Chapter 14: Trinity
Hey everyone here we go for the second part of the battle. I know you want to get right into it so there's nothing much here. Go enjoy it, there is more at the end. I do not own anything but my OCs and the storyline, everything else is owned by their respective companies.
Previously
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."
November 12, 1945 1015 Hours- Team 1, Diego Garcia
Like monsters from the deep, they rose from the surf dropping the patrol near them as they ditched their scuba gear. Sokolov and his men fanned out as they listened to reports coming in from the other teams; the naval gunfire raining death upon the defenders.
"Vitaly, you guys in position?"
"Affirmative; once we eliminate the nearest triple-A, we will radio for the CID."
While the CIDs were capable of much; even surviving a near orbital jump without a parachute; deep water was still their worst enemy. Sokolov had to eliminate any anti-aircraft threat near him to prevent the surprisingly fragile Jumpers from getting shot down. The transports would be bringing both CIDs and a number of Tin Men. His group and one other were getting the CIDs; their goal was to secure the hostages.
"Alright remember the signal; according to the captain of the Spee, his man will be attempting to get the two of them to safety. However according to our last contact with the lieutenant yesterday… he is not in very good shape." His men nodded in understanding as they finished prepping their gear.
Moving out the team cut through the fence and stepped onto the road that ringed the v-shaped atoll. They stopped and took cover as a pair of 6x6 trucks drove by with a trailer loaded with ammo; the booming of a large caliber anti-aircraft gun marked their target. His team moved through the brush as they approached.
On the other side of the brush was a four gun battery of Liberion made 120mm anti-aircraft guns and their control radar. Laid out around the guns were a number of machinegun teams tasked with defending the battery. Sokolov motioned for his team to spread out as they prepped their grenade launchers. On his mark, all 15 GP-30 grenade launchers "blooped" as their payloads flew towards the men.
Fired out of the launchers were VOG-25P bouncing grenades. As the grenades impacted the ground, small charges detonated blowing the grenades back into the air at a height of approximately a meter before finally blowing; killing or maiming anyone within six meters. When his team poked back out, only a handful of shots were required to mop up the survivors; the scene was not pretty as him and his men moved up and began throwing explosives into the breeches of the weapons.
"Borealis, Team 1 is secure. Send reinforcements." Explosions punctuated his statement.
"Roger Team 1, Jumper inbound."
Sokolov turned to the trucks as a Jumper decloaked and landed behind him; Tin Men and a CID exiting before the ship took off again and headed home.
The CID walked up to him as his men commandeered the vehicles, "Where do you want me boss?"
The colonel grinned, "Well lieutenant, knock that ammo off the trailer and you now have a ride."
November 12, 1945 1015 Hours- Team 3, Diego Garcia
"Ah the good old days… I never knew how much fun naval gunfire could be. Why'd the navy have to go and strike those two battleships from the register… ah well, at least I can tell my grandpa I got to live through a real ampib landing." Thought Capt Thompson as he and his team moved their way off the beach; the heavy bombardment rolling over their heads in a nearly continuous roar as it decimated the defenders. His team had met a surprised patrol near the water's edge as they had tried to spot the attacking ships for the remaining gun emplacements. They were completely unprepared for a 15 man Marine team to attack from the sea.
His team moved through the fence and onto the road as they searched for their target that the Hawk circling overhead had detected. They all ducked as the Warlock zoomed over; followed by a pair of 302s. "Stupid fly-boys, better keep that thing away from us or else…" he growled as they pushed through the trees. His team stopped at the sound of diesel motors and rapid fire cannons.
Thompson looked around a tree into the clearing, "Again with these things… somebody up there must hate me." He turned to his men, "you two; launchers up." The two in question nodded as they moved away from the group; their SMAWs at the ready as they took aim at the two vehicles in the clearing. "Fire," Thompson ordered as the two launchers spit their rockets out.
In the clearing engaging the aircraft from the 508th were two self-propelled anti-aircraft guns; one Britannian Crusader Mk III AA and a Karlslandic Flakpanzer IV. The two rockets raced from either side of the clearing and buried themselves in the thin armor of the guns; detonating the stored ammo and sending pillars of smoke into the sky as they burned. Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Thompson's team moved into the clearing, "Team 3 is good to go."
"Roger -3, CID inbound."
The captain watched as the Jumper decloaked and landed in the clearing; disgorging its troops before returning to the sky. "Please don't let it be Peterson, please don't let it be Peterson, please d-"
"Sup captain, it's been what, a week? Time flies when you're having fun; am I right?"
"FUUUUCKKK!" "Just shut up Peterson and start leading; let us know if you find anything."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't worry about it. I've got this." The civilian CID operator boasted as he led the formation towards the airfield. Thompson ground his teeth as his eyes burned holes in the back of the CID's head. "So going to kill that asshole." His team continued moving up through the brush as the sound of engines and sirens reached them; they had reached the airfield.
November 12, 1945 1021 Hours- Command Room, Diego Garcia
Hydrich growled as he glared at his men, "What the hell is going on out there?"
"Unknown sir, Warlock #3 was in the process of attacking the enemy carrier fleet when something managed to damage it; the laser is offline until we can repair it and now those aircraft from the other reality are attacking it. It's only a matter of time before it's destroyed; we are outmatched."
Another soldier spoke, "Sir, the enemy bombardment has stopped and most of our anti-aircraft guns are destroyed. What do you want us to do?"
"We've just detected men in strange camouflage and weapons attacking the airfield; they are slaughtering anyone near them; orders?"
"Warlock #3 has been shot down."
The General glared at the table as he thought; he began to grin as he came up with a plan. "Go collect the prisoners; bring them outside. I will be there shortly." He turned to the others, "Activate numbers 4 and 5; they are to protect me on the runway."
The men nodded as they went to work.
November 12, 1945 1023 Hours- Holding Cell 1, Diego Garcia
Hannah looked up and uncovered her head as the shelling finally stopped, "Alex listen, maybe they are coming to get us. Alex?" She looked over at the wounded American as he continued to sleep; ever since she had managed to wrap his chest he hadn't woken up again and she was getting really worried. He hadn't spoken in an hour and she was getting scared again. Leaning over she attempted to find his heartbeat; she sighed in relief as she heard a small but ragged breath coming from him. She looked at him, "Please hang on Alex… it sounds like help is finally here." She looked up hopefully as the door opened. She froze when six gun barrels were stuck in the room instead.
"Follow us, now," one of the soldiers ordered as two others entered and roughly grabbed the injured man.
