Chapter 14

Traf and George were busy helping Saunders with repairs, when Alisa approached them. They stopped working and turned to her. Without warning, she bowed deeply and apologised for her actions. They almost waved it off, when Traf got an idea. "I know where Takashi is, but give up on him. He doesn't love you." George supported him almost immediately.

"He was the one, who fired that track shattering shot. If it was me, a whole wheel would fly away in several pieces." The girl sighed and looked sad for a moment. "He was just scared to confront you, y'know?" his radioman tried to ease the sadness coming from her.

Alisa tried to say something, when a certain white haired girl showed up with murderous glare. "Was machen sie her?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "We're helping. Wanna join?" Traf responded and offered her a wrench. "Nein!" was the last thing that Erika Itsumi said before storming away.

"Wow, mate… that one is even more than tsundere…" George said and sat down on the grass. "Do you think that sturmdere fits her?" the commander of the boy crew joked. "That… is perfect for her! Stormy tsundere!" George agreed, high fived with him and tried his best to not laugh. "By the way… We did as much as we could. We'll leave the rest on your own mechanics." Alisa nodded and let them go.

Maho looked at the two boys as they left the Saunders garages with their toolboxes in hand. They were looking tired, but happy. That is maybe from the victory against Saunders… she thought. Her mother left earlier and she also seemed… different. It was as if she was planning something with the boys, but nothing malicious.

I should also put Erika on a shorter leash. Her outbursts would hurt someone, if I won't be near… Maho planned in her head. The White wolf and Ice queen of Kuromorimine needs someone to control her temper. She already sent her vice-commander with two of Miho's crew members to Oarai with a helicopter, because the grandma of one of them was in a hospital.

But Erika could easily snap at those two and call them dogs at best. And they'll get an even worse opinion about me… Suddenly, her train of thoughts was broken, when she spotted a familiar man. He had the same hair color as Miho and seemed to be well-built. Is that… Otou-san?! she realized and ran towards the man, ignoring the consequences.

She tackled the man and they both fell on the ground. "M-Maho?!" he said with surprise and worry in his voice. "Wait… You know her?" the brother of Rosehip asked. "Yes, I do. She is my daughter after all." That surprised the two boys. "My real name is Tsuneo Nishizumi. Please, keep this a secret until the end of this Tournament." The leader of the only boy tank crew in Sensha-Do nodded in response and promised to do so.

"And another secret that I know is: That Raven's Nest is behind the Oarai case from five years ago. They forced me into hiding and building tanks for them. Their latest order consisted of T26E4 Super Pershings and a Maus. Thanks to Renta Tsuji, I got more time to finish them, but I chose to never do so. They have some KV-2s, T-35s and Königstigers after all…" The tank roster of the school surprised everyone. With those, even the combined might of all powerhouses will be nothing against these!

But for some reason, Trafalgar Jameson smirked. "Their firepower and armor is too strong, but their speed is nothing compared to our Tiger and Type 89B, your Panzer III and St. Gloriana's Crusader III. We could force them to burn all fuel and attack from a high ground." Maho nodded at that strategy. "And what if the KV-2s get to the high ground first?" she tested him. "Send our strongest calibers to try and disable them from afar. If we have a IS-2 or ISU-152, penetration is guaranteed."

"Indeed, but that is only if Pravda joins us. Without them, we would be forced to rely on the Maus and the heavier tank destroyers to defend them from being disabled." The boy nodded. "And we look forward to those Panthers being returned." He extended his right arm towards her. She hesitated for a second and shook it.

"We should hurry to catch the last train and bus to Oarai!" her father reminded them and the three males ran away after saying their goodbyes.

The next day, MEXT headquarters

Renta Tsuji rewatched again the fight of Oarai against Saunders. The Tiger was indeed a caged beast and a sight to behold. It feels like the crew is either skilled or just uses the standard Tiger I related tactics of ambushing an enemy… he thought and yet again only guessed, who could be the one, who opened the hatch and waited until the video ended to remain unknown.

But, there was another video montage, picturing the Tiger and Panzer IV H with the last two functioning Saunders tanks. They were using the ropes to get the disabled tanks to the garages, and while the Saunders tanks were stopping there, the Oarai ones rode away. Helping the enemy with getting their tanks to the garages and sending two of their own mechanics to help with fixing… No one did that before.

Suddenly, he remembered something and replayed the match. "Ask Knispel about it. I have a feeling that he knows the answer." HE?! A boy in Sensha-Do?! he realized. "The StuG III F commander unknowingly revealed the gender of one of the crew members… Maybe those three mechanics are more than just mechanics…" he muttered. If you told him just a month ago that a single boy is either a mechanic or a crew member in Sensha-Do, he'll immediately close the school, but now… he won't do it.

I'll keep this a secret for their sake. I bet that even Shiho had to compliment them for their skills. After that, he remembered that the commander is most likely the boy with the papers. He would be able to keep his tank if Oarai gets closed and he could move with it and his crew members to another school.

I think that the nickname suits him. His aim is true after all. One shot, one kill. But, that track destroying shot was fired by someone else. Maybe the driver… he thought and smiled. Before he fell for the Sensha-Do propaganda, he and Tsuneo were the closest of friends with the same belief: boys should be allowed to compete in the sport. And now, their dream was slowly coming true.

George, Takashi, Tsuneo and Trafalgar were lost in the lower parts of the school ship and they knew it. "Well, so much for going by the last train and bus…" the pink haired boy muttered. They met some sailors, but they had only vague answers for them about the direction of the stairs leading to the city on the ship.

