12:22 p.m
20th November 2019
Riegel AFB, Farbanti, Erusea
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE CALLING IT OFF?!" Count screamed furiously as his eyes were looking at the senior brass member in the briefing room.
"Count, calm down!" Huxian retorted trying to pull him back from hurting the senior members. Even Jaeger had to step in to help her.
"How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!" Count yelled back, rage was clearly visible in his eyes.
"I know how you feel but getting pissed won't bring him back." Lanza retorted.
And so, the LRSSG began bickering between each other filling up the room with loud noises. Even the guards outside the room could hear it clearly.
At the opposite site, several men in their BDUs from various branches alongside Longcaster and General Shephard who was sighing deeply knowing there would such reaction from this man. He understands the rage because he had the same sentiments when he was a young officer. Shephard had never thought an unexpected event would occur during the closing of the war, especially during transit home to Osea.
It was all planned well, having them returned and hailed as a hero would be a good publicity for OADF but now, their number 1 Ace is missing and presumed dead. This is not looking good for him and several others who were looking forward to utilize this man and his potential for any major future conflict. That was until some storm that was supposed to disperse at Spring Sea appeared again with no logical explanation and a weird drone attacked them forcing Three Strikes to protect his comrades before losing contact afterwards.
In response, he authorized SAR mission to find any remains of the pilot even if it was his plane wreck. After a long searching, brass wanted the operations cease and simply declared him 'KIA'. That was the reason Count blew off as he believed that his flight leader is somewhere out there and still breathing.
'As much as I wanted to continue this mission, it's been days since his disappearance. Even I doubt he would survive at such high sea state even if he ejected.' Shephard thought while rubbing his nose bridge. "This is the most absurd situation I've ever faced for a long time… Alright, settle down."
"Settle down?!" Count turned his sight towards the General, "I'll calm down when you restart the SAR ops again!"
"Lieutenant, you can barely control your cool when Captain Wolfe didn't respond since day one. What makes that different than right now?" Shephard's words instantly shut him up. It was true as Count had been restless since Trigger disappeared. He would constantly pester the crew about updates and it annoyed a lot of them. "Getting angry and yelling at everyone won't do anything, so sit down. All of you included."
With the gesture, all of the LRSSG member took their seat and not utter a single word. Taking a deep breath, Shephard continued.
"As much as I wanted to continue the ops, it came from the top. I can't do that much even with my rank." The General can see some the disappointment in their eyes, he understood that feeling well. "After a long discussion and debate, they have decided to declare Captain Wolfe as K.I.A and posthumously promoted to the rank of Major for his efforts in the previous war and his bravery for sacrificing himself for the sake of your safety."
Count tightened his fist tightly and made the bitterest reaction he had ever since Wiseman's death. To think that another great big shot and also their squadron leader died again even after the war ended. The rest of the team were also saddened by this result as well, there was too much gloomy atmosphere in the room already and the decision to call off the SAR mission along with the announcement of Trigger being K.I.A made the situation even difficult for them.
General Shephard knew how they felt. Losing someone who they looked up too and possibly the only beacon of hope in this war was gone scarifying his life for the sake of his own comrades. It reminded of his time when Osean Rangers broke through the line to rescue their pinned down allies. He still reminded of the great Ramirez who single handed do meticulous and dangerous task to ensure the victory.
"Aside of that, DOD has assigned a special investigation squad to find out everything about this drone that ambushed you. I promise we'll do what we can. We can't let his sacrifice be in vain."
"I bet that Schroeder guy knows a thing or two." Count hissed.
"Maybe. Maybe not. From here on, the investigation team will take over. They'll be inquiring some questions for you again, just to make sure they get all the information they can get… And-"Just as he was about to continue, his adjutant approached and whispered to him in which the old man nodded in confirmation. "Understood, I'll be there in a minute." Shepard looked at the LRSSG members one final time and spoke. "It seems another meeting demands my presence immediately. Do what you see fit to bid your squadron leader a proper farewell. That's all I can say to all of you."
With that, the General left the room followed by his aide and security details. Once the door slammed shut, Count quickly stood up and faced towards the window looking as if he was about to flip. Luckily, the Nickleback vocalist, or what Trigger proclaimed, simply sighed and hung his head in disappointment. None of them could say a single word after that sudden decision from the top. Everyone couldn't help but sympathized Count as he was the closest person with Trigger ever since their days in the 444th. Huxian could only pat his shoulder knowing that words wouldn't soothe his soul either.
