Happy Canada Day! Even more so, happy 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Also, as I am posting this, I have little time, so I'm sorry for any mistakes as I didn't have the time to effectively proofread this.
Reviews (Not already responded to over PM)
CaptMacca: I;m glad that you understood what I was going for, and the accuracy of my information. Such observations truly make me grateful that there's someone out there that notices my research. And I hope that you enjoy this and future chapters.
American Dream
Saunders University High School Ship
Jacob's Apartment
6:30am
Jacob had woken up early. Far earlier then he normally would on a Saturday. But he knew that personal items were going to be arriving soon, and he would need to be there to pick them up.
Jacob quickly got up, showered, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and ran out the door in just under 30 minutes. It was a testament to how badly he wanted to be there for the unloading.
The past several days had gone by uneventfully. The boys hadn't done much. Just school work, and tank training. No matches yet. But he had taken some time to look over the Saunders Tank Arsenal after Kay had given him a list when he asked. The entire collection did consist of mostly Shermans, just like she'd said a few days prior. It was primarily the late WW2 M4 Shermans, but there were also some other variants. But most of the differences between them and the M4's usually only included a different engine, changed suspension, or something along those lines. None that changed the M4's armour or gun, which were arguably the most important parts. But all those variants were few, and according to Kay, rarely used. It was a shame that the girls didn't use the Jumbos.
By the time he arrived at Saunders Airfield, the large cargo plane was already there and offloading its contents. It was so early in the morning that it was still dark out, and he could only identify the plane at first by its landing lights and the runway lights, along with the flashlights of the off-loaders.
He saw his motorcycle in all its black beauty on a large metal pallet, a MV Agusta F4 CC, and made a mental reminder to check for any dents and scratches. While most people wouldn't have their own vehicle, especially one so costly, he was very wealthy on account of his parents and could afford a machine of such expense.
He pushed his bike to the back of his mind for the moment and ran up to a particularly muscular man that was carrying luggage out of the plane's open back. When the man saw Jacob, he asked, "Are you the guy with the live cargo?"
He nodded. "That's me."
"Got it. Hold on one second." He put down the suitcases and leaned his head into the airplane. "Maurice! Bring the bird!" The man yelled into the plane.
"Aw, dude! I don't wanna touch that thing!"
"I don't care! Bring it out here!"
"Ugh, fine!"
A few moments later, a man Jacob assumed was Maurice came out with a metal cage in his hand, being careful to keep it as far away from him as possible. Inside was the very reason he got up so early. His pet Grey African Parrot Gobi. The bird had grey feathers, along with a strip of red on the tail and midnight black eyes. He had gotten Gobi when he was just an egg. It had taken a lot of training to get him to behave, but now he listened better then most preschoolers.
"Ah, there you are Gobi." Jacob opened the cage and stuck his hand in, allowing the bird to climb onto his arm. "How have you been?" He held a hand up to the bird, and it rubbed its head against his fingers.
"I don't know how you handle it. That thing bit me more times then I could count just while I was moving the cage." Maurice whined.
"Sorry about that. He doesn't trust strangers. But thanks for looking after him." Jacob said as he took the cage from the man.
"Meh. Don't worry about it." He said before walking back into the plane to get the rest of the cargo.
With him gone, Jacob turned his attention back to Gobi. "I'm guessing that after such a long flight you wont to go on one of your own?" Gobi flapped his wings eagerly, making Jacob laugh. "Alright. Go on." He said and waved his hand, signaling that he was allowed to go. With one strong flap of his wings, Gobi took off and into the air.
As Gobi flew, Jacob set to work collecting all his stuff, along with his friends. They were all in the same building together, so it only made sense that he brought it for them. He called and rented a moving truck and packed up all three of their stuff into the back of the truck after it arrived. When he finished, he had nothing better to do, so he decided to park the luggage filled truck in the parking lot and take a walk.
Eventually, after he'd admired the combination of Japanese and American architecture of the school ship, he found himself on the edge of the ship overlooking the vast horizon. The sun had started to rise, creating beautiful streaks of orange and pink in the sky. The incredible picture was only enhanced by the reflections on the ocean. He sat down on a nearby bench and watched the sunrise, snorting in amusement when he saw Gobi fly past his vision. He knew that the bird would fly around for hours exploring its new home. He was like that.
