= Chapter 5 =
The Iron Might of Kuromorimine, pt. I
Approaching the Zeppelin's tail from six o'clock high, four warplanes slowed their engines, lowered their wheels and dropped flaps as they entered a dive of negative-five degrees. At an airspeed of over one hundred knots, they would quickly overtake the larger, more unwieldy craft with little effort.
Splitting their formation, two Messerschmitt Bf 109s and two Focke-Wulf Fw 190s bearing the KMM school insignia moved to take opposing sides of the airship. The pilot of the lead Focke-Wulf was Gerhard Hayashi, whose plane was painted with the emblem of a white wolf. He made a few quick gestures, signaling his wingman to make a high-powered pass along the craft's left side while he would take the right, crossing paths at the airship's nose.
While that may seem like a lot of information from so little, the pilots knew each other's intentions well enough to simply go off of basic motions and trust in their partners' flight skills. Such aerobatic ability went with the fearsome reputation that Kuromorimine Sentouki-dō had made for itself.
The lead Bf 109, piloted by Hermann Hashimoto, callsign 'Kaiser', made a different set of motions; both planes would keep engine power low and make a diving pass on the right, swoop under the zeppelin and then commit to a powered climb over, effectively doing a tandem loop, and keep separation from their wingmen.
Powerful engines came to a crescendo, drowning out the Zeppelin's numerous prop-driven nacelles. The engine attendants, stationed inside the nacelles themselves were separated from the mighty airship's body, and were privy to little of what happened inside. They did, however, have telephones, and made calls to the control room as they heard a multitude of engine pitches, accompanied by the silhouettes of multiple 'fast-movers' coming up on them.
Inside the airship, alarm bells sounded in the command compartments, alerting personnel to a potential hazard. There weren't, however, any alarms in the hangar, so the few personnel there were oblivious.
Having responded to a pointed tap on the shoulder, Erwin and Roman had been locked in conversation with the chief engineer when the planes made their sudden appearance.
"You still haven't seen issue sixty-six? Rose finally shows up!" She enthused, having shown a mutual fondness for a certain fantasy series featuring a group of nature-worshipping nuns. "She's totally my spirit creature!"
"Wait, for real? The little scene-stealer?" Roman remembered the punkish, sport-killing, endlessly-rambling imp being a fan favorite of the anime he'd occasionally catch back at home. "Do her antics translate well to the manga?"
"Dude! You'd think it wouldn't, but the artist is a genius. When Rose did the 'knife dance', it took forever for me to read, because I couldn't stop laughing!"
Erwin hadn't contributed much to the conversation, as she wasn't very familiar with fantasy light novels. The only light novels she cared much for were based on historical events. Or, the dramatization of such. She knew more about the vintage American comic "Fightin' Army" than whatever they were on about. Still, she enjoyed their enthusiasm, along with the fact that the energetic KMM student had a talent for making friends with almost anyone on the spot.
Such a quality was why, after getting a tour of the Zeppelin's envelope, the two had snuck into the stateroom to eavesdrop on the lieutenant's conversation. It reminded her much of the intelligence-gathering mission she'd done with Guderian – Yukari Akiyama – during the match vs Pravda. It was a fond memory that she could stoically lose herself in as pair in front of her continued to jabber.
The mighty roar of a radial engine racing by was what grabbed their collective attention, the vibration from the sound shaking the airship's internal bracing. Observers on the command bridge took positions, peering out the sides of the gondola with binoculars.
While reckless, this behavior wasn't uncommon. KMM's aeronautical students often shared classes with those of the Sentouki-dō wing, keeping a steady yet friendly rivalry alive.
Hence, the mood was not of true operational panic, but a competitive show of readiness and force, as the airship's crew were not just equipped with binoculars, but single-shot flare pistols, which they kept at the ready as they tracked the movements of the airplanes. In a true combat situation, the Zeppelin crew knew that they would be woefully unequipped against any fighter; however, at their proximity to Graf Zeppelin, whose behemoth silhouette was growing on the horizon, the flares would could be seen from the conning towers. From there, the air combat students would get a chewing-out later after landing, either on the carrier or back landside. Possibly. It was a futile solution, but better than nothing.
