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Preface
Before we begin, I like to give a huge shout out to ThanyTony on DeviantArt for his nation flags drawing of the Strike Witches universe along with the alternate history he created. His work gave me both ideas and inspiration for this story. So if you happen to be reading this ThanyTony thank you very much for all your hard work.
Also, for those who might be wondering about my Flying Witches story, for now that is on hold. In fact I'll most likely be rewriting it in the future. I want to go deeper into this alternate universe I created by essentially starting from the beginning. This will also serve as a prequel to Flying Witches.
Just like with Flying Witches, this will be a completely realistic take on the whole Strike Witches universe. More importantly it's also going to be a war story where people die and character. No Neuroi, no alien invasion, no striker units, no magical powers or super powers, and no fanservice or yuri baiting shenanigans. If you're expecting any of that sorry, you're gonna have to go somewhere because this isn't the kind of story. If any of the other stuff bothers you I advise you not to read any further.
If you got no issues at all then enjoy the story and don't hesitate to leave a review!
Chapter 1
In 1939, the Mongolian Empire suddenly rose from its grave after a very long slumber. In 1940, the Mongols shocked the world by conquering the Kingdom of Orrusia, obtaining its valuable resources, taking full control of its industrial might, and enslaving the entire populace. In 1941, the Mongols began their campaign to take over China, determined to reestablish their once great empire and to conquer the lands beyond.
Standing in their way is the Fuso Empire and its naval fleet. Having realized that the threat of a Mongol invasion is too great to ignore the Fuso Empire and the People of China have put aside their bitter feelings towards each other in order to defeat a common enemy by forming the Sino-Fuso Alliance. If the Fuso Empire were to fall the Pacific would be wide open for invasion.
The Fuso Zero has become a symbol of hope and unity for the People of China. As the Mongols ruthlessly bombs their cities and crush their armies the Fuso Empire is their only hope in stopping them in their tracks. Among the pilots who fly the Zero, heroes will rise and become immortal through history.
"Attention! Attention! Flight A! Flight A! Mongolian aircraft sighted over Hangzhou! Mongolian aircraft spotted over Hangzhou!"
In a makeshift airfield located at the southwestern tip of the Wuyi County in the Jinhau prefecture the radial engines of six Mitsubishi A6M Zeros were immediately started up following the emergency announcement.
Moments later the pilots came running out of the barracks. The mechanics, who had started their planes, jumped out of the cockpits and allowed the pilots to jump in. Seconds later they were fully strapped in and the mechanics jumped down off the wings. The flight leader looked around and gave a thumbs up, in which the others responded by giving one of their own, signaling that they were ready. The flight taxied onto the runway with the other following. The next minute all six were in the air.
Near the airfield the locals, farmers working in the rice fields, looked up to see the Zeroes ascend into the sky. Some were children who waved and cheered as they passed by. The rest were women, both young and old, who silently prayed for the protection and return of the young pilots.
Every one of them had hope in their eyes. While their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers were out on the front lines fighting off the Mongol invaders, the Fuso pilots and their Zeroes were doing everything they can to protect their homes and loved one. To the Chinese people they were their heroes and protectors. With their white pain and red chrysanthemums, the imperial seal of the Fuso Emperor, the Zeroes were like angels and the pilots were like warriors.
Once they were high in the air Lieutenant Mio Sakamoto, flight commander leader of the Red Dragons, looked around to make sure that her whole squad was with her before picking up her mic.
"Red Dragon to Red Dragon One, go ahead," she said, signaling her squad mates to report in.
"Red Two, okay, Boss," came her second in command Haruka Sakomizu.
"Red Three, check," came Takami Karibuchi, the squad's ace pilot.
"Red Four, receiving you loud and clear, Sir," her fourth pilot was a local Chinese girl named Dai Zhou. She was the newest pilot in her squad.
The last two, Naoe Kanno and Sadako Shimohara, were both from Osaka and had responded in the same manner.
"Red Five, okay."
"Red Six, okay."
