A/N's: We are back with another chapter to Kosun: 1950, usually when I write this, I usually write this first before actually writing so I wonder what I can create. So enough of this waiting, let's get moving!
Chapter 3: Reunion
Yokosuka Naval Base
"Control this is Striker 2, over flight of southern air corridor has been completed."
[Radio: Control copies, standby for further orders.]
'What more is there to do?' Christiane thought to herself. Suddenly the voice returned.
[Radio: Striker 2, return to base, your patrol is over.]
"Roger that control, returning to base." She regressed her finger of her headset and smiled before doing a small barrel roll before jetting back to base.
Miyafuji was in her office, the fire place burning at high intensity. Not much could be done about the cold but that didn't stop her from doing her work. As she scribbled her signature on the last few papers, a knock took her out of her concentration.
"Enter," She said sternly. The door creaked open and she felt as the cool air pushed the heat from the room. A man stood at the frame and had his hand to his head in a salute.
"Captain." The man greeted, Yoshika shot him a gaze of 'what do you want' before actually saying those words. The man rushed forwards and placed another manila folder on the desk before bowing and walking out, closing the door behind him. She slid the folder and looked at its front.
'For your eyes only' stamped in red. She undid the clasp holding the opening and reached in to feel a single sheet of paper. She pulled it out and looked what was written on it.
Northern Regimental Headquarters
Fuso Ground Self Defense Force
Address to: Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji Yoshika
Unit: 501st Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Strikers'
Flight Lieutenant, information coming in and out of the front is limited at best, plus letting out word to the public will raise up concerns so we have specifically address this to you. Do not under any circumstances divulge the contents of the message below to any unauthorized personal, this is only to be shared amongst you and your squadron members.
There was break in the ink before in continued again.
The defensive perimeter around Pusan has been holding for the past week. Supreme allied command has realized in order to ease the pressure, a second front is needed to be open and they are looking at the port of Inchon. Liberion Marine Corps unit's previously occupied in but were pushed out to sea after a massive Neuroi counter attack, the area is seen to be a prime area to have a new launching point for further allied operations.
The order of battle is as follows; the 501st is to join other allied air and naval forces in the amphibious landing operation of Inchon. Your squadron will be operating off the USS Essex of the Liberion 7th fleet which has just arrived in Yokosuka from Guam earlier today. The ground operation will be taken by elements of the 1st Marine Division and ROK Marine unit's. Your mission is to provide air cover and close air support if needed.
The fate of the Asia-Pacific region lies in that operations success. Without it, we cannot guarantee the safety of the homeland for much longer.
Yoshika put the page down and looked at the globe that stood near the edge of her desk. Giving out one last sigh she stood up and return the page to its folder and placed it in her desk and locked it. She then made towards the door and continued down the hallway to the barracks.
Barracks
Christiane walks in to see her squadron mates sprawled out on their bunks. Sighing, she moves to her bed and sets her stuff down before plopping down.
"How was patrol?" Asuka asked, throwing a small rubber ball against the backboard.
"Fine." Christiane replied quickly. The room fell silent again with nothing but the whir of the heater and the contact between rubber and wood. Then the sounds of footsteps coming from the hall caught their attention. They ceased and looked towards the door when they saw the figure of their commander enter.
"Captain?" Kayo said, surprised.
"What is it cap?" Asuka added. Yoshika stood in the door frame, the light casting an ominous shadow.
"Pack your bags ladies." She said suddenly.
"Wah?"
"What do you mean?"
"Eh?" The girl's response from the order.
"We've just got orders for deployment, we're moving out now so hurry it up and get to flight line." Yoshika said sternly. The girls looked about, confused and unaware of the situation, but they began to open their drawers and pulled out their bags and began unzipping them. Yoshika looked at her watch and back at the room. "I'll be out there, move it, double time."
"Yes ma'am." The group said collectively.
As Miyafuji left the room, Vaughn turned to Kusomoto and leaned in. "What was she talking about?" Kuso shrugged and jerked her head as if to signal to hurry up in which she did.
"Do we bring everything?" Kayo asked, looking at her duffel bag. Christiane shook her head.
"Anything that you need that you think would be necessary."
"Could be another exercise?" Vaughn chimed. Christiane shook her head again.
"She said 'deployment', probably meaning we're goin' somewhere?"
"Where?" Kayo asked, concerned.
