Chapter 27: Hunting for More Tanks
Yuzu paused the video after Miho's outburst. "Koume? Do you know her?" Yuzu asked.
Miho nodded shakily. "Yeah, she was on Kuromormine's team last year. She was the commander of the Panzer III that fell into the river," she answered, "what's she doing at Anzio? She told me she intended to stay at Kuromorimine before I left."
The room sat in silence as they tried to come up with an idea. "Maybe something happened after you left to cause her to transfer?" Ross proposed.
"No, that can't be it. My sister and Koume would have told me if something like that happened," Miho countered.
William snapped in realization. "That Pepperoni girl mentioned Kuromormine supporting them. Maybe they're using the temporary transfer system to temporarily send lesser commanders to Anzio to help them?" he suggested.
"But Kuromormine has only ever cared for itself, why would they want to help a much weaker school?" Miho asked.
"Well Germany did somewhat prop up Italy after the invasion in 1943, maybe Kuromormine's trying to do the same?" Joseph suggested.
"That doesn't explain why though. I'm sure they have bigger motives than just roleplaying as the Germans," Asuza countered.
"Yeah, Kurmormine wouldn't care for some historical games. They have some deeper motive," William added.
"Maybe they want weaker teams to beat potential threats early so that it'll make their matches easier later in the tournament?" Noriko suggested.
"That's possible… but it would require a large amount of material to prop up enough smaller teams for it to have any return on investment," William argued, "I think it's likely Anzio is the only one getting help. They might only have enough spare assistance for one or maybe two other teams, at least in providing actual tanks and crews."
"That's right, those Panzers are probably Kuromormine's," Miho added, "Koume commanded a Panzer III last year, so they and the Panzer IVs would be easy to send over with her."
"And we know Kuromormine is buying new armor to bolster their forces since they bought some of our old tanks that couldn't come over," William said, "but why specifically Anzio? Did they just randomly choose them?"
"No, my sister doesn't do things randomly. There is a specific reason they chose Anzio, but what could it be?" Miho asked.
Silence reigned over the room once again as everyone tried to answer the question. "Maybe she's afraid of us," Ross suggested, "they knew we'd face Anzio if we both made it through to the third round. They think giving Anzio some support would be enough to beat us and unload some old hardware. Then either Anzio gets beat and they leave the tournament or they face each other in the finals and know everything about Anzio since they have worms on the inside."
Miho nodded. "I guess that's a possible answer," she said.
"I'm not sold on it, but that does seem the most probable answer," William said, "so is there anything else important on the video?"
Yukari shook her head. "No, all that happens is Koume and the Turan II crew leave and I escape," she answered.
"Alright, then let's try to plan out what next. Do we want to do anything this weekend since we have no match? Extra practice? Team building?" William asked.
"We need more tanks!" Momo exclaimed, "once we beat Anzio-"
"If we beat Anzio," Ross corrected.
"No, when. Failure isn't an option!" Momo chastised. Ross rolled his eyes but didn't retort. "Anyways, we'll need more tanks for the semi-finals and finals. The semi-finals will have a limit of 20 tanks and the finals will have a limit of 25."
Miho nodded. "That is a good point. There still should be more tanks onboard the ship. There should be dozens of unsearched warehouses and storage rooms that could have tanks," she said.
"We won't be able to field them in the match against Anzio, but it would be a worthwhile effort. Let's get the team together tomorrow and look for more tanks for the day," William suggested.
"That sounds like fun!" Azusa added.
"Let's plan on it then, if nobody has any problem with that," Miho said. Without any protests, Miho stood up. "Alright, let's plan on doing some tank hunting tomorrow! Now, let's get to practice."
"Yes ma'am!" everyone exclaimed while getting out of their seats.
With the Saturday morning sunrise behind him, Joseph opened the garage doors to Garage 3. In the utility stall, the RD8 tractor pulled from the Bob Semple tank awaited him. It had been repainted with a fresh coat of yellow paint. "We're finally going to put you to the test, don't let me down now," Joseph said as he climbed aboard.
"Talking to tractors? You've finally lost your mind," Ross said, holding Natalie at the entrance.
"You talk to Natalie when she's asleep, so you have no room to talk," Joseph countered smugly.
Ross blushed and turned away. "Shut up…" he mumbled.
Joseph fired up the RD8's engine. The six-cylinder diesel engine sputtered to life, filling the garage with a low rumble. "Not as powerful as the Voroshilovets or the M6, but you've got your own charm…" Joseph complimented. He grabbed the steering levers and inched the tractor out of the garage. "Handles like a dream!" he called out as he drove past Ross and William.
Natalie whimpered and buried her face in Ross's shoulder. "It's okay sweetie. The tractor's not going to hurt you," Ross reassured while rubbing her back.
