Saturday, September 7th 2013
Catalina's School Carrier
Atlantic Ocean
Valarie arose in the predawn hours as she always does when Saturdays arrive. Her routine involved promptly getting dressed in her uniform and reviewing the agenda for the day. And though today she was reviewing the agenda and making edits here and there, she remained in her sleepwear of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. In bed, as Valarie looked over the agenda, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Emma get dressed in her her uniform and only felt a tinge of jealousy but soon ultimately realized that a break was indeed sorely needed.
"The last time you weren't at practice," Emma said, "it was because of—"
"Chemistry," Valarie finished. "Damn that class."
"Hey, you passed that class last semester. Now, you can forget all about atoms and how to balance chemical equations."
"Yeah, up until I go to college and have to take chemistry again for general ed. Ugh."
"Speaking of college, how you put any thought on where you want to go?"
"Umm," Valarie hesitated as she pondered. "I think I'll stick with my original plan of just going to the community college back home."
"You do know that Madison will happily pay for your education for whatever college you want? UCLA, USC, Cal Poly, Berkeley. And that's just the ones in California. Any college in the country. Or even ones outside of it. Money won't be an issue thanks to Madison, and since you are the captain of a tankery team that you led to victory in the nationals and doing well in the world tournament so far, that will for sure look good on a admissions letter. You're future is bright, Valarie. Undeniably so."
"What about my parent's future?"
"Hmm?"
"Their future is uncertain. Always walking on a thin line. At any time could me parents lose their jobs and lose our home. Dad's new trucking job is better than his old one but now by a whole lot. Sure, he's in a union now and has better protection but what can a union do if the company goes under and have to lay off all their employees? Not a damn thing. This uncertainly eats away at me and whenever I think about it, I feel sick. That's why I want to go to the community college. To be near them in case it all goes to hell like before. So I can help."
Valarie set aside her playbook and let out a breath. There was a shakiness to it as if she was about to cry.
"Explain this to Madison and she will help you," Emma suggested. "She'll most likely tell her mom what's up and arrange like a cash donation or something. 100,000 dollars isn't a whole lot to a well-to-do Hollywood movie director. But that amount of money for your parents can be life changing."
"It would. It so, so, so would. But I know my parents. They wouldn't accept something like that. They want solve to their own problems, handle everything themselves."
"Just like you, huh?"
Valarie laid in bed and stared up to the ceiling.
"Yeah. I'm more like them than I thought," she paused to think. "The only way my parents would ever consider a cash donation is that if it came from me, their own daughter. It's just different that way."
"Don't they consider Madison their daughter too?"
"They do. They love her. But the fact of the matter is I've been part of their lives since day one and Madison hasn't."
"Oh...yeah."
Valarie sighed.
"I want to give them enough money for them to retire. They need a break more badly than I'll ever need one. But how do I get that much money...can I ever do that?"
Emma moved over to give her a comforting hug that made Valarie melt in her arms.
"Let's not have you full of worry on your day off."
"Gotcha." Valarie mumbled out as she rubbed her face.
A few moments later, a knock was heard at the door. Emma answered and in came Madison, ready to be Valarie's doppelganger. The previous evening, the girls were here in Valarie's apartment where Madison was given a crash course to learn as much as she can about the team. What was stressed more importantly than everything else was Madison knowing all the call signs of the team as if Madison called a tank by the wrong callsign, it could unravel the whole masquerade
"Oh, the energy I feel," Madison said, who looked clearly hyped up. "Just like moments before I go on stage for a play."
"This'll be the greatest test of your skills," Valarie told her. "Hope you've done a lot of improv because that is what you'll be doing today."
"Improv was my absolute favorite thing to do in my drama classes. Pretending to be you will be very fun."
Madison went to the closed and put on Valarie's uniform. It fit nice and snug on her, much to Madison's delight. With the CVC helmet on her head, Madison presented herself to Valarie for an inspection. Valarie looked at her from head to tow and was stunned at the similarity, as if she was looking into a mirror. Though one thing remained to complete the look. Valarie removed the choker around her neck that her parents gifted her months ago and put it on Madison. And with that, she was now Valarie.
"Wow," Valarie gasped. "The part of playing me has been perfectly cast."
Madison blushed.
"Well, it helps when we're related." she said.
Valarie got her playbook and handed it to Madison, who held it tightly. She knew just how important it was to her.
"The agenda is written in there," Valarie told her. "Follow it and you'll have no problems."
"And you, my dear sister, will be relaxing all day."
"Yes. Of course."
With a nod, Madison and Emma proceeded to head out the door, though before fully leaving, Emma turned around for a moment.
"Valarie, remember that this is your day of relaxation. So, don't do anything tank related. Don't go online to read about the tournament or search for the team's next tank. Don't go on the radio to listen to that tankery show. In fact, don't do anything related to military vehicles."
Valarie rose one hand and placed her other over her heart.
"I solemnly swear."
They smiled and shared a brief kiss. The door closed and now Valarie was alone in her apartment. A finger was on her chin as she thought what do on how to start her day off. Her mind led her to the bathroom where within was a bathtub. A very nice bathtub. She checked the drawers of the sink and saw some bath bombs. She smiled.
