Chapter 8: Just an Average Milk Run
The next morning was very quiet on the aerodrome. The witches of the 8th sat in the briefing room, wondering why none of the bombers were prepping for takeoff yet. As murmurs began to creep around the room, Jamie walked in with a dossier and stepped up to the podium. "Alright ladies, before we get started, does anyone have any questions?"
Roberta raised her hand. "Where are all the bomber crews?"
"They aren't needed for this mission, they're preparing for a follow up night raid on Stuttgart." Jamie answered
"Stuttgart?" Pauline asked confusedly. "We were just there a few days ago…"
Jamie crossed her arms and sighed. "Yeah, well it turns out we didn't get all of them, and they've regrouped further into the city, so another group is going back to clean everything up."
"Heh. The Neuroi are a little smarter than I imagined…" Samantha concluded.
Jamie fixed her attention on Samantha, casting a curious stare at her. "How's that?"
"If the media gets word that we're bombing this close to civilian areas, we could have several nasty riots on our hands, scrutinizing the bombing campaigns. That'll bog down the war effort considerably."
"I just receive the orders and follow them. They didn't hire me to ask questions about my directives." Jamie sighed.
"But that doesn't mean we can't think for ourselves. We have brains too…" Samantha protested.
Jamie was clearly getting frustrated at this point, due to the stressful aspect of her job. "Can we save this for another time girls? Those Neuroi aren't going to just surrender on their own."
Upon reaching this consensus, the room quieted down as Jamie opened her top secret documents and began explaining the mission. Several curious eyes were trained on Jamie as she read the target and began pulling up a hologram with her Intuition ability. "Today, we're going to Hamburg, ladies." There was a general sigh of relief upon hearing this, as Hamburg had been putting up minimal resistance lately. "Alright, this should just be an average milk run, but don't let your guard down even for a second. The Neuroi are craftier than you think, do not underestimate them. Get to your stations for pre-flight. Dismissed!"
The girls stood at attention, until Jamie walked off the stage. They filed out of the room, and Samantha was close on Jamie's heels as they walked across the aerodrome. It was a quiet, rainy day at High Wycombe, as the bombers were out on their mission. The maintenance crews continued work on damaged birds, while the commanders sat in the war room, awaiting battle reports. On a day like this, the girls would have to do maintenance themselves, since the mechanics were all occupied. As they began doing pre-flight maintenance on their bomber units, Esther noticed that her right engine was having hiccups. But she figured as long as it started and held together it would be fine. The witches lined up and began takeoff sequence, slowly disappearing into the rainy skies of Britannia.
Several hours later, the 8th had made it to the outskirts of Hamburg's airspace. It was very quiet though, and everyone was already feeling on edge because of the thick clouds. Jamie noticed Samantha frowning as she listened to the radar.
"Hey, something wrong?" Jamie inquired, flying closer.
"Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle." Samantha said, somewhat startled. "No, I'm just confused by the lack of activity in this area."
"It'll be fine. Hamburg is just supposed to be a milk run anyways, it's not that big a deal." Jamie said reassuringly.
"Even so..." Samantha objected, and pulled up her radar screen. "Ok, we're five miles into Hamburg's airspace, and still nothing."
"Well this cloud cover isn't making it any easier either…" Jamie grumbled.
As they flew on, the clouds grew darker and darker. There was confusion as everyone exchanged worrisome glances, but they kept pushing on despite the uncertainty. Then there were strange noises coming from an indiscernible direction.
"These readings…" Samantha said, as she scanned the area. "Looks like a Neuroi signature, but I can't tell where it's coming from...
All of a sudden, the sky lit up with laser shots, as the witches were caught in a crossfire.
"Dammit! Did we fly into a hive or something?!" Jamie shouted.
"Can't be, there aren't supposed to be any hives in this area!" Samantha's voice quivered with uncertainty.
Jamie growled quietly to herself. "Samantha, locate the nucleus! Everyone else stay together!" Suddenly, she noticed Roberta and Esther were trailing slightly to the formation's 7 o'clock. "Barbie III to Memphis Belle and Windy City. Get over here you two!"
"Roger that!" Roberta responded.
"Copy that…" Esther responded, just barely over the crossfire.
But as they flew back towards the formation, a giant Neuroi lashed out at them from the dark clouds. Samantha tried to identify it as they blindly opened fire through the opaque shroud, but suddenly Esther took a hit to her right engine. It held together for a second, then sputtered and caught fire.
Roberta shielded her eyes, then stared in horror as her sister's engine was engulfed in flame. "Esther! Use your fire suppression equipment!"
Esther attempted to switch her suppression system on, but it was too late as the right bomber engine exploded. The weight shift threw her off balance and into a spin, as she screamed and fell through the cloud layer. Everyone watched helplessly as they kept up their attack but Roberta dove after her. She was not about to lose her sister, but Jamie yelled at her through the comm system. "Roberta! Stay with us, we have a job to do!"
