The carriage was silent, none of them had expected to meet Winston Churchill, they had expected to be met by a general of some sort who subsequently told them to 'Bugger off'. The silence continued, Winston just smiling. Darjeeling was the one to break the silence, with a very unladylike squeal she ran to Churchill and began chattering about how it was such an honour to meet him.
"Darjeeling-dono," said Orange Pekoe, aghast at her friends actions, "Compose yourself."
Winston Churchill chuckled, "It's alright young lady, her reaction lends credence to your story. Some of the things she's saying are quite informative."
The words of Winston Churchill evidently got through to Darjeeling who quickly stopped, blushed, and stammered an apology.
Churchill chuckled, "Nonsense young lady, if what I've been told about you and your time is true, then I can hardly blame your reaction. Now, as much as I wish to speak to you now, your presence has been requested at the palace, word has reached his majesty and he wishes to know all about you and your tanks, which I have to say are impressive machines."
All the girls blushed, to have the machines they took pride in be complimented by possibly the greatest politician of the 20th century is no small feat. Then Churchill's words caught up with them.
"Excuse me Mr Prime Minister, did you say the palace? As in Buckingham Palace?" asked Assam, Darjeeling too dumbstruck to ask, and Orange Pekoe trying to calm her down.
"Indeed I did miss ...?"
"Assam, Mr Prime Minister, St Gloriana intelligence chief."
"Of course, beautiful name, a wonderful tea as well,"
"it's a school tradition, elite members of the school are given soul names, always a type of tea,"
"An interesting tradition, and given your fascination with tea, you would be the school which imitates British aristocratic culture?"
"Of course Mr Prime Minister, the unofficial motto of St Gloriana is 'be elegant at all times',"
"An impressive aim. Now, who else is there?"
"Kay, commander of Saunders," Kay exclaimed boisterously
There were chuckles around the carriage at Kay's enthusiasm, "And you would be the school imitating American culture I would take it?" asked Churchill, still chuckling.
Kay nodded vigorously, "Yes sir, right you are sir. However did you guess?"
"My mother was American, and I spent some time there in my younger years. I recognise the enthusiasm you have."
Kay hid her face in her hands, cheeks evidently red.
Churchill turned his attention to Maho, who quickly and immediately came to attention, "Nishizumi Maho, commander of Kuromorimine Senshado team."
"At ease commander, you're not on parade here,"
"Sorry sir, instinct sir,"
"And judging by your reaction I am going to assume you are the school using the German tanks."
"Yes sir, and might I say sir, it is an honour to meet you."
"It shouldn't be, I haven't done anything to deserve that honour."
"But of course you have, if my history is correct, two weeks ago you made a speech in which you said, 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat'. That speech is famous in our time, and is a symbol of British resistance."
"Indeed I did, but that is just one speech, it doesn't mean anything. I still have to convince the country to continue the war, and I am worried given the collapse in France."
"You will Mr Prime Minister, in spite of arguments from Chamberlain and Lord Halifax you will win the vote in a few days,"
"I wish I had your confidence. Now, who are you miss?"
"Miho, Miho Nishizumi, Mr Prime Minister," said Miho, looking anywhere but at Churchill.
"Any relation?" he asked gesturing to the sisters.
"My younger sister, Mr Prime Minister,"
"I can see the resemblance, and you must be the commander of the Ooari team, with no specific country focus."
"Yes Mr Prime Minister."
He smiled, "I would ask the names of the rest of you, but I believe his majesty is awaiting us, and my aide is still outside."
Anzu spoke up, "How are we getting to the palace?" Her informality drew aghast looks from those around her, Darjeeling particularly looked scandalised."
"Well, the palace is just down the road, and the roads have been cleared to allow us through. At the kings insistence you will be to drive your tanks to the palace, where they will be parked in the courtyard." With that, Churchill left the carriage. The girls following.
