Anarchy from the UK!
By Jangocommando27
Chapter 5: Wait, we did what?
St. Gloriana Tankery training grounds
St. Gloriana School Ship 'HMS Ark Royal'
22:34
With the sun long set, darkness quickly fell like a shroud over the forest. The mid-autumn forest floor was alive with both predators, and prey. A pair of particular hunters watched from the forest edge, overlooking the plains towards the Tankery complex, staring through scope and binoculars, waiting for their target to come into view.
Jay sweated slightly underneath his Ghillie suit as he flexed his neck for the first time in hours, before returning his eye to the scope of his L115A3 sniper rifle. Its 25 power scope, combined with a night vision sight gave him green filtered clarity of vision through the night, even at 900 yards distance. He spotted movement by the front entrance. It was the last security guard leaving. The guard locked the door before proceeding to a one of the School's golf buggies the security used to get around and climbed in before leaving the premises.
"Last guard just left." Whispered Jay, tracking over the leaving buggy with his scope. A moment or two later, he spotted movement in the garden bushes around the building. A black jump suit clad figure emerged from the bushes and made their way towards the Tank hanger a balaclava was covering his face and his identity.
"Tell James his hunch was right and is cleared to engage."
"Copy." Replied Chris. He reached under his Ghillie suit and whispered into the radio. "Bravo 1 this is Sierra 2. Times 1 contact heading towards the Tank hanger. Cleared for capture Over."
"Copy Sierra 2. Proceeding with capture. Out."
Inside tank hanger
James through his tank commander's periscope as the intruder entered the hanger. The intruder looked inside the hanger and from his body language was excited. He withdrew a camera and started taking pictures. As the intruder made his way down the line of tanks taking pictures, James waited till he got close enough. He clicked his radio and said
"Now."
James punched the smoke grenade trigger and his tank immediately launched a spread of 11 smoke grenades into the hanger, with the 12th grenade on his tank being replaced with a flash bang. The intruder was stunned as the hanger filled with smoke and the flash bang went off. James immediately dropped his gas mask and jumped out of his turret. He ran over towards the still reeling intruder and tackled him to the ground. As he did so, he discovered the intruder was actually a girl.
Just as they'd expected.
James, keeping her pinned to the ground, cuffed, blindfolded and gagged their captive. Before John, who was similarly clad in unmarked combats and Gas mask and had been hiding behind one of the Matilda's to ensure that she didn't make a run for it. John picked up their distressed and flailing captive and carried her over his shoulder, while James picked up her dropped camera and followed him away.
James and John carried their flailing captive into the darkened Tankery clubhouse, bringing her into Darjeeling's office. James' night vision gear allowed him to see through the dark filled room, seeing Darjeeling sat silently at her desk with Pekoe and Assam in the corner, ready with the ever present tea set. John sat the still struggling intruder into a chair opposite Darjeeling's desk and secured her with a strong arm on her shoulder. He looked over at James who was standing by the lights and nodded. They both turned off their night vision and James hit the lights.
The intruder flinched from sudden change from dark to light. John removed her gag and blind fold, and the intruder took a deep breath before taking in her surroundings. James removed her balaclava to reveal her identity. She was a teenage girl with short and curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, looking somewhat shocked at the events that had transpired.
"Yukari Akiyama." Said Darjeeling, as if she knew the intruders identity before they'd removed her balaclava. "Ōarai's premier tank expert, loader, reconnaissance and infiltration expert."
"Darjeeling-Dono" Yukari replied, still struggling in her restraints, "There is nothing in the rules prohibiting pre-match reconnaissance."
"True." Replied Darjeeling, "But breaking and entering into private property might be frowned upon."
"So will holding someone against their will!" she replied angrily, glaring at James who stood stoically behind Darjeeling.
"Ah yes." Replied Darjeeling, "Corporal? Do remove her restraints. I believe we can trust her not to try to escape now. And do take of those masks, you haven't need for them now" John, de-cuffed Yukari. She glared at her and rubbed her wrists where the cuffs had dug in. James and John removed their Gas masks with James chuckling slightly at the look on Yukari's face when she realized they were boys.
"I apologise if the boys were a little... overzealous in your apprehending. Would you like some tea?"
"Thank you." Replied Yukari. Orange emerged from the corner and poured Yukari a cup of tea.
"Tell me Yukari," inquired James, "What was your plan after you'd got the Intel you were after? Sneak back into the woods camp out in the woods then disembark tomorrow when we get into port?" Yukari looked aghast at James.
"How did you know that?!" she demanded. James chuckled slightly.
"Because It's what I'd have done." He replied. "You would've gotten away with it, if we hadn't gotten a tip off that Ōarai might try something like this and made ready."
"Who told you?" asked Yukari, slightly embarrassed and ashamed that she'd become that predictable.
"Kay." Replied Darjeeling before taking a sip of her tea. "Tell me, did Nishizumi authorise this recon, or was it executed on your own authority?" The immediate blush that Yukari's face exuded was an answer all in itself.
"Your parents must be worried sick." Said Assam, assuming that she hadn't told them her plan.
"I told them I was staying at Nishizumi-dono's house for a sleep over..."
"Well we best call her then." Said Darjeeling. Yukari protested as Darjeeling drew her mobile and dialled a number.
"Hello Nishizumi? Its Darjeeling... Fine thank you... I apologise for calling so late but I thought you may wish to know that we've captured your loader while she was conducting a reconnaissance on our tank forces... no... she's fine, slightly dazed from her sudden capture but otherwise fine... yes... she told her parents that she was at a sleep over at your house... we can put her up in a spare dorm for the night and fly her back to Ōarai tomorrow... It would be no problem at all... Ok... goodnight."
Darjeeling hung up and put the phone on the table.
"Nishizumi was most concerned about you, and we've agreed that we'll fly you back to Ōarai in the morning. Until then you're most welcome to stay as our honoured guest." She said.
