Chapter 7: Under the Autumn Leaves

Senshado is a sport. Despite the loads of protective measures like carbon coating, injuries still occurred like any other sport. Protective measures wouldn't be able to protect against poor practices or just general clumsiness.

One September afternoon, a regular day at St. Gloriana. The weather was cloudy with no rain. The girls were out for tea and cake, the intelligence girls gathered in their cafe. It was also tank cleaning day. Hoses, buckets and soap were brought out, rowdy members occasionally sprayed each other in jest.

It was supposed to be a light-hearted event for Masala and the team, but she then slipped and fell from the Churchill. Her right arm met the ground first, absorbing most of the impact forces and sparing her body from any serious injuries, but she walked away from it with a separated shoulder and a small cut on her feet from colliding with a sharp edge on the fall. It was a big relief that the tournament was over for the year, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to command.

She informed Fernanda that night in the hospital. The very next day, Fernanda was on the Ark Royal, in the hospital.

"Riyo!"

Fernanda swung the door open violently. The uncouth act gave her scornful looks from patients and nurses, but she didn't care.

"Fernanda?"

She saw Riyo lying on her bed, a shoulder brace wrapped around her hospital gown, a surprised smile on her face.

"Riyo, are you alright?!" Fernanda rushed over to her side.

"Shhh. You're too loud!" The black-haired girl shushed. "And it's Masala, remember?"

Fernanda sighed. "Why does it matter here?"

"Our school ship wanted so. It's not just in the school." Masala said. "And don't worry, it's just a separated shoulder. Doctors say I just need to rest easy, no permanent damage."

"My god, I thought you broke your arm." Fernanda rubbed her eyes.

"I never said I broke my arm. I just said I hurt my shoulder."

"You could have said that clearer in the text!"

"I only have one arm. I want to make it quick so you're not too worried, but it seems like it made you even more so."

A complicated sigh, filled with both relief and exasperation, again escaped Fernanda.

"Fernanda, again, you're getting really worked up over this. It's nothing serious."

"How can I not be? You're my only friend and I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

Masala tipped her eyebrows.

"Is it that sad over there?" She said with a dry voice.

"You mean Blue Div- no no, like…okay." Fernanda facepalmed. "I'm not friendless, but we're not close or anything, you get what I mean?"

"They're nice girls, aren't they?" Masala asked.

"They are, yeah."

"Then make some more friends. Can't hurt to have more, and who knows, one of them might end up being lifelong."

Fernanda looked away. "For a cretin like me?"

Masala had a kind smile when she looked back.

"For a cretin like you, I bet. You will be surrounded by smart and wonderful friends."

"Hey Ricky."

It was lunchtime, and Ricky sat at a table munching on his meal. Aurelie was on cook duty for a while yet, Heidi was nowhere to be seen like usual, so he was alone.

"Hey Fernanda, how's class?"

"Eh, not too bad I suppose. I need to review the notes again, I don't understand the lecture one bit."

"Welcome to the club." He raised a can of soda for toast.

"I forget, do you study at all while you work here?"

He shook his head. "I'm on academic break for this internship. I might take an online course if things get boring here."

"Ohoho, I can assure you it won't." Both of them shared a chuckle. "Anyway, I've been looking into the nooks and crannies of the armor the last 2 weeks. There's some interesting angle we can take this investigation to."

"Tell me more."

Fernanda dragged a chair over to Ricky's seat and took out her laptop. After boot up, she opened a few downloaded PDF files.

"This is a research paper on the von-Braun molecules by Dr. Chung Seong-Kwan. He's a leading material scientist in Korea. According to this paper, these molecules have magnetic properties that...uhh...how should I put it...kept each other in place."

"Hang on." He said, pulling out his usual paper notes and pencil. Typical of him. "You said it kept each other in place?"

"Yes, the molecules are magnetic enough that if two molecules are too close to each other, they push each other away, but when they are too far away, it attracts each other up to a certain point. Going past it and the molecule loses this property permanently."

