Hamburg
It was early in the morning. The cellphone vibrated on the nightstand. Gustav opened his eyes sleepily. The call woke him up from his deepest dream. Out there the sunlight was still dim. At first he couldn't even tell what his name was if someone asked. He reached out his hand at last and took the phone.
"Gertrud… Are you insane? What the hell are you calling me in summer, at this early hour for?" groaned Gustav.
"Tut mir Leid my dear Kommandant, you know I wouldn't torment you if I wouldn't have a reason."
"And what would it be?"
"Check your e-mails."
"Right now?"
"Right now."
"Oh, Jesus… Alright. Look what a nice guy I am." said Gustav tiredly and stood up from his bed. He turned on his computer and looked at the e-mails. He got a letter from Vienna during the night. "What can it be?" he thought.
"Sensha-Do team commanders and vice-commanders!
The International Martial Arts Federation in Japan has recently been attacked by the Japan Sensha-Do Federation. Therefore the IMAF's directorate organizes an intervention force of the named tankery teams. Those who are on the list shall start to prepare for a departure. We will inform each one of you about the rout and the details."
Gustav looked at the list of schools and Friedrich Schiller High School was among them, such as the schools of his friends from Europe and America.
No need to say that this was more than sudden for him. A few minutes ago he was peacefully sleeping, enjoying summer and now he was told to prepare his teammates and their tanks for an attack against another sport association on the far side of the world.
"Okay… this… I wasn't expecting this." He knew that he had to go, and actually he wanted to help those who were in need, but… this was like a lightning out of nowhere.
Two hours later he was about to finish the hardest conversation he ever had with his parents. The family was sitting speechlessly in the living room.
"And… how do they want to get you and your friends there?" asked Agnes, Gustav's mother confused.
"By train. From here to Berlin, from Berlin to Moscow, from Moscow to Vladivostok." replied Gustav.
"Will you be safe?"
"They are using the same shells as we do during out matches. Plus, what could happen to me if I sit in a Königstiger?"
"Huh. At least you are behind ten centimeters of steel." sighed Agnes.
"That's the Tiger I mom. I'll be behind fifteen centimeters of steel."
"I've been always praying that nothing like that would ever happen in our family again." said Hans Giertler, Gustav's father. "Your grandfather will not like this for sure."
"I know dad. I'm still thinking in this very moment about how I will tell him."
"Honestly… maybe it is I who talks with him."
"Yeah… perhaps…"
"You could talk to somebody else." said Agnes to Gustav with a telling look.
"I know. I will tell her."
"When will you leave?"
"Next Monday."
Agnes nodded, looking away. "Japan. That's so far away."
"The world is no longer so big" said Gustav.
"But it is for a caring mother."
"I'll take care of myself, I promise. I tell you: I'll be back before Christmas."
"If only you could promise something like that son. I wish it comes true."
"It will mom. It will." Silence lapsed between them for a minute. "I… go up now." said Gustav. He stood up and went up to Greta's room. His little sister was playing around, sitting on the floor. Gustav knocked on the jamb. "Greta. Do you have a minute for me?"
"For you always Gustav!" replied the little girl with a smile and she jumped to her feet. "Come, sit down with me!" she said taking her brother's hand. The siblings settled down on the carpet next to each other.
"You know that sometimes I have to do some important things because of the sport I do, right?"
"Sure! You're so clever Gustav! Of course you do important things! That's why you travelled to Vienna! Am I right?"
"Sure you are. YOU are the clever one." smiled Gustav, gently patting Greta's head. "The thing is… I have to go somewhere again because of an important thing like that."
"Aaaaahhhhh. Again?"
"Unfortunately yes."
"Will you be away for a long time?"
"Maybe a bit longer than last time. But I swear that I will come home as fast as I can."
"Do you really have to go?"
"Yes Greta. My team, my friends too will go to where I will. And you know that they need my lead. I'm responsible for them. If I do not join them, maybe they can get lost."
"If they need you, then go." said Greta with a bit happier look. "You're such a good friend! And good big brother!" she hugged Gustav's torso.
"In the end I will melt right here and now! Thank you for understanding." said Gustav and hugged her back.
"I will miss you, but I will know that you are needed there! Really! Where are you going?"
"… To Japan."
"That's the island country in Asia, isn't it?"
"It is! See? I told you, you have a good brain."
"I also would like to see Japan!"
"You know what? One day I will take you there, alright? We will visit it together! Just the two of us!"