Satisfied that her group was all with her Mio gave the command for full throttle, hoping to catch the enemy before they reached their intended target.
In the city of Yiwu Red Cross nurses and humanitarian volunteers from Fuso were working in the outdoor soup kitchen while providing whatever aid they could to the sick and wounded.
Some were local city dwellers who had lost their homes from Mongolian bombings whiles others were refuges from the northern parts of China, forced to flee after the Mongols invaded. There were a few old men and women but most were young children who had lost their parents, some of which had to travel hundreds of miles to find food and shelter. Some of them had even come in carrying serious wounds made by bombs and artillery shells.
Today they were serving yellow curry that had pork, potatoes, and mixed vegetables served on top of white steamed rice along with a bowl of egg drop soup.
Serving the soup today was a Red Cross nurse from Australis. She smiled at each child who came down the line, but very few smiled back at her. Each one of them had a look of misery and hopelessness. It was so heartbreaking seeing all these children who had lost everything and had nothing to go back to once hostilities finally ceased. There was only so much the nurses and the priests could do for these poor children. If only they could do more.
She glanced over at all the people quietly eating their meals. All seemed peaceful.
Until she heard the sounds of approaching planes.
Everyone else heard them too and were frantically searching the skies. They could not see the planes, but they could that there was more than one and that they were big and heavy.
Bombers.
Mongolian bombers. Orussian built Ilyushin bombers to be precise.
All at once they ran for the shelters as the first bombs began to fall, their high pitched whistles screaming certain death. Most were able to get inside before the bombs reached their area, but some did not.
The bombs destroyed the entire outdoor kitchen along with some trucks, supplies, and a few buildings. Those who did not make it to the shelters suffered a horrible death. As the bombers flew away and the smoke cleared, a child's cry could be heard from somewhere.
High above in the clouds Mio spotted the bombers that had just attacked the city.
They were unable to prevent them from delivering their payload, but now that they were here they would make them pay for what they had just done.
"Eighteen DB-3 heavy bombers, three points to your right," she announced to her squad, "Altitude at about 15,000."
"Well, what do you know? Only three to one!" Haruka joked, "That won't even wake me up."
Mio ignored her and contacted her new pilot.
"Sakamoto to Dai Zhou, over."
"Go ahead, Sir."
She could hear the nervousness in the girl's voice.
"Listen, Dai Zhou," she said as clearly as she could, "This is your first time up. Don't try to win this war all by yourself. Stick close to element formation. Understand?"
"Yes, Sir."
Mio paused before saying, "Ding Hao."
"Ding Hao!" came Dai Zhou's reply.
Mio put her mic away before signaling to begin their attack. She then dove first, followed by the rest.
The pilots of lead bomber spotted them and quickly ordered the crew to man their guns.
The pilots of the Zeroes had faces that were set in grim determination to destroy the enemy. For them it was flying into the jaws of hell. For the bombers it was Death coming to claim them.
The gunner opened fire on the Zeroes as they came into range, hoping that their tracers would scare them and force them to break, but most of the Zero's pilots were veterans. More importantly, they were soldiers of Fuso. They did not run from a fight.
The Zeroes returned fire and Mio struck first by taking out the tail gunner. Meanwhile, her wing man Haruka came up from below and fired into the bomber's belly, taking out both pilots and setting an engine on fire. The bomber soon lost control and dove straight to the earth.
Mio looked around as she came out of her climb. Her squad mates were handling the other bombers just fine, taking several more.
Good, she thought.
So far so good, until she heard a sharp rattling behind her. Her head snapped around to her right, where she saw several bullet holes in the fuselage of her plane. She knew right away she had been hit. Then she spotted the reason why.
A whole squad of Orussian built Yakovlev Yak-1's were diving down on them. The bomber escorts had arrived to drive them off.
Mio pulled up on the stick and pushed her plane to full throttle. The battle was now an intense dogfight between the Fusos Zeroes and the Mongol Yak-1s.
Ace pilot Takami Karibuchi came behind one Yak and shot it down, then shot down another.