"Uh huh…" The gears in his head churned. "So I assume in a plane full of these molecules, there is a state of equilibrium where the molecules would settle in its place?"

Fernanda nodded.

"How do they actually get this strange magnetic property to begin with?" He asked.

"That, we do not know. And by we, I mean the scientists. We have no idea how that works, we just observed it is, and through experimental methods, we derive constant coefficients for it that we can use in engineering and other calculations. But that's not really important for this…"

Fernanda switched to another PDF.

"This paper is about Senshado armor composition." She scrolled to a diagram page. "Senshado armor has three layers: the carbon layer at the bottom, for crew protection, then a layer of steel, then the von-Braun composites. Composites I say, because these molecules are sandwiched by graphene."

"Graphene?"

"Yes, graphene. It's...oh boy…" Fernanda took a deep breathe. "Graphene is a carbon material that is a single layer of carbon atoms bonded together in a honeycomb-like structure. It's very strong, more so than diamonds, a hundred times more so than steel. But it also has impressive tensile strength, so it fits really well with its intended purpose of being a barrier to these molecules."

"...So like a box?" Ricky scratched his imaginary mustache. "The graphene layers on the top and bottom serve to limit the movement of these molecules, so if, say…, a tank shell impacting the armor, these molecules move and absorb, but it would not be forced out of its magnetic property."

"You got it right again." She shrugged, quite impressed with Ricky's intelligence. She was prepared for a lengthy explanation, but he got it pretty much correct again. No wonder why he was doing so well in school.

"How many layers of these 'von-Braun composites' are in a Senshado plate?"

"10mm, so like a million or so layers. That much apparently is already enough to stop even a Karl Gerat from denting our tanks. If you're wondering, that thing has a 60 cm shell, so...big." Fernanda held up two hands to gesture simulate. "The steel layer at the bottom is for authenticity purposes, or to house electronic sensors, all that jazz."

"Mm. So what's the deal with it?"

She switched back to the Korean researcher's paper.

"The critical temperature is quite low at 202 degrees Celcius. Its magnetic property can diminish in sustained heat. I also theorize that as the molecules expand in the confines of the graphene, so it also does not have a lot of space to move to, making it easier to break."

Ricky tilted his head slightly. "Could it get that hot?"

"Well…not the weather that day." She replied. "But we have to test that to be sure. If there's signs of heat damage, we'll know."

Meanwhile, a familiar black-haired girl entered the dining hall.

"Good late morning Heidi, what gentle winds brought you here today?" Aurelie asked.

"A good meal." Heidi flatly said. "Is that not enough?"

"Of course." Aurelie smiled. "One bowl of Tom Yum soup and a cup of three in one coffee...cold, lots of ice, I assume."

"Yes, thank you." Heidi nodded. Aurelie immediately got to preparing.

Once she received her food, she saw her two colleagues sitting in the distance. She was going to call out to them, but as she neared.

"How are we actually going to test that?" She heard Ricky said. "If we're looking at the microscopic composition of that plate, then we'll need to cut it out. The process would likely require proper equipment and a laboratory, many of which I don't know if we even have it here."

"Well, you can tell her about this, pitch this as your idea! She'll have to figure it out herself." Fernanda replied. "You seem to understand what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, but understanding doesn't mean I'd immediately know how to operate those lab equipment. I don't do lab engineering."

"First things first, I'll do a cursory check on the plates tomorrow. Maybe the heat damage is evident enough."

What the hell were they talking about?

Heidi had been busy the last month, being a dual major in business administration and public policy, on top of being a Senshado practitioner and doing this safety inspection job part-time (full-time when they were onboarding Ricky). She hadn't been able to banter with her friends for a while, but hearing this, she decided to sit at another table. She finished her meal quickly and left.

By the time Fernanda and Ricky reached their office, Heidi was already there, awaiting them.

"Afternoon Heidi." Both greeted after one another.

"Good afternoon." Heidi returned the greeting normally, looked over to Ricky. "Ricky, I sent you an assignment."

