Author's note: This is the continuation of the 512's story. After finishing "Witches over Malta", I simply could not let go of the 512. This took a long time to write, perhaps too long, but I hope everyone who enjoyed "Malta" can enjoy this as well.
Belgican port of Brugges, July 1944
Tui Gray of Kiwiland, and of the Brittanian Royal Airforce, leaned against the wall of a shipping container, looking out to sea, either side of her were her friends and close comrades, Veronica Keough and Crystal Olive. The short trip from Britannia was relatively safe, and easy. So much so, that they needed no downtime. Tui even declined the offer to tour the city; mostly because this was not their final destination. The three Britannia dispatched witches simply awaited at Brugges.
"So what are we waiting for again?" Veronica was getting impatient, and she fidgeted more and more. Like Tui, they wanted to head to the new airbase where they'd be assigned to their new unit. Something they'd all been eagerly anticipating
"Apparently it's a Carrier," Tui responded, "look for Fuso flags, I guess."
"Do we head south as soon as they arrive?" Crystal asked
"Yes. Puoyade and Rechkalov beat us to Florennes. They took the direct route, over the 502's base" Tui said
"So that leaves… The Fuso girl? And the sleepy Suomus?" Veronica asked, counting in her head.
"I love how you leave her out intentionally" Tui jabbed at Veronica.
"Yes, yes…" Veronica's face turned slightly redder at that, getting a giggle out of Crystal.
Veronica allowed herself to slip down the container they were leaning on, so that she was lying on the ground, resting her back against it. Her eyes seemed to be closing. Tui noticed this but gave no comment.
A few short moments after the Liberion had drifted off to sleep, Tui's keen eyes saw the horizon being broken.
She knew it was a vessel, and waited for it to get close before she woke up Veronica, lest she wake her up over a false alarm.
When it got close, Tui began to make out the outline…
She seemed completely flat, she had no island. And her hull seemed tiny.
"Those Fuso make the strangest ship designs" Tui muttered under her breath.
"Is that the one?" Crystal asked her. They were half whispering.
"I think so… strange as it looks."
"well it's no HMKLS Tui" Crystal joked.
"Not this again…" Tui sounded exasperated. Crystal giggled again.
Imperial Fuso Light Carrier Ryuujou soon docked, and the business that usually ensues, especially considering she's a carrier, followed her.
Somewhere within the hustle and bustle, her most precious cargo, the four young girls in their pristine military uniforms started to disembark.
Tui had left Crystal and Veronica, and drifted away close to Ryuujou on her own to meet the girls.
The first to meet her eyes was Akamatsu Atsuko. The Fuso rookie seemed completely changed. She no longer wore her sailor uniform, instead wearing a Fuso officer's jacket with matching peaked cap. She impressed her with how sure she looked, a far sight from the stuttering little girl who walked into the hangar at Comiso afraid of all the eyes on her.
The one who didn't change at all was the little puppy that followed close behind her. Eerika Lehtinen was almost stuck to the back of Akamatsu, as if hiding behind her. Some distance behind them was the familiar, professional striding Aztecan, Mattia Garcia. She was speaking to a tiny Fuso girl with short brown hair that only went down to her neck, and some of which was tied in two buns. While Garcia was talking to her, the little Witch didn't seem able to take her eyes off Atsuko.
She called out to them
"Akamatsu, Lehtinen!" Tui wasn't exactly shouting but she raised her voice slightly.
It caught their attention.
In unison they all saluted her.
"Flight Lieutenant Gray!" Atsuko called back, half smiling "Flying Officer Akamatsu Atsuko reporting from the Fuso Imperial Navy. Happy to return to your command"
Tui saluted her back "That hasn't been confirmed, Flying Officer. Good to see you again, Atsuko"
Tui was proud of how the little girl had grown. If this was Comiso she'd be stuttering and stammering. The life of an instructor seemed to have matured her quicker.
She then learnt of the new Witch's name. Sergeant Itou Madoka, apparently one of Atsuko's protégés. She greeted her warmly, welcoming her, before allowing idle chatter to take over. Tui almost felt as if she was showing off the strength of the bond of the 512 girls to Itou, and the beaming smile on Atsuko's face spurred her on in this.
When they got back to where Crystal and Veronica had been waiting, Mattie took two quick steps, to stand over the sleeping Veronica. She saluted Crystal before looking down at the Liberion with an expression mixing amusement and disapproval.
She spoke in a slightly higher voice.
"Sleeping on the job, huh Liberion?"
Veronica jolted awake and without skipping a beat replied "Just embracing my Inner Aztecan, Mattia" She gave a wry smile as she said this. Mattia playfully kicked her, before extending a hand to help her onto her feet. They shook hands and saluted afterwards, while Tui shook her head slowly, while smiling to herself.
Tui thanked her lucky stars Fernandia Minguzzi was already at Florennes.
The Belgican roads weren't the best, but they were manageable and Veronica's driving was mostly quite sane. She could be as fast and reckless as Fernandia, but she knew to be gentle on Tui's stomach. Making it to the base with no one throwing up made her want to give Veronica a medal.
The happiness was short lived when she saw Florennes Airbase.
It was decrepit.
Some buildings had no roof. Concrete slabs were on the ground in places they shouldn't. The hangars were rusted, and the runway was in dire need of repavement. It made her think of Supply planes landing, and how impossible that would be. She guessed Heinrike could make use of supply drops.
