41st Winter Continuous Track Cup Drawing Ceremony

The stadium wasn't as packed as the first Drawing Ceremony for the first rounds, but there were still a considerable amount of spectators for this one. Continuation, the current winners, was excused from attendance, but Jouko and her Sturmi Crew as well as Linder and her crew had come as delegates. All eyes were on Ooarai for this bracket, however. Although they had lost to Continuation, they had lost by the skin of their teeth even with the loss of their best crew and several other tanks, and many were betting that they would be the ones to face Continuation for the Grand Finals. So, there was considerable commotion when Momo was called to draw for the first round of the Loser's Bracket.

Miho and company were watching with baited breath as Momo walked to the stage. Although she had been given her Sensha-do scholarship to university, the fact that they were participating further in the tournament thanks to the new Loser's Bracket meant that Momo had more opportunities to demonstrate her abilities as a commander. It was also an opportunity to give Asuza chances to prove herself a worthy successor to Miho, as previously she had been showing how much she was learning, and was the closest candidate to succeed Miho when the time came. The thing was, they were facing triple trouble if they made it to the Grand Finals. Jouko had her rising star apprentice and the school's new student, none other than Alice Shimada herself. Miho had to get more tanks and launch a massive recruitment campaign for Ooarai to fully man the tanks they had, given that Ooarai's funding was improving from their success.

Rummaging her hand inside the raffle box, Momo grabbed one of the papers and held it aloft for all to see as she grimaced and shut her eyes, anxiously waiting to hear what their first opponents would be.

"Ooarai Girls' Academy draws number four! They will be facing Viking Fisheries High School in the first match!"

Viking Fisheries was the school Pravda had faced in its First Round match, and needless to say it was a one-sided affair, as the school didn't last past five minutes. It was popular thanks to the free education and high living standards, but its record in Sensha-do was not good to say the least. It had a mixed roster of tanks: from German Panzers I, II, and III to a Somua, a Hotchkiss, and an M24 Chaffee, not to mention Germany's attempt at a heavy tank in the Interwar period, a Neubeufahrzeug. Ooarai didn't know much about Viking Fisheries, they had only seen it fight a couple of times. In the 63rd Tournament they had managed to make it to the Quarterfinals only for Pravda to beat them, and in the Winter Track Cup Pravda had robbed them of a First Round win. It didn't take a man well-educated in rocket science to know that this school probably hated Pravda.

Nevertheless, if you didn't know much about a school, then there's everyone's favorite floof to go do some "investigative journalism" to get that information. In fact, on hearing the results, Yukari had booked it out of the stadium to prepare for her next espionage mission, leaving her classmates in the dust.

As for the other rounds:

Yogurt Academy - Bonple High School
Pravda Girls' High School - Saunders University High School
St. Gloriana Girls' College - Chihatan Academy
Maginot Girls' College - Waffle Academy
BC Freedom Academy - Blue Division High School
Koala Forest Academy - Kuromorimine Girls' Academy
Anzio Girls' High School - Viggen High School

Some were disappointed that BC and Maginot wouldn't be facing each other for the first round, given how interesting a French-French match would've been. But, there was still the hope they would face each other in the Quarterfinals, and they were poised to do it if they managed to win their respective matches. Others, however, expressed particular interest in Pravda vs. Saunders, undoubtedly the most balanced match yet. Two powerhouses with differentiating overall personalities, this would be interesting.

Miho and the others were watching, rather bored of the whole thing. But, something caught their attention that somehow hadn't previously.

Yukari had disappeared.

Ooarai School Carrier - the next day

Once again, Yukari had left to do her classic espionage on other schools. This time, however, everyone was worried. Yukari was beginning to develop a reputation for espionage, from her exposee in Saunders to nearly getting caught by Anzio and St. Gloriana, as well as the match-winning intelligence she had gathered from Pravda, people were starting to grow suspicious of possible "Yukaris" in their teams. In fact, some had already been put on probation and interrogated to ensure they weren't spies or people sent by Ooarai to do intelligence on them, given how Yukari had infiltrated so many schools with ease. BC Freedom Academy's counterintelligence had nearly lost Ooarai their first match of the tournament, so some were starting to form counterintelligence plans of their own.

