A/N: Sorry about the long wait, I've had plenty of work in school. Back now though.
Maroon567: Don't worry, there'll be plenty of infantry combat in this fic.
fuji92: Right then, I might as well get this off my chest, so sorry fuji92, but
Yes there's going to be females being romantically attracted to other females.
No there won't be lemon.
Yes there will be other pairings besides Yuri ones.
And finally Yes the girls are definitely going to need the emotional support from each other to survive what I have in store for them.
Sorry but to be honest, Strike Witches has too much Les Yay to not be put in. It'd be like Girls Und Panzer without the characters bonding, or Ace Combat without the music, or Company of Heroes without the soldiers' hilarious comments.
"Gunner, point the turret up at that camera in the sky."
"AIRBORNE! Wanna go blow up HQ!?"
"Jawohl, attacking their armor... with my rifle."
"Heavy Panzer is under infantry attack! Why am I shouting this!?"
"I took ballistics in school, fascinating subject! Things go up! Things go down!"
"You have an anti-tank rifle, over there, is a tank! FIGURE IT OUT!"
It just wouldn't be the same without it. In an interview one of the creators says that Sanya and Eila's relationship is: "basically a junior high school boy who is hesitant on how to tell the girl he loves how he feels", and Lynette and Yoshika aren't far behind. So sorry, but on the flip side Yuri will not a major part of my fic, except for the pairings helping each other get through the war with their lives and emotional stability.
So I don't want to hear any whining in PMs or Reviews on how my fic has been RUINED FOREVER!
Anyway, let's get started. There will be some character interaction, with more coming as things start getting exciting, so please, please, please tell me if anyone is OOC without justification.
Chapter 9: New Developments, and Old Memories
Vengeance of Japan Hanger
Evening.
Shortly after the end of the Battle of Suez.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Minna yelled at SRPA Director Doorn.
"Commander, you must understand my position. No one that we know of has ever had such... direct contact with a Neuroi, especially not one behaving eratically as the Humanoid. With the Humanoid destroyed and its message incomprehensible, Miyafuji's encounter with it might be the only way we can understand what it was trying to tell us."
"No." Minna said firmly her gun still out. "First you decide to hire Maloney and restart the Warlock, and now you want me to give you one of my girls so you can study her!? Not while I'm still her commander!" The SRPA Black Ops troops stepped forward, their guns level, with the 501st mimicking their actions, protectively surrounding Yoshika.
"With all due respect Commander Wilcke, we have no way of knowing what happened to Miyafuji. For all we know, she could have been infected with some sort of influence. Even if she hasn't her aid will be required to help understand what happened out there."
Minna continued to glare at Doorn, and everyone's fingers tightened around their guns.
"Sir, if I might make a suggestion?" Minna blinked as Trevor Maloney moved between the two groups. "Sir, Yoshika Miyafuji, is, despite her impressive record, a young girl." Trevor ignored several growls behind him from the 501st. "As such, she won't react well to being separated from her friends, and doing so would make her uncooperative at best, and outright hostile at worst. Instead, I think we would be better off surrounded by her squadron, where they could act as an emotional crutch, preventing us from having a mentally unstable prisoner, and instead making her far more cooperative to any investigation over what happened during the battle."
Everyone in the 501st blinked. Was Maloney actually supporting them? Why hadn't it been announced that the Sun had started revolving around the Earth?
Doorn examined the Britannian Commander. "And if there is any hidden programming, and Miyafuji goes berserk because of it?"
Maloney gave a dry smirk. "Sir, if the witches were anything less than fanatically hostile to anything that could endanger one of their comrades, they wouldn't have been so effective against the Neuroi, or such a pain in my ass. They should be able to restrain her easily should it come to that. I stand by my view that we will be able to gain far more by allowing Miyafuji to remain with her Wing, even if she is not to be allowed into combat."
Doorn nodded, smiling. "I suppose so Maloney. Very well, I suppose we shall do it your way then. Miyafuji will remain with her Wing, and we will send over a suitable person to interview her about her experience." He cheerfully walked away.
Maloney sighed, then looked at the rest of the 501st, who were staring at him in disbelief. "What? Shouldn't you all be going about your ways? We all have work to do." That quickly shook the witches out of their stupor, and everyone quickly went their separate ways. Maloney went back to the workshop to make sure that the Warlock was running smoothly. Minna and Mio went to the Command Room of the ship for debriefing. Everyone else stayed with Yoshika, and with good reason.
Yoshika was still suffering from the aftermath of the Neuroi's mental attack. She continued to keep her eyes shut, barely registering the world around her and flinching at any louder than normal noise. Lynettte had stayed with her the entire time, supporting her along the walk back to their bunk and practically carrying her by the time they got back. She set the Fusoan girl down in the lowest bunk gently, who was still shuddering and rolling around even in the bed. "It's all right Yoshika." Lynette whispered, gently comforting her friend. "We won, it's safe now, you can rest now, I know you'll get through this. You're strong, stronger than anyone I know. You're stronger than the Neuroi, stronger than the rest of us... Stronger than me." She continued, ignoring the rest of the Wing altogether, who simply stood, not sure if they should interrupt or leave.
Lynette continued talking to Yoshika, simply trying to comfort the other girl. "You've saved my life more times than I can count. You've always been there for me, if it hadn't been for you, I would have never made it as far as I have. You're the best friend I could have ever wished for and...and..." She took a deep breath.
"I love you." There were tears coming out of her eyes now. "I know that I'm not supposed to feel this way about you, that I'm not supposed to feel this way about other girls, but I can't hep it. I've loved you since you helped me against my first Neuroi. I loved you when we fought the Warlock, I loved you when we first saw this ship, and I love you now, no matter how terrible you feel!" She was sobbing now, having completely forgotten about her wing-mates, who had backed outside the door after her confession. "I don't know what that Neuroi did to you, but I know that you're strong enough to fight it, because I've seen you come through worse, and no matter what happens, I'm going to be right behind you, not matter what." Her eyes watered. "That's what a person's supposed to do for someone she loves, right?" She whispered, even more quietly than she had before.
She was about to stand up when she felt a pressure on her arm. She looked and saw that Yoshika had grabbed it weakly. "Don't go." She whispered faintly, shivering.
Lynette gave a small smile. "Alright Yoshika, I'm right here, there's nothing to be afraid of." She got down on her knees and continued to comfort her love.
Everyone else was still outside, listening to the two. They all looked at each other as they left the two in peace. Then Shirley grinned after they had gained some distance. "Well?" She asked expectantly. Gertrude grumbled and pulled out her wages. She mentally swore to never bet against Shirley again.
Vengeance of Japan Conference Room
Next day, Morning, September 20
Jorges looked at the gathered UED personnel, including all the Captains, Generals, and the Director of SRPA. "You all know the stakes. We now have confirmation that the Chimera do exist in this universe. For all we know they could be assimilating towns in Russia as we speak. We need to get the technology of Earth up, and fast. Even more so, we need to get the Tower excavated. Director?"
Doorn stood up. "We should be able to excavate the Tower easily enough with the equipment in the Fleet and what the Allies are giving us. It will take a month or two, but the Neuroi did plenty of work for us. Once the Tower is fully excavated, we can use its facilities to build war machines, and use whatever samples of DNA there to create Inhibitors and Vaccines." Now he hesitated. "Furthermore, some of our people think that we can use the Tower for another purpose."
