Chapter 18: End of Final Combat Operations
This kind of happened soon after chapter 17 went live but… We're over 9000! Technically speaking we're over 10,000 views but then I'm just splitting hairs; nah just kidding, you guys rock. I was never expecting to hit this mark but hey, we're about to hit 11k and I just want to thank each and every one of you. Anyway enough chit-chat; back to the story. I own nothing but my characters and the storyline; everything else belongs to their respective companies.
Previously
A few minutes later the two of them entered Vought's room and Chris began to rummage around in a case hidden under his bed. As he searched for something, Vitaly took a seat at the colonel's table and poured himself a glass as he looked around the room. "Found it." Vought stated as he slammed the bottle on the table.
Vitaly stared at in disbelief, "…You're not serious?"
Vought grinned as he yanked the top off his bottle of Everclear, "Oh hell yes I'm serious… uh limit of one glass per person… half a glass… this is going to suck, why do I even have this?"
January 13, 1946 0947 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room, Novgorod, Orussia
Adolfine and the others raised their eyebrows as the two colonels finally decided to join them.
"What the hell happened to you two?"
Both colonels stared at her with bleary eyes before blinking and sitting down; Vought groaned while Sokolov tried to pretend nothing was wrong.
"Everyone, stop blinking so loud… it's giving me a headache."
Turning their gaze between the two of them Pierce finally clicked, "You two are both hungover; what the hell did you drink?"
Vought groaned again as his head bounced off the table, "Please stop yelling…"
Ross watched slightly amused and slightly perturbed, "There is no way that whiskey was strong enough to do this to you two… and it doesn't smell like vodka… what was it, industrial solvent?"
"Ug… it seems we may have over done it," Vitaly began before massaging his face, "On Chris's bottle of Everclear…"
Everyone who knew what was being discussed looked at the two of them in alarm, "Everclear?! What in the hell would possess you two to drink that shit? It's straight grain alcohol."
"…Vodka… wasn't… strong… enough…" Vought muttered out as he finally raised his head again. He looked pitifully at Galland, "Sorry ma'am…"
Adolfine blinked as she looked between the two of them; she didn't know whether to get angry or laugh at them. Deciding that the current situation they were in was stressful enough, she decided for the latter. She snorted, "Hope that teaches you to drink without me… anyway it's fine. Go find Miyafuji; I'm fairly certain she can cure a hangover."
The two looked at her in hope before slowly standing back up and walking towards the door. As soon as it slid shut, the room burst into laughter with Adolfine laughing so hard she cried. She wiped the tears away as she looked around, "…So exactly, what is Everclear?"
Ross frowned and sighed, "Well, it's a tasteless grain alcohol with an extremely high proof. Do you know how the US proofs alcohol?"
She thought for a moment before nodding.
"Well Everclear has two proofs, 151-proof or 191-proof. They were probably better off drinking lighter fluid."
Her jaw dropped, "What?!"
January 13, 1946 1100 Hours- FOB Ripper, Broyes, Gallia
Hunter-1 looked up from the wing of her 302 as the two hyperspace windows appeared above their impromptu airfield (aka a strip of grass).
"Hey Spins, wake up. Looks like we're finally getting some help."
"…Don't care I'm sleeping."
1st Lieutenant Jasmine "Jazz" Patterson looked at her wingman in disbelief; she had been the one complaining for the past few days that they had no help and that they were being worked to the bone. She hopped down from her bird and stretched as she gave her wingman a look, "Up and at 'em Santos, we can tell them to take tonight's shift."
Her wingman opened an eye from her position against the nose gear of her 302 and groaned as she stretched. She eyed Patterson's hand warily before grabbing it; Jasmine helped yank her to her feet. She glared at the two landing 302s and flipped them the bird, "Two fucking days too late jackasses; where the hell were you!?"
Patterson sighed, "Chill out Maria. We don't even know who it is yet."
2nd Lieutenant Maria "Spins" Santos glared at her friend and superior, "You and I both know ma'am that they gave us a way too demanding position with way too little support they need to hear what we have to say; why does Reaper have to be loved so very very much?" The two 302s landed and taxied towards them. To the sides of the strip, the three SPAAGs lowered their guns as they went back to endlessly scanning the horizon for targets.
As Santos continued her rant, Patterson swallowed as she recognized the two fighters. "Uh Maria… you may want to cool down a bit…" She trailed off as the pilots that made up Hydra flight came to a stop in front of them. Hydra-1 with a calm and slightly amused expression on his face gazed at Santos.
"There a problem lieutenant?" Capt Richard Michaels asked; his wingman stood silently by his side as he removed his helmet.
The two women blinked in confusion before slowing looking down between them to find Santos's middle finger still standing tall. Patterson quickly clamped down on it eliciting a grunt of pain from her. As the two tried to fix the problem, Michaels snorted in amusement while he looked at his wingman, "Nice welcome isn't it Tom?"
1st Lt Tom "Wildcat" Larson shrugged, "I've seen worse sir."
"Have you now?" Michaels nodded as a marine sergeant made his way over; he saluted and handed him a message before doing an about face and headed back towards a waiting jeep. The captain lazily returned the salute as he read the note over and sighed getting the attention of the two women.
"Apparently it's back to work already; I'm needed in Sedan to discuss operations with the 506th's CO." He gave them an apologetic smile, "Sorry ladies but it looks like it's going to be another long night for you two. At least you have Tom here to give you a hand." He waved as he headed over to the jeep and hopped in the passenger seat. With a clunk of the transmission, the jeep accelerated away with one of the LAVs following to provide defense. As the vehicles disappeared into the distance, Santos finally realized what was going on, "BUT SIR!"
The three pilots watched as two vehicles disappeared into the distance. Larson sighed as he rubbed his head; he really didn't care, he just wanted to do something. He turned and jumped back in fear as Santos glared and pointed at him.
"You… you… you are so DEAD!"
January 13, 1946 1103 Hours- 506th JFW B-Unit Base, Dijon, Gallia
Marseille grumbled as she drank her glass of milk while watching personnel move about the base; her fingers tapped impatiently on the table she was at. She was anxious and bored and that was a scary combination for her; while she secretly enjoyed being back with her unit and away from Barkhorn… she had gotten quite used to the intensity of action that revolved around the ship. Since she had been dropped off here she had participated in a few of the scrambled launches in order to deal with the frequent Neuroi attacks. Almost every time, the two 302s from the grass strip in Broyes had launched to provide assistance.
"You just gonna sit there impatient again or are you going to do something?"
She looked up to find Keiko standing in front of her with her camera. She sighed as she put her glass down and stretched, "I'm fine Keiko, what's up?"
Major Keiko Katou, CO of the 31st JFS, frowned, "…It's Major Katou, Hannah… or at least ma'am. Come on I need you for some new shots; command wants some heroic poses for the final operation."
The Star of Africa sighed and nodded before slowly following after her. As much as she enjoyed photo shoots, this was nowhere near enough excitement for her. Behind her, Pilot Officer Raisa Pottgen silently followed after her idol.
On the other side of the runway, another group of witches watched them. "Something seems off about the captain over there… I always heard that she's an overconfident attention seeker."
The 506th JFW B-Unit vice commander, Captain Marian Carl, blinked before glaring, "Jen… she's the Star of Africa cut her some slack," her expression soften as she glanced around before leaning in close to Captain Jennifer DeBlanc. "Besides I heard rumors from Takei that something bad happened to her awhile back."
DeBlanc blinked in surprise before spinning, "Really? I wonder what that was…" The two of them stared after them as another two witches came up.
One of them looked back and forth, "…So what'd we miss? She took a drink of her Coke as she watched her two superiors turn to her.
"Luksic? Rosen? I thought you two were busy?"
Lieutenant Carla Luksic shrugged as she took another drink, "I got bored; stuff is getting lame around here ever since those fighters started to help us."
The captain turned to the other present, "And you Rosen?"
Sergeant Carla von Rosen indicated the stack of supplies near the back of the hangar, "I just finished a supply run and was checking to see how things were going ma'am; I hope that's ok."
"You're good Rosen, Jen and I were just discussing Marseille's apparent change in personality." She checked her watch as she stood and stretched, "If I recall, another flight of those 302s should have landed in Broyes by now and their leader should be headed towards Sedan to meet with the major."
Luksic grinned as she drained her bottle, "Cool, maybe we'll hear when we're finally going to end this war. That and when we're going to get the major back; I heard that she got seriously injured again."