Tui didn't want to allow herself to get deflated. She looked around, with her friends at her side, she guessed they'd meet someone soon and that'd lead them to Heinrike's charges.
Her thinking was interrupted by the sound of an extremely loud engine.
A bright red motorcycle with a tiny rider streaked past them, cutting between the short distance between where she and Atsuko stood, before the rider skillfully did a quarter turn, stopping completely and kicking up an ungodly amount of mud. None of it got on Tui or Atsuko, but some distance away, Veronica was obviously spitting mud and pebbles that got into her teeth.
The rider was an extremely young looking girl, obviously a witch, she produced a pistol and aimed it at Tui "Who goes there?!"
"Flight Lieutenant Tui Gray, Royal Britannian Airforce. Is that how you greet a superior?!"
Atsuko noticed the patch on her shoulder, marking her as a Flying Officer. She was impressed Tui could notice and reply that fast.
The tiny witch got off her bike quickly, letting it fall on its side. She saluted. "I'm sorry! So sorry! Flying Officer Giovanna Ravelli, Regia Aeronautica and attached to the Belgican 3rd Airforce. Welcome to Florennes, Flight Lieautenant"
She then turned around, and exclaimed "No! Cara! I'm sorry" She shouted while picking up the bike and clearing the mud off its side.
Eerika laughed heartily. Atsuko was fighting back her laughter. Everyone else was in varying forms of disapproval and amusement.
Tui then returned to her usual formal, yet gentle voice.
"Flying Officer Ravelli, we're here to report to your Commanding Officer. Can you lead us to her?"
"Y…Yes, Follow me… this way, please"
Atsuko got a sense of Déjà vu and self-consciousness at seeing the little Romagnan witch stutter. The way she held up her bike as she led them and patted its side told her that this witch would be interesting. She certainly piqued her interest.
The door that she led them to was rotted in areas, and the hinges creaked. She knocked twice before being told to enter. The voice that they heard from inside filled some of them with familiarity and excitement, especially Tui.
Once inside, they were met by a familiar figure at the desk.
Karlsland uniform, long silver hair, eyepatch, and officer's hat; Heinrike Falkenhausen, commanding officer of the Belgican 3rd squadron and formerly commanding officer of the 512 joint fighter unit stood, fighting back a beaming smile and mostly failing to salute the visitors at her door.
Tui's excitement surprisingly got the better of her.
She beat Heinrike to speaking first, and spoke in a fast, almost giddy voice. "We're here to report, and return to your command, Captain Falkenhausen!"
Tui stood for a second, back straight, completely stiff, salute held, and a smile creeping on her face.
Heinrike simply stood, approached her.
"Well, you'll do no such thing, Tui"
All light left Tui's eyes when she heard this "What?"
"Flight Lieutenant Gray, you were made commanding officer of the 512th joint fighter wing, and I, as commanding officer of the 3rd Squadron of the Belgican Air component, welcome you and thank you for your support. The western wing of the airbase will be yours, and I will be transferring Flight Lieutenant Minguzzi back to your unit. Welcome to Belgica"
Tui's excitement returned to her face on hearing this, and her excited salute returned. "Yes, Captain!"
Tui then turned around to the girls, she now realized were her charges again
"Alright, ladies, you heard her. The 512 has been reinstated. Let's do everything we can to help Captain Falkenhausen and her squadron"
A childish high pitched scream was heard. Everyone's attention turned to the back of the newly reformed 512, where Itou Madoka stood.
"Umm… I'm sorry, I was just.. so happy…" her face turned crimson. Atsuko offered her a pat on the shoulder, while her gaze was lowered to the ground, and her face turned redder than Giovanna Ravelli's bike.
Tui smiled, and spoke out
"Captain, may we ask Flying Officer Ravelli to give us a tour of the base and lead us to the west wing?"
"Sure, but while she does, I'd like you to stay, Tui. You need to be filled in"
"Very well; Akamatsu, please fill me in later. I leave them in your care, Flying Officer Ravelli"
The little Romagnan saluted.
"Oh, and Giovanna" Heinrike started "Fernandia knows, I suggest you avoid her"
Giovanna looked terrified on hearing that, Atsuko wondered how someone could be terrified of Fer, but she let it go for now.
What Atsuko noticed, and she had no doubt others noticed as well, was that Giovanna's tour was mostly centered around buildings and facilities, and how Giovanna kept leading them to areas that were completely empty, and sometimes it even looked like that'd just been left by people moments ago. They had made it to the Garage where they kept their trucks, and Giovanna took the opportunity to park her bright red bike, before Crystal interrupted her.
"Umm, Flying Officer… We thank you very much for the tour but, why haven't we met any of your squad mates yet? Since we're sharing a base, could you introduce us?"
Giovanna's eyes immediately went to the floor. She started fidgeting, and shaking. She took the goggles she'd been wearing off her head, and started fiddling with the straps.
"Well… I… I think I'm not the best to… maybe…"
She was interrupted by an extremely loud yell.
"There you are! I knew you'd come back here! How dare you?! It's bad enough you keep that toy. You keep that luxury while the base is crumpling around us, but this! This is unacceptable!"
