Hey guys, HereticalShinigami here. Guess what, I'm not dead! I know it's a bit of hyperbole, but I've not posted in quite a long time. If you don't count the post I did for the first chapter of Enclave, my Log Horizon idea (which is on indefinite hold until this story is done, or I have a random moment of inspiration), I've not posted in nearly four months. Which I'm personally a little displeased with, as I usually try and get these out once a month. But, the reason behind it is the usual reason I give every chapter: work, work, and more work. I've been entirely rushed off my feet with my new course, and I've just not had the time (or the motivation really) to get on with writing a new chapter. In fact, this chapter would be a lot later if not for Kilroy, who decided that he'd (on his own initiative) draw some rather spoileriffic artwork for this chapter, which encouraged me to actually finish the damn thing. (Also, totally not mad with him, I still love the art, just I need to stop feeding him story spoilers all the time).
Anyway, I suppose this should also therefore be part PSA that I'm not going to be updating anywhere near as often until I a) get my muse back, or b) get a shitload more time to write. As it is, I'm writing this note right at the end of term, when I actually have some time to myself. I'll work on ch.30 over Christmas, and hopefully I might get something out for early January, but I also have funding applications for a PhD coming up, so if I get derailed I apologise. - (Update: Yeah, I got very derailed by work)
For this chapter, I had two main sections that I wanted to include, and then the rest is mostly fluff to aid with a bit of character progression and to make the timeline a little bit clearer without it feeling rushed. I do hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Start.
Monday, February 17th – Carrier Dauntless, Emperor College, 0815hrs
"Hey Angie, are you up? We're gonna be late if you don't get a move on!"
A pair of bleary eyes blinking open at the shout, which was accompanied by insistent knocking at the door. A glance over at the clock confirmed the time – she had fifteen minutes to get up, dressed and into the academy before morning muster was called.
"Shit!" Clark cursed, springing out of bed at lightning speed, hastily grabbing a dressing gown to put over her pyjamas before dashing for the door. She opened it to find her crewmates, all fully uniformed, looking at her with curious gazes. "Good morning?"
"Good morning to you too sleepyhead!" Louise greeted, a cheeky smirk plastered on her face. "What kept you in bed this morning? Normally you're up and ready before any of us."
"Erm…" Angela opted to prevaricate, not wanting to admit she'd been mostly awake replaying the previous evening's events in her head. She'd spent a great deal of time agonising over what Pearce was going to say to her today, and as a result had only fallen asleep in the small hours of the morning, still overthinking everything that had transpired. Had she been too forward? Maybe she'd not come on strong enough? She just had no idea. "I think I just forgot to set my alarm," she finished lamely.
"Oh… well you'd best get moving, or we'll end up being late to morning muster."
"Right! I'll be two minutes." Angela ran off, leaving her friends to make themselves comfortable in her living room. One hurried shower and a change of clothes later, she returned from her bedroom, brush in hand, neatening her still-damp hair, only to find all four girls looking at her with amused expressions. "What?" Clark asked tersely, aggravated by their smug grins.
"Well," Alexis said, holding up an article of clothing that had previously been slung over the back of her chair, "I know you're quite averse to wearing 'girly' clothing most of the time, but I didn't know it extended to wearing men's suits." She grinned slyly. "Or is there something you have to tell us? This doesn't look like your size after all…"
Campbell team received Angela's answer in the form of the scarlet blush that blossomed into existence on her face almost immediately, staining her pale cheeks. Seizing the offending article out of Alexis' hands, she threw it through her bedroom door and slammed it, before snatching up her rucksack and proceeding towards the exit.
"Okay then, well we should probably get going, or we'll definitely be late!" Clark said in an overly cheery tone that barely concealed her embarrassment, before striding out of the door purposefully. The other four girls looked at each other in amusement and giggled, before following their 'fearless leader' out of the door. She could be so amusing when she was flustered.
Academy Parade Grounds, 0830hrs
Moving at a swift pace, Campbell team arrived on the parade ground just as the other cadets were finishing forming into ranks, ready to be greeted by Captain Hart. Whilst her four crewmates tacked onto the files of students with practiced ease, Angela bypassed the ranks and made a beeline for Pearce, who was standing at Hart's left shoulder.
"Good morning cadets," Hart began, only for his spiel to be interrupted before it could truly get going by Angela collaring Pearce and half-carrying, half-dragging him away towards the vehicle sheds. "Miss Clark?"
"I'm terribly sorry sir, there's just something I need to discuss with our captain quickly. It won't take two minutes, I promise," Angela said, barely breaking stride, with Pearce offering a small nod of affirmation to back her statement up as he was dragged backwards by the scruff of his neck.
Although he had more than an inkling of what the conversation might be about, Hart decided not to make an issue of it. "Alright then, two minutes. I still need Samuel back here to talk about Wednesday's events, so be quick!" Hart said light-heartedly. A few murmurs broke out among the assembled cadets, intrigued by what could be happening on Wednesday. "Alright, settle down," Hart said, "Today we'll be doing our usual drills, followed by…"
Hart's voice gradually faded into the distance as Clark dragged Pearce into the vehicle sheds, depositing the team captain behind Hobart team's Comet. He looked at Angela with a faint air of amusement playing at his features, having surmised precisely why his XO had wanted to talk to him almost as soon as he saw her. Clark however, was having none of it, fixing Pearce with a heated glare that only highlighted how tense she was.
"Well?" she asked expectantly, only marginally refraining from tapping her foot.
"I gave what you said a lot of thought, and the-" Pearce found himself once again cut off by Clark placing a finger over his lips.