Jorges raised his eyes. "Go on Director."
"Well Commander, we know that the Chimera use the Towers to create Wormholes to transport large forces across space-time. That was how they aimed to bring the Pure Chimera to Earth. With some studies, we might be able to use the Tower to connect back with our own Earth, making a bridge across dimensions."
Everyone sat up and stared at the SRPA leader. "Are you certain, can we afford to risk what might happen if we try?" General Higgins asked.
"SRPA has been studying the Wormholes since the end of the War. Our people believe it will work, and I believe them. Besides, I don't think we can afford not to try General." The director frankly stated. "We all know that our current ground forces are both under-strength and under-teched at the moment, and the Fleet isn't in much better shape."
Everyone else winced at that statement. It was true, SRPA was in the middle of outfitting the UED with another generation of new technology, and the units stationed in backwaters like Eastern Europe hadn't gotten as much priority as those China, Eastern Russia, South Africa, and Australia, the hot zones of conflict, be it with other humans or aliens, and most of the more advanced equipment had already been destroyed in previous battles, leaving their ground forces with mostly subpar equipment. To add to that, every ship in the fleet was running out of ammunition for their guns, even with some of the Japan's Fabricators being turned away from making spare armor plating to create more ammo, and the Fleet had near-crippling manpower shortages. A Vengeance Class Carrier usually had around 30,000-40,000 astronauts, but currently was only operating with 13,000. The Shockship only had 5,000 of its usual 9,000 crew, and the Blazers had between them 3,000, leaving each Blazer at half crew.
In short, the 3rd Fleet could probably last for one more major battle or campaign, but after that they would have to stop fighting to repair, rearm, and find some way to get more manpower. If they stopped however, the Neuroi would have the time to counterattack, and drive back the Allies. Finding a way to link back up with the rest of the UED would solve that problem nicely. And of course, at the moment the Neuroi were holding back, though very few non-UED people knew it. If the Neuroi started deploying their more powerful forces, like Mushrooms or Cylinders, this Earth was well and truly fucked.
Jorges looked at the Director calmly. "You have the Fleet's permission to attempt this experiment once the Tower is excavated. General Higgins, you will remain here with the bulk of our ground forces and several squadrons of aircraft once we are sent to another battlezone. Your objective will be to protect the Tower from any assault, be it by aliens or other humans. We cannot let it fall into the wrong hands."
Higgins nodded, and the Fleet Commander turned to Mira. The Shockship Captain had taken over second in command duties, what with the manpower shortages. She had been assigned to inform the Allies of the dangers of Chimeran Towers, and advise them to locate them as quickly as possible. "Mira, have the nations of the world responded to our request?"
Mira didn't look very happy. "They responded all right, but every time I asked them to do something about the Towers, I was rebuffed, sometimes quite forcefully. The Czar of Orussia was offended that we ah, implied that he didn't know what was happening within his own borders, and no one is going to be searching for the Towers, or letting us search for them. They say it would be a waste of resources since they're already in a war with one alien species."
Granted, that was true, and a good reason, Jorges noted as he rubbed his head in frustration. Still, it seemed so wrong not to do something about the Chimera. Send out SRPA teams, scout out the wastelands, excavate the Towers, just something that showed you that you were fighting them. Still, he had other, more immediate problems to worry about. He looked back at Mira. "We'll have to make do with just this one Tower then. In the meantime, the Allies are making new plans to retake Karlsland, now that they've taken everything up to the Rhine. They'll be moving troops out of Africa and into Europe for the big push a month from now. We'll stay here for a week or so before moving on to Europe. We'll need as many aerial forces as we can get. I hear that the first Warlock Mk II is finished, correct?"
"Yes sir, Maloney will be demonstrating its capabilities later this afternoon."
Vengeance of Japan Hanger
Afternoon
Every member of the Warlock Project was excited, from its heads to the engineers to the security guards. This was the moment they had all been waiting for, to see their mecha in action, to know that they had finally succeeded in creating a mechanical defender of mankind. Everyone was tense as the Warlock Mk II, still in plane form, slided in front of the opening hanger doors. In the nearby control center, several techs monitored its status and would give it basic orders, according to what Maloney ordered it to do. Everyone else in the center, from the Fleet Commander to the Strike Witches (minus Yoshika) to Maloney watched as the doors finished opening.
"Launch the Warlock." Maloney ordered calmly, belying the tension that he was feeling.
"Right away Commander. Engines are running, thrust increasing, safety locks removed, Warlock launching!" The Warlock's twin engines propelled the machine out of the hanger and into the open air. Everyone in Control Center got a breathtaking view of the area around, as the Warlock swooped around the Fleet surrounding the Tower, sometimes accelerating past the speed of sound, and sometimes slowing down to a crawl, but always remaining airborne. Several times it gained temporary escorts from patrolling planes, promoting several chuckles from the pilots and the operator crew.
"Warlock is flying perfectly sir. No errors in the engines, maneuvering thrusters, or hull." One of the operators announced, pride in his voice.
"Excellent work man." Maloney beamed. "We'll begin the weapons testing now. Deploy the first wave of drones."
The Carrier spat out a dozen target drones, which were simply cheap engines with wings, and were not designed to survive since their only purpose was to be blown up by the many weapons used in training by the UED. The drones quickly formed up and zoomed towards the Warlock, many kilometers away.
"Charge up the Teleforce gun." The front of the Warlock 's front split open to reveal its main gun, which began glowing reddish/orange as it charged.
"Fire, sweep the gun." Maloney ordered, in his element. Everyone looked at the screen, showing the vision of both the Warlock, and a recon drone observing it.
A large beam emitted from the Warlock, disintegrating the drones on the left. The emitter inside the warlock turned to the right, and the beam raked over the drones, annihilating them all in a couple of seconds. Everyone stared as the beam powered down, then another group of drones attacked from the flank, firing their light guns. Rounds bounced off the Warlock's shield, causing no damage. The Warlock shifted into its Mech Form and began blasting the new targets with its twin 20mm guns. Volleys of rounds streaked out, annihilating half the attack force. The Warlock then began using its thrusters to pull of several impressive mid-air maneuvers, destroying the remaining targets in a matter of seconds. It hovered triumphantly in the air.
Everyone stared at the screens, awestruck by the power, speed, and agility of the Mecha. Jorges turned to Maloney. "Well Commander Maloney, I have to admit, you and your team have outdone yourselves. The Fleet will produce a full Squadron of these Warlocks for the retaking of Karlsland, and more once we can afford to take some of the fabricators away from plating manufacturing. The 1st Heavy Fighter Drone Squadron will be under your command."
Maloney saluted, a smile on his face. "Thank you Sir, we won't let you down. I'll go inform my team now." Jorges nodded and Maloney left.
Minna and the rest of the 501st stared at the Warlock, now cruising back towards the Vengeance of Japan. The first Warlock had been able to destroy a Large type Neuroi with a single shot, and if she knew the UED (Okay, she didn't but she wagered she knew them well enough for this anyway), that 'Teleforce Gun' would be even more powerful, and with the shield and auto-cannons she had no doubt that the Warlock Mk II would be a far better fighting machine than the original had ever been, and from those videos she had seen, it would need to be.
