Two soldiers hid behind the corner of a pile of crates that were empty, maybe a dozen meters away from operations. One of them was a redhead, the other a blonde – the redhead in front, almost kneeling, while the blonde stood tall and looked over her partner's head. Their spying was still being obstructed by the fog, which was gradually lessening but still too thick now to see more than silhouettes in operations. But voices were heard clearly.
"[What are they talking about?]" Rosehip was itching to walk into the tent and ask her commander herself but she knew she'd be chewed out like hell. "[Assam, what are they talking about?!]"
"[I don't speak French. I only know how to kiss that way.]" Assam was still hung up on Rosehip walking out on her all because of a little, harmless pun she made. It was her own fault, but that only made her feel worse; it wasn't often that one of her plans backfired like that.
"[C'est inacceptable!]" The voice of Maginot's commander reached way past Rosehip and Assam. "[Comment pourriez-vous penser-]" The French commander was talked over by an even louder voice now.
"[What were you imagining was going to happen? That you would be seated at the table with us and we all play one third of a vote on what to do next?]" Kay's voice boomed through the immediate surroundings and was followed by Darjeeling, Eclair and then Kay again all talking over each other.
"[This doesn't sound good.]" Assam knew her commander to be composed, cool, even a little devoid of excitement when necessary. To hear her raising her voice like that, half in French, half in English, was a bit troubling. But on the other hand, it put Assam at peace. Even commander Darjeeling wasn't infallible and could get loud.
There was a loud slam – someone's hand hit the table. "[If they start brawling… who do you think is gonna win?]"
"[Sauders. Lady Darjeeling's greatness does not lie with her physical prowess.]"
"[I think Maginot might fight dirty. She kinda gives off that image, right? Like she'd do anything to win a fight.]" Rosehip looked straight up, at the bottom of Assam's face. "[Probably in bed, too.]"
"[You have a dirty mind, Rose.]" Assam looked down. I wish we were not standing here but still in that tent… and her face a whole lot closer to mine. "[It's… quiet all of a sudden.]"
Rosehip looked back ahead and noticed that too. "[They're still there, right?]"
"[They probably-]"
"[C'est tout! J'ai fini!]" Another loud slam and seconds after, a french commander with her anger at boiling point stormed out of the tent and right past Rosehip and Assam who posed as regular soldiers standing guard.
Back inside operations, Darjeeling picked up an iron cup that had flown off after Eclair had hit the table. "[That did not go as well as I had hoped. But it was better than what I expected, given the circumstances.]" Lifting herself on top of the table and sitting there, Darjeeling rubbed her temples. "[I did not expect I would have to be politician in addition to commander.]"
Kay was less composed than Darjeeling, angrily pouting next to the table with her arms crossed below her breasts. "[I cannot believe the gall of her. They have their backs towards the wall and they don't have the strength we have to fight their way out. And she still makes demands as if she did have all those things! And holy shit the way she looks at you! Like a cat looks at a dog. I wanted to punch her in the face!]"
"[Please do not do that. I feel happy that you would act as my knight, defending the honor of the lady you pledged your loyalty to.]" Darjeeling had a smile drawn on her face by Kay's anger. "[I expected some of her demands, but not all of them. Maginot is a proud school and to work with us, particularly St. Gloriana, must be difficult for them.]"
"[What is their problem? Your army is full of beautiful girls and you are the most beautiful and talented commander in the entire war.]"
Darjeeling smiled even wider. "[When did you learn to be so flattering?]"
"[Gotta evolve to stay relevant.]" Kay's angry expression finally softened. "[What are we gonna do? She stormed out without us getting anywhere.]"
"[She'll come back. She won't apologize, and neither will we. But we will compromise and so will she.]" Darjeeling waved Kay closer and closer, until she could put her arms around her Kay's waist – the Brit still sitting on the edge of the table. "[We need to make sure they understand that it is a giant leap for us to trust them with our security, our home, our injured and maintenance personnel. They are our last line of defense. We need them to protect us while we attack the threats that come after us. And accepting them into your midst also increases the number of threats-]"
"[You don't have to sell it to me, Darling.]" Putting her palms down on the table, Kay pushed a quick kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "[You are sexy when you get loud by the way.]"
"[Don't get used to it.]" A sigh escaped Darjeeling and she rested her head against Kay's chest. "[I hope the fog clears up quickly so we can do what we trained to do – fight in our tanks.]"
"[Being commander and politician is not really what we signed up for, right? I miss the rattling, heat and palatable tenacity of being in a tank.]"
"[Honestly, it is… not a bad experience. But we haven't had a proper tankery battle in so long that it is wearing on me.]" Darjeeling put her arms around Kay and closed her eyes. "[If not for you, I would be utterly miserable. I would have been utterly miserable ever since that night.]"
"[If I had to go through this all on my own I probably would have fucked up really hard somewhere.]"
"[Are you saying I keep you under control?]" Darjeeling smiled again.
"[You're the classical music that keeps this bull peaceful and from going on a rampage.]" Kay tried her absolute best to make a fitting analogy but it didn't quite come out right.
Someone cleared their throat, once, then after the two commanders didn't stop hugging, a second time and finally, Kay stepped away and Darjeeling slid off the table. They didn't hide that they were together at all because there was no reason to. "[What is it?]" Darjeeling looked still grouchy.
"[We caught a messenger of undeclared nationality at the edge of our base. She claims to have information we would be interested in... purchasing.]" The messenger girl just shrugged. "[Those are her words.]"
"[One thing after another.]" Kay was not ready for any more negotiating at this point. "[Darling, do you need me there with you?]"
"[Yes.]" Darjeeling didn't hide that she counted, that she depended on Kay. She wasn't just a beautiful girl that she was in love with – she was also someone she wanted by her side as much as possible. Kay's strong and emotion driven behavior stood in stark contrast to herself, who was aiming for logic and rational behavior. They balanced each other out. "[You just have to be there.]"
"[One day you'll be a real politician.]" Kay felt a little proud that such an intelligent and clever woman was her girlfriend. "[Let's go and see what information that unknown has.]"
Their guest was completely impossible to identify. Secondary uniform, weapon, beret, primary uniform, nothing matched. Her English fluctuated between a German, Russian and Italian one all the time, even mid-sentence. She took great care to hide her origin. One of Darjeeling's girls informed the two commanders of all of that. They had thoroughly frisked the soldier but found nothing worthwhile on her. Only one FN FNC, an assault rifle of Belgium make. "[I see the people in charge have finally arrived.]"
She sat on the ground, short brown hair, in the mixed bag of a uniform, unimpressed by the two guards pointing guns at her. "[Do you want me to make my sales pitch out here? I'm fine with that, really, but are you? I thought the British were hospitable people.]"
