Chapter 10: Into the Fire
Ghostrider21 back online; I'm sorry everyone and I have an explanation at the end for everything. Sorry for the wait but here you go. I do not own anything but my OCs and story, everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Previously
The man frowned as he stared at the device, "interesting but what does it me-"
"SIR!"
He turned around, "What is it now?"
"The weapon…"
The man leaped up and followed his men to the storage location for the weapon; it's control panel was lit and it was displaying a countdown. T-minus 61 days and counting.
May 11, 2018 1900 Hours- Atlantis Conference Room
Landry frowned as Vought finished speaking, "Let me get this straight colonel; you lose a Mark IX, you can't find it and your first response to this is to activate it even when you know the weapon is unstable. In what world is that ok?"
Sheppard watched as the colonel thought up a response, "Sir with all due respect, you weren't there. You had no idea what was going on; I took a gamble and it seemed to work. The weapon did not detonate itself upon receiving the signal and at that point in time, we had no idea if it even worked. We had no idea how to track the weapon and frankly sir, we had lives to save." The calm expression of his face and Ross's was all Sheppard needed to know that they were right. He turned to the two generals as they silently discussed this turn of events. Jean was still by the colonel's side as she too stared at them. He smirked as O'Neill sighed and turned back to them.
"It seems colonel that Landry here believes that I would have behaved the same way had I been in your position. Though I'm not sure where he got that idea." Everyone in the room smirked at this as the SGC personnel all recalled different instances in which the grizzled general… acted up. "So I'm going to let it slide as long as you didn't murder defenseless thousands."
They all dropped their smirks at this declaration, "Personally though, I would have given them a day or so; not enough time for them to come up with a response." They all stared in disbelief as he closed his eyes and shrugged. He glanced at his watch, "Alright you know what? I'm going to call it a night." He looked at Vought, "And I'm going to give you guys the weekend off though I expect you to get right back to the debriefing first thing on Monday. Is that understood?"
They all glanced at the general; surprise on their faces. Vought blinked, "Uh yes sir; completely understood."
"Good, dismissed." He gathered his belongings as he and Landry stood up; the shutters opening behind them. As the left, the customary group of eavesdroppers scattered in alarm as the two headed towards the gate; ready to be beamed up by the next passing ship. Everyone watched as the Jack winked and threw all of them a one handed salute as the two of them vanished.
The moment they left everyone swarmed into the conference room and began asking questions only to be stopped by Sheppard.
"Alright guys give them some space. They've had a rough… they've been gone for a while so let them take a few days to decompress," he grinned at them, "then you can grill them all you want."
The gathered dispersed as Vought glared at him, "Seriously John?"
The group watched as Sheppard grinned and shrugged, "Whatever Chris, I'm trying to help you out. Jean it was nice meeting you, Ross it's good to see you again, and I'm going to get dinner." With that he walked out with McKay, Zelenka, and Beckett following.
The remaining three smiled as they left before two turned to the other. Jean hugged him, "Lighten up love, he just messing with you."
Ross grinned as he watched the two embrace each other; the action causing him to remember something, "Hey guys? You think she woke up yet?"
The two froze and went pale as they turned to him, "Oh shit I forgot about her… she is going to kill me."
Geena shook her head as she buried her face in Chris's chest, "No she's going to kill me first," she mumbled out.
Vought laughed nervously as he glanced at his wife, "Nah she's probably still asleep. Right Matt?"
Ross grinned nervously back as he rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, you're probably right. Ha ha ha…" his laughing died out as a technician approached them with a radio.
"Uh Col. Vought?"
Chris blinked, "Yes?"
He held out the radio, "Um Dr. Keller said someone else was awaking and she wanted to know how to deal with her."
"Her!?" The three yelled in alarm as Vought grabbed the radio, "Keller what is it?"
The sound of breaking glass and girlish screams blared from the radio followed by a very annoyed voice, "WHERE IS HE?!"
The three gulped and went pale again as they dropped the radio and raced for the infirmary.
May 11, 2018 1900 Hours- Atlantis Infirmary
Dr. Keller walked among the sleeping members of the Borealis; stopping to check on their vital signs as she walked by. Since Beckett had abandoned her to follow Col. Vought around, she was left alone with the orderlies. Walking by a bed, motion of the occupant got her attention.
"Hello there, I'm Dr. Keller. Do you know where you are?" She asked the bleary eyed occupant as she began to glance around; attempting to identify her surroundings. Blinking, she finally locked eyes with the smiling face of Dr. Keller; a frown on her face as she struggled to speak.
"What was that ma'am I didn't quite catch that?"
Keller choked as a hand grabbed her shirt collar, "I said "where is he?"" she rasped out.
May 11, 2018 1914 Hours- Atlantis Infirmary
"Oh shit oh shit oh shit there is no way she is already causing trouble," Vought stated as the three of them made it to the infirmary door; security teams and the sound of a scuffle was what greeted them. He beckoned for the teams to put their weapons down as he opened the door; a beaker exploded near his head. He ducked before he peeked into the bay and sighed at a familiar sight.
"I thought I told you that wasn't the way to treat people Princess?"
Major Heinrike Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein spun around as she dropped her hold on Dr. Keller's collar; her tail and ears dropped as her blood red antenna faded away, "Chris…" she whispered as she lunged at him and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. She sobbed into his chest as he smiled and patted her on the back.
"Shh it's alright; you're safe now. We're all finally safe," He cooed as he rubbed her back. Jean walked in and smiled at the sight as she too walked over and hugged her; Ross leaned against the doorway and grinned.
Ross waved off the security teams as Beckett and Zelenka walked in; Beckett looked around in horror, "What in the bloody hell did you do colonel?!"
Vought looked up as she finally stopped crying and pulled away; a light blush visible on her face as she refused to make eye contact. "Sorry Beckett, it seems my little sis woke up on the wrong side of the bed again." Heinrike huffed as Vought gave her an amused glance. She looked at the ground before looking at Keller and Beckett, "Sorry ma'am for attacking you and sorry sir for making a mess," she sighed, "I'll clean it up."
The SGC personnel watched amused as the young blond pouted like a little girl as the colonel messed up her hair. Beckett frowned as he realized what Vought said, "Oy colonel, you don't have a sister; or any siblings for that matter."
Vought shrugged as he looked down at the blond witch who finally dismissed her familiar, "True but you know… Heinrike and I just sorta clicked; she's like the sister I never wanted," he took an elbow to the stomach, 'Cough,' "fine, never had."
"So when did this happen?" Zelenka asked from the side.
The two looked at each other before turning to the doctor and shrugging, "beats me Doc, it just sort of happened."
Geena smiled and giggled as she hugged her again; Heinrike kept a straight face as she was crushed by her.
Matt shook his head again as he finally moved and began picking up the larger pieces of glass with the others soon following suit.
May 11, 2018 2019 Hours- Atlantis West Pier
He watched amused as the two women looked around in awe of the city with the lights lit against the dark sky; a storm visible on the horizon. His expression turned to concern, "How are you two feeling? You don't feel sick at all do you?"
The two turned to him and shook their heads, "We're good Chris; our magic is keeping us intact. Besides if we wanted to we could go back to visit right?"
His expression brightened as he sighed, "Yes, yes we can. Just not right now." He looked up at the sky, "I think I've had enough of jumping around for a while."
The two nodded as they leaned against him and stared up at the sky. Jean looked around again, "So where exactly are we? I know we're on Atlantis, on Earth, but where is here?"
Vought smirked as he threw his thumb over his shoulder, "San Fran is about 250 miles that way. The city is technically in international waters but… since we found it and we have the presence here she is part of the SGC and by relationship, U.S. property."
"But what about the rest of the world?"
He looked to his right at Heinrike, "Well the Stargate is still classified information; only a couple of countries know it exist and the number of people that know are in the low hundreds. So unless something happened in the time that we were gone, the project in still secret and this place and currently you two, do not exist."
