Aboard the Horizons Edge
Alice sits on her bed and strums some cords on her guitar. The instrument lets out a graceful acoustic sound. The Witches had finished their training for the day and were let off early in the afternoon for some relaxation. There was still plenty of time to train the Witches before they reached the coast and had to fight the hidden threat that was the neuroi. Julia did not want to put too much stress on them when the training had just started so she would allow them to relax at times and cut their training a little shorter.
Aaron lay on his bed above Alice and listened to her fiddle with the guitar. The notes were very peaceful to his ears as he closed his eyes and listened. Aaron had been very stressed out lately. Being Alice's right hand man was not what he would have expected. It was easy to assist her with her equipment and he enjoyed striker maintenance and repair. It was the way Alice acted around him that stressed him out. She was such a free spirit and would express her feelings with him in a strange way. This wouldn't be as bad if Aaron didn't have a crush on her. He was a very shy boy and was unable to express his feelings with girls normally. Now he had Alice giving him kisses on the cheek and wrapping her arms around him at random and he could never tell if it was playful or true feelings. It all wore him out.
"Any requests" Aaron hears from under him. He looks over the edge of the bed to see Alice looking back up at him.
"Excuse me?" Aaron asked
"Any requests? Do you have a song you want to hear soldier boy?" Alice asked holding up the guitar.
"Oh... What do you know" Aaron asked hopping down from his bed and taking a seat next to Alice.
"I know a couple by the Beatles. Do you listen to them" Alice asked
"Yeah. I like them allot." Aaron said finally smiling to the girl seeing they had something to connect with.
"Maybe I should play something romantic for us" as she starts to strum Yesterday.
"Oh... Yeah... Ha ha... or something by someone else... Maybe the Animals" Aaron says as he starts to move away down the bed.
"That's another great love song" she said as she changed it over to Something.
"That's not what I meant. Maybe we should just talk" Aaron says as he pushes the guitar gently out of the way.
"Alright. You know for all the time we have been together you haven't told me much about yourself Aaron. I'm starting to think you don't like me" Alice says giving him a pouting face.
"No no no no. I like you allot Alice 'more than you know' It's just there isn't much to tell" Aaron says moving back next to her.
"I don't mind. We have all day. Try to come up with something interesting. Where did you learn to ride a motorcycle" she says putting down the guitar and leaning in to listen.
"Well... It all started when I was young. My older brother used to take me out ridding with him all the time. His name was Jack. He was the greatest guy you would ever meet. We used to go everywhere together and we were best of pals. We grew up in a small farm town in Britannia. His goal was always to get out of that town. That's what he always said. He would tell me about the open world on the outside and how we would run away together. Our father was a drunk who was pretty hard on him. I think he was like that after mom left him a few years after having me. Jack really wanted to get away from all the pain of being at home. One day in the night he just had to leave. The only problem was he left me behind. I was so sad when he left because I always thought he forgot about me. It wasn't that. He knew if he took me he couldn't take care of me properly. That was the last time I saw him." Aaron pauses and takes a deep breath. The he sighed.
"Now I was alone with my dad and he didn't have jack to beat anymore so I was next in line. I put up with it for a few years. Then I couldn't take it anymore. It just got really bad" Aaron said as Alice reaches over to him and touches him on the chest. She then began to unbutton his shirt to reveal many scars on his chest and back.
"These aren't battle scars are they" She said touching his back. "If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to. I'm sorry I brought it up."
"No I want to finish. I want you to know" Aaron said. This was the first person he had shared this with since it happened. For some reason Aaron felt comfortable with telling her this.
"Jack had left one of his motorcycles locked up in the shed. I broke the chain with a rock and started the engine. I had never driven a bike before. I had only watched my brother... But in that moment of no turning back as I pushed it up the old dirt road and looked back at the house in the early morning. I knew what my brother had seen. That moment of no turning back. That moment before freedom. I just got on and rode. It was like second nature and I felt so free. I was finally out of there. After that I joined the royal Navy and a year later I'm here with you."
"Aaron. That's... so... Beautiful" Alice said.
"Oh... uhm... thanks." Aaron said as his face turned red.