Kida clapped her hands in a lively fashion and hastily bounded across the hangar, toward the radio room. "Scheiße! Hold on, I've got someplace to be!"
They hadn't been invited, but Erwin and Roman couldn't resist following her. They jogged in her wake, ending up inside a small room fitted with all manner of equipment and glowing consoles.
Most impressive was a console for advanced weather radar, which was being attended to by Maki Matsuyama, the ship's navigator and junior technician. A diminutive girl with long, tightly-braided chestnut hair, she looked up in surprise at the sudden visitors, already put on edge by the warplanes, which were now quite pervasive as they repeatedly passed by the windows.
Now she was getting peered around by a boy in a military dress uniform, whose eyes were alight like it were Christmas morning, attracted to said planes. He was off in his own world, muttering as the figurative gears in his head turned. "At least three of them… that's a Beemer radial, with the way it 'rips' on the way by. But that other one, it's gotta be some sort of V12…"
It had been months since Roman had seen home, but just hearing the powerful engines brought back memories of long afternoons in hangar 13, where the distant, constant rumble of Chaffee tanks and Huey helicopters at training could somehow lull one into a sense of tranquility, ease, and even sleep.
He'd unconsciously been leaning over Maki's shoulder, causing her to timidly duck down close to her monitor. Noticing this, he apologized before moving to another porthole, Erwin doing the same. As they did, a Messerschmitt floated up from beneath their field of view, tumbling upward in a lazy, controlled stall, the pilot goosing the throttle to keep minimal thrust.
Roman got a good look at what this pilot's machine bore on its side; not just the KMM insignia of an Iron Cross, but the German King of Hearts. "Not some rookie trying to bully us, I take it." He said, pointing out the logo to Erwin.
"A professional bully." She nodded, arms crossed.
The two of them locked eyes with the pilot, who threw a two-fingered salute their way. The sight was so surreal, neither of them could bring themselves to respond right away, but eventually they did, throwing a salute back.
What brought gravity to the situation was Kiki, who hopped into her chair, kicked up her feet like she were having a lazy afternoon, and cranked up the gain on her console, broadcasting across a wide band of channels. She picked up her microphone and clicked it twice. "This is Braunschweiger 3… what's your beef?"
There was a faint crackle in the airwaves before she received her answer, coming through clearly on a loudspeaker in the room. The voice was instantly familiar to her. "Civil air patrol. We have reports of contraband aboard your vessel. Surrender or prepare to be boarded."
"Kaiser? That you again?" She laughed. "I'd love to see you try to land that junk heap on us."
"Oh, so you're just gonna do us like that?" Gerhard replied as he pushed the throttle of his Focke-Wulf back in, grinning savagely. "Hauptmann, permission to rattle their rivets?"
Each aircraft raced by again, chasing one another's tail, the throaty roar of their engines reverberating through the Zeppelin's airframe, like numerous Slinkys were bouncing down numerous flights of stairs.
In the back of the gondola, Aono bounded from stateroom to stateroom, phone in hand and almost knocking over Ms Akaboshi as he scrambled to get a shot at filming the sudden impromptu airshow.
With video recording, he was able to capture a spectacular shot as a Bf 109 circled back around and came roaring past the airship's starboard side in a deep left bank. At the same moment, a Focke-Wulf flew in the opposite direction, coming dangerously close to clipping wings with the Messerschmitt as they went head-to-head.
"Now boys…" Kiki's voice had a sing-song quality to it as she scolded them from her radio console. "You know we've all got flare guns, and if I get a flare gun, I'll be the only one to miss and actually hit you, okay? Be nice. Besides, we have guests! Say hello!"
She waved her microphone in Roman's face, and he stared blankly at it. "Uh… hello there."
Various radio buttons were pressed in multiple aircraft, and the same response came from various mouths, but only one signal came through. "General Kenobi!"
