Hello folks to a new chapter. I should have had this chapter finished a week ago, but unfortunately my computer SSD short-circuited and died on me, so I had to rewrite everything from memory on my laptop instead. That was fun. Fic descriptions are also updated with the release of this chapter, as I felt like it didn't sound exciting enough.
Anyway, glad to see an old reader from before my untimely hiatus back, and hopefully you'll enjoy this revamped fic. Enjoy the new chapter. The next one or chapter 4 should be where I get to the mystery part of the fic.
Chapter 2: Meet the Team
Stopping in front of the front door of the office building, Aurelie looked back at Ricky, who also stopped and looked up at her. They locked eyes, knowing what would happen next. Behind that door were his new colleagues, and his slightly bent posture and two hands holding onto each other in front of his chest told her: 'Yup, he is ready!'
Aurelie pressed and leaned onto the door handle, swinging it open. Behind the door summoned two other members of the safety team, both in their uniform, but of different contrasting impressions. One styled inverted black bob hair, while the other rocked with an auburn wolf cut. One molded in the sharp university uniform, down to its straightened black tie, while the other complemented the outfit with her own purple scarf and flower pin. One stood at attention, cold and disciplined, the other smirking with one of her hands on her hip.
"Fernanda, Heidi, this is Ricky: our new full-time safety inspector." Aurelie introduced, gesturing at the auburn-haired girl first. "Ricky, this is Fernanda. She's in charge of logistics, both in battle and for the Safety Team. Also, our resident's accountants if I might add."
"Heyyo." Fernanda greeted with a friendly wave, then pointed at herself with her thumb. "If you need to get that pesky disposal forms filled out before we send them out, I am your lord and savior."
"Oh no, I think he'll be fine." Aurelie teased him again. "He knows how to file paperwork well, you see."
"I-It doesn't mean I'd like it." He retorted softly.
"Ah, but I'll be glad to take you as my pen and paper apprentice." The short and auburn-haired girl followed up. "It'll be my pleasure to be working with you."
"It is mine as well, thank you." Ricky bowed at her, before Aurelie turned to the other girl.
"And this is Heidi. She's trains our Senshado team, and thus very fluent in rules, regulations, and procedures."
The black-haired girl only nodded, and Ricky extended a handshake. "I look forward to working with you, Heidi."
For a few seconds, she stared at him without a word, still standing at attention. His nerves very briefly asked him if he had said something wrong to her, but then she returned the handshake with a firm grip.
"Likewise." Heidi replied curtly.
Even Aurelie noticed the tension. She quickly stepped in.
"Alright, so here is the plan for the first week for you guys, as were informed by Mrs. Shimada. Fernanda, I will cover your shift today and tomorrow. You will show him the ropes around here. For the rest of the week, Heidi, you will supervise him and make sure nothing goes wrong. Is that clear?"
Both girls nodded. Aurelie concluded. "Alright, then you may begin. Heidi, I'd like to speak to you. Let's talk on the way."
Heidi and Aurelie headed off. Ricky breathed a sigh of temporary relief. He'd be under Fernanda for now. She looked friendly and chill at least.
"Righty. You ready to start?" Fernanda asked.
"Now?"
"Yes, now. What else to do?"
They move fast. Luckily, he brought with him a notebook and a pen already. It always came in handy.
"Alright, let's go! Follow me." Fernanda beckoned, as she headed off towards the hangars near the office building. Ricky followed, but then stopped very briefly at one of the hangars, seeing a sign on the door that said 'Authorized Personnel Only'.
"No no, not there." Fernanda quickly stopped him, even when he never intended to enter and only glanced at it out of curiosity. "That's only accessible by our bosses."
"Aurelie?" Ricky asked.
"Not even her." Fernanda replied. "It's for our administrative staffs, and by that, I mean Mrs. Shimada."
However, this was a hangar and not some corporate boardroom or office. It reminded Ricky of these silly stories about aliens and secret military bases with top-secret weapons. But still, he couldn't help but wonder what was in there.
"Anyway, come come! I have something fun for ya." Fernanda beckoned to him again, as she arrived at a different hangar she intended and pushed the door open. Inside sat a beautifully crisp and clean M4A1 Sherman, coated in snow-white paint. The towering presence of the tank left the man in awe for a few seconds. He had his fun with amusement park replicas and life-size models, but this was the real deal. A real Senshado tank up close.
