Anarchy from the UK!

By Jangocommando27

Chapter 8: Puff Daddy's tank to the Somme

St. Gloriana starting position
2nd round Match:

St. Gloriana Highschool/ Koala High School.

"MATCH START!"

"Advance!"

Achilles and the other tanks of the St. Gloriana team rolled forward from their starting position. They split off into their platoons and followed the plans that the commanders had rehearsed. As the Cromwell and Crusader platoons sped off, Achilles and the Comets stayed with Darjeeling's Churchill.

And that pissed James off to no end.

He thought that assigning his Centurion and the Comets to protect Darjeeling's slow and Lumbering Churchill was a gross misapplication of valuable resources. But he could see the point of fighting from a near stationary position to give their gunners maximum accuracy, but he would have preferred to use his speed and maneuverability to go hunting for the flag tank.

James pulled up his bino's and scanned the terrain. It was just like certain parts of the Salisbury plain he'd been on with the tankery team in Britain, meaning that it was a cold, mud covered wasteland. It was dotted by odd forests, and it was one of these that they were headed for. James just wished he could've gone with one of the other squadrons.

He dropped his binos and into the turret basket, and he saw something that he'd never seen before... Jay was reading?! And it wasn't porn! James grabbed it and looked at it.

"Since when the hell did you read Dickens?" he asked, "I haven't seen you read anything but text books or porn mags since you were 14." Jay snatched it back glaring at James.

"Assam got me into it." He mumbled.

"So now you're taking orders from your girlfriend?" jabbed James.

"You will be too!" replied Jay amidst the laughter from Chris and John. "As soon as you finally get things going with Darjeeling." James just shrugged it off, he didn't want to tell them yet.

"So tell us Jay," said John, "does Assam give you orders in the bedroom too?"

Spear Squadron

Spear Squadron's crusaders were advancing well across the cross country terrain. They came to a sunken track that would take them to a lower plateau on the battlefield. Camomile ordered her squadron to a stop before the track. She didn't like the look of it. It was a natural choke point; any snipers could have it zeroed in and take out her squadron before they knew what hit them. She needed to advance though...

"Spear Squad listen up!" called Camomile into the radio. "We're going to pull back and form into a single line. Then were going to descend into the track at full speed and disperse as soon as were clear. Clear?"

"You sure that's a good idea?" asked Spear 2's Commander, "if the lead tank gets hit then the tanks behind it won't be able to stop." It was a fair point, but a risk that they had to take.

"We don't have a choice Spear 2." Replied Camomile. "Let's do this." Her squadron backed up and formed up into a single line one behind the other with Camomile at the front. Once she was happy they were ready, she spoke into the tank's intercom.

"Charge!" The Crusader shot forward from its position, accelerating to it top speed quickly. Camomile gripped her cupola as the tank descended into the track. The other 2 Crusaders of her squadron were close behind her, close enough that if she got taken out now, there was not chance for them to stop and someone would get hurt. Her tank cleared the end of the track at 25kph, the others close behind it. A column of dirt erupted to her tanks front right quarter, showering Camomile and her crusader in dirt and sod.

"Contact right!" she shouted. She looked over to the distance and could make out the form of a tank, but couldn't identify it. Her crusader's turret turned and her gunner didn't wait for the order to fire. The shot sailed out into the distance but impacted some way from the target.

"Can anyone see what it is?" asked Camomile over the radio.

"Looks like a sentinel!" replied Spear 2, "That's a 17 pounder!"

"Make for the forests to the north!" ordered Camomile, "We need to get out of the kill zone!"

Anvil Squadron

This place was getting more like Britain with every passing moment... It was cold... it was windy... and crucially... it was raining... lovely.

James lowered his binos and looked up as the first spits of rain began to fall on around him. The sky overhead was filled with black, rain pregnant clouds that hovered over them ominously. James dropped into his turret for a moment to retrieve and don his water proof poncho before returning to his cupola. Sure enough it started raining in Ernest shortly later. James looked around to see the other commanders had sensibly buttoned up to get out of the rain. While he was tempted to do the same, very tempted in fact, he knew his element exposed position afforded him better visibility. He glanced down at his watch and clicked his radio.

"Right guys I make it about time for elevenses, get the bivey going."

