A Long Walk in the Dark - Arc 1

by Ghostrider21

After being fitted with an experimental drive system the crew of the Borealis is sent on a blind jump to another reality. Damage sustained leaves her lost and unable to return home. This is the story of her crew and her CO's mission to return them home. At all cost.

13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Bodenplatte

Chapter 13… I've finally made it this far. Yet another chapter added and I'm still steaming ahead. I survived my finals and I'm ready to rock and roll again. Just a heads up… this chapter is probably the darkest yet. Scratch that it is the darkest yet; sorry if you guys don't like reading that but this is an 'M' rated story and besides, this needed to be done eventually. I own nothing but my characters and the story, everything else is owned by their respective owners.

Previously

Nemes looked to Hannah as she whispered; her face for the first time since meeting her was drained of all color. Fear in her eyes as she stared at the now humanoid shaped aircraft; a single bar-shaped blue eye staring back at them. She began to shake as another floated to the right of the first with two more in a different shape parked on the island's runway.

Nemes gently grabbed her shoulders, "What are they?" He asked cautiously as the two men that brought them onboard motioned for them to start walking; the ship had gone silent as it finally docked. She spoke so softly he missed it the first time, "What was that?"

She grabbed his arm as they were finally brought ashore, "Warlocks."

November 11, 1945 1305 Hours- Borealis Bridge

The crew was silent as they stared at the display; in disbelief that this reality had managed to create something like that. "I'm sorry Chris… had we known we would have taken the ship… this is my fault. We should have acted earlier."

Vought cleared his head as he looked to the dejected image of Adolfine, "Adolfine look," She looked up at him as he stood from the chair. "It isn't your fault; you're right, we didn't know so we don't blame you for anything. We are about to go into battle here so there isn't much we can do right now. All I ask is that you gather as much information as possible on those things, and let us know when we finish. We can take care of those things no problem."

She stared for a while before she gave him a small smile and nodded, "Thanks Chris, you know you're not half bad at the whole command thing."

He gave her a smirk as he sat back down and reactivated the chair; the crew going back to their battle stations, "I try."

She regained her composure as she adjusted her jacket, "Well then Chris I'm not going to keep you any longer," she winked at him, "Good luck out there." She cut the connection.

"Alright ladies and gents, back to work; it's time to kick some ass." He grinned at the cheers he got. "Ross, radio the team and tell them to just keep up surveillance; we'll try to deal with this quickly and we'll decide what to do from there."

"Understood sir."

He rotated the chair forward as the hive appeared in the window.

November 11, 1945 1310 Hours- Czech Airspace

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, listen up; the plan is once again to draw the Neuroi away from the hive so that Knife flight can attack from above. We do this right and we'll be back on the ship in 10 minutes." Grant called out to everyone flying as they took combat spacing. Assigned one of the spare 302s as his new wingman, Knife flight was orbiting above the cloud bank at 65,000 feet. All of their missiles had been removed and had been replaced with three GBU-28s a piece; the remaining two stayed in the hanger on a back-up 302 in case something happened.

Grant looked around at the weather conditions and frowned in his mask, "Well ladies, as you can see we have visibility issues right now so stick in groups of four if at all possible. All 302 flights call buddy spike if lit; we don't want any friendly fire incidents here." A chorus of "rogers," reached him. He nodded to himself; his radar began to paint targets as they approached. Noticing something he radioed the ship, "Borealis, Reaper-1, you seeing this?"

"We're seeing it Reaper-1, looks like… interference from the storm and yes, we see the enemy has left topside open; wait one."

Grant frowned again as he cycled his radar; it still showed a bit of snow at its extreme edges, "That normally indicates jamming… but how? These things can't even catch up to us, how could they be jamming our radars?"

"All flights, weapons free, weapons free."

"Time to go to work," Grant muttered into his mask as he and Burns raced ahead again, leaving the witches behind; the other two 302 flights followed.

"Reaper-1, fox 3," He called as he fired his first Scorpion at the incoming small types; the missile drove forward, plowing into his target and detonating it in a burst of white shards. He grinned as he watched the shards shred and destroy the closest two flyers to his target, "Splash three. Borealis send Knife flight in, they're clear."

"Knife flight cleared to engage; sparkle"

Grant gunned down another small type as he broke away with Burns hot on his heels; she had destroyed four as well. Looking up, his HUD showed the outlines of Knife flight as they dove towards the hive.

"Knife-1, rifle 1" He heard over the radio and watched as the first -28 fell towards the hive. "Damn that was easy… too easy." He threw his fighter inverted as his threat receiver blared a warning; a beam passing through his previous location. A sudden explosion grabbed his attention, "Knife you get i-"

Another explosion clapped, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday Knife-2 is going down."

Grant froze as he watched the charred 302 fall from the clouds; the pilot ejecting as the crippled fighter banked and smacked into the ground. It's hardened construction keeping it relatively in one piece.

As Knife-1 had pulled off target, Knife-2 stayed on it to confirm the hit; when the first laser destroyed the -28, -2 went for the launch only to have a second laser hit the starboard weapon pylon; detonating the 630lb warhead. While the shield protected the fighter from the brunt of the explosion, it still overwhelmed the shield, destroying the starboard engine and frying most of the wiring.

The radios burst into chatter as the pilot was beamed back to the ship; moments before another laser cut through his parachute. "What the hell is going on here?" Grant thought as he and Burns climbed through the clouds, "There should be nothing here unless…" he switched his radar to his laser radar. Instantly, he began to pick up large targets hidden in the clouds, "Shit all flights switch to LADAR, Reaper-1 detects Music." He locked onto the closest target and fired another Scorpion; the target screeched in surprise that is had been found and turned to begin chasing him. Punching above the cloud cover Grant finally saw his adversary, "Is that a fucking F-117?"

The target chasing Grant resembled the USAF first stealth fighter the F-117 Nighthawk and also making him nervous was the fact that for the first time since facing these aliens, this one was keeping up with him. He calmed himself and grinned, it was finally time to get serious.

Borealis Bridge

"Why the hell didn't we spot them? We have the most advanced sensor suite ever developed and we are being beaten by some aliens that enjoy pretending their aircraft. Lansby what the hell is going on here?" Vought questioned as the ship shook from another impact.

After losing Knife-2, the ship exploded into confusion trying to find out what the hell was happening out there. After telling everybody to start using laser radar instead of normal radar, dozens of medium sized targets began to appear. The tactical display showed Knife-1 climbing vertically as he attempted to get as far away from the aliens as possible; the ships thermal sensor indicated he even fired his rocket motor as he climbed, "This is Knife-1, I'm orbiting at Angels 102, new orders?"

