Hell On Tracks
Part 61
Instead of my usual beeline for the best seat at the kotatsu, I went straight for Kay's futon. I ignored the odd looks everyone else gave me as I flopped down onto the futon and let out a contented sigh. That bliss lasted all of five seconds before I wiggled around a bit, trying to figure out why Kay's futon felt so different compared to mine.
"Is this softer than mine?" I asked. "Kay, do you have a softer futon than I do?"
"I dunno." Kay admitted.
"Oh, this is so nice… I could fall asleep right here and be happy." I said. A yawn escaped my mouth, and I heard someone sigh audibly.
"But you aren't going to. We still have a post-match review to do." Arisa was annoyed with my antics, but I didn't care. I was exhausted, and this was comfy.
"Tally, get up." Naomi said firmly.
"Fine." I whined, sitting up. Arisa was facepalming and pinching the bridge of her nose, Naomi was shaking her head, and Kay was laughing quietly in the background.
"You didn't manage to get a nap in after the match?" Hannah asked.
I shook my head. "God, I wish. But I was too busy helping dig my tank out of the rubble to catch some shuteye back in the command tent."
"Well, it's nice to see that even the limitless energy of Tally has its limits." Naomi snarked.
"All it took was the better part of a week of poor sleep, a half dozen projects keeping me busy all at once, a match where I had to be constantly on edge, and getting buried. Hopefully, this will never need to happen again." I countered. At Kay's gesture, I hauled myself off of her futon, and joined her next to the kotatsu.
"We should keep this brief, for Tally's sake." Kay said. As she spoke, I sat at the kotatsu, and the heater underneath the table felt almost as good, if not better than her futon. I could probably fall asleep right here, too. Kay must have noticed, because she squeezed my shoulders in a hug once she was sat down next to me.
The others all took their places around the kotatsu as well, and we settled in for the review.
"Okay everyone! Congratulations on a decisive victory against Yogurt Academy! Let's start with the good stuff. Hannah, you're up!" Kay said, pointing at the still-helmeted loader.
Hannah looked at Kay and I for a moment before grinning. "Seven points for mobility."
"Aww… I was gonna say mobility." I whined.
"We know." The response was unanimous, and in unison from everyone else around the kotatsu, though their smiles clearly indicated it was all in good fun.
"Moving through the city was awful for everyone, even with Arisa and I coordinating everyone from atop the parking garage." Hannah said, carrying on like it was nothing. "But we managed to outmaneuver Yogurt's heavier tanks and get them from the sides and rear. The Panther, Jagdpanzers, and StuG never stood a chance."
Arisa went next, and had a grin on her face that matched Hannah's. "Six points for gunnery. In every encounter, no matter the range, our tanks were making good use of the training Tally and I worked on, and every tank scored at least a couple hits against Yogurt."
"I see how it is… Seven points for sportsmanship." Naomi said, echoing the smiles of Arisa and Hannah. Her smile grew into a full grin when she noticed Kay's pout. "The rain kept us from being as social as we usually are in the pre-match, and concessions were basically shut down, but I did spot a few people hanging out with friends from different schools, not just Yogurt. Heck, we were all very nice to Maho when she stopped by the command tent to say hi."
Maho was another girlfriend of Naomi's, this time from Kuromorimine, and she was nice. A little on the reserved side, but she relaxed fairly quickly once she was inside the command tent. She was the commander of one of KMM's heavy tanks, and we got into a debate about the merits of heavy tanks versus light tanks, though Naomi shut it down before we could get heated. I didn't agree with heavy tanks being the be all, end all best tanks on the field, but Maho was attached to that stance, and I could respect that.
I blinked as everyone looked at me. "Oh, am I up?"
"Yeah. I want to go last." Kay said.
"You're just saying that because I stole yours and you need time to come up with a new one." Naomi accused.
"Well yeah, but I'd wanted to go last even before then."
I scoffed and quickly brainstormed an idea for what I would say, since Hannah stole mine. The environmental conditions more than anything else had made the match a rough one, being a tight city with heavy rain. Once again, we'd done two platoons of four plus Arisa and I as solo support tanks, and Arisa had done her find a hiding place and coordinate via radio thing. There were a couple of trades where we lost a Sherman and Yogurt lost a lighter tank, and then we split up into smaller units and began harassing and encircling Yogurt forces.