The two glanced curiously at the amused grin on his face and they shook their heads in wonder. He looked at them again, "Soon guys we can go explore; if my house is still mine, we can go take a look. First we need the rest of the crew to wake up. I refuse to be away when and if they awaken."
The two nodded in agreement, they had been through too much with the men and women they served with. Vought stood up, "Alright then ladies let's get to bed; I have a feeling having the day off is going to be interesting." He helped both of them to their feet, "Heinrike, as much as I know you're not going to like it Beckett wants you to stay in the infirmary overnight." He watched as she began to grind her teeth before she took a deep breath and sighed.
"…Alright then Chris, just make sure to get me first thing in the morning. I have a feeling Dr. Keller may be a little upset with me."
Chris and Jean grinned at each other before glancing back at her, "Noooo… what gave you that idea?"
She rolled her eyes as she huffed and stomped off; the other two followed her.
May 12, 2018 0845 Hours- Mess Hall 2, Central Spire
He leaned back in a chair as he flicked through his newspaper, the other occupants of the hall enjoying their breakfast for the day. The conversations quieted slightly as the door to the room opened and closed; the conversations returned to their previous volume. The reader sighed but refused to put down his paper as a group stopped in front of him; the two with him glanced curiously at the newcomers before looking to the reader who continued to ignore them.
"So… you going to say hello or are you going to keep ignoring us?"
The two with him watched as he smirked before folding his paper and dropping it on the table exposing his guest. "Hey Cam, how's it going?" Chris smirked as he stood up to give Colonel Cameron Mitchell a quick hug. "Teal'c," he shook his hand as the Jaffa in question nodded. Chris turned to the remaining two; he shook the hand of one of the others, "Daniel." Dr. Daniel Jackson smiled as he returned the handshake before he turned to the last and frowned and held out his hand, "Va-" he began before she wrapped him in a hug. Heinrike watched nervously as Geena began clench and unclench her hand before she took a deep breath and smiled at her husband's interactions.
Chris froze up as Vala Mal Doran continued her hug before releasing him and stepped back to a facepalming Dr. Jackson, SG-1 watched as he nervously turned to the two women at the table with him.
"So dear… you going to introduce us or not?" Jean spoke slowly and carefully with a grin on her face causing Chris to pale considerably.
He gulped before he turned back to them, "R-right, SG-1 this is my wife Jean and this is Heinrike." He spoke as he pointed them out, he turned back to the others as the two stood up and walked up to them; he pointed to them, "This is Col. Cameron Mitchell, Teal'c, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Vala Mal Doran; they are SG-1."
The two witches lit up in understanding as they remembered everything that Chris had told them of this legendary team. They shook hands as Mitchell turned to Chris, "Wait married? You? Can't be… no one can put up with you."
Chris dropped his head and sighed as the others laughed at him, "Whatever at least I AM married… unlike some people."
The colonel shrugged as he responded, "Whatever I haven't found the right women yet." He turned to Jean, "I hope you didn't have to settle for him… he's a bit… strange," he finished with a grin that caused the others to laugh again and the other colonel to start moping.
The laughter stopped as Jean shook her head and gave Chris a small kiss on the cheek, "While he is different I did not settle for him."
May 12, 2018 0911 Hours- Gym, East Pier
"So you're a 302 pilot like Chris?"
"Yep I was even in the Battle of Antarctica when we found the Ancient outpost. I was one of the best until he… came along." Mitchell pointed an accusing finger at Chris as the group walked into the gym; stopping at Chris's reactions to the occupants. They watched as the tallest in the room stood up and began to walk towards them; he held a stick out pointing at him, "You are sparring… now," he stated as he threw a pair of the sticks to him.
Chris looked around nervously as he caught the batons, "I…well…can't… I just woke up…"
Heinrike looked to Mitchell, "Why is he freaking out like this?"
He looked down to her with a lopsided grin on his face, "Well that is Ronan Dex; Chris's old sparring partner from Pegasus. He was one of Col. Sheppard's team members along with her." He pointed at the Athosian walking towards them.
Mitchell stepped back as Telya began to introduce herself to the two witches. Mitchell turned to Teal'c as Vought nervously began to stretch, "twenty bucks says Ronan gets his ass kicked."
The former first prime shook his head, "I believe you are wrong Mitchell, I will place twenty dollars on Ronan."
Mitchell nodded as he shook Teal'c's hand, "Deal; prepare to lose my friend, prepare to lose."
May 14, 2018 0900 Hours- Atlantis Conference Room
Walking into the room O'Neil sighed as he noticed the number of listeners had increased… again; Landry just smiled and looked to his superior as Jack glanced around with an unamused expression. Both generals raised an eyebrow at Col. Vought's beat up appearance; A glance to the content look on Dex's face answered the two's questions. Landry and O'Neil sat down and stared at the ruffled colonel, his amused wife, and another young lady they did not know. The silence continued, "Well colonel, you going to introduce her or not. I've got a sche-"
Everyone turned to the entrance to the room as the shutters were over-ridden and a lanky, messy-haired young man stumbled in and stared at Chris. Everyone watched astonished as the individual raised his hand and pointed directly at the colonel, "YOU… where are they?"
Everyone turned to the colonel as he blinked and tried to respond, "Uh hey Jon… good to see you too."
As Chris continued to watch the man named Jon, Jean turned to Ross, "Who's that?"
Ross smirked and shook his head as he watched the two generals observe Jon chewing his superior out; he turned back to Jean and Heinrike who joined in as well, "That, is Dr. Jonathan Masters. He is the… uh was the President of Sky Masters Inc. and is their chief scientist. Most of our tech on the ship was designed and built by him and I have a feeling I know what he's here for."
Jean turned back to Chris as he finally responded, "Alright Masters CALM, DOWN, geez, I have no idea what you're talking about."
Masters finally blinked and realized what he had done; glancing around he realized he had interrupted something and was trying to recover the situation. "Uh hey General O'Neill, General Landry… uh sorry for the interruption…"
O'Neill put his face back on the table as Landry shook his head, "it's fine Dr. Masters, I'm assuming you're here for the CIDs correct?"
Masters nodded as he turned back to the colonel, "Heh… sorry colonel… got a little ahead of myself there… it's good to see you again and I'm glad you're ok. SO about the CIDs…"
Both generals glanced back to Vought and Ross as the later pointed back to the colonel. Vought cleared his throat as he looked at Masters, "Well… the good news is -7 survived."
"What happened to -8?"
"Completely destroyed."
Masters sighed as he dipped his head, "Well there goes another one…" he looked up, "Where's -7?"
Vought turned to McKay who shrugged; he turned back to the doctor, "Well unless the Jumper Bay vented it to the atmosphere, it should still be on the ship."
Masters nodded, "And where's the ship?"
McKay spoke up, "The Alpha Site."
"Alright then," he turned to the two generals, "when can I go pick up my equipment? Your contract with us has ended and we kinda need it back."
O'Neill nodded, "Of course, you can go," he looked at his watch, "when the colonel finishes his debriefing. Since you're here you might as well sit in," he beckoned to the dwindling number of seats.
Masters sighed as he pulled out a tablet and his ever present squeeze bottle of Pepsi, and sat down. O'Neill waited as he situated himself before he turned back to the colonel, "Now colonel, who is she?"
Heinrike stood up, "Good morning gentlemen, I am Heinrike Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. A former Major of Karlsland and a night attack witch." She continued standing as O'Neill and Landry gave Vought a look.
"Hm… so you brought another one with you…" O'Neill deadpanned.
As he continued to stare at the colonel, Mitchell turned to Sheppard, "So what's a witch and what does he mean by another one?"
Sheppard grinned as he pointed at her, "Watch and learn."
"So ma'am if you're one of these witches, can you still use your abilities?" Landry asked.
