In ????, War was Begin.

Icarus was busy, Not that it was any different from normal. With most of the ponies here only hastily learning how to run these "Tanks" That Under the Princess' Order were re-instated, More often than not they broke down. As the Camp's Mechanic, (One of few that actually knew the right end of a Wrench,) Icarus was constantly repairing the Vehicles that broke down.

Still, Soon it was time for him to get his rations, Thankfully.

Shala trotted up past the line of tanks at base. Half of them were banged up rather badly, some were only parts for others. Most were M4s, M4A3E2s or M4A3E8s, or just Easy 8s as they were nick named. Considering the armor they went up against, they only won with numbers rather than individual firepower, if they won that is.

She looked for the pony she was hoping to find and found him with his head burried in some tank mechanical mess. "Iccy? You still working on this one? I thought it would be sliced and served up with some crackers with how many holes it has in it."

Icarus blushed a little when he heard that voice. "S-She's s-still got a l-little l-life left in h-her... E-Even if it's j-just g-going t-to be s-support A-Artillery f-for C-Camp..." he said, nearly hitting his head on the top of the hole he was working in his haste to answer to Shala. "A-Anyways, w-what b-brings y-you t-this way?" He tried to play it off cool, as he noticed the Other Colts doing. With his stutter, it didn't work.

"Not going to do much with that gun on it. Kraut armor....They don't have as many as we do but damn they make them well." She sighed in frustration. Shala was still rather upset about her tank being taken out of action recently. They wanted to put her on logistics duty instead but she gave them so much hell that they decided to let her in on the next tank crew that had an open spot.

"That's kind of why i am here. Figured you might need a hand or something. I really wish they would send us some M18s or something to contend with their Tiger and Panther tanks. Using five tanks to take out one is getting costly. Costing me for sure. I hate being at base for too long. Do you know anything about any openings in the crews? Even better if i could take the commander's seat." Shala took a seat next to Iccy, looking over the tank. She was no mechanic, but it looked rather messy from here.

Icarus shook his head with a sigh. "U-Unfortunately, N-No. W-We s-should be g-getting s-some new T-Tanks f-from HQ s-soon, t-though. U-Until t-then, W-We're s-stuck w-with w-what we've g-got. I-I just h-hope t-those t-tanks d-don't c-come in t-too late..." He sighed, placing a Metal plate over the Hole. "A-A M36 w-would be a C-Celestial S-Send." He said, Quickly fusing the metal together. "I-I'm G-Gonna g-get lunch... D-Do y-you, u-um, w-wanna e-eat w-with me?"

Shala helped hold the metal plate in place while Iccy did his thing. She smirked at his quiet shy tone, getting the idea how he felt. "Sure Iccy. With the downtime we got now i think they might be serving something good this time. Maybe even a chocolate ration." She beamed at the idea.

"I would almost trade that M36 for that. Almost...But i could pillage chocolate with that."

Icarus blushed, and chuckled at Shala's Answer. "G-Great! I-I mean, M-Mare's f-first..." He said, quickly bowing a bit. Icarus Allowed Shala to go into the Mess Hall First, Blushing. Sure, he might get a good teasing or two from the Armycolts who were stuck between Assignments, but, hey, today it was worth it.

Shala smiled and went in first. Some ponies would think that it might have been because of her rank that she went first, but they wouldn't understand that it was more that they were friends than anything else.

Ponies of lesser rank that did not get out of the way quickly did so and saluted before saying "Staff Sergeant." While Shala would sometimes wave it off, she often enjoyed getting this kind of attention. This wasn't one of those occasions. Iccy being here made her want to keep rank out of the equation.

"Looks like I was right Iccy. Spaghetti with seasonings." She helped herself to a tray and looked behind the kitchen in hopes to spot boxes. If they had new boxes then that meant a new run of supplies came in, and that meant there would be chocolate somewhere in there.

Icarus nearly Drooled at the description of Spaghetti. After Several weeks of Oat Mush, This was a Delectable treat. Quickly grabbing a tray, He followed quietly behind Shala, keeping his head down mostly. Even though his Rank was Technically Decent, he still never got beyond the fact that the others risked their lives more often than not. "M-Maybe W-We'll e-even g-get c-cake?" he asked.

"Chocolate cake!" She quickly added after that. Oh how much that made her mouth water. She really wanted some chocolate. Shala got her share of spaghetti and quickly found a table that was open.

