Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or World of Tanks

"Ah, pardon us."

Ruby looked away from the jar she was collecting sap in, to find the whole gaggle of tankers approaching, as Gladys continued, "But, ah, I don't suppose you would mind if we hung about around here?"

"Sure," Ruby shrugged. Gladys nodded, then set the tea set finally down, breathing a sigh of relief when the weight shifted out of her hands and onto the unfeeling, red dirt. Emma sniffed in amusement at that, then walked over to where Ruby was and simply looked over the girl's shoulder at what was happening. Namely, a stream of bright pink fluid was coming out the tree via a spigot, and depositing itself into the jar about as quickly as the average tap would deposit water. Before Emma could remark on it, though, Carney noted, "It is rather rude to look over a person's shoulder."

Emma simply shrugged in response, and Ruby informed, "I don't mind."

Finally, the sap jar was almost full, and so the girl quickly turned a lever on the top of the spigot, cutting the flow off merely moments before the jar would have overflown. With her task now complete, Ruby turned around, remarking, "I thought she was just in line."

And as the girl wandered off, she casually brought the jar to her lips, drinking some of the sap which they'd been assigned to collect. Gladys simply marveled at the sight, while Emma stepped forward, brought her jar underneath the spigot, and turned the lever. Immediately, the flow of pink fluid began again, just as fast as before, and so the loader noted, "Rather difficult to figure out, isn't it?"

Otto nodded and, in a tone of completely serious questioning, asked, "Why is it there?."

He indicated the spigot, and Ribbans pointed out, "Well, that's the tree. Not going to collect sap from a rock, are you?"

"But why there in the tree?" Otto retorted, and Emma answered, "About her shoulder-height."

Otto sighed, accepting that answer, and Ribbans murmured, "Here I'd thought we had a difficult assignment."

"Well, it's difficult enough for schoolchildren," Emma pointed out. Ribbans snorted at that, then said, "Might need to cut it off."

Emma glanced back over at the spigot, and promptly noticed that her jar was merely inches away from overflowing. Quickly, she turned the lever as usual, cutting the flow off just as it reached the very top of the jar. Ribbans chuckled, "Difficult enough for you too, then?"

"Shut it," Emma shot, bringing the jar close to her head. Quickly, Otto stopped, "Is it safe to drink?"

All three of them paused at that. Which then led Ribbans to notice that it was all three of them, and question, "Where's the commander gone?"

The German loader glanced around for a moment, and in the distraction Emma quickly raised the jar to her lips and sucked a bit of sap out of it. Only a very small bit, though, before she quickly drew it away, coughing loudly enough that Otto looked back over. Ribbans guessed, "Tastes like wood, shouldn't it?"

Emma shook her head, still coughing, then finally said, "T-Too sweet."

Ribbans glanced at her askance, and Emma shrugged, "Quite odd, this stuff."

"Let me have that," Ribbans shot, grasping from the jar. Quickly, Emma drew away, shooting, "You get your own."

"Oh, you haven't got enough there?" the gunner bickered, and Emma retorted, "It'd be so hard to do your own job?"

Ribbans huffed, then walked over to the tree and turned the lever on the spigot. Once again, the sap came out quickly, but Ribbans still impatiently grumbled to himself as he watched the flow. Abruptly, Emma remembered, "Where's Otto gone?"

She looked around for a few moments, and promptly spotted Gladys, Otto, and Carney, all sitting in a half-circle as Gladys fiddled with the tea set. Promptly, the loader set off in their direction, grumbling, "Had hoped to bloody well do something... not just get smacked by someone who ignores bullets..."

As she closed in on the group, Otto greeted, "Ah, I found where the commander went."

Emma noted, "Just going to give up on being prepared for danger, then?"

"Well," Gladys retorted, "I'd, ah, rather thought that with so many huntsmen and huntresses around, we'd be safe enough for a spot of tea."

The loader let out a sigh, and had a small bit of internal debate, before finally sitting down at the circle, informing, "I'll just get the Besa set up."