SG-1, Ronan, Teyla, and Masters all watched, amazed as she nodded and began to glow. As the glow subsided, the ears and tail of a black cat had sprouted from her. While she stood there, a green, crown-shaped form appeared above her forehead; the color of it jumped between green and pink as she tried to ignore the stares.
Mitchell and Jackson turned back to Sheppard who just shrugged and grinned, "Explain now," Mitchell demanded.
"Indeed," Teal'c responded with his eyebrows raised. Masters was about to chime in when his tablet beeped indicating it had received a file. Glancing up he noticed McKay was nodding at him to open it. Opening he discovered files pertaining to Vought's debriefing so far so without further ado, he dug in and began absorbing the data at an incredible rate.
Landry and O'Neill glanced at each other before they turned back to the colonel and the witch. A nod to Heinrike got her to dismiss her familiar and to sit back down next to Jean, "Alright colonel back to business."
The projector and his log came back to life behind him as he stood up, "Roger that sir."
November 6, 1945 0612 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room
Vought glanced around at his men; the witches were still asleep or unaware that this meeting was taking place. He flicked through the plans that they had laid out on the table in front of him. "Alright then… who is in favor of the three prong attack?"
He watched as most of them raised their hands and he nodded. It had been nearly two months since the first hive had been destroyed and they had sent the activation signal to the missing nuke. Between the Jumper teams and Galland's men, they had narrowed the errant weapon to one of two locations in Africa, near Tangier or near the Suez Canal. In the meantime, two more hives had been destroyed; the one near the Black Sea and the one near the Sphinx in Egypt. Reports were saying that the base may be hidden in some ruins near the canal; the ship might have even flown over it, they had no idea…yet. Vought looked over the reports from Hives destruction as the crew bickered over the plan for the coming days; they did not have much time till first light.
Preddy had been grounded… permanently or at least until the higher ups determined whether or not she was a liability. No amount of complaining from Minna or Adolfine and no request from Vought and the crew was making them budge on their decision. Geena was discouraged to say the least and had been extremely quiet for the past few days and she had been avoiding everyone. Vought had a plan though and a little treat for the rest of the witches. He shook his head as everyone turned to him.
"Alright then we can only spare four Jumpers so that means I am releasing 80 men for duty. That's 40 per assault." He looked at his men carefully, "I'm authorizing both CIDs for duty and I want at least half of both teams wearing Tin Man armor," he turned to Sokolov, "We don't have time to convert the interface into Russian so at least half of the teams are going to be American."
Vitaly nodded, "Understandable." He stood up, "I will be leading the attack on the El Hoceima base and I will be taking CID -7."
Vought nodded as he turned back to the others, "The second group will be commanded by Capt. Thompson."
The Marine in question blinked in response, "Uh sir? You sure you're alright with that?"
Vought nodded, "I trust you captain, you're a damn fine Marine; you will do fine." He looked around the room, "Both teams are being assigned one technician to disarm the weapon when it is found." He sighed as he looked at the table before he looked back up, "If it comes to it that the weapon can't be disarmed, the plan is to hook it to a Jumper and get it as far out to sea as possible before dropping it. I pray that it doesn't come to this. The mission launches in 24 hours so gather your assigned teams and prep for combat; Dismissed." As the room cleared Vought found himself alone with two others. He looked at one, "Yes Alexei I know you want to do something but we don't have time to drop off any of the tanks. The teams will just have to make do with mortars and rockets."
Maj. Volkov frowned as he nodded, "Understood полковник… do we not have any means of air-transporting them?"
Vought stood there thinking, "Well… not at the moment… we may be able to modify a Jumper to carry one… I'll have Lansby look it." He looked back to the major, "Sorry my friend but I'll make sure you get action next time." He watched him nod as he left leaving just two. Vought turned to the remaining man, "Well Ross we are cutting it close aren't we?"
CDR Ross nodded, "We are but I think we can do it."
Vought gave him an unamused stare, "Think huh?"
Ross nodded sheepishly, "Well… we do only have a buffer of 24 hours here in the event the weapon was armed."
Vought sighed as he looked away, "I know… it took too damn long to find it."
Ross put a hand on his shoulder, "We've got this sir it will all work out in the end."
He looked at his XO, "Thanks Matt."
Ross grinned, "Don't worry about it sir, anytime. Now don't we have some witches to help?"
Vought grinned as well, "I have an idea; it will be done today and I'm sure it will break everyone out of this funk. Now where is Grant?"
November 6, 1945 0830 Hours- 501st JFW
"So…" Minna looked around at everyone gathered for breakfast; no one really wanted to speak. It had been that way since they learned that Maj. Preddy had been grounded. She sighed; she hated seeing her witches like this. She turned to her XO, "Mio… any ideas?"
Maj. Sakamoto turned to her and shrugged, "…I'd say training but… I don't think that would really work. Beach training again maybe?"
"…Maybe…"
The 501st was bored and that wasn't settling very well with Mio or the others. The crew from the other reality was bringing them on every mission with them but they were way too efficient at destroying the Neuroi. The battle above the Sphinx had lasted only 15 minutes. Minna didn't know what to do when the door opened, "Col. Vought… good morning sir what can we do for you?"
All the witches in the room turned to the door curiously, "Thanks Minna, actually are you guys busy right now?"
Minna looked to Mio before turning back to him, "Uh no… we were deciding what our plans for the day was. Why do you ask?"
Everyone watched the grin on his face grow larger, "Excellent… would you all please follow me."
Everyone turned to Minna as they waited for her orders, "Uh… I guess so then colonel. What is this about?"
He beckoned for them to follow as he responded, "Since you girls have helped us out so much, we figured we'd do something for you."
All the witches stood up and began following him out; they were extremely curious at this statement. What could they possibly do for them?
Outside-Runway
Outside, the 501st was greeted by… the witches from the ship and a single Jumper parked on the runway. Shirley blinked, "Oh hey Carl. How's it going?"
Capt. Grant looked up from his inspection of the ship, "Oh hey Shirley; Ladies; What's up?"
All of the witches gave him a sideways glance as they turned back to Vought, "Colonel… what is going on?"
Foss nodded as well, "What she said."
The colonel glanced around at the gathered witches; his eyes lingered on the still downtrodden Preddy before turning back to Minna, "I will explain everything soon now let's all get onboard."
15 minutes later over the Adriatic
After confirming that Grant was continuing his previous course, Vought entered the rear bay, "Alright ladies, you wanted answers, well here they are." He looked at the curious faces of the 16 gathered witches. Marseille had returned to her unit in Africa to help move the no longer required Afrika group to help Europe. She had sworn that she would return to help see this through to the end. He continued his explanation, "We've had a rough few months I know that and I'm sorry for it." Everyone glanced at Preddy as she continued to stare at him, "That is why we decided we should do something to maybe get you ladies out of this funk." A knock on the bulkhead separating the two sections of the Jumper caused his grin to grow yet again, "And that is why we decided to do this," He beckoned them all to the door as it slid open; the sight caused them all to gasp.
The sky through the window was black and the stars were extremely bright. The Jumper had reached Low-Earth orbit and showing the blackness of space to the young women of this reality. Over their shoulders Vought smiled, "Welcome to space ladies, you are all officially astronauts now. Congratulations."
Foss turned to the amused colonel; shock visible on her face, "Uh whaaaat!?"
"Just what I said," Foss turned back to the window as the witches all crowded into the cockpit. Vought sighed in relief at seeing Preddy finally showing a smile on her face as she stared in awe. Noticing the same thing, Grant nudged the ship around so the girls could see their planet. They gasped once again as the Earth filled the window.
Grant grinned as he looked to Yeager, "Hey Shirley, guess how fast we're going."
Yeager tore her gaze away from the window as she looked to Grant, "… What hm… I have no idea."
Grant turned the chair around as he looked right at her; a few of the nearby witches looked at him as well as he told her, "Well… we are currently moving… around 27,000 KPH."
