Chapter 3: Where It All Begins
A line of late WWII German tanks drove along the slippery edge of the cliffside road desperately trying to protect their flag tank, a Panzer VI Ausf. E, also known as the Tiger I. Leading the convoy through the thundering storm of rain was a Panzer III. Miho stood outside of the commander's cupola of the Tiger, leaving herself open to the cold weather and pouring rain.
Whatever may befall us, we advance, the words of the Nishizumi family matriarch, Shiho Nishizumi rang through Miho's head as she gripped the damp steel of the cupola.
A flurry of 76mm and 85mm shells from Pravda's unending swarm of T-34's crashed into the cliffside and in front of the Panzer III. The explosions blew Miho's hair back and knocked the Panzer III into a diagonal position. To the horror of the sub-commander of Kuromorimine, the Panzer III began sliding down the cliff, the once firm rock giving way to the force of the shells and the erosion of rain. Several of Pravda's tanks began moving in, slowly reaching the range where their guns would pierce the thick front armor of the Tiger and end the match. Miho's eyes widened in shock and fear as the Panzer III crashed into the churning river and sank into the waves. I have to do something!
The auburn freshman jumped out of the Tiger and over the cliffs where she quickly slid down the jagged rocks which scratched her legs. Ignoring the pain, she pressed forward, echoing her mother's words in her head. Whatever may befall us, we advance!
Before she reached the waterline she jumped off the cliffside and into the freezing river. Her already damp black and red Sensha-dō uniform became soaked all the way through in the icy water. Miho dove under the waves, to where the Panzer III was slowly sinking. She kicked her feet hard and swam towards the machine and reached out to the closest of the turret's three hatches. Miho's legs burned as she struggled against the water, and her vision began blurring from oxygen deprivation. No matter how hard she swam the medium tank just sank further away, and eventually, her lungs demanded air. Despite doing everything she could to keep herself from breathing, the involuntary action occurred regardless, and her lungs filled with water. Miho gave her arms one last swing to grab the turret's hatch to force it open. But the handle was just out of reach, and her arm hopelessly swept past. As the tank hit the bottom of the river, Miho's vision went dark, and her world faded away into the river's torrent.
000
Miho shot up out of her bed and onto the floor in a panic, gasping for breath as if she was drowning. Beads of sweat ran down her face as she looked around in terror until she saw her favorite Boko plushie, the patched-up bears with all sorts of injuries that littered every surface and shelf in her room. She grabbed it and held it close while slowly catching her breath. "I'm okay, I'm okay, you're not drowning, you're not drowning," she reassured herself. Once her heart rate reached a reasonable level, she looked up at the clock on her dolphin-shaped alarm clock. "5:30 am, it's not even close to the time I normally wake up," she bemoaned, and replaced her blanket on her bed, along with the Boko bear. Bypassing the table in the middle of her room where her alarm clock sat, she made her way to the closet where she changed out of her blue pajamas and into her school uniform. When she was finished freshening up, she went to the kitchen for an early breakfast.
She tried to force down a cup of black coffee, only to cough at the bitterness of the dark brew. How do adults like this stuff? She thought to herself, before trying to finish the cup she brewed. She finished the rest of her light breakfast and left her room, deciding to head to school early to avoid the foot traffic.
As she left the apartment building, she stopped to marvel at the starry sky from the apartment's open stairs. Captured by their beauty, Miho sat down on the stairs and stargazed for a while with her small school bag sitting on her lap. The salty wind was interrupted when the faint scent of lavender shampoo and the sound of footsteps pulled Miho away from her stargazing and caused her to turn around. When her eyes adjusted back to the darkness, she saw a person holding a small pink bundle and a diaper bag with a backpack on his back.
"Good morning Ross, how are you?" Miho asked when she saw her classmate.
"Morning," Ross replied while rubbing his eyes without waking up Natalie. "You're up early."
Natalie snuggled her head closer into Ross's chest, which caused Miho to giggle as she stood up. "Who's this Ross? Is she your sister?" Miho asked, turning the attention of their conversation to the little girl in Ross's arms.
Anxiety filled the boy. What should I tell her?, he thought erratically, Maybe I could lie? She's just someone who I was babysitting for the night? No, eventually she'd find out… Ross's thoughts raced while Miho awkwardly stood in front of him.
I made a promise to better myself, to be more honest and caring when I took up her care. I should keep it. "No... she's my daughter," Ross corrected.
Miho tilted her head in confusion. "Daughter?" she asked.
Ross steeled himself for any judgment from his new friend. It was only inevitable that people would find out anyway, just like back home, "Yes, this is Natalie, my daughter," he replied plainly. May as well be open about it now, He thought, expecting some form of judgment.
To Ross's surprise, Miho approached him and leaned in to get a closer look at Natalie before coming back up to his level. "She's really cute! I can see the resemblance, she looks a lot like you," she exclaimed cheerfully.
"Well uh, thanks I guess," Ross stuttered, "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that."
"Oh sorry, was I intruding into your personal space?" Miho asked, thinking she had overstepped into his boundaries, and stepped back.
Ross shook his head, "Oh no no, it's just you're being so friendly about it," he explained. He hadn't seen anyone react to Natalie like that, except for William and Joseph.
"Well why wouldn't I-" she began.
Ross looked at his phone to check the time before he realized how off schedule he was. "Oh man, we gotta go," he exclaimed. "Would you like to come with?"
Miho smiled warmly. "Sure, sounds like fun," she exclaimed while picking up her bag and following Ross as he speed-walked down the stairs carefully.
000
"So where does Natalie go during the day? While you're at school," Miho asked while the two walked through Ōarai's streets. The sunrise had just begun, but streetlamps still illuminated most of the streets.
"One of the town residents agreed to babysit her until I get done with school. They run a barbershop in town," Ross replied, "It's a nice place with plenty of natural light, space, and the couple that run it are incredibly friendly."
