It's a long one, sorry boys and girls (I'm not sorry, it was really fun to write so it was worth it).
Please leave reviews! They help a lot and I love reading and replying to them, they make me happy :)
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First Friday of the Semester and the First Introduction to Tankery in the United Kingdom,
All the students that had applied to the tankery club were lined up in pre-made crews. There were twenty-eight crews of four and eight crews of three. The students stood in front of a recently established pair of tank sheds made specifically for Cambridge University. Behind the hangars was about 6000~ acres of land that the university bought for the training of their crews. The size of the training grounds was incomparable to Bovington's 10,000~ acres, but it was still an extremely large field for them to train.
Every student stood in identical khaki oversuits, mirroring British tank crew uniform. Some of the 'posher' students complained about the cheapness of the fabric and how it made them look like a 'poor person'.
Darjeeling couldn't hold in the grimace when she heard some of the complaints. Her crew was the first at the front left of the columns, and the first few crews in the front row had girls that Darjeeling recognised. A couple of them were also girls from St Glorianas, Darjeeling quickly made a mental note to make friends with them. Darjeeling was in a crew of two other girls and a boy, wanting to make friends with all of them quickly so they wouldn't disregard her orders. What she deduced was that the people at the front of the crews were most likely the commanders, seeing that herself and a few other ex-Gloriana students stood at the front of a few of the crews.
Peering behind her, Darjeeling looked at her crew. The girl directly behind her was a little bit taller than her, brown-hair tied into a neat plait and wore a pair of black round glasses. She seemed incredibly studious, and shy. The girl averted her eyes when Darjeeling looked at her.
"Hello, I don't think we've met yet. My name is Darjeeling," Darjeeling put on a smile, just so she could assure the girl she was friendly. Darjeeling wanted to make sure that she was always on good terms with her crew.
"G-Grace, my name is Grace..." the brunette smiled back at the blonde, shifting her posture slightly to the right.
"Have you ever been around tanks before?" Darjeeling stood side-on to the girl, keeping an eye on the gravel road that led towards the front gate. She felt like the tanks they would be using would show up any time soon.
"N-No, this is... my first time. It does seem quite exhilarating though, doesn't it?" A sudden excitement showed up on Grace's face, her shyness temporarily disappearing.
"It does, I'm excited to see the tanks we'll be fielding for our matches. Back in Japan, I was the captain of my school's tankery club so this is a welcome change of pace for me. It was rather fun, though."
"Oh? That's amazing, you must be quite good then,"
"Thank you, but it was coordination, communication and the teamwork of the other club members that made it a good team, I was just giving orders around,"
"Of course, but a good leader helps the cohesion of the people. If a leader proves they can lead by example, and they are followed, then they are a good leader. Orders that are logically sane are the ones that people follow, too,"
"Indeed, to lead by example and show my underclassmen the highest expectations of our school I always wanted to take a steady approach to tank tactics. We also won our first tournament last year, so I was quite happy to leave my school on such a good note," giving Grace a final smile, she turned slightly on her heel.
"You're the captain of St Gloriana's college aren't you? Nice work with the tourney last year, quite impressive display," a boy from another crew asked her, his hands stuffed into his oversuit pockets. His brown hair was slicked back, shiny with how much product went into it.
"Yes, I am. Thank you, but it was a joint effort with everyone in St Gloriana. I hope we can work well together, during our training and our matches," Darjeeling gave him a slight bow, a smile on her face. She thought that her presence in Japan as St Gloriana's captain was known only in Japan, she didn't think that the captains of the schools were known to the rest of the world. The boy opened his mouth to say something again, but suddenly the large steel fence at the end of the gravel road creaked open. Every student turned their heads toward the gate, silent, awaiting the vehicles that were to arrive.
The first tank to show itself was a low-profile, khaki-painted main battle tank. The front of it was covered in a light compact netting, the barrel was coated in some fabric similar in colour to the tanks hull. As it entered the compound, it slowed down. After it entered, more of the same tank followed it, with only a few small details changed about it. Every tank that entered was different. Smaller tanks and larger tanks, then obscurely shaped ones entered near the end.
The first tank stopped in front of the centre of the crews. It was most likely going to be the captain's tank. The next vehicles circled around the back of all of the students, lining up neatly on the gravel like it had been rehearsed to perfection. All of them seemed intimidating, their figures imposing and the cannons they bore were long and proved the strong fighting force that was expected of British combat vehicles.
The commander's hatch on the leading tank popped open, and it was a familiar face that appeared.
Jason pulled himself up through the cupola and stared at the students in front of him. He glanced over all of their faces, not expecting much out of the members he would have to train alongside the other instructors. There were only three other instructors, and they were the rest of the crew to Jason's tank.
The red-headed instructor leaned down into the vehicle and pressed a few buttons. After a moment, a microphone receiver was pulled to his mouth.