"Alright," Gladys said, still trying to get the water heated. And as the commander continued to work, she heard a conversation start up behind her, and smiled a little in the glad knowledge that she was helping her crew to relax. Gradually, though, that smile went away, both in frustration with the tea set- it was usually Emma who handled it, after all- and as the conversation seemed to draw in more and more people. By the time that the commander finally drew away from the tea set and looked around, just about everyone she knew at Beacon had joined in the circle. None of them were organized in their teams, but Gladys could still see all of RWBY and JNPR, engaged in their own chats. For a moment, Gladys simply stared about at the mass, each team having their own conversations, before finally drawing away and murmuring to her driver, "W-We, ah, h-haven't enough cups for everyone."

"I don't believe the other teams will be too offended," Carney provided, "Miss Schnee is the only one who's commented on the tea."

Gladys nodded quietly, taking her place in the circle. To her left, Ribbans and Emma were busily chatting with Ruby, and to Gladys' right, firstly was Carney, sitting calmly, and past the driver, Otto and Yang were talking. Before the commander could even think of striking up her own conversation, though, she heard Ruby yell, "Wait, lemme ask her!"

"Bugger off," Ribbans shot, "It'll be the same answer."

"Hey, Gladys!" Ruby said, "I had a suggestion!"

With a sigh, Gladys shuffled over to where Ribbans and Emma had made a makeshift wall, and asked, "What, ah, what is it?"

"Could you guys give me a ride next Friday?" Ruby asked, "Weiss wanted to go to the docks, and Yang said she already had plans."

"Those plans are the ride she got for you lot," Emma shot, and Gladys nodded, "Your sister has already approached us about this. We... well, we're a tank crew, not a cab service."

"Please?" Ruby asked. Gladys shook her head, and was about to draw away when Ruby added, "I-I wanted to make up for... f-for getting you kidnapped."

Gladys sighed.

"So you're making us haul you about," Emma shot, "To make up for the time we hauled you about?"

Ruby bickered, "I-"

"F-Fine," Gladys interjected. Both of her crewmates turned around to stare at her askance, and even Ruby seemed a little confused as she questioned, "Really?"

"I..." she sighed again, "I suppose I ought to start getting to know my fellow students."

She turned to Ribbans, informing, "I won't ask that you go-"

"I won't," Ribbans cut off, before standing up and heading off. Gladys nodded with a slight sigh, then turned to Emma, who shrugged, "Am rather interested to see how the Bosch deal with us lady-folk."

Gladys sniffed slightly at that, then noted, "I, ah, suppose someone should be around to chaperone, then, as well."

Emma shot, "Prude."

"Huh?" Ruby asked, and Emma informed, "By the by, Jerry seems to think they've scored a date with your sister."

Ruby coughed in disbelief at that, then groused, "Wh-What?"

"To clarify, I'm not of the belief that this is anything more than providing a lift," Gladys informed, "As well, I believe Karl is under the same notion."

Ruby nodded, then shuddered, "M-My sister's on a date..."

She shuddered again, and Emma asked, "Would it help if I told you at least one of them has a great cock?"

Ruby cringed even more, repeatedly murmuring "gross", while Gladys shot, "She was already on fire, you don't need to shoot her more."

"I thought it might help," Emma shrugged, and Ruby cut off, "Something else, let's talk about something else."

Emma shrugged, and a moment of silence passed, before the loader reminded, "Tea should be about ready by now."

"Ah, good," Gladys nodded quickly.

-Elsewhere, and a few minutes prior

Russel smirked quietly to himself, watching as Cardin lifted Jaune up into the air-

Smack!

-and punched him-

Smack!

-again and again and again. No words, no complaints; all that Jaune was getting was his just- at least, just in Russel's eyes- deserts. It made sense to the side-bully; Jaune could have just done what he was told. But he hadn't, and now he was going to pay.

Smack!

Quickly, Russel brought his hand up, as a flash of blinding white emanated from the still-suspended boy. Promptly, Cardin dropped him, letting the boy crumple against the ground before planting a heavy boot on his chest, taunting, "Guess you're all outta Aura now, huh, Jaune-y boy?"

Russel licked his lips in anticipation as Cardin pressed down further, murmuring, "What a shame that you got ambushed-"

He was cut off by Jaune spitting on the same heavy boot that was currently pressing down on his chest, then remarking, "I don't care what you do to me. Don't mess with my team."

