Girls und Panzer: Battle Europa (IC, Closed)

[Minroz]

“Woooh!” Sofia cheered.

The girls were little elated to say the least. That was their first ‘kill’ in the tankey match. Not a bad start for them as beginners who were new to the game. As the Borscht’s Pershing tank went passed-by the downed Aquarius tank, a certain bespectacled Russian popped her head up, waving her hand at Iveta and friends.

“Sorry!” Tatiana shouted to Team Aquarius. Being a nice girl, the blonde wanted to apologise to them because she felt guilty for she presumably thought her best friends and herself are acting ungrateful towards Iveta and here friends. They’re one of the teams who bothered to help the Borscht Team getting their tank back up. “Me and the girls haven’t forget your help with our tank before! I promise I’ll make it up to you girls once the match is over.”

With that, the Borscht’s tank moved forward in search of new targets.

---

Manti Team

While the Central Asians have began to enjoy their ride of the old ISU, the Manti team leader peering out, Aliya was on the look out for opposing tanks while humming one of her favourite tunes. Little did she know, the Geist Team have been zeroed in at the back of Manti’s tank until it’s too late.

“Ya Allah!” Aliya yelped with realisation. This happens when she spotted the Wolfhound tank who is trailing far behind.

“Girls, we got trouble!” The Kazakh warned her tank crewmates.

“What!?” Mira blurted.

“Oh no! Of all times!” Gulnara whined.

“I-I’m scared!” Firuza bleated.

“Gulnara, turn right!” Aliya ordered her Kyrgyz friend.

“Got it!” Gulnara tried turning the vehicle towards the right, hoping to God that it’s enough to be out of enemy sight. Will Manti’s ISU-122S make it in time to avoid getting shot?

[Republic of Hasgriu]

Having successfully inspired her obedient subordinates and raised the morale (though not necessarily morals) of the team with her war cry-improvisation skills, satisfied Maya by co-opting the loader's plans, made Hanna ignore a grievous, glaring grammatical error, and proved that Liliya could respond to external stimuli and was thus a living thing, Yekaterina contentedly took on the mantle of commander and started giving orders.

"Lilichka, let's start heading north! Hanka, shoot some smoke so we can ninja away!"

As vague as her orders were, the Bishop's compartment became more lively, as Maya distributed respirators to the other three crew members and everyone checked and adjusted their helmets.

"Make sure there are no gaps, and keep them a bit tight," cautioned Maya, slipping on a pair of gloves. "Tinnitus is something I would not wish on even my nemesis, and I've had my fair share of second-hand smoke already."

Yekaterina shook her hands about in the air, and said, "I know, I know! I've got a big foldable fan here to get all the smoke and stuff out. My grand-uncle was in Chechnya and now he's got lung cancer, and I don't plan on following in his footsteps!"

Soon after, following a warning not to stand behind the breech from the safety-conscious loader, the Bishop began to slink away northwards, leaving the Pershing and the odd hybrid tank that Aquarius operated, both of which greatly outclassed Buxtehude's vehicle, to duel each other.

"Ready to fire on your mark, Commander Katya," Hanna announced.

Responding with an affirming nod, Yekaterina dramatically pointed at the 25 pounder and yelled, "Fire!"

As soon as Hanna pulled down the lever to fire, her sight became filled with white smoke. For a moment, she ceased breathing, thinking that she had been grossly mistaken about one factor or another when aiming. Then, Katya's voice rang out.

"Shot successful! They'll never be able to hit us now," Yekaterina, who was standing up yet again, declared. Briefly, she ducked down and commended her crew, "Good job! Keep it up, everyone, no matter how cramped it is (especially for you, Lilichka, sorry) in here, and we'll be-" A smoking brass cartridge flew past her leg and out the back doors, just under the hand which was fanning smoke away from the cabin. "-a great tankery team eventually. Probably."

Seeking inspiration for some motivational pep talk, Yekaterina glanced back at the hill, which was slowly being obscured by the smoke wafting back from the firing of the Bishop's main gun. With either uncanny vision or luck, she could make out what she believed to be Aquarius getting hit and then reversing (or being pushed back) down the hill faster than a Renault.

"What's for sure is that we're probably better off than Iveta and co back there." Yekaterina failed to so much as encourage herself with the comparison, as shown by the half-hearted way she continued, "Small victories."

It was at this moment that Yekaterina realised that the club was pretty bad at tankery. The leader being the first to go didn't reflect all too well on the rest of the teams present. On the other hand, maybe Iveta was just terrible at commanding. Or the rest of the crew. Or everyone together.

Yekaterina felt bad that she only knew Iveta's name. She couldn't even remember the hair colours of the rest of the carrot-hair's crew! Was that how it felt to be unrecognised for one's efforts?

Well, maybe this incident would provide an opportunity for those with an affinity for tankery or the lottery to shine. Hopefully including Buxtehude Team.

"She's suddenly gone all introspective. Did that piece of brass do something to her?"

If they had enough talented people, maybe Rauschen would be able to take part in some competitions. And if they won those...

"Maya! After all that talk about keeping safe, why did you nearly let the shell hit her?!"

If Rauschen won, then the school would earn some prestige, always useful for the rèsumè, and the club would have funds to buy more tanks. With bigger guns.

"It wasn't the shell, it was the cartridge. It would've bruised, at worst, taught her something, at best. I'm a proponent of the 'experience is irreplaceable' idea. Lack of experience led to the kamikaze planes, you know? Anyways, why not pay her back from rousing you from your daydream slumber earlier?"

Ooh, but the shells would really hurt the loader's arms. Or perhaps even loaders'. Poor Maya with her physique would dislocate her arm with anything heavier than the 25 lb weights she already had to carry.

"First, you renege on your promise like some sort of politician-"

"Oi! Anything but them!"

"Sponsor Katya's next four shopping trips!"

"Four's the number of death, but all right. The ambulance'll be on standby." Maya stretched as much as she could, that is to say, not an awful lot. "If I had to live in a cage, it best be gilded, unlike this veritable khrushchyovka."

"But it's our khrushchyovka, Mayunya!" Yekaterina exclaimed, having snapped out of the plane of fantasy, and started fanning much more quickly, as the smokescreen now enveloped and surrounded the Bishop. "There are many like it, but this one is ours!"

"You're supporting the wrong Marine Corps, Yekaterina." Maya commented, and then elbowed Hanna, whispering, "Missed your chance."

"What would the point have been?" Hanna puzzledly stared.

"Precisely. Would've been pointless."

Hanna's confusion only grew, her mouth agape and engaged in an exercise in futility, trying and failing to vocalise some sort of coherent reply.

Maya prodded the blonde's cheek and asked Yekaterina, "By the way, before we get to carried away with our banter, what's next on the agenda, Frau Commander?"

"Hm?" The fan-wielding girl looked back and thought for a bit, before saying, "Well, there's a pretty long tank over there by the Pershing. Also, I think the bushes and stuff are shaking over-" Yekaterina stretched and pointed in another direction. "-there, which might be the wind, but it probably isn't. So I think we're being tracked."

"And... Yekaterina, this is all visible through the smoke?"

Looking at the newly-formed pair of baffled faces, Yekaterina nodded. "Indeed! The Americans gave us la capitalisma and the bald eagle's eyes. So, which do you think we should prioritise?"

[Fascist Republic Of Bermuda]

Рогатка команда- Тяжелый танк КВ-2

"Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya! V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya!" Valentina and Zoya sang as the KV-2 lumbered along the road. The rest of the crew did not join them. Tonya eyed the two, standing on either side of the gun, like they might be crazy. There was nothing so far, just the green park and a whole lot of nothing. Valentina did not have a hatch above her head, the KV-2's hatch was a bit further back, so she had to use the commander's sight exclusively. The KV-2 was blind as a bat.

Eventually Valentina and Zoya stopped singing. "Comrade Rozhenka!" Valentina called out, having to yell over the roar of the engine, "Do you see anything?" Vera responded with a quiet "Nyet." Valentina didn't hear her. Vera said a bit louder, "Nyet!" Valentina somewhat heard her. "Comrade Rozhenka, what are you saying?" Valentina yelled, "I AM SAYING NYET, VALECHKA!" Vera nearly screamed back. "Oh! Da, da!" Valentina yelled. Nat shook her head. This was pointless. The venture, the possibility of finally beating her sister at her own game, was slipping away. Perhaps Natalia could become a farmer and strive to outperform her parents after the embarrassment of being in a tank with the weirdo wannabe Soviets of the school was over.

The KV-2 kept slowly moving down the road, the crew all but insulated from the outside.

[Krajstali]

"O Kurwa...it's Aquarius team..." muttered Jozefa as their tank headed towards the silhouette which revealed itself to be the KV-1B. Jozefa took a deep breath as she prepared to engage the heavy tank. This wasn't what they had expected, but if Jozefa and crew were able to somewhat overcome their first target, being a heavy tank despite crewing a medium, it would certainly be something to talk about.

"We're engaging that thing no matter what!" Jozefa decided. The whole crew were clenching onto whatever they had in hand. The KV-1B started to turn it's turret which certainly had given the girls, with the exception of Jozefa and Bogumila, a fright. "Eek! It's gonna aim at us!" Krystyna cried out as she peeked through the periscope. Bogumila had a 85 mm round ready and clutched tightly within her gloved hands waiting for Jozefa's signal.

Jozefa had swallowed a gulp, facing the fact that it was her that chose this decision. However, she did notice that the KV-1B had halted it's rotation and instead faced something behind it. Odd, she thought. Was there another tank in the vicinity? Whatever it was, the KV-1B was the closest and she had to take the chance.