"Welcome to the Cambridge Tankery Training Grounds," he began, his accent was surprisingly clear when he spoke through the speakers. "I am Instructor Montgomery, the leading instructor to this club," using his middle name rather than his first, Jason felt he could assert his 'Captain of a Battalion' personality he had before he was taken to Japan. He felt 'Montgomery' could fit him, it sounded more impressive than 'Jason'. He was looking forward to finally going all-out on these students and making them the best team in the world.
"Here, at these grounds, your physical strength, your courage, your leadership, and most importantly of all, your teamwork, will all be put to the test," Jason leaned out of the hatch. His uniform was more visible now, and it was identical to the captain's uniform he wore over a year ago. His uniform was a dark khaki, separated pieces rather than an oversuit. A light brown belt was just below his stomach, the brass clip had been polished, and his black beret was fixed professionally atop his head, adorning the silver cap badge of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Jason originally liked to make appearances when dealing with new tank crews in the war, he liked to make a good impression on them so they would follow his lead. To Jason, these students were simply just new recruits. He couldn't treat the Japanese students who he knew played Sensha-do the same as new recruits, but they would have to go through the same training. He made sure that every ex-St Gloriana student was a commander to the students that knew nothing about the sport.
"Your crews have been pre-made, but it could change if crews don't get along or their results in training increase in quality. The harder you work, the better you fight, the more we win. It's simple. Every vehicle behind you is different. Every vehicle has its own designation, it's own name, it's own personality. Treat your vehicle like it is a living breathing thing. Look after it, because if you don't, it will fail you," Jason got out of the cupola and stood on top of the turret. The rubber coil that connected the microphone to the loudspeaker stretched and seemed near its end. "If you don't think that this club is for you after today, that's fine by me. That means fewer people to drag behind the rest," some of the students started fidgeting, the air had suddenly become more serious.
"After today, as part of club training you will not only learn about your vehicle and the ones you fight alongside, but you will also learn about the enemies you will face. You will learn about the Russian T-72, the German Leopard A1A1, the American M60A3 Patton. There's a whole arsenal out there that you will have to get used to. Today, you will learn how to use the best tanks from the best nation in the world. The next two weeks will be training; crew coordination, team communication, convoy and formations, as well as going to the range and testing the gunner's skills. The accuracy of the gunner, driving of the driver, loading speed of the loader and the leadership of the commander are all imperative to make a good crew." Jason took a breath, then started again.
"Club is three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tournaments will take place over weekends and breaks." Jason's eyes scanned over every student, making sure everyone was listening to him. They were. They seemed captured by the boy their same age who knew so much more than them. He liked this fact, that he knew so much more about tankery than everyone in the compound.
"This vehicle," he tapped the roof of the turret he stood on with his boot, "is the Chieftain Mark 7. Sadly, we couldn't get our hands on the latest model, the Mark 13, because of the years bracket, which is a shame because it can kick ass. This is one of the best vehicles you will come across on the field. The place of the apex predator does not exist on these fields. The apex predator is defined by how well a crew coordinates. If a crew has perfect coordination, it is the deadliest tank on the field. That is what I aspire for all of you, that you all become the apex predator. This team will be the best in the world, and I will make sure of that," Jason paused, then looked at his wristwatch. "Time to get going, training begins immediately after you have been assigned to your vehicles. I will leave that to my associates."
The other three instructors left the Chieftain Jason stood on, taking out clipboards and reading off crews. Seven crews of four and two crews of three were assigned to each instructor. These were the companies, Arthur, Lancelot, Gawain, and Percival. Named after the Knights of the Round Table, the companies had an assigned insignia that specified which vehicle belonged to them. A crown for Arthur, a longbow for Lancelot, a sword for Gawain and a shield for Percival.
Jason is the instructor for Arthur, teaching the crew of a single Conqueror, six Chieftains of various models and two Scimitar ARVs. The tank that was to be designated as the flag tank was the Conqueror, currently having additional spaced armour being added to the front of the turret and upper glacis.
Angie, a middle-aged woman with short brown hair, is the instructor for Lancelot, teaching three Chieftains, two Conways, one Sho't Kal Dalet, one Centurion Mk.5 AVRE, and two Scorpion ARVs. This company was designated as the hard-hitting company, with the shell types of the Conways and the Centurion having high masses of TNT filler within them.
The last two companies, instructed by two men in their fifties; Hank and John, were Gawain and Percival respectively. Their companies consisted of seven Chieftains each and two Scimitar ARVs each. The two companies were simply just wing companies, planned to be used as quick-response.
Darjeeling and her crew were designated to the Conqueror, set aside specifically to show it was the flag tank. Darjeeling automatically took the position of commander, and none of her crew argued with this fact. What was surprising to the crew, and to the rest of the students, was that there was no clear captain of the club.