Cardin hesitated a moment, then snorted, remarking, "You just want the hard way, don't you. Think you're a tough guy now, with all the tough guy tal-"

"URSA!"

Russel turned his head quickly, hearing Dove's cry, as Cardin remarked, "The ambush is a cover story, we're not really in any..."

He trailed off, as a pair of angry red dots made their way through the landscape of calming red-ness, shaking the ground with each step closer that they came. For a few moments, everyone froze, and watched as the giant, black form of an Ursa barreled through the red bushes, flinging Dove forward simply with the weight behind its charge. Promptly, Russel turned and ran, not even bothering to look back and check if the rest of his team was following. He didn't know, and he didn't care; the only thing he knew was that he was already panting in fear, and the only thing he cared about was how far away he was from the Ursa. He didn't even divert his path around the miasma of red trees and red bushes- he didn't have the time to sort the red leaves from the red bark from the red dirt, all Russel could think to do was plant one foot in front of the next, on the blind hope that he didn't stumble on a tree root.

Of course, blindly running forward in a forest is never a good idea. Somehow, Russel was lucky enough that it wasn't the forest that stopped him, though; instead, he managed to get all the way to a nice, flat clearing, in which the only protrusions from the ground were his fellow students sitting around, and the tea set. The set was a dull, khaki-brown, that stood completely out against the red of everything else; Russel could see it, he processed its existence, but he still couldn't think to go around it.

And so, he went straight into it, plating his foot narrowly in front of the kettle. And in his next step, he brought his foot swiftly upward, incidentally kicking it behind him and far, far away. The shouting of the now-infuriated English tank crew was what finally got Russel to begin responding to outside stimuli again, as he shouted back, "URSA! URSA!"

A roar back- a bestial, animistic roar, of such a volume and intensity that anyone who heard it simply knew that it came from something of great size and power- encouraged the boy to go back to blindly running away, away and away and away, until he finally reached the empty clearing which he recognized from when the Bullhead had landed. Finally, the boy stopped, then huddled up into himself, staring fearfully in the direction he'd come from.

-Back to the tankers

Emma snorted in amusement, hefting her Besa while she guessed, "Thing ought to be where they came from, yeah?"

"So, ah, I should think setting up a position there," Gladys instructed, pausing to indicate a position slightly forward of where the tea set had been, "Would be a good spot to set up."

Emma sighed, and Ribbans questioned, "We aren't hunting it, then?"

"I should think that the beast is rather intent on hunting us," Carney retorted, and Gladys nodded, "That is a heavy machine gun, it would be best to make a proper emplacement, but for now simply laying it down-"

"Yang, Blake! Go get Glynda and bring her back here!" Ruby yelled, and Pyrrha added, "Ren, go with them!"

The three ran off, and were promptly joined by Nora, skipping happily while Ruby continued, "Weiss, Gladys, Pyrrha and I are gonna go look for Jaune! The rest of you, try to find the other teams!"

Promptly, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Ruby ran off. Carney guessed, "I suppose we aren't doing that?"

"How would we find the other teams?" Otto questioned, "None of them have radios."

"Emma, Ribbans, you'll set up an MG nest," Gladys instructed, "Otto, you'll guard the rear, and Carney and I will set about securing the tea and sap."

Swiftly, the crew set about their appointed tasks, as Carney and Gladys stacked everything together, Ribbans and Emma laid down next to each other on the dirt, and Otto simply stood around looking in the other direction. A few moments passed, as Gladys quietly bemoaned the senseless waste of innocent tea, before Emma complained, "I suppose we're figuring on camping around still, then?"

"Some things never change," Ribbans nodded, and Gladys smiled a little at that, and Otto abruptly questioned, "Why is the commander not doing that?"

Gladys informed- not admitting in shame, simply and honestly informing, "I trust Emma to know more about how to use the Besa than I."

Otto sniffed, then noted, "Hans would sometimes mount an MG on his cupola, just to come out and use it..." he sighed, then noted, "I guess his love of war would be a good thing, now."

"Assuming, of course, that your commander didn't kill anyone who was trying to help him," Carney said, "And that he could be reigned in from performing a typical light-charge, then yes."

Otto sniffed again, then nodded, while Emma shot, "Would rather like to just charge and be done with this."

