Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament!
Chapter 32: Business Class
Gare de Caen, France
Yukari, sweat-covered in the chilly morning, skid to a stop in the main hub of the Gare de Caen rail station. On short breaths, she looked around for signs but found nothing but French text and numbers, and none matched the destination she had promised to meet with everyone else.
The announcement speaker chimed from above with a notification jingle. A feminine voice spoke in French to the commuters. Words jumbled out rapidly as Yukari's ear searched for any words that may sound similar over her heavy breath and sweat. "C'mon, c'mon…" Yukari frantically muttered as she glanced her watch. Precious seconds ticked by as she felt her time starting to run out.
The French announcement seemed to crawl as her time perception locked in, waiting in anticipation for a more international-friendly language to appear. Finally, the first speech ended, and the announcement cycled with "Attention all passengers, attention all passengers. The Caen-Paris line for green ticket holders will be departing in ten minutes from the industrial platform. Thank you."
"The industrial platform!" Yukari shouted as she hustled, holding onto her train ticket with a green banner on the side of the white strip of paper with black text. She skimmed signs across the station as concerned commuters dodged out of the speeding girl's way, her backpack jingled with its content with her as she bounced with her movement. All the way towards the end of this hallway, then make a left, then another… Yukari's body flowed as the signs directed her movements.
One more set of stairs, and the early morning light shined down from atop the steps. Yukari paced herself up the final flight.
"There she is!" Saori's voice shouted as she pointed towards Yukari.
"Sorry!" Yukari huffed as she ran up to the trio of Miho, Saori, and Hana who were waiting for her. "I-I got too caught up!"
"We deal with tanks everyday Yukarin! Did you needed to see that display?" Saori reprimanded her.
"I know! But- it was a real World War II tank! Not like… any of this!" Yukari pointed at the flat beds filled with Ōarai's tanks behind the passenger cars, all painted with a bold green streak spanning their length. As she did, she noted the large empty train platform as industrial machines and crane worked on neighboring trains. Despite the space, she could gauge that the entire Ōarai Compound Team would've taken up almost all the space around her with little room to spare.
"You had us all worried Yukari," Miho said, standing right in front of Anglerfish team between them and Yukari.
"I'm sorry…"
Miho sighed with a smile, "Well, that means everyone is present now."
The announcement jingle again. Another notification for the departing train, "Attention all passengers, attention all passengers. The Caen-Paris line for green ticket holders will be departing in five minutes from the industrial platform. Thank you."
"We must get going then," Hana said.
"Alright, let's get onboard!" Miho announced to the class.
"Der Zug Vor!" Yukari shouted.
"The what now?" Saori asked.
"Oh, uh, you know… like 'Panzer Vor,' but for a train…" Yukari pointed at the locomotive down at the end of the line for her emphasis.
"I don't think it works like that."
"Hmm, I think it does?"
"HEY GIRLS! GET ON BEFORE THEY CLOSE THE DOOR ON YOU!" Momo frustratedly burst from a passenger car window.
"We're coming now!" Miho replied. "Let's go then."
"Uh, right!" Yukari said. The four girls filed in through the opened double-door leading into the cars' vestibule. A staff personnel stood at the other end and glanced at the approaching girls. Miho held up her ticket with its green banner sticking out, and Saori and Hana had the same above their hands. Yukari frantically looked for her ticket… and then found it still clutched in her hand. They were all allowed through.
Coming across the one door separating the entry hallway to the main cabin, Miho pressed a single button where the door handle would be, and the door automatically opened. "This and the other car are full, so we're going to the very end."
"Oh okay," Yukari said as they entered the cars towards the direction of the locomotive in front.
And how full it was! The first car's cleanliness of its royal red velvet seats and wall decoration was smothered by the Pravda and Saunder students. The seating arrangements, two seats on a side and three on the other, was all filled to the brim with students. A baseball flew through the air and smacked softly along the wall. Some cuss and shouts from a Saunder student followed as Kay's laugh can be heard over the madness. There remains an aroma of fresh hamburger steak, but there is no open grill anywhere. In one row, there was an impromptu karaoke event being played from a smartphone.
Meanwhile the Pravda students have taken up a squat-dance contest in the middle hallway. An informal drinking contest on a fold-out table from the next seating row's rear side was seen between two girls and a bunch of observers. As they passed and the two took another swig, one girl saw Anglerfish team observing and explicitly held up an empty bottle, pointing at the "non-alcoholic" label. It looked fun regardless.
Of course, there were also the many girls with their books, board games, smart phones, and gossips as well. Some read introductory books on Germany for the travel or discussed on what they plan to do.
"I heard they have a tank factory there!"
"Really?!"
"What about the aquarium?
"Hey, hey! Where do you think they serve beef stroganoff?!"
"Hmm, where was the Graf Zeppelin built?"
The girls managed to bypass the crowd into the other end. Miho once again pressed a button on the door, and it slid open. They entered the gangway connection as they moved passed the closed exit doors to the next door. Miho opened that one as well.
The rowdiness in this car was lower, but the discussion volume was just as grand with the Chi-Ha-Tan students, St. Gloriana, and Anzio. As the Anzio crew were still shocked silenced from the luxurious surroundings, the St. Gloriana and Chi-Ha-Tan students were more carefree in their treatment of the area, with a fragrance of green tea being brewed.
"My, so what say we take a stop at this tea shop by the highway there?" Darjeeling pointed at an unfolded map.
"I think that's great idea, Ms. Darjeeling."
"We can get there fast by the autobahn!" Rosehip shouted in her jovial tone.
"Commander! We should charge to this location once we get there!"
"Eh? Right there and then?" Nishi responded to the assertive voice.
"Yes!"
Other girls are seen playing with a deck of cards, arm-wrestling, or just letting off steam; as the Anglerfish team dodged out of a charging Rosehip who sprinted back one end to the other, with droplets of tea spilling out. The girls made it to the other end in one piece as Miho opened the next door to the gangway between the next car.
"Can I try the next one?" Yukari asked innocently like a curious child.
"Oh, sure," Miho said as she passively walked aside for Yukari's arm to move forwards to the next door before the third train car in the link.
The door slid open and the relatively calm interior of Ōarai Girls High School students. Small talk between the student in their vehicle teams.
"Are those volleyball teams there?!" Noriko exclaimed as they looked at the map.
"No, I think that's a senior recreational center…" Taeko responded.
"It could work!"
"No, it won't!" Shinobu replied.
Meanwhile, a girl stretched comfortably in her seat. "Ah, the imprints of the industrial revolution!" Caesar said with relaxation.
"Hmm, hmm," Erwin nodded. "A unity of nature, industrial might, and mankind in establishing logistics!"
"Heh heh, I bet I can shoot a quarter with an arrow out a window while we're in motion!" Saemonza boasted.
Right behind this booth, some girls were looking out with sparkling curiosity.
"It's not exactly like the Shinkansen at home is it?" Ayumi observed.