Jane, April, and I had gotten very lucky with an ambush on the Panther, knocking it out, but the retaliation shot from the Panzer IV next to it had brought down a building on top of our heads. If I had been unbuttoned, it could have been bad. The Stuart was stuck, and when we were unable to extricate our tank from the rubble with Naomi's help, the judges ruled us as knocked out.
It looked like Yogurt might be making a comeback. The Panzer IV managed to get Naomi as well before Haruna got it in the same engagement, but Kay's platoon circled around and took out the Jagdpanzer IV and StuG before closing in on Yogurt's 38(t) flag tank and knocking it out.
"Eight points for perseverance." I said after a moment. "We took a couple bad losses right around the point where I got buried, and yet we didn't lose hope. Naomi was there right away to try and get me out of the mess, and while that didn't work, and she got knocked out a little bit later, we kept up the pressure, kept up the cheer, and came back to win the match."
"Ten points for communication!" Kay said cheerfully. "Arisa and Hannah, you played an absolutely key role in this match by coordinating everyone with your radios, but you weren't the only ones. Everyone did a stellar job communicating within and between the platoons, and when people asked for help, someone was always available to answer the call and provide assistance, whether it was flanking a known Yogurt position, or helping pull a tank out of some rubble."
"Trying to." I amended.
"Right. Trying to help pull you out of rubble." Kay agreed. "Is there anything that we need to improve upon?"
I hummed. "Getting Arisa more involved. That's twice now where she's sat in the back and coordinated everyone, and we know that just like last time, everyone was watching the match. KMM was there, St Glo was there, I'd be surprised if Pravda wasn't there, they all saw how we kept Arisa on top of that parking garage. She's an easy target, and with her being focused on coordinating everyone, she's not as attentive to immediate threats. If I were on the other team, she'd be a perfect target for me to try and hunt down solo, while the rest of you deal with the main threats."
Arisa frowned. "As much as I'd rather stick to coordinating, Tally has a point. Next match is up to fifteen tanks, so give me a platoon. Or maybe just a bodyguard. Three platoons of four, plus Tally, me as flag, and my escort."
"I don't feel comfortable leaving you with just one escort." Kay said. "Not after what happened last time we tried."
"We don't have the Bandits anymore. I doubt anyone else is rude or angry enough to willingly abandon the flag tank if they get escort duty." Arisa countered. I winced at the mention of my former crew, and Kay patted my back as soon as she noticed my discomfort.
"We'll have to think about it. We're facing Jatkosota next, and Mika is the type of commander to see that weakness and dive for you." Kay replied.
Naomi cursed under her breath, and I frowned at her. "I knew it was too much to hope Koala beat them."
"What's wrong with facing Jatkosota?" I asked, confused. I knew they were good, just not Big 4 good, so Naomi's dislike of them was startling.
"Nothing on the field." Arisa explained. "They're really good, good enough to challenge any of the Big 4 even if we have a winning record against them. The problem is before and after the match."
"Or off the field during the match." Naomi amended. "Jatkosota has a reputation for being thieves. They've, ah, 'requisitioned' tanks from Pravda, KMM, and Chi-Ha-Tan that they use semi-regularly, and we've caught their crews trying to siphon gas from tanks we aren't using in the match or steal general supplies from our depot."
"Stuff we would happily give them if they asked." Kay added.
"Oh." I oh'd. Saunders was certainly generous, constantly lend-leasing stuff to whoever needed it, or just straight up giving away gear, but if the Bandits had taught me anything, it was that Saunders as a whole did not like thieves.
The room fell silent for a moment before Kay spoke up. "Anybody have anything else?"
I shook my head and yawned, and the others similarly gave negative answers.
"In that case, meeting adjourned. I'll see you all tomorrow before Sensha-do practice. In the meantime, Naomi has some anime." Kay paused, and glanced over at me. "Tally, do you want to head home now?"
I yawned again. "Nah, I think I'll stay and hang out for a little while. This seat is comfy."
"Okay." Kay smiled as Naomi started the anime up. Despite the catchy and energetic theme music for Steel Knights, I had dozed off before the intro was done.