Darjeeling had not even gotten a single word in just yet. She squeezed Kay's hand while nobody paid attention and then looked as grim as death herself. "[Shoot her.]" Darjeeling gave the order without hesitation and the imminent terror was written on the guests face in an instant.
"[Woah, woah, stop.]" Kay stepped in, knowing that it was all calculated by her darling.
The guards were confused on who to listen to. Darjeeling was their commander but Kay shared command with her and they didn't feel comfortable shooting an unarmed girl in cold blood.
Darjeeling faked disappointment and raised her right hand. "[Hold. Let's hear what she has to say. Get her to my tent.]"
"[Commander, without a guard-]"
Darjeeling smiled coldly. "[I have Kay with me. Does this girl look like she could overpower the commander of Saunders in hand-to-hand combat and then escape from a heavily armed compound?]"
"[No ma'am.]" The soldier looked at Darjeeling like she was standing on a pedestal.
A few minutes later, Kay, Darjeeling and the mystery unknown girl were facing off in Darjeeling's tent. "[Let us hear it then.]" The guest was in the back of the tent, sitting on a crate that was stuffed with documents. Kay stood between Darjeeling and the mystery girl, by the bed, while Darjeeling was by the entrance, her hands on her hips.
"[Information.]" The mystery girl with her short brown hair raised her left index finger next to her face. "[The names of annihilated armies. Locations of enemies. Combat records. Casualties, equipment and vehicle losses of still roaming armies. Guard schedules. Things your intelligence girls can only dream of.]"
"[And you have information like that how?]" Darjeeling was skeptical at best.
"[A trade secret. But this will be easy on you. We take payment in good faith only. If you find the information worthless or not worth your time, or you simply decide to be dishonorable marauders-]"
"[Careful.]" Kay didn't like the tone of that girl.
"[Point is, I will tell you how to pay but whether you pay or not depends on your satisfaction.]" The girl looked every bit as confident as one would needed to be, pushing such an offer to two of the most powerful people in their small world. "[And if you decide to engage in business with us, a follow up deal might become available to you.]"
Darjeeling looked at Kay and their eyes met. They didn't need to say anything to communicate what they were thinking. Suspicious. But too valuable to disregard. "[How detailed is your information?]" Darjeeling wanted details first.
"[Coordinates, timestamps, counts of combatants and vehicles. I can think of little that won't be there. However, we do have two different offers.]"
She keeps saying we. Which school is running this scheme? I didn't expect there would be an army like this. Darjeeling tried to pin down the girl's origin by staring at her. It feels like she was specifically chosen because I haven't seen her face before. Whoever is behind this didn't train for a war on the ground but a war on the people."[Two offers?]"
"[One is the entire package. Almost everything we know. The other is specialized for you, by us. It comes at the same cost but the specialized package contains an additional hot tip that was omitted from the full package for reasons of lucrativeness.]"
"[Blatant exploitation.]" Kay was still not happy with the tone that girl was using.
"[What form will payment take?]"
"[Hm, I really am not supposed to tell you about that up front.]"
Bullshit, Kay thought. If you're bringing that argument, you just want us to convince you. Kay was not a diplomat but she had seen enough American movies to know a line from a movie when she heard one.
"[Just tell us. I am- We are not playing diplomatic games with you.]" Darjeeling tried to sound as threatening as possible and the girl did react in an intimidated way, crossing her arms in front of her stomach. Giving the order to have her shot without hearing her out was the right decision. She is still afraid that she won't be able to leave.
"[Destroy Sweden.]" The line was delivered with the same force as an ultimatum. "[That is what we ask for. Sweden. Viggen. Their information is included in both packages. Payment will be due after confirmation of your package's contents but within 48 hours of receiving it.]" And now she was visibly sweating. "[You should… I mean… this is a good offer.]" Her confidence was waning because that Darjeeling woman was just staring at her like she was a delicious mouse in front of a hungry cobra. "[Please don't kill me.]"
I can use thi- Darjeeling felt terrible on the inside when she realized what the situation was making her become. "[How is the information delivered?]"
"[I will give you coordinates for the package. And leave. You… will let me leave, right?]"
Darjeeling sharply inhaled and took her tine slowly exhaling before she took two steps to the side and pulled a handgun, a Glock 17, and did what ever actor would do; pointing the gun at the guest, she made her sweat. Then she ejected the magazine, caught it with her other hand, checked the number of shots left and threw the empty gun to the mystery girl. "[One of my guards will give you the magazine when you leave the base. After all, it is dangerous out there.]" Darjeeling glanced at Kay and she hid her left hand behind her own back because her hand was shaking. She was really forcing herself to be cold and dreadful and she needed to stop.
Kay saw that too and took over. "[Guards!]" Within the second, two armed soldiers opened up the tent's entrance and looked inside. "[Find me Naomi. Have her escort our guest to the border of the base.]" Kay stepped away from the bed and took the magazine from Darjeeling. "[Hand this to her when she leaves.]"
Kay then looked to the mystery girl. "[Give the coordinates to a tall girl with short brown hair and a stone face.]" She then turned back to the guards. "[Escort her out.]"
The girl carefully stepped around Kay and Darjeeling, letting the guards take her into custody. Her heart was pumping hard. This is different from what Anzai said she'd be like! That woman is a demon. I almost died twice in this place.
Left alone, Darjeeling inhaled deeply and then exhaled just as deeply, but much more haphazardly. "[Kay, I am glad you realized-]" Darjeeling couldn't get any further than that because Kay put her tightly in en embrace and she didn't need to say anything else.
"[You were like a James Bond villain. It gave me chills, but the good kind. You know, like when you walk out of the theater and fantasize about the villain.]"
"[I strongly prefer you would think of me as the driven heroine that Agent 007 relies on in times of crisis.]" Darjeeling felt at peace, the coldness of her act melting away. "[Next time you play the villain.]"
"[I'm more the mid-boss that is all antagonistic and gets taken out.]"
"[I don't know what that means, Kay.]"
"[You are certainly my Agent 007.]" Kay kissed Darjeeling on the forehead. "[Wanna do it again?]"
"[We don't have time. We need to tie things up with Maginot before the fog lifts.]" Darjeeling didn't do anything when Kay grabbed her butt, nothing but smiled and moan lightly, playfully even. The war forced her to adapt, and so did Kay. She disliked the former but loved to discover new sides of herself with the latter. "[But tonight is another matter.]"
"[There is nobody I would rather share command with.]" Kay was happy with her lot, happier than she had been in a while. "[Seeing you take that sellout for a ride was better than seeing the dumb look on Selection University when we showed up to bail out Ooarai.]"
