STRIKE WITCHES: HEROS' RETURN: LYNETTE'S STORY

Chapter Two

"Yoshika!" Lynne called out, running across the base. She ran headlong into Barkhorn, who wasn't too happy to be crashed into. "What do you think you're doing!? You can't run in the corridors, for this exact reason!" she snapped, standing up.

"Sorry ma'am. Do you know where Yoshika is?" Lynne asked.

"Drake's office. She's having an important meeting with him. Why?" Before Barkhorn was finished, Lynne dashed towards the Marshal's office. "Hey wait!"


"I think I have made some progress with these texts, and I wanted to teach you what I know so we can translate them together," Drake said to Yoshika, as they were sitting in his office. Suddenly the door burst open and Lynne came in, out of breath. Drake scowled. "Ever heard of knocking? This is a private meeting Bishop," he said. Yoshika stood up and faced her friend. "What's wrong Lynne-chan?"

Ignoring Drake, Lynne seized Yoshika and pressed their lips together. Yoshika's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, then rolled back as her body went limp. Lynne parted to see Yoshika was out cold, a blissful smile on her lips.

"Medic! Get some smelling salts!" Drake said through the intercom. He then turned to Lynne. "Is there something I should know?" Lynne blushed and sheepishly shied away, still holding Yoshika. Her adrenaline was now gone.

"Sorry sir, it's a bit of long story..." she murmured.

"Seeming as how you knocked out the person I was talking to, I don't have much else to do. Spill." Lynne was nervous at first, but then she spotted a hint of a smile on Drake's lips. She explained everything to him: her talk with Emily, her reading with Eila, and everything else about her and Yoshika. As Lynne's story came to an end, a nurse came in with a bottle of smelling salts, which he brought to Yoshika's nose. She inhaled sharply and her eyes fluttered open. Before Lynne could move, Drake said, "Don't kiss her! Wait until I'm done with her before you knock her out again." Yoshika looked at him curiously.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Bishop here barged in and kissed you out of the blue, and you fainted. She can explain the rest," Drake said.

"Wha?" Yoshika said, looking up at Lynne in wonder. Lynne felt faint herself, but steeled herself. "I love you Yoshika," she said simply. Yoshika looked at her in shock and elation for several minutes, before Lynne started to worry she had fainted again. Drake shook his head irritably and snapped his fingers loudly, shaking Yoshika from her stupor. The Fuso girl smiled broadly and pulled Lynne into a second kiss.

"Really? Get a room! One that isn't mine!" Drake said, exasperated. Lynne and Yoshika parted, laughing. "I think I'm okay sir," Yoshika said. She couldn't keep herself from beaming. "Good. Now, Bishop. Out." Yoshika shook her head. "I want her here, maybe she can help." Drake sighed. "Fine."


Drake tried his best to explain the Egyptian hieroglyphs and Fuso texts to Yoshika and Lynne, but after ten minutes he knew he had lost their attention. "Go," he said, "We'll continue this when you two are less distracted." Lynne and Yoshika excused themselves and ran off, holding hands. Emily walked in as they left. "About time," she said, sitting across from her brother. He grumbled.

"They could have at least waited until I was done talking to Yoshika," he said.

"Oh relax already! Aren't they cute together?"

"Yeah, but that's not my concern. What is my concern is figuring out these texts. We don't have time for flirting or fraternizing. You know that." Emily laughed.

"Let them be, it'll be good for them. It was bound to happen anyway. Besides, remember what you were like when you asked April out?" she said. Drake smiled, then grimaced at the thought of his dead lover. "I suppose so. Can't say I was any better back then. Well, there is nothing I can do now. I'll let them go through their honeymoon phase, then it's back to work."


Lynne and Yoshika spent the rest of the day together, oblivious to the world. They held hands and kissed, and both of them were beyond happy. Emily gave them space, letting them have their time alone together. They would have shared a bed together that night if Drake had not forbidden them to.

The next morning, Lynne and Yoshika woke before the morning horn, sneaking out to watch the sunrise together.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" Lynne said, as the sun peeked over the horizon.

"Yeah. Hawaii is really a nice place. A part of me wishes we could stay here forever," Yoshika replied, resting her head on Lynne's shoulder. They sat together a moment longer before they heard the horn in the distance. Rushing back to their room, they got dressed. Just as they finished, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Emily said. Drake poked his head in.

"You three, get your best clothes ready, I'm bringing you with me to a war meeting," he said.

"War meeting? Ugh, sounds boring," Emily replied. Drake scowled.