"But it's only 10 O'clock." Commented Jay. James sighed annoyed.

"And you Corporal," he replied, "are buttoned up in a nice dry tank. I am in the freezing fucking rain. John put that bivey on and cook me a bloody rat-pack please."

"You have a choice of chicken curry and sausage casserole. Which will it be?"

"Curry please boys." Replied James. John started the bivey up and started cooking ration packs. As he continued to scan, James's headset crackled into life. It was Camomile and she sounded stressed and like she was under fire.

"This is Spear Squadron! We're taking sniper fire from a Sentinel at grid 0705, request immediate reinforcements."

"Understood Spear Squadron." Darjeeling replied over the channel. "I shall redirect lance squadron to assist. Out."

James was astounded. Why would you redirect 30% of your fighting force to assist another 30% with dealing with a single tank?! Camomile was a veteran of the tankery team, she could take care of herself and furthermore, Lance squadron was on the other side of the battlefield. If she wanted quick reinforcements, she should have sent one of the comets or his Centurion to assist. He however swallowed his pride and returned to scanning; making a point of it to double check the left sectors, the massive hole that was now empty due to Lance squad's re-tasking.

"Here's your curry boss." Said Jay, handing the offered curry ration pack. James accepted and the warming MRE was a welcome source of warmth from the cold of the rain. The rain that was falling stopped quickly, turning out to have just been a downpour. But a fog started to descend over the battlefield. It wasn't uncommon for fog to come in after rain, but it was something in the fog that made James think twice...

Darjeeling emerged from her tanks cupola. She looked up at the sky and then over at James.

"It seems the rain has gone." She said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah." Said James, distracted by something. It was the fog... something wasn't right. "Chris power down." The meteor engine died down, the amount of ambient noise dropped and James removed his headset. He was listening. He zoned out the sound of the other tanks idling engines and the forest sound. There was something...

There...

A slight mechanical whirr, followed by a series of dull thuds. It sounded familiar... sickeningly familiar... Mortars!

"INCOMMING!"

James dropped into his turret, slamming the hatch shut as the first spigot mortars started landing among their position. Spigot mortars only had a maximum range of 400 yards, they had to be close! More rounds started landing, he counted 5 impacts. He cursed himself for not spotting the Matlida tanks before they got in range. But there was time for being pissed at himself later, now he needed to command.

"Fire up the engines! Load AP and return fire!" James shouted in the turret as the sounds of raining dirt pinged of the outside of the tank. The meteor roared into life and John started loading the gun.

"Boss," called Jay, "I can't see shit! What am I shooting?"

"Fire blind! They know where we are so no point in stealth!" A hail of smaller shells landed among the tanks, followed by 2 artillery like explosions.

'Must be the Matilda's 2 pounders.' Thought Jay, 'and those 2 sounded like artillery, must be the AC3.' He grabbed his headset and replaced it over his shoulders.

"Anvil 2 to Anvil squadron! Return fire and prepare to pull back!"

"The commander's gone!" the transmission was Darjeeling's radio operator. Last James had seen Darjeeling she was standing in her cupola right before the shelling...

Oh shit...

"Anvil 1 this is Anvil 2, what do you mean gone?!" demanded James. The radio operator replied

"She's not in the tank Anvil 2! She was knocked off the tank by an explosion!" James looked out towards the Churchill. The commanders position was vacant, the hatch open. He looked around the ground, and there she was. Darjeeling was lying on the ground by her Churchill, not moving...

"Fuck!" swore James. He needed to do something; he couldn't let her lie there and die! He dialed he radio set, trying to tune into the emergency channel to get the judges and koala's attention and stop the match. He was met by nothing by white noise.

'They must have hit the radio antenna.' He muttered. No long range communications and no way of instantly stopping the match. But he had to do something... he returned the radio.

"St. Gloriana team listen up! I see the commander. She's on the ground by the Churchill and unconscious; I'll get her and retreat into the forest. Cover me for 30 seconds and all tanks are to pull back to grid 0504. As of now I am leaving my loader, Corporal Strongbow in command. Try and raise the judges or Koala and apprise them of what's happened. Go!"

