Alright guys, here's the disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything with Girls Und Panzer's rights, though I do thank the creator of the series for how amazing it is.
ONCE AGAIN! Its back! After over a year, its back… well sort of. Okay so chapter 5 is here… chapter 6 soon.
To let everyone know, this is a revision of chapter 5, because after chapter 5's initial posting shenanigans made me want to rewrite the entire chapter… then later more shenanigans made me want to rewrite the rewrite of it. So this is chapter 5 version 3.0. Yes, version 2.0 was the initial rewrite that was scrapped, and in this version about half of the chapter has changed overall, including some name corrections.
In any case…I'll keep this brief, as always please read and review. And now…
*WHACK!*
"Get on with it already!" Erika yelled as she clubbed Ald over the back of the head.
Enjoy the chapter… owww that hurts…
xxxxxx
Ch. 5
Teamwork… It'll take more!
"Come on, pull harder!" Naomi yelled as the girls from Saunders, who had been called in to help crew the tanks, pulled on the large barrel swab that had gotten lodged inside the T95's 105 mm cannon somehow.
"Did it get wet or something?" Kay scratched her head. "I mean did it get soaked in water instead of oil?"
"It shouldn't have…" Naomi looked at her for a moment before another girl stuck her head out of the drivers hatch.
"Hey I'm still trying to figure out the controls for this thing, they're all in English!" The girl who'd been Naomi's Firefly driver yelled over the noise in the maintenance hangar. "Any idea what the lever for the breach is doing so close to the front?"
"What position is it in?" Kay asked.
The girl looked down. "Closed!" She yelled back.
"Open it!" Naomi yelled, and a second later everyone who had been pulling on the swab fell back as it was heaved out in one massive pull, now free from being basically pulling on something that had been in a sealed area creating a suction affect.
"Easy, bring it in slowly!" Erika shouted as the girls around the garage stopped after seeing the tremendous form of the Maus slowly lumber in reverse back into the refurbished Olympic garage.
"How did they get the Maus here?" Yukari blinked.
"They got it onboard last night using an automotive lift." Maho looked at her.
"Commander Yukari, the Lion's transmission doesn't want to shift from first to second gear!" A girl from Pravda yelled over, after having been drafted to help with the rebuild of the transmission, having discovered after arriving back at the garage from the battle royal that all of the gears outside of first had been stripped.
"Coming!" Yukari turned and headed back for the tank as the others continued work on the machines.
"Why is this thing so confusing!?" Erwin groaned as she looked over the manual for one of the AMX 13 75's they'd gotten.
Miho looked over. "Mako, could you help Erwin?" She asked.
"On it…" Mako replied calmly as she meandered her way over to where Erwin was, promptly taking the booklet and flipping through it.
Erwin blinked. "So…?"
"It's in French…" Mako stated flatly. "I'll type up a translation tonight, just worry about cleaning it… The breach unlocks similar to most German ones, and its road wheels are similar to the American suspension design for the late war E8 Sherman."
"Alright, girls how's it coming along?" Ami asked as she entered the garage to the chaos that surrounded her.
"Well this is a mess…" Shiho sighed as she looked around, the only groups that seemed to understand what to do were the ones being instructed directly by each school's commander.
"They're not really working as a team yet… more like individual groups with girls they know." Yoshiko looked around at them, most of the Black Forest Peak girls were toiling away on the Sturmtiger, and helping the crew of the Maus. The girls from St. Gloriana were busy trying to get the gun back in the Conqueror after having done maintenance to the turret. Anzio's small group was trying to get the track back on the Lorraine 40t without popping the air filled road wheels, while right behind them, girls from Pravda were trying to force the T-10's tracks to release so they could work on its road wheels, which were in dire need of some work.
"It smells like grease, oil, petrol, and fresh welding…" Ami looked around. "This is a disaster waiting to happen…" She lifted up her bullhorn and gave a sharp blast, causing all of the girls to jump and stop doing what they were doing at that moment.
"Alright, everyone stop! It's time to take a break from this work… before someone gets hurt…" Yoshiko called to them. "None of you are talking to each other, or paying attention to your surroundings. The girls from St. Gloriana have a gun in the air; while right next to them Pravda is crawling all over the top of the T-62 trying to hook up their turret to remove it. On the other side of the shop, Ooarai is busy trying to re-weld the front plate of the Lion back into position while right next to them Black Forest Peak is soaking the Sturmtiger's track links in open motor oil!"
The girls looked around and realized exactly what they were saying was true, they were in the middle of real danger because they weren't really talking with each other as they worked.
"But none of the tanks are ready for practice this afternoon!" One of the girls called from her spot in the room.
"Practice this afternoon won't be using the tanks." Shiho looked at her. "Today, you'll work on teamwork, something that you're not using yet."
Xxx
The girls sat in the cafeteria of the school for lunch, most of them sticking to their individual school groups with the exceptions of a few who'd gotten to know other girls, and the schools commanders who were sitting together.
"So, we're half a week into this… and just a bit ago we almost blew it…" Kay sighed.
"Almost nothing, we did…" Maho looked at her. "…mistakes like that aren't permitted back home."
"This isn't back home though… and we have our backs against the wall as it is…" Darjeeling sipped on some tea.
"Everyone is right…" Miho spoke up. "We made some serious mistakes just now that could have cost us a lot more than we'd like to admit."
