Hell On Tracks
Part 55

I'd been agonizing over the question all week. At the end of our… our date last weekend, Kay asked me to prom, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't just immediately say yes. Even now, after a week of thinking about it, the whole concept of actually dating Kay was terrifying. I'd have to give Kay an answer sooner or later, and as much as I didn't like it, I only had one answer for her.

With a heavy heart, I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Kay.

T - Hey, could you come by my dorm before we head out to Sensha-do today? I'd like to have a quick chat.

K - Of course! I'll be there soon!

I passed the time waiting for Kay by rereading the letter attached to the most recent care package Mom and Dad had sent me, and nibbling on some of the dried apple rings they had sent with it. The snacks went back into the box they'd come in as soon as someone knocked at the door, and I opened it to let Kay in.

"Good morning, Tally!" Kay said cheerfully as she slipped inside. "What did you want to talk about?"

I dragged her over to my bed, and we both sat on it for a moment as I considered my words one last time. "I've been thinking about what you said last weekend. Being your girlfriend, and prom." I paused, but Kay didn't interject. "Prom sounds like it could be a lot of fun, but I think we should go as friends, not as girlfriends. I… I don't think I'm in the proper place, emotionally, to be able to commit to a healthy relationship. I was a mess after I ran into Oddball before the Ooarai match, and I was even worse after the match itself."

Kay pulled me into a tight hug as I trailed off. She felt warm to the touch, and I leaned into that warmth as I returned the hug. "I understand, Tally. Do you want to just carry on like this didn't happen?"

"Yeah… Carry on as we had been doing. I've enjoyed going out and doing things as friends, but I think dating is a bit outside my wheelhouse right now."

"Okay." Kay said quietly, before releasing the hug. "If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm usually available."

"Thank you." I nodded. "And thank you for understanding."

Kay shrugged. "It's not the answer I was hoping for, but it's the answer you needed. And in my book, self-care always comes first." There was a long moment of silence before Kay spoke up again. "I smell apples. Did your parents send you more of those really good dried apple rings?"

"Yes, and they're mine. You can't have any." I said protectively. Kay let out a pitiful noise, and turned her best puppy-dog eyes on me. They were admittedly pretty good, but I'd built up a resistance thanks to my sisters and Aunt Sophie (that woman is scarily good at pulling puppy-dog eyes). "No."

"Fiiiiine." Kay said with a huff. She pouted for a moment, before we both started cracking up. Laughter quickly filled the room.

"So, what's on the schedule today?" I asked once we settled down. "You said we were flying back to Nagasaki for a day at Camp Intrepid, but beyond that…"

"Just a few practice matches on the big field before our match against Maginot." Kay answered. "Arisa had an idea for a special match, but I want to run it by Naomi before we commit to anything."

"Any hints for a fellow leadership member?"

"Hmm." Kay rubbed her chin, considering it. "You didn't share your apple rings, so no."

"You drive a hard bargain, Kay. No deal." I deadpanned.

"Darn."

We sat there in companionable silence for a bit before Kay spoke up again. "I should probably head on over to the airfield. Want a lift?"

"Sure. Give me a minute to get changed into my tankery gear, and I'll meet you in the common room."

"See you in a minute!" Kay said cheerfully as I did my best to shove her out of the room.


We weren't the first ones to the airfield by a long shot. All three of Saunders' Super Galaxy cargo transports were there, and Naomi and Arisa were busy loading them with M4s. I spotted the Stuart and Firefly lined up near the nearest plane, but blinked when I saw the truck parked next to them.

"What's with the food truck?" I asked Kay as we rolled to a halt, hopeful that I had ID'd it correctly.

"I asked Trips if she would be willing to provide lunch today. Her and her crew." Kay said with a shrug. "I'm gonna go help with loading the planes, feel free to hang out."

"Of course." I said with a nod, climbing out of the jeep. I quickly zeroed in on Jane and April hanging out in the Stuart, and made my way over to them.

My advance was interrupted when someone shouted over to me. "Hey Tally!"