Ooarai was anxious. After the fiasco with BC, they were unsure whether Yukari's intelligence could be trusted anymore. They could do nothing but hope for the best that Yukari had done something like switch strategies or be more creative with her espionage, anything that would work for her as long as she didn't provide false information. It had been over 24 hours since Yukari had left the stadium, and Saori was keeping watch outside the window for any low-flying plane or helicopter, or anything that Yukari could use to drop down and burst through the window.

With each passing hour, however, Anglerfish grew more and more worried that Yukari had been caught and was being incarcerated, or worse. How was she going to get herself out of a situation like that? Would Ooarai have to mount some complex rescue operation? Would they have to negotiate for her release, or appeal to the Federation to get her released, or something? With the first match less than a week away, Ooarai couldn't afford to have any more crew deficiencies, as half of their tanks were understaffed. Fortunately, they didn't have to worry for long.

Everyone was expecting Yukari to make some dramatic entrance through one of the windows, through the ceiling ventilation, even through the air conditioner in her room. Everyone was expecting the least expectable place, and Yukari entered through the place nobody expected: the door.

"I've got it! I've got the intelligence!"

Without skipping a beat, Yukari turned on the tape player, inserted her tape. and sat, back, relaxed, and allowed everyone to enjoy the show.

The film opened with the customary "AKIYAMAFILMS" logo before switching to an overview of Viking Fisheries' school carrier. It was overlaid with mostly forests and greenery, with very few buildings spread around. Saori tried to hold back laughter. As much as she needed to be respectful, there were only around twelve buildings she could count across the carrier! If the amount of buildings corresponded with Viking Fisheries' total personnel, then they didn't have enough for more than three tanks! However, Saori's attempts at holding back laughter ended when the film suddenly cut to what was underneath all the greenery, inside the hull itself. Everything was inside the hull, the school facilities, the classrooms, the buildings, everything was inside the hull. The students were very quiet and reserved, and rarely spoke to one another.

Viewing the roster as she snuck into the tank arsenal, Yukari showed off the Panzers I, II, and III, a Neubeufahrzeug, a Somua and a Hotchkiss.

"That's it?"

"Mako-san, just wait until you see this next part!"

The film then showed Yukari bumping into Viking Fisheries' commander. After an awkward staring battle, the commander reached out to grab Yukari as her two colleagues rushed to support her. Without a moment to spare, Yukari instinctively kicked the commander in the gut and began to run as fast as her little legs could take her. The commander's groans of pain could be heard all across the hallway, as well as cries of "NOT US TOO!" as Yukari burst through a window and dove into the water. The footage got static upon impact, but the static lessened as it was revealed that Yukari had climbed aboard a boat that was conveniently there.

"How did you get that boat, Yukari-san?"

"Shhh... some things are better kept secret."

The footage then closed with Yukari excitely telling the camera that she had gained important information, and began to zoom away from the carrier, being peppered by paintballs from above, before the footage cut. Hana tried to ask Yukari how she found her way back so quickly, but was shut down, Yukari again wanting to maintain secrecy, it looks like the spy stuff was starting to get to her head, but how Yukari got back didn't matter. What mattered now was that they now knew what Viking Fisheries' tank lineup was, and how their school operated. With this intel, they could only hope and pray that Yukari didn't give false information like last time.

Panzer IV- Continuation school carrier

"Load again!"
"Ready!"

A shell flew through the air, targeting a T-34. The tank angled itself left, deflecting the shot.

"Another!"
"Ready!"

Another shell ripped the air, barreling towards that same T-34 which was swerving and drifting everywhere. The tank was clear of the shell's path before it could be impacted. Slamming the wall, Linder cursed her luck under her breath, something that did not at all please the religious Jouko, who was sitting next to her. This new student was too good for her and her crew to handle, she was truly living up to her reputation. If she had a hard time facing Jouko in practice matches when she wasn't at the top of her game, then this must be what it could be when she's using full strength.

"Linder, a kind reminder to not curse, especially in my presence, please."