"Here." Fernanda gestured Ricky to come to the back of the Sherman. "See that part bulging out to the left of the exit hatch there. Open it and take it out."
With some effort, Ricky managed to open the box, finding another box in there, this one painted bright orange. A large label in black font said: 'DATA RECORDER DO NOT OPEN'.
"That is a Performance Data Recorder. It records every parameter a tank does…well almost everything you need to know about it. I can show you." Fernanda took the box from Ricky and placed it on a workbench nearby. "Grab that for me would ya?"
While Fernanda opened the recorder with her tools, Ricky did what was told, grabbed what seemed like a silver-colored briefcase - quite a heavy one in fact – and placed it on Fernanda's workbench. Opening it revealed that it wasn't actually a briefcase at all. It was a rugged laptop, the case covered in magnesium alloy. On one side of the case was the screen and the other the keyboard and touchpad, all embedded. It was quite heavy compared to the normal laptop that he had.
Fernanda had just finished extracting the memory card from the recorder, one the size of a fingertip. Once the computer was booted up, she took over, logged in and pressed on the right side of the computer a small button. A little casing slid out gracefully, a rectangular hole of 'Performance Data Recorder memory card'-size present. She inserted it and slid the casing back in.
Immediately the magic (or science) happened.
The computer booted up the reader software, going through the data of the card in a fraction of a second and displayed the data in a relatively user-friendly interface, concisely ordered and highlighted. It was any data analyst's dream. The tank parameters displayed included, but not limited to, time, speed, acceleration, heading, and engine power.
"Wow. This is so advanced." His eyes widened, bombarded by awe one after another.
"Right? I have the same exact reaction when I get to see this too." Fernanda chuckled. "For the longest time I thought it was just a piece of junk that often go boom boom and zoom zoom, but no. Senshado tanks are actually highly computerized, so as to gather as much data as possible from them, either for manufacturing purposes or to broadcast them to spectators."
"So it's like the famous Flight Data Recorder?" Asked Ricky. "Is there a similar one for crew recording?"
"Nah. We don't like the possibility of peepers hearing what we do in the tank." Fernanda replied. An honest question to Fernanda, but Ricky was disconcerted if it was a weird thing to ask. "Even this one…"
Fernanda pressed the button and retrieved the card. "Even the PDR we aren't authorized to access it unless it's an emergency or for training purposes."
"Got it." Ricky jotted down as much of the information he could remember down on a notebook.
"There is one more reason you can access it actually, and that is to replace its battery." Fernanda then went on to explain that the recorders would draw power from both the engine and the auxiliary batteries, and every now and then, they would require replacement. "It's not too big of a deal if you forget though. At worst, you'll be visited by grumbling tankers begging you to turn the beeping sound off."
Fernanda winked playfully. Grumbling tankers begging. Something told him it wouldn't be as pleasant as it sounded.
"However, you cannot forget to do these following tasks at any point. These need to be done every day, after every training session. Take note, I'll quiz you!" Her tone grew stricter all of a sudden, and it brought him to attention, as he furiously finished his current notes before she spoke, complete with demonstrations on the Sherman.
General visual inspections.
Receive tanker reports of equipment defects.
Fuel tank and fluid leak checks.
Ammunition checks.
Ventilation examinations.
Exit hatch inspections.
"And finally, structural integrity checks. You should always do this last." Fernanda grabbed from her workbench a tablet, covered in the same alloy as that laptop earlier. "You go to the app, then simply point the lens towards the tank, just like you would for taking pictures with your tablet. Go a few rounds around the tank to make sure you don't miss any cracks or permanent dents."
Ricky was still writing but raised his finger for attention. "Permanent dents?"
"Well…" She rubbed her temple a bit, picking her words to answer. "I don't understand it fully myself, nor do I have the time to lecture you on this, but basically, Senshado armor is made from special armor to self-heal from these dents. Like how rubber would return to normal after deforming, or a spring would return to its equilibrium, the molecules would rearrange by itself back to its original form."
"Oh, I see." Ricky caught on quickly. "To take springs as an analogy, permanent dents happen when the armor is deformed enough that they cannot return to its original equilibrium, thus compromising the protection it provides."
