Hey guys, sorry to anyone who was interested in this and received no warning of a three month hiatus. I'm back, and going to try and publish more frequently. Hope you had a merry Christmas, warm New Years, and decent January.

Shout-out to Thunderman88 for pointing out to me that Semovente 75/34 had been used by the Italian army in WW2, during the defense of Rome. Guess we can't always be right. :D

"Why did you drag me out here in the middle of the night?" groaned an exhausted Wolf, while the other three members walked down the dirt road, nothing guiding them except Lupa's flashlight.

"It's 5:00 a.m in the morning, Wolf." Erika responded, exasperated with the other girl's lackluster ethic, while a hopping Edda passed her.

"Exactly." Wolf replied, causing Erika to roll her eyes.

Lupa said nothing, simply nursing her bruised eye using her free hand. Waking Wolf had not been fun.

The assortment of tanks was up ahead. "Looks like we are the first to make it." Erika said, glancing at the Cromwell with admiration and a hint of jealousy. Lupa knew the British exchange student would give anything to drive the cruiser tank. The four of them walked up to the M11/39, looking it over to make sure it was in top condition, before Wolf took the initiative and climbed up onto the tank and down into the hatch next to the turret.

"Well, guess it's a good a time as any to get acquainted to our roles." Erika sighed, while Edda opened the side hatch and climbed in, and Erika did the same, leaving Lupa alone.

"Well," she breathed. "Here I go." she climbed up to where Wolf had been and slid down into the tank. "Ouch!" Wolf yelped. "Did you honestly have to climb in through there?"

"There's nowhere else to sit!" Lupa shouted back in anger, blushing as she realized her chest was pressed against her friend's back. "So I figured we should get our roles planned."

"I call being driver!" Edda shouted.

"I will be the machine gunner." Erika stated nonchalantly.

"That leaves me to be the gunner." Wolf shrugged, although Lupa could tell she was pleased with her role.

"I suppose I shall be the commander." Lupa sighed, wishing the tank was not so cramped. "This thing was only built for a crew of three." she had read as much as she could on the M11/39 the night before, to understand how to play to it's strengths and avoid it's weaknesses. It didn't seem to have any strengths. 32 kph on road, 30mm of armor maximum, a 37mm gun in a casemate with two 8mm machine guns in the turret. The only advantage she could think of was the diesel engine. Great, so at least we won't burst into flames. she thought to herself sarcastically.

The sun soon came up and the other students arrived. Some of them looked drowsy, others were wide awake in excitement at being able to drive the monstrous metal vehicles. "Commander, we shall conquer our foes with the mighty rounds of the British Empire!" one of the Cromwell team members shouted enthusiastically, holding up a 75mm round and laughing, before falling off the hull due to the weight.

"Well, on the bright side," Lupa said, looking at the other teams with an ambivalent expression on her face. "They're just as inexperienced as we are, if not less so." she watched them from the top hull door, arms rested on the small turret incapable of covering the entire vehicle.

"Well that's a barrel of consolidation." Wolf replied, wincing and covering her ears as a whistle screeched.

"Listen up," Georgia announced, standing in the center of the field. "This match will be a free-for-all. The winner will be the last one standing."

"Edda, can you run her over?" Wolf asked the driver.

"Hush, Wolf." Erika shushed her, intent on hearing the instructions laid down.

"Clarisse and the other student council members will give you all maps to show you the location you start out at." Georgia snapped her fingers and the student council members obeyed her order, handing out the maps. Lupa leaned down and took the parchment, looking it over before sliding into the hull, careful not to kick Wolf, before handing it to Erika to have a look over.

"What's that phrase they use whenever a match starts?" Georgia asked one of her fellow council members, who whispered into her ear. "Panzer vor!" she cried out.

"I hate this sport." Wolf stated firmly, as the M11/39 finally reached it's destination. "Why didn't you tell me this crappy little tank only went 9 mph off road?" she asked Lupa, although Edda was the one who answered.

"It's not that bad." the Italian American huffed in exasperation with the gunner's complaining.

"Edda, if you put all the tanks together and had a race, we would end up last. Even the bloody Lee goes faster than us." Wolf replied, the M3 being the only tank she had next to any knowledge on. "It's that bad."

"The both of you hush." Erika stated, and the two of them fell silent.

Lupa took the binoculars from around her neck and perused the area. Luckily they were situated in a forested part of the area, providing much needed cover. The ridge a short distance from them provided a good firing range in case another tank unwittingly drive through the meadow and unknowingly revealed their flanks to the M11/39.

Blam.

The serene environment was interrupted by the loud blast of a tank gun. Lupa yelped and almost fell off of the hull as the round hit a tree no more than two yards away from her. That could have been me.

"Prêt?" the Somua commander, and head of the French linguistics club, asked.

The radio operator took another round and slammed it into position before nodding. "Oui."

"Off with the heads of the bourgeoisie." the commander shouted, before pulling the trigger.

"Turn around, turn around, turn around!" Wolf repeatedly told the driver, muttering several obscenities under her breath, as Edda tried her best to get the M11/39 started.

"Calm down, Wolf." the radio operator said. The gunner reached for a 37mm round and with all her might, pushed it into place. "Lupa, are you alright?" Erika asked, concerned after the proximity of the blast.

Lupa slid down into the hull compartment, careful not to accidentally kick or otherwise irritate the gunner. "I'm fine," she reassured the others, a dazed expression on her face. The knowledge that she could have been seriously injured or worse filled her with a strange euphoria. The driver sent the M11/39 forward, as another round flew towards the tank, missing it once again.

"What's the battle plan?" Erika asked.

"Wait until we're a short distance away, then - " the Somua's 47mm fired again, this time managing to graze the edge of the M11/39's hull. The screeching sound caused both the radio operator, driver, and commander to cover their ears, while Edda seemed strangely unfazed, simply sending the M11/39 forward at top speed. "Swing around and try to get a shot on them with our 37mm."

Erika sighed at the murky orders. "I suppose it's as good a plan as any." she stood up and traversed the turret to face the S35, firing on the French tank with the 8mm Breda machine guns. "Just try and not get us killed, Lupa."

Arrivederci.