First Lieutenant Kadokawa Aiko of the Fuso Air Self Defense Force got saddled with patrol again.
Patrol itself wasn't a big deal; it was who she was patrolling with that made it less bearable.
"… And that was when they realized jet strikers like the Me-262 were important to fight the Neuroi. Did you know Gertrud Barkhorn took part in early testing for it? And, even though she was very critical of it, Erica Hartmann herself; THE Erica Hartmann, Ursula Hartmann's sister, used the 262. Very briefly though. Still, when you think Jet Strikers in NW2, you think Helma Lennartz, right? She was the first real Jet Ace. To think, if it wasn't for all of them, we wouldn't have the F-4 EJ Strikers we're using now, right? And…"
Second Lieutenant Nishimura Yuuki was a walking, or in the present case, flying, encyclopedia of knowledge on the Second Great Neuroi War, and getting her to shut up about it was difficult at the best of times, and at the worst of times, could end up offending or deflating her.
Aiko could find workarounds though. She interrupted her with a good excuse
"We've passed Delta point. We should radio in. I'll do it" She said as she interrupted Yuuki.
"Okay…" Even with an excuse, any interruption of Yuuki's impromptu midair lectures saddened her slightly. It couldn't be helped
"Swallow 1 to Tower. We've passed Delta point. Patrol over, proceeding to RTB"
The reply came in over the radio
"Roger that, Swallow 1. Radio on approach"
The two Witches turned around, their silver F-4EJ Striker units gleaming as the sun touched them. The F-4 was a forty year old Liberion Striker, one that had seen Conflict against Neuroi in every corner of the globe. The EJ variant was a Fuso modification of it, upgraded and advanced to continue to serve the FASDF, even to the present day.
On the tail of their strikers was the famous downward diving eagle of the 302 Squadron, with its Blue Wing, white tail and red head.
Aiko went full afterburner, making a beeline for Hyakuri airbase.
Yuuki followed.
The world's landscape has changed heavily since the days of the Great Neuroi war. Fuso no longer needs Navy and Army Air forces, all Fuso witches now becoming assigned to the now 50 year old Fuso Air Self Defense Force.
The nature of recent Neuroi infestations, marked as smaller nests, easily dealt with by local Air Forces means the days of Multi-national elite Joint Fighter Wings are a thing of the past.
Just don't remind Nishimura Yuuki of that fact, lest she remember that the days of all her heroes whether they be of the 502, 501, 504, or 506 are over.
Aiko and Yuuki eventually reached their home airbase, and proceeded to land. The rather large F-4 Striker with its twin jet nozzles on every Striker leg, and awkward angles took some experience to land properly, but even the rookies of the 302 had several thousand hours under their belts, and the senior ones had even seen conflict, handling minor Neuroi infestations on the south of the Asian mainland.
When the pair of Witches landed, and checked their Strikers in for maintenance, they ran into the commanding officer of the 302 squadron, Major Suzuki Akiko.
Akiko was a Witch from a bygone age. In her ground uniform, which would not look out of place back in the days of the Imperial Fuso Army Air force, she made you feel like you'd encountered the full authority of the Fuso Armed Forces. Aiko admired her endlessly, and it showed on her face every time she saluted her. The two witches stood opposite her in their Aviator uniforms, with their dark olive green color.
"Second Lieutenant Kadokawa Aiko, reporting"
"At ease, Kadokawa" Akiko responded. "Meet me in the Briefing room after you file your report, along with Nishimura. We've had a transmission from Tokyo"
"Yes, Ma'am" Aiko and Yuuki both shouted their responses in unison.
It took the witches little time to get their F-4 Strikers into storage, and went through the motions of hurrying to their lockers and changing into their ground uniforms to look proper for briefing.
Major Suzuki was a no-nonsense woman. She disciplined and dressed down witches for even the most minor offenses. The pair made sure their uniforms, their epaulettes, their name tags, and anything else was on correct and proper. While there, they ran into another member of the 302, also changing for the briefing.
"Lieutenant Kadokawa and Lieutenant Nishimura, Hello. Did you know about briefing?"
Aiko and Yuuki instantly recognized the voice, before turning around to see the very pretty and very gentle face of their comrade, Second Lieutenant Uehara Ayano.
Ayano stood a head shorter than Aiko, and was the same height as Yuuki. Her hair was a light brown as opposed to Aiko's night black hair, and she always wore it in a braid, with hardly any of it covering her forehead. If she ever removed that braid and let it fall, Aiko suspected it would capture the heart of any who would look upon her.
"Hello, Ayano. Boss told us herself. She waited for us to come back from patrol" Aiko replied
"I'm… I'm beginning to think… it might be really important" Ayano replied.
"Ugh! You think we're being reassigned again?! God, last time was a disaster"
"N…no, more important" Uehara replied
"Yeah, lemme guess, it's gonna be a Neuroi nest" Yuuki said that while laughing. It caused Aiko to sigh exasperatedly
"Yeah, because Neuroi nests are so common in Asia" Aiko said sarcastically "You know the past 5 have all been in Europe and Africa. Hell, the closest one to here was Vietnam"
"Yeah, I know. But listening to Ayano, you'd think there was this huge Neuroi nest we don't know about"
Ayano remained silent after that. Her face looked like she was hiding something but Aiko chose not to comment. All three of them knew they were running late, and nobody wanted to face the wrath of Major Suzuki.
The briefing room at Hyakuri gave the air of a classroom, and Major Suzuki Akiko was the world's scariest teacher. She had her charges lined before her, at their desks, pristinely uniformed, awaiting her briefing. Only one was not sat down, and that was the motherly figure of her second in command, Captain Shinkawa Mirai.
Mirai stood a head taller than Akiko, making her a bit taller than even Aiko. Her hair was short, and black, and she had a permanent gentle smile on her face. The 302 often relied on her to get them out of trouble if any of them got on Akiko's bad side, and it seemed to be a relationship Akiko herself even endorsed. It allowed Akiko to be as strict as she wanted to be while Mirai softened any blow she gave any member of the 302.