Just as she opened her mouth, the KV-1B had fired at what it was aiming for, only to see the round bounce off before a round from the opposing and unseen tank had returned fire, causing a white flag to appear on the KV-1B as it was forced downhill. Jozefa, not to mention whoever could see what had happened within the tank had their mouths left agape. The worries of dealing with the KV-1B were wiped clean from their minds to a blank state, until they came to the conclusion that whatever had taken the KV-1B out was certainly a more powerful tank, only bringing even more panic to the girls then they were before. "Only another heavy tank could do such a thing, especially considering the force of that round..." Jozefa mumbled before starting to speak at a louder tone directed towards the driver,"In that case, drive us towards where it was aiming at."

Endeleza shook her head and couldn't believe what she had received from Jozefa,"W-what?! That's-"
"An order..." cut off Jozefa, "Whatever had knocked out that KV-1B was certainly powerful, perhaps we can broker some sort of deal between us and them."
"Like The Empire of France and the Duchy of Warsaw?" Krystyna chimed in, remembering something from one of Jozefa's Europa Universalis playthroughs. Jozefa was quite impressed at her for once, she could actually remember a historical fact? This made her point towards Krystyna with her index finger before exclaiming "That's it!
Krystyna was quite stunned, seeing as to how Jozefa had complimented her for the first time in a while, looking up to Jozefa's frozen expression. The two cleared throats before returning to their positions, the Commander being slightly embarrassed with the small incident.

[Sonitusia]

M38 Wolfhound

Following Fauna's instruction to the letter, Theodora managed to duck and weave the Wolfhound into position, hopefully to find the vehicle that the Brit had mentioned. And, after half a minute, they managed to find themselves on top of a hill, overlooking a rather large looking tank, of which had no turret. It also had a really, really long gun. Slamming the brakes, Theodora almost ripped the intercom off of its post.

"What in the fuck, Faun?!" she shouted, instead of using the mic, "You trying to get us all killed?!"

Still looking like she was hyped on energy drinks, Mentari looked through the sights of the M5 cannon, and took her aim. She had no idea how to do this, but she was guessing it should be similar to a video game, and used the most center crosshair to take aim at the Soviet monster turning around. "Fire!" Fauna barked.

The 75mm blasted a round, quickly loaded and fired once more for good effect. And with a stroke of luck, the AP round managed to pierce the armor deck, knocking out the tank destroyer as it tried to make a run for it. The vehicle kept moving despite the white flag that had popped out, and a resounding 'clang' echoed through the area as it seemingly hit something. Eyes widening as she noticed this, Fauna quickly ordered into the radio set, "Full reverse!"

Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha

"Steady the gun," Adelia whispered, before peeking her head through the cupola's slit holes. The smoke was beginning to dissipate, and hopefully something would be noticeable. The tank was still hidden inside the bush camouflage, right next to an actual, living bush, shut off to reduce noise to the absolute minimum. By now, they had noticed the slightest of movements, but didn't know what exactly was before them. But after the smoke began to clear, they could see their target as bright as day through the bushes.

"On my mark," the commander muttered, clasping her hand on the gunner's shoulder, keeping her calm.

[Minroz]

-snip-

While the Borscht team decided to move on, however Wojtek’s tank have appeared at the scene as the Polish T-34 has done going around the battered KV-1B. The tanks now face each other in clear view, much to the Russians’ surprise.

“What the-!? Bozhe moi!” Raina panicked.

“Oh dear…” Nina gasped while looking through her gunner sight. Her finger was itching to press the trigger of the Pershing’s tank cannon.

“What happen?” Mira asked.

“We got company in front of us!” Raina replied like a scared duck. But her twin sister yawned with indifferences.

“Damn.” The muscle-head grunted in displeasure.

“That sounds bad, has it?” Sofia remarked.

The Borscht team leader on other hand, Tatiana kept her head cool, knowing panicking will not do any good or help at this situation. She needs to quickly make up her decision immediately.

“Nina, take aim. Fire!” The blonde ordered.

“A-ah, Da! (Yes!)” Nina tries to aim her sights at Wojtek’s T-34, hoping the next round will hit her target. “Firing!”

*Booom!*

“Raina, Tamara! Reverse now! We’re going backwards!” Tatiana ordered her brunette friend.

“O-okay, got it, girl!”

“Alright.” Tamara replied quietly.

The Serova twins, feet pushed down hard on the pedal, she drove accelerated the M26 Pershing backwards. Going down the hill in reverse, the Borscht Team plans to make a hit-and-run attack with Wojtek in the attempt to buy some time to move to the another location.

---

Рогатка команда- Тяжелый танк КВ-2

"Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya! V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya!" Valentina and Zoya sang as the KV-2 lumbered along the road. The rest of the crew did not join them. Tonya eyed the two, standing on either side of the gun, like they might be crazy. There was nothing so far, just the green park and a whole lot of nothing. Valentina did not have a hatch above her head, the KV-2's hatch was a bit further back, so she had to use the commander's sight exclusively. The KV-2 was blind as a bat.

Eventually Valentina and Zoya stopped singing. "Comrade Rozhenka!" Valentina called out, having to yell over the roar of the engine, "Do you see anything?" Vera responded with a quiet "Nyet." Valentina didn't hear her. Vera said a bit louder, "Nyet!" Valentina somewhat heard her. "Comrade Rozhenka, what are you saying?" Valentina yelled, "I AM SAYING NYET, VALECHKA!" Vera nearly screamed back. "Oh! Da, da!" Valentina yelled. Nat shook her head. This was pointless. The venture, the possibility of finally beating her sister at her own game, was slipping away. Perhaps Natalia could become a farmer and strive to outperform her parents after the embarrassment of being in a tank with the weirdo wannabe Soviets of the school was over.

The KV-2 kept slowly moving down the road, the crew all but insulated from the outside.

M38 Wolfhound

Following Fauna's instruction to the letter, Theodora managed to duck and weave the Wolfhound into position, hopefully to find the vehicle that the Brit had mentioned. And, after half a minute, they managed to find themselves on top of a hill, overlooking a rather large looking tank, of which had no turret. It also had a really, really long gun. Slamming the brakes, Theodora almost ripped the intercom off of its post.

"What in the fuck, Faun?!" she shouted, instead of using the mic, "You trying to get us all killed?!"

Still looking like she was hyped on energy drinks, Mentari looked through the sights of the M5 cannon, and took her aim. She had no idea how to do this, but she was guessing it should be similar to a video game, and used the most center crosshair to take aim at the Soviet monster turning around. "Fire!" Fauna barked.

The 75mm blasted a round, quickly loaded and fired once more for good effect. And with a stroke of luck, the AP round managed to pierce the armor deck, knocking out the tank destroyer as it tried to make a run for it. The vehicle kept moving despite the white flag that had popped out, and a resounding 'clang' echoed through the area as it seemingly hit something. Eyes widening as she noticed this, Fauna quickly ordered into the radio set, "Full reverse!"

As the ISU-122S tries to fleeing the scene, running out of the forest and right into the KV-2 on the road. Manti’s efforts to escape were in vain.

“Oh God!” Aliya gasped.

Unlucky for the Central Asians, not far behind, the Wolfhound took a couple of shots at the ISU-122. Whether it's latent skill or just dumb luck, the shot hit the vulnerable engine compartment in the rear, putting the formidable tank destroyer to its unimaginable doom right before it rammed into the KV-2. The KV-2 loads its round without incident. In the instance, a small white flag popped out of Manti’s ISU-122 from the top.

“Awww, oh dear…” Aliya meeped at the loss.

“Oh God. We lost, haven’t we?” Umida quipped. Trying to be a good sport, she just laughed it off. But the sentiment was not shared by her friends entirely.

“Not funny.” Gulnara pouted.

“It’s God’s will it happens.” Inkar stated, unmoving.

“Not funny as well.” The Kyrgyz pouted even further.

“Don’t worry, we’ll win next time~.” The Uzbek spoke with optimism. “Isn’t right, Firuza?”

“A-ah, y-yes, we will.” The Tajik tries to play along. This result in Gulnara groaning with frustrations and head banged on the steering wheels.

Aliya spotted the Rogatka’s KV-2 member popping out of her tank; she then gave them a friendly wave. “Oh? Hello~!”

[Sonitusia]

Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha

Her shot was true, but lady luck was somehow sneering down on Komodo team. The penultimate armor piercing round of the Type 1 47mm gun somehow ricocheted off of the Bishop's armor, much to the dismay of Odetta, who had placed her trust on that shot. Similarly the SPG had opened fire on them, though missing completely, and exploding somewhere behind them. Unfortunately, a forest fire was sparked from this.

"I can't believe that happened," Adelia grumbled, peering her eyes away from the binocular, shaking her head, "Load up another round of the same type Herm, that one must of been a dud. And Fatimah, get us out of here, I don't want us choking on the British haze!"

Another Toku-Otsu round was shoved into the chamber, and Odetta took her aim once more, firing as the engine came to life, and the moving bush began to roll away from its position, lest it get hit by a lucky round. It rumbled away from the growing fire, which must've been caused by dry wood getting caught in an incendiary round's blast. What the Bishop was doing with rounds like that was questionable, but it put ideas for future strategies in Adelia's head.

"School's not going to like this!" Adelia shouted, sealing the hatch and covering open spaces with paper napkins lightly dipped in water, "I wouldn't place my money on this match lasting very long!"

[Republic of Hasgriu]

Buxtehude Team

"I think you should decide on our target, Katya," Hanna responded to Yekaterina's query. "After all, that's your role as commander. You should use this opportunity to lead!"

With her other two friends and crew shrugging their shoulders and abstaining from the decision-making, Yekaterina decided to trust her judgement, backed by Hanna's encouragement.

Much to Maya's horror, the commander ordered, "We've got an incendiary, right? Load that one up, Maya! It could be a TD on the prowl. Let's flush it out..."

"Stop!" Though most of Maya's face was obscured, her eyes expressed her worry quite clearly. "Yekaterina, I would like to take the time to observe several things. Firstly, the school borrowed this park in a feat of overcoming paperwork, bureaucracy, and hurdles made of red tape. Thus, it is likely the school's responsibility to compensate the park for any damages incurred."

