Strike Witches Episode 6: The Hot Gates

[Rupudska]

June 12, 1945
Tyrrhenian Sea
10:30 AM

By now, the old 501st had gotten somewhat accustomed to the Charlotte E. Yeager, and the Romangan Navy had permitted it to approach Rome. The sky was a crystal clear blue, and if one were to fly high enough, they could easily see most of the Italian peninsula. At the moment, a Neuroi attack seemed unlikely, the Neuroi were apparently busy causing chaos to the North, well outside of either 501st's effective range. Thus, today would be a day of relaxation for the modern Witches as they were given a tour of Rome, and possibly the old 501st base a few miles outside of the Eternal City. The current 501st would store their Strikers on old trucks, under tarps so as not to scare the locals. Even though this was expected to be a calm day, they weren't taking any chances.

---

Ruya el-Amin watched with wary eyes as her own Strikers were loaded into the back of a GMC CCKW, along with those of Sohvi, Maria and Svetlana. Once they were loaded, she got in the front seat to follow the old 501st into Rome. Today was a good day for touristing about the ancient city, she realized this, but she just couldn't shake a nasty thought at the back of her head, the thought that something would go terribly, horribly wrong this day.

[Malshan]

Nicole rocked Melody as the truck rolled onwards toward Rome, at the same time making sure that Gustave didn't fall off of his perch on top of the Chimaera armor. Despite being mounted on gyroscopic arms, the armor still shook a bit when the trucks rolled over something. Gustave snored, using the unit as a hammock. For some reason, despite his clumsiness elsewhere, Gustave managed never to fall.

[Hetland 2]

Maria was still blushing, by the time she'd gotten to town. She couldn't believe she'd told Svetlana, but she felt relieved, for the first time in many years no emotional chains bound her heart. She was as free as a bird, happy as ever. She noticed Adela standing around, and ran up to her grabbing her hands into hers, "HEY! Adela! Wanna go look around the town with me?" She grinned happily at Adela.

[Finorskia]

Yuri Mikhailov and his sister looked around. He was wondering what he was going to do. It wasn't like he really cared all that much about Rome. "Hey Yuri. What do you want to do?" Yuki asked.
"Dunno." He replied. He looked around at the people. He no longer held his grudge against Gustav for the mans rebellious actions. He spotted Maria and Adela. "Guess we could go tag along with them? I personally don't really care."
"Geez Yu. Your no fun." He laughed at his sisters remark.
"Yeah well. A lots happened." Yuki humphed at her brother.
"Fine lets see if we can tag along with them." Yuki turned to Maria. "Hey Maria. Mind if we tag along?"

[Wolfenium]

Warm weather had always been a torment to Svetlana. Whether it was scorching desert scrubs of Australis, or the bright Mediterranean sunshine of Romanga, the young Orussian had a serious aversion to heat. Sitting on the edge of a sprawling fountain in the city square, the little 'ice princess' tried to edge her head as close to the rushing waters falling behind her, brushing her sweat-drenched fringes to the back. Her hair tied in a long ponytail, she had been doing all she could to cool down without getting wet inside.

But troubling climate was not the only thing bothering the young girl. The incident in Narbonne still continued to plague her mind. Despite having recovered from her emotional breakdown, Svetlana still desired the answers to her sudden triggering. For one thing, she wanted to know what exactly happened between her and Fei that triggered her. But as much as she wanted to question the Lieutenant about it, Svetlana could tell he was in no mood to answer her, becoming more distant by the day. As much as she simply wanted to absolve him from his guilt, she simply could not shake off the feeling he knew more about the incident that he let out.

For now though, she was content just fighting off the heat. Looking out at the shifting crowds around her, she grunted, "I hate summer... I don't understand... Why couldn't we be sent back to a time in the winter solstice?..." She hated summer as much as she hated the Neuroi. Irrational as it may sound for the calculative witch, she really hoped that she had her mother's power of psychokinesis, freezing the world in eternal winter for her own pleasure.

