Calm.

Peace and calm.

Delilah laid back across her bed and stretched her arms out. As much as she loved Tankery, being able to relax in her room after cleaning up from practice was one of the best moments of the day. Being able to completely remove all thoughts of work and stress from her mind was something she considered necessary, even if things weren't that difficult right now. The grind of school was just far enough behind Delilah that she was keeping ahead of it, but it was still there, and days sometimes melded together.

What day is it anyway?

Chi-Ha-Tan's match had been last weekend, the day they'd all switched was Monday, the President had shown up that evening, and Amy's discovery was Tuesday… that was yesterday… no… the day before that. It was Thursday.

Already? Nearly a whole week goes by without feeling like it really happens.

Delilah's phone buzzed and she lazily half-turned her head to see it. All she could tell was that it was Ayame. Worry sprang up inside her. Was Ayame okay? Was something else happening?

"Ayame, is everything okay?"

"What?"

"You called me, is there something wrong?"

"No…"

"Ah. Then what's up?"

"This weekend, it'll be the number of schools we won against."

Delilah sighed. Ayame's attempts at corny humor were… interesting.

"I'm sorry. You're saying what?"

"We've got a match this weekend. Know why?"

"Because that idiot, what do you call her, the Bird? The Bird is making us play a match randomly again?"

"Anzio just challenged us to a match."

"Oh…"

For the tired tank commander, it took a half second to register.

"Wait… they what?!"

"We just got challenged to our first match ever."

"Bloody hell. So that's a first for Dominion?"

"Yeah, it is. We're always the ones asking for skirmishes against other schools. Looks like our luck is changing and we're finally getting some attention!"

"That's really great to hear, Ayame. Listen, tell the rest of my crew and then we'll let the whole team know tomorrow, okay?"

"On it!"

Delilah hung up and laid back down onto her bed. Or more accurately, she flopped down and sighed. Another match meant having to get ready on short notice once again.

Why can't we just have a normal match cycle for once? It'd be nice to finally get some proper training and practice in, not just getting ready for what's happening in just days.

In reality, it wasn't too bad and she'd done worse before, but still. Being tired and thinking about this sort of thing don't mix well. Generally, it makes a person have one of two reactions: either they stress and won't stop thinking about the issue or they get even more tired from trying to think. In this case, Delilah was the latter.

Darkness. Shortness of breath. An odd smell and strange noise. What the hell? Delilah couldn't figure out where she was or what was going on. After a moment, she tried to move.

Oh. You fell asleep and face planted into the covers. Dumbass.

In Delilah's hand, her phone vibrated twice. It was one in the morning; she'd been asleep for five hours. Who was texting her at 1 AM?

It was Amy.

You ever tried this thing called sleep?

Yeah, eight hours a day.

Well then what the fuck are you doing?

Ever heard The Only Exception?

Who hasn't?

Well that sums up me and Tankery.

That describes all of us, and you still didn't answer my question. What exactly are you doing?

Come over, you should see it anyways.

It's not like Delilah had anything else to do. Well, except sleep of course.

Ah well, I'm ahead in terms of sleep anyway, I only need three more hours and I've got five and a half to work with. Delilah thought to herself.

She gently pushed open the door and walked across the hall. Amy's door was unlocked, Delilah opened it and stepped inside. It was just like her own room; laid out in the same linear pattern. On the right was a small kitchen area. To the left was the door to the bathroom, and forward opened into the room itself. The bed was to the right, past it a sliding glass door opened onto the balcony. To the left was a bookshelf and beside it was a desk, where Amy was sitting. She was staring at her computer screen, or really screens. Amy had two set up and in use, she was looking back and forth between both of them. One was of course the screen on her laptop, but the other was a monitor placed to the left.

Why in the world do you need more screens? Are you somehow above using alt-tab?

"Wassup." Amy said, not looking away from the screens.

"Well, we're both up, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are."

Amy slid the chair back and turned to Delilah. "Hungry?"

"It's one in the morning, why would I be hungry?"

"I've got ramen."

Delilah half-chuckled. "Of course you do. Know what, I'll take it."

"What kind?" Amy said as she opened a cabinet. "I've got it all."

And she really did have it all. Inside the cabinet, there was a selection of flavors and brands. A-Sha, Udon, Top Ramen, and various flavors of Maruchan. Delilah took a packet of chicken Top Ramen, Amy pulled out an Udon bowl.

"Christ, Amy. You gonna eat all that?"

"Over the course of the whole semester, yeah."

From another cabinet, Amy pulled out an electric kettle. She filled it with water, set it on the baseplate, and started the heater.

"I didn't know you Americans knew of the best way to boil water."

"Yeah, I discovered them a while back. Great for anything that needs water, they're like a college student's best friend. I was so happy to find one in the cabinet with basic utensils when I got here."

