Shiho 6: Interchangeable Parts

Shiho realized that she would have to talk about the motives behind her actions again. As much as she hated having to explain herself or justify her decisions, she hoped that doing so would give Masae some insight on her actions and motivations, even if it would not convince her to accept them. However, she decided to set some ground rules.

"I can tell that you've long wanted to find an answer to the questions you've had about those issues, Instructor Atago," Shiho said. "But if you came here for an apology, you will be sorely disappointed, because I do not regret that decision any more than I regret the others I made for the sake of success over the course of my life, including the threat to disown Miho."

"No, I did not, Instructor Nishizumi," Masae said. "I realized that in order to reach the mindset necessary to apologize for any of your decisions as a commander, as a teacher and as a mother, you would essentially have to recant the Nishizumi doctrine. Upholding it is the end that, to you, justifies virtually any means."

"Quite right," Shiho said. "But when you think about it, the Nishizumi doctrine is largely based on relatively simple principles, such as obeying your superiors and doing your all to gain victory. I'm sure the rest of you understand those principles, even if you do not practice them as fervently."

"I do," Masae said. "Of course, good principles can become bad ones when taken to extremes, like when dedication gives way to obsession."

"One simple and undeniable concept is that all tanks on the battlefield have their roles," Shiho said. "Somewhat similar to the ancient phalanx formation, a successful operation can only go forward if everyone works together. That's why discipline, teamwork and competence are stressed so highly."

"And what about those who are facing things more pressing than victory?" Miho said. "Does the victory for the entire team outweigh the safety of a single individual or small group?"

"As I said before, Miho, tanks that are imperiled should be left to the rescue squads, who exist for that purpose," Shiho said. "They are in relatively good hands with those people, and the crews would not appreciate you sacrificing victory for the team to save them."

"There are those who feel that way, Mother," Maho said. "But Koume and the others from the fallen tank blamed themselves, rather than Miho."

"I see," Shiho said. "It's ultimately a matter of principle for the Nishizumis. Those who are committed to those principles are also more committed to tankery itself, and tend to become better tankers in the process. You get out of tankery what you put into it."

The Atagos' expressions, similar to the one Masae had when Shiho explained her decision to her, told Shiho everything she needed to know. There never was any hope of Shiho convincing them to accept her way of thinking, nor did Shiho ever harbor any such hope.

"But at the same time, there's no point in beating a dead horse, nor any benefit to keeping around those who have no desire to be there," Shiho said. "So when Instructor Atago and her sister appeared before me to officially leave the tankery team, I had no desire to even attempt to stop them."

24 years ago

The day after the tournament ended, Masae slid her resignation letter across Shiho's desk, making her departure official, even if it was only a formality at this point. Paper-clipped to it was her sister's form for leaving the tankery team.

Shiho noticed Masae and Masaki were silent, as Shiho's subordinates were not to speak unless spoken to. And as she read Masae's resignation letter, which briefly, but politely detailed her disillusionment with the team and family circumstances, she realized Masae wanted to let the letter speak for itself.

Shiho had seen many people come and go from the team over the course of her two years at Black Forest, as well as her three years at middle school, and had to adjust the team accordingly, filling vacancies and changing assignments. There was some amount of turnover, but the team was not affected by it much at all.

As such, with the sisters leaving for a legitimate and unavoidable reason, and having followed procedure, Shiho had little to say to them.

"Thank you for notifying me and your service," Shiho said. "You are dismissed."

Masae and Masaki glanced at Shiho with expectant expressions, then at each other. They then turned back to Shiho, saluted and said "Yes, ma'am," before leaving. Shiho did not see either sister again for nearly a year, but felt little about it. Individuals came and went, but the team remained, as did Shiho's responsibilities to it.

Shiho then beckoned the next person in, a loader who was having trouble in school and could not stay on the team unless her grades improved- all that mattered to Shiho was that she was one more person to replace, should she feel the need to do so.

One she was done, Shiho then looked over the sheet of tankers. Black Forest had high expectations of its benched players, wanting to ensure that they would be ready to replace any player on the main team, much like the crates of replacement parts in the warehouse could be used to help repair the tanks. Shiho was reminded of a history paper she had written on the significance of interchangeable parts, mentioning how uniformity had made manufacturing and repairing machinery a far more efficient process.

Shiho found this empowering. Those on the team could not think of their spots as secure, and those off the team could do something more productive than oping about not being chosen, possibly even earning a spot on the team. She couldn't help but pity the schools without players to spare, whose players won spots on the team without struggle and remained mediocre. She hoped the Atago sisters learned something from their time at Black Forest, and were driven to better themselves and succeed for their new school's sake.

Present day

"I'm not at all surprised that there was turnover at Black Forest," Masae said, "or that you were so easily able to replace us."