"Stay there Knife-1, climb into orbit if anything starts to chase you. We need you out there."

Engineering

Lansby and his team tore through data as fast as they could, trying to find out how these aliens managed to outsmart them. A nearby display showed images from the gun turrets as they fended off wave after wave of Neuroi. He froze as he noticed something on the screen, "Shit somebody rewind that!"

The group stopped what they were doing and crowed around the screen as the image replayed a small type being destroyed by an energy turret, "Pause and zoom in on the clouds." The image stopped and zoomed in on the clouds above it; a steady stream of white shards fell from the clouds where the jamming was originating.

"Serenity, analyze those shards. Those are parts of the Neuroi correct?"

The Lantean AI appeared and nodded, "Correct Dr. Lansby."

"Can those shards block a radar signal?"

The AI stood there quiet for a moment before nodding again. Lansby vanished in a swirl of papers and he sprinted towards the bridge.

Bridge

"Lansby what the hell is going on h-" Vought cut the connection as Lansby slid onto the bridge.

"Sir… sir… it's the shards; the Neuroi have learned that we rely on radar. They are producing those shards in the clouds; it's acting like chaff. The witches are probably experiencing radio issues as well."

"Shit, radio the flights; tell them to try and stick near the witches as much as possible… Lansby, take these two here. Huberta, Federica, go with the doctor and tell him everything you know about how these suckers work. Quickly."

The two witches nodded as they ran after the doctor. "Come on guys stay calm, we've got this… I hope."

Wilcke

Minna frowned as she tried to raise the ship only to get static or jumbled transmissions; she watched as another trio of fighters was destroyed by the ships weapons. "Alright witches looks like we're without radios for a little while; stick close to your wingman." She turned to Mio as the witches broke off into groups, "The Neuroi really do learn it seems." They watched as one of the 302s dove for the deck with two of the medium types chasing it. Shirley and Francesca dove after them and managed to get one of them to break off and engage them. She frowned as she and Mio dove into the fray, dancing around another medium type as it dropped from the clouds to engage them.

Flying inverted over it she racked it's back causing it to screech in pain and throw a laser her way. Dodging, she watched as Mio blazed away at it's underside causing it to lose interest in her and focus on the major. She watched in horror as it fired at her only to hit the large shield of Miyafuji. A large caliber round roared over her head and punched a large hole in the creature's back; exposing the core and allowing her to aim and finish off the thing. Lynette dropped down besides her carrying the large caliber rifle Col. Vought had brought to the range the previous day. "Bishop what are you doing here?"

"S-sorry ma'am but Capt Grant said to stick in groups of four…"

Minna smiled as she looked to her, "Thanks for the save you two and you're right, we need to stick in groups of four." She looked to the two Fuso witches as they moved back up beside them, "one down, a hundred more to go."

Barkhorn

Gertrude spun in a circle with Erica up against her back as the two of them sprayed lead at the two circling mediums types; their rounds chewed a consistent amount of their shells away and before they could run to try to regenerate, two rockets ended them.

She and Hartmann reloaded as Sanya and Eila dropped down to their level, "They just keep coming don't they?"

Eila shrugged as she dove and fired upside-down; destroying a small type as it tried to fire on Hartmann. She dropped her drum as she slid a new one into place; Sanya firing another rocket into the clouds causing a shrieking form to appear and chase them.

"I think you made it mad Sanya," Erica joked as she flew towards the medium type, activating her spell as she approached. Punching a hole straight through the alien, she exposed the core which Trude promptly destroyed with a well-placed rifle bash. Flying back to them she yawned, "I'm getting tired we need to end this fast."

"Agreed," Gertrude stated as the four of them flew off to find another one of the medium types.

Sayn-Wittgenstein

Heinrike grunted as she targeted another Neuroi with her cannon, the weapon thudded against her shoulder as the 20mm rounds pounded the medium type on a kamikaze run with her. Right before impact she threw her shield up in the attempt to block the hit only to hear a loud 'whump" followed by the alien bursting with the sound of broken glass. She dropped her shield as she looked to her savior, "Thanks Hanna," she checked her ammo as Rudel checked hers. "I'm good how about you?"

Hanna gave her a small smile before firing again, the massive 37mm cannon spit out another round destroying a passing small type. "17 shells remaining."

They both looked down as a line of small types vanished as a witch stormed forward, "Dom… DOM, wait up…" Noticing the two above her, Godfrey floated up to them, "Ladies, could you please help me protect Dom? She's going out of control again."

Heinrike grit her teeth as she stared at the captain; her antenna red, "You should always be with your wingman, not matter what. We have rules like that for safety reasons and-"

"And we will glad to assist you," Hanna finished as she fired at a small type in Gentile's blind spot. The Neuroi burst into shards as the captain reloaded. Noticing where the shot came from she flew up to them, "Come on Jane let's knock'em flat. Oh and thanks for the save Major."

Before Heinrike could yell at her, Rudel responded, "You are welcome but in this kind of situation, it is best to remain in a group." The four of them turned and poured fire into a medium type as it chased one of the 302s below the clouds. .45, .50 caliber, 20mm and 37mm rounds bit into the attacker and destroyed it's core almost instantly. The 302 wagged it's wings as it chased after another medium type; railguns screeching as it tore the alien to bits. The fighter took a hit, shields flashing silver as it dove for the weeds.

Dom nodded, "Fine but please don't fall behind; Jane and I enjoy the old one-two in this situation." She back-flipped and dove after a small type heading towards the ship; destroying it in a burst of fire from her Thompson. Jane smiled apologetically as she followed after her wife.

Before Heinrike chewed them out Hanna put a hand on her shoulder as the two dived, "Heinrike you need to understand that this is just the way they work. Relax and concentrate on the battle; anger will only cloud your judgment. Besides what would the colonel say if another one of his friends gets hurt?"

Heinrike went slightly red and huffed as she pulled away, "Fine but only because you are right about the anger problem." She watched as Hanna smiled and pulled ahead; her cannon barking again as it caused another small type to die. She looked back to the ship and sighed, Hanna was right; she wouldn't hear the end of it from Chris and Jean if she got hurt. She went red again as she thought of his response to her getting hurt. She shook it off as she opened up on a group of small types; destroying them.

Engineering

"Alright this isn't working. Is there anything else you know about these creatures? You've been at war with them for years, you should now something."