"Do you think Instructor Montgomery will elect a captain after today's session?" The only boy in Darjeeling's crew sat at the gunner's position, adjusting the height of the chair and the optics to suit him. He was an average height boy in terms of average British height, but he was a few inches taller than Darjeeling. He had short black hair that was styled as a parting in the middle. He kind of resembled that one guy called Levi in a popular anime.
"Maybe, he might see which crew earns the highest score at the end of the two weeks and then select one." She decided to play along with the name he gave himself, it did suit him, she thought. "Choosing a captain based on the fact that practicing tankery has never been done outside of Japan could prove to be difficult, they can't exactly automatically choose an ex-tankery student simply because they know what they're doing. Something like that would seem unfair - to me, in any case. But it doesn't matter what I think. The instructors' decision is final and I suppose we can voice our opinions after they, the captain-to-be, has been elected," Darjeeling sat straight in the commander's seat, her knees together and her palms flat on them. She looked professional in the way she sat, and it proved to her crew that she wasn't joking about, let alone her knowledge on the matter at hand.
The turret crew, the boy and the girl that hadn't yet been introduced, stared at her in surprise and awe.
"For someone who came from Japan, your accent is amazing. So eloquent," the girl that took the loader's position was a little bit taller than Darjeeling, heavily made-up and wore her brown hair in a high ponytail. She leaned into the turret, then banged her head on the intercom system. "Ow," she winced, quickly clutching the back of her head.
"You alright?" Asked the boy, leaning back behind the cannon breech.
"Yeah, just banged my head,"
"I must warn you all, the engine and the gun will be loud. And don't take it lightly, it's much louder than a car backfiring or a gun firing," Darjeeling looked at her loader and gunner, they nodded slowly.
"I'm Matt, by the way. Nice to meet you," the black-haired boy protruded a hand towards Darjeeling, offering a handshake. The turret space was cramped, but somehow he managed to twist his torso to shake her hand. She smiled, leaned forward and shook his hand.
"Likewise, my name is Darjeeling," the handshake continued for a little too long, becoming slightly awkward before Darjeeling pulled her hand away.
"I'm Emilia, hi, you sound like a cool person and I want to be your friend," Emilia smiled wide at her new commander.
"I-I'm Grace, by the way..." Grace had taken the drivers seat, seeing as she had received her driving license almost two years prior to this moment she though it was a good idea.
"Hi Grace," Matt and Emilia greeted the shy girl at the same time, receiving a meek wave of her hand in response.
"I suggest we wear the personal radios, they go around our necks and allow us to communicate between each other. Mine should allow me to communicate with the rest of our company as well," Darjeeling reached to a box beside the radio, then pulled out four radios, one slightly larger than the others. She passed them to the rest of the crew, then fixed hers around her neck. Darjeeling then fiddled with the radio to the tank with Emilia watching closely to everything she was doing.
Suddenly, the radio crackled and Jason's voice came through. Darjeeling sat back, realising that his voice came through despite her messing of the dials.
"All crews of Arthur company, there should be personal radios inside of your vehicles. They go around your neck. If there aren't enough for your whole crew, then look for it somewhere else in your tank because there are definitely the right amount in each vehicle. I won't listen to any complaints."
"Seems we got that sorted then," Matt leaned his elbow on the horizontal turret drive, resting his head on his hand.
"All drivers, I would like you to follow the Conqueror, the big tank with the red flag on the back of it. We will start at the firing range today."
"W-We're the leading vehicle b-but I don't know how t-to drive this yet...wait, there's a manual," the shy girl went through a series of button pushing and lever pulling, eventually she got to the final step and the engine spluttered to life. The whole vehicle began to vibrate. The initial startup of the engine was loud, louder than any souped-up muscle cars or hyper cars the students had come across.
"You'll be ok Grace, just follow the manual and you'll be ok-" Darjeeling spoke reassuring words to the driver, but was rudely interrupted by the loader standing up out of the hatch. Matt, and then Darjeeling followed suit. They saw the rest of the company trying to start up their own vehicles and chatting amongst themselves.
"Am I following Instructor Montgomery?" Grace exclaimed, trying to talk louder than the cacophonous roars of the rest of the engines starting up.
"I would think so," Darjeeling talked through her throat mic while she spoke to Grace, seeing that it was easier than raising her voice. Just a moment later, an armoured personnel carrier painted in a dark green, brown and black camouflage drove in front of the Conqueror. Jason sat in the drivers seat, his head and shoulders above the hatch. He waved to Grace, who quickly caught on and put the behemoth of a tank into gear. Jason's APC kept a steady speed of 5 miles per hour at the beginning, allowing the drivers of each vehicle get used to basic driving, getting used to pushing and pulling the tillers.
Arguably, the Conqueror had the most complex start-up of all the vehicles, having to follow so many steps just to start the engine, even from a warm start. It wasn't easy to drive, either. Grace struggled even on a straight path, feeling the awkwardness of the tillers and fighting with the weight of the vehicle itself.