But she still didn't like it. Those machines would be under the command of Trevor Maloney, the man who had tried to disband the JFWs and caused the deaths of everyone aboard the Akagi. Yes, the UED said he was a good choice, but that probably said more about the UED than Maloney. How was she supposed to trust someone like that in command of a squadron of Neuroification-vulnerable machines? And how was she supposed to actually work alongside him?
Her thoughts were broken up by the loud sounds of cheering from the hanger. Everyone looked at each other, then took a look. In the hanger the Warlock was landing, and the everyone who was part of the project was swarming both it and Maloney. Cries of "We did it!" echoed throughout the hanger and the team celebrated their victory. To all the witches' surprise Maloney was actually laughing along with them. He even had a few tears coming out of his eyes. "Excellent work everybody!" He announced joyously. "We've finally done it. Well done everybody, I'm proud of you all!" His team answered with another bout of enthusiastic cheering.
Even the witches couldn't help but smile at the scene before them. Who knew that the man who had caused the deaths of so many could appear so... human?
Couple hours later
None of the witches were smiling any more, oh no. They were absolutely furious, and depending on your viewpoint, they had good reason for that. They knew that, eventually, SRPA would want to interrogate Yoshika about what had happened over Suez now that she was a bit more coherent. Still, they hadn't expected Trevor Maloney to be the one to do the interrogating. Maloney wasn't much happier. Yes, he was the most familiar with the witches, but he well, hated them. Seriously, which donkey up high had considered this a good idea? He winced, now he was going to have to face a full wing of witches that hated his guts, and might not be too happy about seeing the Warlock up and running.
"Look I don't like this either, but I have my orders, I'm supposed to be the one to interview Sergeant Miyafuji." He spoke to Minna, who was guarding the door to Miyafuji's bunk, arms crossed, along with the rest of the 501st.
"And why exactly should I trust you to go in alone with Yoshika?" Minna responded suspiciously.
Maloney winced. "I have nothing on me that could possibly harm her Wing Commander, and even if I did I would not gain anything from doing so. Now you can either let me in, and get this over with quickly, or we both stand out here, waiting until we die of old age."
Everyone glared at the former RAF Commander, still not quite convinced. Then Minna sighed and stepped away from the door. "Make it fast. And if you hurt her..." She let the threat hang.
Maloney nodded and walked in, much to the displeasure of everyone and Lynette in particular, who had spent much of her time with the Fusoan girl.
Yoshika was still in her bunk, sobbing quietly. Maloney shuddered as he looked at the broken girl. What could have done this to her? The Sergeant Miyafuji he knew had been an optimistic, determined fighter, not a sobbing wreck. It brought back memories of Dunkirk, of children staring stunned at the corpses of their parents, or the stumps where their limbs used to be, of-.
He shook those images out of his head. "Sergeant Miyafuji, can you understand me?"
"Hmmm." Came a faint reply, but she nodded.
"Miyafuji I need to ask you a few questions, can you do that for me?" Maloney kept his voice as level as he could, kneeling down to Yoshika's level.
"Lyn?" The question was whispered, as Yoshika opened her eyes and looked around.
Maloney sighed. "Sergeant Lynette Bishop is waiting outside. If you cooperate, this should get done quickly, and you'll be able to go see her, alright?"
Miyafuji tensed, then got up to a sitting position, still shuddering, and nodded.
"All right then. Sergeant, that Neuroi that attacked you, you touched its-"
"Her." Yoshika whispered.
Maloney blinked. "Pardon?"
"It's a her, it felt like a her." She continued to whisper, backing away slightly.
Maloney nodded. "Very well Miyafuji, you touched her core, and you seemed horrified when you backed away. What happened? Why are you so... frightened?"
"I saw things." She choked out. "Monsters, Neuroi, huge ones, bigger than I've ever seen, thousands of them. I saw Earth getting destroyed, myself dying, Lyn dying, Mio dying, everyone dying, over and over again, and I couldn't stop it. Just so many bodies." She started to sob as the images became more vivid.
"It's all right!" Maloney tried to calm the girl who a few months ago had been his enemy. "It's all right... Yoshika, no one's died. All your friends are still alive, they're just waiting until I finish this, then you can see them all. Alright? What else did you see, this might be important."
Yoshika shuddered for a bit before calming down. "There was... a cube, a small one, it seemed really important, it was glowing. And I felt... scared."
"That would be natural for someone in your situation."
She shook her head. "No, it felt like, like the Neuroi were scared, of, of something." She gripped her head groaning.
Maloney placed a hand on her head. "Are you alright?" He forgot that she was part of the organization he loathed. Whatever he felt, he couldn't hate this girl in front of him. He was still human after all, and no matter how odd one might consider magic, so was Yoshika.
She nodded. "I'm fine. It's just, my head hurts, I'm sorry, that's all I can remember." She also didn't care about the former hostile relationship, right now he was comforting her, like her father used to do when she was sick.
Maloney nodded and gave her a small smile. "That's all right, you've told me plenty already." He got up. "Your teammates will be allowed to enter now. Thank you for cooperating."
Yoshika nodded again. "No problem" She whispered.
Maloney left the room and found the 501st all glaring at him. "Well?" Lynette demanded.
Maloney sighed. "You will find her completely unharmed and waiting for you all. She seems to have wanted you to see her particularly, Sergeant Bishop."
Lynette blushed at that remark, then looked at Minna, who nodded. She immediately ran into the room to Yoshika.
"I need to give my report to the Fleet Commander and SRPA. Good day." Maloney promptly walked away as the rest of the 501st followed Lynette into the room, and would be rather surprised to find out that Maloney had actually been kind to her.
Conference Room
"A cube? You're certain?" Jorges demanded.
"Yes sir. Sergeant Miyafuji specifically mentioned a small glowing cube. Do you know what it is sir?" Maloney asked.
Director Doorn nodded. "We certainly do, and this might be the most important news we've gotten since we arrived." He quickly activated the holographic projector, which displayed a small room with several cubes attached to each other, glowing brightly.
"This is the Grey Tech Reactor that powers our ship. Grey Tech are cubes, pieces of technology left by a species that vanished tens of millions of years ago. Each one generates vast amounts of energy that is increased exponentially when in contact with other pieces of Gray Tech, is capable of augmenting weapons or even entire ships, and has many other effects that vary from piece to piece. Anyway, a dozen of these are all that's needed to power this entire ship, and if one gathers a hundred, they can generate enough energy to power a weapon capable of wiping out all life on a planet." Doorn rattled off the capabilities of the Tech as Maloney paled.
"Then-" He began.
"If the Neuroi know about Gray Tech, then they could be gathering them as we speak as well as excavating the Chimeran Towers. If so, they must be stopped at all costs." Jorges put his hands on the desk in front of him. "Commander Maloney, your project just became of an either greater importance. You said your team had other projects besides the Warlock, make them happen, we'll need every advantage we can get."
Maloney nodded. "You can count on us sir."
"Excellent. Oh, and continue interviewing Sergeant Miyafuji. If you can help her remember more of what that Neuroi, ah, downloaded into her mind, we could gain much more information."
Maloney frowned at the last order. "Sir, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Yoshi- Sergeant Miyafuji's mental status is still very fragile, and remembering what the Neuroi implanted into her seems to cause large amounts of trauma."
"That is something we will have to accept, I'm afraid. Humanity is fighting for its very existence, and we need every advantage we can possibly get."
