Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. This story is written for the sole purpose of entertainment.
Chapter 2: First Contact
Bir Gigafa Air Base, Sinai Peninsula
'That European is late. Why did I of all people have to be assigned as her wingman,' The Arabian Allied Air Force witch muttered to herself as she waited for her wingman near one of the hangars at the airbase. She wore the standard white air force witch uniform with black leggings and zip-up boots. Her hair was tied in a ponytail as she held onto her cap as a bit of wind went her way as a pair of Arabian Allied Air Force F-16Is went down the runway.
"She was supposed to be here half an hour ago. What's taking her?" The witch said to herself. Before she complained anymore, she heard a voice call out to her.
"Sorry, I'm late!" The witch turned to see another witch running up to her. She was wearing a grey button-up shirt with the emblems of the Britannia Royal Air Force on it. She had a red beret on her head with the crest of the Royal Air Force on it, which also kept her brown hair in check. She's wearing black fingerless gloves, zip up combat boots and stockings with green and brown stripes on them. She reached the witch and had to compass herself.
"You're late, 1st Lieutenant Maloney," The witch chided the arrival. 1st Lieutenant Wendy Maloney took a couple more deep breathes before straightening herself and giving a weak smile.
"Sorry 1st Lieutenant Nasir. I slept through my alarm clock. It won't happen again," Wendy replied, to which Nasir rolled her eyes. 1st Lieutenant Khadija Nasir may be the same rank as Wendy but between the two, Nasir had the most experience. Nasir has been fighting the Neuroi for 2 years while this would be Wendy's first experience fighting the Neuroi. However, that wasn't the only thing that worried her. It was the fact that Wendy was related to the infamous General Maloney from the Second Great Neuroi War, a man who had tried to abolish the witches by using a Neuroi core in a machine codenamed "Warlock". Since then, the name Maloney has been known as a family to hate witches, which made Wendy the odd one out. That and her family's past dealings with Europeans have also warped her thinking of Wendy as well.
"Make sure that it doesn't. We are already late for our morning patrol," Nasir stated. The both of them then entered the hangar. Inside, it was pretty empty with tool sheds off to the side and some supply crates filled with either weapons or ammo. At the center of the hangar were two striker unit launchers and in each launcher was a Mcdonald Douglas F-4 FGR.2 striker unit. One was painted in a camouflage tone similar to those found on RAF aircraft and one was tanned with the flag of the United Kingdom of Jazira on the tail.
As they approached the striker units, Wendy looked over hers and pouted, saying, "How come I get the Phantom? I thought I was going to be assigned a Tornado."
"Your Tornado striker is still on its way from Britannia. This was the only striker that was still available," Khadija replied. Wendy just continued to pout but didn't complain more. Both witches walked around and then got into their strikers. A blue light formed underneath them and soon the witch's familiar began to appear on them. For Khadija, it was the Egyptian Desert Black Snake while for Wendy it was a retriever. As they began to rev up their magic engines, their weapon bays on the right side popped out to reveal their weapons, an RPD LMG for Khadija and an L80A1 Assault Rifle for Wendy. On their left side, another compartment popped open, revealing a pair of glasses and a headset. They put them on and immediately their glasses lit up and their hud appeared.
"Control, this is Chimera 4, Chimera 3 and I are requesting permission to taxi to runway 3. How copy over?" Khadija asked.
"Chimera 4, this is Control. Roger that, proceed to runway and standby to sortie over," the control tower responded back.
"Roger that," Khadija then looked over to Wendy and nodded. Wendy nodded back and both of them released their locks and proceeded to head towards the runway. As they exited the hangar and made their way to the runway, Khadija noticed that as they passed some Britannian ground crews and some witches, they gave looks towards Wendy.
'Well, I can't say that I blame them. After all, she is that bastard's granddaughter," Khadija thought to herself. She also felt some guilt in thinking that since her father, who had fought during the Second Neuroi War, also disliked witches but the difference is that her father quickly learned to respect witches while Maloney did not during that time.
They finally approached the runway and got into position. Khadija radioed in, "Control, we are in position on the runway." After a few minutes, the control tower responded back.
"Chimera 4, you and 3 are cleared to launch. Say again, you are cleared to launch," the control tower replied. Khadija looked over to Wendy who smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.