People started to arrive as Joseph drove around the large gravel field in front of the garage to get used to the RD8's handling. Miho walked over to Ross and William. "Hey guys," she greeted.
"Good morning," Ross replied.
Miho noticed Natalie's discomfort and gently patted her head. "Good morning Natalie," Miho greeted. Natalie slowly rose from Ross's shoulder with tearful eyes. Miho took off her Boko-shaped backpack and opened it. "I've got something for you," she said as she dug into her bag and pulled out a small Boko bear about the size of her palm. Natalie's eyes lit up and took the offered bear with a smile.
Ross and Miho smiled as Natalie cuddled the bear. "Thank you Miho, I appreciate it," he said.
"You're welcome, I thought Natalie would like it," Miho replied, "looks like I was right."
"So how should we search for tanks? Split up and roam around?" William asked.
Miho thought for a moment. "Let's try to look around some new areas on the ship. A lot of the forests on the top deck still have yet to be searched thoroughly so it's likely that we could find something there," she answered.
"We'll have Joseph and his team search through the park around Ventilation Mountain on his tractor. They'll be able to cover more ground than anyone else on foot," William decided.
Joseph drove past on his tractor. "What? Search the mountain?" he shouted over the loud engine.
"Shut that darn thing down and get over here for instructions!" William demanded.
Joseph stuck out his tongue, but shut off the engine and ran over to the growing group of commanders in front of Garage 3. With all the commanders gathered, Miho began planning out their search. "Alright everyone, I think we know the drill by now. Keep your searching to public areas and stay away from dangerous places. With that out of the way, let's get to searching!" Miho cheered.
"Yes ma'am!" everyone responded.
The RD8 tractor easily drove over the dirt paths laid out in the park around Ventilation Mountain that served as the battlefield in Oarai's first match. The members of Hyena Team crammed themselves onto the RD8. Joseph, Kass, and August were able to squeeze into the seat while Morgan, Tanner, and Elliot stood on the open-air cab base that extended over the tracks while holding onto the roof supports. "So, where do you guys think some tanks are hiding?" Joseph asked.
"Probably all below deck. I mean, a tank would be pretty hard to hide up here," August answered.
"Yeah, we'll be lucky to find a track link up here," Morgan commented.
"Nah, I think we'll find something," Joseph said. The tractor rolled over the top of a hill and dove back down onto the path with a moderate impact. "I wonder what we'll find. Keep your eyes peeled for anything interesting," he instructed.
Everyone but Joseph was already scanning the forest while he kept his eyes on the pathway in front of them. "How are the pigeons?" August asked.
"They're doing well. It's a shame we couldn't use them in the match against Chi-Ha-Tan. Stupid jungle canopy…" Joseph said.
"Will we be using them in the match against Anzio?" Kass asked.
"If Miho wants us to, but we probably won't need them again. We'll beat Anzio easily," Joseph answered.
"You're pretty confident in yourself," August commented.
"Not just in myself. In everyone. We've got some serious weight to throw around now," Joseph said. Everyone bounced as they drove over another hill.
Once they had settled down, Kass spoke up, "Anzio's not very strong either. Do you think it'll just be a point-and-shoot operation?"
Joseph shrugged. "Maybe not that easy, but certainly no challenge. The schools I'm concerned about are Pravda and Kuromormine," he said.
"Yeah, Pravda did win last year, and Kurmormine nine years straight before them. Who will they be facing in their third rounds?" Morgan asked.
"Pravda is facing Bellwall and Kuromorimine is facing St. Gloriana. The matches are going to get really intense from here on out, at least with them. Those are some powerful schools," Joseph answered.
Morgan whistled. "Now those will be fun matches to watch," she said.
Joseph nodded. "I expect to see a lot of firepower and big guns now. No more holding back into Round 3 and beyond. Maybe we should send them a message by pounding the crap out of Anzio," he said.
"Hey, take a look at that!" Tanner called out, pointing to the right.
Joseph stopped the tractor and looked over. Behind some trees was a large pile of dug-up dirt. "So, what's special about some dirt?" Joseph asked.
"It looks artificial, maybe someone is doing some digging?" Kass suggested.
Everyone started climbing out of the RD8 and walked over. They pushed some foliage aside and arrived in a clearing where four students wearing tan shirts and shorts with a tan pith hat were digging. "Hey, what's going on here?" Joseph asked.
A girl leaning against a shovel turned to them. "We're the archaeology club. We found a map in the school archives that told us there was a secret storeroom buried here. And you are?"
"Joseph David, I'm on the Sensha-do team. We're looking for tanks right now," Joseph answered.