"You're not in college…"

"Living on my own, away from home, in a dorm. Close enough. Still eat like this when I'm at home though."

Both of them sat down with their steaming soup in front of Amy's computer. She'd been doing research on Anzio, apparently.

"How much have you put together so far?"

"Well, Anzio has an Italian theme to it, obviously. I've been trying to pin down their exact lineup and tactics."

"I don't know Italian vehicles well…"

"Neither do I, but things like the Internet and Hunnicutt help."

Delilah was surprised. "Okay, I know you're a nerd, but how the hell is a teenager like you affording a Hunnicutt reference book? They're three or four hundred dollars!"

Amy grinned slyly. "I don't."

"You pirate them? Amy, that's illegal."

"Hell no, I just went to the library at home and scanned what I thought I'd need under 'educational use' which is valid since it's for Tankery. I have a small collection of scanned pages that focuses on the basics for the major countries. Thankfully, that includes some Italian stuff. Everything else is going to have to come from Tank Encyclopedia or Wikipedia."

"What don't you have?"

"A lot more in hard copy back home. I have some stuff on American equipment here, everything else is a PDF on my laptop."

At a glance, Delilah could see the few books Amy had brought with her on the shelf. One caught her eye in particular. "At some point, I'm going to borrow that copy of Can Openers."

"You're welcome to. Sucks there aren't really any Inside the Chieftain's Hatch episodes on Italian armor because it'd be a big help. He's got some stuff, though."

None of Amy's knowledge or resources would help if they didn't know what tanks to look up. Amy had figured out that Anzio's lineup consisted of a single P26/40, a handful of Semovente da 75/18, and the rest of the team was filled in by CV.33 tankettes. While this information was useful, it was obtained with minor difficulty.

"I couldn't watch any of the Anzio match recordings from the past year or so, and that includes their recent match against Ooarai." Amy said.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I tried to pull up the video, it said my IP was blocked. See?"

Opening her browser history, Amy opened the page that had a recording of the Anzio-Ooarai match. It went blank for a moment before displaying an error message.

"That's… weird. Wait, hold on."

Delilah stood up and ran across the hall. She returned with her own laptop and found the same site Amy was using. It was an attempt, but it returned the same result.

"What the hell? I'm blocked too."

"It's weird, but at least we figured out what we needed to in the end, right?"

"I know. Something about it just bugs me though."

Amy searched through files on her computer. Her documentation on Italian tanks was even more sparse than she thought. All she had of use was some Hunnicutt source material on the P40. Deciding this was nowhere near enough, she looked up the other two vehicles online.

"Well, that's what I can come up with right now. Basic development history, design specifications, and not much else. Better than nothing, I guess."

"Hey, it's way more than we knew a few minutes ago. Get all that information together and we'll go over it with Ayame tomorrow."

Delilah scribbled notes down, nowhere near as detailed or thorough as Amy's. She stopped writing and watched Amy take notes. Until now, Delilah hadn't noticed that Amy was left-handed. "Is that why you use a pen?"

"What?"

"You're cack-handed."

"Well, cack-handed can describe a lot about how I go about life, but yes, I write with a pen because I'm a leftie. Pencils smear and there are a lot of pens that dry too slow so they do as well."

"You use special pens?"

"Kind of. Nothing specifically made for left-handed writing, but there are some considerations. Of course, smearing ink is the big one. You also run into the issue of pushing the pen across the page instead of pulling it. It's a balance of finding pens with ballpoints that don't scratch and ink that dries fast. Personally, I like Zebra F-301s and F-402s. Steel pens make you look like a baller. Other than that, I have a bunch of other semi-favorites. Uni makes some good ones."

"You're a true nerd. A laptop full of tank stuff and opinions on pens. Makes me feel almost normal." Delilah said as she smiled. "And I mean that as a compliment."

Amy chuckled. "Wait till you hear my opinions on cars, music, and random outdoor equipment. I'm a total hipster."

"What, do you have opinions on coffee too? That's definitely a hipster move."

"Not outside of slightly preferring mochas. Normally, I drink whatever tastes the least like coffee that's put in front of me."

"You should try tea then."

"Mmm, yes. Tea. Only good cold and extra sweet."

"If we ever are in a match against Saint Gloriana's, I dare you to offer Darjeeling sweet iced tea."

"I'd do that even without a dare."

Delilah leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. There was something one her mind. "Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like receiving two challenges in less than a week?"

"You talking about that girl who said she'd race me on Tuesday? Sayuki?"

"Yeah. Her."