Outside the carriage, they were met by Major Howard who saluted the Prime Minister, "Major Howard, you will come with us, by Royal command you are to be the military attache to these girls."
The major was visibly shocked, but soon recovered, "Yes sir, understood sir."
Turning, the girls looked at the flatbeds holding their tanks, ramps had been placed to allow the tanks to be driven off and onto the platform.
"Once the tanks are off the train, you will drive through the station, which has been cleared, and out onto the Strand. From there you will follow my car to the palace. Major Howard will remain with you."
#
The disembarkation was quick, as each girl was looking forward to meeting the king. Each tank clattered down from the flatbeds, and they formed up single file on the platform. At the head of the convoy was the Churchill, followed by Tiger 217, then the Sherman 75mm, and then the Panzer IV.H. After them came the other tanks in a random order.
With permission from major Howard, the Churchill lurched forward, tracks clattering as it rumbled through the station. Moving down a tight passageway, the tanks exited the station onto the Strand. The road was empty, crowds being held back by a military/police cordon. Standing outside his car, Churchill waved and them and gestured for them to follow. His car slowly pulled away.
The procession moved down the Strand and onto Trafalgar square, crowds cheering them onward. Despite not knowing who or what they were, the locals correctly guessed that they were here to help. Pulling off the square, the convoy moved down the Mall, towards Buckingham Palace.
Each girl who could opened the nearest hatch on their tank, raised their head, and stared at the palace. This was one of the most famous buildings in the world, home of one of the world's oldest surviving monarchies, even in their time the British monarchy was still going strong.
As the approached, the gates opened, and the Household Guards saluted from their stations. Each tank rattled through the gates, and was directed to a spot in the courtyard. As the last tank came through, the gates closed behind them.
Inside each tank, the crews were tense, they were meeting the King of Great Britain.
Inside the Panzer IV.H Saori was chattering on about possibly finding a boyfriend whilst in Britain, Hana was unflappable as ever, Mako was complaining about wanting to sleep, Yukari was geeking out about all the historical figures they would meet, and Miho was shaking with nerves. Since starting Senshado at Ooari her anxiety had improved, but nothing could prepare her for meeting a King.
Slowly, each crew left their tank, and walked over to where Churchill was waiting with a general. Gathering in front of them, the tank commanders moved to the front of the group.
"So you are the girls who have caused such a ruckus," said the General, looking over the girls, "Well I hope the information you have is worth it. I was dragged away from my men for this."
It was this statement that allowed his identity to be determined, causing Darjeeling to address him, "Lieutenant General Alan Brooke? she asked, "You should still be in France, you're not supposed to return until the 29th of May."
The now identified general looked at her strangely, "What is that supposed to mean miss?"
"That general, is why we are here, these girls have important information. This is part of the reason you were sent home early, one of the girls mentioned your name during a debrief by Brigadier Somerset of Somer Force, defending the southern approaches to Dunkirk. The girls claim to have knowledge of the future, and given everything I've seen and heard so far, I'm inclined to agree with them. Given the knowledge they have, certain people have been excluded from this meeting, and may find themselves soon replaced."
"What meeting sir?" asked the general
"Ahh, a secret meeting general, a very secret meeting. Come, the king awaits us."
#
The journey through the palace was quiet, each girl overwhelmed by the splendour around them. The major who had been with them since Cassel was upfront, talking to the general and Prime Minister, informing them of the occurrences since leaving Cassel. He informed them of the coolness the girls displayed when under fire, and their quick thinking and reaction times. He also told them about how quickly the girls came to terms with being in a war.
Soon they reached a room, deep within the palace. Guarded by two members of the King's Guards stood a great oak door, adorned with the coat of arms of House Windsor. The doors were opened as they approached, stepping through they were met with a long table, with enough seats for everyone. At the head of the table sat a man, a man that each girl, despite never having seen him or pictures of him, knew to be the King.