"Oh yeah. This is gonna be good."
~Line break
On the walk to the garage, Emma and Madison were joined by Heather and Ashley. All the girls looked giddy and very much looked forward to practice today to see if Madison could really pull this thing off.
"Man, with the uniform you look just like her." Ashley noted.
"It's uncanny, really." Heather added.
"If it's convincing to you guys, then the rest of the team will be none the wiser. Though, to be on the safe side, any little quirks about Valarie I gotta know to to better sell the switch?"
"Oh, just act like you have no idea about sex is and you'll be alright." Heather said with a small grin.
Such humor from an otherwise reserved girl made it more funnier. Their walk to the garage was brief and they soon arrived. The girls were early, with only a few other members of the team arriving before them and in the process if prepping their tanks. Also in the garage was the new acquisition; the Mark IV Churchill. Madison had made the necessary arrangements to moving the tank from the metal recycling area to the garage, saving it from a fate of it being scrapped and melted down. It was a trivial affair as Catalina technically already owned the tank when it purchased the metal refuse pile it was a part of. The school then donated the Churchill so now Mojave Rose could rightfully and legally claim it was theirs. Currently, the tank was still in a dilapidated state. Tracks and some of its roadwheels were missing and it's engine was not in its proper place and was placed next to it. It'll need some work before it's ready to be mounted back in the tank. Then there was the destroyed six-pounder. It was beyond repair so a replacement was necessary, with Valarie already having a replacement in mind. These were the issues that people could presently see. The Churchill would need a thorough inspection to log every problem it has and repair it so that it can get back in shape
As such, the new tank will not be participating in practice for a whole other day will need to be dedicated for its repair. Besides, they don't even have a crew for it and won't get them until they make port. Wherever that port may be.
Those that were at the garage stopped by the Churchill to look at the machine, primarily to gawk at the ruined gun and make jokes about it. One person, Gabrielle, stopped before the tank the longest. Madison noticed and sensed the first opportunity to test how well the masquerade can be. She went over to her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Redwood," Madison greeted. "What do you think of our latest arrival?"
"Damn good stuff," Gabrielle replied. "And I hear it was found on this ship? Of all places?"
"A serendipitous find, isn't it?"
"Serendipitous, huh? Man Valarie, you can talk real formal like when you want to."
Madison laughed. A bit nervously.
"Ha, well, um, this school has a bunch of rich kids, you know? They speak like they ate a dictionary for breakfast. It all rubs off on you."
"Oh I bet. So, what you're plan for that thing? Do what we did with the SU?"
"SU..." Madison echoed in thought. She had zero clue what Gabrielle meant by that. What the hell did the team do with the SU? What is the SU? Madison didn't know the full history of the team. It was impossible to learn all of that in the span of a single evening. She decided to wing it. "...Yes. But, ah, even faster!"
"Oh? Faster?"
Madison nodded.
"We'll get this thing ready for action faster than any team has done before. We'll break records!" Madison declared.
"That's one hell of a boast. The SU-100 took all of Saturday to repair and its gun didn't need to be replaced. For the Churchill, we'll need to mount a new six-pounder."
Madison then recalled what Valarie said about the Churchill when they found it.
"Actually, I was thinking that we use the old 75 for the Jumbo. Don't have to wait for delivery of a replacement gun and we can save some money too."
"Hmm," Gabrielle hummed. "You do know that the Churchill's turret will need to be modified to accept the Jumbo's 75. The turret face will have to be recut to be wide enough to mount the gun. There is only one tool that can cut through a tank's armor. A welder's torch. Valarie...you know why I can't do the cutting. When your mom came by for that welding job a while back, I nearly freaked out when seeing all those sparks. One of you guys will have to do it. As safe as possible."
"Don't you worry. Catalina has some welding classes so they'll happily loan the needed tools. And I'll make sure the job is done super safely."
"That's comforting to hear. Now, I got something for you."
Gabrielle went away for a bit and returned with a folder
"Match details," she informed. "Just arrived this morning. I printed it out for you."
Madison took the folder and opened it. She was presented with a map of the battlefield.
"Well, this is definitely a new environment for us." she remarked.
"Oh yeah, it's all very cool."
Madison went through the rest of the folder. All these details, Valarie would love to get her hands on it and dive in. She'll just have to wait. The folder was tucked in the playbook.
"Thanks. I'll go over it later. We got practice to do."
"Right you are."
Before walking away, Madison took a more thorough glance at Gabrielle.
"So, how far are you along?"
Gabrielle tapped her stomach proudly, the smile on her face huge.
"About four months now, though I don't know the exact number. I should know that, huh? Being an expectant mother and all. But hey! This is my first pregnancy so I'm still learning."
"How is pregnancy? Like, how does it feel?"
"I'm in constant pain."
"Oh..."
"But then I just tell myself that I'm carrying twins and it makes it all worth it. I want to hold my kids and I'll gladly suffer anything to do that."
Madison nodded in admiration.
