Pomorie and the others decided to call for a meeting with the new tanks when they woke up. The students had gathered around as they wanted to hear what she had to say. The nine new tanks were lined up as Pomorie began to speak.
"Students of Yogurt academy, Ami, graciously gave us a gift yesterday, nine new tanks that Maho helped pay for. Schools like us are refitting out our teams with these new tanks as we think it will be able to stem Pravda's advance. With Pravda on hold however, we should get ourselves familiarized with the tanks and this has called for more students to join us as we need the student count required to fit the requirements." Pomorie told the schools as she wanted them to begin the overhaul of their sensha-do team. "So what should we name our tanks?" Srebarna raised her hand as her foot was in a cast and she was on crutches as a result. Pomorie decided to silence her.
"I'm sorry but no cat related names as these tanks are bigger than kittens."
"Luki for the Panther." Beli responded as she was excited. Pomorie didn't seem too concerned as she ignored her.
"Rottweiler for the Jagdpanzer 4." Malko called out as Pomorie jotted its name down.
"Bullmastiff for the Panther." Kamchia responded with the appropriate name for the tank. Beli looked at Kamchia with disapproval.
"Border Collie for the Hetzer." Shiroka called out as she wanted that name down.
"Bull Terrier and Shiba Inu for the StuG's" Popovo gave her voice out.
"Golden and Labrador Retrievers and Brittany pointer for the Panzer 38T's." Ticha gave her input.
"Akita for the Panzer 4 F model." Varna told Pomorie as she finished jotting down the list.
"Okay we named all of our tanks, is that correct?" Pomorie asked as she knew that every tank had its name. The students nodded as this was indeed correct. "Okay I will begin assigning everyone to their tanks and which tanks will be replacing which." Pomorie told them as Popovo turned to her painters.
"What are you waiting for, get painting." Popovo told her painters as they rushed back to the tanks with their bucket loads of paint to begin painting the symbols on their tanks. Pomorie nodded as she began thinking of what tanks to replace with these new tanks and who should be assigned to them.
"Okay we're going to be replacing a few tanks with our new lineup of tanks as we feel like they can't keep up with how fast Kuromorimine is pumping out tanks and our lineup is getting a bit long in the tooth." Pomorie began thinking of which tanks would be no longer deemed useful for the upcoming matches. "Okay the tanks that will no longer be a part of our team are going to be Abbysinian, Bengal, Persian, Burmese, Siamese, Himilayan, Tonkinese, Maine Coon and Boston Terrier are all being withdrawn and replaced with these new tanks as having tankettes will serve more as a hindrance when it comes to getting anything done. With these new tanks, we should stand a better chance against Pravda as we feel like we are struggling against Pravda.
"Yes." A mix of girls called out. The rest seemed divided on who to side with. Mandra, Beli, Shiroka and Ticha didn't know who's side to be on. Pomorie nodded as that was now out of the way, time to choose who is going to be commanding who's tank. "Okay Beli, you're in the Panther, Popovo, Kamchia, Koprinka, you're in the Panzer 38T's, Shiroka, you're commanding the Hetzer, Malko, Mandra, the StuG 3's, Ticha you're commanding the Panzer 4 F2." Pomorie knew that was all the changes she needed to make as of today. "Get to familiarize yourselves with the tanks as we need to prepare for tomorrow." Pomorie knew this meeting was over as she got down from her pedestal. Rila and Varna liked the idea but they weren't going to be in a tank of their own.
"Hey Pomorie, are we going to get any tanks?" Rila asked as she wondered if Pomorie was going to assign them tanks to command from. Pomorie turned around as she began to speak.
"Afraid not, because…" Pomorie paused as she tried to think of a few words to think about why Rila and Varna weren't getting their own tanks to command from. "Because you two are my friends, I don't want to be training a new crew in a tank compared to yours." Pomorie responded as she wanted to tell them.
"Wait you're saying we're not getting our own tanks because you still want to be with us?" Varna asked as she wanted to see if this was true.
"Yes I do actually you and Rila were the first people I met when I came here when the year began." Pomorie responded as she wanted to tell them that. Varna looked at Pomorie as she seemed to be a little puzzled.