"Yes! Thank you!"
"I'll be waiting for that. But now… I have a bit of time before I start packing. Hide and seek?"
"Yes!"
Sunday night
Gustav's week was spent with organizing everything. Friedrich Schiller High School's tanks were already on wagons at the train station. They will leave Hamburg in the early morning next day.
Now he was lying sleeplessly in his bed, in the dark room. His thoughts didn't let him to rest. Eventually his eyes closed down because of the tiredness.
Monday morning
The team was standing on the platform, already dressed in their Sensha-Do uniforms. They were saying goodbye to their families.
"Remember what I said mom: before Christmas!" said Gustav as Agnes hugged him tightly. He took a deep breath. The scent of a mother is one of the most calming things in the world.
"I hope so. I really hope so." replied Agnes sorrowfully.
"Son. Do not push your luck. Never. Okay?" gave Hans a paternal advice.
"I will not forget that dad. Thank you." said Gustav and hugged his father too.
"I made this for you." gave him Greta a piece of paper. It was a drawing portraying the family, a few trees and a tank.
"I will always keep it with me. Be a good girl, alright?" said Gustav as he embraced her. Finally he turned to his grandfather, Heinz Giertler who was standing nearby silently with a stick in one of his hands. "Grandpa I'm… I'm sorry."
"It was not your choice." said the grey-haired old man. "Just like it wasn't my choice back then. Even if I was proud to be there. Well... at least at first. I was a so blind young man… Listen grandson. Do not grow hate against those who are in front of you. That's the worst."
"I will not." nodded Gustav. "And don't worry; it's not totally like what you went through."
"But similar to that. And nobody should ever go through anything like that."
Gustav knew that Heinz was right. He could always trust his age and wisdom. A moment later the locomotive's horn sounded. "Time to go. Be patient everyone! I will be home in the blink of an eye!" said Gustav and boarded one of the passenger wagons. The train began to move. The students were leaning out the window, waving to their loved ones.
Soon they got far away. They were travelling through the countryside and two hours later they arrived to the german capital. Another hour later they departed again. This time a 36 hour long journey was waiting for them through Poland and Belarus to Moscow. There they were joined by Anton and Windischgrätz High School's team, Alexandr and his team from St. Petersburg and Lauri and his team from Helsinki. Each of them had their own trains.
There was nothing left just the mighty Trans-Siberian Railway. This time it will be a journey of 148 hours.
"Can you believe that at the end of these rails we will see the Pacific Ocean?" asked Gustav.
"It's still hard for me to realize that." said Silvia, his loader.
"For me, riding this train feels a miracle on its own." said Fabian.
"Why am I not surprised?" asked Emma in her usual sarcastic voice.
"Hey!"
"And I've always thought that I will see Siberia as a sea of snow. Not in the middle of summer." said August, the radio operator.
"It's not Siberia yet. It's on the other side of the Ural Mountains. We are still on the European part of Russia. But you are right, we will likely not see any snow." said Gustav.
By this time they were somewhere between Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov and the air was pretty warm indeed. The students were very excited to see this eastern European landscape. One of the highlights was certainly the moment when they crossed the Volga at Nizhny Novgorod. After travelling 1777 kilometers from Moscow they saw the white obelisk that marks the border of Europe and Asia. The plains and mountains of the mighty Siberia were before them. It really wasn't white. Mother Nature showed the beauty of this area. It was full of different colors, the trees of the dense forests were green and colorful flowers were blooming.
5185 kilometers after Moscow they reached the city of Irkutsk, and the deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal. It was so huge; Gustav now understood why many people are calling it a "sea".
Leaving behind 9288 kilometers and seven time zones, the train has finally arrived to Vladivostok after almost four days of travelling.
The team got their vehicles down from the wagons and drove to the already established camp at the ocean's shore, north from the city. On the way there they saw one of the airfields with the lined up bombers. This was the first sight that reminded them about why they were there.
The camp was on a field and consisted of mobile, wooden barracks. Many camps like this were installed all along the coast for other teams. Other schools from Russia and different parts of the rest of Europe were already there.
"What about the Americans?" asked Gertrud as they were settling in.
"We will get teams from Canada, the USA, Brazil and Argentina." said Gustav. "They will all come by plane."
"The Australians?"
"They took ships. As I heard they are already on their way here."
Albert's POV
Breadknife High School and others have left Port Darwin a day ago. Albert Enderson, an Australian Sensha-Do team commander, and one of Gustav's friends stood at the railing and watched the waves of the South China Sea painted red by the setting Sun.