He didn't know how long he sat there, but after a while, he heard a voice behind him say, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Jacob turned around and saw Kay smiling behind him and looking at the sunset. The way the sun reflected off her light blonde hair made it look like it was glowing, and he had to resist the urge to say, 'It isn't the only thing.' Instead he said, "It is. I don't know why, but the sunset is different when your halfway around the world."
Kay shrugged. "I don't know... So how are you adjusting so far?" She asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"Well, classes haven't started yet. So that's good. Today we'll probably be unpacking for the most of it. But since we'll be exploring the ship for most of the day, it'll probably take us all night to unpack." He picked up a rock that sat between his feet and started tossing it between his hands idly. "Try asking me that question after my first day, and my answer will probably have changed by then." Jacob said.
"Oh, come on! It won't be that bad!" She said.
He snorted. "I'm going to a school entirely populated by over 10,000 girls. With respect, I strongly disagree."
Kay laughed. "Well, I suppose I'd probably be saying the same thing if I was going to a school of only boys." She said.
"I certainly wouldn't do that if I were you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Because you'd be non-stop hit on and most boys are idiots. Yin is a prime example!" He said, making Kay giggle again. Jacob smiled and laughed with her.
After they calmed down, Kay gave him a sly smirk and said, "So, you think guys would hit on me? Any particular reason for that?" She teased.
Jacob blushed and looked away. "Well, no not really. I mean - I'm not saying your not pretty. You are! I'm just- I only meant that-" He stopped when Kay started laughing again. "Oh, you were teasing me. Very funny."
She stopped laughing and looked at him with a flirtatious smile. "So... You think I'm pretty?"
Jacob simply shook his head. "I'm not falling for that again. Nice try." He said with a smug smirk.
Kay pouted. "Killjoy."
The only response Jacob gave was a snort.
They sat in silence for several more minutes, before finally Jacob said, "What are you doing up so early?"
She shrugged. "I'm an early riser. I always get up at around this time."
"So then what are you doing out here? If you don't mind me asking."
She shook her head. "Not at all. I was just out for my morning jog. Helps to wake me up."
"I see."
"...So, how do you feel about some training after school?"
Seeing a chance to tease back, and unable to resist, he said, "That depends, do you mean to train me in jogging or training as in Sensha-Dou?"
She rolled her eyes. "Sensha-Dou! Obviously!"
Jacob chuckled. "I know. I was just teasing you."
"Really? You learn fast."
"Eh, you're a good teacher." They shared another laugh. "But yeah, I'm up for some training. However, you know there are better ways of seeing how well we are with our tanks?"
"Yep! But this way's more fun! Besides, it's not every day you'll get beaten by a bunch of girls!"
"I think you have it the other way around. If anyone's getting beaten, it's you, commander."
"Oh ho, I don't think so."
"Really? Care to make a bet then?"
"Absolutely! And when we win, you and everyone on your team have to clean all our tanks!"
"Deal. But if we win, then everyone on your team has to clean all out tanks!"Jacob stood and held out his hand.
Kay smirked, got up, and shook it. "Deal."
With the deal made, and their fates sealed, they both stood there in akward silence. "... So, uh... What now?" Kay asked.
Jacob smirked. "You want to see something cool?" Instead of waiting for a response, he put his hand up to his mouth and made a high pitched whistle. A few seconds later, they both heard flapping as Gobi flew down and landed on Jacob's shoulder. "Hey there Gobi." He said as the bird rubbed its head against his cheek. He turned back to Kay. He had never wanted a camera so badly. Her mouth had dropped and her eyes were wide with both surprise and shock.
"...That's a bird." She finally said after she picked up her jaw and organized her thoughts.
"Yes."
"...And it's on your shoulder."
"Yes."
"...Why is there a bird on your shoulder?"
"This is my pet African Grey Parrot, Gobi."
"...A pet?"
"Yes.
"..."
"..."
"He's so CUTE!" She abruptly yelled and reached out to pet him.
