Chapter 2 Tankery Introductions

Zeke and James went into the large meeting room, the area appearing to be the basketball and volleyball practice gym partitioned into two sections, with nobody being able to see behind the divider. The two sat down in the last row of a large section of seats that only appeared to be half full, they sat next to another student who waved them over.

As the boys sat down, the old gentleman from before could be seen as he walked to a projector screen at the front of the gym, wearing a white shirt and pants, with a weathered gray overcoat, and the emblem of the school as a pin on his jacket. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention as they all chattered amongst themselves.

"Attention everyone!" The man said in a booming voice to finish quieting everyone down and get their attention, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our tankery team information meeting. I admit I wish we could get more people in here, but this should be enough for the tanks we have at our immediate disposal."

"As for the information, I am your coach, Bertrand Joseph Beauregard. I graduated from ICBM when it was still associated with NC State. Before this school moved here to UCLA, that being the University of Campbell between Lillington and Angier." This warranted a few chuckles from the crowd.

"I'm glad you liked that because it is the closest thing to a joke you shall get out of me." Coach Beauregard said, "That being said, you may refer to me as sir and only sir."

"Now, for what you all came here for, the information on the tryout battle. As our returning members know, we have graduated from Tankathalon up to Tankery. So, after losing a third of our members to graduation and some others, we will be rebuilding our ranks. We also lost our main commander and two sub commanders. Therefore, our commandership and overall leadership is up for grabs. The winner of this tryout battle will assume the commandership of the team." This warranted light gasps and nods from the crowd.

"Everything is to play for in this match if that provides any of you an incentive to give it your all. As for the location of the battle-" Coach Beauregard said, clicking on the projector with a remote. A map of a location to the southwest of the school, with a rectangular shape of a heavily wooded area was outlined in blue, with a red shaded location about 2/3 down the map.

"The following is not a traditional practice area we have used but has equally been used in the past as a proving ground since it has not been purchased by anyone. The area that will be used has one red zone. If you are not familiar with this, non-Japanese tankery emphasizes not causing any damage to the buildings or other surrounding areas." The coach continued.

"Is that because the NCAA couldn't afford the costs?" A voice asked from the crowd, to which some people chuckled.

"Albrecht, we both know that's the answer, but your insubordination is not welcome." The coach grunted in annoyance.

"This red zone is a small residential area, you are not allowed to fire towards or from that area. You can traverse it, if necessary, but it is emphasized that you are only to move through there. Any tank that is caught firing to or from that area will be disqualified, just like in any match. There are seven starting points for the seven tanks available." The coach said, moving away from the projector screen and going towards the divider that separated the practice gym.

The coach then walked over to the curtain dividing the room and pulled a rope. The black curtain then split down the middle to reveal the other half of the room. There sat seven tanks, gleaming in a crisp, green camouflage color scheme.

"All those that were on the tankathalon team previously, please go to your tank that you crewed then, so I can see who needs to be assigned a tank." The coach said. A strong majority of the people at the meeting stood up and walked over to various tanks. All but three tanks had a full crew.

The coach then mumbled to himself, "Two locusts, and both 4TA's have full crews, and the M1917A1 has a driver, so just one locust to sort".

With the coach counting the amount of crew needed, he turned back to the crowd. "So, we need to go ahead and get the rest of you all assigned to a tank so we can work on the logistics for tomorrow".

He then turned and looked towards the remaining people. "Do any of y'all know or have relation to any of the drivers and people already there?" Some heads nodded, "Then go ahead and head to a tank with anyone that you know. Anybody that is left will be assigned a tank."

Everyone dispersed, some headed towards tanks crewed by their fellow peers while others stood, attempting to locate anyone they knew. Zeke and James walked over to a slightly peculiar, shaped tank where one man was already standing.

"Hey, it's good to see you." James said, greeting the man.

"You as well, who's your friend?" The person at the tank said with a raised eyebrow.

"My name is Benjamin Jeremiah Ezekiel, but I usually go by Zeke," Zeke said to introduce himself, Zeke then continued. "And you are?"

"David Christian, tank driver, and an accounting major." David answered.

"Nice to make your acquaintance." Zeke said, shaking his hand firmly.

All but one tank had a crew with at least one experienced member, except for one locust tank. Standing in front of it were three girls, all with a serious look on their faces. The coach walked up to them.

"Now girls, I say girls, I don't recall meeting you before. Do you have any experience with tanks?" Coach Beauregard asked.