"That drooling idiot…" Count muttered under his breath. "He should've taken me with him."
"Count…"
"None of this would've happened if I helped him."
"And let everyone dies?" Jaeger rebuked. "Count, he doesn't want any of us to die. That's why he sent us ahead of him knowing the risks."
"But he was outgunned! He could've asked us to help him!"
"And risk losing the entire squadron?" Longcaster interjected, he was staring at Count with disappointed clearly visible on his face. "So, you rather have everyone die back then? Let me remind you that everyone has a poor visibility in that storm and you had a hard time tracking that drone's movement. I doubt that any of you would have the upper hand. It was just plain suicide."
Count stiffened and tightened his fist in anger. He wanted to rebuke but Longcaster was right, it was literally suicide, they were at disadvantage from the beginning. Trying to assist Trigger will only increase the chance of their death, he can see it clearly. Even if they have the numbers, the drone's high speed and ultra-maneuver capability would easily shred them to pieces less than several seconds.
"I know it's hard for you to accept that Trigger's gone but you shouldn't be hard on yourself, each and every one of you." Seeing how heavy the atmosphere, Longcaster simply nodded and walked away. "Get some rest fellas; it's been a long week for us."
"Rest and do what?" Lanza inquired.
"What General Shephard told us earlier…" Jaeger spoke. "Give Trigger a final and proper farewell."
The pilots nodded in agreement, even Count was reluctant to accept it but he eventually accepted the reality. Trigger is gone and that is the fact. But something was telling him that Trigger was out there, somewhere alive but he couldn't just prove it not without any solid prove.
Count sighed deeply, "Either way, I'll tell Avril about this." The last thing he expects would be Avril's breakdown.
13th October 1944
4000 meters above contested Karlsland airspace
Another sunny day over Karlsland, it was peaceful … For now. For Sophie Altmann, it was a letdown especially after the attack on Aachen. She expected more Neurois rolling in towards the airspace so she can get more kills to satiate her hunger for vengeance. Though, it's been two days after the attack and not a single Neuroi was detected since then. Now, her luck rests on the CAP that her squad is currently tasked with.
Aside from boredom while waiting for Neuroi to arrive, she needs to face the cold wind as it was freezing deep into her bones with winter approaching.
The twintail lets out a hot breath on her hand as she warmed herself. "So cold…" she mumbled.
"Bet you're regretting for not putting on a glove." A voice quipped by her side, it was none other than Gunila Landt. "At least it keeps your hands warmer."
"Eh, they get in the way when I'm shooting especially with your finger stuck at the trigger guard."
"At least they keep you warm."
"Better cold than died because you can't shoot."
Gunila soured at her response, "Geez that's quite harsh."
"I'm simply stating the truth." The twintail flew ahead distancing herself further.
"Now, now, Sophie." Kathe quickly interjected, "She's just pointing out that you need to your hand warm at a certain time. No need for bad words." The twintail remained silent, Gunila only sighed at her negative attitude. Two other witches who were apart of the group are not happy with Sophie's current attitude, moreover, welcomes her at all. "We still have another 40 minutes before our patrol ends, let's head to another sector."
"Jawohl" everyone responded minus Sophie.
The Witches turned sharply, banking across the sky towards their new destination. There wasn't a lot to talk about during the entire flight. It's just the same old view she used to view except more eerie thanks to the presence of the Neuroi at the other side of the border. It's been a while since the Karlslandian got to view their homeland closer since the evacuation. The land looked somber from above not like what they used to see few years ago. Eventually, the view began to dissapear as they lead further back into Nederlands.
"Final sector, girls. Keep an eye out for any Neurois." Kathe reminded.
They circled the airspace for several minutes, identifying any movements both in the skies and on the ground. They continued doing the same pattern for the next 10 minutes until the girls confirmed there were no abnormalities in the area. Eventually, they left the sector and changed their course towards Aachen.
A young Witch, Elise sighed in relieved, "Thank lord no Neurois are spotted today." Though, her statement was not supported by her other teammate.
