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School garage, 15th of September 2015, 1415 hours:

Water had frozen on the ground, and leaves fell from trees, leaving them naked as the cold northern wind of autumn passed through. Students are seen wearing extra-warmer clothes such as coats, scarves, sweaters, and jackets. Meanwhile, inside the large garage, behind the large metal door, were students who were checking on their tanks; some were giving them decals and some extra modifications. All of them wear their usual tankery uniform with extra clothes like scarves, sweaters, jackets, or tanker suits.

"I'm surprised at how fast these tanks were repaired. It's like... magic." Miyuki looked at all the tanks, her eyes looking in awe.

"Yeah..." Anoki then looked at one of the two Stuart's, which were put side by side. "I wonder if they just replaced our tanks. Because it feels like they did just that."

Then, Alisia came in while holding a few recently bound books and a wide scroll of paper, along with the student council's president beside her, who was holding her tablet close to her chest. "Morning everyone."

Anoki and Miyuki looked back at Alisia. "There they are."

Both Alisia and the president came to a halt. The president walked forward and began speaking. "So, since you all will be fighting against another team on the weekends, The headmaster wanted to know what problems you are all facing currently, so... Anyone here wants to complain?"

"A match? I wonder with whom." The students began wondering and talking to each other, curious about the opponent they'd be facing soon. It was when one student raised his hand that he gained the attention of the president.

"Yes? What is your name and your complaints?" The president pointed towards the student who raised his hands, which was Emile Moreau. The other students looked at him as he began his statement.

"We need something to protect our heads, Bastien slammed his head to the gun breach multiple times, and he said he had problems focusing on lessons earlier." He stated this before continuing. "I'm sure the others have the same problems."

"Oh, yes. We really need that... yesterday." Alisia muttered. The other students then began making the same complaints as Emile's. The president began typing on her tablet the complaints that were stated, nodding before then looking back at them.

"Alright then, I'll get this thing said to the headmaster. Now, Alisia. It's your turn to talk with them." The president looked back down at Alisia, who was being quiet most of the time, muttering and observing, which caught Alisia by surprise, and she responded back with a nervous tone.

"A-Ah! Yes! A-Anyways... We're going to have our match on Saturday with Boston College Tankery. As for tank commanders, uh... Follow me to, uh, that room." Alisia pointed at the room with the door labeled with a white label where it's written, 'All-Purpose-Room'.

Then, after her short statement, Alisia and the tank commanders then walked towards the room, while the rest of the students continued with their previous activity, talking and adding decorations to their tanks. As the commanders entered, the person who entered last closed the door, and all sounds from the garage on the other side were muffled. Then Alisia began to speak. "Alright, uhh.. So we're going to be facing the Boston College team in a friendly match. The headmaster just gave me some information about them through our school's connection to the CTF, so uhm." Alisia then placed the items she was holding down on the large table, although she had to push herself due to her short weight. "There.."

Then the commander took the papers for them to read, and before then one of them, Isabelle, spoke. "So, where will we be fighting?"

"Well, in the Virginian Tankery Field, from what I've heard, Information regarding our opponent's tanks and numbers, along with information about the place we'll be given, will only be disclosed 72 hours before the match. But our informants are being helpful in giving us some information. So we should make our future plans about this."

Then, the commanders began taking the papers and reading through the information. Jack took one of the papers titled 'Duffus Company'. He opened to reveal the first page, which revealed the complete composition and structure of tank companies. There were many things he was unfamiliar with, like the boxes and the terms, but the small box that wrote the meanings and definitions of each symbol and term helped him understand the paper he was reading. "One company has two platoons. One platoon consists of five tanks. That's basically almost our entire force! Gosh, how big are they?"

"I don't know, but they look scary." Beornhelm commented as he flipped through the pages, reading information after information about the 'Thunder Company'. Reading through the details that were written inside. "I don't know what 'Thunder Company' is, but they look scary with the records written here. Being a'shock force', whatever that term is, it is said here as their most decorated unit."

Jack continued flipping through the pages, reading information about the 'Duffus Company' he was reading. Before then, he closed it and began drawing conclusions. "So, from what I read here from 'Duffus Company,' they're a company known for the most lousy units due to their performance and their, uh, Captain Superman? What does that even mean?"

Colin was reading one of the books titled 'Pitcher Company'. He also began stating his conclusion after reading. "From what I've read here, they're the long-range units. So I assume they engage indirectly." He stated that, with a little knowledge he got from playing some RTS games and a few other military-themed games, "T34 Calliope. Huh, weird name."

