Chapter 9: Fires of Liberation
Hey guys, here is chapter 9… sorry for it being late but I had to sort through a few thousand files trying to find this. I still need to find every other chapter but for now here you go. Once again I apologize for the lateness.
Previously
"Alright guys I have a plan but it's going to be a bit risky," Vought stated as he began an explaination. He turned to Minna as he finished. "You up for this commander?"
Minna nodded and grinned as the other witches joined in, "Yes sir colonel; anything you need you'll get." She turned to Mio, "Get back to the base; we need to send a very important message to Galland." She turned to Hannah, "Captain I don't know about you-"
Marseille shook her head, "Please ma'am there is no way you could ever keep me out of this. I'll let Galland know I'm staying."
Vought nodded as he smiled, "alright then ladies and gentlemen, let's do this thing."
September 2, 1945 1100 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room
The men and women watched as the younger of the witches vacated the room leaving the senior members of both worlds. As the door closed, Minna dropped her smile and turned to the colonel.
"Alright Chris… What the hell is that and how did someone beat you near death and knock a witch using their powers out." She pointed at the alien weapon on the table causing Vought to sigh and collapse in his chair.
He glanced wearily at Preddy before locking eyes with the commander, "That commander is called a Kara Kesh and it is a weapon and tool used by the Goa'uld. It can project a shield, manipulate gravity, and can be used for torture and memory manipulation. I have faced many weapons over the years and this thing… still gives me nightmares." The witches watched as he shuddered; no one noticed Geena shaking too as she stared at it.
Mio looked it over before poking it and looking up, "Is it still dangerous?"
Vought sighed and shook his head; the ghost of a smile on his face, "Well yes and no. Yes it is still live and could be used again but we don't need to worry about that; it needs a Goa'uld to operate it and the only one probably in this reality is lying dead in the morgue." He picked it up, "besides we are going to destroy it anyway; better safe than sorry."
This caused the collective witches to sigh in relief, none more so than Preddy. A slightly relaxed Minna gave the colonel a slight smile before frowning again, "Chris… In Eila's vision she stated that she saw someone related to something called the N.I.D. At the time you refused to elaborate."
Geena perked up, "He… He mentioned he was part of a group called the Trust."
The girls glanced at her curiously before turning back to the colonel who was staring at his fellow officers. He turned back to them, glancing sheepishly at Eila and Minna, "Sorry ladies but I didn't want to worry you at the time. Soon after you told me about the N.I.D. we began to have… break-ins in various restricted portions of the ship including our weapon storage. I felt that we could deal with the issue before anything happened." He sighed and dropped his head, "It seems I was wrong." He waited for the berating tone he was expecting; when none came he looked up into the sad smile on Minna's face.
"We don't blame you colonel… we withheld our own secret and it cost the lives of some of your men. For that we are extremely sorry." She and the other witches all dropped their heads at this. Minna looked up again, "Now who are the N.I.D. and the Trust?"
"The N.I.D. is the National Intelligence Department and they are a branch of our government," Vought began. "It is a civilian run operation that gives oversight to top-secret and black military operations." He smirked as he shook his head, "The NID and the SGC don't get along very well; they originally tried to shut the SGC down and almost succeeded. Eventually we learned that the NID had been running operations behind our backs and a shadowy board of directors was using them to steal alien tech to sell for financial gain."
Barkhorn growled causing Sakamoto to glare at her. Vought continued, "Finally back in the year 2000 we were able to find and arrest these board members and the corrupt members of the group fled off-world. The NID is now a clean organization although we don't trust them that much and they understand well."
"Then who are the Trust?" von Bonin asked.
"Those corrupt few that escaped, they began unrestricted terrorist operations against the Goa'uld and while effective, they killed thousands including some of our allies."
Heinrike paled at this declaration but otherwise showed no response; the other girls showed various responses. He continued, "Anyway a year or two later the Trust began to become more and more bold including an attempt to incite nuclear war between the US and Russia. We were able to stop it in time and we finally realized that the Trust was under new leadership; more specifically a Goa'uld system lord named Ba'al. Ba'al was a thorn in Earth's side for years; he even went as far to clone himself to throw us off."
The girls blinked, astonished at this information as he ignored them, "Ba'al was eventually killed… all of him, and we thought the Trust would die with him. We were wrong… it seems another Goa'uld has taken control and may even be controlling them from Earth."
"Who is in charge now?"
Vought looked at Harris and shrugged, "We have no concrete details but we do believe that the new head of the Trust is a Goa'uld named Athena… but we have no idea. All we do know is that they are the ones that planted our now dead friend Parin, and because of how important this ship is to Earth, are probably the ones that gave away our mission to the Lucian Alliance."
The gathered men watched as the witches processed the information; Minna nodding and standing caused the crew to sigh in relief, "Thank you Chris; I understand that was hard but please, we will try to let you know anything important; we will not let this happen again as long as you promise to do the same."
Vought nodded and shook her hand as he too stood up; there was work to be done.
September 6, 1945 1000 Hours- Borealis Bridge
"Sir we have received word from the base."
"And?"
"We are clear to begin at our mission."
Vought gave his crew an evil grin as he leaned back in the control chair; the lights activating as water began to churn behind the ship.
It had been four days since the assault on the ship. The men and women held memorial services for their fallen comrades. Thanks to Sgt. Miyafuji and the medics, all of the injured were saved and were currently pressed back into service. Navy divers had gone in after the fallen C-47 to see if they could find any information regarding their attackers. Without the knowledge of the witches and their men, Vought had authorized Sokolov to interrogate the prisoner any way he seemed fit. The crew working near the Brig had nightmares from the screams the man had produced as the FSB operative questioned him. They had learned that the weapon was probably brought to a secret base in the Northern tip of Africa; the man had not known the exact location. Given this information, Vought dispatched Jumpers with radiation sensors to scan for the errant weapon.