---

Adela, however, had no such issues of the kind. Stepping out of a store, the Dacian delicately admired her latest acquisition, a fine tinted glass bottle of Chianti. Bearing an amused smile on her face, she seemed satisfied with her purchase. But as Maria rushed over and seized her hands, Adela felt a surge of panic over her slipping grasp on the bottle. Wrenching her hands and bottle away in haste, she blurted, "woah!... Carful!" Lifting her bottle, she declared pettily, "do you know how much I paid for this? This is a valuable piece of beverage in any timeline. I intend to enjoy it to the fullest. Unlike you, I don't chug down on swill like sour milk. I savour only the best."

As the Mikhailov siblings approached them, Adela pouted in disappointed, eyeing the duo unhappily. Turning back, she declined, "sorry, but I'm having a 'me' moment right now. I'd much rather get more stuff to bring back to the ship. Since I've already backdated seven decades, I'd much rather make this worth my while."

"Besides," she questioned Maria in a more serious tone, "shouldn't you keep a better eye on Ice Princess (Svetlana)? Not that I believe that she might go 'Here's Johnny' again, but I really think you should spend more time with her. She needs the company more than me."

With that, she began moving off again, slipping the bottle into her paper bag as she continued her shopping spree...

[Hetland 2]

Warm weather had always been a torment to Svetlana. Whether it was scorching desert scrubs of Australis, or the bright Mediterranean sunshine of Romanga, the young Orussian had a serious aversion to heat. Sitting on the edge of a sprawling fountain in the city square, the little 'ice princess' tried to edge her head as close to the rushing waters falling behind her, brushing her sweat-drenched fringes to the back. Her hair tied in a long ponytail, she had been doing all she could to cool down without getting wet inside.

But troubling climate was not the only thing bothering the young girl. The incident in Narbonne still continued to plague her mind. Despite having recovered from her emotional breakdown, Svetlana still desired the answers to her sudden triggering. For one thing, she wanted to know what exactly happened between her and Fei that triggered her. But as much as she wanted to question the Lieutenant about it, Svetlana could tell he was in no mood to answer her, becoming more distant by the day. As much as she simply wanted to absolve him from his guilt, she simply could not shake off the feeling he knew more about the incident that he let out.

For now though, she was content just fighting off the heat. Looking out at the shifting crowds around her, she grunted, "I hate summer... I don't understand... Why couldn't we be sent back to a time in the winter solstice?..." She hated summer as much as she hated the Neuroi. Irrational as it may sound for the calculative witch, she really hoped that she had her mother's power of psychokinesis, freezing the world in eternal winter for her own pleasure.

---

Adela, however, had no such issues of the kind. Stepping out of a store, the Dacian delicately admired her latest acquisition, a fine tinted glass bottle of Chianti. Bearing an amused smile on her face, she seemed satisfied with her purchase. But as Maria rushed over and seized her hands, Adela felt a surge of panic over her slipping grasp on the bottle. Wrenching her hands and bottle away in haste, she blurted, "woah!... Carful!" Lifting her bottle, she declared pettily, "do you know how much I paid for this? This is a valuable piece of beverage in any timeline. I intend to enjoy it to the fullest. Unlike you, I don't chug down on swill like sour milk. I savour only the best."

As the Mikhailov siblings approached them, Adela pouted in disappointed, eyeing the duo unhappily. Turning back, she declined, "sorry, but I'm having a 'me' moment right now. I'd much rather get more stuff to bring back to the ship. Since I've already backdated seven decades, I'd much rather make this worth my while."

"Besides," she questioned Maria in a more serious tone, "shouldn't you keep a better eye on Ice Princess (Svetlana)? Not that I believe that she might go 'Here's Johnny' again, but I really think you should spend more time with her. She needs the company more than me."

With that, she began moving off again, slipping the bottle into her paper bag as she continued her shopping spree...

Maria looked down for a second, before looking up and grinning, trotting after Adela, "Ummm... Can I go shopping with you? I... promise I won't misbehave! I'll be quiet too..." She stopped speaking, "I don't want to watch her..." She muttered under her breath "I'd much rather spend time with you..."
Maria turned up her energy, "I... I want to go shopping too, but if I go alone the shopkeepers will kick me out because of how I look. Please?" She clutched her skirt which she'd gone out of the way to borrow from Katsumi and it was much too large for her.

