Welcome to the next installment! Now that Daniel is in the Strike Witches' universe permanently, he's got to figure out how to live in it. How is he going to make his way in this new world? Keep reading to find out - Enjoy!
As Daniel woke up the next morning, he got up and looked out the window. Dawn had not yet come, but there was Mio, practicing hard like it was the middle of the day. He then took a deep breath and thought to himself, 'Alright. Today is a new day and I've got to make the most of my new reality here. What was it that Morgan Freeman said in that movie? – 'Get busy living or get busy dying' – damn right.' Needless to say, Daniel chose the former.
Over the next several weeks, Daniel fell into a routine of sorts living with the Strike Witches. His early mornings usually consisted of training with Mio – and what a taskmaster she was! Her training regimens would put his old drill sergeant to shame – and he was actually TRYING to be sadistic. Mio, on the other hand, actually believed that training this much at this intensity was helpful to everyone that wasn't her. He didn't know whether this made him feel better or scared him even more.
Daniel did, however, enjoy their sword training sessions. Not wanting to destroy their primary hand-to-hand combat weapons, Daniel and Mio sparred with each other using bokken, or wooden swords shaped liked a katana. While the other witches knew Daniel had a high-level skill set due to his rank and overall Jedi abilities, they were still amazed when they saw the two of them sparring. Never had any of them seen anyone match Major Sakamoto in sword skills! For Daniel and Mio, not only was it a way to keep improving their skills, but also allowed them to test themselves against a worthy opponent.
Eventually, both out of necessity and out of respect for the major, he came to see her as the best way to continue his path to becoming a Jedi master (as she was most likely the most knowledgeable person in the world on the Jedi), and would occasionally call her "sensei," which she didn't seem to mind.
When he was asked, Daniel also explained to the other witches about the Force – what it was, how it provided a Jedi with powers, and how it was both similar and different to the witches' own powers.
He would also take the time to help out in the kitchen cooking meals for everyone, usually with Yoshika and Lynne, but sometimes with whomever happened to be assigned to kitchen duty that day. While he was no master chef, he was definitely competent and helpful to the process.
Later, Daniel would start helping Commander Minna with the paperwork, particularly with the budget matters, after he passed her office one day and sensed her stress levels suddenly jump. He offered to give her a hand, and after seeing how quickly and efficiently he was able to get through all those numbers, she had him working with her whenever she had to work on budget issues.
Every few nights, he would also take a shift in charge of the radio during the night watch. In order to keep from getting bored most nights, he found a way to connect his iPod to one of the radio's lesser used broadcast channels (without interfering with the main channel that kept him in touch with the night patrol), and played his music, also giving Sanya (and usually Eila) a chance to enjoy it with him. That, along with a nice cup of hot chocolate would keep him going the entire shift. It was fun – kinda like being a DJ.
During down times, he would either watch and learn about the mechanics of striker units from Shirley in the hangar, go through the meditation and exercise routines Master Kenobi had taught him, or change into his USAF-issued workout clothes and do some jogging, just to keep himself in shape (after two years, old habits die hard). In the evenings and at night, he would share his music collection, as well as show the movies and TV shows he had downloaded onto his laptop (thank goodness he had the good sense to download a bunch of stuff onto the computer in the time since it was issued to him).
He also continued to learn more about the individual witches and this world. After a particularly harrowing and…revealing incident where Shirley became the first person to break the sound barrier, he began to suspect that Shirley, along with most, if not all, of the other witches, had male versions of themselves in this time period in his world. While he was fairly certain about this hypothesis regarding Shirley, he had no basis for this theory with the others, as he had never read up on most of the specific military figures of the era in his world. He decided to keep this theory to himself, as he had no real proof, and it wasn't that important, anyway.
One evening shortly after this incident, Daniel decided to sit down and really take stock of his circumstances – in order to determine what, if anything, he should do to secure himself a place in this world. He first went through his head and listed the pros and cons of being there. The fact that he was now completely and permanently cut off from his family was definitely a MAJOR negative, as was the fact that he had landed smack in the middle of a war pitting humanity against alien invaders. On the other hand, not being subject to the whims of an arrogant fool of a president was already a big plus, as was the fact that his status as a Jedi wasn't a matter of vital secrecy to the world. In addition, this world had all of the major military powers actually working together – and as an even bigger bonus, there were no governments run by communists, fascists, or Nazis. Overall, he figured he had come out even from where he started as it stood, with the possibility of him being able to lead a life more in line with what he envisioned for himself in the future. He then assessed what he had in terms of physical possessions.