James hung up and started uncoupling himself from the tank. He ditched his head set but double checked his helmet and first aid kit. He then grabbed a distress flare from its stowage bin then got ready to do something crazy. He was about to pop his hatch when something grabbed his leg. He looked down to see John and Jay looking up at him.

"Boss," said John, "Don't go being a twat now." James smiled.

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction. You have command." He waited a moment, waiting for a pause in the incoming fire. There! In a single burst of movement, James popped his hatch and jumped out of the turret. Once out of the tank he slammed the hatch shut again. The forest surrounding the dirt was just like a scene from a war movie, the trees were splinted and the ground was pot marked with shell craters. The tanks were dented and damaged, but somehow all still operational.

And in the center of it all was Darjeeling, still not moving on the ground.

James leaped from the turret of Achilles, landing in the mud by her armored hull. He sprinted toward his stricken commander, ducking as more fire started coming in. He skidded in the mud as landed ear Darjeeling. She looked almost peaceful... not good. He put a pair of fingers to the side of her neck, she had a pulse. He did a quick body check; left arm broken, unconscious. They needed to move, or they were dead. He carefully picked her up and carried her bridal style into the forest and away from imminent danger.

Achilles

John checked his watch. 30 seconds up.

"Anvil Squadron, disengage." He ordered. He saw the other tanks start to pull out, and also the sight of James carrying Darjeeling away into the relative safety of the forest through his loaders periscope. He kept up reloading while Jay laid down some retreating shots. John then switched to intercom.

"Hey Chris." He said reassuringly to their driver, "Your brother's balls are made of granite and he's tough as nails, he'll be fine." Chris only clicked his mic once in acknowledgment. Preferring silence and the focus of getting Achilles out of harm's way and to the rally point, to being reminded that his brother had put himself in danger for others... again.

Spear squadron

"Fire!"

The 6 pounder shell from the Camomile's Crusader's main gun spat a shell into the flanks of its target, the Sentinel AC4 that had been giving them hell for the last 5 minutes. The Australian tank shuddered as the 57mm shell hit its side hull and came to a rest as its KO flag deployed.

"Koala high school sentinel AC4, knocked out!"

It was a small victory, paid for with a high price. Both of the other Crusader's of her squadron had been knocked out and she was now alone, with orders to pull back. Camomile slammed a balled fist against the side of her turret. It had cost her dear to get this far, and now she was to abandon it.

"Pull back." She ordered through gritted teeth.

"Hai commander." Replied her driver. The light cruiser's engine gunned as the driver rotated her around before lurching forward towards the fallback point. The quickly accelerated, moving through the forest where they'd finished off the sentinel. They pulled free of the forest edge and into open ground. Camomile looked straight ahead towards the way back. She saw something in the corner of her eye, a black on bright green. She looked over, and her eyes shot open! 3 tanks in the distance, Koala tanks!

"Hard Reverse! Now!" she ordered. Her crusader skidded to a halt and they reversed rapidly, escaping back to the forest. They retreated into the forest, preparing for incoming fire... there was none. Camomile and her crew dismounted and moved to the forest edge and started spying on the tanks they'd discovered. There were 2 M3 Stuart light tanks, escorting a Sentinel AC4, the flag tank. The tanks were heading away from them, to the south. Judging by the fact they weren't under fire, suggested that they hadn't been spotted.

"Well then ladies..." said Camomile, "Let's go hunting."

Forest grid 0903.

James kept running, the unconscious form of his commander in his arms.

He wanted to get some distance from the fighting before setting down Darjeeling, to minimize the risk of further injury from stray fire. He glanced down at Darjeeling, she was still unconscious, but a large bruise on her pale face was beginning to form. James kept moving, the sounds of battle growing more distant. He came to a clearing with an overturned tree by the edge.

'Perfect' he thought. He set down Darjeeling on the grassy ground by the base o the fallen tree. He took a moment to catch his breath before setting to dealing with Darjeeling. He removed his combat jacket, folded it and placed it under her head as a pillow. Next he set about feeling along her body for any displaced bones and other internal damage. Fortunately the only thing he could find was her broken left arm, but the possibility of more damage remained and she needed to be medi-vac'd out. He reached into his pocket and removed the distress flare he'd grabbed from Achilles and fired it into the air.