"No preamble please, just a straight answer," Clark said quietly. She looked strangely vulnerable in that moment, as if she was almost scared of the answer she'd get. In a strange moment of emotional clarity, Pearce realised it was because Angela had opened up to him in a way she was entirely unused to. She was afraid, because doing so might hurt her. Because what he chose to say might hurt her. He smiled fondly, gently removing her finger from his lips and wrapping her hand in his own.
"You waited all last night for an answer," he said, looking into her eyes with a warm gaze. "One more minute should be okay." Pearce could feel Angela's pulse quicken as he spoke, the hand he was holding almost shaking, much like his own. "When you asked me to think on your question last night, I was absolutely stunned. I don't think I even comprehended what you'd said until quite a while after the fact. Even when I got home, I wondered if what you'd said was real, or if I'd imagined it. But nevertheless, I thought on it. But no matter how long I thought, I could never make a choice." An involuntary tear pricked at the corner of Clark's vision, and her heart sank. Surely he was just trying to let her down easy? "But that is because there was never a choice to make," Sam said softly. "Even before you asked, the answer was always yes."
Pearce did not have long to wait for Angela's response as his XO's lips crashed into his own in a passionate kiss. He could feel all the emotion she poured into the lip-lock, all the tension, all the worry, all the affection, conveyed solely through her soft lips. He melted into the kiss, merely revelling in the raw emotion of the moment, before Angela drew him into a warm embrace, resting her chin on the top of his head. He could have stayed in that moment forever, those fleeting few seconds stretching into eternity. It was only the feeling of moisture dripping onto his head that prompted Pearce to move from the comfortable position he was in. A quick glance up showed that the moisture was tears, streaming down Clark's face to settle in his hair due to Angela's greater stature. Pearce went to speak, but was cut off as he was suddenly squeezed tightly.
"You idiot," Angela said quietly, though there was no malice to her words. "All I needed was a yes."
Angela's heart had leapt in her mouth as Pearce spoke, the meandering nature of his answer causing her to fret that this was a rejection, simply a conciliatory explanation before a polite refusal. She was kept on edge for what felt like an eternity, only hearing the final 'yes' before her feelings welled over, and were expressed in the only manner she could think of.
"Sometimes a yes is insufficient to convey everything you want to say," Sam replied, wrapping his arms around Angela and returning the embrace. "Certainly not enough to convey quite how I feel I about you."
Angela sniffed and then smiled softly, blinking the tears from her eyes. "May you should lead with the yes next time, and explain later, you dummy." She said, playfully swatting him across the back of the head, only for her hand to linger a while as she absently murmured, "You had me so worried."
"Why?" Pearce asked curiously. Although by this point he was well aware that Angela was not entirely as self-confident as she appeared, the thought of her actually worrying about something was still an unfamiliar one.
Clark blinked before looking down at Pearce's inquisitive expression. Realising she had spoken out loud, she blushed vividly, breaking the hug to take a step away from Sam. "Well, I, err…" she stammered, frantically thinking for an excuse, until it became clear that she couldn't avoid answering. Pearce's eyes simply bored into her with the same intrigued expression, compelling her to speak. "Look, I was worried because I thought you were trying to let me down easily, and I'd been… fretting about it all last night." Angela trailed off towards the end, quite embarrassed at her admission, only to hear a small but mirthful chuckle from Sam, who was smiling serenely at her. "What's so funny?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nothing in particular," Pearce replied. "I just find it both quite amusing and highly endearing that you were worried I might turn you down." Noticing Clark's questioning gaze, he elucidated. "Endearing because you clearly care enough about my answer to spend your time worrying over it, and amusing because I felt exactly the same way."
"What do you mean?" Angela said, frowning as she did so.
"When you asked me out yesterday I was overjoyed – it seemed you felt the same way as I did, and the thought made me happier than I think I've ever been. But there was just one doubt, one terrible thought that nagged at the back of my mind – were you actually serious?" Pearce was somewhat loath to admit this, as it touched on one of his constant doubts – that he actually deserved to have people care about him the way they did. But it seemed to assuage Angela's fears, as he suddenly found himself in another tender embrace.
"For someone supposed to be so smart, you can really be an idiot at times," she said. "I would never do that to you." She couldn't decide whether to feel offended or sad that he could think that, either for doubting her sincerity or for thinking so little of himself. She settled for merely holding him a little tighter to her.
"The same could be said of you," Pearce replied, although it was somewhat muffled given that Clark's shoulder was currently smothered against his face. "What person in their right mind would ever refuse the chance to be with you?"
"Well nobody's gonna get the chance anyway," Clark said, stooping slightly so she could speak into Pearce's ear. "Because you're mine now, and I'm not letting you go anytime soon." She whispered this last part in a sultry tone, relishing the heated blush that coloured Pearce's cheeks immediately afterward. It was only with a supreme act of will that Pearce composed himself to reply.
"As lovely as that sounds, I think our classmates would find it quite perplexing if we went back out in front of them as we are now," Sam jested, prompting Angela to chuckle softly as she released Pearce from her arms.
"It's almost tempting, they'd be picking their jaws up from the floor."
"Quite. But I don't think I'm ready to spend the next few weeks having Chris tease me about our relationship." It felt odd to Pearce to say 'our relationship' in anything other than a platonic way, but he certainly was not complaining. "Or indeed anyone else for that matter."
"We'd never hear the end of it," Clark sighed. She knew that she'd dodged a bullet earlier with Pearce's jacket, as their tardiness had prevented her team from questioning her too much, but it was only a matter of time before someone found out. "Still, we can't hide it forever. Better to get the teasing over and done with."