Arthur Company took a dirt road down the left side of the tank sheds, passing through some trees. A mound of dirt obscured their view into the fields that were their training grounds. The road took them to the other end, where a shooting range was available. Thankfully, there were ten slots for vehicles to park and begin their training.
Jason lead the Conqueror to the furthest slot, with six Chieftains lining up into the next slots. The two Scimitars sat at the end, the crews wondering how accurately they could fire their 30mm autocannons for the longest ranges.
Matt looked through the optics to the 120mm cannon, reading both range scales for the three ammo types: APDS, HESH, and smoke. Once again, Jason's voice came through the radios again.
"All loaders, I would like to let you know that you have an equally important job to the rest of the crew. Loading the gun can be tricky. The lack of space in the turret leads to awkward loading. Your shells are heavy. Weighing around 80 pounds each, your shell casings are the trickiest to move. The shell heads are what hit the targets, you must be able to tell the difference, and if you can't you are blind or ignorant. Loaders, I want you all to load Armour Piercing into your breaches. Once you've loaded, the commander must stand in their cupola."
Emilia lowered herself into the turret and looked for the 'armour piercing' shells. Darjeeling and Matt lowered themselves too, then watched Emilia fuddle with the shells. Grabbing the sabot head, Grace turned it around in her hands and inspected it. Shrugging, she turned towards the breach and looked for the opening to put it in.
"There's a lever to the left of the breech, there, where you can open and close it," Darjeeling pointed to a small lever attached to the left side of the breach.
"Ah, glad that someone knows what they're doing," Emilia chuckled to herself, opening the breach and pushing the shell head in. Afterwards, she turned around and bent down to pick up the charge. Strange noises came from her, straining noises like she was really struggling to pick up the charge. After a few seconds of weird noises, she had turned around with the charge cradled in her arms and lifted it into the breach. She pushed the shell into the breach and closed it.
"I'll let the instructor know we're ready to fire," Darjeeling stood up, then looked at her uniformed boyfriend. They locked gazes and he grinned at her. The blonde commander smiled and rolled her eyes, then looked down the range. After half a minute of waiting, every commander was standing in their cupolas and awaited Jason's next order.
"Gunners, I want you to aim at the closest target. They should be the burnt out vehicles at 100 metres. Once you've gotten your sights-"
One of the Chieftains fired early. The shell missed the target and bore a hole through the mound behind it. Most of the commanders had their hands covering their ears, except for Darjeeling and the girl commander in the Chieftain beside her.
"Wha' on God's Green Earth do ya think yer doin'? I didnae give the order to fire, did I? I guess you want to stay behind after this and clean the tanks?" Jason's accent esacalated, getting thicker as he got annoyed.
"I'm sorry!" A girl's voice echoed through the range, "It was an accident!"
"Accidents get yer tank oot tha game early. Keep control of tha' trigger finger, would'ja?"
"Yes, Instructor!"
"Get yer bloody gun loaded. We're waitin' on you now."
A quarter of a minute passed and the commander to the early-firing Chieftain raised his hand. Jason sighed and spoke into his mic again.
"Alright, try number two. All gunners aim yer guns at the first target. Fire!"
Nine guns exploded, the Conqueror rocked back ever so slightly. The Scimitars fired a series of shots, seeing as only one 30mm didn't seem like enough. The process of reloading, adjusting sights, and repeating went on for an hour. Targets changing, ranges scaling and moving objects being introduced. Coordination between gunner and loader was required, and the leading of every commander to change targets. For the first time at the range, Jason thought it went surprisingly well - despite the slight slip-up.
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"Ugh, I'm shattered..."
"You sat in an APC drinking coffee for most of the session, what was so tiring?"
Jason laid down on top of Darjeeling's bed, his legs dangling off the end. Returning from the first training session, the couple wanted to start their weekend together and so Darjeeling invited Jason to her room. The blonde commander removed her jacket and boots then sat beside her redheaded instructor.
"Teaching you guys..." he groaned, with fake annoyance in his voice. He sat up and pulled himself further onto the bed, sitting in the middle.
"My crew didn't do terribly, unlike Callum's crew. Despite the unnecessarily heavy vehicle you bestowed upon us, we did well for fresh tankers."
"Well, not all of you were fresh tankers. One of you is an expectionally brilliant commander that has the potential to be a commander in the pro-league."
"You must be joking. Me? In the pro-league? Please." Darjeeling had her back to him as she let her hair down, carefully pulling her fingers through the braid.
"Why not? You're amazing. Your skills will be seen during university matches and recruiters will go for you. Plus, you already have the best instructor in all the lands," smirking, Jason wrapped his arms around Darjeeling's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Mm, he's not half bad," she smiled at him, then kissed him softly.
