she wore and covering her chest, she looked at Kay with a lightly demure look, something that was rarely seen on her face.
Kay was not deterred by this in the slightest. "Even that look is beautiful on you." Whispering one of many lines she had memorized from action movies that had some romance thrown in, Kay put both of her arms on her girlfriend's ass and suddenly raised her legs, then pulled, making Darjeeling slide up her legs, so close now, closer than Kay had planned, that she couldn't cover up her chest without having her hands press against Kay's breasts.
There was no point in trying to be prude or act coy, she realized that, so Darjeeling brushed away a few heavy strands of Kay's hair and kissed the side of her neck, first cautiously, then with much more fervor as she felt her lover's hands on her butt, under her skirt, moving over the smooth silk of her panties. "Fancy stuff you're wearing."
"A lady ought to be able to present herself in any circumstance." Darjeeling only stopped kissing Kay's neck, gentle and passionately both, to speak and in a moment of shock when she felt Kay's hands pull down her panties. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Oh, my bad." Kay's smirk remained unseen by her girlfriend but it was obvious quickly enough that it was an ironic apology, as Kay simply changed her focus from Darjeeling's butt to her breasts. "I actually don't care where I start, boobs or butt, I like both."
"Who said that you could just-" The words got stuck in her throat when she tensed up, her breasts under attack by Kay's hands, almost expertly feeling her up, sometimes her entire hand squeezing, sometimes just her index finger rubbing over her nipples, still through her bra.
"That I could do what? This?" Kay stopped for a second and could sense the brief disappointment that Darjeeling felt. Pulling the girl's bra up without warning, her sizable breasts bounced a little from the sudden loss of support and Kay heard a gasp for air.
I cannot just let her have her way with me. As a lady, I just cannot. But as much as she had fantasized about doing this sort of thing with Kay, reality was very different from her imagination. Letting go of Kay and sitting back, she bore the embarrassment of giving Kay a full view of her bare breasts, if only for an instant before she forcefully pulled off Kay's jacket, followed by the black shirt she wore beneath, pulled off over her head without asking permission. Kay however didn't experience the same embarrassment that Darjeeling felt. Wearing a simple black bra beneath her clothes, Kay took it off herself without waiting for her girlfriend to do it.
Half naked, the two of them struggled over dominance in the kiss that followed. Darjeelings hands on Kay's face; Kay's hands buried into the intricate french braid of Darjeeling's hair, unraveling it, giving her an almost obscenely sexy expression when she finally pulled away, a tiny bit of Kay's drool running from the corner of her mouth that the British girl quickly swiped away with her tongue.
Kay leaned back, trying to create enough space for Darjeeling to touch her breasts, but she had vastly overestimated two things; her own flexibility and the sturdiness of the field bed. With a singular breaking noise, the thin aluminum bars snapped and both girls descended rapidly to the ground, both of them letting out a startled noise.
With the top free Kay below and Darjeeling on top, still wearing the unbuttoned uniform, the last part was about to change. They weren't hurt or particularly deterred by the fall. Darjeeling started taking off her borrowed uniform when suddenly two guards stormed into the tent, posted outside by Alisa. Seeing the scene and the befuddled look on their commander's face, they saluted, yelled shouted an unintelligible excuse and left the tent as quickly as they had entered.
"[Oops.]" I hadn't planned on keeping my relationship with Darling a secret but Alisa is gonna be boiling mad over this. Naomi probably, too.
"[Oops, is not quite the response I expected.]" Darjeeling hadn't been deterred by the fall but having two unknown people run in on them had put her out of the mood. Getting off of Kay, the British commander picked up the discarded uniform and really wished she had her own, or at least the combat uniform she regularly wore for Panzerfahren.
Kay didn't bother to cover up since she was still alone with her girlfriend in her private tent. There was a little bit of commotion outside though, so she wouldn't be able to stay half-naked for long. Thinking that, she picked up only her black shirt and put that on, her nipples casually poking through the cloth if one looked for it.
"[Shouldn't you talk to your troops?]" Darjeeling was going back into calm mode, fixing her bra and closing the buttons on her uniform. Instead of getting an answer, Kay hugged her from behind. "[I am serious, don't you-]" Her words were sealed away by Kay's index finger, put firmly on her lips.
"[You really want to stop here?]" Kay was far less affected by having someone walk in on her than Darjeeling was.
Swiping away Kay's hand, the foreign commander took a step forward. "[Yes. There is a time and place for everything. Explain to them the manner of our relationship.]"
"[Before I do that, there's one big thing we should talk about.]" Kay refused to be turned down like this. Even if they had to talk business, she wanted to at least preserve part of the fiery mood from just now. Taking Darjeeling's hand and pulling her around, into her arms, Kay smiled boldly at her. "[Saunders and St. Gloriana should become allies for as long as there are enemies to threaten us. You're not against it, right?]"