"Perhaps if we let it become common knowledge when people will be too preoccupied with other things? Like when we've got Oarai here; the team will be busy with training and liaising with our allies, too busy to spend their time annoying us," Pearce said, after some careful thought.
"Sounds like a good plan," Angela replied. "Just as long as we don't take too long over it, I don't want to be tiptoeing around everyone else for ages."
"I understand. Now, shall we? We have been quite a while," Pearce said, gesturing back towards the parade ground.
"Wait, just one more thing," Angela said, stepping close to Sam again. She placed a gentle kiss upon his brow, before smiling tenderly. "There, now we can go, sweetheart."
Though it was but a chaste kiss, it still left Pearce feeling a little light-headed. All the affectionate gestures, the caring demeanour – it was a side to Angela that he had yet to adjust to, though certainly not one he disliked. He'd fallen for her assertive, independent character, it was simply a bonus that there was a compassionate, almost loving persona underneath it. This dichotomy was perfectly illustrated as Angela smirked at his somewhat befuddled expression.
"Come on," she said, "Or they'll start wondering what we're getting up to."
Pearce simply nodded, falling into step with Clark as they exited the sheds. As they did so, they spotted Hart striding towards them, the officer evidently having just decided to come look for his two errant students.
"Ah, I was wondering where you two had got to," Hart greeted as they approached. "I take it you've resolved everything satisfactorily then?" The question had a knowing air to it, prompting both cadets to smile gratefully.
"Yep, everything's sorted out," Clark replied, the good nature of her reply telling Hart everything he needed to know.
"Splendid. Now I've been through everything we're going over today with the rest of the class, so Sam is now free to talk to them about what'll be happening later this week."
Pearce nodded, and the trio returned to the assembled cadets, who by this point appeared quite restless, as some murmured conversations could be heard rippling through the ranks. Clearly Hart had been covering for them for a little bit longer than they'd anticipated, an act of kindness Pearce noted down to pay back later. He took his usual place in front of his peers, Hart standing alongside him, while Angela returned to the ranks, taking her place at head of Campbell team's file.
"So, what were you and the captain getting up to in the vehicle sheds just now?" Alexis whispered from behind Clark. "You were gone for an awfully long time…."she giggled, letting the implication sink in. Fortunately for Angela, being at head of the column meant that Alexis couldn't see the tinge of red staining her cheeks, the gunner's comment having hit dead on the money. Clark was preparing to respond when Hart gestured for the cadets to be quiet.
"Now that we've covered what we'll be doing today, I'm going to hand over to Samuel, who will inform you about what we've arranged for the next two weeks."
"Thank you sir," Pearce said as Hart stepped aside to give him the floor. "As you are all aware, we have been partnered with Oarai Girls High School tankery team for the upcoming semi-final of the tournament, in which we will be facing Kuromorimine Girls High School and Bradley Military Academy. The challenge we face is immense, particularly due to the opposition's overwhelming material advantage, making adequate preparation key. As such, over the last few days, myself, Captain Hart, and Miss Clark have been in contact with the commanders of the Oarai tankery team about how we can better coordinate our efforts so our partnership works best. Therefore, two days from now we will be docking in Funagawa Port in Akita Prefecture, and the Oarai tankery team will be coming aboard to train with us for the following week and a half before our match."
As Pearce finished speaking, excited muttering broke out amongst some of the cadets, a few obviously enthused by the idea of another school visiting the carrier. Although it was gratifying that there didn't appear to be any objection from his teammates, Pearce nonetheless gestured for quiet so he could continue speaking.
"I am aware that this is quite short notice, and that we didn't convene a meeting so that we could all discuss this prior to making the decision, but we have a limited amount of time to prepare for the next match, and we felt that swift and expedient action was needed to make best use of that."
Sam noted that the sullen expression that Steven Hawke had been wearing somewhat subsided at this comment, as the logic of Pearce's statement served to mollify any complaints that Russell Team's captain might have had. Still, it served as a reminder that regardless of how far he had managed to recover lost ground with his peers, he still had a long way to go to earn their respect. However, before he could dwell on that thought for too long, Captain Hart spoke up once more to address the cadets.
"Thank you Mr Pearce. Now, there are some things you need to all be aware of for when the Oarai team are visiting, mostly just some ground rules so we don't have any incidents while they are here. Firstly, under no circumstances are you to allow any of them onto any of the militarily active parts of the academy, nor are the Oarai students to be allowed contact with any military equipment aside from their own and that of the tankery team without a supervisor present. Furthermore…."
Oarai Girls High School, Tank Sheds, Carrier Zuikaku – 0900hrs
"Miporin! Good morning!"
Miho, who'd been deep in thought, whirled round towards the source of the voice, revealing a perky Saori who was chivvying along a sleepy Mako, with both Hana and Yukari in tow.
"Ah, good morning," Miho greeted.
Noting Miho's distracted expression, Saori stopped just in front of her friend, her head cocked to one side, looking concerned. "Are you okay Miporin? We didn't see you at all this weekend. Is something wrong?"
"Huh?" was Miho's intelligent response, until her brain kicked into gear. "No, it's not that at all! I guess I'm just a bit tired is all."
It was something of a half-truth, as Miho had been dwelling on the upcoming transfer to Wellesley for the past couple of days, and although work had tied her to her desk for part of Sunday, most of the rest of the weekend had been whiled away preparing some ideas for their combined training regime once they'd made the transfer. As such, she'd had no time to spend with the rest of Anglerfish team, where she usually saw them every day.