Amy nodded. She hadn't thought about it like that – really, she hadn't thought about the fact Dominion had actually been challenged to a match at all. Instead, she'd immediately thought about the other team and what she could find out about them. "Well, Tankery is one thing. I'm sure you understand it more than I do. The race is different. It's not that I'm worried about it. Just that it's a new experience – a new course against a car I've never even seen up close. It makes me excited to see that new thing, y'know? The R33 GT-R is a pretty crazy car, and it's something that you never see in America. All I know is based on numbers and statistics, and what little I saw of Sayuki's personality. I don't care if I win or lose – I'm pretty sure I'll win – I just want to see what it's like. Same deal with the Anzio match. I've never seen anything Italian in person, and we're going to be in combat with them in a couple days."

"You're a nerd. But you're not the kind of nerd that's satisfied with just the basics and the numbers. You want the full story and you want that full experience."

"Somehow, you figure this out without me telling you."

Delilah was still staring up at the ceiling tiles, letting her eyes unfocus and her vision blur. "I notice things and read people. Sometimes too well. I guess I'm just really observant, I don't know. It's not that I can predict things, it's that I come to a mental conclusion."

"You're a tank commander."

Delilah nodded.

"And you're completely right, too." Amy continued. "It's why I started doing Tankery. I love history and learning the stories that are slowly forgotten. It's hard to fully understand something until you experience some part of it. I personally believe that experience is the best teacher there is, no matter if it's history, science, or anything else. There's also the fact that it's an escape from the world around me, but that's a whole different discussion that will end in a rant."

"Summarize."

Amy stopped for a moment before she spoke. "I say I hate people, but that's not true. It's not true at all. I just hate when people argue with each other, especially about which opinion is the best opinion. But really I can just explain it as 'Don't be a dick' for now. We can talk about it some other time."

"I'll take you up on that. And as for you, what you said about me being a tank commander is correct, just backwards from what you might expect. I'm not observant because I'm a commander, but vice versa. I wanted a way to have fun with what I'm good at, and Tankery is it. Really I kind of fell into the sport and just happened to like it."

Both girls sat in silence for a short time. Neither said anything until Amy's computer pinged.

"You have mail." Delilah said, imitating the AOL noise.

Amy switched windows to Discord. Delilah was taken aback by what was on screen.

"Oh my…"

"Uh… I can explain…"

"Normally I'd call bullshit but I wanna hear it."

"I joined a Discord server the other day, and it's a bunch of fellow tank nerds. They're all really knowledgeable and talented. And have no filter to their insanity. And are apparently totally shameless. In a good way of course, I'm saying that as a compliment. Everyone's super nice and helpful, just a bit crazy. Good crazy."

"With great power comes great lewdability."

"I'm stealing that."

"Listen, it's half past two. I'll let you be, and thanks for the ramen. Like I said, we can get all the information with us to practice tomorrow. You converse with your crazy tank friends, or whatever it is you do at this time of night."

"Alright. Go sleep normal human sleep hours."

"G'night."

Alone, Amy watched the Discord chat scroll by. She'd rather not repeat several of the things being said. Ah well, it was probably the most entertaining and nicest group of people she'd met online in a while. Without them, there was no way she'd have gotten half the information she did. Eventually, Amy decided that she too had had enough for the night and moved from her desk to her bed. Even as she started to calm down from the day, Amy thought through the past several days. What was racing the R33 going to be like? She'd wanted to explain to Delilah about what exactly she was used to driving and racing against in Virginia, and how she'd come to love motorsports in general. That would be another time. There was still one thought in Amy's mind as she fell asleep.

What was up with being blocked from seeing Anzio's recent matches?

Memorandum – MEXT School Carriers Department to Anzio Girls High School

It has come to our attention that Anzio Girls High School has recently lost a Sensha-do tournament match to Ooarai Girls Academy, in large part due to the inadequacy of its fighting vehicles. In an effort to promote the sport of Sensha-do, it has been decided that several schools should receive assistance to augment their vehicles. Anzio is high on this list, and is to receive two vehicles, free of charge. Both have been donated by an anonymous benefactor who would refer that these vehicles stay a closely guarded secret until their debut match. However, the vehicles will be donated on a single condition: that Anzio Girls High School will challenge Dominion Girls High School to a Sensha-do skirmish match. This match will be the debut of the vehicles, and they are to be used to their fullest extent. It does not appear necessary to require that Anzio be victorious in this match, as both MEXT and the donator both have full confidence in the abilities of Anzio's Sensha-do team and in the quality and fighting effectiveness of the new vehicles.

Tsuji Renta, Head of MEXT School Carriers Department

AN: Hey all! My apologies for not posting for two whole weeks, finals got pretty crazy this semester even though I had a smaller than usual number of classes. My brain kind of went into a mush for the past week after all my exams were done, so I only managed to get this chapter done for now. I'm not sure about the next one, I'd like to get right back on a weekly schedule, but it's likely going to be pretty long since it's a battle chapter. I'd like to take my time and get it right, but it shouldn't be too long of a wait. Finally, a massive thanks to everyone on Discord who helped edit, since it was more than just my usual two. You guys are awesome! Anyways, see you after the Anzio match!