Darjeeling contemplated her options for a second. On one hand, being allies with Saunders had a lot of perks. They had a lot of tanks and supplies and most of all, personnel, which Gloriana was a little short on. It also meant she could keep fraternizing with Kay without repercussions. It would also act as a deterrent against Pravda and Kuromorimine regarding their attacks. The combined forces of Gloriana and Saunders, the forces of the allies, would be difficult to content with even for the Russians and the Germans. On the other hand… teaming up meant that the achievement would not be fully her own if she beat Pravda or Kuromorimine, or Ooarai for that matter. That was really the only real downside she saw. "[Very well. But what of what comes after?]"
"[We'll split up and duke it our fair and square. If I win, our first date is on you. If you win, I'm paying.]" Kay leaned in a for a kiss to seal the deal, figuratively and literally. But Darjeeling stopped her short. "[Not good enough?]"
"[You wouldn't just attack Gloriana with all of Saunder's forces after learning about our tactics and equipment, yes?]"
"[I said fair and square, didn't I? I'll match however many tanks you got left after we send everyone else home. Maybe they'll let us be champions together though. I wouldn't mind sharing the top spot with you.]"
"[I would mind. The ambition of the great commonwealth is not one to be taken lightly. Gloriana will fight you on equal terms and we will win.]" Darjeeling slightly averted her eyes and her lips curled up just before she smiled a little. ["I will treat you to tea, biscuits and whatever you want to do at my home if you win.]"
"[Oh, you're on!]" Kay sealed the deal now, keeping one eye open while Darjeeling closed both of hers. And so she spotted Alisa coming into the tent and making an exaggerated embarrassed face. Here we go.
"[What the hell are you doing?!]" Alisa's voice reached far out of the tent. The news that their commander had been caught in basically the act with the British commander had spread like wildfire. Most of the girls didn't really mind since they generally pegged for Kay swinging that way, so it wasn't that surprising. And this meant she wasn't going to put her hands on any of them, albeit some of them wouldn't mind.
"[Kissing? What else does it look like?]" Kay kept Darjeeling in her embrace, looking past her at Alisa.
Showing my back to her sub commander is disrespectful. Darjeeling turned but only enough to turn in Kay's arms, both arms of the American girl resting around her waist now. "[I am-]"
"[I know who the heck you are! I was there when we abducted you! Kay, what are you doing?!]"
"[Kissing, I told you. Does it work differently between a girl and a boy? I thought it was like this.]" Brushing away Darjeelings untangled hair, Kei kissed her nape. "[Actually, wrong side.]"
"[Kay, stop and explain yourself to your second in command.]" Darjeeling pinched Kay's hand to put emphasis on how serious she was about this.
"[Ow, ow, okay. I secured a girlfriend. And St. Gloriana's assistance in this competition. You can inform everyone that we are going to be working with them as one. Send an envoy to their last known location, one with a white flag.]" Kay still had control over her school. "[And don't fight me on this Alisa. The Russians and the Germans don't get along but Pravda might pull in Jatkosota and Kuromorimine might actually team up with Ooarai and then we're so deep in trouble.]"
Alisa left the tent without a word. As much as she argued with Kay, she wouldn't refuse a direct order like that, especially not if it improved their chances of victory.
"[You command more respect than I thought.]" Darjeeling was a little impressed with Kay.
"We can just talk normally if we're alone. Just don't talk too loud." Kay's words were rich with playful attitude. The rules were in place for a reason, but there was no way she was use English when she was making out with her girlfriend.
"… I suppose so." Darjeeling smiled a little. "What a night."
"The night isn't over yet. But honestly, we ought to get some sleep. Or at least pretend to get some sleep." Kay tightened her hug. "And continue where we left of." Kay reached for the buttons of her darling's uniform again and then stopped. "You are already really hot normally but with your hair open like this, it 's like… dangerous."
"I really would prefer if you used beautiful or graceful, not hot. You Americans and your crude words." Darjeeling smiled nonetheless. "So you enjoy this unrefined side of myself, too?"
"There probably isn't a side that I am not going to enjoy." I hit the jackpot of all jackpots here. Smart, strong willed, super hot, commands the British forces, likes me back and did I mention how hot she is? Kay had liked girls for a long time now but never really felt the need to commit to it or get a girlfriend. And how glad she was. Because she would have definitely dumped the poor girl that she'd been dating until now.
And Kay had her hand pinched again and ended up forced to let go. "[But you are right. We should be getting some sleep. Albeit it appears your bed has been… incapacitated.]" What a disgrace to a lady to have destroyed a bed. "[For tonight, I'll return to my own camp.]"
"[No, no, you can't do that. It's dark as heck out there and with Kuromorimine and Pravda prowling about, we can't risk you getting rolled over by a tank. You're staying with me."]