November 12, 1945 1025 Hours- Borealis Bridge
Everyone on the bridge watched and listened as the highly trained men and women pushed their way towards the few buildings on the island.
"…I guess we would have gotten in the way… sorry sir," Foss muttered as she watched the carnage these soldiers were dishing out; with no casualties to show for it.
"Its fine but I'm surprised; I would have expected all of the Warlocks to have gone airborne the moment the carriers were detected."
"The man in charge is afraid of losing anymore; they are too important to him to just throw to their deaths."
Everyone turned to Eila as she finished speaking; she looked away as she dismissed her familiar; her tarot cards going back in her pocket.
"Wow Eila did you get all that from your powers?" Yoshika asked in wonder.
She nodded, "That and the fact that the remaining two are defending that guy," she pointed to the screen as a few soldiers and the General exited the hanger followed closely by the remaining Warlocks in their humanoid form.
Vought glared at the screen, "Serenity," the Lantean AI appeared and nodded as the colonel stood up and headed towards the door. Hesitating, Barkhorn looked to Minna who nodded before she ran after him. He gave her a sideways glance as he continued walking, "Can I help you with something captain?"
"Sir… I'm… I'm coming with you. I know Marseille and I don't get along but… I can't let her die till I prove I'm better than her."
He sighed as he looked at her again, "Fine but you're staying on the Jumper until I say so; do I make myself clear?"
She nodded, "Crystal clear sir."
November 12, 1945 1027 Hours- Diego Garcia
Hydrich grinned as he watched the Puddle Jumper circle the field once before landing near a concentration of their troops, "Fascinating technology… maybe I should try to negotiate for one of them?"
His soldiers stared nervously as the colonel and a team of the grey suited soldiers approached them, "Greeting colonel, welcome to my little slice of paradise."
Vought growled at him, "Enough with the chit-chat; where's my people?"
Hydrich grinned as he snapped his fingers; a group of soldiers exited one of bases remaining trucks dragging an unconscious lieutenant and a gagged captain with them. "There, see? They are in one piece as promised. Now I think it's time for you to show me your end of the deal."
The colonel growled again as he looked the two over; the pleading look on Marseille's face was making his blood boil, "I thought I said not to touch them?"
The General sighed as he held his hands up, "The lieutenant had an unfortunate accident and fell down a flight of stairs; we've treated him the best we could but," he shrugged, "He's still unconscious."
Vought held up his hand as his men gripped their weapons tighter; he radioed for another Jumper. Both parties watched as the Jumper circled above before descending towards a trailer parked near the two robots and they watched as the covered weapon was dropped onto it. The Jumper vanished again before heading back to the ship. "Now hand them over Hydrich. Those weapons have brought my reality nothing but trouble. From the moment they were created, an arms race was started that nearly caused the end of the world. We still have problems with them today."
Reinhard grinned again as he peeked under the cover to check that the weapon was indeed the same. Nodding to himself he turned back to the other party and made his way over to his prisoners. "And what's to stop me from taking the weapon and doing this?" He asked as he drew his sidearm and aimed it at Marseille; she froze as he flicked the safety and fired. They watched stunned as Nemes slumped to the ground in front of her; her shield slick with blood as he fell.
Despite making her worry, Nemes had feigned unconsciousness for the past hour so that he could get the element of surprise. Hearing the safety click, his training kicked in as he stood on his one good leg and spun himself in front of the surprised witch. He felt his back hit her shield as his confused mind remembered, "…oh right… you're a witch… sorry Tina." His vision began to swim as he dropped into the welcoming embrace of the darkness; a faraway scream of his name the last thing he remembered.
Hannah dropped to her knees as she stared at the man who had spent the past three days trying to protect her. She almost didn't notice when the guard behind her had his throat cut and her restraints being removed; she yanked off her gag as she grabbed his shoulders and screamed his name.
Hydrich frowned as he watched one of his soldiers kill another and then aim their rifle at him, "Hm… can't say I was expecting that. Who are you with?"
"CAPT Langsdorff sends his regards."
Hydrich sighed as he looked out to the water; no ship was able to be seen, "I'm going to have to have him court-martialed for going against orders; a pity." He turned back to the others, "Kill them," he stated as he hopped into the truck and drove off towards the base with the Mark IX in tow.
The two Warlocks began to fire their chain guns as the base once again burst into mayhem. The soldier grabbed Marseille and Nemes and dragged them behind the truck they were brought on as he began trying to put pressure on his wounds. He turned to Marseille, "I'm sorry ma'am but I'm going to need your help; I can't help him and fight at the same time." He released the American as Marseille slowly rotated to him; one of the soldiers from the base had rounded the other side of the truck and put a round into his chest. The attacker turned to her. Things went into slow motion as she watched the man aim at her; hate in his eyes as he started to pull the trigger. She watched the weapon her savior had dropped slowly fall to the ground. Before he could fire his chest exploded in gore as someone from shot him from across the field. Time sped back up as she caught the weapon; fire in her eyes as she stood up.
Colonel Christopher Vought
"FUCK," he yelled as he watched the two mechs turn to him and the others; he glanced at Nemes and Marseille as the other man tried valiantly to save him. He fired as he noticed the other soldier rounding the vehicle; his shot arrived too late as the man that had saved them took the shot in the gut. Behind him 45 railguns targeted and shredded one of the two advancing mechs; it didn't have a chance as the 3kg depleted uranium shells tore it apart. Realizing the demise of its counterpart, the other Warlock transformed and flew off. He and the others rushed forward as he watched Marseille catch the man's StG 44. Her familiar appeared as she yelled and hopped over the truck decimating anyone around her as she chased after Hydrich.
"Shit! Thomas, get after her!"
"Roger that sir," the operator of CID-7 radioed as he sprinted after the angry captain. He and his team reached the two injured. "SHIT, we need medical attention NOW! PIERCE get ready for surgery, he's bleeding out!"
He jumped back as Foss appeared out of nowhere; slightly out of breath as she grabbed the two injured men and vanished once again.
"Sir, Foss just dropped them both off and passed out, is she ok?"
"No idea; I think she overdid it. Just try to save them. Miyafuji, Malvezzi, you are needed in the Infirmary NOW!"
He and his team cleaned up the remaining soldiers as Barkhorn raced from the Jumper; armed and ready to go. "Barkhorn I told you to stay o-"
"Where'd she go sir? I'll bring her back."
Vought growled as he stared at where he knew his ship was. He sighed and pointed, "You have 5 minutes before I beam all of you up got it?"