Nearby Sadako Shimohara got behind another Yak and set it on fire, which exploded after she had pulled away.
The Yak pilots tried to fight back, but they were simply outclassed by the faster and more maneuverable Zero.
High above, Mio saw Dia Zhou pursuing a Yak, with another one coming in on her tail!
She didn't get the chance to warn her new pilot for the pursuing Yak opened fire, causing Dai Zhou to break off. Hoping she hadn't been hit, Mio dove in with Haruka right behind her.
She closed in on the Yak that had fired on Dai Zhou and pulled the trigger. The Yak's pilot knew he was being shot but couldn't see where it was coming from. Then his engine was hit and he knew he had to get out of there. He tried evasive maneuvers, but to no avail for Mio stayed right on him. She fired again and this time Yak's engine caught fire. The pilot knew he was serious in serious trouble and tried to open his canopy to bail out as his plane started to dive to the ground. Mio pulled the trigger one last time and a bullet pierced his heart, killing him instantly. She showed no remorse as the Yak plunged into the field below and exploded into a huge fireball.
The rest of the Yaks finally bugged out, having had enough.
Mio looked around and saw that her whole squad was safe and accounted for. The mission was over. It was time to return home.
Back at the airfield, in a small hospital nearby, Yoshika Miyafuji was helping her father, the base's doctor, redress a wound that a pilot from the Blue Dragon squad had suffered in her last sortie. The window was open as they worked and Yoshika kept one ear open for Mio and her squad's return.
"What time is it?" asked their patient, looking out the window.
Ichiro Miyufuji looked at his watch, "11:27."
"Those Red Dragons are overdue," she stated.
Both father and daughter heard the concern in her voice, but they kept quiet. Anything could happen out there in the air.
A few minutes later they heard the distinctive sounds of the Sakae radial engines of the Zeroes. Yoshika whirled around and went straight to the window. She craned her neck to look up at the sky, as did the pilots of the Blue Dragons, the mechanics, and the locals nearby.
Then she saw the planes approach.
First two, Mio and Haruka.
Then four, Takami and the new pilot Dai Zhou.
And finally six, the Osaka pair Naoe and Sadako.
Yoshika breathed a huge sigh of relief and went back to the operating table.
Ichiro already knew by the bright smile his daughter had, but he still needed to ask.
"All safe and accounted for?"
She grinned at him, "Of course."
"Of course," he grinned at his patient, who also sighed with relief.
Out on the airfield the Red Dragons began to land one by one. The locals were happy to see that all of them had returned, so much that the ones closest to the airfield dropped their farming tools and ran over to help push the planes back to their stalls after the pilots shut off their engines.
Mio climbed out of the cockpit and took a deep breath of fresh air, happy that she was alive and in one piece. She stepped down from the wing, just in time to see the head mechanic Mushu fussing over the recently made bullet holes of her airplane. A short and stocky but sweet and jovial Chinese man, Mushu treated their planes like they were his children and always threw a fit whenever so much as one of them came back damaged.
"Look, Capitain Mio!" he pointed, "Looky! Wham! Wham!"
Mio just smiled and said, "Termites."
She left Mushu standing there in confusion as the locals came over to push her plane back to its proper spot. Unzipping her leather jacket and taking off her leather helm and goggles Mio made her way over Haruka's plane, who was telling her mechanic that her oxygen tank needed to be replaced.
"Haruka?" she called.
Her best friend came to her side and they walked together. The two had grown up in the same neighborhood and had been friends since childhood. They had done everything together over the years, from school to sports, from working the same job to finally obtaining their pilot licenses. When the war had started Mio had informed Haruka that she was going to join the Imperial Navy as a fighter pilot. Haruka instantly decided to come with her, saying that she needed someone to watch her back.
Mio was grateful to have such a good friend. Haruka always gave it her best. She had yet let anyone down, including Mio. Because of that Mio had placed her as second in command of her squad. However, in the past few weeks Mio had grown increasingly concerned about Haruka's performance in the air, even on landing.
"You got something on your mind, Haruka?" she asked.
