Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Chapter 48

July 4th, 2013

At Sea

The ship moved steadily toward Spain, where the Mojave Rose tankery team are to make their international debut against Italy. But their match is still some weeks away so there was no grand sense of urgency. Not yet anyway. For now, the team were tending to their vehicles. Their regular duties were done efficiently as not only are they all intimately familiar'

with their vehicles and can diagnose and fix damn near all problems, but also, they wanted to be finished for today because it was the Fourth of July and they all had their own plans to celebrate. This was felt by Buchanan who was now really starting to feel the symptoms of her pregnancy. It was still not to a point where it was obvious to outside observers that she was expecting, but mentally, she was keenly aware. She turned to Redwood and brought her voice low.

"I...I feel god awful. This morning sickness is really kicking my ass. Ugh. I'm...going to go handle it. Bring the meeting to a close, please?"

"You got it."

Buchanan left the garage, doing her best to look as nonchalant as possible and not suddenly relocate her previous meal all over the floor. With Redwood at the helm, he supervised for several minutes but the concern he had for his soon-to-be-wife grew by the second. Looking at the time, it was just barely eleven. Contemplating for just a moment, he knew that he had a more important place to be.

"Alright!" he shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "We're done for today. What's a holiday if you don't enjoy it?"

No one on the team wasted a second. Everyone darted away, back to the apartment complex to get the holiday started. Alone, Redwood got to locking the place off. He couldn't help but laugh a little.

"You kids give 100-meter sprinters a run for their money."

At the apartment complex, the team got out of their uniforms and wore something more casual. People trickled out, in groups, in all directions as they all each had their own ways to spending the day. Outside, Ashley was waiting for Heather to come out when Louise walked out. Her in jeans and a summer shirt was interesting in conjunction with her blue facial tattoos. Only she could rock such a look. Looking at her made Ashley spawn a question that she just had to ask.

"Hey, um, does your tribe even celebrate the Fourth of July?"

Louise spent a moment thinking of a response. "Well. I can see where you're going at. We just treat it like any other day. The fireworks are cool, though."

She then stepped forward toward Ashley, the look on her face growing serious. "When November comes, ask me about Thanksgiving. I'll give you a whole different response."

More people of the team walked out. Ray and Natalie, hands clasped, stood outside, pondering their options on how to spend the day.

"Obviously we're gonna watch the fireworks later tonight. But what about now?" Natalie asked him.

He gave her a smile. "How about a—"

"Restaurant?" she finished for him. "Yeah, I'd like that. But what kind?"

"There's this place that serves specialty hot dogs. Appropriate, huh?"

"Lead the way."

Inside, in her apartment, Valarie sat on her bed, deep in thought about the coming match. What was annoying her was the fact that the new crew for the AMR 35 wouldn't be here until August. She really didn't like the fact that the team had a tank at the ready with no one to crew it. The AMR 35 only had a 25mm gun, but with it being speedy and small, the opportunities for it was endless. Valarie can easily picture it as an excellent scout and ambusher. She soon stopped thinking about it. What can she do about it? With a small sigh, she stood up from her bed and made her way outside. There, Emma was waiting for her. By now, everyone else in the team has left and are scattered around town.