Chapter 3: Friends of Uncle Sam

Location: Ooarai School Ship, Upper Deck

Time: Aug 25. 2100 HRS

"President… President!"

The voice of her PR manager snapped Anzu Kadotani back to attention. She blinked a couple of times and realized tears had rolled down her cheeks.

"President… Saunders is requesting landing clearance." Momo Kawashima repeated her request. Even though the two stood beside each other, the roars of the approaching plane's engine made it impossible to speak without a headset. "Are they clear?"

Anzu wiped out the tears from her eyes with her sleeves.

"Y-Yes. The order is given," she replied, masking out the cracks on her voice.

"Affirmative." Kawashima acknowledged before switching back her comm-lines to the frequency of the plane's radios. "C5 galaxy, you are clear to land. Please follow the arrayed lights as you descend."

"Roger," came a heavily-static reply.

Anzu and her two colleagues from the Student Council watched as an enormous plane slowly descended towards their school's vast open field. With their headlights at full beam, an array of transport trucks formed a makeshift runway lights to mark the boundaries of the runway.

The plane's four engines roared as it touched down on a dirt field, producing gale force winds on its sides and rear. It whooshed through the runway, producing plumes of dust clouds that blanketed the pristine summer night like a desert storm. Its tires screeched, and the flaps of its massive wings opened up to increase drag and help with the deceleration.

Anzu Kadotani curled her hands into tight fists to steady herself once more from shedding tears.

She already cried a few hours ago after Renta Utsuji, the MEXT official who had a hard-on for closing their school, left her alone to brood inside her office. She allowed herself to be vulnerable. She allowed herself to unleash all the bottled-up emotions inside her in torrents of tears and anguished screams. She was defeated and driven into a corner. She trusted the word of a sly man, and she cursed herself for being such a naive fool.

What's more, it fell to her, as the student council president, to break the news out to her fellow tankers regarding their school's closure. It took all her being not to break down as she watched her underclassmen dropping to their knees, completely devastated. Even if they did their best to win the 63rd National Senshado High School Tournament, everything still turned out for naught.

This day should have been a day of celebration. Their exhibition match with Chihatan, Pravda, and St. Gloriana should have been the grand finale of their summer break. Instead, today turned out to be their school's last.

Anzu Kadotani had every reason to cry over her failure and the closure of her school.

But right now, her tears were no longer out of grief.

It was they finally had a sliver of hope.

After she picked herself up from her self-loathing in her office, she immediately made calls to certain individuals that could help her with her problem. All gave their unwavering support, and the first one to offer help were friends of Uncle Sam.

The behemoth flyer finally came to a halt after decelerating for almost a kilometer of dirt runway. The roars of the engine died down but still loud enough to prevent anyone from conversing normally.

"President Kadotani," Anzu heard a strained voice from behind. "The Naval Studies team is ready."

Captain Zuikaku stood beside the student council president watching with awe at the humongous transport flyer. Behind her were dozens of Naval Studies students accompanied by a couple of semi-trailer trucks and a forklift.

"Thank you, Captain." Anzu acknowledged. "Your team can start immediately once Saunders gives permission for unloading of materiel."

"Woah! That's a C5 Galaxy Airlifter!" The voice of a hyped Yukari Akiyama exclaimed. "And it's from Saunders! This is the first time seeing one in real life!"

"Why are they here?" asked a girl with long ginger hair.

Accompanying the excited loader were her fellow teammates from the Anglerfish team, all walking towards her. Miho Nishizumi walked beside Yukari with a confused expression. At the same time, Hanna Isuzu and Saori Takebe traded glances with each other, unsure what to make up with the flying behemoth.

Mako Reizei on the other hand…

"Mako!" Zuikaku rushed straight towards the driver of the Anglerfish team to hug her.

"Tomo- I mean, Zuikaku?" Mako blurted as the school ship captain embraced her tightly.