"Sorry, Commander. Another shell, Wetzer, Ignatius, chase after that tank, it's getting away!"

Ignatius full-throttled the Panzer IV in chasing the T-34. Hjalmarson kept firing shells as the tank struggled to keep pace. The T-34 was dodging shells the best it could, like Mika, and it was making things very hard for Hjalmarson to hit a shot. All of a sudden, the T-34 ground to a full halt. At first, Linder was confused, but then realized her fatal delay.

"Hit the brakes! Don't let us overshoot it!"

Ignatius slammed her brakes, and the tank ground to a screeching halt - right in front of the T-34. The order had come too late.

"Quick, try to move us out-"

An explosion from the rear rocked the Panzer IV, and the sound of a white flag popping out caused Linder to unleash a storm of curses and swears as she pumped and slammed her fists into the walls and anything in front of or around her, fortunately hitting none of her teammates, but multiple times coming very close to giving Jouko, who had instinctively crouched to avoid her blows, a bloody nose and two black eyes at the same time.

"LINDER! CALM YOURSELF."

The stern and authoritative voice of her teacher was enough to silence the hot-tempered tank commander. Downcast, she muttered a sullen apology.

"I don't like to mix my religious beliefs with this sport, Linder, but if it means I have to stop people like you from controlling their tongue then I have no choice but."

"Just give us your criticisms of the match, Commander, I again apologize for my outburst."

"First of all, Linder, you're showing too much hesitation, especially when you got confused with Commander Shimada's maneuver which got you knocked out.
Second, Ignatius, you're being far too reckless. You drift too much, you go too fast when you shouldn't, and this is the fifth lever you've broken since you joined the team. Next time, please keep in mind to relax your grip and to not yank or jerk too hard. These levers aren't thick and made of diamond, you know.
As for Hjalmarson, it seems you'll need more practice with fast-moving targets, you had a hard time landing hits on that T-34. But, it's good you managed to score a few hits.
Wetzer, there's not much I can say except your reload is very good. Pretty soon you'll join Löfström in being called an 'autoloader', heheh.

Now, I believe I've made my points clear?"

"Yes, Commander!" came the reply.

"Good, let's go get some lunch, I'm starving and no doubt you all are too."

Continuation School Carrier - 15 minutes later

"Viking Fisheries High School's flag tank has been immobilized! Ooarai Girls' Academy wins the First Round!"

As the camera cut to Ooarai's crews celebrating a perfect no-casualty win, Jouko, Alice, Linder, and their respective crews were busy eating some Ruisleipa prepared by Jouko earlier. They had been watching the match as soon as they reached Jouko's home, turning on the TV, heading over to the channel broadcasting the match, and looked on as Ooarai won a convincing victory over their opponents without any losses. Impressive, but for a school with crews as good as Ooarai, it wasn't that much of a surprise. Their next match would be against Bonple High School, a more reputable school with a relatively solid track record in Tankathlon, a variant of Sensha-do where light tanks and tankettes were the only tanks allowed since there was a 10-ton limit on who could operate vehicles, and battles were spontaneous and happened purely by circumstance.

However, it was kind of a joke in main Sensha-do, as in the Winter Track Cup's first round, they had faced Anzio... and lost. Thanks to innovative tactics used by Anchovy in utilizing her tankettes into dogpiling the Bonple flag tank, it had bought the P40 enough time to get in place and fire a shot into Bonple's flag tank, winning Anzio the match. Given Anzio's overall quality could be considered less than even Ooarai, it wasn't a good look. In fact, many were expecting Bonple to get trashed. Not even the Type 89 with its weak armor was knocked out against Viking Fisheries, and Rabbit Team had by far gotten the most knockouts, with Momo doing more commanding than Miho this time. Jouko was pleased with how things were going for her, and that she was still willing even with the scholarship, and Alice seemed interested in why exactly Jouko seemed to be supporting Momo.

"Jouko-san, why are you happy for Momo-san? I feel bad for Viking, they were hurt bad."