It was Fernandia Minguzzi, the witch who was notorious in Comiso for impromptu hugs, who had a very poor understanding of personal space, who always smiled childishly and spoke musically whenever she talked, while Heinrike did her best to rein her in and remain strict.
She was blinded, making a beeline for her young compatriot, Giovanna hid like a cornered mouse behind a truck and made an extremely poor attempt at words while all color seemed to be drained from her face, and her emerald green eyes were filling with tears.
"B…but… It has six, and I needed two… it still runs!"
"It's a Transport Truck. It's NECESSARY. Your toy isn't! We don't need it! If it breaks, let it break!"
"But… Cara…" Giovanna was all out crying now. Atsuko had surmised that Cara was the name she gave her motorcycle. Atsuko tried to rescue the witch, although the fact that she was saving her from a scolding, and not a hug seemed unbelievable to her.
"Flight Lieutenant Minguzzi. It's good to see you again. On Behalf of Flight Lieutenant Gray, we're happy to be in the care of the Belgican air component"
"Oh, Atsuko… hello" Fer seemed deflated, and slightly embarrassed as she greeted the young Fuso. "I'm sorry, but I have a serious problem to deal with. Welcome to Florennes, make yourselves at home" She returned her attention to Giovanna who crept to crouch in front of the Bike, as if protecting it.
"Flight Lieutenant… we're getting parts soon, I can't ask for parts for Cara but… we can for the Truck… I… please"
"Put the sparkplugs back in the truck! Heinrike's losing sleep making do with what little we have, and you're out playing with that thing. How dare you?!"
"I'm patrol…."
"You can patrol just fine with your Striker, or on foot, you don't need that thing!"
"That's enough, Fer!" The voice came from the garage door, in the daylight, the silhouetted figure left a long shadow on the garage floor.
It was Tui.
"Fer, you've been transferred back to the 512, second in command under me. Let the girl go. The issue with the Belgian Air component's vehicles is no longer your concern"
"Tui, you don't…"
"Heinrike told me everything. Leave her be."
Fer glared back at Giovanna as she left the garage, not saluting or greeting Tui in the process. Tui let out a long sigh afterwards.
Eerika leaned over and extended a hand to help Giovanna up, she was crouched and on the verge of tears.
"Stealing parts to fix your bike? No wonder she's mad" Eerika said, helping the young Romagnan up.
"She's… She's all I have…"
"Huh?" Eerika looked puzzled. Atsuko had approached, her own curiosity aroused.
"Cara… She… She's a gift from my father… She's the only friend I have…"
Eerika started to giggle. "The bike?! Your only friend? That's a joke ri…"
A hand clamped down on the young Suomus's mouth, shutting her up.
Atsuko, using all her strength to restrain Eerika and keep her mouth shut started speaking to Giovanna, who didn't seem to notice or care about Eerika's obvious ridicule.
"I can tell she's very dear to you" Atsuko's gentle smile as she talked belied the obvious effort she was putting into reining in the little struggling Suomus. "If you ever need to talk, feel free to find us. We'd be happy to listen to everything you have to say about her"
Giovanna's eyes glistened as she looked up at Atsuko, who despite being only slightly taller than her, seemed to tower over her. Giovanna looked like a wounded puppy accepting food from a kind stranger.
Tui interrupted the scene, speaking to Giovanna, which Atsuko took as her cue to let go of Eerika who bent over to gasp for air.
"Giovanna, Captain Falkenhausen told me of your issues. We'll try to help ourselves, and I'll personally try to make sure Fer understands, but this isn't a solution"
Giovanna simply pouted. Everyone there instantly saw the vulnerability of this little witch, and Atsuko's curiosity was piqued greatly.
That was when Veronica spoke out.
"Does anybody know where the hell Puoyade and Rechkalov are?! I know they're already here"
Giovanna perked up at that question. "Oh, I know who you mean, they arrived two days ago! Follow me!"
She darted out, pulling Atsuko's hand. The rest of the 512 followed, with Eerika yelling after her "Hey! Slow down! And let her go!"
Tui smacked her palm into her own face, and stood in silence.
Veronica looked like she was gonna laugh, but held it back out of respect for Tui, to the detriment of her face turning blood red. Atsuko and the others stood with expressions ranging from horrified to laughing heartily.
Two of the most professional witches in Comiso laid half naked on top of each other, on a bed, in a bunk in the barracks, a large number of Orussian Vodka bottles laid empty on the floor, and both were passed out with flushed faces.
"And I just had to be the damn CO. This mess has to be my problem. Veronica please, take your Webley out and shoot me. One bullet to the back of the head please" Tui was talking into her hand, still on her face.
"I must disobey that order, Flight Lieutenant" Veronica was dying to hold back her laughter. Atsuko was wondering if she was seeing things, but it seemed as though steam was actually rising from Tui's head
"When Rechkalov and Puoyade wake up and sober up, I want them informed of the reformation of the 512, and I want them told to answer to me. If they have a hangover, I want as many loud noises in this barracks as possible"
"Is that Orussian Vodka?!" Giovanna exclaimed "I've always wanted…"
"Touch it and you die" Tui half snarled at her.
Giovanna hid behind Atsuko, garnering angry glares from Eerika.