The smiles dropped as Marian sighed, "It's true; from what I've been told, the major got injured over Venezia and has been permanently grounded."
The others gasped as she shook her head, "Don't worry though, apparently she was completely healed by Sgt. Miyafuji of the 501st."
The three of them went wide eyed as they stared at her causing her to quietly snort.
"You mean THE Sgt. Yoshika Miyafuji? Daughter of Dr. Miyafuji? The one who took on the Warlock and-"
"Relax Carla and yes, that Miyafuji. Apparently the major is embedded pretty deep with that strange ship and all of that technology." Carl's expression turned to an eager one, "And the 501st… I really do need to meet up with them sometime."
Rosen tilted her head, "Why?"
"The captain here is bit of a speed freak and Shirley in the 501st has the land and air speed records under her belt. She broke Mach 1 sometime last year and Marian here can't quite do it."
"…I just need some tips that's all. I know I can do it."
"…Right ma'am… whatever you say. So anyone want a drink? I've got Coke?"
January 13, 1946 1314 Hours- 506th JFW A-Unit Base, Sedan, Gallia
Michaels stood and stretched as the jeep finally came to a halt at a hangar; behind him the marine did the same before the jeep and the LAV clunked back into gear and headed towards the base's fuel farm. Men from the base milling around stopped and stared at the LAV before doing the same for the two men trying to determine where they were going.
"I'm going to guess that you two are our guest from the spaceship huh?"
The two turned to find a witch basking in the sun on the wing of a 109. She hopped down and shook as she eyed the two taller men before her; she huffed causing a cloud of breath to appear before her. "Come on guys say something; it's a little chilly out here."
"So why not put something… heavier on?" Michaels asked hesitantly.
The witch eyed her white and purple hakama and shrugged, "Eh, I just think of it as training," she waved them towards the hangar, "Come on then, the major is waiting for you."
"Uh I'll stay out here sir"
The captain eyed the marine as he turned, "Leaving me to the wolves huh sergeant?"
The marine shrugged as refused to make eye contact; whistling innocently. He sighed as a turned and followed after the witch.
"So, I didn't quite catch your name."
She grinned and looked up to him as she flashed him a "V" sign with her hand, "1st Lieutenant Kunika Kuroda, Fuso Navy. My apologies for the improper introduction sir but hey, I get a little carried away."
"It's fine, I'm Capt. Richard Michaels, USAF Stargate Command, and I'm used to it. We had to put up with Marseille for a few months." he held out his hand.
She eyed it for a moment before wincing and grinning again; grabbing it back, "Nice to meet you, and I guess that makes sense. Sorry you've had to put up with that." She looked around at their surroundings and nodded, "Wait here, I'll go get the major."
"Alright then"
As she disappeared into one of the offices, another witch came into view. She blinked in surprise before cautiously making her way forward, "C-can I help you?"
He blinked in surprise as he spun to find the small blond haired witch, "Oh hi, I'm Capt. Michaels; I'm uh… from the other reality?"
She stood there for a moment before nodding, "Good afternoon sir, I'm Sgt. Amelie Planchard from Gallia… thanks for helping us." She lowered her gaze as she stood there.
Rich hesitated before waving his hands in front of him, "Don't worry about it, it's what we do. Uh Kuroda left to go grab the major."
"You might want to move"
Both people turned to find another witch staring at the captain with a scowl on her face. Again, he blinked, "Um what was that?"
The witch crossed her arms as she looked beyond him, "I said you should move… sir"
He spun to find another witch barreling towards him and he stepped out of the way to have her crash to the ground. The gray haired witch sputtered as she stood back up, "Why'd you alert him Laura? I wanted to surprise him."
Michaels took a nervous step back as he watched the newcomer move in on the witch named Laura.
"What the hell is going on out here?"
January 19, 1946 1111 Hours- Borealis Engineering, Novgorod, Orussia
"Alright guys, try it again."
The engine started with a promising hum; slowly lighting up as it started for the first time in over six months. Seconds later with a sound reminiscent of a certain YT-1300 freighter, it sputtered and conked out knocking the lights off in engineering for the third time that day.
Decker swore as the lights flickered back to life. Rubbing his face in annoyance he tiredly gazed at his sleep deprived team. They had gotten the engine completed four days early but it had refused to start. The team had reached the point that they had considered the engine cursed; 23 straight hours and three failed starts left the men and women feeling exhausted. Decker reviewed the schematics for the umpteenth time as he rubbed his bleary eyes trying to determine what he was overlooking.
"Need a hand?"
He nearly dropped his tablet in surprise as he spun to find a pair of witches smirking at him. He patted his chest as he tried to slow his heart, "Damn it ladies, you almost gave me a heart attack." He blinked as he remembered where he was, "Wait, what are you guys even doing in here? It isn't my business but shouldn't, you know, be planning something with the others?"
Federica smirked as she glanced to her companion before shrugging and sighing, "Well, neither of us are allowed to go into a combat situation so… why not tear something apart and try to put it back together right?"
Decker blinked nervously as he cradled the tablet close to his chest, "Uh…"
She patted him on the shoulder as she snatched the tablet from his hands; flipping through the data quickly before looking at the engine, "Why don't you get some sleep Lt, we can take over here, right Ayaka? We know you're screwed if it isn't working in a few days."
Major Ayaka Kuroe shrugged as she strode up and looked over her shoulder, "I've got no idea but I'm game for anything." The major from Fuso had arrived along with a large contingent of Orussian aircraft that would be watching the hive while the ship made it's way into Karlsland. She had arrived in a big way too; her striker was an experimental Yak-15 from Orussia and flamed out on landing causing her to faceplant in the snow. Her twin 23mm cannon had bounced away; knocking Sgt. Katajainen off her feet on impact. She had been trying to avoid Mio for the past two days as the two of them apparently went far back. Upon making eye contact Sakamoto, the eye patch wearing witch challenged her to a duel. Remembering the outcome of her previous one she decided to run instead of answering. So engineering was the one safe haven for her. She had been watching and learning quietly for the past few days so Decker hadn't kicked her out yet. The fact that she was also a major had something to do with it as well.
"… I guess you two could try to help but I'm not sure if you understand just how complicated all of this can b-"
"Isn't this crystal in the wrong spot?"
Decker blinked with an open mouth as he stared at Kuroe; she grabbed the tablet and flipped it around for him to see and pointed at the screen, "I saw you use this color crystal in a different spot the other day and yet you put it here."
Forgetting they outranked him, he snatched the tablet and stared hard at it, "There's no way that…" He looked up at the exposed circuitry for the engine and then looked back down at the tablet; repeating the action a few times before sighing. He looked over at the team, "Somebody swap out crystal two and seven."
Behind him the two ladies smiled; they may not have been advanced as these people were, but they weren't idiots. Federica had successfully dismantled and rebuilt a turboprop and Ayaka had learned the basics behind Ancient circuitry. The two of them continued to grin at the back of Decker's head as he ignored them and watched the team switch the crystals. A few minutes later they went for another start. The engine spooled up to operational levels and held before shutting off completely again. Decker slowly turned and sighed at the two of them and threw his hands up in mock surrender.
"Alright alright, maybe you two can help. Lights didn't go out this time so you've earned my trust that nothing is going to explode."
Federica grinned as she snatched the tablet back and began walking towards the engine, "Thanks lieutenant and by the way."
He turned to her.
"I didn't say anything about nothing exploding. Risk and reward, right?" The feral grin he was getting made him go white.
"…I'm doomed..."
January 19, 1946 1200 Hours- Train 1, Verdun, Gallia
After the destruction of the carrier a few days previously, Schwerer Gustav was packed up and was made ready to go. However the day the train was supposed to leave for it's attack point, a small group of Neuroi had found it and attacked. The defensive witch team was successful in destroying the bandits but not before they managed to cause some damage; a section of track and one of the two locomotives had been destroyed. The gun was going nowhere for the time being.
That was a week ago and now, the train was ready to go yet again; as soon as the repaired track was deemed acceptable, the gun would begin its hop to its staging point inside the border. Onboard, the crew relaxed and prayed that the defense teams would continue to keep them safe. In her quarters, Laura Fontaine continued to do the only thing she did in her free time; learn. She didn't consider herself smart, but others said that she was.