"Well alright! Now we should really get practice underway."
"Yeah, yeah...oh, one more thing. Be sure to remind Madison to arrange the travel for the new crew for the Churchill. Mr. Redwood has already selected them."
"I'll be sure to remind her." Madison said with a grin.
With that, Madison returned to the T-44, its crew waiting with bated breath. Madison's smile was telling.
"You fooled her, didn't you?" Ashley asked
"She thought I was Valarie," Madison informed all pleased. "My god, I fooled her completely.
"You trick Gabrielle, you can trick the rest of the team."
"Let's see how well you do leading practice." Heather remarked.
The girls climbed aboard the T-44, with Madison being the most careful as she got into the commander's position. She placed her hands firmly on the handholds as the tank drove out of the garage, and with the team, headed for practice
The lights were dim, there was a strong and pleasant aroma of vanilla in the air, and the water was nice and hot. Valarie had prepared a bath for herself and now laid in the water, feeling completely relaxed and at ease. The bath bombs she found were used and create thick and foamy bubbles that graced the surface of the water. These bubbles were also the ones creating the vanilla scent that Valarie savored. What added to the tranquility was the radio. Keeping with Emma's wishes, she hasn't tuned to that tankery show, instead, had the radio playing a classic rock station, the genre of music that her parents favored. The music was on a low volume as to not disturb the calm that Valarie fostered.
"This is just what I needed," Valarie thought to herself. "A day to myself to wind. This bath is doing the trick and them some."
With how nice everything was, Valarie felt like she was bathing like royalty. The only thing missing was a nice cup of wine. Wine? Her genuine desire for an alcoholic drink made her laugh a little. A year ago, she'd never would've believe she'd become something of a drinker. Since her very first day of coming aboard Catalina's ship has she had her fair share of strong drinks and each time she did, she increasingly enjoyed the flavors. Just another unexpected benefit of tankery, she reasoned.
Valarie spent some time in the tub, soaking and soothing her skin in bliss, her muscles like jelly in every good possible way. Of course, she can't remain in the tub all day as her stomach began to rumble. With breakfast now a priority , she rose from the tub and dried herself off with a towel. Hanging on a hook on the wall was a bath robe, ivory white and looked amazing soft. She slipped into it and loved how it felt. Valarie left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, she wondered what she would eat.
"Hmm," she thought in her mind. "A day of relaxation means that I do as little work as possible. Cooking is a lot of work. Though...it doesn't have to be."
A bag of pizza rolls was fetched from the freezer and placed in a toaster oven. As the tasty little morsels cooked, Valarie fixed herself a cup of coffee, which will have to due in lieu of wine, and now sat on the living room couch. Looking ahead was the TV, and under it a DVD player. The mood seemed right for a movie and as luck would have it, this DVD player came stocked with an assortment of movies of all genres to cater to as many people as possible. They were some war movies but they were brushed aside. She wanted something more lighthearted. One film fit the bill, Disney's Robin Hood.
"It's been ages since I saw this movie."
The DVD was popped in and the movie began to play. Valarie reclined on the couch and exhaled a pleased sigh. Her day off was going swimmingly.
The periscope gave Madison a restricted field of view, which only served to further pile on her feeling of claustrophobia. Space within the T-44 was at a premium with the breech of the 100mm gun taking up most of the room. Inspiration Park was where they were along with the rest of the team. The agenda that Valarie had written out was being followed with the first thing on the list being shooting practice.
In position, the T-44 laid fire to targets at increasing distances. One at 500 meters. Another at 750mm meters. And a final at 1000 meters. Madison watched with amazement as Ashley loaded shell after shell into the breech. She could tell that the armor-piercing rounds were quite hefty just by looking at them and Ashley was handling the with the utmost efficiency.
"How fast can you load a shot?" Madison wondered.
"About seven seconds or so." Ashley replied.
Madison did some quick math in her head.
"That's about eight rounds a minute," she said. "Ever done that many?"
"Man, I dunno. I think only a few times in matches where the firefights get real intense though I can thank the adrenaline for that."
"Let's give it a go then, shall we?"
"Uhh, okay, okay."
"On my mark...Go!"
A round was grabbed from the tack and thrust into the breech. The trigger was pulled and the spent casing was automatically ejected and fell to the floor of the turret with a clang, small streams of smoke emanating out from one of its ends. Though before the spent shell would hit the floor, Ashley already had another fresh round in hand and reloaded the gun. And did it again. And again. Repeatedly for a full minute of nonstop firing before Madison said to stop. The fighting compartment was warm from all the shooting and in the air was the intense odor of vaporized powder. Once the minute was up, Ashley reclined in her position and was panting. Sweat was wiped from her forehead and she touched her forearms, which were starting to ache.
"And here I thought," Ashley said in between breaths. "That you taking Valarie's place would mean practice today would be easygoing."
"I figured that Valarie would appreciate that practice would remain as vigorous as usual." Madison said with a grin.
"You're doing a swell job. Damn will my arms be sore tomorrow."