"Not half bad?" He chuckled slightly, then returned the kiss. Darjeeling placed a finger on his lips, keeping him quiet.
"Just... shh," she moved her finger and placed her palm on his cheek, deepening the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed him down, laying half beside him with her left leg between his. Darjeeling paused, then reached to her bedside table. She turned off the light and plunged themselves into a darkened room. Resuming their... 'activity', the couple embraced each other.
They had a busy, and heated night ahead of them. It was a good thing it was the weekend the next day.
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Two weeks later, Cambridge Training Grounds,
"Monty, you alright? You seem tired," Angie, the middle-aged instructor to Lancelot Company placed a firm hand on the Scots' shoulder. Jason rubbed his temples, then wiped his face with his palm.
"Aye, all good. Let's get goin'. The companies aren't gontae sort themselves out are they?" Jason pulled his black beret onto his head and pushed his curly orange hair underneath the band, at least making it look like he was ready for the club's session for today. What was planned for the club members was a surprise war between Arthur and Gawain Company versus Lancelot and Percival Company, and Jason looked forward to the results of the mock battle.
All of the instructors left the small office within one of the tank sheds, dispersing to talk to each of their Companies. Jason didn't have to go far as this shed belonged to Arthur Company, with the tall watchtower installed to watch the tests just next door.
"Alright, Arthurians, get intae yer tanks and lets get goin'. We've got something special for all of you today," clapping his hands and talking loudly enough so every crew member could hear him, Jason walked between the idle rows of tanks that sat in the shed. Every crew quickly got into their vehicles, firing up the engines as quickly as they could. The redheaded instructor walked over to the Conqueror and climbed aboard, receiving a confused look from Grace. He climbed up onto the turret and sat on top of it.
"Good afternoon, Instructor Montgomery," Darjeeling greeted him, fixing her throat mic around her neck.
"Afternoon, Darj," he shot a cheeky grin at her, "I'm going to give you some coordinates, you're going to direct Grace to the location with Arthur Company in a convoy, just like we practiced last week. Gawain Company will be joining you, I'll be placing you in overall command of both Companies, while Jess will be commanding only Gawain Company,"
"You're not leading us there? I have a sneaking suspicion this will be a mock battle," Darjeeling let out a short sigh, expecting the next couple of hours to go slowly or badly. But understanding how each Company commander leads, she can almost read what their next moves would be.
"What gives you that idea?" Jason leaned on his elbow, facing the blonde commander.
"The grin you can't seem to put away," she shook her head and slowly exhaled.
"Mm, well that's just because I'm talking to you,"
"Sweet, but it won't work. Shall we get going then? The rest of my company seem to be ready," Darjeeling changed her focus from her mischievous boyfriend to the rest of the tanks in the shed, seeing all of them were ready for the Conqueror to lead them out of the shed. Jason sighed, then pulled a map out of his right breast pocket, unfolding it and handing it to Darjeeling. He winked at her before jumping off the hull and walking back to the office.
Looking down at the map, a route was drawn for her. It took her and the two companies to the top of the fields, as far north as the tank range allowed them. Groaning internally, Darjeeling knew this set-up all too well. She knew that the other 'team' will begin on the other side of the range and they would either fight to destroy a flag tank, eliminate all opponents until none on either team stands, or a newer hill-control gamemode. Darjeeling wondered how the new gamemode would work, but since they have never even talked about it before she thought its appearance for this mock battle was unlikely.
Then she remembered it was Jason who probably organised this, so a trial-by-fire match increased in likability. Shuddering at the thought of it, she crossed her fingers for an elimination match.
Grace led the way, starting their route with a promising 'special training session'. Looking to the other companies, Darjeeling saw Lancelot and Percival companies driving in the opposite direction to where she was going. That was when she knew this was going to be a mock battle.
Taking about six minutes to arrive at the given location, Arthur and Gawain company prepared themselves, setting themselves in a dual line formation.
"Arthur Company, Gawain Company," Darjeeling spoke through the Conqueror's radio to get to all crews in the companies she commanded, "prepare yourselves, I fear we are going to be tasked with a mock battle to test our skills. I hold high hopes for all of you, and I believe we can win this. Try your hardest, and we shall come on top. Good luck out there." Darjeeling ended the transmission and stood up in her cupola, looking out into the fields.
Cambridgeshire isn't necessarily a very hilly place, so vantage points are hard to come by. Vantage points were only slight inclines or declines, thus removing the possibility of a high ground.
"All units, let me explain why you're here today in teams of two rather than separately," Angie's voice spoke through the radio rather than Jason's which came as a surprise to most of the crews. "Arthur and Gawain Company have teamed up to fight Lancelot and Percival Company over some land. The land being the Cambridge Training Grounds. Any cheaters crossing into the enemy frequencies will be penalised and points will be deducted. This is the type of match you will come across in many of your national and international games: Elimination. Take out as many of the enemy as possible before the time runs out, good luck. The battle starts in two minutes."