Darjeeling sighed, sliding her hands into Kay's pants and moving them up and down alongside her hips. "[Kay… what are we gonna do about those troublesome sisters?]"
"[The Nishizumis?]" Kay took a bold move and grabbed Darjeeling by the backside of her thighs, lifting her up all of a sudden, causing the Brit to giggle and even make a sound that others would have described as kyaa.
"[Kay, what are you doing?]" Giggling a little, Darjeeling was carried nowhere, just remaining carried by Kay. Dangerously close to falling off backwards, Darjeeling put her arms around her lover's neck. "[You brute~.]"
The American couldn't help but grin confidently. "[I always wanted to do this.]"
"[We should go and smooth things over with the French.]"
"[How about you give me a little lesson in French?]" Getting closer to her girlfriend's face, Kay puckered her lips.
Sharing on a brief, plain kiss with Kay, Darjeeling felt cruel. "[I am sorry Kay, but right now, this moment…]"
"[Totally worth a try.]" Kay smirked and quickly stole another kiss before she let Darjeeling back down but keeping her hands on her butt. "[I don't like that Eclair girl.]"
"[She's French. Nobody likes the French.]"
"[They do fight among themselves.]"
"[Kay. We really should leave.]"
"[Five more minutes?]"
"[Are you the type that has trouble getting out of bed?]" Darjeeling looked a little amused.
"[If I have a beauty like you in there? Heck yeah.]" Kay wasn't shy about her feelings.
"[Flatterer.]" Darjeeling enjoyed hearing the compliments. "[But fine. Five more minutes.]" In this cruel world, you are my oasis Kay. I look forward to the day we will be together and this war of ours has come and gone.
=== Tea and Cola ===
Darjeeling slowly rubbed her forehead. She hadn't anticipated that the French would be so excruciatingly stubborn. Two hours had passed after they resumed negotiations and they were down to a last handful of items. "[I have told you before, we cannot in good conscience agree to let you take independent action while our forces are in combat ourselves.]"
Eclair was just as tired of the negotiations as Darjeeling was but she wanted a good deal for her girls and she didn't just want to be a pawn to those two girls. "[Combien de temps cela va-t-il durer…? Bon dieu...]" Murmuring to herself, Eclair didn't know if she could push the issue for much longer. I really want a bath, too… "[Perhaps… if you are willing to transfer commande générale of the base, including troupes stationed here by you while you are away… Maginot will offer you… free use of our bathing facility?]" Mon dieu, what am I saying?
Kay was there as well, with a beret on her face, half passed out and half listening. "[Bathing facility?]" She took the beret off of her face. "[Does that mean something else in french?]"
That got Darjeeling's attention as well. "[What do you mean by that?]"
"[Quelle? It means what I said. Place to bathe.]" Eclair was quite exhausted. "[Do you not have such thing?]" Her French accent was really thick at this point.
Kay looked to Darjeeling and the two were in instant agreement. Beside their obviously personal stake in this, it would tremendously improve morale if it was a decent place. Darjeeling sat up. "[Explain how this facility of yours functions.]"
"[Cela vous intéresse? Something so plain?]" Eclair saw a lucky break coming her way.
"[Yes.]" Darjeeling didn't beat around the bush this time either.
"[We have many soldiers who also learn crafts, like metal work. We burn wood from trees in a shallow pit until it is hot embers. Then we use two tanks to drag a large Ardoise métallique above it. A metal slate we created from scrap over the first week. The water we used to draw from a close river… now we have to go further.]"
"[Are they out there now? Procuring water?]" Darjeeling was split on the issue. On one hand, she hoped they were – a bath would be heavenly. On the other hand, Eclair's forces had acted on their own. But then again, their formal agreement was not finalized yet.
"[They are.]" Eclair raised her voice and made clear that she was not going to take any bullshit for having her girls do what they had to do.
"[You shall have sovereign command in our absence over all present troops in exchange for Saunders and St. Gloriana receiving access to your bath. The procuring of water and wood shall be handled by a combined force because I do not deem it safe for Maginot to do so alone with our combined enemies out and about.]" Darjeeling put it all in official terms. The, until then practically invisible, girl in the corner looked towards Eclair before she put down anything on the old-fashioned typewriter.
"[Maginot can accept that.]" With that many more people aiming to bathe we must perhaps make a second trip to get water.
"[That leaves...]" Darjeeling shuffled papers and then found the notes. "[The matter of when our alliance resolves.]"
"[Excusez-moi, but what will Saunders and Gloriana do to determine the victor of this war?]"
"[We will divide our assets evenly and fight it out; only if we are the last to be left.]" Darjeeling silently scoffed after she answered the question.
"[I ask that Maginot be able to leave in peace and be granted one week of immunity from hostile action by Les deux armées of yours.]" Eclair knew she had not a chance in hell to win against those two. But even if victory was out of reach, because of any number of factors, there was glory, honor and profit to be had. Maginot deserved the undivided support of the French and Eclair was going to get it.
"[Three days.]" Darjeeling knew that if she said three, the French would want six or five, she would insist on three and they would solidify on five, possibly four. And then she would cave, having aimed for four to five to begin with.
And it went exactly as planned. Kay watched them argue back and forth a few times, until they settled on five days. Eclair would just absolutely refuse to go any lower than that, slamming her hand on the table in a brief explosion of unhappiness. "[Cinq jours c'est. Agreed?]" I need this negotiation to be over. I am starving. And in dire need of a bath.
"[One last thing. This is a personal matter.]" Darjeeling only glanced at Kay for a split second. "[Do you have any quality tea in your possession? We had a number of goods we could trade for it.]"
"[We have peu d'amour for tea. Speak to Fondue, my second in command to talk about commerce.]" Eclair rose from her chair. "[Is that all?]"
"[Yes.]" Both Darjeeling and Kay left their stairs and walked towards Eclair. Darjeeling went first and held out her hand. "[On behalf of the British forces, I, general commander Darjeeling formally welcome Maginot Girls' Academy to Allied Forces.]"
Kay did the same thing, welcoming Eclair and Maginot in the name of Saunders with the same formal acceptance speech. And finally the three could disperse. "[Eclair.]" Kay stopped her short just before she left. "[Around what time do you open that bath of yours?]"
"[Tombée de la nuit. After dusk,]" Eclair responded as she walked away.
"[How do our politicians deal with this?]" Darjeeling groaned. "[What time is it now?]"
The girl in the back answered quickly. "[4:35 PM.]"
"[We should check in with Assam and Naomi regarding the information of our mystery guest.]" My neck hurts. Darjeeling just wanted to be on her feet for a while.
"[I hope that bathing thing works out. Everyone is gonna be hailing us as saints if we manage to secure free bathing for them.]" Kay was optimistic and glad that something good had come out of negotiating with the French for hours. If they hadn't gotten that offer to bathe for practically nothing, it would have come at a much higher price.