"None of us even bothered to look around at anyone else..." Anzu looked around at them. "I mean until it was pointed out, I had no clue there was a gun being lifted back into position… If the Maus wasn't so big, no one would have realized they'd brought another tank into the garage…"
"We shouldn't be focusing on that, we should be focusing on how to fix it." Yukari sat down with them finally. "I mean…"
"She's right…" Anchovie nodded. "Just look around us, besides the handful that have already talked with each other, do you see any of them sitting apart from who they already know?"
The girls looked around, and sure enough each of the individual schools seemed to be sitting together.
The announcement system beeped. "All right, after lunch, all girls on the Olympic Sensha-Do team report to the gymnasium for coordination practice." Ami's voice spoke over the chatter, causing the entire lunch room to fall silent.
"What's that all about? If we're having coordination practice, shouldn't we be reporting to the garage?" Kay asked looking over at Anzu and Miho, who shrugged.
"Maybe it's some other kind of coordination!" Katyusha suggested.
Xxx
The groups made a long line as they walked down the hall to the gymnasium, with the commanders in the lead they entered to be greeted by their three coaches, and a few piles of materials.
The girls formed up according to school with their commanders at the front.
"Because of the incident earlier today, we've decided you need more coordination as a team. You're not individual schools anymore, you're a team heading into an international competition to face opponents from around the world who are at the same caliber, if not better." Shiho looked around at them with what seemed like a cold glare to most of them. "We don't have any more time for mistakes or slip ups. Any team that fails to complete these exercises will be sent home."
"Commanders step forward." Yoshiko looked around at them and each school's commander walked over. "Count off please."
"One." Miho blinked.
"Two." Maho replied.
"Three." Darjeeling looked a little puzzled.
"Four." Anchovie looked a little worried.
"Five." Katyusha glanced over at Nonna.
"Six." Kay smiled.
"Alright then, the rest of you per from left to right going back, count off from one to six." Ami smiled and the girls realized it, they realized they wouldn't for the most part be working with their normal commanders, or others they really knew even.
Without protest they counted off and divided up with each team. "Your objective, get your team from side A to side B, and then get your team back transporting the drum barrel provided without allowing anyone on your team, or the barrel to touch the floor at any time, using only the materials provided." Shiho gave the teams their instructions and then they walked to various points in the room to observe the teams.
Xxx
"This is… going to be tough…" Anchovie looked around at the various materials trying to figure the puzzle out.
"Miss Anchovie… you're supposed to be our leader, what do we do?" Assam asked as she looked over at the other girl.
Anchovie looked at them for a moment only three of them were girls she knew from being under her command, every other face was from another school and in a different uniform. "How many do we have?" She looked at them.
Xxx
"So what do we do Commander Maho?" One of the girls from Black Forest Peak asked.
Maho looked around at them. "Introduce yourselves; they didn't give us a time limit on how long we have to get it over there. And knowing each other is the first step in my opinion."
"I'm Suzuki…" One of the girls from Ooarai broke the ice. "I was the Porsche Tiger's loader, now I'm the loader of the Lion."
"My name is Nina, I'm the second loader of Pravda's KV-2." Nina looked around at them.
Xxx
"Taking stock of what we have…" Kay fumbled through the materials. "We have two ropes, two boards that are roughly ten foot long each, two rolls of duct tape and a fifty gallon drum we can't let touch the floor…" She stood up and turned around to face the girls who'd wound up with her. "What do you girls think?" She asked.
"Take the two boards, use them as a pair of walking planks." Mako pointed to them. "The rope can be used as hand holds, while we support the barrel with a small platform made out of the tape."
"That's Mako for you!" Momoga grinned. "Head of our class and the Pz. IV Ausf H driver!"
Erika blinked. "And from what we've seen, she also has low blood pressure. We should keep that in mind, we can't allow someone to pass out in the middle and fall."
"Right then, we'll put her in the middle." Kay smiled. "Let's get to work!"
Xxx
"Kay's team is starting already…" Naomi looked over at her.
"The fastest runner doesn't always win the race…" Darjeeling mused as she glanced over at Kay.
"The same goes for doing nothing." Naomi mumbled.
"That's not the point… she means if we hurry, we'll only make mistakes without a plan." Midoriko looked at her.
"Think of this as a case of the tortoise and the hare…" Darjeeling smiled. "We were told we must complete the task, we weren't told how long to take doing it."
"So you intend to observe any mistakes the other teams make, and learn from them before making your move?" Naomi looked at her.
"Just as you don't rush taking shots with your Sherman Firefly's QF 17-pounder, I don't rush into battle." Darjeeling smiled.
Xxx
"Don't you think threatening to remove them from the team, if they don't work together is a bit harsh…?" Yoshiko looked at Shiho.
"We don't have time to be wasting on individuals who won't work as a single unit." Shiho looked at her. "Besides, I heard a rumor that the other schools have been lodging complaints that none of their girls were considered for the team."
Yoshiko blinked "The others…"
"To be honest, we don't have enough quality crews to begin with for all of the machines we have…" Ami looked at them. "We may have the teams that made it past the first round, and most of the second… but all of the schools that entered the nationals had teams that given better tanks or more of them, could probably have given the others a series of serious opponents to contend with…"
Yoshiko blinked as she looked at Ami, who had paused and then smiled "Are you…"
"I have an idea… and a few phone calls to make." Ami turned and walked out of the gymnasium almost unseen by the girls, who were busy completing the task with a few teams already making their way across the floor.