"No. I'm just... I don't know how to explain it" Alice said as she began to lean over to him as Aaron starts to lie back on the bed to get away from her. He did not know what was going on.
"Alice. Is this another one of your jokes?" Aaron asked trying to re-button his shirt but his hands are shaking too much.
"No. I was never joking. It was always real. I just..." she said with tears in her eyes as a drop falls onto one of Aaron's scars on his chest. Aaron is quiet waiting for what she is going to say. "You would share something so personal with me...*sniff* you trust me with something this important to you... I need to tell you something personal about me"
"What is that" Aaron asked as he wipes a tear off her cheek.
"I... I... I really like you. Not as a joke. All the play and kisses were just me looking for a response from you. I could never ask you till now. I thought you felt the same but I could never be sure. I have always felt this way since the day we met."
The two were silent as they looked into each other's eyes. Alice lay on top of him as Aaron reaches his hand up and strokes it through her hair.
"Alice. I have always had strong feeling for you." Aaron said as Alice brought her head down towards him and their lips met. The two close their eyes as Aaron lays his hands on her back.
But as soon as their love began to blossom it was quickly cut short by the sound of an alarm. The two brake apart in fear of the sudden sound.
"You can't be serious. At a time like this." Alice said as Aaron stands up and begins to put on his shirt and jacket.
"We can always finish latter" Aaron promises extending his hand to her. Alice smiles and gets up off the bed and gives him a hug.
"I always knew you were the right guy" Alice says and the two run out of the room and towards the hanger. As they sprint down the hall doors on each side begin to open as other witches and pilots file out and follow them.
Aaron helps Alice suit up and help her into her striker for takeoff. Alice places her legs into a BAC Lightning F as her ears and tail appear from beneath her hair and from under her jacket. The Lightning was a large striker with many capabilities. Its duel jets stick out from its lower half that allows it to reach great speeds. It had a camouflage paint job over its flat gray coat. Alice had been piloting this model for many years while training with her mother.
"Alright let's get you up there" Aaron said as Alice prepares for takeoff. Far off in the distance a large Neuroi approaches quickly. Its large, four, cylinder like jets explode with a blast of flames as it propels itself towards the ship. Alice's jets pulse and then rocket her off the deck of the ship and towards her enemy. She checks her ear peace and cocks her M21 as she rushes towards the neuroi.
"Alice this is Julia. Do you copy? You're the only one up there right now. Engage the enemy if you can. We will be up there as soon as possible." Julia says over the radio.
"Copy. I think I can handle this" Alice says as she looks through the scope and uses her magic eye to home in on the enemy. With her ability she can see much farther and focus over a greater distance through her sights. She puts the cross hairs on its nose and fires. The neuroi doesn't attempt to avoid the shot and allows itself to be struck head on. It then begins to pick up speed towards Alice's position.
"Oh crap!" Alice says as she pulls back the bolt discharging the shell and loading the next round. She balances the sights on the nose once again and fires. Once again the ship isn't phased by the attack and continues its charge. Alice continues to pull the bolt and load the rifle. She fires almost the whole clip into the neuroi when she realizes it has come very close to her in little time. Before she knew it the ship was right in front of her.
"*GASP*!" Alice says as she puts her arms in front of her face.
Aaron watches in horror from aboard the deck of the ship as he sees the ship collide right into Alice. In a haze of smoke nothing can be seen from outside.
"Alice! NO!" Aaron shouts as a large amount of white metal starts to fall towards the ship. Aaron is frightened and loses his footing as the large sharp metal pieces fall right towards him. The next thing he knows he hears the patter of metal all around him but fells no pain. He looks up to see a large blue shield has appeared above him. He then realizes that Maxine was holding him while projecting her shield to save him from the shrapnel.
"Are you alright Aaron." she asks as the metal rain slows to a halt and Maxine drops the Magic Shield.
"Yeah... Thanks Barkhorn. But what about Alice?" he asked as the two look up to see the smoke had started to clear. To Aaron's surprise he sees Alice had held her ground and destroyed the enemy with a crushing blow with her shield. Alice had her hands in front of her face as she had instinctively raised her shield to protect herself. The Neuroi, moving at such a high speed, Crashed directly into the powerful shield and was torn apart from the inside out. Its shattered pieces falling all over the Horizons Edge.