"Pretty much." Fernanda shrugged. "You'll probably never encounter a permanent dent though, or cracks too for that matter. I've never found one in my time here."
"I can't say I'm not impressed." He took a mesmerizing look at the white Sherman. It was incredible to believe that a tank that many decades ago were made to kill could be redesigned into a vehicle for an exciting combat sport that millions around the world tune in to watch. "These tanks are really quite safe, huh?"
"It is, but…" Fernanda bit her lips, letting out a hard sigh. "Let's just say there is a reason why we at the All-Stars team do this check, even if you won't find a crack any time soon or at all."
Ricky looked to Fernanda, quickly noticing the mood change, as well as the reason she was quietly referring to. He had watched the news that day. It was grim.
"Anyway, any other questions?" Fernanda quickly lifted the mood and swirled the topic back.
"Is this it for my responsibilities?" Asked he did.
"No no. Oh no no no no no no." An evil grin appeared on her face. "I hope you aren't tired from writing yet. We're just getting started!"
It was never a dull moment being the captain of the University All-Stars team. Especially today for Aurelie. Greeting Ricky and showing him around campus early morning, then doing the post-training inspection for Fernanda, and now doing cafeteria work as per schedule, and later leading the afternoon training session as well. But the heavy workload was worth it to her.
"Aurelie!"
The captain turned around to the sound of her name. She smiled seeing Fernanda waltzing up to her. It was quite late. The afternoon classes for those who had them had already begun, and people were beginning to file out of the cafeteria.
"You guys took your time." Aurelie remarked, before noticing the new hire behind Fernanda letting out an exhausted sigh. "What happened to your hand, Ricky?"
His middle finger was reddened, with the area to the left of the fingernail dented in. Fernanda was ready to own up to it but decided to give the guy a chance to speak first.
"I took too many notes today, a bit too fast." Ricky stroked his reddened hand,
"Keeping the paper industry in business single-handedly." Fernanda chuckled.
Aurelie rolled her eyes and looked over at Ricky concernedly. "I'm sorry if you feel a bit overwhelmed. It should get more relaxing as you get into schedule."
"It's ok, I'm used to it." Ricky reassured. "I assume this would be nothing compared to what Heidi has in store for me."
"Ah, he knows." Commented an amused Fernanda, mildly impressed by his perception. Or maybe he knew Heidi before. It was the infamous 'Helldi' of Kuromorimine after all. The girl took no shit from anyone, not even the head of the Nishizumi family.
"Anyway, take your pick guys!" Aurelie said. "I'll get my food ready, and we'll have lunch together."
The two ordered their food and they were swiftly prepared with a delicate liberty taken by the team captain. They sat among one in a matrix of increasingly empty tables.
"How was it?" Aurelie inquired, seeing the two dived in their meal.
"Delicious as usual." Fernanda commented off-hand as she chomped down a Vietnamese spring roll. She was used to her captain's cooking, there was nothing new to say. Aurelie knew that too, that's why she was more eager to see what Ricky had to say.
"It's really good." Ricky said after tasting the spring roll. "I'd love to learn to cook this at home too. I could do more with this."
That second comment was quite a sweet compliment to Aurelie. "Thank you so much. Maybe one day." She said with a smile before diving into her own lunch: a good reliable bento box of sushi.
"So, now that we have some free time," Fernanda's talkative mood flared again, as she looked over to Ricky. "tell me a bit about yourself. I heard you're pursuing to become an engineer. At which school?"
"I'm from Kunohana Tech." Ricky replied, half-thinking what to say next to not sound curt. "…It's a nice university, but nothing special."
"No Senshado or anything?"
Ricky shook his head. "It's pretty boring if I'm going to be honest."
"I don't suppose that's the reason why you're here?" Fernanda laid a hand on her cheek.
"Uhh…" Ricky shyly hesitated. How honest should he be? He pondered this for a few seconds. "I…was just looking for a job, really."
He decided to be upfront about it. It probably wouldn't look good to admit that he wasn't here out of intense passion, but he hated lying.
"I thought you wanted to try something new?" Aurelie asked, recalling what he said during his interview.
"That's normal, Aurelie." Fernanda chimed in before Ricky could answer. "That's a common interview tactic to make it seem like you're interested." He was scared for a second that she would disparage him for it, but she continued. "Gotta say though, I appreciate the honesty."