"God's would I know? I'm just as clueless as you are," She looked at the clock. "We better get to the flight line." The witches made one final check with their belongings before filing out the door. Veronika, being the last in the group flipped off the switch before closing the door. The girls entered the hanger and were greeted with the booming sound of a jet engine, their commander was already prepped for takeoff.
"Get moving!" She shouted. The witches tightened their gear and hopped into their unit's and began to fill the space with blue light.
"Ether output is normalizing around 95%"
"Magic seal is secured."
"Systems are green, prepped for flight ops." The techs sounded off.
As the engine noise grew, the metallic screeching of the clamps releasing gave way to the unit zooming out of the hanger and into the sky. Soon the other witches joined formation.
"Hey cap? Where are we going exactly?" Asuka inquired.
"Somewhere, just follow my lead." Yoshika put on the façade of an enigma much to the displeasure of her squadron. Soon the flight was over Open Ocean and the witches noticed that Yoshika was scanning the water below.
"What's the Lieutenant doing?" Vaughn leaned in towards Kusomoto.
"I dunno, looking for something? I have no idea?"
Christiane piped up and asked, "Flight lieutenant, what are you looking for exactly?" Yoshika remained silent as she scanned the ocean. Christiane looked at her wing mates and shrugged her shoulders, in which they mimicked the motion until suddenly they saw their commander drop suddenly.
"COMMANDER!" Kayo shouted. The witches followed after her, losing her in the clouds.
"Where did she go!?" Claire exclaimed
"Keep going, I think I see some blue down there." The witches kept diving until they broke the cloud cover. They were wide eyed when they came to a stop. Miyafuji was hovering before them.
"Ladies, welcome to our new home." She said as she pointed at the ship's slicing through the water. "Welcome to the 7th fleet girls." The witches clustered around and looked downwards towards the flotilla before flying towards it. Yoshika got on her intercom. "USS Essex, this is Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji, 501st TFS, requesting landing clearance."
[Radio: We read you Flight Lieutenant, deck is clear for the time being, but hurry it up, we have aircraft inbound.]
She turned to her squadron and gave a stern look. "Get down there." The witches followed the order and began landing on the deck. The deck crew were rushing about, grabbing launch unit's to house them and clearing ordinance for the witches to land. Miyafuji was the first to touch down, followed by Chris, Asuka, Kayo and Kusomoto respectively. Vaughn and Veronika were the last to touch down as the rest began to power down. Two men in Khaki's approached the newly arrived flight, one man had the four distinct gold bars on his shoulder board, giving evidence of his rank. The girls abruptly halted their unloading and saluted. The man, stern and weathered by the features of his face, chuckled slightly before saluting in return.
"At ease." He said, causing the witches to relax.
"Flight Lieutenant Miyafuji Yoshika, 501st TFS, reporting as ordered sir."
"It's an honor to meet you in person for the first time, I've heard of your exploits many years ago."
"Thank you sir."
"*Sigh* I almost forgot, allow me to introduce myself, Captain Austin W. Wheelock, CO of the Liberion Carrier Essex." The captain looked to the man to his right. "This is my XO, Commander Matthew G. Porter." The man stepped out and shook Miyafuji's hand. All the while, deck crews were pushing carts around, still clearing the deck as the rest of the witches just milled about, looking at the various activities. The sound of Props and jets still filled the air and the horns of the ships in the fleet blew in the distance. A sparkle over the horizon caught the eye of the Captain and he looked towards Yoshika. "We'll continue the introductions inside but now we have to make room, I have a flight returning so we'll need the space." Yoshika nodded her head and gestured to her girls to follow. Entering the narrow corridors and hallways, the group entered a rather spacious room, lined with a light blue and ceramic floor.
"This looks like the lounge." Chris noted.
"And you would be correct officer," the captain said quickly. "Make yourselves at home here, we're currently working out accommodations so this is only temporary."
Yoshika looked at the man after putting her bag down, "Thank you Captain."
"No need to thank me, the witches of the Essex's air group decided to open it for you guys."
"Where are they, if I may ask?" Kayo, looking at the large plaque on the wall.
"They're the flight returning from a patrol, they should landing on the deck now." As soon as he said that, the ship's PA system echoed through the room.
[P.A.: All hands, clear the deck clear the deck, landing operation have commenced, all crews report to your designated stations and recovery crews standby for aircraft and unit recovery.]
The roar of the accelerating engines resonated around the room. "That's the first one." The captain noted. The sounds returned in five minute intervals until the PA system came over again.