"I'm Avaron Sugimoto, the president of the archaeology club," Avaron introduced. Everyone else introduced themselves to each other. Avaron Sugimoto who had neck-length brown hair and hazel eyes, twins Sando and Saiki Atsushi who shared sandy-colored hair and blue eyes, and Moriyama Yori, who had brown hair and green eyes.
"So do you know what's in this storeroom?" Joseph asked, "I'm starting to get curious myself."
"Got yourself bit by the archaeology bug huh? Well unfortunately we don't know. All we've been doing is digging for a little bit now," Avaron answered.
"We have extra shovels if you'd like to join us," Saiki offered.
Joseph looked to his crew to see if anyone had any objections. When none were given, he nodded. "Alright, maybe there's something of use here," he said. The archaeology club handed out shoves for Hyena Team and work resumed on excavating the secret storeroom.
The history club stood around a tall stick standing up on a red and black yin and yang symbol. Caesar held the stick up with a finger before letting go. The stick fell to the east and hit the ground with a clatter. "The east favors us," she decided.
"You can really tell where a tank is with that?" Yukari asked.
"Divination has worked for me before," Caesar replied.
Yukari shrugged. "I guess we have nothing else to work with," she said.
Erwin nodded in agreement. "Very well, to the east we march!" she declared while pointing eastwards dramatically.
Saori, leading the members of Rabbit Team, walked down the stairs to the next deck below them. As she climbed down, a pair of marine course students walked past. "Excuse me," Saori said, "would you have happened to see a tank anywhere around here?"
The students stopped and turned to her. "I think there was something that looked like a tank somewhere around here," she said and turned to her partner, "where was it?"
"I think it was a deck down and near the back storage room," she answered, pointing back down the hall. "Be careful, the lights don't work down there too well and we're still waiting for replacement bulbs."
"Thank you, we will," Saori replied. She and Rabbit Team kept walking down the stairs and began walking down the hall away from the two marine course students.
"Huh, they're nicer than I thought they'd be," the first marine course student said.
"I guess you can't believe everything you hear," the other noted.
Saori sighed as overhead the two talking while they walked down the hall. "Man, everyone thinks we're mean…" she bemoaned.
"Don't worry Miss Takebe! They're just unfounded rumors. I doubt they'll gain serious traction," Azusa reassured.
Saori smiled. "Thanks, Azusa." They kept walking down the hall when the lights started to dim before finally shutting off. "Oh man, did we bring a flashlight?" Saori asked. Unfortunately, everyone shook their heads.
"Well, the tank shouldn't be far from here, if those students were right. Let's keep going!" Azusa exclaimed.
"Wow Azusa, you sound just like Captain Nishizumi!" Yuuki complimented. Asuza blushed and everyone had a good giggle at her expense.
Thankfully, to her rescue, the group entered a storage room that was completely shrouded in darkness. However, they could still see a few feet in front of them, where the slanted steel plating of a tank hull could be seen. "Hey, it looks like a tank hull!" Karina exclaimed.
"Looks like it-" Saori started before the lights flashed on, nearly blinding them as their eyes had been adjusted to the dark.
Above them, on the Tiger turret mounted to the Panzerbefehlswagen (P), stood Yuko, who looked down on them with contempt. "So, the little girls of the Sensha-do team stumble into my lair looking for tanks. Don't you know we don't like your kind around these parts?" she taunted.
Rabbit Team and Saori stumbled back as their sight came back to them. "W-wait, we don't want any trouble," Saori stuttered.
Yuko narrowed her eyes as Blackshirts surrounded Rabbit Team and Saori. They cowered together like an Armadillo hiding from its prey. "Well if you didn't want trouble, you shouldn't have let your boys on the team," she said.
Azusa bravely stepped forward towards Yuko. "No!"
"No?" Yuko asked.
"No, we don't agree! Your view of our friends is twisted by prejudice and lies. They have every right to be a part of our team and school!" Azusa declared, "And if you don't like that, then maybe YOU should leave!"
Yuko clenched her jaw and glared at Azusa. "Why you little brat…"
"The only person acting like a brat here is you!" Asuza shouted.
"Get her!" Yuko demanded. The Blackshirts focused on Azusa and began approaching her menacingly. Azusa, however, stood her ground.
The snap of a gunshot pierced the air. On the second level of the warehouse, Eagle Team stood with their rifles aimed down at Yuko and her Blackshirts. "Listen up delinquent! We don't like your kind around here. Back off or we'll use force!" Patty threatened.
"Patty!" Azusa shouted.
"It's Eagle Team… how'd they find us?" Saori whispered.
Yuko glared up at Eagle Team. "We know your guns are fake!" she screamed.
