6th – She did WHAT?

Now then. Minna took a seat on her plush office chair and tidied the paper in her hands. It was time to go over the reports of her Wing's most recent sortie. Usually, she requested such records to be submitted on the same day, but the Witches in question returned late due to the distance between Den Helder and Hamburg, and truthfully, Minna hadn't felt like pressuring them. Miyafuji in particular was exhausted, and Erica had weathered two nights in the forest. They deserved a respite.

She went through all four reports with diligence. Trude's came first. As always, her writing was clean and the report immaculately filled out, describing everything in great detail and even providing an analysis on the Neuroi she'd fought. Excellent, even if it did require two sheets of paper. Next up was Hattori, whose account was equally factual, though perhaps leaning too much toward the concise. Minna chuckled at that; the new girl was still a bit stiff, and it showed in everything she did.

Erica's report, on the other hand, was a collection of lazy scrawls and half-hearted information. Minna sighed at the blunt wording; her old friend was much too candid at times. She made a mental note to review it together with Erica later. And lastly, she arrived at Miyafuji's report, who…well, she always did her level best. Miyafuji was rather poor at giving exact units and descriptions, but Minna always enjoyed perusing her personal notes, as they often read like an enthusiastic letter. Like this passage, for instance. Why, Minna could almost imagine the girl's voice as she read: 'Barkhorn-san dropped her guns and flew at the second Neuroi…'

Goodness. She sat back and rubbed at her eyes. Was she already so fatigued as to be seeing things? Surely not. She tried again. 'Barkhorn-san dropped her guns—' Inconceivable. Trude would never… She lifted the paper to her eyes.


In the hallway outside, a lone radio operator was whistling a jaunty tune to himself as he headed to the communications tower for his shift. Boy, what a life he had. He'd been assigned to the 501st Joint Fighter Wing's base only a few weeks ago, and it never ceased to amaze him how smoothly everything went. He hadn't spoken to many of the Witches, but all of them looked like good people. His whistling picked up as he neared the door to the Wing Commander's office. What a lovely woman. She seemed the kindest of them all.

The poor fool was new and clueless. He couldn't be blamed for scrambling back against the opposite wall when a furious roar shook the door in its hinges: "She did WHAT?"


Left, right, right, down the stairs, another left, and an unbearably long walk down the corridor. Minna stomped to the sauna with all the grace of a hulking bear and threw open the door. Trude and Erica flinched in surprise and turned to face her, Trude almost dropping the hammer she was using to help with repairs.

"Squadron Leader Gertrud Barkhorn," Minna said tartly, "you're to accompany me for a debriefing immediately."

Trude looked bewildered. "A debriefing? But we already…"

"Right away, please." Minna felt a vein throb somewhere around her forehead.

Erica leaned against the wall with a grin. "Nihihi, you're in trouble!"

Trude set down her tools. "Of course not. Minna probably—"

"You are."

Trude's face fell. "I am?"

Oh, for pity's sake. There were times when Trude's obliviousness had its charm, but alas, this was not one of those times, so Minna simply took her by the hand and dragged her out.

"H-Hey! What are you—"

Erica called out a cheery goodbye and Trude stammered out more protests, but Minna paid no mind. Trude had some explaining to do.


Fingers interlaced, back straight, her gaze at its most piercing. The perfect incensed interrogation stare, designed to send grown men running for the hills. "Miyafuji's report held some intriguing details." Minna kept her voice perfectly neutral. "Care to tell me why you engaged a Neuroi with your bare hands?"

Trude, standing at attention, at least possessed enough common sense to look sheepish. "A-ah, well, you see…"

"Yes?"

"I…the Neuroi." Trude breathed out and tried again. "It shed its weight, so I did the same, to match its speed. And…" Her face reddened slightly. "I-I was caught up in the moment."

Minna sighed and dropped her stern mask, leaning back. "As I suspected."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you."

"You insane, reckless, wonderful woman."

Trude gawked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said." Minna finally allowed herself a smile. "I understand. You took a great risk, but I trust you to make sound judgments. Be sure to inform me in person next time, all right?"

"I will." Trude's posture relaxed. "Does this mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Considering the extenuating circumstances, I believe leniency is in order. I'll ask Miyafuji to rewrite her report. However." Minna fixed her with a sly look. "Perhaps some sort of lesser compensation would be appropriate. A voluntary service, if you will."

"A service? What kind of service?"

She made a show of stretching her neck and rubbing at her shoulder. "All this paperwork does put a crick in one's neck. You may volunteer to address that." There was a fleeting pause. "And should the effort cause you to break a sweat, you have my permission to remove any article of clothing you desire."

Trude stared at her with wide eyes. And stared. And stared some more. Finally, her professional stance broke and she doubled over in laughter. "Minna!" She straightened again, but her shoulders still shook with residual chuckles. "If you wanted me to give you a shoulder rub that badly, you only needed to ask!"

Minna shrugged. "What can I say? I seize the opportunities I'm given." And if that meant she could get another look at those well-defined muscles, well, she wasn't one to complain.

"I'll say. Okay, I'll help you. But on one condition."

Minna's eyebrows rose. "And what would that be?"

Trude shot her the most brazen smirk she'd ever witnessed from her. "You'll return the favor afterward."

This time it was Minna's turn to laugh. "Oh, you! I must be a terrible influence. But very well, you have yourself a deal. Now then…"

She crooked her finger in a beckoning gesture, and soon she felt strong hands working magic on her shoulders. She quickly grew hot at the touch despite her earlier boldness, and wondered with a gulp if her clothes would be the first to go.