Chapter Four
Back in her room, her mind reeling, Erkia hurried to change into her Panzerkraft uniform. It was only once she had put on the grey socks, the crimson pleated skirt and crimson shirt that she remembered she no longer had a Panzerkraft jacket. Oh crap. She'd have to hurry get one; Maho had probably forgotten that Erika's jacket had been ruined in the last training session. She couldn't appear in front of the whole team in just her shirt; for one, it would never do for the new Kommandant to be not wearing proper uniform, and secondly, the crimson Panzerkraft shirt was a lot thinner than her school jersey and she was afraid of… a couple of points becoming rather obvious, as she was still not able to put her bra on one-handed.
The issued Panzerkraft boots had laces which she wasn't able to tie, but she'd already thought about this and had brought some boots of her own from home. They looked very similar but fastened with a zip up the side, making them very easy to put on or take off with one hand.
She had just put her boots on and was about to rush off in search of a new jacket when there was a knock at her door again.
"Uh… come in?" she said.
The door opened and there stood Maho, now in her Panzerkraft uniform too.
Erika gulped. "Kommandant…" she began. Maho cut her off.
"Former Kommandant, remember? I brought you this". Maho held up what she had been carrying. It was a brand new black Kuromorimine Panzerkraft jacket. Erika's heart fluttered. Maho had remembered! Maho had brought her a new jacket! Maho was her saviour!
"Here - I'll help you" Maho said, turning the jacket round and holding it by the shoulders ready to help Erika put it on.
"I… er… ah…"Erika mumbled as she allowed Maho to help her on with the jacket. For one moment, Maho's hands were on her shoulders near her neck, and Erkia could feel herself going red. She was glad Maho was stood behind her rather than in front, or else Erika was sure that Maho would have noticed the pair of nipples as hard as 75mm shells showing through Erika's shirt. She was glad when she could fasten the jacket to cover her chest.
Erika picked up her Kuromorimine cap and placed it on her head before turning to look at herself in the mirror. Very smart, she told herself. Her left sleeve was the only problem, hanging uselessly as it was. She reached round with her right hand and tried to tuck it into her left jacket pocket to stop it flapping about.
She felt a hand on her right shoulder and a gentle pressure that turned her round to face Maho. Without saying anything, Maho took Erika's empty sleeve and bent it up so that the cuff was at the base of Erika's left lapel. Using a safety pin that had appeared in her hand, Maho pinned the sleeve to the front of Erika's uniform jacket in that position. She then stood back to admire her handiwork and gave a curt nod of approval.
'Wah! The Kommandant personally dressed me! The former Kommandant I mean' Erika thought. She felt that her face was as red as her shirt.
"Ready?" Maho was a girl of few words at times.
Erika nodded and they left her room together. All the way to the parade square they talked about the team; how the Nishizumi style needed to adapt following their defeat; the ideas Maho had; the ideas Erika had. Maho reaffirmed that she had complete confidence in Erika as the new Kommandant and she was certain that Erika was the best person to carry Kuromorimine on to new successes. By the time they reached the parade square, Erika was feeling ten feet tall. She was pretty sure that at that moment she could personally have taken on a Jagdtiger single-handedly and still won.
With all the Panzerkraft team stood smartly on parade, Maho delivered a short address, similar to her one before, re-confirming Erika's position as the new Kommandant and instructing the team to follow her digiently. She then turned to Erika.
'Oh crap! Am I supposed to make a speech?!' Erika suddenly considered.
Trying her best not to look flustered or put on the spot, Erika thanked Maho for her confidence and tried to encourage her teammates.
"... and I am sure that you will all do you best!" she finished with. There was a cheer from the assembled girls - that was unexpected but boosted Erika's mood still further. She had obviously chosen her closing words well. Where had they come from? She was sure she'd heard someone say that sort of thing before. Was it Maho, even? Yes, that must be it; it must be a phrase that the Kommandant… the former Kommandant, had used in pep talks. Erika was sure of it.
"You can dismiss the girls" Maho said quietly to Erika as she was stood by her side.
Wow. Power.
Erika gave her first order as Kommandant of the Kuromorimine Panzerkraft team and the crews fell out to their various duties.