"Friends, you're meaning that you're not willing to break us up and have our own tank and instead have us continue working together?" Varna asked if this was true about her wanting to keep them together so they could work as a team.
"Yep, true to the ends of the earth." Pomorie responded. Rila walked over as she hugged Pomorie.
"Yeah, that's what a true friend will tell us." Rila told Pomorie as Varna joined in, squeezing the both of them.
"Let's keep training our team until the year is over." Varna called out as she liked the idea. Pomorie's phone began to ring unexpectedly as Varna and Rila let go of Pomorie so she could answer the phone.
"Hello?" Pomorie asked to see who it was.
"Yes Pomorie, I got a call from Istria, she needs you again." Maho began the conversation. Pomorie was confused.
"What now?" Pomorie asked as she seemed frustrated at what Istria needed from her.
"Yeah, the situation is complicated this time around, Barbera got into a fight with the Partisans and they managed to win and she sent the pictures back to us, everyone was scared, even Erika was horrified as these students had been beaten to a pulp." Maho told Pomorie as she wanted to find out what the resolution to the situation was.
"What's the idea for the school going forward, if I might ask?" Pomorie asked as she wanted to figure out what they had compromised on.
"Another Sensha-Do match, don't worry though, they're coming to your school." Maho told Pomorie about it. Instead of going to the enemy, the enemy would be coming to them.
"When will it take place?" Pomorie asked as she wanted the details behind it.
"Today at two." Maho responded. Pomorie nodded as she hung up. Rila and Varna looked at Pomorie as they were nervous and trying to figure out what was wrong with her.
"Is there something wrong?" Rila asked as she wanted to see what Pomorie was going through.
"The Partisans are coming, here at two." Pomorie told the others. She turned around and bolted off without a second glance as she wanted to get the team ready. But that was really just an excuse. Rila and Varna were going to rally the team together about the news while Pomorie opened the phone and began calling Istria frantically to figure out what was happening. Pomorie was breathing heavily as she wanted to find out what exactly was happening. A moment later, the phone picked up as Istria was on.
"Hello?" Istria called out to Pomorie.
"Istria, is it true that the next Partisan match will be on our ship?" Pomorie asked as she wanted to confirm this was true.
"Yes it is. Due to the fight that the students had, much of the team except for me and Dalmatia so that's why we're coming over, the rest of the gang or what remains of it is in detention and we're heading on over as neither one of us participated." Istria responded about what was happening.
"Oh my god what happened?" Pomorie asked as she was relieved that Istria and Dalmatia were okay but she wanted to know about this fight.
"Barbera decided to get physical with the Partisan leader as she wanted Lasina back in our fold but Lasina refused meaning that surprise, a fight broke out and everyone ended up with bloody noses and bruised bodies, we could've used Olivia Kaya but she was busy somewhere else with Maho at the time." Istria told Pomorie about what happened.
"I saw... I saw her at the party yet I didn't see you and Dalmatia there either." Pomorie told Istria.
"I know, I know. I wanted to tell you this as soon as I got into contact but… We lost connection as everyone was punished." Istria responded as she wanted to make it up to her.
"How many tanks are you bringing over?" Pomorie asked as she wanted to get that out of the way.
"Just one, the Matilda 2. The Partisans are bringing all of their tanks over so I hope your team is in top shape." Istria responded.
"Well we just received the new tanks from Ami as they are untested, this will be perfect but I feel nervous about the results." Pomorie told Istria.
"Nice but you definitely have your doubts, stay together but make an injection of the team to let us in. Make it all dogs." Istria told Pomorie about the request.
"Okay." Pomorie gulped as she knew she needed to keep that promise.
"See you in a few." Istria told her as she hung up. Pomorie did the same as Pomorie began walking back to the meeting area.
"Team, can I have your attention for a few?" Pomorie asked. Everyone lifted their heads up as they looked at Pomorie with their full attention. "I got a call from Istira as she is coming over with Dalmatia and she's bringing her Matilda 2 with her. However there is a catch, the Partisan team is coming over as we're going to have a match with them. To interject the Matilda 2 and make room for them we're cutting Calico team from the team for this match to follow the rules." Srebarna groaned from anger that Pomorie was going to make her sit on the sidelines for this match. She began hobbling away from the meeting on her crutches. "Okay so we're good?"