"Miporin! You know you should be getting a good night's sleep every day! Otherwise, how will you be in tip-top shape to command the team?" Saori went into full mother-hen mode at her friend's excuse. "Don't make me come round to your dorm and make sure you're getting to bed on time!"
"Okay, okay, I'll try to make sure I get to sleep early tonight," Miho replied, smiling even as she spoke at the redhead's fussing. It was quite endearing how fastidious and protective Saori could be towards her friends, an attitude she sometimes extended to the rest of the team too.
"Great!" Saori grinned, "Now what are we doing today? I hope it's not more gunnery practice; I just have to sit there and can't do anything if we're just shooting at targets." She pouted cutely, prompting her friends to giggle.
Before Miho could offer a reply, the Student Council appeared, prompting the chatter of the assembled girls to die down. Each team quickly congregated, forming themselves into rows facing towards the tank sheds.
"Mornin' everyone," Anzu greeted cheerfully. "Before we get started, I've just got a couple of things we need to go over with you about what's going to be happening over the next few days, cos we've got something exciting planned." A few ears pricked up at the sound of 'exciting', some remembering exactly how the Student Council had originally pitched tankery before throwing them into a do-or-die struggle for the fate of their school, while a few others were a little more… optimistic.
"As most of you already know, the next round of the tournament will see us facing Kuromorimine Girls High School and Bradley Military Academy in a tag team match, where we will be partnered with Wellesley Royal Military Academy," Momo said. Only a few stirred at the news, the information having filtered around most of the team in the previous couple of days. "We had a conference with Wellesley yesterday, where we discussed how we were going to work together to give us our best shot at winning the semi-final, so..."
"So!" Anzu interrupted, to Momo's exasperation, "We agreed that for the next couple of weeks before our match, we would transfer over to Wellesley so we can train with them, and learn how to work as a team with each other." She grinned widely at the assembled girls. "Sounds like fun right?" Silence greeted Anzu's words, and for a moment, only the tranquil noise of the ocean could be heard in the background.
"Anyway…" Yuzu said, brandishing a stack of paperwork. "As it turns out, we can't actually take any of you off the carrier without getting your permission first, so I've brought some forms for you to sign if you are okay with coming with us to Wellesley. If I could have them back this time tomorrow morning, that'd be great." Yuzu passed the stack of forms to Azusa, who took one and passed it along the file. "Also, if you have questions about the visit, feel free to ask and we'll try to answer them to the best of our ability," the bubbly brunette added with a smile.
There was a brief lull as the forms were passed out, quiet conversation passing to and fro between the different girls as they all discussed the exciting, although to some a bit daunting, prospect that lay before them. Eventually Aya perked up.
"Oh, actually I have a question; where will be staying when we're there if we choose to go?"
There was a little hush as conversations died away so the girls could listen in for Yuzu's answer, the question evidently being one that had played on a few minds prior to its asking.
"That's a good question, because we actually have a choice. Captain Hart, the man I spoke to, said that Wellesley can either put us up in the barrack blocks they use when foreign detachments visit the academy. They're shared communal blocks, but at least we can all stick together in that case, or we can go for option number two, which is we can stay in some of the residential dorms, which are comfier, but we will be split up around the academy dorm blocks, since there are only a few spare in each."
"Will they at least try to keep teams together?" Noriko asked.
"We can ask," Momo replied. "I don't believe that that would be a problem for them."
Turning to Miho, Yukari said, "I think it'd be really cool to sleep in a real barrack block, we'd feel like soldiers for real!"
"Only as long as they don't expect us to wake up like soldiers," Mako answered dryly. "I like the dorms idea better."
"That's just because you want to sleep in!" Saori said.
"Yeah, but think of it this way – if we all end up in a communal block you won't be able to spend three hours washing your hair."
"What?!" was Saori's cogent response. "Well then, I think we should definitely go with the dormitories then. Whoever thought barrack blocks were a good idea anyway?" The Panzer IV crew giggled at their teammate's instant about-face.
"What about you Miss Isuzu?" Yukari asked. The graceful gunner paused for a second, a thoughtful look on her face.
"I think I like the idea of the dormitory blocks. I think it'll be more peaceful, plus we might be able to learn some more about the cadets if we live like them while we're there," Hana said. "I do wonder if they have any unique flowers there though…"
After some further discussion, Yuzu called the team back to attention so they could vote on the subject. A quick hands-up count of the girls put it at 15 in favour of the dorms, 12 in favour of the barrack block, with the Student Council abstaining from voting. Most of the votes for the latter had come from Rabbit Team, the first years perhaps understandably nervous about being separated in an unfamiliar place, and supplemented by support from a few from both Leopon and Mallard teams. Hippo team had been split down the middle as well, and now Saemonza and Caesar were glaring at each other every so often in mock anger. Anglerfish team had only had one dissenter, Yukari, who was now visibly pouting at the upset, although to Miho her expression looked more adorable than anything else.
"Are there any other questions?" Yuzu enquired. When none were forthcoming, she continued, "Well then, there's just one more thing before we can start practice, and it's quite important, so please pay attention. Before we do make the transfer to Wellesley, there is a list of rules that they would like us to abide by while we are there, which they are sending through to us at some point today or tomorrow. When we do get them, please read them carefully, as the academy is an active military installation and breaking the rules could have some serious consequences. Ok?"
When no-one spoke, Momo piped up. "Is that clear?" she questioned, with an authoritative tone to her voice. She received a chorus of affirmatives from the assembled girls. "Good, now we can get on with practice for the day. Everyone to their vehicles!"