As the ship lifted off, Vought turned to look at Sokolov, "What the hell did you do to him to get him to sing like that?"
Foss and von Bonin turned to look at the Russian as he sighed and looked at the ground; they knew nothing of this.
"Would you believe me if I said I did nothing?"
Chris nearly crashed the ship as he struggled to process this, "How-What… What do you mean you did nothing?"
Vitaly shrugged, "I began to threaten the man and told him that I would be extracting information from him any way I could think of. To scare him I pulled my knife and stuck it into the table and he broke down right then and there. He began to scream in fear before he told me he would tell me anything I wanted, just that I don't hurt him. I agreed and he answered all my questions." He looked at Chris, "easiest interrogation I've ever had to do."
Everyone looked in shock at the colonel's explaination.
"What do you mean; were you planning on torturing the man?" asked Foss in disbelief.
Vought sighed as he shifted his gaze to the witches, "Sorry ladies but when it comes to nuclear weapons and the well-being of this planet, I authorized Sokolov to do anything in order to get information from him."
The two witches stared at him; scared of this side of him.
"Since he cooperated, we are treating fairly and humanly. As soon as we can we will drop him off with Galland's men."
The two looked each other nervously before von Bonin responded, "…Alright then. If you say so."
The conversation was interrupted as the intercoms beeped, "Sir this is Minna. The 501st is taking off now. We will meet up with the fleet and press towards the Venezian hive together."
Vought grinned again as the chair spun him around to face forward, "Roger that commander. We will follow you, Borealis out."
The ship had reached an altitude of 5000ft based on its two functioning engines; one of which was still only producing 40% thrust. Water streamed off it's hull as Vought drifted it away from the base, the 501st, the remaining witches from the ship, and three 302 flights formed up with them as they began to accelerate away from the base; northward.
Vought looked at Foss, "Joe, I'd thought you'd want to be out their flying right now." He glanced at her legs, "And why are you wearing your striker in here?"
Foss grinned as she looked at him; von Bonin just sighed and shook her head. She looked down at her striker, an F4U-1C Corsair model, and looked back up, "You see Chris… I'm a little on the lazy side." Vought rolled his eyes as he looked at her again, "And besides, my magic is quite a bit taxing on me; it drains me very quickly."
"Oh and what's your ability?" he asked curiously.
Her grin grew wider as she activated her magic, the ears and tail of a cheetah sprouted from her as her striker started with a light roar. The bridge staff turned to her as a breeze was whipped up by her prop wash. She lifted herself off the deck and hovered just above it, "This," she simply stated as she vanished; and reappeared outside the bridge and flying ahead. She grinned back at them as she pulled up and away to join up with the others. Von Bonin sighed again as the crew looked back at her in amazement. "She can teleport." With that said she returned to the window as she observed the witches.
Vought shook his head in wonder; these girls still seized to amaze him.
Reaper 1- Capt. Carl "Edge" Grant
"Geez what the hell!" Grant thought as he watched Lt. Col. Foss quite literally appear out of nowhere. She waved at him as she flew to meet up with her group. He glanced at her striker as he tried to identify it, "huh a Corsair… wonder if anyone here has realized who Vought is related to." He thought as he looked around him trying to identify the strikers and who was where.
To his right and slightly behind him was Zippo in a trailing formation and to his left was his new friend Capt. Yeager and her P-51 striker. To her left was her wingman-err… wingwomen, Francesca Lucchini in something that resembled a G.55 of some sort.
On the other side of the ship, sat Capt. Richard "Slim" Michaels and his wingman, Hydra-2. With them were Perrine Clostermann and Hanna Rudel. They were wearing a VG 39 variant and a Ju-87 respectively. Towards the rear of the ship, Hunter flight waited with Sgt. Miyafuji and Flight Sgt. Bishop. Grant could not recognize Yoshika's striker but Lynette had a Spitfire of some sort. Floating over the middle of the ship for the first time in a while sat Maj. Preddy and her two teammates, Lt. Col. Foss and Lt. Harris. A glance told him Harris sported a F6F Hellcat while Preddy had another P-51. Leading the push, sat the largest concentration of witches, CDR Minna, Maj. Sakamoto, Capt. Barkhorn, Capt. Marseille, and Lt. Hartmann.
They had three Bf-109 K-4s, a single Fw-190 D-6, a single Bf-109 G-2/Trop, and a single N1K5 Shiden. A shadow passing his cockpit made him look up; above him sat the last few witches; Lt. Kostilev, Lt. Litvyak, Maj. Sayn-Wittgenstein and Lt. Juutilainen. They were wearing a Yak-3, a MiG of some sort, a Ju-88, and a Bf-109 K-4 respectively. Finishing his scan, his jaw dropped as a line of ships appeared on the horizon. "-2 you seeing this?"
"Affirmative lead… that really is the Yamato isn't it?"
Leading the line of multi-national ships was the pride of the Fuso Navy, the IFN Yamato. The massive ship and it's 18 inch guns brought fear into the crew of the Borealis; the last time any American had seen the this ship, it was being beaten into submission by a swarm of bombers weeks after trying to send Admiral Sprague to the bottom of the ocean. The battleship was infamous to CDR Ross and the navy personnel; it brought images of surface battles of old to the crew.
Grant listened as his radio crackled to life, "Attention Borealis, this is Captain Sugita Junzaburo of the IFN Yamato. We are pleased to finally meet you and your fine ship."
There was a pause before the ship responded, "Thanks Captain, you have a fine ship as well. This is Col. Vought of DSV Borealis; we are ready to do this."
As the ships met up, a large, dark cloud appeared on the horizon.
September 6, 1945 1200 Hours- Borealis Bridge
The crew went silent as they stared at the massive, cone-shaped cloud that hovered above Venice. "My God…" whispered someone as they stared at; the land underneath it had been magnified and shown to be a total wasteland. Vought's blood boiled as he looked at it; it was time to end this here and now. He deactivated the cloak as he activated the radios, "Attention all flights; Cleared in hot. Weapons free, weapons free." He watched as the witches and 302s raced ahead of the ship as he turned her perpendicular to the hive. The sensors lit up with hundreds of contacts, "You guys better come back in one piece…" "Jumpers engage NOW!"
