Chapter 8 – Wrapping up the day


"Uuuuh… My head hurts… What happened…"

"You used the shock treatment, Mistress."

"Ah yes… Thank you, Kuro… I'm always a mess after that… But I had to do it, or else I would totally snap…"

"You don't have to apologize or explain to me, Mistress. You have told me so much about your past, which nobody else ever knew, besides you. Another human would probably crumble with such a burden…"

"You mean I'm what? Resilient?"

"That's the word I had in mind, Mistress. Your mental condition may be weak, but your rock bottom is almost impossible to reach with your willpower."

"Heh… Thanks… Uh… Do you know the time?"

"1805 and the same day, Mistress."

"Oh… I've slept quite a bit… Time to move on, or I'll be booted from this unit faster than I arrived…"

Aya opened her eyes, only to see darkness, shyly penetrated by moonlight.

It's winter after all…

She slowly dragged herself off the bed, put on her shoes, and went to the door. Once she opened it, something touched her legs.

"Waaaaah!" she shouted and scrammed back inside, locking the door behind her.

"Ayaya! I'm sorry!" the familiar voice of Nami sounded from behind the door.

"Oh… Nami… That's only you… What are you doing outside the room?"

"Ah well… The commander told me to stake out for you and to haul you in to her office once you're fit for duty again…"

"Oh… Okay, I'm coming then…"

Aya opened the door once more and she saw Nami with a bright smile on her face.

"How long… did you wait?" Aya asked.

"Ah, only an hour, nothing to get worked up about…"

"But the floor is cold and…"

"Don't worry, Aya…" Nami said softly and patted her on the head. "Compared to the drills in the FSDF, it's a piece of cake. Now, come on, let's go to the commander."

"Umkay…"

Aya was lead before the office, and Nami knocked on the door.

"Enter," Ellie's voice sounded.

Aya gulped heavily and followed Nami inside. The latter saluted and said, "First Lieutenant Edelweiss delivered as ordered, ma'am!"

"Good job, Nami. Now you can leave us."

"Yes, ma'am. But please, don't bother Aya too much…"

"I won't, scoot," she smiled.

Nami exited the room and Eleanor said, "Well, Aya… How are you now?"

"My… My head is a bit woozy…"

"No wonder… After such a dose of drugs and high-power alcohol, some grown men would have it hard to stand straight… Do you know why I called you here?"

"Is… Is… Is it about… My outburst?"

"Pretty much yes, Aya."

"That will… never happen again ma'am…"

"I hope… The girls were a little… surprised to say at least. And you missed our gear presentation."

"I'm sorry…"

"I guess your reaction was right, given your background… Don't sweat it, Aya, I won't punish you or anything. And that weird cannon is hidden so deep that only three people know where it is."

"Thank… you…"

"I hope you'll open up a bit to everyone and get along with them. Now, dismissed.

"Yes ma'am," Aya saluted and went for the door.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?" Aya said while she was turning around.

"Catch!"

Led by instinct, Aya put her right hand before her. She caught a small brown package.

"Sandwiches?"

"Yes. You missed dinner, so this is an ersatz."

"Thank you…"

"Go now, Sweetie."

Aya exited the room and yet again, she saw Nami, this time with Shinobu at her side.

"How did it go, Aya?" Shinobu asked.

"Good… Good…" Aya said. "I got a proverbial slap on the wrist so to speak…"

"And something else it seems…" Nami looked carefully at the brown packaged in Aya's hands.

"Oh, this? The commander gave me sandwiches…" Aya blushed slightly. "I really don't know what to think…"

"It seems we have the mother type of commander, but gods know what kind of mother…" Shinobu mumbled. "Eat up, Aya; I'll see if I can get some hot tea for you."

"Thanks, Shino…"

"Follow us to the dining hall; you need to get accustomed to the rest."

"Is… Is everyone else there?"

"Yeah, besides your Valkyrie friend, she's "pumping her guns" as she said. Ah, and your redhead compatriot is assisting her. Safety regulations and stuff like that."

Aya took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's go…"

4 minutes earlier, dining hall

Nami ran into the room and said, "Okay, she's been escorted to the commander."

"So why are we gathered here again?" Elwyn asked.

"We need to achieve a common front when interacting with Aya," Shinobu said. "According to the info I have gathered, she's still very timid, just like in middle school."

"And what do you want us to do EXACTLY?" Tatiana asked.

"I want us to go easy on her, not bother her about her little outburst earlier. She was already difficult to handle back on my student exchange program, but seeing what happened now, and after hearing this and that from her friends, I came to conclusion her state worsened. Of course, Nami and me, as her old friends have it easier, but you all as strangers will probably have a hard time winning her trust. So please, don't push her too much."