[P.A.: Aircraft recovery has been completed, all crews return to duty stations.]
The patter of feet came from the hallway outside, the group looked towards the door and saw the outlying figure crest over the edge before finally revealing itself.
"Captain." The figure said while saluting. The captain saluted back.
"Ah, Lieutenant, how was today's patrol?"
"The usual, nothing again around northeast, same for the south."
"That's good, where're the rest?"
"Harrison and Locke are just getting in, the rest are hitting the hay." The witch looked at the other group of her kind standing behind the captain. "Who are these people?"
The captain looked behind him and began to introduce the 'Strikers'. Yoshika shook the girls hand and said her name. "Flight lieutenant Miyafuji Yoshika."
The girl's eye lit up like an awestruck fan, "Lieutenant Melissa H. Childs, I've got to say I never thought a legend would be standing in front of me."
Red formed on Yoshika's cheeks before she could respond with, "Can't say I'm much of a legend, I know people that should be though." As the two continued on the conversation, the rest of the witches just stood idle, glancing around the room.
"Hey, I'm going for a look around." Claire whispered to the group. Chris brought up her finger in protest but Claire was already out the door. She looked at Kuso who shrugged her shoulders before following. The maze of corridors and hallways seemed to stretch for an eternity as Vaughn tried to navigate. As her footsteps echoed through the tube of metal, the sounds of machinery and activity resonated around her, as she rounded the corner, she ran into a mass that seemed to move forwards as she struck it. The sound of something wet hitting the floor followed by a light tap stayed her thoughts. She looked up to see a figure, arched over the spill on the metal floor.
"I'm sorry!" She cried as she immediately searched her body for something to wipe the stain. The figure turned and bent down as well. As if on que, the two came face to face, inches away from each other. Claire's eye's widened as she stared into the eyes opposite of her. She tried to speak but stuttered her words. "Eli…Elizabeth?" she croaked. The face looked up mirrored her expression.
"Claire?" The voice repeated in the same fashion. The two made space and looked at each other once more. They kept repeating each other's names until Claire suddenly jumped forwards and embraced the girl.
"Who is that?" Kayo asked as she and Chris walked towards the couple. They turned the corner and saw the two still holding each other and laughing.
Chris turned to Kayo and shot her a gaze before saying, "Once again, I'm about as clueless as you are." The two watched as the couple came out of their reunion before asking who the mystery girl was. Claire, still glass eyed look at her squadron mates and leaned her head into the girl's shoulder.
"Guys, this is my older sister, Elizabeth T. Vaughn." Before putting her arms around her. Chris and Kayo stood with their mouths open.
"You must be her friends, I hope my little goshawk didn't cause much trouble." Elizabeth joked.
"NO NO!" Kayo waved her hands. "She's a valuable asset to the team!" Chris nodded her head in agreement. Claire's cheeks reddened even darker as her sister curls her arms around her. Suddenly a voice echoed down the corridor.
"VAUGHN!" The voiced bellowed.
"WHAT!" The two sister answered. Soon the footsteps echoed closer until the group was faced with the commander officer of both teams.
"Elizabeth? Where were you, I didn't see you follow me in." Melissa asked.
"Sorry lieutenant, but I…." looking to girl next to her. "Had an impromptu family reunion." The two commanders looked aghast at what the girl said.
"You two are sisters?" The two said with surprised tones. Elizabeth nuzzled her nose into her sisters' hair and smiled, not saying anymore.
"*Sigh* Well, flight lieutenant, I guess I know who'll be bunking with my XO for the time being." Melissa joked, patting Yoshika's back.
"*Laugh* I guess so, I mean if you're okay with it." Miyafuji replied, rubbing the part where Melissa struck.
"Oh yeah, don't worry about it, it means more sleep for me." Melissa replied, cracking a smirk. Elizabeth shot flustered gazes at her CO, but soon returned to her sister. "But I digress, how about we discuss this in the officer's lounge?" The witches agreed and followed Melissa back to the lounge where Veronika, Kusomoto, and Asuka were still waiting.
"What took you guys so long?" Asuka asked, feet kicked up on the coffee table. Everyone seemed to ignore the question and the group sat down. After a moment of silence, Chris spoke up.
"Um… with all due respect, but now that we're here, do you mind telling us why we're here?"
Yoshika gazed at her equal and nodded, "We're going to Kosun." She said bluntly.