Airspace of Venezia
In front of the advancing fighters and witches, a quartet of Jumpers de-cloaked and opened fire with their Drones. Everyone on the water and in the air watched as the 24 yellow, torpedo-shaped projectiles raced forward, impacted, and flew through the first wave of the small type Neuroi. The sailors and witches watched in awe as the weapons turned around, and began to re-engaged the targets they missed the first time; destroying three times the number they should have been able to. By the time the witches reached the hive's perimeter, the first wave had been completely eliminated. As the second wave approached, the witches and fighters broke into groups and started to engage targets as the Jumpers returned to the ship to reload. The radios burst into chatter.
"Barkhorn behind you!"
"Sanya follow me."
"Wow almost got me!"
"Hunter-1, guns, guns, guns"
"Reaper-2, Fox three"
Minutes passed as explosions dotted the battlefield; missiles, triple-A, and Neuroi, exploded everywhere. The Borealis shook as another wave of small types made a run at the ship. "Sir?"
"I'm trying," grunted Vought as he targeted their latest attackers. The ship's railguns were sensor controlled and required no outside input. The energy turrets on the other hand required something like Serenity to control. Since she was offline that task fell to Col. Vought giving him great pain as he tried to keep the ship flying and targeting the bogeys at the same time; he frowned as the shields flashed again signaling another hit. "Got them," he smirked as burst of yellow energy intercepted two of the three attackers destroying them in a burst of white shards.
The final Neuroi bleated in surprise at the loss of it's wingmen and it turned and tried to run only to be cut down in a burst of MG fire. "Splash one, your clear Borealis."
Vought grinned as Preddy blew past the bridge; she climbed back up to meet with her wingman as she reloaded. Vought frowned as he looked at the situation; the battle had been going on for only 23 minutes but due to its intensity, the witches were tiring. Most of the 501st was getting ready to retreat to a nearby carrier and his witches were getting tired as well. "Damn, what I wouldn't give for an Asgard beam about now…"
"Sir there is a Bf-109 from Karlsland requesting permission to… to crash land in the hanger."
"What? Put him on."
"This is the Borealis, state your intentions pilot."
There was a pause before a radio crackled, "Borealis I have an important package from Vice Air Marshall Galland and a message for a Col. Vought."
"Go ahead this is Vought."
"The message is this, "You owe me one." She said to say I have it."
The crew went silent as they stared at the colonel; he looked stunned, "Foss, get the package from that 109 NOW."
"I'd love to sir but I've only got one more jump in me before I collapse."
Vought frowned as the sensor operator brought up a birds-eye view of the situation; there were too many targets between them and the incoming 109. "All aircraft drop below 500ft and keep clear by 1mi now; cover your eyes. Reaper-1, clear a path, Lancelot authorized."
The bridge went silent as they stared at him; the windows polarized. "…Sir?" Ross asked incredulously.
"Later Matt"
"…Copy last Borealis… all friendlies clear, Lancelot away."
Airspace of Venezia
Everyone watched as the finless missile rocketed away from Reaper-1's internal center bay. The Neuroi watched curiously as their attackers fled and a single small weapon entered their midst. The Neuroi that had been targeted effortlessly dodged the missile; watching as it passed. Reaching it's programmed point, the missile detonated.
Everyone gasped and turned away as a bright white light filled the air. Turning back around, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared; hanging in the air where the missile had been was a large, silvery, amorphous sphere. There was no sound as the sphere expanded and then stopped before silently vanishing; leaving nothing behind. The entire group of Neuroi had been destroyed.
"Foss go now; quick before more show up."
"R-Roger that sir…"
Everyone watched as the Liberion witch raced towards the orbiting 109 and reached into the open canopy before she vanished.
"What was that…" whispered a very tired Miyafuji.
Mio looked at the young sergeant as she struggled to stay awake, "I don't know Miyafuji, but we will find out."
September 6, 1945 1216 Hours- Borealis Bridge
Vought kept the ship stable and continued searching for targets as Foss appeared on the bridge and promptly collapsed as she breathed heavily. She held out her hand, a small box visible as she huffed, "Here… you… go… sir. I'm… going… to take… a nap… now." She passed out as Dr. Lansby rushed the bridge. He grabbed the box as medics began to check her out.
"Will it work Evan?" Ross asked as the doctor opened the box and removed a piece of clear crystal.
He shrugged as he raced off the bridge, "I hope so commander, we're about to find out." He yelled as he sprinted towards Serenity's control systems.
The crew waited in silence as the sensors once again began to fill with targets; more and larger ones than before.
"Sir requesting orders; Reaper-1 is Winchester; requesting RTB at this time."
The crew glanced outside as some of the witches began to regroup around the ship; the rest remained on a retreating carrier as the rest of the fleet moved up to protect them.
The intercom squawked, "Sir…"
A burst of light filled the bridge as a familiar brown-haired Lantean appeared on the deck. "Hello colonel; it seems I have been offline for a while."
The crew burst into cheers as the colonel grinned, "Hello Serenity, we don't have a lot of time; Dr. Lansby needs you at the Asgard Core."
She nodded as she disappeared from the bridge. Vought activated the radio, "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we are going to end this; just buy us a little more time."
A chorus of confirmations filled the airwaves as the remaining witches and fighters rushed forward to re-engage the aliens. On the surface, destroyers and cruisers along with the Yamato, moved up and began firing long range protective fire. Minutes passed as the witches began to retreat from the battle; one by one as they tired out. At this point in time only Hunter flight was still up; and they were down to their beam weapons.