At this, neither Roman nor Erwin could resist rolling their eyes. It was still funny to them, though.
"Relax, Kida. We won't tear your precious envelope." Hashimoto, callsign 'Kaiser' radioed back. "Wasn't expecting you back from Kuro South so soon."
"I didn't expect to see you guys out here, either. That category 3's bearing down on Kumamoto as we speak. It's gonna swing this way too, lovelies, it's not going away. Tell me I'm not the only one who sees it."
She looked toward the radar operator, who puffed a loose strand of chestnut hair out of her face, her glasses fogging momentarily as she looked toward her senior with a pronounced look of disdain, knowing what she was about to be asked. "Am I the only one who sees it, Maki? Tell me I'm not the only one."
"You're not the only one." Maki replied fussily, as though she'd had to do this routine more than a few times in her life. Even after months of working with Kiki, she still couldn't get a grasp on the blonde's peculiar sense of humor. She especially couldn't get behind the candid, talk-show vibe that she often had with the aviators.
"Yeah, see? We almost got caught in it ourselves. Had to grab the kommandant and his crew before that category 3 could do it for us. And get this, it's crazy: this guy's in Sensha-dō."
"Sensha-dō? You sure he wasn't supposed to go to us but got in the wrong line?" asked Hayashi. "That's where our replacements ended up! Kida's been hiding 'em from us the whole time!"
"Enough, Gerhard." Kaiser cut in, taking the reins of the situation. "I'm sure he has enough of a burden to handle. Well Kommandant, whatever you're doing here, welcome to the Den of the Tiger. Good hunting."
She waved the mic at him one more time, and Roman spoke into it. "Sehr Danke."
"Air element, form up and proceed to point Charlie for landing finals and refuel. Braunschweiger, we'll see you next time you're in Kumamoto."
"You're flying back in the storm. That's like, Sexy level of crazy!" She received no response to her quip, and keyed her mic again. "Hey! You stopping by for cards soon?"
The four aircraft joined back up in two tandem pairs, retracted their wing surfaces and powered back up to speed off toward the distant silhouette on the horizon. A much more solemn voice answered her. "Not if Commander Nishizumi's asking."
"I'm asking. Besides, what's your issue with Nishizumi, anyway? I thought you two had settled things."
"You've been listening to the wrong people for once, Kiki. Pardon the pun, but I'll take a raincheck. Godspeed, Braunschweiger. Kaiser out."
"Be that way." She responded, rolling her eyes. She lazily rolled her head back over her chair and looked toward Roman and Erwin. "What about you guys? You like to play cards? I need some new partners for poker."
The pair of outsiders looked at each other, then self-consciously laughed. "We're in Sensha-dō. 'Hurry up and wait' is part of the lifestyle!" proclaimed Erwin.
Wait'll you hit the field as a Bullpenner. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Roman thought, nodding. "Same here. After hangar duties at the Academy? Can get a bit rowdy with all the card sharking."
"Suß!" Kiki kicked up her heels and hopped out of her chair, casting off her overcoat. She reached over to a hook on the wall, where a black skirt was hanging. She slipped it over the bottom part of her jumpsuit, which she then artfully unzipped and pulled down, artfully changing her getup without exposing much more skin than her tank top would allow. "Then how about tonight? You two are cordially invited to lose everything in your wallets!"
At this, both Roman and Erwin laughed nervously. "Well, I'd love to, but…" Started Erwin.
"It's their first day." Matsuyama tepidly tapped several spots on her radar screen with a light-pen. "Knowing the Sensha-dō team, they have an early morning, too."
With a slightly exaggerated roll of her eyes, the chief engineer sighed, throwing her gray uniform shirt on and buttoning it. "Fiiiine. You guys are still invited sometime. So let me ask: What have you heard about our school? Bet you thought every student there is uptight or something, right?"