For what felt like the first time this week, I had a good night's rest. I woke up slowly, the light of the morning sun shining on my face. My bed was comfy and super soft this morning, and the person sleeping next to me made sure the bed was nice and warm…
I wanted to curl up and go back to bed, but as I did so, my back came into contact with something unfamiliar. There was another person in my bed. I snapped awake and scrambled off of the futon, hitting the floor with a thud. This was not my dorm room.
Kay rolled over and smiled at me. "Mornin' sleepyhead."
My mind went into overdrive as I froze in place, my eyes locked on Kay's. Kay and I had been sleeping together! Kay and I had been sleeping together! Kay and I had been sleeping together!
"Hey! Tally, snap out of it!" Kay said, scrambling out of bed and snapping her fingers in front of my face. I blinked and scooted away from her, coming back to my senses.
"W-what happened? Why am I in your room?" I asked, still shocked.
"You fell asleep during the meeting, and we didn't want to have to carry you back to your own dorm and dig through your stuff for your keys, so Arisa and Naomi helped move you onto my bed to rest. I didn't really have anywhere else to sleep, so I just went to bed next to you." Kay explained quickly.
I blinked at her, taking longer than I would have liked to comprehend. "Oh. Ohhhh. So nothing…?"
Kay laughed and shook her head. "No, nothing like that."
"Sorry for that…" I said sheepishly. I could feel my face heating up, and there was no way I was suppressing that blush or embarrassment. "I'm just gonna- I… Well… I should go."
Before either of us could say anything else, I rushed out of the room. Thankfully, it was early enough that the halls were empty, and I was outside before too many people could spot me.
It was light enough out that I could probably go for a short run before cleaning myself up for the day. Might help me clear my head, too. I was still slightly freaking out over the fact that I'd overnighted at Kay's, and that my mind had immediately zeroed in on… that. My face heated up even thinking about it, and I knew my face was more or less matching my hair. It was far too embarrassing to ever mention to anyone. Ever.
I shook my head and banished those thoughts. I was going for a run. It only took a bit of brainstorming to come up with a route that looped around the area before ending at my own dorm. With the route in mind, I double checked my shoes, made sure nothing was going to fly away from me on accident as I ran, and once that was done, I started running.
The grass was still damp from the recent rains, but the early morning sun was shining, and the sidewalks were all dry. It was a beautiful morning for running, and I took it all in while maintaining a steady pace.
My first real break came at a stoplight at the edge of the residential area. I had to wait for the light to change, and I caught my breath while I waited.
"Good morning, Tally!" A familiar voice called. "You're out early!"
I turned to face Trips as she jogged towards me. "Mornin', Trips! It's a beautiful morning, I couldn't help myself. And I had the first good night's sleep since that darned storm rolled in, so I actually have the energy to run!"
Trips frowned, considering something. It only remained on her face for a moment before she smiled again. "Well, it's good to see you up and moving around! Sorry we couldn't make you lunch yesterday, storm had us shut down."
"It's no problem." I said, waving off her concerns. "The weather was awful to play in yesterday. I couldn't see more than ten feet out of my periscope, but at least it was better than getting soaked and crushed under a collapsing building."
"Collapsing…? What happened?"
"A shell from Yogurt's Panzer IV brought down a building right next to me after I took out their team's Panther. It came down right on top of the Stuart, pinning us in place. We didn't get out until the ARVs came by after the match was over." I explained.
"Oh my gosh, that's horrible! At least you all made it out safely?" Trips exclaimed, covering her mouth to hide her shock.
"Yeah. We got shaken around but nobody was seriously hurt." I answered. The light changed, and the crosswalk opened. I started jogging, and Trips joined me pace for pace. I'm a better runner than most people I know, but Trips didn't seem to have any issues maintaining this pace while we chatted.
"It's funny… You survive having a building dropped on you with a few scratches and bruises, but when Bannie trips and drops a sack of potatoes she was carrying, she breaks her foot and gets bedrest for a week while it heals enough to walk on."
"Is she okay? Beyond the hurt foot, I mean." I asked.
"A couple scratches and bruises, but nothing serious. The potatoes didn't survive the encounter though." Trips had a smile on her face despite her friend's injury. I guess I could tell why they called Bannie "Potato Girl" from time to time. It's either that or her Irish origins.
