Chapter 40: Stay on Course

William stared at the number he punched into his phone. Is this really the right thing to do? Should I continue? He wondered, I already told Pastor Barnes to bring her. I may as well follow through. He anxiously pushed the OK button and waited. The phone beeped aimlessly for several moments. William's heart started to sink as time passed on. Is this all for nothing?

The final beep signified a connected call. He put his phone on speaker. "H-hello?" a soft voice said.

"Is this Lisette Church?" William asked straightforwardly.

The voice on the other side stayed silent in surprise for a moment. "H-how?" she asked before realizing, "it must have been Pastor Barnes, wasn't it?"

"It was. I guess you recognized my number, but this is William," he replied.

"Yes, I did…" she said, "I-I'm sorry, but if you want me to come back to Oregon… I can't. It'd do more damage than what's already been done."

William sighed. "I expected that, but things have changed since you left. We're not in Oregon anymore. The team was disbanded, and we got an offer to continue Sensha-do at Oarai Co-ed Academy, a schoolship operating out of Japan," he explained.

"Oh wow… a schoolship? That must be an exciting experience," Lisette commented.

"It is, I suppose. But that's not why I called you," he said.

"Then why have you called me?" she asked.

William closed his eyes and steeled himself. "Natalie is terribly sick. W-we don't know if she's going to recover. We need you to come to Japan to see her," he explained.

The line was dead silent for several moments. "B-but I-I…" Lisette stuttered, "h-how did something like this happen?" she asked.

"Chance I suppose. Unlike you, Ross has done an incredible job of raising Natalie," William judged harshly. It was clear he was frustrated.

"Listen up! I have my own reasons for leaving. I did it FOR them! I had no other choice!" she spat back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" William demanded.

Lisette froze again. The silence continued for a moment before she spoke up again. "It would be better if I explained it to you in person," she answered, "I'll be there in a few days."

The call disconnected before William could respond. He stared at the phone screen for a moment before flipping it shut and tossing it side onto his desk. He took a deep breath to calm down and lay down on his bed. Was this a good choice? He wondered. I guess I'll have to wait and see…

000

Oarai's hospital allowed parents or guardians to stay with their children at all hours and let them stay overnight as well. Ross and Miho decided that they would stay with Natalie as much as they could. Ross would be there 24/7 while Miho would go to school to collect their work and attend class. The moment she was done though, she would return to the hospital and help Ross stay on track academically.

Miho carefully laid out a small futon for them to sleep on in Natalie's room. The room was big enough and had a private bathroom so it was almost like a hotel room, except of course for all the medical equipment and the dire situation they were in. She found herself constantly looking at Natalie while she lay there peacefully. But she knew that it was only an illusion. Inside, she knew, Natalie was fighting for her life, barely holding on against a nearly invisible foe.

Miho snapped out of it. She sighed as she realized she had been staring at Natalie again. She patted down the futon before standing up again. "I hope it's not uncomfortable, staying in a room like this," Chi commented from her workstation.

"Oh no… if it wasn't for the situation, I would think it'd be cozy," Miho answered.

Chi smiled warmly. "Well, it is quite minimalistic, but you tend to get that in hospitals. That and it is a temporary stay after all so you can't really get lived-in," she replied.

"Yeah, that's true. Can I ask you a question?" Miho asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Chi answered.

"If you could estimate right now, how much of a chance would give Natalie?" Miho asked.

Chi frowned and looked at her laptop screen. "I'm not sure. ARDS is a very serious condition, and very difficult to recover from, even in a healthy adult. For her… recovery is much more difficult and more likely to leave lasting effects. Even if she does recover, there's a high chance that she will never be the same. How she grows, develops, and lives will all be affected by this," Chi explained, "she may recover fully, she may recover with developmental delays, she may recover from the pneumonia and influenza, but her brain may be too damaged by hypoxia to function. There are just too many variables and possibilities.

"Oh…" Miho muttered.

"But you did the right thing encouraging Ross," Chi said, "he needs to support her as much as he can now and later. Keeping you and him in good spirits will go a long way in recovery for Natalie. After all, imagine how she'd feel if she woke up and the first thing she sees is your loving smiles. Even as a baby, things like that will go a long way."

Miho slowly nodded and looked at Natalie longingly again. "I hope that is the first thing she sees…" she muttered.

"The positive thing is that you guys got her here very quickly. Ross did CPR before our EMTs reached him, and they provided care during the trip here. It greatly improved her chances of recovery," Chi added, "don't be discouraged. She may not show signs of improvement yet, but she also has shown no signs of getting worse yet either and anything that does come up will be treated as best and as quickly as possible."

"I guess that makes sense," Miho replied quietly.