Out of courtesy and respect the King stood as they entered the room, "Welcome, welcome," he said, in fluent Japanese, drawing a look of shock from all the girls. This was two great British politicians they had met who spoke Japanese. The king laughed at their shock, "Upon becoming king I made an effort to learn as many languages as I could, especially those of the major world players. Now please, sit, I would like to hear what all this is about, but please, I'd ask that those who speak English sit the closest to me, as we cannot have this entire conversation in Japanese, as much as I would like to. Not all of us here speak Japanese."
Churchill seated himself on the King's right, whilst General Brooke took his left. Major Howard sat next to the general, and Darjeeling took the seat next to Churchill. From the seating arrangements, it seemed that all the school commanders spoke English, along with the entireity of the St Gloriana and Saunders teams. It also drew attention that both Erwin and Yukari took seats next to Miho, as close to the King as they could get. When asked they both defended themselves saying that they spoke English really well. As an explanation, they both referred to having to read books in English about their favourite subjects, Rommel and tanks respectively.
With everyone seated, the conversation began.
"Now, what's this I hear about you girls being from the future?" asked the King.
# - Line break because I have no idea how to even write this conversation.
# - What happens is a long conversation about where they're from and what they were
doing before they arrived. But they don't say anything about the timeline of the war.
"Ok, so you're from Japan in the future. If so, why do you wish to help us?" asked General Brooke
Darjeeling, the appointed spokesman, answered, "We discussed this a lot on the journey here, and came to the conclusion that none of us wish to see this world ruled by the Nazis. It would be a nightmare. To this end we want to help defeat them. In any way we can."
"Would you be willing to tell us how we won the war in your time?" asked the general
Erwin quickly spoke up, "I would advise against it, if we were to tell you the future it is possible we could change some things for the worse."
"I would have to agree with the young lady," said Winston Churchill, "And I wish for us to survive and win by our own actions, rather than rely on these young ladies. Not that I would be opposed to their help, just that we shouldn't rely on them too much."
The king nodded in agreement, understanding, and agreeing with Churchill, "If we've decided that we don't want to know the exact future, where do we go from here?"
"I may have a suggestion your majesty," said Major Howard.
"Of course Major, go on,"
"During the battles in France I have noticed that our forces are woefully unprepared to face the mobile German attacks, and the equipment we have is insufficient to combat them effectively. I would suggest that these girls be allowed to train troops here in Britain, and that scientists and engineers be allowed to look over their tanks and examine them. The information gathered from this would allow us to build better tanks, and give us an inside look into some German tank designs."
Maho reinforced the Major's statement, "And of course we have our own experts who would be willing to help them. What the major says falls in line with the agreement we had come to on our way here."
The suggestion drew approving nods from the British present, they could all see the benefits of such a move.
"However, we would like to take a more active approach at some point. We want to do everything we can to end this war, even if that means putting our lives in danger."
That drew some uncomfortable looks, none of the British wished to put girls their age in a war zone, however an unlikely ally came to their aid.
From beside the entrance to the room a soft voice spoke up, "I have to commend these girls on their spirit, they seem determined to fight for a country that isn't their own, in a time that they don't belong, against an enemy that their country seems to be allied with." Turning, they saw a beautiful, black haired woman standing against the wall.
The King sighed, "Elizabeth, how did you get in here?"
"You forget husband, the guards answer to me to, and even if they didn't there are other ways into this room."
Loosing her composure once again, Darjeeling squeaked, "Elizabeth? Husband? Then that means you are Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. It's an honour to meet you."
"Darjeeling-dono, calm," said Orange Pekoe once again.
Smiling at the girls enthusiasm the Queen smiled, "It's an honour to meet such a cultured girl as yourself," she said before turning her attention to her husband, "As I was saying, I have to agree with the girls. They obviously have experience in armoured warfare, more experience than anyone available to us. If they can prove themselves, I say we let them fight. You know that if I could I too would be fighting alongside our men."