Darjeeling looked at her watch, seeing it was about to hit the hour mark. The second hand ticked by, and right as it turned to three o'clock, a red flare in the centre of the grounds rocketed into the sky.
"All tanks, advance," the calm and easily recognisable voice of Arthur Companies' commander could be heard in every allied crew radio, every vehicle lurched forward, keeping a low speed as Darjeeling started passing orders around. "Arthur Company will take the fields to the south-west, Gawain will take the forest to the south-east. Create a defensive line down the ridge and let no enemy pass you. Arthur will draw fire to the fields, once we find their main attacking force, Gawain will flank and then destroy them," Darjeeling breathed a deep sigh, watching every possible avenue that the two opposing companies could come from. "Remember, slow and steady wins the race, we are not in a rush to lose, so take your time without wasting it. Do not rush in headstrong thinking you are invincible. Good luck, and happy hunting."
Grace pushed down on the throttle and the Conqueror sped up exponentially, hitting its maximum speed quickly. Since improved engines were available now, every vehicle was retrofitted with engines that held an increased power. The Conqueror's engine revved loudly, with the six Chieftains and two Scimitars close behind in an arrowhead formation.
Jess' Gawain Company separated from Darjeeling's company, breaking off towards the forest to the south-east.
Continuing to drive for three minutes, Grace reached the hedgerow that separated the plains with the fields and stopped just before breaching it. The Chieftains lined up at 20 metre intervals, three on each side of the Conqueror. Each one aimed their barrels into the fields beyond the hedges. The two Scimitars sat in wait behind the Conqueror, waiting for reconnaissance orders to be issued.
Darjeeling waited, giving the order to hull-down and wait for the enemy to show themselves. No such thing happened, and two minutes passed without a single gun being shot by either side, not even in the forests.
"Jack, Carol, take your Scimitars and scout the fields ahead, take extreme caution and radio in if you see any enemy movement," Darjeeling pressed the order for reconnaissance, then the two Scimitars idling behind her tank spluttered to life and raced past her, jumping through the greenery without giving away the positions of the Chieftains lying in wait.
As soon as the Scimitars broke the hedgerow, a barrel sparked in the trees beyond the fields and a 120mm shell catapulted past one of the Scimitars. The ARVs turned their turrets and returned fire, then more barrels behind the trees exploded. A salvo of sabot shells flew past the speeding reconnaissance vehicles, barely missing by a hair for each and every shot.
"Pick your targets, then fire. Don't be hasty and misjudge the range. Fire when ready Arthur company."
Seven shots fired simultaneously, all at once the forest came under serious heavy fire. Two shots missed, splintering wood and kicking up mud. Three shots ricocheted, the ringing that the struck armour had produced crossed the fields, being heard from Darjeeling's position. Two shots hit their mark, immobilising an opposing Chieftain and taking out another.
The first vehicle to be taken out belonged to Percival Company.
Darjeeling leaned down into the hull and flicked the boiling vessel on, then started preparing some tea.
"Would you like some, Emilia?" The nonchalant commander asked whilst the brunette was busy man-handling a 55~lbs 120mm shell casing.
"I'm good for now, thanks!" Shooting her a genuine smile, Emilia pushed the charge into the breach. A green light shone by Matt's head, letting him know the gun was ready to fire. He adjusted his sights onto a Chieftain's turret, aiming for the right side of the turret. He pulled the trigger and the whole vehicle vibrated. Smoke left the breach and the hull stopped reverberating in the midst of Emilia loading the next shell. The smoke caused by the barrel slowly dispersed, allowing Darjeeling to confirm the hit.
Another Chieftain was taken out, and the rest of Percival's forces began retreating.
"Hare Squad," Darjeeling referred to the two Scimitars dancing in the field, dodging as many shells as tank-ly possible, "return to us, thank you for incidentally providing us with their positions," the Scimitars twisted their hulls towards the hedgerow, then literally raced each other back to the Conqueror's position.
There were zero casualties on Darjeeling's side, but two on the oppositions. A boy name Elliot commanded Lancelot Company, and a girl called Fuyumin commanded Percival Company. Elliot is a quiet boy who seems to have a peculiar affinity for armoured warfare, always talking about the history behind specific tanks and tank battles. He was also an excellent commander, Darjeeling guessed that he may watch documentaries and read manuals on tank commanding, maybe even studied Sensha-do matches and how each commander had differing tactics.
"Gawain Company, How is the situation in the forest?" Darjeeling put a pair of headphones onto her head. Once the shooting began between Arthur and Percival, a firefight broke out in the forest.