"Y-You don't have a problem with that?" Ricky asked.
"Course not." Fernanda shrugged. "As long as you do your job well at the end of the day. Besides, it's refreshing to work with someone who's not obsessed with things like Blitzkrieg, Patton, Guderian or better yet a descendant of some famous war hero."
"Well…" Ricky side-eyed Fernanda. "I don't know if having a British grandfather counts?"
"Is he Montgomery or Churchill?"
"No."
"Then you're good. Plus, I get to make fun of you, and in return, you get to do the posh accent." Fernanda shrugged and all three shared a hearty laugh. Seemed like he was worried for nothing.
The meal went on for a couple minutes in comforting silence, until Ricky spoke up, finding some earnest interest to initiate conversations with the two ladies.
"What field are you two studying?"
"I'm in material science engineering." Fernanda replied first. "So hello there, fellow engineer."
"I'm psychology." Aurelie followed.
"Oh, I didn't think you were an engineer." Ricky said.
"No one does." She chuckled, quite proudly in fact. Back in Blue Division, her personality was just as wild as her title of Imperator Legionis IX, an unpredictable commander that no one knew what she'd do in a battle, not even the spectators one time when she vanished half her tank team completely. She lived her high school life without a care in the world like any Blue Division girl would have. It was only until one day that she decided to change and mature a bit.
"You're in automotive engineer right, Ricky?" Aurelie asked. "I heard from Mrs. Shimada that you have really high grades."
In the ninetieth percentile no less. It was an impressive feat no one could scoff at, maybe except for Ricky himself.
"Yeah. Only that would satisfy my parents." He replied.
"That's high expectations." Aurelie remarked.
"In my family, kids will become an engineer, a doctor, or get beaten." Ricky joked, but it didn't land as well as he expected it to. Both frowned with concerns written all over their faces.
"Geez, that's not great." Fernanda stated.
"Family expectation can be tough." Aurelie said compassionately. "But now that you're here, maybe you'll find something about this position that you'll like. That's how I came to Senshado myself."
"I'm sure I will." Ricky nodded. "Thank you for your kind words."
"You're very welcome." Smiled Aurelie.
"Anyway, let us finish up. It's getting late." Fernanda urged, and the three focused on finishing their meal, mostly Fernanda and Ricky, who still had a busy schedule ahead of them.
"I'll take these." Ricky offered to Aurelie and Fernanda to take out their food containers.
"It's fine, thank you." Aurelie declined.
"No, I insist." He protested, and Aurelie gave in, while Fernanda had no compunction giving him the container.
As he walked away to the nearest trash bin, Aurelie leaned over to Fernanda.
"What do you think of him?" Whispered the team captain.
"An interesting guy." Fernanda pouted her lips. "Quite knowledgeable, doesn't have much trouble with learning, as expected. I'd say he's doing quite fine, just a little timid and self-critical, I'd say."
"That's what I'm worried about. You know Heidi won't go easy on him. He might be overwhelmed."
"Maybe, but it's likely necessary for him." Fernanda eyed Ricky from afar. "Consider it his Senshado trial. He may not be commanding a tank, but the philosophy of the sport - to be strong, be brave, and be true – is still needed here and everywhere else I would argue."
"I guess." Aurelie conceded. But her worries, as typical of a team captain looking out for her underlings, were still palpable.
"I've been wondering though, since we're on this topic." Fernanda said. "Why did the headmistress choose him?"
"Mrs. Shimada's words: she said he had perfect interview answers and strong academic performance." Replied Aurelie.
"That doesn't sound convincing, no offense to him or anything. No Senshado experience is already a big minus."
"That's what she said to me. I didn't make the decision." Aurelie shrugged. "If you really want to know, you have to ask her directly."
Inward, Fernanda already had suspicions. This guy, an unremarkable student aside from his high grades, from an unremarkable background, having no Senshado experience, nor any prior work experience in this field, nor apparent personal interests in tankery, was allowed to work for the most prestigious Senshado team of Japan. There has got to be something more to this.
Without long, Ricky headed back to where the two were.
"Alright, ready to finish up the day?" Fernanda asked, and Ricky nodded. "Let's go then."
"I'll see you guys around then. Au revoir." Aurelie waved to both of them and left.