"We're good." A mix of students cheered as the same students seemed mixed, as they didn't know who to side with.
"Okay let's get ready for them." Pomorie told her team as she walked off to get the team ready for their foe's arrival.
The arrival of the students would come moments later as the familiar creaking of the Matilda 2 was rolling its way along the pavement. Pomorie knew that their help had arrived but their resources were stripped. Dalmatia and Istria were the only ones that showed up for this match. Dalmatia's arm was in a newer bandage as it wasn't written on and Istria was taking puffs from the inhaler.
"What exactly happened?" Pomorie asked why it was just them that showed up.
"Well you see, Barbera was the one who started a conflict with the Partisans as she was desperate to get Lasina back into the group but Miss Rosehip who was visiting us decided to run off with her. This provoked a chase which ended up in all groups beating the crap out of each other. Fortunately, me and Dalmatia were somewhere else as we went to get some fresh air and boy this weather… is… killing me." Istria explained but she began coughing and wheezing at the end of the sentence as she took another puff of the inhaler.
"Sorry Istria's asthma is acting up with all of the trees blooming." Dalmatia apologized on what exactly was happening. Pomorie nodded.
"No sweating it Dalmatia." Pomorie gave her thanks before she looked down to Dalmatia's left arm. "Is that a new bandage I see?" Pomorie asked as she wanted to figure out if that was the case.
"Yeah I just received it during the weekend, another few weeks of this and my arm will be fully healed." Dalmatia told Pomorie about this as she wanted to tell her that. She flexed her arm as she wasn't in pain.
"That's great to hear." Pomorie seemed excited. Istria had calmed down as she looked at Dalmatia as she had some words for her.
"Let's get into our tank and get ready for the Partisans." Istria told Dalmatia. Dalmatia knew she needed to wrap things up as she turned to Pomorie.
"I need to go but it was nice seeing you." Dalmatia told Pomorie before she turned and walked off with Istria.
"Well I guess we better prepare ourselves. Most of our tanks are new and untested so I don't know how they will fair up against the Partisans." Varna gave Pomorie the words to get ready. Pomorie nodded as she turned and walked away from the garage to their tank.
The fifteen or so tanks were all in the forest that was used for their first training match back when the year had started. Pomorie was glad to be on home ground thinking she would use it as an advantage. The radio crackled as Kamchia was the first to speak.
"This is Labrador Retriever team speaking." Kamchia began as she wanted to figure out everyone's status.
"Labrador Retriever team, this is Pug team we heard you over." Pomorie told Kamchia about her status. Kamchia nodded as she began laying out the instructions for her.
"Okay Pug team your the flag tank for this match as your job is to stay alive and let the other tanks of your team do the work." Kamchia gave the details on what to exactly do.
"What are we going to do, we're so used to being the leader." Pomorie asked as she wanted to at least lead her team to victory instead of sitting around.
"I know but you're still a glass cannon meaning that you will still be taken out if the enemy gets one well placed shot." Kamchia explained to Pomorie that if she was going to take the lead, she had to be careful or face elimination and a loss for their school. The Panther tank pulled up as its commander cheerfully called from the radio.
"Don't forget about Luki." Beli responded as she wanted to give her input. Kamchia seemed a little annoyed by Beli interrupting.
"Bullmastiff team, what are you doing, you know it's best not to talk over the radio." Kamchia told Beli to not be rude.
"Oops, sorry." Beli responded blushing a bit. Once that bit of fiasco was out of the way, Kamchia began giving out orders.
"Okay Labrador Retriever team is going to split off and find Rottweiler team and Brittany Pointer team. Bullmastiff team, your job is to escort Pug team to the four corners road and meet up with Collie team. Pomorie, I want you to relay the information to them that we're looking for their flag tank okay." Kamchia laid out her instructions on who to find and give orders to.
"What tank is Collie team again?" Pomorie asked as she wanted to know what she was looking for.
"The Matilda 2 is what you're looking for, now move you two." Kamchia told them to not make haste. Pomorie heard the Panzer 38T drive off as Pomorie began to relay the information to Beli.