"[Almost free. But I wanted us to be involved so the French do not change their mind about our agreement if it seemed like we were merely exploiting them for comfort.]"
"[Should I call you prime minister Darjeeling in the future?]"
"[Don't joke about that Kay, please.]" Darjeeling was hopeful that the bath would relieve her fatigue and that the French would trade their tea away for a reasonable price.
=== Tea and Cola ===
Assam and Naomi were completely burned out after being almost knee deep in papers, records, intelligence reports and the likes. And it was finally time to brief Darjeeling and Kay, both of them looking they had gone through paper hell themselves.
The Brit was ready to handle the first part of the briefing but her efforts were immediately rendered useless. Darjeeling and Kay just didn't have the energy left to listen to a drawn out intelligence meeting. "[Assam. Will you still be able to brief us in four hours?]"
"[I- Well, yes, of course, commander.]"
"[The Frenchies apparently have a nice setup so everyone can take a bath. We negotiated a deal that gets us in on that.]" Kay sounded excited, talking about being able to take a bath. "[Spread the word. Have a bunch of us go over and help them out. It's time for some skinny dipping time tonight.]"
"[Seriously? A bath? We're gonna be able to take baths?]" Naomi felt her spirits almost figuratively lifted. "[After what feels like a week of rain and this damn fog, that's gonna be heaven.]"
"[I am glad the fog has almost cleared up. How far up is visibility now?]" Assam had been stuck in this tent with the documents ever since they tracked down the large backpack that was filled with papers.
"[We could deploy with light tanks,]" Darjeeling said. "[But we will not. Attacking Viggen now would require attacking their base. Doing so with just light tanks would be tantamount to suicide.]"
"[About them-]" Assam tried to start up again purely out of reflex.
"[In the baths, Assam. Unless it is absolutely imperative that I know now, I require pause from talks.]"
"[Yes, commander.]"
"[I appreciate your hard work. Thank you Assam. Naomi, you as well.]" Darjeeling touched her temple and smiled. "[I will be grateful and listen to both of you later.]"
"[Hey, Assam. Naomi.]" Kay's tone was a bit stern. "[No leering at my darling.]"
Darjeeling chuckled, then granted Kay a smile. "[Assam has someone else she will be looking at already.]"
"[Okay, Naomi-]" Kay singled out one of her own aides now.
"[Relax, Kay.]" Naomi scoffed and shook her head. "[You think I have a death wish or something?]"
"[What are your orders until nightfall?]" Assam was looking forward to moving around after sitting still for so long.
"[Maintenance. Get all of your tanks ready for tomorrow. We will be moving out after sunrise in full force. Before the sun is at zenith, Viggen will be no more.]" Darjeeling didn't try to sound cold saying it, it just came out that way.
"[It is high time we see some real tank to tank action.]" Kay was very much looking forward to it. There's no fairness in it, but come the battle with Kuromori and Ooarai, it'll be fair, even if we team up with Pravda. Oh, yeah, come to think of it, the heck has Pravda been doing all this time? "[Darling, has Pravda contacted us with anything since we sealed the deal?]"
"[With the rain and the fog? They have not, to little surprise.]" Darjeeling stretched a little, her arms behind her back. "[As Kay said, those not involved in maintenance, help Maginot. And please tell maintenance to swipe the worst of the dirt off. I am going to have to ask for a few hours of time off. Kay, are you going to join me?]"
"[What do you think?]" Kay stepped forward and tried to pick up her girlfriend only to be dodged with ease. "[Aw, come on, lemme carry you.]"
"[Do not be silly, Kay. I am the commander of the British forces. I will not be carried by anyone.]" Kay, you oaf. That isn't something we will do in public. Do not embarrass me like that.
"[Tch,]" Kay clicked her tongue. "[I'll go find us something to eat darling. I'll meet you at the tent.]"
Darjeeling breathed a sigh of relief as Kay left and was then suddenly subject to a really curious and a really smug look, from Naomi and Assam respectively. "[Have things worked out with Rosehip, Assam? It is strange she is not here.]"
"[She would just be asleep beneath all the paper if she had come.]"
"[I'm gonna bolt. Assam, I'll find you at the baths later. You know, briefing our bosses and stuff.]" Naomi left without looking back, feeling alive again as the sun hit her. The fog had generally cleared up, lingering here and there, but the ground was still recovering from the rain. I ain't wanna see any rain again for a month.
"[You two appear to get along.]" Darjeeling hadn't been able to spend much time with Assam as of late.
"[She is not my type. But as a co-worker, I could not ask for anyone better.]" Assam also walked out of the tent, side by side with her commander. "[I apologize for walking out on you, commander, but your orders do not convey themselves.]"
"[Make sure you come to Maginot's camp later.]" Darjeeling headed towards her own tent right after, not in a hurry but decidedly marching there. Maybe I will just lie down for a brief moment; until Kay returns. A brief respite might clear my mind. She and I will have to come up with a plan for tomorrow. Even a small school like Viggen will problematic to wipe out if their base is fortified well. Reaching her tent, Darjeeling sat down on the inside and took off her boots. Her feet were kind of sore. Lying down on the field bed, that was still supported by a lot of paper, Darjeeling closed her eyes for just a moment. It is perhaps prudent to mobilize the T-28… although if we keep it at the base, it will remain a surprise for our more experienced adversaries. And… still…
Kay returned a few minutes later, carrying a small tray with some prepackaged stuff on it. Being unable to go out and get stuff, and there probably not being anything to pick up in the first place, because of the rain and the fog had made supplies just a little bit of stretched thin. Finding her lover on the field bed, Kay put the tray down on the folding table and knelt next to the bed. "[Dar~ling.]" Saying her name with a hum, Kay waited a few seconds before poking her cheek once and chuckling when Darjeeling made a very unrefined expression.
Leaving her partner on the bed, Kay hid a half suppressed yawn behind her right hand and sat down by the table, ripping open one of the packaged foods – crackers – and stuffed a handful into her mouth. Not five, but as many as fit into her hand. Ah… I could go for a nap too. I just kind of understand why politicians and high ranking people always look so sour. "You did a great job darling." Whispering it more to herself than saying it out loud, Kay didn't care to use any more English right now. It'll be so good to just speak Japanese once all of this is over. Although it's kind of nice to be pretty good at English. I'm not like all those peeps back home in Sasebo now! Although… I guess Darling will always be ahead when it comes to talking to people. Kay shoved another fistful of crackers into her mouth and stretched on the chair, her arms high above her head. I could go for a nap too. Hm.. wait, what's this strange deja vu? Closing her eyes to think about that, Kay was fast asleep in the chair before long.