The rest of the workday went on as was laid out. They went through what could be considered the extremely dry portion of his work responsibilities, including tasks like documentation, staying up to date with regulations and standards, some procedures in accidents and other emergencies. It would have put a normal person to sleep already, but Ricky held out for long. Exhaustion still crept in from the previous restless night, so Fernanda let him off the hook earlier than she would have liked. After receiving his access card, he was allowed to leave.
It was an overall exhausting day at work, but it was not as bad as he scared himself into thinking the day before. His two colleagues were nice people, the headmistress looked reasonable. Only Heidi was the scary one, but at least for tomorrow, he wouldn't be dealing with her yet. A good start to a new job perhaps.
On the wheel, Ricky felt a vibration on his thigh – his phone. He smiled upon taking it out and seeing the name on the screen. It was a long-time friend from high school and later in Kunohana as well. He already graduated and was working for the MEXT School Carrier Department, but the two still had conversations every so often. He might have heard of Ricky's new job from somewhere.
"Hey Renta." He responsibly pulled over to the curbside and took the call. "Sorry, I'm driving right now. I'll call you when I get back."
Old friends are a rare treasure to keep.
Meanwhile, Fernanda was just outside the headmistress's office. She was surprised Chiyo hadn't returned home yet.
"Come in." Chiyo heard the knock on her door. "Ah, Fernanda. How's today?"
"Not bad. Not bad." Fernanda replied, knowing she was definitely referring to the new guy. "He should be able to begin work from tomorrow under supervision from Heidi."
"Very good…" Chiyo said flatly, her attention still glued to her monitor screen. The Blue Division alumnae leaned against the door frame, observing the headmistress.
"It's not often I see you stay in this late." She remarked. "What's holding you in here?"
"Just extra paperwork for the new guy." Chiyo replied without looking away.
"I assume the procedure is rather cumbersome, coming from a school we never have dealings with." Fernanda said, crossing her arms and looking around nonchalantly. "Not like us Senshado folks, right?"
A peculiar question. It was enough to snap Chiyo out of her focus.
"What are you implying?" She questioned the girl. Fernanda readjusted her purple scarf.
"Ah, ya know," Casually, and, in some perspective or another, impolitely towards her superiors she replied. "what all three of us were asking. What's the reason for his employment?"
"Ah that." Chiyo looked back to her computer screen. "We simply thought that you need an extra hand."
"We never asked. And that's not my point." Fernanda pressed on. "There's no shortage of qualified candidates from more familiar environments."
"Are you not comfortable working with Mr. Yugo, Fernanda?" Chiyo countered, and Fernanda saw right through it as a red herring.
"No, in fact, I find him quite easy to work with." Fernanda replied. "However, it's also not my concern. You could have chosen someone from the team."
"I intend to ease your burden with full-time members so that you can focus on your training for the International Senshado Olympiad." Chiyo replied, continuing to avoid the actual question. This was getting frustrating.
"Yes, but any of the Senshado alumnae would have loved this job and would be just as qualified." Fernanda rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "I'll be frank. There is more to this than just understaffing issues, and I'm here to ask."
Chiyo turned away from her computer to face Fernanda, this time for good. She kept a calm and cordial countenance, but inside, there was a degree of irritation that someone had suspicions. And it's Fernanda too. Out of everyone, she was one of the three she least wanted to be involved in.
"I appreciate your eagerness and care shown towards the team, but for this matter, it is confidential only to the administrative staff. We are not to disclose it to anyone. I hope you'll understand." The Shimada head of family stood up, the sunset behind her cast a towering shadow over Fernanda. It was a not-so-subtle warning to her not to delve deeper.
"Understood." She raised both eyebrows, subtly unimpressed.
"Anything else you need, just let me know. Otherwise, I'll take my leave."
"Nah. See you tomorrow, Mrs. Shimada." Fernanda left the office immediately.
Arriving back at her dorm, she crashed onto her bed face first, as exhausted as her new colleagues were. Her purple scarf pressed against her face, and she smelled the subtle fragrance of autumn's embrace – hints of crisp maple leaves and a faint whiff of evergreen. It stirred old memories of warm evening festivals filled with shared laughter.
It would soon be that time of the year again.
"I miss you so much." She mumbled. "Riyo…"