This is a part 2 to the story Tale of Verdun. I do hope you enjoy it. Expect inconsistent uploads as i want to write when it suits me rather than forcing myself into a schedule.
Tale Of Verdun
The crack of gunfire could be heard over the open field. The 77mm guns of the K-wagens made a massive impression on the boys. French radioed to Pétain from his Mark V nicknamed Fray-Bentos III
"Jesus. They were a good investment"
Pétain smiled to himself and chose not to respond. Instead choosing to look at the targets the lads were shooting. It was only the gunners of the K-wagen and on the Char-2C who were practicing their firing today. The other crews were focusing on movement and positioning. This was especially true for the Saint-Chamonds and if they were not careful as they drove, they could dig the nose in and break the gun.
It was at this point he noted the accuracy of the various tanks. While it was akward for the K-wagen to fire effectively as the guns were all in different directions, they were getting 2 of every three shells to hit. The Char's gunner, one simply known as Peter, was getting about the same. This was the standard Pétain expected as he did not like people to fire on the move. Most of the tanks on the team had little to no suspension so he reasoned why waste time moving and firing when you can stop, fire and then move.
He was getting lost in thought when the driver of his Ft-17, Joffre, called to him
"Do you think we stand a chance?"
He looked down to Joffre through his position, half out of the open back of the turret, and said
"Sure, we just need to use our tanks well. The Saint-Chamond crews need the most work as they'll be our main tank killers, The Ft-17s will be scouts, the A7Vs and Mark Vs will be the main fighting force"
Joffré then gave Pétain a curious glance over his shoulder and asked
"What about the 'Stalemate Breakers' how well will they do?"
He smiled and said
"Depends on the context"
And with that, he dropped back into the turret, accidentally kick Joffre in the spine, and set himself up on the 37mm gun. Joffre started the tank and got it into gear before making his way down the trail toward the tank driving circuit. Fray-Bentos also followed after them as they made their way down to the circuit.
Once they had arrived they found Hindenburg standing on top of his A7V, nicknamed Bismarck, while he was observing the groups of Ft-17s, Mark Vs and Saint Chamonds as they drove around the rough terrain circuit. Fray Bentos III and Pétain's Ft-17 rolled up to the A7V and Pétain and French climbed up to where Hindenburg was standing.
Pétain was the first to speak up, asking
"How are they doing?"
Hindenburg smiled and turned to Pétain. He pointed a hand out to the tanks and said
"All of the crews are doing wunderbah. Even the Saint-Chamonds are not getting stuck for once!"
Almost as soon as he said that the sound of a tank making contact with the dirt filled the air. They looked out to the field and saw one of the Saint-Chamonds had taken a corner wrong and was stuck in a ditch. Pétain immediately started to laugh while French just glared at Hindenburg and said
"You had to say something, didn't you?"
Hindenburg merely shrugged his shoulders and jumped down from the roof of the A7V and climbed inside to get at the radio in an attempt to find out which one of the Saint-Chamonds had crashed. Pétain and French were left standing on top of the A7V and at this time, French asked something of Pétain
"If we are going to do this, i need you to promise me something. If we lose, i want to lose with dignity. I don't want to be knocked out in the first round"
Pétain patted French on the shoulder and said
"We will be fine. Just so long as everyone tries we are sure to at least not lose in the first round"
French huffed as he crossed his arms and looked out onto the field and the ongoing attempt to drag the Saint-Chamond out of the ditch. He sighed and looked down a bit. To say he wasn't confident would be an understatement.
Several hours later
The clock read half past 5. All of the tanks had been put away into their respective sheds and the crews were going home. Pétain was heading to his flat with Hindenburg and French in tow, they needed to plan more. In one month the drawing for the tournament would take place. They needed a practice match.
Pétain's mind raced as he thought of various opponents they could face in the upcoming tournament. Some were okay but he knew that five in particular scared him the most.
They soon arrived at the front door of the flat, with Pétain unlocking the door and allowing Hindenburg and French in first. The two quickly sat down at his dining table while he went off to get his notes. The three would do this back and fourth at each others apartments whenever a match was upcoming. They had no match yet but these were different circumstances.
Pétain started off by placing three copybooks down on the table and saying
"At this point in time I see five big threats and the rest are all also threats"
French scowled a bit and asked
"What are these five big threats?"
Pétain opened the copy and read aloud what he had inside
"St Gloriana, Kuromorimine, Saunders, Pravda and Ooarai"
Hindenburg sighed and said
"Yeah, they're our main threats. Well lets start then, which one is the best?"
Pétain immediately responded
"Ooarai"
French dropped his head into his hands and asked
"What is the chance that we meet then?"
