Girl und Panzer: The Yankee's in Tank

Chapter 26

Commander Houston sat at his desk, engrossed in paperwork, when Jefferson barged into his office with a mischievous grin and a cardboard box that looked like it had been through a blender.

"Commander Houston, I need to show you something our guys and the Oarai girls cooked up," Jefferson announced, presenting the mangled cardboard creation.

Houston peered at the monstrosity. "What am I looking at, Jefferson? It looks like a tank that survived a tornado."

Jefferson, undeterred, explained, "It's a cardboard tank, sir. It's got enough room for two people, just like any other cardboard box you'd use for sneaking around. The guy in front drives, and the guy in the back is the gunner."

Houston raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, Jeff. Who the hell came up with this thing?"

Jefferson gulped nervously. "I'm sorry, Boss. They meant well, I swear. I know it's nowhere near as good as a real tank, but still—"

Before Jefferson could finish his sentence, Houston's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "IT'S BRILLIANT!"

Jefferson's jaw dropped as he witnessed his normally stoic commander's enthusiastic outburst. "The perfect synthesis of stealth and attack power, compact elegant design... the finest example of a weapon I've ever seen! Seriously, Jefferson, I need to meet the people who made this. I want to shake their hands."

Stuttering in disbelief, Jefferson managed to respond, "Y-You're serious?! Commander, look at its—"

"It's a masterpiece in every sense of the word. You don't agree?" Houston said, arms crossed and a mischievous smile on his face.

"N-no, I—" Jefferson struggled to comprehend the situation.

"I'm glad you like it, Commander Houston," Yukari chimed in, entering the room with a smile, witnessing Houston's shock and approval of the cardboard box tank.

"Thank you, Yukari, for making this. If you were in my unit, I would've given you a promotion right here and now," Houston said, still beaming.

"Well, I'm glad that you like how we made it for you, Commander," Yukari replied happily. "Plus, Commander Houston, with this cardboard box tank, it's a zero-emission vehicle, and it won't harm the forests or wildlife on Oshima."

"WHAT?" Jefferson finally exclaimed, unable to keep up with the bizarre turn of events.

"Nice work, Jefferson. I can see I made the right choice in making you my second-in-command," Houston said, giving Jefferson a thumbs-up.

"But I—Is there something wrong with me that I don't get?!" Jefferson stammered, thoroughly perplexed by the whole situation.

Meanwhile at the West side of the city Pottsboro

In the clear, untouched territory of Pottsboro, a small forest remained unclaimed by any of the competing teams. Not even the Federation Force had bothered to station patrols or send scouts into this secluded area. Just outside the forest, a group of Welsey men had set up a campsite, and two British Commandos were sitting by a campfire.

"You know, I still don't understand why Commander Welsey gave us the codenames Lemon and Tangerine," Tangerine mused while checking on the fire.

"Yeah, I've been wondering why I got stuck with 'Lemon,'" Lemon replied, shooting a bemused look at Tangerine. The two English-American Commandos huddled together by the fire, trying to stave off the chill.

"Maybe it's because you're sour, and nobody likes lemons," Tangerine teased.

Lemon raised an eyebrow. "That's bollocks, mate. There's lemonade, lemon drops, lemon meringue pie, lemon drizzle cake..." Lemon began listing all the delicious things associated with lemons, but Tangerine interrupted him.