Darjeeling was intrigued by Headmistress Lady Gray's request for her to join her on the flight deck of the ship. Oh, she knew what it was about, St. Gloriana was merging senshadou teams with a relatively smaller school, a boys school no less and it was the Command Crew of the Flag Tank that was coming aboard. No, it was that she had requested her Command Crew to join them as well that puzzled her. It wasn't that she was against Orange Pekoe, Assam, and Ruhuna meeting these boys, rather, she was dreading introducing them and the other boys to her team. She was under no delusions about what happened when teenagers of opposite genders were in close proximity to each other.

However, once she reached the landing strip, she didn't have any further time to ponder her quandary as everyone heard the roar of a C-130 on her final approach and saw her touch down a few minutes later. The rear door swung open and Darjeeling took a look at the Dossiers she had been given on the boys.

Foster Hall

Rank: Cadet

Position: Driver

Personality: Hard Worker and mediator

Commander's Notes: Rarely gripes and able to keep other cadets out of too much trouble.

Stanley Stewart

Rank: Cadet

Position: Loader

Personality: Hard Worker

Commander's Notes: Silent but deadly would be the best way to describe Cdt Stewart but he is also capable of holding a grudge for a long time.

Joshua Hall

Rank: Lieutenant

Position: Gunner/SiC

Personality: Fixer

Commander's Notes: Capable and willing to sit down and help cadets with issues that are bothering them, even officers sometimes are assisted by him.

Scott Perkins

Rank: Captain

Position: Commander/Commanding Officer of Team

Personality: Unknown

Commandant's Note: No one has been able to get close enough to Captain Perkins to get him to open up, though if Lt Hall has managed, he's not telling. Word of caution, DO NOT under any circumstances mention his parents, it is the quickest way to ensure that he will make your life a living hell, officer or no. On a side note; the Halls referred to Captain Perkins as "Milord" and now the entire team does, and Perkins does nothing to stop it, suggesting the Halls may know more.

To say that Darjeeling was intrigued by the mysterious commander of the boys was the understatement of the century. But little time could be used to ponder as a Centurion Main Battle Tank rolled towards them. Once it was stopped in front of them, the Commander's hatch popped open and out popped Scott Perkins himself, dressed in a replica uniform to the one worn by Sir Arthur Wellesley at the battle of Waterloo, but what struck Darjeeling was his eyes, they seemed to carry a haunted look to them. He quickly jumped out and approached the Headmistress, "Captain Perkins reporting as ordered, ma'am," he said while snapping off a salute.

The Headmistress returned it and said, "Captain, it's good to meet you in person," she then gestured to Darjeeling, "Allow me to introduce Darjeeling, the commander of our Senshadou team and her crew…"

"Assam: Gunner, Orange Pekoe: Loader, and Ruhuna: Driver, I received dossiers much like Commander Darjeeling, Ma'am," he replied, then he turned to the girls, "A pleasure to make all of your acquaintances ladies, however, I must give my boys a few orders, I'll only be a second," he then turned to the tank, where the girls noticed that the boys were in Napoleonic Line Infantry uniforms, specifically the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot, more commonly known as the Black Watch. "Right boys, you are aware of your bunk arrangements, take the Centurion to the garages, and perform maintenance like you were supposed to before we left but ran out of time for. After that, you may take your trunks to your bunks, meet me at the main cafeteria at 12:30 for grub and an update. Remember, Buckingham protocols, else I'll kick your arses back to Britain myself. Dismissed!"

Foster nodded, "Ay Milord!" and started driving towards the garages. Oddly, the strains of The Soldiers of the Old Home Guard could be heard as they drove away.

Darjeeling was curious, and so was, it seemed, her Headmistress, "Buckingham Protocols?" she asked.

Scott nodded, "I told the boys that if I heard one of the girls crying because of one of them, I'd send them back to Britain faster than they could say 'Bugger', so I suggested that they treat all the ladies here as if they were the Queen, and since Buckingham Palace is the most recognizable symbol of the Queen; well, the name 'Buckingham Protocols' stuck."

Lady Gray nodded, then turned to Darjeeling, "Show him his office, then I would suggest spending some time together and get to know one another, better performance on the battlefield and all."

Darjeeling nodded and with that, Lady Gray left. Darjeeling then gestured to the Riley Nine Falcon waiting for them, "Shall we Captain?"