"Roger that, Chimera 4 and 3 launching!" And with that, both witches revved up their magic engines. As the flight lead, Khadija launched first. She released the brakes, and then bolted down the runway. Once she gained enough speed, she lifted off. As she gained altitude, she glanced over her shoulder and saw that Wendy was also already in the air and climbing. As one, they both made a right turn and brought up their landing gear. They both then climbed to 20,000 feet and then headed south towards the Gulf of Aqaba, their assigned area to patrol.
As they made their way towards the gulf, Wendy spoke up, "You are probably wondering why people back at the base gave me those looks, huh?" The question caught Khadija off guard. While true, Khadija was thinking about it, the fact that Wendy could tell, given that she is usually the more free-spirited European Khadija met, amazed her.
"It's not really surprising. Ever since I became a witch, I haven't been able to make many friends due to what my grandfather did but I want to prove to everyone that I am different from him. That I am different from him….. And my family," Wendy stated, though she muttered that last part. Khadija was genuinely surprised and a part of her started to feel bad for the girl. Before she could reply, a voice called.
"Chimera flight, this is AWACS Eagle Eye, do you copy?"
"This is Chimera flight, go ahead Eagle Eye," Khadija replied.
"We are detecting unknown contacts to the east at Angel 2-5 near the Gulf of Aqaba. they seem to be not heading towards allied lines but are moving around in the same area. We need you to check it out and report back," Eagle Eye stated.
"Roger, Chimera flight is moving to investigate," Khadija replied. She then looked over to Wendy and said, " AWACS says they see something near the gulf. We are to investigate and report back."
"Roger, lead the way," Wendy responded. Khadija made a right turn towards the contact and with Wendy following, made their way towards the contact.
As they got closer, they began to see some black dots in the distance. They were all moving rapidly.
"Those must be the contacts that AWACs was talking about," Wendy said.
"Yeah, ok let's see if they are friendly or hostile," Khadija replied. She tapped her glasses and with the built-in chip, it began to try and pick up any IFF signals from the unknown contacts. After a minute, the readings came back. Five of the contacts were not responding and one was.
"Eagle Eye, we can confirm one friendly and they are engaged with enemy flying types. They must be drones. Requesting permission to engage," Khadija asked.
"Permission granted. Assi- wait, we got another contact. Bearing 315, Angels 20. They are coming in fast," the AWACS reported. Khadija looked in that direction and saw two morre black dots. She zoomed in and was surprised to see of all things a Liberion F-14A Tomcat and an Orussian Mig-29 Fulcrum.
"Eagle Eye, are there supposed to be any Liberion or Orusian units nearby?" Khadija asked.
"Um, negative. The closet Liberion unit is about 100 miles to your south. And there should not be any Orussian units at all here," the operator on the AWACS replied, sounding confused.
"You think they got lost?" Wendy asked.
"Impossible. Unless they had tanker support, which I doubt, there is no reason for them to be here," Khadija replied. She then remembered the reports from the base that the Neuroi had begun to use captured equipment, take them over, and use them on the allied forces.
"Eagle Eye, I think those could be Neuroi using captured equipment. They are not responding to our IFF. Please advise," Khadija asked. She had a hunch but wanted to get permission before committing to it.
"If they are not responding to the IFF, then they are hostile. You have permission to splash those bogeys," the AWAC responded back.
'Roger that," Khadija responded then switch channels to talk to Wendy, "Ok, here is what we are going to do. I am going to go help that witch while you deal with those other two."
"Wait, you want me to deal with them by myself?" Wendy whined.
"There are just two of them and it looks like they haven't been fully taken over by the Neuroi yet so just engage them with one of your missiles and it should be ok," Khadija concluded. While Khadija remained confident in Wendy's ability to deal with just two Neuroi. Something told her that those were not normal Neuroi but she put that aside and focused on the task at hand.
"Ok, this is Chimera 4. We are engaging the enemy."
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?!" Andrew exclaimed as he and Nicholai continued to head towards the fight where the girl was fighting a group of black drones shooting lasers.
"Ok, either 1: The UN is seriously recruiting kids for something, in which we pretty much have violated a ton of international laws or 2 we entered some weird dimension where there are girls fighting drones," Yusuke stated.
"Kendo now isn't the time for your weeb shit," Nicholai replied.