"Oh come on! This is ridiculous! I wanna shoot some Neurois today!" the witch named Erma whined, her cheeks puffed as she pouted. "I was expecting full blown battle after that sudden attack, you know?"
"Sheesh, that's not a good thing to say."
"What? You rather do boring patrols than directly fighting the Neurois? Pssshh, pleasseee!"
Elise furrowed her brows, "Geez, there's more than fighting when it comes to being a Witch, you know?"
"Eh, I'd rather bump up my kill counts than just sitting around doing nothing! I mean, I wanna be ace Witch like Major Lutzow. Don't you want to be one as well, Erma?"
"No, I don't need to." Elise's answer surprised her teammate.
"Eh?! Why not?!"
"Because…"
"It's not worth it." Sophie interjected, prompting the two witches to look at her. "Glory kills you." She paused for a moment and rolled her eyes towards the two. "If you're trying to find some glory and name, you're in the wrong field, kid." The two remained silent as she continued, "There's nothing worth about gaining glory in this rotten war. Not when it takes everything you cared for in the end. All those glory and kill counts, it means nothing. Not if you're dead in the end. But hey, at least you get your medal after heroic death. Makes it better, huh?"
Erma and Elise glanced at each other with not a single word uttered.
"Geez, don't scare them like that!" Gunila pouted. "You're being mean to them!"
"I'm simply stating the truth."
"Enough all of you! Our patrols maybe done but keep your eyes open." Kathe shushed them, not wanting to hear another argument.
Just as the argument died down, Gunila's eyes caught something flying below them. Something obscure from afar and it's hard to determine the shape. Since they're 4000 meters up in the air, it's hard to determine whether it's a friendly recon aircraft or a Neuroi.
"I got a visual on unidentified aircraft right below us." The blondie notified her finding to the others. "I can't tell if it's friendly or a Neuroi."
"Alright, let's intercept it."
Kathe's words was a blessing to Erma, "Finally, something to do! I'm getting bored flying aimlessly!"
"Stay on formation, especially you Sophie." The auburn directed her eyes at Sophie who simply groaned in annoyance. "Don't engage unless it started shooting at you, understand?"
"Jawohl!"
"Okay, on me!"
With Kathe's lead, the Witches dived down to lower their altitude towards the target. The gust of winds and strong breeze blew their skin and hair around the turbulence. It was icy cold but they have to endure as this what they were trained for, the magic was enough to keep them warm but it's not sufficient for extended period. The Witches stopped diving and leveled their altitude matching with their target in sight. They were 500 meters behind and closing in every second as they try to get a visible view of their target.
As they catch up, the Witches are closing in at 200 meters when the target shines for a few seconds. It was at that moment, a large red beam was flying to them slicing the clouds around them. Luckily enough, the girls managed to deflect and evade the incoming attack.
"Alright, unidentified aircraft is confirmed as Neuroi. You're clear to engage!"
"Now we're talking!" Erma said ecstatically as adrenaline rushes through her blood.
The relentless battle begins. The Witches managed to catch up and begin their assault on the Neuroi that takes a weird shape of a plane with several antennas (Imagine FW200 but edgier). The red hexagons begin emitting more beams as it defends itself from incoming Witches. The Witches were far nimble, smaller and harder to hit as they littered the fuselage with bullets, shedding some of its armor. Likewise, these simple damages are quick fix and not suffice to destroy it.
Angered by the Witches' harrasment, the Neuroi blasted a charged beam from all red hexagons across the fuselage. The sky was dyed in red for a moment from the blast.
"Damn, this thing is really angry!" Gunila commented, still firing her machinegun on the Neuroi's belly.
"Then keep at it, the more it's angry the easier it gets distracted!" Kathe replied while looping over the Neuroi while still shooting.
"Anyone seen where the core is located?!" Elise asked.
"Not here, too busy dodging!" Erma replied avoiding streams of red beam aiming for her.
"Sophie, how about you?" Knowing the twintail, Kathe was starting to get worried with her solo fighting. Heck, she isn't even speaking ever since they started attacking. "Sophie, respond!"
"Busy." That was her only respond.
Her silhouette popped up right behind the Neuroi as she rained several rounds onto the Neuroi's tail breaking it into bits. Eventually, the tails took significant damage. Portion of the tail shattered into white shards in which the Neuroi retaliates by focusing most of its beam shot towards Sophie.
