Hey guys, welcome back to more of 'Jane Dowding's Chronicles'. In the last chapter, Jane and her group of the 29th Fighter Wing took on the Neuroi at Dover, and she has been reassigned to the 501st JFW for her actions. Needless to say, things are going to be different with her around. For the time being, let's take a look at the reviews, don't we?
Corporal Tommy: As always, thank you, my friend.
Hien Duc: Well, I can say it's her time to shine. And yes, I'm keeping myself and my family alive throughout this pandemic. Thanks for the review.
With that out of the way, let's begin.
XXXXXXXXXX
Chapter One: The Strike Witches
Jane's P.O.V.
Folkestone, Britannia
Having slept after the long flight from London, I finally got myself organized in my new quarters. Pretty much the same setup as the one back with the 29th, albeit this place is more of a castle, not the usual kind seen at the airstrip. Having got myself dressed, complete with a medical eyepatch, Commander Minna entered, making her rounds.
"Morning, Lieutenant." She smiled
"Hello, Commander." I answered her before putting on my peaked cap.
"You slept well, didn't you?" She asked with concern
"I was just thinking about my Dad again." I sighed before reaching into my pocket and bringing out the photo "And I still have this with me despite being an ocean away." Minna looked at it before chuckling
"I met him a few times before the concept of the Joint Fighter Wings were born." She began "He was a bit stuffy when it came to commanding the Air Force. But he never delved into his personal life. Nor the fact that I don't remember him smiling at all. Even in the picture you have there."
"Maybe because I'm his only daughter." I smirked a little "I even kept this around with me after he got shipped off to Liberion. When he gets back here, I'm not sure what to do with it. Just hang on to it for a while longer."
"I guess so, Lieutenant." Minna smiled before I put the picture away "Anyways, I'll introduce you to the rest of the wing later. In the meantime, you can tour around the base yourself or you can get some breakfast. Who knows, maybe you'll encounter some of the girls beforehand." I nodded before the redhead departed my room.I got a good look at the ocean before heading out towards the hangar of all places, where I found my Striker Unit, along with the Sterling SMG I bought along with. It turns out my other weapons won't be here for a while. Bringing it out of the hangar, I picked up a clip and loaded it before taking my place at the edge of the runway.
"…Right… Just imagine the target's there." Taking aim, I opened fire in short bursts. I know, I'm firing into the air, but sometimes I would like to picture a target nearby. Mainly a Neuroi. After firing the last bullet, that meant it's time to return to the hangar. However, I did feel a slight chill at the back of my neck. I turned around, only to come face to face with another witch. She has brown hair tied in pigtails, brown eyes and wearing a grey military tunic. By the look of it, she hails from Karlsland, alongside the Commander. She also has this curious look on her face at what am I doing now.
"…" All I can do is just blink at how she was behind me without me even noticing her
"…Well?" She asked me as she crossed her arms, looking stern "Say something."
"Uh… Hi?" This is my most awkward introduction ever. She then eyed my Sterling and then back to me
"What were you even doing?" She asked
"Oh. I was just doing some… practice shots." I answered her. She took the SMG from my hands and checked it out herself.
"Looks like it's in good order. Clean as well. Excellent." She said "But I do have to ask why you came over to the edge of the runway, when we have a firing range near the entrance of the base."
"I didn't even see it while heading to the hangar." I answered her "Also, this is my first time here and I'm getting used to my new surroundings."
"Wait… you're one of the new recruits Commander Minna told me about." She said "That can explain why you only found the hangar and the runway and not anywhere else. Can I get your name though?"
"Oh. My name is Jane Dowding. I'm a Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. And… one of your new recruits in the Strike Witches."
"Dowding… Commander Minna speaks highly of your father." She smirked a little before going back to her usual look "And weren't you the one who is in Dover, protecting the radar array?" I tilted my head as if she knows something "Before you ask, Hartmann and I are friends with your former Commander. She is determined, I'll give it that much."
"Commander Urbanowicz. She's the one who got me settled into being a Witch. Dover meanwhile is another level for me. I would've gotten the other Neuroi… And Erin… Look, forget about that now. You already know about me, so… your name then?" I asked her
"Gertrud Barkhorn, a Captain in the Karlsland Luftwaffe." The Witch known as Gertrud responded "I've been with the 501st since its inception a few months back. And between you and me, Dowding, you are a Witch, but to me, you're a new girl. If you can do yourself more than combating the Neuroi, I won't believe you are ready."
"Believe me when I say it, Barkhorn… I am capable of doing more than what you said." I countered "Commander Minna found potential in me, but you're right. I'll just have to prove myself first."
"I hope you are good with keeping your word, Dowding." Barkhorn grinned "Because out here, it's a warzone. Do be careful about it."