Patty smirked. "Fake? Oh, you poor girl… there's only so much an engineer can do to dumb the pain of a .44 caliber bullet," she replied.
"Get them!" Yuko screamed.
"Open fire!" Patty commanded. The Spencer Repeating Rifles came to life, firing down .44 caliber bullets down onto the Blackshirts. They shouted in surprised pain as the bullets stung their skin like a thousand little bees as Eagle Team fired and reloaded their rifles with skill and precision.
Rabbit Team and Saori ducked onto the ground when the firefight started. They winced every time a volley of bullets flew above them. Just as quickly as the firefight began, Blackshirts started fleeing the room one by one. After a minute, all that was left was Yuko, standing above on her tank alone. "Not so tough once you cowards face someone who can fight back huh?!" Patty shouted.
Yuko clenched her fists. "Everything I've done for those girls, and they run when it counts…" she fumed. Quickly, she jumped from the tank turret onto the engine deck and then onto the ground and began running away to the depths of Johannesburg. She didn't get far before she was tackled by Sodoko, Gomoyo, and Pazomi who leaped down from the second level of the warehouse.
"What just happened…" Saori whispered as they started to rise.
Yuko shouted and thrashed against the three girls holding her down. "By the order of the student council and the Oarai Police Department, you are under arrest Yuko," Sodoko declared.
A flurry of furious curses came from Yuko that made everyone wince in disgust. "Looks like our job is done…" Patty said.
"Wait!" Saori shouted. Eagle Team looked down to her. "How did you guys know we were here? How did you know this was where the Blackshirts were hiding?"
Patty smiled and shouldered her rifle. "Us saving you was luck, but the Student Morals Committee needed some help putting this gang down. Needless to say… we didn't back down from the challenge."
"It is a lot easier to do when you have a repeating rifle," Jennifer stated.
"If only we brought the Gatling Gun…" Harriet added.
"Anyway, I think our boys will rest easy now. Ladies and gentlemen, we got 'em," Patty said, "I've been itching to face these Blackshirts since I heard they beat up William, Joseph, and Ross."
"I was hoping for more to be honest. Little cowards ran at the first sign of a fight," Nora said.
Saori took a deep breath and wiped some sweat from her forehead. "So much for a calm day of tank searching…" she mumbled.
"Look on the bright side, Miss Takebe. We found a new tank and the Student Morals Committee got the Blackshirt leader," Azusa comforted.
"Thanks… I guess. Let's just get this tank to the garages," Saori replied and climbed onto the hull. She slid into the driver's position and pushed the ignition switch. When nothing happened, she pushed it again. She sighed heavily. "No… that'd be too easy," she mumbled.
Yukari and the History Club stood over a ditch at a park near the front of the carrier. Specifically, it was a water runoff ditch. "Wow, it actually worked," Oryou said. In the ditch, sunk in the water and mud, was a large heavy tank. The Char B1 Bis was a French heavy tank that saw battle in the opening stages of World War Two. It had a long hull and a small turret that made it look like a mallard in the water.
"That's the way to go, Montgomery!" Erwin cheered.
"I don't know if Montgomery is the right nickname…" Saemonza commented.
"How about Guderian then?" Erwin suggested.
"That's it!" the History Club cheered.
Yukari was too busy ogling over the B1 Bis to notice her new nickname. "A Char B1 Bis, it's such an honor!" she exclaimed. It took her entire will to not dive into the mud and examine each detail of the sunken tank.
A shovel hitting a metal hatch instead of dirt reverberated through the excavation site. "I found something!" Moriyama declared. Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed over. With a few more shovelfuls of dirt, the hatch was uncovered.
"President's honor," Moriyama said, gesturing to the hatch. Avaron smiled and pried open the hatch. A blast of stale air rushed out of the hatch.
"Alright, let's see what you've got hidden away…" Avaron mumbled as she shone a flashlight into the hatch. She leaned a little closer into the hatch and peered inside. Suddenly, she shot up with a scream and crawled away from the hatch while dropping her flashlight.
"What in the world? Are you okay?" Joseph asked with shock.
"There's a monster down there! A-a two-headed monster!" Avaron shouted.
Saiki rolled her eyes and took the flashlight. "I'm sure it's nothing," she said while peering into the hatch. "Yeah that's no monster," she said.
"What is it?" Joseph asked.
"Something, that's for sure. Take a look," Saiki replied, handing him the flashlight.
Joseph peered into the hatch. His light shone onto a riveted box with a bug-eye-looking machine gun bulge on the right side, two 37mm guns sticking out of an oversized mantlet. To add to the strange aesthetic, two AA-mounted M1919 machine guns were pointed straight up on their mounts like bug antennae. "Oh god… that's disgusting!" he complained.
"What is it?" Sando asked.
