Looks like the story is starting to revolve more and more around tanks.
That means Thirtyfour's dream is going to happen sooner or later.
Well, I as far as I can tell, this is how the seed of Thirtyfour's tanks grew.
First, he made his tank.
Second, escapees find the Roberts class battletank.
Third, they begin attacking Thirtyfour in an attempt to hijack his tank.
Fourth, McWallace hummed the Pirates of the Caribbean. Frank raises the Jolly Robert.
Fifth, Etch-E-Sketch told me that if we're going to have Pirates of the Caribbean tank-style, there must be that port scene, where the Dauntless gets taken.
Sixth, General Qwai is born to facillitate said scene. He quickly takes a life of his own and gains many tanks and mobile artillery. He becomes the theater commander of this town.
Seventh, Ria is born to ply the Wastes as a Pirate.
Future: I foresee that with the capture of the Dauntless, Qwai will gain more authorization as Council 42 reassess the threat in the Region.
Ria must make sure that the Sky Ray is not spotted by Qwai's forces or the land cruiser Suzaku will be deployed.
The land cruiser Shinigami will be deployed to counter the threat of the Dauntless. Also, as the threat level increases, air strikes will become available to RAI, allowing Thirtyfour's dream to become completely true, down to the model of helicopter that kills him, though it is more likely to be an F-22 or A-10.
The mafia will react to the increased presence of the tank pirates of the wastes and the military. They will become divided over what position they should take among the new factions of the pirates, the Gensokyo, and the RAI. They may even split or align themselve with one of the factions, for free.
Gensokyo will have to deal with sniper squads and the RAI working together. They also have to make sure that don't seem enough of a threat that Council 42 decides to cut their losses and give Qwai the authority to make this small town into a parking lot, complete with street lamps and hobo.
Mansion resident may face more raids.