Yekaterina frowned, murmuring, "Aww. So that's out?"

"But screw it. Orders are orders, though we'll all be taking responsibility if anything goes wrong, all four of us," Maya continued, "And though I don't believe in Murphy, I'll have the fire service and Iveta's numbers prepared."

The loader packed some propellant into a brass case while tapping away at her cell phone, and then loaded the incendiary shell into the 25 pounder, softly noting, "This is thermite we're dealing with, after all."

"All right! Ready to fire!" Maya declared after shutting the breech. All four of the Bishop's crew braced, waiting on Yekaterina's command. However, before she could so much as open her mouth, the sound of metal striking metal rang out, followed immediately by a jarring force. Then, a blast hit the crew's ears, as an 8.8 centimetre shell flew out of the Bishop's gun.

"Is everyone fine?" Hanna did a sweep of the other three, who all nodded in affirmation, followed by a cursory check on her own vitality, which revealed no external injuries.

Sticking her head out once more, Yekaterina commented, "That must have been Komodo Team's round. Whew! Good thing we weren't knocked out."

"Komodo?" Maya's eyes shot towards her commander. "The Indonesians?"

"Yep! Their commander's gone inside now. I wonder why..." Yekaterina's eyes darted about, looking for what had caused a sensha-dō practitioner, renown for never buttoning up regardless of how much rubble and fragments were threatening their unprotected heads, to close her vehicle's hatches.

She found her answer in the form of a shockingly large fire, which produced a veritable smokescreen. One that the Bishop's shell had undoubtedly ignited, though the streams of orange and scarlet that climbed up conifers and creeped across the grassy ground of the park did somewhat obfuscate the vegetation she had targetted earlier.

"Oh. Ooh-er. Crap." Yekaterina went through various interjections, before deciding on a complete sentence. "Uh, everyone? We may or may not have set the park on fire."

Maya's subsequent face-slam against the Bishop's internal steel wall was heard by all the other three members of the crew.

[Sonitusia]

Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha

This time around, the special armor piercing rounds showed their true colors. Barely in sight as the haze became thicker, Adelia could just barely see the white flag popping out of the Bishop's hull. Half-smiling, she looked through whatever peepholes she could, but almost nothing else could be seen with all the smoke in the area. A soft thump could be heard behind them as they continued to try and maneuver out of the forest.

"Did you notice that, commander?" Hermione spoke up, "The round hit precisely where we were a few seconds ago." After giving it a few seconds to settle, Adelia looked behind and could just barely see the dust begin to land onto the ground after the 88mm round had detonated. Scratching her chin, she wrote down onto her notepad to keep her eye on the gunner of the self-propelled gun.

Hanna Wiśniewska... It seems theory isn't your only strong suit.

"*Cough* Get us out of this smoke, Fatimah! I don't really care where we end up, but I don't intend on fainting from a *cough* practice match!" The Chi-Ha began to dart out of the forest, but there was no real direction to where they headed. Hopefully they made it out alive and towards a safe location, but what was more important to Adelia right now would be that they didn't all suffocate inside of the metal hull of a Japanese war relic.

"Adelia, what if we encounter something we don't *uhuk* like?" Hermione questioned, clutching onto a normal AP round. Odetta also looked at the commander, as if awaiting a verdict that could change their fate.

Clenching her teeth as she tried to minimize her breathing, she muttered, "Then we'll take care of it with whatever means we have."

[Republic of Hasgriu]

"Maya!" Hanna's eyes hastily left the gunner's sights to inspect her friend, who was evidently unable to cope with Yekaterina's announcement. Worriedly, she ran her fingers across Maya's scalp, checking for bruises and other signs of external injury.

"I should have found some helmets too; are you alright?!"

"Thank you for being more safety-conscious than the rest of us, Hanna," Maya said, carefully bringing her head up. "Headgear would be a good addition to our existing equipment, and would certainly reduce the risk of trauma."

Giving the Pole, who was still frantically evaluating her health, a gentle pat on the back, she added, "There's no need for industrial-grade stuff, though. Some thick cloth caps would suffice. We can get them together once we survive the student council." No tinnitus or nausea, and her vision was just fine; four burning trees off in the distance, and one pesky Chi-Ha.

"I'll get myself checker later, Hanna. I promise." Maya reassuringly grabbed the blonde gunner's hand, who returned to her position hesitantly. Continuing, Maya said, "So, having successfully concussed myself... Yekaterina!"

"Present!" Yekaterina's head narrowly avoided suffering the same fate as Maya's when she jolted up.

A cell phone was thrown in her direction, as Maya instructed, "The first number is Iveta's. Give her a sit-rep, then call the fire brigade."

"Hey, don't usurp my role, Mayunya!" Yekaterina half-seriously glared at the loader, as if trying to assert dominance. Given how she was more petite than even the rather lightly built Asian, her attempts were consigned to failure. Soon enough, though, she was busy dialling up the sensha-dō club's leader.

"Right. Hanna, what shell?" asked Maya, who held two shells, both already in their cases, one AP, painted darker green, and the other high-explosive, with a cap-like percussion fuze on its nose.

"Huh?" Hanna's eyes snapped down from the part of Maya's head which had hit the Bishop's wall.

"Oh! Um, HE, for ranging. Yeah." She turned her head and glued her eyes to her sight, tracking the vague silhouette of Komodo Team's Chi-Ha. "It's really, really hard to see through all of this smoke, isn't it? Good grief. Ah, uh, Lilya?" Hanna tapped the oft-forgotten driver lightly.

"Mm?" It was not much of a response, but still able to convey that Liliya was listening. Brevity is a virtue in the military.

"Could you drive us so we make a big... erm, a big G-clef? Yes, yes, the very curly G-clef. And try to keep our front angled towards Komodo too, please!"

"Affirm." After uttering something at last, Liliya proceeded to slowly move the underpowered Bishop in a large loop.

"Yes, thank you. Um, and Maya?" Hanna adjusted the Bishop's traverse. "At this distance, and ten-point-five-repeat per second..."

"Breech's closed. Ready, Yekaterina!"

"Whaa?" The commander, having temporarily forgotten her role after being interrupted in the midst of her calls, had a puzzled look momentarily take over her face, before coming to her senses and ordering, "Oh, fire!"

Once more, though, Komodo was quicker on the draw. With a muzzle velocity almost twice as high, and a crew that were not all new to sensha-dō, the Type 1 yet again fired before the 25 pounder could, though the interval between the two shots was shorter than the previous time.

Ignoring the force of the impact of Komodo's 47 mm shell on the superstructure's side, Maya immediately began to shout corrections while opening the Bishop's breech, saying, "Range correct, right fiftee—"

Suddenly, someone started to compress Maya's abdomen, causing her to yelp, surprised, "Oof! My spine!"

Interrupting the zealous loader, Yekaterina hugged her from behind and informed her, "Mayunya, we've been knocked out!"

At this point in time, Maya finally noticed the white flag on the Bishop's roof just as the vehicle was reversed into a cloud of haze again.

"Oh." Unable to think of much else to say, Maya switched the topic to the quality, or lack thereof, of the air. "Y'know, this smog reminds me of when I went to Beijing. It was like the air had turned to ash, all thick and grey. In Shanghai, they had mustard gas for an atmosphere."

Slinking back into the Bishop, she carried on, downcast, "Where's Komodo from? Java? Sulawesi? Sumatra? If they're Sumatran, it would sure feel hypocritical, forcing them to relive the haze."

"Maya?" Hanna joined Yekaterina in hugging the rather distraught Maya. Liliya, meanwhile, had climbed up from her seat, the Bishop now a safe distance away from any smoke clouds, and was silently trying to cheer Maya up with a soft smile.

"Don't take it too badly, please, Maya! Komodo's commander has participated in a national sensha-dō league, so they had a large training and experience advantage. I forgot that their off-road speed is a lot slower, too, and that screwed up my estimates, so I'm also partly to blame! Шибай вэй чэнгун чжи му, Эньхуэй!"

Adding on to Hanna's bilingual encouragement, Yekaterina chirped, whilst still maintaining a vice-like grip on Maya's torso, "Also, if they've lived through this sort of smoke before, then they'll be more used to it! Anyway, they're getting their just deserts for taking us out!"

This buzz seemed to make Maya all the more introspective, as she fell completely quiet, and only stared intently at a random part of the gun, deep in thought.

"Eh!? Mayunya's gone catatonic!" Yekaterina shook her somewhat violently, to no avail. "Shoot! She's sick! Should I call the paramedics too?!"

Maya spun around forcefully, causing Hanna and Yekaterina to let go of her aching stomach, and boomed, with dilated eyes, "No! On the contrary, I have been inspired, yeeess. Success has a hundred fathers, but failure is an orphan."

"Yup, definitely need the emergency services." Hanna took Maya's phone, jokingly preparing to call an ambulance.

"Yekaterina!" Enthusiastically whirling to face her addressee, Maya practically shouted, "What have we learnt today?"

Promptly saluting, Yekaterina replied, "If you fire incendiary rounds at something, it will be lit on fire, madam!"

Maya's eyebrows furrowed. "True..." she said to herself.

Her eagerness then came rushing back, and she responded, "But that's not the key point!"

Gesturing at the Bishop's blank steel wall, as if doing a presentation, Maya went on. "More importantly, in addition to lighting a fire, we've managed to produce a whole lot of toxic smoke! Smoke," she paused, "which serves two functions."

Now, assured of Maya's wellbeing, the other three members of Buxtehude Team gathered around to listen to her.

"Because of this smoke, we couldn't see crap, and neither could they. That is the traditional smokescreen."