"A Marmon-Herrington MTLS-1GI4…" Joseph groaned, "Oh god it's worse than the Bob Semple… at least the Bob Semple was just an ad hoc piece of junk."
"I have no clue what any of that means," Saiki said.
"It's for the best that you don't…" Joseph groaned, "well, at least it could be of some use, unlike the Bob Semple."
Avaron crawled back over to the hatch. "So it's not a monster?" she asked.
Joseph shook his head. "In tank design, yes, but in the common sense? No," he answered.
"Oh, it's a tank," Avaron said, "well, the least we can do for helping us dig up the storage room is help get it over to your garage."
Joseph sighed and crawled into the hatch and onto its ladder. "Well then, let's get to it," he said. He quickly climbed down into the room, waving away dust after he dropped onto the floor. He was soon followed by the rest of the archaeology club and Hyena Team.
The MTLS-1GI4 was left at the back of the room against the wall, while it was surrounded by old boxes and crates. "This room must have gotten forgotten in renovations or something," Joseph noted as he looked over the tank.
"Yeah, that's probably the story. Say, how many crew members does this tank need?" Avaron asked.
"It should be four if I remember correctly," Joseph answered.
"So girls, wanna try something new for a bit?" Avaron asked.
Joseph turned to her with confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Without any protests from the club, Avaron turned back to Joseph. "Well you need four crew for this tank, and we have four members of the archaeology club interested in your team. Seems like an easy fit," she explained.
"Oh, you want to join the team?" Joseph asked. Avaron nodded, causing Joseph to smile. "Alright then, welcome aboard!"
"Glad to be of service," Avaron replied, "so… how do we get it out of here?"
Joseph looked around. "Uh… there should be an exit around here…" he said, "oh God this is going to be fun…"
Kass walked over to the wall behind the MTLS-1GI4 and found a large switch. "Found it!" she declared and pulled it down. Behind the MTLS-1GI4, the wall lowered, revealing a tunnel behind the room.
"We'll still have to find a way to get the tractor down here," Joseph noted while pulling out a map. "And it looks like we're in for some walking…"
Ross and Miho idly walked around one of the parks on the top deck. He didn't want to take Natalie below deck and the weather was nice so it seemed like an obvious choice. They did still look around the area for tanks, but the chances of finding a tank in a public park weren't very high. "I think there's a storage warehouse not far from here. We could check that out once we're done here," Miho suggested.
"Yeah sure," Ross said idly, "think anyone's found anything?"
Miho shrugged. "I don't know. Joseph might find something," she replied.
"I guess he could," Ross said, "so um if you don't mind me asking, how are things with your family?"
"Well… I still call my sister every so often, but I still haven't talked to my mother yet," Miho answered downcast, "I'm starting to wonder if that's something that will ever happen. Maho told me she doesn't even mention me anymore."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Ross replied.
Miho sighed. "Yeah, but being here with all my friends definitely helps," she said, "h-how are things with yours? And Pastor Barnes? Do you still talk with them?"
"Well, Pastor Barnes calls me every so often just to check on me and Natalie, but my dad… I don't think he cares. He hasn't cared in a long time," Ross answered sadly, "speaking of which, I don't think you've ever said much about your dad."
"Oh, right…" Miho said, "he doesn't call. He's probably too afraid of my mom. He's always preferred to work late and leave early just to avoid everything."
"Oh, sorry about bringing it up," Ross apologized.
Miho smiled. "No, I think I needed to get it off my chest anyway." She reached out to play with Natalie's fingers. Natalie grabbed onto Miho's pointer finger and shook it with a giggle. "Since we're talking about family, how are you doing Natalie?" Miho asked.
Natalie responded with senseless babbles. "She's been sleeping more at night than in the day, so that's good," Ross commented.
"Good, that's when you're supposed to sleep," Miho said. Natalie let go of her finger so Miho patted her on the head. Natalie giggled with a smile.
"So, do you have any plans for after high school? Is university even an option for you?" Miho asked.
"Yeah, I plan on going to university," Ross answered.
Miho tilted her head in confusion and surprise. "But won't it be hard with Natalie?" she asked.
"That's part of the reason I'm going, for her. I want to get a STEM degree and get paid enough to give her and me a comfortable life. I was thinking of going into engineering," Ross replied, "that's why I'm still in Sensha-do. Eastern universities in the US are throwing out money left and right for Sensha-do scholarships. It'll be difficult, but hey, if I can move across the world's largest ocean, then moving back across the US shouldn't be too hard right?"
Miho giggled. "No, I guess not," she replied, "where do you want to go?"
"North Carolina State University. It's a public university in Raleigh, North Carolina," Ross answered.
"Why North Carolina?" Miho asked.