"It's unfortunate, but I think you haven't heard yet. Momo is trying to prove herself as a good commander to get to university, and with almost 10 battles fighting with Miho, she's clearly shown to be improving. It's impressive how well she was able to lead Ooarai even with Miho's knockout in the Semifinals, and it seems the Federation was pleased with how she led, enough to give her a scholarship for university. But, it's good that she's still trying to command even with the scholarship, dedication is something many like to see."

"I see, I hope to fight Miho-san in the Grand Finals, I've wanted to duel her again since my match with her."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Anyways, if anyone wants to come on a little hiking trip, I'll be ready in half an hour."

Continuation School Ship forests

Jouko was searching for the perfect dead tree to snipe. She had brought her trusty rifle to practice some shooting, as she hadn't done so for a long time given her focus on Sensha-do. She wanted to see if she still had it with the rifle, like she did with the cannon. Her three friends and Alice had decided to join her, the others stayed behind, wanting to watch the other matches that would take place.

"Look, Jouko! A dead tree, there!"

Glancing at the direction Alice pointed, indeed, there was a dead tree on an opposite hill. From Jouko's estimation, it was around half a mile away. Without skipping a beat, she unslinged her rifle, loaded a cartridge, and assumed her belly-down sniping position as her friends took a few steps back to give her some space to focus. She wasn't using scope, but the iron sights. She didn't bring a scope, anyway, any legendary sniper wouldn't use a scope in her book.

No wind, she could shoot straight. Pulling the trigger, a powerful shot rang out through the woods. The bullet took a few seconds to travel the distance, but upon impact, it caused a tiny explosion that sent bark and wood flying everywhere, and viewing from her binoculars, Jouko could see that her bullet had hit. Standing back up, she pumped her rifle in the air to tell her friends she had hit the shot, to their delight. She still had it in her after over a year.

However, Alice was somewhat confused on why Jouko wanted a dead tree. She hadn't asked before, because she was so enamored with seeing Jouko harnessing her inner White Death, but now, she finally mustered the courage to ask.

"Jouko-san, why don't you shoot animals or game, instead you shoot dead trees? I always see hunters shooting animals, and given you're a great shooter, why don't you?"

"Because I'm a devout Christian, a Lutheran to be exact."

"What's a 'Christian', or a 'Lutheran'?"

"Well, shouldn't we go back down first? We got some good exercise, and the answer will be very complicated and lengthy."

With a curious nod, Alice followed Jouko and the others back to her room, where Jouko allowed her friends to go back to their respective rooms to get some rest from a good hiking.

Jouko's room, Continuation School Carrier

With just the two of them alone now, Jouko began to explain Christianity first, then Lutheranism to Alice, but not before providing a quick overview of the Bible. Alice was listening intently, eager to know what Jouko was talking about and to try to understand.

"This will be a long lecture, so get comfortable.

To know Christianity, we'll have to take a look at the Bible, the Word of God. In a nutshell, God created everything including mankind, but mankind disobeyed God and was doomed to die. For several millennia, prophets and kings foretold the coming of a future Messiah that would save everyone from oppression. The Jews interpreted it as freedom from their worldly oppression, but what the prophets really meant was oppression by death and sin, which is evil.

At first it seemed that the Messiah would never come, as the Jews were oppressed by the foreign powers of Babylon, Persia, Greece, then Rome. It was during the time of Roman rule that Jesus was born of Mary, a virgin, who conceived through the Holy Spirit. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man, with no sin, and his cousin, John the Baptist, after spending most of his life in the wilderness, vigorously preached that the Messiah had come, baptizing many in the Jordan River and calling them to repent. Jesus came along and asked that John baptize Him, but John refused to do so, saying that it should be vice versa, but Jesus said it was better that John baptized Him, and it was done.

Spending 40 days fasting in the wilderness afterward, Jesus was tempted at the end of that period where Satan appeared in the form of an angel, and three times tempted Jesus to sin. But, Jesus stayed faithful to God, and resisted all three. After the temptations, He gathered his Twelve Disciples and began His ministry through Judea, performing miracles such as healing the sick, casting out demons, changing water to wine, even raising the dead. His teachings contradicted the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of Judea in that time, and soon there were plots against Him, and when confronted with questions, Jesus effortlessly countered and destroyed their arguments, impressing many.