"Let me see." He walked over to his cubicle, set his bag down and picked up the piece of paper Heidi left on the table. "Is it just the shipment?"

"Yes, nothing special." Heidi replied. "Just check the conditions of the shells according to the checklist there, then sign off the sheet. Normally Fernanda would have done it, but I would like you to have a taste of it while you're here."

It made sense. He was here to intern. He should learn what others do on a regular basis.

"Roger." Dutifully, he replied. "Anything else for me before I leave?"

"Nope." Fernanda said.

"No, you may go." Ditto by Heidi.

As efficiently as Heidi had taught him, he took the tools he needed, double checked the papers, then headed off.

"I can't help but notice, I've been seeing you more often with Ricky." Heidi turned to Fernanda once Ricky was out of sight. She was not going to delay once her suspicion flag was raised.

"My my, are you jealous?" This was Fernanda's territory, but Heidi was not easily fazed.

"Would it kill you if I say yes?" She slapped down the bait.

"Heidi, you're supposed to deny it, and then I make fun of you, then you blush. That's how these interactions go." Fernanda crossed her arms sulked.

"Quit messing around." Heidi stabbed straight to the point. "You're not bothering the guy with his project, are you?"

"N-No...what makes you think so?"

"The fact that you're downloading strange documents on the campus wifi the last few weeks."

"How are von-Braun molecule documents strange? Those stuffs aren't necessarily out of our purview."

"Tell that to the IT girls. They're the ones detecting it through whatever magical software they have."

"Gal, they took 2 weeks to let me access a single PDF file. How are they on it so fast?"

"They're basically gods on leashes. Don't mess with them." Heidi said. "However, that's not the point. You're also getting distracted off-field too, looking up strange documents about this whatever von-Braun molecule stuff, and you're suddenly with him a lot. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"You're sounding a lot like Riyo for a moment there," Fernanda remarked. "...Hatsu."

"Are you trying to emotionally manipulate me?" Heidi's tone suddenly surfaced with anger. "That's not going to work."

"I'm just observing…" Fernanda shrugged casually. In reality, she wanted to be off her attention quickly. She misjudged Heidi's fortitude, and now there was a landmine she did not want to step on. "Everything is fine, don't worry about it. The documents are for my classes, nothing more. Does that answer your question?"

Heidi growled. "Sure. It did."

"Then we're good! I'm heading off to review the order for 'Baldur', is that ok?"

"Knock yourself out." Heidi rolled her eyes as Fernanda left. But unlike what Fernanda might have thought, she was not off the hook. There was a story behind that scarf she was hiding under, and it was a sad one.

"This batch is good. You can load it."

Ricky signed off on the shipment paper, the details consisted of thirty crates of 90mm M3 rounds. It might seem like a lot, but considering the massive number of Pershings used by the team, it was a puddle in the ocean. But it only took one round to cause an accident, and Ricky was here to prevent that, looking through each shells to see if there were any damage or corrosion. Once his signature had been put down, he hovered a reader over the shipment number until a small beep sounded, the number having been read and transferred to a spreadsheet file on his laptop.

"Ricky, you have a driver's license right?" The girl at the shipment area asked.

"Mhm." Ricky nodded.

"Can you deliver this batch to Hannah? This is her ammunition request. You know Hannah?"

"Yes, I do."

He knew her quite a bit. She almost killed Alice and he didn't stop her.

"Good. You can leave it at warehouse number two next to the Dag Hammarskjold building. Sorry for the trouble. Camilla still hasn't returned and I can't leave the post unattended."

"Don't worry about it. It's worth the extra mile." He smiled kindly.

"Thank you for your help, as always." She bowed, which inevitably led to him bowing awkwardly in return. She headed off to stack the crates onto a GMC CCKW 353, while Ricky packed up his tools, prepared the truck before joining to help her with whatever is left. Once done, he started the truck and got moving.

Hannah was inside the warehouse alone when his truck arrived, the loud engine notified her of his presence.