The tanks around them continued to open fire, each shot made Madison jolt and forced her eyes to close momentarily. Emma noticed and couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"You look like Valarie. You can act like her, but only so much. She loves the sounds and feeling of cannon fire. You? Not so much."
"I, uh, I just gotta get used to it. That's all. " Madison replied.
"Better get used to gun fire fast," Heather then said. "People see you flinch and they'll start to get suspicious."
"I won't let that happen," Madison said all determined. "We're gonna shoot so much that I'm gonna get numb to it all," she reviewed the agenda and her eyes narrowed. "What is...bullet storm?"
"Oh!" Emma exclaimed. "Bullet storms is where one tank on the team gets shot at by the rest of the tanks that has coaxial machine guns. It's both a tactic and a way to build endurance to incoming fire."
"Perfect!" Madison said with a clap. "A bullet storm on us will get me used to all the shooting."
"That'll do the trick but I see a problem here," Ashley said. She took the playbook out of Madison's hands and read the agenda. She placed a finger on a line of text and read it aloud. "A bullet storm is to be done on Sidewinder so that the crew can further their understanding of what is is like to be on the receiving end of concentrated machine gun fire. It will also give them the opportunity to train themselves to maintain their concentration under fire in a controlled environment," Ashley looked up from the playbook. "Simply put, it'd be weird for us to go through a bullet storm 'cause as far as the team is concerned, everyone in this tank is already well used to being shot at."
Madison leaned back.
"Hmm," she hummed. Then she snapped her fingers. "I'll just be in tank with them when the bullets fly."
"Uh. That sure is an idea."
"Mmm, thank you," Madison readied the radio and cleared her throat. "All tanks, we're gonna do a bullet storm on Sidewinder. Form a semi-circle in front of them."
She switched off the radio and rocked happily back and forth in her seat.
"Oooh, I feel all official! Totally feel like a commander!"
"Don't let it all go to your head now," Heather. "It's just for today."
"Right, right. But damn will I enjoy this day."
As the team formed up, Madison hopped out of the T-44 and headed for the Type 97. She climbed upon the machine and knocked on the commander's hatch. It opened and out popped Aubrey.
"Hi, uh, watcha doing?" she asked.
"I'm gonna be with you guys during the bullet storm."
"Okay...why?"
"Ummm,ah...as a showing of, uh, solidarity."
"Alrighty," Aubrey said as she look down into the tank. "It's gonna be a real tight squeeze with you in here.
"We'll make it work."
Aubrey ducked down, with then Madison getting in. The fighting compartment of the Type 97 was incredibly cramped, with Madison pressed against the inner wall. Aubrey passed her the radio.
"Okay," Madison said. "Take aim and light us up!"
Once the last word left her lips, gun fire immediately erupted. A wall of hot lead descended on the Type 97, every bit of its hull and turret received a hit with bullets shattering upon impact or ricocheting in wild directions. From the outside, the tank was showered from sparks from all the bullets. For the people within, the volume of incoming fire was so thick that the individual bullet impacts were not hear, but rather it was a sustained sound. Like the roaring waves of the most fiercest sea. The cacophony of it all had a clear effect on the Type 97 crew, who were all wincing and had faces of great annoyance. But it was Madison who reacted more strongly. She was staring dead ahead, unblinking, her heart rate quickening, and her breathing short and fast. Her fingers twitched back and forth.
Though the Type 97 crew ere the nearest crew on the team, they have been shot at before so they were already on their way to getting used to the sensation. For Madison, it was a different story. She has never been shot at before. She never experienced this many loud noises in a quick succession all concentrated in one area. All this noise in such a tight space, her breathing grew faster. She hated this. Truly hated being shot at. Her hand trembling, she brought the radio close.
"Cea...Cease...cease fire, cease fire!"
The bullet storm halted and some semblance of calm was ushered in. Madison relaxed herself the best she could.
"Huh, you being here actually did something," Aubrey remarked. "I think we all would've freaked out if you weren't." she then noticed Madison's paleness. "Valarie? You okay?"
Madison breathed.
"I'm...super," she said. "We're all cramped in here. Packed like sardines."
"Yeah, it's not really comfortable. At all. Still, thanks for being here. We really appreciate it."
"Anytime. Now, I'm gonna head on out now and get as much fresh air as I can."
Madison scrambled out of the Type 97 and quickly returned to the T-44. There, the crew noticed she looked shaken and on edge.
"You're not okay, are you?" Ashley asked.
Madison let out a laugh that was tainted with anxiety.
"I learned something about myself today. Being shot at fucking sucks. It grates against my bones and is the purest form of torture for my soul."
"Ehh, I'm neutral to it."
"Same." added Emma.
"I actually feel the same way but only for artillery," Heather shared. "Everything else is fine."
"What's next on the agenda?" Emma then asked.
"Ah, let's see," Madison said as she checked. Her breathing was still partially agitated. "Mmm, off-road driving."
The T-44 suddenly lurched forward and drove into the forest.
"Gotcha!" Heather exclaimed. "We're rolling out!
