= Chapter 6 =

[Author's Note: It's been a long while and this is a very short chapter, but there's much more in the works. A lot of dialogue here but it's good enough to stand on its own, I think.]

At twenty-two kilometers in length and a kilometer in height, the school carrier Graf Zeppelin cast a sweeping wake that rippled across the East China Sea. Resembling its Kriegsmarine namesake but in a much larger scale, a streamlined and towering hull supported a flat superstructure in the shape of an aircraft carrier's deck, where the residences, businesses and infrastructure supporting the students of Kuromorimine Girls' Academy were placed. Several lush, green mountain ranges and forests gave the ship's inhabitants the believable impression that they were not merely on an oceangoing vessel, but in the fertile, picturesque region of southwest Germany.

Following the ship at about a kilometer astern, a pod of whales could be seen from the airship. This was not an uncommon occurrence, as the massive sea mammals often enjoyed a swim in the waters churned up by the carrier's propulsion system. So close to Kumamoto, they were also a visual sign of 'coming home' by the Zeppelin crew. The airship overtook the carrier and moved along the starboard side, lowering mooring lines from nose and tail as altitude slowly dropped, then stabilized.

Like all other times he'd seen a school ship from afar, Roman stood pondering the engineering feats to keep such enormous vessels afloat and supportive of life. He worked out some math in his head as the view out the windows turned into a seemingly endless expanse of steel panels.

There are a hundred thousand people on this ship. How many people do I actually know? A couple hundred, maybe? He pictured every tanker in the 3rd Armored lined up in formation. Eighty-seven girls, thirty-two boys, making one-hundred and twenty in total. Compared to other academies, they were small-time, but could easily fill a chow hall or parade ground.

He was only partially listening to Aono and registering the shaky footage on the smartphone being held in front of his face. With all the running about the blonde boy had done during the impromptu airshow, he seemed more adept at practicing parkour than capturing shots of the planes. "Aya's totally gonna crack her glasses over this!" Aono boldly proclaimed.

Roman absently nodded, going back to his mental calculations. So, multiply that platoon by ten, that's twelve-hundred. Ten of them would make twelve grand, then ten times that…

He couldn't begin to fathom so many people on a single ship, or anywhere at all. The closest town to Blithe Academy was Burns, Oregon with a population barely above two-thousand, and as a kid he'd seen Fairbanks, Alaska with a population of roughly thirty-thousand. He'd thought of it as a big city – at least until he saw Eugene, Oregon. Then there was that trip to California where he finally saw Los Angeles. None of those memories seemed to help him put the picture together.

Ah hell, it's not like I'll be meeting everyone, anyhow. He thought as he turned his attention back to Aono's cell phone. When the camera's point of view looked to speed toward Momo, he reached out and poked the pause button on the screen, freezing Momo in the airship's gangway with a rather panicked expression on her face, holding her hands up like she was about to get run over.

Look at the gal. Just… deer in the headlights. Roman fixated on the image for a moment, then took a look around the hangar. He quickly spotted Erwin, who had taken to preparing for the departure as Aono should have been doing. In light spirits, she stood on the roof of the SU-100, catching a bag tossed to her by Akaboshi.

He then saw Momo standing idly by the driver's side of the vehicle, absently fondling the single headlight, her shoulders sunken. She undoubtedly had pushed herself harder than she was used to while driving through town, but there was something more to her body language that caught Roman's attention.

"So whaddya think? You think they'd ever let her come to visit us?" Aono mused, still off on his own tangent. "I mean, maybe? But we're only here for a month or two, right?"

"You miss your sis already, Corporal? We spent a whole month on Zuikaku, isn't that enough?"

"Never. Sure we argue a lot, but I only see her once a year, and I swear, she just keeps growing. It won't be long before she's off doing her own thing…"

While he would go to almost any lengths to help Aono out, Roman couldn't think of an answer to give. Besides, somebody else in their crew seemed more in need of guidance, and that outweighed the mental gymnastics of trying to add Aono's bratty kid sister to an already volatile situation. It was something Roman definitely didn't want to contemplate with so little sleep.

He decided to sidestep Corporal Oono's reverie, filing that particular issue away for another time. "I'll give it some thought. Corporal, we're at best fifteen minutes from touchdown. Assist Matsumoto, run through the pre-start checklist, and make sure we're not leaving anything behind on this ship. Oh, and how are your arms?"

Aono shrugged. "Well, we have no ammo, so I haven't used them much today. Why?"

"That might change." He replied, moving around him. "And straighten your blues, would you? The Major would have a field day with you if she caught you looking like that."