Maya moved her hand down, to the bottom half of the wall behind her. "However, the smoke also gives them lung cancer, forcing them to button up or hack and wheeze their way to defeat, as we observed with Komodo. In this, we have a very destructive method of breaking the age-old tradition of sensha-dō practitioners sticking their heads out like Yekaterina always does, thus heavily limiting their vision, as well as degrading their combat effectiveness! It's just that Komodo has survived breathing air with a PSI of up to two thousand."

To end her impromptu lecture, Maya concluded, "In light of our gains and losses, this practice match has been a Pyrrhic victory! I hereby dub this the 'Riau Stratagem'."

"Wait, isn't a Pyrrhic victory bad for us?" Yekaterina raised her hand.

"Yes, which is why we're going back to the central hill to hatch a plan to minimise how bad Führer Henna's aneurysm-induced murder and the principal's scolding will be."

Everyone else paled, only just remembering their imminent fates. The ramifications of setting the rented park on fire were going to be harsh.

"Oh, right... I need to tell everyone something. 'Scuse me." Yekaterina crawled to the radio, and began fiddling idly with some of the knobs.

Having accepted certain doom, Maya calmly took note of the smoke, which was encroaching on their position, and announced, "Everyone else can take a break, except for you, Liliya, sorry. Before we get overwhelmed by smog again, please get us back to the hill as quickly as possible. Our respiratory systems are in your hands."

With that, the Bishop set off.

[Wolfenium]

Burning the park down was clearly not part of the plan. As smoke began to waft from the area, the hapless crew of the KV-1 could only watch as the flames began eating away the greenery. Iveta had not seen this coming, and certainly did not believe she was going to get off lightly. The sudden screaming in the radio quickly confirmed her fears, as an unknown voice started cursing the crew responsible.

"IDIOT," screamed Astrid on the radio, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! WHO SET FIRE TO THE TREES! YOU WANT TO CHOKE YOUR SCHOOLMATES TO DEATH!?"

"Uhh..." Iveta blurted, "who is this-"

"I'M YOUR INSTRUCTOR, YOU FUCKING BRAINLESS BITCH," yelled the woman again, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ARE SMOKE ROUNDS!? IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME IN TANKERY, MAGGOT!"

"I... didn't set it on fire," Iveta answered in a nervous wince, "I think it was-"

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE FUCK DID IT," Astrid barked, "EVERYONE TO THE GARAGE, NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

The tankery club was in very serious trouble. Oops.

---

Garage, Rauschen High School
Sunset

It had been a very ugly day, no less due to the state of the park. Fortunately for the girls, the fire department was quick to put out to blaze, sparing the ship a potentially ugly situation. The bad news, however, was the damages as a result, with nobody able to explain who or how they were going to afford the repairs. Sitting on a crate in front of the crews and their parked tanks, the hapless redhead instructor struggled to remain restraint as she waited on the club to gather. But the worst was yet to come, as the girls waited in chilling silence.

"This was a bad idea," whispered Avelina in Iveta's ear, standing in front of the KV-1, "why didn't you check if they have anything destructive."

"I... I didn't think of that..." Iveta blurted, "what happens now?..."

"My sister is going to get mad for this," uttered Terhikki in panic, "what're we going to do."

"Why am I still here," Selena whined, "all I did was chauffeur that woman."

What happens next was anyone's guess...

[Republic of Hasgriu]

"IDIOT," screamed Astrid on the radio, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! WHO SET FIRE TO THE TREES! YOU WANT TO CHOKE YOUR SCHOOLMATES TO DEATH!?"

Yekaterina had her combination of ear muffs and plugs to thank for her not being immediately deafened by the irate woman on the radio.

"Eek!" With a surprised yelp, she leapt back, crashing into an unamused Maya's lap.

"Actually, the Riau Stratagem's primary goal is area denial, not asphyxiation," Maya explained, keeping a distance away from the radio. "The smoke is meant to deter opponents from venturing close. If they stick around and breathe it in, they've done the equivalent of driving across a minefield."

"Uhh..." Iveta blurted, "who is this-"

"I'M YOUR INSTRUCTOR, YOU FUCKING BRAINLESS BITCH," yelled the woman again, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ARE SMOKE ROUNDS!? IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME IN TANKERY, MAGGOT!"

"Sorry that you had to take one for the team, Iveta." Maya winced, guilty over the confused club leader getting wrongfully battered with a slew of insults.

Alerted by the shrieking banshee whose voice resounded throughout the vehicle, Hanna promptly grabbed Yekaterina, who was now breathing inconsistently and in a panicked fashion, placed her hands over the terrified girl's ears, and brought her away from the visibly rattling transceiver, all the while whispering soothingly. With clear concern on her face, Hanna looked at Maya, who responded, "We'll take responsibility later."

Taking another look at the radio, Maya commented, "Would have been nice of you to show up an hour earlier and actually instruct, though, Frau Instructor."

Placing her gloved hands over the wireless set to dampen the sound, she drily remarked, "But yes, this is indeed the first time most of us have tried sensha-dō, and it's going somewhat poorly. Also, judging by the fact that we laid down a smokescreen earlier, I think it's safe to say that we know about smoke shells."

"I... didn't set it on fire," Iveta answered in a nervous wince, "I think it was-"

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE FUCK DID IT," Astrid barked, "EVERYONE TO THE GARAGE, NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

The Bishop fell as silent as it could get with the diesel engine still rumbling.

"My fellows," Maya began, "we are about to die."

A lot sooner than expected, too.

She gradually spun around and looked straight at her friends, their complexions even more closely resembling the flag of surrender than before, bearing a resigned but serene expression.

With a smile, Maya added, "Scream if you must."

And lo, there was much despair that day.

---

It had been a very ugly day, no less due to the state of the park. Fortunately for the girls, the fire department was quick to put out to blaze, sparing the ship a potentially ugly situation. The bad news, however, was the damages as a result, with nobody able to explain who or how they were going to afford the repairs. Sitting on a crate in front of the crews and their parked tanks, the hapless redhead instructor struggled to remain restraint as she waited on the club to gather. But the worst was yet to come, as the girls waited in chilling silence.

"Katya, please don't tap the Bishop with your gas mask," Hanna reminded, "Maya's deep in thought."

The Hong Kong-born girl in question was bent over a stack of papers and books, fiddling with a ballpoint pen in her hand. Seated next to her, leaning against the back doors of the self-propelled gun's superstructure, was Liliya, who was seemingly not listening to the music in minor key streaming from her earphones, but staring ahead blankly instead.

"I'm trying to apologise to everyone, Hanka!" Yekaterina replied, keeping her voice soft, though she did cease temporarily, and placed the gas mask down.

"Via Morse?" Maya looked up. "Anyway, it's fine. I'm probably done."

Shoving aside the stack, all completed homework, she asked, "Now, while we can't do anything about our punishment and arson charges, we could try to think of ways to compensate the school. Any ideas?"

Hanna raised her hand. "Was the park insured?"

"Eh, maybe?" Maya shrugged. "Wouldn't be unreasonable to assume they had something, like Tokio Marine or Prudential."

"Or Thai Life Insurance!" Yekaterina butted in.

Maya sighed. "Please don't make me more depressed. Anyway, if it did have insurance, that might cover some of the costs."

"Claims take a while to process, though! Also, we did set the park on fire sort of on purpose. Sort of." Yekaterina played around with her hair, feeling a bit awkward.

Maya started massaging her slightly wet eyes. "So any insurance companies might not even pay. Oh well. Any more ideas, maybe for fundraising?"

"Let's sell some of our spare tanks!" Yekaterina's eyes shined, happy to have come up with something so fast.

"Isn't that arms trafficking?" Maya expressed her doubts.

"We could probably disable the firing mechanisms, or find buyers in the form of tankery clubs from other schools, so they could be classified as historical artefacts or sports equipment," Hanna answered, whilst idly tapping her chin rhythmically, looking off into the sunset.

"Hm, doesn't sound half-bad. There are probably still quite a few working tanks back on the island. Is there a big enough market for this sort of thing?"

"No clue. Lemme ask."

Yekaterina bounced off the Bishop's hull and landed on her feet before her hand shot up, followed by her asking, "Madam Instructor! The four of us are very sorry about burning the park, and will willingly take responsibility, but could we sell some tanks to help raise funds for replanting and stuff?"

[Sonitusia]

Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha

"Praise Allah, get us out of here," Adelia coughed down into the hull, but she noticed something very odd about how the Chi-Ha was moving. They were smacking into bushes that were in plain sight, and there was no effort to increase speed to get out of the smog. Trying to fan away some of the smoke inside of the vehicle with her hand, she shouted, "Oy, status report down there!"

There was no reply. The three crew members in the turret traded looks for a brief second before springing into action. Adelia climbed out of the turret, and Hermione took her place. Keeping her head low as the Chi-Ha continued to move at a steady pace of 35km/hr through a burning forest, she carefully climbed down the front of the turret while tying a wet cloth around her nose and mouth, keeping her hand on the gun as she opened the driver's hatch. Just like she expected, Fatimah was unconscious, obviously getting overcome by the haze.

From her position now above Fatimah, the daring commander leaned over and took the wheel (or gears, mind you) of the tank and guided the vehicle through the thick clouds into fresher air.

"We're in the clear now," Adelia said to herself dizzily, straining herself to keep the vehicle moving, "But no less out of the frying pan."

Once things got clearer, it was Odetta's turn to take the commander's cupola as Hermione joined her friend, crouching in front of the hatch and quickly checking Fatimah's pulse. There wasn't much, but it was still beating, and was prepared to do CPR but was unable to since they had to keep moving, and she couldn't lay the girl down lest they all suffocate to a rather unpleasing death.

"I can't do much," she said to Adelia, unbuttoning Fatimah's uniform followed by covering her breathing with a wet cloth, "I left all my equipment back on campus." The temporary driver only nodded, and kept the tank moving.

