Strike Witches episode 5: Building Better Mousetraps

[Wolfenium]

Yoshika could only make a meek chuckle at Lucchini's incessant protests, she felt bad at riding the 'spaceship' before her. She had thought about letting Lucchini go first on this ride, but then she did not want to dissapoint the pilot's offer to her. At least their Captain's offer to let her ride her jet strikers seemed to have taken her mind off for a while. As she climbed aboard, she called out to Lucchini's, "I... Uhh... I'm sorry... Don't worry, we'll be back soon enough!"

Laying down on the seat, she felt goosebumps riding all over her skin. The weird helmet, the weird cockpit. Even the striker attachments looked a bit funny to her. Unbeknownst to her, in the eyes of the twenty-first century ground crews working around her, her complete lack of a functional G-suit and old-fashioned school uniform looked even more out of place than vice versa.

[Rupudska]

Ruya sighed. "Well then, if you're bored, I've got a better idea. Why don't you try out my Strikers?" This was probably the first time that those words had come out of her mouth. If anyone else were to ask to use Ruya's precious Strikers, she would probably beat them to within an inch of their lives. But this was different.

Francesca looked curiously at Ruya, her attention drawn from Yuri by the prospect of someone else's strikers. Then she remembered her problem with them before and backed up slightly, "Will they go 'BZZZT BZZZT'? I don't want to be hurt by them." She stared at Ruya with questioning eyes, the fact that she'd shoved a gun in her face was still on her mind but she seemed like she was trying to apologize, her eyes hesitant to let go of her strikers. Francesca was intrigued.

Ruya shook her head. "Don't worry, we fixed that problem years ago. You may have a bit of trouble with my Strikers being a little too loose, but that can be fixed easily. Just don't try and fly too hard, you'll wear out the batteries, and don't go chasing Neuroi, you aren't used to jet Strikers. Or anything with near as much power as my Strikers. Don't get them scratched, either" She patted the silvery wings. She would have also stated that if she came back with so much as a scratch on her Strikers, she would probably disembowel the young Romangan Witch, but she didn't want to scare her.

[Finorskia]

"Common Francesca, you should really come with us." Yuki said urgently. "Where going to be taking off soon."

The F-15 began to move forwards, the F100-PW-229 turbofan engines making a whining noise familiar all to well to residents of the 21st century. Yuri taxied the aircraft into place on the catapult (with the aid of the ground crew), the nose wheel locking into place. The carriers blast shield began to rise, locking into place behind the engines to block the engine blast. Yuri looked back at Yoshika. "You excited?" He asked.

It should be noted that carrier takeoffs, weather with a striker or a fighter are very different from what they where in 1945. Mainly the use of catapults as one of the biggest differences.

[Wolfenium]

"Common Francesca, you should really come with us." Yuki said urgently. "Where going to be taking off soon."

The F-15 began to move forwards, the F100-PW-229 turbofan engines making a whining noise familiar all to well to residents of the 21st century. Yuri taxied the aircraft into place on the catapult (with the aid of the ground crew), the nose wheel locking into place. The carriers blast shield began to rise, locking into place behind the engines to block the engine blast. Yuri looked back at Yoshika. "You excited?" He asked.

It should be noted that carrier takeoffs, weather with a striker or a fighter are very different from what they where in 1945. Mainly the use of catapults as one of the biggest differences.

As the jet vibrated to the churning of its engines, Yoshika could feel her enthusiasm caving away to nervousness. Her eyes darting around at the moving scenery, her apprehension was rapidly building in her mind.

"I guess..." she uttered absentmindedly, uncertain of the fate that awaited her. Putting the helmet on her head instinctively, she could feel her hands trembling as they reached out for whatever solid support they could grip. She did not dare admit it to him for fear of disappointing the pilot, but she was starting to have second thoughts.

[Finorskia]

Yuki noticed the F-15 move into place on the catapult. She turned to Francesca. "you better watch this." She said softly. "Hey everybody." She shouted waving to the other witches on the deck. "Watch."