"I never thought a Sakamoto would be so damn reasonable and caring…" Elwyn smirked. "So to recap, we treat her like an egg with a cracked shell?"

"Pretty much yes."

"And what about me?" Katie asked from behind the kitchen counter.

"You can do whatever you like, vice-commander."

"Well thank you…" she answered with a caustic smile. "I'll go lecture Kola about it. I left the water boiling by the way."

Katie exited and the sleeping Aina suddenly woke up.

"What did I miss?"

"You're to be nice to Aya," Nami said with a smile.

"Oh, okay… She looks like a nice girl, but a bit lost…" she said and dozed off again.

"Now this is something I haven't seen…" Marie said.

"I guess narcolepsy is better than amnesia…" Elizabeth sighed.

"You really have amnesia?" Marie sighed.

"Yes… I didn't lie when I told everything to the vice-commander."

"I guess you'll get some leniency, since you're her cousin…" Elwyn mumbled.

"I disapprove of nepotism," Elizabeth replied with a stern face.

"But you should get closer to her…"

"I know, and it bugs me… Bloody hell… But she's a total blank in my mind… I can't associate even ONE memory with her…" she made a sour face. "Ouch…"

"Does it hurt?" Marie asked concerned.

"A bit… It always hurts if I try to remember something from the past… But let's drop the topic, I feel a bit uncomfortable about it… I wonder I there's some tea in the kitchen…"

"Oh, could you make some for us?" Elwyn asked.

"Sure… As a Brit, I'm a proper tea guzzler, heheh…"

Just as Elizabeth went to the kitchen, Nami said, "Okay, Shino, let's go and wait for Ayaya."

"Yeah."

Before the dining hall door

Aya's hand hung in the air over the doorknob.

"Aren't you going in, Ayaya?" Nami asked.

"I'm a bit… anxious… What will the girls say? Will they hate me? Despise me? Be afraid of me?"

"You won't know unless you go in, right?"

"I… I suppose so…"

"And we're behind you, don't worry!" Shinobu shouted.

"Heheh… Thanks…"

Aya opened the door to the dining hall. She saw everyone gathered, except for the commander, vice-commander, Sieglinde, Angela, and Kola. An impulse told her to run away immediately, but she stood there frozen instead, like a deer like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh, Aya, come on!" Elsa cheered and showed her a spot between her and one of the new girls, who was now sleeping silently.

Moving slowly and rigidly, Aya say on the spot that Elsa pointed out.

"W-What's with her?" Aya whispered.

"She's… narcotic?" Elsa scratched her chin.

"Narcoleptic," Aina mumbled and straightened up slowly.

Aya quickly scooted behind Elsa.

"Oh, pardon for scaring you. You weren't there when I said it, so I'll say it again – I'm narcoleptic…"

"So… Y-You sleep at r-random times?" Aya asked in her usual shy way.

"Yes… Can I call you Aya?"

"Y-Yes, please..."

"Yes, I can doze off just like that at a totally random time; however, it has never occurred in battle. My doctors say it's because of the adrenalin."

"Ah… Interesting…"

"Are you interested in medicine, Aya?" Aina asked.

"Y-Yes… My grandmother's story you all probably know, and my mom was a surgeon, so I guess it's normal for me to have interest in such things…"

"Sooooooooo…" Giulietta said all of a sudden. "Why did you run away in such a… flamboyant way?"

"I… I…" Aya started stuttering and looking around nervously.

Elsa quickly hugged Aya and said, "Please, don't bother her about this yet."

"She sure is a peculiar case…" Tatiana said. "But I guess we all have our quirks. Right, my Liberian friend?"

"Can it, commie. I'm not your friend," Elwyn answered.

"And I thought I had some issues with people…" Shinobu mumbled.

"Okay, people, give Ayaya some time to eat her stuff. Lily! Tea please!" Nami shouted.

"You sure gave your friend a cute nickname," Marie said with a smile.

"Bah! It's because she was so cute back when we were on student exchange that your legs would melt under you!"

"Well, she is cute even now, heehee…"

Aya's face looked like a landing light right now, so Elsa said, "Okay, shush already, give Aya some breathing space…"

The girls went silent, and Elizabeth returned with tea.

"Please, for you," she said.

"Oh… T-Thanks…"

Elizabeth in turn smiled and sat on a free spot.

Aya ate, turned around to everyone, since she could not stand the people staring at her curiously. After she drank the tea, she asked Elsa, "Hey… Can you give me a tour around the hangar? I… I think I missed it…"

"We have to ask our commanders. It's dark outside already, and I doubt we can freely move around."