A few hours later, the entirety of the 512 stood before Tui, including a very angry Fer Minguzzi, a very scared Akamatsu Atsuko, a very disinterested Eerika Lehtinen, an extremely star struck Itou Madoka, an extremely hungover pairing of Renee Puoyade and Sam Rechkalov, who were woken up by the sound of a very mischievous Veronica Keough who held her revolver by the barrel and banged the grip against every hard surface she could reach as she followed them to the makeshift briefing room the 512 had cleared for themselves, which was originally a spare room of the Barracks that was surplus to the requirement of the small Joint Fighter Wing. Crystal rounded up the band Tui found herself in command of.
"Rechkalov, Puoyade… welcome back to the fighter wing. I'd like some explanation as to the sorry state I found the pair of you in"
Sam replied in a very groggy, low voice, obviously trying to avoid causing herself further pain.
"It was my fault… We got bored waiting for you to arrive, and I convinced Renee to drink with me. She was very reluctant, even if she is a terrible drunk"
Renee, who stood, looking towards the ground with half closed eyes also tried to reply. "I take responsibility for my own actions as well… It wouldn't have been as bad if the Belgicans just talked to us"
Tui Sighed, and simply dropped the issue.
"Well, we're here as guests of the 3rd Squadron of the Belgican Air Component. We're here to provide them with assistance and back them up while they rebuild Florennes. I want every witch here to be a shining example of the nation she represents. No matter how you're treated, you will treat our hosts with the utmost respect. Be the best witches and ambassadors you can be" Tui stamped as she finished her speech, and that caused Renee and Sam to reel. Tui didn't seem to care.
Still coming to grips with how the reformation of the 512 was shaping up, and dreading how much conflict she already saw in a mere few hours, Atsuko took to walking around Florennes to clear her head. First thing she noticed, was that she was being followed very indiscreetly by Eerika. It caused her to giggle and just leave her be. As much as she wanted to be alone, the scurrying sounds Eerika made as she failed miserably to sneak behind Atsuko were a small comfort.
Atsuko eventually got lost. As decrepit as Florennes was, it was still quite sizeable. Eventually she found herself in a hangar. She didn't see any of the 512's strikers, instead seeing a lot of Britannian Strikers with Belgican roundels. She assumed this was the 3rd Squadron's hangar. Her affinity for Britannian strikers took hold, and she recognized them; Spitfires, the older variant, not Griffon engined like Keough's, and Hurricanes, which surprised her, since event the very dogmatic Tui could not hold onto hers for lack of parts. There was another Spitfire Striker, with a person haunched over it. Atsuko heard furious wrenching, and assumed she was fixing it, she even heard some loud banging, and heard muttering. She assumed the person was a Belgican witch by her uniform.
Atsuko felt guilty for standing there while she worked furiously so she decided to walk over and offer help. She'd had to fix her Type Zero on her own a few times.
She stood behind the hunched over and frustrated witch, and introduced herself.
"Excuse me. Can I offer any help?"
The witch was startled and her wrench flew out of her hand and into the air, it landed an inch next to where Atsuko was standing, and she had to sidestep to avoid it falling on her head. Atsuko fervently apologized for startling her.
"I'm sorry I scared you! I just wanted to help" She saluted "Flying Officer Akamatsu Atsuko of the Fuso Imperial Navy and 512th Joint Fighter wing."
"Foreigner…" The Witch Atsuko was talking to, tall and with piercing blue eyes, and long blond hair that flowed to her waist, stood there staring down the smaller Fuso girl. Atsuko found her gaze equally strikingly beautiful and menacing. She walked towards Atsuko with a sure and steady stride, and a cold stare that could make anyone recoil. Atsuko instinctively took a step back.
The witch then bent over to pick up the wrench that sat on the floor where Atsuko was standing.
"I don't need help. Thank you"
She then went back to working on the striker in complete silence.
Atsuko, against her better judgement continued to talk "Well… we of the 512 want to help in any way we can. Please, don't you or any of the 3rd Squadron be afraid to ask, in fact we've already met your squadmate Giovanna and she…"
"Yes, the Romagnan with the pretty bike that they sent here because she was useless wherever else she was" The blond witch interrupted Atsuko not bothering to look up or even stop working, her back still to her. "All you foreigners are too little too late. Please, just leave us be"
Atsuko started to back away slowly, she began to raise her hand to salute, planning to turn away and run as soon as she could.
"Hey you can't talk to us like that! We're here to help!" It was Eerika's voice. Atsuko wanted the ground to open up and swallow them both at that point. Eerika's denseness was beginning to drain on her.
Eerika showed herself and began to try to stare down the much taller witch.
Before she could say anything, the Belgican spoke in a calm, monotone voice, so low you could hardly hear her, even in the empty hangar, and yet both Atsuko and Eerika heard it clearly, and it terrified them both.
"Help… do you know how many of us fell to Neuroi? How few supplies and weapons we got? How many times we had to fight Neuroi with nothing but faulty strikers, our magic and by ramming into them with our shields? And now you expect us to thank you for 'help'? You're all too little too late; The two Romagnans, the Karlslander with her pretty pet, and now all you jokers. Two of you didn't even manage to last two days without being passed out drunk. So no, Suomus, I'll speak to her and to you however I want. And for the record, I'm to be addressed as Flying Officer Jeanne Offenberg. Now please, let me fix my striker, which command refuses to send me parts for"
And with that she turned around, the argument now made final. Atsuko didn't even bother saying goodbye but simply shepherded Eerika out, pushing her whenever she felt Eerika had something to say.