[Wolfenium]

Maria looked down for a second, before looking up and grinning, trotting after Adela, "Ummm... Can I go shopping with you? I... promise I won't misbehave! I'll be quiet too..." She stopped speaking, "I don't want to watch her..." She muttered under her breath "I'd much rather spend time with you..."
Maria turned up her energy, "I... I want to go shopping too, but if I go alone the shopkeepers will kick me out because of how I look. Please?" She clutched her skirt which she'd gone out of the way to borrow from Katsumi and it was much too large for her.

Adela raised an eyebrow at her words. Her instincts were giving her bad signals about Maria's advances. Given how much her past relationship with her old captain was public knowledge to the 501st, Adela could tell where she swung. Still, she had not realized why her feet was backing away a bit on reflex. Giving a sigh, she found herself avoiding Maria's gaze with a flustered look.

"Maria, not that I want to spoil your fun and all," she stated blandly, "but I just don't feel comfortable leaving the kid alone, not after she held me at knife point like Big Boss."

Taking one look up at Svetlana, however, she finally relented, grumbling, "fine... you can come, but on my terms." Moving back towards the fountain, the Dacian suddenly made a grab for Svetlana's hands. Pulled from her seat, the surprised Svetlana found herself drawn towards the annoyed girl.

"Come on, snowflake," Adela griped, yanking her arms along, "I don't want to come back to find a puddle on the fountain with your empty clothes lying around." Bringing her in front of the Mikhailovs, Adela intended to have them take care of Svetlana. For some reason, however, her grip on the girl' hands would not loosen, her mind warning her of... something...

"On second thought," she uttered, pulling Svetlana towards herself, "I think I feel safer with you around."

Svetlana blushed over Adela's reactions. She failed to understand what on earth was bothering the elder. Glancing at Maria, she felt speechless over the matter. Her eyes darting around a bit, she appeared to be begging for some answer to her sudden predicament...

[Hetland 2]

Adela raised an eyebrow at her words. Her instincts were giving her bad signals about Maria's advances. Given how much her past relationship with her old captain was public knowledge to the 501st, Adela could tell where she swung. Still, she had not realized why her feet was backing away a bit on reflex. Giving a sigh, she found herself avoiding Maria's gaze with a flustered look.

"Maria, not that I want to spoil your fun and all," she stated blandly, "but I just don't feel comfortable leaving the kid alone, not after she held me at knife point like Big Boss."

Taking one look up at Svetlana, however, she finally relented, grumbling, "fine... you can come, but on my terms." Moving back towards the fountain, the Dacian suddenly made a grab for Svetlana's hands. Pulled from her seat, the surprised Svetlana found herself drawn towards the annoyed girl.

"Come on, snowflake," Adela griped, yanking her arms along, "I don't want to come back to find a puddle on the fountain with your empty clothes lying around." Bringing her in front of the Mikhailovs, Adela intended to have them take care of Svetlana. For some reason, however, her grip on the girl' hands would not loosen, her mind warning her of... something...

"On second thought," she uttered, pulling Svetlana towards herself, "I think I feel safer with you around."

Svetlana blushed over Adela's reactions. She failed to understand what on earth was bothering the elder. Glancing at Maria, she felt speechless over the matter. Her eyes darting around a bit, she appeared to be begging for some answer to her sudden predicament...

Maria grinned eagerly, she hopped next to them, "Shall we go? I was here once for a trip so I know the layout unless of course it was dramatically changed since I last came here." Maria paused, "Where would you like to go? Il Colosseo? The Fountain of the Four Rivers? Oh Piazza di Trevi?" She grinned widely "Of course, I do know some family owned shops too..." She covered her mouth, looking apologetic, "Scusa. I... I haven't been...Never mind." Maria looked sheepishly at Svetlana grining, "I think I know a great place to get some really good gelato... well provided they're poster wasn't lying when I went there." She scratched her nose. "I'll be quiet now."

[Imota]

Beatrice shielded her eyes from the sun as she left a small shop. She was fortunate that the proprietor had understood the broken Romagnan she'd picked up from a few hours with a phrase book.

"That...was interesting," she said to herself as she glanced around the plaza. She saw several of her squadmates by a fountain. She walked over to them.

"Maria? Would it be alright if I joined you all?"