The skies outside were a dark crimson when Darjeeling rose from her slumber, woken by a loud metallic crashing noise. She wasn't really surprised to find a folding chair and Kay both on the ground, the latter awake and looking like she had been ambushed by something. "Oh… Morning..." Kay's yawn filled the tent and it caused Darjeeling to follow up with a yawn of her own, much quieter.
"How embarrassing to have fallen asleep like this." Darjeeling felt a bit refreshed, which was very welcome. "Why didn't you join me?"
"I was eating crackers and kinda fell asleep. Didn't wanna wake you but looks like that plan was a big, fat failure." Getting off the floor and putting the chair back up, Kay yawned again. She could move around all day and spend ten hours fighting in the woods in the heat but having to sit around and join negotiations had just killed her.
The neck of the British commander hurt a little and she hoped it would go away before tomorrow. "[I will be counting on you and your girls quite a lot by tomorrow, Kay.]"
"[Hey, just because we trained the infantry stuff harder than you doesn't mean we're lightweights with our tanks now.]" Kay extended her hand to Darjeeling, offering to pull her up from the bed. And she did, pulling so hard that the British commander fell right within her arms. "[We're gonna use your new fancy-]"
"[No.]" Darjeeling laughed on the inside when Kay's face turned from hopeful to extreme pouting in one short word.
"[Oh come on. This is totally items saving for the final battle syndrome!]"
"[Kay, I have truly no idea what you are saying.]" I didn't imagine her pouting would be quite so funny looking. "[Viggen is a small school. The T28 consumes an enormous amount of fuel and it is very slow. At top speed it still clocks slightly less than your Sherman. Not to mention that we do not have a lot of the 105mm shells that it fires.]"
"[I hate it when you use logic to prove you're right.]
"[Because you are smart enough to understand that I am right?]"
"[I also hate it when you use compliments to disarm me.]"
"[So much hatred.]"
"[Should we talk strategy for tomorrow?]"
"[We will have to find Assam and Naomi first. We've yet to be briefed on what their base is like.]"
"[I've been thinking… what about a fake leak?]"
Darjeeling quickly explored all the possible things Kay could be talking about. Stepping away from Kay and leaving her embrace again, Darjeeling thought about it. "[You want to meet their armed forces out on the fields instead of assault them on their base?]"
"[You know me so well. I just don't think it's fair if we roll over them. We're bound to have way more tanks than they do.]" Kay crossed her arms, looking happy.
Darjeeling put two fingers just beneath her chin. "[They have no hope of winning regardless. But I have no objections if you want to meet them out on the battlefield. But do not make the mistake of voluntarily leaving behind tanks.]"
"[I know. I can't do stuff like that here. It's not just about my fun now.]"
"[I barely recognize you anymore, Kay.]" Darjeeling turned around and shook her head. "[Who are you?]"
"[You British folks are rude as heck even if you aren't swearing.]" Kay gently pinched Darjeeling's cheek. "[Before we head for the baths and see if they got it running okay, you wanna go check in and see if that Fudon chick traded away the French's tea?]"
"[Fondue. Her name was Fondue. If you ever mistake my name for something else that badly, we will be over.]" Darjeeling swatted Kay's hand away and shook her head again. "[We have gotten this good at English and still you get people's names wrong.]"
"[I'd win you back. Somehow. But duly noted.]" Kay tugged on her uniform and was growing a little sick and tired of it. "[Couldn't they just let us wear our normal combat uniforms at base? It's gonna be a mess when it gets hot enough that we start sweating in these.]"
"[Perhaps in the next war. Although we will be participating on the university level then.]" Darjeeling didn't want to think about that too much. "[I would like if we could attend the same university.]"
"[With my grades? No way. No, no way.]" Kay laughed it off. "[Let's go on an adventure. Raiders of the lost tea.]"
"[You are a far cry from Indiana Jones, Kay.]"
Kay was giddy that Darjeeling understood her reference. "[If we get out of here alive, we should go see the new James Bond movie together.]"
"[Are you inviting me?]" Darjeeling's playful smile conveyed exactly what she meant. Are you paying?
"[Yep. And I promise I'll keep the hands on to a minimum.]"
"[Almost ladylike of you.]" Darjeeling stepped out of the tent. "[I graciously accept.]"
Hurrying after Darjeeling, Kay grabbed her hand and the British commander immediately pulled away. "[How brazen you are. A commander will not be seen holding hands walking the base.]"
"[You're still saying that even though everyone knows we're together.]" Kay was content just walking next to Darjeeling for now – but she still tried to grab her hand a few times until Darjeeling's eyebrows nosedived and she knew it was time to stop messing around.
Making it to the storage tents, Darjeeling was already expected to arrive. A girl with long brown hair, styled into a braid that usually hung over her left shoulder but not so now, was overseeing about a dozen other girls from Gloriana, Saunders and Maginot combined, carrying things in and out. "[Commander.]" She quickly marked something on a piece of paper that was stuck on her clipboard and then turned towards her superior properly, even saluting. "[Everything is in order. We negotiated a favorable treading agreement with Maginot. They parted with almost all of the tea they had stored away in exchange for bread, cheese and jam. They initially asked if we had any wine.]"
"[Good work, Rukuriri.]" I am looking forward to a calming cup of tea after a bath. It will be heavenly, I am sure. "[Come to think of it, Maginot does have a wine making business associated with them. I wonder students are allowed to drink wine over there.]"
"[Definitely not officially but, you know, unofficially, that's another beast.]" Kay was a bit sad to see most of their jam go. She liked western style breakfast. "[Hey, who negotiated though?]"
"[I did. Why?]" Rukuriri was confused by this question.
"[You speak French?]" Kay found that almost hard to believe.
"[Enough to talk about trading. It embarrasses me but there was some gesturing involved in making this happen. Should I not have handled negotiations myself?]"
"[No, you did well.]" Darjeeling was glad that she had been spared from hearing any more French. "[Has there been any news regarding that bathing facility that Maginot was building?]
"[One of their tanks had a mechanical failure during the water transport. Rosehip wanted to set out with two of our Churchill Mk. VII but the ground wouldn't cooperate. In the end, she borrowed two Sherman's to go and get Maginot. I think… what was her name… a girl named Alisa made that happen.]"
"[Have you been over there yet to examine the facility?]" Although I am sure that calling it a facility is quite a stretch.
"[Been busy with overseeing the trad- stop, stop. Toi. Arrêtez! Ça va là-bas.]" Rukuriri gestured wildly at a different tent. "[I will be busy for a little longer. Maintenance finished about… twenty minutes ago, I would say. They left for Maginot's base. I understand the bathing place was initially supposed to be the center point of the Maginot base, but they relocated it to be in the open space of a clearing between our bases for easier access. I heard a number of trees go down, is that okay?]"