I paused and scanned the area, looking for who had called. Faye Faith was waving, trying to get my attention. As soon as she noticed that she had my attention, she waved me over to join her little group. I looked between her and the Stuart for a moment before acquiescing and heading over her way.

"Heya, Tally!" Faye Faith said cheerfully as I approached.

"Hello, Faye Faith." I responded with a nod.

"Please, call me Trips. We're friends, right?"

"I guess?" I said uncertainly.

"Then we're friends!" Trips said cheerfully, clapping me on the shoulder. I instinctively flinched away from her touch, and quickly checked my pockets. Kay and I suspected Tuco had been pickpocketing me, though we couldn't prove anything, and she didn't admit to it before the Bandits were sent off to wherever they are now.

With her hand still firmly on my shoulder, Trips steered me over to the food truck, where the rest of her crew was waiting.

"Tally, I'd like you to meet the crew of stall 445, currently borrowing this food truck. From left to right, we've got Nikki, Bannie, and Hadley. Girls, this is Tally." Trips said, gesturing to each girl in turn. Nikki was just as blonde as Trips, and at first glance almost looked like she could be Faye Faith's twin. Bannie looked almost stereotypically Irish, with a round face, freckles, and a mess of properly ginger hair. In comparison, Hadley looked really rather normal, her brown hair and soft face helping her sort of fade into the background.

"Top o' the mornin' to ya, Tally!" Bannie said, grinning like a loon. "So you're the lass who doesn't like burgers?"

I just stared at her for a moment. "Uh, yeah. I've never been much of a fan."

"That's fair." Bannie said, dropping the heavy accent.

"It's one of the reasons why we wanted to talk to you, actually." Nikki added. "We don't just do burgers, and since we knew you weren't a fan, we were hoping we might be able to provide something else for you."

"Here's a menu." Hadley said quietly, passing it over to me. I thanked her and scanned the laminated sheet. The menu wasn't huge, but it was larger than I expected for a lunch stall from four students.

"Ooh, assorted grilled vegetables sounds wonderful right now. Though that's more of a side dish…" I mused. "How greasy is the grilled chicken breast, and how good is the potato salad?"

"The chicken isn't usually very greasy, and Bannie's potato salad is to die for." Nikki answered.

"So long as you don't get her upset with you." Trips added gleefully.

"One time!" Bannie exclaimed, raising a single finger to make her point. "You accidentally throw a bag of potatoes at a girl one time and suddenly you're 'Potato Girl' for life!"

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden exclamation. "Is there a story behind that?"

"Not much of one. It was a while back. Some girl surprised me while I was hauling potatoes over to where we were prepping food, I tripped, and the bag of potatoes went flying in her direction. She was a good sport about the whole thing." Bannie answered with a shrug. "Please don't call me Potato Girl though. I much prefer Bannie."

"Sure thing. I've never been one for those teasing nicknames, anyway."

Bannie grinned. "You're alright, Tally."

"Thanks?" I said uncertainly. With that, I passed the menu back to Hadley. "Grilled chicken sounds lovely, and I'll probably decide on a side when lunchtime rolls around."

"Got it!" Trips said, jotting my order down on a pad.

"So, which tank is yours?" Nikki asked.

"The Stuart." Their blank looks reminded me that these four weren't exactly tank enthusiasts like I was, so I thumbed over my shoulder in the general direction of the Stuart to get them on target. "It's the light tank. Not very big or tough, but's the fastest tank in Saunders' arsenal right now. Well, fastest tank we're allowed to use."

'Wouldn't you want something tougher, or with a bigger gun? That gun looks a lot smaller than the one on Naomi's tank." Nikki asked.

"Bigger gun, sure. But every team needs recon, and we have very little that beats a Stuart in the arsenal right now." I explained. Nikki exchanged a look with Trips and smiled.

"I told you there was more to her than meets the eye." Trips said, almost proudly. "We won't keep you any longer, Tally. Go hang out with your friends."

"Thanks." I said with a nod, and set off towards the Stuart, where Jane was watching me rather intently. I nearly stumbled when we locked eyes for the briefest of moments, but she turned away with a sly smile.

