The Senshado Firefighters: A GuP Fanfic

Target Practice

With the meeting at the HQ over, the crews all man the tanks and armored vehicles as ordered by Constantin. Judging by their facial expressions, they were more than happy when they heard the news that they will be one of the clubs participating in the event. Sure they agreed to the idea, but when they first heard of something like that, they thought it was actually a joke. After all, who would take seriously a group of private firefighters who only know how to tackle fires, rescue victims, and tow away damaged vehicles? Nobody would, which is why they didn't persuade Constantin to insist on the subject. But fire marshal Constantin is not the type of individual who gives up just because something was suggested as a joke at first. He wanted to give his colleagues a chance of proving themselves, which is why he had purchased the combat simulators for them in the first place and began training them. Well, it looks like that wasting his monthly payments in something like that weren't in vain. Now it's the time that he and his firefighters show what they are really capable of.

Given the limited time they have until their first Sensha-do match though, they must practice as much as possible. This won't be as easy as expected as none of the firefighters, minus Constantin himself, have learned how to operate a tank, let alone fire a gun. The only experience they have is from battle simulators where they learned basic controls and fire control systems, but that's just it. They never took them out for a drive or fired the artillery cannons. That's going to be a very serious problem, because a simulator is way different than in real life. And while nobody gets killed there, the combat situations are very realistic. Once out there, it will be like experiencing a real life war.

With all the tanks, SPGs, and AA vehicles manned, Constantin, who is observing from his UAZ, contacts the crews through his SUV's radio.

-'Attention all vehicles, are you receiving me?', he asks, making sure the radios are working.

-'Loud n clear marshal', replies lieutenant Anthony, the driver of one of the T-72s, his voice being clearly heard.

-'Loud n clear here as well fire marshal', replies Daisy, the gunner of one of Shilkas. 

This goes on for about two to three minutes, with one of the crews at each vehicle responding to the question of Constantin until all the crews have responded and Constantin has noted who has been unaccounted for. So far, it appears that all the radios in each tank, SPG and AA vehicle are working just fine. Looks like Linda's magical fingers did the trick. Not only are the radios working, but the engines of each vehicle sounds as if they are brand new, straight out of the factory. Whatever Linda did, he is grateful to her for her efforts. He'll have to thank her after the target practice.

With all the tanks working, Constantin orders the crews to try and rotate the turrets, which they do. It appears that they too are also working just fine. He then orders them to try and elevate the cannons, which they successfully do. From the looks of it, the turrets are being rotated and the guns elevated without any difficulty. Come to think of it, the vehicles were full of rust a few hours ago. Now they appear to be clean and shiny. Looks like a good washdown to Constantin. That's even better. Shiny, stylish, and most of important of all, fully functional.

With communications checked, Constantin orders all vehicles to move towards the shooting range field where their firepower will be tested. That's the last part of phase one of the crews' training. Each crew is given a target which they must hit, just like at any gunnery range. While moving the vehicles is the primary part of their training, their shooting skills are also important. If one has a poor eyesight, then there's a serious problem. He needs to make sure everyone can aim and shoot with as much accuracy as possible.

With all the tanks and armored vehicles in position, Constantin parks his SUV near the first T-72 and picks up his two-way radio as well as his binoculars and gives the singal to the crews.