Due to her lack of social interaction skills, she spent most of her time studying. Hey, she planned on help advancing technology for the witches; she needed to be well prepared. She yawned as she put down her latest book before glancing at the clock. She sighed; it was only noon. She took a hesitant glance at the door before shaking her head; she didn't want to put up with the staring today so once again, she would remain in her room. Her stomach gurgled causing her to glare at it, "Traitor," she stared at the door again before sighing. Standing up she once again grabbed her hat before making her way to the door. She spared a glance at her eye patch before sighing; she could go with a few glances as she quickly grabbed the food and left because she honestly didn't want to wear it. Shutting the door behind her she yelped in pain to find her hair caught in the door. Getting it unstuck, she glared at it, "I really really need to cut this…"
January 19, 1946 1632 Hours- FOB Ripper, Broyes, Gallia
The four 302s made a pass over the grass strip before landing one by one on the field; the three SPAAGs went back to scanning the skies again as they went back to their patrols. On landing a fuel truck and ammo trailer were pulled alongside to resupply the spent fighters. The pilots disembarked from the aircraft; stretching as they made their way towards their temporary shelter.
"Fuck this, that's the third intercept today. Let's end this shit and go home already."
"Relax lieutenant; we'll all end this soon. Just put up with this for a little while lo-"
"I'm going to take on these stupid hives all on my own and I'm going to grind them up into little…"
Santos continued her rant completely oblivious to the others as she made her way to their small mess area. Michaels turned to her wingman and raised an eyebrow, "Is she always like this?"
Patterson sighed and nodded, "Sorry sir, she has a bit of an anger issue and I don't think the lack of sleep is helping." She made her way over to try and calm her friend down.
He turned to his wingman, "Go get some lunch Tom, I'm going to go contact the ship and give them an update."
The lieutenant nodded, "Alright then sir, I'll make sure they don't eat everything."
Richard watched his wingman interact with the other two before heading towards the command tent. He threw a quick salute to the guards before ducking inside. Easing himself into a chair he started a call to the ship as he ran his hand through his hair. He thought back to the conversation he had with the commander of the 506th.
January 13, 1946 1322 Hours- 506th JFW A-Unit Base, Sedan, Gallia
"What the hell is going on out here?"
The witches went silent as their normally mild-tempered commander, Major Rosalie Grunne, exploded.
"Honestly, I know you guys are stressed and that we're down the major but that doesn't mean we can go crazy now." She took a deep breath and gave them all a small grin, "Sorry about that but I guess I was a little pent up as well." She turned to the captain, "So you must be the soldier from the other reality." She looked him up and down, "Fascinating… well come on then, I guess we have a little briefing to do. I'm Maj Rosalie de Hemricourt de Grunne. "
"Capt. Richard Michaels, nice to meet you ma'am."
Ten minutes later Michaels found himself constantly scooting away from Wilma who turned out to be Lynette's older sister. What really surprised him though was the complete flip in personality; if he didn't know better, he thought she was hitting on him.
25 nervous minutes later he finally finished his brief and was finally introduced to the members of the 506th A-Unit and the Isle of Wight Group. He discovered that the older Bishop had in fact retired but had rejoined the group after they made their move into Gallia.
"So Heinrike and Geena are ok then?"
He nodded, "Yes ma'am, Maj Preddy was injured during the attack on the Venezian Hive but she's fine now. Sgt. Miyafuji fixed her right up."
Rosalie nodded with her head resting on her hands, "Good to know she's in good hands." She thought for a moment, "And what of Heinrike?"
"Who cares about her? I've led the team perfectly in her place."
The room went silent as they stared at Capt. Adriana Visconti in disbelief.
Present
He shook his head in fear as he remembered how cold the room got after the captain decided to voice her opinion of the situation. The call finally connected, "Good afternoon sir… what happened to you?"
Colonel Vought grumbled as he tried to cover up some of his missing hair, "… don't want to talk about it… what's the situation captain?"
Michaels suppressed a grin, "Three successful intercepts today sir; looks like they're probing for a weak point in our lines to attack the troops."
Vought frowned, "We're going to have a Battle of the Bulge on our hands here if we don't do anything. Any chance of them breaking through?"
"Not that I can tell sir, as long as they don't push in any larger groups we should be fine."
"Any casualties?"
"No deaths but a few injuries; we stumbled across one of those massive German railway guns. Looks like the suckers been attacked a few times."
"German?"
Michaels nodded, "German…" He smacked himself in the face, "Karlsland…"
The colonel grinned slightly as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin as he though, "Giant railway gun huh… must have been Gustav or Dora…" He shook his head, "Keep an eye on that gun, they have at max of uh… 150ish km of range so they're going to need to cross into Karlsland to be of any help and they have a massive number people to work that thing."
"Understood sir, anything else?"
The colonel stared at him curiously, "Anything wrong Michaels?"
"…No sir… I'm not hungry at all…"
Vought sighed as he rubbed his face, "Go eat, that's an order." He gingerly touched the spot where his hair was missing.
"Very well sir… so what happened with your hair?"
The colonel glared at his subordinate and cut the connection. Rich grinned as he headed off to get food, "Wonder what's for lunch today?"
Vought's Quarters, Same Time
The colonel continued to glare at his blank screen as he gently patted the lopsided section of hair. Looking at the keyboard he reached for to begin to type up his daily report so far and stopped. "You know what? I think I'm going to keep this one to myself." Nodding to himself he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling before glancing to his window. "What to do now…" he stopped and stared at his stomach as it growled loudly. He frowned as he stood up and looked at the computer screen, "Stupid captain… now I'm hungry."
Mess Hall, 15 Minutes Later
Vought stared at his massive double decker in awe as he continued to add toppings to it. Finally deciding he piled enough food on the bread he made his way over to a table and began digging in. Closing his eyes at the first bite he sank into a bliss as he chewed the masterpiece he had created. He continued to savor the bite for a few moments when without any preamble he deftly yanked his Ka-bar from his harness and planted it tip first in the table; opening his eyes to glare at the surprised witches around him. He finished chewing and swallowed, "My. Cookie. End of story Joe…"
Foss blinked in astonishment as she slowly pulled her hand away from the table; the blade landed perfectly between her fingers. She watched as the colonel went back to happily munching on his sandwich.
Behind him Ayaka smirked and elbowed Geena in the side, "Oh I think I like this guy."
Geena and Heinrike both sighed and shook their heads as the others laughed around them. Finally swallowing his bite, Chris slowly turned while keeping an eye on Foss as she stared at him in defiance. "So what are you ladies doing in here?" He looked specifically at Joe and Heinrike, "Shouldn't you two be out with the others?"
Joe shook her head as she stared at the cookie, "Nope, we're done for the moment. Heinrike, myself, and a few others get the super fun midnight to six slot… joy. The princess here just woke up a few minutes ago."
Heinrike to her credit just blushed; no huff, head turn or comment. The others snorted at her expression.
He shifted his gaze to the newcomer, "So major, how have you been getting along with the crew. I heard you and Doglio have been making some ruckus in enginee-" He stopped when he noticed her blushing and shaking her head and hands.
"Please sir, you don't need to use my rank. I haven't commanded anyone in years; I'm a test pilot."
He blinked as he stared at her before rubbing his face, "You ladies…" He looked around before checking his watch, "Well come on then, have a seat then; at least two of you should grab something to eat," he spun slapping Joe's hand away, "That isn't on my plate." Joe huffed as she crossed her arms and stood up; heading for the line for food. As she left he quickly crammed the cookie in his mouth, "Mh hookie"
A few minutes later Foss returned with a tray of food; she sat down across from the colonel and smirked as he gazed at her tray. Around him, crew and witches alike stopped and stared.
"Are you really going to eat all that?"
Joe grinned as she began to devour her first sandwich, "Mawbw, mawbw mot." She swallowed, "Remember, I burn magic super-fast; my metabolism is through the roof. I'm always hungry." She attacked the sandwich again as the others just stared at her again. Her tray was stacked with numerous sandwiches and of course, cookies. She had a massive drink to go along with it as well.
Ayaka stared at her in complete amazement, "Damn… can she eat or what?"
Thirty Minutes Later, Outside
Geena shivered and hugged herself tightly as the cold breeze blew around them, "Why am I outside again? It's cold."