The next few days entered a pattern. Maloney would go to Yoshika in the afternoon to interview her, and come out later, sometimes less than fifteen minutes, sometimes an hour, but each time Yoshika would have nothing but positive things to say about his actions. On the few times they had been allowed in they were shocked to find Maloney actively comforting Yoshika when the more horrific memories surfaced, something Lynette had done when Maloney wasn't around. Finally, after a week, Minna took Maloney aside into one of the vacant rooms to have a private discussion with him.
"All right Maloney, what are you trying to pull?" She demanded, looking quite impatient.
"What makes you think I'm trying to pull anything? I've simply been asking Yoshika simple questions about-"
"There!" Minna pointed at him furiously. "Since when were you on a first name basis with Yoshika!? What is it you're doing, you're-"
"What?" Maloney demanded furiously. "I'm acting like a human being, is that so surprising to you!? Do you think I'm some kind of monster, that I'm some fanatical demon trying to cause suffering because I feel like it? Is it too much for your brain to comprehend that however much I dislike you and your people, I still have feelings?" He sighed. "I don't need to like someone to care for them when they need it. Whatever you might think, I still have a little something known as compassion, and even if Yoshika is a witch, she's human as well, is that enough of a reason?"
Minna glared at him furiously. "Compassion? You built a machine that destroyed the Akagi! You killed hundreds! I saw what that monster did!" She accused.
"Did you? Well good! So do I, every damn night! You don't think I think about what happened!? You don't think I don't remember every damn person who died because of my actions!? Do you think I made the Warlock to intentionally attack humans? You think I enjoyed seeing them all die? They were people I was supposed to protect! And you have the gall to think that I wanted them dead!? You think I would willingly kill good men, fighting to protect their families and homes without having the luxury of hiding behind their magic every day, like your little girls can do every time something tries to send them into a cemetery?"
"You-"
Before the argument could escalate any further one of the Shipguards of the Fleet broke in. "Excuse me, Commander Maloney, The FleetComm wants to know the results of your recent interview with the Sergeant."
The two Commanders straightened up and nodded. "Of course, I was just having a... discussion with Commander Wilcke. We'll continue it some other time, I'll be on my way now." The Shipguard nodded, having heard everything from the hallway, and accompanied Maloney out, leaving Minna both furious and confused at Maloney's words. Why couldn't things be simple with him?
September 29
Location unknown
"So our sources have confirmed it?"
"Yes, the new arrivals, the, ah, UED, has discovered one of the Towers. They were most alarmed, virtually every nation in the Allies was requested to search for more of them. Fortunately, we have been able to prevent such actions from being authorized. So far, they have accepted the reasoning behind focusing on one threat at a time. Unfortunately, they have continued to give the Allies technology from their own world."
"Unacceptable. We cannot allow such a high level of technology to be reached here. Should it be reached, all our preparations will have all been for nothing."
"This spread of technology to our enemies must be stopped, either in Karlsland research facilities, or at its source. This has been discussed before. Do we have the operatives in place in their Fleet?"
"We have some in the new fighter and ground forces in their Carrier, but little else. Barring spectacular circumstances, it will be difficult to take control."
"Disappointing, then can we stop the development in Karlsland?"
"The research is under the oversight of an Ursula Hartmann, traditionalists within their military have objected to some of the influx of new technology, for fear of becoming too reliant on the UED. Additionally, our agents in other governments have ensured that their... displeasure has been voiced about Karlsland taking over this technology. If Miss Hartmann were to be removed..."
"We cannot risk being revealed. A good portion of the world, along with the new arrivals are watching this, and will all come down on our heads if we come out into the open. This is not as simple as removing Miss Oppenheimer and Mr. Einstein was."
"I understand. However, it is well known that Miss Hartmann's inventions have a tendency to, ah... explode. As a witch, she might feel obligated to test out a new Striker Unit herself, should other test pilots be needed elsewhere, and of course, tragic accidents do happen..."
"How long will you need?"
"We have fewer agents in New Karlsland than we would like, but give them a few weeks and we will have everything arranged."
"Excellent, now on to other issues..."
October 3rd
Vengeance of Japan
Aachen, Karlsland
After Gallia had been liberated, the first Karlsland city to be liberated was Aachen. Shortly after, rapid offensives had pushed the Neuroi back across the Rhine River. Aachen quickly became the site of a massive buildup of Allied forces, with soldiers from nearly every country in the world being seen in the area, with more arriving every day in preparation for the big push on Karlsland.
Right now though there were still a couple weeks before the invasion began, but even then the men and women of the Third Fleet stayed vigilant. Patrols of aircraft and recon drones scanned the surrounding area while the Commanders met with the Allied leaders to plan for the attack. In the meantime those not on duty, like the 501st enjoyed free time for the first time since they'd joined the Fleet when they weren't out on patrol, making those patrols all the more annoying.
"Man this is booooring," Shirley strung out the last word. "Can't we just head back now, we've been here for half an hour."
"And we still have a half-hour left before we're supposed to return. Until then, we stay here and protect the convoys coming down this road." Barkhorn shot back.
"Protect them? Protect them from what? We're in the middle of territory held by the biggest army in human history! The Neuroi aren't gonna just pop out of thin air this far behind friendly lines. It's the first bit of free time we've had in two weeks, and there's a dozen things we could all be doing right now!" Shirley sighed, she was still trying to beat not NOT!grandson in those 'Video Games' they had in the recreation room. She looked for some support. "Come on, Lyn, I'll bet you can't wait to head back either."
The third member of the patrol spoke hesitantly. "Well... I, I wouldn't mind going back now. I... was planning to be with Yoshika now..." She trailed off, embarrassed.
"Yeager, this is not a democracy, it doesn't matter how much we dislike it, we've been ordered to guard this road, and until our patrol time is up, that's what we're going to do." Barkhorn snapped testily.
Shirley gave a cheerful grin. "Oh come on Trude, don't be so stiff. Lynette's gonna miss out on a date with her girlfriend if we stay here."
Lynette forgot to fly for a half second before recovering. "H-How did you know!?" She yelped, her face as red as a tomato.
"How could we have missed it? You two are the most obvious couple besides Eila and Sanya! Besides, we were right outside when you confessed!" Lynette's face, somehow, reddened even more, having, in between comforting Yoshika and falling asleep there, forgotten all about them. "Oh." She whispered.
"So, are you gonna confess to her now that she's awake?" Shirley asked cheerfully.
"W-well, I"m... I'm not sure if my father would approve. He's, nobility, and he might not like me... loving a girl from another country..." Her voice trailed off, torn.
"Huh." For several seconds the radio was silent. "Well, why don't you just tell him you love her? He can't try to make his own daughter unhappy, can he?"
Lynette hesitated. "But, what if he says no, I can't just go against my own father..."
Trude cleared her throat. "As pleasant as this conversation is, I'm afraid we still have a job to do, so please stay focused." She sounded a little grumpy.
The two fell silent quickly and their patrol was finally finished a few minutes later. Just as they turned around to leave they saw a Skyranger with a SRPA logo pass by them moving west. They all looked at each other and shrugged. Whatever it was doing, they had already learned that you simply don't know what SRPA does unless they want you to.
Late Afternoon, Same Day
Arras Flying Services Memorial, Gallia
"This is where you wanted to be sir?" The pilot of the Skyranger asked, looking at his passenger.