"Solo Wing. Ready on the cat." Called the tower through Yuris headset.
"Copy Tower. Solo Wing ready." He replied.
"All hands prepare for aircraft launch." A voice boomed over the ships laud speaker. The carriers launch crew began moving everybody to a safe distance and out of the way. A crew member standing in front of the aircraft, but at a safe distance to the right, raised a green marker. Signaling Yuri to throttle up. Yuri proceeded to do so. Slowly easing up on the throttle so as not to blow the engines.
"Solo Wing, Cat launch." Reported the tower once the F-15 had gotten up to takeoff thrust. The crewman with the marker swiftly dropped it, ducking down as well.
"Hold on." Was all Yuri could manage to say before the aircraft rocketed of the deck, launched into the air by the carriers catapult. Once in the air Yuri banked and began to circle the aircraft carrier, waiting for Yuki to join him in the air.
"So. What do you think?" He asked Yoshika.

[Hetland 2]

Francesca hesitantly put her feet into Ruya's strikers, too apprehensive about them to pay Yuki any attention, and indeed as Ruya had said she did not get zapped nor scared. She did feel much stronger than she did normally, which, in itself was not a bad feeling in itself did make her a little uncomfortable. She called out to the tower. "Lucchini taking off!" With that she quickly taxied down the runway, slowly enough to catch her balance but quick enough to get some decent speed going on.

[Malshan]

Gustave toyed with the idea of running over the original 501st with the Chimaera, given that they had all ignored his greetings. But then his logical mind kicked in and stopped the idea from coming to fruition. The time paradoxes that would ensue had the potential to be catastrophic. So he simply shrugged and finished hooking up the Wing Unit to the Chimaera's power supply. He had designed the unit to grant the ability of flight to ground based vehicles that boasted an adequate power supply. The particle generator more than qualified for the task.

Finishing the last calibrations, Gustave's plan ran through his mind once again. His little idea had the potential to have him arrested for desertion, but of course that risk paled in comparison to the goal. He would have to launch from the elevator, seeing how it would ruin his chances to get off the runway if he took the time to get up to the deck. Once airborne, he would descend to ten feet over the waves to avoid most radar detection devices. From there it was a clear shot to Britannia.

Gustave unhooked the power couplings from the Chimaera and put his flight suit on. He then climbed into the body housing and made himself comfortable in the full body armor. Sliding the helmet onto his head and sealing the suit activated the machine's generator. The particle generator flickered to life and the Chimaera's Wing Unit lifted it off the ground, floating over to the elevator. From there, Gustave powered up the jet fuel engine he had installed.

Of course, seeing how the Chimaera was a land unit, the top speed he would be able to achieve would be just above Mach 1.2. But the suit was relatively agile and had a remarkable acceleration, so Gustave thought that he would be fine.

The output flaps flared and Gustave shot straight up, spinning a bit to orient himself in the direction of Britannia. Time to go. Gods, I hope this works. he thought. He opened up the throttle and dropped to the waves, quickly passing the bow of the carrier and accelerating quickly. He winced slightly as he broke the sound barrier and laughed a bit when he saw the vapor cone form behind him. I've always loved this kind of physics. he thought.

[Rupudska]

Sohvi, who had decided to speak a while with Lynette about sniping, was the first to notice Gustave taking off. This was bad. This was very, very bad, for the simple reason that Gustave flying off in the Chimaera would cause a shitton of paradoxes.

He needed to be stopped. He needed to be stopped before he reached the shoreline. She tapped Minna's shoulder. "Get your Strikers back on and get back into the air. Gustave just took off in his Chimaera, and if he meets anyone, he'll cause a time paradox."

Minna's face paled, then she ran and told Erica to ready to fly. Sohvi then keyed her radio, which she hadn't took off. "All units, listen up, and that includes the old 501st. We've got a runaway Chimaera unit, with Gustave flying it. We need to catch him. Old 501, there are some spare F-18 Strikers in the hangar, enough for all of you. Do not, repeat, do NOT shoot to kill. Shoot only if necessary." Sohvi herself headed towards the hangar elevator as fast as she could, wondering why hangar elevators weren't faster.