"Clear as crystal, Barkhorn." The Karlsland Witch nodded before handing me back the SMG
"Anyways, Dowding. I believe everyone is in the meeting room right now. They really want to see a new face here." She turned around before walking back to the base while I followed her. Before heading to the meeting room, I placed the Sterling SMG back in the Striker Unit holder. "I see you keep your Striker in good condition."
"That Spitfire Mk. IX has been helping me since I became a Witch, Barkhorn." I answered her "I even treat it as if it were my sister."
"Sister…" Barkhorn said quietly before I caught on "It's nothing, Lieutenant. Just keep following me." I wanted to ask her what she meant, but I decided to not press forth the issue. Finally, we arrived to our destination. "Wait here until you get called up. Also, you better make a good impression to the Wing, not unlike earlier." She entered the room while Commander Minna gave the girls some news, mostly about supplies and mission reports. That was when she began introductions.
"Now, the reason why I called you here." The Commander began "We have a new member that will be joining us as of today." I caught a glimpse of the redhead motioning to me to enter. I did so, all the while trying to put on a straight face. "This here is Flight Lieutenant Jane Dowding. She's originally part of the 29th Fighter Wing, though despite her flying skills needing work, her marksmanship and magic output will do just fine. Treat her well and she'll be in good hands."
"Isn't she the one from Dover?" A blonde Witch asked
"I believe so. More than that, the Air Chief Marshal's daughter?" Much of the girls inside whispered amongst themselves, until…
"I!" They got curious "I-I'm Jane! Nice to meet you all!" I snapped a salute, though the force of it knocked off the peaked cap I'm wearing. Scrambling to retrieve it, I heard some of the girls chuckling while I recomposed myself. Also, I noticed that Barkhorn covered her forehead with her hand. Well, I failed that. The Commander then bought out a briefcase as it contains a pistol, an M1911 to be exact.
"This pistol is yours, Lieutenant." She said "You can use this whenever you get yourself in a situation, hopefully without any incident." I then took it without hesitation "With that out of the way, I'd like you to get acquainted with everyone here. Also, you'll be under Barkhorn's wing." The Karlsland Witch snapped to attention when she heard her name
"Minna, am I up to the task to train her?" Barkhorn asked
"Of course. Normally, I would have Major Sakamoto train the recruits, but since she's heading towards Fuso right now, I think you're the best bet to train her." Minna smiled
"Understood." The Commander then dismissed everyone as she left the room. I was about to turn when…
"Got them!" I felt a pair of hands grabbing my bosom! Going red in the face, I yelped before grabbing the assailant by the head and throw her. Luckily, she did a summersault before landing on her two feet. "She's scary…" I calmed down a little before the assailant hid behind one of her companions.
"Eheheh… Sorry about that, Lieutenant." The orange-haired Witch perked up "But, how is she, Lucchini?"
"Oh! Hers felt nice enough, maybe like Lynnette's." The assailant named Lucchini answered as she wedged herself between the second girl's breasts "But yours is still the best one."
"Yep. Also, sorry about that, Lieutenant." The second girl apologized "Lucchini here just wants to know. By the way, I'm Flight Lieutenant Charlotte Yeager, but you can call me Shirley." Regathering myself, I noticed Shirley stretching her hand out, to which I took it, but not before the former applied pressure. "Hmm. Got us a good one here."
"Flying Officer Francesca Lucchini, of the Romagnan Air Force. Hi there." Lucchini smiled. Next, two more Witches came up to greet me. One has long silver hair and purple eyes, and the other has short ghost white hair, who is rather sleepy as her counterpart is helping her.
"My name is Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, an Ensign in the Suomus Air Force." Eila introduced herself "This here is Sanya V. Litvyak, a Lieutenant in the Orussian Air Force. I hope you don't mind her sleeping at all, Dowding."
"Not at all." I answered. Sanya meanwhile opened her eyes a bit, which is of emerald color, smiled a bit, before sleeping again. Two more Witches came up and introduced themselves.
"I am Perrine H. Clostermann, a Flying Officer in Gallia's Air Force. I'm glad to have you on board." She said
"Dowding, right?" The second girl asked "Lynnette Bishop, Sergeant, Royal Air Force. Although it's nice to see another Britannian in the mix."
"Pleasure." Barkhorn then stood up
"Alright everyone. That'll be enough for introductions. I'll have to take Dowding over to get her into shape."
"Come on, Trude… Everyone's talking to her. Don't try to interrupt their conversations." I turned to find a somewhat lax blonde Witch sleeping on her desk
"Hartmann, everyone knows her now." Barkhorn reprimanded "It's not like you're the only one who introduced yourself."