"Thank you." Said Yukari.
"Assam. Please go with her to retrieve her camping things, and then show her back to the guest rooms. I shall be along soon. And James, do call off the rest of your men." James nodded and clicked his radio.
"Sierra 2 this is Bravo 1. End Ex. Good work boys. Out." Assam and Yukari left, followed shortly after by Pekoe and John. James and Darjeeling stayed back to discuss the nights events.
"Not a bad infiltration plan." Commented James. "Well executed too."
"It was fortunate that Kay told us that Ōarai would be planning something like this at tankfest." Said Darjeeling.
"Indeed." Agreed James. "And now we're ready to execute phase 2."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Oh yeah." James had been planning since tankfest, he and his team were ready.
2 days earlier,
2 days after 1st round draw
St. Gloriana Women's academy School Ship
Tankery Team Clubhouse
18:33
John, Jay and Chris walked into the tankery office, having been summoned by commander Darjeeling and James. They knew something was up because they'd been told to bring notepad and pen, either it was a test or a briefing, and they all knew which was more likely.
Inside the tankery office there was a round table with 6 seats round one half. Opposite was white board with some pictures a city carrier and a teenage girl in a Japanese School uniform. James was stood by the whiteboard while Darjeeling was sat in one of the places with her ever present cup of tea. Another seat was occupied by Lady Grey.
"Afternoon lads." Greeted James, pointing to the table, "Take a seat." The boys sat down and started to listen as James began his briefing.
"I'll cut to the chase boys." Said James, "We've got an infiltration op." They boys briefly celebrated before James continued his briefing. He pointed to the picture of the Girl.
"This is Yukari Akiyama. She's the loader for the Ōarai commander tank and from what we've gathered a tank nut of the highest calibre. She also has a past of infiltrating school ships to gather Intel on tankery team compositions and plans for upcoming matches against them. Seeing as we're facing Ōarai in a week, it's likely we can expect a visit from Ms. Akiyama within the next 96 hours."
"Phase 1 of the plan will be to capture and detain her unharmed if she should attempt an infiltration. With her captured, we shall return her to Ōarai personally and commence phase 2 of the plan." James moved over to the pictures of the city carrier. "This is Ōarai. The tankery sheds are here and the student council's office is here. These will be our primary targets. We will return the captured Ms. Akiyama to her team by school helo, landing on the ship and then returning her to her team. We will then disappeared and split up."
"John and Chris, you're job will be to get pictures of the tankery team and their unit composition using a drone we've requisitioned from the school's gadget club. Jay and I are going to infiltrate the mission planning session in the student council office by way of a window washing unit, get Intel on their plans and get out. If all goes well, we'll meet back at the waiting helo and come home in time for tea and medals. Any questions?"
"What happens if the whole plan goes belly up and we can't make it to extraction?" asked Jay.
"Hunker down on the school ship, disembark when it next gets to port and contact the school, we'll come get you." Replied James. "Anything else?"
"What happens if this Yukari bird doesn't come over?" asked John.
"So glad you asked." Replied James, "Ōarai is scheduled to dock in Tokushima in roughly 72 hours. If we haven't been graced by Yukari's presence by then. We infiltrate the ship while it's still in dock, get what we need and get out while it's still in port."
"What's the dress code?" asked Chris. They all laughed,
"Civvies for you and John." Replied James, "Same for me and Jay, but were also taking work clothes to change into so that at a glance we'll pass for a work crew. Any other questions? No? Lady Grey has one thing to add I believe."
"If you get stopped by the police." Lady Grey said, "Explain that you are there on behalf of the St. Gloriana Sensha-dō team conducting legal, clandestine reconnaissance."
"Understood Ma'am." Replied James, "I've got nothing else. So let's get cracking. Dismissed."
Somewhere over Pacific ocean – en-route to Ōarai
Day following Yukari's capture
07:22
James looked out of the open helicopter door. They'd taken off for Ōarai at about 7, but the lads had been up long before that, making final plans, prep and alterations to the plan. As it currently stood, the plan was for the helo to touch down in the large parade ground in front of the Ōarai tankery sheds and drop off Yukari. Once that was done they'd take off, seemingly heading home. In fact they would land at the Ōarai airfield and they boys would take their duffel bags of kit from the hold, and set about inelegance gathering.
In the distance the Ōarai carrier came into view. The Pacific was glistening less than 100 feet below them, it was another beautiful day in the dying days of summer in the pacific. The boys inside the chopper were entertaining themselves in whatever unique way that they did, but Yukari had been silent almost the entire trip. She looked annoyed that she had been captured and her streak of successful infiltrations had been broken.
"Hey Yukari," James called out from across the helicopter's passenger compartment. Yukari looked up at James, her face was definitely in a 'what do you want?' kind of expression.
"Good work on the infiltration last night." Complemented James. "Couldn't have done it much better ourselves, and we've been trained by the British Army."
"Yeah," added John, "not bad kid." Yukari seemed to brighten up slightly at the complement from trained semi-professionals. James looked out over the city carrier that they were orbiting. He spotted the tankery grounds and shed, right where it had been on the map. From their altitude he could see 3 tanks in the open and numerous dismounted crews looking up at them
"Pilot!" called out James, "Land in that assembly area!"
"Sure thing!" replied the pilot. The helo did another orbit before descending into the parade ground. The downwash from the rotors kicked up a small dust storm around the chopper. James motioned for Yukari to follow him and they climbed out of the chopper, ducking down under the rotor blades. They emerged from the dust storm to find themselves facing several members of the Ōarai team. James recognized Miho Nishizumi but no one else. There was a group of 4 students each wearing a type of historical garb over their uniform, a group of 3 girls with bowl hair cuts as well as numerous others.