"But it's got the same train look!" Karina pointed out. "Well, maybe not the car interior, but the train got its sleek look!"
"Yeah, but that doesn't really mean it's the same as the Shinkansen," Aya said. "Right Saki?" She then asked, to which Saki only shook her head.
The next row had a several girls playing on their devices right by the student council.
"What's wrong Momo? Feeling motion sick?" Yuzu asked a fidgeting Momo.
"What?! No! Nononononononohahahaha, I think you're imagining things."
"Well, it can't be worse than what happened in second year," Anzu said.
"P-Prez! Please don't bring that up!"
On the other side, four girls were tinkering with a device while being watched by another three.
"I don't think this is a good idea…" Moyoko suggested.
"That's what they all say, but we got this!" Suzuki said.
"Is this even according to the rules?" Sodoko probed into it.
"Well, it doesn't say if it does…"
"And that's good enough for us!" Satoko and Tsuchiya responded.
"You better not get us in trouble with this!"
Finally, the girls made it to the end, at the front of the car. "It's so nice to see all the members together again, isn't it?" Hana asked.
Miho smiled. This really did feel like a normal school trip.
The last, or frontmost, row of seats had an asleep Mako Reizei, staking Anglerfish's claim in the front. She had her seat reclined for her comfort and dozed peacefully. The rest of the open seats available invited the girls over.
"Well, make yourselves comfortable," Miho said as the girls found their appropriate seats, with Yukari attempting to fit her large bag up in the overhead compartment bins. She struggled with it vertically, eventually compromising with a length-wise placement of the bag horizontally. Saori sat alongside Mako as the others sat on the other side.
"Where's Isabelle and Emma?" Yukari asked as she took her seat.
"They're ahead in private rooms in another car," Miho explained.
"How sophisticated of them," Hana expressed.
Right as that happened, the announcement jingle inside the train started. It was different from the rattling announcement jingo back at the station, but instead more of a melody. The jingle had a blend of a pleasant tune with an alarm rhythm, uncomfortably calling everyone's attention to its presence.
Hana said looking her phone. "Right on time," She commented. "It's time to go."
"Wow, it's like back home, huh?" Saori said as the jingle continued. She rested herself right into the seat.
Yukari fidget in her seat next to Miho as the melody abruptly halted, then the whir of doors and gates lock shut around the train. A few moments after this, the train jolted into movement.
The scenic view crawled slowly as the train picked up speed; the feeling not too dissimilar from sitting in a tank as it propels forward. However, the sensation increased as Yukari felt herself digging into the seat cushion. The train accelerated, and so did the scene as it blew pass the girl's sights. All that remained of the ambient noise was the whir of the train's mechanisms in action and the clacks of the railway. This low hum contrasted with the transit's technological displays and created a sense of dissonance for the passengers inside as they adjusted to their environment.
The acceleration stopped as the speed remained constant. Suddenly, the relative motion has made the passenger cars their own enclosed environment. It was not them speeding across the world, the world was speeding around them. Standing up, they felt no inertia pushing them with the train's motion. It was enough to cause motion sickness if the difference of relative motion was known to the senses.
The announcement jingle returned in the same tone as back in the station. "Good morning, Ōarai Compound Team," the announcement started in English with a female voice exuding elegance and authority that spells out her words clearly.
"Welcome to the special express line of Eurotravel, hosted by the Elles Estienne Enterprise for your convenience in your travels to our available luxurious hotel. It is currently around 7:10 AM." At the reminder of how early in the morning it is, Yukari felt her eyes strain as she fought off the accumulated drowsiness. "We will reach our destination in about twelve hours; however, we do have periodic stops of fifteen minutes if you wish to get some fresh air. At the conclusion of this announcement, feel free to enjoy our assortments of entertainment, morsels, and other available conveniences in the front cars. We will soon be coming around the cars to inquire about breakfast options for the trip. Thank you for choosing Elles Estienne Enterprise's services for convenience; they're so great, they'll make you squeee."
The announcement ended at that, and the silence it employed slowly gave way to a restarted conversation across the car.
Saori nodded lightly, "That's… a lot to take in."
"You get this feeling you're being treated as an important person on this train, don't you?" the reserved Hana said, bashfully blushing.
"Well I still think their slogan is stupid. It's not reflective of all this at all!"
"But if everything about the E.E.E. is true, we haven't seen anything yet!" Yukari said excitedly. The discussion volume had revived the atmosphere in the car, with chatter returning among the girls.
"YHAAAAAAA!" Rosehip's voice hollered as she ran down the aisle of Ōarai's passenger car, straight to the other side where she splattered herself right against the door.
"You're not beating us again, commander!" Cranberry cried out from behind.
"CHAAARRRGEEEE!" A familiar battle cry sounded from a mass of a certain school's students.
Rosehip stepped back from her impact position, shook off the shock, then dashed through an open care onto the next car before her squad team members and other pursuing students could catch up.
Behind the energetic sugar bombs, a St. Gloriana trio stride along. "I do hope they have a fresh variety of tea," Darjeeling told Assam and Orange Pekoe. "Oh! Have you heard of this say-" She was saying as she moved onto the next car.
THUNK! "Ow!" A cry came out from behind the car again.
"You have to duck your head, Ms. Katyusha."
"This place is much too small, Nonna! It can't contain all of my might here!"
"Perhaps I should have a try then, Nonna?"
"Nyet, Klara."
Pravda's commanding personnel pass by.
"I dunno, I'm craving for just a regular cheeseburger now," Kay's voice stated.
"Wow, that's so unlike you," Alisa said.
"Yeah, just a regular meal… like ten of those whoppers right in front of me."
"I take that back," Alisa sighed. "I mean, I guess I would go for some onion fries."
"We should see if they have those first…" Naomi plainly said.
"Pasta!" Anchovy and Pepperoni cheerfully said as they marched across.
The whole aisle way was crowded by these passes as the option of convenience and exploration became available inside this train of adventures.
"M-Miho, do you want to look around the train as well?" Yukari asked Miho, who she noticed was staring off the distance out the window. As the scenery zipped pass, the fresh sky glistened from the cleanliness of the ocean out that direction. The buildings became smaller and smaller, replaced overtime by an agricultural environment filled with the hedges and fields similar to that seen when they fought against Suvorov yesterday. "Miho?
"Huh? Oh! Uh, what was it?"
"Do you want to look around the train with everyone else?" Yukari asked once more.
"That sounds good," Miho replied.
"I'd like to tag along if that's alright," Hana asked.
"That's fine, Hana."
"You three go along, I'll stick with Mako here," Saori said as she smiled.
"Alright then, we'll see you soon Saori," Yukari said as the three girls moved on.
The girls moved through the gangway towards the next car, and inside was another scene of chaos. Games of all sort were available.
"What is this?" Hana asked curiously.
"It's like… a large arcade room," Miho observed.
