Foreign Dominion

Chapter 7 - The All-Canadian Reject

After the first full day of the fall semester, the entire Dominion team was itching to get back into their tanks. No one new had signed up and no one had left. Well, there was an exception. About four of them.

Ayame stood on the bow of her M7 and addressed the team.

"Alright everyone! Welcome back from our break, it's been a bit since we've all operated together, so let's do some basic drills. Are there any questions before we start?"

A gunner of a Stuart raised her hand and didn't bother to wait for Ayame to acknowledge her.

"I heard something about there being exchange students here? Is that true?"

"Actually yes, it is, and you'll meet them later."

Another hand, this time from the commander of the Locust.

"Yes, Iku?"

"Please don't tell me you've put them in the Fat Bastard!"

"The Ram is no fatter and certainly less of a bastard vehicle then a Lee, and again, you will see. If there's nothing else, everyone will follow the basic drill schedule."

The team started with an escape drill, bailing out of their vehicles as quickly as they could. Ayame had seen what'd happened during the previous tournament and did not wish to see something similar at Dominion, neither the near-death of a crew nor the drama that had surrounded the incident. Then it was a quick driving warm-up, three shots at static bullseye targets, and finally communications practice. Each commander was given a card with a picture of a tank on it, then essentially played a game of telephone, radioing it to another commander who would then tell their crew and inform the next commander, and so on down the line. That was the quick warm-up for the day, and some sort of specific instruction would normally follow, sometimes a practice match against each other.

Today was different. Ayame gathered her team around her tank again and began explaining what she'd hinted at before.

"As you may have heard, we do indeed have exchange students here for Tankery. They will be joining us in a moment, but I want to remind you all that while they are experienced tankers, they are new to our team and their vehicle. They will assist us in learning the skills of the sport, but we are to assist them in learning how our team works and understanding Tankery here as a whole. They are members of the team and students of the school, just as you and I are. Treat them as such."

Ayame pulled the handset of her the M7's radio as far as it would go, the cable just barely long enough for her to reach it.

"Come on out."

The Ram rolled out of the garage, some of the girls in the team laughing at the tank. Amy pulled it to a stop in front of the assembled team.

"Before they introduce themselves, they'd like to show off a little. Girls? Run through the simulated target range."

The simulated target range was something that the industrial and engineering students had worked up for the team. Scrap metal was welded in the general shape of tanks representing different nations, depending on what the team wanted to practice against. The hit detection system from salvaged tanks was placed inside to simulate real match kills, and the turrets could turn like the tank the real thing, some being able to simulate a shot. Dominion didn't have much money, but it did have a lot of students who understood how mechanical and computerized systems worked and who could use a welder and basic fabrication tools. It wasn't a super high-tech gunnery range, but it was close enough. Today was an assortment of German tanks, some able to "fire" at the Ram, others static targets