"It sounds like a nice place, how far is it from here?" Miho asked.
"It's not much further," Ross replied.
The two traveled the rest of the distance in silence, not knowing what to say to keep the conversation afloat. In the distance, a small barber's pole appeared, although any illumination it gave was overrun by the bright, warm light coming from the storefront it occupied. "The Akiyamas are pretty friendly, I bet they'll like you," Ross assured as they walked up the steps. He quietly knocked on the door without jostling Natalie.
A middle-aged man with a faint mustache, short black hair, and a pair of glasses opened the door. "Good morning Ross," he greeted. When he saw Miho shyly waiting behind Ross, he greeted her as well, "Hello ma'am, my name is Jungorou Akiyama." He bowed.
Miho bowed back as well, "Miho Nishizumi, I'm a friend of Ross," she replied.
"Well don't be shy you two, come in," he invited while holding the door open.
The front room was exclusively for business with two comfortable-looking black leather barber's chairs facing two large mirrors. A counter with a cash register guarded the back wall where the doorway to the family's living quarter was. Jungorou's wife, Yoshiko, peaked around the corner from the living area. "Oh, Ross you're here early. Who's your friend?" she asked.
Miho introduced herself again with a bow, and Yoshiko bowed in return. "You're such a polite young woman Miss Nishizumi," Yoshiko complimented.
Miho blushed in embarrassment and turned away, "Thanks…" she replied meekly.
Must not be a fan of compliments, Ross thought. He stepped past the counter and carefully handed Yoshiko his daughter and set the diaper bag behind the counter before stepping in front of the counter again.
"Thank you so much for watching her while I'm away, she was in such a good mood after I picked her up yesterday, so it's such a relief to know she's left in good hands," Ross said followed by an appreciative smile.
Yoshiko smiled and adjusted the still resting infant into her arms, "You're welcome Ross, she's such a nice little girl and she's brightened the mood here. The customers from yesterday just adored her,"
Jungorou spoke up while adjusting one of the leather seats, "You two should head on to school now, it's about that time anyway. Is Yukari awake yet Yoshiko?"
Ross and Miho left the small barbershop and back onto the streets of Ōarai. Although the Zukaiku was several hundred miles out from shore, the air still felt like a fresh spring morning with just enough dew in the air to moisturize the skin without being too damp. The sunrise had still only made moderate progress above the horizon, but the temperature was already mild enough to not need a jacket. "So what elective are you going to take Miho?" Ross asked while they walked down the empty streets towards campus.
Miho rubbed her wrist shyly. "I picked incense…" she replied.
"Incense huh? Sounds like fun, do they just sit around and smell it all period or what?" Ross asked with a playful smile.
"To be honest, I didn't really do any research on the class, I just randomly chose one on the list and it happened to be Incense" Miho admitted. Any previous shyness disappeared as the two casually conversed like best friends.
"Well, I can't fault you for that. You know, that's actually how I met William and Joseph," Ross said.
Miho looked at Ross with confusion. "You just picked a class and you met them?" she asked.
"Sorta, my mom wanted me to do a sport in fourth grade because we had just moved and she wanted me to make friends. I had never done anything sports-related before then, and I never was into them, but she managed to convince me to do something, so I picked baseball," he explained, "Now I can say with certainty, that was a terrible mistake."
"Why's that?" Miho asked.
"You know when people do new things to try and find what they're secretly good at? Baseball wasn't that for me. I think I hit the ball once during a game, and all I got for my efforts was a foul ball," Ross recalled with amused nostalgia, "Honestly if I hadn't quit I probably would have gotten better, but you know how children are,"
"So you met them on the team?" she asked.
"Yep, then we found Nixe II, our A7V while we were practicing at Joseph's place. He lived out of town so we didn't need to worry about breaking any of the neighbor's windows. Behind his house, there was a small creek and on the other side was an abandoned farm. Joseph ended up hitting the ball over the creek and into one of the sheds. That's where we found our first tank, covered in old wood planks and a dusty tarp, but somehow still in working condition."
"You found a genuine, original A7V in an abandoned farm?!" Miho commented, astounded, "You're joking!"
Ross shook his head and raised his hands as if that made him more trustworthy. He explained as they passed the student moral committee member taking attendance, "Completely true, we're still not sure how it got there. Joseph did some internet sleuthing when we joined Schwarzadler's Sencha-dō team with it, but we found nothing. Everything pointed to Nixe II being scrapped in 1942, but Schwarzadler brought in some historians and tank experts and they concluded that Nixe II was genuine."
"Obviously it wasn't scrapped if it was in that shed," Miho remarked, "Must have been a pain to get it set up and approved for Sensha-dō."
"Sorta, replica A7V's are actually pretty popular in the northwest since a lot of people there have German ancestry and A7V replicas are much easier to build because they don't have a turret. Installing the carbon armor plating on the other hand was a pain, especially since we were adamant about keeping the original armor. It was worth it though. Nobody else had a genuine A7V, since Nixe II, and Mephisto, are the only ones left." Ross rambled. The two stopped at the intersection of the entrance. "Oh sorry for rambling, I know you're not fond of tanks," Ross apologized.
"No, no it's fine, I like tanks, but…" she stopped
Ross took the hint and changed the subject, "So, see you at lunch?"
Miho smiled. "Sure, see you then!" she expressed before running off to her first class.
Ross smiled back and went to his own classes in the opposite direction. As he walked to his first class however, he noticed a group of freshmen or first years as they were called in Japan awkwardly glancing back at him and whispering to each other ahead of him. What's up with these six? Here to gawk at the teen dad? He thought bitterly, It won't be long until the gossip train departs the station.