The run didn't last as long as I would have liked, even slowed down to let Trips keep pace and chat with her. It was too beautiful a day to spend cooped up in classrooms, but that was what I was going to have to do once I made it back to my dorm. Eventually, we had to go our separate ways, me back to my dorm and Trips back to her apartment. I waved goodbye as I ran off towards home.
Hannah and Arisa were in the common room when I got there, and they both gave me a big smug grin. Arisa was the first to speak up despite my glowering at her. "So, are the two of you an item yet?"
"Shut up. I don't want to talk about it." I said quickly, emphasizing my point with a finger.
"That's not a no~" Arisa teased. I flushed again.
Oh, it was on. Driver, front towards enemy! Gunner, AP! Target: Arisa! Fire!
"How about you ask Takashi out on a date, then I'll spill the beans about my love life." I countered. Arisa sputtered and deflated, much to Hannah's amusement, and I took the opportunity to sneak out of the common room and route to my room to get cleaned up.
Direct hit! Target disabled, and withdrawal successful.
I made my way down to the repair shop before practice started. The Pershing was starting to look like an actual tank again, and would probably only need a couple more days of people working on it during Sensha-do practice before it was ready to go. But I wasn't down here for the Pershing today.
Instead, I walked past where the Chaffee's wrecked turret was still sitting (someone had modified the sign over it to say 'Still How not to repair a tank'), because Lina had promised to have a certain vehicle ready for practice today, in return for getting to be my loader. Sitting there, in all of its lightly armored glory, was my beloved M18 Hellcat, now with the roof kit firmly attached. The roof reduced visibility a fair bit, but not enough that I was going to be as blind as I was in Stuart without my hatch open.
"Afternoon, Lina!" I called to the hispanic girl moving the crane away from the Hellcat.
"Heya, Tally! Perfect timing! Your baby is all ready to go!" Lina shouted back. "I even checked track tension!"
"You're the best!" I replied with a grin. It was time to take command of my single favorite vehicle. Lina hopped down to join me as I reached the tank destroyer. I ran a hand over the TD's fender, and my grin grew even wider. This was going to be great!
"Now if only you didn't give us a new challenge before you took this one off our hands." Lina said with a sigh, shaking her head. "And we need the Stuart up in less than a week? After you buried it?"
"That's not my fault! How was I supposed to know one shot would be all it took to bring the building down on top of us?" I whined.
"Well, ideally you would never have been in a situation where that was possible." Lina snarked back.
"Yeah… no. Did you see how tight the quarters were on the field? Even the wider boulevards had houses on either side, ones that would absolutely be able to stop a tank, at least for a little while."
"Well, either way, the Stuart is messed up. Carbon layer may have kept you all safe, but the exterior's dented to hell and back, and your air intakes are all…" Lina trailed off under my glare. "They're clogged, and all your filters need replacin'. Might steal the power pack from the other Stuart, just in case."
"Well, we can worry about that after practice. Right now, I've got a TD to get up to the garage, and a loader to recruit." I said, patting the glacis plate of the Hellcat.
Lina crossed her arms, ignoring the grease she was spreading around her arms and chest. "So what, you're just lookin' for someone else? Just like that?"
"Well… not exactly." I admitted. "I did promise someone the slot though."
Lina's withering glare only intensified, and I sighed.
"Fine, it's you. Do you want the spot or do I actually have to go looking for a loader? Hadley, from Trips' food stall, seems nice enough, and can definitely sling shells for a few hours."
"You gave me the role way back when. You're stuck with me, compadre." Lina said.
"Good!" I grinned. "You said she's all ready to move?"
At Lina's nod, I moved around to the side of the TD and climbed up. The mantlet didn't cover the two hull hatches, and I dropped down into the driver's hull. Soon enough, the radial was humming quietly. As soon as it was warmed up, I goosed the accelerator and brought the TD over to the service elevator. People were going to be surprised to see me on the practice field in Hellcat today. Even more so when I come out from an unexpected angle and knock them out.
To say I was looking forward to it would be like calling a hurricane a mild sprinkling of rain. The M18 was my favorite tank destroyer for a reason. Haha, tanks!