Her mouth was on fire, lit ablaze. As if she just taken a bite of fresh magma spewing out from an violent volcano. It was painful but at the same time delicious. This was the nature of pizza rolls and Valarie happily ate them as she enjoyed her movie. She was still in the bath rob and by now her hair has dried sufficiently enough but she had no intention in getting dressed as there were no pressing need to. Practice won't be over for several more hours so the door for her apartment shouldn't be touched by anyone, leaving her alone to enjoy her day off.
It shouldn't be, anyway.
As she blew on a pizza roll to cool it down, the sound of rapid knocking grabbed her attention. She looked toward the door with some confusion. It can't be any of the team for they were at Inspiration Park. The knocks came again, this time much faster. With a sigh, Valarie stood up from the couch and went to the door. When it was opened, there was Alice, who looked out of breath as if she ran here.
"We got a problem." Alice informed
"What's wrong...and what do you mean 'we'?" Valarie asked.
"Something has come up that necessitated an emergency student council meeting. But, per the rules, without the student council president it can't proceed. Any decisions made will be deemed invalid by administration if Madison is not in attendance."
"You guys take this student council thing so seriously. The one back in Mojave Rose isn't this serious. It's super laid back."
"We take it seriously, Valarie. You should've seen Madison when she campaigned for student council president in her freshman year. God, she was relentless and indefatigable. When the results came in and she won, she cheered like she won the god damn presidency of the United States."
"Man I'd pay to see that. Wait, aren't like you the vice-president? Isn't that role for situations like these?"
"Oh, I just break ties. Other than that, I'm just a regular member of the student council."
"Huh. Okay. So, what's my part in this?"
"Well, Madison is needed to make the meeting proceed...and you sure do look an awfully lot like her."
Valarie saw where this was going.
"Oh, I see. You want me to act like Madison for this meeting to get rolling? Wow, what are the odds."
"I know what you mean. I'm aware of the whole plan of Madison taking your place for your practice for she told me about it. I guess you didn't expect to return to favor so soon, huh?"
"Yeah," Valarie said with a sigh. "So, what makes this student council meeting an emergency?"
"Viola wants an art exhibition."
"Is...is that all?"
"She wants it to happen Wednesday."
"That sounds way too soon."
"It is! This school has always had art exhibitions before, hell one was planned for later this month, she just wants it way sooner and different. If anyone else suggested this, I'd laugh in their face. But since Viola is the one asking, it's, well, you know, different."
"I see. Alright. What kind of exhibition does she want?"
"That's another problem. She hasn't specified. In fact, she told us to surprise her. If you didn't know, art is pretty god damn broad!"
Valarie noticed the increasing agitation in Alice's voice and placed her hands on her shoulders to give them sympathetic rubs.
"Calm down, Alice," she comforted. "I'll help you out here. I'll be Madison and go to this meeting. By the end of it, we'll have that art exhibition planned and ready for execution."
Alice took a huge breath.
"I needed to hear that, thanks," she walked in Valarie's apartment. "You need to get dressed in your school uniform."
"Gotcha."
Alice waited in the living room as Valarie went to her bedroom. A few minutes later, she reemerged now no longer in her heavenly bath robe but in her school uniform. Alice got real close to her and started to adjust Valarie's hair.
"Um." Valarie remarked.
"Need to get your hair just like Madison's. Woah...you got some gray hair?"
"Don't talk about it." Valarie said sternly.
"Okay, okay," Alice replied. She worked on Valarie's hair for a few more moments and stood back. She nodded. "Done. With me with you, it'll be that more convincing."
"Got it. So, when is the meeting?"
"Now. They're waiting for us."
The pair made their quick departure. Their walk to campus was brisk, with Valarie having to play catch-up as Alice was anxious to get back to the meeting as fast as possible. In one of the buildings on school grounds, they climbed the stairs to the top floor and when they were right before the door, Alice turned to face Valarie.
"Everyone is a bit stressed about all this, just to let you know," she informed her. "So they'll be on edge."
"Believe me. I know all about stress." Valarie told her.
The door was opened and the two walked in. Inside were all the members of the student council. The secretary, treasurer, historian, reporter, with the remainder being regular council members. Including Valarie and Alice, they numbered ten people in all.
"About time you showed up," remarked Sylvia, the treasurer. "Where was she?"
"In her dorm taking a nap," Alice answered on Valarie's behalf. "Gonna blame a girl for sleeping in on a weekend?"
"Let's just get a move on," said Effie, the secretary. "We need to get all this organized fast"
Valarie was subtly gestured by Alice to a chair that was at one end of a long table where everyone sat at. From where she was, the rest of the student council was before her, five on each side.
"Okay, you all know what's up," Alice began. "Viola, the German princess we've work hard on getting to attend here, wants an art exhibition on Wednesday. That means we have three days to get everything prepped."
Though people were in the know, they still groaned. It was so sudden.
"The first thing we need to figure out is the venue," Effie said. "Just where will it take place? We have general purpose auditorium that would've been a good choice but that is currently being occupied by a bunch of theater kids," she looked at Alice. "For the whole week."
Alice shrugged.