One of the first years, clearly their leader ran over to him. The height difference was almost comedic. Ross wasn't terribly tall but compared to the first year he was a giant with half of a foot height difference. The brunette girl with shoulder-length hair looked up at him while her friends, all of them around her height, stood not far behind her. "Excuse me sir, are you one of the American advisors on the Sensha-dō team?" she asked with an odd mix of timidness and confidence.
Ross's sour attitude dissipated a little. "Well once the team starts meeting then yes. Is there something you need?"
The five girls behind the brunette started whispering to themselves except for one girl with sand-colored hair, who stared into space with a blank look. Their leader shushed them again before beginning again, "Well it's just… we all signed up for it and did some research in the library, but we couldn't find any tanks that had a crew of six! We're all close friends, so we don't want to get split up."
"Well, I'm not sure what tanks Ōarai has, but most tanks do have a crew number of five or less… tell you what, today during our first meeting I can bring up the issue with whoever will be our captain and my friends and we'll sort it out. How does that sound?" Ross asked.
"Thank you, we appreciate it!" The six first years responded in unison with a bow before running off to their own classes leaving Ross to head to his.
000
The first period gave Miho a little time to think about how to approach Saori and Hana after shouting at them yesterday. From her desk near the back, she hardly focused on her notes as she worried about how her new friends felt. A commander should never treat her crewmates like- her thoughts paused, But I'm not a tank commander anymore. What should I do? What should I say?
The bell rang and shot Miho from her worries and back into reality. With the class over, she collected her things and left the room, heading for the second period where she would have to face her worries. The brief distance between her first and second period classes gave her even less time to formulate a plan. Thankfully for her, there were only a few students in the class who had arrived, and none of them were Saori or Hana. Miho set her bag down next to her and pulled out the elective sheet. The large print of the Sensha-dō class overcrowded the sheet's space and mocked Miho as she set the paper at the center of her desk.
The former commander sat quietly as students entered the classroom. Saori and Hana came in at the back of the group. Saori all but ran over to Miho's desk while Hana elegantly followed. The two pulled over the nearest free chairs and sat in front of the anxious girl's desk who found the ground very interesting at that moment. Before Miho could speak up, Hana spoke first, "Miho, we're sorry we pressured you about Sensha-dō. We didn't consider your feelings and let ourselves get swept up with the student council's video."
"We really are sorry Miho, we shouldn't have pushed you to do something you were uncomfortable with," Saori exclaimed.
Miho looked up from her floor staring with relief in her brown eyes. "Thank you, I'm sorry I've caused so much trouble…" she responded.
"C'mon, no more apologizing! What'd you choose for your elective Miho? Something cool like-" Saori stopped. "You know I didn't look at the other electives," she admitted sheepishly.
Miho giggled at Saori's predicament. "I picked incense!" she exclaimed while holding her paper up cheerfully.
Saori and Hana smiled at each other before marking incense with a little checkmark on their sheets. Miho's eyes widened. "But I thought you guys wanted to do Sensha-dō!"
"It's fine we want to do the same class together more," Saori explained energetically.
"Besides, if we do Sensha-dō and talk about it, you'll only be reminded more about it right?" Hana asked.
"No, it'll be okay, honestly!" Miho objected, leaning onto the desk.
Hana shook her head, "We just became friends yesterday, so we wouldn't want to jeopardize it already," the elegant girl replied.
"I'm the type of girl who can get into anything, especially if it'll impress the boys! I bet I could hook a bunch of them with incense if it smells good!"
The teacher interrupted them by calling the class to order. All the students, including Hana and Saori, who weren't at a desk promptly sat down. After the next period, Miho turned in her elective paper to her teacher before the three girls went to lunch. After moving through the large line of students the three girls sat down at the same table as the day before. The seat next to Miho where Ross sat the day before however was empty. "That's strange… I thought Ross said that he'd join us for lunch again," Miho wondered aloud while trying to peer over the heads of Ōarai's student body.
"Did he?" Saori asked. "Well you know how boys are," she said before taking a bite of her teriyaki salmon the school was serving.
"He's probably just finishing up some extra schoolwork," Hana suggested while grabbing her bowl of rice that was comically overfilled compared to the other two.
000
Ross huffed in annoyance at an intersection while holding a very large map. The complex and massive interior of the school ship was more than enough to confuse him, and the dark, cold atmosphere didn't help him one bit even after putting his greatcoat over his uniform. Taking a right turn at the intersection only gave Ross another path of steel hallways he had to travel through to reach his destination. The unmistakable sound of his boots hitting the steel floor filled the hallway and was the boy's only companion as he traveled through the dimly lit hallway. "Finally, here we are," he muttered when he arrived at a large hanger meant to take in supplies at port. Thankfully it was still well above the ship's waterline, so the transfer of Schwarzadler's tanks would be no problem at sea. A small group of adults oversaw the school's marine course students, who facilitated most of the preparation and execution of supply transfers.
The massive steel door of the hanger slowly opened with the loud activation of its opening mechanism. The screech of steel was accompanied by a quick gust of salty wind and the bright afternoon light as the door opened and revealed another ship just pulling up to the right side of the Zuikaku. The cargo ship was dwarfed by the Zuikaku, but still tall enough to reach the transfer hanger. The two ships slowly came to a stop and aligned themselves. After several minutes of corrections and adjustments, the two ships were close enough to extend a bridge across the gap between them. For a brief moment, the screeching of metal stopped and the sounds of the waves beneath them were a pleasant replacement. Ross savored the peace until it was interrupted with the noises of machinery again. A thick steel bridge extended out from the hanger over the open sea where it was met by another bridge extended from the supply ship. A student who was the operator of the heavy machinery coupled the bridges together with her console and left her position to approach Ross. "Are you the one who owns these tanks we're taking in?" she asked professionally.
Ross snapped out of his fixation on the docking and turned his attention to the marine course student in front of him. "I don't own the tanks, but I am from Schwarzadler if that's who you're looking for," he explained. "My name's Ross."