Venezian Airspace
Preddy breathed heavily as she checked her M2. "I've got half a belt left guys," she called out to the four other remaining witches. The others nodded in conformation; they too were too tired to speak up. "I'm really tired; maybe I should head back now. I'm still not 100% from last time," she thought as she and Shirley climbed up to attack the latest group of Neuroi.
The only remaining witches in the fight were Geena, Shirley, Gertrude, Eila, and Heinrike. The witches broke off into two groups as the Neuroi entered range and they began to fire. Shirley fired until her BAR jammed and as she worked to clear it, a Neuroi blew past her aiming for Preddy, "GEENA LOOK OUT!" The major spun around and tried to put up her shield as the Neuroi fired. The beam hit and shattered her shield due to her exhaustion and destroyed her right striker; knocking her out and causing her to fall from the sky.
Barkhorn roared in anger as she destroyed the Neuroi, covering Yeager and Sayn-Wittgenstein as they dove to grab the falling witch. They caught up with her and grabbed her right before she impacted the water. The two checked her over as Heinrike yelled out over the radio, "Preddy has been hit! She needs help now. Please…"
The two carried her up as the radios began roaring to life again.
"The major's been hit? How is she?"
"Bring her here, Miyafuji can heal her. Miyafuji?"
"…so tired… I can try."
"Get her to the ship, we can stabilize her now!"
"Jean's hurt? …These bastards are going to pay; this ends now!"
Everyone watched as a massive number of the yellow torpedoes left the ship and swarmed around it before they merged into a massive stream and barreled towards the hive. The Neuroi attempted to attack the oncoming weapons but their large number and advanced design prevented them from doing too much damage. The stream of projectiles punched through the center of the large cloud that made up the hive and came out the other side before punching back in again. The stream repeated the attack one more time before the hive detonated in a massive white flash. As the light cleared, everyone began cheering; the hive was no more. Everyone cheered and screamed as the white chunks of the hive slowly fell to the ocean while the remaining projectiles returned to the ship.
Shirley and Heinrike attempted to wake the injured major as they made their way back to the ship, "Come on Geena, wake up!" demanded the night witch as she struggled to control her emotions.
"Come on Heinrike we've got to keep moving." At this point in time, the other two caught up with them as they helped carry Geena to the ship.
"Ladies we need you try to try and stay as still as possible. We'll get you here faster."
"How the hell are you going to do th-" Barkhorn's argument was cut off as the five of them vanished in a bright white light.
September 6, 1945 1300 Hours - Borealis Medical Deck
Minna and the members of the 501st practically ran to the infirmary as soon as they boarded the ship; Miyafuji was being carried by a worried Erica. Reaching the door they found a sleeping Foss and the others, along with Shirley and her group. Vought was staring at the door nervously.
"Shouldn't you be flying the ship sir?"
Vought tore his gaze from the door, "Ross can handle it for now. Keeping her floating is simple." He turned back to the door.
Minna turned to Volkov as Erica and Lyn tried to wake up Miyafuji, "How was she?"
The major sighed as he ran his hand through his short hair, "She does not look good командир, she had a lot of shrapnel and burn marks from the attack."
Yoshika finally woke up and made her way to the door where she began to pound on it, "Let me in! I can help!"
Vought stepped back as the door slid open and Dr. Pierce appeared dressed in bloody scrubs, "She's stable but she's lost a lot of blood."
Everyone gasped causing Heinrike to grab onto Vought's arm; she refused to shed a tear. The doctor looked at Miyafuji's tired expression, "Come on then but I'm not letting you kill yourself trying to save her." He looked up, "No one else is coming in." With that the door closed behind the two of them; Vought stood there with the once again silent night witch as he tried to calm her down. He looked at the door again, "Come of Jean… you've got to pull through… you are not dying on me."
September 6, 1945 1500 Hours- Borealis Medical Deck
After promising the upset witch that he would be back, Vought headed back to the bridge to move the ship back to base. Once he landed back in the ocean, the colonel made his way back and had been there ever since. Few of the crew left the door as they waited to hear the news pertaining to their friend and crew member. For whatever reason, these witches had wormed their way into the hearts of every member of the crew in an astonishingly short amount of time. Finally two hours after Miyafuji had entered, the door opened once again.
Standing in the doorway was Dr. Pierce looking tired as he gazed at all of them with a solemn expression on his face.
"…Frank?"
He looked at the colonel blankly before a grin began to form on his face, "She's going to make a full recovery."
The witches began to laugh and cry and the crew sighed in relief. Vought sighed as he walked up and placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder, "I owe you one Doc."
Pierce shook his head, "It's not me you owe," he moved out of the way as pointed to another bed near the door where Sgt. Miyafuji lay asleep. "She's the reason she didn't lose her leg."
The witches gasped at this as Vought stiffened, "What do you mean?"
"Well we were able to stabilize her and we found her blood type fast enough to replenish what she lost but her leg… was almost chewed to the bone."
They stared at him in horror, "After we calmed the sergeant down from the sight of so much blood, she was able to heal the leg with the last of her strength. She fell asleep soon after that."
Mio smiled, "I will see that she gets rewarded for her bravery and actions."
Vought looked over his shoulder as Heinrike clutched his arm, "Can we see her?"
Frank frowned as he turned around and looked further into the bay, "Fine but only three." He turned to Minna, "Commander if you want you guys can grab the sergeant; she needs a nice long rest after today."
She smiled as she nodded, "I think we all do." She turned to Vought, "I believe we need to thank you as well colonel. You destroyed a hive with no casualties; we owe you a de-"
She was cut off as any newly rejuvenated Francesca pounced on him and began trying to squeeze the life out of the much larger man. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you." She spat out quickly as she buried her face in his chest. Vought blinked as the others began to laugh at his expense; Sayn-Wittgenstein snorted before she recovered her calm demeanor, entered the doorway, and made her way to Preddy.
