Part 24: Naomi
USS George Washington
Yokohama City
By the end of December, most of the main deck of Saunders was close to finished. Former battlefields had been returned to their original state, be it parks, sections of the school itself, or entire neighborhoods.
The various teams, however, weren't quite up to snuff.
Saunders' Sensha-do team, the largest in the high school circuit, had been decimated by the war. Entire platoons had seemingly vanished charging into battle, annihilated by the often larger and deadlier Pravda tanks, or by their initially overwhelming air force. The surviving tankers had their work cut out for them.
Saunders vice commander Naomi trudged through the slushy snow, newly-refurbished M2HB .50cal machine gun over her shoulder. The gunsmiths had offered to help her carry the weapon, being nearly 40 kilos and as long as the Commander was tall, but she had simply walked away from them, bound for her Firefly.
When she reached the tank, Naomi turned and placed the body of the weapon onto the engine deck, before gripping the barrel and pushing the gigantic machine gun as far forward as she could. The Gunner quietly groaned from the exertion, rubbing her shoulder and rotating her arm a few times, before climbing aboard the tank. She stood inside the commander's hatch and reached down, grasping one of the Browning's two hand grips. Naomi pulled with all her might, eventually getting the weapon up to her level, before turning and dropping it into place on its turret mount. Before setting the mounting pins, she looked around.
The parade field was largely empty, save for a few Tankers and Shooting Team veterans wandering around. Most were inside the garage behind Naomi's tank, taking shelter from the cold and waiting for their relief orders, as their daily tasks had been completed, and the following day was Christmas Eve. The relative quiet made sounds around the ship more audible, like new recruits at the shooting range practicing with small arms and mortars. Even some dock work could be heard, as George Washington's hull still wasn't seaworthy.
"Hey, Naomi!" Someone called out. The Gunner turned to see Commander Leanne approaching her, two steaming canteen cups in hand. "You ever heard of a nine to five?"
"Nope." Naomi returned her attention to her machine gun, pushing the final ring pin into place. Before Leanne could speak further, she ducked into the tank, retrieving a box of .50 caliber ammunition. When she surfaced, the Commander had boarded the glistening tank, its surfaces wet and slippery from being outside during the afternoon drizzle. Naomi dropped her ammo box onto its tray next to the gun, her fingers trembling inside her soggy gloves.
"Here." Leanne stopped her from working any further, holding a cup of coffee in front of her face. Naomi sighed and reluctantly accepted it, taking a small sip. The hot liquid scalded her lips, not helped by the bitter taste, so she opted to hold the cup to, at the very least, warm her hands.
"You're gonna work yourself to death on this thing." Leanne said, sitting on the rim of the Loader's hatch, her poncho serving as a barrier against the frozen steel. "Good thing the next week is a holiday."
"Mmm." Naomi hummed in reply, still looking around at the work that needed to be done. 'Aggravated Assault' had been the tip of the spear for Operation Torpedo, the brief and ultimately fruitless attempt at disrupting Pravda by attacking their rear. Nine tanks had been lost out of sixteen, over fifty percent of their force, and the Firefly had been the most damaged out of the survivors. Cracked road wheels, broken side skirts, the coax M1919 unusable from a direct hit that had nearly injured Eileen, the stand-in Loader. If she hadn't been wearing her helmet, she likely would have been killed.
Not to mention the paint job, and the neglected kill rings on the barrel.
"You got anything in mind?" Leanne asked, shaking her friend from her thoughts. "To do over the break?"
"No." The Gunner said flatly. "Too much to do."
The Commander snorted. "If there really was alot to do, you think we'd all just be standing around?" She gestured to the girls in the garage, who were as they were before.
"Yes." Naomi looked at her companion with a pointed expression. "That's what most mechanics do best."
Leanne stammered for a moment. "O-okay. Fine. Fair enough. But this is a holiday. One of the most important of the year. Besides…" She pointed at a Japan Post delivery truck pulling away from the garage. "Even if you don't care about vacation, our suppliers do. That's the last truck until next month."
"There's plenty I can get done without parts." The Gunner argued.
"Naomi." Leanne sounded like a scolding mother. "What's up with you?" She studied the taller girl, who appeared to be consciously looking away from her. "For the last few months or so, you've been working nonstop. If not here, then out on those 'Special Assignments', which, if I didn't know better, I'd chalk up to you just getting chummy with Assam." Naomi pushed herself up and sat down on the hatch rim, taking another sip of her coffee. "Not that I don't appreciate the dedication, or anything."
"It's just that… whenever I'm here, all I see is the destruction Pravda caused." Naomi said glumly. "No matter how much gets done, it never feels like enough."
Leanne sighed. "I can understand that. Still, I don't want to see you burn out."
"That won't happen." The Gunner declared. "I know my limits."
"Either way, it's the Eve of Christmas Eve. It's cold and miserable, everyone's leaving, and what's left to do can wait. Here…" The Commander finished off her coffee and dropped into the tank. "You finish bolting that bad boy down, and I'll start 'er up. Help me park in the hangar, and we'll get out of here."
Naomi nodded. "Okay, then…" She cleaned out some bits of frozen rain that had fallen into the M2 and sprayed it down with gun oil. Freshly lubricated, the action happily accepted the new belt, consisting of a mixture of standard M33 ball and M17 tracer rounds. Just as she racked the gun, the engine behind her started, so Naomi clipped her microphone on and faced the rear. The bay behind the Firefly was empty, so she easily guided Leanne into the parking spot alongside Kay's tank 'Fury', and Alisa's 'Armourgeddon'. Aggravated Assault squeaked to a halt, the brand new brakes not having been worn in yet, and the engine grumbled to a stop. The pair climbed out, with Naomi shaking the rain off of her jacket. Leanne approached her before she could walk away.
"Listen… Naomi." She began. "I understand needing to keep yourself busy. I feel the same way. I just hope you don't drive yourself crazy with all this."
The Vice Commander nodded. "I know. Kay just decided to put me on 'stand by' for her 'Special Mission', so… I guess I'm just trying to make up for it."
"Hurry up and wait, eh?" Leanne asked with a chuckle. "We've all been there. Say, if it'll help cheer ya up at all, I hear the Flying Aces are going to launch their first test flight later. How about you go home and change, then meet me at the airfield?"
Visible progress. Something Naomi felt was exactly what she needed. A faint smile formed on her lips as she nodded.
"Yeah. Okay."
"Sweet." The Commander grinned. "See ya later."
A/N: Salutations to all
I hope everyone is enjoying these quick check-ins with the cast. I'm honestly having fun writing them, expanding on the universe a bit
Coming up soon is the confrontation everyone is waiting for, followed by the culmination of the side drama.
Special greetings to new story followers Jrzosso and joemamathe9th. Welcome to the show, and thanks for the love!
Thank you all so much for reading. See you in a few!