Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament
Chapter 12: R&R
Next Day - Fort Irwin, CA
Miho, along with the rest of Anglerfish, sat in the visitor's entrance building of Fort Irwin National Training Center. The tan-colored wall paper blended well with the dark wood used on the edges of the room, fitting in with the receptionist area where their guide was talking with the staff member on entering. A small circular fan whirled on the roof, vibrating in a tone that followed with Mako's nodding off.
Any other day, this may have been a great experience to see what kind of facilities the United States military has to offer for their top-notch training. However, they were here to visit someone, with a small bouquet of flower specially made by Hana.
Without a train station nearby, the girls had to take commute over the roads, a 2 hours drive from the port. The guide with them who drove them there was a League official, someone Miho saw during their match victory ceremony. Aside from transporting them back to the carrier with their tanks, Miho asked where the casualties of the match went.
Where Daniel, that is, went to after the match was over. After some deliberation and talks, the man offered to take her to see him at this place. Fort Irwin. No promises, however.
The match ended at a different note than Miho thought it was going to.
The sirens, the warnings.
The helicopter bearing a red cross.
She couldn't shake the feeling that she was responsible for whatever injury she caused. Miho wanted to make amends any way she could.
"It's just like a standard hospital visit," Hana comforted the distressed Miho, "we're just showing them that we cared and it wasn't intentional."
"Mm…" Miho nodded. "But even then, this never happened before."
"Yeah…" Yukari said, "we've never seen a time someone got seriously hurt in a match of Tankery or Sensha-Dou."
"Alright girls," the official said as he walked up to them after his time at the staff. "They're letting only you five in."
"What about you?" Saori asked the man.
"Not me. Honestly, you five shouldn't even be allowed in," the man said. "But they said only you girls can go in with a guide."
"Really?" Miho said.
"Yes, just go past the gates, someone should be here soon to guide you the rest of the way," the man said gesturing to the door.
The girls got up and went out. It was a nice sunny day by all means, though they were still technically in the Mojave Desert. The dust and sand of the desert blew around with the win along with Miho's yellow dress. She put her head on her hat on top to prevent it from flying away.
A car engine growled up closer to them. Miho turned to see a van roll up next to the girls. From the driver's seat, she sees a uniformed man in his mid-20s come up to them.
"Are you the um, 'Ōarai Girls'? The uniformed man said.
"Ah, yes!" Miho replied.
"Corporal Jake." He said, introducing himself. "I'm suppose to take you to the hospital here, is that right?"
"Yes please!" Miho said.
"Alright then, get on board," he gestured towards the van.
"Is this how they handle visitors?" Saori asked towards the rest of her group.
"I wouldn't know…" Yukari said.
Corporal Jake drove the girls towards the base center. It didn't look much like a standard military base, Miho saw residential houses of normal sorts, those you would see in a suburban area. They then passed by a park, then a school!
"Doesn't look much like a military base to me," Saori said.
"Hmm? Oh that?" Jake answered, "that's the housing. Lots of families live on military bases."
"Wow, interesting," Yukari noted. "I'd want to live on a base…"
"Maybe next time when you're an American citizen," Corporal Jake joked.
"Doesn't look too bad of a lifestyle…" Miho said.
"By the way, I wanted to say; that was a pretty good match you girls played!" Jake said.
"Huh?"
"The match two days ago in the desert against the ACA, that was a pretty good match considering what you got and what they had," Jake said.
"Oh that," Miho said, she hadn't been giving much thought about it since yesterday. "I think I really messed up though…"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"I am the one who got Daniel hurt…" Miho said.
Jake was quiet for a moment, then said, "Well look, he's about fine now. He's just gotta be in the hospital for a few weeks, that's all."
"B-but…"
"Miho," Hana said. "If anyone is to feel guilty about it, it should be me. I shot that shell at his tank."
"Yeah… but I ordered you to-"
"How about you girls see this guy before you make quick judgements about yourself?" Jake said. "I don't think he'd like the Legend to be beating herself up like this."
Miho sighed at that name, "so even you know about that?"
"I don't think there's a single tankery enthusiast who hasn't heard that name now," Jake said. "Do you not like it?"
"I'm not comfortable with it yet…" Miho said.
"Alright then," Jake said before quieting down, letting the girls look back at the scenery.
When they got closer towards the fort center, it looked a lot like a small urban area. There was a coffee shop right there, and a pizza place! A quality lifestyle seemed to be had here with various parks and large sign.
National Training Center
Just as if the place was a tourist location.
A few more blocks and Jake got the van to park. "Okay, we're here," he said.
"Thanks!" Miho said as the girls got out. Saori was the first one to see their location as she dragged Mako out of the van.
"W-weed Army Community Hospital?" Saori looked at the name incredulously.
"I don't think they mean the other one…" Hana said.
Jake sighed, "Yeah… they are probably going to rename that after that proposition passed," He said. "Let's go in."
"You have to guide us all the way in?" Miho said.
"You girls don't even have government IDs, technically you're not suppose to be here. But Daniel said you guys could so that's why I'm here."
"Daniel let us in?" Miho asked.
"If he didn't, you all would've been gone ten minutes ago," Jake said.
"See Miho? It's not like they hate you!" Saori said.
Miho was still uncomfortable about the situation as they all got into the hospital. A lively place, the white walls with a blue band running across naturally lead the six into a waiting room. Kids were playing around in the room, clacking various toys whilst their mothers were with the staff or sitting at the chair. Medical professionals walked in and out at hurried paces, clad in turquoise scrubs or in a white coat that flaps around as their body flowed.
"Just wait here," Jake said as he went up to a staff behind the counter.
Miho and the four took a seat in the aqua green chairs with line designs of red and blue colors. They idled there as Jake talked to the nurse. A TV on the roof corner to Miho's left took her attention. She read the captions roll through with the reporter's silent commentary.
SUVOROV IS SMASHING HOME GUARD 10 IN THEIR MATCH. THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE LETTING UP AFTER THEIR SCOUTING THREE DAYS AGO. HOME GUARD 10 BASE HAS BEEN ON THE DEFENSIVE ALMOST 24/7.
"Another one sided battle?" Yukari said as Miho yelped at Yukari's sudden statement.
"Uh, yeah, looks like it," Miho said.
"Hmm…" Yukari seemed to be in thought.
"Looks like they have an aggressive scouting method too," Miho said.
"I know, I'm wondering what can we do about it."
"What can we do about it?" Miho also thought. "Suvorov is a military school. I don't think we can fight them off if they try…"
"Yeah…"
"You girls ready?" Jake suddenly came up.
"A- Yes!" Miho said abruptly standing up. Yukari followed as fast like following her reactions instinctively.