Once outside, Atsuko doubled over, hands on her knees, breathing heavily.
Eerika suddenly started to go off "Who does she think she is?! We're all…"
"Eerika, please!" Atsuko would be yelling if she wasn't out of breath "There was no way that conversation could end well, now please be quiet before she hears you, and you make it worse"
Eerika blushed and fell silent. Atsuko heard footprints in the mud, normally she'd perk up to meet the person and salute, but she was still too shaken.
"umm…. Atsuko? Eerika?..." it was Giovanna. She was approaching timidly, rubbing her hands together, and approaching the paring. She seemed even more timid than usual, even more than in the garage with Fer towering over her.
"I… I should've warned you… the 3rd Squadron really don't like Witches from outside of Belgica, the ones sent by command. They… Don't like that we came this late and other places got witches… I'm sorry..."
"That's fine" Atsuko was doing her best to compose herself, eventually dusting off herself and standing upright. "I'm sure Flight Lieutenant Gray and Captain Falkenhausen will find a way for us to integrate well…"
She tried her best to sound sure and confident, but her doubt crept into her voice.
Eerika was pointing her gaze directly at Giovanna, who completely failed to notice, but stared at Atsuko, desperately seeking approval.
"So, they don't like you much either?" Eerika bluntly asked Giovanna
Giovanna fidgeted and shifted her feet before answering, still not taking her eye off Atsuko "no…no they don't"
"Well, we're not here to make friends. We're….." Atsuko's timid nature took hold briefly, but it detracted nothing from the determination on her face "We're here to defend this place. It's no different from Malta"
And with that Atsuko walked off, with Eerika in tow, like a puppy following its master. Atsuko noticed this and in two steps looked over her shoulder.
"Eerika, could you please spend time with Giovanna?"
Eerika was about to shout indignantly "Whaaaaaaaa..?"
"Please" as low as Atsuko's voice was, the desperation was felt, and this caused Eerika to back off.
She left them both and walked off, determinedly. After a few steps, and with her fighting tears in her eyes, she rounded a corner, leaned against a wall and allowed the tears to escape.
"It's so bad here! I miss Comiso" she said to herself, allowing herself to break down after the horrible encounter. She felt very sorry for Giovanna and for the Belgican witches, who hated their superiors and peers so much.
After a few seconds of tears, she felt a hand fall on her shoulder
"But it'll get better"
Atsuko heard Tui's voice, and didn't bother at all hiding how she felt, she let her tears out, beginning to sob.
Tui handed her a handkerchief which she accepted and used to dry her tears, and placed over her face to calm herself down.
Renee and Sam were desperately trying to find their way back to a comfortable bed. The headaches still refused to subside, and the base seemed to spin. Left and right had become abstract principles, and the sound of Veronica's gun hitting every wall from their room to the briefing room continued to echo in their heads.
Renee didn't want to make excuses for her behavior, but everyone knew Sam was to blame. Yet, the Orussian showed absolutely no remorse.
"We need more Vodka. Nothing beats a hangover like Vodka" Sam said while walking in her completely haphazard motion
"Do you never…ow!" Renee attempted to yell at Sam, forgetting how much raising her voice hurt her, but she was cut off by the feeling of a sledgehammer falling on her head, at the sound of her own voice.
"Don't yell, please…" Sam said to Renee infuriating her further.
Eventually, the pair found that they were completely lost, and both had almost given up completely on looking where they were going.
Eventually, they were stopped in their tracks. Sam heard a loud thud, and saw Renee on her backside in the Belgican moist mud. Across from her, in the same position was a tiny girl. She was wearing a characteristic Belgican uniform with two brown twintails falling onto her shoulders. Between them, what seemed like a clipboard with a now completely mud covered paper attached was on the ground.
Sam extended a hand to the Belgican witch, while Renee propped herself up.
"I'm Sorry…" Renee spoke to the young witch sincerely and surely, even despite the sledgehammers pounding at her skull "I wasn't looking where I was going"
She then bent over, picked up the clipboard and handed it to the Belgican.
"Thank you…" the young witch started "Oh no, it's covered in mud, Jeanne's gonna kill me…" She seemed deflated for a bit before her eyes opened wide and her face contorted into an angry look, while she pointed her finger at the Gallian
"I mean… this is your fault… you… I'll tell Jeanne about this! You'll learn to look where you're going, Foreigner"
Renee peeked over her hand, since she towered over her "Is that written in Gallian?" Renee asked "I'm Gallian, I can copy it up for you on a fresh piece of paper if you just give me an hour. Maybe that won't get you in as much trouble"
The Belgican started to stammer and stutter, before yelling out again
"N…no, these are Belgican secrets… You have no right to read them"
Her anger seemed to carry no conviction. Renee leaned in to talk to her, putting on a gentle face.
"Well, I can promise I won't tell anyone what I read, or you could meet Jeanne with that muddy document"
The Belgican handed over the document very warily
"My name is Remy Van Lierde. You better do this properly, ok?"
"Renee Puoyade and that's Sam Rechkalov. Nice to meet you, Remy"
Eerika and Giovanna were left standing together in an awkward silence. Eerika was worried sick about Atsuko, while Giovanna just fidgeted and paced about, she opened her mouth several times to say something but then retracted it. She was equal parts interested and afraid of Eerika.