In terms of electronic devices, not counting the fighter, he had his military-issued laptop and tablet, as well as an iPhone (also issued by the military as a part of his original deal with the president), and his iPod. While everything could still be used thanks to the fact that electrical outlets were available in this time, the iPhone would be mostly useless, as wireless communication networks and the Internet wouldn't be invented for several decades – though he still could use some basic functions like the camera and the calculator.
In terms of clothing, he had two T-shirts, two polo shirts, two long-sleeved (non-button) shirts, two pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, a pair of cargo pants, a week's worth of boxer briefs and socks, the military-issued leather jacket and pair of boots he was wearing when he came to this world, and a full set of USAF-issued workout clothing (included a USAF T-shirt, USAF shorts, USAF sweatshirt, USAF sweatpants, and a pair of cross-training sneakers).
Regarding personal items, he had two framed 4x6 photographs of him with various family members, two baseball mitts and a baseball (he had hoped to get some games of catch going with his old teammates), a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, a blanket with a blue and grey Native American pattern design, and a kinetic motion watch he had gotten from his parents on his last birthday (no battery needed).
His fighter was where things would get tricky, as that was a big key to making himself useful in this world at the moment. First, he would have to do constant, more frequent maintenance on it, as he had to make sure every single part would last as long as possible. Particularly with the computer portions, if something went wrong, he would be screwed, as adequate replacement parts wouldn't be invented for at least several decades. The shield generator seemed to be able to handle the Neuroi beam, and the laser cannons were self-rechanging, so he wasn't too concerned about those things as long as he did the maintenance. The biggest problem would be with the photon torpedoes. Although he still had his full complement of six torpedoes, he would have to be very judicious about how and when he used them. It wasn't as though he could get someone to make more for him. Or could he?
As Daniel continued to think along those lines, he came up with what he thought was the best possible plan to ensure his future in this world. He spent the better part of an hour writing out the main points of this plan on a pad of paper before finally turning in for the night.
After breakfast the next morning, Daniel walked to the door of Minna's office, paper pad in hand, and knocked. "Come in," said Minna. As the door opened, she looked up and saw Daniel enter. "Daniel," she said in slight surprise. "Good morning, Commander," he replied. "Do you have a few minutes? I have something important I want to discuss with you."
Minna gestured for Daniel to take a seat, which he did. She then asked, "So what's on your mind?" Daniel then answered, "Well, first, I wanted to thank you for allowing me to stay here for the last several weeks – it's been very helpful." Minna nodded in response and said, "Good. I must say, I've been very impressed with the skills you've demonstrated as well as your conduct while you've been here."
Daniel gave a small smile and continued, "As you know, I have no way to get back to my world, which means I have to find a way to live my life in this one." She nodded and motioned for him to continue. "I believe I've thought of a way to do that and continue to be a valuable member of your team. I have here an outline of what I have in mind, and if you approve, I would like to arrange to present it to your superiors," he explained as he handed Minna his pad.
Minna took it and began to look with great interest. As she read through the first few lines at the top of the first page, her eyes widened, seemingly in shock. "You would do this for us?" she asked. "Yes," Daniel answered, "the future of humanity is at stake, and I believe that it would be wrong for me to not offer this help. However, it would come with a few conditions, as you can see." Minna nodded in response and went back to reading what Daniel had written, nodding in understanding at each listed item. When she came to the last item, she looked at Daniel in surprise again, asking, "Are you sure this is what you want?" He immediately answered in the affirmative.
She then handed the pad back to Daniel and smiled. "Well, your plan seems pretty solid and well-thought out, I must say. I'll have to ask Shirley to confirm a couple of your claims, though." Daniel gave an understanding head motion. "I would expect nothing less," he said.
Minna then continued. "As it so happens, Mio and I are scheduled to fly to London tomorrow afternoon to meet with the brass about the budget and our latest combat reports. If Shirley confirms what you have claimed, I will have you accompany us, along with Yoshika, to London, where you can present your idea in person." Daniel thanked her profusely as they made their way to the hangar to confer with Shirley.