The flare trailed a column of red smoke before exploding high in the air. It was part of the tankery rules, that if someone set off a distress flare, the battle stopped and help was scrambled to the source of the signal, so within minutes there would be help.

Darjeeling stirred, groaning as she came too. Her eyes slowly opened and looked up.

"Easy," said James smiling at her. "You had an accident. You were out for about 10 minutes and your left arm is broken and you may have other injuries."

"Wha... What happened?" she asked. James reached into his belt and retrieved his water bottle. He handed it to her and she drank carefully.

"Koala found us and started shelling us." Explained James, "They covered us with a smoke screen and started dropping spigot mortars on us. Their AC3 was with them too. You were blown from your turret and hit the ground hard. I ordered the tanks to pull back and then went to get you."

"You did that... for me?" She asked slowly and disbelievingly. James laughed,

"Well I couldn't very well let you die now could I? What kind of boyfriend would that make me?"James laughed while Darjeeling giggled and blushed slightly, then pain lanced through her body as pain from her arm and ribs took hold. James noticed this and got out his first aid kit, giving her some pain killers then using some bandages to make a makeshift sling for her arm.

Shortly later, a rescue helicopter descended into a clearing and a team of paramedics came for Darjeeling. They got her on the helo and gave James a lift back to the starting area where he could get a lift back to his team. As he stepped of the helo, Darjeeling called out to him.

"James... Thank you."

"No problem, Darjeeling."

A short while later
St. Gloriana Rally point
Grid 0504

James jumped out of the official's Daimler Dingo that had bought him to his team's rally point. He thanked the driver and then headed towards the team. The tanks were scattered around in a all round defensive pattern, there was no need since the order to halt the match had been given but he sensed John's hand in this. Various crew members were dismounted and killing time, either through repairs, chatting or playing cards. James noticed though that Darjeeling's crew seemed particularly on edge.

"Sit up!" called John, noticing his CO's arrival. The teams all looked up at James, the murmur of conversation ceased as they waited for him to speak.

"At ease." He said. "The bad news is that the commander has suffered a broken arm and a nasty knock on the head, but is otherwise uninjured. She's being flown to hospital and is going to be alright." A slight cheer of approval went up from the team. "Right then, As vice commander I am hereby assuming command. Battle will recommence shortly, so let's get locked loaded and ready to roll out. Team commanders on me."

The crews split off to their tasks and the commanders gathered on James beside Achilles as well as Assam who was assuming command of the produced a map and placed it on the forest ground, using a couple of rocks to pin it in place and his boot knife to point.

"Right first things first, where is Camomile and Spear Squadron?"

"Spears 2 and 3 were knocked out shortly before the match was halted." Answered Green, "Nothing from Camomile since."

"Well we haven't heard a KO message so we can assume she's in operational." Mused James before looking down at the map. "What's everyone's damage situation?"

"Sword squadron are undamaged." Said Green.

"Minor suspension and shrapnel damage." Said Anvil 3's commander and Anvil 4's commander concurred.

"Main gun inoperable. Optics damaged," reported Assam. "John also said Achilles' long range radio was damaged."

"Ok." Mused James as he looked down at the map and worked out what to do. "Were here. And the ambush happened here. Matilda's aren't fast so we can assume they'll still be in the area where we were ambushed. Which means we can counter attack."

"Are you sure that's wise?" questioned Green. "Our crews are still shaken up from what happened to the commander."

"Which is why we can channel that aggression into making sure those mobile mortars are put out of commission." Replied James, "I'll lead Lance Squadron on a flanking attack to the west. We catch them off guard and nail us some spiky rodents. Anvils 4 and 3 will stay here and protect Anvil 1." The Comet commanders and Assam protested but James cut them off.

"With damaged optics and no main gun the flag tank has no ability to defend itself. So I need 2 of our toughest tanks defending it. Got it?" They nodded. "Good. Let's get packed up and prepped. Green, I'm going to need you to relay long range Comms to me due to our radio being knackered."

"Got it." Replied Green.

"Right then, crack on." The commanders split up and went back to their crews. James clambered up onto Achilles to find his boys waiting for him.

"What you did was a reckless and foolhardy move." Stated Jay. "You massive dickhead."

"You would have done the same for Assam." Replied James.