That was when Eerika lifted both her arms in the air and yelled loudly "This sucks!"
Giovanna shrunk back further, keeping her eye on the Suomus witch in front of her
Eerika went on with her rant, kicking stones to exclaim every sentence
"This place stinks. Everyone is mean, even Fer, and now Atsuko is upset. This Sucks!"
Giovanna tried extending her hand, not knowing what to do with it, she didn't know whether she wanted to place it on Eerika's shoulder or just reach out to her, but the Suomus was scaring her. She ended up remaining quiet.
"I just want some food and to get some training. Maybe if I fly that Karlsland thing I can take my mind off all this."
Giovanna spoke up for the first time then, asking Eerika "Karlsland thing?"
"BF-109; They gave it to me to replace my Buffalo, Even though my Buffalo worked fine!" Eerika kicked a stone to punctuate how frustrated she was.
"B…but… the 109 is so much… better… I think..?" Giovanna was unsure of herself
"and how would you know, little Miss Race Bike?!" Eerika asked confrontationally
"Mika is… she seems so good with it"
Eerika started shouting louder
"Zursk?! The Night Witch?! Good? All she's good at is shadowing Fer and being everyone's pet!"
Giovanna shrunk even further, regretting saying anything.
A voice spoke up from the distance
"We have the same striker now? That's embarrassing"
Eerika looked towards the sound, to see it was the very witch whose name was mentioned.
"Hello, Night Witch" She greeted Zursk
"Hello, Suomus. Where's Atsuko?" Mika asked
"None of your business" Eerika almost snarled back
Giovanna started making small steps in Mika's direction, as if sneaking towards her.
"Gio, do you know Atsuko? Fuso witch, very pretty, more sensible than Suomus"
Giovanna started replying, shrinking and her voice decreasing as she did so
"She met Jeanne… it didn't go well, I don't know where she is"
Mika let out a huge sigh "was Suomus with her when it happened?"
Eerika spoke out defiantly "I was! I gave the blond a piece of my mind!"
"Great job, Suomus. She was probably doing her best to make peace with Jeanne and you ruined it" Mika said accusingly. "and I was hoping if anyone was gonna get to her it'd be Atsuko. Oh well, there's always Tui"
Eerika was seething, obviously defeated.
"Atsuko's probably upset now. Jeanne is the worst out of all of them. Heinrike's been trying to turn her around since she arrived, but she just won't listen. She might be a bit bitter since if Heinrike hadn't transferred over, she might have been in command of the 3rd Squadron. Even though she's only Flying Officer" Mika was nonchalantly talking to Eerika. She was calm, and talking in an offhand manner, completely oblivious to Eerika's angry glare.
"Don't mind Suomus, Gio" Mika went on "She's usually really nice, and she just cares for Atsuko too much. As soon as she sees her master, the puppy will calm down"
Eerika got so angry on hearing that, her familiar actually materialized. "You're the same with Heinrike!" she shouted loudly
Mika smiled at her as she turned to walk away. "yes, I am"
Crystal, Veronica and Mattia found themselves separated from everyone else. Veronica was still stupidly grinning at being given the green light to torment the hung over pairing of Sam and Renee. Crystal just looked at her amused.
"Yes, you had your fun. They looked like they wanted to kill themselves in briefing. Now can you be a little less smug?" Crystal half-chastised Veronica with a smile on her face
"Give me a few hours, the high will wear off. It was especially fun looking at their heads sink every time I hit a wall. Even if they get me back, it was so worth it"
"I'm not backing you up if they try to get you back" Mattia replied to her disapprovingly
"As if I need you, Aztecan. I can….."
Veronica fell completely silent midsentence and seemed like she was listening intently for something.
"You can what?" Mattia asked her, curious
Veronica then violently shushed her "do you hear that?" She whispered
When Mattia and Crystal obeyed Veronica and listened intently, they heard two people conversing.
"It's coming from over that way" Crystal whispered.
The trio followed the sound, finding what seemed to be a very difficult to reach area of the base, between two buildings. It was shaded and seemed to allow a fairly strong breeze through. Two girls sat there, close to each other; very close. One seemed to be paying too much attention to the other, while the other seemed lost in thought.
"Jeanne's really upset with the new witches… she's going on about foreigners again" The taller of the two girls was saying. She had a long brown ponytail and two locks that fell to her cheeks. She seemed almost completely distracted as she talked, as if her mind was completely elsewhere.
"Well, they come here now, set up shop in our base, and suddenly we're supposed to thank them? And what's with that so called commanding officer?! What right does she have to command us? Does she even know anything about Belgica?" the shorter witch was talking now. She had light brown hair, tied into two braids, with short bangs covering her forehead, and wore glasses. She was intently looking at the other witch as she talked. They both wore Belgican uniforms.
"But, Francine, they don't seem all bad. I think they really care, they seem like they'd be interesting if we got to know them"
"Interesting? Are you interested in them, Victorique?! You're interested aren't you? Has that Karlslander seduced you? Don't you care about me anymore?!"