Scott nodded and hopped in the front passenger seat while Darjeeling drove. They didn't get that far before Darjeeling asked, "I hope you don't mind the question…" with Scott giving a gesture to continue, "... but why The Soldiers of the Old Home Guard?"

Scott shrugged, "Symbolism mostly, it kind of describes British attitudes to defending the Home Islands during the Second World War and most of my boys rarely want to give an inch during battles. Though with that said, there are other songs that the boys will fire up, depending on their mood."

"Oh? Such as?" Darjeeling asked.

"Well, Rule Britannia for one. Then I suppose March of the British Grenadiers as well as Men of Harlech, though they'll actually sing those two. Occasionally I'll hear There Will Always Be An England, though that is when the boys are feeling a little homesick." Scott replied.

Darjeeling smiled a little, "You guys have a slightly more diverse taste in music than us," she said. When Scott raised a questioning eyebrow, she continued, "All we've listened to is March of the British Grenadiers. One could say, it's our theme."

Scott was intrigued, it had been years since he had talked this long about music, and he didn't want it to stop, "Which version though, Vocals or Instrumentals?"

"Instrumental with a slight twist," she replied.

"Oh?"

Darjeeling nodded, "One line of Flute, then a line of Flute joined by a drum, followed by two brass lines."

Scott was amused, "Normally I've only heard the Drum and Fife version, granted, the lyrics were in there as well, but still. I'll be listening to it when it gets played."

"Musician?" Darjeeling asked.

Scott nodded, "Instrumental and Vocals." then he paused, "Perhaps, another day, a demonstration is in order?"

Darjeeling felt the blood rush to her ears, surely he wasn't suggesting that he would serenade her, was he? Regardless, she kept a calm facade and simply replied, "That would be lovely Captain."

Scott nodded to himself, then spoke, "For simplicity's sake, please, call me Scott, if I may, in turn, have the privilege to refer to you simply as Darjeeling?"

Darjeeling fought down the blush that was threatening to form, and only just managed to keep her voice level, "Of course, Scott," she then said, "You are quite the gentleman Scott, I won't lie, I was expecting more roguish behaviour from you and your boys."

Scott shrugged, "With the boys, remember, Buckingham Protocols. As for myself though," here Scott paused, as if reliving something, "Let's just say that it's been ingrained since childhood." then he sighed, "I am not looking forward to introducing certain members of our Senshadou team to yours."

Darjeeling was concerned and Scott continued, "We've got a big headed idiot who is only on the team because his father threatened to pull funding from the school, thinks the world revolves around him and that he is 'God's Gift to Girls', his words, an all 'round prick if I'm being generous. Moreover, he has a grudge against me since I was given Command, even though I'm two years his senior and have been doing this sort of thing for much longer than he," he then turned his head to Darjeeling and she to him, "If he causes any trouble, I'll gladly send him back to Britain, but the report must come from you or Headmistress Lady Gray. He would spin a report filed by me as a grudge and attempt to get me dismissed."

Darjeeling nodded and they continued the drive in relative silence, but they had only been a minute away anyways.

They entered the room and Scott was blown away at everything, Darjeeling, however, began explaining things, "This office is a mirror image of my own, considering that it's just through that door," She remarked as she pointed at a door that was off to the side, on the opposite side of the room to another, to which Darjeeling pointed, "A bathroom is in there so you can freshen up after training. Books to your heart's desire, and if you want different ones, just ask, we'll swap them out," Then she stopped at the window at the back, "And a lovely view of the training grounds to top it off." she then turned to see Scott just looking around. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Scott shook his head and just stood there, Darjeeling walked over to him and saw tears in his eyes. Without thinking, she took his arm to offer support, at that, she looked into his eyes and saw that he was trying to lock up whatever was bothering him, he was only partially successful. "The nicest place I ever had to work in before this was the tank, which doubled as an office of sorts for me." he then sighed, "Some nights, when I was just starting, I would end up sleeping in the tank, not by choice either."

Darjeeling was shocked, "What happened?" she asked.

Scott screwed his eyes shut, trying to block the memories, but failing, "There is only one entrance to the bunkroom, and many nights, while I would be performing maintenance, they would lock me out, while knowing full well I was out there, and in most cases, coming in."

Darjeeling could hardly imagine what he was saying happening at St Gloriana, there was a sense of comradery that was clearly missing where Scott and the boys were schooled.