"Wolf, unless you can explain we are currently seeing in front of us, then what Kendo is saying might be the only thing that makes sense," Andrew replied.
"Shouldn't we help her though? It looks like she is having a hard time dealing with them," Alexa pointed out. Andrew looked over to his radar and saw that the witch was moving a bit slower while the drones looked like they could duke it out.
Andrew began to weigh his options. They still had no clue who this girl was and if she was friendly or not. However, judging from the way those drones are being aggressive with her, Andrew had a hunch that those things could be hostile. Another thing he noted was that they were all black with red spots on them and some of those red spots were where the red lasers were coming from.
Finally, Andrew came to the decision, "Ok, here is what we are going to do. We are going to help her. She's getting pushed back and probably won't last long."
"About time. Let's get in on the action," Nicholai exclaimed. Andrew looked down and was glad that his missiles were still operational. He turned on his radar and armed one of his Phoenix missiles while Nicholai armed one of his R-37 missiles.
"C'mon baby, give me a lock," Andrew muttered. Soon, there was a tune indicating that the missile was trying to get a lock. Finally, he got a consistent tone, meaning the missile was locked.
"Ok, Reaper 2-1 Fo-" Andrew didn't finish as Yusuke yelled out.
"We just got tagged by someone! They are targeting us!"
'Where?!" Andrew exclaimed as he aborted his missile launch.
"To our left….. Shit! Missile launch!" Andrew turned to his left and sure enough, he saw a missile streaking towards him.
"Reaper 2-3, evasive maneuvers now!" Andrew yelled as he dived. Nicholai did the same as both went defensive. The missile was locked on Andrew and he turned his fighter hard right to avoid the missile. The missile seemed to have lost lock as it went past him but Yusuke saw the missile and was shocked.
"We were shot at by a Sparrow," Yusuke exclaimed.
"You want to repeat that?" Andrew asked as he continued to hear the tone of someone locking on him.
"Confirmed. That was a Sparrow that was fired on us," Yusuke repeated. Andrew trained his head towards the direction where the missile was launched and he then saw another girl with what looks like F-4s on her legs and can see another missile launch.
"Kendo, get on the radio and get that girl to stop shooting at us!" Andrew yelled as he did another maneuver to avoid the missile. He saw the missile fly past him and head toward Nicholai.
"Reaper 2-3, missile to your left!" Andrew yelled. In his Fulcrum, Nicholai cursed as he pumped out chaff to confuse the missile's guidance system and turned to face the missile. The missile took the chaff and it flew past him.
"Wolf, do not engage her! Focus on engaging those drones," Andrew said over the radio.
"That girl is not making it easier," Nicholai stated.
"Ignore her for now. I will keep her busy while Kendo is trying to raise her on the radio. Engage those drones!," Nicholai grunted but he turned his fighter towards where the drones were fighting that girl. Nicholai looked at his radar and noticed another figure.
"I think she already got some help. I am seeing another contact," Nicholai reported. Andrew looked at his radar and noticed there was another contact joining in. He then noticed a blip disappear while the others scattered.
"Ok, then let's see if we can get a missile lock," Nicholai muttered as he armed his R-77 missile. He picked out a drone that was turning around to engage the wounded girl as well as the other girl that came to help. He then heard a continuous tone and grinned.
"Reparer 2-3, Fox 3!" Nicholai called out as he pressed the trigger. He felt the weight of the missile fall off and then ignite its engine as it sped away from his fighter and towards the drone. The Neuroi, detecting that it was fired upon by an ait-to-air missile, released chaff and began to dive to try and avoid the missile. Usually that would work for a missile that was built in the 80s but with the more modern R-77, it wasn't enough. Accelerating at Mach 4, the missile closed the distance to the drone in about 5 seconds, hitting the drone and destroying it causing only white particles to be left in its wake.
"Splash one hostile!" Nicholai whooped. However, that didn't last long as Alexa shouted from her seat.
"We got a drone on our six!" Nicholai then saw red lasers past by him as he cursed and turned hard left to escape the drone. However the drone, having seen its comrade get killed and wanting revenge, pursued and kept on Nicholai.
Khadija had fired one of her Sparrow missiles and saw that it connected with one of the drones. The rest scattered, sensing a new contact. The witch that was holding the Neuroi off turned to face her rescuer and as Khadija got closer, she was surprised at who she was seeing.