The two witches sighed as they tried to think of anything else to tell the doctor; every time the ship shook they knew they were running out of time. "Sorry Evan but the only people who know much about the Neuroi, are the ones holding Marseille and Nemes hostage." Huberta stated sadly with Federica nodding in agreement.

Lansby groaned, frustrated as he stood up and glared at the monitor. He watched a medium type fire into the clouds after a 302 and froze, "What about how they track?"

The two witches looked up, "Excuse us?"

"No I mean do you know how they see you? Is it based on sound, radar, visual, thermal?"

The two looked at each other trying to remember the theories on how they were tracked in flight; Huberta snapped her fingers, "It has to be radar; I remember a report last year of a singing Neuroi tracking Lt. Litvyak at night. It tracked her via radio and radar."

"You positive?"

"No but it's all we've got."

Lansby nodded as he grabbed his radio and explained his plan to the bridge.

Bridge

Vought thought about how to approach this new bit of information; there weren't a lot of options left so it was time to go with brute force, "Comms, crank the transmission output to max, I don't care if they hear us in Japan but I need everyone out there right now to hear us. Burn straight through the jamming."

The tech nodded as he adjusted the power levels; he gave him a thumbs up when ready, "Attention all flights this is Crosshair; shut down any radio at this time or you're going to lose an eardrum." He cut the radio as he called the AI to the bridge with a thought, "Serenity when I say now, I want every radar and radio band completely overloaded."

She nodded.

He waited a few more seconds, "NOW"

The effect was almost instantaneous; the moment the jamming started the Neuroi froze in mid-air. They floated there helplessly; the jamming particles from the clouds also stopped. Knowing the effect wouldn't last long he turned the laser back on hopping Knife-1 would get the message.

Knife-1

"Attention all flights this is Crosshair; shut down any radio at this time or you're going to lose an eardrum."

Realizing what was about to happen, the pilot flipped all of the switches pertaining to the radio and waited. Soon enough, his radar burst into static before shutting down as a safety measure; his LADAR continued to operate normally as he noticed the Neuroi freeze below him. Realizing this was his chance, he began his dive as he head straight for the hive. "Come on, come on, where is- GOT IT" The moment the hive was painted again he locked on and pickled both remaining -28s; the bunker busters blasted downwards as their fins drove them to the core. "Come on, come on," he mumbled to himself as the two weapons fell. His actions were rewarded with a massive explosion followed by the Neuroi all vanishing in burst. He grinned in his helmet as he reactivated his radios; a stream of constant congratulations reaching up to him as he dove. He glanced at his mission timer as he headed back for the ship, 47 minutes; their longest fight yet.

November 11, 1945 1500 Hours- Borealis Mess Hall

The witches leaned against each other in exhaustion from the battle; this had been their most taxing yet. Deciding to go replenish their strength, all of them decided to head to the Mess hall together. Approaching the Mess, they realized singing was coming from the inside. Approaching the door they opened and listened as music was played and the crew sang.

("Blood on the Risers", 82nd Airborne, J. H. Kight)

One of them men was standing,

"He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,

He checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;

He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,

You ain't gonna jump no more!"

Everyone else joined in for the chorus,

"Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!"

Another one stood as the chorus finished, the witches in shock at what they were hearing,

"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,

Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;

He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,

He ain't gonna jump no more."

They repeated the chorus again before another stood,

"He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,

He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,

The silk from his reserves spilled out, and wrapped around his legs,

He ain't gonna jump no more."

Chorus again, yet another stood,

"The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,

Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;

The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.

He ain't gonna jump no more."

The chorus sounded yet again before another man stood and cleared his throat,

"The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,

He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;

He thought about the medic corps, and wondered what they'd find,

He ain't gonna jump no more."

Again with the chorus, with another brave soul standing, Heinrike and the others blinked in horrified amazement of what they were singing,

"The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,

The medics jumped and screamed with glee, they rolled their sleeves and smiled,

For it had been a week or more since last a 'Chute had failed,

He ain't gonna jump no more."

Chorus, another stood,

"He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT", his blood went spurting high;

His comrades, then were heard to say "A hell of a way to die!"

He lay there, rolling 'round in the welter of his gore,

He ain't gonna jump no more."

The witches continued to listen in a stunned daze as the chorus and music slowed, everyone joined in for the remainder of the song,

"There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,

Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit,

He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots,

He ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

He ain't gonna jump no more!"

The crew burst into cheers as they finished singing; they went silent as they noticed a fuming Heinrike stomped into the room, "How… how could you sing such a horrifying song?"

They all turned and pointed to the table Grant and the other 302 pilots were sitting at; Grant and the others slid away exposing the pilot of Knife-2. The pilot cringed as the angry major approached him; he held his fork up as a shield between them.

"What? You don't like my singing Princess? That hurts."

She froze and turned as she noticed Vought sitting at the table near the door; his hand over his heart in mock pain. She went red and looked to the ground as everyone including the witches broke out laughing.

"What was all this about sir?" Foss asked him as the laughing died down.

He grinned as the men sitting with him moved to different tables; Shirley and Francesca moved to the table with Grant. "Well… it was a slight oversight on our part that almost got Knife-2 killed so… his survival called for a bit of fun."

"What happened?"

Lansby looked to Huberta and sighed, "An oversight on my part. The shields on the 302s are designed to overlap their weapons to prevent something like that from happening. I kept getting errors when programming the computer to accept the bombs so I overrode the shields; they acted as if the pylons were empty so they weren't protected when you know…"

The witches nodded in understanding. "What kind of song was that? It was brutish." Perrine asked with her chin up.

The witches grabbed food and sat down at the various tables; Foss and the rest of her group joining him, "Well that song was written in 1943 in our world by the 82nd Airborne. It was taught to almost every class since then. While I admit the lyrics are a bit… gory… it worked for the situation," he looked to Heinrike, "and I wasn't the one to start singing it; I just joined in."

She huffed and looked away as she sat down near him and began eating; the other witches grinning at her expense.

"Alright sir, so what's the plan? A few days of recuperation and then we attack the Moscow hive?"

"No Foss actually the plan is to rescue our people before attacking the next hive… wait there's a hive over Moscow?" He stared at her in surprise as she shrugged; she took a bite and swallowed, "Well duh, I thought you knew that. Which hive were we planning on going after next?"

"…Uh Novgorod… Shit I need a new plan then…" He stared off into the distance as he thought. In his distraction, Joe reached over and stole the cookie on his tray; breaking it in half as she offered the other half to someone else. None of the other witches wanted it so while she was watching the colonel, she placed it on Heinrike's tray and stuck the other half in her mouth.