"Here you go commander Nishizumi," said James, "one prisoner of war." Yukari looked ashamed and almost in tears when she walked forward to Nishizumi.
"I'm sorry Nishizumi- dono." She whimpered, "I have failed you."
"You tried your best Yukari," consoled Miho, "Anyway you saw their tanks even if you lost the photo's right?" Yukari immediately cheered up. James didn't have the heart to tell her that what she'd seen was in fact the reserve team and, bar his Centurion, was not going to be used in the coming battle.
"What did you do to Yukari?" Saori shouted, pointing to the bruise that she had spotted. James followed her finger to the bruise which he himself had missed.
"Oh," said James, "that was probably from John and I rugby tackling her."
"And these?!" Saori demanded, raising Yukari's wrist so that the rope burns on her wrist could be seen.
"The zip ties we used to secure her." Replied James casually. One of the girls who was watching, a shortish redhead stormed forward.
"What the hell's your problem?" she demanded. "You could have hurt Yukarin!"
"Yeah, I could have." Said James, "I did everything to avoid it and could have done a lot worse to her than cuffing her and bringing her tea."
"What do you mean worse?" queried Miho, wanting to know how far he could have gone.
"Well instead of rugby tackling her I could of let my snipers shoot her legs out from under her with training rounds." Replied James, thinking of what he could have done, "I could also have interrogated her for information on what your plans were, or I could have turned her over to the police for breaking and entering into private property."
"You wouldn't dare!" shouted Saori. She was about to rage on when Miho raised an arm to tell her to be quiet. Saori quietened down but continued glaring at James.
"Thank you for returning Yukari almost unharmed." Said Miho, "But did you really have to go so far?"
"Wouldn't you have?" countered James. Miho thought for a moment before sighing.
"Yes," she said, "I probably would have." James then nodded before turning to leave.
"I look forward to our match this weekend commander." He said, "good day." He turned and climbed back into the helicopter and it lifted off, seemingly heading away from the ship but actually heading to the airfield little over a kilometer away.
The executive helo touched down on the tarmac and the boys disembarked. The pilot climbed out and went off to deal with some paperwork to get the helo refueled, and also to give the lads some privacy (He didn't want to be incriminated if they got caught.) The boys retrieved their backpacks from the hold. James and Jay were carrying work clothes, a camera and rapping gear, while John and Chris had a small drone and a laptop. In case things went south, they each had one thunderflash and one smoke grenade.
"Still say we should have bought the Glock's." Muttered Jay.
"If we get caught in possession of firearms outside of school were buggered." Replied James, "Everyone know where they're going and doing?"
John and Jay nodded.
Chris gave a thumbs up.
"Then let's go to work"
100 meters from Ōarai tankery shed
13:00
"Bravo team: in position. Next check in at 14:00. Out."
Chris put down the radio and went back to watching the Ōarai tank and crew movements. He and John had hidden themselves just within the forest edge behind some bushes, affording them a good position to watch the Ōarai tankery team. As the tanks had come and gone, they'd been taking pictures of the tanks. So far they'd seen a Panzer IV, a Chi-Nu, a Tiger and Porsche Tiger and a previously unseen A38 Valiant.
"Alright, I've got the drone assembled and the computer online." Said John, "They showing any signs of buggering off yet?"
"Yeah looks like." Relied Chris, "Looks like the last few tanks just came back from practicing, and the crews are heading off. Few of them are heading towards the Student Council's office, including Nishizumi. Let's get this done." Chris retreated from the bush he was hiding behind and took up position on the laptop. He typed in some commands and turned on a live feed from the drone's camera and started recording.
"Alright were ready. Throw it."
John threw the drone into the air like a Frisbee. As it careened through the air Chris gunned the throttle, the drone's electric motors whizzed into life and the onboard computer system rightened the drone so its was the right way up. Chris smiled; the spy/ gadget club had out done themselves this time. The drone had been designed with spying in mind, and thus the motors were nearly silent, while the computer kept the platform stable for the onboard camera to both take and record footage.
Chris wasn't sure he wanted to know what the club used it for when he'd asked to borrow it.
Using the control program on the laptop, he started recording and piloted the drone towards the hanger, gaining altitude to minimise the risk of detection while looking for a way inside from the roof.
"This is like Call of Duty in real life." Commented John as he watched the live feed from the drone. Chris mentally agreed but stayed focused on piloting. The roof of the hanger was comprised of large copper panels with glass windows to allow sunlight in. After a moment of searching, Chris found it, a open window large enough to fit the drone through. With some expert piloting, Chris got it in.
The inside of the hanger was exactly as they'd expected, tanks parked in a single orderly row with boxes stacked at the edge of the hanger. Chris piloted the drone from one end of the hall to the other, getting footage of all the tanks, while Chris also vocally listed them off;
"Panzer IV H, Char B1, A38 Valiant, Hetzer, Stug III, M3 Lee, Type 89, Tiger 1, Tiger P, Chi-Nu and a T1 Heavy tank. Not exactly a standardized line up."
"No but at least we got it." Said John. "Let's get the drone back and head for the rendezvous." Chris piloted the drone back out the way it came and back to their position. Chris and John packed up quickly and quietly, retreating into the forest. Chris called in over the radio as they withdrew.
"Alpha team: Objective achieved. Falling back to RV. Good luck Bravo. Out."
Ōarai school ship command island,
Observation Deck
13:15
James scanned for the Ōarai tankery commanders with his trusty x10 binoculars. He and Jay had donned a set of dark blue coveralls over their civvies, with their faces being somewhat concealed by yellow hard hats. To complete their disguise was a set of climbing harnesses which actually served a practical purpose as well as a camouflage one.
"Here they come," Said James, spotting the approaching commanders, "get ready." Jay made his way over to their way of covert infiltration. Like most skyscrapers or tall buildings on land, the command island of the school ship had a window washing units mounted on the roof, to be lowered to allow for workers to wash the upper windows easily. It was one of these that was going to provide James and Jay their way of spying.
