"But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget."
― Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried
Chapter 10: Tír na nÓg
1000 Hours, October 23, 2015
Task Force 119, International Waters, North Sea
"Holy cow…," gawked Susie. For the first time in her life, she truly could not find the words to say.
"It's like an entire city," said Tracie.
"What a sight…" said Capt. Reynolds and Wilson.
The 555th and some of the Calypso's crew were standing on the flight deck with their jaws open. For there, less than a kilometer away, was the HMS Queen Elizabeth, flagship of the 23-ship Task Force 119.
The fleet had formed up with the Calypso about four hours earlier, and a helicopter carrying Admiral David Tennant, the admiral of TF119, over to the old carrier. That was an incident in and of itself; long story short, the antsy 555th and Calypso crew freaked out over the appearance of such an unfamiliar aircraft, nearly bringing it down with flak and Striker attacks. Once the chopper finally landed, the Admiral had some very coarse words to say to those responsible.
Now, after that fiasco was done, Maia and Adm. Tennant greeted each other, and set about making plans for what to do with the old ship and its crew. For that, the Admiral brought advanced communication equipment with him – his tablet with a video chat function on it – and contacted Air Chief Marshal Wendy Maloney and Admiral of the Fleet Hilda Andrews for the discussion. After hearing the story of how the Calypso and the 555th JFW got here, they formulated a good plan.
Major Diana Evans expressed her and the 555th's desire to continue fighting Neuroi in any way they could, so Air Chf. Mshl. Maloney decided to have them ditch their old Strikers, and use some new jets. Adm. of the Fleet Andrews thought it best to dock the Calypso at Rosyth Dockyard for an extensive overhaul to bring her up to modern standards, which she projected would take anywhere between 2 months to half a year.
To retrain the Calypso's crew in modern-day carrier operations, they were to be transferred to RNAS Culdrose, where they would go to the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations. As for the aircraft mechanics and engineers, they were to be sent to RNAS Yeovilton to familiarize themselves in modern-day aircraft; the Striker mechanics, however, remained with the 555th. All witches in the 815th JAW, 413th JTFS, and 555th JFW were also to be transferred to RNAS Culdrose, where they would help the 555th retrain in their jets. Finally, Admiral Tennant was to bring the Calypso to HMNB Devonport, take on another witch unit from Culdrose, and head back to their original area of operations.
With a plan set in place, Maloney and Andrews hung up, and the Admiral returned to the Queen Elizabeth. Maia, Lilo, and the rest of the modern-day witches also flew back to the Queen. The now-24-ship fleet sailed on back to Britannia.
0900 Hours, Same Day
Approaching RNAS Culdrose, Britannia
Over the Britannian Channel, a neat formation of four aircraft zoomed by at full military power, their fuselages covered in Karlsland Marineflieger livery. While three of them looked closely similar, one of the four stuck out like a sore thumb – a Panavia Tornado. It flew the number-two position in the formation; like a normal aircraft, it had a cockpit housing two pilots, a pair of jet engines, wings, and a single vertical stabilizer. Its cohorts, however, looked markedly different.
For one thing, the other three aircraft had no evidence of a cockpit, three jet engines, and two vertical stabilizers; frankly, the only similarity they shared with the Tornado were the swing-wings, and even they were different, having two joints. As they approached Culdrose, one more very striking difference became obvious.
First to land was the Tornado, and then the other three strange jets began…transforming. The two lower jets split from each other right up to their intakes, a part of the top split down the middle to form a pair of mechanical shoulders and arms, and a head popped up atop the shoulders, complete with red sensors and a blade antenna. These machinations went vertical, their jets and control surfaces re-angling downwards, and the nose split down the middle to form two huge and heavily-armed arms. With all the transforming done, the aircrafts' "pilots" were revealed: two mature-looking witches and one young-looking one. These witches taxied their strange Strikers, and parked next to the Tornado. Thankfully, they were able to use normal Striker cradles to dock theirs, so dismounting went smoothly.
As the new arrivals were squaring away their stuff, a van drove up, and a woman in a military uniform stepped out. She recognized one of the witches, and cracked a smile. "Glacia Aurora Locklear, as I live and breathe," said the woman, "You know, hearing that you were 'back in the saddle' was surprising news in and of itself. But this? This is a whole other level!"
The witch named Glacia turned around, and cracked a smile of her own. She jumped down from her Striker's cradle and ran over to the woman calling to her; the two embraced. "Wendy!" she said, "My goodness, it's been awhile. Look at you! Air Chief Marshal, huh?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Wendy.
Another witch walked up next to Glacia, and straightened out her bangs. "Herr Flotillenadmiral, you know the Air Chief Marshal of the RAF?" she asked.