"Yes, thank you pilot. You can cut off the engines, I'm afraid I'll be here for a while." Maloney responded. The pilot complied and the hum of the Skyranger's engines died down as Maloney disembarked.
The Arras Memorial held over a thousand graves of Britannian fighter pilots who had died. The memorial itself was a globe held aloft by an obelisk with the names of the dead inscribed on it. Maloney looked at it, picking out some painfully familiar names.
"Hello lads." He whispered, head lowered. "We're still fighting the Neuroi, you know. Took back Gallia and Africa. Now they say we're all getting ready to retake Karlsland, that the war's about over." He gave a hollow laugh. "Funny, I remember how we used that before every push, then after we won that war." He stopped laughing, his eyes a bit wet. "Got command of another squadron, and new machines, no human pilots. We call them Warlocks, funny huh? Tried them once before, screwed up and got too many good men killed, just like with you. They say third times the charm though, so, keep watching me boys, it was an honor."
November 30th, 1917
Cambrai, Gallia
Like all brilliant plans, the Allies' strategy to retake Cambrai and the Bourlon Ridge went into the shitter quite quickly. It had worked brilliantly for the first day of November 20th, as a creeping barrage of artillery fire paved the way for a rapid advance of Britannian tanks and Karlsland Stormtroopers that tore through 11 kilometers of fortified Neuroi ground, for only a few thousand casualties. After that though, command soon discovered that all the holes made by artillery fire and trenches turned the entire field into a quagmire, and the Britannian Tank Corps stopped dead in its tracks as its new vehicles broke down across the front line. The Neuroi were quick to counterattack, and soon the familiar pattern of bloody trench warfare reemerged, and the Allies desperately tried to hold onto their newly gained ground.
Of course, Command was hardly willing to lose their latest gains in this bloody war of attrition, and fresh reinforcements were rapidly funneled in, including troops from Liberion, which had just mopped up the last of the Neuroi that had landed in Mexica. Also joining the soldiers heading to Cambrai were several of the new aerial Witch Squadrons, mounted on brooms and wielding high caliber pistols and in a few rare cases, rifles and new Karlsland SMGs, and several conventional squadrons of Biplanes from Britannia.
None of which was comforting the poor infantrymen in the trenches at the moment, who now had the unenviable task of holding their ground against a storm of Neuroi infantry bots, as some of the larger Neuroi blasted their lines with heavy lasers and artillery fire soared over their heads.
"Everyone man the guns! They're coming for us!" A Britannian officer screamed as his men rushed to their posts, standing on firing blocks and manning the Vickers machine guns and light "Pom-Pom" guns alike, as the three male Mark IV tanks behind the trenches steadied their sights and prepared to fire on larger targets.
Ahead they could see a wave of black shapes advancing towards them, most looked almost humanoid aside from their robotic movements and laser cannons instead of arms, with some larger than others, while there were several larger Neuroi, shaped like tanks with large laser cannons on top of them. Even further back the men could see bright flashes of lasers from the Neuroi lines, where Neuroi heavy lasers bombarded their lines, turning the ground to slag. Luckily, they were safe for the most part.
A lucky shot tore through the air, vaporizing several unlucky men on a firing block, not even giving them a chance to scream.
Mostly safe.
In response, field artillery from the human lines launched a light barrage at the advancing Neuroi, tearing through dozens, and wiping out a few of the Neuroi Tanks with direct hits. Still the rest advanced, uncaring, until they were within range.
"Open fire!" The air was filled with the sounds of weapons fire. Hundreds of infantrymen aimed their rifles and fired into the oncoming horde, and the machine guns were quick to join in, firing in prolonged bursts to bring down the armored creatures. Tank guns and 3 inch guns focused on the Neuroi tanks, bringing down several with concentrated volleys.
The Neuroi shrugged off this hail of fire, even their standard infantry needed multiple rifle shots before going down permanently. Streams of lasers melted the bodies of dozens of unfortunate soldiers. Neuroi Tanks fired their laser cannons, turning a Mark IV and two 3 inch guns to slag in less than a second. Some of the taller bots, over 3 meters tall, used their height advantage to fire down into the trenches, targeting those manning the machine guns in autocannons, all the while the aliens drew closer and closer to the human lines, even as hundreds of their number fell to desperate human weapon fire.
A Pom-Pom blasted off a leg of one of the taller Neuroi, only for the thing to reach out and slice the gunner apart with its claw like hands. Other Neuroi entered the trenches, their arms forming sharp blades that ripped through human flesh like paper. Men discarded their rifles and wielded picks, shovels, knives, anything they could use against their opponents, and soon the trenches were covered with blood and corpses of both sides.
Attacks like this occurred across the battlefield, as the Neuroi tried to overwhelm the human lines. Luckily, reserves could be quickly moved to secure any endangered position, and within a couple of hours, the entire line was stabilized, at the cost of thousands of human lives. With the Neuroi temporarily weakened, plans were drawn up to launch a counterattack the following day, and hopefully regain the initiative.
December 1st
Frontlines, above No-Man's Land
The planes of Britannia's No. 8 Squadron flew over the battlefield, as other planes and witches broke formation to engage Neuroi flyers, the ten F.K.8s of the 8th Squadron continued on their mission. Below them, the advancing Allied forces were pinned down by Neuroi repeater laser emplacements. The major in charge of the squadron winced as he saw a tank go up in flames from a lucky shot. "Alright lads, we've got five emplacements. You know the drill, split up, two for each gun."
"Copy major, breaking off now." Five pairs of bombers veered in on their targets. The major smirked as he loosed one of his plane's four 29 kilogram bombs, as his wingman did the same. The repeater laser vanished under the power of the twin explosions. Across the field, other bombers destroyed their own targets, and the fire stopped.
"This is No. 8 Squadron to the ground-pounders out there, your way is clear, we've got your back."
The commander of the attack grinned. "Thanks for the assist Warlocks! Alright lads, over the top! Let's move!"
With a roar the infantrymen stood up from their former positions and charged, with over two dozen tanks in front of them, and the F.K.8s strafing any Neuroi bots still functioning. Bursts of artillery fire obliterated Neuroi positions marked by aircraft. Tank guns boomed and flattened squads of bots and destroyed hostile tanks with concentrated fire. Return fire destroyed two tanks and several dozen infantrymen, but the remainder continued to advance, under the cover of aircraft, over the broken wrecks of Neuroi and the bodies of their comrades from a failed assault three days ago.
One of the bomber pilots grinned. "I'd say this battle's just about won-" He was cut off as a massive laser beam tore through the Allied advance, incinerating hundreds of soldiers and a half dozen tanks.
"What in the blazes-" The major stopped speaking in horror as three Neuroi war machines rose up from the ground behind the next layer of Neuroi defenses. Each had a sphere shaped hull with a massive laser cannon on its underbelly, and several smaller ones on top, towering twenty meters above the ground on three thin, jointed legs.
He recognized it instantly. "This is No. 8 "Warlock" Squadron to any artillery available, we have three Neuroi Tripods advancing along the front line at our position, can we get any fire support?"
A call quickly came back. "Negative Warlocks, all of the big guns are currently occupied, the soonest we can give you support is in about twenty minutes."