"I know…" I walked over to Barkhorn and her friend
"And this is…?"
"Erica Hartmann. A Lieutenant and Karlsland's Number One Ace. At least… that's what I want her to be." Barkhorn looked over to the blonde Witch, still sleeping and not even paying attention
"You want me to take a shot at waking her up?" I asked
"Good luck trying." Barkhorn sighed "Every time you want to wake her up, she has this timer she keeps adding."
"Alright… I wonder if my old Second-in-Command's waking techniques rubbed off on me…" I got close to Hartmann's face and without thinking twice, I pinched her cheeks. Hard.
"OWOWOWOWOWOW!" That woke her up with a start "Trude, what was that for!?"
"First off, you're sleeping again. Second, that wasn't even me that did it." Hartmann then eyed me as I smirked in triumph
"You? First, that hurt. Second, who might you be?" Barkhorn slapped herself on the forehead
"She already introduced herself. You should have heard it while you're awake."
"I was awake. Until I dozed off when the new girl came up." Barkhorn was about to go berserk until I calmed her down.
"Barkhorn, it's okay." I said to her "Just stand down while I talk to her." The Karlslander sighed and stepped back a bit "Hartmann, right?" The blonde Karlslander nodded "My name is Jane. Jane Dowding. Sorry if I have to force myself to waking you up."
"Ah, no worries, Jane." Hartmann waved it off "I'm actually surprised that's the first time someone did that to wake me up. Though it did hurt a little."
"You can thank Josefine for that." I answered "She uses that all the time whenever a Witch is caught sleeping without permission. And you should be glad Barkhorn here is the one waking you up. If it's her? I think you'd be in for a bad time."
"Okay, I get it." Erica moaned in annoyance
"Alright, everyone." Barkhorn commanded "Everyone back to… whatever it is you're doing." With that, everyone filed out of the room. "So, I guess it's just you, me and Hartmann, Dowding. Whatever it is you want to do first, show me. I already seen you with your shooting skills, so why not show me your flying skills."
"You think so? It's a little… off."
"I just want to get a sense of how you're feeling inside it. Who knows, maybe we can find something to improve on."
"Alright. But I should warn you though, you might see some… weird maneuvers."
"Oh, this I want to see." Hartmann chimed in as we left the briefing room.
XXXXXXXXXX
Getting into my Striker Unit, Barkhorn inspected it to make sure it's in working order. "Everything looks good from here, Lieutenant. When you're ready, you can take off. Without the weapon, of course."
"Alright, here I go." The holder released the Unit as I zoomed out of the hangar and took off into the skies. "Looking good so far…"
"Okay, Lieutenant. Let's see what you can do." After acknowledging her, I began to do some turns of my own. However…
"What the…" The right side of the Striker began to sputter, which caused me to jerk left a lot. "Shite!" Just then, the right side began to operate again, but the left side begins to malfunction too. "Whoa!" However, these problems are a major key to the insane maneuvers I'm putting up. Multiple loops, corkscrews and barrel rolls got me fully aware. Just a few minutes later, my Striker began working normally again. "That went… well…"
"Lieutenant, are you okay up there?" Barkhorn asked
"Somewhat." I answered her "I do feel a little dizzy… And the fact that my Striker Unit is acting strange."
"Hmm… bring it back to the hangar. I don't want you to fall into the ocean on your first day here." Agreeing with her, I returned to the hangar and got off my Striker Unit. She then inspected it herself, and checked the limiter. "That's odd… According to the tests here, it's in perfect condition. In fact, there has been no signs of tampering with it when the ground crews delivered it."
"That really is weird…" I said aloud "While I was in Dover, it handled itself perfectly despite the few bumps I took. Apart from that, it's okay."
"Still, I'm no technical expert, but I highly recommend you write down everything that happened for your Striker Unit." She said "We'll unlock this mystery with what's going on."
"Good idea. But I don't know if I'm still capable of fighting in a faulty Striker."
"Don't worry about that, Dowding." Barkhorn assured me "Just keep your mind focused on what's ahead. Anyways, I think it's time for a photo shoot."
"Wait… Photo shoot? Isn't that for known aces?" Erica then grabbed my arm
"Far from it, Dowding." Erica chimed "When they see your name in the papers, for sure everyone will know your name. Now come on."
"Wait! I need to get myself ready first!" Erica then dragged me off to where the photographers are, all the while I caught Barkhorn smirking.
"We've got a long way to go, Dowding." She said to herself before turning. Needless to say, I got my photos taken and was asked a few questions. Though more importantly, this is my new unit now. I'll see where it goes from here.
XXXXXXXXXX
Alright, that's the chapter done. I'll introduce Yoshika in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy this one, and I'll see you guys soon. Bye for now.