Plaza, Iris Boarding School Complex.
Saturday, 1st of June, 2019.
The sun was shining brightly and it promised to be a beautiful day, ideal weather for what was going to happen: The Iris Boarding School Sensha-Do Convention, the first ever of hopefully many, to raise awareness for the sport of Sensha-Do or Tankery, to show off skills in competition with other teams and, most of all, to have fun.
But for some, the last few minutes before the opening were especially gruelling.
Dressed in a white shirt with a red bow, beige sweater bound around the hips, and grey skirt, she looked like any other student of the prestigious Boarding School Complex near Fortham, but for Caja Storholm of the Tribe of Tipperary, a bluenette with violet eyes, the Head Mechanic of the Complex's Sensha-Do Team of just seventeen years, the day was just getting started.
She was running around between the exhibition tanks, the highly polished vehicles of all the teams present, which were there for people to make selfies, to feel, what it was like to sit in the turret of driver's seat of several dozen tons of steel, and to ask questions to crew and mechanics, while the student body and the guests were already there, coming to the Plaza to see the opening.
That the two Toirneach Motor Gun Carriages with their gigantic 155mm howitzers were already set up behind the small stage, where the opening would be happening, drew all attention away from her franticness.
Hopefully.
She was glad, though, that she could work together with students from such prestigious schools and teams: The Naval School sent a Squadron, the Little Snails and Beastly Badgers were there, together with hundreds and thousands of guests, for what was intended to be a celebration of the Sport also, by sheer and utter coincidence of course, evolved into a school festival, which would be hopefully enjoyable for everyone.
And of course the student body was there as well, everyone, who had not been roped into any of the many stalls or activities, which were more then enough.
The clock in the tower of the Rectorate, at the Eastern End of the Plaza, at the foot of Mount Dosháraithe (39 metres) struck ten o'clock - and on that command, Aife Lárnach of the Tribe of Cork, the blue-eyes vehicle commander of Starrcailann-Dó, one of the Gun Carriages, reacted to the signal by yelling: "Lámhach!"
Literally translated Give me fire from the guns! - and that was, what the two vehicles did with a roar, which almost deafened, worthy of their callsign Starrcailann, the Scalefang, an animal known for its ferocity, at home in the Great Woods.
That surprised everyone, laughs and cheers soon coming.
Taking to the stage were the Headmaster of the Iris, Finnegan Príomhoide of the Tribe of Navan, an older gentleman with blue eyes, together with Finnya Cor of the Tribe of Cork, our Team Captain.
"Ladies and Gentlemen...", he began in Selkie, "...thank you all for coming on this wonderful day, I promise to make this short!" This caused a round of laughs amongst students, alumni and others alike. "This day is a celebration of sports and sportsmanship and I would like to welcome our foreign guests for this celebration as well." Cheers rose for the foreign guest teams. "This is also a day of joy and good weather in general, so don't let me keep you for too long! Have fun, everyone! And, in the contests later, may the best team win!"
Cheers rose from that, too, and the celebration officially began in earnest at that.
Booths with food, drink and souvenirs opened, as did the other attractions - and, Caja realized, it was now or never.
If her tanks were not presentable now, they would never be.