The door to the room opened slowly and Ross backed into the room carefully. In one hand he carried a bag filled with clothes for him and Miho and in the other, he carried a tray with a pair of sandwiches and two small bags of plain chips. Miho rushed over and took the clothes to free one of his hands. "Thanks," Ross muttered and went across the room to set the tray on the small table at the far end of the room that was behind the chairs currently situated next to Natalie's bed. At the other corner was their futon with plenty of space between it and Natalie's bed, in case doctors needed space to treat her. "Sorry that supper's going to be pretty basic… the cafeteria wasn't exactly fully operational at this hour," he said.

"It's fine, not much else we can do," she assured.

"Hey, the sandwiches they make at night are pretty good. I know I can attribute many successful all-nighters because of them," Chi added.

"Is that so?" Miho asked, picking hers up. It wasn't anything special, plain white bread with a slice of cheese and ham. But given the circumstances, it was a little bit of normality. She took a bite and judged the sandwich. After she swallowed, she had her commentary, "Yeah, it's not bad."

After they ate their small supper, Ross and Miho were ready for bed, but there were still a few things to sort out. "So, we have to keep the lights on in case there's an emergency, but we do have sleep masks for you," Chi explained, handing them a pair of black sleep masks with a simple black band.

"Huh, I've never used one of these before," Miho noted as she looked over it.

"They're actually fairly comfortable. Now let's go over what to do if there's a medical emergency." She pointed over to a red button on a white fixing right above the left bedside table. "Now we do have automatic triggers based on heart rate, oxygen saturation, all the important basic life functions, but just in case you feel there is an emergency, pushing that button will call for emergency help and they can stabilize Natalie," she explained, "do not be afraid to use it if you feel there is an emergency. If anything seems off, use it, alright?"

Ross and Miho nodded and kept the information in mind. "Now, every so often, someone will come in and take Natalie's vitals and check in on her. Unless they ask for you, there's no need for you to get up for them. And of course, everyone here is vetted and trustworthy. Nobody is going to cause any trouble. If you need to for any reason, you can leave this room and go to any of the public areas in the hospital, but stay out of patient rooms and any work areas. That goes without saying though," Chi explained.

"Of course," Miho and Ross replied.

"Well then, that's all. My shift here ends in about 20 minutes and then you'll have other nurses and doctors coming in and out occasionally," she said.

Miho and Ross nodded and took turns changing and getting ready for bed. Once they were done, Chi had left and they were left alone with Natalie. Even in their circumstances, Ross blushed when Miho left the bathroom. It was the first time he saw her in her light blue pajamas. "Those look… cute, Miho," Ross complimented bashfully.

Miho blushed and smiled. "You think so? Thank you…" she replied just as bashfully. It felt good being able to still enjoy each other under their circumstances. "Let's get to bed. It's getting pretty late," Miho noted.

Ross looked at the clock on the wall and agreed. It was almost 11:30 pm and they were going to have some busy days ahead. They started to lie down on the futon when they realized just how close they would be. "This is a little smaller than I expected…" Miho commented with her face still a little red.

Ross chuckled. "I supposed so. It's not going to be uncomfortable for you, is it?" he asked.

Miho giggled with him. "It's not like we haven't done it before," she added.

"That's true," Ross replied as he pulled the futon cover over them. He blushed again when Miho cuddled up next to him. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her and let her head rest against his chest.

"Good night," Miho whispered as she pulled her sleep mask over her eyes.

"Good night," Ross replied as he pulled his own mask over his eyes.

000

Miho looked around. She was no longer in the hospital room with Ross and Natalie but in an empty gray space. She looked around as she felt her fear start to grow. "Where am I? Ross!? Anyone?!" she called out.

The sound of sharp footsteps behind her caused her to turn around. Her face became pale as saw her mother approach her with Maho next to her. "M-mother?" she asked shakily.

"Don't even call me that," Shiho spat.

"You're a disgrace to the Nishizumi name," Maho added, "they're going to die because of you."

"What huh?" Miho asked with surprise, "who is? What's going on? Where are we?"

"Just turn around," Shiho sharply commanded.

Miho slowly turned around, obeying her mother. As she took in the new scene, she covered her mouth and her eyes widened in terror. Three beds were in front of them with three figures Miho knew very, very well.

On the first bed was Koume in her Kuromormine uniform. Her skin was pale, with her lips and fingertips blue. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing. The heart rate monitor next to her was flat and gave out a horrible, screeching flat tone. "No… no this can't be happening! She survived! I pulled her out! She's not dead!" Miho screamed out in protest.

"Why couldn't you just leave it to the safety officials?!" Shiho scolded, "they know what they are doing! You don't! You're a tank commander, not a hero!"

Miho shook with terror. "I-I just… I…" she stuttered.