[Finorskia]

"Copy that Major. I'm already in the air, I'll have him in no time." Yuri said acknowledging the orders. Yuri yanked on the flight stick, turning the F-15 to fallow the runaway unit and throttled up to mach speed. "Tech Sargent Gustav this is Captain Yuri Mikhailov. You are here by ordered to stand down and return to base or you will be treated as hostile and fired upon. Do I make myself clear." Yuri barked the orders into the comm. Speaking as he would to a unidentified target or a hostile. Yuri switched to his AIM-9s and got ready for the worst.

"Reaper taking off." Yuki shouted as she hurtled off the deck. "Major this is Yuki, I'm going to go give my brother support." and with that Yuki took off after Gustav and the F-15 at full speed.

[Malshan]

"Copy that Major. I'm already in the air, I'll have him in no time." Yuri said acknowledging the orders. Yuri yanked on the flight stick, turning the F-15 to fallow the runaway unit and throttled up to mach speed. "Tech Sargent Gustav this is Captain Yuri Mikhailov. You are here by ordered to stand down and return to base or you will be treated as hostile and fired upon. Do I make myself clear." Yuri barked the orders into the comm. Speaking as he would to a unidentified target or a hostile. Yuri switched to his AIM-9s and got ready for the worst.

"Reaper taking off." Yuki shouted as she hurtled off the deck. "Major this is Yuki, I'm going to go give my brother support." and with that Yuki took off after Gustav and the F-15 at full speed.

Gustave rolled his eyes as he watched the plane veer toward him. He doesn't really expect me to just give up after this opportunity has landed in my lap, right? he thought. Spinning, he poured more power into the thrusters and sped up to Mach 1.1. He flew through the air, skimming the tops of the waves, still flying in a straight line and heading for Britannia. Connecting to Yuri's channel, Gustave said, "Don't try to stop me, Yuri. This suit is much more advanced than your plane and its payload. I may not have a particle cannon, but I don't need to shoot you to eliminate your effectiveness."

[Finorskia]

"I'll give you 1 minute Tech Sargent. Halt your actions, or you will be fired upon." Yuri matched Gustav's speed. "You can not outrun me Tech Sargent. You have fifty seconds."

[Malshan]

Gustave snorted, his tone of amusement broadcasting over the channel. "Who said anything about outrunning you? I could simply run you in circles until you run out of fuel. You're not taking me down without the help of half the witches in the wing." Gustave pushed the throttle to the max before switching over to the generator, adding another two hundred mph to his speed. He'd need the fuel for later on the return trip.

[Finorskia]

"Tch. Then you leave me no choice." Yuri Throttled up and dove at Gustav. Leading the target so as to give Gustav as little if no time to maneuver out of the way. Yuri pulled the trigger, letting loose a burst of M50 HIE ammunition, about 1.5 seconds of fire.

[Malshan]

Gustave heard the cannon fire and broke left from his flight path, pulling up and away from the streak of bullets, only a few glancing off his shield. "Easy now, Yuri. It wouldn't do to damage my fine creation. Even if I DID leave the expensive part at home." Gustave looked around, spotting Yuri in the distance, closing fast in the F-15. A diagram of the plane flashed before Gustave's eyes. "Let's see....eight hardpoints for missiles and a Gatling cannon. Not too bad for a plane that size." he muttered.

Gustave shrugged and one of the mounted 15mm cannons swiveled to face Yuri from inside its housing. "No need for this to be so unpleasant. Just let me do what needs to be done and I'll come right back. With any luck, no one will notice. Unless of course, you decide to throw bullets from a futuristic weapon all over the place."

[Hetland 2]

Maria bolted up at the sound of Sohvi's call, and ran towards the hangar. Her room was always one of the closest to the hangar, she preferred to be one of the first witches in the air. A minute later she burst through the doors to it and hopped into Lunatic. "NO TIME FOR AUTHORIZATION. Morgan 3 callsign Lunatic taking off! HENSHIN! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Her usual routine was sped up significantly and she burst into the air taking off with little hesitation, leaving Psycho behind. She would need the additional speed in order to catch up.