"… I'll tell Adolfine after I'm done… what to do about Diego…" He shook his head as he reached down to grab his cookie. His hand danced across the tray and after failing to feel it he looked down in horror to find it missing, "Ok not cool; who the hell stole my cookie? If you speak now you won't be punished." When no one answered he glared at all of the witches; his eyes stopped as they fell on Foss's face, "Joe…" he growled.

"Yeess?" She asked innocently; batting her eyelashes as he stared at her.

"You have crumbs on your face," he stated neutrally.

Slapping her hand to her face she realized in horror that he was right, "Uh… Heinrike did it not me!" She pointed a finger accusingly at the surprised major as she blinked at her. Her expression darkened, "Ma'am I would never do that; you know that."

"Oh, then what's that?" Joe pointed at the tray as she discretely wiped her mouth and began sneaking away. The witches and Vought looked to Heinrike's tray; the remaining half of the cookie clearly visible. Heinrike paled as she glanced at the colonel, "No, no, no sir, I didn't do that, honest. Please believe me…" She dropped her head in shame as the colonel reached his arm out. The others at the table getting nervous at the action but lightened up and began to giggle at the outcome. Hearing a loud crunch, she looked up to see Vought giving her mock angry face while he chewed the remaining sweet.

"It's cool Princess I know it wasn't you. Jokes on Joe though."

"What do you mean?"

He grinned as he motioned for them to watch Foss as she slowed to a stop near the door. She blinked a few times before she started running; screaming for water. She vanished through the door. "Security precaution; I put a hot sauce on my cookies so no one steals them." He grinned as he watched Heinrike grin as well.

November 11, 1945 1530 Hours- Borealis Bridge

He nodded to himself as the display turned off; Allied Command now knew he was throwing a wrench in their plans to end this before the year ended. They also knew it futile to try and change his mind because they forgot to mention the hive hovering over Moscow… they really didn't think that one through. That and the fact that he threatened Command that he would go public with Marseille's capture unless they agreed; they still didn't know who had taken the two hostage. When he had stated that, Adolfine had looked as if she was about to pass out; she was in shock. He collapsed in the chair as he gazed wearily at the crew around him, "Well… we got what we wanted." He stared at their horrified faces before standing, "Ross uh… you have the bridge… I'm gonna go throw up now."

November 11, 1945 1614 Hours- Holding Cell 1, Diego Garcia

"You jackasses better release us now; do you have any idea who I am? I want to talk to whoever is in ch-"

"That would be me Capt Marseille."

Both prisoners stopped moving as a man entered their cell; Nemes growled as he recognized him. "I see my reputation precedes me lieutenant; oh and by the way, nice attempt trying to have CAPT Langsdorff smuggle your suit out. My men were following him and found it; they also found this," he brandished his helmet, "Floating near the sub before you were carried onboard. We will be studying it and don't worry; you will tell us how to operate it."

Hannah looked him up and down, "Who the hell are you?"

The man beckoned Nemes to answer for him, "His name is Reinhard Hydrich; in our reality he was a General in Germany during WWII. He was a lead member of Hitler's extermination team the SS. He was responsible for numerous war crimes and committed suicide in British custody." He sneered at the man, "You wouldn't kill yourself for us right now would you? I'd assist but I'm a little tied up right now."

Hydrich sighed, "I'm sorry lieutenant but I'm afraid I can't do that. Karlsland High Command would not like one of their generals dying on them would they?"

Hannah looked at him disgusted, "You call yourself a leader in MY military? I don't think so. How can you be doing this without anyone knowing?"

He gave her a dark grin, "Oh I have friends in Allied Command. These people get me the funding I need to continue Maloney's experiments so that mankind is once again capable of defending itself. Warfare is brutal and is no place for women like you; ever since these aliens made themselves known, we've been unable to do anything. When I learned that a Britannain had created a weapon system that could easily destroy a hive I thought huh, why not support him? Oh course right before I was able to, a certain… annoying witch unit got him arrested and almost thrown in prison. I was forced to step in and got him placed in protective custody at his house. In return, he gave me all information regarding his creations and the remaining units he was unable to complete. As you saw, I finished what he started."

"But the Warlock didn't work. As much as I hate to say it, Barkhorn and the rest of the 501st were forced to kick that things ass when it went haywire."

He frowned while nodding, "Indeed it didn't work but that was Maloney's fault; he knew one unit was unable to do what he wanted it to. He needed five working together to do that and he rushed it because of the stupid 501st figuring out his secret. Magic shows weakness because not everybody can use it; technology is paramount. He should have eliminated them instead of disbanding them. I fortunately will not make that same mistake." He stated casually as he looked at Marseille.

Realizing what he was implying, and that she was powerless to stop him, she began to shake again; her strong outer image shattering as she realized this man meant to kill her.

Nemes growled again as he realized the same thing, "Really you're resorting to killing children and teenagers? Some military official you are."

Hydrich glared at him, "I live to serve my country; I want these invaders gone just as much as you do. However I also understand that man is meant to be the ones to fight combat, I know you see it; your ship is the same is it not? I mean the alien said it himself, your world has no magic; as it should be."

Nemes laughed, "You know nothing do you? What other information did that stupid Goa'uld spew on you? Did he not tell you that a sixth of our crew is female? And that isn't even counting the witches we have onboard. One of our top pilots is a women and she can be one of the scariest people you will ever meet. I'd love to have her meet you but unfortunately, you'll be dead long before she gets the chance."

He frowned at this information; the alien did not tell him any of this. He shook his head and smiled, "No matter but I'm sorry to have to say that you will probably be the one that dies first here." He turned to leave, "You and I will be having a little chat very soon; enjoy your stay. Good bye captain; we will talk later as well." With that final statement he left; the heavy metal door locking behind him.

The moment he left, the façade Marseille had built up from years of combat finally cracked and she broke down and cried for the first time in a while; she was terrified.

Hating not being able to do anything, Alex once again picked his restraints and made his way over to the crying witch. Not knowing what else to do, he sat on the ground between her and the door; placing a hand on her shoulder as he tried to sooth her. He was not prepared for her to lunge and wrap him in a bone-crushing hug as she cried into his chest. He hesitated, "Ah hell, she needs this," he put his arms around her protectively as he stared at the door; remaining silent as she continued to sob.

November 11, 1945 1720 Hours- USS Lexington, Indian Ocean

Everyone in the hanger watched the images being transmitted by the two UCAVs; they were still in disbelief that someone had managed to build not one or even two Warlocks, but four. After what happened to the Akagi, the crew wanted to go nowhere near that island.