"Wow!" Yukari beamed as she raced ahead. Miho and Hana followed, passing by a large pool table, but Yukari stopped in front of an arcade machine. "It's Tank!"
"Huh?"
"Oh! I mean the arcade game! Whoa… this is really, really old!" Yukari blipped the buttons a bit, and the game started. The simple white lines and dots lay bare of the computing powers inside the machine, but Yukari tapped the joystick with reverence. "Amazing…" She then glanced to the side. "Whoa! Battlezone!" She ran up to the next machine, but then she noticed what appeared to be an identical machine next to it. "No way?! Bradley Trainer!?"
Yukari checked out the machine and looked back to see Miho and Hana inspecting the Battlezone arcade machine. From an arcade perspective, the machine was quite abnormal. Unlike that of a large game screen, Battlezone had an instruction pamphlet in the middle, the typical joysticks at the bottom flat pad, but the screen was a tiny rectangular screen up above the pamphlet. Hana attempted posturing herself on this machine. Her hands instinctively held onto the two controls as her eyes look through the screen. "Wow… other than the graphics, this really feels like I'm in a tank."
Miho tried it out as she came in. Indeed, she felt her hands joysticks very comfortably, with the periscope area fitted right to her eyes with minor adjustments to her posture. "This is…" Miho tried to describe. "Uncomfortably so much like in a tank…"
"Isn't it great?!" Yukari squeed, frightening Miho away from the tunnel vision inducing optic.
"It is very jarring, don't you think?" Hana said.
Yukari went back to scanning the area. Something caught her eye and suddenly she started zipping by. She didn't mind the several air hockey stations that she passed. Had she taken a closer look; she would see they were customized towards her taste. The air hockey had brown strikers that were in the shape of Leonardo da Vinci's prototype tank design and the puck was a neon green land mine shape. Nothing like it would have been seen anywhere else, but another machine had caught Yukari's interest instead.
"Miho! Miho! Look at this!" Yukari hollered as Miho and Hana caught up. An assortment of large arcade cabinets, all with the same display and designs, stood before the trio with the title "Tokyo Wars!" Miho watched as the tanks on screen, in 1990s graphics, combat each other in an arrangement of White versus Green team. The designs presented made Miho chuckle.
"Is white team… using T-72 hulls and T-54 turrets?" Miho analyzed.
"I know right?! But the game's so fun! This is the deluxe editions too, so you get to feel that recoil when you shoot in the game! C'mon, want to try?!"
"Why don't we finish touring around first before we have some fun?" Miho suggested, not wanting to stay trapped in the entertainment car forever.
Yukari gave a small, disappointed look. "Okay…"
The girls moved along, passing by video game console stations before reaching to the next car.
The next car was a simple, narrow hallway that curved to one side of the car rather than through the middle. It was barren in comparison to the previous cars, even the seated ones, as only a carpeted floor and decorated walls were of interests. But the girl's other senses have picked up the more obscured happenings in the car. The sound of pots clanging on tables, water spraying from a faucet, the fans whirring as a stove sizzled a pan, permeating an aroma that can be smelled from the other side of the wall.
"It smells good!" Yukari exclaimed as she whiffed the air. She caught the hint of eggs and sausage fat, as well as rice-infused steam from a cooker.
"Oh, I can't wait for breakfast," Hana stated, perhaps wondering on how vast the kitchen storeroom was.
Miho, Yukari, and Hana moved towards the next car, and the environment gave way to more conveniences provided by the services. The lounge car was surrounded with a mahogany aura of regality, with decorations plated with a gold color that reflects the surroundings with an extravagant tint. Right around the corner when entering the car, a miniature drink counter is emplaced with its platter of options behind it to quench one's thirst.
The lounge car was quickly becoming the Japanese girls' social space as they admired the spectacle of the car interior and exterior. Some sprawled themselves over the squishy lounge chairs, others made their tea stations atop the high-tables dotting the car boundaries, some mingled around the drink counter as the two bartenders were setting up their stations for activity.
"This is really nice!" Yukari exclaimed.
"Suddenly, those twelve hours don't seem to bad," Hana said with relief.
"Yeah," Miho said, still in slight disbelief that all this was basically given to the team.
The announcement chimed once again around the speakers. This time, a male voice spoke. "Good morning, everyone. We'll be ready to receive your orders for breakfast soon. Please return to your seats and we will be around momentarily. Thank you."
"I guess sight-seeing is over for now," Hana said. "Oh, I hope things get more exciting from here!"
Miho nodded as she saw the lounge car beginning to wrap up and also return. "We have all the time we want to look around. For now, let's eat soon!"
The breakfast was nothing Miho had experienced before. The menu's selection was already impressive, but the delivered meal showed just the type of luxury she is experiencing at the moment. The carts came rolling in from the direction of the kitchen car, and as the waiter uncovered the dish cover from the tray, a four-course meal was presented.
A croissant the size of her palm, steam still wavering over the fresh buttery pastry, sat in a small dish with neighboring sauce plate carrying an assortment of butter and jams in tiny sealed packages. On another plate was four fresh slices of succulent fruit, with the juices seeping out from under and blending into a minute fruit cocktail. On the other side of the tray was a circular dish holding a smaller circular bowl holding two macarons, one in pink and the other green in their dough color and their fillings a darker color of their respective self. The center dish took up the tray's real-estate to establish itself as the main course of the selection. The dish was a grilled cod, with the flesh singed light brown as sauce atop the fish infuse it with flavor. On the side of the fish, steamed white rice stood firmly as the cod oil oozed over into the white grains, with some greens peppered besides the rice.
Miho poked the fish around with the provided utensils, still incredulous at what was offered not just on the ceramic plate in front of her, but the whole train as is. So much given, and for what? Driving around some tanks? Even on Kuromorimine she was not showered with such things for Sensha-dou.
No, Miho shook that thought from her head. This is about sister… She thought. All this was just an opportunity for her team to rest and rejuvenate before the big match next week. A short break here and there will pay off in the end. I must thank Darjeeling for that perspective…
She tore off a piece of cod with her fork and put it into her mouth. The fluffy meat melted into a silky taste as the substance barely resisted her chewing.
Before she knew it, the plate in front of her was empty save for the macarons, to which Miho savored by plucking them with her fingers and chewing them apart, with the hard texture crushed into the chilled, soft filling inside, the contrasting feeling enhancing the fruity taste.
"I wanna live here…" Miho heard Mako said, now awake as she drooled over what was left of her meal.
"You're going to get spoiled like this Mako," Saori said. "You have to work hard if you want to get to this standard of living."
"Work is fun."
"I suppose you don't want the fruits, Saori?" Hana asked as she peered over across the middle walk way to Saori's table.
"Ah, feel free to take it, Hana."
"Thank you very much," Hana said as she gingerly took the plate from Saori.
"It was very good, wasn't it Nishizumi-dono?" Yukari asked.
"Oh! Yes, it was," Miho said to Yukari.
"Was this anything at all like on Kuromorimine?"