"Hey, Evans, good luck!" Hadley called as I walked away. I shook my head as I left, trying to wrap my head around the whole conversation. There was something weird there, but I put it out of my mind. The semi-consistent weirdness of the schoolships was weirding me out less and less each time. Either that, or being near Jane was desensitizing me to most of it. I'm not sure which concept was scarier.


The flight over to Nagasaki was thankfully uneventful. April, Jane, and I ended up flying in Naomi's plane (Kay and Arisa were flying the other two), and the passenger compartment felt nearly empty, with only roughly a quarter of its seating capacity being used. It meant that the different crews were all spread out and isolated, and the nearest group was the crew of food stall 445. I occasionally glanced over in their direction trying to figure out what the heck was up with them, but the only clue I got was that they collectively hated flying.

It was only when we got to Camp Intrepid that things started getting interesting. A few cars awaited us in the parking lot when we arrived, and Jane almost immediately rushed off to greet her mother.

"Hey Tally!" Kay called, grabbing my attention away from peoplewatching. She jogged up to me, and waved me off of the Stuart's glacis. "I want to have a quick chat with all of leadership before we start. Come on."

"I'm right behind you." I said with a nod, sliding down the frontal slope and hopping off of the tank to follow her. She signalled Naomi and Arisa to join us, and Hannah quickly followed after her TC. Pretty quickly, all five of us had gathered in the area we'd set up the command tent last time we were here.

"Okay everyone," Kay began, "here's the plan. The first match will be a 9v9, annihilation rules, captains will pick teams. Naomi, you have team one, and we'll put one of the platoon commanders as captain of team two. Arisa, Hannah, and I will be sitting out, since we didn't bring our tanks, and we'll be judging."

"It'll be the usual rules, 1 hit KO, on the main field." Arisa added. "There shouldn't be any terrain issues. The weather is nice, and the ground is dry. But Tally, please don't try and pull any fancy maneuvers. We don't need you rolling the Stuart, throwing a track, or heavens forbid both."

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. "Jane can pull it off."

"Be that as it may, we don't have heavy lift gear here. Getting seriously stuck will just slow everything down." Arisa replied. "One of the disadvantages of flying here. We can't quite bring all of our usual gear if we want as close to a full team as possible."

"After the first match, we'll break for lunch and quick repairs to make sure everyone is mobile. The second match will be really interesting." Kay grinned, and gestured to Naomi.

"Match number two will be a 7v10 with the following twists. The Firefly will be atop a hill with line of sight over as much of the battlefield area as possible. Nobody can fire upon me, and I can only fire at targets that Tally spots and calls in fire on. It'll be VIP annihilation rules, so the match ends when the Stuart gets knocked out, or when either team loses all their tanks. Tally, you'll be on the smaller team. Consider it live fire scouting practice." Naomi explained.

"How close of a coordinate do I need to have the target be hit?" I asked. "How much room do I have to screw up?"

"Do your best. I'll have a live map from overhead with all the grids and strategic points marked out, so I'll know exactly where you're pointing me to. But if you include landmarks, it'll help get me on target."

I sighed. "I wish I'd had a little more warning than this, give me a chance to brush up on the spotter's guide. But yeah, I'm game."

"Good!" Kay said cheerfully. "Tally, Naomi, go make sure your tanks are ready for the matches. Arisa, Hannah, go get the M20 from the shed and set up the judge's tower. I'll meet you at the shed when you get back, and assemble everyone for announcements and picking teams."

"Yes ma'am!" Four voices echoed out in unison. We were getting good at that.


Today was the trial by fire for Jane, April, and I. We'd managed to get into a quick skirmish with Practice Company yesterday, but today was the first look at whether or not we would be ready for the match down in Australia. If everything went well, and we performed adequately, Kay would be more likely to allow us to participate in the big match. If not, while we'd probably get another chance, things wouldn't be looking good.

Thankfully, my luck held during the first match. Naomi had grabbed me as her first pick, and she did her best to play to the strengths of the Stuart in planning. Start out spotting from a concealed position on the flank, and then once the opposing team is engaged, come in around them and try to get a few cheeky KOs from behind.