Shiho simply nodded dispassionately.

"The fact is that, at Black Forest, no one is irreplaceable, Instructor Atago," Shiho said. "Your sister was easily replaced by a superior tanker. I soon found a vice-captain who would replace you. Even I commanded knowing- and hoping- that someone would step up and do just as well as I did. I had that principle in mind when removing the tanker with health problems, as well as the one who had not only disobeyed orders, but known and concealed them."

"I can't deny that Akane should have told you," Masae said. "But could she have confided in you?" Masae held up a finger to prevent Shiho from responding. "Before you answer, this is not a question of what you would have said, but what you think she would have expected you to do. I believe that if she expected to be punished for deceiving you, or that what she was hiding would have kept her off the team, she would not have come forward."

After pausing a moment to think through her answer, Shiho sighed, unable and unwilling to contest Masae's point.

"I think she knew all along what I would have done," Shiho said. "Perhaps I would not have been as harsh with her as I would have been for also concealing it, but the fact is that I would not have let her onto my team if I had known, and this was mainly rectifying that error."

"Fair enough," Masae said. "So how did you go about replacing me?"

"I announced that the position was open, and collected applications," Shiho said. "I called in a few of those applicants for individual meetings and I chose the best of the lot as your replacement. The decision was not an easy one- not for sentimental reasons, but judging all the applications to find the most qualified and committed candidate, something that is not easy to predict."

24 years ago

Shiho once again found herself looking through applications, which contained as much of a person's skills, aspirations, and personality as could be fit onto the space provided.

Shiho believed Masae, in spite of her disagreements with her, had served the school well, but hoped to do better than her, and find someone who was not only talented, but wholeheartedly committed to success.

Shiho realized that some of the candidates for vice-captain were as promising as Masae had been once, and she was, in analyzing them, effectively trying to predict the future. Shiho prided herself on keeping an appropriate professional distance from those under her command, but wondered if someone who more easily related to others would have an easier time picking the best girl for the job.

Shiho glanced at Keiko's application. She had shown a considerable amount of initiative for someone who got involved in tankery there, but will was not the only thing that made a good Nishizumi-style commander. Shiho compared it to using a pickaxe to break through rock; only strong swings would break the rocks, but if the tool was weak, it would shatter upon striking the rock.

The truth was that not just anyone could aspire to be a Nishizumi style disciple, and Shiho had no intentions of making compromises for those who could not. Shiho's vice-captain needed to be someone with skill and determination comparable to hers.

Present Day

"The unfortunate truth is that if you find yourself unable to carry out your responsibilities, you need only take a look around to find those who would be willing and quite grateful for the opportunity to do so in your stead," Shiho said.

"That's correct," Masae said. "I did realize from the beginning that you would have many capable individuals who could replace me as vice-captain."

"Yes, I was more than capable of doing so, with the sheer volume of applications I received," Shiho said, "enough so that I could look over the applicants, and select the ones best suited to it. Keiko was good by most standards, but she was not the best, so while she was promising enough to warrant an interview, I ultimately had to choose someone else."

Maho could not help but think about Teru's mother's rejection for the position of vice captain, and wondered if this had played into what Teru said was her being pushed to excel in tankery- whether Keiko wanted her daughter to have opportunities she never did, or to live her dreams vicariously through Teru. Of course, Keiko likely would never admit to this, and it was possible she would not even be aware of it herself.

Maho's thoughts were interrupted as Hiroe chimed in.

"Of course, Instructor Nishizumi, you can afford to do that, since Black Forest, is an employer's market, so to speak, even more so than Pravda," Hiroe said. "I imagine Miho would be more hard-pressed to be so discriminatory."

"That's right, Hiroe-san," Miho said. "For the most part, the team members who showed up for our matches comprised the entirety of our team at the time. We even had to make some adjustments to man the Char B1 Bis against St. Gloriana."

"To think you'd go so far to field a second-rate tank like that..." Hiroko said. "But I do admit that we're somewhat lucky to have an abundance of members, even if it's hard to find spots for all of them. When one of our teammates had to go to a relative's funeral on the day of our quarterfinals match in our first year, we told her that she could go without feeling any guilt, and called in one of our benched players, who ended up doing surprisingly well and permanently joined the team the next year."

Kinue nodded.

"And this year, when one of our team... had to leave, for reasons not unlike those Mom and Aunt Masaki had, we could replace her," Kinue said.

"Indeed," Masae said. "As I said before, I was content leaving, knowing that my obligations would be fulfilled by someone else, possibly someone more in agreement with Instructor Nishizumi than I was. And so my thoughts turned to the future, to starting again and finding my own way."

Author's Notes

This is something of a short chapter, but Shiho's perspective has largely been explored. Most of the rest of Act I will focus on Masae.