With several thousand flight hours and many years together, this small squadron was more family than military unit. Over the years, secrets were shared, discrepancies were overlooked, and bonds were forged. Nowhere was it more apparent than in this classroom, where the greatest dangers they faced were toilet cleaning duty for speaking out of turn, or a week on hangar cleaning duty for a scruffy uniform.
"Ladies" Akiko started speaking. She paused for a second, and the silence was so extreme, you could hear a pin drop "I realize this briefing was called on short notice, yet you all showed up and you could actually be mistaken for soldiers, which means I can get to the point. Now, as you all know, the FASDF is Fuso's main airborne line of defense. We are the finest Aerial mechanized infantry in Asia, and the best trained"
Akiko took a second to take her breath before continuing
"And this is the moment where all that training and all that preparation will be called into question. Fuso Is under threat, and it is up to the SDF to defend her"
The room went dark at that, and images were projected on the screen.
Everyone in the room gasped at what they saw.
It was dark cloud, swirling from the ground to the heavens, and inside it, were so many sinister shapes, looking like aircraft, except they had no cockpits, and had awful red and black honeycomb textures. On the ground, there was what looked like buildings, except they had the same texture as the aircraft.
"This happened recently and quickly. I'm sorry girls, but this is exactly what it looks like. There are Neuroi in mainland Asia; the first infestation since the Fifties, and one of the largest the world has ever seen. We, The FASDF have been called to answer"
There was noise and unrest in that briefing room. Akiko ignored it and went on.
"The nest is getting bigger, and is threatening to impose upon Fuso Territory in mainland Asia. We'll be transferring there, to join up with 201 Squadron. Any questions?"
Yuuki raised her hand. Akiko allowed her to speak
"Will other nations be sending Witches?"
"The days of the Joint Fighter Wing have passed, Nishimura. It'll be Fuso witches that handle this. If we have to call to the Global Security Council for aid, it'll mean admitting defeat"
Aiko felt like the response was a little too on the nose. Leave it to Yuuki to be more disappointed by the fact that there won't be a JFW to respond to this than by the fact that a real Neuroi invasion has just happened.
"Dismissed"
With that call, it began to set on everyone. They would see war, actual war, and it was completely up to them to deal with it. Aiko looked around. Responses were different. Mirai had a look of surrender on her face, Yuuki had a determined look. The youngest member of the unit, Second Lieutenant Yuigahama Koko looked to be in complete shock, while Ayano looked to be in despair. Aiko had no idea how she herself felt. She felt like she had no idea what was going on, as if the gravity of the situation simply could not sink in. Her greatest concern for the moment seemed to be the troublesome process of moving bases. They'd have to go to Mainland Asia, with their Strikers, equipment and support staff in tow.
"So, Yuuki. Looks like Neuroi. What would Erica Hartmann say in a time like this?" Aiko asked Yuuki who sat next to her.
"She'd probably mention how big a bother it is they'd have to move bases, and say she doesn't wanna"
Aiko was surprised on hearing that
"Are you sure?"
"Oh, I'm sure. She was a great witch but she had discipline issues. Akiko would probably have her on permanent toilet, hangar, office and barracks cleaning duty"
The thought amused Aiko
"There's hope for me yet, then"
"You're not scared?" Yuuki asked
"Shitless. But there's nothing we can do. I'd rather face Neuroi than Akiko"
And with that, they both left the room. They knew they had very little time left to say goodbye to Hyakuri, and secretly wished they savoured their easy life there more.
From here on, it would be time for war.
Moving the entire 302 Squadron from Hyakuri to Fuso controlled Asian mainland was a long and labor intensive affair that took several days.
The Witches, maintenance staff, and auxiliary staff at Hyakuri worked almost around the clock to make sure the 302 made it to their new airbase fully stocked and fully prepared for the combat ahead, and to waste as little time as possible lest the Neuroi nest spread further.
It all culminated in a very imposing sight.
An aerial fleet of Kawasaki C-1s escorted by an entire FASDF squadron of jet striker equipped witches. The Fuso roundel, a red crescent against a black circle, was ever present on nearly every witch and every plane.
The airbase they'd be assigned to was not the best equipped, hence the need for so many transport aircraft to carry all the supplies they needed.
They allowed the transports to land first, and taxi away from the runway before the witches of 302 squadron touched down. As they lined up, on the ground in their strikers, Major Suzuki let out her command.
"I want this base in as fine a condition as the FASDF has ever seen. Everyone to work!"
With one command, the veteran sent the entire base into a beehive like mentality. Everyone went to work frantically. Boxes were offloaded, trucks drove out of the aircraft, armories were stocked, and buildings were furnished. A nearly empty base became the spitting image of a functioning FASDF base in less than a day.
After the sun set at the end of the day, Aiko stood on the roof of the barracks they were given, enjoying the night breeze. She felt the weather wasn't too different from Fuso. The land wasn't too different from Fuso either. It was only then that it dawned on her how close the Neuroi were, not only to her, but also to Fuso.
They could not afford to lose this mission. If the 302 fell, the results would be catastrophic.
Koko made her way to join Aiko. She saw her, eyes closed, beautiful long jet black hair swaying in the breeze, and could not help but stare briefly. Koko was the youngest witch in the squadron, and she saw Aiko as a senior and mentor. Aiko opened her eyes briefly to notice the younger witch, and turned to greet her with a gentle smile.
"Hello, Koko. You're up late"
"That's my line, Aiko. What are you doing up here?"