"Okay, this kind nurse will show you the rest of the way. I'll be waiting here," Jake said.
"You don't have to," Saori said.
"No, you'll probably get in more trouble if you try leaving without me anyways," Jake said.
"Remember, we're unauthorized personnel here Saori…" Yukari said.
"Please follow me," the nurse said, gesturing to a direction down a hallway.
The hospital was a large place. The hallway winded in various directions, a man could get lost in this place.
Along the way, Miho and the group almost bumped into a group of patients going the opposite way, brushing across one of them who had an arm cast.
"Excuse me!" Miho said.
"Oh no, excu- Hey…" The guy said towards Miho as soon as his eyes set on her. As he did, the other patients also noticed her.
"Um…" Miho was at the loss with these men and women looking at her.
"You… you're Ōarai's commander, aren't you?" The man with the arm cast said.
"...Yeah?" Miho said, still confused on what was going on. Her friends were also staring, not sure on the development here.
The man looked as if he wanted to explode, say something straight to Miho said. He took up his free right hand, pointing straight at her, his body accusing her of something. But he exhaled heavily and opened his hand. "Lewis Benningham."
"Uh, Miho," She said as she grasped it, gently as if she didn't want to have the man deal with two arm casts.
"I'm one of the commanders of the artillery unit shelling your team yesterday," he said, then gestured towards the other patients around him. "These are some of my crew."
"The M7 Priests?" Yukari said, finally realizing who they were.
Miho was shocked. If these men and women were there yesterday fighting them, why are they in the hospital with bandages around them? What caused them? The man in front of her, Benningham, had an arm cast for his left and a bandage wrapped around his head. A women behind him also had her face mostly covered in bandages. Another was on crutches.
"Wh-what happened to you guys?" Miho said.
Benningham simply smiled at that response, "Of course, this isn't your fault…"
"Huh?"
"Oh nothing," he said, "let's just say that working with an exposed crew compartment… led to complications."
"What? But how?" Miho asked, thinking about her tactics. Did someone attack these people?
"Nothing," Benningham said. "Don't worry about it."
Miho wanted to ask more, but the group started walking or limping away. Miho could only look as they disappear down the hallway.
"Miho…" Saori said, worried.
"Excuse me," the nurse called their attention. "Do you still want to see the patient?"
"Uh, yes please," Yukari answered. Miho slowly turned and followed.
They went up an elevator towards the second floor. On the second floor, Miho's heart sunk more when she saw the floor was for patients intended for extended stays in the hospital. Was Daniel hurt that bad? Even worse than those that they just met?
"Right here," the nurse said, stopping in front of a door number 217. "He should be awake now. The ones you saw earlier were visitors."
"Thank you, miss," Hana said bowing. The nurse left as they looked at the door.
"Miho? You ready?" Saori said.
"Y-yeah," Miho weakly answered as she reached for the door.
Opening the door, the light from the sun came down the open window on the other end of the froom. The dark turquoise blinds flowed as the wind blew in. Looking towards the sun, she could see a bed there with the patient on it, and a woman over it, holding something towards the bedridden person.
"Here, say 'Aah…'" The woman said as she held something, with a cupped hand under it, towards the person.
The person on the bed responded. "Ahh," as the object came in. He glomped down on it with his mouth.
"Umm…" Saori said in the silence the girls were in in the scene. The girl, with her rolling brown hair swaying with the wing, suddenly looked towards the unexpected visitors.
"Ah- I- uh-" She started to protest. "This isn't what it looks like!"
"Sure it isn't Isabelle," Daniel said, smiling.
"Wha- You knew they were coming, didn't you!?"
Despite their bright personalities, Miho was shocked on Daniel's condition. His forehead was covered with bandages, as well as his upper body. his left arm was in a cast and his right leg in a cast hanged up above his lying posture. On the skin exposed from the patient gown, there was evidence of heavy bruising and other damages. Was all this just from yesterday?
"Get in here, don't clutter up the doorway," Daniel gestured towards the girls.
"Excuse us," Miho said instinctively as they entered. "Um, we got you these flowers."
"Oh thanks!" Daniel said with a chipper tone. "Just put it right here."
Daniel focused on the small end table next to the bed. Miho saw it was already filled with "Get Well Soon" cards and a flower vase almost full as well. Hana took the flowers and arranged the vase content to fit it in.
"What brings you all here today?" Daniel said. "I was honestly surprised to hear that you girls were visiting."
"Um," Miho tried to say out her words. "S-Sorry for hurting you yesterday."
"Sorry?" Daniel said, as if surprised the girls came all the way to say that to him.
"Yeah," Miho assured.
"Huh," Daniel said, "Well I really appreciate the gesture."
"I see…"
A pause followed between the two sides. Isabelle had taken a stance similar to that of a body guard near the window. She was in a dress uniform with a beige top and dark slacks, with a garrison cap in her grasp.
"If I may ask, what happened to you in the match?" Yukari said, breaking the ice.
"Well…" Daniel started. "First I got knocked onto the turret with the shell impact. Nothing major there, but then the cupola swung onto me." He said. "Crushed my upper body area, a broken rib and the physical trauma caused some other internal damages."
Miho winced upon hearing the type of injury he sustained.
"Not only that," Daniel said. "Our Sherman was on fell over. I was hanging off the cupola so when the whole thing hit the ground, I was thrown off, landed on my left arm and head." He then pointed to the left arm cast and head bandage as Miho's face look more concerned. "Finally, Mr. cupola hatch decide to come back down again right on my leg as I came out." He pointed to the leg hanging up by the ceiling sling. "Impact also caused some bruising and the doctor also said there were internal hemorrhages, but I think I'm fine from that now."
"Wow! You're pretty tough!" Yukari said.
"I know right?" Daniel said, "But regardless, it was your victory in the end. All that's in the past, now we're just recuperating from our losses."
"Miporin are you alright?" Saori asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah…" Miho replied slowly. Daniel looked over at the distressed Miho. He stared down with confusion at the young girl's reaction to his injuries. Miho noticed it too and wondered, was it something else she did that he wanted to speak out?
After analyzing her for a few seconds, he turned to the others and said, "Could I speak to Miho alone please?"
"Huh?" Isabelle and Anglerfish reacted to this weird request. "Uh, yes sir," Isabelle said as she gestured towards the rest of Anglerfish to do as he said.
"Uh, okay," Saori said, reluctantly going along with the rest of Anglerfish. She looked at Miho, who looked back with pleading eyes for support. But Daniel asked for the two to be alone, and he isn't that bad of a guy… right?