Alisia observed them reading the books; she yawned before she grabbed a chair close to her and sat down. She sighed, tired as she spent quite the time playing all night to 3 AM, forgetting about school. She began to dream of the old days she still remembered a little, still living in Japan, having friends, and having someone she's very close to, where they used to walk in the park, study, and take naps together, until the sudden decision by her parents to move to San Francisco.

There, she made only one friend, being discriminated against and bullied by other classmates for her mannerism and accent. Until she dreamed during that day when she was passing a neighborhood when returning from school, a group of people with knives and a gun came out from an alleyway, wearing black hoods, their faces being covered by the shadow of the hood. One of them began to speak in a hood accent.

"Yo, you bitch, stop right there now." Said one tall figure while pointing a Glock at her, followed by a few people surrounding her.

"Dawg, this hot bitch looks rich; where are you from?" The man with the knife stared at her, his eyes staring at Alisia's daggers. Alisia could only freeze in place; her face went pale, her breathing stopped, her eyes looked here and there, her body began to tremble, and she held tight to her bag.

"Homie, you know this bitch's rich?" Asked one of the people in the group while still pointing his knife at Alisia. His other hand began moving onto Alisia's hair. "Dawg, this bitch has some good hair."

"Homie, I've watched and seen some rich people on the internet wearing something like this; he probably is some kid from a rich guy." The guy answered, and before then he grabbed Alisia's arm, dragging her into the alleyway in an aggressive manner. "This bitch is going to be a good girl tonight."

Alisia's eyes widened. She then tried getting off the man's strong grip on her arms, but then the person with the glock fired his gun at the wall, which caused Alisia to freeze back, her body trembling like a leaf. The man stared into Alisia's eyes; before then, he spoke to her in a low yet cold tone. "Listen here, you bitch; you will be serving us tonight, and get us money from yo' parents, you in?" He pointed his glock at Alisia's head, while the other guy with the knife held him close.
It was not until Alisia was awakened by a few taps on her shoulder by Isabelle, cold sweat watering down her skin, her breathing heavy, then her eyes jolted open, that she saw the tank commanders staring at her. Her eyes then glared at them. "What? Is there something on my face?" said Alisia in a cold tone.

"Yeah, she has anger management issues." Colin commented.
"What?" Alisia turned her eyes towards him, her eyes giving a sharp glare that penetrated through his eyes, causing him to give an immediate dismissive reply.

"Nothing!" Colin looked away, his eyes looking down toward the ground.

Alisia continued glaring; before then, she took a deep breath and calmed down. Jack looked at her with a look of disgust on his face. "Tsk, so we have a shy-tempered commander who has autistic-like behaviors. I'm starting to doubt if God really wanted you to be the commander, like the headmaster said. You sleep while we're talking about plans."

"What did you say?" Alisia stared at Jack with an annoyed and tired look.

"Oh, missy. Your stare doesn't scare me; those wolves in the woods during community hunting season got more anger inside their eyes than your pathetic one." Jack stared down at Alisia. "Like, for goodness sake, you're short! At least Napoleon was at average height at the time. Are you even qualified to lead? I never see you becoming a leader in a group project, or have you? You're one pathetic excuse for a commander. You don't deserve to be one."

Alisia froze, unable to respond. His words penetrated through her heart. She looked down, avoiding eye contact. She started to have a crisis inside her mind, but was interrupted by Jamie speaking, trying to defuse the situation. "Hey, we're talking about making plans, not hurting each other."

There was silence for a moment. Jack looked back at the rest and continued. "Let's just continue; she can follow up or stay silent if she wants. Now, for our plan." He then took the wide scroll, expanding it to reveal a map that stretched to almost the entire table. boxes with descriptions of the map, along with a box with explanations of the symbols on the map. "So, from what the books have been saying, From the one I read, the people we'll be facing first will be a bunch of idiots, so we should be able to deal with them."

"N-No..." Alisia managed to regain her emotions together. "It's not that easy."

"How so? It's written here that being the lousiest in their team, numbers are only numbers; they probably would perform badly against us." Jack stated this before getting cut by Alisia.

"The team we're facing is the strongest team in the continent, maybe in the world, in terms of basically everything." Alisia went quiet for a moment before she continued. "They got all the resources and fancy stuff a team could wish for. The best instructors and teachers, all of them being either military experts or former military members who specialize in tank warfare and have real experience, Even their weakest unit can beat us all if they want to. They can bombard us with their long-range rockets if they know where we are in mere minutes... Their words, by the way, not mine."

"Who's they?" Colin asked.

"The CTF, you silly." Beornhelm scoffed. "Isn't it obvious?"

Jack was about to ask how, but the last statement answered it. He then looked back at the map. "Tsk, whatever. Are you going to plan with us or not?" He asked, to which Alisia replied with a slow nod and approached closer.

