Author's Note: Hello all! Before I begin, I'd like to thank the people who already followed and favorited the story, it really gives me motivation to continue writing. I'm currently working on publishing anywhere from 1-2 chapters per week, but a rigid update schedule is something that has yet to be implemented. Without further ado, enjoy!
Lunchtime at Oarai Girls Academy was always a busy time. The vast cafeteria hummed with the buzz of hundreds of conversing girls. At the very center of the space, at a nondescript table much like the others, a seat was noticeably absent.
"Where do you think Saori-san is?" Asked a fluffy brown-haired girl eating from a German mess kit amid a pile of tank magazines and Wargaming's Ultimate Guide to World of Tanks.
"Probably drooling over the newest cashier clerk at the local Sunkos….." Wafted the dry remark from a perpetually sleepy short girl whose head was almost entirely hidden behind an enormous slice of cake.
Miho and Hana chuckled softly to one another before seeing a familiar head of orange hair tearing across the cafeteria floor and skidding to a stop at the table.
"Whoa there Saori, where's the fire?" Miho smiled, as Saori continued to pant breathlessly.
"You….need to see this!" Saori was able to gasp out between frantic breaths, producing a remote control from her pocket. She aimed it at the nearest TV. Suddenly, a talking head was on the screen with a headline splashed across the lower half:
COLD-WAR SENSHA-DO BILL PASSES IN HISTORIC LANDSLIDE
All their eyes widened in shock as they soaked in the headline, still not entirely sure of the ramifications yet.
St Gloriana Tea Garden, Ark Royal school-ship
The silver Range Rover pulled to a stop in front of the St Gloriana Tea Garden, having boarded the transport ship to the Ark Royal earlier. Darjeeling, Rukuriri and Pekoe stood at attention at the door as Earl Gray and her welcoming party exited the car.
Darjeeling met Earl Gray's steely gray eyes as she strode up to greet her mentor. Underneath her calm demeanor, she was panicking. She hoped it didn't show in her eyes.
"Earl Gray-sama! Welcome back! It's been a long ti-" Darjeeling's voice cut off with a strangled gasp as Earl Gray's umbrella handle lifted up her skirt, revealing her red panties for all to see. Pekoe's eyes practically bulged out of her head, Rukuriri choked on her own throat, Assam raised an eyebrow, even the hyperactive Rosehip froze mid-step like a statue.
Earl Gray tutted. "Tsk, tsk, Darjeeling. Let your guard down again. This complacency and laziness is exactly why Gloriana hasn't won a championship in years. Come inside, now. We have much to discuss. Oh, Assam. My briefcase in the trunk contains documents that GI6 really should take a look at. Take care of that, will you now, dear?"
With that, Earl Gray turned on her heel and strode briskly into the Tea Garden House. The fabric of Darjeeling's skirt dropped back down, her pride crushed as hot tears of embarrassment dripped down her face. Assam got back into the Range Rover and drove off to the motor pool, the valuable briefcase with her. Rosehip was the first to recover, brushing off the moment immediately before speeding into the House after Earl Gray. Slowly, Rukuriri shuffled quietly up the stairs as well, leaving Pekoe and Darjeeling alone on the curb. Presently, Darjeeling felt a soft hand on her arm, and looked down to see the concerned eyes of Pekoe looking up at her.
"Darjeeling-sama, are you okay? We really should get inside and see what Earl Gray has in store for us. I know you're embarrassed and probably angry at her, but she's here to help us, after all."
Darjeeling smiled softly. "Yes, Pekoe. I'm feeling better now. Let's go." They walked together into the House, the doors closing behind them with a solid thud.
The TV was on inside the conference room, news about the vote blaring from the speakers. A kettle gurgled quietly to itself in the corner of the room. Pekoe and Rukuriri stared blankly at the talking head on the screen, their cups of tea stone cold and undrunk in their hands. Darjeeling's driver, Ruhuna, had her mouth agape in shock, her cup of tea shattered to bits on the floor as the spilled tea pooled around her feet. Rosehip was quietly fidgeting to herself at her seat of the table, a plate of biscuits already reduced to crumbs. Earl Gray stood at the head of the table, her eyes blazing.
She waved Darjeeling over. "Everything is going as planned. With the vehicles I've secured for us, everyone will fear us. St Gloriana will finally rise again as a superpower of Sensha-Do."
"Vehicles for us? What vehicles? You're not making any sense, Earl Gray." Darjeeling shot back, noticing shamefully how much her voice sounded like she was whining at her mentor. Earl Gray reached out with her hand. Panicked, Darjeeling gripped the hem of her skirt in terror, but Earl Gray's hand instead picked up a biscuit, where she bit into it decisively.
"As their representative Sensha-Do school in Japan, the UK wants to see us win more than anything. When this vote was but a rumor, I made a trip to Bovington, to see if they would be willing to give us some of their vehicles to use in this year's tournament." She took another bite of the biscuit.
Darjeeling's eyes widened. Bovington? Where the Tank Museum was? "And? What did they say?"
"They said of course! Bovington, like the rest of the UK, wants to see Gloriana win. I secured five vehicles from them, and the RAF is currently transporting them to the Ark Royal. With these tanks, there's no way we can lose."
A couple miles away, Assam strode into GI6 headquarters with Earl Gray's briefcase in hand. Ducking quickly into her office and donning a pair of gloves, she took the briefcase to a decontamination room. After a thorough cleaning, she looked at the case for a way to open it. Seeing a small glass pad on the outside, she placed her finger on it. A light electronic chime came from the case, and the locks clicked open. Her eyebrow raised. Fingerprint unlock? The case must have cost tens of thousands of pounds.
Inside the case were a neat pile of blueprints in their signature blue color paper. Diagrams for Rolls-Royce Griffon V12 engines. Track tensioning guides for Cromwells and Centurions. Turret cutaway diagrams. At the bottom of the pile were five full-vehicle blueprints. With each one, Assam's eyes grew wider and wider. The last one was so incredible that her blood pressure shot through the ceiling and she fainted in shock.
She woke up still slumped over the decontamination desk twenty minutes later, her cheek pressed up against the blueprints. Snapping into what she called '007 mode,' she slapped everything hurriedly back into the briefcase, closed it, and dashed out of the room. Soon, Assam was at the motor pool key box, where she quickly scanned the keys for one particular set. Got it! Down the express elevator into the motor pool garage, she clicked the key, unlocking a white Aston Martin DBS. Throwing the case onto the passenger seat, the engine roared into life and she floored it, the tires squealing as the car roared up the exit ramp and into the rapidly darkening sky.
Luckily the roads were deserted as she rowed the car up the gears until she was flying down the length of the Ark Royal at a fantastic rate. She saw the Tea Garden approaching fast, too fast. With reflexes honed from watching decades of Bond and his girls, Assam slammed the car into a lower gear, the engine howling, and jammed the brake pedal hard down. The Aston squirreled hard under maximum braking, sliding across the slick pavement before coming to a stop in front of the Tea Garden. Her heart going a million miles a minute, she sighed, the adrenaline leaving her body in one fell swoop, before she grabbed the case again, leaping out of the car and running inside, as the Aston Martin ticked quietly to itself curbside, the brake discs glowing red-hot.
Assam burst into the conference room, tripping on a shattered teacup and falling to the floor. The contents of the unlocked briefcase fanned out around her like leaves on the forest floor. All eyes turned to look at her.
"Earl Gray-sama, you can't be serious. You managed to get us these vehicles? And when are they arriving here?" She managed to gasp out from the floor.
Earl Gray smiled.
"Tomorrow."