"Okay Beli, we're looking for Istria and Dalmatia's tank. Now guard us and make sure we're not caught out in the open." Pomorie told Beli to keep their guard. Beli nodded as she responded with the words:
"You can count on me." Beli responded quite cheerfully. The two tanks began to roll forward as they were sent to complete their said objectives that were sent to them.
"Okay now don't get too excited, we're just looking for said tank." Pomorie told Beli to not get fired up which can result in a mistake that will determine the outcome of the match.
Kamchia meanwhile had found Mandra and Shiroka as they were determined to make plans of their own.
"Okay we should be here?" Kamchia asked as they were checking up on each other.
"Border Collie team is waiting for action." Shiroka called out as she gave her status.
"Bull Terrier team is waiting for orders." Mandra responded to give her status.
"Okay we got news from Ticha that she spotted the entire group of tanks as we should be close to them." Kamchia began. The other teams were scratching their heads as they wondered, did Ticha spot the enemy team that fast?
"Where?" Mandra asked as she wanted to confirm about this.
"Somewhere near the center, they're waiting for the flag tank to come along so here's the plan, we bait away much of their team so that Pomorie who's escorting the Panther will arrive to catch them by surprise." Kamchia told the others about the plan she was laying out for the match.
"Sounds good to me." Mandra came to the conclusion. Shiroka just nodded as both tanks went off to set up ambushes. Kamchia went off on her own as she began to give out orders to the other tanks in the area.
"Okay we got Shiroka and Mandra doing their own thing, Ticha, Popovo, Koprinka and Malko, I want you four to attack them from behind to lure them after me. Pomorie's job is to take out the flag tank."
"You can count us in." Malko nodded with a smile. Ticha nodded as she was observing the crowd with a set of binoculars.
"Yep that's them, we're ready to single them out." Ticha responded. Kamchia nodded as this was perfect.
"Good." She responded. The Panzer 38T rolled forth as it went to try to provoke the enemy tanks which had much the same layout as the last Partisan match. Kamchia found an R35 and fired at its weak armor, taking that tank out immediately. The other students spotted the Panzer 38T as Lasina gave the orders from her Crusader.
"After them, leave the M3 Lee in the brush as we think it's going to be safe." Lasina knew that the flag tank wouldn't be touched and they were going to go after the Panzer 38T and try taking it out swiftly, regroup and find their flag tank. The Crusader sped on ahead first as all the other tanks remaining in the match followed, the M3 Lee was going to stay behind but even that tank wasn't going to be completely immune to any incoming fire. Ticha spotted the opportunity as she didn't want to take out the flag tank as much as chase after the rest of the group and trap them.
"That's our signal, let's go." Ticha responded as the other tanks in the group followed, the rest were going to be centered around a certain path that the enemy was going to go down so they could eliminate them.
Kamchia's tank was racing far ahead as the other tanks were speeding to catch up. Kamchia knew she needed to get the others together about this as a flurry of incoming fire was chasing her.
"Pug team where are you?" Kamchia asked as she wanted to see where her team's flag tank was and if they had completed their objectives.
"We're… somewhere, we're looking for the Matilda 2 in the four corners coming up." Pomorie responded as she wanted to give where her school was.
"Okay at least you and Beli are following my instructions." Kamchia sighed with relief as the two tanks were getting sent over to where she assigned them to. Pomorie was looking around when she spotted a familiar tank on the horizon.
"We found Collie team, what next?" Pomorie asked as she managed to find them. Kamchia knew she needed a moment to think about what their next move was.
"Okay I've got the majority of their team away from the flag tank and after me so your job is to locate the flag tank and take it out." Kamchia responded as the tanks were still on her tail.
"Okay got ya Labrador." Pomorie gave her words as that was what they were going to do next, the dogs were going to descend on the toys and bite into the squeaky part.
Kamchia was still luring thirteen tanks behind her as Ticha's group were firing upon them from the rear. Two tanks of theirs were taken out as half of the group turned to engage Ticha. The Panzer 38T continued to weave and dodge its way through the flurry of fire as it wanted to escape the incoming fire. Once Kamchia had lured the remaining tanks as far from the field as she could, the rest of Yogurt's tanks descended on the Partisan team, firing away. More of their tanks went down as Lasina was desperately trying to dodge the incoming fire.
