Boom!
Yang groaned awake, her eyes half-opening to try and glare at whatever had disturbed her. Nearby, she heard Ruby shuffling a little, then letting out a startled yelp and smacking against the ground. Promptly, Yang picked up the pace of her wake-up, heading quickly over as she murmured, "You all good?"
Fumbling, she reached out her hand to try and find the lamp, only for someone else's hand to brush past and turn it on for her. Finally, Ruby's face was illuminated, and the girl murmured, "I'm fine."
Sighing, she stood up, and Yang looked out the window to see... virtually nothing. Only two objects were distinctly visible, in fact; one was the sun, hovering merely degrees above the horizon. A tiny, tiny yellow orb, barely starting to illuminate the world. Rather than reflect on the beauty, though, Yang glanced angrily around, and finally found a clock which gave a precise time; three thirty-three A.M. With a huff, she glared back out the window, focusing on the other visible object; a Panzer III, visible by the fire beginning to burn from its engine deck.
"For fuck's sake," she murmured in exasperation, while Ruby noted, "I guess it was just the tankers then?"
Yang nodded, "Second day in a row."
With a huff, she climbed back into her bed, while Blake noted, "Don't they have a rule to not kill each other anymore?"
"I thought so," Ruby agreed, and Yang interjected, "Then they broke the rule."
"But why?" Ruby questioned. Yang shrugged, then shot, "It's their problem, we can just go back to sleep."
Ruby paused a moment, then wondered, "What if it isn't?"
Yang let out a deep sigh, while Blake noted, "It probably is just their drama."
"But... I mean... why now?" Ruby asked, and Yang grumbled, "Why not now, to prevent anyone from getting to sleep."
She sighed, flopping onto her back and staring up at the ceiling, just as the smell of smoke hit her nose. At that, she grimaced, then rolled over to turn her back to the window. Quietly, she shut her eyes...
"I'm, uh, gonna go see what's up," Ruby said. Yang's eyes promptly shot open, and she rolled over to question, "What?"
"Well," Ruby said, getting Crescent Rose, "What if it is something serious? I mean, why would they even be up right now if it wasn't bad?"
"They're a different team, right?" Yang pointed out, "Let them deal with themselves."
Ruby shrugged, then said, "I'll make sure to yell at them for you."
She then flew out the window. Yang huffed, and Blake questioned, "She knows she's still in pyjamas, right?"
"Fine then," Yang shot, "Just leave us for some other team."
She sighed, and Blake noted, "Today's a weekend anyway.'
"Yeah, so why bother sticking around her big sis?" Yang grumbled, and Blake shrugged, "If they're her friends."
Yang paused a moment, all at once self-reflective due to the last word in Blake's sentence; friends. It called Yang's mind back in an instant, back to the start of the year, when she'd told Ruby to find friends. And now, here she was, complaining about her little sister having done so. And so, for a brief moment, Yang considered the possibility that maybe she shouldn't be complaining, before quickly shaking her head, her anger now redoubled. There was, after all, a marked difference between going away to hang out with friends and just abandoning people- and, to Yang, what Ruby was doing fit into the latter category.
So, with a huff, Yang clambered out of bed. Nearby, Blake murmured, "Are you going after her?"
"Yeah," Yang reflexively said, telling the honest truth. Her mind quickly reeled, though, trying to think of a better explanation-
"Alright," Blake said before Yang could clarify. The blonde promptly turned to her partner, glancing at the girl who, for her part, merely picked up a book and started to read. After a moment, Blake glanced up, and Yang murmured, "Alright, I'll just wrangle my fifteen year-old sis back here."
Blake nodded, and Yang almost wanted to hug the girl for not judging her. She didn't, though; instead, she simply went back to getting ready.
-Elsewhere
It actually took Ruby a fairly long while to find the tankers. All she had to really go off of, after all, was the light cast by their torches, and the droning noise of the engine. Finally, though, she found them, and found them immediately in disarray, the Cruiser banking widely to the left while the turret rapidly turned-
Poom!
-before firing a shot seemingly at random, sending a great plume of dust all around. Ruby quickly got out of her ball-form, unfurling Crescent Rose and running to help. The Cruiser, meanwhile, continued to bank left, finally making a circle and firing at roughly the same point as before. Promptly, Ruby pointed her scope in the direction, expecting to see an approaching horde of Grimm... and instead found a smattering of shattered trees.