She nodded as she ran off after Marseille.
Captain Hannah Marseille
She growled as she put her shield up again as she reloaded. "They will all pay for what they have done." She thought as she fired at the corner of the hanger dropping a squad of soldiers as they rounded the corner. She had seen the general drive into the hanger and had lowered the entire truck into the bowels of the base. Her goal was to kill him or die trying for killing her friend. The sound of a pair of MG42s behind her made her stop her advance as Gertrude slid into cover with her.
"I know what you're thinking Marseille and I don't like this just as much as you do, but doing this on your own is suicide." They both ducked as a grenade exploded on the other side of their cover, "even for you."
"Barkhorn this is a one way trip… for what this bastard has done to me… to Alex… he needs to die here and now." She popped up again as she sprayed a group of advancing men; dropping them in their tracks. Both witches turned as a half-track approached from behind them only to explode as a CID skidded into the area; its grenade launcher spinning as it searched for new targets.
"Ladies, colonel's reminder; we're pulling you out in two minutes." He stopped as a jeep barreled towards him. Catching the jeep the CID rotated and tossed the vehicle and its occupants into the air. The vehicle landed on another group of men as he fired a grenade; blowing the group up in a ball of fire.
Hannah growled as she hopped over the cover; the other two chasing after her as she fired on the move tearing more men apart. Barkhorn stared at her; concerned for the first time for the Star of Africa. Reaching a door for the underground portion of the base, she began to bash her rifle into it in anger as she tried to get it open. Screaming she threw the bent rifle to the ground, "Lieutenant tear this door open now!"
Thomas sighed, "I'm sorry ma'am but I'm under orders not to let you go anywhere where the transporter can't lock onto you." He paused, "I've just received word, the doctor brought Nemes back and the two witches are in the process of healing him; it looks like he's going to make it."
Hannah stared at him in disbelief before she dropped to her knees and broke out crying again; uncomfortable with doing it, Barkhorn reluctantly patted her on the shoulder as the three of them vanished in a beam of light.
November 12, 1945 1307 Hours- Diego Garcia
The general sighed as he looked around the remains of his base, "My friends in command are going to have serious issues finding ways to get me funding to fix it."
In all, three of the four gun batteries had been destroyed and at least three quarters of the anti-aircraft guns had been destroyed. He had only six remaining aircraft of his original 48 and his two transport ships were twelve feet underwater. Of his four Warlocks, only #4 managed to survive. #5 was so damaged his remaining men claimed it was a loss. Of his original 4000 men, only 1267 were still in one piece; he had nearly 500 injured and the rest were dead. All he had to show for it was a few downed aircraft and the one dead lieutenant he had shot.
"The radio's out; load one of the fighters with fuel tanks and go make contact with the base to the north; tell them we need medical aid." He sighed and shook his head as the few remaining engineers headed to the runway to follow his orders. He patted the last remaining Warlock as he re-entered the lower portion of the base; deciding to check on the progress they had made with the weapon once again.
Entering the room he was greeted by an excited scientist, "What?"
"Sir we've determined why the suit wasn't working."
Hydrich's eyes lit up as the scientist beckoned him forward, "We discovered that the power source had been removed and after some time, we were able to determine the proper voltage required to run it."
Both men watched as the cable-powered powered Tin Man armor slowly made its way around the room; picking up heavy objects as it did so. "If we can create a battery or even find a way to use a Neuroi core to power it, we may be able to start replicating something similar."
He patted the scientist on the back, "Great job now do it. Have we learned anything yet about the weapon? Can we recreate it?"
The scientist hesitated, "Possibly, it requires radioactive material and the only ones working on that right now are Dr. Einstein in Liberion and a few teams in Neue Karlsland; we would have to get it from one of them. Oh and we found this sir when we were checking the weapon." He handed him a radio.
Hydrich stared at it for a minute before he burst out laughing, "Oh boy… that's funny. They think they may be able to convince me to give it back." He activated the radio, "Well I am thoroughly impressed colonel; your tenacity is not to be ignored however my people are already figuring out how the weapon works and it's only a matter of time before we can recreate it as well. That and thanks to the late lieutenant, we have been able to get your powered armor working as well; ingenious if you ask me but we will in time be able to recreate it. So the question is, what do you want to do about it?"
There was a long pause before a response was heard, "I guess you are welcome for the entertainment but I'm not the one who has anything else to say. Someone else here has a few choice words for you." There was some static as the radio was handed to someone else; everyone looked to the general as they expected the angry witch. They froze when another voice instead began speaking.
"Remember that thing we said about the US never negotiating with terrorist?"
November 12, 1945 1250 Hours- Borealis Infirmary
He groaned and gagged as he slowly opened his eyes; blinking constantly as he tried to regain his senses. Remembering what had happened he tried to sit up only to be stopped as someone held a hand to his chest that was surprisingly not hurting. He blinked as he tried to speak only to gag again.
The figure looked down on him, "Shh, lieutenant; let's get that tube out of your throat."
With the other's help, the two carefully pulled the long tube from his throat; gagging all the way. Removing the tube from the bed, Pierce sat down next to him as he checked his eyes with a flashlight; Nemes grunted is displeasure.
"Shh," he lightly smacked him in the head, "You're going to wake your girlfriend if you keep that up."
Nemes glared at him and hissed, "What are you talking about? I don't have a girlfriend."
Pierce shrugged casually and pointed to his right which he finally noticed felt a little warmer than normal.
Slowly turning he gaped at the other on the bed with him. Firmly wrapped around his right arm was one sleeping Capt Hannah Marseille. He continued to stare at her in disbelief as he used his free hand to rub his eyes; he turned back to the doctor, "What the hell is going on here?"
The doctor shrugged as he went back to checking his charts, "She refused to leave after we brought you back; you were medically dead for a few minutes. After we revived you, our two resident medical witches put your broken body back together. When they finished the captain then glared at everyone till we all left and then fell asleep just like that; no one dared to try and tell her otherwise."
"How bad was it," he stated in slight shock as he realized he had died.
"Hm… all of your ribs were broken including one that punctured your right lung. Your left leg was snapped cleanly in two at the knee and your fingers on your left hand were all shattered beyond repair; without those two witches you would never have been able to use it again. The gun shot didn't help either; it punctured your left lung, ricocheted off of a rib, the captain's shield, and settled in your liver. You were bleeding out internally and as I said, technically died."
Nemes stared in disbelief, off into space as he processed that level of damage, "How was I still functioning?"
Pierce shrugged, "Unknown, probably you were running on nothing but adrenaline."
