A Javelin to Strike the Core
Chapter 6
This took a bit longer than anticipated, but that was due to focusing on a few of my other stories. But I'm back to this and we'll get on with the story. Though this chapter won't be too tied to the episode it is set in. You'll see. On with the show.
(No POV)
The day after the attack by the high speed neuroi, most of the base was going about their usual routine. Mio woke up ready for another round of training with her sword. And pushing Miyafuji to be the best witch possible. Perrine was watching Mio from afar. Shirley, after waking up late, started in on adjusting her striker as well as working with the supply truck on base. And tossing a casual tease or two to Han. Who in fact was testing the potential to make a javelin using the materials of that world. He knew he couldn't keep putting off the requests from Maloney and the other higher ups. Minna was going over paperwork and prepping for a meeting dealing with the budget. The two youngest members were sleeping away the day. Though in the silver haired members case, it was for a better reason. And the rest were going about their day however they pleased.
Minna was wrapping up her paperwork when she received a call from the bankers and logistic heads. "Yes, this is Commander Wilke…. What?... But surely… Just for that?... I understand. I'll bring the specialist along….. What? Why do you want to see that?... Alright, fair enough. He had mentioned working on a prototype or two. I'll have him bring both if possible." Minna sat down with an annoyed sigh after the call. 'Of course, they want to see a javelin. They're probably figuring that it could be the next big thing to make money. Well I'll talk to Han and see if he is okay with showing the results.' Minna thought while walking to the hanger. She was still having trouble looking him in the eye (Han was as well), but they had to do this as part of the unit.
When she reached the hanger, Han and Shirley were experimenting and adjusting the power of both of their engines. "Okay Shirley! You should be good to test the output. We don't know exactly how Fran managed to do this on accident, but this should be close." Han called out from a set of monitoring devices. Shirley gave an affirmative before starting up the striker. Once she did, the noise in the hanger was deafening. Han though had taken a precaution of putting earplugs in. Minna was less prepared, so she ran out before her hearing was damaged. Once the output monitors showed what they were looking for, Han signaled to stop.
Shirley though wasn't looking and seemed to be wrapped up in enjoying the power and sound of her unit. Han just facepalmed before pulling out his pistol and firing a shot towards her. The bullet was no where near Shirley, but it was enough to snap her out of distracted state. "I got lost in the noise again didn't I." "Yes. Yes you did." Han said with a disgruntled look. Shirley though decided to turn some annoyance back on him by saying he didn't need to shoot her. "Relax. Look." Han said as he took out a bullet. It was a blank. They all were. "I'm not that crazy. I had special blanks made just in case." "In case of what exactly?" Minna decided to pop in at that moment and gave Han a dark look. Who quickly backpedaled a bit before changing the subject.
"So what's up Minna? It's rare to see you out of the office." Han said jokingly. Shirley was chuckling in the background while Minna just coughed. "I need you to come with me. And to bring your javelin. Primarily any javelin that you may have made from our materials." While Minna is explaining that the funding and logistics heads are wanting a report, both Han and Minna are trying to focus on that and not each other. They mostly succeed and Han tells her that, "I don't have a full Javelin. But I do have a few parts made. I can bring one of my Coda javelins and I can bring a set of legs and maybe a ranger assault system arm. That could work for a demonstration." Minna nods at that and asks him to bring both. She then mentions that they would be heading out on a flight in a few hours. "Mio will be coming along as well. She is my executive officer."
With that done and Minna leaving, Han and Shirley go back to testing their equipment. After a few minutes though Shirley decides to mess with Han a bit. "Soooo. Any reason why you and the commander have been avoiding each other." Han urks and looks away, while Shirley is smiling coyly. When Han doesn't say anything, Shirley just laughs a bit and slaps him on the back hard. "Don't worry pal. I just felt the need to mess with you a bit. Anyway, I'll help you load up some of the hardware you'll use for that demonstration." At a quick affirmative from Han, the two prep his storm and the pieces he has built using the iron and other metals from Earth.
With the plane prepped and the gear and passengers ready, they head off to London. "So why is Yoshika here?" Han asks while making sure his javelin parts are secure. Mio speaks up with, "I want to show her a bit of what we are protecting. Our job as the 501st is to defend this area and work to retake Gallia." "And I'm actually a bit curious about some of the other matters with the military. My father worked with them, but I don't really know anything about the organizations involved." Both Minna and Han nod before, the former decides to discuss some of what they will have to do during the meeting. Both Han and Yoshika tone most of it out, but Han speaks up when she talks about what they'll want him to do for the demonstration. "You brought the legs and the assault arm to demonstrate right?" With Han's acknowledgement, Minna continues with, "The gear can fit most average soldiers, right? They'll want that type of demonstration for that gear." "Yeah, it should. My arms aren't that different in length compared to most of the soldiers on base. So, it should fit, and the legs aren't much different. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong." Han says with a mix of confidence and worry.