Suddenly, he saw that there was another big room and on the wall next to it was a map! "I found the map!" he announced, but no one came to him. He turned and noticed that they were pointing their flashlights at a pile of crates. There was something strange about them. The radioman slowly looked up and saw a piece of something long, steely and rusty.

"What is that?" he asked. The only answer was silence. He sighed and turned on his own flashlight, pointing it at the thing he noticed. And he paled afterwards. "A Tiger (P)! I knew that something good should be there!" Tsuneo exclaimed. "If it wouldn't fail even faster and more than a Tiger (H) that we have…" his commander muttered. "Not if we repair it with one of the automotive club's spare engines."

"Yeah… It should have at least 600hp then…" Takashi added. "A Maybach HL 210 TRM 45P should work, mate. The original engine had 306hp and Maybach HL 210 TRM 45P had 650. But if you want an even better engine… Try installing the Maybach HL 230 TRM 45P with its 700hp." George nodded at that. Technical specs about all Tiger versions were part of the 3 hour lecture two weeks ago in order to familiarize with the tank even more.

"With a better engine, it won't fail that much. And it will be a threat to anyone." The others nodded at that. "George, call Saori! We have found a treasure in here and also need a guide…" Trafalgar commanded. The radioman pulled out his phone and found Saori's caller ID almost immediately.

Saori pulled out her phone from a pocket she had it in. The caller was George. "What is it?" she asked. "We got lost in the ship, but we also found a new tank!" he answered. "Miporin!" she called out. "Yes, Saori?" the team captain asked. "They found another tank!" Miho blinked several times. "Give it to me." Saori gave her the phone. "What tank did you find?"

"A Tiger (P). I bet that the automotive club will love it. Any progress on your side?" Trafalgar answered. "No, but the files included a B1 that Erwin is searching for now." There was a snicker on the other side. "Char B1 Bis? That tank was almost the bane of Wehrmacht in the early years of WW2…" Saori just stood there as she listened to the conversation. "Alright, give us your position and we'll send someone for you and the tank."

"Lower deck level -4, storage room number 14. There is a map nearby." Miho nodded at that, while Saori memorised the information for later. She would use it later to navigate the rescue team or the retrieval one. "Just try not to get lost next time, okay?" Saori demanded as she retrieved her phone and ended the call afterwards.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Aomori Prefecture

Katyusha was never interested in fights performed by weaker schools, but this time it was different. That Oarai newbies got a draw against St. Gloriana in an unofficial match first, now dominated over Saunders without losing a tank and even helped the defeated school with some repairs, using the infamous boys maintenance crew. "I think that we'll face them. If they defeated Kay without problem, Anchovy won't be a problem for them."

The small girl looked at the speaker. "I know Nonna, but I am trying to also figure out who are the crew members of that infamous Tiger. Tiger I, number 101 destroyed dozens of Soviet tanks after all…" she answered. "Try listening to their broadcasts then. There should be an answer about the mystery." I only hope that they don't have another Tiger tank with an infamous number… That would lower the morale of my subordinates easily.

Katyusha rewinded the time a bit and turned on the audio before clicking on the 'play' button. She widely grinned, when she saw the hopeless M4 get disabled, but the sheer fear slowly crept into her head and started plaguing her mind. "Ask Knispel about it. I have a feeling that he knows the reason." Katyusha glanced at her large vice-commander and noticed that she was deep in thought and also shivering a bit.

Knispel?! He?! Well, the Knispel part can be understood thanks to the tank and its number, but he?! she thought and realized it after a few seconds. "T-the tank is manned by BOYS?!" she screamed with surprise in her voice. "It is true. Their StuG III commander simply slipped and served us the gender of the Tiger crew's commander unknowingly." Katyusha grinned after hearing that. "If they lose or give up to our might, I'll make them work on gulag with typical food from the beginning of Stalin's rule!" she announced.

"This time, I hold no objections about it. The boys should whistand more than most of our subordinates." I look forward to this. She will enjoy this, but first, she needs to win over Oarai. "Speaking of Oarai… Didn't one of my ancestors send them some T-34s?" she suddenly remembered. "And they returned them for no reason 5 years ago. Just right before their whole Sensha-Do team went missing."

"But, if their tanks went missing and they returned the borrowed ones, how did they get the tanks they have now into their possession?" "I don't know. But, their models can't be, except for the 38 (t) and the Tiger, borrowed from any school…"

Miho sat down on a chair with a paper in front of her. She quickly wrote several points on things that are needed: a Maybach HL 210 TRM 45P (Trafalgar's suggestion with the approval of her father), 125 more 8,8 KwK 36 L/56 compatible ammo and 3000 ammo for two MG34s (for now). But, thanks to her father's contacts, they'll either pay less or get them for free.

I should also send Yukari to get me the information about Anzio's roster for the next battle. She can slip anywhere, while Trafalgar needed a distraction to be able to sneak in unnoticed. But, she must be sent a week before the match at best, day before it at worst. Anytime sooner and it ends in disaster.

She looked at the report about the Porsche Tiger. It was in a good state, with only the engine needed to be replaced and ammo replenished. I'll let them join the next match after the fight with Anzio. Having two 8,8 KwK 36s against Pravda will be better than one. Miho nodded for herself and wrote on the lower part of the paper a note to don't forget telling the Tiger I crew to help with the Tiger (P) crew's training, since their tanks are similar.