A Young Woman's Intel
Airspace over Osfjord, March 1924
It's was a rather cold day over the Gulf of Osfjord, where Fort Osfjord stood. It was a heavily fortified based, with batteries all over the coast.
No hostile navy would be foolish to enter here, nor aircraft.
Except for one Imperial plane that was currently flying above.
However, said plane was invisible to the eye and radar, as it was covered in a cloaking spell by it's pilot: First Lieutenant Ida von Belser.
A rising star in the Empire's Intelligence Department, using her ability as a mage and knowledge of optic technology to become one of the first stealth plane pilots.
"I am glad uncle Schugel was able to convince the brass to develop this modified Type 97[1] otherwise the flight back home would be impossible" Ida thought to herself as finished her scouting mission. It was one thing to fly around the frontlines and take photos of the enemy's movement, it was another to go in the rear on a 18 hour mission. In order to make the full trip, Ida had to maintain both a cloaking spell and turn her mana into additional fuel. Without the blessed dual core operation orb, the feat would be impossible.
"I guess that's the miracle of God, especially since uncle was a staunch atheist until recently" Ida lightly chuckled. Funny, it was because of God she was here in the first place.
A good bit her fault, since she tried to have an intellectual conversation with him in a previous life.
Ida took in a breath, recalling that faithful day.
San Francisco, California 2013
It was one in the morning on a Friday, a time when most people were asleep.
Emphasis on most, as there was one particular aerospace engineer finishing her proposal on a new plane design for the aviation company she worked for.
She smiled at her work, reflecting on far she came. She was born to a Seminole father and a Japanese mother in Norman, Oklahoma. The youngest of four children, she had to work for everything she wanted. Primarily because they were poor, sometimes going without food.
When she was little, she loved to tinker with electronic equipment; a skill she developed that turned her into the local technician. She earned money to help her survival, plenty that went into a savings account.
When she was 16, she bought her first single reflecting camera. In her freshman year of high school, she had taken a photography class and fell in love with the art. As well, she would also learn the workings of a camera, new and old.
With her workaholic nature and brilliant mind, she got a full ride scholarship to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she studied aerospace engineering and a minor in photography. After graduation, she landed a job with her current company.
Five years in and at the age of 28, she was on track to become the next manager for her department. All of her hard work was paying dividends.
Until someone knocked on her apartment door.
"Hrm? Who can that be at this time?" she thought with a raised brow. She got up from her seat and opened the door.
Only to be greeted by a masked man and a gun to her face.
"!" she froze. It was that man from the news. The-
Bang!
…
…
…
Huh?
Suddenly, she found herself standing in a white space with ruins in the background. Where was she?
"So, bad karma stuck down two people at the same time" a deep, mysterious voice said.
Bad Karma? Struck down? Oh right, she now remembered. She was killed by the serial killer, who had been murdering fellow LBGT people such as herself.
"I'm sorry, who is speaking to me?" she questioned. A tall, muscular man with a white beard approached her.
"I am God, little lamb" the man said.
"God? As in the one from the Bible?" she thought. She was a nominal christian at best, mainly because it was the socially acceptable thing to do. Truthfully, she was doubtful of the existence of God, both in part because she never had her prayers answered and was born with the wrong equipment.
"He's no God" another male voice said, "If he was, then the absurdities of this world wouldn't exist." Behind 'God' was a tall, Japanese man that looked a decade older than her.
"Sinful man, do you still defy me despite my reveal?" God angrily accused.
"I'm an atheist. I adhere to reason and logic, so I can't accept you being any form of God" he simply shook his head.
"Little Lamb" God addressed the woman, "Surely you must see the folly of this man's ways, being a believer yourself."
"No?" she tilted her head, "He's from a modern society, where religion has become increasingly irrelevant. I can't fault him for that."
"So you lack conviction to testify my holiness" God accused.
"Huh?" she blinked, "Surely you must be kidding. I've done a few mission trips in my youth, so I am able to testify. However, people are free to ignore the opinions of others."