"And what would I have told mum?" asked Chris, "that you got pasted by shrapnel while trying to save a life?"

"That's exactly what you'd tell her." Replied James, now addressing his whole crew, "yes is was stupid and full of bravado, but was I just supposed to leave her? Would any of you?"

They didn't reply.

"Exactly." Said James, "So let's put our nuts on the table..."

"Eww." Commented Jay. James continued,

"... and get our asses in gear to hunt down those bloody Hedgehogs' so no one else is at risk. Hell yeah?"

"Hell Yeah!" replied the boys.

"Crack on then!" The boys disappeared through the hatches to their stations, but James hesitated. What if he'd been fragged by a mortar round? He'd have been pasted and then sent home in a body bag. But, he'd have done it while trying to save a life, and that was fine with him. His family would grieve, his mother especially, but they'd understand. James shook the negative thoughts from his mind and dropped into his commander's seat.

"Damage report." He ordered.

"Comms are buggered." Replied John, "You'll maybe get 2/300 meters out of it at best. Aside from that, we've got minor suspension damage and they took out the Bivvie."

James remained silent before muttering, "And I was not yet angry since I came to France..."

"All participating tanks! All casualties and officials are clear of match area. Resume Match!"

"Lance Squadron and Anvil 2 move out!" The tanks engines turned over and they accelerated away and disappeared into the forest. They just got out of range on the radios when James asked,

"By the way has anyone heard from Camomile?"

Spear Squadron

"Alright. Is everyone clear on the plan?"

"no... But what the hell let's do it!"

"Ok then... CHARGE!"

The engine gunned and the Crusader tore itself free of the undergrowth and into the open field, fishtailing slightly as it caught air briefly before crashing down on its suspension and accelerating hard. The tank turned towards its target, and fired. The 6 pounder round sailed way off from the target, a clean miss. The Koala tanks, their stalker now in the open, began to traverse their turrets to engage. The Crusader's driver dropped from 5th to 3rd to give the gunner a more stable shot. The gun aimed and fired again. This time the shot was on course, and the flag tank was only saved by one of the M3's catching the shot with its rear right quarter. The light tank fell out of formation with its companions as they fired a salvo at the oncommer.

The Crusader swerved, its driver maneuvering it like it was a sports car. The M3's round missed, but the AC4's didn't. The shot impacted the turret front, triggering an immediate knock out on the crusader's on board computer. The tank rolled to a stop, its dark grey hull stained black by the on board pyrotechnics. As the tank came to a stop, the crew popped hatches and an exhausted Camomile took a deep breath before sighing.

"Well it was worth a try." She said, "It's up to the commander now."

"St. Gloriana Crusader immobilized!"

Lance Squadron

"St. Gloriana Crusader immobilized!"

'What?' thought James. That meant that spear squadron had been wiped out by something. They hadn't had any comms from Spear so maybe they'd been engaged an enemy force. They needed to find out later, for now, it was payback time.

"Lance squadron, contact right, load AP and pick your targets."

The 4 tank force had maneuvered around to the right flank of the force that had ambushed them in the forest. Being around the flank, they couldn't bring their spigot mortars to bare on them, only their turret weapons, and if all went well, that would be too little too late. They were currently on a hill, overlooking the enemy force.

"Jay. Line up on that AC3." Ordered James.

"On it." Replied his gunner. The turret's traverse motors pivoted the turret while Jay bought the 17 pounder to bare on the target. The AC3 was the fastest tank in the enemy formation, but it was moving slowly to keep pace with its accompanying Matilda's. A mistake that would prove to be fatal.

"Gun up." reported John.

"Target acquired." Said Jay, "On your word." In his headset James heard the other commanders of Lance Squad report ready.

"This is for my girlfriend you bastards." Muttered James quietly. "FIRE!"

The tanks opened up, and James couldn't help but feel a slight sense of dark satisfaction when he saw the AP tracer round bury itself in the side of the AC3, even more so when its KO flag popped open. The Cromwell's opened up but didn't fare as well. Only 2 of the shots found their marks and only one Matilda was KO'd, the other only damaged. James and his crew went into what they called 'battle mode'.

"New target! Matilda 2, baring 097. Load AP. Fire Fire!"

"Loaded!"