"Nothing, just thinking. It feels weird, and I'm honestly a little nervous. We'll be launching missions tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, midday. We're gonna attack the Neuroi at the edge of the nest so they don't spread too far. Apparently the Major doesn't want us attacking the nest itself before the 201 arrive"
Aiko's curiosity about the 201 was piqued at their mention
"Have you ever met anyone from the 201? We seem to never do exercises with them"
"No, I haven't" Koko replied "They tend to be on the other side of the country. I do know one thing though. They're all very young, besides their commander. I think they're all my age, and they use the new Fuso striker, the F-2"
"The single engine one, huh? I don't trust it. The F-4 may be old but it works, I think we'll keep using it until they retire either the striker or us"
"Yeah, I like it too" Koko replied before falling silent briefly
"So, wanna get to bed? You can't fight on no sleep" There was urgency in her suggestion. As much as she admired Aiko, she worried about her.
"In a minute. I like the night breeze here"
Seeing her visage, with her hair flowing, with the bright moon as her backdrop made Koko think it'd be a shame to end that scene. She moved away from her, almost sneaking away, whispering a good night wish to her
Briefing, loadout, preflight checks and takeoff all seemed like a blur to Aiko.
All she knew was she woke up this morning, and now she was going supersonic into the first Neuroi nest on the East of the Asian continent since the fifties, flanked by her comrades of the 302 and led by the most fearsome witch she'd ever known, Suzuki Akiko.
There was once a time when only the Night Witches had their magic produce radar, but warfare was now different. Every witch in the 302 had a small radar antenna around her head and over her eyes. The point was not just to see in the dark, it was their lifeline. It controlled the missiles they carried on the wings of their strikers.
The missiles were all Liberion types, Semi active AIM-7 Sparrow missiles that functioned on the Witches' awareness, that required them to note their target until impact, and that could function at ranges where you could not even see your target, and in the event of an emergency, they relied on their AIM-9 sidewinders, that followed heat signatures, functioned at short range and required no conscious awareness from the witches past launch.
And in their arms was the standard issue rifle of the Fuso soldier, the Type-89 rifle that they were prepared to rely on when all else fails.
"You know the rules of engagement" Akiko started her instructions "Try to maintain BVR. There should be enough of us with enough Sparrows to make a dent. Don't get into knife fighting range unless I give the order"
"Understood!" the 302 responded in unison
As they approached, their radars started to flare up. Such was the nature of modern strikers and their weapons. The Witches would have a chance to eliminate Neuroi before even seeing them.
Akiko started scanning her radar for targets. As she popped up, she instructed her charges to pick one target and call it out
Everyone did, and on her mark, a veritable airshow of sparrow missiles flew.
Aiko kept her gaze on the mark on her radar antenna. She followed the missile as it got further and further from her, not daring to take her awareness off it for even a second.
She saw a small fireball. Aiko had scored her first Neuroi kill. It filled her with pride and relief, looking around, she saw that many other fireballs formed. Technically, the mission was already a success. They'd thinned out the numbers of Flying Neuroi at the fringe.
"Fire another Volley, same as before. Like I said, make sure you're still in BVR"
Another flight of dangerous Sparrow missiles flew. The 302 managed to ignite a few more Neuroi. They were still under no threat.
"Don't push any further. This is a statement of intent. Just…" Akiko's commands were cut off when a red gleam caught her eye "They're retaliating. Break now!"
Akiko's panicked shout rang through the whole squadron, and they obeyed her instantly. Splitting in half as the Neuroi beam blasted past, hitting no one, thanks to Akiko's command.
Mirai instinctively found herself flanked by Ayano and Koko while Aiko and Yuuki formed up behind Akiko.
Two Neuroi scouts exited the cloud, heading towards the 302 at maximum speed.
"There's no running away from this. Prepare rifles and sidewinders, knife fighting it is"
Even though the witches outnumbered these Neuroi scouts, the nervousness and fear was still there. Marking and firing at targets outside of visual range where they can't fight back is one thing, but maneuvering against the three malicious Neuroi that threatened them was another matter.
Their training was second to none, and that even included Koko, but training was one thing and combat experience was another.
The scouts were single-minded and adamant.
They both made a beeline to Mirai's unit. Mirai and the two girls that flanked her went full afterburner, and maneuvered as well as they could, making sure that their beams can't hit them.
Mirai was afraid her two younger wing witches would panic and present themselves to the Neuroi. When she allowed herself to peek their way, she was happy to find they were keeping their discipline, dodging at the right time, their training definitely shining through.
Eventually, the three witches heard a massive explosion. Turning around, Mirai saw only one Neuroi, the other disappearing into a massive fireball. Aiko managed to shoot it down.
The other pulled a massive maneuver, dipping to a much lower altitude. Everyone assumed it was evading, but it actually had no sense of self preservation. It was charging its beam all the way, aiming for Aiko.
It proved pointless however, as Koko dived on it, emptying the magazine of her Type 89 into it.
The Neuroi got several damage and scar marks on it, attempting to repair itself, until one bullet managed to strike its core, turning the Neuroi to silver dust.
With both scouts down, the two flights merged to one under Akiko again, and engaged afterburner on their strikers, heading straight for their home base.
"Do you think they'll send any more?" Yuuki asked
"I don't think so, and even if they do, they won't stray too far from the nest. Just make sure to go maximum speed to base"
The witches flew formation until Akiko contacted tower, getting permission to land.
They landed one by one, Akiko first, with her charges touching down one after the other, clearing the runway for each other. When the youngest member, Koko landed, The 302 had already begun to assemble at attention, facing their leader, Suzuki Akiko.
When Koko finally finished all her post flight rituals, docking and securing her F-4 EJ Kai striker unit, and talking to her attentive maintenance crew, she took her place at the end of the line, signaling to Akiko to begin her debriefing.
"You did as you were told, but this was nothing." Akiko started, her cold tone and even colder stare holding everyone in place.
"This was a simple stopping of Neuroi spread. This is not a victory for us, but it is most certainly a loss for the Neuroi. This has been a learning experience for all of us, and what I've learnt is that you all have a long way to go"
The silence was still deafening. Akiko pressed on.