"Alright Ross, we'll have your tanks move over to the elevator over there," she paused her explanation to point to a large circular utility elevator surrounded by a chain-link cage. "That'll send you up to the top deck, from there you can take them wherever they need to go."
Ross only nodded as she turned around to go back to the control console. He stared at the bridge when the tell-tale sound of heavy-duty engines came to life in the hull of the other ship. The clattering of steel tracks hitting a ramp on the other side of the bridge preceded the reveal of the first war machine. Nixe II, Schwarzadler's flagship Sturmpanzerwagen, was first. The heavy boxy tank slowly crossed the bridge followed by another tank. The sun illuminated the long barrel of the second tank before the boxy body and contrasting rounded and smooth turret with a barrel-shaped cupola was revealed. Directly behind it followed a smaller, medium tank with a similar boxy turret and a heavy tank destroyer that had a peculiar electrical whine when it moved.
Another student near the elevator opened the elevator cage with a flip of a switch. The hissing of further machinery pulled the cage upwards, leaving the elevator open for supplies, or in this case tanks. The tanks moved steadily into the utility elevator, although it was a tight squeeze for the advanced war machines as they reversed into the elevator. They got the attention of the few workers and students, who admired the machines with awe before quickly returning to their duties. Ross jumped onto the elevator with a smile, finally being reunited with his and his friend's tanks. With a push of a button on the elevator operator's console, the cage door fell back to the floor and the elevator began moving to the surface. The elevator shaft fell to darkness momentarily before the ceiling opened a crack to let in a hint of the afternoon sun. "Finally, no more steel walls," he muttered to himself while he leaned against his medium tank.
Behind him the side door on the right side of Nixe II opened, revealing a girl with short, red hair that stopped at her neck. She quietly climbed down from the tank to get behind Ross without alerting him. "We operate tanks for fun Ross, there's plenty of steel walls all around!" she shouted loudly and energetically.
Ross pushed off of the tank lazily and turned to see his tank's gunner, Jody Norman. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "Shouting at me from behind stopped startling me about 5 seconds after you first did it, Jody," he said while rolling his eyes.
Jody frowned with annoyance. "You're never any fun Ross," she huffed, "And here I was thinking you'd at least entertain me since I volunteered to drive ol' Saint Nixe over here for you."
The commander's hatch of the medium tank opened and another crew member of Ross's tank, this time the loader, jumped out. "We better get better uniforms for practice, no way in hell am I wearing a skirt this short more than I have to," the brunette complained. Both she and Jody sported the girl's version of the Ōarai school uniform, although one was more displeased than the other. "What's up Ross? Been a hot minute since I've seen you," she asked with a monotone.
"Good to see you again Alex, still as energetic as ever I see," Ross greeted. The elevator came to a slow crawl as the doors at the top of the shaft opened wider and blinding sunlight bathed the tanks and students in light. Ross held up his arm to shield his eyes while Jody covered her eyes with her hands. Ross's loader, Alex simply stared on, unaffected by the light as they reached the top deck of the school ship. "So I'm guessing the other two are in there too?" Ross asked while his eyes adjusted to the light.
Alex climbed down from the turret to stretch her legs. "Yeah, Tandy and Chloe are in there," she answered simply.
"And before you ask, no, we are not coming out until we get this tank to its new home! Do you have any idea how much of a pain it is to not have driver and radio operator hatches?!" a female voice shouted through the empty turret from the front of the hull.
"Good to see you too Chloe!" Ross shouted back.
Inside the tank, the blonde-haired Chloe rolled her eyes and put back on her radio headset. Through the headset, she heard the voices of the other two radio operators in their tanks.
"So are we gonna get going or do we just wanna sit here all day?" the tank destroyer's radio operator, a freshman named Elliot asked.
"Where are we gonna take these bad boys, Ross is the only one here who knows where we're heading." Casey, the heavy tank's radio operator asked.
The noise of Alex and Ross reentering the turret caused Chloe to look back from her seat. Removing the headset she had just put back on, she relayed the question from the other tanks. "Where are we heading? Does Ōarai have a garage or something?"
Ross leaned down level with the turret's ceiling. "To my knowledge, Ōarai has a set-up for us. The Student Council gave me a map. I've marked where we are, so hand it to Tandy and he'll get us there," he explained and pulled the map from his greatcoat's inner pockets. Alex grabbed the paper and handed it to Chloe who handed it to their driver, Tandy Yuma. The boy with black hair and lightly tanned skin studied the small map for a minute before setting it aside.
"Alright everyone, let's get going," Tandy said and grabbed the steering levers for the tank.
Chloe put her radio headset back on and activated the microphone. "Alright, all tanks follow the Type 100, we're heading to Ōarai's Sensha-dō garages. Try to keep up," she ordered over the radio.
The other two tanks radioed back their affirmations as the Porsche Type 100, also known as the V.K 30.01 (P) drove carefully off the supply elevator platform onto a road that led to Ōarai's streets. The 88mm gun pointed high into the air proudly as the tanks lined up behind them, with the A7V right behind the Type 100 and the other two following it.
"Let's keep this slow, no more than 20 miles per hour Tandy, the other tanks won't keep up if we go much faster," Ross ordered after putting on his headset to help communicate with his crew.
"Got it, 20 miles per hour," the driver replied. The gasoline-electric drive of the Type 100 came to life as he gave the tank some acceleration, and it reached 20 miles per hour quickly, but far away from its 37 miles per hour top speed. The tank stopped at the intersection of the supply road and Ōarai's main road system, which linked the 4-mile long carrier together. Although it wasn't a vast distance, the need for heavy-duty supply trucks and in this case tanks, facilitated a need for a modern road system similar to a highway.