"Do you know where the word "kamikaze" comes from?" he asked his vice-commander, Eliza who was standing nearby.
"All I know is that it means "divine wind" in Japanese." she replied.
"It's a reference to the cyclones that destroyed the Mongolian fleet which was preparing to invade Japan in the 13th century. We are about to do the same. Hopefully the sea will be merciful to us."
"Well, our vessels will be a bit more advanced than the ones 700 years ago."
"True. But there is no ship on this planet that is able to withstand the fury of the ocean. Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting this."
"I'm more concerned about the enemy guns." said Eliza.
"They are far more vincible than the water. We can handle them."
Ryan's POV
The American teams were gathering in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Ryan and his team from Hualapai High School, from Phoenix, Arizona were sent to Los Angeles.
"How many more schools are we waiting for?" asked Ryan standing.
"Half of us are here yet." replied George, one of Hualapai's vice-commanders. "They couldn't get enough transport planes quickly enough, so some of the schools have to drive here with their tanks. Yeah… Those poor guys on the eastern coast, right?"
"Fuh, mate." sighed Ryan.
"What is it commander?"
"Maybe it's some strange flick of fate… my grandfather fought in the Pacific back in 1944-45."
"Really? You never told me that." said George.
"Yeah. He landed on Leyte on 20 October 1944."
"Are you shitting me?"
"Not at all. He fought through the whole Philippines Campaign, and then saw the occupation of Japan. And now… here I am. Except that I'm not preparing to occupy a whole country, just to defeat a sport association."
"Well, yes. History has an interesting taste of humor sometimes."
Kyousuke's POV
The president of the Confederacy of Independent High Schools was monitoring the happenings with high attention. The armistice with the JSF was still alive. But if the IMAF enters the stage… perhaps it is time to take the initiative. He took the phone.
"Akio, can you come over to my office?" A few minutes later the confederate vice-president stood before him. "You know that some foreign boys and girls will come, right?"
"Yes Hamada-kun." nodded Akio.
"Obviously, it's beneficial for us. Now we have a better chance to end our conflict and finally liberate our schools totally. If we would fight side by side with the IMAF they would certainly accept the Confederacy as one of their members. That would ensure our future security as well. Not to mention that we would be at a more advantageous situation than the JSF at the negotiating table."
"That's likely indeed."
"I'll contact the IMAF's leadership. Just before they launch their invasion we will terminate the cease-fire and attack the JSF as well. We will let the IMAF to use our ports and help them, since we are familiar with the terrain. If we fight with them as an ally they will treat us as equals. Please, go now and inform them that I will soon send them a message."
"Yea President." bowed Akio and left.
Kyousuke then stood up from his seat and walked to the window, looking at the Inland Sea. "Well, well Tsuji. What are you going to do now?"
Miho's POV
The girls' schools were ordered to leave the airfields and take positions in Western Japan. The directorate got suspicious because of the gathering forces in Eastern Russia. When they learnt that non-Russian teams were arriving there too, they were certain that they want to land in Japan. Oarai was sent to Fukushima Prefecture. However a confederate territory with Niigata and Nagaoka, the home cities of Landsknecht Boys' High School and Stromboli Boys' High School stood between them and the sea. Will the IMAF go through it?
"Back here again." Miho let out a painful sigh. This was the area where many of their battles happened.
"But it's different than last time." added Hana.
"True."
"Miporin. Do you think we can resist?" asked Saori.
Miho was thinking about the answer. "It's questionable Saori-san." But Miho knew it was not questionable but certain that they will not be able to face the IMAF army for too long. If they clash it's only a matter of time when will their tanks roll through Tokyo. In fact she was not sure that they should even resist at all.
Gustav's POV
Though it was night, Gustav couldn't sleep. The jet lag distracted his system. It was 23:30 p.m. in Vladivostok but home in Hamburg it was only 15:30 when people usually don't sleep. So he was sitting on the small stair in front of the barrack and watched the glowing Moon.
He looked at the photo in his hand which was portraying his family. Him, his parents and Greta. "What are you doing now?" he asked himself. "Like I said: I'll return as soon as I can!"
And with this he finally decided to go and try to have some rest.
Hello there folks! This time there was more social interaction but a lack of fighting. In the next chapters there will be more of both of them! Stay tuned as always! Thank you for your support!
Panzer vor!