Vought had to bite his tongue to stop from laughing; Shirley's eyes had glazed over as her mind struggled to process that speed. Lucchini was shaking her trying to get her to snap out of it. Minna smiled as she turned to Vought, "I think you may have broken her."
Vought grinned as Minna looked back outside; he turned around and began to put on some boots he had stored onboard. By the time he had finished, the girls were starting to snap out of the trance produced by being in space for the first time. They began to question Grant about where they were and high they were as Vought began to mess with the control panel in the back compartment.
"So we are pretty high now aren't we?"
Grant turned to Kostilev, "We are," he turned to the instrument panel as the HUD displayed the data he was looking for, "at an altitude of 300 km over the planet."
Everyone stared at the display as it modified itself to show their current altitude, speed, and orbit. Grant turned to Eila as she spoke up, "The highest Sanya and I have ever been was 33 km and that was a challenge in itself."
"33 km huh… why were you up so high… and how the hell did you get up that high anyway?"
Mio answered for her, "There was a Neuroi from the Venezian hive, about 2 months before your ship showed up. It was a single extra-large type that was 33,333m tall. The core was unfortunately at the very top."
Grant whistled as he tried to imagine a target that size.
"As for how we got those two up there, we had a staggered launch using special magic ether rockets. We carried them up to altitude."
Grant turned to the two, "Alright then how did you survive up there then?"
"Well we dressed warmly and had to constantly create a magic barrier to prevent ourselves from suffocating."
Grant nodded; clearly impressed, he modified the display to show the difference in altitudes. Sanya studied the display carefully; she was interested in this information. Out of curiosity, she activated her magic and began trying to see if she could detect any signals from this high up. Noticing what she was doing, Heinrike did the same. It was at this point in time that Gertrude finally noticed that Vought was still in the back of the ship just watching them with a clearly amused expression.
"What are you wearing sir?"
The witches turned around to see Vought standing in the middle of the bay wearing metal boots and a large… thing on his arm. He looked down at his boots, "What? Haven't you ever seen boots before?"
The other witches giggled as Barkhorn went red, "Yes but… why are they metal?"
He shrugged, "Why don't you come here and find out?"
She shrugged as she took a step into the rear, only to hit her head on the ceiling; she looked down at the deck clearly confused. Hartmann stared at her jealously, "Not fair Trude, how are you flying without your striker?"
Gertrude floated there in the air trying to figure out how to move around; she looked at Hartmann upside-down, "I-I don't know. I don't know how to get down from here." Somebody then grabbed her shirt and flipped her right-side up and held her feet to the ground. She turned to find the still amused Vought standing right behind her, "having fun yet captain?"
She looked at him, still confused on how he wasn't floating around as well. He smirked as he tapped the device on his arm causing him to begin floating off the deck. He pushed off and rolled in the air before planting his feet on the ceiling once again hitting the device on his arm. His feet stuck the ceiling with a 'thunk'. Gertrude found herself face to face with the upside-down colonel before she started to float again, "I disabled the artificial gravity back here so you ladies could get the full experience of being in space and that means experiencing zero gravity." He gave Gertrude a light push towards the rear of the Jumper as he walked along the ceiling towards the front. He held out his hand to Erica who was jumping up and down; excited to fly without her striker.
After Vought pulled Erica through the opening, the other girls quickly followed. He flipped around again and entered the forward section and leaned against the door frame as he watched the witches have fun. He and Grant were extremely relieved that Geena was finally laughing and having fun again. He watched them before the console beeped alerting him to a radio call. Grant sent the message to Vought as he reached for his earpiece, "Go ahead."
"Sir the assault teams have finished prepping and loading. They are requesting permission to disembark and begin setting up for the assaults."
"Roger Borealis tell the teams they have a go. Tell them to go get set up."
"Understood."
He turned to Grant, "What do you think captain? You think we can pull this off?"
Grant nodded as he looked at his superior, "I think so sir; we've got this and ain't no one going to stop us."
"Good to know captain, good to know."
Unbeknownst to the two, Mio and Yoshika had overheard the whole conversation. Not wanting to let the two know that they had been eavesdropping, they began to move away from the door only to find the colonel turning to look at them. Unsure what to do Mio re-entered the cockpit, dragging Yoshika with her.
"What can I do for you two?
Remembering something Mio spoke up, "Well sir during our attack on the Venezian hive, you used a weapon that made no sound. What was that?"
Vought turned to Grant who shrugged; he turned back to the two, "Well that was a Lancelot ABM."
"A-B-M?" Yoshika sounded it out; she tilted her head, "what's that?"
Vought smirked at her, "ABM stands for Anti-Ballistic Missile. We use them to shoot down nuclear weapons. As for the warhead… all I'm allowed to say is that it was a plasma weapon."
Mio blinked, "plasma?"
He nodded, "plasma, like the center of that." He pointed out the window at the sun. As the two stared at him and the sun, he continued, "The weapon works better up here than in atmosphere but it is an extremely precise weapon. All I can add is that it just converts matter; it does not explode or destroy anything and thus, no sound." He frowned and threw his hands up as he looked at Mio, "sorry but that is really all I'm cleared to give you."
Mio gave the colonel her one eye smile as she nodded, "That does just fine colonel; thank you for telling us what you could." She turned to Yoshika, "Come on Miyafuji, I think I can find a way to turn this into some training."
The two men watched the witches goof off in the back; the looks on the witches' faces let Vought and Grant know that what they were doing here was right.
November 7, 1945 0430 Hours- Assault Group 1, El Hoceima
"What do you have lieutenant?"
"I've got six tanks, two mobile triple-A, numerous MG nest and numerous patrols."
"Send me a visual."
"Streaming now sir."
Sokolov analyzed the situation on his tablet via the backpack launched drone from the CID hiding near the base. The sight of the robot nearly caused his men to attack it; after all of the actions the US had done in secret with these robots, especially Scion Aviation, made all of the Russian units nervous. Vitaly was just relieved he wasn't fighting one.
"Hm… four Matildas, two Pz IVs, two Ostwinds, and at least four MG42 nest." He turned to the American beside him, "Tell the mortar crews to drop their first shells on those MGs. The Tin Men are to deal with the tanks." The soldier nodded as he began to relay the commands to the teams. He watched as the tablet updated with the current locations of his forces; it was almost time to act. He checked his watch as he grabbed his radio, "lieutenant, once the tanks are eliminated, I want you to deal with the infantry teams. You will have sniper and mortar fire for cover."
"Roger that sir although I honestly don't think I'm going to have many issues with these guys."
"Still it is best to keep alert; never underestimate your opponent." He turned back to the American, "what is the status of team 2?"
The soldier looked up from his map, "Delayed sir, they ran into a storm and diverted around it. They won't be set up for another hour or two."
Sokolov glanced at his watch, "Говно! Not good, team 2 will need to assault in broad daylight, or wait till tonight… we can't attack now… we need to wait and pray we have time." "Everyone stand down, go back into hiding. The assault is being moved to tonight; team 2 was delayed. Everyone sight your weapons and get ready to move." He took a breath as he looked to the radioman, "Tell the colonel the attack has been delayed."
November 7, 1945 0830 Hours- Borealis Bridge, Adriatic Sea
"…Shit… what now what now… can't turn around we have a deadline to meet. These people have set up a counterattack and we just can't abandon them. Need a plan now!" Vought thought to himself as he flew the ship northward. Communicating with the Allied command in London, the forces of this world were mobilizing near the hives in a pattern. The first group would be ready in a matter of hours as the ship reached Nuremberg. The plan was to take out the Nuremberg hive, then the Prague hive and loop around into Russia, sorry Orussia, to take out the hive in Novgorov. Only then could they push on the final few hives in around Berlin. Vought and the crew had realized a problem though; even with the ability to use the drones again, the ship had a finite amount. The core could not make more because to this day, they had been unable to find the plans for the drones in the Ancient database on Atlantis. This meant it was time for some… unconventional tactics.