Vought sighed as he pulled his hat off and planted it on her head, "There, that aught a help some. What?" He stared at Heinrike as she repeated what Preddy did. Pulling his gloves off he handed them to her causing her to eagerly put them on before turning away from him. Ayaka was either accustomed to the cold or just didn't care because she was perfectly fine. Joe had actually thrown a pair of pants on to keep her warm.
"So why are we out here sir?"
The colonel slowly turned to Kuroe with a look, "Please Kuroe, if you don't want me to use your rank, don't use mine… none of you witches do anyways."
Heinrike looked up at him, "What about Barkhorn?"
He gave her a blank look. She nodded in understanding, "Right…"
Ayaka tilted her head as she looked at him, "…So Chris then?"
The colonel rolled his eyes as he nodded, "Yep."
The Fuso major nodded and smiled, "Very well then."
"Anyway, we're out here so that I can see how things are going; you four just got roped into this by being lazy. That and somebody said someone important wanted to discuss operations with Adolfine and me."
Joe looked around, "So where is the Air Vice Marshal? I haven't seen her all day."
The colonel pointed vaguely east of the ship, "Somewhere in that direction meeting with the big wigs."
They all turned as the ground began to shake from something heavy making it's way towards them. A massive tank rolled to a stop in front of them and the top hatch popped open with Maj Volkov standing with a large grin on his face. He hoped down as the tank dropped into a rough idle.
"What is the expression… It followed me home; may I keep it?"
Vought smacked himself in the face as the witches laughed around him; even Heinrike couldn't help but crack a smile.
"It's can I keep it not may I keep it. And no, where did you even find that?"
The Russian dropped his expression and groaned as he patted the steel behemoth, "Пожалуйста?"
"No"
The Russian frowned and sighed before hoping back onto the tank and yelled back into the turret before jumping back down. An Orussian crew member flipped the hatch closed again and the tank shifted back into gear before turning and heading back towards the lines of vehicles.
Geena watched the massive form rolling away in awe, "What was that?"
The Russian turned to her, "ИС-7 Heavy Tank*. The largest and heaviest tank ever tested by Россия. At least that's it's history in our world… that and was built in 1948. At least it was called ИС-7; no idea what it is here." He grumbled as he looked at the colonel, "I want one."
"I don't have room for a 68 ton tank anywhere on this ship," Vought simply stated as he continued to shake his head.
In front of them, the IS-7 rejoined the defensive line of vehicles surrounding the hive. A truly staggering sight; nearly half a million Orussian and Karlslandic tanks, artillery, and triple-A formed a massive three-deep line around the perimeter of the hive. In the air, a number of aircraft flew in a continuous circuit around the hive along with the witches performing their patrol. The hive had been silent for the past few days and the only Neuroi that it had produced was the single witch-like Neuroi that sat still beneath the center of the hive. Every gun on the ground was bore-sighted in on that single target.
A soldier made his way over to the group of them and saluted before handing the colonel a note. Reading it quickly the he nodded and turned around, "Come on Alexei; looks like we get to meet someone special."
"Кто?"
"Rommel"
January 21, 1946 0700 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room, Novgorod, Orussia
Vought looked around at the gathered men and women with admiration, "Alright ladies and gents, here's the deal. Engineering got the engine working so the plan is still on." He pointed at the projection on the wall behind him with a clock counting down. "In 24 hours we go back into combat for hopefully the last time here," He looked into each and everyone's eyes. "This is the largest combined combat operation in well… since ever. We are going to need complete and total cooperation with each and every unit in the air and on the ground otherwise innocent lives are going to be lost. I have decided that in the event that our plan fails, I will utilize every weapon on the ship to ensure a complete victory; if it comes to it I will use the drones."
"But… what if you need them later on?"
Vought gave Minna a small grin, "That may be true but we made a decision to see this through to the end. We came to the consensus long ago that we may not survive our next jump so we might as well go out with a bang." He looked back to everyone present, "Once we confirm the locations and numbers of the hives, all forces will have a few minute warning to exit Karlsland at maximum speed. Any stragglers will be grabbed by us on our way out; once we start the sequence there is no stopping it. Not even the Neuroi will survive this strike. Adolfine…" He sat down as Galland stood up.
She smiled slightly as she looked at him, "Well that was some speech." A round of quiet chuckles went around the room. "Anyway, the colonel is correct; this is the largest and most complicated combat operation in history and it has been named by Allied Command, Operation Olympic." She frowned as the others shared amused glances, "What?"
Ross leaned forward slightly, "Operation Olympic was the name of the planned Allied invasion of Japan at the end of WWII. It never took place and the estimate was nearly a million casualties for a 90 day period."
The witches were staggered by this. "Well… let us pray that we have no casualties for this then."
Everyone nodded at Junko's statement; Galland spoke again, "Alright then, now we move onto each individual unit's battle plans one last time. All squadron leaders have a computer with their plan listed; make sure you have it memorized and have meetings with your wings once we are finished here. The Borealis will enter the combat zone here…"
2131 Hours, Observation Deck
He took a drink of juice as he stared at the spectacle outside. "What a turn of events huh lieutenant?"
Gusav nodded from his spot against the door frame, "да полковник."
During the meeting with Rommel and Zhukov, the hive had solved the issue of what to do with it for them.
Earlier
"Damn stupid situation… we can't just leave two JFWs here to guard this thing; it takes too much away from tomorrow's operation."
Vought chuckled quietly as he watched Galland go ballistic as she stomped around during their intermission.
"Relax Adolfine; I'm sure we'll discover some way to deal with this. Do you think a single wing could do it?"
The witch commander stopped her tirade, "If it was the 501st then probably; they have too much damn luck. The others should be fine but who knows really."
The two of them stared at the hive wishing the answer would just fall into their laps.
"If this thing wants to prove it isn't a threat then it should give us a sign… what are you looking at?"
Present
A new form had descended from the hive; coming to a hover a few dozen feet off the ground. A single over-sized core had dropped causing the density of the cloud to decrease slightly. With the Hive's core exposed and trapped in the sights of half a million large guns, the witches could come with the attack.
"Stupid thing better not bite us in the ass on this one. What would you do?"
Artyom thought for a moment, "Unknown; too many variables."
"Figures… alright then lieutenant you can stop trailing me for the evening; I'm headed for bed."
The Spetsnaz operator nodded as he moved out of the colonel's way. He waited for a minute or so before following after to make sure he made it back to his quarters.
Same Time, Grant's Quarters
Carl plucked absentmindedly at the strings of his guitar as she stared off into space. A knock at the door brought him back to reality, "It's open." He tilted his head back and smiled, "Evening ladies, what's up?"
Yeager and Lucchini smiled back at him as they entered with Francesca diving straight onto the bed.
"I'm tired, can I sleep here tonight?"
Grant's eye twitched, "…No." He went back to strumming the strings as he spun the chair around.
The ensign pouted and stuck her tongue out, "Meanie"
He stopped and looked at them, "So what's up?"
Shirley looked around and sat on the bed, "We just wanted to see what you guys did before a battle like this. I'd thought you'd be partying or something."
He shook his head as he played a little tune, "Already did some of that and besides, regs say 12 hours bottle to brief so I like to relax a little."
"You just seem so calm…"
He shrugged, "It's combat; same shit, different day. It all kinda melds together after a while. The rush is still there though but that only comes when I go into combat. Otherwise it's just a normal day of work for me."
Yeager held Francesca close as the two of them thought. The younger witch looked at him, "But aren't you scared?"
Grant thought for a moment before grinning, "Oh hell yeah. Every time I step into that cockpit, there's a chance I won't come home. But it's what I live for; my wizzo and I went through flight school together and that is what I'm going to do until I get grounded." His smile began to fade as his eyes lost focus and he stared off into the distance. He shook his head again and smiled sheepishly at them, "Sorry about that."
The two witches nodded in understanding… or at least one did; Yeager knew his story.
"Anyway, why think about this, let's enjoy the night huh? How about I play you ladies a few songs?"
January 22, 1946 0658 Hours- 450km outside Berlin, Karlsland
"Alright then ladies, radio check. This will probably be my last transmission until you make the border againzzzzz interference will be getting worse as you go dezzper."
"CDR Thach, 508th is airborne and we are making our way towards the coast now."
"Fg OFF Leivonen reporting in. 507th has formed up and crossed the border."
"This is Capt. Visconti, 506th A-Team and Isle of Wight groups have engaged Neuroi scouts. We are in position."
"Capt. Carl, 506th B-Team and 31st JFS. We've crossed the border and are ready to go. Neuroi scouts inbound."