Xxx
"Mademoiselle Éclair, there is a phone call for you." A girl called in to the student council president's office.
A hand reached out and picked up the old black rotary dial phone's receiver. "Bonjour… this is she. I see… Then we accept, you may expect Maginot Girl's Academy within two days, au revoir."
The raven haired girl stood and smiled as she straightened the highly ornate uniform she wore "Fondue, ready our tanks… we leave tomorrow!"
Xxx
"Lady Kilimanjaro, there is someone on the phone for you." Her assistant placed the tray with her phone directly in front of her.
"I think it can wait until tea time is over." Kilimanjaro replied calmly with a smile.
"I think it was from Ooarai, something about the complaint you lodged about the Olymp…" Her assistant jumped out of the way as Kilimanjaro nearly leapt across the table, sending her tea cup and saucer flying with her as she grabbed the phone.
"Yes, you've reached West Kureouji Grona Academy, this is Kilimanjaro!" She almost stammered a little while trying to get herself back together.
"Yes… Yes! We'll be there by tomorrow morning!" Kilimanjaro beamed. "With every tank we have!"
Xxx
"We made it!" Kay cheered as they pulled the barrel onto the marked area on the floor. "Now we just need to make it back."
"Easier said than done…" Erika pointed to Mako, who seemed a little unsteady on her feet.
"Well that tape holder we made for the barrel is vacant now." Momoga smiled. "She could…"
"No… I just need a minute…" Mako steadied herself against the barrel for a moment. "I can't sit on that… I weigh more than the barrel, we would bottom out and I would touch the floor."
Erika blinked. "She's right. We need to find a way to keep her steady while we move back."
"Put her between you and Kay, she can use Kay to steady herself like she used the barrel to, and you can make sure she stays upright."
Xxx
"President Kinuyo, phone call for you ma'am!" The freshman bowed to the president of Chi-Ha-Tan Academy politely as she delivered the phone to her.
"Moshi moshi…" Kinuyo Nishi smiled as she picked up the phone and answered it. "Very well then… our honor depends on it, we'll be there."
Xxx
"Commander Jajka, there is a call for you…" An underclassman walked over to her and held out the phone.
Jajka took it. "Witam, this is she… we accept." She hung up with the flick of her wrist closing the phone. "Ready our 7TP's 9TP's and the 10TP! We go to reclaim the victory taken from us by Pravda at the Nationals!" Cheers erupted in the hangar as Jajka smiled while she looked at Bonple High School's tanks.
Xxx
"Left!" Miho called out to her team and they all moved their left foot forward taking another step. "Right!"
"Commander Nishizumi, we're losing to Miss. Katyusha!" Alena pointed over to her school's commander and nearly lost balance in the process before Caesar steadied her.
"Just focus on staying upright and not losing the barrel. It's not a race, we just need to finish the task." Orange looked over Caesar's shoulder at Alena.
"Orange is right, don't worry about the others, we're all part of the same team, we all have to do our part to make it work." Miho glanced back at her.
Xxx
The commander of the BC Freedom hung up the phone and immediately pressed the intercom for the whole school. "This is a great day… play the "Le Chant des Partisans"! We go to face Anzio again!"
Cheers could be heard as the school's alma mater based on the French anthem played with chants of her name following. "Asparagus! Asparagus!"
"Are you certain we should take everyone?" Moules asked. "Even the BC Side?"
"We will need a distraction while Freedom takes the glory of defeating Anzio." Asparagus looked at her second in command.
Xxx
"Hey!" Erika's eyes shot wide as she felt something around her waist.
"And Mako is out like a light…" Momoga smiled as Erika noticed that Mako had wrapped her arms around her waist before passing out.
"We're only half way back…" Erika grimaced.
"Just make sure she stays on the planks." Kay looked back. "We'll just have to shuffle our way back now."
Erika nodded. "Uhh…" She crouched down a little and pulled her up onto her back as she wrapped her arms around her neck, she steadied the other girl on her back. "We'll have to go slow…"
"We've got you too." Darjeeling's group that had been behind them came alongside and gave them a little more room to work with.
"We've got your other side." A voice caused them all to look and they saw Anchovie.
"Chiyomi!" Kay beamed at her.
"Don't think this means anything." Anchovie puffed a little.
"Whatever you say Chiyomi." Anzu looked over at her from behind Darjeeling.
Xxx
"There's someone on the phone asking for the commander!" The Kashiwaba sisters with a cell phone in hand walked into the middle of the Sensha Do garage at Bellwall Academy.
"Give it here!" Yamamori Neko replied.
"I'll take it!" Doi Chifuyu also responded before the two exchanged a mutual glare.
"Put it on speaker!" Kita yelled down from the Tiger I Ausf. E.
The twin sisters fumbled with the phone for a second prior to putting it on speaker. "Hello!?" Ami's voice echoed in the garage.
"You've reached Bellwall Academy's Sensha Do Team. Whaddya want?" Yamamori replied.
"This is the team's commander speaking." Doi replied before they both exchanged yet another glare, still having not settled which one of them was the team's commander.
"Ah… Well, it's with regards to the complaint lodged regarding the Olympic Team's formation. We want you and your team to be here tomorrow if possible?" Ami replied calmly.
All of the girls in the garage looked around confused as heck regarding to what she was talking about.
"We'll be there!" Hitomi forced herself out of the turret of the Tiger I Ausf. E. as she yelled it.
