Special Relationship

Chapter 1: The Accident

A Churchill, accompanied by four Matildas, steadily rumbled down a dirt road. On top of the Churchill, a hatch opened and Darjeeling, the commander of the St. Gloriana Sensha-Do team, poked her head out. Darjeeling was your stereotypical Anglophile, clearly evidenced by the ornate, porcelain teacup she was always holding in one hand and by her refined manners and speech. Darjeeling looked around into the field that surrounded the tanks. The field gently sloped upwards in front of the tank, obstructing Darjeeling's forward view, while some old buildings stood in the far corner of the field, on top of the rise. Darjeeling knew that her tanks would be exposed to any incoming fire from this field, but she did not order her units into the forest surrounding the field, for her tanks were too slow to maneuver effectively in the forest.

After scanning her surroundings for the first time, Darjeeling looked around the field again. There was no sign of any other tanks in the area, and Darjeeling began to grow worried. This was the rendezvous point that she had arranged with Rosehip, the energetic, pink-haired commander of St. Gloriana's recon division. Darjeeling sighed and muttered, "Seems like the speedster is not so speedy today, after all. I wonder what dear Rosehip is up to today."

Inside the rectangular turret of the Churchill, Orange Pekoe, the loader of the tank, replied, "Perhaps she is busy removing the speed limiter again." Darjeeling gracefully replied, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat', dear Pekoe?", she continued, "Rosehip has her own reasons for not showing up, and perhaps she will arrive any minute now."

"I calculate a 95 percent probability that Rosehip will remove the speed limiter", calculated Assam, who was the Churchill's gunner and by far the most analytical member of the crew. Assam peered through the rangefinder of the Churchill's 75mm gun before calmly adding, "Seems like Rosehip's engine broke down from the strain that her driving puts onto her engine. It was bound to occur given her aggressive manner of driving. She going to have to pay for the repairs herself since she got her tank insurance revoked."

Darjeeling climbed out of the Churchill's commander hatch and looked around. She saw no sign of any movement inside the forest that would signify Rosehip's arrival. She gazed down at her pocketwatch, which displayed a time of 3:00 in the afternoon. Darjeeling sighed. At this rate, Rosehip and her recon division would be late for afternoon tea, not that it was important anyways, as Rosehip had a habit of accidentally spilling her tea all over herself or Darjeeling. Assam liked to quip that it was more likely for Darjeeling to spill her tea than for Rosehip to not spill her tea for a day. It was, "2.46 times more likely" for the former to happen, in Assam's own words.

Several kilometers away from Darjeeling's battle group, Rosehip opened the engine hatch on her Crusader. Thick smoke billowed out from the engine as she began checking the engine's various parts. Normally, even a casual observer could distinguish Rosehip from the other members of St. Gloriana's Sensha-Do team, as she was the only team member to have pink hair, as well as the only team member who frequently (and often clumsily) runs around to get from place to place. In fact, one could say that Rosehip fit the very definition of a hyperactivity disorder. However, Rosehip looked very different now, as the smoke from the engine covered her face and hair, making it appear as if she had dyed her hair black. After checking the Crusader's engine for a few more moments, Rosehip sighed in disappointment and in frustration. The engine had overheated, and she would have to wait at least half an hour for the engine to cool down.

Rosehip sighed to herself, "Darjeeling-sama is going to scold me for this. She probably going to lecture me about the importance of using a speed limiter again, desu wa."

"You really shouldn't have gone that fast over rough terrain.", came a voice from a Crusader parked next to Rosehip's Crusader.

"Cranberry, now is not the time for you to complain about my driving. After all, you also got your insurance revoked for street racing and reckless driving desu wa.", Rosehip teased.

"And you're the one who got me interested in street racing.", Cranberry countered. "You said that there would be cash prizes for winning races, and look what you dragged me into. Now I have to pay double the money for insurance thanks to you.", continued Cranberry.

The exchange continued between Rosehip and her sub-commander, Cranberry until Rosehip glanced at her Crusader's engine, which had stopped billowing out its noxious, black smoke. Rosehip climbed back into her tank and ordered, "All tanks, advance. The queen of speed has arrived desu wa." as the Nuffield V-12 engine roared to life, kicking up a huge dust cloud as the Crusaders sped on.

Back at the clearing, Darjeeling scanned her surroundings again. This time, she saw a group of three Crusader tanks crash through the trees, with Rosehip's Crusader driving over a small dip in the ground, causing it to become airborne for several seconds before landing back onto the ground with a loud clang. Inside the tank, Rosehip's tea flew upwards from her teacup, the warm, red liquid splattering all over her jacket and skirt. As she took a long sip on her tea, Darjeeling remarked, "Seems like Rosehip is coming after all."

As Rosehip's Crusader cleared the distance between her tank and the Churchill, she drove over a fallen log, which launched her tank high into the air again in a manner that closely resembled the BT-42 driving off of a cliff during the Battle for Oarai. Rosehip's vehicle became a twenty-ton projectile traveling at over 150 kilometers per hour that hurtled straight towards Darjeeling's Churchill. As the Crusader traced a perfect arc through the air, Darjeeling turned around and saw the Crusader headed straight for her tank. She desperately tried to escape through the commander's hatch, but it was too late. Twenty tons of steel crashed straight into her Churchill, knocking it over like a toy and hurling Darjeeling several meters through the air. As Darjeeling flew through the air, her tea spilled all over her chest, scalding her while her prized china teacup shattered into a jagged assortment of broken shards that resembled an anti-tank fortification. As Darjeeling crashed down onto the ground, she instinctively stuck out her arms to break her fall. However, she landed rather roughly and fell onto her right leg awkwardly, causing pain to shoot up her leg. This made her fall forwards onto her right arm as well, crushing it between her body and the ground. Darjeeling tried to get up, but a sharp pain in her right leg caused her to fall back down again as she cried out in pain. She tried to pull herself back up with her good arm, but as she was doing so, she lost her grip and slipped, fainting in the process. The last things she saw before fainting was Assam, Orange Pekoe, and Rosehip huddled around her, frantically dialing for an ambulance.

This is currently a work in progress, so the story is not complete yet. However, I will do my best to keep this story regularly updated.