Victorique just giggled on hearing that, and touched one of the younger-looking witch's braids. "Oh, Francine, being silly like always"
Francine blushed on hearing that, and having her hair touched by Victorique. "hmph… it's not like I'm afraid to lose you or anything" she seemed to look away from the older witch, but not putting enough distance between them so as to keep her hair within reach of the older witch
"Don't worry, big sis isn't going anywhere"
Francine's eyes sparkled on hearing that, but her words belied the obvious happiness on her face
"Well… you better not. You won't find a better wing-witch than me! I'm Francine Auguste after all"
Veronica, Mattia and Crystal were hidden, overhearing the exchange when Veronica turned to the other two witches, made a face of disgust and said "I think I'm gonna gag"
Crystal fought hard to keep from laughing loudly
"you're just jealous you don't have a big sis too"
Veronica was looking at the other two, with a look of annoyance when they heard a loud shout "Who's there?!"
Everyone besides Veronica, who was completely caught unawares, briskly walked away to safety, leaving the Liberion to be ambushed by Francine, who stared her down and started shouting loudly "You?! You peep! Pervert! How long have you been there, tell me!"
While Veronica was caught like a deer in the headlights, the other witch walked towards her, with a beaming smile, and closed eyes. Her voice was gentle and full of kindness
"Oh, hello. Don't be shy. You can join us if you want. My name is Victorique Ortmans, and this is my dear friend Francine Auguste. Are you one of the new arrivals?"
Veronica was shocked by the massive gap in response, and decided to speak to the kinder Victorique, hoping Francine wouldn't attack her if she did so.
"umm… yes, hello. My name is Veronica Keough, I'm with the 512 JFW. It's… nice to meet you two"
"But… Big sis! She was peeping!"
"Oh, I'm sure she meant no harm, Francine. I'm happy to finally meet one of the 512, Veronica. If you need anything please ask me. I'm very interested in foreign witches"
"Victorique! What would Jeanne think?!"
Victorique placed a finger over her lips and winked at Francine. "Jeanne doesn't need to know, and if she does. I'm sure we can make her understand. Besides, our commanding officer is Heinrike"
"But… But…" Francine was stammering.
"Very nice meeting you, Veronica" Victorique interrupted
"Same here…" Veronica didn't know if she meant it or not. The situation was unreal, and she still felt paralyzed
"Come along, Francine. We should report to Heinrike anyway" said Victorique, ushering Francine to join her like a puppy
Francine lagged behind, coming close to Veronica and whispered to her "come near Victorique, and there'll be hell to pay" she then raised her voice to talk to Victorique "coming, big sis"
Tui stood, arms crossed in the makeshift briefing room the 512 set up. She'd told the witches she expected them to meet there before lights out, and everyone was late, save for Atsuko who stood next to her, and Madoka who hadn't strayed too far in the first place. Atsuko stood at attention, instinctively, and it was becoming uncomfortable for her, even though she knew Tui wouldn't object to her relaxing her stance or even sitting down.
Tui eventually spoke up, in a disgruntled voice "They're late".
"Well, it's a new base, Flight Lieutenant, I'm sure they just got lost or something…"
"All of them, Akamatsu? They'd never do this with Heinrike. They think I'm too lax"
"That's not true!" Atsuko blurted out, almost shouting. "Everyone respects you. And… please don't mind Eerika. She was like that even with Heinrike"
Tui closed her eyes, and laughed softly on hearing that. "Well, I'll still have to do something about this. Even Flying Officer Lehtinen will have to answer, I'm sorry to say, Atsuko"
"O….ok" Atsuko replied defeated, part of her was selfishly happy and proud she was there on time… even if the fact that she was with Tui half the day was part of the reason.
Renee and Sam were the first to walk in. They seemed in much higher spirits, the hangover obviously gone. Renee was the first to salute and apologize for their tardiness.
"Was there a reason you were late?" Tui was strict and piercing with her questioning.
"I don't mean to offer excuses, but we were sidetracked helping a 3rd squadron member with a matter concerning them"
Tui and Atsuko's eyes widened.
"What? Who? Tui asked.
"Her name was Flying Officer Remy Van Lierde. I apologize but we would rather not divulge the matter she needed help with" Renee replied
"Well, I won't ask then. I trust your judgment, Renee".
A short period later, the trio of Mattia, Crystal, and Veronica walked in. Veronica was red faced, the other two were smiling. Mattia seemed like she was fighting back laughing heartily.
Tui attacked them instantly. "You're late! And it looks like you were having fun. Care to tell me what kept you three?"
Mattia instantly spoke up "Veronica was busy peeping"
Atsuko doubled over. She struggled not to laugh out loud, and was afraid she'd offend Tui. Sam did not even bother trying to act reserved. She laughed loudly, leaning against a wall to hold herself up. Everyone else was in various levels of amusement.
"Shut up, Aztecan!" Veronica shouted.
Tui seemed like she was immune to this, asking Veronica directly. "What happened?"
"We met two members of the 3rd squadron. We talked and lost track of time"
Crystal interrupted. "She interrupted their special time and was yelled at"
Veronica's face went beet red. "The little one is insane! And Victorique didn't yell at me"
"Alright, that's enough!" Tui shouted. "3rd squadron again, huh? Well I can't be too upset, if you're getting acquainted with them. It's better we increase familiarity with them"
Eerika was the last to step in. She didn't salute, and didn't greet Tui
"Atsuko! Where were you! I met the night witch. She's gotten more annoying"
"Lehtinen, you can at least salute!"
