Welcome back to the story everyone. The witches may be down, but they are not out! The Neuroi still have to be dealt with. Read on to find out exactly what role Daniel will play in all of this.
After the witches had gathered Yoshika and taken her to her room to allow for her recovery, the remaining witches still had questions for Daniel about what had transpired. "Daniel, what did you just do back there?" Eila asked. "Yeah," added Francesca, "it was like you were controlling their minds!" Minna also turned to Daniel, calmer now, but still wanting answers. "Yes, please explain," she requested.
Daniel then replied to the gathering crowd of witches, "With the Force as an ally, one can exert significant influence on the weak-minded." The witches' eyes all widened at that response, and Trude asked, "So it WAS mind control?" Daniel then smiled as he responded, "On a basic level, yes." Erica laughed a bit as she said, "Neat trick!"
Shirley then interjected as she said, "Hey, wait a minute! You haven't used that on any of US, have you?" Daniel held his hands up, stating, "No, I promise that I haven't used that technique on any of you. You are all my friends, and I wouldn't use that power on a friend. Besides, it wouldn't work on you, anyway. It only works on the WEAK minded."
Once Yoshika awoke, and the witches had to leave the base, Daniel arranged to accompany Mio and Yoshika, along with Perrine, back to Fuso. He told them he would meet them on board the Akagi, where the captain agreed to store the fighter while they sailed back to Fuso. He then gathered his belongings, put them in the X-wing's cargo area, and took off towards the sea, where the Akagi awaited their arrival.
Once on board, the crew secured the X-wing in the hangar, and Daniel headed to the main deck to join Mio, Yoshika, and Perrine as they sailed away from Britannia. Daniel and Yoshika couldn't think of anything to say in that moment, except to apologize to Mio for causing the unit to be broken up. Although Mio tried to reassure them, they couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole thing, though they wouldn't change what they had done, nor did they regret their time with the 501st.
Soon after, the four of them watched with surprise as the Warlock was launched from the base and headed directly to the Neuroi storm, or 'nest' as the military personnel referred to it. They watched in awe as the Warlock took on more and more Neuroi on its own, destroying them with relative ease – they had never seen that many Neuroi appear all at once! Finally, it appeared that the Warlock had defeated all of the Neuroi, as its final attack shattered all the remaining Neuroi in a sea of white shards.
However, Daniel could instantly sense that something wasn't right – the Warlock's outer shell had darkened, and an ominous red glow emanated from its 'eyes.' Soon, the Warlock turned in the direction of the Akagi and flew right towards it. Not knowing what to think, no one on board reacted as the Warlock came closer before firing a laser beam at the ship. The crew scrambled to fight back using the ship's main guns, but they weren't able to keep up with the Warlock's flight path as it fired again at the Akagi, headed in the direction of the base.
The Warlock then proceeded to attack the base, slicing it in half with a laser beam before heading back to the Akagi. Daniel and the witches knew that something had to be done to avert complete disaster. That's when Daniel informed the other three that he would gear up and launch his X-wing immediately. Mio nodded, before revealing that she had smuggled a striker unit underneath her wheelchair, unbeknownst to the Warlock personnel.
Daniel, Perrine, and Yoshika immediately warned her against flying in her current condition, and Yoshika volunteered to fly in her place. After some convincing, Mio agreed to let Yoshika fly, while Perrine stayed to protect the major. As Yoshika got ready, Daniel gathered a couple of crew members to help him clear a path for him to launch.
Daniel was airborne first, and soon became engaged in battle with the Warlock, matching it shot for shot with his fighter's own laser cannons, but not able to cause much damage. The Warlock then built up its energy and fired a large shot that would have encompassed the fighter if Yoshika hadn't shown up just then and used her enormous shield to protect them both.
As they continued to battle what they now realized was a Neuroi-infused Warlock, Daniel knew that using his cannons alone would just keep this stalemate going. He realized that he would have to use one of his precious torpedoes to get anywhere – it was just a matter of using it at the right time. He thought that time came when the Warlock momentarily exposed its core in an attempt to get Yoshika's guard down. She didn't fall for it, however, realizing that this wasn't the same Neuroi as before. Daniel managed to fire one of his torpedoes, but it didn't hit the core, as the Warlock covered it with its shell just before it hit.
While Daniel and Yoshika were able to gain the Warlock's attention, they were unable to stop its attacks on the Akagi completely, as it was able to get a few more shots off on the ship, causing the crew to evacuate. However, Mio and Perrine were unable to get off with the rest of the crew, and were hanging on to the rails of the sinking ship for dear life! Moments later, Perrine's grip failed her, and just as it appeared they would fall to a watery grave, a biplane with Shirley in the pilot's seat and Francesca in the passenger seat swooped in and caught both Perrine and the major before they fell into the ocean.
Sighing in relief, Daniel turned his attention back to the Warlock. Just as it seemed the stalemate would never end, two shots from an anti-tank rifle came in and tore through the Warlock's metal legs. That, along with the accumulated damage it had already taken, caused it to fall towards the Earth, crashing into the Akagi as the two went beneath the waves, seemingly gone for good.
As the Akagi's crew mourned the loss of the ship, Daniel and the witches were gathered, hovering in midair, and celebrating what appeared to be a job well done, especially by Daniel and Yoshika who had taken on the Warlock alone for all that time. Daniel, noticing that they were all there in their striker units, asked them, "How did you manage to deal with Maloney and his men?" Trude then grinned and replied, "Let's just say that they'll be tied up for a while." Daniel chuckled aloud at hearing that, saying, "Nice!" However, Eila told them to hold off on their celebration, as she looked at her tarot cards and explained that they might not be done just yet.
