Part 11: Oryou

"Guys… I'm scared."

Oryou sat in the driver's seat of Ooarai Academy's Stüg III, a place she had not been in six entire months. Her teammates were all in their positions, patiently waiting for her to make her move. Saemonza directly behind her, behind her gun sight. Caesar in her Loader's seat to the right. Erwin all the way at the back, ducking down from speaking with Hoshino. The most sober of the four mechanics had assured the Hippos that their tank was ready to start. The engine bay was at an acceptable temperature, and all the maintenance was up to date.

As was the case with the other tanks in the garage.

"What are you so worried about?" Erwin asked. "It's not like the tank has been changed in any way."

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to, Oryou." Caesar said reassuringly. "This was my idea. If you change your mind, we-"

"No." Oryou cut her off, taking a deep breath. "No. I have to. If Ooarai ever hopes to participate in Sensha-do again, we'll need our whole team. They'll need us. Commander Nishizumi will need us. "

Oryou sighed and looked down at her controls. Shaking the cobwebs off of her memory, she reached out and touched everything. Every button, every gauge, every lever. Then came trying to find the pedals.

The Driver felt around with her prosthetic foot, looking for where it impacted with different surfaces.

With a dull thud, she found the throttle. Smiling with confidence, she lifted her foot and kept moving left. Her boot eventually caught on the brake, and she took a moment to practice switching between the two.

Feeling sure enough of herself, she nodded.

"Okay." Oryou let out a breath. "I think I'm ready."

Erwin smiled and gave a nod to Hoshino.

"They're starting up!" The Leopon girl called out to the team. "Fire in the hole!"

Oryou pressed down on the clutch, setting the parking brake and shifting into neutral. She switched on the running lights and pressed the ignition button.

There was a quiet whine that emitted from the engine and it puttered a few times, but nothing else happened.

Oryou heard a clambering on top of the hull and saw Hoshino poke her head into the driver's hatch.

"Need us to crank start it?"

The Driver shook her head. "No. No I… I can do it."

Hoshino grinned at her and sat back.

Oryou pumped the throttle a few times, a trick she had picked up from Reizei, and tried again. This time, the Maybach engine tiredly groaned, chugging a few times before slowly rolling to life. Oryou applied pressure to the throttle and the whole tank began vibrating, the engine roaring.

"Yeah!" Hoshino shouted, as did the other Reki-jo. Nogami beamed. While outside, Miho and Saori pushed the doors open, Oryou pressed on the brake, jolting back when a sudden pain shot through her knee.

"You okay, Oryou?" Saemonza asked over the radio.

"The vibration." The Driver winced. "The connection point! The vibration is too much, Ze yo!"

"Just let the engine throttle down." Erwin said simply.

"What about when I'm driving?" Oryou replied. "I need to be fast! I can't wait for anything!"

"Oryou." Caesar spoke up. "It's okay. Remember, you're having to learn to drive all over again. This isn't a race. Just take your time."

Takeko sighed and nodded to herself as the engine came down to a gradual chugging. She hesitantly pressed on the brake again, which released the parking brake. After not receiving a stab in the leg, she shifted up to first. Letting go of the pedals, the Stüg lurched forward, and Oryou switched over to the throttle. The steel gray machine crawled out of the garage for the first time, crushing the snow under its tracks.

"And we are… under way." Erwin reported as the tank completely exited the building. "Nice work, Oryou. Try shifting up to second."

Oryou nodded, attempting to pivot her feet and pull the stick shift back. The tank responded with a loud grinding noise that took everyone by surprise.

"Clutch! Clutch!" Saemonza barked. Oryou stomped on the clutch and brake, bringing the steel beast to a halt. The engine stalled out and died with a loud clunk.

"Dammit!" Nogami cried with dismay, punching the hull. "Ugh! I knew this wasn't going to work!"

"Oryou, it's okay." Taka cooed. "We're taking this one step at a time, remember?"

"I know! I… I know." Oryou shook her head and fixed her glasses. "It's just… I already know how to drive. It just makes things that much more frustrating."

"Well, you're here to practice. It's been quite a while, as you said."

The Driver gritted her teeth and sighed loudly. The Stüg was silent for a time before Saemonza spoke, rubbing her hands together from the cold.

"Okay, how about this… how did you used to drive? What did you do with your feet?"

"Pressed the pedals with them." Oryou said with a deadpan expression. The Gunner rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, wiseass. Did you keep your heels on the floor and pivot your ankles?" Saemonza replicated the motions with her hands.

"Yeah… why?"

"If your prosthetic is too slow…" Kiyomi said slowly. "Try lifting instead of pivoting. Keep your foot locked in place and just move your leg."

Oryou nodded after a moment. She ensured that the tank was in neutral before trying again. The engine started, with some protest, and the shift to first was smoother than before. Getting up to speed, Oryou lifted her foot straight up and pressed the clutch down at the same time. The Stüg stopped accelerating, and she quickly tugged the shift backwards. Lifting away from the clutch and hitting the throttle again, the tank destroyer sped off across the parade field.

"You did it, Oryou!" Caesar cheered. Continuing into the snowy darkness, Oryou couldn't stop smiling. She reached up and pushed her hatch open, letting the frozen air hit her in the face. Her glasses began to frost over as she shifted up to third. For the first time since coming home, she felt alive.

Oryou pulled back on the left stick, steering the tank sharply to the left. Erwin was thrown out of her seat and crashed into Caesar, both exclaiming in surprise. Saemonza laughed excitedly as Oryou pulled the other stick, swerving to the right and hurling both girls around wildly.

Snow flew around the tracks and made scattered piles across the field. Nogami tugged the left one more time and steered back to the garage. In the open bay, she saw Takebe nervously step backwards. At the last moment, Oryou pressed down on the brake and pulled both sticks back as far as she could. The tank slid to a halt mere feet away from running Commander Nishizumi over.

The Stüg remained motionless for a time, before the Commander's hatch opened. A pile of snow spilled down as Erwin stood up, hat askew and head swimming.

Caesar emerged next, rubbing a sore spot on her shoulder from crashing into the gun breech.

The next hatch to open was the Gunner's. Saemonza pulled herself up, a wide grin on her lips and her hair a mess.

Last but not least, Oryou climbed up, a crazed smile on her face and fiery glee in her eyes.

Takebe stepped out from behind Miho and slowly paced towards the snow covered Stüg.

"I… take it you had fun, Oryou?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes I did, Ze yo." Takeko said happily.

"While I'm happy for you…" Erwin began, stepping up out of her hatch and fixing her hat. "Remind me to never get in a car with you again."

A/N: While she still needs some work, Oryou appears to be on the mend. And Saemonza is proving herself able to be civil

Coming up soon, progress on what Darjeeling and Kay have planned for Snowdrift. And some members of the Ooarai Rangers are feeling a bit lonely and homesick. Exactly how will those feeling manifest?

Happy New Year, everyone!