---

The Chi-Ha arrived last, in contrast to the Wolfhound that had sped all the way back and made it first. Adelia, who had managed to move Fatimah into the bow machine gunner's seat, had half her body out of the hatch as the vehicle came to a halt. Without wasting any time, Hermione and Odetta clambered out of the turret, and helped their commander drag out the almost lifeless driver from her seat.

"Someone get us oxygen over here, we've got a casualty!" Adelia barked. The crew of the Wolfhound were surprised, with several of them spreading out to try and look for the nearest first aid kit providing fresh oxygen. Meanwhile, Adelia was also looking around, until she saw some of the members of the Bishop crew they had encountered. Looking at them coldly, measuring them up and keeping her shaking hands held together, she said not a word before continuing her search.

[Wolfenium]

Yekaterina bounced off the Bishop's hull and landed on her feet before her hand shot up, followed by her asking, "Madam Instructor! The four of us are very sorry about burning the park, and will willingly take responsibility, but could we sell some tanks to help raise funds for replanting and stuff?"

Glaring up at the four on the Bishop, it was hard to tell if the instructor was going to blow up again. For someone her size, it was hard to imagine she was a senior. If anything, she looked even younger than the freshmen among them, immature and prone to outbursts. But rather than yell again, she merely told them off in a toned down, yet stern voice.

"The problem isn't just repairing the park," she told them, "you could have suffocated your friends out there. We can make up the money, that's for sure. But can you afford to make up a life? This isn't a war, you know. I've been to Afghanistan. There's no reason to put that harsh reality into tankery-"

The Chi-Ha arrived last, in contrast to the Wolfhound that had sped all the way back and made it first. Adelia, who had managed to move Fatimah into the bow machine gunner's seat, had half her body out of the hatch as the vehicle came to a halt. Without wasting any time, Hermione and Odetta clambered out of the turret, and helped their commander drag out the almost lifeless driver from her seat.

"Someone get us oxygen over here, we've got a casualty!" Adelia barked. The crew of the Wolfhound were surprised, with several of them spreading out to try and look for the nearest first aid kit providing fresh oxygen. Meanwhile, Adelia was also looking around, until she saw some of the members of the Bishop crew they had encountered. Looking at them coldly, measuring them up and keeping her shaking hands held together, she said not a word before continuing her search.

For a moment, Iveta's entire world stood still. Distraught at the sight of Fatimah's unconscious body, the hapless captain could gape in horror. But as the instructor started screaming at the girls to get first aid and call for help, she noticed Avelina rushing up the Chi-Ha to help. They were going to need it.

"Lay her down on the floor, away from the tanks," Avelina quickly ordered the girls, "and stay clear. I'll perform CPR. Where's the oxygen tank?"

Despite her unassuming, even bubbly attitude, Avelina appeared as serious as she should be. Laying Fatimah on the flat asphalt as she pulled off the mask, she got to work checking her chest for signs of breathing and a pulse as she tried to resuscitate her. She had no time or mood to crack jokes, or as much as a whimsical salute. She felt she could worry about those later, after their friend was out of danger.

[Minroz]

Burning the park down was clearly not part of the plan. As smoke began to waft from the area, the hapless crew of the KV-1 could only watch as the flames began eating away the greenery. Iveta had not seen this coming, and certainly did not believe she was going to get off lightly. The sudden screaming in the radio quickly confirmed her fears, as an unknown voice started cursing the crew responsible.

"IDIOT," screamed Astrid on the radio, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! WHO SET FIRE TO THE TREES! YOU WANT TO CHOKE YOUR SCHOOLMATES TO DEATH!?"

"Uhh..." Iveta blurted, "who is this-"

"I'M YOUR INSTRUCTOR, YOU FUCKING BRAINLESS BITCH," yelled the woman again, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ARE SMOKE ROUNDS!? IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME IN TANKERY, MAGGOT!"

"I... didn't set it on fire," Iveta answered in a nervous wince, "I think it was-"

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE FUCK DID IT," Astrid barked, "EVERYONE TO THE GARAGE, NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

The tankery club was in very serious trouble. Oops.

---

Garage, Rauschen High School
Sunset

It had been a very ugly day, no less due to the state of the park. Fortunately for the girls, the fire department was quick to put out to blaze, sparing the ship a potentially ugly situation. The bad news, however, was the damages as a result, with nobody able to explain who or how they were going to afford the repairs. Sitting on a crate in front of the crews and their parked tanks, the hapless redhead instructor struggled to remain restraint as she waited on the club to gather. But the worst was yet to come, as the girls waited in chilling silence.

"This was a bad idea," whispered Avelina in Iveta's ear, standing in front of the KV-1, "why didn't you check if they have anything destructive."

"I... I didn't think of that..." Iveta blurted, "what happens now?..."

"My sister is going to get mad for this," uttered Terhikki in panic, "what're we going to do."

"Why am I still here," Selena whined, "all I did was chauffeur that woman."

What happens next was anyone's guess...

Borscht Team

“Bozhe moi!” Tatiana yelped. She jolted upon hearing Astrid’s tirade on the radio.

“Hey! What’s wrong, Tatiana?” Mira asked her bespectacled friend.

“Errr…someone, a senior, wanted everyone to be at the garage immediately.” The blonde replied.

“Does that mean us as well?”

“I’m afraid so. Match is over.”

“Awww…” the most excitable members of the Borscht Team groaned in disappointment.

“Hey, what’s with the bonfire over there? Are we having a barbeque or something?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Let’s go back to the garage, girls. Nothing we can do except wait for the firefighters to deal with it.”

---

Manti Team

It appears that the Borscht Team aren’t the only ones disappointed the match had come to the abrupt end, thanks to the single incident. Needless to say, the girls of Manti Team are equally exasperated by the outcome. First things first, their tank commander needs to recover her composure from the shock caused by Astrid’s shouting on the radio.

“Ya Allah, she sounds mad.” Aliya remarked.

“Hey sister, what happen?” Inkar asked her cousin.

“We’re told to go back to the garage. There’s no other way.” The Kazakh replied.

“Bummer.” Gulnara moaned.

“Don’t forget, our tank was out. How can we fight in the match without a tank?” Umida stated.

“Good point. Well, nothing we can do for now. Anyhow, let’s go back.” Aliya said.

---

Later at the Garage

Both Prussian teams of Russian and Central Asian descent have finally returned to the garage. They were silent for most part except a little, friendly conversation between them. If only, it’s to take their minds off the aforementioned incident.

“Good god, I didn’t know there’s bushfire.” Sofia spoke up.

“Ya Allah, it’s okay. We didn’t know either as well. Didn’t expect things will turn out to be this bad.” Aliya spoke with reassuring smile.

“But hey,everyone is alright. It counts, thank God.” Tatiana said, smiling.

“So…we’re still screwed, right?” Raina stated the obvious.

The Chi-Ha arrived last, in contrast to the Wolfhound that had sped all the way back and made it first. Adelia, who had managed to move Fatimah into the bow machine gunner's seat, had half her body out of the hatch as the vehicle came to a halt. Without wasting any time, Hermione and Odetta clambered out of the turret, and helped their commander drag out the almost lifeless driver from her seat.

"Someone get us oxygen over here, we've got a casualty!" Adelia barked. The crew of the Wolfhound were surprised, with several of them spreading out to try and look for the nearest first aid kit providing fresh oxygen. Meanwhile, Adelia was also looking around, until she saw some of the members of the Bishop crew they had encountered. Looking at them coldly, measuring them up and keeping her shaking hands held together, she said not a word before continuing her search.

“Oh my god!” The brunette yelped, looking on in shock and horror. Her twin sister couldn’t helped but stare with

“Call the ambulance! Somebody call the ambulance!” Sofia panicked.

“Yes, call the doctor! Anyone!” Raina panicked as well. The two were liked headless chickens in the barn.

“Oh god, please let the poor girl be okay.” Nina prayed.

“There’s no time and place to panic, girls! We need to get help as quickly as possible!” Aliya cuts in.

“W-what!?” In response, both Raina and Sofia were gobsmacked.

“She is right. We need help as soon as possible. We need to get to it.” Tatiana added in support of the Kazakh’s statement.

For a moment, Iveta's entire world stood still. Distraught at the sight of Fatimah's unconscious body, the hapless captain could gape in horror. But as the instructor started screaming at the girls to get first aid and call for help, she noticed Avelina rushing up the Chi-Ha to help. They were going to need it.

"Lay her down on the floor, away from the tanks," Avelina quickly ordered the girls, "and stay clear. I'll perform CPR. Where's the oxygen tank?"

Despite her unassuming, even bubbly attitude, Avelina appeared as serious as she should be. Laying Fatimah on the flat asphalt as she pulled off the mask, she got to work checking her chest for signs of breathing and a pulse as she tried to resuscitate her. She had no time or mood to crack jokes, or as much as a whimsical salute. She felt she could worry about those later, after their friend was out of danger.

With the tacit nod of their heads altogether, some of the girls then dashed off. They went off trying to find help with Tatiana and Aliya in the lead, heading towards the faculty room. While Umida, Mira and Inkar stayed behind and helped Avelina in bringing the unconscious girl on the ground, gently lifting down poor Fatimah as they can. At Avelina’s request, the three stepped away further to give enough space. For the time being, they could only stand there and watch.

“I hope the girl is alright. I hate to see her becoming a goner.” Mira uttered with worry.

“Ya Allah, me too.” Umida spoke with a frown, masking her worries. With that, Inkar nodded in agreement. For now, they’re waiting for their friends to return back with help.

[Sonitusia]

"Lay her down on the floor, away from the tanks," Avelina quickly ordered the girls, "and stay clear. I'll perform CPR. Where's the oxygen tank?
"

"Right here with you!" Hermione replied, rushing back with her kit and procuring a small gas tank filled with oxygen, "It should do, checked her pulse and there's still a large chance she'll make it." She handed the tank to Avelina, and pulled the other girls back.