"Pathetic," Maho commented.

Miho looked at the second bed. This time she nearly fainted when she saw her boyfriend lying with a blood-covered bandage over his face. What wasn't covered was bruised and battered. His arms were covered with open wounds and bruises from blunt force trauma. "This is the only result of boys in Sensha-do. They are not fit for tank combat, they are not responsible enough. Boundaries exist for a reason," Maho lectured.

Miho could barely keep herself together, tears started falling from her eyes. "B-but…" she stuttered, "he was doing it for her! How else could he pay for college without those scholarships?"

"What use will those scholarships be without Natalie?" Shiho asked.

Miho tearfully looked at the last bed. Finally, she broke and fell to her knees. A little baby girl, covered in blood and her skin pale and blue, the horrible mix of Koume and Ross's condition. Miho couldn't find a single sign of life in her. "No… no… no… not her too!" she wailed. She was fully crying now, large tears fell onto the gray ground in front of her.

"Everyone who knows you only suffers. You only bring suffering," Shiho stated darkly.

"Now it's time for you to feel it too," Maho added ominously.

"Then raise the cheer, ye despots hear! And surely it will alarm ye! For soon you'll see old Erin free by the Irish-American Army!"

"Hip hurray and clear the way! We're coming Saxon Army! The fight's begun, it will be won, by the Irish-American Army!"

000

Miho snapped up out of Ross' arms to see a familiar pair of Irish Americans sitting in front of them. Patty held her Irish Bouzouki while Nora held a harmonica. "Good morning sleepyheads!" Patty exclaimed.

Miho looked around confusingly. As she did, tears that were built up over her nightmare fell down her face and onto her lap. Nora immediately jumped down from her chair and handed her a tissue. "Oh jeez… are you alright?" she asked caringly.

Miho took the tissue gratefully and wiped her face. "I-I had a pretty bad nightmare…" she mumbled.

"Oh man, that sucks… I'm sorry to hear that," Patty replied.

"Are you okay, Miho?" Koume asked, kneeling next to her.

Miho turned to her and her eyes widened in shock. "Koume!" she exclaimed jumping up and nearly tackling her.

"Woah!" Koume nearly shouted as Miho hugged her. "What's wrong Miho?"

"I-I… the nightmare… you were… dead," Miho whispered tearfully.

Koume's eyes softened. "It's okay, I'm alright," she assured, returning her hug.

Just as Miho began to let go of Koume, she heard a yawn behind her. Ross stretched and groaned as he sat up. "Ross!" Miho exclaimed before hugging him too. "I'm so glad your okay," she mumbled.

"Huh?" Ross asked tiredly. He was still waking up and clearly not focused yet.

"Y-you were dead too…" Miho mumbled.

"What?" Ross asked confusingly.

"Morning loverboy," Nora greeted, "Miho had a nightmare and it looks like there were some… casualties…"

Patty jabbed Nora in the arm. "You couldn't have put that any nicer?" she scolded.

"It's fine," Ross assured. He hugged Miho back as she trembled in his arms. "Everything's going to be alright," he whispered.

Miho slowly calmed down and let go of him. She wiped her eyes and straighten herself. "Alright… I feel better, thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it. You helped me last night, so I'm just returning the favor," Ross said with a smile. The two turned to face the group that was visiting them. William leaned against the wall close to the door with another familiar face at the monitoring computer. Nurse Koyama smiled and gave them a little wave. Other than that, Nora, Patty, and Koume were gathered around them.

"Oh wow… what are you guys doing here?" Miho asked.

"Work mostly," Nurse Koyama joked.

Everyone had a nice laugh at that. "It's good to see you again, Nurse Koyama," Ross greeted.

"Likewise," she replied.

"Anyways," William interrupted, "the girls wanted to know what was going on. They saw everything going down last night and were rightly concerned, so they came to me earlier to find things out," he explained, "I figured I'd come along to vouch for them to visit you. Don't worry, I made sure Patty and Nora's music wasn't loud or anything."

"Yeah, we figured the hospital wouldn't entirely appreciate them waking everyone up at this hour with Irish-American folk songs," Koume added.

"You make it sound like we're planning to do that…" Patty complained.

Miho and Ross had a good laugh at their expense. "It wouldn't surprise me," Ross commented, "so how much do you know?"

"We've got pretty much the whole story," Koume answered, "so we've decided to help you guys out. Look!" she exclaimed while offering them a plastic sack, "I made you guys some breakfast!"

"Thank you so much!" Miho and Ross exclaimed together.

Koume smiled and set it on the small table. "No problem," she replied, "anything to help out a friend in need."

William looked at the clock and sighed. "As much as I hate it, we've gotta get moving soon to make it to class on time. I've been told Sodoko makes no exceptions, no matter what."