"We got a musical coming up and we got a lotta actors involved. Not everyone can rehearse on our usual stage so some go to the other auditorium to practice.
"Well, can you guys just not have a rehearsal for one evening?"
Alice leaned toward Effie.
"No. We need every minute to get ready. Besides, the theater director reserved the auditorium so we have all rights to use it."
"Damn theater kids..."
"What else then?" Sylvia spoke. "Where else can we host this exhibition?"
"Ugh! No Where!" exclaimed one of the council members. "Every place in this school that is big enough to host one is being used!"
"What about outside the school then?" Alice suggested.
"Ah, maybe. But that'll cost money as we'll need to rent it." Sylvia.
The council members feverishly talked among themselves as people threw out the first idea in their minds to find a solution. All the while, Valarie remained quiet. She leaned back in her chair with a finger on her cheek, thinking. She then rose her hand and one by one, the council members fell silent.
"I'll just toss an idea out there," Valarie said to them. "Why not use the art museum as the place to host the art exhibition?"
"They are already exhibits on display there." Effie informed.
"Then remove them."
"What? Remove them?"
"Those exhibits are already on a rotation, aren't they?"
"Well, yes."
"Then there shouldn't be any trouble to remove them and place them in temporary storage."
The members thought over the idea.
"There is a lot of things on display there," Sylvia said. "Clearing it out would take some time."
"With all of us and a couple more volunteers, we can clear that place quick. It can be done tomorrow."
Sylvia thought then slowly nodded.
"With a big enough team it can be done. Now, what will be on display?"
"Oh!" exclaimed one of the members. "How about we make it like a movie festival? Show off student-made films."
"The art museum is not the best place to play movies," Effie said. "Also, it's too early in the semester. No students films are ready to be played."
"Oh..."
"What about, ah origami?" a member proposed. "I've seen some people make some crazy stuff."
"Maybe," Alice said, her mind racing with thought. "We'll need a lot of origami exhibits to fill the museum up."
"We need to be more broad here," Effie told them all. "If we focus on only kind of art discipline, we'll be restricting our options and really struggle to fill the museum."
Again, all the members talked among each other as they discussed, nearly argued, over what to display in the museum. And like before, Valarie remained silent through all of this. Her only reason in being here was to adhere to the rules so that the meeting could properly proceed. What more, Madison was known among the student council to be more associated with theater and since you can't put a play on display, no one really pressed her for ideas. But she was thinking, wanting to help in anyway she can. Valarie cycled through possibilities in her mind and one thing kept coming up coming up repeatedly. A theme. Passion. An emotion that she has full of for a particular sport. She stood up, an act that grabbed the attention of everyone.
"Here's what we're gonna do," Valarie said, her voice filled with determination. "We'll establish a theme; passion. The only exhibits allowed are those made by students in their free time."
"In their free time?" Effie asked puzzled. "That's an odd requirement. Wouldn't it be best for students to submit work they've done for class?"
"Let me tell you something. When someone has passion for something, they do what they love every moment they are awake. They don't do it just to fill out an elective or just to get a grade, they do it because what they're passionate for resonates in their very soul and gives them a fulfillment nothing else can satisfy. They do their passion in all hours of the day, always on their mind, always a need to improve and perfect. They can never picture themselves without this passion, this fire within them that makes them who they are. This is what we'll show in the museum, what this art exhibition will be about. Labors of love."
The entirety of the student council all looked in her in silence for several long moments, each member processing what was just said. Alice then stood up from her chair and a huge smile appeared on her face.
"Perfect," she remarked with awe. "I'm with Madison!"
Sylvia and Effie joined them.
"I'm all fired up!" Sylvia exclaimed. "I'm on board!"
"Let's freaking do this!" Effie said in a near shout.
The rest of the student council gave their unanimous approval, getting a huge smile out of Valarie. She paced around the room with her hands behind her back.
"We're on a time crunch so a lot of things will need to happen at the same time to pull it off," she told them. "As already said, we'll need to clear the museum of its current displays to make room for the exhibition. Next, we'll need to get the word out far and wide. Flyers will be printed and posted on every wall, door, and locker so that every student knows what is going on. A committee will be formed to choose what submitted art gets to be on display."
Sylvia wrote it all down.
"Got it. We're gonna do this. An art exhibition from idea to reality in mere days." she said all excited.
"Damn right we are. It'll be an event to remember."
It was now the afternoon and the team was having a break. The T-44 crew were out of their tank and laid against a nearby tree. Out of all of them, Madison looked the most tired. Practice have begun to take a toll on her with all the shooting, driving, and all sorts of other activities per the agenda Valarie had created. It was a lot to take in, especially for someone who has never actively participated in tankery practice before. And, since Madison was to act as not only the T-44's commander, but the overall team captain, it was a baptism of fire as she had to juggle a whole host of responsibilities that dwarfed her own as student council president, which in itself was pretty weighty.
Madison was eating a sandwich that Heather has packed for them all. As she ate, she thought about the day thus far. It's been tough for her, undoubtedly. But at the same time she was enjoying herself. She looked toward the sky and saw the sun high and bright. The team have been at Inspiration Park for several hours now and there was still more hours to go before practice would come to a close. She could feel a drowsiness coming on and with the rest of the day ahead of her, stood up and had a walk around to fight her weariness.