The room got empty as the others shuffled out. The door closed with a solid click. Miho was alone with Daniel, who took a heavy sigh as he contemplated on what to say. Was he going to scold her on her recklessness? Force her to give the medical bill? Threaten for unsportsmanship behavior in Tankery?
"What's with your worried face?" Daniel said.
"Huh?"
"You should be happy, with winning the first round of the World Tournament."
"But, your condition!" Miho protested.
"My condition? Health insurance provided by the state and the League has got me covered. After I left the emergency room, all concerns of my well being should've been solved."
"How can you-... how can you just take this kind of thing so lightly?" Miho asked. Surprised at Daniel's serious, yet carefree take of the situation.
Daniel sighed, "Tankery… isn't the kind of sport one goes in expecting to come out in one piece."
"Huh?"
"Tankery in the world, it's nothing like what you people have back in Japan. That fight against Kuromormine you had in the nationals? In terms of the playbooks, that was nothing. People take these things out here very seriously, I'm sure you heard about that story a lot by now."
Miho nodded.
"But when I see you now…" Daniel started. "I can see that even with your experiences around tanks and your spiritual arts, you still don't know the true dedication people have with Tankery."
"E-even Kuromormine?"
"Even Kuromormine. People are way more hardcore about this stuff. There's a very shaky history behind Tankery, Miho. The amount of fanaticism inside it, people treating this like it's some new currency or some shit." He sighed, "You know one of the reason why I admire the Tankery sport in places like China and Japan?"
"Why?"
"They learned how to relax about this. Taking on a spiritual value in Tankery rather than as a full-fledged competition. That's why the world has come to call that specific part 'Sensha-Dou', not 'Japanese Tankery' or the such, it's just so different. And frankly, that's how I believe Tankery should be in the world. A way for us to come together and acknowledge our differences, but…" He paused, "but there has been conflict, tension, even wars because of Tankery."
"War?" Miho asked. Tankery causing war?
"We're just students playing around with weapons of war, Miho. We ride tanks because we want to feel a bit more than ourselves. Part of a crew, part of a team, part of something bigger. Riding around in vehicles able to cause big explosions, it's an exhilarating feeling anyone is willing to experience even once. But in places of conflict, those people feel it all their lives as Tankery is used as an excuse to train children for war. Pumping out hundreds by the year to send to the battlefield"
"I- I never knew."
"Of course you haven't," Daniel said, "Who do you think is covering up these kinds of nasty news?"
"The League…?"
"Heh," Daniel chuckled, "you don't see these things happening without looking at the trends. Heck, you can argue any cadet being trained in Tankery is themselves being prepared to become a full-fledged tanker once they reach of age or make the commitment, even me. Tankery isn't as spiritual as your practiced Sensha-Dou."
"W-Why are you telling me this?" Miho asked.
"Because while I respect your ideals and admire them, I don't want to see you chewed up out there Miho. The world is a much dangerous place by the year. One day, someone is going to do something very messy and Tankery will become the next disco. Dead and gone."
Miho took in his words. If what he says is true, her time with mother and Kuromormine seemed like a cake walk. She couldn't grasp how people could be all over Tankery like this.
"I want you to be ready for it. Don't go into this like it's a sport like I did. Go in it as a life-or-death struggle. A battle which you must come out alive. You were fortunate to fight against my team first. The Russian and Germans wouldn't even give you a chance. My injuries will be nothing compared to the pain you will feel if you don't toughen up now."
The words reminded Miho of a certain tone. Something someone said earlier to her. "I-I'm not sure I can commit to it like that though…"
"Of course you can," Daniel reassured. "You're the 'Legend' after all."
Miho sighed as she heard that name again. She didn't like it, not because it showcased her achievements, but because it raised everyone's expectation of her. Daniel's team already brought out their newer artillery vehicle as a reaction, and people got hurt because of it.
"So the next time you go onto that field, don't think about my condition now. People get hurt in sport, Miho. It's like that in every single one out there. This incident now is not the only one, and it may not be the last. Don't worry about hurting people, because you'll just be hurting yourself in the long run in this kind of sport. Tankery is cruel, we just have to adapt."
Miho took the words in. It wasn't a pretty lesson. Be cruel to win? That's nothing like what's she's been told about Sensha-Dou! Would her mother even approve of this kind of thing?
Actually, now that she thought about it, this was exactly one of the things her mother might approve for the sake of victory.
"I'm still not so sure…" Miho said, "How can I call it a victory if I lose the things I hold dear?"
"Sometimes Miho," Daniels said, "We just don't have the choice."
That answer still didn't sit well with Miho. There must be another way!
"Well, if you really can't" Daniel interrupted her train of thought. "I'd hate to be the team to lose to a high school that can't get past the second round. Can you at least do it for me then? Win the matches not to fulfill some desire inside you to win with all your might or because the world made you. Do it for me and the cadets, who went through all this trouble to lose against you. Don't let our sacrifices go to waste."
Miho looked up at Daniel with that remark. Ōarai has gotten this far fighting for the hopes and dreams its contestants had stood up for. What Daniel had laid out for Miho was his hopes for their school. Fighting without regard for anyone is not the way Ōarai does it, and it wouldn't abandon any friends easily. So when Miho heard that from Daniel, his hopes had become one with Ōarai's ideals. Something Miho can hope she can hold up at the very least. "I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best Daniel!" Miho said with an ounce of new found confidence.
Daniel smiled back, "Damn right you will."
Miho closed the door behind her into the hallway. She saw her friends there, as well as Isabelle, waiting patiently for the two to finish.
"What'd he say?" Saori asked curiously.
"He wished us good luck on the tournament," Miho summarized the chat she had.
"See Miporin? He's not that bad of a guy!"
"I guess…"
"I didn't have a chance to say this yesterday…" Isabelle said, "but congratulations on your victory."
"Thank you, Ms. Bradley!"
"You can just call me Isabelle."
"We have to get going now. Don't want to keep our guide waiting," Hana said.
"I understand, thank you for visiting."
With that, the five girls from Ōarai went off down the hallway to find the exit. Isabelle turned to Daniel's room and entered.
He was looking out the window, the sun still shining in.
"Would you like me to close the blinds?" She asked him.
"Nah, this little is fine," he said. Isabelle returned her seat by his right side, trying to shield some of the sun rays from his face.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked.
"They'll need you, Isabelle," Daniel said. "I'll be fine here, the people here are good, and Benningham and the others will be around to make sure I'm not alone."
"B-but-"
"I know this role isn't one you're used to, but I believe you're the best one suited for it. Take some of our stuff too, anything that can help you do your job to help them in this tournament."
Isabelle sighed. Again with his unorthodox methods. "And if the colonel finds out, what do I tell him?"
"Just tell him we were making a worthwhile investment."