"Moreso, I'm from a scientific and rich country, there is no need for a god there" the man pointed.
"Even those born into difficult lives such as myself can walk away from piety" the transwoman answered, "Giving everything for nothing goes only so far."
"She's right" the man said while adjusting his glasses, "It's common knowledge that people should expect something in return for loyal service, otherwise there is no longer a reason to stay."
"Ye of no faith and little faith" God roared, "If I put you into reversed lives, would devotion spring forth?"
"Huh?" they both thought in unison. The situation before them was getting sour.
"I'm sorry, but you must be jumping to conclusion" the man countered.
"Wait, are you interfering with our afterlife because of our words?" the woman said, "Isn't that too much?"
"It's been decided" God answered
Without warning, the atheist man and partially faithless transwoman blacked out.
May 12th, 1904. City of Berun
I hear the cries of a little girl, but know not the source. I see the face of a woman, who is talking to me.
"Oh little Ida, don't be a picky eater" the woman above me. I felt a spoon enter my lips.
"Ida? That's me?" I thought.
I was reborn as a girl named Ida von Belser. As God promised, I was born into a life opposite of mine previous one; a life of a noble.
Naturally, this should've increased my faith in the Lord, but I felt unhappy about the situation. My afterlife...or rebirth, was altered due to an argument with God. As someone who never held grudges, this action left me a bit bitter.
Besides, in the era and country I was born in, I was expected to grow into a proper lady and future wife of a nobleman. The lack of options was disheartening for a workaholic like me. The only real way to earn a proper career track was through the military.
Given the time period of this world, I would volunteer for the Army Airforce when I was old enough.
I also wondered what happened to that handsome Japanese man...
Back to the Present, Nordon Control
"Welcome back to Nordon Control, Lieutenant" a man greeted her.
"Thank you, Major" Ida saluted before following him back to base.
"I take it your mission was a success?" the man inquired.
"Yes" Ida said while pulling the film capsule from her bag, "I will make sure to have these photos developed and forwarded to Strategic HQ ASAP."
"Excellent" the Major said, "I have something to give to you." The man handed her an envelope.
"So I've been accepted into the War College" Ida thought to herself.
"You've done a lot for the Empire, so I sent a recommendation for you to attend the war college and open the path to become a senior officer" the major said.
"This is a great honor, sir" she saluted. Finally, an opportunity to pursue a true career. To become a leader, whether from the rear or on the frontlines, was a huge deal.
Although preferably, she rather be closer to the action. There she could be the one to snap the iconic images of the war, such as raising the American Flag on Iwo Jima.
That would set her up nicely to be a military journalist or war correspondent in the future, making her love for photography into a career.
Alas, she was stuck mixing her photography skills with her expertise on aviation. In Officer Training School, she wrote her graduation thesis on the advantage of having mages operate planes and the creation of the first stealth fighters.
Propeller planes to be exact, as jet planes wouldn't a thing for another decade or so. It was odd, the upcoming "Great War" was almost a blend of WW1/WW2 tech, as Panzer 1 and 2 tanks already exist now.
In any case, the Intelligence Department along with Aviation Development Department took great interest in her paper, creating the first stealth squadron. Led by Major Karl Mayer, the squadron gathered intel across all current and future fronts of war.
Everything was shaping up for Ida.
Then on her first day in the Academy, she ran into the famed "Argent" of the Empire: Tanya Degurechaff.
Internally, Ida felt a strange sense of familiarity, like she knew this girl from somewhere.
She shook her head, it must be because they're both women.
But by the end of their first class together, she would know who Tanya truly was.
[1] – I know Type 97 was issued primarily/solely for the 203rd Mage Battalion, but for the sake of this story Ida has her own retooled Type 97 for her uses. And by retooled I mean blessed by the God of Invention, which Ida takes little issue with. Sometimes prayer (from her viewpoint) is a necessity.