"P-P-Princess Samira! We thought you were dead," Khadija exclaimed. Their reports had stated that she was killed in action after the Neuroi attacked Ridyah.
"Those intelligent people need to get better. I spent a good chunk of that time avoiding the Neuroi and trying to make it to allied lines," Samira replied, taking a few deep breathes as she struggled to stay in the air. Khadija noticed this and went to her and wrapped an arm around Samira's shoulder.
"You dropped off the radar. There was no way of knowing," Khadija stated. They then heard a noise. They turned and looked to see a drone was coming around and was about to engage them. Khadija cursed as she raised her RPD but with one arm being used, it was hard for her to take aim. Suddenly, she saw a missile streak towards the drone. The drone deployed chaff but it was not enough as Khadija saw the missile connect and destroy the drone.
"Where did that come from?" Khadija said aloud. She turned in the direction the missile fired and was surprised to see that the Fulcrum she saw earlier made the shot. She was then equally surprised to see one of the drones get behind the Fulcrum and start shooting. The Fulcrum made a left turn to try and get away from the drone but the drone gave pursuit.
'Wait, that drone is chasing the Fulcrum. Then that would mean…" Khadija didn't finish the statement as Wendy's voice called out.
"Chimera 4, I am getting a transmission from those fighters….. Um you might want to hear this," Wendy responded. After a few minutes, Khadija heard the voice.
"This is Reaper 2-1 to the flying girls, cease fire! I repeat, cease fire! We are trying to help you!" Khadija was completely caught-off but more than anything, she was confused.
"What the hell is going on?" She muttered as he tapped her radio to respond.
"Reaper 2-1, this is Chimera 4. Confirm your identity, Papa Sierra Foxtrot," A female voice responded.
"Oh you are shitting me right now!" Yuskue exclaimed.
"Just respond to her dammit! I need to focus on getting this drone of Wolf's back," Andrew replied as Yusuke grumbled as he took out his code card.
After looking through it, Yusuke muttered, "Hope this works." and then replied over the radio, "Alpha Tango November". There was a brief pause before a response.
"Code confirmed. Ok, now may we ask where did you come from? There aren't any Liberion or Orussian units nearby."
"Wait, what did she just say?" Yusuke said as suddenly the fighter jerked hard right.
"Hye, what the fuck man?!" Yusuke exclaimed but Andrew yelled back.
"We got a bogey on our ass!" Yusuke then looked back and saw that not one but two of those drones were now behind them.
"Oh shit," Yusuke simply stated as Andrew tried to jink away from the two drones. But they kept on him. Andrew kept hearing the constant beeping of being locked and then his heart stopped when it went on continuously.
"That thing just launched a missile at us," Yusuke called out. Andrew cursed as he pumped out flares and banked left. Yusuke watched form his seat as the missiles took the flares.
"Ok, I think we are-" Yusuke stopped mid sentence as what he saw took his breath. The missile, which was oddly enough black and had no exhaust, took the flares but then stopped, turned around and then headed back to them.
'T-T-T-The missile just reacquired us!" Yusukle exclaimed.
"Wait, what?" Andrew asked. He looked at his radar and sure enough, he saw the missile heading to them.
"What the fuck?!" Andrew exclaimed as he increased power to his engines and began to cimb.
"Kendo, talk to me!" Andrew asked as the fighter continued to climb.
"I have no clue what that thing is but it's closing fast on our six," Yusuke replied. As Yusuke saw the missile, he was further shocked to see that the "missile", then opened its tip and a red light began to form.
"Oh sit," Yusuke said aloud.
"What is it?" Andrew asked. Yusuke didn't respond as he looked at the radar and saw a red line that was coming from the missile.
"Devil, brake now!" Yusuke yelled. Andrew pressed the brake and the Tomcat lifted its nose slightly and reduced its speed. The missile then fired a red beam but due to the maneuver, it missed and the missile flew past them.
Andrew looked at the thing amazement as he has never seen a missile that can also shoot a laser. Then, without warning, he saw some hit the missile and then it exploded in a white burst.
"What did I just see?" Andrew muttered. He then heard Yusuke speak up.
"Devil, I got four bogeys coming in from the west but this is weird. One of them is just staying still," Then Andrew heard a female voice over the radio.