The team broke apart with considerable alacrity, hurrying to the metal steeds that awaited them in the tanks sheds and clambering aboard. The clamour of hatches opening and closing and the grumble of engines starting soon filled the cavernous space, as the multi-ton beasts were stirred once more from their slumber by their crews. The clatter of treads began to accompany this noise as the tanks rolled out onto the parade ground, heading for the practice area. It was a fine day, if a little chilly, which promised good conditions for tank combat, especially since there were no foreboding clouds on the horizon. As a result, most of the tank commanders were stood up in their cupolas, using the clear air both to cool the tanks' interiors with open hatches, and to gain maximum vision in order to guide their teams.
"So, what are your thoughts then?" Caesar asked, lightly nudging Erwin to gain her attention. Both had opened their respective hatches and were half-in, half-out of the StuG III, relishing in the bracing morning air, but also giving them freedom to converse.
Erwin, who had been staring off into space for a while now, started at the contact. "Huh?"
"What do you think about this trip to Wellesley? I know that's what you've been thinking about for the last ten minutes, you're not normally this quiet."
"That obvious huh?" The blonde smiled wistfully. "I suppose it probably was."
"It was pretty obvious. You don't usually space out like this, but any time someone mentions that school you just seem to be off daydreaming," Caesar said. "You did it the other day when we found out we were going to be teaming up with them against Kuromorimine. I don't know why, but I'm guessing it's about your friend there."
"Yeah," Erwin replied distractedly, still staring off into the distance. "I guess I'm just of two minds about seeing him again so soon."
"Come on then, spill, maybe you'll feel better if you talk it through with me rather than just bottling it up."
"I guess it can't hurt," Erwin said, leaning across the superstructure in her friend's direction, a grateful smile on her face. "You remember I told you about what happened after the match with Pravda?" Caesar nodded. "Well I didn't quite mention everything."
Erwin reached under her shirt collar and lifted out a cross, which hung around her neck by a black, white, and red ribbon. The black, symmetrical Teutonic cross had silver edging, and above it a clasp bore a silver oakleaf. The blonde held it out towards Caesar so she could see it better.
"This is a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, one of the highest military awards given to German soldiers, especially with oak leaves added. They're exceedingly rare. This one is Sam's."
"Ah, I see. Why do you have it then?"
"He gave it me after the match with Pravda. I told him that if he wanted us to be friends again, he had to show that he could change himself. He promised that he would try – and then he gave me this, as proof of his conviction."
"So it's special to him?" Caesar asked. She'd actually seen the award round Erwin's neck before this point, but had simply assumed it was another piece of militaria that the blonde had acquired, since new historical items were not an uncommon sight in Hippo Team's household.
"He said it's his most treasured possession," Erwin replied, smiling contentedly as he remembered the moment. "That means a lot to me, since I was the one who bought it for him. But it still leaves me with a bit of a dilemma."
"Yeah, I can see what your problem might be," the loader said. "I imagine you thought that it would be quite some time before you saw him in person again, so when you eventually did it would be fairly obvious as to whether he'd changed like he promised. Whereas now you'll have to see him on an almost continuous basis for a good amount of time, so you have a harder time choosing whether to forgive him or not."
"That's pretty much the long and short of it, yeah. But it's also that I don't know how I should act around him when I do see him as well. Should I try and keep my distance, or should I be friendly and attempt to spend time with him?"
"Hmm, it is a difficult situation you're in," Caesar said, adopting a thoughtful expression. "Although I would say that you're probably overthinking it. Just act like normal, be friendly, and you can always come to a decision another time. I don't think there's a contradiction between the two of you rekindling your friendship and you choosing not to forgive him just yet, so don't worry about it." She punctuated the end of her sentence with a smile, prompting Erwin to grin in response.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. There's no point in fretting over it, I'd just worry myself sick."
"Exactly, and none of us want that, since we'd be upset too. Remember, amicorum omnia communia – for friends, all things are shared." Caesar reached across the StuG's superstructure and placed her hand over Erwin's. "So just keep being you, stop worrying about these things, and be happy, because it'll make us happy too."
Erwin smiled gratefully, and gripped Caesar's forearm in a traditional Roman greeting.
"Thanks, Caesar. I can always trust you."
"Pity Caesar couldn't say the same about the Senate."
"Or Rommel about his Italian troops."
"Or Nobunaga about Mitsuhide!" came a muffled voice from inside the tank.
"That's it!"
Wellesley Royal Military Academy, Carrier Dauntless – 1400hrs
"Target, 1300 metres out, 2 o'clock. Load AP."
"Got it."
The gun's receiver clanked as the shell was dropped into place, before the breech block slid shut with a thunk.
"Gun loaded."
The turret traverse's whine died off as the enemy was brought into the main gun's firing arc.
"Aim for the lower segment of the turret if you can, it's a shot trap."
"Got it." The gunner made a few more minor adjustments to the elevation of his shot. "Gun laid. Ready to fire."
"Excellent. Fire."
As the trigger bar on the firing wheel depressed, an electrical charge primed the C/22 fuse at the base of the shell, prompting the ignition of the propellant and sending the shell flying down the barrel at around 800 metres per second. Less than two seconds later, the ballistic capped shell smashed into the side armour of the target, before detonating in an impressive explosion. A few short seconds later, a little white flag popped out of the now-smouldering tank.
"Good shot."
"I was hoping that I might be able to hit the shot trap like you said, but it was a little low," Liam replied, reclining back in his seat.