"Firing!"

"Target destroyed! New target!.."

The battle was short and brutal... for Koala. All of their once fine tanks had been reduced to burn stained hunks of metal, their crews shaken and bailing out of their tanks to try and repair the damage as best they could before the recovery trucks arrived. Lance squadron came down from their position and past the knocked out tanks. James popped his hatch and ordered Chris to stop the tank.

"Is anyone hurt?" he called out. Crew members looked at him, some disgusted, others just looked annoyed, but no one came forward as injured. James got the consensus that they weren't wanted so he ordered the crew to move on. They still had to investigate the disappearance of Spear Squadron, but James couldn't help but feel a prang of guilt. Not for what he'd done. No, they'd have done the same to him if the situation was reversed. He felt guilty,

For taking pleasure from it.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked it, something that was prohibited during combat exercises but he did it none the less. It was a message from Jay.

'u alright m8?' James typed a response.

'Why wouldn't I be?'

'I herd u b4 u gave the fire order. So u finally goin out with da commander."

'Yes, you were right... that's the only time I'm ever saying that'

' yes bys! John owes me a drink :D'

'TELL ANYONE AND YOU'RE ON SHIT BURNING DETAIL FOR THE NEXT 2 MONTHS!'

'... we have working toilets... :/'

'Not where you'll be staying...'

'Point... I'm gonna get back on guns... talk l8r.'

James put his phone away and got back to surveying the terrain. Trying to get eyes on the hostile tanks that had put his team out of commission and could end this match.

2nd round match private observation area.
13:00

Lady Grey took a sip of her tea as she continued to watch the drone feed of the battle on the large Leopold screen. She had received a report that Darjeeling had broken her left arm and 2 ribs but was otherwise unhurt. She was just rendered unconscious from the fall. The doctors were going to put her arm in a cast and release her; however she couldn't take part in tankery until her arms and ribs were better.

"Good afternoon, Lady Grey –Dono." Said a voice. Lady Grey recognized it and turned to face her counterpart from Kuromorimine.

"Good afternoon Nishizumi-dono." Replied Lady Grey. "Please Join me." Shino took a seat next to lady Grey in the Victorian-ess arm chairs that the St. Gloriana students and faculty bought with them to observe matches.

"I hear your commander was injured." Stated Shino.

"Darjeeling escaped with only a broken arm and a few broken ribs. She will be fine." Replied Lady Grey, pouring and offering a cup of tea to Shino.

"I am glad to hear that." Said Shino, accepting the offered tea and taking a sip. "Although I am curious who you intend to replace her with as your team commander."

"While it is not my decision to make," replied lady Grey, "I believe Sergeant Hunter is in command."

"So you are seriously going to give leadership of your team, your students, over to a foreign male student?"

Lady Grey shot a sideways glare at Shino before replying.

"Sergeant Hunter maybe male and he maybe foreign. But he has 2 qualities that make him an outstanding leader. The first is that he is experienced in battlefield command and leadership."

"And the second?"

"He is liked by his subordinates."

"Are you saying my daughter is not liked by her subordinates?"

"No. Maho is well liked, but she is seen as an officer by her teammates. Somewhat detached and has the Nishizumi aura, making her difficult to approach. James is seen more as an NCO. He eats with and gets to know his subordinates, and that's what makes him an effective leader."

"Maho is just as effective a leader. She would gladly sacrifice half of the teams tanks for victory."

"And James would give up victory for anyone of his. That is why the follow him." Shino remained silent for a moment. She and Lady Grey had always been civil rivalries, ever since the time when they went head to head on the tankery field all those years ago.

"We shall see." Was Shino's response she then excused herself and she departed. Lady Grey allowed herself a smile, concealed by her tea cup.

James was right. It was always fun to annoy Shino Nishizumi.

James bounced down from his Centurion as it came to a halt by Camomile's wrecked Crusader. The recovery crew was already there and loading the Crusader onto a dragon wagon to get it off the field. AS James was striding up to receive Camomile's report, one of the recovery crew intercepted him.

"Whoa their kid." He said, "I can't let you talk to them. Rules state you can't get tactical intelligence from a knocked out crew." James sighed, looking over at Camomile and clocked the slight bruise on her forehead.