We won handily, and the Stuart managed two KOs before we got knocked out ourselves. There wasn't much I could have done about it, the match had moved into the central town, and a Sherman was waiting around a corner after we'd knocked out its two platoon mates. They were quicker on the draw, and that was that.

What I was more worried about was the second match. It sounded like it would be a complicated affair, and there was a lot resting on my shoulders for this one. I was spotting for my team, the only one who could call in Naomi's fire, and the VIP. It was simply too many places for me to potentially screw up in a critical fashion.

Lunch was a fairly quiet affair, and I spent it chatting with Jane, April, and Haruna. Once again, Haru and I were going to be on the same team in these skirmishes, though this time Haruna was team captain while I was the VIP who needed to be involved but not shot at. Haru was ecstatic at the chance to be team captain, since it meant that Kay had spotted her potential as a platoon leader.

We also did a fair bit of planning for the match ahead, how best to use the Stuart as a spotter while keeping me safe from as much return fire as possible. At least since I was a VIP, not a flag tank, I didn't necessarily need a flag sticking up from my tank that would seriously impede any chances of staying hidden.

So naturally, the plan we settled on - my plan - was to keep stealth as a secondary focus. Instead, Jane's job was to keep us mobile and moving fast, while I kept an eye out for targets that were threatening us. Targets of opportunity for Naomi or April's gunnery were always nice, but we were to try and focus down direct threats first.

I couldn't help the butterflies in my stomach as we waited on the starting line. The problem with hiding and camouflaging a position was that either you couldn't get out all that quickly, or the effort of hiding went down the drain very quickly if you moved, as well as all the time needed to set up. But staying mobile was a lot riskier, simply because a moving target attracted attention, and we'd have less cover when the other team inevitably shot at us.

It was a risk we'd probably have to take when in actual matches, so practicing it now was a good idea.

A flare went up from the judge's tower in the middle of town, signalling the start of the match. Our whole team surged forward with an order from Haruna, and we set best possible speed for the central town.

In the theoretically six vs ten scenario our team found itself in (not counting the Stuart, due to a lack of straight combat capability compared to a Sherman), we needed to keep things out of the town to leverage our two advantages, Naomi's gunnery and the Stuart's mobility and spotting. If we could beat the other team there, we could set up a defensive position on the far end of the town, closest to their start, and hopefully catch the other team in an open field with Naomi's sniper fire coming in from the flank.

Jane veered off to the north as we approached the town, carefully circling around to not get caught if we didn't beat the other team there. As Jane maneuvered us into a good position, I radioed in.

"Lead, Recon."

"Go ahead Recon."

"We're in position. No sign of enemy tanks yet. It doesn't look like there's been any recent passage through here either."

"Understood. Stay put for now, and let me know if anything changes. Lead out." Haruna said, ending the short call.

I let out a heavy breath. It was somewhat relieving that we hadn't found anything yet. The knife fighting earlier had let me know full well that I was not yet up to the task of spotting and loading at the same time. Too many things to keep track of at once, and I couldn't do it comfortably with my head out the hatch.

But spotting on my own, and calling out targets to Naomi, I could do.

Things remained quiet for a good few minutes, while Haruna's group began entrenching themselves in the town. April and I both kept an eye out, but nothing revealed itself to us during the wait.

Finally, something poked out of the forest. I quickly identified it as a Sherman, and called out my best estimate to the tank's location.

"I have eyes on." Naomi reported calmly. Moments later, a round zipped past it, landing a hundred yards long.

"Uh, Naomi?" I called into my radio. "You missed."

"I put that shot exactly where you called it." Naomi retorted.

"Riiiiight." I drew the word out as I scolded myself internally. This was such a simple mistake to make, being a marker off. Of course a perfectionist like Naomi would intentionally miss the target I pointed her at for a mistake like that.

Moving as quick as I could, I pulled my map out and consulted it before calling out the corrected coordinates. Naomi complied by nailing the Sherman as it desperately tried to reverse back into cover.

"Good shot!"

"Thanks." Naomi said simply.