Isabelle smiled. His attitude and her's may conflict, but they developed a sort of unspoken trust to each other's words. She got up from her seat and saluted, "Very well, Daniel, I'll do my best."
"I'm counting on you Isabelle."
Ōarai Girl's High School - Ōarai Carrier
Anglerfish made it back to the carrier by evening, the sunset was shining onto the deck, displaying a beautiful sight.
Yesterday night and today was busy for the Sensha-Dou team as the tanks required care and maintenance. Knocked out tanks must be fixed, not an easy task with the increased tank numbers. Those not knocked out were subjected to extensive maintenance on pretty much every moving part ranging from the suspension to the guns. Anglerfish's Panzer IV was cared for by Leopon as they went to check on Daniel. When they got back, the maintenance and clean-up was all done and ready for the next day.
Miho and the other girls, hands full of newly-bought groceries,made their way back to Miho's apartment.
"I wanted to check out Los Angeles while we're still here," Yukari said.
"Why's that?" Miho said.
"Well Miho, there's a whole bunch of cool stuff there! Amusement parks, landmarks, and shopping centers!" Saori said.
"Amusement parks?" Yukari said. "I was thinking more of Tankery-related shops around the area."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"I don't think anyone is surprised by her priorities at this point, Saori…" Hana said.
"Well, maybe after practice tomorrow, we may have some free time to visit. It'll be short, a few hours, but maybe that's all we need." Miho said.
"Can't we just look through their online inventory?..." Mako said.
"Well, there's no fun looking at stuff we're going to buy with only pictures to go off of," Yukari said.
"I think we should at least take a look before we make more purchases…" Miho said, "...but we need to look at the amount of funds we have in the first place."
"Okay!" Yukari said.
"So how should we cook this? Nabe? Or just standard?"
Next Day
Aside from all the new students that "transferred" over last week, classes continued as normal for the Ōarai school girls. But classes weren't on their minds next to the international tournament they are in. Liberties were given to the Tankery members at lunch to go ahead and practice for the tournament.
"Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari glomped Miho as she walked down the school hallway.
"Hi Yukari."
"It's been a long time since I was in the good ol' Panzer!"
"It's only been two days, Yukari."
The two walked down to the garages of the tank field. The team members of the Ōarai Compound Team made a very large crowd in the briefing area of the tank field. Everyone from Saunders, St. Gloriana, Pravda, Anzio, Chi-Ha-Tan, and Continuation were present, as well as Ami with the student council.
"Miho!" Various members of the team called out to her.
Miho greeted the others as she walked in.
"Everyone's as pumped as ever, huh?" Yukari said.
"Yeah, we're all excited," Miho said.
"Hey Miho!" A familiar voice call out.
"Kay! How are you?"
"Good! You?" Kay said as confident as ever.
"Yeah, I'm feeling a bit better today."
"How was Daniel?"
"Oh, uh, he's still quite energetic despite his injuries…"
"Ha, that's just like him," Kay said. "Yep…"
"Is something wrong Kay?" Miho noted Kay's drooping expression.
"I dunno…" Kay said as she dropped her happy demeanor. "It's just that… I almost led the team to a disaster that other day. When I told you that all the Americans would have was Shermans and Stuarts?"
"Kay, it's all right."
"Sure, we won. But… it's something I never thought they'd do, and I almost brought us down with that."
"Kay…"
"I won't make the same mistake, Miho. Forgive me."
"Kay, it's okay. We all make mistakes, and we made it through the first round, we can make it through the second."
"Yeah, well… Look, because of that, I also took into consideration in upgrading some of our equipment here. If the ACA is the standard of what we're going to see in the rest of this tournament, we need bigger guns."
"What do you plan to get?"
"Unfortunately, all we have are Shermans at Saunders. Our strongest tanks are going to be those with 76 mm or 17-pounders… but maybe with a few tweaks, maybe we can make ourselves a few Jumbos."
"Can you really do that?" Yukari asked.
"It's worth a try," Kay said. "I plan to make a trip back to the Saunder carrier with the Super Galaxy within the next few days. So the Saunder crew and I will miss a few days, but we'll have better tanks and be back for the next match!"
"Kay, I really appreciate that! But don't worry too much about what went wrong during the match. Just do your best, okay?" Miho said.
Kay reverted back to her usual cheerful personality, "Thanks Miho."
"Miporin!" Saori called out within the crowd.
Miho looked over to where the voice came from.
"We best be going!" Yukari said.
"Catch you later, Miho!" Kay said as they departed. Miho and Yukari heading to the area where the rest of Anglerfish were.
A few minutes later, Momo started announcing.
"Alright you lots, listen up!" She shouted. "We won the first round, but this isn't over yet! The next round is against the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment Cadets!"
The 3rd RTR cadets… Miho thought.
"The last time we fought them, we lost! But we were weak back then, we're a lot stronger now with all of us! So work hard and we'll beat them down this time for sure!"
"Wow, Momo, that's a pretty good speech," Anzu said chewing on a dried sweet potato.
"Huh? Really? I'm getting better at this."
"Your marksmanship still sucks."
"Prez-!"
At least everything else is normal, Miho thought. Without any unknown factors to worry about now, everything felt… at ease. Somewhat right and usual.
"Alright!" Ami shouted out, "Get your tanks ready within 30 minutes in match formation! If anything is wrong with your tanks, contact us!"
"Yes Ma'am!" The girls replied to Ami.
"Disperse!"
Everyone else moved out. Miho and the rest of Anglerfish made for their Panzer IV in the main garage.
"Everything good in here?" Miho asked the crew as they got into their positions.
"Gun looks fine!" Hana said, checking the fire control system.
"Shells full! Coaxial loaded!" Yukari said.
"Radio seems to be working!" Saori checked the radio equipment to her left.
The Panzer IV's engine started running, as well as its auxiliary engine for the turret. "Tank seems fine," Mako said.
"Alright, Panzer Vor!"
On that day's training, Miho focused more on the offensive prospect of the team. Facing off against the Americans and their heavily armored Jumbos showed that they needed to work on fighting more heavily armored enemy front-on via maneuver. Isolating heavy tanks like the Tiger (P), Black Prince, IS-2, and KV-2, then pitting them against small groups of the other tanks as practice. Learning to maneuver around an enemy formation, pinpointing weak points on the tanks, and anticipating the enemy's targeting strategy.
Ōarai's own student's tanks really have improved over the time in Sensha-Dou. Miho remembers when they all started in their first practice match, everyone barely knew the workings of their tank. Now, each crew member were becoming more competent in their positions. Teams like Hippo learned how to best utilize the StuG III's strength against the opponent. Rabbit is becoming a better team coordinator and on-field commander, almost rivaling Miho's own since the last match. Rabbit has the biggest improvement from first match to the recent one.