He snapped out of his thoughts as the bridge door opened, "Ladies."
Von Bonin and Preddy entered the bridge to find it devoid of a certain imposing figure; Huberta spoke, "Where is Col. Sokolov?"
Preddy nodded as well, "Come to think of it there seems to be quite a few people missing… where did they all go?"
Vought pretended not to hear as he whistled innocently; making sure the chair kept him facing away from the witches. To make it look like he was busier than normal, he pulled up some displays and he pretended to study them. The girls looked to Ross as spun around to find the colonel trying to ignore their question; he smiled nervously and grinned as he looked at them, "Uh well hey ladies… the witches ready?"
The two witches stared at him making him nervous; none of them noticed the rest of the bridge crew sneaking out of the room.
"So Sokolov and the others?" von Bonin asked again.
"…Uh…"
The witches heard Vought sigh as the displays disappeared and he spun the chair around to face them; he looked to his right, "Serenity?"
The AI appeared in a flash of light, "I've got the ship colonel."
Nodding Vought stood up as the chair deactivated, "Sokolov and the others are on a mission to retrieve the missing weapon." He waited for their response and he didn't have to wait long.
"Colonel I thought we were in on this TOGETHER! We are a team; we need to act like one." Huberta yelled as she shook her head, "I thought we were over this hiding important information from each other."
Preddy looked at him, "I thought you trusted us?"
Vought sighed again as he looked to Ross who looked dejected as well, "We do trust you… but this is payback for those bastards that attacked us… there is something else as well." He walked to a nearby console and activated the internal comms, "Minna, Mio, Joe, Heinrike, Lansby, and Volkov; Briefing Room now." He turned back to the girls but refused to make eye contact, "Come on you two, you're getting an explanation."
November 7, 1945 0902 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room
The witches reeled in their chairs as the crew finished their explanation; Joe and Minna shared a glance as the latter finally found her voice, "You're telling us that… that this weapon, which is capable of wiping out an entire city… is armed and is going to detonate in a matter of hours?" Preddy and Sayn-Wittgenstein stared silently at the colonel as he sat back in his chair and nodded.
"Why didn't you tell us… any of us?"
"We did tell someone… Adolfine knew and told us to proceed," Lansby stated quietly from the back.
Vought looked up again looking years older, "This is payback ladies… for what these assholes did to us, to you and your base." He made eye contact with everyone in the room, "I don't expect any of you to forgive us for deceiving you all again but this had to be done and it had to be done now and our way." He stood up and began to walk to the door, "Everyone is dismissed… I need to get back to flying."
The crew watched as the witches silently filed out of the room; after they left Ross turned, "Well we really screwed the pooch on that one didn't we?"
Lansby adjusted his glasses, "We did but we had a reason… the colonel is just trying to protect them. He doesn't want them to see what we've had to put up with for years. This really and truly sucks."
"да the doctor is correct… as are you Росс, it will be a miracle if they ever trust us again," he sighed, "I guess that means we just need pray that the полковник and the others succeed in their mission."
Ross nodded, "They'll succeed, don't worry," He glanced at the door and sighed, "We need to leave as soon as possible; for the sake of these girls and this reality, we need to leave before we scar them for good."
Just Outside
Heinrike glanced at Mio and Joe as she dismissed her antenna; the three of them had heard the whole thing and they were shocked. Despite the fact that they were pissed at these people from hiding something from them again, they were beginning to understand why.
"We need to tell the others."
Mio nodded at Joe, "Indeed we do come on."
Jumper Bay 2
"They're doing all this to protect us?" whispered Yoshika as Mio and the others explained what they had heard. The 501st and the ships contingent of witches had been given the bay for the duration of the ships attack. It was here that they lounged or trained as they prepared for combat.
"That's absurd; we're soldiers, why would they need to protect us from them?" Barkhorn asked.
"It must have to do with the way the deal with wars and combat. Remember what they showed us from WWII." Minna stated as she mulled over this new information. Geena and Heinrike looked at each other before they looked at the ground; dejected that they treated their friends like that.
"There's one way we can find out," Foss said out loud as she glanced around at the others.
"And how's that?"
"Serenity"
With a burst of light the Lantean AI appeared near Foss startling the 501st; they had yet to meet her. "What can I do for you Miss Foss?"
Serenity 'stood' there calmly as most of the witches continued to stare at her; Francesca went as far as putting her hand through her stomach. They all turned to Foss, "Do you have any…movies or videos of combat from your reality?"
Realizing what they had at their disposal, the witches turned to the AI as she nodded, "I have several thousand saved in my database; would you like me to play them?"
Foss nodded.
"Please make your way to the nearest monitor," she motioned towards the wall as it split open revealing a large screen. She waited as the witches crowded around it before she vanished and began to display the videos.
The girls watched as various windows popped up and began to play, some were in a news format and the others it seemed were from some soldier's helmets. One of the news reports showed a tank with the US flag driving though a sandy village as men and what looked like children ran from nearby buildings and began shooting indiscriminately into the air and at the tank; they watched as a rocket hit the tank and skip off into a nearby building. The tank's machinegun on it's roof rotated and began to fire back as a truck screeched around the corner and slammed into it blowing itself and the tank up; the camera wielder was knocked over from the force of the blast.
Another window showed a group of soldiers creeping through a village in formation, clearing windows, doors, and alleys as they passed. Reaching a door they watched as one of the soldiers tapped another on the soldier, that soldier shouldered a shotgun and stacked up in front of the door. As the soldier was given an order, he fired the shotgun into the door hinges and kicked it in, spinning as another threw a grenade into the room. The girls watched as instead of an explosion, the room was filled with a blinding light and as it faded the soldiers rushed the room, weapons drawn as they captured then men inside. Shirley covered Francesca's eyes as another man rushed the room and began firing riddling two of the soldiers and dropping them where they stood. As the men fired back at the man one of the men they had secured, rolled over exposing a gray block. They watched in horror as the block detonated, destroying the room and collapsing the building on top of them.
The girls continued to watch, with growing horror, the videos of combat.
November 7, 1945 1121 Hours- Jumper Bay 2
"Serenity I… I think that's enough… thank you," Foss managed to say as the shock finally set in. The videos finally stopped and the screen was once again covered as the witches stumbled away from it. Minna shook her head as she glanced around at the others, "I think we owe these people an apology. They really were trying to protect us."
"But how? We treated them like it was their fault for everything." von Bonin stated as she looked at the ground.
As the witches tried to think of something, Harris perked up, "I have an idea."
The others turned to her as she explained; Foss grinned, "That'll work."
November 7, 1945 2201 Hours- Assault Group 2, Baltim
"Well this is what we get for being late… DAMN IT." Thompson cursed to himself as another flash of lightning and boom of thunder shook him. His team had arrived late to the party delaying both attacks and he knew he was in for some shit when he got back to the ship. The storm that had delayed his team was now smashing this coastal base drenching him and his team. He wiped water away from his watch as he checked the time before checking his weapon for water for the umpteenth time. "59 minutes till this spot could be glass… WHY the HELL did this storm pick TODAY to hit. It's the god damn desert."
Thompson's team had set up hours ago and were currently scanning the seemingly destroyed base for activity. They had quickly discovered the tanks hidden in a hanger and the MG nest hidden in various destroyed buildings. He clicked his radio, "Is everyone in position?'
He waited as the various "affirmatives" came back nodding as he mentally checked off each one. "Mark you ready yet?"
"I'll be ready just keep your pants on. The pack isn't wanting to connect; give me another minute and I'll be good."
Thompson grinded his teeth as he took a deep breath and exhaled; Mark Peterson, a civilian attaché from Sky Masters, was one of the ships only CID pilots and was a huge pain in the ass for him. From what he could tell, he was a natural pilot but still; he was an asshole. He snapped to attention as his radio crackled.