"[It should be. I studied the laws of war extensively and nothing declares the environment cannot be used to any and all advantages.]" Darjeeling was glad that she had gone through the pretty thick rule handbook again and again. "[Kay, are you coming?]"
"[Commander, before I forget.]" Rukuriri stepped away from the tents for a moment. "[A message came through on the unified open channel.]" The channel that was for one-way messages only; from the administration to the participants. "[They changing one of the regulations for combat attire.]"
=== Tea and Cola ===
A woman in a military short dress stopped as she walked past a table in the dining hall that was reserved exclusively for tankery personnel, from high school level to professionals. The food was not any better than what was sold in the typical restaurant elsewhere on the ship, but it provided the unique opportunity for girls, and a handful of men involved in the organization, to be exclusively among like-minded people. "Nishizumi? Shiho Nishizumi?"
Shiho looked up, her food already finished; she essentially sat at an empty table, only waiting for the waitress to pay, apparently. "Chouno."
"As taciturn as ever. Do you mind?" Asking for the open chair across Shiho, Ami was already about to sit down.
It's taken, actually. But you would have me explain things and she should be back any second now regardless. "No more commentating?"
"I only cover the day shift, remember? Not that I had a lot to do with the rain and everything. Kuromorimine and Ooarai were two of four schools that did anything. There was a pretty interesting confrontation between BC Freedom, Maginot, Gloriana and Saunders earlier today."
"A little rain would not have stopped me."
"You know it wasn't just a little rain. You might as well have tried to drive your tank through a lake at that point." Ami looked over her shoulder when someone cleared their throat behind her. "Shimada Chiyo. Do you need me for something?" Ugh… having these two in such close proximity to each other is spelling disaster. I better just go with her and get out of here before-
"You are interrupting my date. Could you please go away?"
Ami's brain was in an infinite loop of not understanding as she just kept sitting there and stared at head of the Shimada style. And so Shiho took the initiative, pulled her wallet from her pants, since she did not carry a purse, and left money on the table. "Chiyo. We are leaving."
"Woah, wait! When did you two become so friendly?! You are always at each other's throat when I see you together!" For Ami Chono, who was both a captain in the actual JGSDF and also a well known instructor for high school players of tankery, this was a greater shock than a flying tank would have been.
"1991." Shiho answered and the two of them walked away. Ami watched with her mouth open when Chiyo grabbed the arm of her companion, walking with her like only a couple would.
"Reality is stranger than fiction." Ami Chounen leaned back in her chair and wondered if the sky was going to fall down next.
"Did you see the face she made when I came back?" Chiyo's mildly sadistic smile met with disapproval from Shiho in the form of just a look. "Don't be a spoilsport Shiporin."
"You are going to cause misunderstandings by clinging to me." Even id we are together again, we cannot simply act like youths in love in public. You might be divorced but I am certainly not; yet. But before I could possibly convince her to let go, it would require convincing myself. And how am I to do that when my heart beats like this just feeling her by my side again after twenty years of being unable to let go and channeling it in- "Stop that." Shiho hissed and the pale skinned woman by her side smirked mischievously. "Chiyo-kichi!" Raising her voice when the woman didn't stop caressing her butt, right through the black pants she wore.
"Fine, I will stop." Taking her hand away, Chiyo adjusted the position of her purse, hanging from her left shoulder. "Are we heading straight for a bar?"
Both of them passed a trio of chatting women and one of them called out to the couple, a brunette by the name of Kanon Sasagawa; head judge in the Japanese tankery federation. As the current competition attracted everyone of rank and file, she was just about expected to be there at all times. "Shimada. Nishizumi. Join us for a moment." She was still fairly sober despite two empty wine bottles on the large table that could have fit six people with ease.
"Sasagawa. Takashima. Inatomi." Shiho greeted the three judges in turn.
"Sorry you three, but Shiporin promised to take me to a bar she really recommends. Another time." Chiyo immediately turned them down and pulled Shiho with her. She didn't particularly like Sasagawa.
"Don't call me Shiporin in front of others. It's embarrassing." It was only in situations like this when Shiho's tough shell cracked and she showed rare emotions like embarrassment or shyness.
"It's cute." Chiyo pulled Shiho strongly to their left so they avoided a table at which a number of university students sat. "They'll entrap me with a thousand questions if they see us. Let's hurry."
"What do you think about the new regulation they passed today?" Shiho's mind was still full of tankery, even when she was walking with her new and old partner.
"I think it makes sense. The real world military uniforms are not very distinct but they help immersion of the audience whenever combat happens. But for scenes from the bases, I believe it wasn't really necessary to begin with to enforce them. I do think that many will either stick with wearing them in case of an imminent attack." Chiyo had not been involved in that decision but she had been asked if she was going to oppose the regulation at the university level.
"Allowing general, school specific combat uniforms to be worn openly at base but prohibiting combat engagement without proper combat apparel will increase the level of tactical forecasting in the war."
"I know you would wear your uniform all the time. But you look good in anything."
I would like to see you in uniform again. A short skirt suits you. And I want to see you tie up your hair. "Hardly."
"Geez, you don't know how to take a compliment." Bouncing her hips against Shiho's the two of them didn't really sway from their path, navigating the narrow streets and hallways of the ships subterranean area. "Did you hear that there is talks to spread out the competition to the university and professional levels? They are planning to have the high school war take place in February next time while University is supposed to happen in October and the professional league in summer. They haven't decided on July or August yet."
"You want to return to active duty?"
"Don't you think I'm too old for that?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Chiyo. We have easily another ten years before we have to think about never setting foot on the battlefield before. Who will I trust my back to if you do not come?"
The Shimada woman blushed and hugged Shiho's arm even tighter. Her red dress clashing against Shiho's black suit, many that passed them did not look close and just saw a completely average couple. "I love you, Shiporin. I always have."
Shiho started to sweat a little because there were people all around them. "I… love you too. I never stopped." I want to disappear. "Good lord Chiyo-kichi, what are you making me say in public?!" Hissing at her partner, Shiho got even more embarrassed when she was suddenly kissed. Just on the cheek but still. For someone that had been emotionally restrained for many years, that was difficult to handle. "You devil woman."
"I was known as Shimada the Devil of the Battlefield once." Chiyo quietly bragged and touched Shiho's butt again. And this time, Shiho gave up on stopping her.
=== Tea and Cola ===
"[I see...]" Darjeeling was listening to Assam and suddenly let out a moan when Kay hugged her from the back, the two of them stark naked. "[Kay! Mind your manners!]" Darjeeling's voice was uncharacteristically high and she was really embarrassed by the sound she had just made.