"Manager?" Both Doi and Yamamori looked at her for a moment prior to exchanging glares again.
"I was the one who contacted you about it, I'm the team's manager Hitomi Yuzumoto!" she clambered down the Tiger and ran over to the phone.
"Ah, well then, please be here by tomorrow morning sharp." Ami replied calmly. "And be sure to bring your team's full complement of tanks."
"We'll be there!" Hitomi beamed before Ami hung up.
"Hi…to…mi…" She turned around and came face to face with Doi and Yamamori, both glaring at her as they said it in unison, not really noticing it.
"What's the deal Hitomi?" Kita looked over at her. "You go and file a complaint without telling any of us… Emi didn't do that stuff…"
"Wait…" Koharu blinked. "She said Olympic Team?" It finally hit one of them.
"Wha…" The Kashiwaba sisters both looked at Hitomi.
"I found out that on short notice they formed a Sensha Do Team for the Olympics, and we didn't get notified for any trials… so I filed a complaint… apparently they just picked the nationals teams…"
"We don't even have Emi here to help us! She went back to Germany for some trip or something!" Nagisa was almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"I told Kilimanjaro too, when I found out… Apparently, I wasn…" Hitomi froze as the sound of knuckles being cracked echoed right next to her, before both Yamamori and Doi proceeded to give her a dark glare.
"You told…" Yamamori started.
"Seiguro…" Doi finished for her.
"We weren't the first ones to file the complaint, BC Freedom did also, as did Maginot." Hitomi smiled at the two of them.
"We're going!" Yamamori and Doi both shouted at the same time.
Xxx
Shiho surveyed the group of girls before sighing. "You've all passed. Seeing as it took longer than expected… we don't have time for anymore practice today, so you have the evening off. Until tomorrow morning, you're dismissed."
The girls collectively cheered before Shiho left with Yoshiko to head for Ami's office.
"Let's go somewhere and celebrate!" Kay cheered.
"None of our houses can fit everyone…" Saori looked around at them.
"Then we'll go to the hot springs!" Anzu grinned. "Momo, call ahead please."
Xxx
Ami hung up and looked up to see Yoshiko and Shiho there. "They'll be here tomorrow."
Yoshiko looked a little worried. "That only adds to the problem though, if they don't cooperate with the others…"
"We should only have to worry about BC Freedom arguing…" Ami smiled. "And that will be easy to resolve, if that group from Tatenashi shows up."
"You're forgetting the vendetta Bonple High School has against Pravda, and Black Forest Peak…" Shiho noted. "Two years in a row back to back either school overran them in the first round, and at the International Championship they came back to beat Pravda, and narrowly missed knocking Black Forest Peak out. And Tatenashi hasn't competed in ten years by comparison to Ooarai they only have one tank."
"We'll worry about that when it comes, and Bonple is really close to St. Gloriana." Ami smiled. "How did they do?"
"All passed… the girls offered to take the others to the hot springs to celebrate." Yoshiko looked at her.
"It makes sense… it's where Miho used to meet with her crew, and then the whole school's team made it their meeting place." Ami smiled as she got up. "We need to plan for their arrival."
Xxx
"Well this is… different…" Naomi looked around at the others who were lounging in the hot springs.
"You've never been to a hot spring?" Saori asked.
Naomi shook her head before sinking into the water a little lower. "This is embarrassing…"
"Alright, after the effort everyone put in today… Miho has a few words for everyone!" Anzu prodded Miho up.
"Umm… this is a little embarrassing like this… but I'd like to thank everyone for working together. Without everyone's cooperation, we won't stand a chance in the Olympics. We have a lot of training ahead of us, but if we work together we can do it. Panzer Vor!"
"Panzer Vor!" All of the girls cheered at the same time.
Xxx
"I still think this fixed only some of the problems." Yoshiko looked across the table at Ami who was sipping some coffee.
"What other problems do you see?" Shiho looked at her as Ami sat her cup down.
"They're still too rigid. The commanders, granted some of them helped each other out, but for the most part stayed separate, they didn't confide in each other, or took the opportunity to come up with a unified strategy. In the end they still worked on their own, and made their own decisions."
"I get what you're saying. And I have an idea…" Ami smiled at the two of them. "And it has to do with the phone calls I made today."
"What do you have planned?" Shiho looked at her.
"Well, I think we can kill two birds with one stone with this little plan. I'm going to shuffle up the crews for this little practice bout I've concocted for tomorrow." Ami smiled. "I plan on taking the schools coming here and shifting everyone around, so that everyone is in a different position than they're used to."
"You mean, you're going to stick all of the commanders in one tank…" Yoshiko blinked "That'll be complete chaos."
"Not necessarily. It's what I did when I took the post as the girls coach here. I told them how to operate the tanks, tossed them in and said go." Ami smiled.
"A sink or swim approach… do you think they'll really be able to work with each other, or come up with a unified plan, if you do that?" Shiho asked. "I don't remember teaching you that."
"That was something that I picked up in the JSDF." Ami took another sip of her coffee. "Miho and her crew learnt to swim quickly. In most cases a match can really be a sink or swim situation, so it taught her to learn to think on her feet, and not to adhere to a single doctrine."
"How do you plan on doing this though, I mean the Olympic tanks will run circles around those of the other schools, or would knock them out before they could even get within range." Yoshiko sighed.