"Hey wait…" he looked down as he tried to pry the energetic ensign off him. Failing he gave Shirley a pleading look causing her to sigh and laugh as she helped pull her off him. Thanking her, Vought led Harris into the bay.
Minna turned to Lynette as she glanced nervously into the bay, "Come on ladies let's grab Miyafuji and head back to base. I believe we have a celebration to plan."
Francesca jumped up in joy, "Oh yeah! Romgna is finally free. I can't wait to tell Maria."
The officers watched in amusement as the sleeping sergeant was once again carried out of the ship. They slowly dispersed as a woken Foss and von Bonin followed Ross and Sokolov. Curious, Ross turned to the witches, "I'd thought that you guys would be waiting for your turn to check on Preddy?"
The two witches looked at each other before smiling and shaking their heads, "Nope no need Ross; I think the colonel will be all she needs right now."
The two male officers stopped and stared at the witches as they continued walking, "Wait what do you mean by that?"
September 6, 1945 1510 Hours- Borealis Infirmary
Vought walked up to Cecilia and Heinrike as they checked on the sleeping major. He watched as Harris patted Preddy on the head before turning and leaving. "Hey wait… aren't you going to stay?"
Harris stopped, turned, and glanced at the two before looking at Preddy, "Nah sir, I think the three of you will be fine. Just wanted to check to see how my buddy was before I go take a nap. I'm beat; later." She waved as she exited.
Heinrike and Chris looked at each other before they grabbed a chair and sat down near Preddy's bed. Vought looked at her, "How you doing Heinrike?"
She sighed as she looked at the sleeping Liberion, "I've been better I guess sir." A glance at Vought's eyebrow made her sigh again, "Chris. I don't normally fight during the day so I'm fairly tired about now."
He looked at her concerned, "You going to be ok?"
She gave him a small smile as she looked at him, "Yeah, I think so." She reached over and patted Geena's hand, "I think I'm going to follow Lt. Harris' lead; I'm going to take a nap." She got up to leave and stopped as she turned to the colonel and gave him a quick hug, "Thanks sir for everything." With that, she left leaving the colonel alone with the sleeping major.
As Vought watched her leave a quiet voice spoke up, "You got her out of her cold, heartless shell faster than anyone you know that?"
He whipped his head around to find Preddy grinning at him with her eyes closed, "Jean, you're awake?"
She opened her eyes and stared at him, "No way, really?" She smiled again at her joke.
Vought shook his head, a wry smile on his face, "How are you feeling major?"
Geena looked at the ceiling, "To be honest, tired and weak." She frowned as she looked down, "I got shot down… again."
There was silence as neither of them spoke. "Jean… You know my story, can you tell me yours?"
(Barenaked Ladies "Odds Are")
She thought for a moment before looking at Vought and nodding, "Fair enough, where would you like me to begin?"
"Start from when you first joined the witches I guess."
She nodded, "Alright then, so I started in the witches with a P-40 striker and was assigned to a group with Fuso in the Red Sea. I was there for a while and got my first couple of kills before I had my first accident."
Vought looked at her.
She continued, "I was rammed by a liaison plane on its way to our base and I was… badly injured."
"How?"
"It was during a thunderstorm and I was on my way back when I was told to escort a plane. I couldn't find it until it plowed into me and knocked me into the water. I awoke a few hours later in the base's infirmary. Next thing I know, I'm being shipped back to Liberion for rehabilitation. I was there for what felt like forever; people kept coming to see me. Months later I found myself being assigned a new striker, a P-47, and was assigned to the 352nd Fighter Group in Norfolk, Britannia. If you haven't noticed by now, I do 'ave a bit of an accent." She stated proudly with her tongue out as she made her accent very noticeable.
Vought grinned at her as she continued, "So anyway I'm in Britannia and was there for at least a year, growing my kill count before I was asked to be transferred to the 506th JFW "the Noble Witches" and I accepted. Later that year I switched from a P-47 to a P-51 as the 506th was moved to the newly liberated Gallia. Here I got a special award because I was the first Liberion to destroy six Neuroi in one engagement."
She rolled her eyes as Vought clapped, "So moving on; my teammates began to realize something, I was being injured in some way pretty much every week; it wasn't until I had a gun discharge and shoot me in the foot that I was given the nickname "Unlucky Preddy" and people began to stay away from me. They thought they were going to be hurt just by being near me."
She looked at her bed; Vought put his hand on her shoulder, "It's cool Preddy, I don't think you're unlucky. You didn't launch with 425 people on a 10,000 year old ship on Friday the 13th at 1313 hours only to wind up stuck in another reality fighting alongside young women carrying heavy weapons and wearing no pants."
Preddy blinked in amazement and confusion about what he said, "Um what?"
Vought shook his head, "Later… you were saying?"
Geena shook her head and smiled before she looked at the bed again, "Anyway last year on Christmas Day I was fighting the Neuroi in a surprise attack over the skies of Belgica and I was smacked out of the sky by friendly AA-fire. I passed out in the snow due to my injuries; some time later I awoke and managed to partially heal myself and found my way back to base. I've been on medical leave since then; and now here I am getting injured yet again." She finished up as she continued to stare at the bed; tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Vought looked around the bay before he leaned forward and wrapped the quietly sobbing Liberion in his arms. "It's alright Jean, as I told Heinrike; as long as you're under my protection, I will not let anything else happen to you. Today was a stupid fluke; it will never happen again."
Preddy pulled herself away as she looked into his eyes; green met brown as she tried to determine whether he meant it or not. Finding he did mean it she did something neither of them was expecting; she kissed him. The two remained like that for a while before they both realized what they were doing causing them to pull away from each other; going bright red.
"Uh did we just…"
He nodded as he looked around, "Uh… yeah."
The two remained silent as they refused to make eye contact, a sense of dread coming over the colonel, "Uh Jean how-"
"I'm 25."
Vought finally glanced at her again in interest, "25? But I thought most witches-"
She cut him off again, "I'm one of a few witches that have kept my magic over 20; I'm planning on retiring soon. I don't want to but my shield is going to start failing soon; if today was any indication."