"Iccy, I'll tell ya right now, with all this talk of good eating, if i don't get my chocolate, I'm going to sneak back in the kitchen and steal me some. Maybe i can pull a favor with the pony who is responsible for the cooking today. Hmm.."

Icarus' mouth started watering right after that. "T-That w-would be a-amazing..." He said, Sitting across from Shala. He put a bit of Spaghetti in his mouth to stop him from drooling more. "S-So, u-um..."

Shala looked up to Iccy as she stuffed her mouth with spaghetti. "Mmph?" Strands of pasta hung from her mouth as she chewed. She never was one to be subtle and neat.

Icarus smiled and tried hard not to laugh at The Sight of Shala. "N-Never m-mind..." He said, giving a grin.

"Whaaff?" She said before eating her mouthful. Still there was a bit of a spaghetti mess on her face that she did not seem to notice or care about.

"Hey, do you think Captain Shields is around? I didn't see him on the way in. Be a lot easier to take that chocolate without worrying about some CO being around."

Icarus shuddered a bit and shook his head. "H-He doesn't come b-by my a-area often, o-only t-to yell if s-something b-broke." He said simply, Idly poking his Spaghetti. "K-Kinda makes m-me wish m-more p-ponies knew t-the Right e-end of a W-Wrench." He said, giving a small Snort.

Shala was a bit puzzled at that. "Funny. He never usually gets tough unless its in a battle or something is really bugging him. It wasn't recently was it? I hope there isn't some terribly disfavored operation coming up. Everything feels like its running short on something." She finished her spaghetti.

Icarus looked down and sighed. "I-It w-was r-recently... I-I h-have a b-bad f-feeling..." He sighed yet again and shook his head. "N-Nevermind... Y-You s-still h-hungry? I-If I d-don't h-head back s-soon..." he said, nudging his tray over.

Shala was more than happy to take Iccy's share if he did not want it. "You sure you don't want anymore?...Eh, who am i kidding. You mechanics get double rations anyway with all the workload you have. I'll catch up with you at tank yard Iccy. And hopefully with some chocolate. Ill get you some too."

Iccy smiled gratefully. "T-Thank you, S-Shala..." He said, Standing up and heading out of the tent. He made it all the way out before dropping his head in a sigh and heading back to the Tankyard, as it was getting known as. ( "Junkheap" was another popular term.)

Once to the tank yard, Iccy would find a rather upset looking Captain Shields looking over the tanks. It was already looking to be bad news. Upon catching sight of Iccy, the pony with an eye patch approached Iccy. He wore his officer's hat with appropriate rank as he always did.

"Specialist Gear. Good to see you. I hope you enjoyed your meal.....I might have to...up some of your workload..." He said a bit uneasily. Usually he was more commanding with NCO's but with the whole shortage of mechanics, it was hard to not feel sorry for them. "We are going to need as many tanks in operation as we can....soon. I'm giving you permission to select anypony you want to make it happen faster."

Icarus sighed, rubbing his forehead. "N-Not t-that g-getting a-anypony w-would h-help. W-We n-need them in t-the t-tanks." he said softly, before shaking his head. "I-I'll g-get s-started r-right a-away sir." And, with that, Icarus started repairing as fast and as carefully as Pony possible.

Renaultar sighed. He really wanted more mechanics. "Despite that, Gear, please find a few. They might learn enough about mechanics to help later or help in the field....And we are short on crews enough....That is why I am assigning you to a tank of your choosing. You won't be commanding it, but we need everypony we can to fill the seats." It pained him to say it, but it was true.

Icarus nodded, keeping his head inside a tank Engine area. "... I-I t-trust S-Shala. A-Ask her f-for a-anyone s-she w-wants t-to a-add, a-and w-we g-got a d-deal, S-Sir." he said, slamming the hatch shut. "... D-Does this m-mean w-we're n-not g-getting more t-tanks?"

Captain Shields was quiet for a moment. He didn't look too happy. "...We do in a week...Along with more ponies....But we will need every thing we have here well before that." With that, he gave him a salute and took his leave. He had plenty enough on his plate to deal with.

After a short while, Shala came back, a big smile on her face and a few chocolate bars in her mouth. "Iffy! Iffy! I hot fum hawkwet!" She said, searching for the mechanic.

Icarus waved weakly from where he was working on yet another Tank, Busy connecting Magical Conduits, and Repairing broken Alchemic work. "O-Over H-Here!"