"Most definitely, Oberst Fried," said Glacia, "Maloney and I go way back. We saw action together over the Gulf."
"Wow," said Fried.
"So, Wendy, how've you been?" Glacia asked Maloney, "Have you heard from Nasir lately? How's she doing?"
"We can catch up later, love," said Maloney with a smile, "But, in the meantime, we've got some more pressing matters to discuss. Come on. I'll give you all a ride to HQ."
"Thanks!" said Glacia.
10-15 Minutes Later….
An office in RNAS Culdrose HQ
"The 316th Combined Air Group?" said Glacia.
"Yes," said Maloney, "A large force consisting of the remnants of the 815th JAW and 413th JTFS, the 575th ATES, the 555th JFW, a couple more additions from Indonesia, and now, MFG 0. As the oldest and most senior officer of the Group, I'm putting you in charge overall."
Glacia thought about it for a while, and then said, "But…if what you're saying is true, I don't know if I can. For one thing, two of the constituent squadrons are made up entirely of kids. And the 815th and 413th have just lost half of their forces to…a Time-Jump? The same Time-Jump that brought in this 555th JFW from 1945 to now? I just don't know if I can handle this many…."
"Look, I'm under a lot of pressure as it is," said Maloney, "A lot of boys in the brass are convinced the VYWEE Project won't work out, and they're pushing for its shutdown. I won't let that happen, especially now that the Field-Testing Phase is about to begin. But I need someone who could lead and help train up these girls. Someone with experience, and that's where you come in."
"There are a lot of other qualified trainers everywhere, Wendy. What makes me any different?"
"With age comes experience."
"You're just calling me old, aren't you?"
"Look," Wendy stood up, "Glacia, I'm asking you as a friend. I need your help. Please?"
Glacia thought about it for a little bit, but finally relented and took Maloney's request. "Deal."
"Thanks. Now, they should arrive here at 0820 tomorrow. I'll introduce you to them then. In the meantime, sit back, relax yourselves. We have enough time for some lunch."
"Sounds like a deal."
"Excellent. Let's go."
0800 Hours, October 24, 2015
HMNB Devonport, Britannia
TF119 returned home much earlier than scheduled, which surprised a lot of the bas personnel. But it didn't quite surprise the men as much as the company it brought with it: ship, aircraft, and Strikers that looked more at home in entirely other time.
"Oy, Winston," said one of the onlookers, "Get a look at that."
"Blimey, Charles," said Winston, the other onlooker, "What's that bucket o' bolts doin' 'ere?"
"I'm impressed it's even still working," said Charles, "Just look at all the smoke it's puttin' out."
"By God, it's thicker than a foggy morning in London."
"I haven't the slightest idea how TF119 found that old ship, or why they'd have to return so soon." Charles spotted movement on the deck of the old ship and the Queen Elizabeth. "Oh, looks like the witches are launchin' off."
Maia led her witches, along with the witches and aircraft of the 555th, off the Calypso and the Queen Elizabeth and towards RNAS Culdrose about 80km southwest from Devonport; the F3Fs' lower speeds meant that the normally 10-minute trip was doubled to 20 minutes. Nonetheless, all 35 witches plus the four biplanes made it safely to the airbase. Maia led everyone and followed a Follow-Me truck over to their designated hangar.
As they were making their way over, Air Chief Marshal Wendy Maloney and Flotillenadmiral Glacia Locklear watched them approach. "My God," said Glacia, "Are those little kids using Wildcats and Hellcats?! And is that a Havoc?! Oh God, and that's a PEASHOOTER! Fucking Biplanes and Lysanders, are you kidding me?! Remind me again, we are in the 21st Century, right? Why the hell are your VYWEE witches using stuff from the last century?"
"Oh, hush up, nutter," said Maloney, "That's the 555th…I think. The ones who were thrown forward in Time, supposedly by a Neuroi weapon…though I honestly didn't expect to see Lysanders, either."
"Uh-huh…" The eclectic procession of Strikers and Aircraft finally stopped in front of the hangar, filling the air with the sounds of piston and jet engines. "Well, one thing's for sure," shouted Glacia, "Not many things can beat the sounds of a piston engine!"
With the Strikers and planes now winding down, everyone began to dismount. Glacia noticed one of the little girls grab a pair of crutches, and another hop into a wheelchair. "Oh~? And they're disabled kids, too. I don't believe this!" By now, she had seen enough to make her laugh, and she cracked up so hard that everyone else heard her.
"Oy, get yourself together, Glacia," Maloney scolded, "You're already setting a bad impression."
Glacia wiped some tears from her eyes, and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just, I saw the wheelchair, and that was it for me. Oh Jesus…" She chuckled once more, and finally calmed down.