[Finorskia]

"You know Gustav. I never really liked you and Heinze. Your condescending "We're smarter then you" manner always got on my nerves, and now you've gone and turned traitor. You may be the technical genius Gustav, but the sky is my territory. It's going to be a pleasure shooting you down." Yuri cut the channel and aimed the F-15 at Gustav. He waited for the lock, then fired one of his AIM-9 missiles. Yuri knew Gustav would maneuver out of the way, he planned on it. Waiting for Gustav to move so that he would snap the aircraft's nose and fire on the traitor. Giving him no time to evade.

[Hetland 2]

Maria unholstered her desert eagle as she noted the subtle movements in the F-15. And then he launched a missile.
Ba-bump.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl for her as she rocketed forward, leveling her gun at the missile. She felt magic surging into her strikers as she screamed "DON'T KILL HIM!" and fired a shot. With uncharacteristic accuracy the shot slamed into the engine of it causing it to veer harmlessly off course.
Ba-bump
Maria pulled herself in between Yuri and Gustave, easily guessing Yu's next move. "Gustave! Please come back! I beg of you!"

[Wolfenium]

Still in the infirmary, Fei was still quite haunted by the revelations presented by Gustave. He never really thought much about it before, when he first met him. He had probably thought it was matter he should not poke his nose into. But now that they had arrived in his time, Fei was starting to fret about his potential actions. His last words before leaving the room was particularly discomforting, not because Gustave may create even more time paradoxes in his wake, but solely because he may simply get into big trouble. He was not so concerned about the fabric of reality. He was concerned Gustave might be court-marshaled for going AWOL.

If he could make it back...

As he smarted at the bruises done on him from the crash, he heard a familiar, ominous roar of engines from the hangar deck. Raising his head, he hastily crawled along his bed towards the porthole by the side as he noticed a glimmer from the Chimera's armour flashing away as it darted into the distance.

"Oh god..." he uttered, pulling his hair back in disbelief, "I thought I said we'll talk about this..." He had imagined that as a military personnel, Gustave would have known better than to hop on to his sci-fi-like machine and fly off. Now he was sure Gustave was headed for the detention barracks.

Unfortunately, bruised and aching, he could barely move out of his bed, collapsing again as he stared at the ceiling in futility. Hearing the roars of the strikers going after him, all he could do was relent, shutting his eyes as he whispered, "please stop him. I don't want to have him handed over to the MPs, you know..." In the end, all he could do now was pray the girls stop him before he gets into more trouble.

---

Yuki noticed the F-15 move into place on the catapult. She turned to Francesca. "you better watch this." She said softly. "Hey everybody." She shouted waving to the other witches on the deck. "Watch."

"Solo Wing. Ready on the cat." Called the tower through Yuris headset.
"Copy Tower. Solo Wing ready." He replied.
"All hands prepare for aircraft launch." A voice boomed over the ships laud speaker. The carriers launch crew began moving everybody to a safe distance and out of the way. A crew member standing in front of the aircraft, but at a safe distance to the right, raised a green marker. Signaling Yuri to throttle up. Yuri proceeded to do so. Slowly easing up on the throttle so as not to blow the engines.
"Solo Wing, Cat launch." Reported the tower once the F-15 had gotten up to takeoff thrust. The crewman with the marker swiftly dropped it, ducking down as well.
"Hold on." Was all Yuri could manage to say before the aircraft rocketed of the deck, launched into the air by the carriers catapult. Once in the air Yuri banked and began to circle the aircraft carrier, waiting for Yuki to join him in the air.

"Hold on to wha-AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," Yoshika asked ignorantly when the catapult propelled the aircraft off the runway. Screaming indignantly as the the plane darted into the sky like a roller coaster, she could not help but panic at the surge of speed. She had never accelerated that fast in her life, and the experience was frightful at best. But as the plane levelled in the skies, she finally found the courage to open her eyes a bit.

"So. What do you think?" He asked Yoshika.

Pressing her face against the windscreen, Yoshika marvelled at the massive aircraft carrier below. True, she had seen the Yeager from this angle already, but she had never done so inside a jet fighter. The humming of the jet engines provided a radically new experience to her. She could not help but say, "it's cool, Yuri-san. It felt like I was riding a rollercoaster. Though... I'm quite scared of rollercoasters myself..."