"Wait! He-" He stopped when Gobi actually leaned towards her hand and rubbed his head against it. "Doesn't trust strangers." He finished. "Huh. Never mind. He doesn't usually like new people, but you seem to be a natural with him."
She touched his wings. "Wow." She said in awe. "He's so adorable."
"What is it with girls and cuteness?"
She ignored him. "And soft to."
"Yep. You wanna hold him?"
Her eyes widened with hope. "Can I?"
"Sure. But he might accidentally scratch you, and it'll leave a scar if it's deep enough." Jacob warned.
She frowned in disappointment. "Oh, then maybe I shouldn't." She paused. "Wait, how are you able to hold him without ever getting hurt?"
"Who said I haven't?" He replied and pulled back his sleeve, revealing his wide collection of scars from Gobi's sharp talons.
"Oh, ouch. Those look like they'd hurt." Kay said with a slight wince.
"At the time, they did. But we're both a lot more careful now. It hasn't happened in a while." He said.
She tilted her head. "Why haven't you dulled his claws though?"
He frowned. "It didn't seem right. He was born with sharp claws, so what right do I have to get rid of them?"
She blinked, having not expected such an answer. "Well, I guess that's one way to look at it." She recomposed herself and asked, "How'd you get him?"
"My parents pretty much gave him to me. My family's quite wealthy, so they could afford it."
"Wow. Best parents ever."
Jacob smiled sadly. "Yeah."
Kay noticed his expression and frowned. She opened her mouth to speak, but the second she did, her phone buzzed. She checked it and then looked back at him. "Welp. I guess I gotta go now." Kay said, disappointed. She was really enjoying their conversation.
"Yeah." Jacob said with a similar tone. "If you want though, maybe we could get together another time and we could watch Gobi fly around?" He asked hopefully.
She smiled. "Sure I'd like that." She turned around and started walking away. "See you later tonight! Don't forget our bet!" She called over her shoulder.
"I won't!" Jacob called back before she disappeared around the corner of a building, but not before shooting him a flirty wink.
John let out a content sigh, before noticing that Gobi was staring at him. He stared back at the bird and said, "What?"
The bird simply ruffled its feathers before taking off into the air.
"Hey Jacob!" Jacob turned around and saw Yin and Ethan walking towards him.
"Hey guys! What're you doing?"
"We came to get our stuff." Ethan said. "I'm assuming you're here to do the same?"
"We'll mainly to get Gobi." At the mention of his pet, Yin quickly ducked behind Ethan and began looking around.
"I hate that damn bird." The boy mumbled.
"And that bird hates you. Though to this day I still don't know why. Anyways, I'm afraid to say that you guys wasted a trip. I've already loaded all our stuff into a moving truck I called."
"Aww, really? Can you at least drive us back?" Yin complained.
"Sure." Jacob nodded. "Well, let's go and take the truck back to the apartment. Oh, and FYI, we have training with the girls later on." Jacob said as he walked to his car, ignoring Yin's complaining from behind him.
Saunders Tank Shed
3:00pm
Several hours later, the boys gathered in the Saunders tank shed in preparation for their upcoming training match. He had told them all to be nice to the girls and show no disrespect. Because if there were any complaints, then they'd all be going home. And after enough threats about what he would do if they screwed up, they all agreed to be on their best behavior. It was something he had been meaning to tell them, but they hadn't all been together until right then.
After that had been settled, the atmosphere in the shed became more lively and excited. A battle of the sexes was about to commence, and everyone wanted to show the other side that they were superior. Something that probably wouldn't stop just at Tankery. It would likely migrate to all the other clubs that the boys decided to join.
They had all been requested to where the traditional Saunders Sensha-Dou uniform, which consisted of a world war 2 style brown tanker jacket and shorts. It was a good uniform that very few of the boys complained about. The only difference to theirs was that they had longer shorts then the girls.
Jacob marched up to where Kay and some of the other tank commanders were standing. "Reporting as ordered commander." He said. "What's first?"
She turned to him. "Hey Jacob. I was just informing everyone of that." She turned back to address the group. "For today's training, first will be some basic practices, including some movement exercises and target shooting. After that, we'll be having a practice match. But before that, we're doing a weekly tank inspection. Got it?" There was a myriad of acknowledgments, and the commanders dispersed to check their tanks.