"Let's not jinx the matter. We'll be landing in a few minutes." Minna says. The meeting is after dinner, which was provided by the heads. Han and Yoshika both enjoy trying new types of dishes, while Minna is quietly discussing matters with one of the other generals. With full stomachs, the meeting (and a bit of griping) begins. "Now then about the operating costs for the 501st's base. We're bit….. shall we say disapproving of where some of the spending is going. Currently we have other groups and units that need funding just as much. We just recently got a large order for more parts for 502nd's base. They are especially draining on resources….. And blah" As the 501st members are sitting and listening to the complaints the bankers had, Han could tell Mio was getting more and more annoyed. So, he decided to try and pull a little heat off of both commanding officers.
"Ahem. Excuse me! There is a reason for some increased spending at the base. General Maloney has been putting in requests for me to build some new gear. Um have you…. Well been briefed on who I am? And what I fight with and build?" Han says during a lull in the speech. The rest of the members there look to him, curious on who this is. Maloney on the other hand is livid that Han basically called him out on fishing for javelin parts. The prime minister of Britannia then speaks up giving a short explanation of who Han is and what his gear is. "Perhaps young man you could show us both your gear, as well as any you've made from our metals?" The older man says with a pointed look. Han coughs a bit and agrees to a demonstration. The heads say to take the matter outside for a better visual example.
Once outside, Han has the parts and his Storm brought to the target range. "All right then. This javelin is a bit of a flashy one, but it still can give a good demonstration. Observe." Han then proceeds to load into the javelin and take off flying through the air. This intrigues a few as the pilot death rate against the neuroi was quite high. And this equipment could give a fair number of them a better fighting chance. Especially once they see it can all but match a witch with a striker unit. Then Han decides to really make the demonstration really stick. He unleashes a few attacks from his various seals and a shield from his support seal. "Incredible! This is the firepower you have?! How soon can you mass produce these?!" A few of the bankers and profiteers say crowding around the Storm when it lands. Han isn't sure how to handle all of the attention, when Minna and Mio step in and stop them.
"Give him some room! He can't answer any questions when you're hounding him like this!" Minna says while Mio has her katana drawn. Maloney steps in next and agrees with the witches. "Besides, he hasn't demonstrated the other pieces he has. Mr. Coda. If you would." Han nods before getting out of the Storm and asking for one of the other soldiers to come up. "Now I haven't made a full javelin yet. I'm still experimenting with the metals of your world. But these should at least give a demonstration of what I'm hoping to do." As he is saying that the soldiers he asked to come up have been loaded into the gear or helped to put it on.
"Okay. Can you feel the little pedal like depressions under your feet?" He asks the one wearing the legs. And the mans nod, Han tells him to take a few slow steps forward. The man does and he manages to move around a bit. "Now you should be able to hover slightly. Don't do it for more than a few seconds. You don't have all of the balancing equipment. Press your feet to the center and you should rise." The man does that, and he takes to the air. Everyone is impressed and excited. Until the man starts to lose his balance and jets toward the crowd. Han is the first to react and jump on the man to shut down the legs. While a bit dangerous, the equipment still demonstrated that it would be possible for an average soldier to fly with a witch.
With the man removed from the gear, Han went over to help the second man demonstrate the assault system arm he built. "His is based on a different javelin compared to the one I brought to demonstrate. Aside from carrying and firing rifles and the like, this piece here fires off a specific type of weaponry. In this case, well let's have him show it." Han explains then nods to the man. Han had explained he needed to grip his fist to fire the assault system. When he does, a concentrated beam of light is fired from the weapon. While some are thinking that it is like the neuroi beams, others like the idea of hitting the neuroi back with their own attacks. With that done, and the man safely removed from the armor, Han opens the floor for questions.
The main ones are asking if they can invest and make mass production types. Or offering to let him use some factories to make javelins. "Okay sorry but that is not possible. I may have been able to make these general part pieces of equipment, but even then, its not perfect. Do you two have anything to say?" Han addresses the soldiers who demonstrated. The first comes up and says, "Yeah. It felt like I was wearing a pair of pants that didn't fit quite right. Like it was tailored for someone else." The second then says that the area around the hand felt tight. "Like wearing a wool glove that shrunk." With those statements given, Han speaks up next. "Unfortunately, a javelin has to be custom made. In this case these two parts were built based around my size and build. So mass production is impossible. I can make custom ones, but I only have one forge and I need material. I'm sorry. But there is no other choice for now."