"Ricky?" She didn't expect he was the delivery guy for her request. "Is it the ammo shipment?"

"Yeah." He nodded, opening the door and hopping down from the truck. "Thirty crates, hand-checked and approved by me."

"Ahaha, it's in good hands then." She laughed, but struggled to keep eye-contact, her hands fidgeted a little.

"What's wrong?" He asked concernedly.

"Noth-...I..." She swallowed her words, stammered for a second. "You're not mad at me?"

"Oh." Ricky realized. "No, I'm not angry."

"You're not disappointed or sad?"

"No...I guess a little bit sad, but it's fine."

"What do you mean it's fine?! I insulted you! You should have every right to be angry with me!"

Ricky shrunk back a little from the outburst. She really was worked up from something he considered a pretty small thing.

"...But I'm not." He spoke truthfully. "I can't force my brain to feel something I'm not feeling. Besides, what would that accomplish?"

"It might make you feel better." She answered.

"Nah. I don't find joy in someone's misery." He said. "At the end of the day, I only care if you learn from such an experience. It's a hard lesson that I can only thank that it didn't get worse."

"I do. I won't ever do that again. I will listen to you and your team obediently."

"That sounded a bit weird, but if that's the case, then we're on good terms. No hard feelings. Friends and colleagues moving forward."

He offered a handshake. She looked stunned he would forgive that easily, unlike the last guy she dated back in high school. She always had the conception that guys are resentful if anybody did them wrong even just once. Maybe it was just a bad experience.

"Thank you, Ricky. You're such a sweetie."

She took the handshake, he blushed.

"At least you now get to join the exclusive club of testing and breaking something in production." He said.

"Sorry? What's production?" She furrowed her brows.

"You know, production server, you push untested code over and it breaks…" She still didn't get it. He guessed she wasn't a STEM major. "...okay, never mind, forget what I just said. Let's unload the crates, shall we?"

"Mhm!" She happily accepted.

Not long after, others began to file into the warehouse.

"Oh, is this the new inspector?" One girl uttered. He just picked up a crate from the trucks, turned around to quite a few girls looking at him like he was some art exhibit.

"Yes, he is. His name's Ricky" Hannah answered for Ricky, though they likely would have known already.

He gave a nervous smile, before the girls began to swarm him.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ricky!"

"You're in uni too right? Where are you from?"

"I'm Serena, it's nice to meet you!"

"Hey Ricky, can you let me drive around in your car?"

"Can you check if my tank's radio is fine, it's been acting up?"

"He looks rather small, isn't he?"

He was quickly overwhelmed, and could only look around shyly with a desperate smile.

"Girls, he's busy." Hannah did her best to ward off the curious girls. "Can you please come and help us instead of complimenting his height?"

"That's what you focused on?!" His anger suddenly exploded. "I'm not that short!"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you!" Hannah apologized. "But you can't deny...being short is kinda cute."

"Is this what you all are into these days?" His eyes narrowed. From Aurelie, then her. He never understood why height is such a big deal. But at least it was not the obsession with blood type. It had been over twenty springs in his life and he still didn't what blood runs in his veins. Probably ketchup, but that was not important!

Speaking of Aurelie, "Girls." A firm knock on the already opened door immediately turned everyone around at attention. "Leave him alone. He's a bit shy."

"Yes, captain." Some of the girls replied in unison.

"Also there is a truckload of ammunition waiting to be unloaded."

"Yes, captain." They repeated. It didn't take a command for the girls to know what they needed to do.

"Thanks Aurelie." Ricky said as they walked to the front of the truck, clear of the workers.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "How's your day?"

"Good, how about you?"

"Nothing could have been better." She said. "How's Chiyo's project going? All's well, I'd hope?"

"It's progressing okay. I'm still a bit unsure on things, but I have hopes it'll straighten out and it will be smooth sailing soon."

"That's good. How's Fernanda doing?"