Poom!
The Cruiser fired again, and Ruby glanced out of her scope and at the tank, watching as it made the same circle, again. With confusion rapidly taking the place of the previous tension, Ruby walked forwards again, heading over to the circle where the tank was driving, then waved at it. Nothing happened for a few moments, as the tank continued to turn and turn, before jerking to an abrupt stop rather close to the girl. Ruby yelled, "Hey!"
Again, nothing for a moment, before Gladys popped out, raising a hand as she said, "H-Hello."
Wearily, the commander started to try and get onto the engine deck. Only, she misplaced her foot by several feet from where the engine deck actually was, and so she instead fell to the ground with a yell. Ruby asked, "What are you guys doing?"
The woman said nothing, laying there for a moment, before abruptly turning on her side and vomiting. Promptly, Ruby headed over, offering, "I'll walk you back and get you some water."
Gladys slowly raised herself, shaking her head quickly- a bit too quickly, in fact, as she vomited again, the puddle of green bile enlargening itself to come dangerously close to her skirt. Nearby, another hatch opened up, and Otto popped out, informing, "You have two minutes to resolve your business."
Gladys glanced upward, murmuring, "I-I'm too sick to go ah..."
She trailed off, as if about to finish the word 'on', but suddenly finding herself unable to, instead staring out into nothing with her mouth closed and her jaw clenched. Ruby questioned, "What are you doing?"
Gladys quickly answered, "N-Nothi-"
She was cut off by a stream of bile coming out of her mouth, and quickly doubled over, letting the fluid trail out of her mouth and onto the ground. Ruby shuffled a little away, while Otto informed, "The commander arranged for me to train her and her crew. I am attempting to do so in spite of her."
"You're..." Gladys murmured, "Y-You're usually nicer..."
"You usually don't need to be babied," Otto shot back, to which Gladys, as she stood up, bickered, "I-I am quite capable-"
She then slipped in her own puddle of vomit, fell face-first against the hull of the Cruiser, before pathetically sliding down onto the ground with an injured groan. Otto huffed, "The turret isn't even turning that fast. To use a medium tank, you must become completely accustomed to the motion!"
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked. As Gladys pushed herself off the ground, she shook her head lightly, murmuring, "I-I think my neck broke-"
"It is fine," Otto assured. Ruby glanced at the German, then remembered, "He's with the other guys, right?"
Gladys promptly paled, and Otto informed, "This isn't any of your concern."
"Is that why you guys blew up the other tank?" Ruby wondered, while Gladys stammered, "I-I- he, ah- i-i-is a guest, n-nothing more."
Swiftly, the commander stood up, then said, "A-And you really ought to be buggering off by now."
Ruby shrugged, and Gladys nodded, "Right, then..."
She glanced at her tank, then let out a sigh.
"On, ah, on with the lesson," she said weakly, climbing hesitantly onto the engine deck. Without another word, the commander got herself into her cupola, then lowered herself down, glancing around the turret. Emma, awkwardly crammed behind the gun breech, noted, "Bloody hell, you reek."
"Telling the Kraut to sod off is still an option," Ribbans noted, glaring at Otto as the German lowered himself in through the loader's hatch. Gladys shook her head, "Th-This is, ah, what we agreed to. Learning how to use our tank..."
She hesitated, biting her lip and looking like she was about to cry. She didn't, though; instead, she asked, "Sh-Shall we continue, ah, on with the exercise?"
Otto nodded curtly, and Gladys stood for a moment to check that Ruby was gone, then requested, "Emma, ah, could you give the order?"
She looked down, and saw the loader nod, then grab the intercom and instruct, "Alright, get us going again, still in the circle."
Promptly, the tank lurched into motion, and Gladys glanced at her gunner, requesting, "Ribbans, if you would begin rotating the turret again."
"Worst idea that Bosh has ever gotten," Ribbans grumbled as he set the turret into motion, "And we're just running along with it."
The turret then started rotating, and Gladys clenched her jaw, steeling herself against the clash between the two directional movements that her body was feeling. A few moments later, what little stability she had was shattered, as the gun fired with a soft poom, filling the turret with firing gases and rocking the turret ever-so-slightly. Otto asked, "Did you hit?"