With the exception of Yukari, who was still completely enthralled by the C5 Galaxy, the rest of the Anglerfish team gave Mako and her Naval Studies friend curious looks.

"How long did we last see each other?" Zuikaku asked.

"Uh, we did visit you on the ship's bridge before summer break, remember?" Mako replied.

"But, you just waved at me!"

"I was busy with my team touring around the ship."

Zuikaku then turned her attention towards her friend's tankery team. She stepped back from Mako and bowed.

"Ah, hello there, I'm Zuikaku, Mako's middle school friend. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Zuikaku-san." Miho bowed along with the rest of the team.

"Wait, hold-up." Yukari held up a hand, her eyes opening up wide with awe. "You're the Zuikaku? The captain of this school ship, which is a Zuikaku-class carrier?"

Zuikaku nodded with a smile. "Yep. That's me."

This got surprise gasps from Miho, Hanna, and Saori.

"Woah, you were actually a captain?" Saori asked, dumbfounded. "I… I thought you were just an ordinary Naval Studies student."

Zuikaku chuckled. "I get that all the time, Takebe-san."

Saori's eyes widened into saucers. "And you also know my name?"

"Of course!" Zuikaku flashed a peace sign. "I know all your names. After all, I'm a huge Anglerfish fan!"

Saori's lips widened from ear to ear. "Oh, wow. To know that the captain of this ship is a fan. I mean… Wow…"

"It's truly an honor to meet you, captain," Hanna greeted with the utmost formality.

"It is also an honor for me," Miho followed.

Zuikaku placed a hand on the back of her head, somewhat embarrassed. "Please, don't be so formal with me. I'm just an ordinary high school student if you take away my captaincy of this ship."

Those were words Zuikaku realized too late that she shouldn't have uttered in front of her favorite tankery team.

The mood of the Anglerfish team immediately got damped. An awkward silence fell around the group even though the plane's engines rumbled loudly from a distance.

"Yeah, about that," Miho started, averting her gaze from the captain. "We apologize if we failed to protect this school… your ship."

Zuikaku furiously waved her hand in embarrassment.

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way!" She stammered. "What I meant to say is that…"

"This is not yet over," Anzu interjected as she walked towards the gathered group. "We still have hope."

"But president," Miho began. "The MEXT official said they'll take our tanks."

Hidden inside her pocket, Anzu squeezed her left hand tightly to keep her focus. In front of everyone, she had to maintain a facade of confidence and control. Except for her two friends in the student council, none should ever discover the level of despair she had to carry.

With a practiced charm on par with stage actors, Anzu beamed a smirk.

"Not unless we declare them as missing," she proclaimed.

"Missing?" Miho gave the president a quizzical look.

"Correct," Yuzu Koyama stepped forward, holding a bundle of documents. "According to these documents, we somehow lost them some hours ago."

Miho and the rest of the Anglerfish team exchange glances, not sure how to react to such blatant forgery.

"That's… That's actually brilliant, President," Hanna smiled, eyes sparkling with new-found admiration.

Anzu smirked. "You'll need to learn this stuff when you become the next Student Council President."

"Eh? Me? The next preside-"

Just then, the front hatch of the plane opened and a woman with blonde hair, wearing short shorts and a brown leather jacket, leaped out of the plane even before the built-in stairs could unfold.

"Yow, Ka-"

Before Anzu could complete her greetings, the Saunders commander glomped at her with a bear hug.

"I'm so sorry, Anzu!" Kay wailed. "I didn't know it would come to your school closing again!"

Compared to her, the Saunders commander had a more well-developed physique both in the chest and muscle department. Anzu allowed Kay to sob on her shoulders until she could no longer take the suffocating hug.

"T-Thanks…" She rasped. "You're crushing me!"

Kay immediately let her go.

"What happened, Anzu? Why is MEXT attempting to close your school again?"

"I… I screwed up." Anzu let out a mirthless smile. "Our initial agreement was merely a verbal one. Renta Utsuji found a way to weasel out of it."