"The 505th is in position across the border. Maj Gollob."
"This is Capt. Junko, the 504th is engaging medium types moving south. We have confirmed a hive location. We'll be in position on time."
"CDR Safonov reporting. 503rd is across the border."
"C-capt. Pokryshkin and the 502nd here… we've crossed the border…"
"CDR Wilcke, the 501st is in position." Minna looked around at her witches and the extra additions. "We're ready to go." She was scared; for the first time in five years she was finally home but it wasn't pretty.
The areas just inside the border were still fine; intact forest and a few smaller yet abandoned towns. The areas a few kilometers in though made her sick to her stomach; the land was burned to ash. Blackened building and torched grasslands and forest was all that remained of the interior of Karlsland as the hives consumed it for fuel. It would take years to rebuild but it could be done. Above them, a continuous sheet of black and gray clouds blotted out the sun.
She looked around again at the women under her command; they were all scared but some showed it less than others. She nodded to herself; she would get all of them out of here alive.
"zzzzoger that ladiezzzzzz good luck; I have zzthing but zzzz confidence for yozzzzzz"
Against her own will, Galland had been forced by command to leave the ship and base herself in Gallia for the duration of the operation incase anything went wrong. She had been… slightly pissed to say the least. Chris would not be hearing properly for a week or so after her… disapproval. She closed her eyes as she concentrated; she frowned, "Mio…"
Sakamoto moved beside her.
"Unknowns approaching from the east."
The major nodded as she raised her eyepatch, "I see them. Barkhorn, Hartmann; two targets, two kilometers to the east!"
The two witches in question nodded before accelerating away. A minute later tracer fire followed by a pair of explosions lit up the sky with the two returning again. They calmly reloaded as they made their way closer to Berlin.
Joe caught up with Minna and looked around, "So any idea where the ship is? I thought they were supposed to be part of this attack."
A knowing smile crossed her face as she turned, "Oh, they're around…" she looked around again a few times before shrugging. The two separated as a beam passed between them as another group of Neuroi dropped from the clouds. Behind them a few more did the same to the rest of the wing. They were quickly defeated and reformed before pressing forward yet again.
"Where are they? We're in their domain and we've seen only a few."
Mio joined the two of them, "Sanya's saying she isn't picking up much of anything; too much interference."
The rain of shards from the clouds was pretty much continuous at this point; none of their radios were going to be able to cut through it… except maybe for the one each wing had been given by the ship. They had even power cut clean through the jamming.
Shirley moved up, "…Isn't that a hive?"
They all turned to look; the dense mass that consisted of one of the hives was just a few kilometers from them and yet still, no major attack.
"I don't like this… something is very wrong." Eila stated plainly as she flew close to Sanya. Behind them, Yoshika shook as she stayed close to Lyn.
504th
Takei looked around nervously as they engaged another small group of Neuroi. They were doing fine but where was the resistance? They had found a few roving mediums types but besides those, they had only seen some small-types. They had also passed directly under a hive but didn't even see a beam from it. It was like the Neuroi didn't even care that they were here…
"Can anyone get a signal?"
A chorus of "no's" reached her ears and she frowned again before glancing at the radio she had been given by the crew of the ship, "What do you think Angela?"
The Hispanian witch shrugged as she sighted in another drone and fired; her PzB39 anti-tank rifle barked. A chime and burst of shards marked the demise of her target.
The two of them watched as Gentile and Godfrey mowed down the rest of them before forming back up. "Maybe we they know they can't win and are just giving up?" Everyone looked at Dom with look of disbelief. She shrugged as she blew a bubble, "What? It could happen."
Takei sighed and shook her head as she checked her watch, "Alright ladies, we need to double time it if we're going to meet up."
508th
"Come on ladies, we need to keep pushing if we're going to make the rendezvous," Thach yelled out to her group as they raced inward from the coast.
Any small-types they ran into they blew past in an effort to trade speed for safety. That and after the Neuroi turned to chase them, the thousands of aircraft from Britannia and the 24 aircraft carriers in the channel were capable of taking them out through sheer volume of fire. The aircraft would be following them in until they met stiff resistance and then they would either run or attempt to stay and fight. The same was happening with the groups cutting in through Gallia and Orussia.
Major Mei Shindou of Fuso began to glow as she scanned the airspace around them, "We're clear for the moment ma'am but we have a hive off to our right somewhere. What do you wish to do?"
Jane snorted, "What do you think Mei? I say let's be the first to Berlin." Her striker roared as she pulled ahead of the rest of the 508th, "Keep up ladies!" A burst of shards marked the end of an unfortunate drone that strayed into her path; her cannon smoking as she holstered it again.
The rest of the wing looked at their second in command; Mei sighed, "You heard her ladies, let's move."
506th B-Unit
"What the hell does Marseille think she's doing?" Carl asked as she watched the Star of Africa lead their charge through enemy airspace.
Ever unit they had come across so far Hannah destroyed. Whether she had started to attack it or someone else did she took the kills. After the latest group of small-types had been destroyed, she paused her advance long enough for the others to catch up.
The B-Unit vice commander watched as a tired P/O Pottgen finally caught up to her wingman. She had enough of it, "Marseille, Slow. Down. We are a team and you need to stick with your wingman. This isn't healthy or safe and it is no time for you to be acting high and mighty."
Marseille just nodded and grinned as she swapped barrels on her MG34, "Is that everything? Come on don't we have a deadline to meet?" Without waiting for a response, she tore off again at a slightly slower pace allowing Rai to keep up with her.
"Damn it Hannah…" She muttered as Luksic formed up with her, "She's going to get herself killed."
501st , 30 Minutes Later
"My god… it's huge…"
Berlin, they had finally made it. Above the capital of Karlsland sat the largest hive any of them had ever seen. Easily three times larger than the super hive over Venezia and the first hive to appear all those years ago; Minna shook as she stared at with the memories flooding back. She steeled herself as she caught Mio's concerned gaze and shook her head, she was fine.
Sanya and Heinrike were picking up the other wings slowing making their ways towards them. They all turned when the two night witches detected movement behind them. A reserve witch unit had booked it from the border to catch up with them and introduced an apparent acquaintance of the Karlsland witches. Major Heidemarie Schnaufer saluted as she and her team came up to them, "It's good to see you again ma'am."
"Likewise Heidemarie, are you ready to fight?"
The night witch nodded as she checked her cannon; she glanced over at Heinrike. The other night witch in question huffed and turned her head; Heidemarie was below her.
Mio nodded as she glanced at her watch, "It's time ma'am."
Minna nodded, "Alright then ladies, let's end this."
The witches nodded in unison before charging towards the hive. Schnaufer lagged behind as she watched the women she had been asked to lead follow after the fabled commander of the 501st; she blinked in surprise when she realized someone had stayed behind.
"Just because I'm here doesn't mean I like you. I'm just showing you that I'm better than you," Heinrike stated as she refused to make eye contact. She slowly accelerated ahead before the quiet night witch followed after her; she smiled slightly. Heinrike didn't hate her.
Minna and the others closed the distance… where was the enemy? The other witches could be seen in the distance converging on the hive as they readied for an ambush. They didn't have to wait long.
With long deep wails, half a dozen extra-large types and a carrier dropped from the clouds lasers firing indiscriminately. The witches scattered into groups as they dodged the fire; this deep in enemy territory they could not afford any injuries.
Minna
Minna caught a snip of a conversation between Dom and her wife as the two of them buzzed by, "…Bout damn time…getting bored." She shook her head; she was glad none of her witches felt like that. Barkhorn and Hartmann crossed her path in the opposite direction; guns blazing in a continuous stream as they attempted to find a weakness in the large-type they were attacking. Minna frowned… maybe she did have some.
Thach
"A little help now would be GREATLY appreciated," Jane yelled out as she flew back to back with Mei; both of their guns chattering away as they destroyed a swarm of drones from the carrier.
After the extra-large types had dropped, Mei had detected a large number of smaller types being released from the hives around Karlsland. It was a trap and they had all flown straight into it. The conventional forces were being decimated as they valiantly attempted to reform with the witches.
Mei smiled as she reloaded; Jane caught the grin and frowned, "What's so funny?"
"I think help is here."
Miyafuji
"There's so many of them…" She grunted out as her shield deflected another hit. Once again she and Lyn were fighting long odds. The Britannian sniper laid down fire while Yoshika defended them. It also helped that Sanya and Eila were near them providing some extra cover.