"Fight harder. Get better. I don't care how well trained you are. In the context of actual combat, you've only just gotten your first kills. Remember them, memorise them, they'll be the first of many. Today, we attacked Neuroi on the fringe. As we get closer and closer to the core, they'll become stronger, and we must be prepared for that"
An emphatic salute came out of the 302 in unison with a heartfelt shout "Yes, Ma'am"
Akiko allowed herself to smile. She knew her students were tough. Praising them for a few BVR kills would be a disservice to them, she was happy they knew it too
"Dismissed!" Her voice while strong, possessed gentleness as she let the 302 go
Spending two days on the continent, and not seeing combat grated on the young Lieutenant Shimazu Haruka's nerves.
The 201 squadron transferred at the same time as the 302, and they were given no chance to enter combat.
Their base was several miles north of the one the 302 took up, but it wasn't very far, to the point where Haruka was able to see the magic jet engines of the inferior F-4EJ Strikers of the 302 used taking off.
Haruka knew the 302 had already launched a sortie that killed a few Neuroi on the fringe of the nest.
"We should get some of the action too! How come they get kills and we're stuck here?!"
Captain Inoue Erika, the slightly older, much calmer commander of the 201 listened to her young charge. Much to Haruka's chagrin, there was no response.
"Are you ok with us being second line to them?! We have the better strikers." Haruka was almost yelling at her commander.
"They're older. Strikers aren't everything" Erika replied simply
Haruka just sulked at that. She wanted to be part of the conflict, to add her firepower to the 302 and wipe out the Neuroi quickly. Her easily excited nature was only matched by her piercing stare.
The 201 was a young unit with young members. Haruka was not the youngest but she was definitely the smallest, and she often acted like she was aware of it.
Erika was the opposite. She wasn't much taller than Haruka, but she was much bigger as a person, calmer, more reserved and seemingly more intelligent. She just stared at the little spec on the horizon. The Neuroi cloud. The reason they were all here. She wanted desperately to tell Haruka that she might regret the day they're finally asked to enter that horrible cloud.
She kept her mouth shut for now though. She was woefully aware of her own inexperience and of the inexperience of the young witches she was asked to command. The "Exciting 201 of Misawa and their cutting edge new strikers"
The F-2 was good, but it was untested. It wasn't enough that it was based on a tried and tested Liberion striker, the F-16 but it was too different after Fuso modifications. It was, for all intents and purposes, a new Unit.
The F-2 Viper Zero, and the 201 would see conflict soon, and Erika simultaneously dreaded and relished the responsibility, she just wished she could impress the severity and difficulty of the task on Haruka.
What she couldn't tell Haruka though… she secretly resented the 302 as well.
News had been trickling in that 201 home base had been fully established, and Akiko honestly could not see the point.
She was reading the last report from Fuso at her desk while Mirai stood alongside her, ever watchful. Akiko knew Mirai was a motherfigure to the rest of the unit, but it often got to her how Mirai allowed herself to think she had the same effect on Akiko as well. And that was mostly because it was true.
"So, they send us a unit of rookies with shiny new strikers. Why is there no forward commander heading both units? Why is there so little communication between us and them, and why the hell aren't they running their own sorties too?!"
"Akiko, you don't look cute when that vein in your forehead throbs" Mirai said in her gentlest voice.
"To hell with cute, Shinkawa!"
Mirai allowed herself a cheeky giggle at her commander's response.
Akiko settled down, realizing any further tirade was pointless. "You haven't changed since Academy, Shinkawa"
"You've changed too much, Akiko" Mirai started "Remember when they transferred Koko to our unit? You drove her ragged and what did she do?"
"Shoot Kadokawa down after a week of relentless training, but how do I know these children have the same level of discipline as Yuigahama? Their commander is barely older than… She's the same age as Nishimura. Call me pessimistic but I don't trust Nishimura to command a unit"
"Look at her Academy and exercise scores. I don't mean to belittle Yuuki but this Inoue is a little special. I don't think underestimating her is smart"
"She has no field experience"
"Technically neither does anyone in the 302 besides you. And you were younger than Koko at the time"
Akiko gave up at that.
"If they're not sortieing, it's their commanding officer's decision, and… even though I haven't met her. I have a feeling she knows what's best for the girls under her. They may all be young, but each of them seems to have been picked for one reason or another. Besides, you should look at the numbers on the F-2 sometime. It's quite the impressive striker" Mirai said calmly
"All I'm seeing is a shiny toy given to a bunch of kids"
"They'll play with it properly when command, and their commander tells them to"
"Alright. Well, some of the satellite pictures are reporting some ground activity near G12. It's either Neuroi or survivors. I'm sending a scout unit to investigate. I'm also inviting the kids to participate. I think their commander won't object to a scouting mission" Akiko seemed to be challenging Mirai
"Should I make the transmission?" Mirai's beaming smile grated Akiko's nerves even further
"If it gets you out of my office, fine"
Mirai left the office for the comm tower, giggling all the way
It took Akiko a few seconds before slamming her fist on the desk and yelling to herself
"The bitch played me again! God Damnit, Shinkawa!"
Outside her office, Akiko could hear Mirai singing to herself.
The vein was throbbing in her forehead again
The aviator uniforms of the 201 were given a blue tint, making them look slightly like Fuso Maritime Self Defence Force personnel. Aiko suspected this was to match the blue camo of the Viper Zero striker.
It made Aiko and Yuuki look mundane in their olive green uniforms and silver strikers. She liked the 302 emblem far more than the 201's bear though. They were flying in formation with two of the 201's witches, an explosive tiny little thing called Shimazu Haruka and, surprisingly, the commander of the unit, a diminuitive witch known as Inoue Erika. She was eerily quiet, and focused, to the point that she almost creeped out Aiko.
If Inoue spoke, her voice was quiet, her words concise, and her sentences short. Her eyes seemed to be fixated on a single point all the time. Aiko didn't know if it was the navigation data on her radar antenna, or something far further off
Haruka, however was the exact opposite of her commander, she was loud, impulsive, even her flying was erratic, often seeming to creep ahead of formation
"Maintain formation, Lieutenant Shimazu" Aiko said awkwardly to the young witch as she seemed to creep ahead of Yuuki. Erika had surrendered flight lead to Aiko completely, much to her surprise, since the younger witch outranked her.
