Chapter 10: The Stage is Set
The teens at Makoto's house soon found themselves caught up in the excitement of the impromptu race between the two Tigers, the concerns about their girls crewing a Kuromorimine tank temporarily set aside as they cheered Minako on.
"They're running side by side now!" Yuuichirou exclaimed. "This race is way too close to call! Haruka-san, you drive sports cars professionally in competition. Who do you think will win?"
"Maho's tank definitely will. No doubt about it, Yuuichirou-chan."
"Oh? How can you be so sure, Haruka?" Setsuna asked, reducing the image's magnification still further to reveal that the tanks were heading towards the top of a gently sloping hill that now loomed in the distance. "Aren't both tanks the same type, which would make them quite evenly matched?"
"How do I know? Two words" the tall blonde chuckled. "Aino Minako."
"I'm with you there, Haruka-san!" Taro laughed. "When it comes to being first to get somewhere, my girl has a competitive streak a kilometer wide. On second thought, make that ten kilometers!"
. . . . .
"Minna, I can see the hill we're supposed to stage from!" Minako blurted from the driver's seat in the hull of Maho's speeding Tiger. "It's about a kilometer ahead! And Miho's tank is still hanging on beside us! Her driver is really good!"
"As good as Mako or you are, Minako-chan?" Makoto asked with a grin.
"Of course not! That's just silly talk, Mako-chan! I'm the best driver here today, and I'm about to prove it!"
"Even if you don't beat Miho's tank, you'll win against anyone in an ego contest, Minako-chan" Rei muttered from the jostling loader's seat. "We're hitting so many bumps in the road, my vision is getting blurry. Can't you find a better path?"
"I'm going to fix that and win this race, Rei-chan! Hang on tight!" The blonde eyed the upcoming terrain, noticing that the ground off to her left appeared considerably smoother than the right side where the second Tiger was travelling. She worked the control levers and her tank drifted onto the flatter terrain, gaining a touch more speed in the process. "Minna, now we're really flying!"
Minako once again verbally began urging the massive tank on. "You can go even faster than this for me, can't you? Don't you dare hold anything back from Mistress Minako! Because I'm going to whip everything you've got out of you!"
"My goodness!" Ami exclaimed. "Minako is getting rather carried away with her driving again!"
Makoto grinned at the tank's gunner who was blushing at the blonde's stern demand for even more speed from the massive machine. "So she's calling herself Mistress Minako now? Whatever happened to Momma, Ami-chan?"
"I don't want to think about it" Ami murmured.
As the scenery whipped past her turret in a blur, Maho ducked down inside and asked, "Does Minako-san always speak to her Panzer in such a... uh... kinky manner when she drives it, Makoto-san?"
"Hai" the brunette chuckled. "She always does, Nishizumi-san. And the scary thing is, I think it works."
. . . . .
Tiger 212 began pulling away from the other tank until it was a full three hull-lengths ahead when they reached the bottom of the hill, much to the exasperation of Miho's driver. "How is that amateur beating me? Our Tigers can't go that fast, Miho-san! It's impossible!"
"That's very typical for Minako" Miho laughed. "If the Panzer IV she usually drives had wings, I'm sure she'd find a way to make it fly!"
"Impressive" her mother mused. "At least one member of your rookie team knows what she's doing, Miho. But it takes more than quick, skillful driving to win a Sensha-do match. I still have serious reservations about the gunner you shackled Maho with. That mousey little blue-haired girl would look more at home sitting at a study desk in a library than inside a tank."
"Looks can be very deceiving, Okāsan" Miho giggled. "You will realize just how skilled Ami is at gunnery after the battle begins."
"For your sake, I hope I don't" the woman grumbled. "You told me these girls are your least experienced crew. But I'm beginning to think I've been lied to."
"Absolutely not, Mother! I told you the honest truth when I said Luna Team is still very new to the feminine art. They just happen to be really good at it."
"Is that a fact? Then perhaps when you return to Kuromorimine after today's duel, you can persuade them to abandon the lost cause that is Ooarai and join us here as well, Miho. My school is always willing to take on new students if they're as talented as you say they are."
The brown-haired girl frowned. 'I hope it doesn't come to that' she thought, crossing her fingers for luck. 'I just want to go home to Ooarai. Where my true friends are.'
. . . . .
The otherworldly communications device on the corner of the dining room table suddenly emitted two soft beeps, followed by a vaguely familiar voice in English which sounded as clear as though the man was standing in the room beside the teens. "Hello again, Setsuna-san! Is the communications equipment I left operating properly?"
"Hai. I mean yes, Zi-" The greenish-haired girl caught herself just as she began speaking the man's name. "It's functioning perfectly, Captain. I was in the process of demonstrating some of its basic capabilities to my close friends. I do hope I haven't overstepped my bounds by doing so."
"Not at all! You operate it very proficiently, considering the brief time you had to become familiar with it."
"Do you wish me to terminate the signal we're receiving and switch the unit off?"