"Of course I did, Bosh," Ribbans said. Otto sighed, then grabbed another two-pounder round, loading it, then declaring, "Up!"
Poom!
And on and on it went, for several hours. Finally, abruptly, Otto informed, "That was the last round."
"It was?" Ribbans questioned. Otto nodded, and Gladys murmured, "I-I s-suppose we can have a tea break, then?"
The Kraut glared at her a long moment, then finally nodded, and Gladys picked up the intercom once more, ordering, "C-Carney, halt us please."
The tank finally, finally stopped, and Gladys let out a sigh of relief, then began lethargically making her way out of the turret. Wordlessly, she reached her leg out to get onto the engine deck- only to feel nothing there, and instead plummet to the ground for the second time that day. And there she lay for a few moments, staring up at the sky and wondering why it seemed to be spinning. Only a little, though; most of her mind was blank, preoccupied with fighting the discomfort in her stomach.
Finally, Otto came out, and calmly hopped off the engine deck, noting, "You are a poor commander if you can't handle your turret traversing."
"I... I-I've never needed to," Gladys murmured, to which Otto shot, "That is no excuse."
Gladys said nothing back, and the Kraut huffed and walked off, leaving the woman to stew as her nausea merged with the pit in her stomach that began forming from his words. The question was running through her mind, of whether she was a good tank commander; whether she deserved all the victories and medals she'd won, or whether it was all luck. It made sense in her mind that she wasn't; after all, she couldn't even handle this, to her, basic little test. A few tears started to make their way into Gladys' eyes, before she shut them and let out a deep sigh, trying to dismiss the thoughts which had brought them.
"Are you up to a a cuppa?"
Gladys' eyes opened quietly to find her loader bent over above her, with a kettle in one of her hands. Quickly, Gladys nodded, murmuring, "I-I'm a little... queasy... b-but..."
She trailed off, having to pause between words to make sure that vomit didn't escape from her opened mouth. Emma nodded, "Right, I'll get a cup for you."
"Th-Thank you," Gladys murmured. Emma snorted, "You're still the commander."
Gladys smiled a little at that, and finally worked up the strength to push herself upright, to immediately lean against the tank. A moment later, Ribbans joined her, sitting across from her as he noted, "You think this was still a good idea?"
Gladys paused a moment.
"Where is the Kraut bastard, anyway?" Ribbans asked, "In case you change your mind and let me put him down."
"N-No," Gladys said, "Of course not."
Ribbans shrugged, and Carney promptly joined them, greeting, "Are you feeling alright?"
Gladys sighed, then shook her head, murmuring, "I... I'm, ah, rather glad that this will mark the end of Otto's training us."
She sniffed slightly at the fact that she was, somehow, celebrating not doing things in a tank. Ribbans nodded, "It had bloody well better."
"I was quite worried that the engine was going to overheat," Carney agreed. Finally, Emma came back out, bearing four cups, noting, "Otto's being quite an ass, so I say we don't let him have any."
Ribbans nodded with a smirk, and Gladys paused a moment, then nodded quietly. Ribbans guffawed, "Is that the proper commander finally coming back?"
Gladys chuckled a little, then murmured, "I... I'm sorry, this was all rather silly."
She sighed, and Carney noted, "It is training us to be better."
"No," Gladys said, "I-It isn't-"
"Finally," Ribbans grumbled, as Gladys continued, "I should have known better than to think any of this would be helpful."
"So, we're gonna tell that slow-poke
Gladys still felt queasy, now sitting on stable ground, with a single biscuit and a half-drank cup of tea in front of her. Quietly, she glanced around at her crew; no one had said a word during the whole tea break. She glanced back at the biscuit, then recoiled slightly at the mere thought of something being in her stomach. So, instead of eating it, she reached out a slightly shaky hand towards her cup of tea, and carefully navigated it to her mouth to take a small sip, wincing slightly as she felt the hot liquid pour over where her bile had already scorched her throat.
"You going to eat that?" Ribbans asked, indicating the biscuit. Gladys paused a moment, then shook her head, and Ribbans smiled, "Thank Christ, we didn't get any breakfast before this-"
"It is her responsibility," Otto pointed out.