"She's fine." Ricky was a bit confused. She saw Fernanda more than he did. "Why do you ask?"

"I've been seeing you with her more often, so I wanted to ask what's up."

"Nothing much I guess. She's cheerful as always, and I guess we're relatively on the same wavelength."

"I see. Take care of her, okay?"

"I will?" He replied with furrowed eyebrows. That was an even weirder statement.

"I have a class to attend soon, so I'll be heading off. I'll see you on Wednesday. À bientôt!" She said.

"See you…"

At this point, it's way too specific to assume something else. She had to know. It would make the most sense. They were Masala's friends, good friends with each other. The gossips likely bounced off each other. Or maybe she was like Fernanda. Pain builds the most sensitive senses after all.

The final match took place on Sakhalin Island. It was a cloudy day, cold but no snow or rain. Still etched in her memory was the bitter cold stabbing on the tips of her fingers.

But Fernanda was as excited as anyone, even more so than some St. Gloriana students here today. St. Gloriana was on the cusp of the first Senshado championship in the last two decades. For a big school, they had always been considered a weak contender, only topping Anzio in that category. And besides, it was Riyo's match. What other reason did she need to come all the way?

The match was a nailbiter. Kuromorimine had proven to be the powerhouse for the last four years. Their discipline needed no introduction. Their marksmanship beyond excellent. But St. Gloriana this time around was no slouch. Masala's tactics were much more aggressive than St. Gloriana's more conservative style, putting flag tanks on the charge, not being afraid to sacrifice tanks for tactical advantages. Many times, her tank took on shots that everyone surely thought would have ended the match, but like a phoenix, it pushed on, never giving up. The discipline that made Kuromorimine such a formidable school were tested under relentless pressure, and it all came down to a one versus three.

When the final bell tolled, it was disappointing, but not completely unexpected. The Jadgtiger's bold move saved them their championship. Regardless, this was St. Gloriana's best performance in a decade. It was worth a celebration, and nobody suspected an accident just happened.

The information came out slowly among the elated fans and spectators. There were no dramatic scream bearing the bad news, a dissenting cry from team members to postpone results, but rather the camera on the finalist tanks suddenly and unceremoniously cut out. The first drop on the puddle.

It was no big deal, Fernanda thought at the time. Technical difficulties happen all too often. What she was happy for was that her friend had done a great feat that would surely etch her name into her school's history. She headed over to the group of reservist St. Gloriana students, awaiting the return of their whole team, her mood matching theirs: slightly bummed but ecstatic. They definitely were going to have a party that night, filled with tea and biscuit, but a party nonetheless.

The deafening siren songs from emergency vehicles quickly upturned that mood. Yet still, there wasn't anything concrete. One girl's whisper Fernanda happened to overhear was:

"Is there an accident?"

The seeds of worries were sowed, she headed straight for the Federation officials in their dull gray uniform in the stands. She asked, they were unsure. They said if they knew something, they would let her know. They wouldn't. It was just a nice thing they said to get her to fuck off. And anywhere she went, it was the same box standard response.

But she naively listened. She remembered what Riyo told her, how she is so easily worked up even for the smallest of things when it comes to her friend. Maybe it was just that, a silly high-pitched voice in her head screaming doomsday scenario because she couldn't possibly imagine a life without Riyo. So she sat there, in that stand, awaiting her friend to return.

Cold winds began to pick up, the autumn leaves swirled.

News began to break among the St. Gloriana students in the crowd that an accident did occur. Kuromorimine students were aware shortly after. Then the entire student body was alerted. Elation and excitement disappeared instantly, replaced my murmurs and confusion. Rumors began that it was a radio issue, then that the hull was breached, and Masala was the victim. After more than an hour, the Federation finally issued a statement confirming an accident occurred, what everyone already knew, but nothing else.

"We will go ahead, okay?"

The last of her teammates headed off to their accommodation, leaving Fernanda sitting alone on the stand.