The nearest tank to them was the VK, with Marielle and two of her crew on top of the engine deck doing some kind of work. Once Madison drew near enough, a member of the crew on the ground, the loader Selena, went up to her.
"Hey Valarie, you mind helping us out?" Selena asked with her hands brought together. "We got some engine problems."
"Uh, sure."
Madison approached the rear of the VK and joined Marielle and the others on the engine deck. The hatch that allowed access to the engine itself was open and all of them were peering in as it idled. It sounded sickly.
"Sooo, ah, what's the problem you guys have?" Madison asked, doing her best to sound confident.
"When we were driving earlier, we all could feel that the VK's performance was lacking. Like it had some of its horsepower removed or something. Our Baby Panther is acting fussy again."
Madison laughed.
"Fussy, huh? Have you tried patting him on his back so he could burp?"
"Ha...wait. Hold that thought."
Marielle leapt off the tank and looked at the engine's exhaust at its rear. She saw that there was only the most scantest of fumes billowing out.
"Cassie, get in your seat and give this thing max revs!"
Cassie quickly got in the VK's driver's position and slammed on the throttle. A mass of thick black fumes were jettisoned out of the exhaust, with the engine now roaring with health.
"Yes!" Marielle cheered. "A burp was just what we needed! Thanks a bunch Valarie!"
"Uhhh, yeah, don't mention it!"
Madison walked off and hid the bewildered look on her face.
"I'm really gonna bullshit my way through this." she thought to herself, all pleased.
She then found herself near the ACIV, where Robin waved her down. When the two were close, Robin grabbed a sabot round from off the ground and held it in a way that Madison could see it all.
"Mind explaining something to me?" Robin asked.
"...Yeah. Of course."
"When we fire our sabot, we can't see a tracer, making my job of observing the fall of shot rather difficult. Did this ammo ever had tracers on them?"
This was what Madison feared. A technical question. If Valarie was here, she would have spoken at length with Robin on the subject. But alas, she wasn't. Madison grabbed the sabot shell and pretended to examine it closely. She hummed curiously to better sell her performance. All of this was to give her enough time to create some kind of explanation that Robin would find believable.
"Well obviously," Madison then said as she handed back the round. "Sabot is just built differently. A tracer was not a part of its design."
"But that's stupid though. A tracer makes everything easier and it can't be too, like, hard to attach it to the ammo."
"It is stupid. Though, I'm afraid you're just gonna get used to it."
Robin let out a sigh.
"Yeah. Guess I do. Still, not gonna complain about 256mm of penetration at 500 meters."
"Nope not at all."
Madison continued her walk around the area and felt sufficiently alert now, so she made her way back to the T-44. Along the way, she passed by the Jumbo and caught a glance at Harper, who was popped out of the loader's hatch. Madison smiled to herself as she looked at the girl, her heart fluttering. Harper caught sight of her and tracked Madison as she walked, her head tilted to the side as it was filled with curiosity. Within a short minute, Madison returned to the T-44 crew who were still lounging by the tree, their lunch now done.
"Fun walk?" Emma inquired.
"It sure was something," Madison replied. "Talked to more of the team and did some captain-like things. We're gonna pull of this masquerade."
The sound of approaching footsteps got all of their attention. From behind the T-44, Harper appeared as she had followed Madison. She walked up real close to her, her eyes narrow as she scrutinized the girl before her. Harper paid special attention to Madison's face and was mere inches away.
"What is she doing?" Emma wondered.
"She's suspicious," Heather determined. "You spoke too soon, Madison."
"What tipped her off?" Ashley questioned.
Knowing that Harper could read lips, Madison remained silent. Harper then took a few steps back, her face still curious, and made motions with her hands. Everyone there knew that she was signing, but what exactly Harper was saying they had no clue. With the exception of one.
"Madison?" Harper signed.
To maintain the facade, Madison had to pretend she knew nothing of sign language. She made a 'x' symbol with her arms as she shook her head. Harper stopped signing and looked confused. For a brief moment, she thought that perhaps the girl before her was Valarie and that she was mistaken. But then, she took another look on Madison's face and was once again unsure. As she stood there, a solution came to her mind. She knew what exactly she had to do to find out for her. Harper made a brief glance toward Emma and smiled, where then, she pulled Madison in close and gave her a kiss. Once they parted lips, Harper remained close to Madison as she looked toward the T-44 crew to gauge their reaction.
The stunt shocked them. Heather, Ashley, and Emma all had their mouths agape as they tried to process what they just witnessed. For Emma, she faced a struggle. She didn't know if she should fake some furious outburst in order to keep with the masquerade or something else entirely. But in the end, she did nothing. The masquerade was broken.
The kiss left Madison in a daze, as if her mind refused to accept that what has happened did indeed occur. When the soft touch of Harper's hands graced her cheeks, she returned to reality. Their eyes matched.
"How did you know?" Madison signed, giving up all pretense she was Valarie.