"Hang on I'm picking up an inbound radar contact."
Thompson frowned as a drone began to become noticeable over the storm, "Jumper 5 can you confirm?"
"Confirmed, looks like a C-47."
Thompson gave an evil grin as he charged his rifle, "Looks like we are going to get some payback." His expression changed as the plane dropped through the clouds with one engine out and a logo of some sort on the side. He reached for his radio, "Can anybody see what's on the side of that aircraft?" He waited as he chorus of no's reached him causing a frown to form, "Who the hell is this?"He watched as the plane landed and some figures exited the aircraft and began moving towards the damaged engine. "Snipers anyone got a visual on these newcomers?"
"I have a shot but no ID."
Thompson growled as he looked through his binocs noticing some of base's personnel heading towards the aircraft. He watched one of the people from the plane turn to the men from the base when a flash of lightning lit up the base and the aircraft.
"Hey isn't that a witch logo on the plane?"
He shifted his gaze as the light faded; an eagle with a star above it clearly visible on it's side. The figure talking to the man from the base was lit enough to be seen as a witch, "What the hell is a witch unit doi-SHIT all units engage NOW."
November 7, 1945 2159 Hours- Assault Group 1, El Hoceima
"Sir that was Group 2, they are ready whenever we are."
Sokolov sighed as he checked his weapon, an AN-94, pulling the charging handle he looked through his binoculars at the scene as the American radioman next to him continued to relay status reports. "Looks like it's time to move get the mortars prepped and ready, snipers prepare for targets, Thomas get ready to go-"
"Sir Group 2 has radioed a plane is landing at their location."
Sokolov raised his eyebrow as he turned, "Interesting can they identify it?"
He waited for a reply, "All they can is that it is a C-47."
He nodded, "keep me updated." He turned to look over his shoulder at the mortar crew 50 yards behind him, his NVGs lighting the area up in a green light.
"Sir, group two identified the C-47 as a witch transport that seems to be experiencing mechanical trouble. Someone from the plane is interacting with a member of the base."
Sokolov frowned, "Do they… never mind it doesn't matter, just tell them to keep an eye on the witches. We need to make sure they don't get hurt."
The radioman nodded as he relayed the order. Sokolov checked his watch, "5 minutes and-"
"Sir Group 2 is engaging; the base personnel attacked the plane and knocked one of the witches out!"
"What?! All units engage now!" The sound of mortar shells streaking over his head was the signal for everyone to attack. He sprung up and rushed towards the pre-cut fence as the mortar shells smashed the MG emplacements. Shrapnel flew everywhere as the men manning the nest were shredded into a bloody paste; the weapons blown to pieces killing the patrols near them. He heard the tanks start as the crews responded to the inbound attack. A rocket from the speeding CID turned the aircraft on the runway into a burning pile of scrap. As he and the others reached the fence he watched the tanks stop moving one by one as the Tin Men killed them and their crews with their rail guns.
CID-7
Thomas skidded to a halt as he landed from his jump over the fence; the patrol he ran into was staring at him in horror, "Hey guys sorry but you need to die now." This statement snapped them out of their shock as they began to attack him. He snorted in amusement as the small arms fire barely caused his power levels to drop. When they finally stopped to reload he threw out his arm killing all three of them with the impact. He could see their rib cages collapse as they took the hit and were thrown into the fence. Feeling small arms hit him from behind he sighed and shook his head as the 40mm grenade launcher on his backpack rotated and fired twice. Turning around he grimaced at the bloody sight; there was not much left to identify them as humans. Studying his display, he ran off again towards the center of the base.
Colonel Vitaly Sokolov
Sokolov took cover behind a destroyed Ostwind; three more of his men stacked up with him. Motion above caused him and the others to aim their weapons up only to have their attacker lose the top part of his head in a spray of pink mist. "Still got your back sir," Sokolov grinned as the unseen sniper shifted his gaze elsewhere; he wasn't going to tell Vought but he was incredibly impressed with the SGC personnel, they weren't Spetsnaz but they were still pretty damn good. He watched as the CID slid to the middle of the runway firing the vertical-launch rockets from it's back; vehicles and men were being destroyed all around him and there were still no casualties on their side. Things were going pretty damn well… too well and that is when he felt the vibration.
CID-7
Thomas felt rather than saw the threat as it broke it's way out of the nearby hanger. The sight stunned him for a moment before he realized this was a threat, "Well shit…" and that is when the 88mm round smacked him in the chest and sent him flying over the destroyed transport.
Colonel Vitaly Sokolov
Sokolov winced as he watched the lieutenant fly over him and his men, he shook his head as he watched the CID start to roll over, "So there is no problem then huh lieutenant? There is no way they can hurt you huh?"
"Ug… headache… power is at 20% I need to go change packs."
"Pop smoke on the CID so he can leave and change power." Everyone with the attack force switched to thermal goggles as white smoke obscured the already dark battlefield throwing what was left of the defenders into complete disarray. He glanced around the destroyed Triple-A tank as he thought up a response to the new threat as it once again fired into the smoke hoping to hit something. He shook his head as he removed his goggles to see with his eyes what it was; he ducked as the Tiger fired once again narrowly missing some other members of his team, this thing needed to be dealt with. He grabbed his radio as he ducked back; the PzKpfw VI produced its own smoke as it retreated to the hanger, "Target the Tiger now, kill it fast before he gets lucky and hits someone else."
A chorus of "rogers" reached his earpiece as he waited for its destruction; gunfire behind him caused him to drop into a crouch and spin as he raised his weapon. He and his men fired in unison at the soldiers behind them; the 5.45x39mm and 7.62x39mm rounds hit and tore into them; the rounds ripped the men apart and even tore someone's arm off. His magazine hit the ground as he reloaded; an explosion rocked the hanger causing Sokolov to glance up, "Hm must have hit a HE shell or something," "Is it dead?"
"Roger that sir, lit that sucker up like a candle. We're moving in towards the underground portion of the base."
15 minutes later
"Sir we've cleared the underground parts of the base; the weapon is not here I repeat the weapon is not here."
Sokolov growled as he slapped his weapon; he turned to the radio operator, "Get everyone back to the Ju-" Everyone dove to the ground as a soldier with a Panzerschreck jumped up from a destroyed hanger and fired at him. The rocket and the rocketeer were destroyed instantly; Sokolov stood up and dusted himself off as Thomas walked up to him, rail gun at the ready.
"You ok sir?"
The colonel just glared at him, "I'm fine, get everyone back to the Jumpers. We need to hustle if we are going to help Group 2."
November 7, 1945 2223 Hours- Assault Group 2, Baltim
1st Lt. Alex Nemes
Nemes watched with enhanced HUD as the men from the base took aim and killed the pilots and flight engineer looking at the damaged engine and before she could react, the leader rifle bashed the witch knocking her out cold.
"SHIT all units engage NOW!"
"About damn time," he thought as he sighted in on one of the armored vehicles on the base and fired. The 3kg tungsten projectile went hypersonic as it left the barrel of the gun and gutted the PzIV. Leaving only a tiny entry hole, the projectile passed through the front of the tank, the unfortunate driver, the engine, and finally the rear armor with barely a check in speed; the projectile continued through a destroyed building before finally burying itself in the sand, 2km away. Nemes and his team stood up.
"Lieutenant I need you and your team to secure the plane. The CID is on it's way as well."
"Understood sir what do you want us to do about the witch they are taking hostage?"
"…Snipers don't have a clean shot, for now just try to ignore their fire and avoid shooting at her. We will recover her as soon as possible."
"Understood," Nemes turned to his 4-man team, "Let's go save the girls."