Maloney is disgruntled that he can't take what he wants and arm all of his soldiers but does acknowledge that he can't make everything fit everyone. "You had mentioned that before. I do suppose it makes sense given the world you are from. As much as I wish I could arm all of our men with your hardware, I realized we'd have to make ones to fit them all right? And then there's the training on top of that." Han nods before saying that he could maybe make some training ones, but even then, it would be a rough guess. Most nod and a few decide to start sending more funding for Han to make javelins.
Mio on the other hand is annoyed because they wouldn't have been like this if it had just been her and Minna. On the way back everyone can see how pissed she is. "Calm yourself Major." "How can I? They complained about the budget being a mess until Han demonstrated his. Then they're willing to shell out the money?" Mio complained loudly. Han was looking a bit uncomfortable, and Minna decided to go over it a bit to alleviate her annoyance. "It's not his fault so stop with the look his way. And besides they have a decent reason. We witches may be able to get close to the neuroi, but we still need the back up of fleets and ground forces. With these javelins they could put a few more boots on the ground with firepower and defenses that can match us." Han also speaks to the fact it could help with a few other soldiers and witches who may not be allowed on the front lines. This has all of them looking at him funny. So he explains that, "Technically speaking, most of you witches when you lose your power you have to retire right?" With a nod from the others, he goes on with, "But with a javelin, some of them might be able to stay in the fight. Though your magic has to be gone. Not just no shields."
This confused the commanders, so Han explained an experiment he did with Francesca with an older unit of his. "She could fit in it and everything, but we found out that even low levels of magic seem to interrupt the hardware. Meaning that only a complete former witch could use it. Theoretically." This gets Mio interested again. She is coming up on the age limit for witches. With a javelin, she could keep fighting. As she is thinking that, they all hear a song come over their coms. "What is that?" Yoshika asks. Mio just says, "hm. Oh that's just Sanya signing." "She came to escort us back to the base."
Han is enjoying the pretty tune while Yoshika is thanking Sanya and asking some questions. Not long after this all of the witches sense a neuroi coming. "Um! Major! What do we do!?" Yoshika shouts, while Mio and Minna say they're all just passengers on the plane. "Not all of us. I'm suiting up. Sanya. I'll back you up." Han says as he steps into his javelin. He had only brought a rifle so he was somewhat limited on firepower, but the seals of the Storm should be enough. When Han catches up with Sanya, he sees her almost floating along the in the sky. After a few seconds she unleashes a salvo of rockets from her weapon. "No return fire?" Sanya says quietly, but Han notices as well. "Something's off. Sanya get closer. I'll cover you just in case."
After five minutes have passed, Mio and Minna call them back thanking them for protecting them. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Han says as they head back to base. While at a meeting with the rest of the members, they all discuss the strange behavior of the neuroi. Given that they were out in the rain, most had opted to going for a late shower. Han came into the meeting later and noticed that most of them were in their underwear. Well more than normal. "What the heck!?" he shouted as he closed the door. Trude was the first to speak up. "It's fine Han. Come on in. We need your opinion on the matter anyway." Mio agrees but Minna and a few of the shyer girls are nervous. Han though, does his best to look up and give them his observations. "From what little we could tell it wasn't just hiding. It was like…. I'm not sure but it was like letting off a false signal. Because I was picking something up on my equipment. But…. It was garbled."
Sanya agrees and states that it seemed similar to her too. Minna decides to start up a unit for night patrols. She initially wants Han to join but he declines, mentioning that the higher ups were wanting him to make a full prototype of his javelin from their materials. "I'm gonna be working on it for a while. And frankly I could use some sleep." Mio agrees and says, "It would be a good idea for him to focus on making that gear for the soldiers. We'd have some more backup." Minna agrees and sets up the night unit around Sanya, Yoshika and Eila.
It takes five days, but Han gets his prototype working. On third night, the night patrol girls manage to take down the neuroi. The day after that happened Mio and Minna were discussing the matter while visiting the grave of Dr. Miyafuji. Han had followed wanting to talk about the matter himself. He saw the picture of the Yoshika and Sanya celebrating their birthdays and smiled along with the other two. On the way back he broached what he was considering. "I overheard some of what you said. I think the higher ups do and don't know as much as all we do here on the ground. There's a few that probably think that the neuroi may have a true command structure. But just like you they mostly just think it is at best animal intelligence. Like bees in a hive." Mio nods, noting her own skepticism at the neuroi planning the attack while they were on the plane. Minna decides to ask how he sees the matter. Han hms a bit before saying, "They honestly remind me a bit of the Scars. They just want to consume material and will fight us to get it. But that's just my own opinion." The commanders nodded and agreed to discus this more with Han. Mio also took him aside to ask a favor.
I'm stopping it here because I have some funny ideas for the next chapter/episode if those of you who have seen the series know what I'm talking about. So please review. And sorry about the late upload.