Jay moved a pair of buckets of water and window cleaners (quietly liberated from a storage cupboard) onto the washing unit and powered it up. James was about to ask how he did it without a key, but then remembered that Jay had nicked a few cars in his time. Once James saw the tankery commanders enter the command island, he set up their plan B escape route. He withdrew 2 lengths of climbing rope with a climbing carabiner on the end. He threaded it over the top rail and clipped it to the rope, securing it. He then doubled it over to the cart and shut the gate behind him.
"Take us down." He said to Jay. He nodded and pressed the descend button. The unit began to descend slowly towards the outer window of the Student council office.
Ōarai student council office
13:18
Miho, the student council and the tankery team commanders filed into the student council to begin their planning meeting for the first round. Their numbers doubled in little over a year 5 commanders to 11, especially with the increased popularity coming from winning the previous year's tournament. Since the previous year, the additional finding of an A38 Valiant and a T1 heavy were a big boost to the team, and further enhanced by the coming of Ernie and his crew with their Tiger from Germany. With crews for the Valiant and the T1, dubbed by their crews as Chinchilla and Elephant teams, as well as the Tiger dubbed by Ernie as Lynx team, their fighting force was heavily augmented from the previous year.
The commanders sat in the comfortable chairs and sofas in the office as they often had, all was normal. The only oddity was the work pair cleaning the windows, but that was not particularly odd.
"Right then," said Miho, "as you all know, in under a week we are facing St. Gloriana in the first round. While she was captured, Yukari gained accurate intelligent on St. Gloriana's team. From what she gathered, we can expect to face a team comprised of 1 Churchill VII, 1 Centurion Mk 1, 4 Matilda IIs and 4 Crusader Mk IIIs."
"The Centurion is the biggest threat." Commented Nekonya, "Even stock, It's got a 17 ponder gun with a penetration value of 171/239/38."
"While it is the biggest threat," said Fritz, "I don't think its world of tanks stats transfer. But it remains the only tank on their team that can reliably penetrate the armour of all our tanks. That and it has a seasoned commander at the helm."
"You're the only one who's faced him in combat Ernie." Said Miho, "What's his style of combat?" He thought for a moment before replying,
"He's unpredictable. He'll throw away convention and come up with a game changer when you least expect it. But at the same time he knows that's what his opponents would expect him to do and react accordingly. He's unpredictable. I think he'll either operate as a lone sniper, or with the Crusader squadron."
"Ok." Said Miho, she then turned to the white board and started scribbling on it, "Given St. Gloriana's past tactics, I believe they will form a battery in a defensive position with their Matilda's and Churchill, while using the crusaders and centurion as an out flanking force. It fits with what they've done before, but with Sergeant Hunter in the mix it makes things more difficult." She paused and thought for a moment.
"Here's what we'll do. We'll break down into type teams. Turtle and Hippo will team together as will Elephant, Lynx and Leopon. Their job will be to attack the flag tank and the St. Gloriana encampment assuming they create one. Meanwhile; Anglerfish, Anteater and Rabbit will act as a quick reaction force and recon to deal with the Crusaders, their armor is fairly weak as is the Centurion's if we can get round the side. Mallard will protect Chinchilla team who will be our flag tank. Any Questions?" No one raised their hand.
"In that case. You're dismissed. See you tomorrow." The commanders left, with Miho being the last to leave. She didn't notice as she left though, that the window washers were still working, and had seen the whole briefing.
As Miho left, James smiled wolfishly.
"You got all that right?"
"Oh yeah." Replied Jay. For the whole time, he'd had his phone in his upper pocket with the camera positioned to record the whole planning meeting covertly. Jay whipped out his phone and took careful pictures of the board, getting all the platoon compliments and team organisations. Their mission done, they raised the washing unit, gathered their kit and retreated to the RV.
Ōarai School ship,
14:00
James and Jay walked down the pavement toward the RV to meet up with John and Chris. The RV they had picked was a cafe they'd found online as it was relatively close to the school and tankery area, as well as serving a decent cup of coffee and a cold drink. James and Jay had shed their disguises and returned to civvies. They approached the cafe to find Chris and John parked as comfortable as you like at a table with a drink in hand waiting for them.
"Well I see you've made yourself comfortable you cheeky Muppets!" Called James as he and Jay approached. They dropped their bags and sat down at the table. A waiter came and they ordered some drinks before getting down to business.
"You get what we came for?"
"Oh yeah." Replied Chris, "Full composition of their tank forces." He removed the laptop from his bag and opened it up. He pulled up the drone footage and screenshots he'd taken. James examined them, satisfied with the work.
"Get them uploaded to the cloud." He said, "just in case. Your's too Jay."
"On it." Said Jay. He whipped out his phone and started uploading the data to the cloud. A moment later the waiter returned with their drinks. The boys thanked him and kept working.
"Uploading video now." Announced Chris. As he did, James spotted trouble. Commander Miho and 4 others, including Yukari and the angry redhead from earlier were heading straight for them.
"Balls." He cursed, "Commander Miho and her crew incoming. Hide the uploads. Were here coz the helo broke down and act natural." There was a mad scramble as programs were minimized and games brought up to cover the work before the girls arrived. Miho first spotted the boys and was evidently surprised by their presence.
"Sergeant Hunter." She said, "I thought you had already left." The other members of her crew glared at him accept Yukari who looked away embarrassed.
"Nice to see you too commander Nishizumi." Replied James, pausing to pick up his drink, "And we're here because our helicopter developed a mechanical problem. And seeing as it was going to take a while to fix, we decided to explore. We found this fine establishment and decided to have a drink, take a break etc."