"Me?" Haruka looked at her in surprise, "Nothing but Mongols. Why?"
"You're not pulling out of your dives fast enough," Mio stated point blank.
She saw Haruka hesitate for an instant.
"Oh?" she shrugged her shoulders, "Well, I'll watch it next time."
"It only takes one, you know," Mio firmly reminded her.
"I know, Mio," Haruka assured her.
"I hate to look behind me one day and find that you're no longer there."
They both smiled at each other. Neither would let that happen.
"Go up with Takami and simulate diving attacks," Mio ordered, "Mustn't get rusty now."
"Okay, Boss."
Haruka slapped her shoulder before going off to hang with the Blue Dragon pilots over at the tent while Mio went over to Dai Zhou's plane, who was still in the cockpit.
"Well, Dai Zhou," she grinned happily, "You survived your first sortie! Little rough in spots but once you've..."
Suddenly she noticed that the girl wasn't moving.
"Dai Zhou?"
No answer.
Mio jumped onto the wing, yanked opened the canopy, and saw...
"Dai Zhou..."
The girl was dead.
Mio knew she had been hit and she didn't know how badly. Why didn't Dai Zhou inform her that she was wounded? Why hadn't she even bothered to check if she was okay?
Looking closer she saw that there was blood all over Dai Zhou's chin, indicating that she had been coughing blood and most likely prevented her from speaking. It seemed that a bullet had pierced her back and gone straight through her chest, for blood was splattered all over the instrument panel and there were a few bullet holes in it.
Right away she was consumed with anger. Not at the enemy, but at herself. Dai Zhou was only seventeen and her life had already ended.
And she had allowed it to happen.
Biting back her anger she turned away and hopped down from the plane. She told a passing mechanic to take care of Dai Zhou and went looking for Mushu. She found him near the pilot's tent, looking over supply boxes that had recently arrived.
"Mushu?"
The mechanic looked up and smiled.
"Yes, Sir?"
"Did that box of instruments come down from Shanghai?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Fix the panel on Dai Zhou's plane."
Mushu's smile immediately disappeared, but he got right to work.
Mio felt the gazes of the other pilots but she didn't look at them. She turned around and went straight to the barracks.
She didn't need to tell them. They already knew.
It wasn't the first, and it wouldn't be the last.
Later that afternoon Yoshika gathered all of Dai Zhou's personal belongings and placed them inside the white silk scarf she had worn only once.
"This belonged to Dai Zhou too," Rinji, an Army lieutenant who acted as Mio's secretary, handed her a little booklet.
Yoshika opened it to see two pictures inside, one of Dai Zhou and her family and the other with her classmates.
A great sense of sadness washed over her. Dai Zhou had dropped out of school to fight in the war, despite her parents' wishes for her to apply for a university. Her friends had encouraged her to go, saying that she would be fighting for a just cause. How would he family take after they were informed? How would her friends feel once they knew?
With a sigh she placed the booklet inside the scarf along with the rest and tied it into a knot. Picking it up she turned and knocked on Mio's door.
"Come in," came the reply.
Yoshika entered the CO's office and walked over to the desk, where Mio sat waiting.
She placed the scarf on the surface and stepped back. Mio looked at it for a moment before opening a drawer and placing it inside.
Alongside five other scarves.
All waiting to be sent back to the loved ones of the deceased pilots.
"Quite a collection, isn't it?" Mio noted, then slammed the drawer shut.
Hard enough to make Yoshika jump.
Mio placed her fists on her desk and stared unseeingly at the wall, remembering when she first met Dai Zhou.
"Should've stayed in school where she belonged!" she bitterly spat, "But she begged for it! Begged me for a chance. Begged for it like some kid wanting to go to the movies. And I gave it to her."
Yoshika swallowed. Both of them, along with the other pilots, knew that Dai Zhou had lied about her age in order to join the war. Mio could've told her to go home, saying that she was too young, and she probably should have. Clearly she felt ultimately responsible for Dai Zhou's death.