However, glancing at a glimmer coming out of the carrier, her irises shrank as she observed the glinting armoured machine rocketing off. But unlike the disbelief shown by Yuri's colleagues, hers was pure horror. As the plane starting spinning into a dogfight, the poor witch found herself gripping the rails in agony even more.

"Y-Yuri-san," stammered Yoshika in fear, "w-w-what?... Why?... What's going on!? What are you doing!? What is that!?"

She had no idea what the Warlock-like machine was, or why Yuri was firing at it. All she knew was that she was already in another brutal fight.

[Imota]

Beatrice looked up.

"Guess that means us," she said. "Follow me, ma'am, she said to Gertrude, and they ran into the below decks and prepared their Strikers. Gertrude smiled as she slid into a pair of Hornet strikers.

So much power... she thought. They really are from the future.

"After you, Lance Corporal," she said. Beatrice nodded as the elevator brought them up to the flight deck, then did a final weapons check.

"Chesty, taking off!" she called as she zoomed down the deck and pulled up. Several seconds later, Gertrude followed.

"Amazing!" she said. "It's like being pushed by angels...that are being pushed by angels themselves!"

[Finorskia]

Yuri sighed, "Yoshika that is none other than Technical Sargent Gustav Serena. He has designed and built an armored suit similar to the Warlock. He has now gone AWOL and is therefor a traitor. I am only doing what must be done." Yuri opened a channel to Maria. "What are you doing Corporal. This man has gone AWOL and is a traitorm he mus tbe treated as such." Yuri circled Gustav in the F-15.

Yuki hung back waiting for Maria. When Maria arrived Yuki dove below Gustav and came up behind him, leveling her AUG HBAR. "Tech Sargent Gustav, please stand down and come with us. You can not win."

[Malshan]

Maria unholstered her desert eagle as she noted the subtle movements in the F-15. And then he launched a missile.
Ba-bump.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl for her as she rocketed forward, leveling her gun at the missile. She felt magic surging into her strikers as she screamed "DON'T KILL HIM!" and fired a shot. With uncharacteristic accuracy the shot slamed into the engine of it causing it to veer harmlessly off course.
Ba-bump
Maria pulled herself in between Yuri and Gustave, easily guessing Yu's next move. "Gustave! Please come back! I beg of you!"

Gustave opened a line to Maria to respond. "I'm aware of the ramifications of my actions, and I've taken steps to minimize the damage. But I have to go. It's not everyday you disappear from the life of the one you love and then reappear a few years later. Even if it's been a bit longer subjectively. I knew that I wouldn't be allowed to leave, so here I am. Break off the pursuit."

"You know Gustav. I never really liked you and Heinze. Your condescending "We're smarter then you" manner always got on my nerves, and now you've gone and turned traitor. You may be the technical genius Gustav, but the sky is my territory. It's going to be a pleasure shooting you down." Yuri cut the channel and aimed the F-15 at Gustav. He waited for the lock, then fired one of his AIM-9 missiles. Yuri knew Gustav would maneuver out of the way, he planned on it. Waiting for Gustav to move so that he would snap the aircraft's nose and fire on the traitor. Giving him no time to evade.

When the missile was launched, Gustave popped flares from his stash, hoping that the missile would take the bait. It didn't, however, so Gustave pushed farther straight ahead, gauging the missile's flight path. It appeared to be a Sidewinder missile, so short range. Straight line of pursuit with a limited fuel capacity. The missile was arcing down toward him, slowly gaining.

Gustave sped through his options until one remained..."FLAPS!" he yelled into his microphone, activating an emergency system in his suit, causing him to bleed off airspeed at a tremendous rate. He then noticed the missile go off course as Maria's shot slammed into it. Of course it does. A second later and I would have been fine. he thought. He punched the throttle again and sped back up after having watched Yuri fly past him when he had deployed his air brakes.

[Hetland 2]

Yuri sighed, "Yoshika that is none other than Technical Sargent Gustav Serena. He has designed and built an armored suit similar to the Warlock. He has now gone AWOL and is therefor a traitor. I am only doing what must be done." Yuri opened a channel to Maria. "What are you doing Corporal. This man has gone AWOL and is a traitorm he mus tbe treated as such." Yuri circled Gustav in the F-15.