"They don't stop coming…" Lyn muttered out as she blew another target away.
"I'm getting tired Lyn I can't keep this up for long."
A medium-type descended on the four of them firing from every laser it had.
Yoshika looked over as Sanya reloaded her Fligerhammer, "Um, Sanya? Could… you… please… help…" The beams pushed her back foot by foot as the alien advanced.
Eila shook her head as she yanked the night witch out of the way of another laser, "No need."
Shirley and Francesca blew by temporarily grabbing the attention of the fighter, "Why not?"
"Wait for it." The Suomus witch ducked as a high velocity shell screeched over her head and punched deep inside the medium-type causing it to bleat in surprise and pain. The fight slowed as they heard someone cackling over the radios.
"So… many… targets…muwahahah!"
Like a mirage, the Borealis appeared behind them with every gun trained on a target. On the ship's upper deck, the two groups of land witches stood in sandbagged emplacements as they too targeted the enemy. Standing at the front of them with a smoking barrel stood Feldwebel Kristin Knispel with a giddy expression on her face as her striker loaded another shell into the breach; the 88mm cannon twitched slightly as she sighted in another target.
Across the battlefield, the witches grinned as they realized their ace in the hole had finally arrived.
"About damn time sir!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Made a wrong turn at Albuquerque."
With a massive clap and flash, the turrets on the ship fired in unison clearing a large space of enemy fighters. As if a switch had been thrown, the battle was back on in earnest.
Borealis Bridge
"Alright then Serenity, fire at will and please, make sure none of these Replicator wannabes survive."
The Ancient AI nodded as she vanished; the energy turrets throwing up a continuous stream of yellow energy into the surprised aliens. The high pitched screams of the railguns chimed in as well as they poured hot death into the nearest large-type.
Vought spun in the chair as he monitored both the bridge and the airspace; directing the guns to where fire was needed, "Alright Lansby, how much longer? We were a little late on the draw here."
Earlier in the day after the JFWs had been moved into position, engine 4 had overheated and needed to be shut down while engineering fixed the problem. Because of them, they had caused the deaths of innocent airmen when the alien trap had been sprung; they had been way out of position.
"Four targets locked, two almost and then we need to lock the last."
The colonel growled as invaders made a run at the bridge, "That doesn't help me Lansby…"
"Well I'm sorry. Why don't we just go ask the aliens to nicely m-"
"Both of you cool it! We're in combat; Evan, how much longer?"
The bridge crew stared at Preddy in amazement as she finally realized what she did; she clamped her hands over her mouth as she sat back down. She looked at the colonel in fear; she yelled at a superior.
Vought stared at her with a look of amazement before snorting, "Alright, alright, Jean's right, Lansby I'm sorry I yelled."
"It's fine, five are in position, number six will lock in just a minute and seven…shit. Seven's drifted out of position."
The bridge went silent, "Can we move it back?"
"Uh… maybe. It would need to be done manually though."
"Do it, how long?"
"Uh… maybe ten, thirteen minutes? One of the Jumpers is going to need to break off and go after it. I'll divert the one near us; we'll need to mark this final hive though then."
One of the displays flickered and altered to display a countdown timer. Vought nodded as he brought the ship broadside against the large-type; the turrets flashed turning the side of it into Swiss cheese. The large-type burst as a simultaneous hit from Knispel and Kinkade vaporized the core.
The remaining large-types and carrier turned to focus their fire on the Ancient warship leaving the drones and smaller types to deal with the witches…big mistake.
Ross grinned as he watched the tactical situation change; just like they had planned, "Alright, radio in the cavalry."
Outside the ship and behind the witches, twelve hyperspace windows opened and in unison, six flights of 302s entered the battle. Brimming with rocket pods, missiles, and guns, twelve of the ship's fourteen operational fighters began to mow the smaller aliens down giving the witches some breathing room.
Shirley sighed as she and Francesca checked their weapons; she cleared a jam while Lucchini fed a new belt into her MG. "About time Carl!"
"Sorry Yeager, had to wait for the signal. Take a breather; we'll give you some more space."
The two 302s of Reaper Flight streaked overhead as they ripple-fired rockets. The unguided storm of projectiles mulched apart the drones and small-types as the two rocketed closer to the hive. The aliens were disorganized as they again chased after the new threat. The fighters spewed fire from all directions before rocketing away leaving the aliens in the dust.
Minna
The commander sighed in relief as the Neuroi chased after the fighters giving her and Mio a chance to breath. She cast a worrying glance at the major; she was gasping for air and seemed to be having issues staying airborne. "I think you should head back to the ship Mio…"
"No! I'm going to finish this. It's my duty to do this."
"…Alright… but if you get any worse you are leaving the airspace."
The major sighed and nodded, "Very well." The two of them turned as the carrier cracked in two from the combined firepower of the 507th and 502nd; it quickly exploded. The airspace cleared slightly as its drones died with the mothership.
"We should be able to end this soon at this rate," Minna stated as she scanned the area with her powers. She frowned and opened her eyes as Eila and Sanya made their way over.
"Barkhorn and Hartmann are done; their headed towards the ship."
Minna nodded in understanding, the two witches had dismantled one of the large-types on their own they were probably spent. The plan was that as the witches tired out, they'd retreat to the safety of the ship. So far, only a trickle of witches had to retreat; Joe of course being the first, burning up all of her magic almost immediately… again. She watched as the land witches on the ship's spine continued to knock targets out of the air; their firepower was greatly appreciated.
Elizabeth
Another Neuroi appeared in Karlslander's sights as she pulled the trigger sending another bread loaf sized round downrange. She grinned as her target burst into shards, "Another one bites the dust."
Ellie sighed as her 17 pounder loaded another round, "Another one bites the dust…blah, blah, blah." Her gun barked knocking the wing off of a drone. Aurora next to her finished it off as she loaded another high explosive shell. Kristin was starting to get on everyone's nerves; her personality shift was starting to get kind of scary. The deck tilted as the ship changed directions causing her next shot to miss; she sighed as she loaded another round. The three Patton girls fired away in an almost continuous stream as their 37mm cannons reloaded faster than normal.
The hive was just off her left side now so she grinned as she loaded an AP round; time to do some serious damage. Her magic crosshairs appeared in front of her eye as she readied her shot. Her favorite part about firing from the deck was, she didn't need to use her shield; the ship's advanced shielding protected her. A painfully loud screech and roar rent the airspace and caused her and everyone else to pause, "What was tha-"
A massive pillar of crimson light engulfed the ship.
Sanya
She sopped firing as Eila froze, "What's wrong Eila?"
She began to panic as she pointed at the ship, "Radio the ship! There about to be atta-" Her warning was drowned out by the screech that tore through the airspace. Sanya and everyone else watched stunned as the battlefield went still before they shielded their eyes; the pillar of red light was blinding.
The beam smashed into the ship just behind the bridge and completely engulfed the front half of it. The force of the impact caused the ship to pitch forward violently before slowly recovering; the maneuvering thrusters fired in controlled burst as they brought the ship level again. As the beam faded, the transparent shield could be seen shining yellow around the impact zone before slowly fading back into the invisible spectrum. Seconds later another flash of light engulfed the ship's spine.
Sanya's antenna went red as she detected something… something big descending from the clouds. She stared at it in horror.
"All wzzheszzz form uzzzz near my location!"
Borealis Bridge
"Geez… what the hell just hit us? Status of well… everything?" Vought questioned as the spots began to vanish from his vision. He looked around the bridge as the crew righted themselves and blinked. Serenity appeared in a mote of light.
"Shields at 89%; recommend refraining from too many more hits such as that." She vanished as the witches looked around confused.
"That was a Neuroi beam but…" Federica began.
"But that was huge," Ayaka finished as the massive form descended in front of them.
"…My god…" Huberta whispered while Geena gasped.
"The hell?" Was Vought's less than eloquent response.
The massive form that had descended in front of them was at least twice the size of the Ancient battleship and three times as wide. The entire front of the capital-class alien was one massive laser and the rest of the creature was dotted with thousands of smaller lasers.
"Are we missing something here?" One of the technicians asked in disbelief as he and the rest of the crew recognized the shape.
The alien had taken a form very much reminiscent of the Wraith Super Hive that had attacked Earth back home.