As Jacob walked away, Kay allowed her eyes to linger on him a little longer. "He does look good in the school uniform." She quietly said to herself before walking over to her tank.
Firing Range
3:45pm
Once inspections were done, all of the boys tanks, along with a large number of the girls headed out to the firing range.
Inspections had gone over uneventfully. Nothing was wrong with their tanks. Though Yin's tracks could have been oiled, and it wouldn't hurt to get new spark plugs for Jacobs M26. Plus it probably would have been a good idea to clean the T29's barrel sooner rather then later. But, since they were all things that could wait, they all elected to complete it at a later date.
Each tanks pulled up to their designated spots, small sandbags situated in a long line. Across from them were targets on mounds of dirt at the end of a field, each one at various distances. There were several stations, and each one had a different distance, allowing each gunner to pick the distance they wanted to practice at. It was a very efficient way of training. First focusing on the closer distances, the closest being 100 meters, and migrating their way up. Kay came on over the radio and told them to pick whatever one they felt comfortable with.
Jacob's tank picked 1,500 meters. Yin's Hellcat picked 1,000, and Ethan went all the way to the end, where the targets ranges at 2,000 meters. There was only one other tank at that station. Naomi's Firefly.
Ethan pulled up his tank beside hers as he gave the order to cut the engine. He found that the silence made it easier to focus and aim. He aimed down the sights, lining up the small target in his cross hair. And he fired, managing to hit just to the right of the target's bullseye. Ethan repeated the process again and again, getting closer and closer to the bullseye each time, until finally hitting it on his fourth attempt.
Such actions could've made other gunners jealous, or gaze in awe. But the truth was that such a shot wasn't difficult. Both his tank and target were stationary, it was sunny, there was very little wind, and his shot was completely unobstructed. It was far different from a shot made in combat, where there were orders and shells being thrown around constantly. Managing a shot in such stressful situations was far more difficult.
He heard Naomi's Firefly beside his tank discharge, and watched through his scope as her shell landed just beside the bullseye. He raided an eyebrow, impressed. She'd fired twice the amount of shells he'd fired, and managed to nearly hit her target every time.
He briefly contemplated a thought for a few seconds, then relented and put a hand up to his headset. "Hey Naomi?" He called.
He briefly heard static, then her voice answered, "Yes?"
"If you don't mind me asking, how do you manage to hit near your target so fast? It usually takes me a couple seconds to run through all the calculations."
There was a pause, then she said, "I try to tune out everything that doesn't have to do with my target. It allows my mind to do all the calculations necessary to successfully hit my target. It works well."
"Hmm, really?" He put his eye to the scope. He tried to do what Naomi suggested, and tuned out everything else. The talking of his crew, the whistling of the wind, and only focused on the partially shredded white and red target. He fired and watched as the shell soared up slightly, before arcing down and blowing the remains of the target to pieces.
He hummed contently. "You were right, that does work well. I can see why your the best shot in the school."
There was a pause, then her voice came through the headset, sounding somewhat surprised by the praise. "Uh, thank you. But I'm not flawless, I have trouble with accuracy at long range." Naomi admitted.
He raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "Really? I believe I can help you with that..."
A/N: I dislike doing these in the middle of the story, but I'm making an exception here. I simply want to clarify: Ethan is effective and accurate at long range, but is slow to fire. Naomi is quick to do the calculations for long range, but has trouble with accuracy. There is a difference.
Saunders Tankery Training Grounds
4:20pm
"Okay ladies and gentlemen! Standard Tankery Elimination Match rules apply, we have to eliminate all tanks on the opposing team. Time to show these ladies what we can do!" Jacob yelled over the radio to their team. For the match against Kay and her team, it was their M26, T29, and M18 against Kay's M4, Alisa's M4A1/76, Naomi's Firefly, and three more Shermans. Since the boys tanks were stronger then Saunders, they were taking more tanks to even the teams out. But that didn't mean they were going to win. The place of battle was a series of large grassy plains with thick, dense forests some distance from the school.
"Yeah! Let's do this! We'll embarrass the hell out of them!" Yin yelled.
"Don't get cocky. We're going to have to change things up today." Jacob said.