After three years of ministry, the time had come for Jesus to fulfill prophecy, and headed for Jerusalem for the final time. He was greeted with cheering crowds waving palm branches and laying their coats on the ground, hailing him as 'King of the Jews'. Entering the Temple, He angrily chased out the moneychangers and merchants making sales in the courtyard, which was defiling the holy ground of the Temple. A couple of days later, Jesus gathered His disciples for one last meal, where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, and ate the bread and wine, signifying the body and blood of Christ. After that, they departed to the Garden of Gethsemane, where after praying vigorously to not have to undergo the sacrifice, but accepting God's will, He allowed Himself to be arrested.

After being tried by the High Priest Caiaphas, another High Priest, Annas, and Roman governor Pilate, Jesus was sentenced to death, and carried His cross, albeit assisted by a man from Cyrene named Simon, and was nailed and hung up at a place near Jerusalem named Calvary, or Skull Hill. There, by dying, Jesus accomplished His mission to save humanity from sin, and to signify that the way to speak to God directly was open, the curtain of the Temple that divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two. After Jesus was buried given it was almost sundown on a Friday, which was the start of the Sabbath. Three days later on Sunday morning, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples and commissioned them to spread the Gospel to all nations. The disciples did, and Christianity was born. Major figures such as Peter, Paul, John, and other writers were vigorous in their spreading of the Gospel message, and despite much hardship and persecution by Rome and other places, Christianity was founded on a solid ground and is the dominant religion today."

"Wow... that's a lot..."

Clutching her Boko bear, Alice wanted to know what Lutheranism was now, readying for another lengthy explanation. Jouko obliged her and began to lecture again as Alice listened intently.

"600 years ago, a Bohemian, that is, Czech priest named Jan Hus spoke out against the Catholic Church's doctrines and its views on ecclesiology, the origins of the Christian Church, simony, the selling of religious positions or roles, the Eucharist, which is the consuming of the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, and other theological topics, and after being summoned to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor at the Council of Constance, he defended his works and teachings but was condemned to death by burning at the stake, and a year later his foremost follower, Jerome, initially agreeing to side with the church following Hus' death, later recanted his decision to side with the Catholics and met the same fate. Hus wasn't the first to do this, as in England half a decade earlier a man named John Wycliffe also spoke out against the Church, and although he didn't die a violent death, his buried body was exhumed and burned as if he were still alive.

However, Hus' followers organized themselves in open revolt against the Catholics in 1419, and led by the innovative genius Jan Žižka and later Prokop, they won victory after victory against the Crusades called against them, despite the fact they were largely untrained peasant militia facing an army of well-disciplined veterans. Jan Žižka's tactics were highly innovative for their time, and, say, they could be used in Sensha-do, but I digress. Unfortunately, ideological schisms within the Hussites, as they were called, between the Radical Taborites and the Moderate Praguers, caused their defeat as the Catholics took advantage of the division and put down the rebellion through diplomatic means, finally defeating the Radical Hussites at the Battle of Lipany in 1431.

A century later, a German priest named Martin Luther extensively studied the Bible and realized the doctrine that man could be saved 'Sola Fide', or by Faith alone. In a time where the Catholic Church was corrupt and astray, especially with a new sale of 'indulgences' to pay for a new 'St. Peter's Basilica' in Rome, that is, paying to release the souls of those in purgatory, Luther preached against this and wrote his 95 Theses, arguing against Catholic doctrines, and touching on subjects such as the Eucharist, the indulgences, and the supposed infallibility of the Pope, nailing them to the door of his church in Wittenberg, some of these arguments coming from Jan Hus a century before. This, as well as Luther's other writings, caused a massive controversy within the church which ended up getting Luther summoned to the Holy Roman Emperor's Imperial Diet, or a sort of council, which was being held at Worms, in 1520.