"Did you get that from Mako?" Miho asked.

"Yep," William replied, "but to be fair to her, she has the most experience being late…"

"Not so much lately!" Miho pointed out, "we've been able to get her on time in the mornings much more!"

"Alright, fair. But we really do need to get moving. We'll be waiting out in the lobby for you," William stated before he turned to leave.

Patty and Nora stood up as well. "Don't keep us waiting!" Patty added cheerfully.

000

Anzu sat in her Student Council President chair with a sweet potato slice in her mouth. She chewed on it for a moment while pondering over what William and Miho had just explained to her, Yuzu, and Momo. "Considering the circumstances, I completely understand," Anzu said sympathetically.

"President, are you sure? I mean, losing our captain right before the finals is a pretty big deal," Momo asked.

Anzu sighed, her bright and cheerful demeanor/facade was gone. "You can relate to her right? You've got a pretty big family, imagine if one of your siblings were sick. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 100, because now it's not a sibling, but someone you see as your child," Anzu argued, "I approve of William's suggestion. We can step things up to compensate." She saw Yuzu look at her with concern and even a hint of stress. "Don't worry Yuzu, I know Momo and I haven't pulled our weight too well," she admitted, "that's going to change. We're going to do everything we can to save our school and make sure Miho and Ross can support Natalie as much as possible."

Miho's eyes sparkled gratefully. "Thank you so much, President," she said, feeling incredibly moved.

Anzu smiled. "No Captain, thank you for everything you've done. We wouldn't be at this point without you." She stood up and walked around her desk to Miho. "Now you make sure Natalie can recover to cheer us on in the finals, alright?" she requested.

"Of course!" Miho answered appreciatively.

Anzu smiled at her one last time before turning to William. "Now, I believe we'll need to address the team about this situation. Did you have any ideas?" she asked.

"We'll just have to be straightforward with them. There's not much to sugarcoat. But I assure you, we'll get everything sorted and in the best shape possible," William answered, "Yuzu, has the Stormartillerie conversion kit arrived?"

"Yes it has! We can begin work today," Yuzu replied.

"Perfect," William said before turning to Miho, "the team is in good hands. Who knows, we might even get another new team. That'd be pretty impressive right?"

"Just don't overextend yourselves," Miho warned.

William chuckled, "Yes ma'am!"

000

William walked in front of the open garages idly, watching as every team gathered and looked over their vehicles before practice officially began. "I guess it's time to face the music," he muttered. He stopped in front of Garage 3 and pulled out a whistle. He blew into it briefly, and it gave out a shrill sound to alert everyone. "Everyone, I need your attention, gather in front of Garage 3!" he shouted after the whistle dropped back around his neck.

It took a moment, but all the teams left their vehicles and stood in neat rows with captains in front with their crews standing behind them. 19 rows stood in front of him waiting for him to begin with the student council next to him. William stepped forward and took a deep breath. "I'm sure you've all noticed that Ross and Miho are not here right now… and that probably won't change for some time," he announced.

"So what's going on?" Azusa asked.

William steeled himself to answer that question. "I'm sure you are familiar with Ross's daughter, Natalie, and how much she means to him and Miho," he began.

Immediately Jody spoke up. "What's going on with her?" she demanded.

"She is dangerously sick with pneumonia caused by the influenza virus," he answered.

"SHE'S WHAT?!" Jody shouted. She stormed forward and grabbed William by his jacket collar. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" she screamed, "how severe is it? I-is she going to die?!"

"Jody stop!" Chloe yelled, running up behind her and grabbing her arms, "let William go! He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Let go of me!" Jody yelled back furiously and let William go to struggle with Chloe.

"Jody, please calm down! The situation is being handled as best as possible. She's being treated well, so please calm down!" William pleaded.

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner!?" Jody demanded, pushing Chloe off of her.

"Because I knew this is how you'd react! Think about Ross and Miho right now! Would they want you kicking in the door when Natalie is the most vulnerable?" William argued.

Alex gently touched Jody's arm. "Jody, please calm down," she said in a soft caring voice, a surprising break from her usual monotone, "getting upset is not going to make you or Natalie feel better."

Jody wiped her tears with her sleeve. "Y-your right, I'm sorry…" she relented.

"It's fine, we're all dealing with a lot right now, so I don't blame you for getting upset. Just try to control your anger a little more, okay?" William reassured. As the group returned to their spot, William straightened himself back up. "Alright everyone, let me explain things a little further," he announced, "Last night, Natalie began suffering from the aforementioned pneumonia, which progressed and worsened with a febrile seizure. From there, she was rushed to the hospital and is being treated for her condition as best as possible."

"So how long will she be there?" Erwin asked.