"I can't leave her, this is my sister we're talking about!" Roberta cried out.
"You will be court martialed for desertion if you don't get back here right now!" Jamie ordered imperatively.
"I don't care! I'm going after her!" The red witch responded, diving through the clouds.
Jamie sighed in frustration, and tried to bury her emotions as she opened the comm channel again. "Keep firing girls. We've got to defeat the enemy here."
"What about Roberta and Esther?" Alice said, with a worried tone in her voice.
"Let them go. We're going to finish the mission objective, then we can go find them. That's an order." Jamie snapped.
The rest of the girls looked at each other worriedly, and doggedly kept on the attack. They were not as effective in this state, but they attempted to make a strike run as best they could.
Meanwhile, Esther was still falling through the air, as her life began to flash before her eyes. She began thinking about her mother, and Roberta, and home as the tears streamed along her face. Just as she had given up all hope and was ready to die, Roberta called out to her, straining her bomber units and reaching out with every fiber in her being. "Esther! Snap out of it!"
"R-Roberta?!" The girl said in surprise.
Roberta grabbed Esther and slapped her on the cheek. "Get a hold of yourself! You are not dying today, not on my watch! You hear me?!"
Roberta held Esther tightly with both arms, as she continued bawling in terror, but her bombers were simply not enough to stop their combined weight, as they crash landed in one of the deserted buildings in the square. When Esther opened her eyes, she found herself on top of Roberta, as they lay on the second floor of a city apartment. Roberta was lying unconscious, after taking the brunt of the fall.
Esther sat up, rubbing her head. "Ow… Not one of our best landings... Roberta? Roberta!"
But Roberta made no reply, as Esther tried to call out to her. She tried many methods, fanning, slapping, and shouting, but to no avail. A window was off to her side, and the dark cloud could be seen in the distance. The hive was about five miles away from Hamburg's center, and the witches were visibly fighting for their lives against the Neuroi.
"Everyone is doing their best, and yet I can't even help myself without others getting hurt…" Esther said, starting to cry a little. She turned away from the window, and began to walk out of the room, with no particular destination in mind. But before she did, she knelt down next to Roberta, and attempted one last chance to give CPR, placing her lips on Roberta's. Suddenly Roberta's eyes started to open, and they widened in shock as she noticed what Esther was doing. Esther quickly pulled away and began stammering nervously, her cheeks blushing bright red.
"U-um! This is... I mean, Roberta you're awake!" She smiled nervously.
Roberta sat up, quite dizzy in the head. "You were just giving me CPR, right…? Just like any normal person?"
"Y-yes… that's right." Esther stammered, her cheeks blushing bright red. "I'm so glad you're alive…" Esther looked away, her cheeks red. "I really thought we were both goners, and I started to remember our childhood. Especially when you climbed that really tall tree, just to get my hat… You remember that?"
Roberta smiled, and reached her hand out to hold her sister's cheek. "Of course I do. You cried and cried, just like you are now, as though that hat was part of your body."
Esther continued to blush, and looked away. Meanwhile, Roberta scanned the room, and had located Esther's favorite hat. Coming up behind her, she hummed happily. "Looking for this?" Roberta said as she set it back on Esther's head.
"Thank you…" Esther looked up and smiled.
Roberta smiled back, and helped her up. "Come on. Let's find a way to get you home. When we make it back to High Wycombe you still owe me lunch for that other time I saved you." Roberta teased.
"If we make it back, that is… H-hey! What you mean 'that other time?!' Roberta!" Esther flailed in frustration.
"I'm teasing you." Roberta laughed. "Of course we'll make it back, assuming the 8th doesn't drop any bombs on our heads."
Roberta hugged Esther, leaning on her for support, and the two girls headed outside. As the battle above the city ended, the rest of the girls were flying around in search of the two sisters. Samantha, with her enhanced visibility, saw them from afar and they all flew down towards them. Worried looks and questions were exchanged, as Roberta assured them everything was fine, and Alice and Abigail carried the two downed witches and their damaged bombers as they flew back to Wycombe.
Upon arrival, the commander looked very disappointed at them. "Did you girls get lost?" He said, taking a puff of his cigar.
Before Roberta could confess what happened, Jamie spoke up with an authoritative tone in her voice. "We never made it to the target, we ran into an uncharted aerial hive. I'll take full responsibility for any reprimands, sir."
"I guess it can't be helped…" He sighed, scratching his head. "I'll have another group go mop things up, you girls get your equipment repaired and prepare for tomorrow's raid. I take it there was heavy resistance at Hamburg?"
"Very heavy, sir." Samantha said, handing him photo reconnaissance and radar reports from the battle.
"I see. Well, get rested, you girls will provide the strike at Bremen tomorrow. Can I count on you?"
"We are the bomber witches sir." Jamie said, taking her place among the girls.
They all shouted in unison. "And the Bomber Witches will always get through!"
The girls saluted triumphantly as the Commander dismissed them and went back to his office. He simply shook his head as he took another puff from his cigar.
