ARC II chapter 25

Darjeeling was shocked. But, this time it was because of Rosehip's stupidity that got her whole squad taken out. Not at all from the successful ambush that Gregor pulled out against said speedster. But then, she remembered the fact that her tank is impenetrable from the front by all enemy guns. A fact that did next to nothing to soothe her mind, since she knew about the superior agility of those two mediums with autoloaders - Škoda T25, if Assam got it right - and that they had numerical advantage as well.

But, she knew that staying at one place for too long only makes the risk of losing bigger. And so is moving without a cover, much like Jatkosota's sniper proved to Kay… she thought as she made her decision, empowered by thinking about her not-so-secret girlfriend.

"Move out to point F782. There, we'll be able to defend ourselves much better than here," she said and soon after that, the 4 Matilda Mk III/IVs and Churchill Mk VII advanced from the small mock-up city to a nearby hill, to the base of which they got without meeting a single enemy. But, that only unsettled her more than before.

And it was only after the remaining tanks climbed up the hill and their crews set sandbags around them, when one Matilda suddenly popped a white flag, a hole in its side armor, when she realized what was wrong. A few seconds later, another shot was fired, but it bounced off and gave Darjeeling a good idea, where the offender was.

"Assam, fire at the bush to our right," she ordered and soon, the Churchill fired at the bush… only to reveal that it was nothing else but a bunch of sticks put on a now defeated tank that, much like the T-25s, she saw for the first time at the Anzio vs Gregor match.

And then, seven shots came from behind, taking out the remaining Matildas, thus leaving her alone against 9 enemy tanks, which put her in even worse odds than whenever she fought against Oarai.

"We're leaving," she announced and instructed her driver to use the downed tanks as cover, until they got to the base of the hill. But her enemy had beaten her to it already, because there were 2 Hetzers waiting, their guns aimed at the turret and MG port of her Churchill, before they fired.

Viewing platform for VIP #2

George blinked three times as he couldn't believe, just what the hell happened. But then, he remembered, just where was the only casualty of Gregor positioned and he got his answer, just as the crowd was in uproar at the unexpected thing really happening.

"Advanced recon, huh? Quite a good idea to be honest," he muttered and turned to Tsuneo, who nodded in response. "That ST vz 39 headed straight for the hill, while its allies lured the Crusaders away. Darjeeling was doomed the moment she lost the cruiser tanks," he added and the duo stood up and walked back to the waiting Sd Kfz 9 FAMO.

Meanwhile, Barstow, California

If someone was awake at this hour, they would've seen that there was still light on in one room of the local school. It originated from a projector located in the middle of it. Who was there and what was the reason for it?

It was the Mojave Rose Tankery team, with their instructor and deputy headmaster and they were watching a stream of one certain match of the Japanese Sensha-Do league's "Winter" cup. The very same that just ended in Japan a few moments ago.

"You were right, Val. This was a very one-sided battle," the co-captain, one Ray Rosario, commented with hardly hidden astonishment at how one of the supposed Sensha-Do powerhouses was beaten so easily by a minor school, a feat that even Miho Nishizumi was unable to pull off twice.

Granted, one match was a draw and the other ones ended, thanks to an assassination attempt on an all-boy crew, so neither can be called a true win for Darjeeling.

But, thanks to the stream being pretty much just a map with triangles of 2 colors defining the teams and the text being in Japanese, they weren't able to decipher what tanks were used by Gregor, aside from 35 and 38 (t)s and the Hetzers, but only thanks to the numbers.

"Wait a second… I think that I heard something about a Czechoslovak tank with the number 39 in it, that also used the number 8 shown next to it," Valarie Woodlin, the team's captain, suddenly said and everyone turned to her with looks that practically begged her to spill the beans.

"It was a prototype medium tank, which entered production in 1939. But only 2 were built. It boasts a 47 mm gun, later used on Panzerjäger I, and twice the armor as Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t), while having a suspension similar to Panzerkampfwagen 35 (t). Its sister project later became the Hungarian Turan," she started listing out its equipment and history, but never mentioned the name of the tank.

"And its name?" Gabrielle Buchanan, the team's instructor, asked with amusement in her voice, making Valarie blush a bit in shame that she never said the only thing she was supposed to reveal about the tank.

"Praga V-8-H, or ST vz 39, depending on the source," Valarie said after about 10 seconds of awkward silence and then noticed that Mr. Redwood, Ray and Miss Buchanan had something on their mind, but none seemed to be willing to tell what it was.

"Ray, what is it?" Natalie, the commander of the Jagdpanzer IV, asked with a bit of worry in her voice and grabbed his hand and he sighed after a while, prepared to say whatever he was thinking about.

"A shady guy, pretending to be the Japanese minister of education, sent me an email about an invitation to the Internationals for the whole team, our tanks included," he answered, the room once again descending into silence, while Valarie's mind went into overdrive.

If she was the one to receive the invitation, she would've immediately agreed for an opportunity like that, no matter who sent it to her. But since Ray said that it wasn't to be trusted… She knew that she should listen to him about that. After all, he was her second-in-command for a reason.

"I don't think so," Mr. Redwood suddenly replied as he opened the window, where he had three tabs: Facebook, official ITA's (International Tankery Association) webpage and Gmail.

The first one showed an account of a bespectacled man, probably close to his 40s, who had written messages in Japanese, most likely about the latest Sensha-Do matches that happened, but one of them was different. It was written in English and talked about inviting an American team as VIPs to spectate the tournament.

The second tab showed the same man arguing with an ATA official, about who should be invited, the latter wanting Molly Pitcher to gain the status, while the former threw a counter about why his decision is final.

And the last one showed an email conversation with the same man, this time informing Mr. Redwood about the invitation of the Mojave Rose Tankery team to the Internationals. Also, it revealed their transportation: by a school ship.

And then, the team members left for home, excited about the upcoming trip to Japan.