"We've lost eight tanks so far, we need to head back for the flag tank!" Lasina called out for the others as this situation was hopeless. The other crews of the remaining tanks agreed as they began to turn and drive away. It was already too late for Lasina and the group, Ticha had her pinned where she needed her to be.
"Going somewhere?" Ticha asked as she looked out ahead to the retreating tanks as they were heading straight for her and her group. Ticha gave the signal to fire, all tanks responded as their cannons opened up to lay waste to Lasina and her group that was trying to flee from the situation.
The Crusader tank was smashed from fire coming from all directions with Ticha's group on one side and Kamchia's group on the other. The tanks occasionally fired back trying to get a bullseye on these new tanks to take them out. It wasn't working properly. Finally after a few minutes of intense barrage shots, all the tanks had been immobilized, the M3 Lee was the only one left.
The three tanks went out of their way to find the flag tank all by itself. Pomorie began to speak on the radio as she began to devise a plan on how to take it out.
"I know this might be risky but I want to go in fast with the flag tank. Varna, I expect you to be vigilant for incoming shells. Beli your tank is tasked with taking them out." Pomorie began relaying orders for them to finish the job.
"Right on." Beli responded. Varna nodded as she pulled the clutches as the Vickers sped up. The M3 Lee was focusing its shots on the flag tank as it fired off both of its guns. The small Vickers maneuvered out of the way to avoid incoming fire. Two shells had rained down beside them as the small tank continued to try to evade the incoming shells. The Panther meanwhile was observing this as it was waiting for the right moment for it to fire. Beli observed the show as she spotted the M3 Lee turning and exposing its weaker side armor. "Fire." Beli gave the order but she gave the order too early. The Panther shot was lobbed at the side of the M3 Lee as it left a significant paint splatter on the tank, the M3 Lee however taking a shot to the side, was still a major threat but it had been immobilized. The 37mm gun in the turret continued to rotate as it wanted a clean shot on the Vickers, what they weren't counting on was the Matilda 2 coming up and getting ready for its shot.
"Get ready Dalmatia." Istria called out. Istria had her finger on the trigger ready to blast a hole into the rear of the M3 Lee as Pomorie continued to serve as a distraction. "Now!" Dalmatia fired as the Matilda 2 shot smashed into the rear of the M3 Lee as that tank spluttered and came to a stop. A white flag popped from the flag tank of the Partisans as this was the signal that they were looking for.
"All tanks of the partisan team have been immobilized." Ticha called out from her end as they managed to not lose a single tank in this engagement.
"Woo!" Kamchia called out with excitement as she was relieved.
"Now that's over, who wants to spend the rest of the day relaxing?" Rila asked as they had a fun match.
"Right on Rila." Pomorie yawned as she could lay in the sun for a nap.
While the Yogurt Academy students were enjoying themselves, Srebarna was watching from a distance as she wanted to get Nonna to agree to this.
"Hello?" Nonna asked as she wanted to figure out who this was.
"This is Srebarna, you got a minute?" Srebarna asked Nonna if she was free.
"Yes I should be free." Nonna responded. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"It's regarding… When will you arrive? I am getting fed up with waiting for you to come and free Yogurt Academy from Kuromorimine's iron grip. I am seeking to break away from them and we should try getting to join your side as well." Srebarna told Nonna as she wanted to get to join Pravda now. Nonna decided to settle her down.
"Okay okay. We're going to have another match with you tomorrow as we seem that would be the most condemning thing for us to do as we need to get another school free first before we can focus on you." Nonna told Srebarna to calm down.
"So when will this other school be free from Kuromorimine?" Srebarna asked as she wanted to figure out when they would be released.
"Tomorrow afternoon hopefully and we should be able to focus on you next unless Katyusha has different plans." Nonna gave the day when this event will be happening. Srebarna nodded as she was grateful that Nonna's plan was going to happen though she didn't want to question which school it was that was being freed as she wanted to focus for her school.
"Okay don't leave me hanging Nonna." Srebarna told Nonna to get to it.