"Why's that?" Ethan asked,
Jacob rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Because I might have told Kay all our jobs on our teams." Jacob answered Ethan's question. "They know that Yin's the scout, your the sniper, and I'm the bullet sponge." He explained. "Since we're at a numerical disadvantage, and they know our roles, I think we should fall back on some good old fashioned trickery." Jacob gave his opinion.
"Yeah! My favorite way to fight!" Yin yelled excitedly and threw his hands in the air.
Ethan just shrugged. "Alright. What do you suggest we do first commander?" He asked.
Jacob smiled.
Saunders Tankery Training Grounds
4:30pm
The branches of the trees swayed in the wind as the rumbling of tank engines pierced the air. Specifically the engines of the girls team of Saunders. Six tanks that pushed across the dense forest floor towards their destination, cautiously watching out for any signs of the boys as they went.
"Hmm." Kay hummed. "We should have seen them by now." She said over the radio.
"I agree. It's possible they've set up an ambush for us." Naomi suggested.
"I think they're just being cowards." Alisa commented. She very much wanted to put a round into the boy Yins tank. And since Kay was told that their Hellcat was naturally the scout, it was likely they'd be encountering it first. She knew her tank was superior in every way to the annoying boys tank. They had the same gun, but her tank had more armour, and she was obviously better trained. The only thing it had was speed, which would not save it.
Kay shook her head. "I think Naomi's right. The page on him said he specialized in ambushing. Everyone keep an extra close eye out. They could be hiding any-"
*BOOM*
Kay was interrupted when a shell hit the ground in front of their formation, throwing up a cloud of grass and soil as a result. All heads simultaneously turned to look at where the shot originated from.
There, approximately 500 meters further into the forest to their eleven o'clock, was Jacob's Pershing and Ethan's T29. The T29 was on a slightly depressed hill, and only its turret was visible. The M26 was on a slightly higher hill, allowing it's upper hull to be revealed. But it was turned slightly to its left, meaning that it would be more likely to deflect any shots.
"...Or they could be out in the open right there."
Kay smiled. The battle was finally getting underway. "All tanks, turn to advance and open fire!" All tanks immediately moved to comply. The formation turned right and proceeded towards their enemies. They all opened fire, but most shots missed and impacted the ground around the tanks, throwing up dirt. Two shots managed to hit the Pershing, but bounced off it's frontal armour. Naomi succeeded in hitting Ethan's tank, but her shot also bounced off the nearly 300 mm thick gun mantlet. Annoyed that she'd unconsciously targeted the thickest part of the tank, she shifted her focus to the Pershing.
As if sensing Naomi's intentions, the M26 shifted into reverse and slowly started to back up. She fired at the slow moving tank, but the shell only managed to scrap off the top of the turret before it completely disappeared from view. That was when the T29 fired. It's muzzle flash and loud boom was enough to get anyone's attention. It's shell streaked through the air and blew off the track of Naomi's tank, causing it to jerk to a halt. She rubbed the part of her eye that had slammed into the scope from the sudden stop and growled.
"Naomi! You alright?" Kay asked over the radio.
"Yes, I'm fine. But we're dead in the water, and we can't exit our tank with shells flying everywhere." She replied, still rubbing her eye.
"Okay, you just wait there for now. We'll chase them way so you can get your track fixed."
"Yes ma'am." Naomi said and sat back in her chair, waiting for the go ahead so she and her crew could repair their track.
As she watched her allies move further and further into the forest and forced the T29 to retreat, she felt the Firefly rock forward slightly. Naomi looked down at her driver with a questioning glare, but she simply shrugged and said, "Wasn't me."
The Firefly commander narrowed her eyes and opened the cupola. She looked around the front and sides, but saw nothing. It was when she looked behind her that her jaw dropped.
Casually sitting there, right behind her tank, was the form of Yin's Hellcat. The small rock of the tank that they had felt was the M18's barrel connecting with the rear of her Firefly. She'd been focusing so hard, that over the sound of her own tanks engine, she hadn't heard its.
Yin was standing in the commanders hatch, and he had a smug look of victory on his face. "It's nothing personal." He said before disappearing into the turret and shutting the cupola. Not a second later, the Hellcat's main gun discharged.
