Chapter 4: Guns going up and a critical situation
"Well everyone, welcome to Pescara" Katherine announced.
Minna's POV
We then looked around for rooms for everyone and we found fifteen rooms and we decided on the sleeping arrangements and these were the results:
- First Room, Katherine and her husband
- Second Room, Mio and I
- Third Room, Gertrude and Erica
- Fourth Room, Marie, Amy and Reina
- Fifth Room, Eila, Sanya and Lydia
- Sixth Room, Shirley, Amirah and Francesca
- Seventh Room, Perrine and Amy
- Eighth Room, Yoshika, Lynette and Eva
- Ninth Room, Katherov and Eino
- Tenth Room, Wolf and Gerhard
- Eleventh Room, Erich and Marcus
- Twelfth Room, Gregory and Riki
- Thirteenth Room, Chuck and Franco
- Fourteenth Room, Arthur and Amir
- Fifteenth Room, Hanna
We had a light dinner as we had barely enough for everyone. We talked more about our worlds. I was shocked to hear that the famous artist in our world would be a deranged dictator in their world or that an effective military officer in ours was a ruthless leader. We were surprised to hear that we shared certain qualities like Mio's magic eye is in the same eye where Sakai's was shot in. Marcus and Marie share the same scar on their arm. Katherine told us that her husband will arrive tomorrow and she had already informed the Supreme Allied Command about the situation with the pilots. She was able to secure more supplies including, spare parts, munitions and fuel for us and the pilots which will be arriving within the next few days.
6th July 1945
I woke up early today, I don't know why really I did but I decided to take a walk. I took a look into the office and saw it had the bare minimum with just three simple desks and chairs. Most of the other rooms were bare, filled with very little inside of them other than the most basic of items. I then walked into the hangar and looked at the striker holding units all lining the sides of the hangar, all had strikers in them and next to them were the weapons that accompanied them. I looked at Amirah's two guns lying on either of her striker holding unit. I always wondered what her magic ability was because in her profile, it was not written but I suspect it is Super Strength because she is carrying two cannons but I have noticed that her shells become more explosive, in fact any gun in her hands creates a bigger flash than when someone else uses it. Amirah is a particular girl, she arrived just months before Yoshika did and she soon became friends with everyone. I first thought she was strange as she would wake up early in the morning, earlier than Sakamoto and during the day, she would disappear for a few minutes three times a day. I was curious but I couldn't ask info from Katherine because she only came to Britannia in May so I had Erica investigate.
FLASHBACK
March 1944
Minna's POV
I was in my office doing usual work when Gertrud came into the office.
"Minna, have you seen Amirah?" She asked. I looked up to face Gertrude who was standing in front of me.
"No why?" I asked.
"She was supposed to help me with organizing the archives but she hasn't showed up" Gertrude said.
"When were you two were supposed to do the archives?" I asked.
"About three minutes ago" Gertrude said. I looked at the clock on the wall and it was three minutes past three. I noticed that Amirah always disappeared thrice a day between two to three, five to six and seven to eight. At first, I didn't really bother but it was beginning to interfere with chores or exercises.
"Well you do know that she disappears around this time" I said.
"Yes I know Minna but where does she disappear to? And doesn't she know about discipline?" Gertrude asked.
"I understand, Gertrude" I said, "That is why I have Erica to investigate"
"Is she doing so now?" Gertrude asked.
"No, I told her to do it during the second time she does it" I said.
Later that day
I had Erica quietly follow Amirah to see where she disappears every day for three times a day. I was still in my office when Erica came running in.
"What is the matter with you?" I asked as I saw Erica rush in.
"Minna, I found out what Amirah does every time she disappears" Erica said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Come with me" Erica said. I followed the young blonde to Amirah's room which had its door slightly opened.
"What is it? It is just her room" I was sceptical as what Erica was trying to show me.
"Look inside her room" Erica said. I thought about it for a moment but my curiosity got the best of me and I looked inside. I saw Amirah in a white robe that covers almost her entire body except her face. She stood on top of a mat and faced in a certain direction. What is she doing? She then bent down before rising again, then bowing to ground, and then she sat up then bowed again. She then sat on the ground and a few moments later a finger on her right hand rose up before falling down again. Then she turned her face to the right then to the left. She then wiped her face. She then brought her hands together to in front of her face. She then stood up. I decided to pull my head out of her room.
"What was that she was doing?" I asked Erica. She shrugged her shoulders. We later asked her and she told us about her religion call Islam. We were intrigued by her beliefs and we decided to let her practice it without restraint after we learnt why she would disappear every now and then.
END OF FLASHBACK
I then walked farther out and looked at all the planes that were flown by the pilots who just recently joined us. I was amazed by how majestic the planes looked especially in the morning glow. They all had an aura of pride emanating from them. I found one plane that was attractive, it was a Bf 109. I walked closer to it and saw that it had seen a lot. I touched its cold metal skin. It was something I have never felt before even my strikers didn't feel like this.