"Still, a good shot." Pearce reached for his radio headset, holding it a slight distance away from his ear, knowing exactly what would be coming. Right about… now.
"PEARCE!" Angela roared through the radio network. "Where the hell are you hiding that damn tank? I know it was you!"
"I don't know, where am I hiding it?" Pearce smirked, a cheeky tone to his voice. "And how do you know it was me? I'm sure it could just as easily have been Chris, or Elliot."
"Hey man, don't go blaming it on me," another voice cut in across the network. "This was definitely all you, you can deal with the consequences."
"And there will be consequences," Angela said threateningly. "Mark my words."
Back in the Tiger, Pearce paled somewhat as he realised that he had just sealed his fate. Perhaps it had been a poor decision to target his girlfriend's tank purely for the reaction it would elicit? Pearce paused for a second in contemplation of the thought. 'His girlfriend' – it felt so strange to him to even consider the idea. He mentally shrugged; he'd get used to it. Besides, it wasn't as if it was an unpleasant thought, indeed, quite the opposite. He smiled faintly, even in the knowledge that he'd likely get his ear chewed off by the same woman later.
"Stephen, move us out from here," Pearce ordered, refocusing on the task at hand. "Move us a click west, and then find us some good cover in one of the copses. Liam, remain vigilant for contact; our little exchange here will bring the rest of the team down on our heads if we're not careful. Andrew, load AP. Jo… keep drawing."
"Got it Sam!" the cheery brunette piped up from the communicator's chair. With the team engaging in a free-for-all practice the radio operator had comparatively little to do, other than occasionally tuning in and out of the main radio net to keep track of who was left in the game. As such, Jo had propped up a sketchpad on the stock of the bow machine gun, and was merrily scribbling away, the Tiger's excellent suspension keeping her drawing from being jolted too much.
The Maybach V12 of the tank grumbled back to life as Stephen eased the tank out of the stand of trees that he'd concealed it in earlier. The sound of rustling foliage barely rose above the bass growl of the engine as the 57-ton beast rolled out of the trees, hunting for new prey.
"So who do we go for next?" Andrew asked. "Marlborough team? Wavell?"
"We'll see," Pearce replied. "It all depends on who comes into our line of sight first. The trick of games like these is not to be too hasty, but rather bide your time and know when is best to strike."
"But that's so boooooring," the loader complained. "Far better to just get stuck in."
"That just makes it easier for other people to take us out though," Liam pitched in. "This tank might be well-armoured compared to the rest of our fleet, but it also is less manoeuvrable than most of the team, and it has a better gun. Better to sit at range and pick 'em off one by one. Plus, it's less work for me."
"Ooooh, speaking of work, I'm really not getting some of the maths we've been doing lately in class."
"Which parts?" Liam asked.
"Inverse trigonometry. I never liked the basic stuff we did back in high school, but this is just ridiculous. Arccotangent? Not a clue what it means."
"This is Further Pure 2 right?"
"Yeah."
"See that's where you've been going wrong," Liam said, leaning somewhat across the gun as if to impart some sage wisdom. "You took Further Pure 2. You should have just dropped that as soon as you could."
"That's not helpful!"
"Hey, I was just stating facts is all. Why you did Further Maths at all is beyond me. Anyway, come round to mine later and I'll give you a hand with anything you're stuck on, ok?"
"Yeah. Thanks, man."
"Can I get in on this deal?" Stephen enquired from the front of the tank.
"Sure, what are you having problems with?" Liam said.
"Matrices."
"Yeah, just come round with Andrew later."
"Is it…" Another voice chimed in from the other side of the Tiger.
"Yes Jo, you can come round too. May as well make it a party." Liam glanced over towards Pearce. "You want in on this boss?"
"I think I'll be alright." Sam smiled. Maths had never been a difficult subject for him, but it was gratifying to receive the offer. "I might just attend anyway though, since we still have to have that chess game."
Liam cracked a small grin. "Plus it might take both of us to get Andrew to understand most of Further Pure 2."
"I'm right here you know!"
The crew chuckled at Andrew's angry protests. As the gunner and loader continued to trade banter, Pearce looked on with an expression of amusement, his mood overall content. With these people, he felt at home. Even though he'd kept them at arm's length, they'd still welcomed him into the fold, and that feeling of acceptance, of belonging, was incredibly heart-warming, and one that was only reinforced every time he dwelt upon it. Absently, he wondered if his opening up to his friends was the reason behind the newfound team synergy that he had observed in their last few practice sessions, as it seemed that Montgomery Team was only performing better and better every time. Normally he would chalk this up to simply additional practice, but the improvement was far too dramatic to account for as merely due to time spent, leading Pearce to conclude that it was the greater camaraderie between the crew that was responsible.
Realising he'd been thinking to himself for far too long (at least long enough for Liam and Andrew to have stopped arguing), Pearce stirred from his reverie, only to find his gaze locked with the deep brown orbs of his radio operator. He flushed, realising she'd just caught him staring off into space, prompting Jo to giggle. She gave him a thumbs-up with a questioning look, and Pearce responded in kind, receiving a smile in return. Standing up on his seat, he popped open the turret hatch to get some air, nearly receiving a faceful of branch for his trouble, as he hadn't realised Liam had manoeuvred the Tiger under the trees. Peeking over the rim of the cupola in case some errant sapling decided to launch a surprise attack, Pearce noted a spot of white in his peripheral vision. Taking out his binoculars, he focused in on that spot, tracing the rough outline of the shape back to its origin. He clipped the radio mic at his throat.
"Driver, halt. Target spotted, 9 o'clock. Load AP."