The enormous BOOM shook the Firefly violently and left her ears ringing, even pushing her tank forward several feet. The Hellcats's powerful gun and close proximity made its shell cut through her tanks engine like butter, and even made her fall back into her seat. A few seconds later, a soft click told her that the white flag and the steady rise of fire and smoke told her they'd been knocked out. She quickly got on the radio and yelled, "Firefly knocked out! The enemy's Hellcat is behind you!"
"WHAT!?" She received multiple responses.
The boys plan was smart, for they had crafted it carefully. Ethan and Jacob would attract the main force of Saunders towards them, and then track the Firefly. Which was the biggest threat. And then Yin, who was hidden nearby, would circle around to the rear of Saunders forces and take it out. Their plan hadn't factored in the fact that they'd leave the Firefly behind. They'd expected them to stay with their tracked ally, and Yin would fire at it from the bushes, and then they'd all move in on the rest. Regardless of the unexpected action, their plan had worked perfectly. The girls had lost their strongest weapon and were now flanked. The next step was to close in on the now pincered team.
Yin passed the tank imitating its name and towards the rear of the enemy formation. On the other side, Jacob had taken cover behind a large tree and was repeatedly emerging, firing, and then retreating back behind the tree to reload. This tactic had succeeded in knocking out a single Sherman, leaving the girls with four. Meanwhile Ethan had retreated further back to another low hill to hull down.
As Yin approached, Alisa's tank along with another Sherman turned their turrets to face him. His driver quickly swerved to the right as the two tank shells flew right past his left flank. Yin rotated his own turret towards his opponents and locked onto Alisa's tank. He gave the order to stop, and his tank rolled to a halt, since firing on the move was almost always ended up with a missed shot. Both of the Sherman's guns stopped on his now stationary tank, but as they did, he shot at Alisa's tank.
At such close range, the HVAP shell was more then capable of penetrating the frontal armour of a Sherman. It screamed through the air, whistling as it went... Before sailing past the turret of her tank and blowing a hole in a tree several meters behind.
Yin barely had time to swear as crews members of both Shermans emerged from their turrets, and let their pintle-mounted 50 caliber machine guns chew his armour to shreds. A few short seconds later, the on-board computer determined his tank had suffered enough damage, and deployed the white flag. Signaling his defeat.
Yin sighed and slumped in his seat as he put the mic up to his mouth. "Yin here. I'm knocked out, but so is the Firefly. Couldn't take out the 76." He said.
"Nice job Yin. Just leave the rest to us." Jacob responded.
Both tanks pulled forwards and fired. The T29's shell went high, soaring above its intended target. While the Pershing's shot just barely grazed another Sherman. But in the time they had pulled up, they were able to witness as all the remaining Shermans rushed towards them.
Panicked, both boys backed up their tanks at max speed, which really wasn't fast at all. And as the five Shermans jumped over the hill the boys had been using as cover, they fired.
Ethan stopped his tank and lined up his sights onto one of the Shermans. He didn't bother trying to aim for the hull and just fired straight through the turret and knocked it out.
Meanwhile, Jacob continued backwards and shot right into another Sherman, destroying it. Unlike other tanks, his Pershing was equipped with a gyro stabilizer, allowing the main gun to be fired with accuracy. Even while on the move.
But that was where things started going downhill for the boys team. A Sherman fired at the front of the T29 from the hill's peak. And while with slope the heavy tank's front armour allowed it to have effectively 165 mm of defence, the Sherman firing at the area where the turret met the hull made it useless. The shell penetrated, boring a smoking hole into the turret ring of the heavy tank, yet not destroying it. But the heavy tank couldn't even retaliate, as its two loaders were still in the process of re-arming its large gun.
While the Sherman attacked the heavy from the front, Alisa's tank used its speed to swing around to its right side. The M4A1(76)'s speed outmatched the T29's turret rotation speed easily. Even more so with the damage done to its turret ring. Despite the T29's attempt to maneuver its hull into position to block the Sherman's gun with its front armour, the M4A1(76) fired a AP shell into the side of Ethan's tank. At such close range, it could penetrate over 150 m of armour, so the T29's 76 mm of side armour could do nothing to stop it. The heavy tank was effectively eliminated.