"Huh" Alice says as she opens her eyes "I did it? I did it!" Alice says as she soars over the runway and down onto the wires to land.
"Nice job Alice!" Aaron said into the mic as he watched her begin her decent. "You might want to slow down if you're going to land it... HAY LOOK OUT!" Aaron shouts as Alice starts to land on the runway but finds she was going too fast and couldn't stop. She ended up crashing right into Aaron as the two slides a few yards down the tar mat. Alice's Striker shoots sparks as it scratches on the ground. Closer investigation would show that there was allot of wear and tear on Alice's striker. This really shows how much of an accident prone pilot she was.
"Ouch" Alice said as she lay on top of Aaron. "I guess I should work on my landings more. Right Aaron... Aaron?"
"Mih Chant Brewth" she hears from below her as she looks down and sees Aaron's face is being smothered in her large breasts.
"Ah! Sorry" she said as she moves her chest off of him and Aaron takes a deep breath.
"Ah... Ha... ha... it's alright." Aaron says as his face has turned very red.
"So... where were we before we were interrupted soldier boy." she says as she started to move closer to him and they begin to kiss on the flight deck. Aaron brushes his hand through her long hair. Little do they suspect the true plan of the neuroi was just beginning?
...
The sun had now set over the horizon and most of the witches had retired to their rooms. In the sitting room Maxine relaxes as she plays a Rolling Stones Vinyl on the Record player. On the couch Antonia sits back and reads a book on Striker maintenance. She nods her head to the beat of the music as she turns the page. Nick and Shina had been listening to the music along with Maxine. After an hour of music Shina had fallen asleep on Nicks lap. Maxine spent most of her nights on the ship listening to her music with whoever was around at the time.
"So you really like rock and roll don't you" Nick said as he lays his hand on Shina's shoulder.
"Yeah. It's always been my way of escaping for a while from the long training my mother would put me through." She said as Live with me ends and Let it bleed begins to play.
"So it must have been tough living with the famous Captain Barkhorn" Antonia said closing the book and putting it on the table.
"It wasn't always bad. She is a nice woman. The training was just rough." She said with a laugh.
"Hmmm... well. This record is almost finished. Let's see if there is anything else good to listen too." Nick said as he lifted Shina's head off of his lap and placed it on a pillow. He then walked up to the shelf and started to shift through the records.
"Hay how about this one. Cream... Disraeli Gears" Nick said as he holds up a psychedelically painted album.
"*Gasp* I love Cream" Antonia says as everyone stares at the normally quiet and shy girl. They did not expect this sudden outburst from her about a music group. This had woken Shina up who was now also looking at her. Antonia's cheeks tern red.
"It would be nice to listen to it" she said now embarrassed of the outburst that would not come from a trained soldier.
"Sure lets listen to it. It looks good" Maxine said smiling to Antonia to as she begins to return to her regular skin tone. Nick puts the record on the turn table and places the pin on it. The record begins to play Strange Brews as Antonia starts once again nod her head to the beat.
"It's just such a great sound. Eric Clapton is a guitar genius." Antonia says as she closes her eyes and leans back on the couch and closes her eyes. The others smile seeing that Antonia was able to open up around them. They also started to get into the beat of the music and enjoy it with her.
...
At that time two crew members were up on top of the runway. It was very dark other than the light of the moon. The two were still cleaning off the runway of all the shrapnel from the day's battle. They were able to clear enough space so Richard and Tatyana could take off for their night patrol but there was still much to go. They push their brooms up and down the long runway.
The small piles of metal crowd parts of the ship. Little do the men know of the small intruder that has made its way on to the ship. One of the piles of metal begins to shift and crackle as a small black spider like machine crawls out from the rubble. Its red core sits on top of its body. It begins to crawl over to the two men cleaning the deck of the ship.
"I can't believe they have us out here at night cleaning this mess. Why don't they make the witches clean their own mess" The tall dark haired man said to the short blond man.