[Hetland 2]

Beatrice shielded her eyes from the sun as she left a small shop. She was fortunate that the proprietor had understood the broken Romagnan she'd picked up from a few hours with a phrase book.

"That...was interesting," she said to herself as she glanced around the plaza. She saw several of her squadmates by a fountain. She walked over to them.

"Maria? Would it be alright if I joined you all?"

Maria sighed, unconsciously brushing her braid behind her left ear. "Well... I can't say I'd mind..." Maria looked at the three of them, "Just as a precaution, you can feel where you keep your money, wallets, purses anything, make sure you can feel it on you, especially in crowds, don't let people drag you into back alleys, and NEVER, EVER let the street merchants see inside your wallet." Her face was very serious, Maria after all, probably was the most street wise of all of the witches present.

---

Katsumi on the otherhand was having large difficulties leaving the ship. "... So many men..." She leaned her head against the railing of the Yeager. "Damn it Maria... You left without me... How am I supposed to leave without someone to accompany me..." She spotted the girl bouncing around with her friends and grinned to herself. "Whatever, might as well get some swimming in." She grabbed her swimming suit and goggles and headed into the changing room.

[Agritum]

Beatrice shielded her eyes from the sun as she left a small shop. She was fortunate that the proprietor had understood the broken Romagnan she'd picked up from a few hours with a phrase book.

"That...was interesting," she said to herself as she glanced around the plaza. She saw several of her squadmates by a fountain. She walked over to them.

"Maria? Would it be alright if I joined you all?"

Maria sighed, unconsciously brushing her braid behind her left ear. "Well... I can't say I'd mind..." Maria looked at the three of them, "Just as a precaution, you can feel where you keep your money, wallets, purses anything, make sure you can feel it on you, especially in crowds, don't let people drag you into back alleys, and NEVER, EVER let the street merchants see inside your wallet." Her face was very serious, Maria after all, probably was the most street wise of all of the witches present.

---

Katsumi on the otherhand was having large difficulties leaving the ship. "... So many men..." She leaned her head against the railing of the Yeager. "Damn it Maria... You left without me... How am I supposed to leave without someone to accompany me..." She spotted the girl bouncing around with her friends and grinned to herself. "Whatever, might as well get some swimming in." She grabbed her swimming suit and goggles and headed into the changing room.

"We are in Rome, Maria, not in Naples" Matilde quipped. She was standing next to the other witches, crossing her arms and looking at them in a proud manner. "But well, you're a Venezian, not a Romagnan. Your scarce knowledge of the city is justified. Anyways, I suggest to go on the Montecitorio hill. The Parliament is there, and maybe we could get special clearance to enter it, due to our status as Witches. Someone has questions?" the Sergeant asked, putting a foot on the edge of the fountain.

[Hetland 2]

"We are in Rome, Maria, not in Naples" Matilde quipped. She was standing next to the other witches, crossing her arms and looking at them in a proud manner. "But well, you're a Venezian, not a Romagnan. Your scarce knowledge of the city is justified. Anyways, I suggest to go on the Montecitorio hill. The Parliament is there, and maybe we could get special clearance to enter it, due to our status as Witches. Someone has questions?" the Sergeant asked, putting a foot on the edge of the fountain.

Maria boredly stared at Matilde, "Yes, because you'd know all about how street punks operate wouldn't you, Mattie? After all, I'm quite sure your life up until now has made you the most streetwise of all of us after all. I mean, You pretty much grew up on the streets didn't you, oh yes, I can tell. Those proper manners definitely indicate you've lived a hard life." Maria's face contorted into a scary grin, "Come on, tell us what to do if we're being mugged? How do we avoid arrest for thievery? Tell us how you measure the wealth? Come on Mattie!" She hopped up on the fountain leering down at Matilde, "This isn't a game. If you're going to challenge my knowledge of the streets, you'd better be DAMN sure that you have facts to back it up. You say this isn't Naples?" She stifled a laugh, "No shit. This is a capital city. There are thieves, pick pockets, muggers, murderers, rapists and kidnappers here. You're capital is no different, and you're so very stupid if you think otherwise." Maria smirked and turned away from Matilde, hopping off the fountain edge. "You want to see me mad? Not going to happen. Cause I'm going to have a good day." Maria exhaled deeply and turned to Adela, Svetlana and Beatrice and grinned. "Right?"