"As would I my dear, as would I." Realising that he wouldn't be able to convince his wife otherwise, the king acquiesced, "If the girls can prove themselves effective commanders, I will consider it."
A cheer went up around the table, the girls eager to prove themselves before the British royalty.
Smiling at their enthusiasm, the King turned the conversation towards the war games in which the girls would prove themselves. Calling for an aide, the King ordered chambers to be prepared for each of the girls, and for the great war room to be readied for a series of war games on the morrow.
#
That night was simultaneously the best and worst night of sleep many of the girls had had. Each room was beautifully prepared, with a king sized bed as soft as clouds. However, despite the comfort and luxury, the tension of the upcoming tests caused the commanders to sleep restlessly.
Waking up in the morning, the girls were subjected to a lovely British breakfast, even with the rationing being faced by the British population, the King had pulled out all the stops and used a large amount of his stores to feed the girls, treating like visiting foreign dignitaries, which they essentially were. Used to Japanese cuisine many of the girls were apprehensive about the food, but tried it and soon all were eating calmly. The girls from St Gloriana seemed right at home in the grand dining hall of Buckingham Palace. They were joined by the King and Queen, the two young princesses who quickly struck up a conversation with many of the girls. The princess Elizabeth, the queen from their time, quickly made friends with Darjeeling and the St Gloriana girls. The young Princess Margret however, showed a particular interest in the automobile club, seeing them as a way of escaping her mother's overbearing nature. Unable to do anything in front of their guests, the queen remained quiet.
Breakfast passed quickly, and soon the girls were being led deeper into the Palace. They arrived at a set of doors, outside which waited Winston Churchill, Major Howard, and General Brooke. The king opened the doors and they entered a grand room. In the centre of this room lay a large table, almost 100 square foot in size. The table displayed an array of different terrain, from towns to woodland to hills.
"This," said the King, "Is the war game table commissioned by my father for the purpose of teaching my brother and me the art of war. Today it will be used to test you girls." From tables on the side of the room aides brought forward two boxes, "Within these boxes are the models signifying the units you girls and your opponent will use. General Brooke here will be your opponent. However, to keep it fair, only one of you will be in the room at any time, to stop those going last having an advantage."
General Brooke stepped forward, took his box of units, and stood at one end of the table. Inside the box was a collection of modern military units, from infantry and artillery, to armour and even some aircraft.
"Now, which of you girls wishes to take part?" asked the KIng.
Those who did stepped forward, there were six in all, Maho Nishizumi, Erika Itsumi, Miho Nishizumi, Erwin, Darjeeling, and Kay. These six girls would be the ones to face off against the British general in an attempt to prove themselves able commanders.
#
#
#
Maho Nishizumi vs Alan Brooke
The battle between Maho and Brooke set an interesting precedent for the observers. The attacks by Maho were eerily similar to those Brooke had been faced with in France, large numbers of tank assaults, aided by close air support, continuously broke through his defences and cut off his supply lines. His forces were then overrun by the following infantry. However he did notice that she struggled to counter random attacks that split her forces. Maho knew this was her weakness though, and had been working to correct it so she quickly recovered each time. The battle ended with a decisive victory for Maho.
#
Erika Itsumi vs Alan Brooke
From the beginning Brooke noticed that Erika used similar tactics to her commander, and so was ready for her. He was prepared for the breakthroughs and close air support, and quickly separated the forces from their reinforcements, hoping that she would show the same weakness as her commander. However his opponent proved to have a greater flair for improvisation than her commander, with the cut off forces acting on their own and not attempting to regroup, and instead capturing strategic locations and foraging for supplies. The victory was even more decisive for Erika. However her tactic did prove ineffective in the later stages when her troops couldn't forage enough supplies, leading to many late game losses.