"Oh no," Miho reminisced. "We never had anything this nice. There were certainly restaurants like this, but… wow. Imagine what everything will be like once we get there."
"Yeah! This is just a traveling dish, so the food here is made from ingredients specialized for storage and shelf-life!" Yukari said as her fork held onto a piece of roasted potato. "But wow! This is beyond even the best of military rations!"
"You can't go wrong with fresh-cooked meals no matter the type."
"French cuisine too," Hana said as she chewed on a fruit slice. "It's very good. I hope they serve us a lot more before we get to Germany!"
"Hey, so Germany. About that," Saori asked. "Miporin, what do you know about Germany? We're jumping countries so fast it's hard to prepare for this kind of stuff! I actually want to look around this time like we did in Britain!"
"Yeah, like should it be anything like Kuromorimine?" Yukari asked.
"Well, it's nothing like Kuromorimine, I'd say," Miho chuckled. "They're two different environments. We may have acted all orderly and strict like that, but I wouldn't say that's exactly like how it's run in Germany."
Mako gave off a sigh of relief. "I don't think I'd survive in that kind of environment."
"But what about the school there? What was it? Carius Academy? You saw those guys; they evoke something of a 'Kuromorimine' order into the aura."
"Well, I don't know about them…" Miho said. Though I wonder if Kuromorimine being close by has anything to do with it now… "Huh… Carius academy," Miho spoke of the school's name. The title rode off her tongue strangely now ever since her discussion with Erik Katukov. There was a new sense of importance with the place, and not as another opponent to fight, but as a possible obstacle.
"Speaking of Carius Academy, they have a match today, I think!" Yukari remembered.
"Who are they fighting against today?" Hana asked.
"Dianne, from De Gaulle Tank School."
"Are they fighting against Carius with only pre-World War II tanks like against Nankai High School?"
"They'll be slaughtered," Mako mumbled.
"You think we can get the match live stream running?" Saori asked as a waiter was coming around and collecting the empty plates.
"Ah, maybe…" Yukari said as she took out her smart phone again. "Ah, hmm… what's the Wi-Fi…"
"So, what do we know that Carius have right now?" Hana asked. "We can work our way down from that information for the final match."
Miho tried to recollect as the other girls moved up and down the passageway now that they were done with their meals. "Well, we saw the Panther tanks back on the TV in Britain, right?"
"As a German does," Saori said matter-of-factly.
"I wouldn't put it aside from them to have other cats too…Maybe even the bigger and crazier ones," Miho stated, then she said in a pondering whisper, "Maybe even the Entwicklung series?"
"What?" Yukari's ears perked up.
"Oh, nothing."
"Hey, what do you think that jerk Kraus will be riding in?" Saori asked.
"I can imagine him in those Tiger II tanks," Hana replied. "He may be short-tempered, but he's full of pride. For someone with that perspective, the biggest tank available to him would be the choice.
Heh, Miho thought. Kind of like Erika…
"Yeah, I bet he's compensating for something," Saori snidely remarked. "Maybe he'll let everyone else do all the dirty work while sitting in the back as just a Panzer III or something, so he doesn't have to see big, scary shells fly towards him first!"
"Or maybe as a commander of the team, he's in the scout Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234, Puma!" Yukari added. "But he's in the rear driving position to boot!"
Saori was flabbergasted "Rear driv-?"
"Oh! Uh, the Puma… it's an armored car by the way, has two driver position. One in front and one in the back so it can go forward or backward real fast either way with the same driving vision."
"I take back my Panzer III suggestion, that sounds more fitting for him!"
"Ah! I got the stream to work now!" Yukari exclaimed as she held up her phone. The rest of Anglerfish closed in on Yukari's seat.
"What's happening now?"
"Oh look, there's Dianne!" Miho observed, "And…"
"Oooh, she's not having a good time I see…"
Southern France
Dianne sneezed down towards the turret; her head bobbed to avoid colliding with the 47 mm gun accompanying her.
Katy shouted something right back to her, but the words were inaudible in the chaos surrounding them. Another shell crashed into a tree besides their concealed hull-down position. Dianne quickly rammed another shell into her gun. With her bosom constricting her movement, she climbed up to view the scenario from her cupola. In the distance, the metal figures trailing engine emissions were still approaching closer, spreading out from its initial wedge formation. "Mark III's trying to maneuver around! Take out their flankers!"
Katy worked the radio to communicate as Dianne sighted in the optics right onto the foremost Panzer III in the formation. The unit was splitting up for a pincer movement on Dianne's platoon. She fired, the 47 mm shell flew and struck the Panzer III head on, creating a fantastic and audible impact, but the Panzer III chugged on.
"Crap! Another!" Dianne reached down with her arm and Selena down below handed another shell for her to ram into the turret. Dianne looked back on the optic and saw the Panzer III halted, then a flash from its gun towards her position.
BOOMF! The high-velocity shell impacted squarely on the dirt right in front of Dianne's Char B1 bis, sending debris into the air. Using this hull-down position, despite their trouble, was starting to show its worth. On the battlefield, outbound tracers continued as the three other B1 tanks fired onto the Panzer IIIs. The clear sight picture of the flat plains in front of them allowed them to engage at this long distance.
It became a matter of trading shots with the Panzer IIIs. After a volley of shells were sent out, another came in. Those 5 cm shells are fast! Dianne silently noted as the shells flew over. They hit randomly, unacquired on specific targets as they slammed through tree trunks or bounce off dirt. With a small wooded region behind them, the tanks are well covered from precise spotting and shots. One tracer shot from the lead tank flew extremely close and SHCCCLKKK! The sickening sound of metal-on-metal grinding as the shell glanced off the Char B1 turret vibrated inside Dianne's space.
"Mother of all-" Dianne became exasperated as she led up another shot on the offending Panzer III and took a shot. This one struck right on the lower glacis, breaking loose the bolted-on tracks as it fell free. Her hand fell and soon Selena gave her another shell to load into the gun. All hands in the tanks went to servicing the 47 mm, since the hull-down position prohibited the use of the low 75 mm gun. Dianne fired the shell again, this time harmlessly ricocheting off the Panzer III turret front.
The distance between each Panzer III tanks grew as they continued spreading, but the distance was getting closer between Dianne and the offending German tanks. Dianne continued focusing on the lead tank as she loaded another shot. If I can't get through the front armor…" Dianne thought as she selected her new target placement. She aimed her best with the four times power optic of the 47 mm gun and let the shot loose. The 47 mm shot flew over the distance, time slowing as Dianne traced its travel. The shell's tracer hit home right on the Panzer III's right side on its dark metal tracks. Sparks flew out and the Panzer III stuttered, then began to turn opposite of its struck area.
"Another!" Dianne shouted as she shot her arms down, and soon a 47 mm shell was again in her hand; which she instinctively threw into the gun and laid the sights at the same tank and saw the Panzer III halted with its side pointed towards Dianne's gun. She fired again, the same scene played out, but instead right into the side armor of the Panzer III. The shell hit home once more, with black smoke sputtering out of the Panzer III, followed with a white flag popping up.