"This is Major Elizabeth Mcguinness of the 139th Wing. To the Liberion Tomcat and Orussian Fulcrum, what is your affiliation?"
Andrew blinked and then cursed, "Shit, we forgot about Nicholai!"
"Reaper 2-3, you still up?" Andrew called out over the radio, for now ignoring the wome's voice.
"Da, about time you remembered us Yank," Nicholai replied.
"Is Princess still good and alive?" Andrew asked.
"Yes, though I think she got a bit afraid of that drone. One of those flying girls saved our skins though we did take some damage," Andrew looked around and saw Nicholai's Fulcrum, albeit with smoke coming from his left wing. On his left looked like the witch that had fired on them.
"Reaper 2-3, switch channels," Andrew stated firmly. Andrew then switched to an encrypted channel that is only used between the two of them.
"Nicholai, what do you think of these girls?" Andrew asked as soon as Nicholai confirmed he was on the channel.
"I don't know. I mean, they did try to kill us a few minutes ago but now they are helping us," Nicholai responded. Andrew was about to reply before Yusuke's voice chimed in.
"Um, don't want to interrupt but that girl is on again and um….. Best you respond to her,"
"Right," Andrew said. He then switched to the clear channel and said, "Sorry about that. Repeat your last."
``This is Chimera 1, I am asking what's your affiliation?" The voice replied, a bit annoyed from having been ignored.
"This is Lieutenant Commander Andrew Walker Vandegrift, United States Navy. Callsign "Reaper 2-1". The man piloting the Fulcrum is Senior Lieutenant Nicholai Ivanov, Russian Navy. Callsign "Reaper 2-3". Um, I have to ask but I never have heard of a 139 wing. May I ask what sector command you are from?" Andrew asked. There was a brief pause before the girl responded back.
'Reaper 2-1, you are to follow us back to Bir Gigafa Air Base. We….. have some questions we would like to ask of you." Andrew's back straightened. He wasn't an idiot to know what that meant.
"Do I have your word that we will be treated fairly and respectfully?" Andrew asked. More silence than a response.
"You have my word that no harm will come to you or your wingman," Andrew thought about it and decided about it for a minute. All that maneuvering had cost a good amount of fuel. Not only that, Nicholai's fighter was damaged and needs repair. As he thought of this, it suddenly dawned on him what base she mentioned.
"Chimera 1, can you confirm the base? Did you say Bir Gigafa Air Base?" Andrew asked.
'Yes, that is the nearest airbase in the Sinai. The next one is a temporary airbase used for emergency landings" The girl responded.
"Wait, wait wait. DId she just say Sinai?" Yusuke asked, confused.
"Um, repeat your last. Are you telling me we are in the Sinai?" Andrew asked, still not believing it.
"Uh, do you need medical treatment Commander? We are currently just west of the Gulf of Aqaba."
"Ok, while I can't confirm that she is telling the truth, judging by how she said all that without hesitation tells me that she may be telling the truth," Yusuke told Andrew. Andrew just sighed and replied to the girl.
"Um, roger. You mind taking the lead ma'am. Our radar and maps are out so we are flying blind here," Andrew replied.
'Roger that. Look for a witch waving at you and follow her," The girl replied. Andrew looked around and saw a girl with something that looked like a Tornado on her feet waving at him. He waved at her by tilting his wings back and forth. The witch acknowledged with a nod and then turned and began to fly away. Andrew took this cue and accelerated, ending up on the witch's six o'clock.
Andrew turned around and saw that Nicholai was to his right, on his wing. It was at this moment that Andrew was fully able to see the damage on Nicholai. His left-wing had a few holes in them and two of the holes had smoke coming out of them.
"Wolf, how bad is it?" Andrew asked over the radio.
"Other than those holes, everything else checks out," Nicholai responded.
"Roger, stay on my wing and if you have any problems, give a holler," Andrew stated. As he heard an affirmative from Nicholai, he turned his attention back forward and began to think about what he was going to have to deal with once they reach the airbase.
Khadija was nervous. Not because she was helping Princess Samira get back to base but it was the two fighters that were following them. Once they were in formation, Khadija asked Wendy what had happened. From what Wendy said, she had friends two radar-guided Sparrows at them and was expecting them to be destroyed.