"I'm not letting them use the ones that will be for the Olympic team. They'll be using Ooarai's tanks for this match, against selected tanks from the other schools. That way it'll be fair." Ami smiled as their dinner finally arrived at their table.
"I wonder how they'll react to having to work in an uphill fight." Shiho picked up her fork and stabbed a tomato in her chicken salad.
"Sink or swim…" Ami smiled as she took a bite of her curry.
Xxx
The morning was bright and most of the Olympic team was still yawning and rubbing sleep from their eyes as they assembled in front of the garages. "Why did we have to have the meeting this early?" Anchovie yawned as she fussed with her hair, trying to pull it together to put it up on the right side.
"Because…" Ami started before the loud clatter of tank treads caught their attention as the ground began to shake a little.
The girls quickly moved together as the area in front of the Olympic Garage was quickly swarmed with tanks, dozens upon dozens of tanks. "Wow… a 10TP." Yukari was practically drooling at the wide assortment of various tanks, with the insignia of other schools.
Almost as Yukari said it the hatch on the top of the 10TP opened, a girl with long blonde hair in a sky blue uniform pulled herself up out of the commander's hatch and pointed directly at Katyusha. "We're here to reclaim what was rightfully ours from Pravda!"
"Eh…" Katyusha was a little confused. "Nonna…"
"She's the commander from Bonple High School, we defeated them in the Nationals before we faced Ooarai." Nonna glanced up at her.
"Darjeeling!" Another girl cheered, causing Darjeeling to turn just in time to be half hugged – half tackled by a girl in a khaki brown school uniform, who looked a hell of a lot like Darjeeling with her hair down.
"Ehh…" Darjeeling seemed a little out of it and highly confused. "Kilimanjaro… why are you…"
"Well look what the cat dragged in…" Doi smiled as she looked down at Kilimanjaro from Bellwall's Elefant.
"Whaddya know, she has a twin, one of those black tea drinkers was bad enough." Yamamori looked down from the commander's hatch on the Jagd-Panther from Bellwall.
"Who invited you!?" Kilimanjaro straightened up and shot her school's long time rival a glare.
"WHY ARE THEY HERE!?" Another girl on top of a Somua S35 pointed at another on top of a Renault AMR 35.
"BECAUSE WE WERE INVITED!" The girl on the Renault AMR 35 snapped back "I DOUBT YOU WERE!"
Before anyone could say anything, girls started yelling at each other was the only thing that could be heard in the entire assembly area as some began climbing out of the tanks to get ready for the fight that was brewing, before a very loud cannon caused them all to wince and cover their ears. "GIRLS!" Ami stuck her head out of her Type 10.
"Settle down, please." Yoshiko looked around at them "Let us explain."
"All of you were either asked to come here in the first group, or were invited yesterday." Ami looked around at them as she climbed down from her Type 10. "Today will be an exercise in command structure, to promote teamwork and cohesiveness."
Miho looked over at Maho who nodded. "What does this have to do with them coming here?"
"Whichever team's commanders work better together will become the commanders for the Olympic Team, and will dictate strategy." Shiho stepped forward. "To ensure a fair match, the tanks being used by the first group will be limited to Ooarai Girls' Academy's tanks. And the number of tanks opposing shall be limited to be equal in number. Each team's commanders have one hour to decide on their strategies."
Xxx
"This is…" Maho looked around at the tanks from Ooarai.
"How are we going to do this?" Kay looked at the M3 Lee.
"How did you become the Nationals Champion again?" Anchovie looked at Miho.
"We worked together." Miho nodded as she looked at the Pz IV Ausf. H.
"What do we have to worry about from their team?" Katyusha grinned. "We've got the Porsche Tiger!"
"Which is temperamental, gets stuck a lot on soft ground, and has a nasty habit of catching fire." Miho noted as she looked at it.
"Bellwall... They used to be a really strong school a few years ago, then their commander transferred away. They have a Tiger I Ausf. E, an Elefant, Jagdpanther, a T-44, Pz. III Ausf. J, and Pz. II Ausf. F" Maho looked at the tanks. "BC Freedom uses a mix of French Renault tanks, Maginot has a Char B1, and also had a few ARL 44s and a Somua S35 in the past, Bonple has the 10TP and some 7TPs, West Kureouji Grona Academy has a Centurion Mk. I and one of the six prototype Black Prince A43s, a Churchill Mk. VII and Matilda IIs."
"And we're limited to what we have to work with here. That's not fair…" Anchovie deflated a little.
"We can do it." Miho smiled "We just have to work together."
"Who gets to call the strategy we'll use then?" Anchovie looked at her.
"Miho." Maho stated flatly. "They're her school's tanks, and she knows how to use them better than any of us."
"Wha…" Miho gaped at her sister.
"We're all differing to you Miho." Darjeeling smiled as she looked around at them.
"I'll do my best!" Miho nodded as they started going over the tanks.
Xxx
Xxx
"Assam, that's our signal, let's go!" The Hetzer sped forward at high speed out of the woods and almost collided with the M22 from the opposing side.
"AHHH!" Asparagus gaped as she saw Darjeeling tearing towards the 10TP. "Behind us!" The M22 turned at high speed as the turret swung around and began firing shots after the Hetzer, attempting to knock it out.
"Keep it steady just long enough!" Asparagus shouted as Moules continued firing at the Hetzer.