"By the way you walk. There is a prep to it that when Valarie walks, isn't there."
Madison was surprised to learn that Harper could notice such a detail about her, a detail that she herself has never considered before.
"Impressive," Madison told her. "That kiss. Were you genuine?"
Harper answered by giving her another kiss. When the kiss broke, the two girls hugged and soon reclined by the tree with the rest of the T-44 crew.
"Okay. That just happened." Ashley remarked, still fairly stunned.
"Um. Yeah. She called our bluff." Heather added.
"She looked at me right before she kissed her," Emma said. "I...I don't know how I feel about that."
"Well I sure know what I'm feeling." Madison said with a huge smile.
"I guess today isn't a total success then," Ashley said. "You didn't fool everyone."
"Oh I disagree," Madison remarked. "Today was a smashing success."
Later
It was the late afternoon and practice had finally come to end. The team were dismissed and all moved quick to put away their tanks to get home as soon as possible. Emma and Madison were together as they headed to Valarie's apartment. As the pair entered, they saw Valarie in her school uniform, on the couch and watching a movie.
"Why are you all dressed up?" Madison asked. "This was supposed to be your day off."
"It's a whole thing. Alice will fill you in." Valarie replied.
"Ugh. Okay. I'm too tired to think about this right now."
Emma and Madison sat on the couch with Valarie.
"How was practice?" Valarie wondered.
"Oh, it was great," Emma said. "Madison nearly had everyone fooled."
"Nearly?"
"One person saw right through it," Madison said with a grin. "On a related note, I'm now dating a member of the team."
"Oh my," Valarie said with a blush. "That's great!"
"Thank you. So, how was your day?"
"Good. Calm. It's what I needed," Valarie said. She then saw her playbook in Madison's hands. She pointed at it. "I do want that back now."
"Of course. Hey, the next match details in there."
Valarie let out a gasp as she opened her playbook to find the folder that contained the match details. She sought after and found the map of the battlefield and already began to study it.
"Now this is a new area of engagement." Valarie remarked.
Emma leaned over to look at the map and noticed how white it was.
"Is that snow?"
"No, it's a salt flat. A huge one."
"Where is it?"
Valarie looked around and saw words inscribed on the top of the map.
"Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia." she read aloud.
"Oh, Bolivia!" Madison exclaimed. "Beautiful place!"
"Who are we going against? That's the main question."
Valarie went through more papers and found the info in question. Her eyes squinted.
"Good lord, how the hell do I pronounce this?"
.
.
.
236 miles away
Atlantic Ocean
The school carrier of Dunant Vorbereitungsuniversität Zürich
On board a sleek and modern school carrier, a pair of girls were taking a stroll in a large garage nestled in an area of the ship that contained an artificial wilderness. Both of these girls were in their uniforms; solid blue in color with a brown belt, black boots that reached just below their knees, flat white collars, and black berets worn proudly on their heads. The girls stopped before a vehicle and admired it.
"Can you believe it, Emilia?" one of the girls asked. "That even after all this time, looking at this vehicle still brings a smile to my face."
"I can believe it, Lya," Emila responded. "I feel that awe too."
"It's amazing, isn't it? That even with our modifications to the thing it's tankery legal."
"Well, considering it's was once an open-topped vehicle, in order to make it safe, certain exceptions were granted that aren't completely historical. But, necessary."
Lya climbed upon the vehicle in question and sat upon the gun, which was an 88mm. She had a happy look on her face.
"Remind me, how many of our Nashorns are we fielding for our upcoming match?" Lya asked.
"Three." Emila answered.
"And, there are others if I do recall correctly."
"You sure are forgetful as the team's captain."
"Oh, I'm just playing around."
"Right. Just in case you did forget and just lied to save face, I'll just say what they are. Two 105mm guns on self-propelled—"
"Ah, ah, ah," Lya interrupted. "Use the simpler name."
Emilia sighed.
"..Two...Dicker Max heavy tank destroyers. And one Sturer Emil."
"Wonderful!"
The Nashorn, Dicker Max, and Sturer Emil Dunant's tankery team possessed are all tank destroyers that were open topped, but to make them legal for tankery matches, they were modified to be closed top. A sheet of steel was welded over their openings to ensure the safety of the crew. For the commander's benefit, the cupola of a StuG III was welded on these steel sheets. These modifications made the crews safe, but it came at the expense of their fighting ability. The sheets made the fighting compartments cramped. Its effect was most prevalent on the reload rate, with Dunant's Sturer Emil at best only managing two rounds a minute. What more, these sheets restricted the gun depression severely as the cannon breeches would collide with the ceiling, halting further movement. Still, such changes and the costs they inflict still make them worth it as it means that Dunant had more heavy duty guns to bring to action. Emilia and Lya walked around the team's garage for a few more minutes, gazing at the team's tanks, which were entirely composed of German armor. Before they left for the day, Lya stood to look at another trio of open-topped vehicles. They too would be taking part in the upcoming match and they too were in similar configurations to the tank destroyers.
"Oh, how lovely you are my fierce bumblebees."