There, he fearlessly defended his beliefs and gathered a large following from his radical ideas. The Catholics, fearing his popularity, sought to get rid of him, but Duke Frederick of Saxony organized a kidnapping of Luther to safely store him away at Wartburg Castle, where he completed a full translation of the New Testament into German to allow for the common people to read it, as well as wrote a popular hymn titled 'Ein Feste Burg', or 'A Mighty Fortress is our God'. When news of major unrest prompted by one of his colleagues' preaching against Catholic ideals and calling for violence came to Luther, he assumed the identity of a German noble and came out of hiding to fix the mess that had been caused. In 1530, several princes and nobles wrote a confession of faith which was presented to the Emperor at Augsburg, which was a major event in the Protestant cause.

Protestantism spread throughout the world. It was successful in Germany, Scandanavia, England, parts of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and later America, but although zealous Protestants worked hard to spread the message of Protestantism in countries such as France, Spain, and Austria, they never saw as much success, with Catholicism remaining the dominant power in those places. Sadly, religious conflicts were a constant during this period, as Catholics tried to get rid of the Protestants to no avail. As for Lutheranism, Luther's teachings became the basis of the denomination of Lutheranism, which I am a part of in the Christian church."

Alice was wide-eyed as Jouko finished. This was a lot to take in, and several seconds of silence passed before Alice asked for water to help clear her mind, and she had several questions to ask, but kept her words to herself. Instead, she asked for a Bible, wanting to know more about this "Christianity" Jouko was a part of, as Alice, being in a traditional household, practiced both Shinto and Buddhism. Jouko obliged her, and gave her a copy of her King James Bible that had been translated to Japanese.

Alice's room, Continuation school carrier

Alice parted with Jouko back to her own room and began to read, and found ideas that wildly differed from her own beliefs.

Alice had been born into a traditional family of Sensha-do practitioners much like how Miho and Maho had, and they practiced ancestor worship and Buddhism, and her mother, although kind and loving, was strict in keeping family tradition. But, Alice was reading in the Bible given her that there was only one God and that He alone should be worshiped, and reading the Ten Commandments, she read that there were to be no idols or false gods that should be worshipped. Ancestors and shrines were worshipped in her family. Was she in the wrong? She didn't want to offend her ancestors at all, given how the Fifth Commandment stated, "Honor thy father and thy mother". But, after reading some more, a verse appeared in the form of Ecclesiastes 9:5, which read:

"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."

This got Alice thinking. The dead didn't know anything. If you were ever knocked unconscious then that was probably what it felt like to be dead. Once you woke up, you couldn't remember what it was like being in an unconscious state, or what your thoughts were showing you, if they showed anything, otherwise you were probably "looking" at pitch-black darkness. If that was how it felt like to be dead, then the dead didn't know anything. But what about their spirits? Further reading to Ecclesiastes 12:7 gave Alice that answer.

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

Before a question could pop into her mind, she noticed that Jouko had written something next to the verse which read:

"Spirit returns to God and no longer exists, if the body is to be resurrected God will give it new life and a new spirit."

So, from what Alice gathered, the spirit of a dead person was returned to God and therefore, since it no longer existed, it couldn't be offended since it didn't have a mind to think, because it no longer was a thing. Now, there would be some who would argue against this belief, but Alice, having no experience in Christian theology, couldn't really argue against this conclusion. And so, she began to question her family traditions, and began seeking Jouko for more guidance, as well as her friends, all of whom had studied with Jouko in theology with their parents and each other back in elementary. But, Alice remembered that she hadn't really gotten her question about killing animals answered. However, when she looked at her clock, she saw it was already 3 in the morning. She had stayed up late to go study this book Jouko had given her. Writing a quick note to remind herself of her question, she went to sleep, and her mind drifted off to dreamland as soon as her head hit the pillow.

AN: Yes, I may have started getting a little theological there, but in the next few chapters I will be reverting the focus back to Sensha-do although I may keep a little plotline with Alice's newfound pathway of Christianity and see where that takes me. As a man raised in a devoutly religious household (though not Lutheran or Catholic, part of another Protestant denomination) I'm a big fan of books written by and about missionaries and some stories about the conversion of some who became a part of preaching salvation to the world. Thanks for reading, feel free to give me criticisms if you like.