"I see that you are admiring my plane" I turned around and saw it was Wolf standing behind me. I saw that he had only his white undershirt and his pants.
"This is your 109?" I asked.
"Yes it is, she has been flying with me since March of 1944 and she gave me my last kill before I was teleported to this world" Wolf said as he looked his Messerschmitt. I looked at the plane and tried to imagine what it must have felt like to fly this plane in combat but it was difficult because every battle was different. I remembered from yesterday that we were the incarnation of each other from different worlds. I wonder; did Wolf ever have a love in his world?
"Wolf, I have a question" I asked.
"What is it, Minna?" Wolf turned to look at me.
"Have you ever loved before?" I asked.
"Yes, I have loved once; I fell in love with a nurse in that served with the ground crew of my unit when it was stationed in Northern France. Her name was Justina Rainer and she was a wonderful young woman with beautiful long blonde hair and she was a great singer" Wolf said. I could see a sad smile form on his lips which I can tell that he is recalling his bittersweet memories.
"What happened to her?" I asked.
"She died when Berlin was bombed in 1940 by the RAF but I held no grudge against those British bombers because their bombs were blind" Wolf said.
"I am sorry for your loss" I said.
"I am guessing that you too have lost someone you hold dear" Wolf said.
"My boyfriend died when the naval yard that he stationed in Northern Gallian was destroyed by the neuroi" I said.
"It seems that fate has not been kind with us" Wolf said.
"It seems that's way doesn't it" I mused. There was a strange silence; all we could hear was the sounds of the waves and wind.
"If you want, I can give you a ride in my Bf 109 so you can experience how a fighter pilot flies" Wolf said. I would love to but not now as there is still work that still needs to be done.
"I think I will hold you on that offer as we will have a lot of paperwork do in the coming days" I said.
"Ja, that is true" Wolf said. Then I heard the sounds of an engine, a car engine and something like a witch's ground strikers. Wolf must have heard it as well as he turned around to see what it was. It was a Kubelwagen accompanied by a witch.
"Who is that?" Wolf asked.
"I don't know" I answered. The Kubelwagen came to a stop on the runway in front of Wolf's Bf 109. I saw that there was only one man in the car.
"Are you Oberst Minna Dietlinde Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing?" The sole man said.
"Ja, that is me, why?" I asked.
"I am Major Karl von Gustav, commander of the Karlslander 565th Anti Air Battalion; I am here to inform you that my battalion has been assigned to provide anti-air defense to your air base, there will also be Liberion, Romagnan and Fusoan anti-air battalions stationed here, they will arrive within the hour" The major said.
"I can take it that you will be the commander of the entire anti-air defense network on base" I said.
"Jawohl, Kommandant but I still answer to you and Katherine, ma'am" Karl said.
"What about me?" Wolf asked.
"Who are you, sir" Karl asked.
"I am Oberst Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, commander of the 501st JFW's Fighter Group" Wolf said.
"Then I will also answer to you as well" Karl said.
"Alright, who is the witch that came with you" I asked, curious as of the shorthaired redhead who stood behind the Kubelwagen.
"Oh" Karl turned to the witch, "I almost forgot, why don't you introduce yourself, Maya"
"Morgen, I am Hauptmann Maya Kesselring, I am the second in command of the 565th Anti-Air Battalion and it is an honour to meet you" The witch saluted.
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you as well" I said.
"Wait, Kesselring? Are you his daughter?" Wolf asked.
"Yes, I am his daughter why?" Maya asked
"No I was just wondering" Wolf said.
"So when will you begin installing the anti-air weapons?" I asked.
"We will begin at 0700hrs ma'am" Karl said.
"Alright, you best off to work then seeing that it is nearly 0700hrs hrs already" I said as I glanced at my watch.
"Ja, we will be going off now" Karl said as he and Maya left the runway. We watched them drive off somewhere.
"So what do you want to do now?" Wolf asked.
"I don't know really but I think we should have mock battles so we can see if anyone needs training" I said.
"Good, I suggest that we also include us pilots so we can see what we can do now that you have us on board" Wolf suggested.
"That is good idea" I said.
We later spoke to Mio and Erich about it and they agreed and after breakfast we informed everyone else. However Katherine and Katherov had to head out to Taranto to discuss certain things with the Supreme Allied Command so they were not flying.
June 6th 1945
1000hrs
General Perspective
The 501st JFW and the 501st JFW Fighter Group was in the air except for Katherov and Katherine as they were heading for Taranto. The aces were surprised to hear that there were paintball rounds for their planes but they were more than happy to load them up with the orange paint filled rounds.