Ross stood up at his post, allowing him to stick out of the cupola. The tank turned onto the main road carefully into the right-most lane on the four-lane road. The few drivers on the road reacted by pulling over into the opposite lane to give them room. The other three tanks followed the Type 100 onto the road. The wind ruffled Ross's hair as cars flew by interrupting the sea breeze. "It's good to be back in the saddle," he said while grabbing the cupola. The steel tracks made a surprisingly pleasant clattering sound as they pushed the 30-ton machine forward. Ross relaxed at his post and relished the wind, the sun, and the smell of sea salt as they made their way to Ōarai's Sensha-dō garage.
000
Miho Nishizumi, please report to the Student Council's office. Miho Nishizumi to the Student Council's office, Momo Kawashima's voice buzzed through the school's intercom system. Miho's eyes widened with fear and anxiety as she stopped eating abruptly. Saori and Hana looked at each other briefly before nodding in silent agreement. "We're with you on this Miho," Hana encouraged.
"They'll back down when we face them together, I know it!" Saori exclaimed with confidence.
Although it didn't eliminate her anxiety, the fear Miho was feeling moderately dissipated with her friend's words of encouragement. "Thank you..." The three girls stood up from their table, ignoring the stares of the student body who wondered what they had done to incur the Student Council's wrath, and returned their trays. The whispering and gossiping didn't help Miho as she passed by, but Saori and Hana's solidarity helped. Since it was still lunchtime most of the hallways leading to the Student Council's room were empty except for a handful of stragglers and teachers.
After climbing the stairs to reach the top level of the school, the three girls stood in front of the imposing door which led to the student council's office. The dark oak wood double doors were more elegant and intimidating than any other classroom doors they had seen and gold painted handles and decorations cemented the importance and opulence of their leadership. Saori and Hanna stood on both sides of Miho and took her hands to show their solidarity. The two girls turned to face Miho and gave her their reassuring smiles. "They can't force you to do anything Miho. In the end, they're no different than you or me because they are students just like everyone else," Hana assured confidently.
"We've got your back Miho," Saori encouraged, "And after all this is done, we'll go get ice cream together!"
Miho weakly smiled from Hana's reassurances and Saori's energy. "Okay then… let's go," she declared with growing confidence. Miho knocked on the door twice before they were called to enter.
The room was still as dark as ever, with the only light coming from the massive glass windows that made up the back wall. While the student council was at the president's desk, they were blocked by William who was just as tall as Momo and blocked the view of the girls' in front of him and behind him.
William stepped forward a few steps so he was no longer standing on the logo of the academy which was the centerpiece of the carpeted floor. "Miss Nishizumi, it's a pleasure to see you again," he began. He stopped to look towards her two friends, who contrasted Miho's anxious face with steely looks of determination. "I didn't expect you to bring other friends, you must be quite popular," he joked.
"Oh… uh yeah, well they invited me to sit with them at lunch yesterday so…" Miho stuttered out.
William nodded in approval. "Well, it's always good to have more people around. Where are my manners? I'm William Valentine, former captain of the Schwarzadler tankery team and advisor from the same school." After he finished he bowed slightly in greeting. The two girls at Miho's side bowed as well and introduced themselves. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two, however, we do have business to attend to with Miss Nishizumi," William said.
"We don't intend on leaving if that's what you're insinuating," Saori responded.
William held up one of his hands. "No worries, I'm sure we can settle this matter-"
"Enough talking! We want an explanation. Nishizumi, why didn't you pick Sensha-dō for your elective!" Momo Kawashima interrupted with a fiery glare and stormed forward with Miho's elective paper.
From her chair the short president, Anzu Kadotani lazily leaned into her hand. "Are you too good for Sensha-dō? Or do you think our school isn't good enough for you?" She accused.
William turned to Momo warily while Yuzu simply stood back near the desk, although she hadn't spoken up yet, William could see she hadn't fallen completely in line with the furious student council.
"Miho doesn't want to do Sensha-dō, and you should respect that decision!" Hana fired back, the normally calm and elegant girl had temporarily been replaced with a fiery determination to defend her friend.
"She came here to get away from Sensha-dō! Don't you think she should have a choice with what wants to do?!" Saori asked rhetorically.
Anzu sneered at the three who dared oppose her authority. "I'm afraid Ōarai doesn't work like that. What we say goes, and we want Nishizumi on Ōarai's Sensha-dō team," she demanded.
Miho squeezed her friend's hands anxiously as her friends argued with the two members of the student council. An internal conflict brewed within her, whether to end the debate and give in to the council's demand or stay away from tanks at all costs. Can I even get in a tank again after what happened? But if this goes on… could Saori and Hana get in trouble for trying to defend me?
William stepped between the arguing girls and raised his hands to try and defuse the situation. "Listen everyone calm down, shouting isn't going to get us anywhere!" he exclaimed, "Let's try to reach an agreement here." He turned to Miho. "Now the student council has already explained to me a little about why they want you on the team, but I'd like to hear it from you as well. Have you done Sensha-dō before?"
Miho looked up and quietly nodded. "I was part of my old school's team," she explained.
"Okay, what school did you go to?" William continued.
"K-Kuromorimine Girls Academy," she responded shakily.
William nodded and tapped his chin. "Are they a prestigious school or at least considered prestigious in Sensha-dō?"
"Yes, I was the vice-captain." Hana and Saori's eyes widened. Being on Kuromormine's Sensha-dō team was an accomplishment in itself, much less being the vice-captain.
"Now for the big question, why don't you want to join Ōarai's team?" William finally asked the big question everyone was wondering.
Miho took a shaky breath. "I can't get in a tank again, not after last year's Nationals," she explained, although a hint of sorrow made its way into her words.
"I understand, whatever happened last year must have been rough." William sympathized, "And I won't press you for any more details." He turned over to the student council, where Momo and Anzu still kept their steely gaze. "So ladies, considering Miss Nishizumi's objections, do you still wish to push her into Sensha-dō."