"Um, so far so good!" A series of detonations and ricochets could be heard from Jess's mic, then both girls and boys shouting at each other. "Would you quiet down! I'm on the bloody phone to Darj!- I don't care if they're shooting at us, shoot them back! -Well don't let them see our weakspots and readjust fire, we're not losing this!" Darjeeling held the headphones a little bit away from her ears when Jess shouted at her crew and the neighbouring one. "Sorry about that, so far no casualties on our side, but their big Centurion is here and two of our Chieftains don't have front drive wheels anymore because of it. Also those Conways are scary."
"I'll send half of my company to aid you, expect them to arrive in two minutes. Don't let them gain any ground." Darjeeling finally managed to make her tea, only just putting the teabag in a small bin beside the boiling vessel and adding in the milk.
"Yes ma'am!" Jess laughed, then ended the transmission. Darjeeling stood out of her cupola and sipped her tea. Taking one hand off the saucer, she held down a button on her throat mic.
"George, Kayleigh, Ichigo, Jack, could you give supporting fire to Jess's Company while her vehicles can repair their tracks? Attack from the west when assaulting them." As much as it sounded like a question, the commanders receiving it took it as an order. Two Chieftains on Darjeeling's left and the Chieftain on the furthest right broke away from the defensive line and drove behind it, heading towards the forest.
"Harper, Leila, Molly, Carol, advance behind the Conqueror along the western ridge, we'll confuse the enemy by forcing them to fight on multiple fronts, as people say, take a different approach to make things easier," taking another sip from her tea, the blonde commander felt right at home, as taking such a long time away from commanding a team made her anxious. Now, she was calm and collected, could finally make sound decisions and focus of the main task at hand.
Grace pulled the Conqueror out from behind the hedgerow and turned the hull right, seeing the last remaining Chieftains turn with her in the direction of the ridge. The Conqueror took point, and the Chieftains trailed behind the command tank with the Scimitar sitting between the Conqueror and the first Chieftain. The trail that Darjeeling had mapped out took them behind the supposed enemy lines, seeing as Percival had most likely joined Lancelot to take out Gawain. A cheap move to overwhelm the enemy with numbers, but opening fronts drains units and ammunition for the enemy.
"Commander Darjeeling, thank you for the support, they seem to be backing off for now but are still- ow! They're still hitting us quite hard!" Jess shouted through the radio, her voice getting impatient.
"We will be opening a third front and shall push them towards the open fields, there, we can easily pick them off. Remember to count the vehicles you face and the vehicles you see at the beginning of the match. Nine vehicles to each Company. How many do you see?"
"Um... hold on... seven, eight... I see ten. Almost all the big- woah!" Through the radio, Darjeeling heard a shell fly past Jess's tank, "almost all the big ones are here, but I can't see any of the small ones..."
"Look out for them, Jess, they may be flanking you so keep your and your company's head on a swivel, I'll be there soon with support." Darjeeling left the radio to Emilia, letting her contact the other commanders if needed. Closing her eyes and focusing on the rocking of the tank hull, Darjeeling sipped her tea once again. She thought over the situation at hand, visualising the map in her head and the positions of her team and the enemy.
She needed to make sure that the Conqueror had an advantageous position against the Chieftains.
Several minutes of travel time ensued and Darjeeling's forces could hear the sounds of the British guns firing much clearer.
"Carol, I want you to identify the tanks ahead of us, we'll be close by so don't worry about not having support," Darjeeling ducked into the cupola and closed the hatch above her. The three Chieftain commanders did the same, like moles diving into their holes one by one.
The Scimitar broke from the Convoy and sped past the Conqueror, the commander gripping the cupola with her head low. They just broke into the forest, and flashes from barrels could be seen deep within the trees. Soon, only the exhausts coming from Carol's Scimitar could be seen, and the firing from the conflicting tanks got louder.
"Just sneaking up on them now, Darjeeling," Carol's Scimitar was nearing the tanks, maybe twenty to thirty metres away. "They're Percival's, five Chieftains have lined up behind some mounds and rocks, shall I wait for you to arrive or cause a distraction?"
"Wait there Carol, we'll arrive shortly and we'll attack as one," making sure it was on an open channel to the rest of the Chieftains behind her, Darjeeling directed the Conqueror towards Carol's position.
Cautiously driving near Carol's hiding spot, the four sneaking tanks trained their sights on the rears of the enemy Chieftains.
"Fire."
All five barrels erupted in a ball of fire and smoke. Four 120mm sabot shells shot through the forest and plunged themselves deep into the rears of the Chieftains. Three were out immediately. The Scimitar took some time to take out one of them and the last Percival Chieftain had its fuel tanks set on fire. Probably scared shitless now, the last Chieftain tried to run away, but was shot twice more by George's and Ichigo's Chieftains.
"Nice work, the harsh aiming practice by Instructor Montgomery has paid off. Time to move on to the rest," Darjeeling took another sip of her tea before the Conqueror came under serious suppression. Grace panicked and tried to angle the hull, yanking back on the right tiller as more shells flew past, some ricocheting off the turret and the hull.