[Wolfenium]

Adela rolled her eyes over the noisy argument in front of her. She could feel the claustrophobia from the growing crowd around her. At this point, it was obvious there was going to be no 'me' time for her from here on out.

"I think I'll pass the state visit, thank you," griped the Dacian, raising her shopping bag at Matilde, "I'm into simpler pleasures. Besides, I can't hold up a picture perfect smile for long, not in front of a bunch of pretentious politicians."

Turning her back on the others, making her own way down the street as she waved off to the others with a lax response, "I'm going ahead. I still have a whole list to fill. I just hope you have something of this time to pay for this 'ancient' stuff. I know I have."

[Hetland 2]

Maria nodded, reaching into her skirt pocket pulling out a bag. She shook it, the sound of jingling coins eminated from that. "Of course I did, I traded Lucchini some of my candy for some money... She really seemed to like those Kinder bars in my fridge. So I traded them." Maria grinned and walked off after Adela, "Sooo... Where would you like to go first?" Maria was sharply aware of the stares she was getting, she knew very well that she was not a very pretty girl. No part of her body was untouched by scar tissue to say the least and she never really did care for her appearance. But she felt those stares really piercing her, after all, compared to Adela, she must look to be some kind of freak. It only made things worse as she began to realize that people were going out of there way to avoid touching or even getting close to her. She sighed, I was a fool to think that it would be any different. she fumbled around for her flask and began to take a drink.

---

As Katsumi finished dressing she stepped outside, stretching, before sitting down on the deck of the carrier. "There are men at the beach..." She sighed heavily.

[Wolfenium]

Maria nodded, reaching into her skirt pocket pulling out a bag. She shook it, the sound of jingling coins eminated from that. "Of course I did, I traded Lucchini some of my candy for some money... She really seemed to like those Kinder bars in my fridge. So I traded them." Maria grinned and walked off after Adela, "Sooo... Where would you like to go first?" Maria was sharply aware of the stares she was getting, she knew very well that she was not a very pretty girl. No part of her body was untouched by scar tissue to say the least and she never really did care for her appearance. But she felt those stares really piercing her, after all, compared to Adela, she must look to be some kind of freak. It only made things worse as she began to realize that people were going out of there way to avoid touching or even getting close to her. She sighed, I was a fool to think that it would be any different. she fumbled around for her flask and began to take a drink.

---

As Katsumi finished dressing she stepped outside, stretching, before sitting down on the deck of the carrier. "There are men at the beach..." She sighed heavily.

Glaring at the hyperactive girl, Adela could only frown at her increasingly clingy nature. She clearly wanted to be alone, her nervousness growing over Maria's... closeness towards her. Darting her eyes around, she quickly skipped over to Matilde's side.

"Silvestri, I know your map info of the city is seven decades too advanced," she whispered to Matilde in discomfort, leaning beside her ear, "just find me a place where I can get some delicatessens. I feel like she's hitting on me..."

[Agritum]

Maria nodded, reaching into her skirt pocket pulling out a bag. She shook it, the sound of jingling coins eminated from that. "Of course I did, I traded Lucchini some of my candy for some money... She really seemed to like those Kinder bars in my fridge. So I traded them." Maria grinned and walked off after Adela, "Sooo... Where would you like to go first?" Maria was sharply aware of the stares she was getting, she knew very well that she was not a very pretty girl. No part of her body was untouched by scar tissue to say the least and she never really did care for her appearance. But she felt those stares really piercing her, after all, compared to Adela, she must look to be some kind of freak. It only made things worse as she began to realize that people were going out of there way to avoid touching or even getting close to her. She sighed, I was a fool to think that it would be any different. she fumbled around for her flask and began to take a drink.

---

As Katsumi finished dressing she stepped outside, stretching, before sitting down on the deck of the carrier. "There are men at the beach..." She sighed heavily.

Glaring at the hyperactive girl, Adela could only frown at her increasingly clingy nature. She clearly wanted to be alone, her nervousness growing over Maria's... closeness towards her. Darting her eyes around, she quickly skipped over to Matilde's side.