Both men looked to the door as Vought and a number of witches flooded the room. They all smirked at the additional occupant in his bed. Heinrike looked away as she went red in the face while Preddy giggled behind her.
In the commotion, Marseille finally awakened and hopped from the bed without a trace of embarrassment on her face; she ignored Barkhorn as usual and instead walked up to and slapped Hartmann on the back with her usual "I don't give a shit" look on her face. She walked up to amused looking colonel and gave him a toothy grin, "Thanks for the rescue sir; it wasn't like we really needed it or anything."
The other witches groaned in disbelief; she was already back to her normally self. It was like she was bi-polar or something. As the witches interacted with their returned comrade, Vought headed over to the bed as Nemes tried to salute; the IV lines preventing him from raising his arm. Vought waved him off, "Well Nemes it looks like you managed to beat me for worst injuries sustained so far; congratulations."
Still struggling with the tubes in his arm he nodded, "Sorry about that sir but I was just following orders."
Vought sighed, "And it almost got you killed lieutenant; I need to apologize."
Nemes shook his head, "No need sir, we had no idea it was going to be that bad."
"But we should have known… anyway Nemes, for your bravery and valor in a difficult situation, blah, blah, blah, and more blah; you get the picture. Anyway I'm promoting you to the rank of captain; congratulations. I'll get the paperwork filled out for when we get back but for now, it's a battlefield promotion; when you're feeling up to it, head down to supply to get your new insignia." He handed him a set of captain's bars.
Nemes stared at the bars in his hands in disbelief as he looked up to the smiling colonel; everyone clapping and cheering for him in the background. "Th-Thank you sir," he sat up straighter, "I will do my best to uphold this rank and everything it stands for."
Vought patted him on the shoulder before his face darkened; his radio had begun to squawk. "Hold that thought captain," everyone continued to listen as General Hydrich finished his monologue; Nemes and Marseille glared at the radio in pure anger.
The colonel responded, "I guess you are welcome for the entertainment but I'm not the one who has anything else to say. Someone else here has a few choice words for you." He handed the radio to him along with a clacker. His eyes lit in understanding as he held both objects in his hand; everyone turned to the nearby screen as it changed to show open ocean.
"Remember that thing we said about the US never negotiating with terrorist?" He eyed the clacker in his hand; understanding the power he currently held, "Well, we don't." With those final words he mashed the clacker.
The screen dimmed as a blinding white light filled it; distorting the image as it grew. The ship began to rumble slightly before it faded away and as the light dimmed, the witches were treated to a sight they would never forget and hopefully never have to see again.
Rising from what they assumed was Diego Garcia was a massive mushroom-shaped cloud. As they watched, the cloud grew larger and taller; waves could be seen at the edge of the screen and from this range that meant they were huge. They continued to watch in a stunned silence as the cloud slowly began to disperse; the small amount of debris falling down as rain clouds formed from the amount of moisture sucked up into the atmosphere.
"…I have become death… the destroyer of worlds…"
Preddy tore her gaze away from the screen as the colonel finished muttering; a sad expression on his face as he stared at the screen.
The witches finally snapped out of their trance as the screen turned off; they blinked before they turned to the colonel, "…That was… horrifying," Minna stated plainly as she replayed the event in her mind.
Yoshika cried into Lynette's chest as the taller girl patted her on the back; the same was happening with Francesca and Shirley.
Vought sighed as he looked at the various reactions before speaking, "I'm sorry ladies but… that happened. The weapon was unstable and we needed to dispose of it before it blew. This seemed like a proper way to get rid of it." He gaze dropped before he shook his head; a small smirk on his face as he looked back up, "Alright ladies and gentlemen let's let the captain," he smirked at the newly promoted officer, "get a little more rest; everyone out."
He waited for everyone to leave before following; he turned once more, "Nemes… that was a tremendous job. It's an honor to have you serving with me. Even though you happen to be nothing but an army grunt," he watched the captain give him a nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Thanks sir… sorry about the deception; Harp explained it correct?"
Vought nodded, "He did so you're off the hook… for now." He deadpanned as he walked out, "Get some rest." As the door slid shut behind him he sighed while turning to his left, "Captain."
Marseille just stood there staring at the ground as she fiddled with the olive green jacket she had been given as a replacement for her leather one. Hearing him, she looked up and gave him a small smile, "Hey sir."
"Come on, I know you have something on your mind; let's go talk."
November 12, 1945 1315 Hours- Borealis Engineering
Vought and Marseille leaned back against the catwalk as they watched the engineering teams work on the next set of weapons for the ship to use against the hives; Bay 1 was currently off limits as some work crews worked in there as well. He turned to Marseille, "What do you want to do now captain? Do you want to return to your unit or…"
She shook her head almost immediately, "I told you once sir, I'm with you guys till the end."
He frowned as he realized that she had meant more than just ending the Neuroi; he dismissed it; now was not the time. "You do realize it is going to get more dangerous from here; the last hive proved that to us."
"Don't care, someone needs to show you people how to fight. Besides, I need to show Barkhorn and Hartmann I'm the best," she grinned as she looked to him; adjusting the new set of goggles on her head as she did so. She felt the band she still had in her hair and pulled it off; staring at it before glancing back towards the infirmary. She looked up, "Why'd he do that? He... risked his life to protect me. He died to save me… why?"
"He was doing his duty and following orders," she looked down at this, "but also because you've seemed to make an impression on him." She looked up again curious, "His duty was to protect our secrets at all cost; giving them the ship's radio frequency was against orders and allowing them to take custody of the BERP suit… that's a criminal offense; we cannot let our technology fall into enemy hands. However he also had orders to protect you ladies at all cost; he went against his primary orders to protect you."
"So he had orders, to let me die to protect your secrets?"
Vought sighed as he looked down to the work crews, "I'm sorry Hannah but it's the truth; you saw what our technology is capable of. You know we can't let anyone get their hands on it or it will be the death of your world." He gave her a smile as he turned back to her, "But I'm glad he disobeyed orders; I realize now that you ladies are more important than that. We might survive our next jump but in the event we don't," he shrugged, "We might have well made a difference here."
She stared at him, silent for a moment before she turned and looked out over the edge. She turned back to him with her usual smirk on her face, "Alright then I guess we're all good then; thanks for the chat sir but one more thing. This conversation,"
"Never happened got it. I owe you that much at least."
She grinned as she headed out, "Thanks sir; I do have an image to keep up."
He shook his head in amusement as he watched her go, "Where you headed?"