Another volley incinerated hundreds more, their agonized screams echoing across the field and their bodies reduced to atoms, with those farther away from the blasts being burnt alive. "Sir, the men out here won't last five! We need artillery support now!"
"And so does the entire damn line, you're not the only group fighting Tripods! Unless you want to take them on yourself, you wait!"
"...Understood." He spoke to his own men. "Well, you heard him lads."
"Sir, you can't be serious, it's suicide!"
Everyone looked over the battlefield. Despite the devastating volleys from the Tripods, the survivors continued to advance, even as more volleys tore through their ranks. Fresh reserves were committed, and charged over the field. "So's what they're doing." The major whispered. "If we don't do something, every last one of those men is going to die."
The was a pause. "Lead the way sir, we'll bring those Tripods down."
"It's been an honor lads. Warlocks, follow my lead, we're going in on an attack run on the Tripods!" He looked back at his gunner, who nodded. "You worry about the Tripods, Trevor, I'll make sure no fighters take us down." He grinned and gunned his F.K.8 forward.
There were ten biplanes charging the three Tripods. Three Neuroi fighters in the shape of crescents came down to attack them. One Biplane was blown apart by laser fire, then the ten Lewis machine guns mounted on the human turrets and a half dozen human pistols blew them apart with a storm of lead.
As they got closer to the Tripods, the top guns swiveled and fired. The Biplanes dodged as best they could while staying on target, firing their front-mounted Vickers MGs the whole way. Even as four more of their number went down from fire, they moved within range, and the remaining five broke off and prpared to drop their remaining bombs.
"Ya gonna drop that bomb anytime sir?" The gunner yelled as he took out his pistol and began shooting the towering Neuroi.
"Not just yet." He muttered. While the other two Tripods had two bombers each targeting them, he was the only one hitting this one, and he only had two bombs left, having used up one of his remaining three to bomb another Neuroi gun position.
Besides, Tripods were heavily armored, and unless he hit a specific place, he doubted it would go down. The legs and body were too well armored to be brought down, but there was one sweet spot on a Tripod. He ignored the constant near-misses from Neuroi lasers and moved closer, angling his plane to drop the bombs at the right spot,... just... about... There!
He released his last two bombs, his plane jerking up from the sudden weight loss, carrying the biplane over the top of the Tripod. The first bomb blew apart a portion of the Tripod's armor protecting the major's target, clearing the way for the second bomb to land right where it was needed most. It exploded right where the legs were connected to the body, blowing two of the legs clean off, and sending the Tripod toppling down to the ground as it failed to keep balanced on a single leg.
Several more explosions wracked the other two Tripods, with one Tripod going down with a half dozen holes in its armor, and the other managing to just barely survive the bombing, only to be put down by a volley of tank gun fire, whose users had continued to advance through the murderous barrage.
Neuroi emplacements tore into the surviving Biplanes with a vengeance. Two were blown apart instantly, another caught fire and crashed messily, undoubtedly crushing the poor pilot and gunner, another almost got away when a lucky infantry bot shot managed to pierce through the thin plane's skin and kill the pilot, sending the plane tumbling down.
The major somehow managed to dodge the barrage, and limped his Biplane away, looking at the ground forces now charging through the gap in Neuroi lines, destroying anything that tried to block their way. He sighed as a message came through. "No. 8 Squadron, we managed to get you that support early, can you mark the Tripods for us?"
He winced. "Sorry sir, my squadron made a bombing run on those things, all three have been destroyed. Requesting permission to return to base."
There was sputtering from the other end of the line. "You-You boys what? You took down three Tripods, bloody hell! Yeah, bet you're all out of ammo now, you can return to base, I'll bet all the other pilots'll but every last one of you drinks for the rest of the damn month."
The major's sight blurred, his eyes felt a little wet. "I'm sorry sir, but, my plane's all that's left of the Squadron."
There was silence. "Ah, understood Major. I'll see to it that they're remembered, you can count on that."
December 3rd
It was two days later when he first saw witches in person. For the most part they kept to themselves, rarely interacting with the male military personnel. He was busy checking over his F.K.8 when they landed, still waiting for replacements for No. 8 Squadron to arrive. A small group of five witches had just landed and began chatting as they headed towards the mess hall.
"Did you see me? Seven kills today, that puts me up to 60!"
"Too bad I'm still ahead of you, I'm up to 75, just five more and I'll be right up there with Richthofen!"
"Yeah, well neither of you are gonna be catching up here, everyone says that the Neuroi are in full retreat."
"Same in Ostmark from what I hear, everything looks like the war's almost over."
"Awww, but I was so close! Why couldn't the fighting have lasted longer? I would've beaten Richthofen for sure."
"Yeah, it's a shame that it's gonna be over so soon, it's been fun."
The major saw red. His entire squadron was dead. Tens of thousands had died in a single battle of a war that had cost millions of lives, none of whom had magic to hide behind, and all this miserable... bitch could do was wish that even more were dying!? So she could have her name written somewhere as Highest Scoring Ace!? So she could have more fun!? This was the face of the famed witch flyers? A bunch of arrogant snots who saw this whole damn war as entertainment?
He was already walking towards them when he felt someone grab his shoulder, pulling him back. "Calm down major!" It was his gunner.
"Calm down Frank? Calm down after what that smug little shit said? After how she just pissed on the graves of every good man whose died in this damn war? Why don't I just go up and give them a good look at what this war's about-"
"Maloney! It ain't worth it! You know how much influence those girls have in the world? You hurt them and you'll be court-martialed if you're lucky." He sighed. "I don't like it either, but we can't do anything about it. They're witches, they live in a different world, far away from us."
The major looked back to the fading figures of the five girls, still cheerfully laughing and chatting with one another, oblivious to the other men around them. The smug, arrogant voices of those girls would be burnt into his mind.
October 6th, 1944
Early Morning
Vengeance of Japan
Everyone in the hanger looked at the new arrivals. Twelve more witches, which was nothing unique, as over the past week the Japan had become the home of hundreds of Allied airmen and witches.
No what was unique was how... professional these witches were. When people experienced with witches visualized them, they saw a group of humanity's best hope against the Neuroi... who were also so unconventional it was no wonder that they were usually separate from other groups of the military. This group, the 8492nd Squadron was absolutely professional. There was no idle conversation, no smiles, no friendly greetings, just a formal report to the Fleet Commander and they were already storing their Strikers and weapons where they were asked, all the while keeping their faces emotionless, then they left for their rooms.
Erica shuddered. "Man, those girls were creepy. Who were they anyway?"
Minna shrugged. "No idea, I've only heard rumors that they're some group of elites. People say that they make infiltration into Neuroi-occupied territory. Of course, those are only rumors." She frowned. Almost all witch squadrons were famous for one thing or another. To have only faint rumors for information on one was unusual in the extreme.
Jorges frowned, there had been something off about the way the 8492nd had acted, but he couldn't quite place it. He turned to Director Doorn. "Keep an eye on them." The Director only nodded.
Lynette walked through the hallway near the 501st's quarters, uncertain. In fact, she'd been uncertain for the past three days.
"So, are you gonna confess to her now that she's awake?"
She shook her head. But father...
" He can't try to make his own daughter unhappy, can he?"
Shirley's right, you know. Part of her mind argued.
And what about Yoshika? She argued back.
Don't worry about it. You've already confessed to her once, haven't you?