"You surpass me in flight hours, I'm happy to follow. I don't care about rank" was all the quiet little witch said.
While Aiko was flattered at Erika's trust, she did not welcome the feeling of Haruka's eyes burrowing into her back. She doubted the young witch would be staring that hard if she was trying to maintain Semi active missile lock on her.
In fact, Aiko suspected that in Haruka's imagination, she was doing just that, and that she'd been shot down multiple times already.
Aiko let that out of her mind and started to focus on the mission. The four witches were all looking partially at their surroundings, and partially at the Radar Arrays that their magic created before their vision. It was a scouting mission. Their objective was viewing what was on the ground. Aiko focused on leading for now. Her radar guided her to the exact zone she knew they needed to be at, and she quickly started monitoring both the air and the ground.
Despite being some distance away from the Neuroi cloud, it was well within the sphere of devastation that cloud caused. Neuroi scouts were a common occurrence, alongside many other things that were not even fully recognized yet.
The area in question was now in ruin. Crumpling buildings, destroyed roads and abandoned cars littered the landscape. Enough hiding places for any target. The witches did their best to scan the ground, but to little avail. Nothing seemed out of place, no matter how hard they tried to look.
That was when a beam shot out from behind a wrecked building. If it wasn't for Haruka's extremely fast reflexes, she would have at least lost one of her striker's wings.
One Akio's command, the witches started reforming to attack the target. They had expected ground opposition, so they all carried Maverick Air to surface missiles.
Erika managed to reposition herself the fastest, locking onto, and killing the target with a single well placed Maverick. She scored her first kill of the Asian conflict, and it was a ground kill.
More beams started to appear from the gaps between the ruins on the ground. When Aiko used her magic to get a closer look, she saw what they were; crawlers. They had bodies like tanks and moved using insect like legs. They also seemed to have what looked like tracks on the bottom, which Aiko assumed they used to move faster on smoother terrain.
Neuroi tanks; the situation was worse than they first thought. Repeated attacks against the Neuroi nest seemed to no longer be enough.
Haruka followed Erika in a dive, and managed to find another Tank near the one Erika killed. She quickly launched her own Maverick as well, taking another target down. After Akio and Yuuki took down another pair of targets some distance away, it was obvious this was not just a small cluster of enemies. It was a full ground force column.
"Captain, we need to pull out. We can't take them all. We'll all run out of missiles" Aiko said to Erika. She knew the witches had no chance in these circumstances. The wise thing was to pull out, having expended a fair amount of their missiles, and return with a full ground attack armament, ready to strike.
Somehow, Aiko felt even that wouldn't be enough.
She was prepared to give the order for the 4 witches to leave when she heard the characteristic cocking of a Type 89.
Haruka was heading straight for a single target, rifle in hand. She was the first to run out of mavericks.
She fired as she came close to them, the exhaust from her jet igniting the grass.
Her bullets did nothing. They barely caused any damage which the Neuroi tank promptly healed.
As she pulled away, a beam came dangerously close to her. Her actions were too rash, and it put Aiko heavily on edge. She didn't shout her command. She screamed it.
"Everyone! Pull out now!"
Everyone fell into formation with her, climbing to avoid the ground fire, except Haruka
"Shimazu! We're leaving now! It's too dangerous!"
"We still have guns!" Haruka shouted back
"Our guns do nothing, Shimazu. These are heavily armored! Please pull out now!"
Her cries fell on deaf ears. Haruka looked to be doubling back for another gun run, dodging beams all that time.
"Haruka. Out. Now"
In a calm voice that no one would have heard if it wasn't for radio, Erika uttered 3 words, and Haruka's gun disappeared from her hands, and she fell into formation, with a somber, dead look on her face.
It almost looked like fear.
Aiko didn't comment but just went full afterburner out of there, hoping everyone would follow.
They're that scared of her, huh? Aiko thought to herself. As young as she is, she's a better commander than I'll ever be
Aiko powered home, using the full thrust of her striker, dreading reporting the terrible news to Akiko.
Dealing with a Neuroi nest was one thing. Dealing with a Neuroi nest that frequently launched scouts was another. Dealing with a Neuroi nest that sent out scouts and armored forces was undoubtably the worst.
Akiko received the news from Aiko and Yuuki. Initially, she thought the operation would be a simple scouting assignment, or a quick sweep mission at the worst. She was more interested in Aiko's assessment of the 201 more than anything. Discovering the equivalent of a Neuroi armored battalioin was the worst scenario Akiko could've imagined. She paced her office silently, reading the report Akiko prepared time and again. Mirai was with her, genuinely concerned for her commanding officer and friend.
"I'm sure you've read the report thirty times already" Mirai said to Akiko, concerned.
"Thirty six. Midway through the thirty seventh. That girl can't write a formal report to save her life" Akiko replied coldly
"I think 'there's a lot of fricking tanks' is a satisfactory report. What do we do now?"
"If I knew the answer, Shinkawa, I'd be giving orders not pacing around my office like an idiot"
"Akiko…" Mirai started
"Major Suzuki" Akiko interrupted her. She was too on edge to let anything slide.
"Major Suzuki, wise and all-knowing commander of the 302, please allow this lowly Captain to voice her concerns"
Akiko stopped dead, the vein in her forehead pulsing worse than ever
"What?!" she was half snarling at Mirai
"Ask for the FGSDF. We need ground backup"
"You think I haven't done that already?! They told me they'd have to check with the Global Security Council before sending a force that large. That usually takes a day. It's been 48 hours"
"Why… Why would it take so long?"