"Sorry Darj! Most of us got taken out, it's just me and Kate left. They're really mean..." panting, Jess sighed loudly through the radio.
"It's alright, what casualties do you know of?"
"Six Chieftains and one Scimitar in Gawain. One Chieftain support from Arthur got taken out, I'm sorry about that. For Lancelot, both Conways, and one Chieftain, I think... I don't know about the Scorpions- Oh, they've been taken out by your support, as well as Percival's Scimitars."
"That leaves only Lancelot left, Percival have been taken out in their entirety."
"Wow, your company is efficient. I saw Elliot's company going west, away from you, so if we want to rendezvous at the crossing in the north-west we can catch him off-guard."
"A sound decision, but he will be expecting that, please wait a moment," Darjeeling grabbed the map from on top of the radio and looked at it again, studying the area around the crossing. There was a small hill that separated the forest from the fields, and Darjeeling saw this as an opportunity to surprise Elliot's forces from the side. "Jack, Carol, take Jess's Scimitar to the hill to the West and divert fire towards you, make sure they continue West. Immobilise as many as possible, but make sure they continue West. We will lie in wait within the fields. Once they have moved, I want you to keep pestering them."
Approving sound came from the commanders and the three Scimitars left the Chieftains. Jess caught up with Darjeeling, driving alongside the Conqueror.
A minute later, the 30mm cannons burst-fired, echoing through the training grounds. The sounds of ricocheting shells came often but some direct hits could be heard. Darjeeling grinned, internally.
The rest of Darjeeling's forces consisted of the Conqueror, six Chieftains and three Scimitars. Elliot's consisted of both Centurions and two remaining Chieftains. The odds weren't in his favour at all, and Darjeeling became curious. Despite the inferior armour of the Centurions, they were both still operational. He must understand the importance of their weaponry, else he wouldn't have protected them as much as he had already. The 150mm howitzer the Mk.5 AVRE could pack a punch, with anything that got in its way expectedly being blow away. The Sho't Kal Dalet, an Israeli modernisation of the Centurion Mk.10, housed the highest penetrating sabot shells they had at Cambridge Tankery.
The Sharir cannon that was used by the Sho't outgunned the Chieftain Mk.7, it could use APFSDS shell types. Effectively, it was the most dangerous vehicle at the moment and if Elliot could get it put into a hidden spot, it could spell doom for Darjeeling's forces.
"Darjeeling," Carol's voice sounded sad, "their Centurions got us, we've been taken out..."
"All of you?"
"Mhm..."
"Alright, thank you for your help, Carol. Tell the others I appreciate their help,"
"Sure thing, see you later, good luck."
This wasn't turning out how she wanted it to go, Elliot must have been the commander to the Sho't and had his best gunner be put in it.
Darjeeling's forces reached the edge of the field and turned their turrets towards where they expected Elliot's last four tanks to arrive.
It was the wrong direction, and all of his tanks fired upon hers. One Chieftain was taken out straight away and another was immobilised. Two shots ricocheted of the Conqueror's turret, ripping away the spaced armour.
A close quarters battle had begun.
Matt turned the turret towards Elliot's forces, training his sights on the first target. He pulled the trigger on one of the Chieftains. The deafening explosion of the barrel lead to Elliot's second to last Chieftain being taken out, but his forces were equalising the odds rapidly. Soon, four of Darjeeling's Chieftains were taken out, and it turned into a close-quarters three versus three.
Hammering in the next shell, Emilia pushed the lever and Matt fired again. The shell skimmed off the Mk.5's turret, tearing away some of the reactive armour. The 150mm cannon erupted, aimed at Jess's Chieftain. The heavy HESH shell slammed into the front of the turret, soaked by the thick armour and thus causing no damage. Through the smoke, Jess's gunner turned the turret towards the offender and fired in its general direction.
Bursting the drive sprocket off the back of the Centurion, the Chieftain immobilised the Mk.5.
Soon after, a sabot shell implanted itself into the side of Jess's turret and a white flag popped up.
The last Arthur Chieftain fired at the last Lancelot Chieftain, taking it out of the game too.
Darjeeling directed the Conqueror behind a dead teammate, using it as cover while the turret crew could work out what was going on.
Coincidentally, George's loader was lap-loading, the next sabot shell was loaded within mere moments and the Chieftain took the Mk.5 out of the match.
Due to the George's turret turned away, Elliot's gunner had a clear shot into it, and fired.
George's tank was out too, the white flag flapping in the smokey wind.
Elliot against Darjeeling.
The Conqueror's cannon was trained onto the Sho't Kal Dalet's armour.
The Sho't Kal Dalet's cannon was trained onto the Conqueror's armour.
All at once, the gunners in each tank pulled the trigger.