Hell On Tracks
Part 1
Watching a school ship come into port was an awe inspiring moment. How the Japanese had managed to build a large number of ships that were multiple miles long and hadn't run out of fuel, money, or building materials, I wasn't quite sure. But one was right here, sitting only a mile offshore. Saunders University High School, my soon-to-be home away from home.
The ship itself was much too big to dock at any American port this far north, due to the turbulent and tight waterways of the Columbia River and Strait of Jaun de Fuca, but that just meant a smaller transport would be bringing a number of the girls academy's students and staff to shore. In addition to picking up myself and a number of other foreign exchange students, Saunders had set up a Sensha-do match between their team and Astoria High, which I was going to watch eagerly once all of my stuff got onboard.
"C'mon Tally! The ship's here, now let's get going!" My best friend, Rachel, called from the beach parking lot. She was sitting atop the cab of her pickup and had volunteered to drive me to the coast.
I smiled and ran back to the truck. Rachel had the vehicle warmed up and ready to go as I triple checked that all of my stuff was tied down securely in the back. Only one of the bungee cables was out of place, and once I fixed that, we were racing down the road at 20 over the speed limit, whooping like the crazy schoolgirls we were.
Naturally, we made it to the docks well before the Saunders transport did. A few other foreign exchange girls were there ahead of us, but I didn't go and interact with them at all, preferring to wait on top of Rachel's truck and chat with her about anything and everything. Mostly the upcoming tankery match, but we ventured off on tangents multiple times.
The large steamer coming into port certainly grabbed our attention away from tanks though, and as soon as it was tied down, the front of the ship opened up to let a stream of vehicles off. A couple of military themed trucks, a train of food trucks, and finally, the ones Rachel and I really wanted to see, the tanks. It was… frankly a disappointment, at least as far as tank groups go.
Not to say that tanks are boring or anything! I love tanks! Haha, tanks! It's just that the column that emerged from the transport was nothing but M4 Shermans, with the only variance from the basic short barrel 75 being the A1 with the long 76, and a model that I didn't recognize immediately, but Rachel pointed out was a Sherman Firefly.
"But why a Firefly? Saunders is American themed, so if they need a dedicated anti-tank vehicle, why not a Hellcat, or Easy Eight?" I asked in confusion.
Rachel just shrugged. "Hellcats don't exactly fit with the M4 theme I'm seeing here, and aren't exactly tankery legal without certain mods. I gotta agree on the Easy Eight though. It's just overall better than the Firefly, and is a more reliable gun."
We're tank nerds. Criticising big name teams that can actually participate in the sport since our own school doesn't have the money for it. It's what we do for fun.
After the tanks had all left the ship, someone from Saunders came and introduced themselves in slightly accented English, and directed everyone who was there to drop off students to please move their cars onto the ferry for ease of loading and packing dorms. Rachel drove her truck in while I sat on top of the cab, pointing forwards and giving a glorious battlecry of "Panzer vor!"
That one ended up getting me a few strange looks, but a cheerful looking blonde who was with the greeter person laughed and gave me a wave. I smiled and waved back, and then we were onboard the ship and I had to duck or hit my head, which kind of ruined my whole joke.
Actually moving into my dorm was fairly quick and easy. All of the dorms came pre-furnished, and were solo rooms, so setup consisted of Rachel and I moving my bags, laptop, and the few personal items that make the place feel homey. We had to be sneaky with my electric kettle and tea supply, if the sheer number of coffee machines in the common rooms was anything to go by on their preferred drinks.
"It's weird." I commented to Rachel, as we moved my bed to a slightly better position. "Looking at everything we've seen so far, it's like they're more American here than we are. Cheap fast food, coffee shops all over the place, signs in English and then in Japanese. And a whole bunch of other things, really."
"You're right, that is weird." Rachel responded. "Though a lot of the school ships have themes like this, so it's not unheard of."
"Like Saint Gloriana being overly British?"
"Exactly!"
With one final shove, we slid the futon into place and sat down for a moment. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time.
"We've got just over an hour before the ferry leaves back for the mainland. Wanna check out the Sensha-do club and see if they have any tanks that aren't Shermans?" I asked.
Author's Note: Hello one and all, and welcome to Hell On Tracks! I am crossposting this from Sufficient Velocity after a few requests from friends to upload it here. I hope y'all enjoy the madness to come!