"Silvestri, I know your map info of the city is seven decades too advanced," she whispered to Matilde in discomfort, leaning beside her ear, "just find me a place where I can get some delicatessens. I feel like she's hitting on me..."

Hearing Adela's request, Matilde replied, careful not to be heard by Maria.
"Well, I suggest you to buy some alcohol, not quality one, and gift her to our companion, Corporal Lucinda. Just give her enough bottles to keep her occupied, then escape in whatever part of the city you want. Actually, I could be some sort of tour guide for you, Adela. The inner part of the city, called also Historical Centre, hasn't changed very much, and coincidentally, it is also the best part of Rome. Maybe we could go to...Piazza Venezia!" Matilde suggested, her eyes gleaming in pride.

[Wolfenium]

Glaring at the hyperactive girl, Adela could only frown at her increasingly clingy nature. She clearly wanted to be alone, her nervousness growing over Maria's... closeness towards her. Darting her eyes around, she quickly skipped over to Matilde's side.

"Silvestri, I know your map info of the city is seven decades too advanced," she whispered to Matilde in discomfort, leaning beside her ear, "just find me a place where I can get some delicatessens. I feel like she's hitting on me..."

Hearing Adela's request, Matilde replied, careful not to be heard by Maria.
"Well, I suggest you to buy some alcohol, not quality one, and gift her to our companion, Corporal Lucinda. Just give her enough bottles to keep her occupied, then escape in whatever part of the city you want. Actually, I could be some sort of tour guide for you, Adela. The inner part of the city, called also Historical Centre, hasn't changed very much, and coincidentally, it is also the best part of Rome. Maybe we could go to...Piazza Venezia!" Matilde suggested, her eyes gleaming in pride.

Adela backed away a little, looking flustered over Matilde's own suggestion. Biting her thumbnail, she grumbled, "I said I wanted to get some fine food, not be bored to death in a tourist trap... Can't be helped... I hate wasting my own money on others, but I guess my own mental sanity comes first. You go lead the way, I'll be right behind."

However, Adela had little clue whether she could elude the gang. She did not know just how much Maria could hold her liquor. But at this point, she willing to try anything to lose the group of nutbars around her. She could always try to ditch Matilde and the others later. For now, she needed to lose Maria. Now.

[Chulainan]

Snow. It fell slowly, each unique flake adding to a greater whole. The men and women of the Baltland Imperial Forces often looked at the snow falling to find peace, knowing that they were the same. It was in these conditions that Corporal Eeva Kilpela found herself in on patrol. Northern Baltland was a lonely place with it's sparse population, Neuroi were a rarity with their forces concentrated further south though there was always a risk that they could flank through the arctic. This ensured that a couple of isolated based were maintained with minimal funding. It was a captain at one of these bases that was the reason for Eeva patrolling on her own. The quiet girl rarely spoke up preferring the language her warhammer spoke for her. The wing blew softly through her short silver hair, the slash of red through a tribute to lost comrades at home and overseas. The peace of nature surrounded her on all sides though it was not to last. Her piercing green eyes betrayed anger.

"That arrogant prick" she shouted, shattering the illusion of peace, "who in Asgard does that asshole think he is".

Her new captain, an engineer who apparently loved to remind her how much he out-ranked her had decided to bring in more discipline to the base after noticing practically no one followed the proper chain of command, there being a grand total of fifteen personnel, the majority of which are privates. After witnessing the captain reducing one of those privates to tears for forgetting to address Eeva by her rank, she had snapped and now had solo patrols for ruffly two-weeks in the freezing cold.

"Damn southerner" she muttered, "What does he expect, there's been five Neuroi attacks here since the start of the war and the supply corp sometimes forgets to send supplies up here we're so out of the way"

She took a swing at a tree as the sun began to climb up in the distance, she turned to look at the rising light.

'Should be too early' she thought. She began to hear voices on her radio. She put it too her ear just as a dome of blue appeared from the rising sun.

'That's no sun' she thought fearfully as the bright light surged straight at her. The sun rose in the east, the snow kept falling.


Snow. It seemed so distant now. Between the azure sky and clear waters of a completely unknown sea, the ground rushing ever closer.