They nodded as they charged the compressed-air rockets in their boots and simultaneously jumped the fence; sprinting towards the wounded C-47. Reaching the plane, Nemes and his men began to engage the base personnel with conventional weapons holstering their rail guns for the moment. One of his men dove out of the way as a halftrack slid on its side, through where he was previously standing. Nemes's sensors bleeped a warning as a friendly moved at incredible speed towards them.
"Sorry bout that 1-Lt, guess I forgot my own strength." Peterson stated as he slid in position behind their new cover. Nemes glared at the CID through his helmet and shook his head; he and the captain would deal with the civilian later. The electrodes on his shoulder fired at a figure as they ran around the halftrack and attempted to enter the plane. He and his men quickly cuffed and secured the unconscious soldier and threw him unceremoniously into the halftrack. After Peterson alerted him that they were clear for the moment, Nemes climbed into the darkened plane with his weapons secured and his hands in the air, "Everyone, I'm 1st Lt. Alex Nemes from the Borealis; I'm here to help. Is everyone here ok?"
He watched as two men and four witches climbed from the hiding places, weapons aimed at him. Upon his ID they lowered them as one of the witches walked up to him, "Lieutenant?" She looked him up and down before she sat back down; head in her hands. "They took her… I've failed as a leader."
Nemes kneeled down and put a hand on her shoulder, "It's ok ma'am… we will get her back in one piece." He paused, "Who was it?"
He watched as she looked up to him, her brown eyes flashed in the lightning, "Captain Hannah Marseille," Captain Katou Keiko whispered as the other witches gripped their weapons tightly.
Nemes sat there shocked for a moment as he remembered the witch that saved the colonel. He patted her on the shoulder quickly as he stood up, "Sir, we have identified the witch, it is Capt. Marseille. The others are safe sir; four witches and two support personnel."
He didn't have to wait long for the replies, "Shit… lieutenant you and your team are to go after her now; we have other teams moving to your position now. It is mostly a mop up operation; it seems they were drawing this base down."
He nodded, "Understood, we are moving out now."
As he turned to leave he felt someone tugging on his suit. Turning he found a young blond hair witch with a red face, she sniffed as she rubbed her eyes, "I-I want to help save Hannah; Please let me come with you."
He sighed as he crouched back down and made eye contact; he killed the polarization on his helmet allowing the witch to see his face lit up from the inside, "Sorry ma'am but we are going to be moving too fast for you to keep up. Besides you don't have night vision like we do." He stood up as his helmet repolarized, "I will promise you though that I will not let anything happen to her. You have my word."
She looked down, saddened at this but then looked up again, "O-Ok… please just keep her safe."
As he turned to leave he called out, "By the way who are you?"
She sniffed and gave a small smile as the soldier crouched at the top of the stairs; a quiet whine formed near his feet, "Lt. Raisa Pottgen, Karlsland Air Force."
He nodded, "Nice to meet you Raisa," he spoke as vanished in a burst of compressed air. The witches rushed to the door as they watched his figure vanish into the darkness; his men and the large robot followed him, firing as they moved.
11 minutes later
"Clear left"
"Clear right"
"All clear sir the weapon is secure, the timer is active we have 13 minutes get the tech over here."
Thompson nodded as he and his guard moved up and into the demolished base; the rain was still pounding the airfield turning everything into a soupy mess. He glanced over as some of his men escorted the witches and the surviving maintenance staff to the jumpers. They were shaken but were still alert and ready for action; they refused to put down their weapons. As he walked by, he gave the captain a nod as he and his team escorted the technician towards Peterson; the CID was carrying the Mark IX towards them. A squad of the Russians and Tin Men protected him as he moved; the grenade launcher on his back could be seen moving in the flashes of lightning.
"How much time do you need to disarm it?" Thompson yelled over the thunder.
The tech shrugged as he checked his equipment, "Hopefully less than 7 minutes otherwise were going to have to drag this thing out of here fast," he yelled back.
Thompson nodded as the weapon was set down and a tarp was erected over it; the gathered men set up a perimeter. He grabbed his radio, "Nemes what's your status?" He waited for a reply and got none, "NEMES answer!" He changed the channel, "Anyone have a visual on Nemes and his men?"
"Uh sir this is Overwatch, Nemes and his squad are chasing some men fleeing in a truck. They have the witch with them."
Thompson stood there as processed this new info, "Jumper 4 get over here NOW we are going after that truck; Overwatch which way were they headed?"
"North sir, towards the coast."
1st Lt. Alex Nemes
He glanced back at the two men still with him as they continued to chase down the truck fleeing the fight. The other two took too many hits and were forced back to change batteries. He glanced at his own power levels, "41% remaining… we're going to have to end this soon." "State your power levels."
"42%"
"39%"
He frowned, they really needed to end this quickly before they ran out of power; another flash of lightning lit up a change in the scenery, "The coast?" He checked his rail gun and grunted; it was dead, too much water must have got in it. He drew his side arm as they approached a bit of high ground near the road. Waiting for the other two to catch up, the three of them peeked over the ridge.
Lit up in a set of spotlights below them was a German U-Boat docked at a pier. They watched as the truck they were chasing pulled alongside the sub and it's men began to disembark carrying the unconscious witch with them.
"Sir, we can't let them board that sub; we don't have the firepower or the battery life to attack."
Nemes nodded as he tried to think up a plan; none of them had any of their rail guns and they had one assault rifle with only a single magazine left. They had their electrodes but that would just drain their overtaxed batteries even faster. Glancing at the scene he came up with an idea and relayed it to his men.
Nemes sighed as he checked his pistol and crouched down; the other two were crouched at the berm taking aim. He waited until his suit showed 100% charged and ran straight at the berm. As he hit it he jumped and activated the rockets throwing him 60 feet in the air. As he soared through the air, the other two shot out the spotlights throwing the dock into darkness as the defenders tried to find a new source of light. He began to descend towards his target; "Huh this might actually wo-" his thought was cut off as the sky was once again lit in a flash of lightning before his suit went dead.
His men watched as the lieutenant's hair-brained scheme seemed to be working until he started to fall. The one turned to the other, "Looks like he is going to make i-" They both watched as their leader was struck, mid-air, by lightning and they lost his signal on their HUDs. They watched as he whipped his helmet off and flailed in the air before landing awkwardly on the deck of the sub between the groups of soldiers. He faltered before he steadied himself and slugged the nearest soldier in the face sending him into the sea. He fired twice into the two carrying the witch dropping them and her to the deck. They had been too close to the edge and the three of them began to slide into the water causing the lieutenant to ditch his weapon and dive to grab the witch. He successfully grabbed her and pulled her back before one of the disoriented soldiers rifle-bashed him in the back of the skull, dropping him to the deck.
"SHIT the LT is down we need to get down there." The two prepped to jump as another spotlight was turned on and shined to their position. Heavy MG fire began to pound them as they dropped back to the ground; a few hits had drained their power to critical levels, "Group 2 lead this is Jones, Lt. Nemes is down I repeat Lt. Nemes is down do you read?"
They waited for a reply as the sound of a large diesel motor filled the air over the sound of the storm. Peeking over the berm, they watched as the lieutenant and the captain were loaded into the sub as it began to pull away from the dock. They watched helplessly as the sub pulled away and began to submerge ruining any chance they had of saving their leader and the witch. As they tried to think of a plan, a halftrack and a platoon of soldiers finally made their way up to the two. They raised their hands as they looked for an escape.
Jones looked to his partner, "I've got a single frag left and one mag for my pistol…you?"
"Half a mag for my rifle and a flashbang."
Jones looked at the 20 soldiers and the halftrack as they began to advance; there was no way they were getting out of this alive. He twitched his fingers towards his frag; if he was going down he was going down swinging. As the gunner on the halftrack reached for his trigger, a massive form fell from the sky and crushed the gunner and nearly cut the vehicle in half. The two Tin Men watched as two Jumpers decloaked and the CID removed itself from the wreckage of the halftrack, more Tin Men dropped from the Jumpers as they took aim at their attackers.
