Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air...Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
- Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

The world is changing.

For hundreds of years, mankind has struggled against itself, the environment, and now the Neuroi. And for hundreds of years, the witches have protected mankind using magic to strengthen their minds, bodies, and souls.

For the past seven years, Heidemarie W. Schnaufer has been on the forefront of the latest protection of mankind: The Second Great Neuroi War. Even the war has changed. This war started as a full scale global war; now it has become a smaller but more intense skirmish along the border between Orussia and the rest of Europe. Gone are the days of massive troop movement and fighting for liberation. Gone are the days of optimistic glory. Now the days are a simmering status quo: The Witches patrol their side of the border and the Neuroi theirs. Skirmishes in the air, on the ground, and on the sea are daily occurrences.

But Heidemarie wasn't thinking of the Neuroi or the war. She was looking out over the frozen Ostmark terrain thinking of her future. She knew that her days were numbered as a witch. She'd already noticed it. Her superiors had noticed it. Her fellow witches noticed it. Even her fellow non-witch instructors noticed it. Her shield was growing weaker each day. Her magical Lichtenstein radar was becoming increasingly unreliable and her night vision was practically nonexistent.

Major Schnaufer to control. Major Schnaufer to control. The bases intercom rang out in the chilly early evening air. With a sigh, Heidemarie turned and started the relatively long walk to the control building. Along the way, she looked about at the base. Named the Graz Combat Theatre Training Group, the airbase was home to five training wings of witches, plus training groups for support and logistics. Everyone from cooks to striker mechanics are trained at this location, and it's here where Heidemarie has spent the last two years of her career as an instructor.

The decision to start using 'fading' witches, as one military advisor had put it, to train new witches had been debated for some time, gaining real weight after the magical exhaustion of Sakamoto Mio. Although these witches were unfit for active combat duty, the heads that be decided that they could still be used in a reserve role. Ultimately, only the best witches were picked for this duty, while the rest took a combination of retirement, lateral shift into office work, and public relations. Many chose retirement, including some that were much unexpected to do so. Gertrude Barkhorn was one of the first witches to retire under the new program, citing familial obligations. No one questioned her decision; most new of her sister Chris' history and understood. The shock was when she enounced her engagement to a Belgican officer a year later, and summarily moved from Karlsland to Belgica to start her new family.

Many others chose lateral moves. Minna-Deitlinde Wilcke moved on from combat duty to become the Executive Officer of the newly-formed Joint Fighter Command. Not much is known about her personal life since the reassignment, as she had to transfer to London for the position.

Those who chose the public relations path, like Shirley E. Yeager, became the face of the new front of the war. These witches are responsible for pushing the war bond drive, getting young women from all over their respective countries to sign up, and to inspire the public with their stories of valor and glory. Shirley has become one of the shining examples of this, being able to balance her duties with the responsibility to her family.

As Heidemarie thought of these things she realized that her path still left her in a fair amount of danger. Besides the obvious danger of crashing or an accident, the instructors could still be called into combat at any time if the need arises. More likely, some other instructors joke about in the lounge, the biggest danger they face is accidentally being shot down by their charges.

But she was content. At first she was nervous about her new position and it showed in her performance. She blundered her way through lessons, stuttered nonstop, and almost crashed during the first familiarization flight. It was only after some of the older instructors (none of whom were witches) told her that she was going to kill herself from stress did she start calming down. And from that point on, she was one of the most liked instructors the base had. Her training wing, 333 JFTW, had some of the best recruits on the base and boasted the best scores on the tests. Heidemarie attributed it to the recruit's intelligence; everyone else attributed it to Heidemarie's instruction.

Smiling, Heidemarie reached out and opened the door to the control building. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the person on the other side of the door and summarily hit him when she opened the door.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she gushed, and knelt down to help the man up. She recognized him as Matthew Thompson, the Farawayland striker mechanic instructor for the mechanics of the 333. She got to spend a lot of time with Matthew as they were both instructors for the same unit. While Heidemarie rarely dealt with the mechanics the new training regime required witches to learn how to field service their strikers in case of emergency landing, so the witches of 333 spent some time learning about the fundamentals of striker design and operation. Standing at average height, Matthew was one of the best mechanics on the base, but had suffered a broken shoulder during the liberation of Venetia when the hangar his wing was stationed in got strafed by the Neuroi. Being unable to use his shoulder, he had spent a year learning how to use his shoulder again. By the time his rehabilitation was completed, the new training plan had been started, and he applied to be an instructor. Only 22, he was one of the youngest captains in the non-combat trades.

"Don't worry about it," he groaned, "I've gotten used to being knocked over." There was a known joke on the base that Matt often got knocked over by the rushing of trainees in the hangar access corridors. Heidemarie suppressed a giggle. While being one of the best mechanics around, she also knew from working with him that he was one of the funniest and nicest people she had ever met.

"What were you doing behind the door anyways?" She asked the man, who was now on his feet.

"Just going outside to fetch the stragglers for the meeting; I think you are the only one missing."

Heidemarie nodded slowly, "Oh. Well, let's not be any later and get going."

Matt stood aside and let the witch pass.

Heidemarie looked over her shoulder at Matt and asked, "Have any idea what this is about?"

Matt bit his lip, and then answered.

"Apparently there are signs that the Neuroi are making a big push into Ostland, and we're being put on watch in case it gets bad." He took a big breath and continued. "And while the trainees are really good, I don't feel comfortable putting any of them, witches or crew, into battle. Bad things happen when they're not ready for it."

Heidemarie slowed her walking, causing Matt to almost bump into her.

"I agree, but they're more ready that I was for my first battle." Heidemarie stated. "I think with 60 witches, plus 5 instructors, we can take down a few Neuroi."

"Fair."

"Besides, I never trusted these briefings anyways. The last 'big push' was one lowly scout. I don't think there's any need for alarm."

"You know, you're probably right."

"I usually am."

"Fair."

"You should stop answering like that to every statement I make, you know."

"Fair."

Heidemarie just smiled, shook her head, and walked into the briefing room.

WHOOOP. New story. I've been thinking of this one for a while, and decided to actually get it to… ePaper.

Heidemarie is easily my favorite witch, no contest.

R&R, Please!