"Assam bring us about!" Darjeeling slipped inside as the Hetzer came around and Orange loaded a round for her. "It's been a long time since I was a gunner…" She pulled the trigger and the shot flew right over the Locust's turret.
Xxx
"We have movement along the river." Maho relayed to the others. "It's the Type 1 Chi-He, and Somua S35."
"Got it." Nonna relayed. "We'll act as the distraction, knock out the Type 1 first."
"Fire!" Katyusha ordered and Alena opened fire on the Type 1, while Nonna peppered the S35 with machine gun fire."
"Over there!" Kinuyo pointed to their right. "It's the Type 89, it can't be working alone!"
"AHHH!" Éclair pointed to their immediate left. "The Stug III Ausf. F!" It opened fire just as the Type 1 came to an abrupt halt, sending the shell flying right past its front.
"Relocate!" Maho ordered as the Stug charged directly between the two opposing tanks and pulled a sharp left getting behind them.
"Keep distracting them!" Katyusha yelled as the Type 89 continued to fire on the S35, before finally one shot hit the upper part of the rear with a loud bang.
"NOT FAIR!" Éclair gaped as the white flag popped on her tank.
"Got them!" Alena grinned.
"Quick Nonna!" Katyusha started as the Type 89 tore out of the brush and began heading after the Stug III Ausf. F when a loud bang and the Type 89's flag popped as the Type 1 began turning and heading after the Stug III Ausf. F.
"We can't let it get behind our lines!" Kinuyo nodded as the Chi-He picked up speed.
Xxx
Nekonya, the Hetzer is getting chased around by that Locust." Momoga looked up at her.
"Just like that match I had the other day on Steppes…" Nekonya smiled. "We'll play the part of the Wolverine."
"Oh yeah, I remember it tracked the scout, letting that Hetzer get to its side." Piyotan smiled as she loaded a round and began following it with the scope.
"Give it plenty of lead, that thing moves really quick." Momoga looked back at her.
"Fire!" Nekonya grinned as 75mm gun fired putting a shot in the dirt between the wild chase going on in the field in front of them.
"Too much lead…" Nekonya frowned.
The Pz IV Ausf. H and Porsche Tiger fired at nearly the same time and both shots struck the M22 in the side while it was in a sharp turn, causing it to flip onto its side.
"You're all clear Darjeeling go…" Miho stopped as she saw the Hetzer just sitting there in the field.
"No good, the 10TP got us!" Darjeeling passed along.
"We got their scout, you did enough." Miho smiled.
Xxx
"What d'ya know…" Yamamori grinned as she saw the M3 Lee. "A welcoming party."
"We'll take the Char B1." Doi pulled alongside the Jagdpanther and they turned their tanks in opposite directions
"Not good!" Anchovie gaped as she saw them. "Carpaccio, do something!"
"On it!" Carpaccio opened fire with the 75mm hull mounted gun, hitting the leader of the Jagdpanther.
"Nice try!" Yamamori laughed before a loud bang and pop caused her to spin around, seeing the Jagdpanther's flag popped and the M3 Lee directly on their flank with a streak along the side of its turret from where the shell had bounced off.
"The Char B1's 75mm is hard to load, take the M3 Lee!" Doi pointed at it as the Elefant turned to face Kay's tank, aiming over the Jagdpanther's engine deck.
"Yikes! Get us outta here Karina!" Kay ducked inside the turret.
The M3 began to move as the Elefant fired, hitting the M3 Lee broadside and knocking it out of the match.
"Tricks like that won't work on us! Unlike those girls from Maginot!" Doi laughed.
"OH YEAH!" Anchovie yelled as the Char B1 tore out of the bushes and slammed into the side of the Elefant's front right at the level between the tracks and hull. "The 75mm can't miss at this range! FIRE!"
Anchovie grinned as Doi gaped at her when the white flag popped on her Elefant, while the Char B1 backed away from them. "NOT AGAIN! IT'S NOT FAIR!" She pounded on the top of the Elefant with her hands.
"It may not be my Carro Armato P 40, but it does the job just as well!" Anchovie grinned.
"GO Chiyomi!" Kay cheered from the top of the tipped over M3 Lee.
Xxx
"I see, so we lost the Elefant and the Jagdpanther too." Jajka glared as the 10TP pulled back. "We'll link up with the… Oh, it's too perfect." She tapped the driver's shoulder. "Maho Nishizumi…" She smiled as she saw the Stug III Ausf. F waiting in ambush behind the bridge for the Type 1 Chi-He.
"Kinuyo, the Stug III Ausf. F is behind the bridge, wait a few moments before coming through." Jajka relayed to her. "We're going to get it to face us!"
"FIRE!" Jajka ordered and the 10TP opened fire with its 37mm Bofors wz. 36. Putting two shots over the Stug III Ausf. F.
"The 10TP!" Maho pointed and the Stug III Ausf. F turned to face them just as the Type 1 came through the bridge pylons and fired nearly point blank into the side of the Stug III Ausf. F., Maho gaped as Jajka smirked at her knowing she'd gotten her to take the bait.
The Type 1 Chi-He and 10TP linked up and headed in the direction of the opposite flank.
Xxx
"Maho's been knocked out." Miho looked over at Yukari. "That means it's us three and the B1."
"We have to link up with Anchovie." Yukari looked over at Nekonya who nodded back.
Xxx
"They're moving!" Kilimanjaro looked over at Hitomi, who nodded with smile.
"Hitomi, we need to come in on their rear." Jajka smiled as she slipped back inside.