Momo turned to Anzu, who nodded. "Regardless of her past, Nishizumi is essential to the restart of Ōarai's Sensha-dō team," Anzu declared.
"A Japanese team needs Japanese leadership. You're here not to dictate Ōarai's course William, you are merely an advisor, don't forget that," Momo added.
William sighed and Miho's heart sank. These girls are so stubborn. What's so important about Nishizumi, even if she went to this Kuromormine and commanded a few tanks. Still, the crews would be more likely to listen to someone who is native to Japan over an American… Wait, leadership? "You're telling me you want her to take a form of leadership in the team? Look at her! Miss Nishizumi is hardly fit for that type of position if she isn't even sure she could get in a tank-"
"Mr. Valentine, we appreciate your attempt to mediate, but the council refuses to acknowledge Miho's feelings, so I'd like to see this matter closed," Hana interrupted.
Saori agreed, "If she doesn't want to do Sensha-dō then she doesn't need to."
"I suppose if you wish to continue your objection then there is little we can physically do to stop you," Anzu said. She turned to Yuzu with a stern look on her face, "Hand me the papers."
The vice-president reluctantly handed the papers she was nervously clutching over to the president who smirked. "However, do realize that your objections have consequences. If Nishizumi refuses to join the team then…" she paused for dramatic effect, "she'll no longer be a student of Ōarai, and for aiding in her defense neither of you two will be either." She held up the first paper, which displayed the bright red lettering of EXPULSION to Miho, Hana, Saori, and William.
Hana and Saori gasped while Miho looked even more troubled, but remained silent. William narrowed his eyes and glared down at the smug Student Council President. A bitter silence reigned over the room before Hana and Saori protested. "That's an abuse of power!" Hana protested.
"It's not fair!" Saori loudly followed.
Momo stepped past William and leered over the three girls. "The Student Council has the full authority to dictate expulsion."
"That's absurd! That has to be the job of a principal or headmaster!" William objected.
Behind him, Yuzu spoke up, "The job of the headmaster is to ensure the school ship is run effectively and efficiently, not to manage the students. The Ministry of Education gives the Student Council full authority to run the non-technical aspects of Ōarai Co-ed Academy and the relationship between the school and its students," she explained, "This is done on the assumption that students will be more likely to listen to and respect the authority of fellow students who have been elected by the student body over a traditional teacher."
William looked at Yuzu incredulously. "You're bluffing and you know it. There's no way an education system would forsake the guidance of a college-educated adult with years of life experience in favor of a minor!" he argued.
Momo clenched her teeth in rage. "What would you know about-"
"Enough! I'll do it! I'll do Sensha-dō!" a voice cried out with determination.
The entire room went silent as Miho stepped forward and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Despite her anxiety, Miho looked forward to the council and William with what confidence she could muster. "That's enough arguing, I'll do Sensha-dō as my elective class," she affirmed.
Momo and Anzu smirked in victory while Yuzu and William let out tired sighs as the conflict was partially resolved. Miho stepped forward past William and took her elective paper from Momo's hands. "A pen please," she requested. William pulled a pen from his coat pockets and handed it to her.
With two decisive lines over the circle that put her in the incense class, Miho opted out of the incense elective and selected Sensha-dō instead. She handed Momo her paper and the pen back to William. The boy put the pen back into his pocket and held out his hand. "Well Miss Nishiumi, it'll be a pleasure to have you on the team," he stated.
Miho shook his hand, but William could tell she was still partially forcing herself to do it. It may have worked out in the end, but she could be at risk because of last year's Nationals… I'll have to do some research on what happened. Trauma and tanks never mix well, even for the most die-hard tank lover. He thought. "Anyways I believe you mentioned some type of leadership position for Miss Nishizumi if I'm recalling our argument correctly?" he asked.
"Indeed I did," Momo Kawashima acknowledged, "Miss President?"
Anzu tipped her chin and adopted a thoughtful look as she leaned back in her chair. After finishing a sweet potato, she came to a conclusion. "Miho should be the captain, we'll find a co-captain and other tank commanders at practice," she decided.
Miho's breathing quickened with apprehension and she grabbed her left wrist. "Um, I don't really think-" she stopped when Momo started glaring at her again and Anzu grabbed the expulsion paper, "That's fine, I think I can handle it."
The president looked at the stack of papers in her hand one final time and balled them up before playfully tossing them into a nearby waste bin. "Wonderful, now if you will look out of the windows behind me, you'll find the location of Ōarai's old Sensha-dō club, we'll be using that site, so best familiarize yourself with it!" she exclaimed with a carefree attitude.
The three girls who were not in the student council and William looked past the student council and out the top floor's windows. While it was a pleasant view, the location was undoubtedly chosen for the student council's room for that reason, they focused more on the large field of dirt that served as an impromptu runway for Ōarai and the massive tank sheds that lined the field. A moderately sized club headquarters stood at the end of the runway but it looked derelict and possibly even unstable. "If I may ask, do you have any tanks prepared? I've managed to get all the other paperwork sent to the Japanese Sensha-dō Federation thanks to Miss Koyama, so we're all clear to begin training," William stated.
"Well, the old team did sell off a lot of its tanks to other teams, but there should still be some around here somewhere," Anzu replied.
William narrowed his eyes. "I'm hoping that you mean in those garages out there over a ventilation shaft or at the bottom of a lake."
"Think of it as a game of hide and seek! Then it'll be fun to search for whatever's left!" Anzu said while idly spinning around in her chair.
Yuzu spoke up with some more documents in hand along with a few receipts. "According to school records, Ōarai's old team had a very large collection of tanks, although there wasn't much uniformity. They prided themselves on having a large variety of rare and prototype vehicles. While a lot of them sold for a very high price, by cross-referencing what receipts that were recorded with previous inventory records, at least 17 remain unaccounted for." she explained.