"Yes, the girl in the middle responded." She stood at 5'7", Caucasian skinned, wearing a black crop top, with a purple medium length skirt and purple jacket.

"I am the daughter of tankery coach Damien Black, currently coaching at Ohio State's tankery sub school, GCSE" she said.

"I say, ain't that Heather Valentine's coach?" Coach Beauregard asked, to which the girl nodded, "Before I ask the other two with you, what is your name?"

"Katherine Black. I just prefer to go by Kat is all", Kat said.

"Understood, now you, with the blonde hair, who are you?" Coach Beauregard continued to question the trio.

"Allie Major, tank driver and driver of an M26 Pershing at my old high school." Allie, the short blonde-haired girl, in a black baseball cap, yellow long-sleeve t-shirt, and black high waisted denim shorts.

"Impressive, I crewed a Pershing during my time in Korea," Coach Beauregard said.

"Thank you for your service." Allie said respectfully.

"And thank you for coming to the meeting. As for you?" The coach said, turning to the final girl, who continued to be on her phone the entire time.

"Yes sir, sorry, I was just trying to beat this level in the game." The girl replied.

The coach sighed, "And are you the tank's gunner?"

"Yes sir, Terra Byte is here to land the decisive blow!" She said with enthusiasm. Her dyed bright green hair being her most noted feature, a black, pink Floyd t-shirt, light green jacket, and blue denim shorts for herself.

"At the very least you certainly have spirit, something that is always needed." The coach said, noticeably unimpressed by Terra's introduction.

"Now everyone, since we have our tank roster ready, we should go ahead and draw for our spots in the battle for tomorrow. Tank teams, go and send your commanders to the projector, so they can get maps, we'll draw for the starting spots after that." Coach Beauregard said.

One member from each of the tanks went to the front, Kat went for the team of newbies, and Zeke went for his team. When he got back to the tank, David and James looked over the map with interest.

"Is there a particular spot you two want to start at, if we have a choice?" Zeke asked the two.

The two shook their heads, "Any good tank can win from any starting point." Christian said. "Though it is better if we don't start next to Albrecht, he is a hot head and is ready to prove himself."

"Why is that?" Zeke asked.

"He was supposed to be next in line for commandership last season but due to some poor performance, he was knocked down to fourth in line." David said, James and Zeke nodded in understanding.

"That is of course, if we have a choice," James said.

The coach then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Now, go ahead and come up and draw lots. In the box there will be slips of paper with a number, the number you choose will determine the starting location on the map, these spots are number coordinated on the map."

The coach walked from tank to tank with each tank commander picking the numbers, some more excited, and some groaned in annoyance seeing their numbers. When Coach Beauregard got to Zeke and company, there was one slip of paper left. Zeke pulled it and the coach walked back to the big map on the screen as Zeke and the others read their slip, a number seven on it.

The coach then clicked over to the next slide; it showed the map again. This time the seven starting points were labeled with numbers, beginning at the bottom left of the map and moving at various intervals along the map.

The coach then began to run through the listed locations, "So, Javier Augustine, your 4TA will start just south of Heister's car dealer, on the access road to the river. Kat, your locust will be north of the car dealership." He said, pointing to the spot marked number two on the map.

"Jose, your group is putting on this dirt road, across from the community college. Wallace, your locust is going in at the nursing school. Chelesa, your locust with that freshman commander is going in at Baker-Lane at the end of the access road there. Albrecht, your tank will be at the north end of the airport by Southeastern Interiors. Christian, your tank, and tardy crewmates are at the south end of airport road by the river." Coach Beauregard said, explaining everyone's position for the sake of clarity and strategic planning.

"Finally, the red zone that is mentioned is certainly in play. Your north boundary is 401 highway, west boundary is 210 and main street, the east boundary is airport road, and south boundary is the Cape Fear. If anyone goes out of bounds from those boundaries, you will be automatically disqualified and will face a disciplinary action. If no one has questions, you are dismissed." Coach finished saying.

Zeke raised his hand, which drew the attention of Coach Beauregard. "Uh, what time do we need to be at our tanks?"

"Well, considering your tardiness today, be at your tank by 9:30, everyone else by 10:00. Match starts at 10:30." The coach said, as if to specifically tease Zeke. This prompted a chuckle from the other tankery members and an eye roll from Zeke.

"You are all dismissed, I would highly encourage everyone to strategize on your own time so that you are all ready for the match and most importantly, good luck." Coach Beauregard said.