"Back to the infirmary; a certain captain didn't believe I was famous."
He shook his head again; still extremely amused and relieved that everything ended up working out. He checked his watch and nervously made his way to the bridge; he had a phone call he really didn't want to make.
November 12, 1945 1347 Hours- Borealis Bridge
The bridge crew cringed as Galland continued to scream at the colonel while he rocked back and forth; stunned at her volume.
"YOU BLEW UP AN ISLAND! THAT WAS BRITANNIAN TERRITORY!"
"But ma'am, you must understand th-"
"DON"T MA'AM ME CHRIS, WE ARE BOTH DEAD WHEN COMMAND HEARS ABOUT THIS! DEAD!"
"But that isn't what our report reads."
She stopped screaming as she looked at the colonel curiously; panic still visible on her face.
"On our report we stated that we received word that the Diego Garcia base was experiencing difficulties with an experimental piece of technology. We retrieved our missing people from a ship transiting the area and made our way there to assist but the experiment went wrong and destroyed the island. Also attempting to assist was the men and witches of the 508th JFW and the Karlsland heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee. Both CAPT Sherman and Langsdorff have reported the same thing. The Fuso carrier Shoukaku was damaged when one of its aircraft crashed into the deck when the island exploded. The explosion also sank a Fuso frigate. We were sorry to report that there were no survivors from the island or the frigate. The ship that kidnapped our people was also sunk in the blast." He nervously stood back and waited as she processed this new information; her mouth ajar as she stared at him. The crew watched nervously as she sat there stunned for a few minutes before blinking and bursting out laughing; crying as she fell out of her chair. Vought sighed in relief as he dropped into the control chair. She finally sat back in her chair; a grin still visible as she wiped away her tears.
"I think I'm in love; you just saved both our lives." She stopped as stared at Vought, "What?"
Ross walked up and waved a hand in front of his face; he got no movement. He turned to Galland, "I think you broke him ma'am."
She blinked a few more times before she began to howl with laughter again; grabbing her sides as tears once again ran down her face. "Te-Tell him… tell him that… that I'll call later… I… want that report as soon as possible… command is gonna love this." She cackled as she cut the connection.
Ross sighed as he turned to the colonel; he was still just staring into space with a surprised look on his face, "Somebody drag him to his room and alert Pierce. How do we even explain this one?" The crew shrugged; they had no idea.
November 12, 1945 1403 Hours- Borealis Infirmary
Pierce sighed as he put down his radio; pulling his feet off his desk as he stood up, "What did the crazy bastard manage to do this time." He glanced at the ward's camera aimed at Marseille as she showed Nemes proof that she was famous; he grinned, "Ah young love… too be like that again." He kissed his finger and touched his family's picture as he headed for the door. Watching Nemes put his anklet back on; he turned around as he got a new idea. Using his computer he pulled up the program the ship had used to first contact him through his implant. Selecting transmit, he started a song on a delay as he headed out.
He stopped again as he reached the outside door, "Hey Chief, you want a ride back to your ship?"
The two captains stopped talking as the formerly wounded Chief Petty Officer from the Spee exited his bed and walked over. Marseille and Nemes gave him their thanks as he walked by, "Well Chief, looks like you did one hell of a job."
The Kriegsmarine member just shrugged, "I was protecting them just like the captain has been doing for us for years." He saluted the two young officers as the two older men left.
"So head down this hall here and make a right; someone will be there to take you to your ship."
The Petty Officer nodded, "Thanks sir, for everything."
"It was nothing; just make sure to tell your fellow crew that you saved the Star of Africa."
He grinned as he walked off; Pierce heading the other way as he snuck a glance back at the door.
Infirmary
Nemes watched the two go as Hannah went back to her explanations of her awards; photos littered his bed showing numerous medals. He just grinned and nodded at her as she continued; happy to have helped her through a rough time. He frowned slightly as his implant indicated an incoming transmission.
("Centerfold" J. Geils Band)
He went white before remembering she couldn't hear anything he was. His white face shifted to red as he glared to the door, "That bastard doctor," he turned back to Hannah as she stared at him concerned, he waved her off as he told her to continue. Thinking of a way to shut the transmission off without speaking was proving tedious. He sighed as he listened to both the witch and the song, "I just can't win, can I?"
November 12, 1945 1400 Hours- Borealis Deck 4
Geena hummed happily to herself as she walked through the ship; happy to be back with everyone she knew. After her near death experience when the Warlock headed towards the carriers, the colonel had not let her go anywhere outside without an escort. She sighed, she may have been grounded but it didn't mean she was unable to defend herself; her shield still worked fine. She perked up again as someone walked by, "Hey Doc, what's ya up too?"
Pierce grinned at her as she came alongside him, "You know if you reworded that question you would have come up with a famous line from this time period."
She thought about it and grinned, "Bugs Bunny?"
He grinned at her and nodded, "Yep, anyway I'm headed to our fearless leader's quarters to check on him. Ross said something about Adolfine and him becoming unresponsive."
She froze in horror before catching back up to him. "What do you mean unresponsive? Is he going to be ok?"
He waved her off as the two of them reached his room; Ross leaning against the wall as they approached. He looked up, "Doc… Geena, he's in there."
Geena stopped in front of Ross as Doc walked in, "What happened why'd he freeze up?"
Ross rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Well… Galland was doing a lot of yelling and then a lot of laughing and… and he froze as she cut the connection."
Doc snorted in amusement from inside as he checked Vought out; he knew vaguely what was wrong and decided to test it. He drew an empty syringe from his jacket and waved it in front of his face; no response. His grinned deepened, "Hey Jean, could you give me a hand here?"
Preddy poked her head in before entering the room; still extremely concerned, "What's wrong is he going to be ok?"
"He'll be fine; just help me lay him down would you?"
May 14, 2018 2022 Hours- Atlantis Conference Room
"You detonated a Mark IX… on Earth… and blew up an island"
"Technically sir, it was an atoll but…"
The room was silent as O'Neill stared at the colonel. The general sighed as he shook his head; his face went through a range of emotions before settling on a small smile, "You got a chance to kill an SS officer; that had to be the perfect weapon for the job."
The remainder of the room relaxed and grinned as well; questions from the audience began to fill the room before O'Neill cut them off. He checked his watch, "Alright, call it a night everyone, we'll pick things up first thing tomorrow. Dismissed and colonel?"
Vought looked up as the two generals as they stared at him, "Yes?"
"Send me the paperwork on any promotions; I'll review them and deal with it."