Miho looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking, "If we were able to find all of the missing tanks then we could field enough tanks to meet the maximum limit for the finals."
"Would those records specify which tanks are left or even where they are?" William asked.
Yuzu shook her head. "I'm afraid not, only the chassis numbers were recorded and there's no way to tell what's what without manufacturing records."
"Well, I guess it can't be helped. We'll have to find them ourselves," Miho said.
"Wherever they are, we'll help you find them. Tanks are big and loud, so they can't be that hard to find!" Saori encouraged.
Momo grabbed Hana and Saori's elective papers off of a nearby table. "I'm assuming that you wish to change electives as well?" she asked.
"Yes, we would," Hana affirmed and looked at Miho, "Friends stick together right?"
Miho smiled and agreed with a nod. William smiled as well. "You can never have enough of them… well I guess Alex would be the exception," he stated. Everyone looked at him confused. "Right, haven't met her yet. She's Ross's loader. An interesting girl she is. Speaking of Ross, I believe he should be back from the bottom decks with our tanks by now."
"Well, it's about time for our first meeting. We should head down to the field and get ready to begin." Momo suggested.
000
Ross's convoy of tanks had run into an obstacle. Since driving tanks through crowded parking lots is typically a bad idea, Ross had found a side gate on the other side of the field opposite of the garages. Unfortunately, the gate was locked and chained up. "You know, destruction of school property is typically frowned upon," Ross stated.
Jody, who parked the A7V next to the Type 100, was poking her head out of the tank's left side hatch. "C'mon man, the damn thing looks like it needs to be replaced anyway. It looks more orange than a tangerine!" she complained.
Of course, she would compare it to the only orange fruit that isn't an orange… Ross pinched his nose in annoyance. "Fine fine, if we get in trouble it was your idea. Also no swearing." Jody stuck out her tongue playfully and closed the hatch. Ross sighed and pulled up the intercom receiver. "Tandy, just drive through it so Jody doesn't give me another headache." He turned off the radio before continuing. "I swear, Natalie is more well-behaved than her."
Inside the tank, Chloe busied herself with an ancient magazine about electronics that hardly had corners anymore from rips, tears, and being bookmarked. Tandy shifted the tank back into gear and drove through the gate. The chain molded itself around the tank before several sharp snapping sounds accompanying the snapping of chain links opened the gate. Unfortunately part of the gate stuck itself to the Type 100. "Looks like we've got spaced armor now," Ross commented dryly. He noticed a growing group of students in front of the garages and pulled out his binoculars. "Yep, looks like we've got ourselves an audience." As he got closer, the tanks, their dust clouds, and the clattering of tracks became impossible to miss for everyone.
The crowd looked in awe and interest as the tanks lined up in front of them. Ross jumped down from his cupola, followed by the rest of his crew. Jody joined them from the A7V. "Well ladies and-" he paused and scanned the crowd quickly and to his dismay saw none of the rare Ōarai boys. "I guess it'll be just the transfer crews that will have any gentleman for now," he joked, getting a few moderate chuckles from the assembled students. "I am Ross Huot, First Sub-Commander of Schwarzadler High School's now-defunct Sensha-dō team. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
William, Joseph, Miho, and the Student Council walked through the space separating the crowd to join Ross. William stood in front of the heavy tank and Joseph in front of the tank destroyer with their respective crews behind them, four behind William, and five behind Joseph. Miho and the Student Council assembled in front of the middle of the tanks. Anzu nudged Miho forward to address the crowd. "Well umm, thank you all for coming today. It's good to have a nice turnout of interested students," she managed to say before taking a deep breath. "You're probably already aware that we took in some transfer students from America, from Schwarzadler, Oregon to be specific. Please treat them with kindness and acceptance as they will play an important role in restarting the club." She stopped and turned to the commanders of each tank. "If you may tell us a little about yourself and your tanks if you would like."
William broadly smiled and stepped forward. "If you weren't at the assembly yesterday, my name is William Valentine, former captain of Schwarzadler's team and current commander of the tank you see behind me." His crew stepped aside so everyone could see the tank unimpeded. "The Panzerkampfwagen VI 'Tiger' Ausf. H2 is an early prototype of the famous Tiger tank that saw service in the German Wehrmacht. It combines the deadly firepower of the Panzer V's 75mm Kwk 42 L/70 gun with the heavy armor of the Tiger I, although the design was dropped by Germany as the 88mm Kwk 37 L/56 gun had a superior high explosive shell which they determined would be more suitable the heavy breakthrough purpose of the Tiger. Nonetheless, accurate replicas of the H2 are approved for combat by both the Japanese Sensha-dō Federation and the American Tankery League," he explained. Although the crowd only seemed mildly interested, the history club and a lone girl with fluffy hair seemed entirely captivated by his lecture.
After William stepped back, Joseph stepped forward. "I am Joseph David, former Second Sub-Commander of the Schwarzadler tankery team and commander of the Panzerjäger (P) 'Elefant' or elephant in English. It's a bit of a pain to work with because of the overstressed gasoline-electric transmission drive and heavyweight. It's also by no means a race car. However, it can pack a punch with the 88mm Kwk 43 L/73 gun and its armor is nothing to scoff at. It's also a distant relative to Ross's tank over there," he stated before handing over the attention to Ross.
"The Porsche Type 100, officially designated by Waffen Prüfen 6 as the V.K 30.01 (P) is an early prototype breakthrough tank designed by Porsche, the iconic German sports car manufacturer. It uses the same gasoline-electric transmission system as the Elefant, but it's a lot lighter and more agile. She's no slugger though, the armor is enough to withstand some light and medium-sized cannons, but it's vertical and only moderately thick at the front. It trades that off for a respectable 88mm Kwk 36 L/56 cannon and a top speed of 37 miles per hour. Like Joseph said, the tank was later developed into the V.K 45.01 (P) which is the basis for the Ferdinand and later Elefant tank destroyers," Ross explained.