"Okay I got you." Nonna responded as she decided to look out at the mess ahead of them. Bonple had challenged Kuromorimine to a match and it looked like things weren't going too well for them. The massive Sturmtiger rolled on out as it fired its massive shell at two 7TP's that Bonple had. The massive shell taking out both of them. "Hey Katyusha should we intervene to help them out?" Nonna asked if they should provide some assistance to Bonple and their struggle to free themselves.
"Eh no. Jajka got into this mess herself so I'm not too keen on helping her out." Katyusha responded as she wasn't keen on helping those that she didn't have a good relationship with.
"Whatever you say Katyusha." Nonna responded as she continued to observe the match unfolding. The last Bonple tank had been knocked out as Olivia got from her Tiger 1 as she walked over to Jajka to speak to her.
"Nice job on that match you had, we brought out Erika's Sturmtiger and it turned out to be a massive success." Olivia kindly offered her hand to Maiko as she looked at the Kuromorimine student.
"Yeah you managed to call it fun while we were the easy prey, you were shooting fish in a barrel with that tank of yours and we tried hard but we only knocked out one of your tanks." Maiko responded as she gave the results to what had happened.
"No sweat it, me and Maho enjoyed ourselves today as well as testing out new tanks so I was more than happy to participate." Olivia gave her response. Maiko nodded as she grabbed Olivia's hand and shook it. Maho walked over as she looked at her apprentice as she nodded with approval.
"I really liked the fact that you're showing respect for your foes which I am surprised about. Only a couple more months and your training would be complete Kaya-san." Maho responded as she hugged her apprentice. Jajka was sulking in the distance, disappointed that she managed to lose.
"I wish for another Tankathlon, so I can crush you all like paper." Jajka was wishing that so she could match them with her tanks. This wasn't an even fight for her.
"I think there should be more for you when we get back to Kuromorimine." Maho told her apprentice that there was a reward to this for the skills she had shown through this year so far, there was still two months left and things were looking up but for Kuromorimine it will all come crashing back down.
Meanwhile with Yukari and her group as they had been observing Maho for this match, she wanted to speak to Miho about something.
"Did you ever hear the tragedy of King Tiger the Heavy?" Yukari began. Miho was confused.
"No." Miho responded as Yukari decided to speak to her.
"I thought not. It's not a story that the Panzerwaffe would tell you, it's a wehraboo legend." Yukari responded as she decided to begin. "King Tiger was a heavy tank of the Wehrmacht. So armored and so deadly he could his cannon to influence the eighty-eight millimeter shells to burn Shermans. It had an unnecessary amount of armor that he could keep the ones who crewed him from dying." Miho turned her head as she was curious.
"He could actually save people from death?" Miho asked if that was true. Yukari nodded as it was.
"A German tank design theory is a pathway to many monstrosities, some considered it to be: Underpowered." Yukari continued. Miho wanted to know more about the King Tiger.
"What happened to him?" Miho asked as she wanted to find out what exactly happened to the King Tiger.
"He became so armored and heavy, the only thing he was afraid of was destroying his transmission, which eventually of course he did." Yukari decided to cut things short as Miho nodded. Yukari continued to speak. "Unfortunately he taught his adversaries everything he knew when his adversaries copied the good parts of his design after the war. It's ironic, he could save others from damage but not himself."
"Is it possible to learn this power?" Miho asked if this was possible. Yukari turned to Miho as she had one answer.
"Not from a Jedi." Yukari's answer told Miho.
[A/N]: Another chapter and another happy day let's see if we can hit 1.7k views as we are almost there. Kuromorimine is getting a moment of happiness but Pravda is seeking to end it. Looks like Pomorie and her friends are going to be in a heaping amount of trouble these next few days to come.
Also this will be the last of the Partisan matches that will be occurring as the partisans are going to get a massive amount of help and their main ally Yogurt Academy is in a precarious position so they need to watch out in the future. This will be explained a bit more in the beginning of the next chapter when Olivia Kaya gets rewarded by Maho.
Also last weekend was fun, I managed to find a store that I have never really heard before called Hobby Lobby all the way out in New Jersey which actually kind of stalled the production of this chapter but I kind of got myself into the tank modeling. I modeled the M3 Lee with the help of my father of course and I am proud of it. Now I need the pictures of it.
Anyways, keep a look out for the next chapter as things continue to get worse for Kuromorimine, who will be the first to break is the question. See you later.