"Alright witches, pair up and engage in dogfights" Minna ordered
"Yes, Minna" The witches said and they were soon in flight.
"Alright, pilots resume our formation that we arrive in; each flight will engage each other in dog fights as well" Wolf said.
"You can also engage with the witches but inform them beforehand" Minna and Wolf said.
"Roger" Everyone said. Soon dog fights took place amongst the aces and witches. Then two of the fliers decided to face each other off.
"Hey, Erich! Do you want to have a dogfight?" Erica asked.
"Sure" Erich said.
"Alright, let's begin" Erica said. Then the battle between the Hartmanns began.
Erich's POV
I scanned my surroundings as I looked for Erica as I flew in the sky heading south. I was facing an opponent that had an advantage over me in many regards but I have my own tricks.
"Where are you, Mädchen?" I said.
"Right behind you, Erich" Erica radioed. I immediately pulled the plane up to get out of her line of fire. I threw the plane up and did a loop and fell right behind Erica. I could see the shock in her face. I watched as I chased her. She tried to break away but I was sticking to her rear. However Erica decided to pull manoeuvres that were impossible for me and we would swap positions often but we would open fire on each other but Erica would pull out her shield and I would sometimes do that but I would pull the plane to avoid her fire. I realized that my plane was able to do manoeuvres that normally I couldn't pull off. I could fly at lower speeds and at higher speeds. I could pull off tighter turns, steeper dives and my plane is more responsive.
"She is agile" I said. Then there were some clouds ahead and Erica dived below them. I smiled as I saw a brilliant opportunity. I flew straight into the cloud.
Erica's POV
I looked to my rear and saw that Erich had disappeared.
"Where did he go?" I thought out loud as I flew out of the cloud cover.
"Look behind you!" I heard Erich shout as I was shocked to see him burst out of the clouds, gunning for me.
"Scheiße" I swore as I saw his propeller cap coming ever closer. However something saved me, it was another fighter that appeared out of nowhere. It looked Fusoan but it had a strange roundel on it. I looked at the plane and saw that it was a Ki-43 and it was in bad shape especially around the cockpit area and I could see that the pilot was not too well either.
"Mein Gott!" Erich swore as I watched him pull up to avoid the plane.
"Erich, are you alright?" I asked.
"I am fine but who is that fighter?" Erich asked.
"It is a Ki-43 Hayabusa but it has a strange roundel" I said. Just then everyone else arrived to the scene.
"Auntie Erica! Are you alright?" I heard Eva shout over the radio.
"I am alright" I said.
"Hello…anyone…there …needs…assistance" A voice said.
"Who was that?" Gertrud asked.
"It is the pilot of that Oscar, he is critically injured" I said.
"I'm…a…girl" The wounded pilot said.
"Miyafuji, help the pilot before she passes out!" Mio ordered.
"Hai!" Yoshika said as she flew up the Hayabusa. I decided to fly up to the Hayabusa to see if I can help Yoshika. I was shocked to see that the pilot was covered in glass and metal.
"Mein Gott" I uttered. Amirah appeared to see the pilot.
"Masyallah, teruknya" Amirah said. Yoshika was unnerved for a second but I saw her resolve kick in.
"Can you help take out the glass?" Yoshika asked.
"Ja" I said.
"Boleh" Amirah said.
"Hang in there, we are going to make it all better" Yoshika said.
The two of us began removing the glass shards and metal shrapnel. We took some time, I got some cuts but Amirah didn't as she wore gloves.
"Alright, we got the glass and metal out" I said.
"Okay, here goes" Yoshika said as she began healing the pilot. I watched as the wounds close up. It always amazes me to see Yoshika's healing magic in work. Soon the pilot came too and she was shocked to see us.
"Who are you and what are you doing?!" The pilot shouted.
"Adoi, tolong tenang, we are not enemies, in fact, we just saved your life" Amirah said.
"What?" She said.
"Just look, do you see any injury on you?" Amirah asked. The pilot looked at her body and saw that she had no more injuries.
"How? We are still flying!" The pilot said.
"Well, it is because of magic which is…." I began explaining about magic, witches and everything about the world in general.
"So I have a counterpart here? Is it a guy?" She asked.
"Well what is your name first?" Amirah asked.
"I am Warrant Officer Lily Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia Air Force" Lily said.
"Hey, that is nearly like my name" Amy said as she flew in.
"Who are you?" Lily said.
"I am Lieutenant Amy Widodo of the 501st "Strike Witches" Joint Fighter Wing" Amy said.
"Well, it is nice to meet you" Lily said.
"Wait, you are Lily Widodo, right?" Muto asked.
"Yes I am, why?" Lily asked.
"Well how nice to see you again, Lily, I see that you are doing quite well since I last saw you" Muto asked as he flew into the area.
"Wait, instructor Kaneyoshi, is that you?" Lily asked excitedly.