"Ah… thanks," they both went red again as they thought about it again. Vought got up as he looked nervously at Preddy, "Uh I think I'll be going now… is that ok?"
She nodded as she carefully made eye contact.
"Uh since Doc is going to want to hold you here till late tomorrow, is there anything you might want?"
She thought for a moment, "A crossword puzzle maybe?"
He nodded, "Done," he began to walk away, "And uh Preddy?"
She looked at him.
"I meant everything I said." They both went red again as Vought walked out.
In his office, Pierce leaned back in his chair as he smiled; he had seen the whole thing on the infirmary's camera system. "They fit well together." He reached for a photo of his family, "I'll be home soon guys; don't worry I'll be home."
September 6, 1945 1540 Hours- Borealis Observation Lounge
"Why the hell did I do that… She must think I'm trying to catch her while she's weak or something… Damn it I'm her superior… I hope to hell that this doesn't ruin this alli-" his internal tirade was cut off as he turned around and nearly jumped through the roof, "SHIT, lieutenant, don't sneak up on people like that."
The soldier gave the colonel a blank expression as he stood at attention; waiting for him to continue. The colonel looked him over, "Your Vitaly's man that was hunting the Goa'uld… and that saved Preddy and I."
He nodded, "да, Я младший лейтенант Артем Гусев. It is a pleasure to finally speak with you полко́вник."
Vought nodded and smirked as he held out his hand, "Thank you for your assistance, младший лейтенант; you saved our lives and the lives of everyone on this base. You were trained well."
Artyom gave the colonel a small grin as he shook his hand, "да, полко́вник Соколов trains well."
He raised his eyebrow, "Really? How does he train you guys?"
Artyom shrugged, "Well…"
September 6, 1945 2357 Hours- 501st JFW Runway
He sat once again on the edge of the runway; sighing as he looked at his new bottle of whiskey. Smiling he grabbed the bottle, "Thanks Minna, way to help get a superior officer drunk." Vought poured a shot and raised it in a mock toast before downing it; "To the beginning of the end of the Neuroi." He looked back at the sleeping base and his once again functioning SAM. The witches had decided that due to Maj. Preddy being trapped in the ship for the night and Sgt. Miyafuji sleeping, the celebration of Venezia's liberation would be postponed till the following night.
As he gazed at the base he pulled out a data pad and flicked it on. He looked down at it as he began planning the ship's next move. A map appeared displaying the locations of the remaining hives and with the ship able to use Drones again, this would be over shortly; there were 11 remaining. The only set back was the ship itself; most of the engines needed to be replaced so as engineering stocked up on parts, there was no time to repair them. The ship was being limited to a max speed of 700 knots and that meant long hours of flying sat in his future. He groaned at this thought as he poured another shot; at least Serenity could help him now. Then there was the issue with the missing weapon. Footsteps behind him caused him to turn around, "Hello Heinrike, I see you finally woke up."
The night witch huffed as she sat down next to the colonel and looked out over the water. The two remained like that for minutes before the colonel spoke again, "So… you doing any better?"
She looked out at the water before turning to look at him; her light green eyes glowing in the darkness, "I'm better, still a little worn out but I'll be fine." She continued to stare at him making him nervous.
"…What?"
She stood up and closed the distance between the two as she activated her magic, "What are your feelings towards Preddy?"
Vought stuttered as his face began going red again as he looked away, "Wh-What do you mean feelings? She's a member of my crew and is a friend and an ally." Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Heinrike continued to bore holes into his head; her crown-shaped antenna glowing red. After a while she sighed and sat back down as her antenna faded away. He noticed she did not dismiss her familiar.
"I just don't want to see her hurt again," She finally admitted as she went back to staring at the water. He turned back to her as she continued, "She's always getting hurt from something; I don't want to see someone hurting her feelings as well." She looked straight at him, "You do anything to hurt Jean and I will not hesitate to kill you."
He nodded as he snorted and downed a shot, "Get in line."
She tilted her head, "What do you mean by that?"
"In the six months I've been with the SGC I've made numerous enemies both in the Milky Way and Pegasus. I have almost as big of a bounty on my head as Col. Sheppard." He looked at her, "I would never do anything to hurt Preddy and I will try my damn best to make sure she doesn't get hurt again; she is a friend."
She thought about his response, "Fine but I will be watching you, sir, don't test me."
"Fair enough; so how do you know her? I mean you seem to get along pretty well with her."
The night witch glanced at him curiously, "You mean she never told you?"
"All I know is that she's a member of the 506th JFW."
She nodded, "She's the leader of the 506th B-team and I'm the leader of the A-team; we've been working together for the past year and a half."
"Oh, that explains a lot then."
He looked at her, "Did you know how old she is?"
Once again she nodded, "It's an interesting bit of information isn't it? From what I know there are only about seven witches in the whole world that are still flying past age 20. Geena is a good leader and everyone likes her. They like me too but I'm a bit of… what's the word?"
"A hardass?"
He looked away quickly and began to whistle as she glared at him again; her antenna once again visible and glowing blood red. She calmed down and played with her tail before moving on.
"As much as I don't want to admit it… yes that about sums up the way I command. Everyone likes to compare me to Marseille and I don't like it; I think I'm a good leader and I follow commands."
He put a hand on her shoulder causing her antenna to glow pink, "Listen based on what I've seen, that is all true. You are a great leader, and an amazing pilot. You'll be fine."
He removed his hand and went back to staring at the water. Heinrike blinked a few times as she stared at him; struggling not to, she allowed a small smile to grace her face. She scooted closer and leaned up against him. Her antenna glowed bright pink as he turned to look at her; a lopsided grin on his face as he opened his mouth to say something, "Don't. Say. Anything." She ordered as she refused to make eye contact.
He shrugged as he pat her on the head, "Understood… Princess."