The girl with the purple scarf buried her face in her palm. The world seemed to spin, the ground threatened to slip from beneath her. She wanted Masala to walk up to her, tell her that she just hit her head, or someone else was burned, or dislocated her shoulders, but was otherwise fine. She just didn't want to believe.

As dusk fell, someone did walk up to her. It wasn't Masala, but Heidi. She was one of the first on the scene when the accident occurred, and also among the last to leave.

"Masala has been taken to the hospital." Inbetween grim breaths, the Kuromorimine girl stated. "It doesn't look good, but the doctors are doing whatever they could."

If it came from Heidi herself, it must be true. She couldn't find an excuse anymore.

"I'm going there to see what's going on. Do you want to come?"

Fernanda didn't speak. She stood up and listlessly put a foot in front of the other, following Heidi. A taxi was called.

When they arrived at the hospital, Aurelie was there. Masala had shown no vital signs when she was admitted. It's possible to resuscitate a person like that, but even for an optimist like Aurelie, news like that was devoid of hope. She was prepared for the prospect of death, and wanted her friends too, but she didn't say it. How could she?

Just this morning, they were laughing together, celebrating together, promising to play games together, and planning a camping trip after graduation together. And by sunset, they were begging for a smallest glimmer of miracle. It was all too sudden.

And that miracle didn't come.

Masala was pronounced dead, three hours after admittance, five hours after the match's final bell rang. The official cause of death was blood loss.

This morning, as planned, she had her meal of the day, lingered around the hangars alone, waiting for Ricky to arrive.

"You're quite brazen for someone breaking the rules." Ricky said.

"What do you mean?" Fernanda tipped her head

"Aren't you afraid of being seen?"

"Ah that. I know the headmistress. She doesn't come in that often, and if so she never does so before 8 AM."

"Wouldn't others see and report you to her?"

"There is one who might…" She crossed her arms. "But not to worry, I'm sure we had her in check."

"Had her in check? Don't tell me you're…"

"Don't get it twisted. There's no bullying." Fernanda waved away the concern. "As terrible as things have happened, a tiny silver lining born from this whole mess is a sense of community. I wouldn't describe it as a civic duty, but there is that feel to it."

"Okay, now you're losing me." Ricky pinched his forehead. He wasn't here for long, she figured he wouldn't get it anyway.

"But fine, I'll be more careful." Fernanda shrugged. "So the plan for me today is to review the mantlet damage, correct?"

"Mhm." He hovered his access card over the reader and opened the door. "I'll continue to comb the documents."

"Alright, let's commence." She gave her back a stretch before climbing onto the Churchill.

While she does what she knows best, Ricky sat down by his desk, by the stack of books and sheets of stapled paper. He tried to limit himself to the current focus of investigation, but even just the mantlet, the documents piled up. Technical documentation from the manufacturer, data analytics from computer software, crew logs, along with expert testimonies and opinions. But among the mountain of documents, there was a lack of maintenance record.

For high school students, untrained and inexperience with the intricacies of automotive mechanics, he would assume armor maintenance wouldn't be something on their regular monthly or weekly agenda. However, there was maintenance done by a team from the JSDF on March 21, almost six months before the accident. It was referenced by Chiyo's report, but there were only maintenance logs to go off of, no other detail on how the process was carried out. They concluded that there were no evidence of stress or strain, but could a lapse in maintenance process created the condition that would weaken the armor? Also could biases have influenced the way Chiyo's report was written?

As he wrote the additional questions down on the whiteboard, a beeping sound instantly triggered his alarm. That's the sound of the card reader on the door, followed by a clacking noise.

"Hide. Hide!" He uttered the quietest shout he could. From above the driver's hatch, Fernanda heard the sound as well, and with posthaste, jumped into the tank.

"Mrs. Shimada! You're here early today." He turned back to face the headmistress in her red office dress and black beret.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Chiyo said. "You aren't paid overtime, yet you're here so early. You know that right?"

"Yeah, but..." He side-glanced the tank, seeing if Fernanda was still there or not. "I guess you can consider my curiosity to be a bit, umm, abundant."