The ground rushing ever closer

"Skit" swore Eeva in her native tongue as she threw up a shield seconds before making contact with an unsuspecting beach. There was silence for a few moments before she struggled to her feet using her warhammer as a staff. She began to check her equipment, it all seemed good. Even her modified AA-12 , which fired from her backpack hadn't taken much damage. She looked at her surroundings. A crystal clear sea stretched out before her, inland, there seemed to be a distant town of reasonable size.

"How..." she started, eyes wide. She shook herself and started walking towards the town, she wasn't going to get any answers if she didn't find people with those answers first.

[Finorskia]

Yuri sighed. He could tell Adela and Maria wanted to be alone. "Whatever. You guys all enjoy yourselves. I'm going back to the ship to nap. I never really cared for tourism. Besides I was hear once before being stationed in the gulf." He turned and walked away.
"Yuri." Yuki called after him, but just let him go,

Yuri walked onto the flight deck. Spotting Katsumi he walked over.
"Yo Captain. What you up to." He asked standing over her. He made sure to back up so as not to be hit by her in the evident chance that she attempted to.

---

Heinz leaned back in a beach chair on the carriers deck. A strange radar like device in his hands. It suddenly started to beep wildly. He jumped up excited.
"Disturbance. We have a temporal disturbance. A portal is opening." He shouted excitedly. The machine suddenly stopped making noise and went dead.
"Never mind. Seems like someone else seems to have come through." He said glumly.

[Hetland 2]

Maria quickly realized she'd worn out her welcome, she may not have been very book smart, but she could read people very well. She knew that she was heading for a world of pain, but she followed them quietly, occasionally gazing into shop windows looking at the products.

---

Katsumi leaned back, her goggles replaced with sunglasses "Well I want to go swimming but there are men at the beach. So currently I'm tanning." She glanced over at Heinz. "The fuck are you talking about?"

[Finorskia]

"Men at the beach. You do realize your on an aircraft carrier filled with men?" Yuri said cocking his eyfebrow. "Well if you decide to go I'll go with you. I got nothing better to do."

Heinz ran over to Katsumi and Yuri holding up the machine.
"I designed this to search for the same energy readings given off by that storm that brought us here. One just appeared but it was quick. Someone else was just brought out of their time." He said almost bouncing off the ground.

[Hetland 2]

"Men at the beach. You do realize your on an aircraft carrier filled with men?" Yuri said cocking his eyfebrow. "Well if you decide to go I'll go with you. I got nothing better to do."

Heinz ran over to Katsumi and Yuri holding up the machine.
"I designed this to search for the same energy readings given off by that storm that brought us here. One just appeared but it was quick. Someone else was just brought out of their time." He said almost bouncing off the ground.

Katsumi scowled at Yuri. "They're men I know in the aircraft carrier. Down there... there are men I don't... We should probably go fetch the poor souls." She sighed again standing and throwing on a coat over her shoulders, looking incredibly unenthusiastic.

[Finorskia]

"Right. I'll go find a couple of helicopter pilots." Yuri walked off to search for someone to fly a helicopter. He returned fifteen minutes later with a pair of pilots who were dressed in their pilot gear. Yuri looked at Katsumi. "Right well these here navy boys are going to be our pilots for today. Ships captains already given the go ahead. Lets go." Yuri motioned to a SH-60 Seahawk that was just finishing being fueled up and loaded. Yuri climbed in. "So Heinz where did the signal come form." Yuri asked the engineer as he climbed into the chopper.
"It originated off the coast. That's where we want to start looking." Heinz replied. The pilots climbed in and started the rotors. Yuri helped Katsumi into the helicopter.
"That isn't a lot of help." Yuri stated. He was was starting to need to shout. Once they were all inside he shut the choppers sliding doors.
"With luck they will show up on radar." Heinz responded.
"Well fellas we're taking off." The pilot reported. The helicopter lurched as it climbed into the air. It turned and headed off in the direction that Fei told them the storm had appeared.