He blinked as he remembered, "Thank you sir I'll uh… send it as soon as I remember where they are."
O'Neill shook his head in amusement as he left. SG-1 swarmed the colonel and his group as the others sat back and watched.
Daniel adjusted his glasses as he looked at the two witches, "Uh ladies… out of scientific curiosity do you think that…"
"What he's asking is if you can do that…thing again," Cameron finished for him as he looked between the two of them.
Chris and Matt watched amused as the two women looked to each other.
"Well Heinrike, what do you think? Should we oblige them?" Jean asked with a grin.
Heinrike looked away with a huff, "Why should I waste the energy?"
"Because their Chris's friends."
She sighed as she turned back to them; glowing as her familiar once again became visible. Jean smiled and followed suit and soon the two of them turned back to the two men staring at them.
"Happy?"
Jean gave her a wink as she turned back to the two men, "Well guys, what do you think?"
Jackson and Mitchell blinked before looking at the two in interest; Jackson circling Heinrike while Mitchell continued to stare at Geena in awe.
Heinrike's tail twitched in nervousness as Jackson continued to study her closely; she noticed that the one called Dr. McKay was scanning her at the same time. The stares she was getting made her nervous to the point that her antenna appeared again. She blinked in surprise as Jackson appeared, inches from her face as he stared at the manifestation of magic floating over her forehead. The antenna turned from green to pink as he stared while Geena and the others snorted in the background.
He moved away in embarrassment, "Sorry… it's all so fascinating, guess I forgot personal space. So your… crown? What can it do?"
Her antenna went back to green again as she turned to him, "Um… does anyone have a radio?"
The group looked at each other curiously before Sheppard tossed her his. Looking it over she cranked the volume up till static and various security checks could be heard before she closed her eyes and focused; her antenna glowing brightly as she concentrated her magic. The gathered group listened as the radio signal distorted slightly before it began broadcasting a talk show from San Francisco. Concentrating slightly her antenna shifted to a brighter shade of green as the radio switched stations again. She opened her eyes again as her crown faded away; the radio going back to the security checks and static. "I can also detect objects like radar but my range is… limited compared to back home." She looked away, "I hope that explains that."
The group nodded in agreement before turning to Jean.
"What about you ma'am? Could you share with us your abilities?"
Jean turned back to Mitchell, "My abilities aren't very easy to see if I'm not shooting something but…" She looked to McKay as her eyes began to glow slightly; they went back to normal as she smirked, "Dr. McKay you still have some powder on your front pocket from what I assume was a powered donut."
Sheppard turned to the confused doctor and leaned in to stare at his pocket; grinning he looked up, "Well I'll be damned…"
"I can see further than normal and can track a moving object's flight path. I can't predict where it will be but I can track where it is and where it's been so I can find a pattern from that. It's called Hawkeye in case you were wondering." She shrugged as she grinned at them. She dismissed her familiar as everyone turned to Heinrike as she froze stiff.
Holding onto her tail was Vala as she tried to determine whether or not it was real. The night witch went cherry red in the face; cat ears twitching in agitation at being touched there.
The group that knew her began retreating to the door; knowing what was about to take place as they tried to find cover. Watching the colonel and the others trying to get away, Masters got the idea and hid underneath the table getting confused looks from McKay and Sheppard as he did so.
Sheppard looked back to the witch as she began to shake in anger; rage in her eyes as she quickly rounded on the surprised former host of Qetesh. Her tailed twitched back in forth as she finally exploded.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING TOUCHING ME LIKE THAT!"
The whole room rocked at the sheer volume of her voice; Vala blinked in confusion, "Well I was just trying to see if it was real or just like a hologram or so-"
"THAT DOESN"T GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO JUST GRAB MY TAIL! THE PROPER ACTION WOULD HAVE BEEN TO ASK!"
Vala hid behind Jackson as Heinrike stomped forward; she opened her mouth to yell again.
"Princess, please calm down. Think of Vala like Marseille; she does things without caring for their consequences."
Vala glared at Chris as he stuck his head back in the room, "I'm not rash. Tell him Daniel."
Jackson facepalmed as he looked to her, "… I'm not getting involved in this; sorry ma'am for her impulse reactions; Vala apologize."
The witch stopped her advance as she glanced between her intended victim and her friend. Her anger simmered down as the former host sighed and moved from behind the doctor. She just stared before taking an elbow to the arm; rubbing it in anger before turning back to the witch, "…I'm sorry Miss Sayn-Wittgenstein for grabbing you without permission. It wasn't very proper."
Everyone watched and sighed as the witch nodded before dismissing her familiar; Jackson turned back to Vala in disbelief, "You can remember her name yet you couldn't remember where you left your ship?"
She shrugged as the other group re-entered the room, "Never question a women Daniel, we have our reasons."
Chris walked carefully up to the slowly calming witch, "You alright now Princess?"
She looked away while going red, "…Stop calling me that…"
He grinned as he patted her on the head, "But it's part of your name… anyway… you know what don't apologize this time. She had it coming," he stated as he stared at Vala.
The woman in question scowled before attempting to respond only to have Jackson cover her mouth. He gave them an apologetic look as he dragged her from the room. The others re-entered and began to interact once again as the colonel confirmed that she had calmed down. Masters approached the two as he adjusted his glasses; he gave the witch a nervous smiling before looking to the colonel.
"What's up Jon?"
He shrugged, "Nothing much I guess, I was planning on leaving but then I remembered something you might find interesting."
Chris raised an eyebrow, "Go on…"
"Do you remember the proposal you submitted to my company."
Heinrike watched curiously as the colonel stood there with a thoughtful look on his face before realization dawned on him, "It went through?"
Masters grinned and nodded, "After your… disappearance, there was enough moaning and whining from a few select officers and me, that they finally threw money at us."
"How many?"
"Just one for now; in fact we should have the systems completed sometime this month or early next month. You should come check it out."
The colonel grinned, "Hell yeah," the grin faded, "only once the rest of my crew awakens."
Masters nodded in understanding as he began to leave; Jean making her way over as they watched him go; she hugged him as she watched his eyes glaze over while looking into the distance.
May 15, 2018 0845 Hours- Atlantis Conference Room
O'Neill glanced around and nodded; for once he had no interruptions, everyone was quiet, everyone was there, and the colonel was ready to go.
"Alright Vought, get this show on the road."
"Yes sir."
December 1, 1945 0902 Hours- Vought's Quarters
"Enter," Vought called out as he continued to stare at his computer.