William sighed sadly. "It's not known right now. Could be a few weeks, maybe months, or even years. She may… she may not recover," he revealed, "she fell unconscious from her seizure, and her lungs filled with fluid. Her brain was starved of oxygen for a short period of time. Now she's in a coma and until she recovers from the pneumonia the doctors won't take her off coma-inducing medicine to give her the best chance to fight off the virus. Once that happens… if it does… she may still not wake up."

The team stood in shocked silence. To them, Natalie was like a little cheerleader. She'd made it to every match and they'd all had a moment to interact with her. Not to mention how important she was to Ross and Miho who were both trusted friends and pillars of leadership. "So Miho and Ross will be absent from the team in the foreseeable future," William announced, sending another shockwave through the team, "the student council and I will be managing the team until then. We'll still maintain the cooperative structure Miho has put in place and I will do my best to fill in for her. I also want to let you know, she may not be the captain for the national finals. That will entirely be dependant on how Natalie's illness develops."

"Do we even have a chance to beat Kuromormine without her?" Fukuda asked, "they're so strong…"

"We do," William stated determinedly, "we have no choice. Oarai depends on us. Use that to motivate you. We have a purpose to win greater than they do. We have the resources necessary to fight. We have a command from our captain to fight, fight until the last tank until the last one standing. Kuromormine wants to win so they can enforce their belief that they can determine who can do Sensha-do. They want to shut us down. MEXT and the Ibaraki prefecture government want us to lose so they can tear up the school and sell it for money. They want to destroy the community that has been built by every citizen of the Zuikaku, decades of students pursuing academic excellence, pursuing their dreams, pursuing their ideals. Our backs are against the wall. We have no choice but to fight as hard as possible. There are no alternatives. We either submit, we win, or we go down in a blaze of glory!" he shouted, "what is more righteous, more honorable, more respectable than to fight even when odds are against you, when your muscles scream for rest, and when your opponents demand your submission, yet you continue the fight, to push on through the struggle, and either go down fighting like warriors, or break through to the great victory?!"

"He's right!" Azusa added, stepping forward confidently. "How many opponents have we defeated against the odds? We faced Saunders in our second-ever actual match and won! We fought Chi-Ha-Tan in an adverse environment where they had the element of surprise and won! We fought Anzio with half of our strength and were exhausted, yet we still won! We fought Pravda and were completely surrounded without our heavy firepower, and yet, despite all this, we still won! What's going to stop us from defeating Kurmormine, just as we have defeated the giants before us?!" she exclaimed passionately.

The crowd stood in awe at the girl who had begun Sensha-do as an anxious first year with no experience with tanks, who now spoke before them as if she was the captain. Instead of running away from their stare, she faced them confidently. "We can win this," Azusa stated before turning to William, "give us our orders, Provisional Captain Valentine." She accentuated the request with a sharp, respectable salute.

William had to chuckle. "Asuza, that's a great salute, but there's no need for you to be so formal," he complimented.

He expected Asuza to stutter an apology and retreat back to her team, but he was surprised when she confidently let her arm drop and gave him a smile. "I just figured you'd like it. The Freikorps do enjoy symbolism after all," she replied before turning to return to her group.

What a girl… William thought I guess Sensha-do has made her leagues more confident in herself. Good for her. "Alright everyone, you know the pre-practice drill, get your tanks ready and call into Atrox Team. We'll proceed from there," he ordered. The team began to disperse back into the garages. William watched them for a moment when Momo turned to him.

"That wasn't a bad speech, Provisional Captain Valentine," Momo complimented.

Today is just full of surprises! William thought momentarily. "Thank you. I kind of have a thing for impromptu speeches," he admitted with a tiny hint of sheepishness.

"Well, good work," she continued, "we'll go get Turtle Team ready."

William watched the student council walk off to Garage 2 with a bewildered expression. Shit if she's complimenting me, then the world must be ending or something. He shook his head and started walking over to Garage 1. As he approached; however, he noticed a tall, lanky girl with an unkempt uniform with a long skirt that reached her knees. More bizarrely, she wore a pair of glasses that appeared to have swirls in them that covered her eyes and had cat ears in her long blonde hair. "Is there something I can help you with?" William asked.

The girl shot up and looked at him anxiously. "U-um, well yes, is Captain Nishizumi… here?" she asked timidly.

"I'm afraid not, due to family reasons, she's been temporarily relieved of her position. I'm acting as the current provisional captain though, so I may be able to help," William answered politely.

"Oh, well I-I'd like to join the team!" the girl exclaimed nervously, "I know how to drive… a tank that is. I read a tutorial online!"

William smiled. "Well that's wonderful," he replied. He tapped his cheek and thought for a moment. I guess we could put her in the Type 89B… it's better than nothing, he thought.