"They'll notice I think…" Hitomi looked at her.
"What makes you say that?" Kilimanjaro asked.
"Miho pays attention to the area around her tank closely." Hitomi noted. "She…" She paused for a moment. "She's the same as always."
"What would she do then, if she was in our position? I know you followed Ooarai's progress during the Nationals like a hawk." Kilimanjaro smiled.
"She would wait for them to pass, then slip behind to ambush them." Hitomi nodded. "That's what she'd do."
Xxx
The Porsche Tiger slowed as the Char B1 pulled alongside the other three Tanks. "We still don't know where the Tiger I Ausf. E, or the Centurion Mk. 1 are." Anchovie looked over at Miho.
"Maho was knocked out by the 10TP and the Type 1 Chi-He." Yukari looked down at Anchovie.
"They're split up then…" Miho noted. "That means two are probably ahead of us, and the other two are closing in to form a pincer from behind."
"Let's set up an ambush for the prong coming from behind us, while the Type 3 Chi-Nu and Porsche Tiger take on the Type 1 Chi-He and 10TP." Anchovie suggested.
Miho shook her head. "We want to divide their guns between more targets."
"Miho, why don't we all set up an ambush here, they have two coming from one side, two from the other. They'll end up meeting right here, or one side will come right into the middle of all four of us." Yukari looked at her and Miho thought for a moment. "It's the best course we could take without leaving one side exposed, or weakened." She nodded. "The Char B1 and Pz IV will take the right side of the road, the Porsche Tiger and Type 3 will take the left."
Xxx
"There's the Elefant." Kinuyo pointed as they came to the bridge.
"And the Jagdpanther." Jajka nodded. "They said the Char B1 was heading back that way, and according to Camille the other three were headed this way, we have them in a pincer."
Xxx
"The Anglerfish is luring them into a trap, like always." Yoshiko smiled as she looked over at Shiho.
"I'm not sure who has the better trap here, it could go either way." Ami noted. "The way the two are coming through the woods like that will catch the Char B1 and Pz. IV Ausf. H broadside, but on the other hand the way the 10TP and Chi-He are coming down the road, they'll be open to fire from three tanks all at once."
"It'll turn into a one on one." Shiho looked at the screen. "The Pz IV Ausf. H against the Tiger I Ausf. E."
Xxx
"It's quiet…" Kinuyo looked at Jajka.
"We should have run into them by…" Jajka's voice was drowned out as a loud bang caused the 10TP to rock slightly as it was struck by a shell knocking it out.
"The Porsche Tiger!" Kinuyo pointed and the Chi-He fired directly into its side, as the Porsche Tiger's white flag popped two shells slammed into the Chi-He knocking it out.
"We got them!" Nekonya cheered as she pointed at the Type 1. "Great shot Piyotan!"
"That makes it three on…" Anchovie looked at Miho who paled a little as two more guns went off and the Type 3 Chi-Nu was knocked out at the same time as the Char B1. "From where?!"
"Hana!" Miho pointed and the Pz. IV fired directly across to their right and a metallic bang before a light pop was heard.
"It was the Centurion!" Momoga yelled across.
"Then the Tiger is on this side!" Anchovie yelled as the Pz. IV Ausf. H pulled out and drove away at high speed past the knocked out 10TP and Type 1 Chi-He.
"They knew we'd be waiting like that… But how?" Miho looked back to see the Tiger 1 Ausf. E coming out of the bushes. "Mako, bring us around please, so our front armor is to it."
"Roger." Mako said a little sleepily.
"Hana, we need to be able to pull off the move we did against Maho our armor can't block their shots if we keep our front to them for long. It's almost as fast as us, but it's not Maho's crew." Miho noted as she helped load the round.
Xxx
"They have to get around our side or rear of the Tiger to get through its armor." Hitomi noted. "She'll try to pull of what she did in the finals to the Tiger from Black Forest Peak!"
"You mean drift around the side of the Pz IV?" Takami asked.
Hitomi nodded. "We'll only get one chance at it."
"We'll make it count then." Kita smiled. "We can win this!"
The crews of the knocked out tanks watched as the two tanks squared off with each other. "Go Miho!" Yukari cheered as the Pz. IV Ausf. H began heading for the Tiger I Ausf. E.
The hatch opened on the top of the Tiger and a blonde girl stuck her head out. "We won't lose Miho!"
Miho opened the hatch as they passed and looked at her while the Tanks turned sharply to bring their guns around, they fired at the same time. The Tiger 1's shell hitting the rear guide wheel and blowing the track off of the Pz. IV Ausf. H causing it to skid around the rear of the Tiger, before the Pz. IV Ausf. H fired directly into the engine.
Hitomi smiled as Miho gaped at her. "Hitomi…"
Yukari blinked and remembered the picture Miho had in her room. "Wait… you're in that picture!" She pointed at her as Hitomi climbed out and hopped off of the front of the Tiger.
Miho scrambled down the Pz IV and ran over to Hitomi. "Hitomi!" Miho cheered as she hugged her.
"Eh…" Takami blinked a little confused.
"I never told you why I followed Ooarai so closely, it's because we went to school together, and the group of friends I had in primary school rode tanks together." Hitomi smiled at her before a loudspeaker beeped.
"Match over, result, Ooarai's Pz. IV Ausf. H still in shape to fight, all others knocked out, team one wins." Ami's voice came over the loudspeakers. "All girls report back to the garages. The tanks will be picked up by recovery vehicles."