Although they didn't know the specific names or meanings, the students in front of the tanks could envision what roles the tanks would play in Ōarai's developing team. "I can see why it's named the elephant. It's got a long trunk," a freshman that was part of the group Ross had met in the morning said. She had short light brown hair and blue eyes.
Another freshman from their little group spoke up, "I think they called it a barrel earlier." She had blonde hair set up in pigtails and a pair of glasses over her eyes.
"Why would they call it a barrel? It's too thin to look like one." the freshman with long dark grey-blue hair said.
The girl who spoke with Ross, their impromptu leader, hushed them both, "Captain Nishizumi looks like she's about to speak again."
The three commanders and Miho met in front of the A7V with the student council to discuss their first next action. "So I'm hoping there are some tanks in these big garages," Miho said.
"Only one way to find out," Anzu replied and pointed to the large green doors, "Kawashima, Koyama let's get those doors open and see what's inside."
The two seniors passed the crowd and took the handles of both doors. They pulled hard to part the aged green doors. They swung around, causing the crowd to jump back several feet until the doors slammed against the wall causing some of the chipped paint to fall to the ground. Inside, a dark, dusty haze dominated the area and coated the concrete floor. Despite the afternoon sun, most of the garage hid in darkness before a light switch was found. The aged golden lightbulbs hummed to life, revealing another tank. It looked completely decrepit. Rust covered the exterior, it was missing its gun instead opting for a large black hole on the front of the turret, and one of the many antennas on the engine deck was bent at an awkward angle.
"It looks like it's falling apart," the freshman with light brown hair, Karina Sakaguchi commented.
The blonde freshman, Aya Oono looked exasperated, "Is this what's waiting for us in the other garages?"
Miho stepped forward slowly and examined the tracks. Although all the treads had snapped and were laid on the ground, they looked stable enough if they were reconnected over the drive sprocket and idler wheels. Placing a hand on the armor revealed to her that while it was rusty and sticky, it was intact and usable. "The armor and treads look fine, I think it can work with a new gun," she decided, "The radio antennae tells me that it's a Panzerbefehlswagen IV Ausf H, you can tell by the lack of vision ports on the side hull and the mounts for Schurzen Skirts." The captain jumped onto the side of the hull and looked at the roof of the turret. "Yep, definitely Ausf H, it's got the Nahverteidigungswaffe port, although it doesn't look like it's installed."
She turned and jumped off the tank. Facing the crowd Miho spoke again, "We can work with this, nothing seems compromised barring the main cannon. Once we have one reinstalled we'll have a Panzerbefehlswagen IV Ausf. H at our disposal." With the addition of their first tank, the assembly cheered. If one was here in the garage, the others must not be too far. Miho thought.
"Now we still need at least 3 or 4 more tanks to get everyone a crew. We have just enough time left in the day to search, but we won't get into training and refurbishing the vehicles until tomorrow's practice. Try to stay with others. It's a lot easier to get lost if you're on your own. Remember to stay out of the way of dangerous or important elements on the ship and stay within public areas. Other than that, just don't cause any trouble. Let's get to it everyone!" Miho shouted.
After a chorus of affirmations and okays, several groups formed and exited the garage. The student council stayed in the garage with Miho's group of friends and the Schwarzadler boys. However, members of the defunct Volleyball Club, the History Club, and the first years left with their respective groups. Outside of them, only a second-year with brown fluffy hair remained awkwardly standing just outside of the garage. "I think it's important for the commander to work on the team's goals just like everyone else, so I want to search for tanks as well," Miho stated.
William agreed with a nod and turned to the student council. "I'll stay here and prepare the garages for use, I'll take whoever would like to do that with me," William decided.
It was decided that the student council, William and Joseph's crews would prepare the garages, while Miho's friends, Ross, and his crew would form two more search teams. Alex, Chloe, Tandy, and Jody formed one group while Ross, Miho, Hana, and Saori formed another.
However, before they could leave, the shy fluffy-haired girl approached Miho's group as they left the messy garage. "Um uh excuse me," she called out nervously.
Miho stopped and faced her. "Yes is there something I can help you with?" she asked, "You're a member of the Sensha-dō club right?"
The girl stumbled over her own words for a moment before bowing. "Yes! My name is Yukari Akiyama of Class 2-B, may I please join your search group Miss Nishizumi?"
Miho blinked at the scene in front of her before slightly raising her hands. "Yes um," she stumbled, "Yeah you can join us unless anyone has a problem with it." She looked back to her group who shook their heads, allowing Yukari into their group. "Just Miho is fine by the way."
"I couldn't Miss Nishizumi! Such a capable tank commander commands respect. Your talent and name prove that you are a capable commander and thus I must show my respect!" Yukari exclaimed.
Miho took an awkward step back. "Well I-I appreciate the gesture, but please, just Miho is fine." Yukari looked like she was going to retort, but Miho decided on a different approach. "I mean, wouldn't being on a first-name basis with such an… h-honored commander be better in some way?"
Her alternative approach seemed to work as the flamboyant Yukari seemed to deflate. "I suppose so…" she conceded while rising from her bow, "Miss- I mean Miho, thank you for letting me into your group, I promise to do whatever I can to find us a tank!"
"Well, we thank you for your service Yukari," Hana remarked.
Saori ran out past everyone and turned back towards them. "Alright let's go, guys! We should try to bring a tank back before sundown!" she shouted.
"Hey wait, where are we going?!" Ross shouted and took off, with Miho, Yukari, and Hana behind him. However, they missed Saori's faint reply and tried to keep up with the excitable ginger.
000
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