"A-and um… I think I found a tank to use," she added.

William's eyes widened. "Is that so? That's awesome!" he exclaimed, "Let's go grab one of our recovery crews. By the way, what's your name?"

"Mai Nekota… but I prefer Nekonya… if that's not weird or anything," she awkwardly answered.

"No worries," William replied as they entered Garage 1, "Hey, Joseph!"

Joseph popped out of his commander's hatch. "What's up?!" he shouted back.

"We've got a new member who's found a tank for the team!" William called out.

"Sick!" Joseph shouted. He eagerly jumped down from the T1E1 and gathered his crew over to Nekonya and William. "So, what are we looking at? Is it a big or small tank?" he asked.

"It's not that small… maybe about as big as that tank?" Nekonya answered, pointing to the Type 100.

"Ah, a medium tank. You can always use one of them," Joseph commented, "We'll probably need something more powerful than the RD8, but the M6 should do the trick." Everyone got situated in the M6 while William left them to conduct practice. "Alright, Nekonya, lead the way," Joseph said as he fired up the tractor.

000

The M6 came to a stop at the edge of a parking lot. In front of it was a row of connected carports hidden away in the shape of the trees behind it. Near the end of the ports was a tank chassis painted green. Joseph and Nekonya hopped out to take a look while the rest of Hyena Team grabbed their tools from the cargo hold. "So this is it?" Joseph asked as he walked around the chassis. It had seven road wheels and a fairly standard layout with angled corners around the top part of the hull. Visually it was quite appealing. "So what happened to the turret?" Joseph asked.

"I don't know, I found it like this," Nekonya answered.

"Hmm," Joseph hummed to himself, "well we'll need to find the turret, maybe it's around here?" He took a quick look around the other ports, but only found other cars or storage containers. He sighed. "Oh well, we can look for it once we get a good read on what tank this is," he relented.

Hyena Team hooked the tank chassis up to the M6 and carefully began the journey back to the Sensha-do field.

000

Duck Team sped over a dirt path in the forest south of the Sensha-do field. The PT-1A's Christie suspension was well suited to this type of environment as the tank bounced over the ups and downs of the trail. A cloud of dirt flew behind them as they flew over another edge and bounced on the ground.

William whistled from afar as he watched them from the tower. "They've got a mean pace going," he muttered, looking at the stopwatch. Any other tank would take much longer going through their speed course, but of course, the PT-1A was an amphibious fast tank. It was obviously going to be the fastest on the team.

Poor Noriko held on for dear life as her tank bounced along the path. "Shinobu, you don't need to be so aggressive!" she called out.

"But we're on pace to break our record!" their driver protested.

"That's fair, but seriously, this is a bit dangerous!" Noriko called back, nearly chomping off her tongue as the tank flew over another ridge. I'm going to need back surgery after this… she thought as she slammed back into her seat.

The PT-1A flew around the final corner back into the Sensha-do field and drifted to a stop. William stopped the timer and read the result. "7 minutes and thirty-two seconds. A new track record!" he announced.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Shinobu cheered. Her crewmates were just glad it was over.

Melitta glared at Duck Team while she leaned against the M1932. It didn't have its wings attached, since they were taking part in the ground exercises today. "Alright Manfred, we're going to beat 'em!" she declared.

Manfred did not look enthused. He warily turned to Melitta as he noticed Noriko struggle to climb out of the PT-1A. "D-do I really have to join you?" he asked.

"Yes! If you have the balls to fly a plane and do reckless landing stunts, then you can handle a little extreme tank driving!" Melitta answered sternly.

"A landing takes like, thirty seconds tops. They aren't exactly comparable," he protested.

"Well, you're going to need to deal with this type of driving anyway, so strap in, it's our turn now!" Melitta demanded. Manfred groaned and slid back into the tank. Melita hopped into the commander's hatch and slid into her seat. Nakajima came over and helped them get strapped in.

"Have fun, but don't tear yourselves up, alright?" Nakajima advised.

"I'll try," Melitta replied with a cheeky smirk. Nakajima just shook her head and retreated from the tank once they were strapped in.

"You guys ready?" William asked.

"Hell yeah, I'll show those Ducks what speed really looks like!" Melitta jeered.

"Oh good God… be careful, have fun, try not to crash," Willaim replied, "3… 2… 1… GO!"

Melitta slammed her levers down as hard as possible. The exhaust backfired with several quick, loud pops of fire and smoke before the tank flew forwards with a roar. "Woohoo! Take notes from this Ross Chastain!" she cheered as the tank flew into the forest trails.