"Because the GSC still resents us. It still doesn't want any one nation to send a force outside its borders larger than the council deems tasteful and because frankly… I think they realized how big the threat is and don't trust us anymore"
"You're paranoid. There's no way they…"
The phone in Akiko's office went off. She answered without bothering to give a greeting
"Let me guess. Liberion? Orussian? Maybe Suomus… Does Suomus even have any tanks?" Akiko was both angry and sarcastic
"Oh? Karlsland? Care to explain to me how sending some goddamn Karlsland tanks is better than a Fuso armored column" She was shouting into the mouthpiece now. She was obviously at her wit's end
"Will I at least get Ground witches?"
After listening for a few seconds, Akiko's face flushed red. Enough to scare Mirai into hurrying and tried to hold her. She was livid. She then shouted the loudest she'd ever heard her shout.
"If I'm not given direct control over this God forsaken operation, I'm taking my witches and going home, and you can take your Karlsland tanks and witches and shove them up your…"
Mirai held her, and started whispering in her other ear, begging her to calm down.
Akiko then said goodbye and slammed the phone down. The vein was still throbbing and Mirai could swear smoke was coming out of her ears.
"They're sending us fucking Karlsland tanks. Five of them, with only 2 Ground Witches. How fucking Arrogant could those Europeans get?!"
Mirai was still whispering to her "Akiko. It's ok. That's Karlsland doctrine. Combined arms. Those tanks will be good, I promise, and so will the witches. I'm sure they were never going to wrestle command from you"
"I'm to share it with a goddamn Karlslander. Some ground forces Major. I've never even heard of her. Does she even have any combat experience?! I've had it. Either this op goes as I've been planning it or there'll be hell to pay. The world likes to forget how much Fuso has done for the world when we didn't even need to lift a finger. Do they think we can't hold our own?!"
"Maybe they're trying to repay us by sending us help…" Mirai's voice was gentle, and slow. It silenced Akiko momentarily.
Despite Akiko's objections, Mirai was happy.
Word got in that the 201 had 2 successful independent operations.
Armed with rocket pods and bombs, they managed to clear out areas where Neuroi tanks were discovered. Though they seemed to focus on lightly infested areas, rather than areas where there were more than their ammo count could handle.
Still, a victory was a victory, and the 201 had two. Two new names surfaced in the reports the 302 received; namely, Yoshihara Shizuka, and Takata Honoka.
Not one to be outdone, Akiko launched more operations into the Neuroi cloud. She managed to pinpoint the areas where witches could do most damage with minimal risks, and the result was that 302 kills piled up.
It seemed like the two squadrons were prepared to compete through the entire campaign, but the shadow of foreign interference loomed, and they both knew Karlsland vessels were on their way, transporting tanks, ground witches and supplies.
Opinions were divided. Some welcomed getting a helping hand from Europe, others saw it as undue meddling.
Yuuki for one, welcomed the inclusion of foreign witches and forces "It's like the days of the old JFWs" Aiko once caught her saying.
"I doubt JFWs were made of only two nations, not to mention the witches coming over are grounders. The word 'Wing' is kind of a misnomer" Aiko replied to her snarkly
"I don't care! The world is working together. Like the old days. The old days were better"
"Having an entire continent ruled by Neuroi? Yeah. Great idea" Aiko's sarcasm would not subside. It disheartened Yuuki and quieted her.
"Is something wrong, Aiko?" She asked her friend after some silence.
"Yes. Suzuki is pissed. She's fuming. I don't know how oblivious you can get, but it's painfully obvious, and she's taking most of it out on Shinkawa, and sometimes on the rest of us. It's not really my idea of fun"
"B…but… The Karlslanders are great soldiers. Surely when she fights with them…"
"She'll resent every kill they get that we don't, and blame them for every kill they don't get. You better hope we find an answer for this nest soon or we're all in for a REALLY bumpy time in Asia"
Neuroi activity outside the nest seemed to subside, and the 201 had fewer ground targets to kill. Within the nest, however, the Neuroi were getting too clustered, rendering even the 302's hit and run tactics too risky.
Akiko and Mirai were beginning to lay plans for full scale assaults where even they would take part, but scheduling would not be their friend.
The day arrived, and Karlsland amphibious vessels arrived on the coast of mainland asia.
Akiko and Mirai were there to greet them. The unit size was modest, Two Witches rolled off the ships with tracked ground strikers, and they were followed by five Leopard 2 tanks.
The two witches rolled up to where Akiko stood and gave a strong military salute, and introduced themselves.
"Major Elena Schultz, Karlsland Bundeswehr, 18th Armored Division and this is my second in command, Captain Karla Hartmann"
"Major Suzuki Akiko, 302 Squadron, and this is my second in command, Shinkawa Mirai. Welcome to the mainland"
"Thank you, Major. We'll do everything in our power to assist the FASDF and allow you to focus on the Aerial threat. We commend you and the 201 on your ground kills so far. Everyone at home is very impressed"
Mirai smiled to herself. She liked Schultz already. It was obvious she was trying to butter up Akiko, and judging by the Aerial witch's few seconds of silence before replying, it seemed like it worked.
The official name of the newly formed Fuso-Karlslander coalition was the Asian Crisis taskforce, and would be the first time a multinational coalition of witches was formed to fight a threat since the 50s. What's more, they were helped by regular soldiers and their traditional tanks.
The column, with the commanders of the 302 made their way back to the 302's airbase, which would have a part of it repurposed to house the Leopard Strikers and the Leopard tanks.
As much as Akiko resented the foreign presence, it was undeniable they benefitted the effort immeasurably. If the tanks and witches were there to help against ground Neuroi, the 201 and 302 could focus on combining their efforts to whittle down the Neuroi nest itself.
The 18th set up at the 302's home base in record time. Two of the hangars, which were deemed surplus to requirement was repurposed as Tank Hangars, and they took the 5 tanks, as well as their maintenance staff and spare parts easily. The commanding witches' two strikers fitting in with the tanks, receiving the same maintenance and care as their vehicular counterparts.
Aiko and Yuuki wandered onto these hangars out of curiosity, seeing the feverish efforts of the Karlslanders to keep the tanks in optimum condition. One thing they noticed was that even the Crews that operated the tanks themselves took a part in the upkeep of the steel behemoths.