"It's my home state and where my mom graduated from. Although I'll always see Schwarzadler as my hometown, Raleigh is where I was born and raised until I was nine when we moved to Oregon. I don't know if I'll stay after I get my degree, but I want to spend some time there. Who knows, life can be unpredictable," Ross answered.
"It is," Miho replied.
"What do you want to do?" Ross asked.
Miho blinked blankly and struggled to come up with an answer. "What I want to do…" she whispered. Then one thing came to her mind. "I-I want to have a family. I want a successful career and all that sure, but I think seeing you take care of Natalie and being around you has made me want a family more," she admitted.
Ross smiled. "That's a good thing to want. Sure it's got its hardships and isn't for everyone, but if children are something you want, then it's worth it," he said.
"Mmmm, Mio," Natalie babbled while reaching out to her. Miho smiled and took her from Ross. She clung to Miho's uniform and leaned into her.
"Looks like she agrees," Ross said.
"Yeah…" Miho said trailing off. She looked up from Natalie and noticed that they were near the warehouse. "Hey look, there's the warehouse we can search."
Ross turned and looked ahead. On the other side of the street on a corner of the park was a fairly large warehouse. "Well, let's check it out," he said. They walked across the street and Ross crouched down to pull the garage door up. It shot upwards with a bang which caused Natalie to jump.
"It's okay Natalie, it's just the garage door," Miho whispered soothingly.
They entered the warehouse that wasn't massive but held a few rows of shelving with various crates and stored away equipment. They walked along the first shelf but didn't find anything of use. "Looks like it's just another warehouse for ship equipment and stuff. I guess that's somewhat disappointing," Ross said.
"Yeah…" Miho replied. She rounded the shelf and looked over the next unit. On the bottom shelf, a large crate took up the entire shelf. She walked over and looked at a piece of paper taped sloppily to the side. "Schürzen auxiliary armor plating kit, property of the Oarai Sensha-do team. Hey Ross, I found something we can use!" Miho exclaimed.
Ross came over and looked at the crate and its paper. "Looks like it! This should be able to be mounted to the Panzer IV. We could probably even get it done today!" he exclaimed.
"Alright, great!" Miho cheered. She held her hand up for a high five. Ross smiled and gave her a high five. To their amusement, Natalie held her hand up as well. Ross and Miho responded by giving her a gentle high five, causing her to giggle.
The loud sound of a chain snapping filled the warehouse as the automotive club tried to tow the Panzerbefehlswagen VI (P) out of the former gang hideout of the Blackshirts of Oarai. "Tsuchiya, stop stop!" Nakajima shouted. The Voroshilovets tractor stopped futility pulling on the Porsche Tiger, leaving the remaining chain to rest on the ground next to its snapped comrade.
"Aww man, it snapped again," Suzuki complained.
"We're going to need to call for back-up," Hoshino decided. She pulled out her phone and dialed Joseph.
Above ground, Joseph towed the MTLS-1GI4 through the forest back to the garages with the M6 tractor, since the RD8 could only tow 10 tons and the MTLS-1GI4 weighed 22 tons. Ahead, Kass drove the RD8 tractor with the rest of Hyena Team while the archaeology club rode in the back cabin of the M6. Joseph's phone buzzed in his pocket, so he took it out and answered the call. "Hey Hoshino, what's up?" he asked.
"We're having a bit of a problem towing the Porsche Tiger. Mind bringing over the M6 to help? We might need the RD8 too," Hoshino requested.
"Hold on! You're not seriously trying to pull the Porsche Tiger with the Voroshilovets, are you?" he asked with surprise, "that thing can only tow about 18 tons. The Porsche Tiger is like 60!"
"You know, that would explain the broken chains…" Hoshino said.
Joseph groaned. "Hold on, I'll bring over the M6 and the RD8 in a bit. We're towing another tank right now, but we'll be done soon. Just sit tight and don't try anything with the Voroshivlets," he instructed.
"Alright, alright, we'll wait," Hoshino replied. She hung up the call and put her phone in her jumpsuit pocket. "So, the Voroshilovets isn't powerful enough to tow the Porsche Tiger. Joseph said it could only tow 18 tons."
"Oh that makes sense," Suzuki said.
Nakajima sighed. "I should have thought about that… Isao's gonna make fun of me nonstop for that if he finds out," she said.
"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure he and the rest of the boys find out," Hoshino teased.
A dark, shadowy figure snuck up behind them maliciously. "Too late!" it shouted and jabbed Nakajima in her sides.
Nakajima squealed, jumped forward, and turned around. "Isao!" she growled.
The boy with curly black hair in the automotive club's orange jumpsuit laughed at Nakajima's expense. "I got you again!" he teased.