Monroe approached his teams as he finished talking to the Borealis; everyone looked to him, "Alright here's the deal… the Prague hive has been destroyed with no casualties."

The gathered people burst into cheers as he stood there; a smile on his face as he watched them.

"Damn son, you guys are good."

He turned and saluted along with the crew as CAPT Sherman entered the hanger. "At ease, Monroe, Thach, walk with me."

The two in question nodded and followed him down the passageway; headed towards the deck. Reaching the deck, they watched a few planes leave on patrol before he turned to them, "Alright Monroe, what did your eye in the sky see?"

"We witnessed them transferred to the shore and loaded into a jeep under armed guard. The lieutenant was beaten again by the two men the captain had yelled at. We witnessed more of them exiting the ship with his equipment which is not good."

The aging captain looked out over the sea before turning back to them, "What do you think his chances of survival are? And what of Marseille?"

Monroe hesitated as he looked to Thach before turning back to him, "It doesn't look good for Nemes sir; some of our people on the ship think he has less than a 50% chance of surviving a week. As for the captain… we're not sure. Based on how they attacked her before and the men that held another witch at gunpoint during their attack on us, it doesn't look good. According to the colonel, the Borealis is moving south to assist us; I guess he gave Allied Command the finger."

He watched the captain blink a few times before he began to laugh, "Well Monroe, I do believe your colonel and I will get along just fine. Status on the Spee?"

He nodded, "She just left the dock but it looks like the captain is a little hesitant to leave; he stayed on the bridge the entire time during the transfer. Based on his facial expression, he seemed angry at the situation."

Sherman nodded in understanding, "Sounds like the Langsdorff I know… what do you want to do with them?"

"The colonel wants us to divert one of the Hawks to keep an eye on the ship; the other will remain over the island."

"Sounds good but I'm sending a pair of cruisers to intercept him as soon as he's outside of radar range of the base."

Monroe nodded as they both turned to Thach; concern on her face, "Jack, do you think we can save them?"

He turned and looked out over the sea; he wasn't sure.

November 11, 1945 2311 Hours- Holding Cell 1, Diego Garcia

Alex winced as he propped himself up against the back wall of the cell. True to his word, four men had entered around an hour after Hydrich had left and had beaten him near unconscious as Hannah watched from the corner. They had dragged him from the cell to another room as they began their interrogation. He smirked as he remembered the damage he had managed to cause before they returned the favor; his right leg and all of the fingers on his left hand were broken. Hannah had cried herself to sleep on his shoulder at his condition. He looked up at the door and made sure that it was secured before he carefully removed Hannah's hairband, sliding it back on his ankle where it belonged.

"Alex to Kevin," he called out quietly. Seconds later he got a response.

"What's the situation Nemes?"

He winced as he shifted his position, "Not good sir; they're beating me up pretty good already, a broken leg and a few broken fingers. The man in charge basically told us that he was going to kill me and Hannah soon. I'm holding out on giving them information the best I can but… I won't be able to protect her if I break anymore bones."

"Shit… what's her condition then? Is she ok? Have they hurt her yet?"

"Negative sir they haven't touched her yet but she's a mess. She's strong but watching these people slowly kill me and threatening her when she can't do anything about it… she cried herself to sleep on my shoulder. We are in massive trouble."

"Double shit… alright looks like I'm waking up the colonel. Nemes, try to keep yourself and her alive as long as possible; we will be there. I'm going to head out n-"

"Wait… listen, about me, they are trying to get me to show them how to operate the BERP suit but they are missing a piece and don't know it yet."

"What did you do?"

"I gave CAPT Langsdorff the battery and he promised that he was going to get help. He told us he didn't care anymore if he went against orders here."

"Roger that, the 508th is sending a couple of ships to intercept him now. I hope you're right that we can trust him. Did you find out who is behind all this? Is the mastermind on the island?"

"It's god damn General Reinhard Hydrich; it seems the guy is a sadistic bastard no matter what reality you're in. He feels completely indifferent about killing witches; he just wants to prove that mankind is capable of defending itself with technology. He hates that magic exists."

"Jesus… Alex you need to try to hold out. Keep yourself and her safe; that is a direct order understood?"

Nemes gave a small grin before he winced again, "Roger that sir. Nemes out." He cut the connection and listened to the quiet cell before he removed the anklet again and placed it in Tina's sleeping hands; she could hide it again when she woke. Calling it a night, he leaned back and shut his eyes as he attempted to get some sleep.

November 11, 1945 2317 Hours- Vought's Quarters

The colonel looked up from his computer at the knock, "Enter."

The door slid open allowing Capt Harp to enter; he didn't salute which told Vought that something bad was happening, "What happened?"

"Sir, Nemes just contacted me."

Chris stood up as he approached the captain, "What's going on, are they ok?"

He shook his head, "No sir, they've already started to interrogate him; he has a broken leg and some broken fingers to show for it. The man in charge told him that once they got what they wanted from him, they would kill him."

The colonel began to pace back and forth, "Shit, shit, shit… what about Marseille?"

Harp hesitated, "Sir… the man in charge… it's General Reinhard Hydrich; the SS officer from our reality. He told them to their faces that Nemes and she would both be dying. The lieutenant says that the witch has been an absolute mess; she can't do anything to help him and he's doing everything he can to protect her. He said she has completely broken down and has started to cry; hell he said she cried herself to sleep on his shoulder because of his condition."

Vought punched the wall in anger, "That man is going to die a very painful death; suicide is too good for him at this point in time. The moment he touches that witch…" he left the captain to his imagination as he began moving towards the door.

"Where are you going sir?"

"To the bridge, this ship ain't going to fly itself. Adolfine also said to wake her if the situation changes. We are going to have a battle staff meeting in the morning; make sure you're there."

Harp chased after him, "Sir, Nemes also said that he had CAPT Langsdorff take the BERP suit's battery as he left the island. As we saw from the drones, the Spee is indecisive about what it wants to do and Nemes stated that the captain wants to help in any way possible."

Vought stopped his advance, "Well, we will find that out in a couple of hours, the battle group dispatched a pair of cruisers to intercept her."

November 12, 1945 0712 Hours- Admiral Graf Spee, Indian Ocean

"Captain, the recon plane has spotted two ships on the horizon; based on their heading, they are moving towards us. The ships are contacting him; they are telling him to relay a message to us."

Langsdorff sighed, "The lieutenant was right… we were under surveillance. It is time to prove our resolve," "What's the message?"