"Sophie, evade!" Gunila warned.
The twintails deployed her shield as she evades, deflecting the incoming beam before avoiding another wave gracefully. She quickly lowered her shield and made her way towards Kathe's side but not while blasting more rounds on the left horizontal stabilizer and its left wing. After regrouping with her flight lead, Sophie noticed that Kathe was less than impressed upon seeing her but that didn't fazed her at the slightest.
"You called me?"
Kathe sighed deeply, having no idea how what to expect next from the twintails.
"Anyone found the core yet?" Kathe asked again.
At the same time, Gunila along with the two young Witches kept raining their shots across the fuselage hoping to expose the location of the core.
"Not yet!" Elise replied kept firing her machinegun.
The three kept attacking across the fuselage despite the hail of angry red beam counterattack from the Neuroi. Just as they maneuvered and distanced away, Erma launched a Panzerfaust warhead from her StG44 attachment. The warhead landed right where the 'cockpit' was and a loud explosion cracked the thick black armor, flames and smoke enveloped the nose of the aircraft for a full minute before dissipated by the wind. To their surprise, the explosion revealed the core underneath the fake cockpit.
"Found it!" Erma exclaimed with a smirk.
Shortly after its core exposed, the Neuroi shot waves of red beam to the Witches forcing them to evade the incoming attacks. Erma flustered as she quickly distanced herself from the Neuroi. Luckily, Gunila managed to yank her away by pulling her collar saving her before being turned into ashes.
"Thank you!" Erma sets up her line again and fired a second shot of panzerfaust warhead onto the fuselage.
The Neuroi's main body erupted leaving a large hole around the right side especially the wing. Kathe and Sophie followed suit as the two starts blasting more rounds onto the left side, focusing all of their attacks at the left side hoping to slow the Neuroi further. With heavy damage inflicted, the Neuroi had limited red hexagons left to channel its lasers. However, the Neuroi is still fighting through its struggle. The auburn haired squad leader knew that she must destroy the core as fast she can with her power as they are running out ammunition and magic energy soon.
"Sophie, cover me. I'm moving in!"
"Got it…" Sophie slung her machine gun to the side and pulled out new barrel from her back pouch, replacing her current one which was already bright hot with the new one before continuing her shots.
The twintails shattered the Neuroi's red hexagons rendering them useless Kathe to swoop in closer to the core with no hassle. She focused all of her power into the right hand and touched the Neuroi's fuselage. A gush of energy flows between the Neuroi's armor snapping it into two parts, the cockpit and the fuselage. The fake airplane body vanished into white shards leaving the cockpit spinning mid air aimlessly as it dives straight into the ground.
Erma smirked, "Alright! Let me get this kill!" she said confidently while speeds off towards the falling core.
"Erma, wait!" Elise tried to stop her but her friend had already dived towards the core.
With excitement and pulse pounding adrenaline flowing down her veins, Erma licked her lips and she lined up her sight towards the defenseless core. Everyone was calling her to regroup but Erma paid no attention to her peers as she continues her pursuit.
"Here's another kill to my score!" Erma muttered. It was just a weakened core, what else could happen?
Unfortunately, she underestimated the Neuroi's core.
Suddenly, the remains of the cockpit surrounding the core changed. The core was sealed, covered underneath the thick armor and the remaining parts of the cockpit transformed. It began to form a new wings and a sharp cone nose as it changes its shape. Ultimately, new red hexagons appeared on its new form, blasting several shot of beam onto Erma.
"ERMA, BREAK! BREAK!" Kathe's screamed into her eardrums.
She was caught off guard, not expecting the core to take new form. Erma couldn't figure out soon enough or even be able to react, she froze at the spot unable to make any judgment. Unable to think of anything else, her mind went blank wondering if this is her end. Tears flowed out of her eyes and suddenly, a voice as if a reminder from god jingled in her ears.
"I told you… Glory kills you."
"Eh?!" Suddenly, Erma felt something was pulled her away. Slowly, the Neuroi in her vision starting get further every seconds. She realized that her collar was being pulled and quickly looked towards her savior. "Leutnant Altmann?!"
Sophie didn't utter a word and hauled the girl away from the Neuroi as far as possible from the Neuroi's attacking range. Once they're at the safe distance, she let go off the girl.