Dianne reloaded another shell, then shifted the turret towards its next target. As she sighted the targets, the landscape has changed.
"Captain! The enemies covered the area with smoke!" Katy relayed reports from the radio.
"They might be trying to close the distance, stay alert!" Dianne shouted as the crew remained vigilant. However, nothing happened as the smoke persisted in the area. "... Katy get me a status update from each unit."
"Yes, captain!" Katy acknowledged as she handled the radio.
Dianne came down from her turret position towards the hull interior. Selena right below the turret stayed alert with a 47 mm shell on her lap, while Adele at the driver's compartment was playfully adjusting the unused 75 mm gun. No light peered through the driver's optic nor the 75 mm gun sights.
"Adele, stay alert," Dianne instructed.
"Oh, no problem Captain. Say, I must say this view of dirt gives a great perspective on the Germans there," Adele snarked as she winded the 75 mm gun gear all the way up to full elevation, then back down.
"Selena, what's the situation on the ammo?"
"Captain, after the last two encounters, we're down to just twenty-three for the 47 mm." She held up the shell in her hand. "Including this one."
"Perfect, we still got a full allotment of 75 mm ammo, maybe we can finally use them!" Adele in front chimed in.
"Captain," Katy caught Dianne's attention, but her mouth failed to formulate what she wanted to convey.
"That bad, huh?" Dianne summed it up. Katy could only return a nod. "Very well, tell everyone still active to focus on protecting Cheryl's SOMUA. If the flag tank goes, we're done." Katy nodded and then returned to her duties.
"Well, I mean, were we expecting anything different?" Adele said. "We're stuck here using 1940 equipment; hell, even this helmet of mine is from that era!"
"Adele."
"Ha? Tell me, did you really expect anything different fighting Carius Academy?"
"Of course not," Dianne said. "It'd be extremely naive for me to say we did… he he, we're no Ōarai, but it's not like we'll go down without a fight."
"What? You're saying you'll go face-to-face with one of those damn Kraut panzers and kill it?"
"I just did."
"Really? Geez, I wonder why I didn't get this information; couldn't be because of my luxurious viewing screen of dirt in front of me!"
"If you wanted to be a gunner in the turret, you only got to ask…"
"Well is it too late to ask? I promise I'll be a good girl~" Adele said in a mocking tone as Dianne climbed back into her turret position.
"Nothing's happened?" Dianne asked, directed towards Katy.
"N-nothing…" Katy responded. Dianne looked out the vision ports and saw the smoke still remaining in the field. Nothing of any sort could be seen moving among the smoke in or out.
"This is highly unusual…" Dianne remarked.
"Smoke's still there?" Selena asked.
"Yeah… they don't usually stay around this long… even the wind should've dispersed it by now." Not only that, you don't waste smoke just like this without exploiting the situation. They know our relative location, why aren't they moving against it with the smoke? Dianne thought. Some time passed before it got to her nerves. "…Katy make sure everyone's still on alert on their surroundings and that smoke cloud."
"Right, captain!"
"The suspense is killing me!" Adele shouted.
"Best we find out what's going on now than later… I'm taking a shot." Dianne quickly sighted the gun and a lone 47 mm gun shot out towards the smoke, the tracer disappearing as though the smoke consumed it fully.
Then it emerged. That thing. First was its menacing rod that crawled out with its aggressive muzzle brake, dual square baffles in a stubby cylindrical end, flowing expanded circle before it flowed into the shape of a gun barrel, which slowly expanded to reveal the gun mantlet, a strong construction of metal that held the mighty firepower. It was either this or the flat hull structure that sent shivers down the spine and blood of the tankers opposing them. Past this lead vehicle, four more emerged behind it.
"Merde! C-captain!" Katy said nervously.
"Yeah I know! Tiger tanks directly on our front!" Diane shouted. "Five of them!"
"Welp, G.G. everyone."
"Can it, Adele!" Dianne shouted. "Gosh dar- Arrrgh!" Dianne looked through her optic and viewed the Tiger tanks.
Tiger I heavy tanks, Germany's breakthrough tank of World War II, and five of them were heading straight towards her position. Those Panzer IIIs must've been a recon unit! Dianne reflected with the precision the Tiger tanks have been deployed straight towards her.
No two Tiger tanks downrange were identical. Each had their unique custom aesthetics applied in terms of decoration. Instead of an emphasis on a tan body color, these Tiger tanks have a predominant green and brown camouflage combination, some of which had black paint on the boundaries where the two contrasting body paint contrast, others had the tan paint as the boundaries. Specks of foliage hanged off the edges of the tank's corners to hide the sharp contours.
But the lead tank in the center has the most unique look on it. Sharing the emphasis on dark paint for its camouflage with a predominant green and brown, it was distinctive from the neglect of foliage attachments. A look on its external modifications make it clear why. Tiny cylindrical devices and such peppered the turret sides and hull roof.
But by far the most notable feature of the lead tank was the commander sticking out of the cupola, whose identity makes it clear what unit this Tiger I tank platoon was in the Carius Academy's tankery team.
"It's the Wittmann battalion!" Dianne shouted.
"Aw hell!"
"Katy! You tell everyone to target on Wittmann's Tiger tank up front! And hold fire until my command!"
"Yes captain!"
Diane sighted Wittmann hanging out of his cupola, with his upper chest exposed as he rode hatch opened. He looked ahead, as if staring straight into Dianne through her optic.
"Shoot already!" Selena shouted.
"You think this 47 mm is going to do anything at this distance?! They still haven't seen us yet, let them get close! Besides, their 88 mm will cleave us right in half at any range!"
The ranged closed in and the Tiger I tank silhouettes grew, scarily showing their prominent features, especially since the 88 mm gun was certainly not getting any smaller. They were now within the 200 meters mark, and Dianne noticed Wittmann speaking in his intercom.
"C'mon you bastard, I can see the whites of your eye here and-"
Suddenly the Tiger tanks fired a full volley of 88 mm shells towards her position. BLOOM BLAM BOOM! High-explosive shells exploded on impact on the ground and trees, sending fragments of debris and foliage all over.
The barrage stunned them all, as Dianne returned to sight the tanks. The Tiger tanks were now running towards their position at an angle, making the most of their hull armor.
Throughout the commotion, Dianne failed to notice that everyone else had already started firing at the Tiger tanks. Cueing in from the outbound tracers, Dianne finally fired a shot at Wittmann's Tiger tank. DONK! Like a pellet gun against a stone wall, the tracer bounced off, without any visible dent.
"Tell everyone to focus on any flat armor they can get!" Dianne shouted to Katy as she took the next 47 mm from Selena. "If they can't knock out a tank, disable their tracks!"
"Copy that, captain!"