After the destruction of Diego Garcia and the subsequent meeting with Allied Command, he and the ship had been put on standby as they decided to do with them. Currently the ship was parked right back where they started at the base in Pescara. He had given the witches and rotating shifts of the crew some time off as they waited for new orders. The 501st happily retook control of their base… castle... thing and had been showing the 504th around ever since. All of the witches were finally happy to have extended time off after all fast paced combat they had seen recently.
He looked up to find a slightly nervous looking blond haired witch waiting with her eyes closed; hand up in a salute. He shook his head amused, "What can I do for you today Godfrey?"
Jane blinked and opened her eyes as she stared at him in embarrassment, "S-sir, Capt Jane Godfrey requesting permission to speak freely sir," she stammered out.
"Jane"
She looked up at him, "Only one of you ladies calls me sir and it ain't you. So once again, what can I do for you today?"
She slowly put her hand down as looked at him, "You sure si- um… Chris?"
He nodded.
"Ok then um… you see, the 6th is Dom's birthday…"
He nodded in understanding, "And you have no idea what to do for her."
"Well I have some ideas but I need some help figuring out a little more."
Vought cleared his throat and looked away; interesting images floating through his head before he banished them, "They may be… married but their just kids… right?" He looked at her as she tilted her head to look at him. "Sorry about that… anyway why not the other witches for help?"
"Well… she's gotten kinda interested in your technology and the way you guys do stuff so I thought to ask you."
He leaned back in his chair in thought, "Hm…"
December 1, 1945 0910 Hours- 501st Hanger, Pescara, Romagna
"Hey ladies, how's it going?"
"Carl!"
Grant smirked as Francesca dropped from her perch and ran over to him jumping excitedly; Shirley grinning and putting down her tools as she followed.
"So what's up?
He grinned, "Oh nothing much, just here to deliver a message from the boss man."
Shirley raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
December 1, 1945 1000 Hours- Borealis Deck 2
"So any idea why he had us meet up here? This sounds like a repeat of last time."
"What happened last time ma'am?"
"Oh nothing much, we just got to go into space; float around in zero-G, stuff like that."
The 504th stopped and stared at Minna in disbelief, "Um what was that?"
Minna gave Takei a smile, "Just what you heard, it was indeed interesting." She turned as she heard footsteps, "Good morning sir, how are you today?"
Ross waved her off as he approached, "I am well thank you for asking. Anyway, I'm guessing you're all wondering why we've asked you here today."
The witches nodded at him; he nodded as well, "Good, if you would follow me then." He opened a nearby door and led them inside; Barkhorn and most of the others gazed in eager anticipation at what they were looking at. As they entered, a grizzled marine inside saluted at the officers.
Ross beckoned towards him, "This is US Marine Gunnery Sergeant Eric Harding; he will be covering any and all safety material you will need for what's about to happen. Gunny…"
The marine nodded, "Yes sir that will be the plan today." He looked at the witches, "You ladies have done a tremendous job from what I've seen. Col Vought though has ordered me to find a way to make you better." He glanced at Miyafuji, Bishop, and Clostermann specifically; "Unfortunately I do not have the time or the authority to get you stronger physically so we will do it a different way." He gestured to the racks of weapons lined up behind him, "That means we are going to upgrade your firepower."
The witches stared at the marine blankly; Barkhorn grinned, "When can we start?"
He gave her a dark grin, "Whenever you want; for most of you we are just going to work on weapon proficiency because we don't want you to go into combat with an unfamiliar weapon." He grabbed a tablet off the fenced in counter, "This contains a list of every weapon; crew served and small arms we have onboard. If we don't have it though, we can make it so start looking; I've been given the whole day to train you ladies."
December 1, 1945 1300 Hours- Observation Deck
"So, you think it was a little much setting the gunny on them like that sir?
"Nah, they're soldiers, they can handle him… I think… I hope or Adolfine is going to kill me." Vought responded as him and Ross watched them train on the firing range. He turned as Lansby entered the room, "Alright Evan, what's the news?"
"Well the next weapon is complete and I'm in the process of programing the attack computer."
Both officers stared at him with blank expressions; he sighed, "This time I've got the shield problem dealt with; it won't happen again."
The colonel nodded, "Good, what of our special project for the last few?"
"We've got one finished and are working on the others; it's going to take some time to shuttle them into position but it should be fine. Do we know exactly how many hives are remaining?"
Vought turned to Ross as he was handed a tablet, "There's between five and seven remaining; two in Russia… Orussia and three to five in Germa- damn it, Karlsland; our overflights and this world's intelligence cannot confirm an exact number of hives there. They are just too close together to get an accurate reading."
Lansby frowned as he thought, "… the hives over Karlsland will have to be dealt with simultaneously or we're going to get caught with our pants down."
Chris nodded, "I'm thinking we're going to have to save this last weapon idea for Karlsland; remember though with the rest of the hives gone, we will have the might of this entire world's military forces behind us. Plus every witch unit there is; as we speak the 508th is on its way to the coast of France to help the 506th." He facepalmed as the other two stared at him, "…damn it again, GALLIA, there I said it, happy?"
The other two grinned at him, "Good enough sir, just be glad the witches weren't here to correct you; I think they're getting tired of you calling their countries the wrong names. We've been here long enough that we should all know it by now." The three men sighed and looked to the deck; Matt and Evan looked to the colonel as he clenched and unclenched his hand in anger at failing them so far.
The commander put his hand on his shoulder, "We'll get through this sir, don't worry. You'll get us home."
Vought looked out the window at the sky, "I hope so Matt… I hope so. Now the question is, what do we do when we're done here?"
The other two were silent as the colonel stared out the window, "These witches I know for a fact don't want us to leave but I owe it to everyone here to go back. I promised I'd get them home… somehow." He turned to the doctor, "Have you had any progress on recovering the ARD's memory?"
"Sorry sir but no; the crystal for it was shattered. There is no hope of recovering anything from it. I've replaced it with a blank crystal but that doesn't help us now."
Vought stared at him, "When we do jump next… if we are forced to retreat… will we be able to return here to repair?"
"Yes sir, that much I know for sure. We may not know our where our reality is but we do know where we are now; we can always return here at any point in time."
Ross sighed in relief as the colonel nodded and gave a small smile, "Good, now to focus on the present; I just have to think of what to do for Capt Gentile's birthday. Any ideas you two?"
December 1, 1945 2114 Hours- 501st JFW Lounge, Pescara, Romagna
Hartmann collapsed on the couch as she stared at the ceiling, "That was hard… why'd he have to make it hard, it was just shooting practice. It's not fair."