The M26 however, was able to fight back more effectively. As Alisa and the Sherman dealt with the T29, Kay's tank assaulted Jacobs. Her tank fired at the retreating medium, only for it to bounce off the armour. The Pershing fired back in response, but it landed right behind the Sherman as it swerved around to avoid its gun sights. The Sherman got in close and began circling, like a shark would a swimmer. As the Pershing rotated to keep its frontal armour facing the Shermans gun, they both fired again. The Sherman's shot bounded off the mantelet, and it braked as the Pershing fired, making the 90mm shell throw up dirt right in front of the Sherman. Barely missing it.
Suddenly, The Pershing hit the gas, steaming towards the M4. Seeing an opportunity, the Sherman turned hard right and towards the incoming medium. It looked like a game of chicken, with each tank driving straight at another.
At the last second before collision, the Sherman swerved left, locked its right break, turned its turret, and fired. Simultaneously, right after the Sherman swerved, the Pershing turned its turret 90 degrees to the right, locked its right break to swing the hull and turret around, set its sights on the Sherman, and fired.
As the echoes and smoke dissipated, two small fires became visible. One emanating from the small hole in the side armour of the Pershing, and the other from the Sherman's turret. For several moments, reality seemed to freeze as silence filled the air. Until the announcer spoke.
"Team B has been defeated! Team A is the winner!"
Saunders Tank Shed
4:40pm
Jacob coughed the smoke out of his lungs as he walked into the tank shed with his crew, all in similar states of dishevelment. A fine layer of soot covered their bodies, succeeding in furthering their appearance of defeat.
He jumped as a horn blared behind him, and he quickly got out of the way as the tow truck carrying their destroyed tanks on a trailer drove past him and into the garage. He sighed sadly at the sight of his damaged tank. Even though he knew the tank was actually fine and had no real damage, it still hurt his heart to see a huge hole in the side of it.
He was shaken from his depressed mental state as Kay's voice pierced the veil of his thoughts.
"I gotta say, that was a lot of fun!" She exclaimed loudly as she walked up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Heh, thanks. You guys were pretty good." He relied honestly. "Overwhelming us with your speed and superior firing speed was a really smart move on your part. But I still got you in the end!"
She chuckled. "Yeah, you did. Congrats on that. But now, it's time for us to collect our winnings." She said with a sly smile.
His face instantly lost all enthusiasm and was instead replaced with defeat. "Alright, fine." He sighed. "I'm a man of my word, and I'll uphold the end of my bet. And so will my crew and teammates. Right!?" Jacob shouted. He was met with grumbles and half-agreements, but no outright refusals.
She nodded. "Great. Here's a list of all our tanks." She said and handed him a list with Japanese letters written on it. He noticed how it was considerably long.
"Woah, hold up. What do you mean? You are talking about the tanks you used, right?" He asked, a feeling of dread forming in the bottom of his stomach.
She smirked. "Well, the deal was that the loser cleans the winning teams tanks. And the six tanks we used are only a part of our specific Sensha-Dou team.
The feeling of dread grew. "So how many tanks are we talking about here?"
Her smirk grew. "There's a reason I gave you a list." Jacob slumped. "Well, if you need us, we'll be at the bath-house. Bye boys~" She sang and walked off, her fellow girls following behind here. Many of them wearing smirks of their own. Alisa in particular stuck her tongue out at Yin as she walked out of the garage, making the speed demon growl.
Jacob sighed a sigh of defeat and looked down at the sheet. On the sheet were several kinds of tanks, with their type, name, and number listed. There were 15 Shermans, 3 Shermans of varying models, but all with 76 mm guns, and two Fireflies, one of which was obviously Naomi's.
"Well, this is gonna suck." Jacob heard his loader William say as he looked over his shoulder at the list.
"This is so not fair." Yin complained. "Seriously, we should find some way to get them back." He said, and was met with a chorus of agreement from the crews.
"Hmm..." Jacob thought to himself. Then he snapped his fingers. "I think I've got an idea."
I'm aware that the battle wasn't the best in this chapter. There will be better ones, I promise.