"Yes, it is me" Muto smiled.
"So this is the trainee pilot you were so proud to teach?" Sakai asked.
"Yes, she is the greatest pilot have I have ever taught and she is a girl" Muto said.
"That goes to show that girls can fly just as well as men" Lydia said as her Yak-9 flew around the area.
"Well, I think we should head back to base so we can get you settled in and familiarized with everyone and those who are not here" Katherine said.
"Alright, practice is over, everyone return to base" Minna said. Everyone soon headed back for Pescara Air Base where they got a little surprise.
"This is Pescara Air Base to incoming fliers is this the Strike Witches that I am seeing on the radar approaching?" A voice said.
"Who is this?" Erich asked.
"This is Hanna, uncle, I thought I will be useful and man the radar and radio station on base" Hanna said.
"Is your father aware of this?" Erich asked.
"Yes, I asked him first" Hanna said.
"Alright, we are coming in for landing, also come down to the hangar, we have someone new to introduce to you" Erich said.
"Jawohl, Onkel" Hanna said before she came off the air. We, fliers all came down and we went through the whole reintroduction process again. We then had lunch made by Muto and Yoshika. We, excluding Lily were amazed and surprised to see what excellent cook Muto was.
Dining Hall, Lunch
"Wait, all this time, you could cook?" Sakai asked.
"Well, I haven't had the chance to cook so I didn't until now that is" Muto smiled.
Later
Commanders' Office
Katherine's POV
All us commanding officers which were me, Katherov, Minna, Wolf, Mio and Erich were discussing about today's events.
"Kommandeure, I am here to inform you that we will be finished with installing the anti-air guns within two hours also the Liberion and Romagna units have arrived and already began to set up their equipment" Major Karl reported.
"Alright, that is good to hear, now you may leave" Minna said.
"Jawohl, Kolonel" Karl said before leaving the room.
"So how did the training exercise go?" I asked.
"It went well and we got a new pilot, Warrant Officer Lily Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia Air Force but there were a few that were not performing as well as well as they should" Minna said.
"Who are those you are talking about?" I asked.
"Miyafuji, Bishop and Clostermann" Mio said.
"What about you, Erich, Wolf? Is there anything you have to say?" Minna asked. Erich looked up and pointed himself to which Minna and Wolf nodded. I smiled as they did in sync.
"Well I agree with Mio, Minna" Erich said.
"And why is that?" I asked.
"Well from what I can see, they did not seem like they were performing at their best; their flying is slight floppy, their reaction time leaves little to desire, their aim is slightly off, they are not aware of their surroundings for long periods and they let a number of opportunities to attack just pass by them; if they were fighter pilots, I will be very surprised to see them become aces" Erich said.
"Yes that is true" Minna said.
"Also, this might not be the best opinion on the topic but I find that except for Yoshika, they do not seem to be using their magic abilities to their full potential, I think Arthur and Pierre are better than them and they just got theirs, no offense" Erich said.
"None taken" Mio said.
"Wow, I didn't know you were so meticulous in training" Wolf said.
"After shooting down 352 enemy aircraft, you learn things, Wolf and what I learn, I pass it down to the pilots under my command so they can at least have some knowledge as they fly to engage the enemy, I also make sure they are doing their best" Erich said.
"So what do we do to improve their performance?" Katherov asked.
"I know a witch in the area who would be able to train them" Mio said.
"And who is that?" I asked although I had a feeling I know who she was referring to.
"Anna Ferrara, a former Romagnan witch, she will be able to whip the girls back into shape" Mio said.
"Her name sounds familiar" Wolf said.
"Well, why wouldn't it? She is probably based off an Italian World War I pilot" Erich said.
"Now that is done, now do we do with Lily?" Minna asked.
"Well, we can her resume her training under Muto again" Wolf said.
"Yes, I think Muto would like that" Erich said.
"So, Muto was training her?" I asked.
"Yes and he is quite proud of his protégé" Wolf said.
"Just like a certain someone on this table" Minna smiled. Mio smiled.
"Well it is settled then, Yoshika, Lynette and Perrine will be shipped off to Anna Ferrara and Muto will resume training Lily Widodo, anything else?" Erich asked.
"Oh, how did the meeting in Taranto go, Katherov, Katherine?" Minna asked.
"The Supreme Allied Command agreed to increase the volume of supplies that is directed towards us and they recognize the pilots' ranks and will be given the appropriate pay for them, they also recognize the 501st Joint Fighter Wing Fighter Squadron or 501st JFWFS or easier, 'Strike Fighters'" I said.
"Well, we will inform of the decisions later at dinner" Minna said.
"I agree" Wolf simply said.
"Alright, meeting adjured" I said. We all left the room. Later during dinner, we told about the decisions made earlier. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for some of us.