Dianne sent another round in and fired again, firing high and over the Tiger tanks. She watched as other shells hit Wittmann's tank repeatedly, each flying away without an effect. She could hear impacts. DUNK, DONK, BONG, the rhythm of 47 mm shells went, but the Tiger I tank continued as usual.
Then it was the Tiger's turn with another volley. Five simultaneous flashes, then the trees above the tanks erupted. CRASH! BZZ! PLAM! The rounds exploded above, the shockwaves and fragments raining down onto the Char B1 bis tanks below.
"AAAAAAAAGGGH!" Selena huddled down as her nerve cracked.
"Stand your ground!" Dianne came down and assured Selena as she took up a 47 mm round from the stowage. "They won't pass us in one piece!"
"They will."
"Shut up, Adele!" Dianne shouted as she rammed another round into the gun breach.
The shells kept going downrange as the Tigers closed in. 100 meters now, at most. The 47 mm still had no effect at any tanks downrange.
The Tiger I tanks then halted in their places in the open field. Their turrets moved independently of each other as they selected their targets.
"Brace for impact!"
"Evasive maneuver!"
"Too late!"
The Tiger I tanks fired.
The Panzergrante 39, 88 mm armor-piercing shells made short work of their targets. Five shells flew towards her platoon and the sickening KRACK sound of impact sounded twice, accompanied with hits to the dirt mound in front. The force of the shell hitting the dirt in front of Dianne catapulted particles right into Adele's vision slits, followed by a heavy GONG impact in their front. What the girls inside didn't know was that even the dirt in front didn't stop the shell, but only slowed it down enough that the impact velocity on their B1 bis' tank armor was not sufficient to knock it out.
"Captain! Cherry 2 and 3 are out!"
"Adele, reverse now!" Dianne shouted.
Adele struggled with the gear as Dianne looked at the Tiger tanks. They were really close now, 50 meters.
"Adele!"
"No good captain! Our drive system's busted!"
"Of all the-" Dianne said as aimed once more, right at the track of Wittmann's Tiger tank. She pressed the trigger… nothing. She pressed again, and nothing still. She inspected the 47 mm, and found the breach still open, without a round inside.
"Son of a-"
The Tiger tanks fired again. One shot struck right onto the turret front of Dianne's Char B1 bis. The shock and vibration were intense, with the whole interior ringing like a bell from the impact.
"Gah, ugh," Dianne groaned as the tank interior rung and in her head. "Agh!" She struggled to escape. Opening the rear turret hatch, the bright light shined in as she dragged herself out. The fresh air did nothing to help her condition as she coughed. Sprawled out on the hull deck, she tempered herself from the disorientation. She could hear her crew inside the tank coughing and recovering from the same shock as well.
Dianne struggled to stand on her tank, using the turret as a support. She gripped something abnormal up top with her hand, the feeling of a vertical pole. She glanced at this object and saw a white flag stuck up high and waving. Dianne slapped the white flag in frustration. She absorbed her surrounding and noticed the displacement of the tank. It was no longer at its initial hull-down position, but slightly behind it by a few feet, the result of the immense energy transfer from the shell impact.
The trees in front of her gave way to the moving monsters. Tiger I tanks crawled up and overtook Dianne's platoon's position. Two more cracks of the 88 mm KwK 36 cannon rang to her right, cleaning up her unit.
"Well captain, it was worth a go," Adele said from within the tank interior through the hatch. Dianne nodded in resigned agreement as the Tiger I tanks began to pass.
Then one halted right beside her Char B1 bis. The features of the Tiger I tank and what it represented for tank technology in 1943 couldn't have been made more clearer. The 1940 heavy tank that was the Char B1 bis compared to the Tiger I made the former seemed… inadequate.
With a closer look, Diane could see the details of the customization done to the tank. Not only did this specific Tiger I tank have an extensive paint job and physical makeover with its add-on cylindrical devices and textured exterior due to the Zimmerit, but the numerical decal of "575" was plastered with bright green paint onto the turret, bordered with white paint. A unique addition that compromised the side camouflage profile but showed a level of status not held by anyone else as the other Tiger I tanks had more diminutive colors for their turret numbers. Tiger "575"'s commander, Hans Wittmann, climbed out of the Tiger tank's cupola as it halted, his physique was one that any tanker wish to have to navigate through the cramped interiors.
From the Tiger tank's turret top, he hopped across the two tanks onto Dianne's disabled B1 bis, balancing himself with his arms stuck out that emphasized his black gloves, hiding the warm human hands underneath. Dianne found herself staring down the vice-commander of Carius Academy at the other end of her Char B1 bis' hull deck. She propped herself up to a stand from the turret.
"Hmm," Wittman said as though he was inspecting the Dianne's tank, then his eyes wavered as he looked towards her platoon mates that were also defeated. He then turned his attention back to Dianne. "I am going to be perfectly honest," he started speaking in French, surprising Dianne. "That wasn't as fun as the recons said it would be."
"Tu es un bâtard," Dianne retorted at his comment.
"But I'm sure you're aware that the tank crew is not necessarily out, with the 'désactivé' of their tank." Wittman's gloved hands rested on his hip as he said that, with his right-hand landing right atop his belt holster. Dianne glanced down and noticed the quick release system was unbuckled for his service piece. "You could still be a threat to us with that radio in there."
"So, you're going to 'désactivé' us too, huh?" Dianne asked, but her own hand is getting twitchy too, with her Model 1935A pistol hanging down on her own holster being a new item of interest for her.
Wittman smiled with a grin as he nodded towards the B1 bis' turret. "White flag is over there if you want."
Dianne truly felt a deep, latent disgust with those words. "Well Wittmann, I also think you'd know that in Tankery, there's the belief that the tank is often the embodiment of the crew's personality."
Wittmann's raised an eyebrow in with slight interest.
"So, I think I can agree with your statement" Dianne felt her heart skip as she timed her moment. "The heart of the tank is not in its engine, but with its crew!"
In the swoop of the phrase, Dianne unhooked her holster and brought her pistol to bear.
BANG!
Dianne's view blacked out as she found herself stumbling, then an intense burning pain blared from her right chest as though she was punched with piece of rebar. Her vision came and went under the realization that she was extremely short-breathed.
She looked up to see Wittman's smoking gun, his Single Action Army piece swooped up from within the holster and popped off with its cartridge. He cocked the gun's hammer once more for the next round and leveled it at Diane.
"I'm glad we can reach an agreement," Wittmann said as he approached Dianne with his revolver aimed. Dianne tried but couldn't find her energy and collapsed as Wittmann kicked her pistol away. He then approached the open hatch on the turret and pointed it at Katy right inside spectating. "Well?"
She raised her hands up. Two more crew member in German uniform, armed with MP40 submachine guns, climbed up the tank with Wittmann as he held his revolver up into the air.
"Hol sie raus," Wittmann instructed as he holstered his sidearm. He hopped back over to his Tiger "575."
