Chapter 8
In Which One Opponent Pays Tribute and Another is Averse
For what seemed a long time they just sat there, trying to take in what had happened. The engine had stalled and dust was pouring in through every opening, making them cough.
"Is everyone all right?" called Ayako.
"I'm fine, eh?"
"I's all right, b'y!"
"Maudine! I'm OK, somehow."
Ayako breathed a sigh of relief. The Ram had saved them. The ramshackle structure was no match for armour plating and the carbon coating. She tried pushing against the turret hatch, but it would not budge. Liza had no better luck with the hatch in the hull. The interior of the tank was twilight dark.
"Stay calm, everyone. They'll have a rescue crew dig us out," said Hayley.
"As long as we can still breath," said Ayako. "Dammit!" She pounded her fist on the wall of the turret.
"Are you OK, skipper?" asked Hayley, concerned.
"I failed again. I should have listened to you, and I didn't. I'm sorry."
"It didn't work out, but that was a pretty gutsy move. I don't think we had many other options," said Hayley.
"B'y, when there's a course of action that lets ya drive a tank through a wall, ya gots to take it," said Liza. "I've always wanted to do that."
Ayako couldn't help smiling.
After a pause, she said: "I know you must all think I'm an absurd martinet…"
Hayley and Justine nodded encouragingly.
"…but you are a good crew. You have met and often exceeded my expectations. I am glad you are all unhurt."
In the half-light, it seemed that Hayley and Justine looked pleased.
Justine cleared her throat. "I came here from a French-founded junior high school. That's why I talk like I do. All my classmates treat me like I'm crazy because of that."
The first thought that popped into Ayako's head was: that's probably not the only reason they think you're crazy. She admonished herself for being so uncharitable.
"I was really happy that someone actually asked me to join a club. Now that I'm with you guys, I feel more comfortable, like I fit in." Justine finished.
Did that mean that they were just as crazy? But Ayako was contented nonetheless.
They passed the time by drinking and eating what water and snacks they had left. Liza asked if they wanted to hear a joke:
"So, there's these two pilots, Garge and Glen. They's flyin' a small passenger plane on a commuter run when the tower diverts them to this other airfield. They's approachin' the runway and Garge says, Lard tunderin', Glen, has ya ever seen such a short runway? And Glen says, no I never has. So Garge says, Glen, as soon as we touches down, I wants ya to throw the engines into reverse. Glen says, OK, I be doin' that. And Garge says, then I wants ya to stamp on them brakes as hard as ya can. Glen says, OK, I be doin' that. So they land and Glen throws the engines into reverse and stamps on the brakes. And somehow they stops the plane in a cloud of smoke a few inches from the end of the runway. So they's sittin' there, happy to be alive. And Garge says, Glen, has ya ever seen such a short runway as that in all yer life? And Glen says, never, b'y. Then he looks out the side window and says, but Garge, look at how wide it is!"
Hayley, who had probably heard the joke before, smiled indulgently. Justine guffawed loudly. Ayako sat there nonplussed. "I don't understand. How is the width of the runway relevant to the feat of airmanship they have just accomplished?"
Liza declined to elaborate.
It wasn't too much longer after that that they heard the rubble they were buried under being shifted. Eventually, light poured in welcomingly through the vision slits and a voice said: "You girls in the tank. Are you all right?"
When they replied in the affirmative, the hatches were opened and cool, fresh air poured over them. They climbed out carefully and were handed down by uniformed first responders. What had seemed like sunlight actually came from several glaring spotlights that had been set up overlooking their not-so-final resting place. Beyond them was the dark of the night, tinged red from the emergency vehicle flashers.
They were stretching their sore limbs when Katyusha and Nonna appeared, the former on ground level this time. She was also uncharacteristically subdued.
"Katyusha is glad you are unharmed," she said, shaking each of their hands. "I am sorry our match ended this way."
"Us too," said Ayako. "But it was a good battle. Congratulations on your victory."
Katyusha nodded firmly. "You fought well. Pravda will be happy to give you a rematch any time."
It struck Ayako that despite the fact that her goal of defeating Pravda was unfulfilled, this was the first time she could tolerate losing.
"Are we going to take her up on that?" Hayley asked her.
"Someday," said Ayako slowly. "But… right now I don't feel a pressing need to fight them again." I have the respect of my opponents and my crew is safe, she thought. That's all I need for now.
Katyusha had one of her recovery vehicles tow the Ram out of what was left of the building and more of the Pravda girls helped to prep it for the trip home. "This will save us quite a bit of money," said Hayley as their tank was loaded onto the trailer of a MAZ transporter. They exchanged heartfelt thanks with Nonna and Katyusha and then climbed into the cab. They were able to sleep fitfully on the drive back to port.