She hated that Kay made a lot of sense in that regard. "[What about sleeping arrangements then? You can hardly expect me to sleep on the floor.]"
Kay quickly turned about, crouched in front of a large hard plastic box and pulled out a gigantic blue roll that made some extensive crackling noises as it was rolled out by Kay. "[Sleeping bag, for when we don't have time to pitch a lot of tents. We all have ones that are big enough for two in case part of our supplies or equipment gets taken by the enemy.]"
She's well prepared, as expected of Saunders. Darjeeling had noticed her intentions right away and wasn't surprised enough to show any great reaction. "[You want me to share one with you? Could I not borrow one from your subordinates?]"
"[Sure you could,]" Kay smirked. But do you want to? The look in her eyes said everything. Taking her black shirt off again, Kay crawled into the sleeping bag. There was enough space fro two adults, making it relatively spacious for two girls in their late teens.
Darjeeling contemplated her options for just a moment and decided that she wanted to go with what her feelings told her to choose. Unbuttoning her uniform herself this time, she had barely taken off the piece of clothing when one of the guards announced herself. "[I'm going to be the envoy to Gloriana. Commander, can I come in?]" Normally, nobody ever bothered to ask Kay for permission to enter but after hearing Kay and Darjeeling, she wanted to avoid walking in on them again.
The British commander was sick of dressing and undressing so she left the uniform on the remains of the field bed and slipped into the sleeping bag with Kay, so that only her head was visible. "[Come in.]"
The guard found it really strange to talk to her commander sitting inside a sleeping bag, half naked and without a care in the world. The beautiful blonde next to the commander was seemingly already asleep. W-Wow… did they do it already? Ella was saying that they were in the middle of it earlier.
"[I can't read your mind, was anything unclear about going to Gloriana and telling them that we're teaming up.]"
"[I am sure they would like some kind of proof.]" The commander can be surprisingly air headed.
Darjeeling briefly sat up, covering herself with the sleeping bag to retain a degree of modesty. "[Tell them to send Rosehip over in the morning and I will explain everything to her. For now, tell her that Tea is brewed to perfection with a steady hand and calm mind.]" It was their code for everything in order.
"[Understood. I… suppose.]" The British commander is just as weird as ours. Is that one of their coded phrases or something? "[I will take my leave then.]"
"[That's one heck of a code phrase.]" Kay was impressed something like that was accepted and memorized by everyone.
"[How long are you going to sit there and bare everything?]" Darjeeling really couldn't bring herself to care about how quickly she had gone from just occasionally fantasizing about Kay to sharing a sleeping bag with her. Life could be turbulent, she but a leaf in a storm, thrown about by the musings of fate. I should write that down later.
Closing up the sleeping bag, it was only on Kay's side, Darjeeling started to shiver a little. The inside of the bag was fairly cold, all things considered and so she naturally moved up against Kay. She will surely get the wrong idea but… well, maybe it isn't so wrong.
But against her expectations, the only thing Kay did was to hug her really tight. "Hate sleeping in these. So damn cold. Brrrr." Shivering all over, Kay tried to absorb as much body heat from her girlfriend as possible. "I guess I can say Mission Accomplished now." Kay mused by herself and earned a little bit of ire from Darjeeling.
"This has to be the strangest day in my life. But I don't dislike it. Unpredictable developments shape character. The unknown is to be feared and loved, both."
"You really love your quotes, don't you." Kay had pulled Darjeeling so close that their faces were nearly touching. "But I don't dislike it." Kay quoted Darjeeling to herself, again.
"There is something important we have yet to discuss." Darjeeling looked right in Kay's navy blue eyes. "You have yet to put how you feel about me in plain terms."
"Oh." Kay wasn't impressed by Darjeeling's formal speech. "You want me to say it?"
"What girl does not want their partner to say it?"
"I love you, Darjeeling," Kay said without hesitation and further teasing.
"I love you as well, Kay." Darjeeling said and then slowly closed her eyes. "But could you perhaps stop touching my butt?"
"You don't like it?" Kay's dirty grin was wiped off her face by a sudden kiss from her partner. A kiss that lasted only a brief moment.
"I don't dislike it." Squeezing her left arm between their bodies, Darjeeling buried her fingers into Kay's large breasts. "I don't dislike it at all." Kissing her again, she felt Kay move her right leg between hers. It is incredibly improper for me to be doing this. Like a whirlwind she uprooted the house that was my life, took me away, away to a faraway place, stranding me there, with nothing but the clothes on my back. And I fell in love with this new place, this new life of mine, at first sight. What a sinful thing to do. But I suppose even an Englishwoman is still only a woman.
=== Tea and Cola ===
Panzer Vor!(?)
Another patron request and I really enjoyed this one. This is the last patron work for 2016, but hopefully not the last update for 2016
Happy Holidays, everyone and Panzer Vor!