Miho looked unconvinced before she and her team went off to another table. Once she was out of ear shot the group let out a collective sigh of relief, thinking they'd gotten away with it. They quickly finished their drinks and paid, before leaving to head back to the airfield. Miho watched them leave, and couldn't help but notice the bags they were carrying look laden with contents. She pulled out her phone and dialed up one of her contacts.
"Prez? I need you to check something."
St. Gloriana airport
17:05
The sight of the titanic form of HMS Ark Royal on the evening pacific ocean was a sight for sore eyes. As the helo landed and powered down the boys disembarked, glad to be home. James stretched off a know in his back that had been building during the flight. He then caught sight of Darjeeling, Assam and Orange approaching the 4 weary cadets.
"Did all go as planned?" asked Darjeeling.
"Plan went off without a hitch." Replied James, "The only complication was Nishizumi and her crew ran into us at our RV, but I think we got away with it."
"Alright Sergeant." Replied Darjeeling, "You and your boys are dismissed. Get some rest and I'll see you in the morning for practice. You can present your findings afterward. See you tomorrow." She then turned to leave while Assam and Pekoe remained, no doubt to spend time with their boyfriends. James then turned to the group.
"Good job today guys." He said, "Who's up for Pizza and cards against humanity?" There was a cry of approval from the boys while Pekoe and Assam looked confused.
"What's cards against humanity?" she asked. James smiled, this was going to be fun. The group set off for the boy's dorm together, looking forward to a night of Pizza, drinks, good company, and very politically incorrect banter.
Student accommodation block 'York'
St. Gloriana School Ship 'HMS Ark Royal'
06:00
Slowly, the lights inside Chris' head flicked on and he woke up from his sleeping position. His back was stiff from the awkward position where he'd been sleeping. He, James, John, Jay, Assam and Pekoe, along with Koto and Yoko had spent the night eating pizza, accompanied by the boys teaching the girls to play cards against humanity. At various points of the small hours they'd all gotten tired and fallen asleep in various spots around the kitchen/ dining/ living room where they'd been playing. The room was littered with pizza boxes, cards, empty drinks cans and other party associated debris. Chris smiled as he saw that Pekoe was still peacefully sleeping on the sofa not far from where he himself had spent the night.
There was a hammering knock at the door. Chris slowly and carefully maneuvered around the debris and still sleeping bodies to answer the door. The hammering continued.
"Alright! I'm coming." Called Chris as he ninja'd around the last of the bodies and debris. Once clear he sprinted down the hallway to the door. He pulled it open to find a large, muscular man dressed in black with SECURITY printed in white on his chest.
"Can I help you?" asked Chris.
"Are you Chris Hunter?" asked the lead Security officer,
"Yes..."
"We received a report that at 11:30 last night you and the other boys here conducted a panty raid on a slumber party at Student accommodation block Portsmouth. You and the other boys are going to have to come with us." Chris stood there for a second, his brain taking a moment to process what the security guard just said.
"Wait. We did what?!"
"Right, Take 'em." The lead guard grabbed Chris while the others ran in and secured James, Jay and John. They were each cuffed and escorted/ dragged out of the dorm and secured in the back of a black van before being driven off to campus security.
St. Gloriana Campus Security
07:35
James looked around the inside of the room he'd been put in. It was a bog standard, matt grey interrogation room, just like on cop shows. There was a table in front of him, one chair either side (one of which he was cuffed to) a 2 way mirror in front of him and a CCTV camera up in the far corner watching him. In his head, James was going over his interrogation resistance training he'd got while on camp in Hereford as well as thinking of valid arguments as to why they didn't do it and proof to support.
His musings were interrupted by the door opening. The lead security guard who had come for them walked in to the room, locking the door behind him. In his hands he had 2 cups of coffee and a file under his arm, he laid them down on the table before uncuffing James. James rubbed his wrists as the guard sat down opposite him. He opened the file and then spoke,
"You are James Hunter correct?"
"I am." Replied James, motioning to one of the cups of coffee on the table, "May I?" The guard nodded and James claimed one of the cups, taking a good swig of the warm, energizing drink.
"Thank you" sighed James thankfully, "Ok, shoot." The guard continued his questioning,
"You are here on an International Tankery transfer from Collins Highlander Academy in the UK correct?"
"That is also correct." Replied James, "As are the other teenagers you detained."
"Where were you at 11:30 last night?"
"In our living room, eating pizza and teaching the girls how to play cards against humanity."
"So how do you explain your supposed involvement with this panty raid?" asked the guard, leaning back with his arms folded.
"Well we didn't do it." replied James, "I don't know who did, but I can give you 3 reasons why we didn't."
"Ok. Go" said the guard.
"1." Started James, "Of the 4 of us, I'm the only one without a girlfriend here. And I would bet that within a week, if they haven't already, the other 3 could have their girlfriends willingly handing over their underwear. So why would we need to steal some?"
"Go on." Replied the Guard, noting something down. James took another drink before continuing.
"2. Portsmouth dorm is on the other side of the ship. How many CCTV camera's are there between our dorm and there? Enough that, even with our training, we would probably have been spotted. Even if not by camera, definitely by a passerby."
"And finally?" asked the guard, still noting things down.
"3. All 4 of us had to beat over 200 other applicants to come here. We had to go through 6 months of application, interviews, screening, more interviews, etc to get here. So why would we blow it on a stupid panty raid? Furthermore, if you look at the CCTV footage from our dorm, you'll see we got in around 5:30 and didn't leave until you came and got us. And we've got 4 witnesses who were there and can prove our alibi."
The guard continued noting for a moment before leaning forward onto the table.
"Ok then." He said, "If you didn't do it, then who did and why? Baring in mind that you and your colleagues are the only male students on the ship." James thought for a moment before it hit him.