"What happened, Mio?" she asked as gently as she could, even though she already suspected the answer.
"Oh, she didn't watch her tail," Mio replied, "And outnumbered, as usual."
Yoshika paused, then cheerfully stated, "She did bring her plane back, though."
"Yeah..." Mio's lips lifted, "She did."
The fact that Dai Zhou has suffered a mortal wound yet had managed to keep her plane in the air, fly it all the way back to base, land, and then stayed alive just long enough to park it, was impressive to say the least. Even Mio had to admit as much. Thanks to Dai Zhou's efforts she hadn't lost another plane.
Then her face turned grim again, "But come tomorrow or the next day they'll be somebody else in it. With three of them on her tail, or six, or ten-"
Yoshika placed a hand on her shoulder, "Mio."
The navy lieutenant looked up at her and smiled, relaxing her stiff shoulders.
Yoshika Miyafuji really was an angel sent from heaven, and was the bravest girl Mio had ever met. And to think that she was only sixteen.
The young girl had come to China volunteering as a nurse after her father Ichiro had volunteered to join the army as a field doctor. She had insisted on coming along with him despite being told that the battlefield was no place for a girl like her, even going as far as to stowaway about the ship that had brought him over. Naturally he was upset at her recklessness, but once he realized that sending her back to Fuso would only cause her to do something even more reckless he had no choice but to bring her along.
They were assigned to this airfield the same day Mio had been promoted as flight commander. When she and the other pilots had first met Yoshika they didn't know what to think of her. She had looked so out of place, this sweet little girl in the middle of this horrible war. All of them had believed that she wouldn't stay for long after seeing what war was truly like, but to their surprise she stayed. No matter how bad or how ugly things got, Yoshika endured it all and she never complained. The only time Ichiro had put his foot down was when he received a patient who was in real bad shape. He did not want his daughter to see such things. She was too young for it.
Over time Mio and other pilots had come to truly appreciate her being here. Whenever they had a really rough day, no matter how bad it was, Yoshika was there to lift their spirits. She would do it by either baking cookies, cooking traditional Japanese meals whenever she found the right ingredients, or by just simply talking to them.
Just as she was doing now with Mio.
"How's Makoto?" she asked, deciding to change the subject.
"Just a flesh wound in the shoulder," Yoshika made a happy smile, "She'll be back with you in a week."
Mio was glad to hear that. She couldn't afford to lose another pilot now.
"And you?" she asked Yoshika next, "How are you doing? Are you keeping up with your studies?"
That had been one of the conditions Ichiro had insisted on. His daughter maintaining her schooling.
"Of course," Yoshika replied, "You and Papa remind me every single day.
Mio's smile deepened. Over the months she had come to see Yoshika as the little sister she never had. She had grown up with three older brothers and was the only girl in the family. Whenever she had the time she would give Yoshika tutoring lessons to make sure she stayed on top of her grades. She knew it must be difficult for the girl, having to balance out her job as a nurse and keeping up with her studies, but she was able to manage. After all, Yoshika intended to follow in the footsteps of her father by becoming a doctor herself. Mio really did wish there were more people like her in this cold hard world.
"Why don't you go home?" she asked for the hundredth time, "You know it's not safe here."
And just like the last hundred times Yoshika answered with, "Papa needs a nurse, and so do you. Suppose you fall and sprain your ankle while getting off your plane?"
Mio chuckled before noticing that Yoshika didn't seem as tired as she usually was.
"When did you sleep last?" she asked out of curiosity.
"Monday," Yoshika grinned, "It was a very good day for it."
"Yeah? Well, try Thursdays. They're good days too. Excuse me," Mio picked up her phone, "Rinji? Give me the weather report on Shanghai and ask for Sakomizu to come in. Also, check on those oil drums. Find out what's holding them up."
She put the phone back down with a grimace.
"As if I didn't already know," she muttered before turning to Yoshika, "You think Haruka could run this outfit for a couple of days?"
"Yes, why?"
"I gotta run up to Shanghai. The Colonel promised me some replacements. Gonna need them now that Dai Zhou's gone."