"But aren't their cases where verbal agreements are legally binding?" Kay asked, pondering the issue further. "Isn't it written in the Articles Ninety-one and Ninety-seven of the Civil Code of Japan?"

Anzu nodded.

"It is. But by the time we raise it to the courts, our ship would already be as good as scrap."

Kay remained silent. She eyed the student council president to study her for any hint or clue of what she might do next.

Just then, the front cone of the plane opened up as powerful hydraulics started raising it up.

"Pre-unloading procedures are complete, Commander," a short girl with brown hair tied into twin pigtails shouted at Kay.

"Okay, thanks, Alisa," The Saunders commander didn't look back but instead raised her hand to give her subordinate a thumbs up.

Likewise, Anzu gave Zuikaku a nod of approval, who then, in turn, signaled her Naval Studies subordinates to proceed.

The Naval Studies sailors wasted no time driving their semi-trailer truck towards the plane's wide cargo opening, where their forklift began out hauling shipping containers.

"Alright, everyone!" Shouted Momo Kawashima, addressing the gathered tankers. "While the Naval Studies Department completes unloading their supplies, please prepare your tanks for transport."

The monocled PR manager got a resounding affirmative from her fellow tankers who then proceeded to their tanks.

"Don't worry, Anzu," Kay placed her hands on her shoulders. "Those MEXT and Federation douchebags will pay for this. They're the ones tarnishing the name of Senshado."

"I know," Anzu concurred, her expression darkening. "That bastard Utsuji will regret ever double-crossing me."

Over the years, Senshado have been wrought with numerous controversies. From rumors of Federation officials eliciting sexual favors with students, budget cuts, sanctioning of illegal tanks, nepotism, to an unhealthy obsession with cracking down Tankathlon.

These scandals have become so bad that TV networks no longer cover matches during prime time and would simply dedicate five minutes of airtime for the championship match.

Though Senshado still had a considerable following across all schools that practiced it, it had now been overshadowed by other military sports such as Close Quarters Combat and Navalcraft.

Kay's lips widened into a smirk. "Has anyone ever told you that you're sometimes scary, Anzu-chan?"

The president smiled back. "Whatever do you mean, Kay?"

For the next few seconds, they stared at each other before they laughed.

"Anyways, would the supplies I bring suffice?" The blonde-haired commander asked, changing the subject.

Anzu nodded. "Yes. I'd take any help I could get. For this, I'm eternally grateful for you and Saunders."

"Say nothing of it," Kay patted her on the shoulders. "It's the least we could do. Plus..."

She leaned closer to Anzu to whisper.

"The stowaways are all there inside the containers."

The president paused. Instinctively, she made quick glances to her side to see if anyone overheard their conversation.

"Thank you, Kay," Anzu clasped her hands tightly. "We cannot trust MEXT this time. We need to secure this ship before it reaches its destination."

"Where exactly will this ship be scrapped?" the blonde-haired commander queried.

"In a ship-breaking yard somewhere in the Philippines," Anzu answered.

Kay nodded thoughtfully, taking in all this information. "You mentioned some Filipino delegates would arrive to oversee the voyage, yes?"

"Yes. They should be arriving in an hour or so, which means we need to conclude our business here ASAP or risk exposing our plans."

Kay surveyed the unloading of containers off of the C5 Galaxy. Three shipping containers were already loaded into the semi-trucks while another three more were still on the plane.

"It won't be long now," Kay surmised. "And would the Filipino delegates be from Maharlika Girls Academy?"

Anzu blinked. "How… How did you know that?"

Kay shrugged. "They get their surplus equipment like ships and tanks from America just like Saunders. Expect them to field the same equipment from Uncle Sam as us."

"Have you met them?" Anzu pressed.

"Once when I was in America a year ago," the blonde-haired commander revealed. "I was at a conference about American tanks when I met one of their delegates."