#
Darjeeling vs Alan Brooke
This battle took the longest out of any of them, both sides took the same approach to the battle. Slow methodical approaches followed by intense firefights. Brooke proved to be more manoeuvrable in his advances, quickly taking strategic locations and flanking enemy forces. But Darjeeling proved effective in digging in her units when necessary before launching attacks when the tides proved right. The speed at which she could go from defence to attack was unable to be beaten by the general. The battle ended with a victory for Darjeeling, not as close as he would like, but closer than against the Kuromorimine girls.
#
Kay vs Alan Brooke
This was an interesting battle for Brook, despite having the same number of forces, he constantly found his units facing overwhelming numbers. Where he thought he had overwhelming firepower, he quickly found that enemy reinforcements were suddenly everywhere and he was outgunned. However, this ended up being causing a problem for Kay who's forces needed to be in multiple places at once. Brooke used this to his advantage and ambushed many units whilst between fire fights. It wasn't enough, and he soon found himself in retreat, as his early game loss of vital units caught up with him. The battle was extremely close, with both sides suffering heavy losses.
#
Miho Nishizumi vs Alan Brooke
This battle would later prove to be one of the toughest in his career, even when compared to battles against German generals. Miho proved herself to be an extremely able commander, able to quickly separate forces from each other, and destroy them, and leaving the area before reinforcements arrived. She proved capable of quickly changing tactics, one minute it would be like fighting her sister, then suddenly he was fighting the American, before then fighting the British girl. She quickly improvised to combat any advance he made. The battle was a total wipeout for Brooke, with only minimal losses for Miho.
#
Erwin vs Alan Brooke
General Alan Brooke had never been so utterly humiliated, this opponent wasn't one of the main school commanders, and yet had proven to be his most difficult foe. Every move he made was countered immediately, and even numerically inferior forces were able to hold off, or even rout his units. Units which had been on the move seconds before were suddenly entrenched in positions that were impossible to assail. He found himself deceived time and time again as units he thought were there turned out to be somewhere else, launching a devastating attack. He found any defensive lines he made easily cracked by the opposing commander. The only flaw he could find in her tactics was that her units sometimes overstretched themselves, but she seemed to know this and they were immediately reinforced or pulled back when necessary, often causing disruption to his deployment. The battle ended with not only a complete wipe out, but for every area on the board to have at least one of her units nearby.
#
With the final battle over, the observers were astounded, but for very different reasons. The Japanese school girls were shocked at the command ability shown by Erwin, and how effortlessly she seemed to wield her forces. The British observers were shocked at the skill shown by each girl when facing a new opponent, and how they all seemed aware of the weaknesses of their tactics but took measures to fix them.
The girls from Ooari ran up to Erwin, "Erwin-san, why didn't you tell us you could do that?"
Erwin looked away, hands fidgeting by her side, "I didn't really know I was that good. I mean I've spent so long researching Rommel and learning about him, but I never thought I'd be able to use his tactics."
Miho spoke up, "But why didn't you try to become team commander?"
"Because I didn't want to. I enjoy commanding a tank yes, but having command of a whole team was too much responsibility."
Any further conversation was stalled by the approach of the King and Prime Minister. Winston Churchill spoke first, "Any reservations we had about you girls have been corrected by such a fine display of tactical genius, especially you two, miss Nishizumi and miss Erwin."
Said girls blushed brightly.
The King continued Churchill's statement, "I have to agree, and I believe that if you girls are willing, we would like for you to teach some of my commanders how to fight. And in the future, if necessary, lead my forces against the Nazis.
#
The girls quickly agreed, and preparations were made for the girls to be moved to Salisbury Plains where they would teach the next generation of tactical geniuses. They would also be joined by some of the finest engineers and scientists in Britain. These scientists and engineers would examine their tanks and draw up designs for improved British tanks. The first of these new designs would roll of the production line in late July of 1940, and with royal approval would be put into mass production soon afterwards. By the time the girls were finally called up in April of 1941, these new tanks would be the backbone of their forces.