"We may be the only male students on the ship." He countered, "But we're not the only male teenagers. The Day after we got here, after school I went exploring around town. I ran into another teenager who went by Shoko and accidentally caused him to drop his burger. He was pretty annoyed about it. He described himself and his cohorts as, quote 'The Alpha males on this ship' and said that if he caught myself or any of my colleagues with any of quote, 'my women', he'd drop our asses in the dirt."
"Did you do anything about it?" asked the guard, still taking notes,
"No." Replied James, "I told the others lads about them and cautioned them to be careful, but I thought they were just being a bunch of twats and ignored them."
"Describe them."
James thought back. "They were all about my age. Shoto was slightly shorter than me so about 5'11, bright orange hair, brown eyes. His 2 colleagues, I didn't get their names, one was slightly taller than me, pretty fat with short, nearly shaven black hair. The second one was about my height, muscular, messy black hair, wore sunglasses as I recall."
The guard noted the descriptions down before closing the file and standing up. He headed for the door, unlocked it and paused before leaving.
"Wait here." He said before leaving James in the room. The guard locked the door and walked to the next door, labelled as 'observation'. He stepped inside. Inside the room was a tech monitoring camera footage and recording gear, Lady grey and a female police officer. They were all watching James, who was relaxed, had his feet on the table and drinking the coffee that had been left.
"Well," Stated the guard, "either the kid is a damn good liar or he's telling the truth."
"We just finished interviewing the girls who were found with them." Said the police officer, "Their stories all match up with what all 4 of the boys have said. Although 2 of them claim to be the girlfriends of 2 of the boys and maybe protecting them."
"The 2 girls are Assam and Orange Pekoe," cut in Lady Grey, "While it is true they are going out with Mr. Strongbow and the younger of the 2 Hunters, I trust them to tell the truth when asked by anyone, especially a police officer. And what about these other male teenagers he spoke about?"
"I'll do some digging at my end." Promised the police officer.
"In the meantime," said the security guard "assuming the CCTV footage confirms their alibi and whereabouts. We can let the go. They didn't do it."
St. Gloriana Campus Security
10:32
James, Jay, John and Chris all stepped out of the security building as free men, but they were still annoyed about the whole thing. While they had been proven as not being able to have carried out the panty raid which they had been accused of, having not received so much as an apology from the security staff that had so rudely detained them was annoying. They boys did what they did best anyway, shrugged it off and went to tankery practice, which they were already late for.
By the time they got to the tankery hanger via their dorm to get into their uniforms, they already found the hanger mostly empty, save their Centurion and a few tanks support crews were working on. They climbed into Achilles and fired her up. James dropped into the cupola and clicked on his mic,
"Alpha Charlie, Alpha Charlie, this is Achilles, radio check over." James spoke into the mic. He waited for a moment before Darjeeling responded.
"Achilles this is Darjeeling. Loud clear, nice of you to join us."
"Nice to be finally free Darjeeling. What is your location? Over."
"We're on the fire firing range doing gunnery drills and the obstacle course getting use to the new Cromwell's. Come and Join us when you're ready."
"Roger Darjeeling. We're on our way to you now. Out." Achilles accelerated as she left the tankery shed and crossed into open country. James chose to ride in his commanders cupola, despite the cool climate. The drop in temperature over the last few weeks had been noticeable, as it was now moving from September into august, and for the cadets, that meant one thing was only a few weeks away. But there were more pressing matters to attend to first.
"Boss?" called John over the intercom, "What we going to do about Shoto and his crew?" James sighed, he knew this had been coming.
"Officially, nothing." He replied, "Unofficially we're going to find the bastards, get their confession and let the police mince 'em."
"Can't we have ago boss?" jay almost pleaded.
"Boy's," he replied, "Nothing would please me more than to hang 'em bollock naked upside down off the back of the ship. But we simply have no proof that they did it. So, for now we can't have a go. But as soon as we can, I'll let you know. Now get an AP in the breech and prep for long range gunnery practice."
"Yes boss!" James hated stonewalling them like that, and he truthfully wanted to find and get back at Shoto and his crew but currently he couldn't do it without risking everything they'd worked so hard for. He did what he thought was best and bottled his feelings and get on with what was in front of him, tankery and school work, and potentially finding a girlfriend.
St. Gloriana Women's academy School Ship
Tankery Team Clubhouse
15:30
The St. Gloriana tankery team commanders assembled in Darjeeling's office for their first round briefing. Once they were all gathered and suitably issues with tea, they began the briefing.
"As you all know," began Darjeeling, "We are facing last year's champions, Ōarai girls high school, in the first round. While this is undesirable, we have numerous advantages over last year, namely the addition of new tanks and James and his crew. Furthermore, thanks to James and his boys, we are in possession of both Ōarai's strategy and team composition. So I will now handover to James who will explain the team organisation. Over to you Sergeant."
Darjeeling stepped aside and James bounded up in front of the commanders,
"Right Ladies this will be one to tell your grand kids, and mighty board they'll be!" He only received blank and confused looks,
"What? None of you seen A Bridge Too Far?! I'll get a DVD copy and we'll watch it sometime. Anyway, moving on. From our recon we've gathered their team composition is one of the following; Panzer IV ausf H, Tiger 1 Ausf H, Tiger P, T1 Heavy, Type 3Chi-Nu, M3 Lee, Stug III ausf F, Hetzer, Char B1 Bis and a A38 Valiant, with the last one being the flag tank."
"Their deployment plan is to break down their tanks based by type. With the Tigers and T1 forming a heavy tank unit, the Stug and Hetzer a tank destroyer section. We've gathered that they are going to be used to attack the flag tank. The the Panzer IV, M3 and Type 3 forming a medium tank unit. And finally the B1 has been dedicated to protecting the Valiant."
"Did you get how they're going to deploy?" asked one of the commanders, James smirked.
"Indeed we did." He replied, "Their plan is based on past performances. Namely their assuming we'll use Matilda's and Churchill's to set up a defensive position to defend the flag tank while we use crusaders as a sword to attack theirs. However they don't seem to have gathered that we've got new tanks, and they haven't got wind of our new organisation."