"Don't you find it weird, Yuuki? Witches in charge of regular soldiers" Aiko asked
"Well, that's how Karlsland has been operating since the 80s. The Luftwaffe is the same. Witches would form the command nucleus of any squadron or unit and it'd be filled with regular pilots or tanks. They don't segregate witch units and human units like we do" Yuuki replied matter of factly
"Wouldn't that cause… undue interaction… I mean… The soldiers are all men and…"
"Yeah, relationships between soldiers and Witches have happened. So?"
Aiko's face reddened on hearing that. Yuuki was way more oblivious than she'd like, and imagining these kinds of interactions in a military setting put her off.
For some reason the way Haruka of the 201 looked at her commanding officer, Erika seemed to flash in her mind, and she suddenly felt very oblivious herself.
She then realized they were staring at the tanks and their crews and it felt awkward. She turned to leave quickly, while talking to Yuuki
"We look like stalkers. Let's…"
Her speech was cut short when she slammed head first into something as she turned around.
By the time she got her bearings, she realized she had bumped into a Karlsland soldier, in her haste to leave. He was a fair bit taller than her, with hair darker than most the other Karlslanders, and dark brown eyes. He was so much taller than Aiko that when she bumped into him, her head hit him square in the chest.
She felt embarrassed and was ready to apologize when the Soldier spoke
"Careful, little girl. Are you ok?"
Being called a little girl infuriated Aiko. "I am a Witch and a soldier of the FASDF. Also, I outrank you. I demand that you watch your tongue from now on, Second Lieutenant"
Aiko called him out, noticing his rank on his uniform, and stared him down. The soldier appeared flustered, and quickly apologized
"I'm very sorry, Lieutenant. I forget I'm not in Karlsland. This won't happen again, I promise"
He gave her a salute. "Second Lieutenant Maximillian Kohler, PanzerKommandant. I'm sorry if I offended, Lieuteanant…?"
"Kadokawa Aiko, and how did you think it was ok to call an aerial witch 'little girl'?"
"That's what we call the Aerial witches in Karlsland. It is not derogatory, I promise. You can even ask Captain Hartmann"
"Well… I see how that could be a misunderstanding" Aiko seemed to back down quickly… too quickly. It intrigued Yuuki "I'll have you know, Fuso Witches would be far less likely to accept such a term. I was at fault as well for not looking where I was going. In any case, let's serve together properly, Second Lieutenant"
She gave her own quick salute and headed off. Yuuki quickly introduced herself to the karlslander as well before following her friend.
"Not like you to get so flustered, Aiko" Yuuki said
"Shut up, Nishimura" Aiko replied.
Yuuki stopped, and yelled indignantly "What'd I do?!"
Aiko didn't answer.
'Maximillian Kohler' she said under her breath 'He annoys me'
Regardless of Aiko's feelings on them, the 18th were an efficient and expedient force.
The impracticality of the 302 and 201s' weapons in dealing with the ground Neuroi was rendered moot. To the point where deploying the aerial forces to deal with ground Neuroi was reduced to very minor cases of chasing stragglers the Panzer crews couldn't mop up, or in assisting in cases where Neuroi greatly outnumbered the 18th.
Having witches placed alongside regular tanks, they had both the sheer magical power, and numerical advantage that could ever be needed to take control of any conflict.
A few things made themselves apparent very quickly. The tank crews were diligent, and disciplined. Despite the youthful look of Hartmann and Schultz who commanded the unit, they were excellent and forceful commanders. Schultz could match Akiko easily in fearfulness, and mental strength.
Another thing the Aerial witches noticed, much to the chagrin of the 302 was that the 201's strikers were simply more capable of picking out and attacking ground based targets than the 302's F4s.
It was not difficult for the 302 to more than make up for that with repeated and tenacious attacks against the main nest itself.
Several weeks into the combined campaign, and the satellite maps looked much more promising.
Neuroi activity was much better mapped, and mopping up the Ground Neuroi was becoming a near formality.
The Neuroi nest didn't seem like it was becoming any smaller, but the fringes were becoming far less populated.
There were two areas however, on the campaign map that were oddly empty.
Elena, Akiko and Erika were in Akiko's office, going over another campaign meeting.
"So, what are those areas and what do we do about them?!" Akiko asked bluntly, not bothering with pleasantries.
"They're empty" Elena responded
"I know they're empty, I'm not blind. I don't trust the map" Akiko replied
"Why do we care?" Erika asked uninterestedly.
"Do I really need to answer that, Inoue?! It's suspicious. It's either nothing or it's more dangerous than all the other areas we've cleaned up"
"Well, either way, we've uncovered one of the areas. We have to face them… now or never" Elena was somber in her observation
Akiko saw the determination in Elena's face. She knew what she was thinking.
"I don't want to take risks. 302 and 201 will accompany the 18th. We're carrying full armament, Sparrows and Mavericks…" she turned to Erika "That ok with you?"
"Fine by me" Erika replied "My girls are up for it"
The sortie was planned for the following day. It didn't take Erika long to get back to her own airbase and fill in the 201 on the operation.
The four most active members were selected to represent the 201; Namely Shizuka, Haruka, and Honoka, commanded by the 201's leader, Erika
The 302, not to be outdone, sent out Aiko, Yuki, and in a rare showing, Major Suzuki herself lead the squadron, joined as ever by Mirai, her second in command
Of course, this entire aerial contingent was there to assist the main fist of the attack, the Karlsland tanks and ground witches.
Schultz and Hartmann were at the head of a V formation, and behind them were the 5 tanks that made up the Armored Division.
Aiko was right behind Akiko, but she found her thoughts wandering to the Karlsland tanks, mostly worrying about how she was to defend them if they got overwhelmed.
She had taken part in exercises where she'd had to defend ground convoys before, but for some reason, she was especially worried this time.