Nothing else was said between them as Scott was recomposing himself and Darjeeling offering silent support. Soon 12:00 came around, and Scott left to speak with his boys, while Darjeeling went to her own office to think. However, all hopes of being able to quietly contemplate what had just transpired were dashed when Rosehip, Assam, and Orange Pekoe entered her office, "So Darjeeling," began Assam, "Tell us about him."

Darjeeling didn't say anything for the longest time, but eventually, she looked up with sad eyes, "I have never met a person who has had a life in which they were bullied more severely, and I suspect that I have only scratched the surface."

The girls looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Soon Darjeeling spoke again, "He did, however, warn me of a person that I feared would come, but told me that he could take care of it, as long as the report came from me or the Headmistress. However, I would not be surprised if this is the same person that is Scott's chief tormentor."

Assam raised an eyebrow, "Scott, huh? They're here less than a day, and already you're on a first name basis with the Commander."

Darjeeling allowed herself to roll her eyes, "He insisted for the sake of simplicity," she said, before she muttered softly, "After he promised to sing to me one day."

Grins broke out on their faces, and Rosehip replied, "Oh he did, did he? So the Commander is clearly Darjeeling's, I wonder if we can snag any of the others?"

It was a testament to how distracted Darjeeling was when you considered that she didn't even respond to Rosehip's comment. Instead, she looked out her window, choosing to observe the boys driving the Centurion around the training grounds. The Scott that she saw in the Commander's hatch was a different one to the one she saw earlier, more confident and certain for sure.

Scott had seemed to recover from what happened in the office, but Joshua could tell that something had happened, even if he wouldn't say anything about it. Suddenly, Scott spoke up, "Foster, let's try taking her off the beaten path, shall we? That suspension needs a proper test after the boys back home replaced it."

Foster nodded, "Right ya are Lord, might wanna pop in, just in case."

Scott did so, and off they went, Stanley handed him a cup of tea, which Scott accepted, "Thanks Stan, which blend?"

Stanley shrugged, "I figured you could use a cup of Darjeeling, it is your favourite tea after all."

Scott raised an eyebrow, "I'm going to have to get used to the fact that the best tea and our commander share the same name."

Foster agreed, "Ay Lord, speaking of which, did ye warn her about Archibald?"

Scott nodded, "I did, though I didn't name him, I just described him and warned her as to the situation."

Joshua smirked, "Were ye generous or honest about the wanker?"

Scott shrugged, "I was generously honest, in that, I told her he was an all 'round prick and that was generous for me."

The boys belted out laughing at that and Foster nearly hit a tree because of it, "Oi, Foster! We only got her out of the shops a week ago, don't wreck the tank!" Stanley joked.

Foster had the good grace to look abashed, "Sorry 'bout that Lord,"

Scott waved him off, "Eh, don't worry about it, didn't happen, plus the Centurion is a tough girl, she'll handle most any tree."

Joshua chuckled, "We're not going anywhere near California then and their Redwoods."

They all had a good chuckle about that, then Joshua decided to broach the topic, "So Milord, what happened when you went off with the Lady of St Gloriana?"

Scott shrugged, "Nothing much, we talked about Music for the majority of the time, then I warned her about Archibald."

Foster was flabbergasted, "Is that all?"

Stanley smacked him upside the head, "Hey, not everyone can keep Lord's interest in any topic, much less keep talking about Music with him."

Scott grunted, "Eh, you and the boys will have to strike up March of the British Grenadiers when it's the Pre-Match, it's like their theme apparently as well as the only song the team listens to," then he chuckled, "I think Stan's going to get an opportunity to expand their background before the rest of us though."

Stanley was confused, "Eh? What are you talking about Milord?"

Scott started full on laughing, "Oh come now," he said when he could breathe again, "You didn't notice the eyes Pekoe; the Loader for the Gloriana Flag Tank, was making at you?"

Stanley had an utterly clueless expression on his face, which only set Scott off again. In turn, the rest of the boys started as well, but in the back of Scott's mind, a timer was ticking down, a timer for how long he had until the others arrived. It was at one week…

Well, new project, though considering the subject, Projekt seems apter. I only recently discovered Girls Und Panzer and now, I wonder how my life was ever considered complete without it. The focus is going to be St Gloriana since I consider them to be the best school, never beaten by Ooarai and, well, Darjeeling is amazing. The other Schools will feature eventually.

If you want to help improve this story, please leave a review and/or join my Discord, invite code: BSdFMH3

Until next time Panzer Vor!