STRIKE WITCHES: HEROS' RETURN: SHIRLEY'S STORY
Chapter Three
Shirley returned to her room, and poured over her books once more.
"I have to find a way to make a jet striker work for me," she said to herself. She flipped a page and found a picture of a large ruby. Under that picture were its magical properties.
"Increases magical potency?" Shirley read, her eyes widening. Suddenly, a boom sounded from outside. Shirley rushed to the window, and saw a black dot in the sky, and one of the ships anchored at the harbor was ablaze.
"I was right," Shirley whispered in dread. She went back to the book, determined to learn everything she could about the qualities of rubies.
Meanwhile, Drake was in the command room with Minna and Sakamoto.
"Another hyper-fast Neuroi has attacked. It appears to be the same model of the previous one. Either the Neuroi have developed a new model, or these are simply drones of a capital ship," Drake said.
"You said Shirley believes it's the latter, correct?" Minna asked. Drake nodded.
"Then we need to find the capital ship and destroy it, fast. Before they decide to attack as a group," Sakamoto said.
"You're right. A large group of these drones at attack speed will wipe out the entire base before we would even have a chance to strike. I'm going to send out everyone available. We need to find that capital ship now," Drake replied. He sent out a notice over the radio, and soon almost every witch had taken off, each assigned to their own special scout route.
Drake sat down, exhausted from high use of magic.
"Hopefully, that will do the trick," he said.
Yoshika, Lynne, Emily, and Perrine were in the air, scouting to the east. While Emily and Perrine had their eyes peeled for signs of the enemy, Lynne and Yoshika had their attentions on each other.
"Would you two please focus on the mission at hand?" Perrine said somewhat crossly.
"Relax Perrine, let them enjoy themselves," Emily said, flying in a lounging manner, with her hands placed behind her head and her back to the sea.
"It's not that I don't want them to be happy together, I'm glad for them. I just wish there was a little more discipline with those two," Perrine replied.
"You're starting to sound like Barkhorn with the discipline talk."
"So? She has a point, we need to take things more seriously. This isn't a game."
"That's true. But be that as it may, there is a virtue in being relaxed and playful. Look at Hartmann. She's about as carefree as you can get, yet when it matters most, she's an excellent fighter." Perrine was silent for a moment.
"I suppose you are right. There is also the fact that Miyafuji's rebellious nature often saves the day," she said.
"There you go! All you need to do is relax and take things into perspective. You'll do fine," Emily said, beaming. She looked up (or rather, down) and saw movement in the distance.
"Enemy contact!" she said, flipping right-side up and loading her gun. The other three girls did the same. Perrine took the lead, with Lynne behind her, then Yoshika, then Emily. The enemy was upon them in seconds. With their crystal-enhanced strikers however, the group managed to stay relatively on par with the Neuroi. Within minutes, they weakened and destroyed the drone. However, their respite was painfully short. In the distance - which quickly closed - not one, but five drones sped their way to the base. They didn't even bother shooting at the witches as they tore by.
"After them!" Perrine shouted, speeding towards the leader of the pack. The others followed suit. They pursued the pack, putting all their magic into speed. Try as the might though, they could not destroy their targets, for the Neuroi were dodging their attacks and staying at the very edge of the witches' firing range.
In the end, over three dozen drones attacked Pearl Harbor. The witches managed to repel most of the attacks, yet by the end of the battle, three battleships and a carrier were obliterated.
"WHERE IS THAT DAMNED CAPITAL SHIP!?" Drake roared at the scouts through the radio, as the fighting witches returned from battle.
"We don't know yet, sir. We are doing out best, please be patient," Major Grandone replied, though it was obvious she shared Drake's frustration.
"Very well. But hurry. The longer we don't know its location, the more damage that Neuroi will do," Drake said. He then cut the transmission. Leaving the room, he went to the dormitories, where he entered Eila's room. She was watching Sanya sleep.
"Wake up Sanya," Drake said, tapping the night-witch's shoulder. She awoke with a jolt.
"What do you think you're doing?" Eila said crossly.
"Doing my job," Drake snapped back.
"What's wrong Drake?" Sanya asked sleepily.
"First, you need to wake up. I'm sorry, but it's important. Second, I need you outside with the scouts. We need to find the source of these drones, now. Your magic will help greatly," Drake said. Sanya stood up, and with Eila's help, got dressed. Drake waited impatiently. Once Sanya was dressed, she and Eila followed Drake to the hangar.
"Head to the east. That's where most of them are coming from. You'll be looking for a very powerful Neuroi signature. Once you find it, report its position to the base at once. Am I clear?" Drake said, once Eila and Sanya were in the air.
"Yes sir," they replied.
Meanwhile, Shirley just finished the book on rubies. Groaning in exhaustion and boredom, she flopped on her bed.
If I can get a hold of some rubies, I'll have enough magical power to equip a jet striker safely. Then I can finish this! she thought. Quietly leaving her room, she made her way to Drake's office. She figured that would be the most likely of places to find at least one ruby. Peeking around the door to make sure Drake wasn't inside, she crept her way into the room. Quickly searching the room, she saw behind a pedestal behind Drake's chair. Set in the middle of it, were a series of baseball sized rubies.
"Damn, I wonder what other treasures he has hidden here," Shirley whispered to herself.
"More than you can carry out, I assure you."