"I am not here for tactical Intel sir." Replied James, "I am here to asses the medical situation of my team mates and attend to any injuries they may have."

"Be that as it may," replied the crewmen, "I can't let you talk to them."

James was about to argue when he saw Camomile doing something off. She was moving her head side to side, like someone would if they were trying to work out a click in their neck, accept she kept motioning to the south east.

'They must have gone that way. Nice one Camo.' Though James. He turned to the crewman.

"Very well then. We'll be on our way then." James reached into his PLCE belt and removed his partially depleted but still well stocked first aid kit. He tossed it to Camomile who caught it and nodded thankfully. James then re-boarded Achilles and slipped on his headset.

"Lance Squadron we have a possible lead that the SOB's that did this are south east of this position. We're going after them. I want all weapons loaded and ready. They have to know were coming. Anvil 2 out."

The 4 British cruisers moved out, assuming a diamond formation with the Centurion in front and Cromwell's to the back left and right quarters and astern, their turrets trained to cover all directions. As James scanned with his binos, John spoke in his ear.

"So when are you going to be collecting on your reward boss?"

"What are you talking about mate?" replied James, sighing that he had to go through this again.

"You know if the commander wasn't wanting for you before she is now." Cut in Jay. "After all, you did risk your neck to go get her."

"What? And just because I ran through a fairly spicy mortar barrage to go get her will make her want to have sex with me... actually you've got a point there... Still not gonna listen to you though." John and Jay both groaned, before Jay spoke up.

"Boss for fucks sake! Just shag her already! You had no problem doing it with other girls so why the fuck are you holding back now?"

"Because..." James replied, but he didn't know. He was more than familiar with sex in relationships and occasional one night stands, and had rarely turned down an opportunity when it presented itself. When he had it had been because the other party was being pressured by someone else or she was already in a relationship, but with Darjeeling...

"I don't know..." finished James. "Something's different than before. Sure I've meant, slept and been out with with plenty of girls in my time, but with Darjeeling... its different."

The crew remained silent for a moment before Jay teased,

"James is in love!"

James was about to read Jay the riot act when a muzzle flash in the corner of his eye got his attention. A shell glanced hit his tank, the shell bounced off the front glacis plate of the tank with a metallic clang and the whistling shriek of a high velocity round. James grabbed his cupola's edge to steady himself.

"Damage report!" he ordered.

"Engine and transmission still functioning." Replied Chris,

"Turret and weap's are operational." Replied Jay. "return fire?"

"Send it!" Ordered James. He left his gunner to it while he addressed the rest of the team while looking for WTF had just hit them.

"Lance Squadron be advised, contact right, 2 O'clock! From the forest, it's the last AC4! Search and destroy."

He looked with his binoculars at where the shot had come from. A forest 700 meters away to their 2 O'clock. He looked around but couldn't see any sign of their aggressor.

'Shoot and scoot. Whoever's in command of that AC4 knows what they're doing. ' Thought James. 'Good. We could use a good fight.'

"All tanks advance into the forest. If you see any tanks that aren't friendly, take 'em out!"

The British tanks accelerated towards the forest, wanting to close with the enemy and get this match over and done with. A trio of forms appeared at the forest edge, 2 M3 Stuarts, one AC4, the flag tank!

"Flag tank front! Nail it!" ordered James.

Not even stopping to stabilize their guns, the 4 British tanks opened fire. Achilles and a Cromwell missed, but the other 2 found their mark on the AC4, its white KO flag hung gently in the breeze.

"Koala high school flag tank has been knocked out. St. Gloriana women's academy wins!"

well here we are guys; chapter 8 :)

Taken a while to write I know but I like how it turned out in the end.

No idea when the next one is coming out.

one problem I have faced is regarding the re-write of the Oarai/gloriana battle. After much debate, I am going to rewrite it, but as a back burner project to the continuation of the main story... so I will work on both the next chapter and the Oarai battle together...

I've got alot happening in the next month or so... Cadet Camp, Flying lessons, driving test (again :P) so it may be a while... maybe around Christmas...

Incidentally the next chapter will be a christmas themed chapter so... theres that...

AS usual, review, tell me what you think...

PM me if you've got suggestions story wise, I do occasionally use them...

Peace out :)