"But then one failed to connect and I shot the second one. Again it failed to connect," Wendy noted.
"Those pilots must know how to deal with radar-guided missiles," Khadija muttered. She knows that with the right maneuvers, one can dodge a radar-guided missile but she has rarely seen those types of pilots, at least from her time in the air force.
Khadija was thinking more about it until a voice called to her, "Leftenant Nasir, what are your thoughts on these two?" She looked and saw that Major Mcguinness was looking back at her from the lead position. At age 20, she was the executive officer of the 139th wIng. She had on a camouflaged blouse with the desert camo that is seen on Britannian ground forces over a tanned tank top. She had goggles over her head and on top of a red beret with the Royal Air Force emblem on it and a scarf wrapped around her next. Her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail. Her personal weapon, an L118A1 Sniper Rifle, hung over her shoulder with her sidearm, the Browning Hi-Power, holstered on her right thigh just short of where her leg merged with the striker unit.
"Ma'am, to be frank, I really don't know. They had appeared out of nowhere and then they started to help us," Khadija responded. Mcguinness nodded but in her head, a million questions were forming.
'Who the hell are these guys? There aren't supposed to be any Orussian units here and the nearest Liberion carrier is in the Med,' Mcguinness thought. She continued to have questions and the group finally reached the airfield.
Upon seeing it, Andrew thought, 'So we really are in the Sinai. Just how the hell did we end up here?'
"Reaper 2-1, we are patching you over to the control tower. They will guide you to the appropriate runway and hangar," Mcguinness said over the radio.
"Roger Chimera 1," Andrew replied. A few minutes later, another voice called out.
"Reaper 2-1, this is control. We have been briefed by the major and you are cleared to land on runway 4." The control tower stated.
'Roger, control," Andrew stated. He then told Nicholai, "Follow me in Wolf. Shout out if you have any problems."
"Roger, Devil," Nicholai replied. Both jets began their descent towards the runway. Andrew and Nicholai lowered their landing gear and dropped their airspeed. Andrew was the first to touch down, his Tomcat bouncing a bit but eventually settling. Nicholai and Alex landed next and even though their wing was shot up, Nicholai was able to land the jet successfully.
"Reaper 2-1, proceed to hangar 5. It's going to be the one with 2 F-15s next to it," the control tower stated. Andrew looked around and saw the hangar.
"Roger Control," Andrew replied and then guided his Tomcat to the hangar with Nicholai following. Both jets entered the hangar and as Andrew shut off the engine he noticed something.
"Is it just me or is there no one in this hangar?" Andrew asked over the radio. Yusuke looked around and sure enough, there was no one.
"This is odd," Nicholai replied. In his cockpit, he unholstered his sidearm, an MP-443, chambering a round. Alexa did the same though her hand was slightly shaking.
"You don't think they lied to us about not harming us, right?" Alexa asked. In his tomcat, Andrew also pulled out his sidearm, an M1911, and continued to look around.
"Whatever you do, do not open your canopy Nicholai," Andrew stated, sensing something was off. Before Nicholai could respond, a pair of doors opened on the other end of the hangar and soldiers began storming in. About 15 soldiers, and from Andrew could tell are British soldiers, and they all pointed their rifles at the two fighters. Andrew looked around and they had surrounded the two fighters.
"Yusuke…" Andrew started but Yusuke beat him to the punch.
"There are soldiers at the entrance of the hangar. And I think I see the girls who we helped showing up now too," Andrew looked around and sure enough, the girls he helped came over.
Andrew just gulped and said, "I hope she wasn't lying to us, or else we are going to end up like swiss cheese."
A/N: Hope you guys like the new chapter. Also, still looking for OCs to fill up some of the squadrons for the witches. While I can find many of the witches online, there isn't enough to fill in some squadrons so if you have an OC, give me a PM.
Squadrons that need OCs:
Chimera Squadron
Schwarz Squadron: A mix of Liberion and Karlsland witches
Orussian 3rd witch Squadron
Lancer Squadron (Fuso)
Scout Squadron (Fuso)
Also, any modern-day OCs for the task force that will soon enter the world are also open as I already have a list but I may need some more. For all OCs, refer to the OC chapter for the template.
Thank you to all those who read this fanfic and see you all later.