"They are asking us to state our intentions." The bridge crew turned to the captain as they waited for his response.

He thought for a moment before he made up his mind, "Tell them that we intend to return to that island and rescue those two prisoners and that they are not to stand in our way."

The crew gave approving nods as they turned back to their stations; a few minutes later they got their reply.

"The ships are ordering us to heave to and hold this position; they will be with us within the next hour or so. Only then will they believe us."

The captain nodded, "Helm, all stop. Make sure all weapons are safed and plugged; all crew members will be visible when the ships arrive."

1 Hour Later

"Well then we may have just signed our own death warrant here," thought the captain as the two ships reached visual range. Both were heavy cruisers and while one he wasn't very afraid of, he could run from it if he needed to, the other he was. The two ships broke apart as they approached; one going down each side of his ship with their primary guns aimed directly at them.

Going down his port side was the Britannian County-Class heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland. Armed with eight 8-inch guns, the Spee could out gun and out run her. The ship going down the starboard side though was the problem; if this confrontation turned ugly, this ship would be the death of them.

Heading down the starboard side was the Liberion Alaska-Class Large Cruiser USS Alaska. The Alaska was armed with nine 12-inch guns and unfortunately it could also out run them. The ship was also armed with twelve 5-inch guns; eight of which were currently aimed at his ship along with the 12-inch guns. If these ships didn't believe them, his ship was going to be underwater very quickly.

A thumping noise caught his attention as a strange twin-engine aircraft flew low over the Alaska and headed straight for them. As it passed over the engines rotated upward and the aircraft came to a hover over the Spee's fantail; ropes falling from the rear as it hovered. He also noticed with sadness as a group of witches flew down and joined the men rappelling from the aircraft; once it unloaded them, it flew over and landed on the fantail of the Liberion ship. He turned to his XO, "We need to show them we mean no harm; we need to get down there."

Board Room, 15 Minutes Later

The two Americans continued to read the note left by Nemes and the battery he had left behind. The witches and the other Americans holding the command staff at gunpoint while they waited.

One of the men looked up, "This is Nemes's hand writing and he did not write the duress word. He says we should trust you… we will now put down our weapons and listen to what you have to say."

Langsdorff sighed in relief; he now owed the man he left to die on that island, "Thank you. So as we said in our transmission, we are going back to try and rescue them. I regret leaving them there and I want to apologize to all of you," he looked to Thach, "especially you commander. Marseille is a member of my own military and I treated her like a prisoner. I do not deserve to wear this uniform." He looked down.

Thach clenched her hands as she walked towards him; a neutral expression on her face. The command staff was nervous but they understood and were willing to accept death if it made up for what they did.

"Captain…" Langsdorff looked up. "You help us get them back and you will deserve to wear that uniform."

He sagged in relief as he leaned back against the wall; his staff doing the same as everyone in the room finally relaxed. He looked up at them, "So what's the plan and what can we do to help?" He walked back to the table as one of the Americans brought out a map.

"The 508th has four big gun cruisers; five if we count the Spee now. We have the Cumberland, Exeter, Alaska, and Guam. The max firing range for the Exeter and the Cumberland is 28 km so that is our minimum range for the fleet's guns. In a few hours, we will also have three carriers and six destroyers as well. We received word that our ship is heading south and will be in range in a few hours as well."

Langsdorff processed this information and shook his head, "We can do it but what about the Warlocks? We'll be sitting ducks for them."

Thach shook her head, "My ladies and I will take care of those boys."

He shook his head again, "I mean you no offense commander but the reports I have read indicated that the 501st barely managed to defeat one of these things; and they had one more witch than you. There are four of them ready to fight to defend and this island."

"You worry about conventional units and the shore batteries; our people will deal with the Warlocks. What is the range of their surface radars? Can we get within range without them knowing?"

He shook his head, "I don't think so, they can detect us from about 40 km out."

The soldier nodded, "Understood, looks like we're going to have to jam the shit out of them then. I'll go let the colonel know."

"There is one more thing," Langsdorff stated causing everyone to turn to him. "One of my men… may have switched places with one off the island. This other man may also be locked in storage right now." The Americans turned to each other before turning back to him, "Show us".

November 12, 1945 0910 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room

The witches gasped in horror as Vought finished speaking. "A soldier of Karlsland… doing this… it makes me ashamed to be part of this." Minna stated dejectedly.

Vought sighed as the table brought up a 3-D image of the island and the forces they had at their disposal. "I'm sorry ladies, we should have acted sooner."

Mio grit her teeth as she stared at the table, "Such a disgrace to a uniform." She went white as she realized something, "If this General does indeed manage to kill her… the Star of Africa… every nation in the world is going to want vengeance for this. That means…" she looked at Minna in pain.

"It means that Karlsland will be labeled an enemy and your remaining countries are going to attack them as well as the Neuroi. We should have seen this much earlier; I'm sorry." Vought stated sadly; Huberta, Minna, and Hanna all looking away in worry. The image of the island and the ships closing in on it revolving slowly as the group stared at it.

Mio looked up, "What can we do to help?"

Vought sighed, "Unfortunately not much," he held up his finger as the witches all tried to speak, "You ladies aren't trained in an amphibious landing and with that many of these Warlocks airborne… you'd be sitting ducks. As we speak, we are prepping troops with scuba gear and some Jumpers to deploy them from underwater. They will attack from the beach as our aircraft and aircraft from the fleet deal with the Warlocks; the ships will be providing gun support for the teams. The image changed shape showing different attacking points. We've just received word from our men on the Spee that CAPT Langsdorff had one of his men switch places with someone from Diego. He then took the other man into custody; his man on the island will attempt to disable the surface search radar allowing our ships to get close enough to attack them. If you ladies wish to help," he held out a stack of paperwork, "This is all the information Adolfine gathered on the Warlocks. Look over it and add or change anything you need to. Minna, Mio, I'm counting on you two to give us the intel we need."

The two witches nodded determinedly, "Good, get to it; ladies try to help them."

He waited for the witches to vacate before he turned to Lansby, "What?"

He held up a radio, "This is for you."

He grabbed it, "This is Col. Vought, who is this?"

"Col. Vought, what a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I am General Reinhard Hydrich; I believe you made have heard of me."

Vought growled, "Listen you kraut bastard, you lay one finger on those two and I will kill you myself."

"My, my colonel; how disrespectful can you get to a superior officer? No matter I won't call you out on this."

He growled again, "What the hell do you want?"