As she mentioned this, two other crew members walked past the compartment door on their way to control coom, carrying their flare guns and joking with one another. They threw a casual wave to Roman, who was leaning to get a better look at them before they disappeared behind the door. "I haven't been sure what to think, but so far everyone seems to be good sport, at least." He replied. "I've heard that Kuromorimine was pretty strict."
Kiki nodded. "It can be. But not everyone follows the same drumbeat as our sisters in Sensha-dō. There are a lot of students in a lot of disciplines, and we all have our own ways of handling ourselves. Aeronautical especially; we like to cut loose, especially when we're far from the mothership."
"Especially you." Maki interjected.
"You gettin' sassy with me?" She quickly regarded her junior with a bent brow before carrying on. "We do try our best to keep a good working relationship while on the ship though, so don't take it the wrong way if you see me on campus and I don't jump up to high-five you. It's business, nothing personal.
"After all, you have Kuromorimine Girls' Academy, the home of Nishizumi Sensha-dō. The great Nishizumi dynasty, and the 'Nishizumi way': Iron strength, iron rules. Iron faces." Her outfit change was made complete with a sharply-cut officer's coat, and she tossed a matching cap onto the desk next to her console. A slicking-back of her shortly-tapered blonde mane made for a much more professional appearance, which she'd achieved in about a minute flat.
Erwin and Roman both looked at each other, exchanging guarded glances. It was helpful knowing that a number of KMM students were 'normal' teenagers despite the reputation the school carried, but they knew that not everyone could be like Kiki. They'd likely be more like the timid Maki Matsuyama who sat in the room with them, and she likely didn't represent a majority in herself.
What Erwin hadn't shared with her commander yet was what she'd learned about the school's private security force. Numbering up to one-hundred students and equipped with Pumas and other forms of Sonderkraftfahrzeuge, they could make her few run-ins with Sodoko and her ilk back on Zuikaku seem like a walk in the park.
"Hey, you two are gonna be fine. Don't worry so much." Kiki noticed both of their troubledexpressions and grabbed both of them by a shoulder, giving an affirming shake before sitting back down and grabbing a headset. With a few twists of dials, she seemed to be gearing up for something. "Now, I've got to get this can ready to land, lovelies. You two ever need anything at all, you get at me, okay? Just remember: Khk-khk." She motioned with her fingers as though she were keying a microphone.
"Khk-Khk. 'Kiki'. I get it." Roman replied, imitating her motion with a smirk. He then reached into his mental bag of tricks, adopting a 'cool' sound to his voice. "So, can I have your frequency, or should I just shout out a window?"
At this, she tossed her head back in a laugh that was as girlish and cute as it was antagonizing. "Nice! That other boy had the whole: 'My number's broken, can I borrow yours?' thing. Didn't work for him, either."
"Tsssssss…." Erwin and Maki breathed in through their teeth, adding to the heat that Roman felt building in his ears. Denied! He felt second-hand embarrassment for his buddy, as he'd actually been the one to teach Aono that pick-up line.
Regardless, Kiki winked. "Hey Rommel, soothe the kommandant's ego, okay? And Kommandant Hunter: you'd better know how to play more than Blackjack, or I won't be pleased with you. At all."
Roman came face-to-face with Erwin's cellphone, which had the contact information he desired already put in, complete with digits and a photo of Kiki throwing up a 'peace' sign. He peered around the phone, tilting an eyebrow curiously at his gunner with a touch of acrimony. "Really?"
Erwin simply shot him a cunning, victorious smile, like a cat that had just eaten a canary. "Girls network. I'm surprised you don't know this by now! It was rather easy."
"Also, no offense, but she's a lot cuter than you." Kiki said as a parting shot before waving at them both dismissively.
" Huh?!" Was all Roman could utter in response. He then gracefully shouldered his loss, Erwin consoling him with a pat on the shoulder as they left the room. "I can't argue with that, I guess."
"Tschüss, Lieblings!" She called after them as they left the room.
This chapter was made possible with help by Minuteman24, who was gracious enough to let me use some of his characters. Check his stuff out, won't you?