"No offense everyone, but you'll need to give us some room," she said, then crouched beside Fatimah, and began to prepare the procedure for CPR. There wasn't much time before Fatimah dipped below normal levels, and they would need all of the help they could get to bring her back. Adelia, returning to see from the back of the crowd, prayed silently as she watched them try to bring back her driver.

[Krajstali]

Jozefa frantically waved her arms and shouted out at the heavy beast of steel that is the M26 Pershing. It probably wasn't a good idea to consider going against it, especially since the two tanks were quite the rivals during the Korean War. Her message didn't seem to get through and soon enough she was panting as her arms fell to the T-34's turret, watching the Pershing aim for their tank. She knew that the crew was done for, even before they had fired a single shot. Her family wouldn't be particularly happy if they found out about this.

She knew that he had to take the blame for her decision as she faced their inevitable doom. Taking several breaths in after attempts at signalling towards the tank, she could smell smoke which had interrupted her breathing and caused her to cough. More and more smoke began sweeping in until it had slightly interrupted the view between the two tanks. Jozefa tried to make her sight more clearer, only to see the other end of the 90 mm gun, causing her to quickly retreat back into the safety of the turret.

*Booom!*

For a moment, the sound of another main gun firing off gave all the girls a slight amount of panic as they all squealed, with the exception of Bogumila. They could hear the creaking of a tree, as well as the humming sound of the Pershing's engine. Curious as to check on the situation, Jozefa reached out for the hatch, just as a tree had crashed onto the turret which had immediately ceased her thoughts of ever peaking out until they got back to the safety of the garage.

"Chwalić Boga, we're safe.." sighed the commander, taking her hat off for a brief moment to swipe sweat from her brow "Anything new Krystyna?...Krystyna?"

No response came from the dozing radio operator, much to Jozefa's frustration. Out all the times to sleep, right when they had encountered the Pershing? Jozefa could feel all of her anger to be unleashed upon her childhood friend for sleeping despite having two major roles in the desperate of times. Just before she laid a finger on the blonde girl, a sudden, loud and aggravated scream came from the radio which had caused Krystyna to violently jolt awake, stunning Jozefa as well. Krystyna was clearly too shocked to comprehend any of the "information" being relayed to the radio, but the volume of the instructor was loud enough for the crew of the cramped T-34 to hear.

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE FUCK DID IT," Astrid barked, "EVERYONE TO THE GARAGE, NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Krystyna, still recovering from the shock had instantly responded without any second thought as to who it was, clearly she wasn't happy about having her nap interrupted. "SPIERDALAJ TY GLUPIA PIZDA,KURWA NIE UMYTA!"
The whole crew broke into laughter at Krystyna's explicit response, the girl herself chuckling but also curious as to what was so funny about Krystyna being her gopnik self. Jozefa patted Krystyna's shoulder,"You see, you may not want to use the radio until we get back because..You see, that was our instructor.." revealed Jozefa much to Krystyna's shock, stopping the girl by a heartbeat. "Who knows? She's a niemka, it's not like she can understand you now can she? After all she did swear at us at first."

Endeleza had pressed down on the pedal, taking the shortest route they could back to the garage. Once the air was more clearer, Endeleza had opened the driver's hatch so she could drive at ease. Upon their arrival, they had noticed a commotion gathered around one of the tankers. Immediately they threw whatever thought they had of celebration, further crushed by the sight of the body of a student being dragged out. The crew had rushed out of their tank and joined everyone as they had watched the attempt to ensure the safety of the girl, moving back as to give space for the procedure.While the crew had preferred to keep quiet on the situation, Jozefa had noticed that someone behind them was praying.It finally came to Jozefa's mind, where she had knelled and reached into her jacket for her cross, holding it within her palms as she closed her eyes and begun reciting in latin.

[Republic of Hasgriu]

Glaring up at the four on the Bishop, it was hard to tell if the instructor was going to blow up again. For someone her size, it was hard to imagine she was a senior. If anything, she looked even younger than the freshmen among them, immature and prone to outbursts. But rather than yell again, she merely told them off in a toned down, yet stern voice.

"The problem isn't just repairing the park," she told them, "you could have suffocated your friends out there. We can make up the money, that's for sure. But can you afford to make up a life? This isn't a war, you know. I've been to Afghanistan. There's no reason to put that harsh reality into tankery-"

In an instant, Yekaterina found herself being strangled, as an anxious Maya grappled her from behind, intent on silencing her for an undefined time period.

"Please, remember literature class and read the atmosphere, Yekaterina. The fact that she hasn't turned us into modern Marie Antoinettes is a Christmas miracle come early. Keep quiet," Maya pleaded, anything but oblivious to the agitation in the instructor's voice.

Softer this time, especially given how her voice was muffled by Maya's arms, Yekaterina replied, "Hey, I've been to Kabul too, back in June of twenty-eleven! Remember the show-and-tell? We took an Emirates jet, landed at Kabul International, stayed at the Inter-Continental, and met some Ta-"

Upon having a large milk chocolate shoved into her mouth, Yekaterina promptly stopped talking and started savouring the sweet.

"Make sure to eat everything. Works every time." Maya passed the thermos jar to Hanna, who took it out of sight.

"Doesn't mean we should keep on doing it," chided Hanna. "Katya should be allowed to learn something, and not just be fed constantly."

Maya's eyes swept across the tanks present and idling around, doing a headcount. "I think we'll all learn something from this. At the very least, nobody's hurt."

Five, six-- they were one short, and Maya had a taste of the Titanic's fate as she realised which team was still missing.

"I take that back. Where's Komodo?"

The Chi-Ha arrived last, in contrast to the Wolfhound that had sped all the way back and made it first. Adelia, who had managed to move Fatimah into the bow machine gunner's seat, had half her body out of the hatch as the vehicle came to a halt. Without wasting any time, Hermione and Odetta clambered out of the turret, and helped their commander drag out the almost lifeless driver from her seat.

"Someone get us oxygen over here, we've got a casualty!" Adelia barked. The crew of the Wolfhound were surprised, with several of them spreading out to try and look for the nearest first aid kit providing fresh oxygen. Meanwhile, Adelia was also looking around, until she saw some of the members of the Bishop crew they had encountered. Looking at them coldly, measuring them up and keeping her shaking hands held together, she said not a word before continuing her search.

For a moment, Iveta's entire world stood still. Distraught at the sight of Fatimah's unconscious body, the hapless captain could gape in horror. But as the instructor started screaming at the girls to get first aid and call for help, she noticed Avelina rushing up the Chi-Ha to help. They were going to need it.

"Lay her down on the floor, away from the tanks," Avelina quickly ordered the girls, "and stay clear. I'll perform CPR. Where's the oxygen tank?"

Despite her unassuming, even bubbly attitude, Avelina appeared as serious as she should be. Laying Fatimah on the flat asphalt as she pulled off the mask, she got to work checking her chest for signs of breathing and a pulse as she tried to resuscitate her. She had no time or mood to crack jokes, or as much as a whimsical salute. She felt she could worry about those later, after their friend was out of danger.

"There's Komodo!" Having rapidly swallowed the chocolate and escaped Maya's grip, Yekaterina's mouth was free to speak again.

Just as Maya about to sigh, relieved, Komodo's three remaining members pulled an unresponsive body out of the Chi-Ha.

"Please don't tell me that manslaughter just got added to the list of charges." Maya rubbed at her chest, trying to alleviate the clamping sensation she was feeling.

"You can just say outright that you're panicking, Mayunya! It'd make everyone feel better, knowing that you're in the same boat. No need to put on an act," interjected Yekaterina.

"No no no, she's still alive. Definitely. Hopefully. Oxygen is going to be hard to find, by which I mean nigh impossible, but we can probably at least keep her stable," Hanna muttered audibly, far less calm, "until an ambulance arrives. Someday. Preferably soon. Speaking of which..." She fished out her phone.

Yekaterina, by all appearances unfazed (though her phases were a different matter entirely) by the situation at hand, began to assign occupations. "I'll go get the kits, Lilichka too. Hanka, your Russian's better, so Mayunya's been given medic duty! Any protests?"

No one raised any issues, verbally or otherwise. Hanna started to juggle keeping the emergency services updated and maintaining her composure, while the commander, along with Liliya, who had removed her headphones, took off into the Bishop.

"Get the ceiling, engine, door, and gun boxes," Maya reminded, glancing at the fainted driver, who was fortunately being attended to by a grey-haired girl from Aquarius.

"Wow. I just realised how much stuff we've got here," remarked Yekaterina, searching underneath the 25 pounder's barrel, as Liliya dropped down into the hull.

"Artillery operates from far behind the front lines. It never hurts to have everything ready." Maya caught an orange case, one of the first aid kits, that Yekaterina had tossed to her. "Liliya and Hanna acquired most of this, so thank them."

After two more kits were removed from the Bishop, both girls exited, each carrying a box, the latter also grasping a tourniquet. While the trio brought the first aid kits towards the white-haired girl, Hanna having already made her way over, Yekaterina shook the tourniquet and asked, "Hey, what's this band thing?"

Sparing a quick look, Maya said, drily, "A tourniquet."

As if suddenly enlightened, she nodded and pocketed the device, saying, with a straight face, "Ah, I remember now! It's for when your arms and legs get run over or shot."

Maya stared with a dumbfounded look, an action that Yekaterina opted not to respond to. Her gaze then turned to Liliya, who apparently did not share her reaction towards Yekaterina's statements, and simply gave a smile in turn.

"Right here with you!" Hermione replied, rushing back with her kit and procuring a small gas tank filled with oxygen, "It should do, checked her pulse and there's still a large chance she'll make it." She handed the tank to Avelina, and pulled the other girls back.

"No offense everyone, but you'll need to give us some room," she said, then crouched beside Fatimah, and began to prepare the procedure for CPR. There wasn't much time before Fatimah dipped below normal levels, and they would need all of the help they could get to bring her back.