"What new organisation?" asked another confused tank commander.
"I'll explain." Replied James. "This is a strategy we use back in the UK. With 10 tanks we have enough for a company consisting of the command tank and 3 squadrons of 3. The 3 squadrons will be designated, Sword, Dagger and Shield Squadrons. Sword squadron will be our main force for engagement with Dagger squadron acting as a recon and support unit. Shield squadron, will be dedicated to protecting the flag tank."
"What will the squadron composition be?" asked Green, one of the teams veteran Crusader commanders.
"Commander Darjeeling will be in her Churchill unsurprisingly. Sword Squadron will consist of My centurion, and the 2 Comets with me in command. Dagger Squadron will consist of 3 Cromwell's under you Green, and Shield squadron will consist of 3 Matilda's with one of them being the flag tank under Lapsang."
"I shall be attaching myself to Shield Squadron to aid with defending the flag tank." Added Darjeeling. "Now for how we will deploy." She stood up and moved to the computer on her desk, she typed a few commands in and activated a projector in the back of the room. Onto the wall a topographical map of the battlefield was projected.
The Battleground was roughly 10 kilometres square, mainly rolling plains and dotted woodland. There were a few lakes connected by small streams, no bridges but nothing the tanks couldn't handle. There was a village in the middle south eastern end of the map, with mild hills to the north and North West. Darjeeling then stood up and produced a laser pointer and continued the briefing
"This is the battlefield. Our starting position is here in the south, and Ōarai's here in the north. Once the match begins, the flag tank, Shield Squadron and I will relocate here, to the village. Once there we shall set up a defensive encampment and dig in."
"Meanwhile." James cut in, "Sword force and I shall advance along the Midwestern end of the map, keeping an eye out for enemy movement. Dagger Squadron will do the same along the mid eastern end. That way we've got all 3 avenues off approach south covered and we'll likely catch them off guard. They won't be expecting to be engaged that early by anything accept my centurion and maybe crusaders, certainly not Cromwells and Comets."
"What if Ōarai get past Sword and Dagger squads and make for the flag tank?" asked a commander.
"Then it's up to Shield force to defend the flag tank long enough for us to get back and assist." Replied James. "That brings me to my final point. Rules of Engagement. If you spot an Ōarai tank, call it in and wait on engagement orders. However if you are engaged or if you see the flag tank and you think you have a clear shot, take it. Clear?" They all nodded,
"Good. That's everything I've got. Anything to add commander?" Darjeeling shook her head.
"Ok then. We'll reconvene before the match to iron out any more problems that arise. In the meantime... Have none of you really seen A Bridge Too Far?!"
St. Gloriana Headmistress' office
16:00
After a lengthy film debate and the crews eventual promise of a film night, James was escorted by Darjeeling to Lady Grey's office. Apparently it was somewhat of a tradition that the commander and vice commander to come and have afternoon tea with the headmistress before the first round battle. James and Darjeeling came to the head's office, standing it her PA's office before a large Mahogany door that separated off Lady Grey's own office. After a short wait, the door opened and the tank commanders were admitted.
The room was large, reminding James of something straight out of a English stately home or Downton Abbey. The room was opulently decorated with wooden panelling, large paintings, a Persian carpet on the floor and furnished with leather sofas and chairs. In the centre of the room was a circular table, covered with a white table cloth and occupied by a fine china tea set and tower of cakes. Lady Grey was sat, pouring tea into a trio of china cups.
"Please have a seat." She said happily, motioning to the 2 spare dining chairs around the table. James and Darjeeling took their seats, and while Darjeeling was most defiantly in her element, James was most certainly not. He sat uncomfortably at the chair, his back ramrod straight. Darjeeling and Lady Grey both detected his discomfort, not that it was hard to spot.
"Are you alright Sergeant?" asked Lady Grey, handing him a cup of steaming black tea.
"I'm fine thank you Ma'am." Replied James, "Just slightly out of my element."
"How so?" asked Darjeeling. James sighed, this was something he'd been wanting to ask about for a while but hadn't worked out how to say it without being insulting.
"With respect," he began, "Can you tell me who founded the school?"
"It was Lord Gregory Farrley III," replied Lady Grey, recalling the schools founder and gesturing to a portrait of him on her wall.
"I thought as much." Replied James, "St. Gloriana is very much based on the aristocratic, gentlemanly stereotype of British culture. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but for someone like myself who has grown up in true British culture, it is a hard act to follow on a daily basis."
"And what is different about your 'true' British culture to our own?" asked Lady Grey, curious as to what James was talking about.
"A good example would be tea drinking." Said James, working with what he had to hand. "In Britian we drink tea, yes. But we do it more on a basis of coffee to wake up, tea to relax, rather than drink it constantly. Moreover we drink tea socially, but not nearly as often as you do. Instead we'd mostly go out for a cheeky Nando's with the lads, or go down the pub and have a pint."
"Interesting." Commented lady Grey, "Tell me, were you raised in high society?"
"Yes I was." Replied James, "My father is a successful international banker and my mother the definition of a society wife. My mother and I are often at odds over social styles and life choices."
"How so?" asked Darjeeling, "If you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all." Replied James, "Take my choice of schools for example. On my mother's instance, I took the Eton entrance exams and not only got in but I got a scholarship. But I turned it down and went to Highlander instead."
"Why did you do that?" asked Lady Grey, surprised that James had gotten a scholarship to a school with the reputation of Eton and not taken it. James sighed,
"Eton is a fantastic school and I have a handful of friends there." He explained, "But it just wasn't for me. When I went around on a experience week, I got the since that all the students were, if you'll excuse my French, a bunch of upper class snobs who had never had to lift a tea spoon in effort in their lives. I didn't fit in, so I went to highlander instead where I felt right at home."
