Turtles

Amateurs Discuss Tactics

Miho considered that, absently sucking on her pencil's eraser. While she thought, Koume looked around at the team. Only the volleyball girls, history club, Student Council, and Miho's crew were in the hangar at the moment. The six first years were next door in Hangar D at the moment. Koume and Miho, after due consultation with Instructor Chouno and the mechanics, had decided to pause the paperwork for each crew at specific intervals. When the mechanics and automobile club had almost finished repairing a tank, the crew of that tank would, instead of filling out their packets, spend the day watching the repairs take place, asking questions, and learning about the internals of their vehicle first hand.

"Let's use ten kilometers as the target distance for maneuver practice," Miho decided. "We'll only need to make major allowances for four days per week, fifth is gunnery practice only and the tanks won't burn all that much idling in line. The 38t is gasoline powered, right?"

"Right."

"Good. Last thing we need is for one of these to run off diesel, it would mean separate storage tanks, separate fuel lines... ugh. This is awful. And we're only getting started, Koume."

"Did you have to do this last year?"

"No. That's why Kuromorimine has support staff. Things like this. Onee-chan and I never needed to ask where the shells and fuel were coming from. We'd always have enough."

"I'd say that this is what life is like at a minor school, but I'm fairly certain even places like Koala Forest and Viggen have a couple people on salary to help out. What we're trying to do is just nuts." Koume stretched again. "Do we have any water or anything around here, Miho? I'm thirsty."

"No. Another thing I want to do is stick a water cooler somewhere in this hangar, but there just hasn't been time yet." Miho reached in her bag and started rummaging around. "Hang on, I may have something." She pulled out a tall, thin, already opened plastic bottle approximately half-full of a golden liquid. "Here."

Koume eyed it with amusement. It was labeled Sparkling ICE- Coconut Pineapple. "Did the nurse and I accidentally get you hooked on that stuff?"

Miho looked sheepish. "Maybe? Kinda? It's really good, Koume. I found a convenience store here on the ship that sells them."

"I'll bet." Koume took the bottle and took a sip. Then she took a gulp. "Wow, this stuff really is good."

"See what I mean?"

Koume restrained herself from draining the remainder of the bottle with some difficulty; she screwed the cap back on and handed it back to Miho, who stowed it back in her bag. "At least I've got the gunnery expenses for my tank done already."

"Are you sure, Koume?"

"Yes, Miho, I'm sure."

"Including the cleaning supplies for the guns?"

"....That's not a gunnery expense."

"Yes it is, Koume. The bore sponge, grease dissolvers, and lubricants for the main gun and the ones for the machine guns are going to be distributed by the same supplier as the ammunition. Which means they're going to have to be filed on the same requisition form. Which means it's a gunnery expense."

"Noooooo." Koume rested her head on the table.

"I'm sorry, Koume. I'm having to do this too for my tank right now."

"That doesn't make it suck any less." Koume still had her face buried in the table. "Miho, if you didn't have to do this last year, how do you know this stuff?"

"There was an FAQ sheet and a checklist in my captain's packet."

"I want to see them when we go home tonight."