A few days after their battle with Pravda, Ayako went for a walk. There was a green space at the midships section of the academy ship consisting of stands of Douglas fir, spruce and at the centre, a tall hill. A wooden-framed lookout tower had been erected at the summit and Ayako climbed the staircase to the observation gallery. Leaning on the rail, she looked aft to see the ship's enormous wake stretching away almost to the horizon. Turning in the opposite direction, she gazed at the cool blue of the steadily advancing ocean and let the fresh breeze wash over her. She had a decision to make.
The damage to the Ram hadn't been too severe, but the repairs had consumed most of their remaining funds. Ayako was not overly concerned by this. There was just one more battle she planned to fight.
But against whom?
The more she considered it, the less compelling her original objective now seemed. She'd been so sure about wanting to humble Miho and Ōarai. Miho, who had moved to a small school and reinvigorated the sensha-dō program there…
Just like me.
What if she beat them? She remembered their reaction to winning the National Championship. They had been so happy, almost disbelieving that they'd won a famous victory. Would it make her feel good to see them downcast and dismayed? Would Miho be any less gracious in defeat?
If my crew were in danger, would I abandon a match to help them?
"Kuromorimine!?" exclaimed Hayley at their next club meeting. "Your old school? I figured we would be challenging Ōarai."
"No," said Ayako. "I have made my peace with losing to Ōarai. As you pointed out, Hayley-san, we are too much alike for me to hold their victory against them. Now, I just want us to be the best that we can be. Objectively, if the… original… Nishizumi style is superior, then it is only by facing Kuromorimine that we will have finally proven ourselves."
"That's good. I'm glad you were able to let go of that, eh?" said Hayley. "You seem a lot less stressed."
"I still want to hew as closely as possible to the Nishizumi doctrine," continued Ayako. "However, I am willing to be flexible when necessary. You can be sure that I shall listen to your advice and rely on your help."
"Okey dokey," said Hayley cheerfully.
"There's one other thing," said Ayako. "If we're going up against Kuromorimine, I want us to look the part. There's enough money left for some proper sensha-dō uniforms, and I have an idea for the design. If you agree, I'll get your measurements and order them."
There was general agreement. "What's the design, b'y?" asked Liza.
"I want it to be a surprise. It will be my gift to you."
"OK, skipper," said Hayley. "I'm curious to see what you come up with."
Actually challenging Kuromorimine was another matter. Maho was something of a remote and exalted figure for Ayako, and one who was a bit intimidating. She made several abortive attempts to telephone or e-mail before chickening out.
Several weeks later, an opportunity presented itself. True North's soccer team had a match with Kuromorimine scheduled and the two ships docked at the same port. Ayako was at a tank café at the behest of her teammates prior to the game when she saw Kuromorimine's commander and vice-commander sitting a few tables away. She put down her dessert fork determinedly.
"No more beating about the bush," she said to the others. "Let's go over and ask Nishizumi-san and Itsumi-san for our battle."
It really helps to have Hayley, Liza and Justine here with me, thought Ayako. Maho and Erika did not look up until the quartet was standing right beside their table. Ayako swallowed the lump in her throat and bowed. The others followed suit.
"Nishizumi-san, Itsumi-san, I don't know if you remember me, Ishiguro? I was the loader on Panzer four" she said, voice quavering ever so slightly.
"Ah, yes," said Erika after a moment. "Ishiguro-san. I trust you are well?" She contrived to sound polite, but not particularly interested.
"I am, thank you," said Ayako. "I have a favour to ask of you both."
A brief look of resignation appeared on Erika's face. "Go on."
Ayako ploughed ahead. "As you may know, I switched schools to True North. We have a small sensha-dō team, and we would like to gain experience. Specifically, we want to fight you."
Not the best wording, said a voice in Ayako's head.
Maho remained as stoic as ever, but Erika facepalmed. "Ōarai defeats us, and now some unknown little school like yours wants to try knocking us down a peg as well?"
Ayako took a step back in the face of Erika's displeasure. "No, I –"
Maho interjected calmly. "I would imagine that Ayako simply wishes to improve her team by learning from the best."
Erika paused. "Oh. Yes, I suppose so." She turned back to Ayako. "So, what is your lineup?"
"We have a Ram Mk. II," said Ayako.
"And…?" prompted Erika.
"That's all," said Ayako, her heart sinking.
Erika looked incredulous then laughed contemptuously. "One tank? You can't even enter the tournament with that! Let me give you a piece of advice: leave sensha-dō to the established teams. Why don't you try flower arranging instead?"