"I see." Mused lady Grey. "After all, being a gentleman has nothing to do with one's accent. It's about being at ease in one's own skin." James thought for a moment,
"That's a quote from 'Kingsman; the secret service' isn't it?" he noted. Lady Grey smiled,
"You're not the only one here who appreciates British film, Mr. Hunter." She replied. The tea and conversation continued on, flowing from topics ranging from Wimbledon to football, Top Gear to the state of the British Army, until finally arriving at a problem that the tankery team were facing.
"I received a problem from one of the chief mechanics on the support crews." Said Darjeeling, "They're struggling to get to grips with maintenance and repairs on the new tanks. Particularly the Comets."
"Is there anything we can do to alleviate this problem?" asked Lady Grey.
"Maybe if we got an outside mechanic in," Suggested Darjeeling. "But that would take time, and maybe viewed poorly by the league."
"I have a suggestion." Said James, "What would you say to an additional student from Highlander joining us?" Lady Grey didn't look keen on the idea.
"I'm not sure we can accommodate another male student." She said.
"The student I've got in mind is female." Replied James, "Her name is Caroline Smith. She applied for this exchange but didn't get it primarily because she isn't a combat member of the tankery team."
"None combat member?" queried Darjeeling.
"She's a REME Cadet." Replied James, "The job Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer cadets is to maintain and repair the tanks and equipment of the tankery team and army cadets. While the crews can do basic maintenance like changing tracks or repairing a busted vision block, the REME cadets do the bigger jobs like engine repairs and alike. And Caroline is one of the best."
"I believe I recall her file." Said Lady Grey, "Give me a moment, I've still got it somewhere." Lady Grey set down her tea cup and briefly retreated to retrieve an iPad from her desk. She returned and with a few swipes and presses, had Caroline's file on screen. She handed it to James.
"This is her correct?" James took the iPad and Darjeeling looked over. The file had a picture of Caroline at the top. She was a teenage woman with light, fair skin. She had grey eyes and thick black hair parted in the middle that went past her shoulders, which was tied in loose pigtail. Even from her picture, Darjeeling could tell she was a confident leader. Her file read:
Name: Caroline Smith
Age: 18
Rank: Sergeant
Height: 5'9
Weight: 112lbs
Hometown / city: Portsmouth
Position: REME Cadet team leader / mechanic
Additional competed military courses: Phase 2 training Royal Armoured Corps, Phase 2 training Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Phase 2 training Royal Engineers,
Commandant's comments: Sergeant Smith is one of the brightest and most gifted NCO's and engineers that the cadet force has seen in many years. Aside from being a gifted engineer, she is also almost universally loved by the members of the tankery team, both NCO and cadet alike. She is a valued member of the team and a capable leader.
"That's her." Confirmed James.
"What's her personality like?" asked Lady Grey as Darjeeling took the iPad to have a closer read of her profile. James thought for a moment before replying.
"Caroline's personality can be best described by her nickname; 'The Angel with a Shotgun'. If you need her help with something, mechanical, personal, whatever, she will do absolutely anything she can to help you, often going above and beyond what you asked her for help with. But if you get on her bad side, it may just be the last thing you ever do. Case in point, I once made a snarky, slightly bad tasted Joke about a new hairstyle she was going for. She rigged the fire extinguisher inside my Chieftain to go off and fill the fighting compartment with foam as payback." Lady Grey chuckled as did Darjeeling at the thought of foam pouring out of the hatches on a tank.
"Do you believe she can help us?" Asked Lady Grey, "Do you believe she will?"
"Yes on both accounts." Replied James, "She was annoyed when she didn't get the place on the exchange and really wanted to come. She'll jump at the opportunity to come here and work with the support crews."
"I'll consider it." Said Lady Grey. James nodded in acknowledgment. He was looking forward to seeing Caroline again. They had been friends since the start of Highschool and shared many a fun memory, including nearly getting arrested for street racing on homemade motorbikes. AS the conversation moved on, James voiced a request that he had.
"Ma'am." He addressed Lady Grey, "I have a personal request to make."
"What is it?" She asked.
"Coming up, on the 20th November is Cambrai day." He said, "It's an important day for every member of the Royal Tank Regiment, regular, reservist and cadet alike when we remember our first battle honor. We celebrate wherever we are and whatever were doing, and we'd like to include the tankery team in our celebrations." Lady Grey considered this,
"What does the celebration entail?" she asked, with Darjeeling's attention being grasped as well.
"It begins with the serving of Gunfire tea." Said James, "Followed by a short service of remembrance and then normally a highly competitive inter squadron football match and other fun and games." Darjeeling and Lady Grey looked at each other, Darjeeling then said,
"The team would be honored to participate."
"I'm perfectly happy for it to be celebrated during tankery team time." Said Lady Grey. "So long as the fun and games don't get to out of hand." James smiled, before taking a drink of his tea.
"I'm sure they won't ma'am." He lied.
Well there we go, the longest chapter I've ever written for one of my Stories.
Let me know what you thought for the recon side of things etc, I'm keen to get some feedback.
No clue when Chapter 6 will be out, it will have the St. Gloriana/ Oarai battle in it so you have that to look forward too,
Interestingly, Cambrai day is a real day celebrated by the British Army's Royal tank Regiment. If you want to get a good idea of the history and culture of the RTR, there is a documentary on YouTube called:
'Regimental Stories, The Royal Tank Regiment'.
It's a few years old and a bit out of date but's still a good indicator of the culture of the armored fist of the British Army. Actually the whole series is good indicators of 6 of the most famous regiments in the BA. I recommend all of them.
As ever, review, like, favorite, PM me if you've got questions, suggestions etc.
Also if you want me to take a look at something, PM me and I'll let you know
And so in the immortal words of the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy...
"So Long. And thanks for all the fish."