"Damn sir, thanks for the rescue but why are you all here? Shouldn't you be with the nuke?"
As the men were disarmed, one of the Jumpers landed and began to disembark more men; as they moved towards the attackers, one of them turned towards the two of them carrying new batteries. "It seems gentleman that you are slightly out of the loop, the weapon has been disarmed."
Col. Sokolov smirked as he walked up to the two Americans; motioning for them to turn around he began to change their batteries. He looked around for the third, "Where is Lt. Nemes?"
The two Tin Men looked at each other before Jones turned to the colonel, "…On that sub that just left along with Capt. Marseille."
They watched the colonel as he finished changing the spent cells. He took off his hat letting the rain wash the camouflage off his face. "This isn't good…" he grabbed his radio, "Jumper 2 can you track them?"
"Negative sir, we'd need sonar for that."
The colonel sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "Everyone back on the Jumpers. We need to tell Vought."
November 7, 1945 2305 Hours- Borealis Bridge
He had been biting his nails as he paced back and forth in front of the control chair as he stared at the communication panel. Since landing in Switzerland, the colonel had refused to leave the bridge as he waited for word on the assault teams to the south. Ross snorted as the colonel made yet another pass, "Sir you're going to wear a hole in the deck, relax."
Vought turned to him as he finally stopped, "My men could be dying down there I have the right to be nervous."
"I'll give you that sir bu-"
"Sir incoming transmission from Col. Sokolov,"
"Put him on"
"Colonel…"
Everyone was silent as they waited, "The mission was a success; the weapon was recovered and successfully disarmed."
Ross and Vought sighed in relief as the bridge crew burst into cheers. Ross patted Vought on the shoulder, "See? Everything turned out alright."
Vought ignored him, "Any casualties?"
"No"
Vought finally allowed a small smile to grace his face as Ross slapped him on the back. "Somebody go let Alexei know that we succeeded."
They watched as somebody nodded and exited the bridge, "We even rescued a witch unit."
Vought spun back towards the console, "What do you mean witch unit?" He listened to Vitaly's explanation of the assault; Thompson chimed in as well when needed. He nodded as they finished, "Damn fine job gentlemen now get back here we have a war to win."
There was a pause before the colonel responded, "…Chris…"
The crew went silent as they stared at the colonel, "…What?"
"They escaped with two hostages; 1st Lt. Alex Nemes, and Capt. Hannah Marseille."
Vought dropped his head in disbelief, "Anyway to track them?"
"…Negative they escaped by submarine."
The crew watched the colonel clench his fist before he began to walk to the door, "get back here fast. We need as many hands as possible." With that final statement, he left.
November 7, 1945 2322 Hours- Observation Deck
"I'll modify two of the Jumpers with sonar sir. I will personally see to it; we will find them." Lansby stated as he left the room leaving the colonel alone with his thoughts.
Vought stared out the windows at the snow as he punched the window again, "DAMN IT MURPHY… screwing with me again. Why the hell does this keep happening to us?"
He dropped his gaze as he growled at the window, "This sucks… one of my own and one of the witches. Shit I promised Adolfine nothing would happen to her witches while I was here. We already screwed things up here and now our one remaining ally isn't going to trust us anymore…"He kicked the window as he sighed. A knock on the doorway caused him to turn, "What?" he growled out.
The man stepped into the room, "Good evening sir, Captain Kevin Harp, sorry for the intrusion."
Vought sighed, "It's fine captain… what do you need."
"Sir… I heard about the hostages and I'm sorry but there is something you should know… Lt. Nemes and I are not… exactly SGC personnel."
This statement caused Vought to go rigid before he rotated and drew his sidearm. The captain sheepishly raised his hands, "I didn't say I wasn't US soldier sir please let me explain."
The colonel growled as he continued aiming at the man, "you have 30 seconds. Who are you with?"
Harp slowly put his hands down, "We are ISA sir, myself, Nemes, and six others onboard. We were assigned to the ship when we learned that the Russians were sending Alpha Group members."
He waited as this information sank in causing the colonel to holster his weapon and to collapse into a nearby seat, "Who authorized this and did General Landry know?"
Harp shook his head, "I only know of two who knew; the Director, and SECDEF. Homeworld Security was not alerted to this… addition to the ship."
"Why?"
"SECDEF didn't trust the Russians to be all buddy-buddy with us. It was supposed to be just one man but when the Russians changed the roster to include Col. Sokolov and Alpha Group, he wanted more so he assigned our team to the crew. We have edited records and were placed in in secret. Nemes and I have the only Air Force records; the others all have Marine records. I'm sorry for the secrecy but we were under orders."
He watched Vought carefully as the colonel stood back up and walked over to the window again. He was surprised when the colonel started to bang his head against the glass. He stopped and turned to Harp, "Which group?"
Harp blinked, "What do you mean sir?"
"I know the ISA operates different groups; Nemes is familiar with the Tin Man system which means he's used it before. I'm going to ask one more time… which group?"
Harp gave the colonel a nervous smile as he took a step back, "Uh… well… Paul White's group."
The colonel just stared at him before turning back around and throwing his head into the window; hard.
November 7, 1945 2322 Hours- Jumper Bay 2
"FFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!"
Shirley covered Francesca's ears as the loudest curse she had ever heard echoed through the ship. The other witches woke up as they all dropped their jaws at this extremely foul language. Foss put down the book she had been reading raised an eyebrow; as it got quiet again she responded, "NO THANKS!" The other witches stared back at her in disbelief, "What? I was joking." She picked up her book again while Preddy snorted pretending to still be asleep.
Unknown Date, 1945 Unknown Time- Unmarked Submarine
"Hey spaceman wake up… hey I'm talking to you wake up. Shit what's your name again… Nemes? That's right Nemes, WAKE UP!"
Nemes groaned as the speaker finally helped to wake him up. He blinked bleary eyed as he tried to identify his location. Attempting to stand, he found his hands cuffed to a pipe behind him. He shook his head clearing his vision; he noticed he wasn't alone in the room.
"Good you're awake. They got you pretty good… you ok?"
He blinked again as he finally identified his companion, "Capt. Marseille?"
"Call me Hannah; I have a feeling we are going to be here for a while so no need to stick to protocol."
He blinked again as he attempted to remember what happened, "The sub… they got me as I tried to save you…" He looked at her, "Sorry… I think I got hit by lightning otherwise." He shook his hands, "we wouldn't be here."
Hannah smirked and shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I was faking unconscious for the last 5 or so minutes of the journey. I was aware of your attempted rescue. My knight in shining armor attempting to save the damsel in distress…" She sighed as she glared at him, "I broke a nail when they dropped me."
Nemes smirked as he began trying to do something, "Sorry about that… Hannah. Call me Alex."
She smiled, "Nice to meet you Alex; it's funny, both times I've met you while you were unconscious. Now what to do about this situation…" A click caused her to look up, "How the hell did you do that?"
Nemes smirked as he rubbed his wrist; he moved over to her as he began to pick her handcuffs, "A magician never reveals his secrets."
And another one bites the dust. Sorry everyone for how late this chapter is. The crash on my computer was worse than I thought and partially destroyed this chapter and chapter 11 which I have had no time to try and fix with finals coming up. Another reason this was late was because… well I was kinda hospitalized by a spider bite and I'm on a lot of antibiotics now. No I did not gain super powers from the bite but had I waited any longer I could have lost a portion of my leg. At least until December I might have some very late chapters but I will try my hardest to get them up on time. For chapter 11 I will try to have it up by the following Sunday; that should leave me plenty of time to correct it and not fail my classes. For those of you still waiting for this story, I thank you for your patience; it means a lot and I have not abandoned this story yet. Not by a long shot so just stick with me. Ghostrider21 is back in the saddle and I will see you next time.