Practice went well with Ami coordinating some of the maneuvers on the map and Miho working alongside them on the field. Managing a large team was tough, even Kuromormine had many instructors on site to help her and her sister coordinate training back when she was the vice-commander.
Kurormormine… Miho's thought brought back that topic. Almost a whole week has passed with no contact with Maho or anyone from Kuromormine. It still remains a total mystery to her, but the tank shells blasting nearby snapped her back to the current times. The people around her needs her right now, she couldn't let them down.
Kuromromine had to wait. She couldn't find anything about that now, nor would she find anything at the time being.
Parking the Panzer IV in the outside near the briefing area, Miho saw some of Hippo team trying out the firearms, supervised by Ami. She saw them, one by one, going at it with an MP40. The one up now was Erwin, firing the submachine gun with the distinctive Rat-ta-ta-ta chopping noise down range at targets. The utility of such weapons is dubious in the tank matches themselves, but if the scouting stories that that Miho has heard are true, preparing for basic self-defense would be a beneficial thing in the worst case scenario.
During their breaks, the crew spent the time out of their tanks, refreshing themselves or just doing simple checks on track tensions to ensure the tracks do not walk off during the exercise. All the other schools here, despite having little stake on Ōarai, were all trying their best. Perhaps they want to uphold their name in Ōarai's efforts in the tournament, but their dedication truly showed how much they wanted to win, even if not under their original school banner.
Pravda and Saunder's crew are more often seen in these break periods or range time due to their extra crew members available with the extra tanks they brought in, Saunders with three more M4 Shermans and Pravda has three more T-34-85s in the garage waiting for deployment. The extra crew members alternate with the active ones in training for maneuvers and gunnery.
Something was different with Pravda's team though… Miho did notice the IS-2 performed a bit differently. Darjeeling was acting commander of the armored tanks during the practice so Miho didn't order the IS-2 directly around. That was when she saw the hatch open and someone climbed out. It wasn't Nonna.
Curious, Miho went over to the Pravda group. Katyusha was there on her T-34-85 drinking from a canteen.
"Mihosha! We did good today, huh?"
"Yes, you did," Miho affirmed. "Where's Nonna?"
"Nonna?" Katyusha said, then sighed, "She's recovering back at the housings."
"Recovering? From what?"
"When we got back from the match, Nonna and her crew were suffering hearing loss, probably from that artillery barrage those damn Americans dropped on us."
"Oh no! Is she going to be alright?"
"The doctor took a look at them and said it wasn't too serious. However, they should stay away from loud noises - like explosions - until their condition improves. At least 16 to 48 hours they said, but they recommend a four-day break with continual check-up for improvements."
"Well, I hope she'll end up fine," Miho expressed concern. Another casualty of the match the other day, and she didn't even know about it until now. "Is there anyone else who's hurt in anyway from the match?"
"Everyone seemed fine, Mihosha. Don't worry about it. Nonna and the others are being taken care of with Ōarai's best care. They just need rest now."
"Okay…" Miho was slightly relieved, but it didn't suit her well that people were hurt because of her commands.
"Anyways, you best be off now. You got more important things to do, right?"
"I suppose, I'll see you later Katyusha!"
"Das Vidania!"
Los Angeles, CA
Practice ended at 4 PM, and with the time they had left, Anglerfish team figured that can take the time to visit a place in Los Angeles. With a destination pre-planned and funds in hand from the student council, they headed a straight path from the school carrier towards their destination.
Miho and the girls made their way there via a private taxi called in by an app Yukari pulled up. A few minutes of driving got them to what looked like a large warehouse, though with a large sign showing "Panzer Glory".
"The American edition, huh?" Miho said.
"Will it really be that different from the one in Britain?" Saori asked.
"It should be, America is a lot more lax about this kind of thing than Britain. They'd have a free reign of importation." Yukari explained.
"Well, there's only one way to find out…" Miho said as she headed towards the entrance.
The interior was very spacious, interrupting the vast room were large shelves reaching all the way to the ceiling. The large shelves were filled with boxes for the different products the place sells. Ranging from various components for tanks and other accessories related to Tankery. Mechanical forklifts could be heard whirring up and down the aisle, helping workers and customers alike grab the products. In a large open space in the middle of the store, tanks were on display, on sale for willing buyers. A Panzer III Ausf. N, a M4A4 Sherman, and a BT-7 mod. 1937 was on display at the moment, with a sign nearby saying the vehicles cycle every week.
"Well, it's a lot bigger. That's for certain," Mako understatedly says as the girls were in awe at the size of the place.
"Wow, the tanks are that expensive, huh?" Miho said, looking at the price tag hanging off the Panzer III. The Panzer III is arguably the cheaper of the bunch laid out for them and it would still break the school club funds.
"There's always other stuff to look at," Hana said. "I heard from Rabbit team they needed new 75 mm smoke shells for their tank."
"Let's take a look around!" Yukari said ecstatically.
It was quite a walk around the place. It seemed each area had endless amount of stuff one can go through. The girls only had a few hours before the place closes, yet there was still so much to see inside.
"Hey Nishizumi-dono! Look here!" Yukari called out to Miho and the girls.
Yukari had led them to an area donned out with military gear. The most outstanding collection there were the firearms at the ready. MP40, Thompson, PPSH, and other submachine guns were on one rack. Pistols were on another rack, displaying the M1911A1, Walther P38, Luger P08, and various revolvers. Full-scale rifles like Karabiner 98k's, Mosin-Nagant M1891, and Lee-Enfields were also present. But large, bulky rifles took up the majority of a ground space near the rifles.
"What the heck are these rifles here?!" Saori said in surprise towards the over-sized rifles.
"Looks like anti-tank rifles!" Yukari said joyfully. The large rifles on the ground with a sample dummy bullet near them showed their power over the standard rifles. Next to each one were stat cards reading off their capabilities.
"This one can penetrate… 40 mm with standard rounds," Mako read off.
"Eh?! That much power in a man-carried weapon?" Saori said.
"Yeah, but it's really heavy, and it would only penetrate that much in distances less than 100 meters."
"Whaaaat. That's near suicidal next to a tank!"
"Well, people did that in real life. The Soviets and Finnish used it a lot more in the Winter War and World War II."
"Wow, props to them." Saori said in astonishment.
"Well, even if we did get them…" Miho said, "I doubt we'd be able to carry them. This one here, the PTRD, is already 38 pounds."
"I bet I can carry them!" Yukari said with a huff, then reached down with her two arms and carried one up. With slight struggle, she got it in her arms up to chest height. "See?!"