"Well they did save us from that neuroi. If they weren't here we wouldn't be floating." the other man says to him.
"Yeah I guess you're OUCH!" The black haired man shouts as he slaps the back of his neck.
"What's wrong" the other man asks.
"I think something just bit me..." the Black haired man says as he starts to become woozy. His joints start to tense up and he crumbles to the ground.
"HAY! You alright" the other man asked as he drops his broom and runs over to him. "Come on what's wrong with you"
Suddenly the black haired man picks up his broom and whacks the other crew member in the chest with it. The man is thrown a few good feet away as the other man stands to his feet. The other man is knocked unconscious and the black haired man begins to drag him to a hidden area. After he hides his body he turns towards the hatch to the under deck. The man fixes his cap as his eyes glow red. He was now completely taken over by the neuroi threat.
...
The group under deck was still listening to the Cream Album as they danced to Dance the Night Away.They had found something they could all relate to. They all liked music in one way or another and were bonding through the sound of Clapton. Antonia was having allotted of fun with her friends.
"Hay. I just thought of something" Antonia says as Nick turns down the music "Our parents had a name for their joint fighter wind. They were the Strike Witches... well shouldn't we come up with a name for our wing."
"Yeah your right" Maxine said as they all started to think of a name for themselves.
"We need something that says were tough and skilled..." Shina said.
"How about the Hurricane Witches" Antonia said
"Why that?" Nick asked
"We will be the Hurricane Witches because we strike strong from the sea" Antonia said
"That could work" Nick said
"Yeah sounds great. The 354th Joint Fighter Wing! The Hurricane Witches!" Maine said
The next thing the four knew a young crew member stumbles through the door. He was badly beaten and his cloths were torn. Nick runs over to help him to his feet as the man begins to explain what has happened.
"You witches have to help us. One of our fellow soldiers has gone mad and is viciously beating the other crew members. He is very strong... we don't know why he is doing this. You have to help" the man says as he faints from his injuries. Maxine helps Nick move the man to the couch.
"Let's get the others and go find this madman" Maxine says as the others agree with her and run to wake the others.
Antonia opens the door to her room and turns on the lights.
"Richard, Tatyana, we need your help. There is a threat on the ship." she says. She looks into the beds to see that there wasn't anyone in the room.
"Dammit I forgot they left for night patrol hours ago... They are probably miles away by now." she says feeling defeated that her sister and boyfriend won't be here to help her. She than fells someone grabs her shoulder as she spins around to see Michelle.
"Come on we need to go." Michelle says pulling Antonia through the door. The team regroups in the hall and starts to head towards the other end of the ship.
"Alright we have allot of ship to cover so here's the plan" Shina says. "We're going to split up into pairs and spread our search farther. If you see anything let us know over the radio so we can help. Michelle you're with Malcolm." she said as the two turn the hall to search another part of the ship.
"Aaron you take Alice and head up that way. Maxine I want you to go with Antonia and search the lower half of the ship."
"You can count on us" the two say as Maxine opens a door to the stairs and the pair head for the lower decks.
"Alright Nick you and I are going to search the other lower half" She said
"Sounds like a plan. What should we do when we find this madman though" Nick asks.
"I can think of a few things" Shina said grasping the handle on her blade that she grabbed from her room before they left.
"You really scare me some times" Nick says with a laugh.
...
Antonia and Maxine walk through the lower cabins in the lowest part of the ship. It was allot tighter down that far compared to the witches rooms. The gray walls were lit by the bright white lights that hung from the sealing. The silence of the hall sent a chill down Antonia's spine.
"Where are the other crew members?" Antonia asked looking over her shoulder to make sure the man they were looking for wasn't behind them.
"They probably thought they would lose him among all the other crew members. He will be easier to find without all the others crowding the halls" Maxine says as they turn down another hall.
"I guess that's a good point. It's just so quiet and empty... it's creepy" Antonia said as her hands start to shake. Maxine notices Antonia is getting tense from the thought of a madman running around the ship unseen. The environment really wasn't helping.
"Hay... just try to calm down" Maxine says.
"Sorry... it's just... hard" Antonia admits.