"When will you be back?" Yoshika quickly asked before Mio became upset again.
"Only for a couple days," she went silent for a moment, "Although... if it were up to me I fly right on down to Okinawa and stay there."
Yoshika smiled, "Beautiful island, Okinawa."
"Yeah," Mio agreed, having been there a few times before the war, "There's a nice sushi restaurant in downtown Naha. They serve oysters you have to cut with a knife!"
Yoshika's brown eyes brightened, "Ever been to Chiba?"
Mio shook her head.
"There's a Yakiniku restaurant that Papa always takes me to whenever we go out to eat. Finest grilled meat you ever tasted, enough to make your mouth water! If you ever come by we'll treat you."
"I'd like that," it had been a long time since Mio had tasted grilled meat, "And I'll be sure to invite you and your dad along the next time I go to Okinawa. In the meantime..."
"Yeah," Yoshika sighed.
Until this war was over they couldn't do anything. They would have to wait for the time being. Assuming that they were still alive at the end.
"I couldn't leave anyway," she said, "There's a new batch of evacuated children coming to the shelter today."
In addition to keeping the pilots spirits up Yoshika would also pay occasional visits to the shelters for orphaned children by bringing them sweets and helping the Red Cross nurses tend to them. Like Mio had said before, Yoshika really was an angel sent from heaven.
Haruka entered the office carrying a piece of paper.
"You wanted to see me, Mio?"
"Yeah, I want you to mind the store while I'm away. Gotta go to Shanghai."
"Sure thing, Boss."
Mio picked up her phone again, "Rinji? Have the car brought around and put my things in it. Gotta catch the plane for Shanghai. Did that gasoline shipment arrive yet?"
When she received the answer "No" she slapped the phone down.
"Imagine if someone invented a plane that could run on rice," she grumbled.
Haruka handed her the paper, "Wanna check the scoreboard?"
Mio snatched and tossed it on her desk. She didn't really need to look at it.
"Takami will fly number two while you're in charge, and make sure that Osaka pair practice on their guns."
While she was giving Haruka instructions Yoshika picked up the report sheet and looked over the stats. It only took her a second to see that something was off.
"Mio: Zero? Haruka: Zero? Dai Zhou: Two?" she looked over at Haruka, "I thought you and Mio..."
Her voice faded when she saw Mio glare at Haruka, who bashfully turned away.
"Didn't I tell you to credit my kill only to Dai Zhou?" Mio clearly wasn't pleased.
For each plane a Fuso pilot shot down they received 50,000 Yen, but Haruka had never kept any of the money she made. It was gone the moment she received it.
"Well..." Haruka shrugged, "Look Mio, I got no one back in Fuso. I thought Dai Zhou's family could use the extra 50,000 Yen. That's all."
Mio shook her head while Yoshika laughed.
"Next you're gonna tell me you're a Christian."
Rinji opened the door and announced, "Car's ready."
"Right," Mio grabbed her hat and went out the door with the others following.
"Start working Uno and Oshima as a team," she said to Haruka, "I think they're about ready."
"Okay, Mio," Haruka assured her, "Don't worry about a thing. I'll try and take care of things while you're away."
"Okay, Haruka," she was about to leave the building when she remembered one last thing, "And don't be giving any tutoring lessons to Yoshika. She's my student."
Mio reached over and pinched the girl's cheek.
"Sayonara, Gakusei," she said.
"Sayonara, Sensei," Yoshika said back.
Mio got into the vehicle and drove off with the two of them watching until she was out of sight.
"What do you see in that loser?" asked Haruka.
"Okinawa," Yoshika replied dreamily.
"Huh?" Haruka wasn't sure if she heard correctly.
Yoshika looked at her and laughed, "Never mind."
Author's Note
Quite a difference, huh? For this alternate universe WW2 story. The Japanese and the Chinese are suddenly friends and allies instead of bitter enemies? It certainly flips the script, doesn't it? That was my intention and I hope you liked it. Stay tuned for the next one!