"Oh… Okay… Then... Uhm…"

"Yes, yes, let's go together."

"Okay!"

The gym

"And five hundred!" Sieglinde yelled and hooked off her weigh on the rack

"You sure don't wait until things slow down, do you, Sieglinde?" Angela asked.

"As if you wouldn't know me… I have to keep fit to be able to perform my combat style optimally."

"Sure a damn shame you haven't inherited Strength Magic from somebody."

"I wouldn't have this glorious body that way!" she slammed herself on her washboard abs.

"Who knows… Okay, glorious body or not, you reek like a fucking penal company. Under the shower, now."

"When did you become my commander?"

Angela raised her eyebrow and looked at Sieglinde irritated.

"If that's the famous Wilcke Stare, it's damn effective… I'm going after for my bath supplies…"

"Good choice," Angela smiled.

Commander's office

"Oh, hello again, Aya," Ellie said. "What now?"

"Umm… I would like to see the equipment that was delivered…"

"Ah, well, then go if you like. But I need to give you an escort, according to the regulations of this unit."

"And what would those be, ma'am?" Elsa asked.

"After dark, you can only leave the building with consent of me or Katie, and with either of us as escort."

"Sounds reasonable. So, will we be going now?"

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do anyway. Go prepare, and we'll be meeting at the main entrance."

"Yes ma'am!" the two shouted and ran away.

Mess hall

"My boob senses are tingling!"

Giulietta stood up from her place and slowly went out of the room. She looked around the corridor, and quickly scurried to the bath. She heard that the shower was running, so she quietly sneaked over and peeked into the shower room. The athletic body of Sieglinde, like that of an amazon queen, was now being caressed by the steady stream of water coming from the shower.

"My God… Such a body… And such tits!"

Giulietta felt something warm under her nose, and she touched that spot with her hand.

"Ah, crap, I'm bleeding… Well, this means that I'm gonna have some fun!"

She started skulking towards her target, trying with all her might not to make more noise than the shower was making. Her hands shot towards the plump breasts of the showering Karlslander, but suddenly, she felt as her throat was being constricted.

"Not only a dyke, but also a Lucchini," Sieglinde said with a cold voice. "Maybe I should just kill you now and quickly dispose of your body… Yeah, I've received enough training to pull that off easily."

The face of the randy Romagnan has started to change colors, but she managed to say, "Un… cle…"

Her throat was released immediately and she fell on her knees, gasping for air.

"I swear to God, that the next time you'll try to grope me without consent, I'll smack you so hard you'll be seeing Cassiopeia from close up."

Giulietta coughed and said, "I thought you'd like a boob massage after workout…"

"Ugh… If your grandmother made such excuses, then the 501st must have looked like a bordello at times. No, thanks, my boobs are perfectly fine; I don't work out with them. In fact, I isolate them as much as possible from my exercise, so they won't shrink."

"Some nice effort into maintaining your boobs and you don't let me fondle them. Monster…"

"Prove me your worth in combat, and I'll give you my rack for fondling."

"Really?!"

"Yup. But before that, don't even think of it."

"You're sure easy to agree on such a simple condition… Where's the catch?"

"The catch is it might go further," Sieglinde said with a devilish smile.

"W-What do you mean? Are you…"

"No, I'm better than you. I'm bi!" Sieglinde said proudly.

"HO… LY… SHIT! And you didn't have to announce that?!"

"In the Bundeswehr, we don't give a flying fuck about bisexuals," she shrugged and kneeled before Giulietta, taking her chin in two fingers delicately. "Now, leave me be or I'll fondle YOUR boobs."

"Eeeek!" Giulietta shrieked and ran away.

"Heheheh… I guess the Lucchini's don't like to play their own game… The nerve to creep up on me…"

Before the hangar

"Sure is dark…" Elsa said. "If not for that magic powered flashlight, we wouldn't see a damn thing!"

"Hey, watch your language. I don't give a damn, but Ellie is really sensitive about that," Katie said.

"Sure, sorry."

"Um, Major, why are the lamps not working?" Aya asked.

"Beats me. Kola said he'll look into it tomorrow."

"Oh, okay…"

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

"N-No, I actually like it… I can hide easier…"

"Work with you will surely be something…" Katie sighed.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I'm sure we'll adjust to you faster than you'll adjust to us. Now, in we go."

They finally arrived at the door and entered inside. Katie went to a control panel and started on the lights.

As they started getting brighter, Aya's eyes too were almost starting to glow.