[Wolfenium]

Snow. It fell slowly, each unique flake adding to a greater whole. The men and women of the Baltland Imperial Forces often looked at the snow falling to find peace, knowing that they were the same. It was in these conditions that Corporal Eeva Kilpela found herself in on patrol. Northern Baltland was a lonely place with it's sparse population, Neuroi were a rarity with their forces concentrated further south though there was always a risk that they could flank through the arctic. This ensured that a couple of isolated based were maintained with minimal funding. It was a captain at one of these bases that was the reason for Eeva patrolling on her own. The quiet girl rarely spoke up preferring the language her warhammer spoke for her. The wing blew softly through her short silver hair, the slash of red through a tribute to lost comrades at home and overseas. The peace of nature surrounded her on all sides though it was not to last. Her piercing green eyes betrayed anger.

"That arrogant prick" she shouted, shattering the illusion of peace, "who in Asgard does that asshole think he is".

Her new captain, an engineer who apparently loved to remind her how much he out-ranked her had decided to bring in more discipline to the base after noticing practically no one followed the proper chain of command, there being a grand total of fifteen personnel, the majority of which are privates. After witnessing the captain reducing one of those privates to tears for forgetting to address Eeva by her rank, she had snapped and now had solo patrols for ruffly two-weeks in the freezing cold.

"Damn southerner" she muttered, "What does he expect, there's been five Neuroi attacks here since the start of the war and the supply corp sometimes forgets to send supplies up here we're so out of the way"

She took a swing at a tree as the sun began to climb up in the distance, she turned to look at the rising light.

'Should be too early' she thought. She began to hear voices on her radio. She put it too her ear just as a dome of blue appeared from the rising sun.

'That's no sun' she thought fearfully as the bright light surged straight at her. The sun rose in the east, the snow kept falling.


Snow. It seemed so distant now. Between the azure sky and clear waters of a completely unknown sea, the ground rushing ever closer.

The ground rushing ever closer

"Skit" swore Eeva in her native tongue as she threw up a shield seconds before making contact with an unsuspecting beach. There was silence for a few moments before she struggled to her feet using her warhammer as a staff. She began to check her equipment, it all seemed good. Even her modified AA-12 , which fired from her backpack hadn't taken much damage. She looked at her surroundings. A crystal clear sea stretched out before her, inland, there seemed to be a distant town of reasonable size.

"How..." she started, eyes wide. She shook herself and started walking towards the town, she wasn't going to get any answers if she didn't find people with those answers first.

Standing at a silent corner of the beach was Fei, dressed only in a pair of bermudas, staring in silence at the dark silhouette of the Yeager in front of him. Though having marginally recovered somewhat from his stupor, the engineer could not help but run his thoughts on his own past actions. Ever since he joined the 501st, he had played the role of a pillar of moral support for the witches. Noting the kind of lives some of the girls had went through, he felt he should do his best as a psychologist to provide emotional help as much as he could. However, his own lack of control over his own depression presented a shade of hypocrisy to his actions. His guilt over Svetlana's actions highlighting a sense of double-standard on the engineer's part.

But as he mused over his own misgivings over the matter, he caught a glimmer of a striker unit plummeting from the skies above.

"What?..." he uttered, gazing up at the falling figure. As she hit the sands with a pounding noise, the Manchurian rushed over to the scene.

Running towards the impact sight, Fei soon found a witch staggering towards the town ahead. It only took him a moment for him to identify the striker unit. It was a modern jet design - one of their own.

"Oi!?" he yelled out to the unknown witch, "I don't suppose you're here to rescue us..." Pointing at the Yeager in the distance, he could only wonder how long they had been absent from their own time. Though, judging from the crash, he was highly doubtful about the possibility of rescue in any way.

[Finorskia]

The helicopter reached the area Heinz had told them about. "Sir there's nothing here." The pilot reported.
"Hm." Yuri said. He opened the door and looked out. He could see the beach off in the distance. "Hey anyone no were Fei went?" Yuri asked.
"He said something about going to the beach earlier." Heinz told Yuri.
"Does he have a comm or something?" Yuri looked over at Heinz.
"Dunno." Heinz shrugged.
"Well then I guess we might as well try." Yuri picked up a communications device and keyed the talk button. "Lt. Fei can you hear me this is Captain Yuri. We have reports that someone may have come through a time portal like us. If you spotted anything please respond. Over."