"You got to be shitting me," Vought deadpanned as he stared at the ship on screen as the radio buzzed.
"Anybody in there? This is Knispel and we need to get inside NOW!"
"What's wrong?" He went white as he had forgotten about the witches on the hull.
"We're in one piece but we're all injured for the most part. Most of us are seeing spots and all of us have a bad sunburn."
"Shit alright," the colonel looked around, "Somebody get them into the infirmary, Doc, you've got incoming." He stared at the ship in anger as the intercom squawked.
"Whatever just happened, don't let it happen again. That hit knocked 11% off the shields."
"Tell us something we don't know Decker. Lansby, I lost the countdown, how long?"
In Orbit
The Jumper screamed skyward as it chased after the wayward satellite; it spun as it began to close the distance. Finally closing in, the small craft hooked onto the satellite with it's docking clamps and spun before slowing accelerating; attempting to overcome it's greater inertia as is raced towards the other satellites highlighted on their HUD. A few minutes later the Jumper was in position and released; the satellite fired its maneuvering jets as it shoved itself into its proper position.
The constellation of satellites confirmed they were in position and began to gather targeting information from the surveillance satellite in a higher orbit above them. That satellite was gathering data from the collection of Jumpers armed with laser designators marking the locations of each of the hives within inches of their actual locations. Not that it mattered though once they were activated; a few feet was perfectly fine. Detecting seven designators, the satellites opened and began their own countdown; the clock was transferred to every ship waiting down below them. The Jumper moved to the side as it's crew watched.
Borealis Bridge
A twelve minute countdown clock appeared on the forward display gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"Uh… that long…"
Vought blinked as he stared at it before shifting his attention back to the capital-type still pounding away at their shields; they were holding but if it fired it's primary weapon again… they were in trouble. Blinking mental commands to the ship, he banked around and dropped another broadside into the extra thick armor of the alien doing little to no damage; if it was anything like the super hive, then nothing short of a few thousand drones was going to kill it.
"Shit, new plan. All we need to do now is run; Kingfisher will take care of the rest. Recall the witches, this battle is over."
"No Wait! Let me end this!"
The crew looked around confused as they tried to identify the transmission. Vought growled as the shields took another hit; down to 80%. This thing would not quit. "Negative all units return to the ship now; if you can't make it radio for a pickup."
"MIO! DON'T!"
The bridge went silent as they witnessed a single witch charging the alien; it slowly turned as it began charging the primary laser.
Vought's heart plummeted, "Get her in here NOW!"
One of the technicians shook their head, "Can't sir, too much interference from the drones it's releasing." Everyone watched in horror as the primary weapon fired.
Minna
The commander watched in absolute horror as her dear friend charged without fear towards one of the largest Neuroi she had ever seen. She choked out a sob, "Mio…"
The alien fired causing her to close her eyes and turned away. When she turned back around, her jaw dropped.
Sakamoto was bisecting the beam that had forced the Borealis out of the way. She sniffed and grinned as she listened to the radios; the interference being temporarily disrupted.
"Go Major!"
"…I'm going to need a drink after this…"
"…I can do that too… not that anybody cares…"
Finally the beam stopped as she reached the alien and she yelled out her attack.
"REPPUZANNNN!"
Her blade shined blue as she brought it down and then… nothing.
Mio
The major blinked in disbelief as the glow retreated from her sword; bouncing straight off and out of her hands. She stared at her hands in disbelief as her sword fell; passing through the shields of the ship and sliding along the spine before coming to a rest in one of the sandbags still there.
She didn't even notice as the alien began to glow yet again as the strength began to leave her body…
Borealis Bridge
"…She's spent… I knew it and yet… I didn't tell her to stop." Ayaka muttered as she looked away from the screen. A blinking light caused her to leave the bridge and head towards engineering; she needed to get her mind off this.
The witches on the bridge quietly mourned the loss of their friend as Vought gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, "So damn close… I can't even keep one promise…" Opening his eyes he sighed as he looked at the silent crew, "Grab the rest of the witches," he stated in a monotone voice, "I'm firing one more broadside and were out of here; get the 302s to cover our exfil."
The crew nodded before getting back to work; they cringed when a distraught Minna appeared on the bridge along with the remainder of the 501st; Vought refused to make eye contact and attempted to ignore her as the other witches tried to console her. His heart clenched as he listened to her pained sobs as the turrets fired another salvo at the alien. His heart stopped, "…The hell?"
Everyone turned to the screen in shock; all of the shots had been stopped by a magic rune. The problem though, it was red.
"That's Mio's rune… that means…"
Geena was the one who noticed it, "Look!"
The cameras zoomed in on the spine of the alien where a small dot laid prone; a small dot with black hair. The alien charged it's primary weapon again giving the crew the look of staring down a loaded barrel.
Before it could fire though, a trio of explosions dotted the alien's spine causing it to turn slightly as it targeted the 302s diving on it. The missiles fired were stopped by the alien's new shield.
"That's new… shit is that Maj Sakamoto?"
"Confirmed Reaper, disengage or at least limit fire to other sections of the target. I… need time to think." Vought strained his mind as he glanced at the clock on the wall; Seven minutes till touchdown.
Five Minutes Previously, In Orbit
Receiving the command to launch, the seven telephone pole shaped satellites opened their launch tubes and spun up the projectiles inside to an rpm that would stabilize them. Once that speed was reached and they had triple checked their coordinates, a burst of compressed air forced the nine ton needle shaped piece of tungsten from each of the satellites. The needles fell until they began reentry and their terminal fall to their targets marked below them in Karlsland. As the projectiles began reentry, the satellites themselves followed after them to burn up; they were no longer needed.
It would take the projectiles twelve minutes and 14.67 seconds for them to end their fall. There was no stopping them now.
Present
(99 Red Balloons- Goldfinger)
Vought was at a loss for words as he attempted to come up with a plan to rescue the captured witch and he was getting nowhere. The ticking clock on the screen wasn't helping much either. Everyone was talking and giving him a headache as they all thought they had a plan would work. Lansby wanted to use the drones to precision cut her out but they didn't have time to determine if a drone could pass through magic.
"Shit, I've got it! I've got it! I need three other guys and breaching charges in auxiliary bay 2 now! No time for questions."
Vought nodded as Gusav sprinted from the bridge. "Understood Nemes whatever you need." He glanced at the clock, "Five minutes guys, come on…"
Auxiliary Bay 2
Gusav sprinted into the bay and caught the bundle of fabric tossed to him. Realizing what it was, he began to pull on the fabric suit for the Tin Man armor. Nemes looked at him and nodded as he stepped into the exoskeleton for the suit; the other two were in various states of dress as others piled different charges at their feets.
"Alright, here's the plan. We get beamed onto the target; we place the breaching charges and det cord around the major and then detonate. We use the armor to pull her free and then we jump and hope they get a lock on us." He looked around as he began to grab the large water filled charges. "We clear?"
The other three nodded as the captain made his way over, "Uh… Artyom right?"
The Russian nodded as he figured out the exoskeleton.
"You think this going to work?"
He shrugged as he grabbed a coil of det cord and a detonator. The four men grouped together as they waited.
"Transport in 3, 2, 1"
The group of them disappeared and reappeared on a sloping and tilting surface; the material was as smooth as glass. They could feel the alien rumble in surprise as it realized it had uninvited guest. Spotting the major the group of them carefully ran and slid their way over to her as they planted their equipment; the clock was ticking; not only from the enemy, but their own attack.
"Major, hey major. You alright ma'am?"
Mio blinked wearily as she tried to get up and move around, "What… what are you doing here? I've failed… leave me. Save yourselves."
Nemes shook his helmeted head, "No can do ma'am. We never leave someone behind, just hang on."
They winced in unison as the red panels around them began to glow followed by the lasers firing straight up only to have them turn around and head straight back for them.
"Oh SHITTTT!"
The men closed their eyes as they waited for the beams to vaporize them only to open them again moments later when they realized they were still there. Nemes looked up into the back of a head of another witch as she calmly deflected the beams. She grinned, "Looks like I saved you again spaceman."
Nemes sighed audibly as the beams dissipated and Hannah and her wingman waited for the next barrage. "Your timing is impeccable Tina. Didn't the colonel order everyone back?"
She nodded as she mowed down a few drones straying near them before dropping her gun; she was out of ammo, "So?"