"Isao Yoshinaga, I swear if you keep sneaking up on me!" Nakajima threatened.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your head on," Isao deflected.
"What are you doing down here anyway? I thought you wanted to work on the Toyota?" Suzuki asked.
Isao shrugged. "I just took a little walk you know? Just stretching the legs," he explained.
"Yeah okay…" Nakajima said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
"Oh, there are boys in the automotive club?" Azusa asked.
Isao nodded. "Yeah, there's me, Kyo, Seiji, and Minoru," he answered.
They were interrupted by the rumbling of the M6 tractor driving into the warehouse. "Please tell me you didn't damage the Voroshilovets," Joseph said as he climbed from the cab.
"No, we stopped trying," Nakajima replied.
Joseph sighed in relief. "Okay good. Now let's link together all our tractors and we'll be able to-" he started before his phone started buzzing again. He sighed and took it out of his pocket. "What'd you need Ross? The tractor? We're kinda busy at the moment. Saori and Rabbit Team found a Porsche Tiger below deck. Yeah, it's got the additional armor too. You found spaced armor for the Panzer IV? Nice, but we're kinda busy right now. Just use one of the tanks to pull it or something," he said before hanging up, "Ross and Miho found some spaced armor in a warehouse."
"Oh cool! I'm sure that will be useful," Azusa said.
Joseph nodded. "Should be, anyway let's get this tank out of here," he said.
Ross put his phone away and groaned. "Looks like Joseph and all the tractors are busy pulling out a Porsche Tiger. We'll need to use a tank to haul it to the garage," he said.
"Okay, but what can we use as a trailer? We can't just pull a crate like we could a tank," Miho pointed out.
Ross put his face in his hands and groaned. "Yeah… that's another problem," he said.
Miho couldn't help but giggle. "C'mon, it's not that big of a deal."
"Yeah, but logistics and waiting sucks," Ross complained. "Whatever, let's just look around a little longer I guess." The two walked around the warehouse for a bit, looking over crates and boxes, but finding little of interest. They stopped in the back right corner of the warehouse where they found another box. Ross tore off the tape and opened it. "Take a look at this, a Nahverteidigungswaffe for the Panzer IV!" he exclaimed.
Miho looked into the box. Her eyes lit up with excitement at the sight of the small metal tube with a grip attached to the back with a large steel trigger. "Perfect, now we can deploy smoke grenades!" she exclaimed.
"More options on the battlefield are always welcome," Ross said as he picked up the box.
It took a lot of work, but by the mid-afternoon, the team's new finds were collected in the garage. The B1 Bis, MTLS-1GI4, and Tiger(P) joined Hippo Team in Garage 4. While they were being prepared for restoration by the automotive club, Ross and Joseph put their welding skills to the test with the Panzer IV's spaced armor. The schürzen armored plating was mounted to the sides of the Panzer IV's hull and around its turret with several steel mounts that were welded directly to the body. While they worked on the Panzer IV fully clad in welding gear, Anglerfish Team watched on as the welding sparks flared up into the air from a safe distance.
In Miho's arms, Natalie stared at the sparks with wonder. Miho looked down at her with a smile. "Aww," she couldn't help but coo at the baby's wonder while Natalie leaned into her neck. She smiled and slightly leaned back.
Saori raised an eyebrow while looking at Miho. She's got Miho completely wrapped around her finger… she thought with a hint of amusement. I wonder if there's anything I can do to get those two together sooner…
Ross turned off his welder and lifted his mask to examine the last weld for the spaced armor. "That'll do, I think," he said. Joseph turned off his own welder and climbed over to Ross' side of the hull.
"How're your welds doing?" Joseph asked.
"Should be ready for battle," Ross answered.
Joseph smiled and patted him on the back. "Alright, you've gotten better since I started teaching you," he said.
"How'd you learn to weld anyway?" Ross asked.
"You know how it is. Siblings break something metal, somehow, and there's no money to fix it. After that I uh…" he paused to clear his throat, "'borrowed' a welding torch from the auto shop downtown and nearly torched my hands and face. But hey, at least the mechanic gave me some free lessons and bam! Now I'm welding spaced armor to tanks!" he answered.
Ross rolled his eyes. "How you haven't gotten yourself killed is a mystery," he whispered. The two jumped down from the tank hull and put their equipment away. After that, they walked over to Anglerfish Team.
"So what do you guys think?" Joseph asked.
"Thank you so much, the spaced armor will be really useful in battle," Miho exclaimed.
"So what does spaced armor do anyway?" Saori asked.