The next afternoon, Daniel stood silently as Minna and Mio engaged in discussion to the brass at Allied headquarters. As Daniel watched, he used his empathic abilities to get a sense of how these particular generals viewed the witches. Both exuded varied levels of skepticism at them, which came as a surprise to Daniel, as from everything he had learned about this war, the witches were by far having the most success against the Neuroi out of any other military unit. In particular, the one named Trevor Maloney was particularly hostile to the witches. Daniel could tell that Maloney didn't really respect them, and when he spoke, Daniel was able to sense deception from him – like he was hiding something important from them.
After the witches provided a complete introduction of Daniel, it was the generals' turn to be surprised, as they, like the witches before, had believed the Jedi to be long gone from this world. Daniel then took out his laptop computer – something intriguing in and of itself to the two generals – and showed them what he had to offer. Specifically, he would provide Allied R&D with the opportunity to use his schematics to reverse engineer the X-wing fighter's technology and adapt it for use by allied forces. Considering the potential the weaponry had in combat, the generals were indeed interested. This was even after he explained that while he believed the most important aspects could be reverse engineered, namely the shield generator and the photon torpedoes, the laser cannons and the computerized system his X-wing ran on were too far advanced for them to recreate at this time. This was a potential game-changer for the allies, and the generals knew it – this could allow their regular pilots to combat the Neuroi with an effectiveness that could be on par with the witches!
That was when he handed them a piece of paper, listing his conditions for providing this major technological boost. The Daniel and the two generals went through them one at a time:
1. Daniel Horowitz will hereby be granted immediate citizenship with the United States of Liberion (Britannia would also be acceptable if the process is significantly easier)
The generals nodded in agreement and continued.
2. Daniel Horowitz will be immediately issued the rank of captain in above nation's air force.
"I may not have initially sought it, but I DID earn it," Daniel explained. The generals nodded again and continued.
3. Daniel Horowitz will not be subjected to experimentation under either military or civilian authority.
"That one should be obvious, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance," Daniel stated. "Very well," the generals replied, and continued.
4. Daniel Horowitz will be granted full and exclusive worldwide intellectual property and patent rights over all technology provided by said party to Earth's Allied Forces
"I'm going to need a means of supporting myself in this world once the war is over," he explained. "I don't plan on being in the military for the rest of my life, and my particular set of skills may not necessarily translate well to the traditional workforce. This is financial insurance for me." The generals hesitated a bit at this item. Sensing their hesitation, Daniel added, "Look, I'm willing to negotiate on the exact financial arrangement details with each country's military later, and I promise to be reasonable." The generals reluctantly accepted his answer.
5. Daniel Horowitz will be provided with a bank account that can be accessed by said party anywhere in the world.
"This is to make sure I have access to my royalties income no matter where I am stationed, and no matter where I end up living once the war is over." The generals agreed, saying that they would figure out a way to set this up.
6. All technological knowledge provided by Daniel Horowitz will be provided to each country with significant military capabilities on an equal basis.
"This is to ensure that the balance of power in this world isn't altered," Daniel explained, to which the generals nodded. They then went through the remaining points on the list.
7. Daniel Horowitz's primary permanent assignment will be with the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, also known as the 'Strike Witches,' with the understanding that said party may be reassigned to other units in the event of the dissolution or decommissioning of the 501st JFW.
8. None of the above conditions go into effect until said party receives full official documentation and acknowledgement of the above points.
"The last two items are not negotiable," Daniel said. The general to Maloney's left then 'Hmmm'd' to himself as he thought about the deal he had been presented. He then said, "Given the potential magnitude of what you are offering us, I think these terms are acceptable."
He then held out his hand and asked Daniel, "Do we have a deal?" Not sensing any deception from him, Daniel reached out and shook his hand, saying that they indeed had a deal. At that point, the general brought in a notary to notarize the document, after which Daniel and the general signed it. Minna and Mio also signed it as witnesses.
Minna, Mio, and Daniel then gathered Yoshika, and the group headed to the airfield for the flight back to base – Daniel feeling more secure about his future in this world.
I hope you liked it! Please comment to let me know how you think I'm doing. If you wish to constructively criticize, please do. But again, no flames – I think there's enough animosity in the world already.