Gladys sighed quietly, and Emma added, "Would rather like a wee, as well."

"Otto, if you could take over while our loader... ah, s-sorts her affairs," Gladys directed. Promptly, Otto headed over to Emma, who got up while grumbling, "I'm just taking a piss."

Before Otto could take over for the person he was supposed to replace, though, Ribbans got behind the gun and shot, "Just try not to bugger it."

Otto nodded, then lied down and immediately noticed, "This is... magazines... in a machinegun..."

He shook his head lightly in exasperation. A few minutes later, Gladys and Carney were finally done gathering everything into a pile just behind the MG, and so the commander quietly murmured, "Ah, Otto, I don't suppose I could, ah, be loaned your gun?"

The loader paused a moment, and Gladys noted, "It is, I think, rather less intensive to operate a pistol than a machinegun, and I would still quite like to have a rear guard."

"Why're you being so insistent on that?" Ribbans shot, to which Gladys retorted, "Well, we are rather surrounded by forest."

Ribbans pointed out, "And you're letting our loader wander off while we're 'surrounded by enemies'?"

Gladys retorted, "Well, I couldn't very well order her to... d-do her business in front of you, now could I?"

Ribbans shrugged, then asked, "How're you holding up on that front, by the by?"

Gladys grimaced, then shot, "O-Otto, the, ah, pistol please."

"Ah, of course," Otto said, flailing about as he tried to get his pistol out while still laying down. After a long bit of writhing, he finally pulled it out, then thumbed the side of it.

Click.

"Th-The, ah, safety is off, then?" Gladys guessed, reaching towards the weapon with shaky hands. While Otto nodded, Ribbans noted, "Bloody hell, you're shaking. Go take a piss!"

"Just, ah, nervous," Gladys noted, "Never used this before, w-wouldn't want it to go off."

"The safety is off," Otto informed, "It has seven rounds in the magazine, and another one in the chamber."

Gladys nodded quietly, then finally grasped the pistol. She held it for a moment, before quickly calling, "Ah, Carney, would you mind?"

The driver nodded, quickly taking the pistol from her as the commander explained, "I should, ah, qu-quite prefer such a thing in the firm hands of my driver."

Otto snorted at that, while Carney nodded, "Of course."

Quietly, he turned away, and Otto asked, "Do you really think you're ready to do things like this if you can't hold a pistol?"

Immediately, Ribbans shot, "Oh, I may have my gripes but you'll not talk badly of my commander, you bloody-"

"N-No," Gladys said, "He's, ah, quite right."

She hesitated a moment. A long moment. Scratch that, actually- she just hesitated straight into a silence, dropping the subject entirely-

"I could help teach you," Otto offered, not willing to let the subject drop. Ribbans nodded, "Teach us all to talk funny and throw hissy fits."

"A commander should have a sidearm," Otto retorted, "Hans is right about that, I think."

"The, ah, offer is appreciated," Gladys said, "B-But, ah..."

She trailed off, then hesitated. But this time it was her actually hesitating, as she eventually got around to finishing, "I, ah, don't quite know when such a thing could be done, o-or where. Besides, uh, which, there would be Hans to consider"

Otto paused a moment, then sighed and nodded, while Ribbans offered, "What if we killed the bastard before he could say no?"

Gladys sniffed, and Carney noted, "I believe that's the same plan that the German gunner had."

"Shut it," Ribbans shot, and Gladys, trying not to laugh, nodded, "It is, isn't it?"

"It's a good idea, not one a Hun could come up with," Ribbans grumbled, just as Gladys began giggling. As the driver joined in with his own mirthful chuckle, the resident Hun, Otto, noted, "It is largely-"

"No one asked you, Jerry," Ribbans cut off, and Otto retorted, "Jerry thought the plan was stupid, actually."

"Well, he was a Kraut, suits him to be thinking good is bad," Ribbans noted, to which Carney stopped laughing for a moment to note, "Then your German counterpart had a good plan."

Ribbans paused a moment, then yelled, "Shut it!"

That only set all of his mockers to laughter. A few moments later, Emma returned, asking, "What'd I miss?"

"Just Ribbans being a pillock," Gladys said, too amused to bother with niceties. Emma nodded, "Nothing unique, then?"