Xxx
"Every school proved that they were more than capable of making the Olympic Team." Ami looked around at the assembled girls. "And the fact of the matter is, given the number of tanks we have and girls available, we now have enough to field a full team. We've also received a request for the team to report to Tokyo, we're going to begin training at the facilities there in preparation for the games. As well as getting used to several additions to the lineup waiting for us there, thanks to the committee. The trip will take us a day or two, relax until then, and try to get to know each other."
"It should go without being said, but I'll say it anyway." Shiho looked around at the girls. "This isn't the nationals, this isn't for individual school pride and reputation. This is for our nation, and as such each of you is representing our nation. Set aside any arguments or grudges you have, and behave as such." She gave an ice cold glare at each of the commanders from the different schools.
Each of the schools commanders walked forward and met in the middle. "We lost…" Kilimanjaro looked at Darjeeling.
"No, you didn't, you fought well." Darjeeling smiled as she held out a box of tea for her.
Jajka glared at Maho and Katyusha. "I…" She closed her mouth and just huffed a little.
"You'll do better next year." Katyusha looked at her. "I'm sure the funding will improve after the games."
Jajka bit her tongue to stop from yelling at the shorter girl, before looking at Maho who nodded.
Éclair and Asparagus seemed on the verge of wanting to fight with each other before Kay put her hands on their shoulders. "Don't be going off on each other. It took years to clean up a mess that was similar."
"Why should we…" Asparagus glared at her.
"Because…" Kay smiled. "You both fight fair. And Sensha-Do is better with friends."
They looked at Anchovie who rolled her eyes a little. "Kay, you're still a ditzy airhead, but you know what to say." She had her arms crossed.
"Oh, come on Chiyomi." Kay grinned at her.
Miho just smiled as Yukari was rattling off information about the Tiger I Ausf. E as the other commanders just gaped a little.
"I didn't even know half of that about the history of the Tiger I…" Hitomi smiled as she walked over to Miho. "No wonder you guys did so well."
"It's because we're friends." Miho smiled as they grasped each other's hands again.
Xxx
"We're being invited to join the national team for the Olympics?" Rin paled a little at Shizuka.
Shizuka shrugged. "I don't see any reason to join… It's not Tankathlon…"
"But isn't it being made up of all of the schools that participate in Sensha-Do?" Haruka asked looking over at the two.
"We do Tankathlon… not Sensha-Do." Shizuka looked at her calmly.
"But the battles are that much harder at that level…" Rin blinked. "There will be schools from other nations…"
"I think you should do it." Haruka looked over at Shizuka.
"Shizuka!" One of the girls from the Kyuudo Club ran in. "I heard they want you for the archery team for the Olympics!"
"I declined." Shizuka stated flatly.
"WHA…" The girl gaped at her.
"I quit Kyuudo. And besides… we received an invitation for the Olympic Sensha-Do team." Shizuka smiled calmly as Rin beamed.
Shizuka gave a calm yet dark smile. "This won't be Sensha-Do, merely a women's pastime. But war."
"Eh…" Rin blinked a little.
"Rin… we will be meeting them." Shizuka looked at her and smiled. "The National Champion team."
Rin blinked realizing that she'd finally be able to meet the Ooarai Girls' team. "Ahh…"
"But they asked if we could bring more…" Shizuka pondered for a moment. "Haruka, you're coming along."
"Eh…" Haruka gaped realizing she'd just been drafted to help.
Xxxxxx
Now for a very wordy and explanative authors note.
So a summation of the overall changes between V1, V2, and V3.
V1: lots of OC's that became bunk with manga's being released that caused the very long hiatus because the OC's became completely incorrect as per the characters, and that triggered the initial rewrite.
V2: Rewritten chapter to replace the initial characters with their actual counterparts and to change the combat to fit their tanks, and corrected spelling. This version never was uploaded, but was planned to be uploaded just prior to chapter 6 which will come soon, its almost done being written.
V3: more manga released revealing more characters whereabouts, and the like, once again making some things bunk. Changed the combat again to resolve the problem by replacing some with the new schools and characters. Removed the schools yet to have any named characters completely to get out of the endless cycle of irritation due to manga characters making OC's bunk and incorrect.
In short, I wanted to beat my head against a desk because the various manga side stories and such kept making the chapter completely incorrect by the characters in the actual stories. As a writer this is extremely frustrating, so I threw my hands up chucked out any that could be possibly shown in the future, and decided to move on with it.
So Chi-Ha-Tan, Bonple, BC Freedom, and Maginot get to stay from the initial batch Blue Division, Viking Marine, Yogurt, and Jatkosota were all removed with their OC's. Koala Forest, and Waffle Academy were replaced with West Kureouji Grona Academy, and Bellwall Academy. Tatenashi High School was added to the fun.
Chi-Ha-Tan on a note has one named character from a manga manual for World of Tanks. Tatenashi, and BC Freedom appear in Ribbon Warrior for their first appearances, Maginot has its own stand alone manga. And the last two West Kureouji Grona, and Bellwall appear in the second Girls Und Panzer Little Army manga. If you want to check stuff out about these side stories, just search it the stuff is out there.
Once again, chapter 6 will be out very soon, with all of the shenanigans coming in it.
Also, note, I did not and will not authorize anyone to "continue" my fics. And to prove this point, chapter 6 will be out very soon.