"God save me, God save me, God save me!" Manfred cried as he held on for dear life. The M1932 flew over the trail, rivaling the PT-1A's speed as it blasted dirt into the air and shook the trees with its roar of horsepower. Manfred's eye's widened further when he saw a relatively flat stretch of trail.

Melitta giggled evilly as the M1932 slammed onto the stretch from an awkward corner. The tracks slid as the tank drifted and straighten itself. Then the power of the American engine was truly unveiled as the tank sped across the stretch of trail. The treads flung dirt in all directions while exhaust smoke poured from the exhaust pipes. Melitta was having the time of her life while Manfred hung on for his life.

"Melitta, be careful there's a sharp turn ahead!" William warned. He looked as his watch and noticed Melitta was making record time, but he was concerned Melitta might be going a bit far.

"We'll make it!" Melitta replied as the tank neared the curve. Then she swung the left lever back. The tank spun around almost perfectly to drift the corner as if it was a rally car.

But rally cars don't use an entire tread for surface friction when it turns. The tank spun further left than Melitta anticipated. "Shit!" she cried out as the tank spun around over the edge of the trail and into the foliage below. A few small trees were cut down near the trail as the tank flung into them. The tank flipped halfway over when it slammed into a larger tree with its roof. The tree shattered into thousands of tiny wood chips and it began falling over with a loud crack as the area was pelted with splinters. Thankfully, it cut most of the tank's momentum as the tank fell into the shallow creek below that passed under the trail with a large old half-pipe. The M1932 dig unto the ground before settling against the ridge to its left. A least it did not flip over.

Melitta took a few deep exhilarating breaths. "Maybe I should've taken that corner slower…" he relented.

"You think?!" Manfred scolded from his seat. He was definitely going to have a headache tomorrow.

"Are you okay Meadowlark?!" William cried out.

"We're fine, Manfred just needs an aspirin or something tomorrow," Melitta answered as she unstrapped herself. She pushed open her hatch and climbed out. She jumped down from the hatch onto the ground below her where the cool water flowed in the creak. A strangely shaped green object in the half-pipe caught her attention. "What's this now?" she wondered as she hopped over the stones sticking out of the creak. Once she got close, she noticed that there was a large barrel sticking out of the object reaching deeper into the pipe. "Hey! It's a tank turret!" she exclaimed.

The turret had smooth rounded edges but was still polygonal. It was fairly sizable, with part of the rear overhanging the turret base. Melitta excitedly waited for the recovery crew to arrive so she could show her the discovery. After a few minutes, she heard the Voroshilovets tractor approaching. It stopped above her at the beginning of the turn. "Hey, take a look down here!" she called out.

William climbed out of the Voroshilovets and slide down the ridge of the turn. "What's up?" he asked before looking into the pipe. His eyes widened in surprise. "That's definitely a tank turret, but I have no clue what model it is," he said.

"Well, let's pull it out and find out!" Melitta exclaimed.

000

Pulling out the M1932 was easy enough. It could rely on its own power with some assistance to get out of the creak. The heavy tank turret; however, was an entirely different challenge. But with a little work, violent cursing, and luck, the recovery crew was able to pull it free and bring it back to the garages. Just time as well, because Joseph returned just as they dragged the turret into Garage 4. Every other garage had been filled with tanks and a utility vehicle. They would have to put one of the tanks in the utility vehicle slot until they could find more space.

William put all that aside as the M6 tractor stopped in front of the garage with the chassis. He explained both the chassis and the turret and noticed that they looked very similar, even compatible. He'd get his answer when Yukari rushed over. "Oh wow! You guys found another tank?!" she asked excitedly.

"Looks like it," William replied casually, "can you recognize it?"

Yukari's eyes lit up happily. She investigated every detail of the chassis and went through her vast knowledge of vehicles as she walked in circles around the chassis. "It looks like a hull for a Japanese Type 3 Chi-Nu!" she determined. She ran over the turret and immediately tilted her head in confusion. "This looks like it should be the Chi-Nu's turret… but look, the gun doesn't have a muzzle brake and the recoil absorber is on the top of the barrel, not below it like the Chi-Nu. I think it's a little longer than it should be too…" she pondered over the details for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "What we have here is a Type 4 Chi-To turret," she informed.

William sighed in disappointment. "That's a shame. I thought maybe they would be the same model, and we could just put 'em together. I guess not…" he said.

Yukari; however, didn't share his disappointment. "Actually, we can!" she exclaimed. William raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue. "See, the standard Type 3 Chi-Nu wasn't the only model to use the chassis. In the later part of its development, the designers decided to improve the tank's firepower to better fight the growing number and quality of Allied designs. So they did something ingenious! They modified the Type 3 turret ring slightly to put the Type 4 Chi-To turret, its planned successor onto the chassis of the Type 3 Chi-Nu, creating the Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai, or Chi-Nu II!" she lectured, "and the gun of the Type 4 is much better than the Type 3, higher velocity, higher penetration, you name it!"