"K..K..Kosun?" Claire stuttered. The CO's felt the wall of unexpectedness hit their subordinates, it took them awhile to fathom.
"We'll be operating off this ship in support of ground units." Yoshika continued. Kuso raised her hand and spoke once she felt Yoshika's gaze fall upon her.
"Are we heading to the frontlines? Pusan?"
"No… we're going to Inchon." She looked around the room to only to receive blank stares. "I'll explain more once we near the operation area, but for now, get unpacked and get some rest, it's going to be a long ride." The witches began to unpack their bags and the Vaughns helped each other while the rest sorted their articles.
As the sun fell behind the horizon, the running lights of the ships were the only thing to illuminate the night. That and the visible glow of Veronika's antenna's as she patrolled around the fleet. Yoshika laid on a cot that sat near the porthole, her body facing the room where her witches slept. Asuka and Chris shared the long couch while Kayo and Kuso unknowingly fought a battle over the ownership of a recliner. On the far end sat the Vaughn's, Claire sleeping snuggly against her sister's body as she quietly hummed a tune into her ear. As the small tuned echoed through the air, Yoshika began to think. Here she was, leading a squadron of her own. She began to think about those times many years ago. The time when she was part of sisterhood that could seem to last for ages, and in some aspects, it did.
*Flashback, before night fell.*
"Ma'am."
"Yes?"
"You have caller from Karlsland, we have it waiting in the comms room."
Yoshika followed the man out.
"Here you go ma'am." The man said, handing over the phone.
"Thank you." Yoshika replied, taking the phone. "Hello?"
[Phone: How are you doing Miyafuji?]
"Who is this, if I may ask?"
[Phone: You don't remember me? A true soldier of Karlsland never forgets her comrades.]
"I'm not Erica, Barkhorn."
[Phone: I know you're not.]
"*Laugh* so how are things in Karlsland?"
[Phone: Same old, same old. Though the news from Asia has gotten command wrapped up tight.]
"I can tell… have you've heard from Minna, or Erica, or anyone else for that matter?"
[Phone: I've been preoccupied with things recently so unfortunately no, but Frau does visit me once every week.]
"That's good to hear."
[Phone: Yeah… hey, Miyafuji.]
"Yeah?"
[Phone: I keep hearing that your squadrons is getting deployed.]
"Yeah, h..how did you know that?"
[Phone: Anonymous sources.]
"I see."
[Phone: Do... do… is Chris there?]
"Yeah, I can put her on if you want."
[Phone: I'd appreciate that.]
"Hold on for a sec." *Receiver is held downwards as Yoshika calls for Chris*
Moments later
"Hello?"
[Phone: Chris?]
"Yeah?"
[Phone: It's me, Trude. Listen to me now, you be safe out there, remember everything that I've told you and you listen to your commanding officer alright?]
"Of course I will."
[Phone: Make sure to always be prepared, always watch your surroundings and lastly and most importantly….]
The sister's in Unison: "Don't be like Frau!" The two laugh over the line.
[Phone: *Sigh* Please be safe Chris.]
"I know."
[Phone: Be sure to send me things, it's payment for everything I've gotten you.]
"*Giggle* I will."
[Phone: I love you Chris.]
"Love you too sis."
[Phone: Thanks… keep in touch.]
"I will."
[Phone: Goodnight.]
"*Giggle* Goodnight."
A/N's: Hurray for late night publishing (Assuming). But boy was that fun. I hope you guys enjoyed this just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Once again I apologize for the delay but I have been busy with things and plus coming up with new plot elements does take some time but I will always try to keep this story going so as always, please leave a review or critique because it's always appreciated!
New O.C. Side Characters! (Not really bio's but little facts, maybe I'll flesh them out at another time)
Lieutenant Melissa H. Childs
Liberion 7th Fleet
USS Essex
VF-87
Commanding officer of VF-87 witch detachment.
Familiar: Liberion/American Shorthair
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elizabeth T. Vaughn
Liberion 7th Fleet
USS Essex
VF-87
XO (Executive Officer) of VF-87. Older sister of Claire T. Vaughn
Familiar: Brown Goshawk
Details that you might need to know:
The Ranks for Liberion Witches for the Essex will follow the current U.S. Navy ranking system, unlike the RAF Ranking system that I use for the Main Cast. So technically, Melissa is also a Captain. The Captain of the USS Essex is actually the name I put down, the XO is fictional though.