"Actually, I'd like you to continue, if you don't mind. We've tapped into the feed from dimension four you're presently viewing, and my bridge crew is observing the proceedings there with great interest. Several of them are fans of Sensha-do" the voice admitted with a chuckle. "Including me. It's a very entertaining sport."
Haruka and the boys silently stared at Setsuna as she continued, "Certainly, Captain. We are still unsure as to what is currently happening there, but I'm happy to hear you're permitting us to continue observing. Several of the Sailor Senshi are crewing one of the tanks involved, but in their regular schoolgirl form."
"They are? Fascinating! My vessel is scheduled to be within your dimension's Sol system for another twelve Earth days. Nothing to be concerned about, it's an entirely routine patrol. Feel free to contact me at any time if you have any further questions about the device. And please give my warmest regards to Sailor Uranus and the Sailor Senshi's fiancees. I'm looking forward to meeting them again someday, as well as Usagi and her other Senshi."
"I will" Setsuna replied. "Arigatou."
The device beeped again and the communication abruptly ceased.
Haruka promptly placed her hands on the table and leaned across it. "He not only knows who the guys are but my real identity too? Sets, after this tank thing is over, you've got a lot more explaining to do!"
"No doubt I have, Haruka. Within certain limits, of course" she cryptically replied before returning her attention to the three-dimensional image on the tabletop. "But for the moment, let's continue spectating today's curious event, shall we?"
"Um... I just have to ask, even though you probably won't tell me, Setsuna-san" Taro spoke up. "But... have you actually seen that spaceship you were just talking to?"
"Have I seen it, Taro-chan?" the girl smiled. "Hai. I've travelled in it."
"You have?" Ryo gasped, the boy's blue eyes wide. "What does it look like, Setsuna-san? Is it a disk-shaped flying saucer like they usually portray in movies?"
"No. It looks like nothing the people who write science fiction films have ever imagined, Ryo-chan. I must admit, its appearance is actually rather... frightening. As are certain members of its crew. But enough talk on that sensitive subject." Setsuna pointed at the image of the two tanks as Tiger 212 reached the hilltop well ahead of the second machine. "Minna, it appears our resident auto racing driver was indeed correct about the outcome of the girls' sprint."
"Of course I was" Haruka grinned. "I knew Minako wouldn't let us down."
. . . . .
Minako had quickly lifted her foot off the accelerator and jammed on the Tiger's brakes, skidding the massive vehicle to a stop across the grassy crest of the hill with a triumphant cheer. She raised her hands in the air in celebration. "Yes! Yes! Minna, I told you I'd win! We got here before Miho's tank did, so our commander gets first pick of where we go before the shooting starts!"
"You performed admirably, driver" Maho complimented the blonde with an uncharacteristically warm smile. "For someone who professes to have limited experience in Sensha-do, you've adapted to handling my much heavier Tiger quickly and competently. Your skill at the controls should bode well for us in our upcoming skirmish."
"Arigatou, Nishizumi-san!" Minako beamed at the unexpected praise. As Miho's Tiger pulled alongside, she turned her head and grinned at its red-faced fuming driver. "What took you so long, Grandma? Did you stop somewhere along the way to do a little sightseeing?"
The other girl scowled back, "Save your gloating, rookie. Our dumb little race is the only thing your tank is going to win today!"
"Hontou? We were racing?" the bubbly blonde deadpanned. "If I knew that, I would've gotten here even sooner!"
"As modest as ever, Minako-chan" Rei groaned.
"Way to go, Mistress Minako" Makoto snickered. "Remember to give Indiana Taro his whip back later, after you finish using it on Maho's poor Tiger."
"You heard me say that, Mako-chan?" the blonde gasped, her cheeks reddening. "I was only... you know... getting into the moment."
"Hai. We all heard you" Rei smirked. "Minako-chan, you even made Maho blush this time. Good going."
"Well... I won the race, didn't I?" She giggled, "And I enjoyed it too! Pushing any gas pedal to the floor always makes me feel so hot! Especially when I'm driving a big powerful tank!"
The brunette in the seat to her right chuckled, "You're a lost cause, Minako-chan. Nearly as bad as Ami is when she drives."
"Mako-chan!" the embarrassed blue-haired girl exclaimed, her cheeks flushing crimson.
In Miho's tank, the elder Nishizumi raised herself up through her hatch opening, her silver stopwatch again in hand. Shiho pressed its button and announced, "Commanders, the duel begins now. You have five minutes to separate and position your tanks in suitable starting locations, during which time no shots are permitted to be fired. After that, you are free to engage one another at will. Maho, your tank has first choice of an appropriate starting location, and as the clock is now ticking, I suggest you move out immediately. I have important paperwork to dispatch to Ooarai, so let's get this needless formality over and done with."
"Hai!" her daughters responded, with both girls quickly dropping inside their turrets.
"Where are we heading, Commander?" Minako asked. "Do you want me to drive us towards that big bunch of trees on our right?"
"No. That's exactly where Miho would expect us to go, Minako-san." Maho smiled, "For this battle I have something much better in mind."
. . . . .