"Wooooow… Such equipment! The best Strikers in the military!" she quickly ran up to the Launch Units. "An F-15F! And… woah, a BK 27 and L7! This must be Nami's!"

"Indeed…" Katie mumbled and turned to Elsa. "Is she always like this?"

"She kind of forgets herself when she sees cool tech…"

Aya got toured around by Elsa, who explained which Launch Unit belongs to who.

"Wow, what was fun!" Aya cheered. "I didn't knew we had such a machine park!"

"Okay, let's go back," Katie said. "It's damn cold."

"Sure, ma'am," Aya said. "Thank you for escorting us."

"The pleasure was on my side."

Dining hall

2000 MSK

After the girls ate their first supper as a whole unit, with Kola joining in, Ellie said, "Okay, girls, we need a night mission team. Am I right in my assumptions that Tatiana and Aina here are the ones that are the most suited?"

"Da," Tatiana answered.

"Yeah…" Aina mumbled while waking up.

"Then please, you will be doing night patrols from now on, is that okay with you?"

"Da," Tatiana said.

"Perfectly fine. I never fall asleep during night patrols."

"Then report to the hangar in an hour. Rest of you, dismissed to your rooms."

"Roger!" the girls responded.

"Have a good night, and remember to cover yourself, it can be very cold despite the heating," Ellie winked.

The girls went to the sleeping room and started doing various things. Some were making their beds, some were finishing unpacking.

Elwyn pulled out an enormous stack of comic books out of one of her bags.

"Oh, so many comic books!" Marie shouted. "Hey, can I read some?"

"Oh, a fellow enthusiast?"

"I'm a total amateur… Where I come from, it's hard to come by some of the good stuff… But you have LIBERIAN comic books! Weee!"

"Heheh…" Elwyn laughed dryly. "Okay, but only under my consent."

"Sure, sure!"

Elwyn pulled out a random issue and gave it to Marie.

"The Incredible Hulk… Hmmm… Sound interesting…" she said and laid down.

"Hey, won't mind if I take the top bunk?" Elwyn asked.

"No, go ahead!"

"Thanks, I always like to be on top."

"Eheheheh…" Giulietta snickered.

"Oh shut up, you perv!" Elwyn yelled.

"A perv will recognize one of their own kind…" Angela said with an alluring voice.

"I'm just well informed!"

"Stop it," Sieglinde said with a cold voice and Giulietta immediately hid under her blanket.

"Wow, how did that come into effect?" Angela asked.

"That perv wanted to feel me up while I was showering, so I manually explained that that won't go."

"I hope you didn't do anything rash…"

"No, don't worry. But I guess the psychological effect will be lasting, hahahahahaha!" Sieglinde cackled.

"Scary…" Elizabeth mumbled.

"Right?" Nami said. "But I guess it's just how she is."

"You sure are tall, Nami…"

"That's really unexpected, since my grandma was 137.5 centimeters tall…"

"Right, I heard about her. Poor thing."

The talks continued until Katie came in and said, "Okay, lights out. Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"Night!" the girls cheered and Katie killed the lights.

Individual "Good night's" sounded on for a few seconds. Aya embraced her teddy bear and fell asleep.

Kola's room

So my peaceful life as one of many mechanics just ended abruptly… Now I'm the mechanic, caretaker, gardener and whatnot in this unit! And I'm still a damn Private, with a Private's pay… Eh, blyet… But at least my new commander seems to be a reasonable girl, that I have to admit. Actually, calling her a girl could be a bit offensive to her, since she has nice curves and all that… Mmmm… And that shy girl – Aya… It was weird to carry her on my shoulders… I felt that she was shaking like a sapling during a hurricane, but she just sat there… The rest of the girls seems okay too, what a band of misfits… Nice misfits… But that compatriot of mine some kind of bad air around her… Hmmmm…

Whatever now, time to sleep, I have a busy day ahead of me.

Unknown location

2130 MSK

A phone rang in a dimly lit office. A dark hand took the receiver and asked, "Da?"

"Comrade, how are you?" a voice with a Liberian accent asked.

"Ah, good, Cowboy."

"The girls have all arrived."

"Marvelous."

"How is Proyekt Avrora going on?"

"It's progressing fast; don't worry your Liberian head about it. And how is Project Elysium going?"

"It's finished, we're now waiting for you, Comrade."

"Excellent. The wait will be fully excused once we finish."

"The fate of humanity lies in the hands of both of our countries."

"I guess this time we won't have a single hero?"

"I highly doubt it. Good night, Comrade."

"Good day, Cowboy."


Nothing to explain I guess?


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