She subconsciously found herself wondering which tank was commanded by the tall, annoying Karlslander she'd bumped into, Maximillian Kohler. The fact that she remembered his name so easily annoyed her further.
"Alpha is nearing the designated zone. Eagle and Bear, stay sharp. We're to swoop down if they need us"
Alpha was the designation given to Elena's ground force, while Eagle and Bear referenced the 302 and 201 respectively, in reference to their tail markings.
The designated area was bare. It was a wide expanse of open desert, no places for an ambush, and Elena and her tanks moved in with speed and tenacity.
Despite their ample air cover, Suzuki felt they should slow down, and be more vigilant, but she felt as though they'd already decided this was going to be mere confirmation that this area was as bare as the satellite footage suggested
"This is Alpha Leader; we're going to run towards the end of designated area then double back. If we don't find anything, we continue to push into infested areas starting tomorrow"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Alpha Leader, we still have a ways to go" Akiko responded to Elena.
The ground forces kicked up a mighty dust cloud as they trundled forwards, the sight was impressive and it made them look bigger than they actually were.
They were more than halfway into the barren area
"Eagle Leader to Alpha Leader, I suggest you turn back in a few clicks. Looks like you were right, and this area is just barren for no reason"
"Roger that, Eagle Leader, doubling back in…" a large rumbling sound interrupted Elena "What was that?"
Looking around for miles, the terrain was so flat and expansive, that Elena could see the unbroken horizon on all sides. Within seconds, that was no longer the case.
Massive dust clouds formed as Neuroi popped out of the ground. Most looked like turrets, and had massive red crystals, all pointed in the direction of the Karlslander force. A few were not stationary, and moved like the tanks they'd seen before.
A few even darted upwards out of the ground to fight airborne.
The ambush meant the Tanks and ground witches were now completely surrounded.
Elena showed her quick wit and resilience in quickly ordering her tanks to reposition. They quickly formed into a flower like shape, their backs to each other, guns pointing outwards. They fired instantly, their fragmenting shells doing massive damage to any target they hit, if not damaging them outright.
Elena and Karla did their best to dart around the tanks quickly, using their shields to absorb any beams fired from targets they didn't yet have time to destroy.
The 302 and 201 did not need orders. Everything for them was pre planned.
The 201 focused exclusively on diving on any ground targets they could, and their accuracy was impeccable. They focused on any they saw charging their beams.
The 302's attack was more fragmented. Suzuki and Mirai helped the 201 in dealing with ground targets.
Aiko and Yuuki, however, carried less ground attack weapons than the two older witches and attacked the airborne Neuroi.
There were far less air Neuroi than anything else, and Yuuki and Aiko dealt with them quickly, expending all their Sidewinders in the process.
They then turned their attention to the ground units, using a mixture of their mavericks and their Type-89 rifles to do what they could to assist the now trapped ground vehicles.
The encircled Leopards fired their cannons furiously, their fragmenting shells damaging the Neuroi they hit extensively. In one or two shells, any Neuroi hit would get their cores knocked out.
Despite carrying massive cannons themselves, Elena and Karla were offensively heavily compromised, having to use their shields to block any incoming fire.
It was obvious the waves of Neuroi rising from the earth were dwindling, but there was already enough of them that drastic action needed to be taken so the Armored Division could be saved.
That was when one of the tanks started edging forwards. Technically, it was disobeying Elena's order, but the pro activeness of that tank inspired the rest of them.
They started moving in the direction they came in, towards the edge of the killzone, back into a clear area confirmed to be clear of Neuroi. Aiko had a sneaking suspicion regarding who that tank was. All she knew was that he was the designation "Alpha 3"
The tanks repositioned themselves to move as a blocky column, relying on the offensive power of their guns to protect them from frontal assaults, while the Witches protected them from any flanking shots using their powerful shields.
It also helped that, due to the strong aerial presence, Neuroi fire was being directed to attempting to hit the aerial witches.
It was all in vain. The aerial witches could dodge the shots or shield themselves easily. It eased the pressure off Elena and Karla who were beginning to show signs of fatigue and worry.
Alpha 3 continued to push, leading the retreating Leopards to exit the danger zone.
Another tank was alongside him, and they alternated fire, in a brilliant show of coordination. The other tank was designation Alpha 2, and was the highest rank of the non-witch forces.
It took a few hours, and it felt like days, but eventually, a path was carved in the Neuroi numbers, and their numbers weakened or crippled enough to allow the once trapped tanks to escape, with minimal damage coming from stray beams the Witches coulnt block.
Leopard armor proved its effectiveness though, and there were no human casualties.
The Neuroi were not entirely defeated. The area was not cleared, but the intel gathered was invaluable, and with minimal losses, it was worth it.
Only after the retreat was successful and the remaining Neuroi gave up on killing the intruders and burrowed back to where they came from did the collective human force breathe a sigh of relief.
The tank that was proactive in moving the column outside the danger area cracked the commander's hatch open, and Aiko saw who the commander was.
Alpha 3 was commanded by Max Kohler.
His show of bravery made Aiko realize what kind of soldier he was.
She still decided he annoyed her. But she was thankful he was there
Alpha 2 was revealed to be commanded by a man known as Lieutenant Markus Kessler. He also exited his commander's hatch, and started shouting to Kohler. Aiko managed to overhear them.
"Disobeying orders and doing something stupid, eh? Not bad, Max" Kessler said
"Still not the stupidest thing I've ever done" Max replied jovially
"Your bravery will be rewarded, but your disobeying of orders will be addressed. Now get back in your turrets both of you. It's a long drive home" Elena cut them both off, as she kept her head down and the entire force began heading towards the 302's airbase, with their air support flying above them.
It was clear this war still had a ways to go
Author's Note: This is an all new project I'd been working on for some time. Sadly, real life has been getting in the way of my (already slow) output, and I'll have to alternate between writing this and 512. This was something I enjoyed thinking up, and was too inspired to ignore. I hope this brings any enjoyment to those who read it. Feedback and constructive criticism is, as always, more than welcome