"You're curious? That's certainly a new excuse." She chuckled.

"Well I...tch." He squirmed a little. "I don't know how to justify a feeling of mine."

"You don't need to, as long as you get it done for me." She replied. "I'm here to check up on your progress. It's been a while."

"Take a look." Ricky gestured toward the whiteboard. "Here's what I have so far."

Inside the Churchill VII, Fernanda covered her rapidly beating heart with her hand, and her mouth with her scarf, so the sound of her breathing did not escape the tank.

She could hear Chiyo and Ricky's voice outside. They seemed to be discussing the investigation. She had no choice but to lay low, wait for Chiyo to finish the discussion and leave, and hope that she didn't, for some reasons, look inside.

With only the rattling ambiance of scientific discussion, she looked around. This was the first time she had been in Masala's tank. Churchills really had a cozy feel to it. Spacious and comfortable.

From where she was sitting, she could look up clearly to the hole that the shell had left devastated that day, the white light from outside piercing in. Scratch marks dented the carbon coating interior armor, caused by shrapnel when the shell exploded. But those scratches weren't the only things there.

"…"

Scattering the cannon's sides were stickers. Fernanda recognized some of them. One was a chibi drawing of a popular anime game character that she and Masala used to play. Masala used to fangirl a lot about this character, Fernanda fondly remembered. She liked to search up yaoi arts and send it to her friend, much to the latter's annoyance. There was another one, partially ripped by the shell when it exploded, but Fernanda could still make out what it was: a motivational quote sticker that said 'The flower that blooms in the thunderstorm is the most powerful'. This was something Fernanda herself had given Masala as a casual gift, not for any big occasion or anything. This is where it ended up in.

The stickers weren't the only thing there. There were several pencil marks there too, from kill tally marks to clumsy drawings and signatures. It looked messy, and quite possibly not allowed in St. Gloriana, as they didn't like students freely decorating their tanks, but it gave the Churchill a personal feel to it. Everything about it just screamed Masala. This truly was her tank, her steed to command into battle, but also her friend and personal quarter.

She looked to the back of the turret. The radio was there. It was destroyed when the shell breached the hull, the shrapnel sliced through the components, leaving gaping holes there. To think that a shell shrapnel would be powerful enough to do this to metal, she shuddered to think that this was what Masala suffered in that moment.

Her eyes were trailing the broken radio, when her arms collided with one of the control yoke. It let out a sharp creak.

"What's that sound?" Chiyo asked.

A chill shot up Ricky's spine. It was coming from the Churchill.

"I don't know." He shrugged. Act natural, he told himself.

Fernanda held her breathe, her stomach churned expecting to see a pair of eyes peering through that hole. She thought she was going to be expelled from the team, her name stained with an academic integrity violation, but nothing came. They simply returned to the discussion.

She settled back onto the driver's seat when she noticed something hidden in a corner of the seat. It looked like an envelope that fell from somewhere inside the tank and was forgotten there.

She reached down for it. It read:

'To: Tohru Hatano'

Fernanda held back a gasp. This was her real name. She now truly had lost focus, and for a reason. On the day before the accident, she sent Masala a letter. She slipped it in her hands while Masala was busy meeting with some of the representatives of other schools, and always assumed it was never read because she didn't get a reply. But she apparently did read it. This was her handwriting.

Like a person possessed, she tore the envelope and unfurled the letter.

'Dear Tohru.

I'm so glad to have received your letter. I really don't know what to say other than thank you. Thank you for loving me, for who I am. You don't know how much this means to me.

I still remember the fond old days in the mainland, middle schools and all that. None of this Senshado and school ships was even an afterthought. Don't get me wrong, I love Senshado and school, but things were just so much simpler then. Just you, me, two laptops, and a rainy day is a happy day. All the Flash games we used to play, the violent web animations we used to watch.