"As boring as it may be, it is important. The leaders of Suomus, Fuso, Orussia, Liberion, Karlsland, Gallia, Britannia, and Romagna will be here, and I want all of the 501st to be with me for my report. Make sure you are on your best behavior," he said.

"Yes sir," Emily said mockingly. Drake's frown deepened. "Relax brother, I'm messing with you. We'll do our best," Emily replied.

"Good. Be at my office by ten. Don't be late," Drake said, before closing the door. Emily stretched and got up, having slept through the horn. "I wonder what the meeting will be about?" Yoshika wondered.

"Drake will probably give an update on what's happened, particularly with the 501st, seeming as how our homeland leaders will be there," Emily said.

"I hope we don't do anything wrong," Lynne said. Emily laughed.

"Don't worry, so long as we behave, Drake will be able to keep everyone in line. Remember: he outranks all of them when it comes to leading the strike witches."


At ten everyone gathered into Drake's office. The leaders Drake had mentioned were already there. Even though the office was quite large, it took a while for everyone to get situated.

"Why must we sit in this cramped office of yours, Marshal?" one of the leaders asked irritably.

"Because this is the most private area in the base, and no word of this meeting may leave this room," Drake said. He then turned his attention to the 501st. "Thank you for coming." Minna nodded in acknowledgment.

"Now, I have called you all here for several important matters. The first being the Neuroi activity here in Liberion. I need to know who can provide resources and how much," Drake said. Karlsland's leader Frederick IV cleared his throat.

"Because of the hive that continues to remain in Berlin, Karlsland cannot afford to lend any more witches to your war effort, Marshal Holt. However, our technology and the witches already under your command are at your disposal," he said, his voice thickly accented.

"Thank you, Emperor," Drake replied.

"The Fuso Empire will offer what they can to liberate Liberion, Marshal," Emperor Hirohito spoke out. Drake nodded. Many of the other leaders replied likewise, though most were in the same position as Karlsland: the threat of Neuroi on their own land was too great to offer much support.

"The next thing we need to address is the fact that the Neuroi seem to be growing more intelligent. Since the arrival of the Neuroi in Liberion, they have been attacking in greater numbers. Before they used to just attack one by one. This is disconcerting, given the power of just one Neuroi. If they are advancing in tactics and strategy, then we must do the same. My first order of business was to reunite the 501st Joint Fighter Wing."

"Pardon me, but who gave you clearance to do so? You cannot simply gather witches at random and pull them from their given stations," Emperor Frederick said.

"As Marshal of the Strike Witches, I have clearance to reinstate, disband, or do whatever I like, Emperor," Drake replied. Mollified, the emperor said no more. Churchill cleared his throat.

"I do no question your motives or actions Marshal, but I am told you spent over a month doing nothing but restoring the magic of one witch. If it were me, I wouldn't have wasted precious time on one witch. Especially a sergeant at that," he said. Yoshika stood up to speak for herself, but before she could speak, Drake fixed her with a stare that forced her back down.

"If it were any other witch, I would agree with you Prime Minister. However this particular witch was none other than Flight Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji, daughter of the late Dr. Miyafuji. Her magic is far more powerful than any other witch's. On top of that, she was the one responsible for the destruction of the Gallia hive, and the one in Romagna as well," Drake growled.

"I am with the Marshal on this one. The Miyafuji bloodline has always produced exceedingly powerful witches. They are the only witches that we know of that keep their powers beyond twenty years old," Hirohito said, defensive of his own people. Churchill nodded, realizing he had overstepped his bounds.

"Is there anyone else who has doubts about my actions with the 501st?" Drake said, impatience clear in his voice.

"Isn't true that Flight Sergeant Miyafuji disobeyed direct orders before? I would not think it wise to place our faith in her because of that," Frederick said. Yoshika stood again, enraged.

"I only disobeyed orders because that Neuroi was trying to talk to me! If I hadn't made contact with that Neuroi, Maloney's plans to use Neuroi technology would have never been uncovered!" she shouted.

"MIYAFUJI! Sit. Down," Drake said, slamming his fist on his desk. With difficulty, Yoshika did as she was told. Lynne held her hand to calm her down.

"As it so happens, Sergeant Miyafuji answered your question quite well, even if she was out of line. She also brings up something else I wanted to discuss. The humanoid Neuroi. There have been several sightings of these Neuroi. One by Miyafuji, and she has so far been the only one to make actual contact. Some witches in Romagna also tried to make contact with a similar Neuroi, with disastrous results. We don't know the motives of these Neuroi. All we know is that they seem to be non-hostile. Does anyone have any thoughts on them?" The room remained silent. Then, Sanya stood up, shy but determined. "Yes Miss Litvyak?"