Ribbans huffed, then shot, "You can have the gun, then."

Promptly, the gunner got up, while Emma noted, "Had rather thought I would, anyway."

Quietly, she laid down, then asked, "Otto, you got the deal with loading?"

The German gunner shrugged slightly, and Emma sighed, then said, "Switch me."

Otto nodded, and the two switched positions on the gun. And so, they were all truly prepared, for a few moments later, when...

...Pyrrha, Weiss, and Ruby returned from their excursion, followed by a rescued Jaune and Cardin. Immediately, Ruby gasped, "Gladys! I thought you got lost!"

Before the commander could remind the girl that, as a tank commander, she had a fairly good sense of direction, Ruby ran up and hugged her. Promptly, all thoughts of bickering faded from the commander's mind, feeling the warmth of a kind-hearted girl's hug.

"Did none of you do what you were assigned?" Weiss shot. Ruby promptly drew away, remembering, "Oh, yeah."

Gladys retorted, "Ah... w-well..."

"What do Ruby's orders matter to us?" Emma retorted, "Gladys is our commander."

Promptly, the heiress' furious glare was focused onto Gladys, who paled a little under its intensity, while Ruby babbled, "I-I was really worried about you."

Gladys stammered, "Well, ah, I-"

"Guys," Jaune interjected, "What matters is that we all get out. Come on."

As the blonde headed away, Pyrrha followed, while Gladys nodded, "Qu-Quite. Now, ah, if you'll excuse me-"

"You just hid and let others be in danger," Ruby noted, to which Gladys sighed, then murmured, "I... I suppose I rather did..."

She sighed, then ordered, "Emma, you'll be in the lead, Ribbans will carry the ammo. Carney and I will handle all the luggage, and Otto will act as our rear guard."

Quickly, the driver handed Otto's pistol back to the man, while Gladys stooped over and, groaning with effort, picked the tea set back up. Ruby hesitated a moment, before saying, with only some enthusiasm rather than the boundless cheer she usually had, "Come on, Weiss."

The two schoolgirls promptly skulked away, and Ribbans grumbled, "What did she think would happen, ordering about someone else's crew?"

Gladys shrugged, murmuring, "We were from a tank destroyer, as well. I'm not quite sure why we wouldn't have camped."

"You're in a Cruiser IV," Otto reminded as the group of tankers got underway, "Which is a medium tank."

"Bit on the light side," Gladys nodded, "But yes, it's a medium."

"Then your job is to back up the light tanks," Otto postulated, to which Emma retorted, "How on Earth do you figure that?"

Gladys nodded, "Mediums are supposed to hold the line until the heavies come around."

"No," Otto retorted, "The heavies hold their own line-"

Ribbans and Emma both snorted at that.

"-and the medium takes over when the light dies," Otto finished, to which Carney noted, "You're at least right that light tanks do tend to need a replacement."

Otto nodded, "Hans gives experience in how frail a light is."

"But the Leopard is a medium," Ribbans noted, "Or did you forget your own tank?"

"The ones before," Otto clarified, and Gladys interjected, "Alright then, some mediums can do the job of a light- I suppose you got the idea from being in a Leopard. I should think a Crommie might have similar thoughts."

Otto retorted, "All mediums are for backing up the lights. Then, that flank is rolled over, and the heavies are outflanked."

"The best method for using a medium tank is to go where the heavies will head, to make certain the other side's mediums can't occupy the firing positions," Carney bickered, "Meanwhile, light tanks have their own little duels, and sometimes harass the elements of the important side of the battle."

"Harass?" Otto questioned, and Gladys explained, "Harass means to mildly annoy, especially when it's by simply being persistent."

"I know what it means," Otto shot, then reminded, "Does a hit from a cursed Sheridan mildly annoy you? Perhaps being hit from the church of Castilla?"

Carney found himself nodding along quietly with the logic, while Gladys simply said, "I suppose we can at least agree to disagree, then?"

Otto huffed, and murmured, "You are too cowardly to admit you were wrong, then."

Emma nodded, "Now you're getting to know her."

Gladys sighed, at that, but couldn't find it in herself to retort.

Author's Note: Apologies for not bothering to make an on-foot fight. I'm just, frankly, pretty bad at it.