Ayako sagged. Justine was bunching her fists and glaring at Erika, barely restrained.
Maho cut quietly through the tension. "Isuzu-san from Ōarai, who destroyed my tank, is an accomplished flower arranger."
Erika twitched. "I – what? Commander, you can't mean-"
Maho stood up and bowed to Ayako and her crew. "Kuromorimine would be pleased to accept your challenge. Erika will arrange the details."
Erika was stunned. Ayako returned Maho's bow. "Thank you, Nishizumi-san, Itsumi-san! This is very much appreciated!"
She turned and ushered the others away urgently. "Come on! Let's go!" She threw some money on their table and headed for the door.
"But we'd only just started eating…," said Hayley looking at the array of cakes. Justine scooted over and began scarfing down her pastry as quickly as possible.
"Come on!" repeated Ayako, already halfway through the doorway. Justine made some placating gestures in her direction before finally finishing and rejoining them outside.
"Nishizumi-san was pretty impressive. But Itsumi-san…" Hayley shook her head.
"Itsumi-san takes the reputation of sensha-dō very seriously," said Ayako sadly. "She doesn't like weak and inexperienced teams blundering around and making the sport look bad, but I thought that she would put those feelings aside for someone who upholds the Nishzumi style. We may be small, but we are not weak!"
"She was some crooked, b'y," said Liza. "She treated ya like you'd never been her teammate."
"The Nishizumi style is all about strength," said Ayako. "I suppose it means you can't go soft over old loyalties or friendships."
"Friendship and loyalty are what make teams strong, b'y!" said Liza vehemently. "Ya only has to look at Ōarai to see that!"
Ayako had no response to this.
They did not encounter any more of her old acquaintances nor was Ayako motivated to seek them out. Later, they joined the throngs of their fellow students at the soccer match. Kuromorimine's team played with characteristic aggression and relentlessly wore down True North's side. The final score was five to two with Kuromorimine dominating the second half.
The next day, Ayako's cell phone rang. "Ishiguro-san? This is Itsumi. You will be fighting our Jagdtiger in three days at the Ōu Mountains battleground. We will begin at nine AM sharp. Be punctual."
"The Jagdtiger?" said Ayako with dismay.
"What's the problem?" Erika purred. "This is a win-win situation. Namely, we will win and you will get that experience you wanted." She hung up.
Ayako told the others that afternoon. There were serious faces all around.
"That's a big challenge, b'y," said Liza.
"Mets-en, but Ōarai destroyed that thing," noted Justine.
"We need to know if our gun will penetrate anywhere on that beast, eh?" said Hayley. "If not…"
"Yes," replied Ayako. "It's like what you said before about a King Tiger versus a 7TP." After some research, she announced: "Our six pounder will penetrate the 40 mm top armour on the Jagdtiger. Shooting it anywhere else is virtually pointless."
"So we need to get above it, just like Ōarai did with the Maus," remarked Hayley.
"We're fighting in a mountainous area," said Ayako. "So we ought to have chances."
They poured over the topographic maps to find locations where the slope was steep enough. Eventually, Ayako sat back and rubbed her eyes.
"There are places," she said, "but firstly, we don't know if the Ram can handle that kind of gradient and secondly, the satellite view shows little to no cover there."
"The Jagdtiger can kill us from kilometers away," said Liza. "We'd never even see it comin', b'y."
"Ha! Garde ҫa!" Justine exclaimed, pointing to a spot on the map. "Ōarai destroyed that thing," she repeated. "It fell into a ditch."
They all stared at the map, then at each other. "That could work," Hayley said slowly. "But it requires… unorthodox tactics."
Ayako smiled, showing her teeth. "In the Nishizumi style, winning is everything, remember?"
Author's Notes:
As previously mentioned, I'm assuming that the 6 pounder on the Ram is using standard AP shells and nothing fancy like APDS. I'm using artistic licence here since even with AP, the QF 6 pounder Mk. V might just be able to penetrate the side or rear casemate armour on the Jagdtiger at close range.
Ayako was the loader in Panzer four. I couldn't resist the pun.
In this chapter, Liza tells a "Newfie joke". They're generally not seen as derogatory, since Newfoundlanders claim that they invented most of these jokes themselves.
I downgraded Katyusha's fear to apprehension in the last chapter. I agree that her reaction was a bit too exaggerated, even for Katyusha. She also now refers to Miho as 'Mihosha'.
I like the idea of the Sensha-dō League subsidizing repairs and maybe other costs as well. They seem to have deep pockets and it would help to grow the sport. I reduced the repair costs in Chapter 6 to $400 and had Hayley mention that the subsidy has been applied.