His blue beret had turned nearly sideways, dress coat was thoroughly rumpled, and his tie was somehow almost tied in a knot. Aono put his phone away and quickly addressed these issues before hurrying off to lend help.

Distantly humming a song under her breath, Momo kept her eyes on the headlight. She didn't want to look out the gondola windows; the expanse of steel panels moved endlessly, like the background of an old cartoon. It only served to make her anxiety even worse. She wanted off this floating bag of gas already!

Roman stopped and stood nearby for a few seconds, appraising her before speaking. "Kawashima, is the tank ready for travel?"

She paused and offered only a slight nod, but did not meet the gaze of her commander, who was looking at her with a degree of concern. "Are you ready for travel?" He pressed further.

Again she only gave a slight nod as she turned away and proceeded to move around toward the driver's hatch, hoping to dodge any further questions.

"Kawashima, look at me."

She sighed and turned her head to cast a morose glare at him through her monocle. She froze as she saw that the calm, easy nature he normally had was replaced by a nearly expressionless gaze that cut into her. She felt compelled to comply, straightening her posture and meeting his gaze, her teeth clenched.

Once he had her attention he took a step closer, his gaze unwavering as he studied the dark circles under her eyes and the pale, clammy appearance of her cheeks. She looked like she'd been run ragged, more than a single run in the tank would do. "Are you nervous in the service?" He asked, hoping that a casual phrase made as much sense to her as he thought it did – while his Japanese was well-developed, losing something in translation was certainly possible.

Momo wasn't sure how to answer him, or if she even should. There were a few moments of tense silence that seemed to outdo the incessant mechanical symphony taking place outside of the airship, surrounding the two of them like a cone separating them from the rest of existence. "No." She finally responded.

"Do you need medical assistance?"

"No." She stated more firmly.

"Need a potty break?"

"W-what?" Her brow furrowed a bit, and she became visibly annoyed, more so from his repetitive queries than the personal nature of the question itself.

Roman made a mental note to thank his mentor. He'd asked questions to gauge Momo's responses, and it didn't seem like she was having an episode; typically, were one going off the deep end, an off-the-wall question like that would be answered without a thought, with something nonsensical, or be met with silence. Her reaction was more like herself.

However, he still had to get to the root of the problem. At least he knew that she wasn't about to go Private Pyle on him – yet, anyhow. "Just checking. Look, I invite you to speak freely. I haven't known you for long, but this is nothing like you, Momo. What's troubling you?"

She didn't know how to answer. What she did know was that she couldn't dream of putting herself in that uncomfortable driver's seat again, today or ever again. What would he do if I asked him if I could quit? She thought, biting her lip as she tried to form her words. "I… don't feel up to this."

"Driving?"

She paused, the words on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to launch into her feelings about the entire situation, but more than that, she wanted to express confusion and sadness at the insensitive attitude of her best friends.

Back on Zuikaku, Yuzu had been supportive and cheerful as usual when given the news that Momo would be leaving to join Roman's team. Anzu, likewise, seemed supportive in her casual, nonchalant way. When the entire Oarai team had assembled at the garage, there had been appropriate surprise mixed with sadness as the official announcement was made, but ultimately well-wishes from all. There'd been no doubt in Momo's mind that her best friends and teammates would stand in support of her, no matter the outcome.

But with a single word, Momo had felt something snap deep inside her, and she wasn't sure what it was. "Nope!" Anzu had said. Just like that, her safety net had vanished, and she now had to commit to her course or make a strong enough case to make Roman want her off of his team.

As this boy stood before her in a military dress uniform, he was, for all intents and purposes, little more than a stranger to her. Adding the fact that he was a foreigner, there was little in the line of personal regard or attachment. Telling him exactly how she felt should have been easy!

Yet, she couldn't see herself laying anything out to him in any capacity; not in defiance, and definitely not in the ways she could with Yuzu and Anzu. His level, almost expectant stare made the words she wanted to say stick to her teeth, which refused to separate.

She'd held her silence for longer than she'd realized, as Roman spoke again. "Look, I get it. It's a challenging machine to drive, and many don't like it at first. But give it some time, and I guarantee you'll love this 'ol girl just as much as I do. She'll become an extension of you."

He thinks it's all about the tank. This awkward, weird tank… She thought, shifting her body uncomfortably as she tried to force the words out. "I… well… I would feel better if maybe I could…" She stuttered, noticing Aono's head popping up from the loader's hatch. ``C-couldn't I just go h…"

Roman's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, almost like he knew what she was going to say. His gaze didn't falter – in fact, he'd gone for almost too long without blinking, which served to unnerve her just that little bit further.