Shaking her head, Maya caught sight of a girl with glasses rush forwards with a slew of equipment, including, much to her surprise, a tank of oxygen that the short-haired first responder had requested.

"Eh? Didn't Hanka say that we wouldn't be finding pure oxygen?" Bearing a confused look, Yekaterina voiced her enquiry.

"Well, she clearly expected too little of our schoolmates." Maya shrugged, though thankful all the same for her cohorts' high degree of preparedness. "Even if things are stable here due to the oxygen, we've still got three more cases of smoke inhalation to deal with, since the rest of Komodo probably didn't quite get off scot-free."

"Wait," Yekaterina set her first aid kit down, and patted both of her friends' shoulders. "Isn't that brown-haired girl part of Komodo Team?" She peered at the rescuer's glasses, barely making out its colour and other features from her location.

"She is?" Thoroughly, Maya scanned the glasses wearer, and tried to recall anything that would confirm Yekaterina's suspicion.

Liliya, however, was more certain about the veracity of what Yekaterina had suggested, and, without separating her lips, nodded and agreed. "Mm-hmm."

Consulting with her teammates, Maya wondered, with a slight frown, "Should she continue, in that case? Her judgement might not be the best, what with the carbon monoxide and all, and if one's fainted, I don't expect the others to be in vastly superior condition."

"Then someone should keep an eye on her, then! Actually, same for all the Chi-Ha girls. Mayunya? Lilichka? Would both of you be fine checking on the last two?" asked Yekaterina, repeating her words in a slip of the tongue.

Still refraining from speaking, Liliya nodded in approval, while Maya said, "We'll be ready if any of their conditions deteoriate. Hanna, when are the ambulances arriving?"

"Still quite a while away." Hanna kept her phone hovering centimetres away from her ear, having maintained contact with the emergency services since first dialling, ready to inform the operator of any changes. "Don't forget to check for heat injuries, just in case. And, while I pray that we won't need it, does anyone know where an AED is?"

"I do! I'll go get it," replied Yekaterina, who promptly turned to sprint towards the school building.

"If you spot an air humidifier too, Katya, take it along," Hanna added on.

"Aah, wait!" Right before Yekaterina left, Maya interrupted. "Where are the other two Komodo members?"

"Oops, forgot about that. Um, that girl with the brown ponytail and the other one with the orange-coloured eyes and short purple hair there. I think."

"Should have gone with 'brinjal' or 'grape-coloured' hair for consistency," commented Maya. "Thanks anyway. I surprisingly think I know who you're referring to."

At last, with a departing wave, Yekaterina set off in search of a defibrillator, this time without being stopped.

"Right then. Liliya, let's see if we can do anything." Each of them put on a pair of disposable rubber gloves, and then made their way forwards.

After carrying their first aid kits to the front of the crowd, Maya, with Liliya right behind her, asked the two occupied responders, following a brief hesitation, whilst keeping a good metre or two away, "May we be of any help?"

[Sonitusia]

"Right then. Liliya, let's see if we can do anything." Each of them put on a pair of disposable rubber gloves, and then made their way forwards.

After carrying their first aid kits to the front of the crowd, Maya, with Liliya right behind her, asked the two occupied responders, following a brief hesitation, whilst keeping a good metre or two away, "May we be of any help?"

"Godverdomme," Hermione muttered, barely looking back as she noticed two of the Bishop crew trying to assist, "You're the ones who caused this, I'm not really sure if that would qualify you to be of any assistance whatsoever. Do you know how hard it is to try and operate on someone when you're on a moving vehicle trying to rush out of a blazing forest? Not to mention that you can't even sit or stand, you have to do so half way? I swear, what in the world were you people thinking? Who in their right mind fires incendiary rounds into trees during a practice match? Were you trying to kill us and all the wildlife that resided there? Why not just kill me now and let me rest in piece? I aught to-"

The girl continued to ramble on and on, eventually switching to Dutch at some point, and most likely curses among her words. Adelia noticed this, and wanted to move up to try and knock some sense into the three of them, but a tug on her sleeve stopped her. Turning to face Odetta, the pony-tailed girl shook her head slowly. Taking the notion into her senses, Adelia loosened up, to which her gunner let go.

"It's not worth it," Adelia sighed, wiping some soot off her arm, "Besides, as long as we're all fine... It's lucky that we outran the fire and heat." Odetta also nodded, sneezing loudly.

"Fatimah's always been prone to bad air, so it makes sense," the girl said while wiping her nose, "Hermione and that other one, Ave, can handle on their own."

[Wolfenium]

It seemed so easy, the way Avelina resuscitated Fatimah. With all the talents of a lifeguard, it took her a bit to get her out of danger. With the breather on the patient's mouth, she could finally heave a sigh of relief. She never wanted this to happen, and behind her cool facade, she was anxious that something might have gone wrong.

"I think she's fine now," she mused, "good thing the school ship has a hospital. I can't help but feel nervous if the paramedics had to come by helicopter."

However, despite her assurances, it was hard not to feel shaken. This was their first practice match, and something of this scale had to happen. It was hard not to see Henna simply demanding they disband. No, she expected it. There was little way to cover for something this major, and she was sure her parents would scream at her if this came on the news. Twiddling her thumbs, Iveta was close to breaking down. She too saw little sense in continuing, and she felt deeply worried. She had been too eager, and all for a strange-looking tank. She never intended to hurt anyone, and facing punishment was the least of her concerns.

Unknown to the captain, a familiar student president with a beauty mark was looking on by the side of the garage. Henna had reason to be irate - not only had Iveta utterly bypassed protocol and created an unofficial club, she had nearly caused a fatal accident in the process. However, noticing her grave expression, the Prussian Finn could only bite her lip. She ought to berate her for her actions, but now was neither the time nor the place.

Amber Coast Hotel (Yantarny Bereg), Rauschen High School Ship

Yantarny Bereg, otherwise known as the Amber Coast Hotel. A heath resort owned by the Hoek Group, the hotel based on the ship doubled as Emma's own home, a privilege enjoyed by the only child of Emiel van Hoek. Built vaguely in the style of the old Germanic architecture, it is but one of many in Rauschen. Unlike the Kovalenoks' inn, the hotel was clearly a post-Soviet construction. But that had no effect on its rampant popularity with cruise travellers.

Watching the seas drift by as the ship cruised near the 'amber coast', Emma herself had reason to be troubled. After all, her attempt at bringing a new instructor to their club nearly led to a forest fire and a casualty, both recipes for a closure of the club. Even she was at a loss at what to do, even as the smoke of the extinguished fire wafted from the park. It was probably fortunate that the fire department was able to put it out without much incident. However, with word out, it was only a matter of time before other schools start finding out about them. It was a very bad start for Rauschen, and possibly its end.

"Henna..." muttered Emma as she glanced in Henna's direction, spying at her intruder at the door.

"Why'd you call me here," Henna stated, "you know what I'm going to tell Iveta tomorrow, right?"

"I think she already knows," Emma admitted in an unusually solemn tone, "and to be honest, it's a huge shame. They need help, you know, you and Milla... I know you don't want to get back into it, but-"

"Someone nearly died, Emma," Henna stated, "do you know how dangerous this is?"

"Henna," Emma said, "I came back from a school whose tankery club was, until a year ago, controlled by a rogue Jungmädel that threatened to run over a club showcase fair. I know what is 'dangerous', Henna. But I still believe this club is worth fighting for."

"Why," growled Henna sternly, bearing down on the Afrikaner. Peering over at the tankery girls, Emma stated firmly, "because they want it. You've seen the turnout. But they need help, and badly. And frankly speaking, I can't do enough. I'm not Sadik, and I'm not Lüneburg-Pommern. I need you. I need Milla."

Shutting her eyes, Henna could only respond grudgingly, "I'm sorry. I can't help you. The board is already asking questions. What can I do?"

"Let me worry about that," Emma replied, giving a reassuring smile, "but I need someone to talk to Iveta and the girls. How does that sound?"

Scoffing at her words, the Finn griped, "who do you think you are, the principal?"

Pulling off her trademark smirk, Emma answered in a more cheeky voice, "just watch me."

Henna had a bad feeling about her ideas. Knowing Emma, nothing was beyond her power, and allowance...

---

Cafeteria, Rauschen High School
Lunchtime, 7th September, 2016

Sitting at her table with Avelina and Kirke, Iveta was visibly less cheery than before. Twiddling her thumbs, the poor girl had been trying to force a smile all day, but the strain of the events was taking a toll on her and putting her close to tears. Seating beside her, the other two could only watch the Latvian. They too were at a loss at what to do, and worse was about to come.

"Poor Iveta..." Avelina muttered in concern, whispering to Kirke, "I don't know what to say."

"Me neither," Kirke stated, and we have a meeting with the new principal too. The old one had to limp home with his walking stick already. Not sure how the new one would act. And then there's Henna. If she wanted an excuse to shut us down, this would be it."

"But none of us wanted it," Avelina blurted, "I mean, from a tactical standpoint, incindiaries make sense-"

"But this isn't a war," Kirke said, "you heard the Starshina. No need to resort to killing crew members for this. It's insane- Oh... sorry, Iveta."

"It's ok, Kirke," Iveta muttered, "it was a dumb idea too... It's my fault... I'm just a dumb girl..."

Neither was sure how to talk her out of it. Perhaps the others might have an answer, now or later with the principal...

[Sonitusia]

Rauschen General Hospital
7th September, 2016

"We hope to see you soon!" the lady called out, waving her hand cheerfully as the four girls left the front door. Awkwardly smiling, they returned the favor and began walking back to the school building.

"'See you soon'?" Hermione grumbled, "What kind of nurse tells people to come back to a hospital?" Odetta snickered, but stopped herself as Fatimah coughed lightly. She had stayed overnight to recover, but refused to stay any longer lest she miss out in classes. And so, the driver of Komodo team's vehicle was walking a bit weakly, but was able to stand on her own two feet.