"Wow, Yukari! You've gotten quite strong!" Saori said semi-applauding.
"I think my time as a loader has paid off!"
"Yeah, but you're still our loader, not an anti-tank rifleman," Miho said. "So put that down. The only other people back at Ōarai who can even move this comfortably is Anteater team. Even then, I don't think they'll enjoy the recoil."
"Okay Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said as she put the heavy rifle down.
The five kept looking at the unique gear there. It was very different from the usual Tankery and Sensha-Dou stuff they've seen, namely due to their lack of relevance in the tank matches. These firearms, clothings, and protections have no utility in a tank fight. Recalling what Emma said, scouting was just another part of the Tankery competition, yet the amount of items here available for sale just proves how big that part of Tankery became in the overall competition.
"But if this is the kind of equipment they can get for scouting, how on earth are we supposed to fight back against them?" Saori asked.
"Maybe we should get a few more stuff…" Miho said.
"Like what?"
"Well, maybe it's time we pick up a few rifles, and machine guns like what Montgomery said during the first purchase."
"Not too many now, we have a limited budget at hand." Hana said.
"Okay, let's see…" Miho said. She thought about her possible purchases. Currently, Ōarai had a sufficient amount of pistols and submachine guns for the personnel. Simple rifles like the Karabiner 98k would be a good choice due to ammo compatibility with the MG 34 on the German vehicles, which Ōarai had a majority of. Some extra MG 34 as spares for the vehicles and standalone variants would also be nice.
So ammo, some rifles, machine guns, and… was there anything else?
"Anything else other than firepower?" Miho asked.
"Hmm… maybe camouflage?" Yukari suggested.
"We wouldn't find the time to put them on to defend from an enemy attack though…" Miho said.
"Well, what about attacking them instead? We would need camouflage to sneak in and attack!"
"The thing is Yukari, I don't see how we can even start scouting against an enemy team. We don't have the manpower, training, or even the transportation to do that."
"So we're really limited in our operational capacity, right?" Saori asked.
"Pretty much," Miho confirmed.
Yukari sighed, "Oh well…"
"I wonder how's the tournament doing right now…" Saori said.
"Let me check," Yukari said pulling out her smartphone. "Today was the fifth match of the tournament row… so it was Nankai High School against Phalanx Academy! Looks like Phalanx managed to win!"
"Wait, what about yesterday's match? We were so caught up with the events we never checked it out." Saori said.
"So yesterday's match, well let's see..." Yukari said, flipping through her phone screen. "Okay, so it was the 500th Young Lion Brigade against Hamina Armored Institution. Looks like Hamina was victorious!"
"Which countries are they from?" Saori asked.
"The 500th Young Lion Brigade is from Israel, a cadet system like the ACA. Hamina is from Finland, looks like a private higher education."
"So with Hamina won, they're against that Russian school that won the other day, right?" Hana said.
"Looks like it. Hamina will be against the Suvorov Military School Armored Cadets."
"Sounds interesting… I wonder who will win?"
"Either way, let's worry about our next match first, girls," Miho said as she was writing down a purchase list.
In another part of the store, there were accessories meant to improve or customize a tank. Some of the items available reminded Miho of the first time the Ōarai team attempted at customizing their tanks, but there were some more practical items as well. It ranged from fuel containers racks, track link hooks, and camo nets.
"Do we really need some of these…?" Saori asked.
"It's more of a personal taste here, but some of these things you can't find on the Ōarai carrier…" Miho said, eyeing some of the objects.
"Maybe the camo net?" Yukari suggested.
"Hmm…" Miho thought about it.
"Just buy it in bulks with the rest of the stuff we're going to get."
"Right, well, let's see what else there is." Miho stated. She wasn't sure about it at the moment.
The time passed as they browsed the large warehouse and 20 minutes remained until closing time by the time they realized it. Night has descended upon the city as the five made their final check.
"Okay, so what do we have?" Saori asked.
"Well, let's see…" Miho said looking at the small list she's written up. "Three MG 34 machine guns, eight Karabiner 98k rifles, and camo nets for four tanks."
"Do we really need all that?" Hana asked, making sure Miho isn't impulse buying.
"Well, we could always buy more…"
"I think that's enough for the time being, we can always get more later," Saori said.
"Maybe some more camo nets?" Yukari suggested. "It may be useful in a forest setting next…"
"Yeah, maybe we should get a few more of those," Miho said.
"Oh boy…" Saori said. "This is gonna take a chip in our funds, huh?"
"Most likely." Miho said.
A phone call came in for Miho, her phone's ringtone coming from her handbag. Flipping open the phone, she sees the number is from the student council president.
"Hello?" Miho answered.
"Hey Miho, how's shopping?" Anzu asked on the other end.
"Great, we're almost done here."
"Good! I got some news on our next match location already."
"Isn't our match going to be next week still? We still got about five days after today." Miho asked.
"I guess they have to reserve the area ahead of time and that. Anyways, our next location is in a forest in Quebec."
"F-forest? In Quebec?"
"Yep, grid coordinates direct us straight there. It's connected by rail though, so arrival should be the same like the match here. We'll be leaving tomorrow so make sure you get back!"
"O-okay. Thanks for the heads-up!"
"Don't mention it!" Anzu said before hanging up.
The girls looked at the list one more time.
"So… uh, forest, huh?" Yukari said.
"Guess we're going to need more camo nets…"
The girls purchased the necessary items with enough camo nets for ten tanks to use. With the firearms, nets, and smoke shells on the order for delivery, the girls left the shop and headed back to the carrier.
"Another enlightening experience!" Yukari said as the girls waited for their ride to take them back.
"With the stuff we purchased, it really showed how little prepared we are for the Tankery community, isn't it?" Hana said.
"Yeah," Miho said, holding the order receipt. "But it's better we prepare now than be overwhelmed later."
"It'd be really nice to have an idea on what the Montgomery and the other cadets plans to bring to the fight though," Yukari said.
"Well, even if I wanted to scout, there is an ocean in the middle between us and them. It'll be hard just to even get there," Miho said.
"I know, but, I felt like we're just going into this blind, worse than against the Americans."
"We fought them before, right? It shouldn't be too different than their standard formation last time!" Saori said.
"Yeah, but if you recall what Kay said and what we saw at the match, we'll be against something even tougher!" Yukari said.
"Yes, but we don't have any resources to help us with that…" Miho said.
Yukari sighed in defeat, "It'd be nice though."
"Our ride is here," Hana offhandedly said. The van approaching to pick them up.
"We'll talk about this some other time," Miho said.