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean…
"My! What a bad show!" A petite girl with rose-colored hair said as she watched the streaming video while sitting down on her lush chair, a spoon on one hand and her dessert in the other.
"Heh! See? What good does your old-fashion tanks have compared to moi at the big league?" A girl with a light complexion with blonde hair scoffed.
"Ha?! What did you say?!" A tanned girl with dark hair stood up, offended. "Our tanks were the pride of France at its peak in the war! Yours were an unoriginal sideshow in the footprint of tank history!"
"You jest!" The blonde girl shot up. "That casted rust of bucket an epitome of France?! I pity your underlings for being in that death-trap! But what am I saying? Of course you uncultured mongrels wouldn't know the beauty of our tank!"
"Beauty?! More of a bastard child of British and American tanks with a dash of German! What a shameful example for France! Our SOMUAs had a parity with the Germans at Hannut, what contribution did your ARL-44s give?!"
"I'll show you contribution right here, right now!"
"A practice Sensha-dou right now doesn't sound too bad," the sitting girl said as she bit into another piece of cake.
"I agree Ms. Marie! Me and you, Andou! Right out there at the school square! Ten paces out and-"
"Ha! Of course you would do it alone Oshida! That's because you Escalators are afraid of us Examination when we unite! You can't stand up against the masses!"
"You outsiders don't even know how to handle disputes!"
"You shut-ins don't know honor! Prancing about with your affluence!"
"Oh, I've finished my cake," the little girl said still sitting.
"Oh, let me get you some more Ms. Marie."
"No, me!"
Elles Estienne Enterprise Eurotravel, Somewhere in France.
"...whoa," Saori reacted speechlessly.
"That was hardcore!" Kay shouted from the other side of the train car. Miho looked back and saw other girls have piled up in the seat row behind them to watch the scene.
"They seem… far more formidable than I gave them credit for," Aki reacted.
"Poor comparison! We're nothing like those Frenchies!" Katyusha shouted. "The Great Katyusha wouldn't even bother teaming up with such an inflexible group as that! We emphasize quick, decisive moment!"
"Does KV-tan have the swiftness for such a role, Ms. Katyusha?" Nonna teased.
"D-don't say that name out loud!"
"Panthers, Tigers, and they've swept through the tournament so easily…" Yukari commented as she took her smartphone back when the stream ended.
"..." Miho remained in deep thought about what she has witnessed about Carius Academy.
"Miho?"
"Ah? Ye-yeah, the Carius Academy tanks are no slouch…"
"Those Tiger I tanks were menacing. I don't think I've seen such a formation act like that," Saori commented.
"It's rare as is to see five Tiger I tanks all in one team in Japan," Yukari said. "They are always scattered about in piecemeal, never seen more than two at one place.
"I guess it's a perk of being in Germany as a German team," Miho surmised.
"Don't worry Ms. Nishizumi. I'm sure you'll find a way to get through this, alright. You beat Kuromorimine last time, you surely will find a way to beat Carius Academy!" Nishi encouraged. Miho smiled back at her confidence.
"Um, if it's alright, I think I'll take a little walk around here. Feel like stretching and walking off breakfast," Miho excused herself.
"We'll be here," Yukari said as she resumed viewing the video. "Ah, now they're closing on the flag tank… Oh, a Jagdpanther!"
Miho left for the next car in front. Her mind free as she entered the gangway, she thought about the scenario. The Wittmann Battalion, she thought. She and her sister have commanded Tiger I tanks, and she knows their potential. Five Tiger tanks working in close coordination would be a nightmare for most of the team. Add in the Panthers and such, and Carius was becoming more and more dangerous by the minute.
She thought about the tanks being on the flat beds behind the passenger cars. Were they enough? She tallied it up and about half of the tanks would have no hope fighting a German tank from the front, and the other half would have difficulties. Only two or three tanks stood out as being able to stand up against a cat.
I need to run this through, Miho thought. There can't be any room for errors here!
She made it to the entertainment car with the arcade machines. It was livelier now that breakfast was over, each arcade station was being played with by some member of the team. The Battle Zone game was particularly active in attendance. Waiters came and by with drinks and snacks for the girls.
The next car ahead was the kitchen once more. However, the aroma of cooked food was gone and replaced by a soapy fragrance as dishes and trays were being scrubbed, washed, and rearranged for the next meal.
The lounge car was also as lively as the arcade car, with the girls taking up the seats and with drinks or provided snacks. The waiters actively served the guests, especially those at the drink stand where the soda gun is put to good use refilling cups with carbonated liquid. The girls would take a swig of their soda and refreshingly exhale.
Miho then moved down to the next car, where its format was similar to that of the kitchen car with the passageway on one side again. She turned the corner and found it to be a car for private rooms for the occupants. The first one appeared to be of the American advisors Hawkins and Lee sleeping away from their jet lag. Miho moved to the next door over and saw an odd duo, Isabelle and Emma working together and looking through an assortment of documents, with Emma on a laptop.
Isabelle inside looked up and noticed Miho, who then averted her stare. As she continued on without disturbance, the door behind her opened. "Hey Miho, perfect timing. Get in here, we've got something to show you." Isabelle beckoned her inside, and Miho entered unhesitatingly.
"What's this about?" Miho asked as she noted paper documents and photographs were also scattered on the floor.
"I've been acting on what Erik told you yesterday regarding your sister and Carius Academy, so me and Emma had been digging around any related subjects regarding Carius Academy and Kuromorimine. I think we found something."
"What is it?"
"Well first of all, I, me, found it. The first big break was on the Kuromorimine website," Emma said with her laptop.
"Huh? W-what about it?"
"Okay, so it's very interesting what they've done here," Emma said. "Take a look at this webpage."
Emma turned the laptop over to show Miho, on display was the usual Kuromorimine webpage that she is familiar with. The webpage has nothing out of the ordinary, with a sidebar about school updates about after school training sessions and tanks in the repair shops. The most notable item of the page is in the news with the top highlighted articles, one of which was a headline of Kuromorimine in the 63rd National High School Sensha-dou Tournament "KUROMORIMINE 2ND PLACE IN 63RD TOURNAMENT", and another news about Ōarai victory against the University team "NISHIZUMI SISTER WINS AGAINST UST." A school-centric and general Sensha-dou news, nothing too unusual.
"N-nothing too unusual… did I miss something?"
"Now, I am accessing this page through a VPN currently, which I have routed through Japan."
"Huh?"
"Which means I'm looking at this website at how it would if you were to look at it through Japanese internet" Emma explained.
"Uh…"
"Don't think about it too hard, I don't get it either," Isabelle stated.
"Now, let's try another VPN, United States of America for example." Isabelle did some typing on the laptop. She presented the results to Miho, and it showed the exact same website. "Now, if we try this out with an access point in Germany instead…" Isabelle typed on the laptop for a moment, then showed the result to Miho.