She went red in the face as they both went back to staring at the sea.
September 7, 1945 0900 Hours- 501st JFW Base
'Thunk'
'Thunk'
'Thunk'
Everyone's eyes darted back and forth as they watched the two individuals attempt to outsmart each other.
One of the opponents sighed, "Fine… you win," von Bonin finally admitted as she tipped her king over. The witches clapped as the two got up to shake hands, "Well played Matt, well played."
Ross smiled as he shook her hand, "Indeed well played Huberta. I had no idea you enjoyed a game of chess."
"As I said, it's my favorite pastime… although I'm not very good at it yet. I am learning from my losses."
"As any good player should," Ross responded.
After waking, Ross had gone to the infirmary to check on Maj. Preddy. He found her awake and concentrating as she did a crossword puzzle. Surprisingly he did not find the colonel anywhere and no one had seemed to know where he had went. Noticing von Bonin headed towards the base, he decided to tag along seeing as the colonel had given the primary command staff the day to relax. Learning that the she was an avid chess player, he had grabbed the board he took with him everywhere and challenged her to a game.
The common room cleared as the women left to complete their duties for the day; before Adolfine arrived and the celebration began.
Other side of the Base- Same Time
Mio began to walk the base as she completed her sword training for the day. She glanced at her sword as she panted, "I'm losing magic too quickly; at this rate I will never master Reppumaru." A slight droning sound caught her attention causing her to begin to glance around curiously. A small shadow crossing her caused her to look up, "A B-26?" Observing the aircraft she noticed something was off, "That plane… it's way too small." She watched as the plane performed a few aerobatics before it dropped it's gear and began to descend. Wanting to see what was going on; she followed it to a clearing near the sea and watched as it landed near a man with a large box in his hand. "Col. Vought? What are you doing?"
"Morning major, what can I do for you?" he responded as he fiddled with the foot tall and six foot long plane.
"What is this? It looks like a B-26."
"That's cause it is a B-26… sort of. It's a model I built years ago; I love to fly this thing for fun. It isn't the easiest thing to fly though; I'm a much better pilot when I'm in a cockpit instead of using this." He gestured to the controller hanging from his neck.
"You built this?" Mio was astounded at the detail of this… model. She could see individual rivets in its skin and could even see little pilots dressed in appropriate attire sitting in the cockpit and the gunner positions. Glancing at the nose, she noticed it had been named, "Flak-Bait? Why that name?" The nose was adorned with numerous tiny bomb shaped markings.
"Flak-Bait was the name of the Army Air Corps most decorated bomber of WWII. She flew 202-207 missions depending on who you asked and returned home every time. Over the course of the war, she was holed over 1000 times, returned with one engine more than once and even landed on fire numerous times." He pat the plane on its vertical stabilizer, "Started making her when I was 15 with my dad's help and I finished her by my 17th. My first great accomplishment; followed closely by my Eagle Scout." He smiled, "fun times."
Mio watched as he stared fondly at the plane; watching him wipe some dirt off the wings before he pulled a cover off of one of the engines and began checking it over.
She shook her head, "Fascinating… anyway I was meaning to ask, how is Maj. Preddy? "
Vought continued to stare at the plane; hiding the blush appearing on his face, "She's doing much better; boredom is slowly killing her though. She's told me she spends more time in hospitals than in the air. I gave her a crossword puzzle but she's itching to leave. She might even try to sneak past Pierce."
Mio frowned, "That isn't the way I would do it but she isn't me… What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be prepping for men for tonight or checking on the major?"
"I gave the primary command staff and crew the day to relax before the celebration. As for Preddy," he looked at the plane again, "Uh… she needs some alone time; she doesn't need her CO standing over her shoulder as she rest. Besides, I needed a little alone time myself; I've been working nonstop for the past two months. I am completely exhausted."
Mio nodded as she began her booming laugh; slapping the colonel on the back and sending him into the dirt, "My apologize sir," she helped him back up, "You remind me so much of CDR Minna… you do need to take a real break every now and then to keep your sanity. I completely understand."
He wheezed as he stood up, "it's cool major don't worry about it. Is Minna really that much of a workhorse?"
"She can be; sometimes she spends the whole day doing nothing but paperwork. It gets so bad sometimes her hand cramps up and she can't hold her pen."
Vought grinned, "Sounds like someone I know back home," his expression dropped and Mio noticed.
"You'll get home sir, I'm sure of it. It may take time but it will happen; just have faith."
Chris looked up at her one eye smile and gave her a small grin back, "Thanks Mio… I guess we should head back now. People are going to start wondering where we are."
She nodded and helped him grab his equipment as they headed back to the ship.
September 7, 1945 2020 Hours- 501st JFW Hanger
Vought smirked as he watched the men and women under his command celebrate with the witches and the men from this reality. He and Sokolov sat back as the others continued to mingle; they deserved a chance to have fun. A presence behind him caused him to turn, "Evening Adolfine, how are you tonight?"
Galland frowned as she glared at him, "I'm fine the question is, what are you two doing back here? You're avoiding everybody."
The two men turned to each other before glancing back at her, "We did enjoy the party… we are just getting ready for the next part of the plan. Do you trust us; you know the plan."
She stiffened as she remembered their request from the day after the assault, "…I trust you people; you have sacrificed your very lives to help us. Do it and pray that you people are correct."
The two nodded as they reached for their radios, "Borealis, this is Crosshair; authorization delta two four sierra."
"Confirmed"
Sokolov activated his, "Borealis this is ястреб; authorization victor seven one golf."
"Confirmed initiating activation."
Onboard the ship Lansby and the chief armory officer worked in tandem as they broadcasted a very special message.
With that done, Sokolov headed off leaving the other two by themselves. Vought turned to her, "Well, it's done. We will find out soon enough if it worked."