"Well, I received this frequency from your man 1st Lt. Nemes; I do say, he is being quite cooperative. Anyway if you would like to have them back, why not offer a trade of some sort."

"How is he transmitting this far…" "That depends on what you want in; the US does not negotiate with terrorist."

"Such a hurtful thing to say to a superior… anyway I would like a chance to study that weapon again that we borrowed from you a few months ago. You do remember it don't you? Your men retrieved it and judging by the fact that the submarine survived, you managed to disarm it."

Vought looked to Lansby who was writing something down; he spun the tablet around, "Mark IX still unstable. Movement not recommended." "That might be able to be arranged; How do I know you will keep your word and hand them back to me alive?"

"You have my word as a General of Karlsland that they will be returned to you. As for my radio signal, I'm using one of my Warlocks to relay the signal. I'm sure you've heard of them before."

He turned to Lansby again, "Find it," before he looked back to the radio, "How would you like to do this?"

"We could set up something later today perhaps… an exchange of sort. Judging by my lack of communication with Trevor, I'm assuming he's under arrest or dead so you must know where I am by now."

Lansby flipped his tablet around again, "Found it."

November 12, 1945 0932 Hours- Interrogation Room, Diego Garcia

Hydrich grinned as he handed the radio back to his man; turning as he glanced at Nemes on the floor, "Your leader is more gullible than you thought lieutenant."

Nemes growled weakly from the ground; spitting out blood before speaking, "You're going to die you bastard. Why not just surrender now while you have the chance?" He grabbed his chest with his good hand as he began to cough uncontrollably. He had given the men the ship's frequency only after they had beaten him again; from the pain he felt he knew he had broken ribs. He only spoke after they threatened to harm the young witch still in the cell.

The General shook his head in disappointment, "Why do you still hold out on me lieutenant? You will be dying soon anyway so why not help benefit mankind?"

"Go to hell."

He shook his head again, "So much insubordination fr-" he stopped as a new man entered the room and began whispering in his ear. His face contorted in anger, "What do you mean we lost the Warlock?!"

High above the base, pieces of Warlock #2 rained down.

As the colonel had cut off communications, the Stealth Hawk orbiting the base had used it's LADAR to search tens of thousands of cubic feet of airspace as it searched for anything airborne. It had only found one target that was not producing an IFF and after receiving commands from the Borealis, the Hawk had nosed over and dived towards the Warlock. Despite being unarmed per say, the Hawk did still have one trick up its sleeve as it kamikazied into its target; a 500lb thermium nitrate demolition charge. The explosion completely obliterated the unsuspecting aircraft.

Nemes grinned at the General as he lost his temper, "What was that sir? Your toy broke?" He yelled out in pain as Hydrich kicked him in his chest on the way out.

"Throw him back in the cell. How the hell did we lose it? There is nothing around us."

The man that had given him the bad news shifted nervously, "Uh well… we have no idea sir; radars and the Warlock's sensors detected nothing near it. One second it was there and transmitting, the next it was gone and people began reporting debris falling."

Hydrich punched the wall in anger before he regained his cool, "Radio the Spee, tell Langsdorff to get back here NOW and to get ready to defend this base."

November 12, 1945 0942 Hours- Holding Cell 1, Diego Garcia

Hannah looked up in alarm as the cell door was again thrown open; relaxing slightly as she saw Nemes. She panicked again as she noticed the blood dribbling from his lips, "What did you bastards do to him!?"

They laid him against the nearby wall before walking out; the door slammed shut behind them. She rushed over to him as she began checking to see if he was still alive. She stuck her ear to his chest to see if he was still breathing; a groan and a weak push made her move away.

"Ug… please don't… broken ribs…" he coughed up some blood before he finally opened his eyes. She looked at him in horror.

"Why… why do they keep doing this to you? Please Alex you can't keep doing this; start giving them something I… I don't want to be here alone…" She looked down; more tears forming in her eyes again. She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder; she looked up to see Nemes giving her a weak smile.

"It's… it's gonna take a lot more than this to kill me." He closed his eyes again in pain as he began to cough again.

Hannah rubbed his back gently as she attempted to ease his pain, "What I wouldn't give to have Miyafuji's powers about now." They both stiffened and turned to the door as it began to open again.

Finally ready to put her foot down, Hannah activated her magic as she stood up; determined to be the protector this time. When only one nervous man entered, the two of them became confused as the man nervously looked out the door before partially shutting it.

Hannah blinked in recognition; "You're one of the Spee's cre-" She was cut off as the man put his hand over her mouth. "Shh… please. I… I can't be here too long. Someone will realize I'm not supposed to be here." He held out some pills to her, "These were all I could find and they won't do much but…" He looked at the confused lieutenant, "they will help ease the pain. I am truly sorry sir; it is a disgrace to my uniform what we have done. CAPT Langsdorff wishes for you to know that he is returning. We will help to rescue you." He began walking back to the door as Marseille took the medication.

"Wait…"

He spun around again to Nemes who was trying to sit up further; Marseille helped him, "Can you get her out?"

He looked nervously out the door before turning back to them, "I'm sorry lieutenant, I can't. Not right now anyway. I will try to come again soon; please hang on." With that he slipped back out the door; carefully closing it behind him.

Shaking her head Hannah helped Nemes take the pills. She sat back down and removed her jacket; tearing it apart as he watched.

"What are you… doing?" He asked weakly.

"Making your life slightly easier; we're going to wrap your chest up a bit to help ease the pain. When we get out of here, you owe me a new jacket, got it?"

Nemes nodded weakly as he leaned his head back again; falling unconscious from the pain.

November 12, 1945 1000 Hours- Borealis Bridge

"That bastard owes me a new Stealth Hawk. Make sure we bill him for it," the colonel stated as he monitored the situation from the control chair.

Ross nodded as he re-entered the bridge, "Will do sir; the Jumpers teams are ready for launch on your go."

Vought nodded as he activated the comms, "Vitaly, I'm leaving this one up to you; bring those two home alive."

"Will do Chris; we will make these people pay in blood for what they have done."

Vought nodded to himself as he studied the tactical display. Diego Garcia was significantly different from their reality at this point in time. Around the island were four dual 8-inch gun emplacements and dozens of anti-aircraft batteries. Had this base been closer to the Neuroi, this would have been normal; in the middle of the ocean when the closest hive had been nearly 4000 miles away, it stuck out a bit. Along with the four-sorry three Warlocks the base currently possessed, there were four dozen BF-109s and Spitfires. Mounted at the base's control tower was a massive air search radar with 150 mile range; one of the best for its time. It also had two surface search radars on either side of the island; one of which had been shut-off after the Spee had re-entered visual range.