Miho's Apartment - Ōarai Girl's High School, Ōarai Carrier
Miho was up until midnight assessing the Ōarai Compound team and the equipment they have. Ōarai's original tank still consisted of the Panzer IV Ausf. H, Type 89 I-Go, StuG III Ausf. F, M3 Lee, Jagdpanzer 38(t) "Hetzer", Char B1 bis, Type 3 Chi-Nu, and the Tiger Porsche. The other team's tank made up the majority of the team. St. Gloriana has their Black Prince, a Churchill , and three Cromwells. Saunders has one Sherman Firefly, one M4A1 (76) W Sherman, and a few 75 mm M4 Sherman, but if Kay is intent on replacing them, this will change soon. Anzio has the P40, Semovente, and the L3/33 tankette. Pravda has their IS-2, KV-2, and two T-34-85 with few more in the garage for extra numbers. Continuation has their BT-42 and KV-1, and Chi-Ha-Tan has a single Type 95 Ha-Go next to their more numerous Type 97 Chi-Ha's.
They had little room for upgrades, aside from Saunder's plan at the moment. Chi-Ha-Tan doesn't have many tanks to go towards, Continuation is strapped on funds like Anzio. St. Gloriana already improved and Pravda is already running some of the best tanks of the Sensha-Dou league with their late-war Soviet tanks.
The disparity among the different tank classes and design specifications make Ōarai Compound Team a very unique design. Tactics is the most important tool here, and the one rule of tank battle still wins out. "Whoever shoots first, tends to win first."
Now another thing she has to worry about is the small arms, ranging from the pistols and machine guns Ōarai will soon own. Their investment will only work in the long run if someone ends up actually attacking Ōarai. But, with their problems just trying to get to another country to attempt a scout, how would the other team even attempt to find where Ōarai carrier was an launch their own scouting party? What if all this training turn out for naught?
Miho yawned. It's been a long day, even for a daily routine. The changing time zones from Japan, Britain, and America had messed with her sleeping schedule. The school sends out a recommended time to sleep and wake every night judging from its location in the world and its destination, so the residents on board would be able to maximize their time awake in the day. It still takes its toll though, and Miho was feeling it.
She staggered from her desk to her bed, turning the lights off on the way and crumbled onto her soft mattress. So many problems, so many things to worry about, and she was a bit tired of it for now. "Morning is wiser than the evening" as a saying she heard goes.
She soon found herself asleep as the moonlight shone in from her room window. She didn't hear the carrier's departure from the docks as anchors rose and loading areas disconnect. The engine revving up as the large motors propel the ship forwards.
With all that, even awake, she wouldn't have heard the lone helicopter coming over the carrier that night.
Miho didn't notice anything different the next day. The carrier was on its way south just like Anzu told her. Making their way around the South American tip to make their way to the Atlantic Ocean. Going through the Panama Canal would have been great, but the school carrier was way too big for that.
Still, with five days to go, there was plenty of time for the school carrier to make that journey. Even with the time zone changes, high school carried out just as usual.
Once again, dismissed at lunch, she made her way down to the garage, this time with Saori and Hana.
"Nishizumi-do-!"
Miho turned around and caught Yukari this time, "Hi, Yukari."
"Aw," Yukari said rather disappointed. "Oh well, so today's another day of practice!"
"I hope so!" Miho said. "There's also the case of learning to use the new things we got yesterday as well."
"The delivery came already?" Hana asked.
"That's what the student council president told me," Miho said, remembering a text message she woke up to. "But, there was something else in her text…"
"What?" Saori asked.
"'Prepare for a surprise' and a winky face," Miho said as her friends looked at that statement weirdly.
"Like what?" Saori said. "A hot guy?"
"I-I don't know."
"I suppose there's only one way to find out, right?" Hana said.
"Yeah! Let's head to the garage!" Yukari shouted gleefully, glomping Miho this time. Miho struggled with the new weight on her as Saori and Hana giggled at this interaction.
As the girls got outside towards the garage, they noticed a change in the scenery. A large vehicle was parked on the side of the main briefing area. The small crowd of schoolgirls was already there taking an interest in it.
"Is that...a UH-60 Black Hawk?" Yukari said, making out its color and shape.
"What's that?" Saori asked.
"A U.S. utility helicopter…" Miho said. "What's an American helicopter doing here?"
The girls ran up towards the area. Some of the Sensha-Dou members were there gazing at the helicopter, as if it was delivering a celebrity. Though the helicopter looks like it's been here for some time already.
"Miho!" Someone called out. It was Sodoko. "Is this anything of your doing?"
"No, I don't even know what this is about," Miho reassured.
"Wow, what a crowd!" Kay's voice was heard behind Miho.
"Kay! Is this yours?" Miho asked.
"Huh?" Kay was also surprised by that. "Well, we do have a few Black Hawks in our inventory, but this one isn't ours."
"Whose helicopter then? The student council's?" Miho said, even if there was pretty much no possibility that it was the case.
"Everyone! Gather around, please!" Ami was heard calling out for them. The crowd dispersed from the Black Hawk and gathered in the briefing area in front of the main garage.
"Listen up!" Momo took over, "We've got details on the next match now. Our match against the British 3rd RTR cadets will take place in a forest region in Quebec!"
"Forest?!" Someone in the crowd cried out. Miho looked, but couldn't pinpoint the voice.
"Uh, anyways," Momo continued. "Everyone do your best! No slacking off, got it!?"
"Right!"
"Also," Anzu started talking, "We also have some visitors who's volunteered to help us in Tankery."
More instructors? Miho thought.
"If she'd like to introduce herself, please welcome her!" Anzu said stepping away from the center of the stage. A few meters in front of where everyone's gathered, from the main garage holding Ōarai's tanks, a woman walked out with two other girls with her.
She along with her companions were wearing the Ōarai school uniform, but there was no mistaking on her physical features.
"Isabelle?" Miho recognized the woman. Despite the new look and sudden appearance, her serious personality and aura was still present since the hospital two days ago.
"Hello everyone," She said to the crowd. "I'm Isabelle Bradley. You may have remembered me as one of the contestant on the American Cadet Alliance you were against the other day, but the ACA has decided to invest its efforts in making sure you all will not fall behind in the World Tournament."
The crowd talked and chatted about this surprising circumstance.
"Isabelle and her two companions are 'advisers' sent by the ACA to assist in our practice routines," Anzu explained. "They'll be here to help us on skill training ranging from tank performances, gunnery, and firearm practices."
Miho looked on at the new situation. Was this something of Daniel's doing? She thought. The ACA has no real business meddling with Ōarai's affairs. Did Daniel simply not trust their capabilities? Either way, Miho wasn't ready to complain. More field instructors would help ease the training process for the Ōarai team.