Galland nodded, "Very well then." She looked at him again with a slight smile, "I never did get the chance to thank you for destroying the hive. You really are going to help end this…"
Other side of the Hanger
Everyone was having a grand time; Vought's men had rigged speakers and had found a crew member who was an amateur DJ. Music blared as some of the younger and bolder people danced. The people from this reality watched in wonder as the DJ laid down his beats as people began throwing him request.
Barkhorn and Clostermann sat back and watched as the others had fun around them, "How can these people call THIS music; it's rubbish."
Gertrude nodded, "Agreed, this is no music I know. Major Sakamoto ma'am, how are you tonight?"
Perrine whipped her head around, "Major ma'am, it's good to see you. How are you feeling? I'm sorry you have to listen to this… trash." She stared fondly at her before she realized what she was doing and looked away embarrassed.
Mio gave her hearty laugh as she swatted her on the back, "relax –hic- Perrine… they are –hic- just having a good time as you should be." She swayed on the spot.
Barkhorn looked at her concerned, "You okay ma'am? You seem… disoriented."
"I'm –hic- okay Barkhorn… I may have had a little to drink…bwa hah hah," She smiled as she began to wonder off into the crowd again. A mortified Perrine chased after her.
Gertrude stiffened as she remembered the last time the major had a little alcohol. Shaking her head she noticed another pair of witches walk up and she frowned, "What do you want Marseille?"
Hannah sighed as she took another drink; Foss at her side, "Come on Trude lighten up. This is a party you are supposed to be having fun. Isn't that right ma'am?"
Foss looked up, "She's right you know Barkhorn; you need to let yourself go sometimes; have fun." She looked up to the DJ as the lights dimmed and he changed the song.
(Basshunter "Boten Anna")
The lights began to flick on and off in sequence with the people from the other reality jumping up and down in tandem. Hannah and Gertrude watched as Joe shrugged and began to join in.
"See she's enjoying herself."
"Yes but as you can see no one else from Karlsland is partaking in this rude excuse for a dance."
"Oh really?" Hannah pointed into the crowd.
"Hartmann! Get over here you will not be doing this." She yelled as she ran after the young lieutenant.
Hannah smirked as she watched her two rivals chase each other. Taking another drink, she noticed Preddy and Harris talking to the ship's doctor who oddly enough, was the primary cook for the evening.
Other side
"Come on Preddy let's go have fun. I heard something cool from some of the crew and it is so true. "You only live once," so come on." Harris pouted as they grabbed some food.
"I'm fine Cecilia; I'm still kinda worn out from the other day. You go have fun… it looks like Hartmann knows how to do it in style."
Harris turned and watched Hartmann running around gleefully with Barkhorn chasing her. Nodding her head she began to give chase, "Take it easy ma'am and please don't do anything stupid." She ran off leaving Geena alone.
"Evening major, anything I can get for you? You feeling ok?"
She turned around to find Pierce smiling at her with a spatula in his hand. "I'm good for now Doc and yes I'm fine; just a little tired that's all." She looked at him, "Do you know where the colonel is? I'd like to thank him for the crossword."
Pierce frowned as he looked around, "Uh… I'm not sure… Oh wait, there he is," he pointed out Galland, Sokolov and Vought in the corner. The two watched as Sokolov walked off.
"Thanks Doc I'll go say thanks...now" she looked slightly downcast as she began to walk away.
"Hey wait."
She turned around as Pierce shoved a burger on a plate to her, "Give this to the colonel… I believe he will thank you for it."
She shrugged as she walked off. Watching her leave, Pierce turned to his helper and excused himself as he made his way to the DJ; a grin forming on his face as he thought of his request.
Other side of Hanger
As she approached, she watched Galland smile and lightly punch the colonel in the arm before she walked off to mingle again. The colonel was smiling and shaking his head as he watched her leave.
"Hey Chris… how's it going?"
Vought swung his head around as he smile brightened before he began to get nervous, "Hey Jean, I'm good how are you? You doing ok?"
She smiled, "I'm doing better just a little tired still. Oh and here you go; Doc said you would like it." She held out the burger.
He took it and eyed it carefully, "Doc you say? Hm…" he stared intently at the burger before he sniffed it. His eyes widened, "No way…"
Geena tilted her head as the colonel pulled the top bun off, "What?"
She watched in astonishment as his eyes began to tear up, "He put… BBQ sauce on it… sweet lovely BBQ sauce," he mumbled as he took a bite and sighed.
She laughed at the expression on his face as another song began to play.
September 7, 1945 2020 Hours, location unknown
"Sir," the sergeant spoke as he entered the man quarters.
The man looked up as he stopped writing, "What is it?"
"The radio sir."
The man frowned; Wells and his friend had never shown up to the planes or if they had, they died in the two crashes. He grabbed the alien radio, "Who is this?" There was a short pause before he got an answer.
"If you are hearing this then good. This is a prerecorded message for the current owner of MY Mark IX. Hello, this is Col. Christopher Vought; CO of the Lantean battleship Borealis. You recently broke into my ship, killed my men, and friends of mine to steal something from me. I do not take kindly to that; by now you know that the alien assisting you changed the weapon to prevent me from tracking it and this radio cannot be tracked as well. Well you receiving this message means that I can in fact send a signal to your location and that bodes well for me; not for you. I am going to give you two months to return the weapon to me for disposal; I'm not sure if it can be safely disarmed. Have a nice day."
The man frowned as he stared at the device, "interesting but what does it me-"
"SIR!"
He turned around, "What is it now?"
"The weapon…"
The man leaped up and followed his men to the storage location for the weapon; it's control panel was lit and it was displaying a countdown. T-minus 61 days and counting.
…So… A late chapter. Sorry everyone, it seems even a programmer such as myself can be defeated by a computer (HAL will not kill me though). Anyway here it is… please don't shoot; I do not take kindly to bullets. On another note, the longest chapter yet so a plus for you readers; have at it. Nothing much else so I will leave it at that, Ghostrider21 signing off.