Just then, something emerged from the depths of the sea – it was the Akagi, now Neuroi-infused, with the Warlock merged onto it like a figurehead on the ship's bow. Trude then helped Yoshika into the unit she had brought up from the base for her, while Minna helped remove the unit Yoshika was wearing, and helped Mio to put it on. Now that everyone was equipped and ready to fight, they had to figure out how to deal with this monstrosity in front of them.
It was decided that Yoshika, Lynne, and Perrine, would look for the Neuroi core inside the bowels of the ship, while the remaining witches would keep the Neuroi's attention by fighting it from the outside. Daniel stayed with the outside group, as his fighter was too big to maneuver through the Akagi's interior.
As Daniel activated his shields and weapons, and began engaging the Neuroi-infused Akagi, he watched in awe as the remaining witches threw everything they had at it. From Trude using her superhuman strength to tear through the Neuroi shell with her guns to Erica using her 'Sturm' technique to also create damage, to Eila guiding Sanya as she fired her Fliegerhammer rockets towards their targets, all of them were giving everything they had to ensure the success of the battle in front of them.
As they fought the Neuroi, putting it on the defensive and creating constant damage, they were able to distract it from what was going on inside the possessed ship. Shortly after, they saw a blinding white light begin to envelop the Neuroi. When the light dissipated, they saw the Neuroi had completely shattered into a million pieces. In the middle of that was Lynne and Perrine, holding up Yoshika, who was now without her striker unit.
With Sanya no longer detecting a Neuroi presence, the rest of the unit cheered, having defeated the Frankenstein-like Neuroi that had been the Warlock and the Akagi. While they were cheering, Perrine noticed something in the distance and pointed it out. When everyone else turned to where she was pointing, they saw the Neuroi storm clouds disappearing. The Neuroi had been completely defeated, and Gallia had been liberated!
With that, the Strike Witches headed home to base, or what was left of it, with Yoshika being carried by Lynne and Trude. As they flew off, they could see the Akagi crew below cheering their success from the lifeboats scattered in the sea.
Soon after they arrived on base, personnel from Allied Command came to take Maloney and his men into custody, and to take care of all of the administrative items that needed to be done. Now that the base was severely damaged, the 501st could no longer stay there permanently, though they could remain for a few days while various arrangements were made. The witches either volunteered for, or were given, the following assignments:
Perrine would go immediately to Gallia to begin heading up the restoration efforts, and Lynne would join her to help out in any way she could. The two would be attached to a joint Britannian/Gallian air force unit for administrative purposes while they were in Gallia.
Shirley and Francesca were assigned to patrol around the Mediterranean theatre, providing their assistance to various units in the region when and where they could.
Eila and Sanya were assigned to a unit in Suomus, as the Neuroi were still causing plenty of problems for the forces located in the North Sea and Baltic regions, including both Suomus and Orussia.
With a front now open on continental Europe, the Karlsland trio of Minna, Trude, and Erica would head up a Karlsland unit that would be established on the continent – patrolling and looking for new opportunities to strike at the Neuroi.
Mio and Yoshika were given the opportunity to return home to Yokosuka, with Mio still needing to fully recuperate from her injuries and Yoshika having fulfilled her duties with the Strike Witches – a job well done.
As for Daniel, he was presented with the documents he had requested in his deal with Allied Command, as well as a full U.S. Army Air Force uniform, complete with captain's ranking insignia. There was also a representative of Allied Research and Development there to collect on Daniel's end of the bargain. After attempting, and failing, to create hand copies of the various schematics – it was taking too long, and the renderings weren't as accurate as they needed to be – Daniel reluctantly created a separate passcode on his tablet for the R&D people, and handed it over to the representative (though not before he backed everything up on his laptop).
After showing the representative how to use it and access the files before feeling confident enough that he could use it on his own, he shook his hand, having completed his end of the bargain. Before he left, Daniel requested that they try to start with the photon torpedoes and the shield generator. Not only would those be the easiest to replicate and make an immediate impact on the war effort, but now that Daniel had used one of his torpedoes, it was only a matter of time before he would need to restock. The representative nodded in response, promising to be careful with it and to return it as soon as was feasible.
In addition, Daniel handed to the command officer copies of all of the budget documents he had obtained, complete with a summary analysis of his findings, for the military authorities to use against Maloney in his court martial. He also took the opportunity to provide a full report of his and Yoshika's engagement with the humanoid-shaped Neuroi, hoping to provide the allies with yet another avenue to pursue in the future. If nothing else, it did provide some insight into the Neuroi that had never been available before.
While Daniel was now officially a member of the U.S. Army Air Force, Allied Command didn't have an immediate assignment for him, not having expected to make such a decision this soon. It was then that Major Sakamoto suggested that he accompany her and Yoshika back to Fuso. "I still have much to teach you about the Jedi, and I still want to train you up a bit," she explained.
Having nowhere else to go, Daniel immediately agreed, and made arrangements to sail to Yokosuka with Mio and Yoshika once a replacement Fuso naval vessel arrived to take them.
There you have it! Maloney is exposed for the foolish jackass he is. Witches – they get the job done! Now Daniel has the chance to go to the place where the Jedi knowledge is kept and preserved. Watch for the next chapter to see his time in Fuso!