Darjeeling could remember she was when she heard the news. It was a typical afternoon, St. Gloriana had just finished an exhibition with Saunders a day before and were exchanging info about Shermans, and after a commanders meeting was adjourned, she heard a notification on her phone. And when she read it, shock. It was news that seemed like it was always coming, yet felt like it wouldn't come in a million years. Inevitable, yet surprising. All at the same time.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was dead. The Queen Was Dead. Long Live The King.
Nobody was around, so Darjeeling made a pace toward her office, and sat at her desk, sinking in her chair. She turned on the Television and went straight to BBC Japan. She thought back to the time when Shinzo Abe was shot and killed and how Nishi and Chi-Ha-Tan as a school reeled from that, and now it seemed it was her turn. She went to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of something Kay had told her about: an Arnold Palmer, a mixture of iced tea and lemonade. Something totally different from her usual brew. And as she returned to her desk, a knock.
"Come in," she said.
As the door opened, Kay, the commander of Saunders and some would say the polar opposite of Darjeeling, came through. "What's up, Darj?" she said. "Got something to drink?" Darjeeling sighed and went back to her fridge and pulled out a bottle of Schweppes ginger ale, one of England's most historic soft drinks.
"Thanks", Kay said before raising her bottle. "So, what are we drinking?" Darjeeling sat silent. "Here's to…", Kay continued.
Darjeeling just motioned to the TV, still going over the breaking news. Kay stood silent as she read the ticker on the bottom. Her cheerful personality started to evaporate as her mind started to think about something new to say.
"My sincere condolences," Kay said. "News must have broken on my way over here." Kay opened her bottle and started drinking while Darjeeling dipped her tea. "Do you know how I developed a love for the Anglosphere?" Darjeeling asked.
Kay drank some more of her ginger ale. "Because they have great tea?" Kay replied with a question of her own.
"Yes, that, but there's another thing." Darjeeling put down her cup and saucer. "Back in Yokohama, there's this pub with a pinball I'd go in and play while my parents would watch football, rugby or whatever else was on, and there was this boy. His name was Ian. His dad ran the place and his grandfather fought in the war. In a tank crew. He told me all about the adventures he and his mates had in North Africa. And when it came to picking an extracurricular, those stories were still in my mind."
"Are you sure it wasn't that 'become a great wife, mother, and woman' thing? This Ian guy seems to have really left an impression on ya."
Darjeeling was stunned by Kay's comment. So much so that her tea almost got caught in her throat. "Um, no," Darjeeling said. "I just found that these tank stories seemed like a tank career was something that brought a lot of adventure with it". She went into a drawer at her desk and pulled out a picture. Kay moved forward and saw it was the St. Gloriana squad with another sensha-do team, but there were faces she never recognized.
"Who's these guys?" Kay asked.
"A team from Manchester," Darjeeling said matter of factly. We went over to have a friendly match with them before they went off to represent Great Britain at the world championships." Darjeeling showed more pictures for Kay to look at. "The trip was also my first time to see London. Buckingham Palace, Wembley, the Tower. It was all so much fun." Darjeeling sighed. "And all of this domain was headed by just one woman. And now she's gone."
Kay finished her ginger ale. "I know what you mean," she said. "You know how I'm from Sasebo?" Darjeeling nodded. "There's this base there, US Navy and the SDF. I'd always see them and their kids around town and they were always happy to help me with my English." Kay took out her phone and opened a picture. Darjeeling saw the glow of candles throughout. "It's a vigil to honor the 11th", Kay explained. "And my dad says there's always folks from the base headed up to Nagasaki to see the memorials for the bombing." Kay moved to another picture that served as her wallpaper, Naomi, and Alisa chilling in front of a Jeep before a match. "And I'd say the Willys Jeep is probably the second greatest thing on God's green Earth after the Sherman. And when I discovered the Wrangler, I told myself that after I graduated, I'm going to go to America, rent one of these bad boys, and just travel the country for as long as I can afford it."
"Sounds like you got everything figured out," Darjeeling said. Kay sighed as she moved to another picture.
"I don't show this one much," she explained. "But this is our tank garage. After Sgt. Oddball, Naomi mentioned that we shouldn't show this super freely, even though I already thought we didn't!" Kay scratched her head nervously before composing herself enough to continue. Darjeeling saw Kay focus on a specific part of the garage. Above the door was a quote: "We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail".
"This is from a speech by George W. Bush. I found it while going through the library and reading speeches for something to rally the team. It's from a speech he made after the 11th. It was announcing how he was striking the bastards that struck his country and how he wouldn't stop until they were wiped from the face of the Earth."
Darjeeling calmly sipped her tea. "Sorry, got carried away," Kay said. "No worries," Darjeeling replied. "Keep going."
"Anyway," Kay said. "That sentence stuck with me. It seemed like something that I'd want to rally the troops. So I had it painted where they'd see it as the last thing before they rolled out."
"Reminds me of Churchill and the beaches", Darjeeling noted. "Thanks for the copy of Darkest Hour, by the way. You really know your way with birthday presents.
"No problem," Kay said. "I'm not too versed on the Royal Family, although I know there's a Helen Mirren film about Princess Diana that's worth a watch. And I may have found myself watching William's wedding on YouTube with the team when it was raining once or twice."
Darjeeling chuckled. "They are mystifying," Darjeeling said before giving Kay another ginger ale and grabbing one for herself. "A toast. To the Queen. May she rest in peace and may she be granted wonderful tidings in Heaven by God above."
"Cheers," Kay replied as the two hit their bottles together. "Thanks for putting up with me" The Saunders commander began walking to the door, and when she opened, some students were outside. "Heads up, you got some more folks."
"Send them in," Darjeeling said as Kay walked out while in walked Rosehip, Pekoe, and Assam. "Ladies, I'm sure you've heard the news recently. And in case you haven't, the television here will bring you up to speed. Perhaps better than I ever could".
As Darjeeling kept talking, Kay closed the door behind her, leaving the St. Gloriana brass to get down to business in figuring out how to mourn an icon.
THE END
A Message from The Author:
I first thought of this around the time Her Majesty died, so naturally it comes out well after her funeral. Better late than never, right?
But in all seriousness, I wanted to make a fic with Darjeeling soon after I heard the news, if only because the thought of how she'd react seemed interesting to me. At the same time though, I remembered something I talked about in a Discord server months ago: at the end of the day, the GuP characters are still Japanese teenage girls. I'm not sure if it's a big fandom thing, but I have heard folks say that some stories can go a little too far with the schools being based on a country, whatever that entails. Regardless, while I was running how this story was going in my mind, the idea of Darjeeling and Kay talking about what led them to get interested in the countries their schools are modeled after seemed like a good avenue to write, especially since Kay is more of the outgoing one and Darjeeling can tend to be more reserved, so I think dialogue came easy. If anything, writing Kay to be more somber than usual came pretty easily for me.
I'm not sure if I'll write more Girls und Panzer fics, but I do know I won't be dabbling in combat if I do.
Thanks for reading,
TLRM
PS: If you want to know more about the world championships idea, that's from AAHW and the Dust Devils. Great story, that one.