Eerika gave a halfhearted sloppy salute, talking to Tui as she did that
"I met Mika, Tui. I was with her and Miss Race bike. We were talking about this witch called Jeanne and she's really mean. You should go and knock some sense into her, tell her we're here to help"
Tui shook her head amusedly. "I'll just assume you were with 3rd squadron too. I'll pardon everyone this time. I won't accept you being late afterwards"
"So that just leaves Flight Lieutenant Minguzzi? Crystal asked"
"Fernandia won't be joining us tonight. She's preparing some documents I need. Anyway, I've spoken to Heinrike and Fer today. This is the dynamic we'll be adhering to…"
Atsuko smiled as Tui went into details. It seemed like not all the witches were as adamant as Jeanne. She hoped they would all come around during the 512's stay.
Flying officer Remy Van Lierde walked into the commanding officer, Heinrike Falkenhausen's office clipboard in hand. Attached to it was a pristine white paper, with the full list of 3rd squadron's assets, supplies, vehicles, weapons and ammo orders freshly written on it. She hoped Jeanne wouldn't notice the change in penmanship.
Flying Officer Jeanne Marie Offenberg was in the office, while Falkenhausen was not. She had a tired look on her face, leaning against the large wooden desk. Her eyes were low to the ground, and she seemed completely lost in thought. Remy's knock caught her attention.
"Jeanne? I have what you wanted. This is all we'll need, I think"
"Hello, Remy" Jeanne sounded as defeated as Remy always remembered. Of all the witches of the 3rd squadron, she was the oldest one there. She could speak of a time when Florennes was a top rank military base, and not the decrepit set of buildings it was now.
She extended her hand to take the clipboard from Remy.
She looked through the few pages she saw, reading over every line thoroughly. She then lowered the document and sighed heavily. This slightly scared Remy.
"Jeanne? Is something wrong?" Remy asked.
"Not really. We barely ever get a tenth of what we ordered. Good work on this, anyway. Maybe command will grow a conscience"
Remy didn't reply. She respected Jeanne above almost anyone, and wanted more than anything to cheer her up, but she knew she'd seen too much and had suffered too much to smile anytime soon. It saddened her.
"Oh, Remy. Your penmanship has improved. It's improved a lot"
That comment stopped Remy dead. She was scared stiff. "Oh… well… I've been practicing! I've… I wanted it to look good for you… so…"
"Who copied it for you after you dropped it in the mud?" Jeanne asked calmly, she looked down on the much smaller Remy, who she easily towered over.
Jeanne's eyes captured anyone she looked upon. Either you admired their beauty, or you were terrified by the icy serious glare they could carry.
Remy felt completely frozen in place by the latter.
"Her name is Renee…" Remy could not even attempt to lie. She replied with tears in her eyes.
"one of the foreigners…" Jeanne half whispered. Remy knew that low voice. Jeanne did not yell or abuse, she simply spoke in that voice, and it terrified everyone in the 3rd squadron. Even Victorique who was almost unflappable tiptoed around her when she was like this.
"So now the foreigners won't just point and laugh at us at our poor facilities, they'll know in detail how little command cares about us, when they know how little of what we want they're prepared to send us. Excellent work, Remy; how did this even fall in the mud?"
"How did you know?" Remy asked, the tears were streaming now.
"There's mud in the clip. You didn't even bother to clean it thoroughly"
Remy began to stutter and stammer "I'm… I'm so…"
"That's enough, Jeanne" It was a voice from outside the room.
Captain Heinrike Falkenhausen walked in. Remy struggled to salute, because of how shaken she was. Jeanne saluted begrudgingly.
"These girls are professionals, and each of them has served in horrible conditions. They know too well how difficult it is dealing with supply shortages" Heinrike said to Jeanne, challenging her sternly.
Jeanne did not reply, but simply stared at her. She seemed infuriated at how Heinrike was the only person who could not be broken down by her icy glare.
"Remy. The document was your responsibility. You had no right to offload that responsibility onto anyone else. I'm sorry, but you need to be reprimanded for this"
Remy nodded almost thankfully. It seemed as though any punishment was better for her than Jeanne's stare.
"And Jeanne, I want you to understand Flying Officer Puoyade did this out of kindness. I even doubt she'll speak about it to anyone. I'm not demanding you say thank you, but at least don't treat them like enemies"
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll do my best not to speak ill about your unit" Jeanne said, in a cold cynical voice.
"My unit is the 3rd squadron, Jeanne"
"I'm sure you have our…best interests… in mind" The pauses in Jeanne's sentence seemed to carry more venom than they should, but Heinrike ignored her.
"Well, I spoke to Flight Lieutenant Gray, and we're arranging a mock battle between the two units in tomorrow's training. See then if your isolationist ideals are working, Jeanne"
"Looking forward to it, Captain. I doubt they can outperform a cohesive unit made up of witches of the same nation" Jeanne replied.
"Still refusing to acknowledge Giovanna, I see, or Mika"
"She can ride her bike around while the proper Belgicans fight, and the little karlslander can just stay out of the way."
Heinrike sighed. She dismissed the two witches, slumping into her deskchair as they left.
"Maybe I should've taken Tui's offer, and commanded the 512 again" She whispered to herself as she rested her head on her hands.
She slightly regretted arranging the mock battle.
She had a plan though and if she and Tui succeded, Jeanne and the others would understand how toxic their mentality was.