"How about we talk about something else to get your mind off of it... You and Richard have been getting really close lately." Maxine says and Antonia snaps out of her fear and is now very embarrassed as her face turns red.
"Oh... yeah... were just... he's such a nice guy... his lips are..." Antonia shakes her head. "Sorry... I still can't talk about him without wandering off."
"That's so cute. I always wish I could find a guy like that. Someone who wants to be close to me as much as Richard is with you." Maxine says and Antonia blushes.
"I'm sure you will find someone like that" Antonia says
"I don't know... It's not like I am going to bump into a great guy out of nowhere" Maxine sighs as they turn another corner. Before they know it a little girl in a white jacket and short brown hair runs past them. Then as Maxine turns to see who it was she is hit in the side and knocked to the ground. She looks to her side to see a boy with silver hair lying next to her.
"I'm so sorry I didn't see you there" the boy said as he helps her to her feet.
"Oh it's... its fine." Maxine says as her face turns red when she takes a better look at the boy. He had the uniform of the Orussian Navy and long silver hair. She noticed he was a little taller than her when she got to her feet. He notices she is blushing and smiles to her which makes her face turn redder.
"Hi there... I'm" He started to say before the brown haired girl grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall. They were obviously in a hurry to get somewhere.
"Come on we have allot of ground to cover. This ship is way bigger than the New Jersey" the little girl tells the boy
"Oh. Sorry I can't stay to chat. I hope I can see you later." the boy says as he follows the young Fuso girl around the corner.
"Yeah... Yeah! Um... talk to you... later" Maxine said even though the boy is already far away. Antonia stands there with her arms crossed and smiles at Maxine.
"Well I guess you were right" Antonia said
"W-What are you talking about?" Maxine says
"You said you weren't going to bump into a great guy and you didn't... you were knocked off your feet" Antonia said with a laugh
"H-hay shut up... I'm not that weak to fall for a guy that easily... I don't even know his name... *sigh* I bet it's a nice name" Maxine says
"Sure you don't. Don't worry once this is over I will help you find this mystery Orussian."
"Thanks Antonia... you're the best" Maxine said giving Antonia a hug as the two continue to search the halls.
...
Michelle kicks in the door and points her flashlight and pistol into the dark room. Malcolm follows close behind with his M1911.
"Clear" Michelle says as they exit the room and turn down the next hall.
"Where do you think this guy has run off to" Malcolm says lowering his gun. "This ship is so big he could be anywhere" Malcolm says as Michelle stops at the opening to the next hall. Malcolm turns around wondering what she is looking at.
"I think I have an Idea" Michelle says waving him over. Malcolm looks down the hall to see the door to the armory is open.
"Be careful... all our weapons are in there" he said holing up his gun and pointing it at the door.
"Don't worry I never miss" Michelle says making sure her pistol is loaded and ready to fire.
"That's not what I saw the day I met you." Malcolm jokes.
Michelle is silent for a few seconds as they reach the door and get into position. "*sigh* now is not the time to joke... well talk latter" Michelle says with a smile.
They slowly open the door and see a man at the far end of the room rustling through the equipment. The two point their guns at his back.
"Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly. We don't want to hurt you." Michelle says and the man stops what he's doing and just looks at the wall ahead of him.
"Michelle look at the back of his neck." Malcolm says as they see a small black spider like neuroi had buried its claws into his spine. Michelle flinches when she sees this disturbing sight. The man turns around revealing his glowing red eyes beneath the shadow of his cap.
"Hay... stop!" Michelle says as the man begins to skulk towards them.
"She said stop" Malcolm shouts pulling the trigger and shooting the man in the leg. He falls to his knee as white blood begins to drip to the ground. His flesh turns from tan to black around the wound and closes it.
"Shit. It's a human neuroi!" Michelle says as the man launches himself at the two. With a quick sweep he kicks Malcolm's legs out from under him and he falls to the ground. Michelle tries to shoot him but the neuroi is too quick and grabs he wrist pointing the gun into the air. The bullets hit the walls and roof with the sound of denting metal. Michelle tries to pull away but his grip is to strong so she forces he magical energy into one big punch and whacks him in the chin. With the sound of bones cracking the man's head is spun to the side away from her fist. Michelle breaths heavily as nothing happens for a few seconds. She tries to pull her hand away again but the grip then tightened. The neuroi throws Michelle through the doorway and far down the hall as she slides on her back and hits the wall.