"Stay here…" Sophie said monotonously and zoomed off chasing the Neuroi.
"Ah wait!" Erma called out but the twintail had already gone beyond.
"Erma!" Kathe called, the rest of the girl had regrouped by her side. She glanced around, "Where's Sophie?!"
"E-erm… She went ahead and chased the Neuroi by herself…"
"WHAT?!" The auburn screamed, her eyes widened as it was about to pop out of its socket. "Damn it! Gunila, stay here and watch over them! Call for reinforcements!"
"What?! You can't be serious!" Gunila retorted.
"JUST DO IT! I need to chase her!" Kathe quickly flew ahead leaving the three behind much to Gunila's dismay. Her heart was pounding harder than ever, fear was slowly enveloping her. "Please, Sophie… Please…" pouring all of her remaining powers into the Strikers, the engines roared louder and propelled her faster. Fortunately, she managed to catch up on time. She can see that Sophie and the Neuroi is engaged in dogfight. "Sophie, do you read me?!"
No response.
"Sophie!" again, no words or even distress call. Kathe clicked her tongue and quickly catches up to join the battle.
Closing in at 200 meters, Kathe trained her gun towards the Neuroi who was still busy dealing Sophie. It seems that it still hasn't noticed her and this might be her best chance to distract the Neuroi and allow Sophie to disengage. Without thinking further, she squeezed the trigger and burst of bullets smashed right on its tail even though it was wasn't significant damage but it was enough for Sophie to distance herself.
"Good…" The auburn reached out to her communicator, "Sophie, disengage! We'll contact for reinforcement and have them intercept it! We'll try and buy some time until they get here, there isn't enough ammunition left to take this bastard down."
She would expect a response in which Sophie did but not what she was expecting to hear.
"The hell are you talking about?!" Sophie hissed.
Kathe was taken aback, "Wha-? Sophie?!"
"Why did you got in my way?! I can handle this on my own! The Neuroi is almost done for!" Sophie kept firing but the Neuroi was relentless. She looped around, leveling herself above the Neuroi before firing another burst onto the fuselage. "Go away, Kathe! I can do this on my own!" Suddenly, a strong charged beam attracted their attention.
Noticing it, she braced for impact by setting up the shield and the shot went straight to her. Her body shaken as the impact shattered her shield. Luckily she was unharmed and she managed to kill her engines allowing her to egress away from the impact but Sophie was slowly diving motionless straight to the ground.
Kathe was stunned, "SOPHIE!" She yelled, her body was ready to dash towards her falling friend. That was until the twintail performed a somersault and quickly turned up her engine before giving the Neuroi another chase. She lets out a sigh of relieved, "Sophie, that's enough! Stop!"
Her friend refused to stop and continues to tail the enemy towards the horizon.
"Stop it, Sophie! Leutnant Altmann, stop! THIS IS AN ORDER!" she kept yelling through the communicator but no answer and Sophie still haven't given up her pursue.
The twintail was annoyed with her flight leader's words and decided to shut off the communicator and focused on her pursuit as she was several hundred meters away from the escaping Neuroi.
"This is bad…" Sophie uttered, she realized that they're closing in close towards the Gallian airspace. 'If this goes on, the Neuroi will enter the Gallian airspace and start attacking the local populace there…" Her homeland and family flashed her eyes, all the sorrows and pain resurfaced to haunt her. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the MG42 tightly in anger. "NO. I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"
With burning determination, the twintail quickly poured more energy into her engines. She boosted off closing in the distance between them. Just as she thought of engaging, the Neuroi took notice of her and quickly blast several lasers as a defensive measure.
"Like hell that would fool me!" Sophie broke away evading from the laser and decided to attack from its flank. However, the Neuroi decided to roll leftward and away from the twintail. The Neuroi made a sharp turn and pointed its nose towards her before firing another wave of red beams. "So, that's what you were up to!"
Sophie flew upwards over the Neuroi as trails of red light passed behind her. She fired more rounds onto the Neuroi's fuselage but barely breaking the armor where the core was sitting in. She evaded the incoming light by hair's breadth as the Neuroi climbed to level its altitude. Feeling endangered, Sophie quickly dove down and began speeding up and maintain her momentum. Now, they're locked in energy fight. Trying to assert dominance over one another they traded shots and evade every single attack they throw at each other waiting for those who will lose the energy and momentum to keep up the fight.