"Well, I'll be damned…" William commented, "looks like we've got a new tank."

Joseph jumped out of the M6. "So where do you want this thing?" he asked.

"Let's get it into one of the slots for Garage 4. They can keep one of their other tanks in the utility slot since they won't need the crane," William decided.

With everyone else out doing exercises, it wasn't hard to simply drop the chassis off in the garage and mount the turret to it with the crane. Despite the good structural state the tank was in, it would still need some more work internally. "Alright, let's get back to practice, then we can get some members with Japanese tank experience to help the automotive club restore it afterwords," William instructed.

And so practice resumed, except Meadowlark Team was suspended from any speed course activities for the day.

000

"And that's sort of everything that's happened today and yesterday. Overall the team is adjusting well and I don't see any reason to believe that will change," William informed to Miho and Ross, who were sitting next to Natalie's bed. He stood on the opposite side and was just finishing up his report of the previous two practice sessions.

"Wow, I thought you were joking when you said you might add a new team. Good work," Miho complimented.

"A Type 3 Chi-Nu Kais huh?" Ross added, "sounds like a good medium tank, if a bit fragile."

William shrugged. "Yeah, it's definitely going to be a glass cannon, but Nekonya does seem to be excited to be part of the team, although I'm surprised that she never even met her online friends in real life before. Hopefully, they don't go into this thinking it'll be like their online games," he said.

"You'll certainly have to keep them pointed in the right direction, but I don't think that should be too hard," Miho advised, "although we're definitely overcrowding the garages, I seriously doubt the budget will allow for any renovations."

William winced. "Yeah, we're barely clearing our basic requirements. A new garage is quite out of reach. We'll have to think asymmetrically," he added.

"That's something we're pretty good at though," Ross pointed out, "a little space issue shouldn't be hard to fix, compared to what we started with."

"It's almost a good problem to have," Miho added cheerfully, "we barely started with anything, and now we're facing the finals with too many tanks for our garage."

William's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and opened it. I'm here, the text from Lisette said. He had arranged for them to meet at the hospital and then everything could be explained all in one go, but that started to seem like a… risky idea now. It was a little too late to back down though.

"I got to step out for a moment," William said.

"Oh sure, go ahead," Miho replied.

William gave them a smile and left the room nervously. Time to face the music… he thought anxiously as he entered the hospital elevator and took it to the ground floor. "No turning back…" he muttered as the door opened. If I'm nervous just meeting her… then I can't imagine how she must feel.

He walked into the lobby and looked around. Other than the secretary at the front desk, there was only one other person in the room. She looked rather frail and skinny, with a pair of jeans on and a yellow hoodie. She slowly turned to look at him and their eyes met. Her's were turquoise but were also dulled. She had her hood up and pulled tightly around her head. Why is she hiding her head like that? William thought curiously. Regardless, he walked over to her.

"William," she softly greeted.

"Lisette," William replied, "I suppose we have some things to talk about."

"We do," she replied simply, "but I want to see Natalie first."

"Ross is here with his new girlfriend… who has gotten quite close to him and Natalie. Are you willing to face them?" William asked.

"Fine. Pastor Barnes did promise me that he would make sure you all gave me a chance to explain myself, so I expect that promise to be kept," she replied.

"It will. I can assure you that," William promised.

Lisette nodded. "Let's go them," she stated. William led her to the elevator and after a quick trip, they were on the floor they needed to be on. He led her to the door to Natalie's room.

"Are you ready?" William asked.

"As I can be," Lisette answered.

William just nodded and stepped inside, gesturing for her to wait one moment. Ross and Miho looked up as he stepped inside. "Hey… so we have a visitor and it's… I'm just going to say I'm going to need you to stay calm, alright?"

Ross raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Just don't throw anything at me… okay?" William requested, "I'm doing this for you, her, and Natalie.

"Alright…" Miho replied with confusion. Ross's eyes narrowed with suspicion, but he stayed silent.

William opened the door behind him. He poked his head out and nodded to Lisette. She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm as she stepped into the room. She stood in front of William and tried her best to keep her head up so she could see them.

Miho looked at the new girl with confusion. But Ross…

Their eyes met. She didn't necessarily look like the girl who had slept with him drunkenly one night, the girl who had a baby with him, and the girl who had left in the night two weeks later. But he could see past that. Her frail, gaunt face still had remnants of what she used to look like. Her eyes had a faint trace of the vibrant turquoise he had fallen in love with so long ago.

"Just who the hell do you think you are!" he screamed as he jumped up from his chair.

000

Next time on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces...

Chapter 41: Why