He noticed the two of them panting slightly as the panels charged again; they really needed a distr-
The alien pitched downward as something big slammed into it's back. It screeched in pain and surprise as it slowly started to regenerate a portion of its back.
400km Away
Fontaine dropped to the firing deck as she flickered in and out of consciousness. If she survived this, she vowed to never do that again. Hearing the screech of the capital-type the crew of the gun sent a pair of their witches to spot for them; seeing what was going on, Laura had quickly determined that she had a slim chance of giving a hand. Against all recommendations, she had crammed every last bit of magic into the cannon and after doing the math, she fired.
The four ton rocket-assisted projectile launched from the 84 meter long barrel with a concussive shockwave that knocked hats off of people's heads; including hers. Her ears twitched in concentration as she held the magic constant within the projectile. Her magic was unique and extremely sought after for numerous reasons; not only could she magnify an explosion with magic, but by releasing small amounts of magic, she could partially steer a projectile. A side effect of this was that the released magic acted as a poor man's sonar. She could kind of "see" what was around the projectile in flight.
The max range of the rocket projectile was 150 kilometers and they were well outside that range. Knowing that magic was flammable in concentrated doses, she used her magic to act as extra fuel for the rocket; giving it the extra boost it needed to go over double its original range. She grinned slightly when she witnessed the shell detonate right in the alien's blind spot. She had hit a moving target at 400 km away with a gun… damn, she could be a badass when she wanted to.
She sat up against the railing on the gun deck as the crew feverishly worked to load another round. Laura panted as she looked at the other people on the deck with her; they would need to fire the next round without her, she was spent. She and the others looked up as they heard roars above them followed by the sight of a group of flaming meteors falling towards Berlin. That was when she noticed the bright red light heading straight towards them. With a blinding flash and shake, it was over. She knew she was in trouble when she felt the heat and heard the creaking. Looking below her heart jumped; the massive beam of light had carved through part of the gun and the area below them was a sea of fire. With another creak and a lurch, the platform began to tilt. Laura began to breathe faster as she realized that the gun was going to fall and from two stories, she would die. She held on to the nearest support bar as the gun tilted again with a lurch. One of the unsuspecting men yelled out in surprise as he flipped over the railing and landed with a sickening "crack." She began to tear up as she realized no one was going to be able to save her in time and that she would never see her family again. With another lurch, Sub-Lt Laura Fontaine plummeted towards the ground. As she fell she heard a massive roar and saw a flash of light and then…
Karlsland Airspace
After finally punching through the atmosphere, the tungsten rods were moving at over 9 kilometers per second and were flaming arrows from the sky.
Originally a plan from the 60s in order to get around international arms treaties, Rods from God, Project Thor, or in their case, Project Kingfisher, was a first strike weapons system that utilized zero explosives; just the kinetic energy from falling from orbit. It was determined that the force of one of these projectiles hitting the ground was the equivalent of a small nuke but without the fallout and with extreme precision. The metal arrows could probably dig a submerged bunker out of about a mile of dirt at the end of its terminal flight.
In order to prevent collateral damage, the seven rods had been fitted with plasma warheads cannibalized from the Lancelots and would detonate them before reaching the ground to prevent irreparable damage from besieging Karlsland. The marked hives vanished almost simultaneously as the silent balls of plasma enveloped them; erasing them from exsistance without causing a single bit of damage to the landscape. Whether by a stroke of luck, divine intervention, or just faulty wiring, the rod aimed for the hive over Berlin malfunctioned. It passed through the hive, center of mass, without a check in speed before arrowing in at a 45 degree angle into the earth kicking up a massive cloud of debris and an earth shaking impact before coming to a rest three-quarters of a mile underground. The hive, the capital-type, and every remaining Neuroi sans the ones in Novgorod vanished. The shockwave caused by the passing projectiles tore the clouds away allowing sunlight to reach what was left of Berlin for the first time in years.
Allied Command, Gallia
Everyone had gone silent as they watched the flaming lines pass over them; the sonic booms the only sound breaking the silence as they reached her homeland.
Adolfine gripped her scope to the breaking point as she waited for something, anything to happen. A successful radio call, witches flying over, something; the suspense was killing her and making her nervous. She spotted the bright flashes signaling the end of the kinetic projectiles flight and she and the others heard the impact of at least one of the rods and groaned internally; that was going to leave a mark. "So there goes his brilliant plan of not harming my home. He's going to pay for that one." She thought as she watched the clouds vanish.
"Borealis this is Allied Command, come in," the radios stayed silent as her calls went unanswered. She tapped her fingers nervously on the desk she was at as the other commanders waited with her.
The conventional forces had taken great losses but nowhere near as bad as the predictions. The majority of the losses came from the Neuroi trap when they had become separated from the witches. The presumed appearance of the ship was the only thing that saved them. After the aliens turned to reengage the new threat, the aircraft had managed to retreat. Most made it back to their bases of operation but some of the more damaged ones were forced to ditch in various locations. The other radios were now squawking with cheers, congratulations, and locations of pilots on the ground
"Come on guys I know your still in one piece… you've got to be" "Col Vought, this is Air Vice Marshal Galland, respond."
A few minutes of buzzing sounded before the radio went silent again.
The radio crackled, "Colonel?! That you?"
"Uh negative ma'am, this is CDR Thach."
Galland frowned but nodded, "What's your status commander?"
"We're good ma'am, tired but good. We got separated from the ship when the largest Neuroi I've ever seen attacked them. We couldn't get close enough to them to get a ride so two of those fighters escorted us free."
"Where are you at? And put them on."
"We're back over the channel now… damn ma'am, what did they use there. That was one hell of an attack."
"Galland ma'am this is Capt Michaels; the colonel ordered us to escort the 508th and 503rd free of enemy airspace."
Galland leaned forward as she grabbed the microphone tighter, "Michaels, where. Are. They?"
"Uh… you might need a boat or-"
"-ommand this is the Borealis. All witches accounted for; we're clear."
The command tent finally burst into cheers as Galland sighed and leaned in her chair, "About damn time colonel. I hope you know I'm kicking your ass when I get over there."
Borealis Bridge
Vought sighed at Adolfine's response as he looked around the bridge, "… Duly noted…" He awkwardly patted the white haired witch currently squeezing the life out of him as she silently sobbed into his chest. The people on the bridge chatted and cheered animatedly about their final action. He snorted as he watched a distraught Minna practically crush Mio as the later was checked over by Pierce. Her eye patch was gone and he noticed that her normally purple eye was back to normal; she had apparently lost her magic. Sharing a glance with Sokolov, he let his head drop back against the headrest and closed his eyes while grinning.
One thought went through his head as he sat there staring at the ceiling, "Mission Accomplished."
*IS-7 Heavy Tank- the largest tank ever to make it out of the blueprints stage in Russia at the start of the Cold War. The 68 ton behemoth had a 130mm gun, 8 MGs, and a top speed of around 50kph. The project was cancelled due to the military shifting to MBTs; heavy tanks were no longer required. The tank was named after Joseph Stalin but because the communist party never took control in the SW universe, I have no idea what it would be called.
And there we go; victory for the good guys! I had originally planned to split this into two chapters but decided to edit it slightly just so I wouldn't leave you guys on too much of a cliffhanger… I think I managed to do that ok. Just want to apologize yet again for the length of time between chapters. My excuse is one word; finals. I'd like to think I did well and I hope so too because I just dumped a lot of applications out there… Anyway, back to the story. So I had to work in Mio losing her powers somehow I mean come on; she did it at the end of Season 2 which was months ago in this story. I just managed to prolong it to the end. Alright, then onto the future of this series; there is one last chapter remaining in this story and I have most of it complete so expect it sometime in the next two weeks or so. Once this story is complete, it will probably be a few months before I get around to posting the first chapter for the next one. If you haven't figured it out yet, the next crossover will be an –REDACTED- one. Just kidding, you will need to wait till the final chapter to find out what it is. The reason there will be a gap between stories is twofold; the first, I need a break from typing while I try to find work. The second is that in order to prevent long absences in my writing, I will be writing a good number of chapters before posting the first one. Don't worry though; you won't get rid of me that easily. In that in my slow period I will be posting a story that is a series of one-shots for the crew. Unfortunately for continuity reasons the Christmas chapter will need to wait until well, Christmas. I have a few good ones planned so that hopefully answers some of the pms I got between the past two chapters. Anyway everyone as always, Ghostrider21 signing off.