"For the last time Hartmann stop complaining; it's unbecoming an officer of Karlsland. Besides, we could all use a little weapon practice." She stared at the tablet she had been given to memorize the operations of the weapons she had been practicing with, "Especially weapons we've never used before." She watched as Maj Doglio turned her's around as she stared at the edge.
"This technology is fascinating; have they explained how they've managed to cram so many electronics into such a small package?"
"I think Grant said something about them switching from vacuum tubes to something called a transistor. It has no glass so they can make them really small and the more they add, the more processing power they can get. He said something else about the number of those things doubling every two years; I think he called it Moore's Law." Shirley stated from the floor with Francesca leaning against her chest.
"Interesting, and the screen?"
"I think Evan was explaining it to me a while ago when I asked the same thing; he blew my mind so I didn't remember much. It was called… an "L" something, you can ask him tomorrow." Preddy answered as she leaned against the couch. The witches had decided to take a small break from the ship and wanted to spend a few days bunking in the castle; the hot bath had nothing to do with their decision at all.
Minna looked around at everyone as they rested; she shook her head in amusement at the condition Miyafuji, Bishop, and Clostermann were in; they were wiped out after a slightly… intense rifle session. She looked to Barkhorn, "You settle on what you're going to do yet?"
Gertrude looked from the tablet, "Yes ma'am, I'm going to try this M242 cannon they have; they're modifying one for me to use. Apparently I'm going to need to wear a backpack so it can be powered."
The commander nodded, "Is it that weapon you were using earlier?"
The captain nodded.
"Good, anyone else think they are going to bring another weapon into combat?"
Shirley nodded from the floor, "My BAR is great but it just doesn't have a lot of ammo. Those M27s felt pretty nice to me and it has a familiar action."
"да commander, I found a modern version of my weapon as well. It doesn't jam anywhere near as much as mine. I believe it was called a Kord."
Minna turned to the sound of a bubble popping, "I'm grabbing something new as well. I found a shotgun that's my style. A big sucker too, seems like it should be fun; the gunny is getting one for me tomorrow to play with." Minna shook her head again as Gentile went back to lounging on a chair.
She turned to Sanya and Eila, "How about you Sanya? I saw you experimenting with some of their explosives."
The night witch squeezed her pillow, "They didn't have a multiple launch system like my fligerhammer. The gunnery sergeant says he may have an idea for me tomorrow though." She squeezed her pillow again, "Sorry I didn't find anything today ma'am."
"It's fine lieutenant we're in no rush. Just pick something if it feels comfortable. Remember what he said; if we can't find something to fit you just go with what you know." Minna gave her a smile, "They don't want us getting hurt."
Sanya gave her a small smile before she and everyone else turned to Francesca who had finally jumped to her feet.
"Alright all that's settled I wanna take a bath!"
The other witches all perked up and looked to Minna as she looked to her XO who shrugged; she turned back to them, "What do you think Joe?"
Foss leaned forward as she stood up and stretched; her familiar appeared as she gave her a grin, "Sure but I'm first." With that, she vanished in a blue glow.
The other witches scrambled through the door as they ran to the bath yelling at which one of them was going to get there next. Minna raised her eyebrow as she looked to Mio who just shrugged. She shrugged as well as the two of them calmly followed after the yellingthea pushing group.
December 1, 1945 2200 Hours- Sokolov's Quarters
(A/N this entire conversation takes place in Russian. Didn't feel like making most of you try to translate it.)
The colonel glanced around at the gathered men and sighed, "Major, what is the current morale of our men?"
Volkov glanced up from his papers, "In better spirits than they were; it seems rescuing the American and the witch gave them a boost. They still mourn the loss of our troops from the initial attack though."
He nodded as he turned, "Well junior lieutenant, how about you? Any secrets plots going on that I should know about?"
The emotionless face of the young lieutenant shook, "No sir nothing threatening to us yet but, some of the others are still wary of trusting the Americans. They do not believe that they will share anything we learn here with us. Some of them are even to the point that they only will obey yourself or Maj Volkov."
Vitaly frowned, "Hm… that could be problematic… get me their names, I will talk with them. If we do not work together, we will not make it home. Alexei, do you trust these Americans; I know you are acquaintances with Vought but do you really trust him?"
The major nodded, "I trust him with my life sir; he saved me and some of my men in Afghanistan and I can never repay him for it. I truly believe that we can trust them."
The colonel grinned, "Good, I trust your judgment; from what I've seen and read, I believe you are right. There is no need not to trust him and I have confidence in what he can do. He may be younger than me… and American, but he is cunning and I like that. Besides I believe he can get us home… in one piece so we need to show the men that they are worth trusting. I'm sure you can come up with something Alexei; you can leave now."
Alexei nodded and saluted after standing; gathering his papers as he left. Sokolov turned to the remaining man, "Artyom, what do you think of the colonel?"
"He is emotionally unstable and this causes some lapse in judgment. However his decisions work in the long run so he appears to be a good leader."
The colonel gave him an impressed look as he nodded, "Very good but what do you really think of him… do you believe he can be trusted?"
Gusev stood there for a moment as he processed the question, "… Yes sir I trust him and will obey his orders. Yours will be followed first and foremost though."
Again he nodded as he grinned, "Good because I am going to give you a new mission. I shall talk to Chris about adding you to his team for whenever he leaves the ship and I will tell him it's because we need members of our unit with them to mesh us."
"The real reason sir?"
"My gut tells me he's going to need someone to help protect him because without him we are not getting home. Until I say otherwise lieutenant, you are now tasked with defending the colonel; with your life if needed."
Artyom showed a brief look of surprise before he cleared his face and saluted, "Understood sir."
Sokolov nodded, "Good, dismissed."
He watched as the door slid shut behind the lieutenant before he sighed and leaned back in his chair; staring at the ceiling as he did so. In English he spoke out loud, "Your move fate."
Yay no cliffhanger this time, I did it! The reason for this chapter and the last one being a little shorter than I've been doing is because it was one big chapter. I wrote the thing and when I finished, it was nearly 25 thousand words; so I split it in two. Anyway, the next chapter I've decided will be canon; I'm too lazy to write another version of the same thing so it will be chapter 15 instead of a one-shot. To make up for it though and as a little gift to all of you, I am extending the next chapter and adding more to it; it will be the longest yet. Because of this however, the chapter will not be released on the 22nd, I will release it on the 25th. Happy holidays everyone and I will see you next time; Ghosterider21 signing off.