Then Kay narrowed her eyes. "Do not underestimate them, Anzu-chan. I heard their tankery club is a formidable team in the ASEAN tankery tournament, and their CQB team is personally trained by the Philippine Special Forces."

Anzu furrowed her brows as she processed this new information.

"T-Thanks for this information, Kay," she nodded. "I'm sure Ogin will find this information helpful."

"Ogin?" Kay blinked. "You mean that self-proclaimed pirate that caused a huge commotion with Navalcra-"

"Yep, that's her." Anzu chuckled. "Captain Zuikaku will be busy steering the ship, so I need someone that has more free time to help me with my plan."

Kay smiled.

"Then there's nothing for me to be worried as well."

"There is one more thing I'd like to ask of you if you don't mind."

The blonde-haired commander opened up her arms. "For you, Anzu-chan, anything. What is it that you want?"

The president tiptoed, so she could reach the blonde-haired commander's ear.

"Is the Saunders fleet nearby?"

==0==0==0==

Inside the shipping container, she could only see darkness.

She didn't mind it, though. After all, she usually honed her archery skills while wearing a blindfold. Without using her sight, she managed to heighten her other senses, which made her more attuned to her surroundings.

As such, she could feel the vibrations of their shipping container and surmised they had already been unloaded from the plane. The sound she now heard no longer shrieked from air getting sucked into a jet engine. Instead, she heard a low rumbling sound from what seemed like a diesel engine.

"We've been loaded to a truck that is now moving," she muttered.

"Why must we hide inside in the first place?" a voice beside her complained.

"Beg your pardon, Rin?" she asked.

"I said, why must we hide?" her companion reiterated. "It's dark, and it's hot in here, and all these vibrations are making me nauseous."

"Because as Kay-dono mentioned, we must not let the Ooarai Senshado team see us landing in their school."

"Why not?"

She didn't respond. For the next couple of seconds, she pondered the question.

"A samurai must do battle as if his home is already lost." She finally replied.

"Eh..." her companion seemed unconvinced. "Why should I continue to fight when I no longer have a home to defend?"

"Why should you give up when you know you no longer have a home to defend?" she countered.

"That doesn't make any sense, Hime-chan," her companion grumbled. "If I have already lost my reason to fight, then why should I even continue? It's already pointless."

"Then how about this," she offered. "Why not fight like you're already dead?"

"Hmm," her companion pondered. "Ok, that, I understand."

"It's the same concept, Rin," she clarified. "In battle, there is no past or future. There is only the now and the present. The moment you distract yourself outside of the now that is the moment you lose the battle. Thus, when you think you're already dead, then you wouldn't worry that you're still alive."

"So the president of Ooarai kept us all hidden from Nishizumi-san and her team, so they would only focus on their upcoming match?"

"Umu," she concurred before letting out a cavernous yawn.

Though she anticipated that being inside a shipping container meant they would be covered in total darkness, she failed to anticipate the vibrations from being hauled by a semi-truck would make her sleepy.

"But would they even get another match?" Her companion asked, a hint of concern in her voice. "MEXT has everything to lose and nothing to gain if they- eep!"

Before her companion could finish her sentence, she wrapped her hands around her.

"Hime-chan!" Her companion protested at the sudden skinship session in the dark.

Touching the contours of her companion's body, she gently lowered her head until she could feel her companion's warm lap.

"The Ooarai president knows what she's doing," she muttered before yawning again. "Only someone as ruthless as she could even think of asking our help to stage a mutiny on her ship."

"Hime-chan… your hair..." her companion moaned, no longer paying attention to her. "They're tickling me…"

"Just remember this, Rin," she whispered as she felt her eyelids getting heavier by the second. "As Nishizumi-dono and her forces head to battle, thinking like they're already dead, so too should we do the same."

A/N:

The chess pieces are now slowly coming together. ^_^

By the way, check out the new cover. Credits all goes to Kei Arlu.

Revision History:

- Originally published on Oct 30, 2020