"All Jumpers are clear to exit; descend and enter the water at your leisure."

He received the warning from the ship as the Jumper Bays opened dropping five Jumpers out into the air; the bays closed again.

Along with all of the aircraft and weapons, the ship had a few transport ships and based on the personnel roster Adolfine had found, there were close to 4,000 people on the island.

Vought watched the Jumpers dive underwater as they approached the edge of the island; spread out in a star pattern. Each Jumper contained 15 soldiers; armed to the teeth with guns and explosives. Due to the scuba tanks each required, they had to cut down on the number of people being transported. He also watched as the ships of the 508th slowly approached their firing positions; the six destroyers and two Britannian cruisers closer to island with the two Liberion ships hanging back at a further range. The three aircraft carriers waited further out for the order to launch their fighters.

Serenity appeared as he turned to look at her, "You see my plan… what are the odds?"

Her avatar frowned as she processed every scenario, "There are too many unknowns colonel."

He frowned as well, "That's what I was afraid of."

"Sir, one of the Warlocks just took off and is heading south."

He spun to the technician as the bridge door opened and Minna and the others spilled in.

"Ladies you can't be i-"

"Bullshit Matt we're staying, she's a bitch sometimes but she's one of us." Foss stated as she marched past him and sat at the tactical console; the other witches following suit.

"Is it going to see the fleet?"

"Uh… negative sir. It appears it's just heading south… it just turned west; it's going to spot the carriers!"

November 12, 1945 1011 Hours- USS Lexington, Indian Ocean

Sherman frowned at the report the Borealis had just radioed to him, "Shit looks like it's starting early. Radio the Victorious and the Shoukaku; tell them to start launching all fighters at this time. We need to defend the ships. Tell the Victorious to give that vehicle a clear line of sight." He waited nervously as the fleet's aircraft took to the sky and before long, they were under attack.

At the edge of the formation of ships, the Warlock radioed back what it was seeing in the ocean; receiving orders, it began it's attack. Charging it's beam weapon the Warlock targeted the first ship in range and fired. The ruby red beam stabbed through the air and neatly cut a Fuso frigate in half before the ship exploded. Approaching the fleet at high speeds, it began to target the aircraft with its chain guns.

As the frigate began its trip to the bottom, the fleet began to retaliate. The two Liberion light cruisers on the edge of the formation entered range and began sending up a wall of flak.

The two Atlanta-Class light cruisers were not very effective in surface to surface combat. Due to their narrow weapon arcs, the ships could not successfully concentrate fire. However this meant they had excellent arcs for attacking aircraft. Armed with sixteen 5-inch guns and sixteen 40mm Bofors guns, these ships could shred any aircraft that approached them. That was, if their target stayed in range.

The moment the men on the island had identified the ships, they instructed the Warlock to keep them as far away as possible and instead told it to attack the Fuso carrier.

The Shoukaku and its escortsvaliantly blazed away at the Warlock as it approached but it was too little too late. The Warlock once again raked its beam over the deck of the carrier causing a massive bloom of fire to appear as the planes stuck on the deck exploded. As the wind blew some smoke away, the deck could be seen burned clean through; a perfect line gouged up the center of the ship. Damaged but still alive, the ship attempted to limp away from the battle.

Wanting to kill the target, the Warlock continued pursuit only to pass by the Victorious as it made another run with its laser. The men on the island watched as the board blared warnings as numerous warning lights lit up; on the Warlock the charged beam faded away; the laser had been destroyed.

Passing in front of the Britannian carrier, the Warlock had inadvertently passed in front of the Russian anti-aircraft gun. First used in 1962, the ZSU-23-4 "Zeus" was one of the most feared anti-aircraft guns in history. Equipped with a decent radar and good mobility, the Zeus could get to wherever it was needed to defend ground targets. The four 23mm cannons, nicknamed "the sewing machine," had a combined firing rate of nearly 4,000 rounds per minute and could mulch any low flying aircraft or even slightly damage tanks with the amount of lead it put downrange. The only reason this vehicle was being phased out was because of the US made A-10 Warthog which was made specifically to survive hits from 23mm guns. As the Warlock passed by, the crew of the gun had managed to put a full second burst into it as it broke contact and ran away saving the Fuso carrier.

November 12, 1945 1014 Hours- Borealis Bridge

The crew sighed in relief as they watched the Warlock run from the fleet with nearly 40 aircraft chasing after it.

"I owe those boys a drink Vought, what do they like?"

Vought grinned, "You'll have to ask them yourself Sherman. Sorry we were late, my fighters are launching now. They'll take care of that thing you concentrate on the island."

"Alright then if you insist. Are we starting the bombardment now?"

"Yes."

"Time to get busy."

November 12, 1945 1011 Hours- Admiral Graf Spee, Indian Ocean

"Hm… that isn't good," Langsdorff stated as the crew watched the Warlock take-off. His ship had returned to the island as ordered and was currently patrolling up and down the western edge. Discreetly he had his gun crews begin to range the large gun emplacements.

He got a knot in his gut as he watched the aircraft head due south; he turned to his XO, "Get the gun crews ready to fire. I want those guns destroyed in the first salvo." His XO nodded as the ship slowed ever so slightly. He turned to the American, "Any word yet?"

The soldier shook his head, "Not yet but-" his radio squawked, "All ships start shore bombardment. Keep fire to your assigned sectors; the men are landing."

"Tell the guns to open fire!"

The XO nodded as he sent the message.

Outside the bridge, the fore and aft triple-gun turrets rotated towards shore. Through his binoculars, the captain could see the men on the shore staring at the ship in confusion. Seconds later the ship rocked as all six 11-inch guns fired. The six 660lb semi-armor piercing rounds screeched through the air with the sound of a freight train and smashed into the two 8-inch gun emplacements; when the smoke cleared, Langsdorff grinned; both emplacements had been destroyed.

"Tell the crews to begin attacking the anti-aircraft emplacements; we need to protect the aircraft."

His XO nodded again as he relayed the order. Langsdorff looked at the buildings on the base and prayed, "Please let us not be too late."

There we go, another chapter down. So I went there… my thinking is this story needed a real villain and for this time period, what is more evil than a Nazi? If you don't like it, don't read it; plain and simple. Anyway on another note, I left it on another cliffhanger… this is becoming kinda repetitive; I'm going to start trying to cut down on it. I managed to survive finals and even managed to get this up on time so here you go readers; have at it. I will see you all next time so Ghostrider21, signing off.