It was definitely the same website, but the layout had been completely changed. The news was updated; the news of the recent activity of the tournament and UST was gone, replaced by "SEMINAR TRAINING WITH CARIUS ACADEMY" and the even more recent "CARIUS ACADEMY ENTERS SEMI-FINAL AGAINST DE GAULLE SCHOOL." There were even new sections such as the unfamiliar "German Culture and Languages" tab.
"W-what happened here? Why's it all different? Why is it like this for Germany?"
"Well, now this is a theory, but… I think, someone's trying to restrict information about Kuromorimine. Specifically, the information that Kuromorimine is in Germany at this very moment."
"Huh?"
"After all, with this regional configuration, no one else outside of Germany would suspect from the website alone that Kuromorimine is anywhere other than Japan. The only people who would know Kuromorimine is in Germany are the people already in Germany. And you don't do that unless you don't want people outside of Germany from knowing that Kuromorimine is in Germany."
Miho found herself tracing through network of reasonings, as she tried to listen in stunned silence. "So… you mean someone's trying to cover up Kuromorimine being in Germany?"
"Supposedly. Now of course, this is only a theory. Of course, there are many other ways someone can get the word out on the Japanese side that Kuromorimine is in Germany, like a phone call or something. In a normal circumstance, that's hard to hide as is, but I think it segue into what Isabelle found in their network, especially on this sort of information control happening there."
"Well, the people involved, first of all," Isabelle held up a folder filled with documents of unknown origin as Miho turned to her. She opened it up and procured two beige file folders with names on the tabs, one for Axel Kraus and the other of Hans Wittmann. "In case you're wondering where I got these, I didn't snoop around, the information inside are publicly available on the Carius Academy webpage."
"I guess they would have a student directory."
"First of all, the driving head honcho of this whole institution. Axel von Kraus."
"von Kraus?" Emma curiously asked.
"Yeah, apparently he's of nobility," Isabelle said. "Aristocratic history and the such."
"That explains a lot," Emma punctuated, which Isabelle took no heed to.
"Axel von Kraus. Graduate student attending Carius Academy. He's not the official head *slash* chancellor *slash* principal *slash* whatever of Carius Academy, but with his position and the power of the tankery team, A.K.A. Panzergruppe Carius, incorporated, he may as well be. Guy's got a lot of thing riding behind him in terms of school power and leverage; and that's without considering his noble heritage."
"So, the Big Bad Wolf of this mess."
"Yes, but unlike Mr. Big Bad Wolf, Kraus has got himself a right-hand man to protect him from the 'Big Bad hunter'."
Isabelle held up the next file. "Hans Wittmann. Vice-commander of Panzergruppe Carius. Guy's got an interesting history, rose to prominence in his second-year at Carius Academy and has been in Kraus' favor since. He escalated the ranks and is pretty much there if Kraus demands it so."
"Hans Wittmann…" Miho rolled the name in her mouth. From his performance against the Dianne and the others, he certainly has credence behind his ability to perform.
"However, the whole institution is a crazy mess, and these two aren't helping it," Isabelle flipped through the documents. "That's all due to the way Carius Academy is structured as the private prestigious school for Tankery. Germany's Harvard for tanks? It is beyond that comparison with this school's elitist attitude."
"Sounds very sophisticated…"
"Well, this sort of sophistication comes with very high standards. Discipline is routinely enforced to maintain the school's high standing, regulated by the Sicherheitsausschuß." Isabelle looked at Miho and noticed she's slightly lost. "It's the, well, Carius equivalent of your morals committee."
"Oh, I see!"
"Of course, remember what I said about the whole 'Kraus may as well be the head of school?' That applies to this committee as well." Isabelle grabbed one the files in her hand and held it up. "Enter stage left, Hans Wittmann, vice-commander of the Panzergruppe Carius and the head of the Sicherheitsausschuß. In essence, both these guys got control not only on the tankery team, but also the very direction and discipline of the school."
"That's not a morals committee, that's a secret police," Emma stated.
"Well, try to convince the people there that they are not what they say they are on paper," Isabelle said.
"It... It sounds like a scary atmosphere there," Miho shuddered. Nothing like this was ever had even in Kuromorimine. Yeah, there may be that one or two uniform or tank inspection...per day, but that's about it.
"I suppose you could say the poor attitude and desire for control to all this could be traced in how the school receives its funding," Isabelle continued to flip through the files. "Like any prestigious private school, a good portion of the overall funding for operations come from sponsors. Now there are… questionable groups within the sponsors, but all of them are pretty high-tier in terms of selection and funding ability. These groups invest in Carius Academy due to its prestige and placement in the Tankery League and the tournaments. With this, you can probably see why Kraus would be so desperate to protect the school from these sorts of damages that you and your friends are, well, supposedly causing."
"I dunno," Emma shrugged, "Being beat by a girl with a winning streak from a family lineage revolving around Japanese Tankery doesn't seem too bad to be honest."
"Well," Miho started. "Outside from all that, they're still a regular school, right? And since we're in Germany, we should be able to look further into this deal with my sister if we get closer to them. Shouldn't be too hard."
"Yeah, about that…" Isabelle started.
"Huh?"
Emma held up her hand, gesturing of a minuscule concern. "There's this one, itty bit of a detail on the Carius Academy page about student's safety, and how the school would do everything in its power to protect the school's atmosphere to ensure the student's success in their Tankery sport. Just to put this in perspective, the private, elite culture of this school means they don't necessarily have the manpower to spare for separate security duties, unlike military cadets such as myself and Isabelle. Therefore, they've, well, outsourced their security to an equivalent of an armed unit for hire."
"Wait… you mean-"
"Yep," Emma said. "Now, how comfortable are we in 'scouting' a school with a private military company as security?"
I really wished I could've wrote this faster. Before I knew it, the last chapter update was three months ago.
But hey, at least Das Finale isn't finished yet. :D
Seriously though, what's up with that release schedule? We waited a year and a half for Part 2, and this is suppose to be a six-parter movie series. In the end, the whole thing is just a ~12 episode anime season in terms of time duration, but is made for movie theaters that will most likely be released over the span of six years at shortest. I wanna see what happens to BC Freedom already gosh darn it. But it's still nice to see the fandom still running and active. I've even seen a few non-FFN fanfics on Facebook recently, so still a lot of creative people out there!
As you can see, this chapter takes a more backstage environment with the Ōarai girls, having a travel through a rather high-class travel method, peppered with the combat scene of De Gaulle Tank School against (I believe) the fic's combat debut of Carius Academy's team. Now that the girl's are heading towards Germany, who knows what's in store for them against Carius Academy?
Anyways, thank you for checking up and reading this latest chapter of Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament! If you haven't, please Favorite and Follow the story for the fastest notification on whether I release a new chapter or not. Please Review the story as well if you have the time, I'm always eager to hear what you think about the story now that we're this far.
I look forward to seeing you all on my next upload! (I hope it's soon!)
Thanks again to user Lightarc for keeping in touch with me and encouraging me in my writing. I hope the best for him as well!