Maloney shook her head, and then chuckled a bit herself. "Welcome to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, boys and girls. 815, 413, welcome back."
"Good to be back, Air Chief Marshal," said Maia, "I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"I'm just glad you girls were unaffected," said Maloney, "Well…mostly." She gestured to the 555th. "Now then, everyone. Please, gather round me for a moment. I'll lay out a plan."
The remnants of 815 and 413 gathered around the Air Chief Marshal; the 555th, noticing the behavior of the other witches, and the insignia on her uniform, also gathered up. It was then that Megan saw the name on the Air Chief Marshal's nametag. "Hey," she said, "You wouldn't be fucking related to – "
Maloney shut her up real quick with a look. "Yes. He was my great-grandfather. No. I am not proud of his actions in 1944. And no. I am not like him, despite having his name and rank. Now, if you will allow me to continue…"
"Sorry," said Megan.
"Ahem. Now, here are your orders. All witches present, plus a couple additions, are to be reorganized and compiled into a new Combined Air Group designated 316. Constituent units will be: 815th JAW, 413th JTFS, 555th JFW, 575th ATES, and MFG 0. There will also be a pair of witches from Indonesia joining us.
"Now, the 575th is due to arrive from HMNB Clyde sometime later today, and MFG 0 is a unit just in from Karlsland. In fact, their leader, Flotillenadmiral Glacia Locklear here, will take over as overall Commanding Officer of the 316th. Capt. Daigneau, you'll be Executive Officer."
"Oui, madame," said Maia.
"Good," said Maloney, "I'll let Flotillenadmiral Locklear take over from here."
"Thank you, Air Chief Marshal," Glacia said, stepping forward, "So, I've been thinking, since you guys and gals in the 555th need to be retrained to get used to jets and all that, I figured that it would be a lot easier and more efficient if we split you all up, and pair you with one of the 815 or 413 witches. How's that sound, Capt. Daigneau?"
"Sounds like a plan," said Maia, "Though, might I suggest that we only split them into their constituent Flights instead, and have a Flight of my own girls to supervise?"
"You know, I like that plan, too. I'll have the rest of MFG 0 assist in that matter. You know, young lady, you possess a talent for leadership."
"R-really?" Maia smiled shyly, "I….I'm still pretty new at this. Anyway, I'll have Major Evans explain the 555th organization."
Diana stepped forward, and explained, "Flotillenadmiral, the 555th is divided into four Flights: Command, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Gamma is the Flight of F3F pilots, so they aren't witches."
"Thank you, Major Evans," said Glacia, "So….Captain Diagneau, how do you propose we split this up?"
"Hmmmm…" Maia thought about this for a little bit, then she turned to Maloney. "Air Chief Marshal, you mentioned this 575th ATES. What unit is that?"
"Ah," said Maloney, "That's the squadron of my Very Young Witch Evaluation Experiment, or the VYWEE Project, that I'm undertaking for the Fleet Air Arm. It's mostly kids around the 555th's age."
"Ooohh, sounds interesting," said Diana, "So, the top brass of the major militaries have finally come to their sense about us young witches, huh?"
"Well, that's the problem. There are still those who haven't. And with the field-testing phase coming up, I'm under a lot of pressure."
"Which is why she transferred them under our care," said Glacia.
"Well, with this new handful of younger witches coming in, I'd say we should hold off on making reassignments until they arrive."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," said Glacia with a smile, "So, let's go meet my unit, MFG 0."
Later that day….
A convoy of a busses and trucks pulled into the RNAS Culdrose gate, and stopped for an ID check. The gate guards were more than a little surprised to see that the busses were full of little kids, but they were witches, and they had military IDs, so they were authorized to come in. The guards let them through, and they drove on in.
Wing Commander Tetra Orca Tennant, a Britannian girl just 10 years old, let out a yawn. She and her unit, the 575th ATES, may have left HMNB Clyde at 10 in the morning, but the ride took several hours; by the time they arrived, the sun was already beginning its descent down the sky. But, the important thing was that they'd finally made it.
The busses finally stopped at the base parade grounds, and the girls on-board grabbed their things and got off. Waiting for them was a large group of older women, and a sizable of group of girls who appeared around the same age as them. A couple of the older women stepped forward, one of them being the RAF Air Chief Marshal. Tetra and the others of the 575th stood at attention and saluted.
"At ease, ladies," said Maloney, "Welcome to RNAS Culdrose. So, you were informed of the change of plans, yes?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Tetra.
"Great," said Maloney, "So, as a part of the 316th CAG, you'll be preparing for the next phase of the VYWEE Project: your performance in the field."
The 575th girls perked up and began talking excitedly amongst each other, but returned to attention when Maloney held up a hand to quiet them down. She continued.