"I do not know if this relates to anything, but during our campaign in Britannia a Neuroi was mimicking me in a similar way. Though it was hostile, it mirrored my actions, and my song. Maybe they are trying to tell us something?" she said, before sitting back down. A murmur of agreement echoed around the room.

"You may be right Litvyak. Although we cannot understand them, and therefore cannot understand their motives, it is clear that at least some Neuroi are trying to communicate with us. That being said, I'm designating all witch-like Neuroi as neutral. They are not to be shot at unless they open fire first. Is that understood?" Drake said. This time a clamor of disapproval made the rounds. Drake let them squabble for a minute before raising his hand for silence.

"I do not make this decision lightly. I harbor no love for the Neuroi, no matter what form they come in. Even if these witch-like Neuroi are friendly, I would never trust them any farther than I could throw them. However, Miyafuji has proved that peaceful communication can happen. We need every edge we can get on the Neuroi in this war, and if allying ourselves with a friendly faction of those aliens give us an advantage, we'd be fools not to take it," Drake said.

"What is your upcoming plan for the war, Marshal?" Suomus's leader asked. Drake faced him.

"We gather as many witches as we can here, fortify our position. When our power has become sufficient enough, we assault the core in San Francisco. From there, we fortify again so we don't lose what we gained. We then repeat the process for Anchorage, and then the Capitol. Once the war in Liberion is over, we will muster to Orussia. From there we will begin the liberation of Eurasia," he explained.

"A lofty goal indeed. Do you believe such a plan is possible?"

"There is nothing a witch cannot do. Especially the witches of the 501st. With them on our side, victory is a matter of when, not if," Drake replied.

"Do you believe you are up to the task, considering the death of your partner, Commander April Thatch?" Drake closed his eyes in pain, and his next words were drawn out carefully and slowly.

"April was a dedicated soldier, and strived for peace in this world. I will not allow my own pain - however strong it may be - to get in the way of achieving that peace. If anyone has anything else to say about my personal life, you may leave now," he said, his voice deadly quiet. No one rose to the challenge.

The meeting continued on.


"Do you really mean what you said? About us?" Lynne asked Drake, after everyone else had left. Only Drake, Lynne, Emily, Perrine, and Yoshika remained. Drake nodded.

"All of you in the 501st are the best of the best. I may push you harder than the recruits, but I don't have as much faith in them as I do you. Before I came, you were the Strike Witches, the aces of the world. When I'm done with you, you'll be legends," he said.

"Wow," Yoshika said.

"No pressure then?" Emily asked. Drake laughed.

"You all did good today. Yoshika, I wish you hadn't spoke out like that, but in the end it turned out for the better. Now, I need to discuss something with you four. Since you all are usually in a flight together, it has come to my attention that some adjustments need to be made. Lynne, Perrine, Emily, I have ordered jet strikers for the three of you, so you will be on par with Yoshika. The models are not prototypes. They have been thoroughly tested and are ready for regular use. Emily, you get the P-80 Shooting Star. Perrine, since Gallia has yet to make a jet striker, you will be getting the same model as Lynne: the Gloster Meteor. They should work fine for all three of you. However if you have any problems with them, bring them to me immediately. Understood?" Lynne, Perrine, and Emily nodded.

"Good. Dismissed."


The next day, Yoshika, Lynne, Perrine, and Emily made their way to the hangar, where Drake had told them their new strikers were waiting for them. Four strikers were mounted on support units, ready to take off. The first was Yoshika's Shinden-kai. The second was the P-80 Shooting Star. It was a very sleek design, the engines smoothly nestled on the outer sides of the unit. Where propellers would be were the engine exhausts. The third and fourth were the Gloster Meteor. They were similar in shape to the Me-262.

"So these are the jet strikers?" Lynne asked. Drake nodded.

"Yes. With these you should be on par with Yoshika as you were before she began using the Shinden-kai," he said.

"Let's go fly!" Emily said excitedly, rushing to her striker. She was halfway there before Drake seized the back of her shirt and lifted her, rendering her immobile. "Not so fast," he said, letting her go. "One step at a time Em. We go slowly with this." Emily smirked and started running in slow motion. Drake aimed a kick at her. She simply stuck out her tongue and said "You wouldn't dare."

Drake smiled and put his foot down. "Okay. Time to get serious."


Drake gave them several tests on their performance in the jet strikers, and by the end of it, they were out of energy.

"Not bad. Seems the strikers pass. Oh, and you all pass too," Drake said.


Later in the evening, Drake summoned Lynne and Yoshika to his office to continue studying the texts. Without warning, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Drake said, putting away the texts. Yoshika and Lynne turned around to see...

"Mother? Father?"