Pétain looked through his notebook quickly, smiled as he had found wht he wanted and then said
"Should we make it to the finals, we will probably be facing them in the finals if haven't already faced them by that point"
French groaned audibly and dropped his head onto the table. Hindenburg just stared at French while Pétain sighed and went back to look over his notes. Pétain went on to look over various schools as he said
"Most are pretty dangerous for us. We shouldn't underestimate any school we're matched up against"
Hindenburg smiled and said
"What about Anzio? they look pretty weak"
Pétain flipped throigh his notebook and had a look at what he had wrote about Anzio. He then said
"It may look like that, but Anzio has strong leadership and a good sense of comradeship between each team member. Their tanks are weak but their tactics are good. So, in a way, they're like us"
Hindenburgs smile faded and he too lay his head down on the table. Pétain looked over his two friends and said
"We need a practice match"
Both immediately jumped up and Hindenburg quickly said
"Against who?"
Pétain sighed and said
"We need to fight someone experienced in Sensha-Do"
French then said
"Brandenburg? They've got good tanks so if we go against them it will be good training for fighting the other schools"
Pétain shook his head and smiled, saying
"Good suggestion but i was thinking...bigger"
Both Hindenburg and French looked at Pétain as though he had said something really stupid. Hindenburg asked
"Who might you suggest?"
Pétain smiled and said
"We need to work on it as i've pretty much only just thought of doing this. But we should fight against.."
He then slid his copybook over to the two so they could see who he was talking about. Hindenburg was staring at it but French looked up to Pétain and said
"Why Maginot?"
Pétain smiled and said
"They're a decent school with good tanks. The team they have is down in numbers but they should have enough tanks to face us in a Ten vs Ten match. We beat them, and the other schools won't see us as some stepping stone to the next round"
Hindenburg look at Pétain with a confused look and asked
"Are we even allowed to fight Maginot?"
Pétain smiled and said
"Well were about to enter an official Sensha-Do tournament. We probably will be allowed to. Just depends on if they accept our offer"
French then said
"When are you going to ask?"
Pétain then looked at his watch and said
"Well it's Tuesday now. so if we asked on Wednesday for a match on Sunday week we should be able to fix any damaged tanks over the week before the tournament numbers are drawn"
Pétain then turned to Hindenburg and asked
"Think you can get the A7Vs ready for this?"
Hindenburg sighed and said
"They all should be ready for combat"
Pétain then asked French
"And the Mark Vs?"
French also sighed and said
"Should be fun. Hey, are we using the Stalemate-Breakers?"
Pétain smiled and said
"No. We'll save them for the tournament. Besides, the crews need more training"
Pétain then went to his kitchen and grabbed some drinks. He also grabbed some glasses and came back to the table. Both Hindenburg and French took a glass each and Pétain filled their glasses. He then proceeded to fill his own glass and say.
"For Vedun!"
French sighed and Hindenburg giggled a bit. Hindenburg went on to say
"Isn't that a bit overly dramatic?"
Pétain sighed and said
"Maybe"
The three then finished their drinks in one go. After that Hindenburg and French grabbed their coats and made their way toward the exit and, after exchanging goodbyes, they left.
Pétain was now alone in his three room apartment. He sighed as he looked around the kitchen/sitting-room arrangement. Cozy would be an apt word. He lay down on the only couch available and took out his phone. He then dialed a number and waited for an answer.
After it rang through and there was no answer he left a message and put the phone away. He then looked at the time. It was 6 o'clock now. He elected to go and make some dinner. He really wasn't that good at cooking but decided on a basic instant meal, lasagne. He really didn't want to cook tonight so he threw it into the microwave and turned it on for the designated amount of time.
Once the meal was ready he took it out and put it on a plate. As he ate he wondered how Louis would react to his idea of facing Maginot. That was tomorrow's problem so he chose to ignore those thoughts.
The Next day
"What?"
Pétain stood before Louis who was looking at the notes he had shown Hindenburg and French last night. One could tell that Louis was a bit confused by Pétain's idea. Pétain asked
"What is wrong with it?"
Louis sighed and said
"Judging by initial glances, not much. But more to the point, Why?"
Pétain smiled and said
"Well Maginot are a good school. They're not perfect but they're good. If we beat them it would show the crews that the girls schools are not invincible and that we could beat them. Do you think you could call them?"
Louis gave Pétain a glare and sighed. He picked up the phone that was next to him and dialed a number into it. It rang a few times before someone answered. Pétain could only hear what Louis was saying though.
"Hello, This is the student council president of Verdun high...Yes, I was wondering if your school would be open to a Sensha-Do match against ours?...Yes we are an all male team but we are allowed to enter the tournament next month...I see...Wonderful"
A smile appeared on Louis face as he said
"Yes i do have a date. Does next Sunday suit you?...Very good...Ok, thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Goodbye"
He then placed the phone back down on the receiver and looked to Pétain, who could tell what had happened and had a massive grin plastered on his face. Louis then smiled and gestured to the door, saying
"Tell the teams"
Pétain nodded and walked out of the office. Louis then said to Julien, who was typing away at his computer
"Hopefully they do alright"
Julien merely nodded and went back to his computer. He was currently researching any match Maginot had participated in to try and get an understanding of their tactics. Something that would become very useful in the near future.