"AP loaded."
"Target sighted. Main gun tracking…. Main gun set."
"Fire."
The thunderous roar of the 88 sounded again, rocking the tank ever so gently. Pearce, still watching the spot in the distance, watched a plume of smoke rise from the target, followed by a little white flag as Wavell team's Achilles began to smoulder.
Yes, Pearce thought, they definitely were getting better.
Hippo Team Household, Oarai Girls High School, Carrier Zuikaku – 2230hrs
Although the earlier conversation with Caesar had laid some of her concerns to rest, night-time found Erwin staring at the ceiling of her room, listlessly brooding over all over her worries. Her hat, long since discarded, rested on a stand on her bedside table, while a half-finished model of a Puma armoured car sat on her desk, a testament to the lethargic mood she'd been in all evening. Not even Oryou's cooking, normally an instant mood-lifter, had done much to improve her general humour. Absently she palmed the knight's cross hanging around her neck, clearly on display over the tropical shirt and shorts she was currently wearing. Caesar was clearly right, she was fretting far too much about this, but she couldn't help it; even if they were going to end up working with Wellesley in the next round, at least that held the promise that she might be able to avoid close contact with Pearce short of teamwork. That was now off the table, and far more close at hand than she'd thought due to the upcoming visit.
After a few more minutes of fruitless worry, Erwin turned over and went to pick up the book that she'd been reading, Manstein's 'Lost Victories', in the hope it could take her mind off things. Instead, as she reached over the cover, her hand caught a small, folded note that was adjacent to the book, knocking it to the floor.
"Damn it," the blonde muttered, leaning over to retrieve the note. Snatching it up off the floor, she unfolded it to see if it was worth keeping. The first couple of lines were just phone numbers, then an email address, which didn't ring any bells for Erwin, even if she thought the handwriting looked familiar, but then she noticed the signature underneath – 'Sam'.
"Shit, I forgot I had this," she said, chastising herself for not remembering, before hastily scrambling for her phone. Pulling it out of her bag, she got as far as unlocking it before having second thoughts. Most of her haste bled away as she wondered if it was even the right idea to try and contact Sam, or if he'd even want her to. At length, she quashed those thoughts and hastily typed out a text message to the number on the note.
Hitting send, Erwin collapsed back onto her bed, staring at the screen for a reply.
Over at Wellesley, Pearce had just returned from Liam's dorm (3-2 in Liam's favour at chess, for reference's sake) and was making tea when he heard the sound of his phone vibrating on his bedside table. Taking his mug in hand, he returned to his bedroom and unlocked the now-quiet device, its message light softly blinking. Sam frowned, as he didn't recognise the number from which the text had been sent. Nevertheless, he opened it, before smiling softly at the contents. Taking a sip of his tea, he began to compose a reply.
Erwin had nearly given up on getting a reply when her phone started vibrating in her grip. Nearly fumbling it, she opened her messages to see a new message sitting in her inbox. She knew it was from Pearce immediately when she opened it, as only he would use her actual name.
'Riko,
It's good to hear from you again. I hope you are well. I'm looking forward to seeing you again in a few days.
Sam.'
The blonde smiled faintly, partially in amusement at the formality with which Pearce laid out the message. However, she was equally gratified by his saying that he was looking forward to seeing her again. She wondered if she should call him, but settled on another message instead.
'I'm doing well thanks. How are you? It will be nice to see you again too.'
'Things are going well over here. We've been making preparations for your arrival, and our team has been improving in practice.'
Erwin couldn't resist a cheeky reply. 'Well that's good news, have some of you figured out how to use the guns yet? :P'
'You tell me when your StuG is wrecked in the near future.'
Erwin smirked. 'And pray tell how are you going to manage that if we spot you first?'
'Let it bounce off the armour plate, and then return fire. Remind me, what is your tank's frontal armour like? 50mm?'
'Yeah, yeah, lord the thick armour of your lumbering Tiger over us Sturmartillerie soldaten. It just makes you a bigger target.'
'Remind me who started this argument?' was the sardonic response.
The verbal fencing continued for quite some time, until Erwin realised that it was closing on midnight. She'd completely lost track of time, but for a while there it had felt like she'd bonded with Sam again. It was just a little thing, but the blonde had forgotten that she was supposed to be mad at him for a time. Although it was only a short conversation, it gave her a little faith that Sam was serious about keeping his promise, and that things were going to eventually fix themselves between them. She tapped out a few more short replies before saying goodnight, before rolling over and enjoying some of the most trouble-free sleep she'd had in a while.
Pearce Household, United Kingdom – Tuesday, February 18th, 1600hrs
Whilst Oarai and Wellesley were currently bustling hubs of activity, across the globe the Pearce household was, by contrast, an ocean of idyllic quiet. One could even describe it as peaceful, although the current occupant of the house would hardly describe it as such. For the last few days Emma had tried to convince her husband to sit down and talk about the conversation she'd had with her son, although to no avail. James had given her short shrift, and had in fact started going into work and staying there until late just to avoid talking to her, when she knew for a fact that he preferred working from home. However, Emma was a patient woman, and knew that James would quickly tire of putting up with the inane chatter in his department and return home to carry on his work from the comfort of his own office. As such, the Pearce matriarch had craftily arranged her schedule for the forthcoming week so that she could work from home, and thus be prepared for the inevitability of her other half's swift return, so that she could corner him and get him to listen. There was only one issue she still hadn't resolved yet; what she was going to say when they did talk, a matter of some importance considering she needed to convince James that he should not stand in the way of his son's chosen path.