Sophie waited her moment as she kept her eyes on the Neuroi until it decided to loop under the Witch before climbing sharply upwards. Right at that moment, the Neuroi flew out of her sight. The alien thought that it managed to caught her off guard by flying into her blind side, thinking that was the end of all. But unbeknownst to the Neuroi, it was already fooled.
Sophie switched the MG42 from her right hand to her empty hand. Without looking at the Neuroi, she aimed her machinegun with only one armed towards the Neuroi without looking at it. Squeezing the trigger, a short burst of 7.92 flew straight to where it supposed to be. The bullet smashed where the core was located revealing its bare shape once more. Now uncovered and unprotected, the Neuroi tries to make run for Gallia.
"I won't let you get away!" Sophie aimed her machine gun once again. Just as she about to squeeze the trigger, a loud boom was heard in the distance. Suddenly, the Neuroi disintegrated into white flakes out of sudden. "What the-? Did it self destruct? No, some one killed it…"
"You're correct."
Sophie heart jumped as she heard that familiar voice. The twintailed turned around and saw several Witches from her squadron were here as well. But she grimaced as soonest she saw the person who was levitating behind her. It was none other than Greta Lutzow and judging from her face, the Major wasn't impressed by her little show. The twintail thought she can worry about getting chewed out later but turns out, karma decided to punish her right now.
"Major Lutzow…" Greta didn't respond, Sophie knew that she was absolutely pissed.
As the two were having a staring contest, another Witch arrived.
"Sophie!" It was Kathe and she finally managed to catch up. "Ah, Major! You're here too?"
Greta didn't respond, she sighed deeply. "Retz, inform ground base that the Neuroi has been taken care of."
"Jawohl."
"And as for the rest of you…" Kathe and Sophie shuddered as soonest her voice turned cold. "Let's have a little debriefing, shall we?"
Sophie groaned internally, 'Great, this day couldn't stop getting worse at all.'
The situation was tense. The office was filled with gloomy atmosphere as Major Lutzow was staring at Kathe's squad with disappointment reflected in her eyes. Her expression isn't making the room's atmosphere doing good either as they could the air was rumbling with heavy clouds surrounding the Major as if she was some sort of evil villain from movies that they watched long time ago. Erma and Elise had never faced Major while putting up such face. The duo knew she was strict and has a terrible expression but what's in front of them is different than their usual strict face.
Just as Erma was shaking in her boots, Greta spoke.
"You did a good job out there, good thing you spot the Neuroi and intercept it… BUT-" She emphasized the last word signifying her discontent. "You should be focusing on working together to eliminate the Neuroi and not trying to play a game of tag! Erma!" The girl squealed and straightened herself, "Despite being able to locate the core, your carelessness nearly lead to your death!"
"Y-Yes…" Erma replied, she was at her wits end.
Greta then turned to Kathe, "And you." She paused, her eyes were looking at the auburn girl with deadly stare, "You should be able to control your subordinates from getting out of control. You have the authority over your squad but yet, you lose control and let them do as they please."
"It was indeed my fault, Major." Kathe replied regretfully. "It was under my supervision that-" Greta waved her hands cutting off her mid sentence.
"I don't want to hear any excuses! You fucked up and that's it! AND YOU!" Greta's then shifted her to the twintail. She stood in front of her, not saying a single word. Greta was irked by her nonchalant behavior. While everyone else was under pressure from the heavy atmosphere, Sophie, on the other hand remained calm as if she had expected this to happen. "You went ahead on your own again, Altmann. Do you have any idea what kind of danger you could bring to yourself?"
"I'm simply executing the best option to ensure the safety of my team mates." The girl replied firmly.
Greta sighed deeply, "That's it, everyone dismiss." The girls eventually relaxed and began to make their way out, until the Major continued. "Everyone except Leutnant Altmann." Everyone stopped at their pace, looking at Sophie worriedly. "You'll be staying for a moment, Altmann. I have something to discuss."
Kathe glanced between Greta and Sophie, she wanted to say something until the Major interrupted.
"I know what you're about to say, Kathe. But she's a grown up. Please leave."