As Alisia approached, Jack continued looking at the map, his eyes turning sharp here and there, analyzing the map. He then pointed at an open area with a small hill in the middle, surrounded by green areas. "Here, this place is perfect. We can split the tanks on the corner around here." He pointed at the green area that borders the flat terrain before he continued. "While the Churchill will be right here, behind the small hill, When they appear, they'll be trapped, and we can finish them all off here." He gave a smirk, looking at everyone with a smug look. "They'll look like a lost lamb, trust me."

"But..." Alisia interjected. "What if they come from around here?" She dragged her index finger along the flank of the open terrain. "They can sneak from behind and defeat us with ease. "I thought you heard about the captain's lectures a week ago." She commented on Jack's plan.

"Ugh, so what are you suggesting? Lose?" Jack stared at Alisia, waiting for a response.

"You're using techniques you usually use during community hunts. Getting some dangerous bears down... It won't work on them; maybe at least a bait to bait them to this spot." Alisia pointed at the terrain in the middle, as Jack pointed before. "They might be coming from the..." She looked at the map's direction before she continued. "South, then lure them into the trap, and we might get them."

Jack thought of the idea, looking at the map and considering Alisia's proposal. Before then, he asked. "Who will be the bait, then?"

Alisia went quiet for a short moment, stuttering on her speech, causing Jack to be frustrated and approach her, before lowering himself by a few centimeters to her height to make himself less intimidating. "Take a deep breath."

Alisia was surprised by the sudden approach, flinching back by a few inches. Jack then said it once more. "Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and inhale." Alisia closed her eyes and took a deep inhale. "Exhale." Jack ordered, which Alisia did. "Good, repeat that five more times." Alisia repeated the process a few more times, inhaling and exhaling air in and out of her lungs.

"Good, now open your eyes." Jack ordered, which Alisia then opened her eyes to, looking up at him. "Good, you're relaxed. Now speak."

Alisia was quiet for a few seconds before she continued talking. "W-Well.. Me and Isabelle can bait them to the spot since we use the light tanks, speedy enough to evade and bait them to the trap."

Jack nodded before he looked back at the rest of the students. "So, does anyone here agree with our commander over here?" He asked the rest.

"Well, I see nothing wrong with the plan." Beornhelm commented.

"Seems like a sound plan for me." Emile replied to Jack's question.

"Solid plan for me." Jamie followed.

"I don't like the idea of being bait. But trying won't harm that much, would it?" Isabelle commented on Alisia's suggestion.

"I'm with the plan. Although it sounded like a way to get flanked," Colin commented.

"Alright then, then this will be our plan." Jack looked at Alisia. "You're the commander; come on, say something."

Alisia thought of what she should say until Colin asked. "So, what should this operation be called? Maybe some interesting tags for us all?"

Alisia thought for a while, looking around and seeing a few abandoned fish rods and buckets filled with plastic baits in the corner of the room, before she looked back at everyone. "We call it, uh, Operation Fishing. Me and Isabelle's tank will be referred to as 'Hooks'. While the rest will be referred to as 'Rods'. How... does it sound?"

"Well, the name sounds silly, but it fits the plan." Isabelle commented.

"I could've used a better name. But I guess it still makes sense." Colin agreed, although with hesitation in his voice.

The meeting ended in the afternoon, and the students soon returned back to their homes as the sun began setting on the horizon.

Alisia was walking back from home, tired from the meeting and the pressure she just felt. She's walking sideways, limping back while carrying her belongings in her bag, her eyes half closed. "Oh, I can't wait to be with mom again. It was exhausting." In her thoughts, feeling somewhat happy, being together with her mother once more after a tiring day.

She then walked inside, looking around. "Mom? Are you there?" She took off her shoes and placed them on the rack, before then walking further inside and turning on the lights. She headed towards the kitchen before noticing a note on the telephone. She walked towards it and took it before reading. "Sorry, your father needed another hand in the office. I left some food." Alisia was unable to finish the letter, and tears began dripping out of her eyes. She fell to her knees on the floor.

After a while, she stood up again, reaching towards the phone, and dialed in the number of her mother's phone number. She placed the telephone close to her ear, waiting for an answer, only to be met with a ring.

She placed the telephone back hard before then walking towards her bedroom, dropping her bag on the floor, and jumping straight on the bed, grabbing onto a pillow and holding it tight. Tears started to drip out more from her eyes; her breathing was ragged. Before then, she buried her face in the pillow. Being all alone inside the house.

There was only silence from within her room as the sun began to set down on the horizon, replaced by the moon flying up towards the sky.