The facility was basically a really big mix between a frying pan and a pot. It was roughly shoulder deep for the shortest of the girls, making it so that even the taller ones could kneel or sit to submerge themselves. The setup was very simplistic. A large ditch in the ground, which had been dug almost entirely by the physically superior forces from Saunders. Then the ditch was filled with trees, hacked to pieces. This had been done by Maginot for the most part, who had brought axes with them after specially petitioning to be allowed that. The wood was set on fire then. Two tanks from Saunders had dragged the large metal slate, which really did resemble a frying pan, over the ditch once the flames had calmed down a little. Water was quickly pumped in, using the motors of four tanks to power a pump – Maginot had been lacking in heavy tanks and a few other essentials, but their school's policy to not promote creativity, but mastery of a craft, was really shining in a situation like this.
To give the girls a sense of privacy, spare tents and large covers were attached to poles and stuck into the ground, creating something like a large changing room. There was no space for preferential treatment, so Kay and Darjeeling had to undress and bathe with everyone else.
"[Oh come on, Assam knows we're like this.]" Kay tried to grab Darjeeling again but was promptly pushed underwater by her instead.
The water was a little hotter than the average bath would have been, but it was still a very welcome thing for both Saunders and Gloriana; so much that some people left tiny offerings for the French.
"[Sit down and listen. I am not going to explain things to you later.]" Darjeeling was insistent that Kay stopped fooling around. It was hard because everyone else was happily chatting and relaxing. But a commander's work was never truly done.
"[The following schools are confirmed eliminated: Count, by the Axis. Viking Fisheries, by BC Freedom. Koala, caught in a skirmish between Kuromorimine and Pravda. Waffle, unknown assailant. Yogurt, also unknown assailant. Maple, by Pravda. Tatenashi, by Kuromorimine. West Kureouji Grona, by Pravda.]" Assam was really glad she had a good memory. "[The armies unaccounted for entirely in our intel are Anzio, Jatkosota, Gregor, Blue Division and Tategoto. Bonple is mostly unaccounted for after a skirmish with Ooarai.]" Assam briefly submerged herself completely and then came back up. The feeling of the steaming hot water on her face was like she was being reborn. "[Essentially, few of the smaller schools remain. Commander, if I am honest, I believe this same information was most likely also sold to the Axis at the very least, but most likely also to Pravda. Their payment will most likely be the same thing; eliminate one o the smaller schools.]"
"[I would suspect Anzio to be behind this but Anzai hardly seems to be the type of person capable of executing such a complicated scheme.]" Darjeeling did not think very highly of Anzio's general commander.
"[Better not underestimate her. Remember how she only showed up with a single tankette when we all bailed out Ooarai? She lived a lot longer than some of us.]" Kay had a bit of higher opinion of her. "[She is cute too.]"
"[Excuse me?]" Darjeeling pinched Kay's foot underwater and caused the American to flail and fall over, swallowing a bit of heated river water.
"[The information confirms that Ooarai and Kuromorimine have indeed allied and formed the Axis powers. However, Bellwall's involvement is questionable. All the intelligence regarding Bellwall in general is questional. Many things contradict each other in terms of personnel count, vehicles operated, base location and even time frame of being spotted. Intelligence about Pravda and Chi-Ha-Tan was largely absent.]" Assam finished her report and was glad that that was done with. She had been watching Rosehip impatiently wait about a dozen meters away – the bath was very spacious, all things considered. "[Naomi will brief you on Viggen specifically. Now, excuse me.]" Assam was not that tall, a fair bit shorter than Darjeeling and Kay, so she could quite figuratively walk through the bath without exposing herself too much.
"[Done?]" Rosehip had been waiting for her girlfriend to show up. But she wasn't alone. Orange Pekoe was there with her, who was very distraught that more and more people started calling her Ranko, even girls from Gloriana. Next to Ranko was Nilgiri, the unluckiest girl in all of Gloriana, who was often the first, and sometimes the only one, to be taken out during matches.
"[I expected you would be waiting for me alone.]" Assam was not disappointed. In fact she had hoped to convince Rosehip that the bath was too public a place to really do anything that went further than holding hands, washing each other or kissing.
"[Should we leave?]" Ranko didn't want to be a third, or fouth, wheel.
"[That is not what I meant. I am glad we get to spend some time together. We have all been busy these last few days.]" Assam knelt, the water reaching right to her chin now. If she sat down, it would reach all the way to her nose.
"[Even though we only deployed briefly to rescue our French allies.]" Ranko had not been among the rescue squad. She had scored rather poorly in the infantry exams at Gloriana despite strength belying her physical appearance. She was a loader, not a gunner, which made her a poor shot in inter-personal combat.
"[Totally worth it!]" Rosehip fell backwards, and then came back up, her red hair sticking her to her face like sea weed. "[Did they say how often they will be preparing this bath?]"
"[I haven't heard anything.]" Assam's gaze wandered downwards when nobody paid attention, resting on Rosehip's breasts. Perhaps I could let her be on top… with her vigor and fervor, it might be quite the view when she gets moving.
"[It's a bit inconvenient that not even a handful of us speak French.]" Ranko wanted to thank the girls from Maginot but it would be awkward if she knew only how to say merci.
"[You helped with maintenance Nilgiri, yes?]" Assam moved over by just a little bit when Rosehip came up next to her, grabbing her hand underwater.
"[Hm? Ah, yes.]" The girl was a little spaced out by finally being able to take a bath again.
"[Tomorrow we will be deploying with nearly full force!]" Rosehip was super excited for that. "[We finally get to fight like we trained.]" Moving just a little bit closer to Assam, Rosehip stubbed the blonde's left foot with her right, playing footsies underwater.
"[I never heard of the school we are up against.]" Ranko was not as well studied as Darjeeling and whenever they went to watch matches, it was mostly the bigger schools such as Ooarai, Pravda and Saunders. I am sure we will be going to watch Saunders all the time after all of this.
"[They're Swedish. They did not have the numbers, tanks or personnel, required to enter the nationals. It looks like they have enough now, but it will not help them tomorrow.]" In a way, I feel almost sorry for them. The intelligence we received was valuable, but for us to target such a small school could be considered bullying. I am sure that Kay will be quite upset after Naomi tells her just how small they are.
"[It's kind of a bad feeling when we're talking about crushing a small school like that after they haven't done anything to us.]" Ranko didn't feel very enthusiastic about the prospect of destroying Viggen either.
"[Someone will fight them and win. I know there is nothing fair about a coalition of large schools doing it, but the number of small schools still in play is rather low.]" Assam was the third person to not share Rosehip's enthusiasm.
And said girl also felt not nearly as enthusiastic about it anymore. "[So we're basically bullying a small school?]"