The auburn Witch was reluctant until someone patted her shoulder. "Sophie…"
"It's fine. Go on, I doubt it's gonna be something terrible."
"If you say so." Kathe gave up and left the office. The best she could do for Sophie is pray that nothing bad will happen to her.
As soonest the door was shut, the room fell into silence once again. Only the sound of the clock ticking loudly could be heard as Greta stares onto the young girl with icy cold eyes. The two stood face to face with Greta crossing her arms while Sophie remained at ease in silent. The air was getting heavier but something Sophie wasn't a stranger of. She had faced this woman multiple times in her life and so does the Major. The silence went on until one of them decided to spoke.
"Loosen up, Sophie. There's so much to break down here." Greta went behind the desk and sat down. "Take a seat if you want."
Following her words, the twintails breaks out of her pose and sat down while still silent with her dead fish eyes staring at the Major, showing no interest at all.
"I don't know what to do with you, really." The Major shook her head in disappointment. "From Brittania all the way to Aachen, you keep defying every order issued to you and went along your way to do everything by yourself." All the troubles she have been making resurfaced from the back of her mind, she vividly remembers them as if it happened yesterday. "The last time I asked if you're doing this for fame, you deny it. Then, what exactly are you trying achieve?"
Sophie shrugged, "I don't know, maybe I'm really doing it for fame now."
"No, you're not. Erma would because she's a greenhorn and upbeat girl. You, on the other hand, I would see that in the old you but now, you barely cared about kill counts these days." Sophie didn't protested, something Greta had expected. Perhaps this is the best time to get straight to the point, "Tell me, is it worth it? Chasing the Neuroi blindly on your own knowing its going to get you killed?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Sophie remained silent. It didn't take a full minute until she responded. "Because I choose to… it's the only way…" she curled up her fist, tightening up as all bottled up emotions are about to burst. 'No, don't do this…'
Greta can visibly see that she was agitated, assuming she hit the right spot. "I see…" Greta leaned forward into her desk, now eyeing at the twintail with neutral look. "Sophie, you do realize that…" she paused. "You do realize that… everything in the past wasn't your fault at all."
All long silence followed immediately. None of the party spoke. Though, the intense atmosphere
"No. You're wrong." Sophie said. "You won't get it. Because of those Neurois… They… They… took everything away from me!" for the first time in a while, she displayed such raw emotions after what happened 3 years ago. "And because of me…" she stopped and her face contorted, putting up a serious. "As long as I die, no one will weep for me." Greta was taken aback by her expression, she haven't seen such raw emotion that Sophie had shown for a long time.
"Don't be silly." Greta quickly retorted, "Are you really trying to kill yourself?"
"Yes, I am."
Greta clicked her tongue, annoyed by her words. "You think this is a joke?"
"No, ma'am. I'm completely sane and serious. Like I said, no one will weep for me if I die. I am a troublesome child after all."
"Surely, there is someone who cared for you."
"Who?" At that moment, Greta met her eyes. "Tell me, Major. Who will wait for my return in Fatherland?" Greta went speechless the moment Sophie inquired; she knew it wasn't a joke at all.
Silent ensues once again. Across the table, she could visibly see her eyes full of darkness. Those were the eyes she had seen through her entire career, she have seen on the soldiers across the front and all of those eyes share similar trait – they lack any will to live. They found despair and have no any will to continue their lives. This girl, she had those eyes, the eyes devoid of any meaningful life and any lingering regrets. Greta had never thought that this young girl have given up everything including her precious life. Knowing her past, it wasn't surprising at all if Sophie had already taken this path long time ago. As the silence continued, Sophie spoke.
"Are we done?" her voice as icy cold as ever.
"Yes, we are." The Major had more questions to ask but doing so will turn her much sinister with her currently unstable emotions. God knows what'd happen if she pushed the young girl too far.
Sophie stood up and straightened her uniform, "I shall take my leave then." The darkness in her eyes disappeared gradually, the same boring dead fish eyes takes its place. Just as she was inches away from the door, the Major spoke.
"Altmann." Sophie stopped at her order, turning her head slightly as she waits her superior's words. "You were wrong about one thing…" she paused but Sophie remained silent, "I don't know if you know this but… There are people who cared for your wellbeing. That's all."