Out of everyone, you were always the most head-empty out of everyone, but that's ironically the thing that made you so endearing. There is never any interior motive in you. I can always confide in you, ask you for help, or just come up to you for a chat and you'd mean exactly like you said. Sometimes, you can be a little overbearing, but that's not a big deal.

As I move away for St. Gloriana, I realized how fleeting friendships can be. So many who I once hung out with have drifted apart. Some tried to hang on, but life catches up. School, life, new friends,... I wasn't close enough to anyone to be on the contact list apparently, except for you! As William Shakespeare once said: to me fair friend, you can never grow old. I have no idea if it meant what I want it to mean, but you get my point.

Truth be told, I don't exactly fit in here. I might be their captain, and everybody is nice, but I don't feel included. I'm neither elegant nor good with any of this British stuff. The only reason I'm here where I am is because of my Senshado skills, which I'm not even that big on. However, this will be my last Senshado tournament as a St. Gloriana student. I've reached my peak in Senshado, and I miss you! Once we graduated, let us move back in together? I don't plan to attend St. Gloriana College at all, so my plans are free afterwards. Let us catch up on all the good times we missed out on.

Until we meet again, Tohru, know that you are and will forever be my greatest friend.

Love,

Riyo.

The letter fell with her arms onto her thigh. She sat, staring down into nothingness.

"Ugh, that's a lot more possibility than I had expected." Chiyo said. "I still don't think poor maintenance is that big of a factor."

"No, I have that feeling too, but I want it conclusively ruled out. Otherwise some people are going to point at it and grumble." Ricky replied. "I'd need more information on that maintenance done by the JSDF on March 21, and also what St. Gloriana students might have done from that point until September 7."

"I can find you the first information. However, I cannot really ask of St. Gloriana to give these details. The investigation has ended long ago, and I'm sure they aren't keen on reopening old wounds." Chiyo sighed. "However, it wouldn't hurt if you ask them. You can put my contact down if they want to verify."

"Alright…" He nodded. "That's basically it on my end."

"Good work." She praised. "I will let you know when I have more information."

Chiyo left the hangar to the sigh of relief of Ricky. She didn't seem to suspect a thing.

"Fernanda. You can come out now." He waited a bit before calling.

A few seconds passed, she didn't reply.

"Fernanda?" He knocked on the tank. Still no reply.

The room fell back to an uneasy silence, then suddenly, weak and fragile, he heard a sob.

Without a beat, he climbed into the Churchill, down to where she sat, seeing her eyebrows drooped and rag-dolled posture

"W-What is it?" Ricky was scared to ask. He found himself on another investigation in search of what could have reduced her to this degree of listlessness. And then, as an obvious theory took seat in his mind, he saw what she held in her hand and the hastily torn envelope on the side. He gently took the letter.

"Oh no…" His heart sank with every word read. "...I'm so sorry…"

The tears fell from her cheeks, left dark bruises on the leather seat.

Without words for comfort, Ricky pulled Fernanda into his arms. He felt her tears soaking his shirt, her staccato gasps by his ears, but he'd hold her. He would hold her and lend her his shoulders to cry on. All day long if she needed it.

While again a lot of the details here are science fiction, graphene itself is real, though I doubt it will be used in this specific case in the chapter. There was a lot of clickbait about it back in the days of the early 2010s. It indeed has been used in some industry, but from what I read, it's pretty limited by manufacturing capability and scalability, and it's still quite a new technology under a lot of research and development. I took it because it fits a pseudo-scientific explanation for this whole case, and also I think it's a cool material that has a lot of potential. Check it out if you're curious, but be wary of sensationalism when it comes to these stuffs.

As for the story, whoo, that was a heavy one. Fernanda's chapters are done, Heidi will be next. Since she's from Kuromorimine, there's going to be details regarding Shiho when her backstories are touched. I'm still not entirely sure how to go about with her. While I like and will try to be canon compliant, her behavior towards Miho after the 62nd Final match is shitty, both from a safety standpoint and just human decency standpoint. We shall see in due time, I have ideas.

Thank you all for the continued support. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next one!