From there, the match devolved into a waiting game. Haru didn't want to push out of her defensive positions in the town, and it was clear that the other team wasn't willing to push into it. It was frustrating. I was sitting here, in a well entrenched, somewhat camouflaged position, in a near perfect spot for a passive spotter to work from, but nothing was crossing my field of view.

"Lead, Recon." I began, and didn't give Haruna a chance to acknowledge before I continued. "This isn't working. Permission to reposition and actively scout?"

I can be patient when I need to, but sitting here was just wasting time waiting for someone to make their move, and in the meantime, nobody was getting any actual practice from it.

I heard Haruna sigh through the radio. "Granted. But be safe about it."

"You got it!" I said cheerfully. "Driver, advance!"

Jane whispered something that I couldn't make out over the intercom, and then the Stuart lurched into action. We scouted around the perimeter of the town once more before ranging out towards where the other team had started.

"Tally, move south." Naomi called through the radio.

I issued the order to Jane to have us turn around before replaying. "Why?"

"I have eyes on a four tank platoon crossing the open field to try and get around your defensive positions."

Oh. Yeah, that would be a good reason to call me south. She couldn't fire on them without spotting from me, even though she'd spotted them herself… "Wait, aren't you supposed to be neutral or something?"

"Where did you get that idea? I'm on your team, giving you support fire. I can still call out targets, I just can't shoot them without your spotting."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." I paused. "Lead, did you get that?"

"Yup! We're moving south to engage!" Haruna responded.

Jane pushed the Stuart hard as we made the run south to get eyes on. We were well over the speed rated for this sort of terrain, but I don't think she cared much. Otherwise we wouldn't have caught as much air as we did during the run.

As soon as we had eyes, I called out the targets. "Four tanks, crossing the open field south of town."

"Give me coordinates." Naomi insisted.

"Can you see them? Then shoot them." I countered, a little frustrated by her stubbornness, and a little shaken up by the rough ride.

"Give me coordinates so I know you have eyes, and aren't just trying to get me to shoot at targets I spotted myself."

"Fine!" I pulled out my map once more and compared it to the locations of the tanks. There were no landmarks for an easy comparison, and I didn't have a good angle to compare against the layout of the town, so I gave it my best guess.

"Close enough." I could hear Naomi's shrug in her voice, but the 17-pdr started doing its work, tearing through the four tank platoon with ease.

I didn't have the opportunity to relish in my victory, though. Just after Naomi's second shot roared off, April called out "Tank!" It was all the order Jane needed to gun it forward, just barely dodging an incoming shot from our left.

The 37mm fired as soon as April was on target, and the small round sailed by the lead Sherman in the formation of three. The two followup 75s missed us as well, and I slammed another round into the breach.

"AP up!"

"On the way!"

"Naomi! Three Shermans engaging me!" I hastily called out. There was no time for delays, but I had to pause in loading to find coordinates on my map. I really hoped I was on target, otherwise this was going to be a short match.

Jane's wild driving bought us time. April hammered off three rounds in quick succession, and she nailed one of the Shermans despite the maneuvers Jane was pulling. Our luck very nearly ran out, and I just knew the lead tank in the formation was about to nail us when the 17-pdr roared. The high velocity round slammed into the lead Sherman and rocked it just as it fired.

The incoming shot missed the Stuart's bow by inches, and I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. As soon as I was settled, I slammed the shell in my hands into the breach.

"AP up!"

"On the way!"

April's gunnery was spot on this time, and the third Sherman of the ambushing group went down with the small 'thwip!' of the white flag popping.

"Thanks for the help, Naomi." I called through the radio after a moment to catch my breath. I stood up in my seat, getting a good look at everything without needing the periscope. "How was that last coordinate?"

"Spot on. Good work." Naomi said, and I could almost hear her subtle smile in her voice. Though, maybe that was just my imagination. "Lead's group finished off that platoon in the field, which just leaves two tanks."

"Okay. I'm gonna push into the forest here a little ways, see if we missed any-" I was cut off by the report of a 75mm gun, and the Stuart rocking violently. "Oh come on!"

Off to my left, hidden just inside the treeline, were the last two Shermans of the other team. And they had just knocked the Stuart out from an ambush. We had lost.