"Michelle! You bastard!" Malcolm shouts as he gets to his feet and attempts to grapple with the man. He tries to throw a punch but it is neuroi then punches Malcolm in the chest then in the side as the sound of something breaking can be heard. The man then twists Malcolm's arm behind his back and grabs his shirt and lifts him over his head. The neuroi tosses Malcolm down the hall as he collides into Michelle who was wobbly trying to get to her feet. Her arms and legs are thrown out from under her and she falls back on top of him.
"Ahh! watch it" she says
"You watch it" he responds. The two stagger to their feet as the man walks over to the doorway.
"What's the plan... he is much stronger then he looks" Michelle says.
"Yeah... and who knows where the others are." he said Showing that the pocket radio he was holding was what broke when the man punched his side. Malcolm drops it and starts to walk forward to engage the enemy once again. Suddenly the dull end of a saber falls in front of him stopping him suddenly. Malcolm looks to the side to see a boy with blond hair wearing a blue jacket was holding the silver saber. He stepped in front of Malcolm and Michelle followed by a girl with black hair who took her place next to him.
"Sorry were so late" The girl said pulling out a lighter and flicking the flame on.
"We were told to come find you. You're too weak to continue fighting. We'll to our best to hold him off" The boy says as he and the girl snap their fingers and point towards the man. A huge ball of fire and electricity consumes the hall and heads towards the man as he is enclosed by the blast. The lights down the hall explode and the walls are blackened by the blaze. The explosion dissipates and nothing can be seen except for a huge cloud of black smoke.
To be continued.
...
"Were coming to you live from the control tower aboard the Horizons Edge! This is Tatyana and Ozone's Radio Update! I'm your host Tatyana!"
"And I'm your other host Ozone and were here to fill you in on all the news and fun going on! How do you want to start it off today Tatyana?"
"Well we could start by saying that we have cool new character pictures that will be going up with these updates. This week Ozone has drawn a picture of my sister Antonia. You can find it here-
(It's allot easier to find if you go on Deviant art and search for Antonia Litvyak apocalypse now. It will be the first image to appear. It won't let me post the link without changing it and it would be way too hard to do it the other way. Sorry. If you have any trouble it's under the artist name Ozoneknight.)
-I think it looks great. When are you going to draw me Ozone?"
"I will get on it for the next update. Ha ha ha. I think the readers will like seeing what the main characters from the story look like in their uniforms. I will attempt to get to all of them in the near future and also do some blueprints for some of the tech used in the story from the strikers to the horizons edge and all the weapons in between."
"Sounds cool. I will be sure to help you out when I'm not on patrol with Richard."
"Next we have a new poll up on my profile page. Vote for your favorite female character from the story. It will help with writing future chapters and I would like to see who the most liked character is"
"Yeah! This will be fun! Speaking of which... who did you vote for Ozone?"
"Oh... ha ha... I don't feel at liberty to say... ha ha"
"Yeah right. You may have to find someone else to cohost with you soon. Ha ha ha"
"Ah. No Tatyana. I don't want to have to rely on anyone else. Ha ha ha. Well were eleven chapters in. so what do you think of the story so far Tatyana?"
"It's good. I would like to see more action though. You know... I want to get my first kill. I would also like to see how the others fly and fight. Other than that I can't wait to see what happens next"
"Alright finally were going to close the broadcast with a written in song request. If any of you listening on the Horizons Edge want to hear your favorite track just write it in to us up here and we'll play it. The song for our first broadcast comes in from our friend from Karlsland Maxine Barkhorn. She has requested to hear one of my all-time favorites by the Rolling Stones Mother's Little Helper."
"Oh I love this one. I'll throw the record on the track. Talk to ya all next time!"
(Radio Broadcast Recommended- Mother's little helper- The Rolling Stones)
"It's great to relax and listen to the Stones. Hope you enjoy Barkhorn. This is Ozone and Tatyana signing off"