There it went; her throat seemed to collapse, choking out her sentence. She paused, swallowed loudly, and tried to push forward. "G-go h-Help with… um… loading?" She flinched, realizing how idiotic her question sounded. "I mean, couldn't I be the loader, instead? I did well with it at Oarai."

Roman paused and took a calculated breath. "You think you can throw thirty-kilo shells all day long? Because that's what Corporal Oono does, and he's rather adept at it."

Momo bit her lip; during the evaluation, when all the prospective Oarai girls had taken turns driving and gunning, Aono had held his station and could certainly load the cannon with little effort, despite being built like a pretzel.

Now aware of the loader's burden, she had second thoughts. The Hetzer's shells were tiny in comparison, and with her coordination – she wasn't going to lie to herself – she'd fumble worse than she'd already done. "I… I…" She was at a loss for words. Rather, she had words, but couldn't push them past her lips: I want to quit. I don't want to do this. Instead, she lowered her gaze in defeat. "N…never mind."

The loud brak-ka-ka-ka-kaaaa of Akaboshi's motorcycle engine echoed throughout the hangar, startling Momo like a slap in the face. It was accompanied by the whine of hydraulics as the airship's landing gear deployed, rattling the floor. It wouldn't be long before the airship was on deck. "Ten minutes!" the KMM commander called out, strapping down her helmet.

Roman took a step back and nodded reassuringly. "You're going to be fine, Momo. This is just day number one of many." He then looked toward the vehicle and whistled. "Corporal!"

The blonde boy's head popped up from the open loader's hatch again. "Sir!" He answered.

"Switch to the driver's position. Make sure there's room for Kawashima to take your place."

Momo watched with confusion as Aono quickly set to action, climbing onto the roof and sliding nimbly down the angled front armor. He then tipped himself backwards into the driver's hatch without making so much as a sound or even looking her way.

"Momo, take the loader's position. Keep the hatch open, the fresh air will do you good. One of the best seats in the house."

She sputtered, staring at Roman incredulously. "You… I… really…?"

With a subtle shake of his head, Roman crossed his arms. "It's just for this run. We don't have ammo, so your job will be as easy as just standing there."

"...Thank you."

For a few brief moments he'd been himself again, but that empty gaze had suddenly returned, chilling her yet again. "Momo, I'll make a couple of things clear to you: it's going to be my personal mission to make you into the tanker I know you can be. I have it under good authority…" He paused, briefly hanging on those last couple words, "...that you never quit, even if you have a hundred hiccups here or there."

"...you do?" She asked, then bit her tongue. How did he… Yuzu must have told him about that audition… Her lower lip quivered as she had a sudden realization.

He read her expression, smiling faintly. "I also have it under the same authority that you have a lot riding on this opportunity. You want to graduate and go to the same college as your friends, right?"

She nodded faintly, feeling a teardrop forming in the corner of her monocle. As aloof as he seemed, the lieutenant seemed to have done his homework, cutting off her escape plan. She took a breath, letting the lightest of nervous laughs rise from her chest as she drifted out of a memory that had come and gone in seconds.

"I've got a lot riding on this, too." He gave her shoulder an affirming squeeze. "And I didn't come all this way so you can chicken out and go home. My school, my commanding officer, and my league are counting on me. They want me to help change the face of Panzerkraft, and for that, I need dedicated tankers. Not the best in the world, but the best they can be." He turned and vaulted onto Roza's mudguard, hefted his bag onto his shoulder, then turned to extend a hand to her. "So if you're going my way…"

A mighty rumble shook the deck under her feet, and Momo quickly stiffened her posture, nodding sharply. Any desire to quit had melted away, although it still clung to her like the pebble that had somehow found its way into her sock and had bothered her since breakfast. With another nod she stepped forward, reaching out to him.

A complex system of motors and pulleys reeled the zeppelin laterally through a port in the carrier's hull, guiding the craft into an enormous hangar bay where several identical craft were stored. Two vehicles similar to airport pushback trucks raced into position and latched onto the zeppelin's landing gear with pneumatic clamps, arresting its movement and allowing for the dirigible to be towed.

Teams of engineers jumped to action, equipped with wheeled air compressors and impact wrenches. Once the landing gear was slotted over a series of studs protruding from the deck they made quick work of bolting the zeppelin down, preventing any further movement. Mooring lines at the nose and tail were then pulled taut. These measures assured almost zero chance of the craft drifting about the bay unattended.

With motorcycle idling, Akaboshi watched from the carrier's deck as the tank destroyer slowly made its way down the airship's loading ramp in reverse. With her cellphone in one hand, she quickly typed out a text message.

[We have arrived.]