"[I hate to call it that, but that is basically it. The saying does go all is fair in war and love, but I still would have preferred we fight someone more advanced. Blue Division might have been a nice opponent.]" Assam heard someone shout behind her, followed by someone else reprimanding the first person. Naomi must have told Kay.
"[No.]" Kay wouldn't budge on her decision. "[Darling, I don't care if this isn't just about my fun but this has nothing to do with tankery anymore.]"
"[I understand why you are upset, but do you think Pravda or the Axis will share your sentiment?]" Darjeeling was not happy about the circumstances either. The largest alliance in the war was supposed to crush one of the smallest armies. That just left a bad taste in her mouth.
Kay grumbled by herself for a few seconds. "[There has to be a better way.]"
Naomi watched the lover's quarrel unfold before her eyes. I know how stubborn Kay can be. I mean, I kinda agree with her. There is nothing fun about crushing some small school with seven tanks and like twenty people with our numbers. We would just roll over them. It's not a fight, it's an execution.
"[I don't know if this is my place to suggest-]" Naomi sat there in the water, still really calm. "[We cannot risk losing people and tanks due to pride and morals. But we agreed to fight them as payment ad we cannot back out of that either. So how about we fight them, but instead of fielding everything, we use six tanks from each of us. That still gives us a distinct numerical advantage but not so much that they cannot fight back. Ooarai has won worse match ups before.]"
Kay was really pouting now and refused to even look at anyone. Darjeeling sighed softly and then moved a few wet strands of hair away from Kay's face. "[Gloriana will send seven tanks. Saunders will send seven. Gloriana will take a defense role, ensuring our victory but providing them a chance to fight on even numbers.]" You can be such a handful, Kay.
Oh, she really knows how to handle that commander of mine. If she tried to force the issue, Kay would just get even more stubborn and lock up completely. Naomi was glad that Kay was dating such a responsible and, even more so, reasonable woman.
Kay stopped pouting but still looked sour. "[What about using our light-]"
"[Do not push your luck, Kay.]" Darjeeling was reasonable but not a pushover.
"[I can live with that. Seven Shermans against their… Naomi, what do they have?]"
"[Four light tanks, three medium. The light ones are Stridsvagn L-60, the others are Stridsvagn m/42. We know next to nothing about them because they didn't have any records of fighting in world war two so we are going in blind, other than knowing a little bit about their specifications.]"
"[Mes amis, Kay, Darjeeling.]" Eclair, with a white patch on her shoulder front and back, waded through the water and sat down in a neutral third position, away from both commanders and Naomi too. "[Je suis reconnaissant de l'aide que votre peuple a fournie.]"
"[What?]" Kay still hadn't magically learned to speak French.
"[She says she thanks us for the help our soldiers have provided.]" Darjeeling translated with a sour expression. "[With the bath you mean, commander Eclair?]"
"[Appelez-moi simplement Eclair, s'il vous plaît.]" Eclair was in a really good mood since everything had gone much faster and smoother than usual. "[I apologize. When I get excité, I simply return to French.]"
"[You have heard we will be deploying tomorrow?]" Darjeeling hoped that this would be the last bit of business this evening. She wanted to return to base after this bath, enjoy a nice cup of actual quality tea and then go to bed, perhaps spend a few private moments with Kay.
"[Oui oui.]" Eclair nodded. "[I have not heard of this Viggen before.]"
"[A small school.]" Darjeeling didn't want to go into detail, least she made Kay even more grouchy.
"[Je vois. Please, enjoy your bath. To avoid… la déforestation, we will be collecting bois from a nearby forest instead, not this one. I wanted to tell you this. Pas besoin de s'inquiéter. I will be over there if you have need of me.]"
"[What was that?]" Kay looked after the girl, who returned to her own group.
"[I am sure she was worried she antagonized us during our negotiations so she wanted to smooth things over.]" She is thoughtful but it is fairly clear that she is not used to the position. "[Kay, should we leave?]"
"[Let's not.]" Kay stretched, arms over her head, and made her breasts bounce really heavily just once by accident.
"[I'm leaving though. See you two tomorrow. Lucky me, no guard shift tonight.]" Naomi waved and then stood up. The water didn't fully cover her breasts, but she didn't care and just walked away. A few French girls were making big eyes at her and calling out but Naomi just waved to them.
"[Is she popular at Saunders?]"
"[Among the girls liking girls faction? More than me.]" Kay shrugged it off. "[I don't need any popularity though. I got you. As far as I'm concerned, that makes me a superstar already.]"
"[I am not letting you change our agreement,]" Darjeeling said so playfully.
"[You know I don't go back on my word. Stupid.]" A squall of water hit Kay in the face just seconds after she had said that. Spitting out more than a handful of water, Kay glared at her lover and tried to return the favor but missed. "[Why you…!]" Trying again, Kay just missed another time, while Darjeeling smiled like an imp.
The two of them continued for almost five minutes before Kay felt dizzy and the two of them had to leave the bath, having soaked quite long enough. Towels could not be taken back to base and were only used to dry off. After that, they were quickly dried near the intense heat of the embers below the bath.
Their military uniforms folded up and in their hands, they were just wearing their school combat uniform and both Kay and Darjeeling enjoyed the late evening breeze. "[I should predict it'll rain cookies next.]"
"[Kay, for the last time, you are not psychic. Nor are you influencing reality. And I do not understand that comment about aliens, time travelers, espers and sliders.]" Walking the small distance to their base unattended and in the dark, Darjeeling did allow Kay to hold her hand.
Kay squeezed her partner's hand and then started to swing her arm, because she was in a really good movie now. "[I really need to lend you some of my manga.]"
"[No thank you.]"
Entering the base, Kay nearly fell when Darjeeling walked in a different direction than what she anticipated. "[Where- oh, right. Tea.]"
"[Yes. And Kay, I am sorry but… I am finally clean again, I would like to spend one night without being sweaty or dirty.]"
"[Then I'll get sex as a victory gift, right?]" Kay snickered when the girl in front of her blushed.
"[Yes. We can steal away and have… sex.]" For the ever polite Darjeeling, it was not easy to agree to something, especially not in Kay's words.
"[It's a deal. Man, you're lucky I'm not a tease. You're so cute when you're embarrassed that it totally makes me want to bother you all the time.]"
"[I would kill you in your sleep.]" Darjeeling squeezed Kay's hand tightly for a moment before she let go. They were back in the base and there were people everywhere now. "[Do you want to go back to the tent without me?]"
"[Who? Me?]" Kay just smirked. "[I'll wait.]" And so Kay watched Darjeeling approach the officer that handled rationing and Kay waited. She always acts like she is such a high class lady, but she is really cute underneath all that.
=== Panzer Halt ===