As they walked, the school bell rang out, signalling the group that lunch had already begun. Straightening her body, Fatimah put on a wide grin, started jogging forwards, and shouted, "Last one buy everyone an extra dessert!"

Surprised to see her being able to move quickly, the others laughed and joined in the speed demon's challenge. Especially Adelia, who was relieved beyond belief that Fatimah was alright.

---

Cafeteria, Rauschen High School
Lunchtime, 7th September, 2016

After the fiasco yesterday, Geist team had yet to regroup with one another until now. It was an awkward silence for a few moments before Mentari started up a conversation on tech, which had Luisa and Theodora interested. This however left out Harriet, and to an extent Fauna (of whom struggled to understand how a smartphone's circuit board operated or could possibly become smaller).

Feeling slightly bored, Alberta looked over at the other tables, and saw the tankery club commander sulking.

Neither was sure how to talk her out of it. Perhaps the others might have an answer, now or later with the principal...

"Are you alright?" Alberta asked, on his tray only the doughnut that was dessert, "Is this because of yesterday?"

[Wolfenium]

"Are you alright?" Alberta asked, on his tray only the doughnut that was dessert, "Is this because of yesterday?"

"Oh, mhh..." blurted Iveta half-dazed, as the other two greeted 'Alberta' as well, "Walker, is it?... About yesterday... well... I guess I feel a bit upset... After all... you must think I'm a total newbie... Not that you're wrong..."

From the looks of it, it seemed clear Iveta felt guilty for her negligence. Had she known more about the sport, she might have been able to take precautions. But her eagerness nearly cost a life, and she was hardly sure she wanted to continue. Knowing Henna, she was sure she would have demanded its closure. How was she going to answer to the other girls, in that case? Iveta just was not sure.

"You got the notice to head for the principal's office, later, right," muttered Iveta, "I don't think we should miss it..."

[Minroz]

"Are you alright?" Alberta asked, on his tray only the doughnut that was dessert, "Is this because of yesterday?"

"Oh, mhh..." blurted Iveta half-dazed, as the other two greeted 'Alberta' as well, "Walker, is it?... About yesterday... well... I guess I feel a bit upset... After all... you must think I'm a total newbie... Not that you're wrong..."

From the looks of it, it seemed clear Iveta felt guilty for her negligence. Had she known more about the sport, she might have been able to take precautions. But her eagerness nearly cost a life, and she was hardly sure she wanted to continue. Knowing Henna, she was sure she would have demanded its closure. How was she going to answer to the other girls, in that case? Iveta just was not sure.

"You got the notice to head for the principal's office, later, right," muttered Iveta, "I don't think we should miss it..."

“Good evening everyone, may I sit here with you girls?” Tatiana appeared, making a friendly, visible smile at the girls (and the certain crossdresser to which the blonde obviously didn’t know). Holding the food tray with the soup bowl of borscht and a glass of apple juice on it, she sat down in the free spot of the table, facing the others. Peeking at Iveta with concern, the blonde spoke, "Erm...is everything alright? I'm aware we'll be going to the principal office later on. I hope it's...nothing severe."

Seeing the despondent state of the Tank Club head, Tatiana wanted to assure Iveta, not wishing to see the preppy girl sad. Despite their differences in backgrounds, the blond Russian felt she’s becoming like a big sister to the younger Latvian. Being the youngest child in her family, she does wish for a little sister of her own.

The Borscht Team meanwhile had just finished attending to their hobbies; they’re on their way to the cafeteria to meet up with Tatiana.

[Republic of Hasgriu]

Ostrova Stal'
5^th September 2016

Fixated on her phone as she walked at the head of the four-girl group, reading through rows upon rows of English text, Maya spoke, "From what I can gather, in sensha-dō, girls, often in some of their most emotionally unstable years, are crammed into antique vehicles," she paused to breathe, only for Yekaterina to butt in.

"Tanks, to be specific!"

"Vehicles which are probably covered in ethanol*, and entrusted tools of war that fire high explosives, at hundreds of metres per second, with varying degrees of training, licensing, and health evaluations of the physical, as well as mental, variety," Maya continued with an increased rate of speech, stopping only to take another breath.

"Did you know that you can learn to drive a tank before you can pilot a balloon?"

"And are encouraged to expose their heads and upper torsos to flying shrapnel and debris in the name of better visibility." She switched off and pocketed her phone, commenting, "It doesn't sound very safe."

"Nothing would sound safe if put like that, Maya..." Hanna sighed, faintly smiling.

"Great summary!" Yekaterina gave her a thumbs-up and a pat on the back. "A crew nearly drowned in the Japanese Nationals not too long ago!"

"Ah, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Maya, having already diverted her attention primarily back to searching, off-handedly remarked, "If we get into a situation where someone's been hurt, we've probably screwed up, anyways."

---

"Godverdomme," Hermione muttered, barely looking back as she noticed two of the Bishop crew trying to assist, "You're the ones who caused this, I'm not really sure if that would qualify you to be of any assistance whatsoever."

To say that they were surprised by the hostile response would be inaccurate, given the high-stress environment, not to mention the fact that a friend of hers was involved, but all the same, Hermione's words stung.

Attempting to make herself feel better, Maya, ever-so-slightly miffed, though sympathetic, shot back under her breath, "This is coming from someone with equal exposure to the patient? Of bloody course I'm not qualified, I haven't got a damned license!"

Fortunately for the under-qualified duo, the ship-borne emergency services once again demonstrated their rapid response times, whisking Fatimah away on an ambulance before long, much to a winded, defibrillator-carrying Yekaterina's relief and consternation.

Still taking deeper breaths due to her round trip to return the defibrillator, Yekaterina, aware of the glum mood, vocalised her thoughts quietly, with no specific addressee. "She'll be okay now, right?"

Picking up on her audible wondering, Hanna gripped her hands tightly, shaking them a little. "She should be."

"Good thing," she replied, squeezing Hanna back, "especially since only Lilichka has even the slightest clue about first aid."

"Still," Maya interjected from her sitting position on the ground, having cooled off, "potentially lethal or otherwise, we hurt someone. A schoolmate." She placed her forehead on her knees, and looked downwards.

The atmosphere grew sour as the conversation's topic shifted.

"This isn't a war, after all, as Instructor Kaufmann said." Hanna kneeled down next to Maya, with Yekaterina right behind her, and Liliya following, coming down from the Bishop shortly after.

"The rest of Europe begs to differ." Her gaze did not move from a single, shadowed patch of grass.

But not all see it as mere recreation, not the least in the treaded grounds of Europe. Here, tankery is not a sport. It is war itself.

_„

Yekaterina shook the quoting girl gently, but failed to elicit a response. "It's just an expression, Mayunya. You aced literature, no?"

"The rest of Europe is the rest of Europe," noted Liliya, after having spent record time silent.

"Yeah, we don't have to be like them." Softly and clearly, Yekaterina spoke.

Maya kept quiet for a while longer, before saying, "Discussing our approach to tankery isn't going to be helpful after what we did today." She stood up slowly, with the other three following suit soon after, and trudged away.

---

Cafeteria, Rauschen Girls' High School
7^th September 2016

At Maya's insistence, the group of four succeeded in finding a vacant table in the cafeteria's corner a good distance away from Iveta, who was visibly disheartened, all passion and life excised by the incident the previous day, where they proceeded to sit uneasily, neither eating nor talking, for a long while.

Yekaterina, far less spirited than usual, hesitated for a bit, opening and closing her mouth several times, before finally suggesting, "We ought to apologise."

Maya, eyes half-lidded and head placed on the tabletop, raised her hand and murmured, "Poirot is better than Sherlock." Her arm fell back to the table. "Christie Fiona for America."

Her nonsensical statements earned her stares of puzzlement, which she was far from oblivious to, following up with, "I agree with Yekaterina, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we owe one to many people."

"To Komodo, for hurting them, of course," started Hanna, "Fatimah Toha and Hermione Johannes in particular."

"Iveta Kovalenoka, who was back on a hill, didn't know jack about what we were up to, and was trying to live life with her schoolmates." Maya looked up to glance at the brooding second year. "It's clear how heavily this weighs on her mind."

"The others, for getting them involved," said Liliya, with a solemn expression.

"And Frau Student Councillor, and Frau Kaufmann, if we ever see her again, and the principal, who we've got to-" Maya's head thumped against the table lightly. "The gravity of the situation becomes more and more apparent the more I think about it."

"But as long as everyone's alright, we'll just tank it, right?" Yekaterina made her hand into a fist, trying to instill some resolve into the other three.

"Everyone isn't alright, though, the nearest example being Iveta," came Maya's answer.

Hanna asked, "Then, shouldn't we start by apologising to her?"

Yekaterina almost jumped out of her chair. "Let's! Hopefully, we'll do things right."

With that declaration, the band of four, lead by Yekaterina, made their way over to the table where Iveta was seated, which seemed to have attracted a few other tankers, in single file.

Kneeling just a tad, so as to face Iveta and the other seated students at a similar height, Yekaterina asked, in a low, softened voice, "Would you guys mind if we borrowed some of your time? We'd like to say sorry about us not thinking at all yesterday."

---

*Episode 6, ~11.45, when Duck Team gets KO'd, their interior cabin is lit on fire, requiring a fire extinguisher to put out. Combustion seems to come with getting KO'd, in general. Can't imagine what incendiaries would do.

[Wolfenium]

"Ah, mhh..." Iveta muttered, still a bit listless, "thanks... Go ahead."

Clasping her hands together, Iveta hard not to act nervous. She had no idea how to face them, especially after the incident. Never mind becoming a laughing stock for being knocked out first, Iveta was even more frightened over Fatimah's condition. The worst was admitting she has second thoughts on hosting a tankery club. It was too much for her to hide, her hands trembling as she bowed her head.