That was different, she couldn't hear me, she couldn't reject me for someone worthy. She should have someone better, someone who is stronger.
You've been strong enough for the last few weeks haven't you? Just confess!
I can't!
She put her head on the nearby wall. "What am I supposed to do?" She asked herself.
"If something wrong Lyn?" Lynette turned around and saw Yoshika moving out of her room.
"Oh, Yoshika! Uh, well..." She blushed. "It's nothing, really! Just, uh, thinking about my family. that's all!" She gave an unconvincing smile.
Yoshika blinked. "Oh, is there a problem? Can I do anything to help?"
She's so kind. Lynette thought, but quickly shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I'm just being silly that's all. Why are you up anyway? You should get some rest."
Yoshika shook her her head. She had finally recovered enough from her encounter with the Neuroi. "I wanted to thank you."
Lynette blinked. "Thank me?" What had she done that was so special that Yoshika wanted to thank her?
Yoshika blushed. "You were always there for me when I was... so weak, so thank you. And... I wanted to ask you something."
Lynette blinked. When had it gotten so hot in the ship? "What is it Yoshika?"
"Well, right after that... that fight, you were right there with me, and..." She was blushing now. "I heard you say something wonderful, and, I want to know, did you mean it?"
Now both of them were blushing, and Lynette's mind was racing. Was Yoshika really asking what she thought she was?
Don't just stand there, answer her!
B-But I don't know how to!
Don't know how to? What do you mean you don't know how to? You remember what you said to Yoshika? Now do you, or do you not love her?
Y-Yes but-
But nothing! She asked you if you meant it when you said you love her? You're not going to lie to her are you?
No, she wasn't.
"She swallowed. "I, I wouldn't lie to you Yoshika, I meant everything I said back then."
Yoshika nodded. "Good. Because..." She hesitated, then gulped, before practically leaping on Lynette, hugging her with tears leaking out of her eyes. "Because I love you to! I've loved you for months, b-but I was so scared you didn't love me back! I'm so sorry I never told you before!"
Lynette felt her own tears begin forming as she returned the hug. "No, no it's alright Yoshika. I should have told you before all this." Lynette couldn't recall ever feeling this happy before. She couldn't care less about what her father might think, or about the impending invasion of Karlsland. All that mattered was the girl in her arms.
The two closed their eyes as their lips met, forgetting all the troubles that had happened and that might happen.
Then of course, after such a moment of bliss, they had to be interrupted.
"Excuse me."
The two girls jumped apart in shock, then turned and saw an unfamiliar witch with short black hair and brown eyes wearing a Liberion military uniform looking at the two in disapproval.
"I apologize for interrupting your... session. I am Major Ashley Bernitz of the 8492nd Squadron. My squadron just arrived for the coming invasion." She began walking away, then suddenly turned around, her eyes narrowing.
"You. You are Yoshika Miyafuji, correct?"
Yoshika backed up. "Umm, yes." She nodded.
"I see." The major began walking towards her, her expressions unreadable.
Yoshika and Lynette continued back retreat, and the major continued to walk towards her calmly. "I-Is something wrong?" She stammered. The older witch ignored her.
Then suddenly Lynette found herself stepping in front of her girlfriend. "What do you want with Yoshika?" She demanded, surprised by her own, challenging voice.
The major glared down at her, and Lynette gulped and suddenly felt like a deer staring a lion in the face. All her instincts screamed at her to run. She thought about the girl behind her and stood her ground. She didn't know what this witch wanted with Yoshika, but she doubted it was good.
Bernitz swept her hand to her uniform, revealing a pistol, and put her hand to it. Lynette's mind raced. She recalled being given a magnum by the UED, and had been practically ordered to have it at all times. She hastily made motions to draw it.
"I don't believe that's needed."
Bernitz whirled around, drawing her weapon and coming face to face with Trevor Maloney.
"Now now, I do believe we're on the same side Major. I do believe I saw you and your squadron in the hanger, rather than outside, conspiring with the Neuroi. I'm Commander Trevor Maloney of the 1st Heavy Fighter Drone Squadron. I was just on my way to speak with miss Miyafuji when I heard you." His eyes narrowed. "Now I do believe you have your own duties to attend to, don't you?"
The major blinked, then put away her pistol. "You are correct." She turned back to Yoshika and Lynette, who was still standing in front of the Fusoan girl. "My apologies for my actions. I was... distracted." She quickly walked away.
Maloney shook his head. And here I was thinking I'd like witches who acted like soldiers. It turns out I bloody hate them. "Miyafuji, are you alright?"
Yoshika nodded quickly. "Yes, thank you sir, and thank you Lyn." She turned to Lynette blushing.
"I-it was nothing Yoshika." Lynette blushed, putting the magnum away.
"Yes, please, don't mention it, I have a reputation to keep." Maloney remarked. He sighed. "SRPA still doesn't want you flying, but they're content to let you go outside of the ship so long as you have someone watching you." He looked at Lynette meaningfully. "They were also fine with that someone being one of the 501st, now that they're reasonably sure you're not going to go on a killing spree." He gave a dry smile, causing the couple to blush again.
At this rate their faces were going to turn into tomatoes. Well, after the past few days he could do with something happy going on.
He began walking away, before Lynette called to him. "Wait!"
Maloney turned around. "Yes?"
Lynette gulped. "I just wanted to ask.. why are being so nice?"
Maloney sighed. "Like I told your commander, I'm still a human being, regardless of what others might think."
Lynette nodded. "You're... you're not like what I, well, anyone expected."
Maloney gave a dry smile. "To be honest, I was expecting you girls to be far different than how you've acted so far." He gave a salute. "I wish you luck. Both in relationships and war."
Lynette smiled, and saluted back.
October 14th
"Well everyone, it looks like the moment has finally arrived." Jorges and the captains gather around the map detailing Karlsland and the surrounding nations, with small dots representing massive human military concentrations of millions of soldiers.
"The invasion of Karlsland, or Operation Blacksmith, will be carried out on multiple fronts. From the west Allied forces will be making their main crossings at Arnhem and Ramagen, and push East. At the same time, a joint Orrusian and Karlsland army will tear through East Karlsland, that's Poland in our maps, and destroy the Hive in Berlin.
During all this, Venezian, Romagnan, Fusoan, Greek, and Ottoman soldiers will push up the Balkans and into Ostmark, or Austria-Hungary, while the naval forces stationed in the Baltic Sea will be conducting amphibious landings across the Northern part of Karlsland."
James Reins gave a whistle. "That's quite a lot of nations getting involved in one campaign."
Jorges smirked. "Yes, but these people have been at war for five years, so we shouldn't have to worry about another Russian Campaign."
"Pray to God we don't." Mira muttered. Everyone else agreed.
"We will be assisting Karlsland forces under Erwin Rommel, and the bulk the Free Gallian Army under Charles De Gaulle. Our target is the city of Posnania, or Poznan from our world, in East Karlsland. There's a rather large Hive there, and it'll be up to us and the witches to take it down. Good luck everyone."
Everyone but the Director left the briefing room.
"Commander, I believe you wanted reports on how we've been doing?"
"Yes, Director."
He sighed. "Very well. Excavation and securing of the Tower is proceeding smoothly, we should uncover most of the parts of the thing we need to create a portal by the end of the month at latest."