"Now, I'll turn it over to your new CO and XO: Flotillenadmiral Glacia Locklear of the Karlsland Marineflieger, and Captaine de Vaisseau Maia Daigneau of the Gallian Aéronavale."
"Thanks, Wendy," said Glacia with a smile, "Hello, girls. I'm Flotillenadmiral Glacia Locklear. For the record, I'm a native from Alaska who transferred into the Marineflieger. And I'm 34."
Everyone froze, all with the same question on their minds. "How…?"
"Well, I lost my ability when I turned 21, but it turned out that I still had magic energy in me, so I rejoined the Air Force, and got transferred into the Marineflieger to help them test out their new project."
"Uh-huh," said Maia, who herself was surprised.
"Ah, and this is Captaine de Vaisseau Daigneau, mine and your XO." Glacia stepped back to let Maia speak.
"Thanks, Flotillenadmiral," said Maia.
"Please, just call me Glacia," said Glacia with a smile.
"Okay, Mademoiselle Glacia."
"Hnnng! You look so~ cute when you speak Gallian, ufufufu~…"
Maia stared wide-eyed at Glacia, then turned back to the 575th. "…Anyway, you girls are 13-strong, no?"
"11," said Tetra, "The two older girls with us are helpers, and honorary members of the Haiku Witches. That's our name, by the way, since our number is the syllables to a haiku poem. 2nd Lt. Shinozaki came up with the idea."
"I see," said Maia, "So, young Wing Commander, how do you propose we group your girls so that training and preparation can be facilitated?"
"Well," said Tetra, "The O'Hara quadruplets must always be kept together, on account of their mental connection ability, I know that for certain. Apart from that, you are free to group us up as you please, Captaine."
"Merci beaucoup, demoiselle," said Maia, "Now, there's another unit here with the same amount of witches, all at the same range of ages, as you girls. Now, my unit is 23-strong, and Flotillenadmiral Locklear – ahem, I mean Glacia's – unit has three more witches. Plus another two from Indonesia, that makes 28 older witches to the total of 22 younger ones, a 14-11 ratio."
"That means about 1 younger witch per 1 or 2 older ones," said Glacia.
"Right," said Maia, "Now, the 555th has three flights, four witches in two of them and three witches in one, and the O'Haras are quadruplets, leaving us with seven in the 575th. Now, having 4-8 witches to instruct just 4 would be too overwhelming. So, if we could do, say, 2 older witches for every four younger ones, it would be less stressful. We may have a surplus, but that's okay."
"Okay, sounds like a plan," said Glacia, "We can go square this away tomorrow. As for right now, let's just mingle and mix over dinner."
"Al-right!" said Tetra excitedly, "I'm starving!"
The newly-completed 316th Combined Air Group spent the rest of that evening breaking the ice and getting to know each other. However, one of the witches wasn't seen amongst the gaggle.
Captain 1st Rank Nina Dina Denisova left the on-base restaurant soon after she finished her meal; she told Maia that she was feeling rather tired, and wanted to go to bed early. Unwrapping a piece of gum from its foil, she stuffed it in her mouth, and jammed her hands in her jacket pockets – autumn nights on the Britannian coast are quite nippy.
She continued, quickening her pace, passing the barracks. She began hearing the sounds of jets and aircraft. Over this arose whispers and echoes of an all-too-familiar voice. Nina…Nina…Can you hear me?! Nina!
The sounds of the engines began to rise in pitch, magnifying the echoes with it. Nina's breath and heart rate quickened. Nina! Nina! You need to get out of there! NINA!
The engines now filled the air with their roars! It was as if Nina was completely surrounded by them; she could feel it vibrating in her bones and gut! She stumbled and fell to her knees, heart and breath going a mile a minute. She clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying futilely to block out the din and roar. NINA! NINA! MONSTER! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT!
Suddenly, everything went quiet. Nina looked up, and realized that she was kneeling on the sidewalk, with tears streaking down her face. She noticed some people some distance away, across the street. Before they noticed her, she got back up, dusted off her legs, and wiped her face.
Nina's thoughts went the young new arrivals. Little kids going to war. Unbelievable. She stuffed another piece of gum into her mouth, and walked on into the frigid night.
[End of Chapter 10]
And so marks the end of the first double-digit chapter! Chugging along, we are! Aw Yiss! Anywho, I'm thinking of not only cutting down on chapter length, but picking up the pace, especially now that we've got all characters introduced, for the most part. Got a lot in store, but it's all for later. So, on to the next one!
The title, Tír na nÓg, is from the song of the same name by Celtic Woman. In Gaelic, it means "Land of the Young", one of their names for the Otherworld. It's often depicted as a land of eternal youth, beauty, health, and abundance of joy. Sounds like my kind of place!
K bye now.