Sophie didn't respond and exited the office. With that the room fell into silence leaving the disappointed Major giving a thousand yard stare at the door where the girl used to stand. Leaning backward, Greta cupped her chin as she goes in full thought.
'That girl, she should stop doing this before getting herself killed. Even Brandle couldn't pass through her anti-social wall she erected, if only there is someone who can change her perception… Someone who can keep up and think like her.' the Major sighed deeply, "Then again, I still need to worry about the others as well especially when the war to reclaim the Fatherland has stagnated."
Truly, she really hoped that someone can change her back into a cheerful bright girl who she was.
"Oh well, better report this back at Galland. Better clarify this whole mess before she makes a fuss." The Major picked up her hat and left the room.
Trigger was enjoying all the newly arrived reading materials given to him. It was old but at least it was enjoyable to read. Most of the comic books and the novels are much entertaining than the ones he received the other day despite being vintage. The comic books are all about the soldiers at the frontlines with a joke in it, something he wasn't unfamiliar with. At least he's not all bored anymore while staying in his 'private suite'.
"Heh, so this is what gramps read back in the day…" The ace pilot laughed. "Never thought they got some good shit, was expecting more cringey comics."
Even though it was enjoyable, he still couldn't help but feeling a little annoyed with the advertisements.
"War bonds? They sure really pushing that stuff way too much." All the advertisements about supporting the war by buying the bonds were annoying to say.
But that's not all, there are some advertisements more about supporting the troops as well as recruitment… in the form of Witches. He has seen a lot of recruiting methods in his career but the use of Witches are prevalent in this world. In fact, at least 70% of the ads he's been skimming through the comic and the radios he heard were being pushed by some famous ace Witches from all over the world.
"Damn, not even I get invited to a late night show. These girls are definitely the face of the armed forces huh?"
But then again, he knew what this all meant.
"All propaganda."
An effective method to ensure the populace that there's nothing to worry about. Seeing how these girls are constantly making big scores and always fighting in the sky, he wouldn't be surprised that they got the special treatment. In fact, most of the Witches he saw on the comic book and heard over the radio were quite famous that they had this… Witches fighting in questionable poses… Nearly all of the pictures had them opening up their legs and crotches enough to give a full wide view of their bottoms. Not to mention they even looked like in high school which literally turned him off.
"God, I swear these people are definitely perverts. And simpers." He looked deeply onto the Witch on the recruitment ad again. A young girl was holding a machinegun with motivated face at the other direction while a gust of wind is blowing the hem of her shirt displaying her panties at full view. "Captain Gertrude Barkhorn of the Imperial Karlsland's Luftwaffe 52nd Fighter Squadron, 200+ kills in her record… Not bad." She was young, WAY TOO YOUNG.
That was the question that's been lingering in his head, all the girls he saw in the base and in the advertisement were really young. In fact, one could fool him as if they were closer to 12 years old. He already dismissed them as military cadets since this place is way too close to the frontlines and Adolfine Galland who seems to be in her twenties AND she was a lieutenant colonel at that. So, the Osean had to deduce at best.
"Since they have magic and all of that hocus pocus thingy, I assume they have some method to preserve their looks. I mean, they were called Witches for a reason right?" He muttered. But there was this hunch in his heart that they aren't exactly what they were. As if his morality was balancing on a loose thread, "Why do I get this feeling? Its not like they're that weak… No." The Osean shook his head, putting the comic away. "They were way too young..."
All the faces of the Witches flashed in his head.
"Way younger than they average soldiers in this base…" Trigger scratched his head aggressively as the uneasiness started to get into his head. "Damn it, I hope Galland has all the answer. I got so many questions to ask. She better settle down for a talk tomorrow, I'm getting all this goosebumps. I hope those Witches aren't actually children."
He said jokingly. Little did he know, he's about to be surprised more than he would expected.
Alrighty, I ain't gonna sugar coat on this one. I kept this one way too long and it ended up into a heap of mess. The best I can say is sorry for the late chapter and that's it. Moving on, as you have read this chapter was meant to show and reflect Sophie to her character but somehow it seems dull and unconvincing. Still I think I did a good to portray her as a loose cannon that is hard to handle even with a leash. Next chapter will be start of another battle but the updates... Don't count on it to be soon enough.