"As for finding Gray Tech." He winced, and took a cube out of his pocket.
"We found this one near the the ruins of Calais. Made an excuse to the Allies that we were scavenging for materials important to our ships. They weren't happy about it but technically we weren't lying."
Jorges' eyes widened. "So-"
"We found it, and several others where there were reportedly large Neuroi concentrations before the loss of their Hive in Gallia. Looks like they're just as eager to get them as well. We think we know where they're likely to be, and with our tech, know how to find them though, so we should have the advantage there."
"We'd best hope so. Tell the SARC teams to keep up the good work."
Across Europe the human war machine surged into action.
Hundreds of ships patrolled the coasts of Europe, ensuring that the zones for the landing parties were secure, as fleets of thousands of bombers were unleashed upon know Neuroi concentrations across the land.
In Orussia the full might of the Tsar was unleashed on the Neuroi, Millions of men and thousands of tanks charged across the fields.
In the South the Balkans were alight with fire as the united forces of six nations, from proud Fusoans to battle-hardened Greeks and Ottomans advanced to retake the rugged land.
In the North more fleets prowled the waves, with Britannian and Karlsland carriers deploying squadrons of planes and witches, as landing craft engulfed the northern coast, and men and materials poured out to attack.
In Karlsland itself massive formations of transport planes and gliders filled the skies, and entire divisions of paratroopers landed on the ground, with more touching down every minute.
And in the West, the Rhine was crossed in pontoons, ferries, and massive bridges, while the sky was secured by not just planes and witches, but by strange drones and enormous ships that cast shadows across the ground for kilometers.
All in all, over 15 million men, some say even up to 20 million, were participating in the largest campaign in the history of this world.
They came from every nation. From Liberion, from Fuso, from Britannia, from Gallia, from Greece, from Egypt, from Mexica, from Faraway Land, from Ostmark, from the Ottoman Empire, from Suomos, from Baltland, from Brazil, from South Africa, from Hispania, from from almost every nation on Earth they came. From another world, another universe, they came.
But none had so much invested in this as Karlsland.
To retake their homeland, Karlsland had hurled everything it could into Operation Blacksmith. Almost every soldier Karlsland had was going into this invasion, every plane in the Luftwaffe took off. Every witch not on research was marching or flying alongside soldiers in this attack. From the lowliest private to the Generals and Field Marshalls themselves, one thought was on all their minds.
We have returned.
Codex
Russian Campaign: The Russian Campaign occurred in 1941, two years after the rest of the world had been informed about the Chimera. The massive invasion of over 40 million men, from every nation on Earth was made to destroy the Chimera, rescue the surviving Russians, and secure as much alien technology as possible. Everyone was confident of victory.
The entire campaign was a disaster. Not only had humanity drastically underestimated the Chimera, but infighting between nations who wanted the bulk of the new technology sabotaged the entire invasion, with nations refusing to support or cooperate, and in some cases actively fighting against the forces of other nations, to the detriment of the soldiers on the frontlines. In the infamous Vladivastok Disaster, the American 2nd Ranger Regiment requested naval support against a horde of Chimeran war machines. The nearby Japanese fleet instead fired upon the 2nd Rangers. A nearby American fleet saw the action, and furiously opened fire on the Japanese, leading to an all out naval engagement and the deaths of thousands of naval personnel, along with the entire 2nd Ranger Regiment. Of the 40 million soldiers entering Russia, only half a million escaped alive. In the aftermath of this fiasco, a unified command, the United Earth Defense, was formed, and proved much more successful against the Chimera.
It is believe that if the separate armies had cooperated from the start, the Chimeran threat could have been contained in Russia. Although the war would still have been costly, there would have been far less loss of life and ecological damage. Regardless, "Russian Campaign" is now slang for a disaster caused by lack of cooperation and/or infighting between allegedly allied parties.
Warlock Mk II: The Warlock Mk II is, for the most part just a Warlock with jury-rigged UED tech and without the Neuroi Core. Armed with a single Teleforce Weapon and a pair of 20 millimeter auto-cannons. The Warlock is also capable of shifting between a hover-capable mech form and a jet form, granting it impressive versatility on the battlefield. Unfortunately, the Mk II, being a rather hastily produced design, has several flaws. First off, despite being a decent amount larger than the average fighter, it only has a slightly stronger shield, meaning a small fighter escort should be attached to avoid losing them to enemy strike craft. Also, the Teleforce Weapon is unusable in Mech form, and the autocannons can't be used in jet form. Despite these flaws, simulations show the Warlock working extremely well in its role as an anti-capital ship craft, and further refinement of the Warlock should result in a Mk III design being even more effective in combat.
Battle of Cambrai: The battle of Cambrai, taking place from November 20th to December 7, 1917, was the first battle that featured many new ways of war that humanity would adopt. The first was the usage of tanks, though these early designs too often broke or got bogged down in rough terrain. Second was the large scale usage of combined arms, with aircraft playing a key role in assisting ground troops and directing artillery. However, the most famous is the large scale usage of witches in combat. With powerful magic, the witches were able to wipe out the Neuroi air forces with ease, suffering no casualties in return, compared to normal Biplanes, which usually had to sacrifice three of their aircraft to down one Neuroi. As was proudly boasted by many after the battle: "Witches rule the skies!"
No. 8 Squadron: No. 8 Squadron of the Britannian Royal Flying Corps was an aircraft squadron designed to provide close-air-support to army troops and the ground, and spotting for friendly artillery. Among the infantry, they were renowned for their determination to support those on the ground in any way they could. It is said that every member of the Squadron participated in actions that saved the lives of thousands of infantrymen. During the battle of Cambrai, they are renowned for destroy three Neuroi Tripods, a task that normally requires heavy artillery barrages, though this victory came at the cost of all but one of the squadron's aircraft, with only their commander and his gunner surviving. Their support of the men on the ground, and in some cases near-miraculous actions earned them the nickname: Warlock Squadron.
A/N: I went back and looked over everything soooo many times.
Right so, once again, no complaining on how girls are romantically involved with other girls in my fic, I mean, come on, what difference does it make?
Next Chapter with show The Invasion of Karlsland.
By the way, I just thought of something. Trevor Maloney is an expy of Trafford Leigh-Mallory. While Lynette is supposed to be based off of a son of Billy Bishop.
Both of these people fought in the first World War, or Neuroi War in Strike Witches.
Anyone who is willing to take the idea that the two know each other, maybe as good friends, and run with it, is more than welcome to.
And here's an omake as an apology for the long wait.
Omake: Karlsland Engineering
Having nothing better to do, the three girls had decided to pass the time observing the vehicles driving down the road.
"Ugh, what's that giant castle right over there?"
The other two looked to where Shirley was pointing and saw the tank driving down the road, the Karlsland emblem clearly visible on its side.
"Huh." Gertrude sounded impressed. "A King Tiger! They're only given to the best of Karlsland's tank crews."
"Looks like a n overrated piece of junk to me." Shirley remarked.
"What!?" Gertrude was furious. "It's the pride of Karlsland engineering!"
Then everyone heard a small explosion and looks at the Tiger which was now stuck in the ground, treads and wheels rolling helplessly and with smoke coming out from every opening, as the crew frantically escaped their machine, coughing the whole way as the tank began to catch fire.
Shirley grinned. "So I can see."
"... I hate you."