Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Chapter 16

"Oh, I dunno. I gotta sleep on it."

Zoey drank her coffee. As the liquid was being poured down her throat, she glanced toward the television. What she saw on the screen caused her to go on a coughing fit. She pounded on a table trying to recover,

"Zoey! You alright?"

"The...T...V..." Zoey said out of breath.

She took in big gulps of air and went straight toward the television with Sarah right behind. The pair stood right before it.

"What did you see?" questioned Sarah.

"Something that I thought I'd never see again."

The women paid full attention to what the television was saying.

"—in Arizona. This California school achieved a massive victory against their opponent, notably, eliminating ten armored vehicles with a single strike. They received no casualties of their own which was uncommon in the sport of tankery. The sudden appearance of a dust storm made the match that more exciting. " the newscaster reported.

More info was divulged and pictures of tanks were shown on screen.

"There!" Zoey exclaimed, pointing at the Jumbo

"Good God...it really is. That's ours." Sarah uttered.

"...and the SU-14! Cheryl commanded that!"

"This school has our old tanks. Somehow, they found them and are using them in their own team. Ha! Better than just rusting in some mine. Say...who are they?" Zoey questioned.

Sarah examined the screen.

"Ahhh....Mojave Rose."

"Them? Must've revived their tankery team. Wonder if our old high school did the same..."

Zoey then had an idea.

"Hey...if they managed to get this far into the tournament., then they could possibly make a visit to that convention."

Sarah looked at her with eyes filled with glee.

"You've made your decision then?"

"Yeah. You and I are going to Houston come April. We'll pay those kids a visit."

Barstow

The day's meeting was underway. The team was in Room 34 continuing their work learning Morse code. They were now becoming quite proficient at it. Team members were eager to show off what they have learned in a match. As the team did their exercises, Ashley did her work slowly. She now tolerated the work but remained the least enthusiastic of all people in the room. She removed her headphones and set down the transmitter. The room was loud with the sound of people clicking and messing with their Morse code machines. Her eyes wandered to find something remotely interesting to look at. Her sight latched on to Redwood and Buchanan sat at the desk at the corner of the room. They were both working on the administrative side of the team. She saw how they were both smiling and would occasionally let out a soft laugh. Ashley spotted Buchanan's hand laid of Redwood's shoulder and was caressing it. She nudged Heather, who was sat right beside her.

"Psst...Heather. Look at Mister Redwood and Miss Buchanan. Don't make it obvious though." Ashley said in a hushed tone.

Heather made a quick glance at the two adults of the room then looked back at Ashley.

"MmmHmm. They're a couple." she concluded confidently.

"Yeah, I'd bet good money that if they were along they'd be making out. Hey...do you think they already had—"