"And he does have such a stubborn streak too," Emma murmured, only half-focused on the project proposals she was currently reviewing. "Although when it's not infuriating it can be quite endearing."
It was a masterstroke of understatement, at least as far as this particular topic was concerned. James' 'stubborn streak' had in this case led to several years of division and argument within the family, and almost estranged their son, and it would take no small effort, and an extremely compelling argument, to convince her husband to abandon it. Emma took a sip of her tea, before languidly composing a generic response to the proposal she was working on.
"Perhaps it might be prudent to seek some advice on this matter," she mused. The Pearce matriarch checked over her response for errors, before opening a new draft and tapping out an email to Shiho Nishizumi.
Chapter End
Canon Omake – start!
"Well that went well," said Andrew, in a masterstroke of understatement, as Montgomery team disembarked from their mighty metal steed.
"Yes, because clearly taking out four of our fellow teams is merely 'doing well'," Liam commented dryly, reclining on the front glacis of the Tiger.
When Chris had commented that Montgomery team were on fire earlier, he may have jumped the gun. Not only had they taken out Wavell and Campbell teams, the Tiger crew had then gone on to annihilate both Russell and Marlborough teams, the former having been the last tank standing aside from them. Although part of the credit obviously had to go to the quality of the tank they were operating, Monty team had put in a strong performance, vindicating Pearce's conviction that it was the camaraderie between them that was encouraging this improvement.
"Maybe next time we'll be able to get five of them," Andrew said, raising his voice slightly as the recovery vehicle brought in another of the wrecked tanks, Hobart team already primed with wrenches and toolkits to start fixing it.
"Now that's just greedy," Liam replied, before glancing over to his left. "Oh, look out boss, someone's coming to get you with those 'consequences', and they don't look too happy."
"Huh?" Pearce asked, looking up from the Tigerfibel he'd been reading only for his collar to be grabbed before he was dragged backwards.
"I'll bring him back later, I don't know what condition."
"Oh, hello Miss Clark," Pearce said, not even bothering to look round from his book since he already knew who'd accosted him.
"Don't just hello me after that little display!"
"What little display?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"What little dis-," Clark sputtered, "Oh, you're in for it now."
"But I still don't underst-" Pearce was cut off from speaking by Clark spinning him round and planting a chaste kiss on his lips, prompting him to colour quite vibrantly. He glanced around hastily, noting that they'd actually crossed the threshold of the tank sheds, and that there was no-one around to see.
"Just shut up and come with me," Angela said, her tone one of fondness. She released her grip on his collar and began to walk, Pearce failing into step alongside her.
Some Time Later
"I have to say, if these are the consequences I'm going to face every time I take out your tank, I might have to do so more often," Pearce said, his voice somewhat breathy. Sweat beaded his brow, and his cheeks were flushed red.
"This was for my pleasure, not yours," Angela returned, her tone betraying similar signs of exertion. "Although if you like it that much, we may have to do it more often," she whispered into his ear in a sultry tone.
Pearce froze for a second, but smiled and then replied, "When one has a talented partner like you, it is impossible not to enjoy it."
This time it was Angela's turn to be dumbfounded, allowing Pearce to ease himself up from where she'd pinned him down and reach into his bag for a can of deodorant and a clean shirt. He donned it quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid feeling Clark's eyes roving over his physique, and the resultant feeling of self-consciousness that rose up from the pit of his stomach. He contemplated changing the rest of his outfit, but decided to do so when he wasn't being watched.
"I don't know why you're so self-conscious," Angela said as she stood up, reading the change in posture from her boyfriend, "You've got nothing to be ashamed of."
Pearce bit back a retort that it was easy for someone like Clark to say that, and instead forced a faint smile. "I suppose I don't, after all, I can't be that bad to have a girlfriend like you."
"Clearly not," Angela smiled, before wrapping him in a hug, which he gladly returned. "Do you really have to go?"
"I did promise my crew that I would be there this evening. And I promised Liam that chess game over a year ago."
"Damn. Tomorrow?"
"We'll see. I'll see you then anyway, Angela."
Pearce squeezed her once before breaking the hug and departing, leaving his sparring equipment in the storeroom on the way out. As the door closed, Angela collapsed back onto the gym mat, a content smile on her face.
Canon Omake End.
There we go guys, how was that? I think I'm getting back into the swing of this writing business, but I'm eager to hear your feedback. So if you've got any comments or critique to hurl my way, you can either leave reviews or hit me up with a PM if you've got some questions to ask.
First, if you might have noticed, I've added 'canon' to the designation of this omake, mostly to highlight that this scene is actually one that occurs in this story, but I didn't think fit into the chapter. I think that it's a decent workaround that doesn't break the flow of the chapter but also allows shows that these scenes constitute part of the whole story, whereas some of the other omakes are clearly done for shits and giggles. I'm interested to know what you think about this, as I might apply this to other omakes elsewhere in my story.
Second, I just wanna thank Kilroy again for his inspiration. He's been putting out drawings left, right, and centre recently, and it got me galvanised to do some writing again. If you check out his DeviantArt, KilroyLW, you'll actually see a few pictures that he did for this series, as well as the omake series we work on together, and a bunch of other great art.
Anyway, I'm gonna wrap this up before the author's note turns into an essay of its own. I'm going to try and get another chapter written up over the Christmas period if I can, and I'll keep my writing going during next term, even if it might be slower than usual. I'm determined to finish this story, and so help me, I'm going to manage it, even if it takes years.
Right, that's enough of my babbling.
Until next time,
HereticalShinigami