"Allow me to introduce my two comrades. These two are also the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter you were all looking at earlier," Isabelle said gesturing towards her two female companions.
The one to her left spoke first. "I'm Sergeant Kyline Lee. I was the head of the tank destroyer company you faced in the match. I admit I made mistakes during the match against you, but I'm willing to do all I can to help you out if you will allow me."
Then the right. "I'm Sergeant Helena Hawkins. I'm the pilot of the Black Hawk and I'm not well versed in tankery, but I'm well trained with firearms and equipments, so you can count on me for the miscellaneous stuff."
"We all look forwards to assisting you!" The three Americans said.
"L-Let's have a good time together!" Miho nervously said. This whole thing was just out of nowhere, but she was grateful for this outcome. Two experienced tanker and some instructors of other aspects of Tankery? This was almost a god send for Ōarai.
"Alright, get to your posts!" Ami shouted out.
"Yeah!" The schoolgirls present cried out as they headed to their tanks. Miho approached the Americans instead, with Yukari following suit once she noticed her commander wasn't heading straight for the Panzer IV.
"Isabelle!" Miho said in a greeting tone.
"Hello Miho," Isabelle looked at her.
She really is tall, Miho thought. Almost a good head taller than Miho in fact. "Did you really come out all this way to help us?"
"I believed that's what we said earlier, yes," Isabelle said.
"But, why? You three don't have any business or stakes with us other than we beat you."
"So? You have students from six different schools in your team and they're not complaining. I don't see anything wrong with coming to help you out however we could."
"Are you even allowed to be here?" Miho asked. "I thought the League had rules against registered members joining other teams?"
"Shh, here's the thing, Miho. We're 'advisers' here, not participants. As long as we don't enter the matches, we'll be fine here."
"Did Daniel send you to do this?"
Isabelle just patted Miho on the head with a small smirk. "Just take this as an I.O.U., okay? If you win this tournament, you'll make our efforts here worth it."
"O-okay," Miho said, deciding to drop that issue.
"Isabelle! What are you going to teach us?" Yukari said loudly.
"Well…" Isabelle said, looking at all the tanks Ōarai had on hands. "I think let's first see how well you do on your own, then I can allocate my girls to whichever needs working on."
"I think we'll need help on the firing range," Miho said. "Ami's the only one helping the rest of the team get acquainted with the League firearms and it's been going slowly."
"Hah! Dibs!" Hawkins cried out as her hand shot up.
"I suppose you'll need a good understanding on the firearms, yes," Isabelle contemplated, "to defend against scouts, hmm?"
"Yes!"
"But it's a shame that we can't launch any of our own scouting expedition…" Yukari complained. "Man, I wanted to go on one to see how it plays out."
Isabelle seemed to have taken an interest on Yukari's words. "It's best to start with the basics though, so one by one, okay?"
"Alright!"
"We'll be getting to our tanks now, Isabelle. Tell me anything you want to say over the radio by Ami!"
"Yes! Um, Ami is that JSDF woman, right?" Isabelle asked.
"Yeah, she's well trained and got us started in Sensha-Dou since we began!" Yukari said.
"Must be a talented practitioner, I'll keep an eye out for her," Isabelle said.
"We'll be going off now!" Miho said. Isabelle waved the two goodbye.
The duo got to the Panzer IV, where they saw the rest of the team prepping the tank the best they could.
"What do you think about the new instructors?" Saori asked.
"I think they're going to be a very useful asset for us," Miho said.
"Isn't it a bit suspicious though that they just decided to turnaround and help us like that? We did do some things to them."
"'Keep your friends close, and enemies closer', right?" Yukari said.
"Either way, I think it's best we follow along what they have to say. It's a bit like Montgomery, we're going to need help from people who know a lot about Tankery to help us get through this."
"Alright then, Miho," Saori said.
Miho climbed up into her commander position on the Panzer IV. Everyone else's tanks were getting ready for another day of activity.
"Can everyone read me?" Miho said through her radio.
"Yep!"
"Loud and clear!" The replies came in.
"Okay, Panzer Vor!"
The practice went more smoothly than usual. With the American cadets helping Ami coordinating the practice, a lot of the workload was eased. Isabelle on the radio also gives helpful advice on improving the tank performances, radioing in to Miho on what team needed to improve and what aspect they were lacking.
Back near the briefing areas where the teams switch out, Miho saw Sergeant Lee helping the Rabbit, Hippo, and Turtle team on how to apply the camo nets onto their tanks, plus things they could add onto it for increased.
Over at the firing range, Sergeant Hawkins was helping some Saunder crews practice firing their M1 Thompsons that they brought in. The Saunder students already made a good portion of the Ōarai team's manpower next to Pravda, making them perhaps the main force that will be defending Ōarai if an scouting ever occurred.
As Miho took a drink out of her canteen outside of the Panzer IV during one of their breaks, she looked over to Isabelle's location on the tower. Isabelle was working rather hard for something so abstract. All this for Ōarai's victory? Miho noticed that Isabelle was talking with someone else up there.
Yukari had made her way up there. She said she needed to be excused for a bit, Miho didn't imagine it was to meet with Isabelle. It was a curious thing to see.
"What do you think she's up there for?" Hana asked.
"Probably talking about military stuff with her," Saori said. "You know here, just like usual."
"Maybe…" Miho said. It wasn't that hard to assume. Yukari's body language was the most expressive of the girls. Miho watched up there as Yukari gave emotions of glee, shock, and surprise. Whatever they were talking about up there, it had snagged Yukari's attention.
As the tank cannons fire in the distant at targets and gun fire blast away and steel targets, the Ōarai compound team seems to be becoming a little bit more in tune with the Tankery community. They started off as total strangers, but with the connections they've made, Ōarai is just one step closer to winning it on the international scale.
Miho smiled at the irony of her situation. Last year she came to Ōarai to escape Sensha-Dou. Now she was in the heart of the whole world's version of Tankery. Such a complete turn around, and it was all because of her.
"Life's just funny sometimes, huh?" Miho said.
"What?" Saori asked.
"N-nothing," Miho said, putting away the canteen. "Let's get back to work, girls."
"Right!"
This chapter was a bit troublesome to write. I didn't find the same motivation as I did when writing the tank fight scenes. But before I knew it, this has become one of my longest chapter as of recent so there's that.
It's probably finals time for those of you that got school still, right? I want to wish anyone who still got finals ahead of them, good luck! Thanks for reading my story and I hope it was a good break from your studies!
Thanks for all the support! Feel free to Follow and Favorite this story if you want to see more of this fic! I also appreciate any review you're willing to drop, so don't be afraid to speak your mind!
See you all next week!