Eyre leaned on the hull of the BT-42 as she drank from her bottle of Kossu. Looking at her friends sitting atop the Churchill Crocodile, cheering as they drank away. She could see Victoria and Darling standing next to the tank, laughing at the awful jokes each other made, while Tanami examined Yarra's prosthetic arm with great interest. She heard a clunk, as Gibson shared a part of her Sake with Murray. Soon, Simpson walked up to Eyre.
"Hey boss, how are you doing?" she asked. Eyre smiled at her as Simpson went to lean on the tank.
"I'm doing well, but you could drop with the 'boss' part," she replied. "Why do you even do it anyway?"
"It's just something Victoria makes us do, and I guess it stuck with me," answered Simpson. "I can't wait until we return to the schoolship."
"You're right," replied Eyre. "I hope the Matildas get repaired some time soon." Hearing this, Simpson suddenly stood up, putting her bottle of Kossu aside.
"I'd like to apologize for helping to damage the Matildas," she said.
"It was you?" Eyre was shocked at such a revelation, before looking away. "It's fine, plus the Stuarts that we got to crew were pretty cool."
"You're not angry?" Simpson asked. "I thought damaging your prized tank would have pissed you off."
"Oh, I am pissed off," replied Eyre, "but I've been taught to forgive, so there are no hard feelings in the future." She could see Simpson smiling, before she went back to drinking. "However," Eyre continued, "When we get back, you're buying me a round."
Simpson smiled, before speaking again. "You want it alcoholic, Eyre?" Eyre let out a small chuckle.
"Of course," she said sarcastically. "Nah, just get me a soda or some boba and then we're even, ok?" Simpson nodded, before the two of them leaned on the BT-42 and stared out into the evening sun. In the corner of her eyes, Eyre could see the Jatkosota trio approaching her, before stopping behind her. Turning around, she could see Mika, somehow still playing Säkkijärven Polkka slowly on her kantele despite it being at her waist.
"Congratulations," Mika said, putting her kantele aside. "Even though you didn't win, the way you played was impressive."
"Thanks, it means a lot to be complimented by the ace of Jatkosota," replied Eyre.
"So…" Mika said, looking away. "How was your day today?"
Now, Eyre had fully turned to face Mika, cutting her off. "You and I both know that you never small talk unless you want something, right?" Mika answered the question with a nod, before Eyre continued. "So let's just get to the point. What do you want?"
"It's your team, Eyre is it?" Mika replied. "It is clear that you are all talented, top notch even compared to our crews. But when I watched your game, you were clearly being restricted by your commander."
Eyre stared into Mika's eyes with a serious gaze. "What are you suggesting, Mika? Choose your words very carefully," she warned.
"It's abundantly clear that your commander is the reason you can't play to your full potential, so I'm offering you a chance to do sensha-do with your full potential, at Jatkosota."
Eyre's cheery demeanor quickly disappeared, replaced by a much more serious attitude. "You're asking me to leave my school, my friends, just to do sensha-do better among strangers? You do realize that the commander is just one part of a tank?"
"Of course," replied Mika. "A commander is just one part of the tank. We have enough open spaces for all of your friends as well as tanks you can crew. At least if you come over to us, you won't be restricted on how you fight."
"Oh how little you know me, Mika. Do you really think I would abandon my own team just so I can do sensha-do slightly better? I made a promise to Wallaby that I will do sensha-do for Koala Forest until I graduate, and I intend to make sure of that promise."
Both Eyre and Simpson got up, before walking away from the Jatkosota trio. Meeting up with the rest of their friends by the Churchill Crocodile, the eight girls climbed onto the vehicle. Tanami in the drivers position, while Victoria, Murray and Gibson climbed into the turret of the vehicle. Opening the hatch, Darling took the position of the flamethrower gunner, excitedly clutching the weapon, as Yarra lowered herself into the co-driver's position. Now with all of the seats in the flamethrowing tank occupied, Eyre climbed up onto the hull of the tank, before reaching out and helping Simpson up. The two sat on the turret as Eyre gave Tanami the order to move forward down the hill and towards the barbecue.
Looking back, Eyre could see the BT-42, with Mika poking out of the roof hatch, as it began to move, towing a trailer behind it. She soon spotted another set of tracks, heading in the same direction as the BT-42. Her eyes followed the trail the vehicle had left behind, leading to a set of vehicles belonging to Pravda, with one of their T-70s missing. The Churchill Crocodile eventually reached the base of the hill, where Eyre instructed Tanami to return it to the tank storage facilities where they had found the flamethrowing tank. Once the driver parked the tank, Eyre dismounted from the turret, helping Simpson down, as the hatches on the vehicle opened.
Slowly, each member of the temporary crew got out. Now united again, Eyre led her friends back to the barbecue, where she could see many of the students present wake up from an unintended blackout. Walking through the crowds of people waking up, Eyre eventually found Wallaby, still slumped over in her seat. Shaking her once, Wallaby's head suddenly rose, Eyre's head coming into view.
"Eyre, what are you doing here?" she asked, slurring her words. Suddenly realising that she fell asleep, Wallaby sprang to life. "How long was I out? Have the buses left? What about all-"
Wallaby was cut off by Eyre, who seated her disoriented commander down again. "Everything's fine, boss. The tanks have been loaded onto the train, and I've told the buses to wait a bit. Let's just get you to the bus and get you to rest."
Lifting Wallaby up, Eyre put her hands around the commander as the two began to walk over to the buses that they had arrived in. Reaching the bus, Eyre let go, before Wallaby turned to her. "What happened? Why are you being so responsible now?" she questioned.
Eyre did not return an answer, as she chuckled before turning around. "I'll gather up the rest of the students, ok?"
"Sure," replied Wallaby, still suffering from a headache. "I guess I should get some rest," she said to herself.
Author's notes
I want to thank Bramble of Brambles for help proofreading this story.
Sorry for the late upload. I don't really have an excuse for the delay, just that I forgot to do it and ran out of steam. I'll try to release the next chapter in less time than what it took this time. Well, now that's out of the way, goodbye. :)