Fifty Miles Southeast of Midway Atoll

The Ark Royal was making good time on its trans-pacific journey to Hawaii. Following the same route that Admiral Yamamoto plotted over seventy years ago, passing close enough to Midway for the base to be visible on the horizon with binoculars; on course to make Hawaii in another 48 hours or so. Despite the enormous size of the ship, being literal kilometers long and hundreds of meters wide, out in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean the ship began to seem small and insignificant.

The FV4005 rolled to a stop on the firing range, its turret removed and all the L4 cannon's internals exposed to the open air. A shell was inserted gingerly into the automatic loader system as Darjeeling, Earl Gray and everyone else watched as the gears and mechanisms whirred and clicked, slowly raising the colossal 183mm high explosive shell into the breech of the barrel. Upon insertion, one of the two human loaders closed the breech with a decisive clang of metal.

Pekoe hit her stopwatch. "Thirty-two seconds. With some more optimizations we might be able to shave a couple more seconds off the loading time, but two rounds a minute is about as fast as is feasibly possible."

Assam scribbled away on a tablet. "Notes for the mechanics: increase loading system motor torque output to 105%. Run tests to see if continued operation is possible under this load. If sustained performance is satisfactory, keep motor output at 105%. If not, examine the possibility for in-field emergency 105% mode for use in emergencies when we need that shell."

Earl Gray nodded. "Let 'er rip."

The gunner of the FV4005 stared down the sights of the enormous cannon before hitting the pedal. The explosion shattered the air around them, the barrel heaving back several feet as the shell roared out of the other end, careening down-range into a dummy AT tank destroyer.

The dummy tank was simply vaporized by the 183mm HE shell. All that was left was a smoldering pile of mild steel and scorched earth. Darjeeling turned and walked away from the firing range, as the whine of the FV4005's loading mechanism reached her ears once more.

In the distance, ominous black clouds rose thousands of feet above the ocean surface. Thunder rippled across the sky and lightning flashed inside the dark thunderheads. A cold wind whipped up, ruffling Earl Gray's hair as Darjeeling walked up to her.

"Weather service is saying that the storm hasn't dissipated or changed course. I'm afraid we'll have to cut practice short today; pick up where we left off tomorrow."

"Break it down, everyone! Back to the garage before the storm hits!" Darjeeling yelled to those within earshot, who quickly spread the word to those who weren't. Soon the convoy of Gloriana tanks was rolling back towards the garage, throwing up dust from the tracks as they went. Earl Gray and Darjeeling hopped on the FV4005 as it was the last vehicle to leave the firing range back to the garage. They stood on the tank's engine deck, looking back at the sheets of rain beginning to fill the horizon.

Oahu, Hawaii, USA

The northern shore of the island was a hive of activity. One of the beaches near a skydiving airfield was being hastily prepared for the unloading of the tanks from both schools, with steel plates being placed over the sand in order to support the weight of the heavy vehicles, forming a trackway to a holding area on the airfield itself. Once there, they would be loaded onto specially designed trucks which would transport the tanks from the airfield towards the battle area on the other side of the island near Honolulu.

Men welded steel together, sparks flying into the night sky. Crane booms dotted the landscape and spotlights lit the whole area in dazzling white light. A collection of beams was being assembled into a transport trailer for the only Panzer VIII Maus in Senshado, the designs having been sent to state planners earlier.

Sitting in the airfield parking lot was the most powerful production truck in the world, having been flown to Hawaii directly from Sweden; the Volvo FH 16 750. This rig was tasked with the herculean endeavour of hauling Kuromorimine's Maus up the hilly Hawaiian Interstate H-2 to the outskirts of Honolulu. Despite its 750-horsepower engine being the most powerful production truck engine in the world, the weight still would be too much for one truck alone to pull. Therefore, a second Peterbilt semi tractor was being custom-fitted with a specialized push-bar to push the Maus's consist along. In addition to all this, several other heavy-haul trailers and semi-trucks were parked in a neat row in the airfield's parking lot, ready for transporting the tanks for both teams to the staging area and eventual battle.

On the other side of the island, the city of Honolulu was as bustling as ever. The skyscraper hotels of Waikiki were filled to capacity with reservations from worldwide sensha-do fans arriving in the city. The already notorious Honolulu traffic was even more snarled and gridlocked than usual and would promise to be for the days when Gloriana and Kuro would be in town.

"The ship's 1400 miles away from Oahu, but the Sensha-Do teams from both schools arrive first and meet with JSDF and US officials. You'll also get to explore the city for a bit before the schoolships arrive..." Earl Gray quipped to Darjeeling as she rolled her carry-on bag down the hall of the Tea Garden towards the waiting bus.

"The address for the hotel and the meeting point with JSDF and Kuromorimine is on your email; I forwarded it to you." Earl Gray added as Darjeeling slung her bag into the underfloor luggage compartment of the bus before stepping on as the last person to board. Inside, Assam was taking a roll call and Rosehip was energetically babbling about wanting to see Hawaii for the first time, while most everyone else was snoozing or drowsily staring about, wanting to get some sleep.

"Good luck, Darjeeling! I'll see you in Honolulu!" Earl Gray yelled as the bus door closed with a hiss and they began driving to the onboard airfield. Darjeeling sat in her seat at the front of the bus, and she could already feel the rush of battle beginning to creep in on her nerves.

The Vickers Viscount VIP transport plane was already waiting for them on the Ark Royal's airstrip, a fuel truck attached to the wing and a set of stairs at the ready. Somewhat sluggishly, the St. Gloriana team exited the bus and boarded the plane, Assam doing one last sweep of the bus to make sure that nobody was left behind before she too boarded the aircraft. Sitting down, she pulled out her laptop and began poring over maps of the battlefield as the door was sealed and the four Rolls Royce turboprops sprang into action.

The St. Gloriana Sensha-Do team dozed off as the Viscount lifted off from the deck of the Ark Royal and began its four-hour journey east. Eventually it would run into the rising sun, and then after that the island of Oahu.