Everyone naturally turned to Yukari, who grew incredibly excited to explain the benefits of spaced armor. "So spaced armor provides a few benefits. Adding 5 mm of additional armor is the most obvious, however, spacing it away from the hull can provide some extra benefits. It's often thought that the Germans added Schurzen skirts to protect against HEAT charges, however, this is actually false. The Schurzen skirts were initially added to counter Soviet 14.5mm anti-tank rifles. Although the rifles and some anti-tank weapons can penetrate the 5mm of steel with ease, their shell caps would be damaged or even shattered from the impact, meaning that they won't be able to easily penetrate the tank itself," she lectured.
"So why do people think spaced armor is for HEAT shells?" Saori asked.
"That's because many post-war tanks actually use spaced armor to counter HEAT shells and many armies thought that adding spaced armor or improvised armor like sandbags or wire screens would detonate the HEAT shell prematurely, leaving no effect on the armor underneath. However, studies found that the jet of energy from a HEAT shell would need a full meter of space before it would dissipate. Spaced armor still provides some protection by dispersing energy and disrupting shells before they hit the tank," Yukari explained, "more sophisticated methods of armor protection have emerged since then, and some modern spaced armor do counter some HEAT shells, but a simple steel plate or sandbags typically won't."
"Thank you for the explanation Yukari," Miho said.
Yukari gasped and bowed. "You're very welcome Captain Nish- I mean Miho!" she exclaimed.
"Alright, I think we've done enough work today," Miho said after checking the time on her phone.
"Yeah, I think I'm ready for a nap," Joseph added with a stretch.
Ross walked over to Miho. "Thanks for holding her for me, Miho," he said while reaching out to take Natalie.
"Oh, you're welcome," Miho replied. She tried to hand Natalie over to Ross when Natalie grabbed onto her uniform harder and pulled herself closer to Miho. "Huh? Natalie, what are you doing?" she asked.
Natalie pressed her face against her uniform. "C'mon Natalie, don't you want to go back to your dad?" Miho asked. She shook her head and patted the Boko bear against Miho's chest.
"That's strange. She's never done that before," Ross said.
"Are you able to tell what she wants?" Miho asked.
"I think she wants to stay with you," Ross answered, "maybe it's Boko related?"
"Do you wanna stay with me for a little while longer?" Miho asked. Natalie nodded. Miho smiled. "I guess it can't be helped. Do you guys wanna hang out a little longer?"
This is an opportunity to get them alone for a while! Saori thought excitedly. "Oh well… actually I have something to do… but I need some help from um… four people specifically! Joseph, Hana, Yukari, Mako, could you help me? It will only take a minute!" Saori explained.
The four students in question looked at Saori like she was crazy. "Just go along with it!" Saori hissed.
Hana immediately caught on. "Oh um… that sounds important, Saori! You only need four people right? Why don't you head out, Ross and Miho?" she suggested.
"Oh, are you sure you don't need our help?" Miho asked.
"No, no, that won't be necessary. I doubt Natalie would let you go anyway!" Saori joked.
"Well, I guess we can leave you guys to that…" Ross said, "wanna get something to eat? It's around that time anyway."
Saori jumped at the opportunity. "Yes, I'm sure Natalie is hungry, so why don't you two go out for a bit?" she suggested.
"Oh, alright," Miho said. On cue, Ross and Miho's stomachs growled. "Well, I guess we should eat. You guys aren't hungry?" Miho asked.
Oh my gosh girl, just take the hint and go on a date with your boyfriend! Saori thought irately. "We'll eat once we're done," she answered.
Ross and Miho shrugged. "Alright well, have a good night, guys," Ross said with a small wave before they headed out.
Saori sighed as they left. "Yeesh, I would've thought they'd be rushing to get some alone time together…" she mumbled.
"So…" Joseph started, "what exactly just happened?"
Saori turned to him. "Don't worry about it," she deflected, "I don't really need any help. I just wanted to get those two alone for a bit."
"Oh, son of a-" he cut himself off. "Great, now I'm going to have to pay William," he complained.
"To put it in simple words. Saori was trying to put Ross and Miho together so they'll realize their feelings," Hana explained.
"Thank you Captain Obvious, you really couldn't come up with something better?" Mako asked.
"Hey, to be fair, I didn't realize until Hana explained it," Yukari said.
"Yeah, my time to play cupid has finally come!" Saori exclaimed.
"You've finally lost it," Mako said. She yawned and stretched. "Oh well, I need a nap," she mumbled, "see you guys later."
Another day, another chapter with funky new tanks and our favorite pair of commanders getting closer together. How exciting! Thank you everyone for reading my story and especially to those who review, favorite, and follow it means a lot. But I won't keep you too long, we've got some exciting chapters coming up and I'm sure you'd like me to get to work on them right away!
Up Next on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces!
Chapter 28: Closer Together