Yuki hung back waiting for Maria. When Maria arrived Yuki dove below Gustav and came up behind him, leveling her AUG HBAR. "Tech Sargent Gustav, please stand down and come with us. You can not win."

Maria shouted back over the intercom. "ARE YOU STUPID AND DEAF? SOHVI'S ORDERS WERE TO TAKE HIM ALIVE! AND HE ISN'T A TRAITOR! HE'S JUST STUPID!" She grinned as he hit the airbreaks and she grabbed onto the hull of the Chimera. "Gustave Serena. Do I have to break you out of here?" There was regret in her voice, she knew if she did she would have ruined any possible future friendships with him. Either way in fact she would. But it was her duty to keep everyone safe. Just like Sasha.

[Wolfenium]

Yuri sighed, "Yoshika that is none other than Technical Sargent Gustav Serena. He has designed and built an armored suit similar to the Warlock. He has now gone AWOL and is therefor a traitor. I am only doing what must be done." Yuri opened a channel to Maria. "What are you doing Corporal. This man has gone AWOL and is a traitorm he mus tbe treated as such." Yuri circled Gustav in the F-15.

Yuki hung back waiting for Maria. When Maria arrived Yuki dove below Gustav and came up behind him, leveling her AUG HBAR. "Tech Sargent Gustav, please stand down and come with us. You can not win."

"W-Wh-What?..." Yoshika blurted, her eyes shifting to the Warlock-like machine, "there's a... person driving that thing?..."

The scene brought all too many ill memories of her own missions, since she too had deserted before. Driven by the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the war, she followed a Witch-type Neuroi to their hive against the advice of her friends. There, the Neuroi presented her intelligence gathered on the Allies' secret project, the Warlock, only to have said machine appear and destroy the Witch-type Neuroi. Moments later, the Warlock itself was to go rogue as it was assimilated by the Neuroi core powering it.

But for all due precautions and ironies, Yoshika found herself arguing, yelling, "you can't! Isn't that your friend in there!? You can't just kill him like that! It's wrong!" If there was one thing that never changed in the young girl, was that she was against taking the lives of other human beings, for any reason. Had she known that her own escapade was a trap set by the Neuroi, she would probably have never ran away. Unfortunately, her naive mindset made her a vulnerable target for deception by anyone and anything.

[Malshan]

Yuri sighed, "Yoshika that is none other than Technical Sargent Gustav Serena. He has designed and built an armored suit similar to the Warlock. He has now gone AWOL and is therefor a traitor. I am only doing what must be done." Yuri opened a channel to Maria. "What are you doing Corporal. This man has gone AWOL and is a traitorm he mus tbe treated as such." Yuri circled Gustav in the F-15.

Yuki hung back waiting for Maria. When Maria arrived Yuki dove below Gustav and came up behind him, leveling her AUG HBAR. "Tech Sargent Gustav, please stand down and come with us. You can not win."

Maria shouted back over the intercom. "ARE YOU STUPID AND DEAF? SOHVI'S ORDERS WERE TO TAKE HIM ALIVE! AND HE ISN'T A TRAITOR! HE'S JUST STUPID!" She grinned as he hit the airbreaks and she grabbed onto the hull of the Chimera. "Gustave Serena. Do I have to break you out of here?" There was regret in her voice, she knew if she did she would have ruined any possible future friendships with him. Either way in fact she would. But it was her duty to keep everyone safe. Just like Sasha.

Gustave pushed the throttle on the suit, venting hot exhaust near to Maria's face. Not quite directly at her, but close enough to burn within a few seconds of exposure. "You won't stop me. None of you will. I will get home. Even if I have to go through all of you to do it." Gustave kicked out at Maria's Striker unit, avoiding the vital systems and hitting a hardpoint, pushing her away without doing serious injury to either her or the Striker.

He pushed the throttle to its maximum and dove back down toward the waves. In the distance, the shore of Italy appeared. Almost there. Come on. Just a few more miles. he thought. I just need to make it to France.

[Finorskia]

"Someone who betrays you is no longer your friend. He becomes the enemy." Yuri said solemnly. "I know from experience."

"Will all of you just knock it off." Came the familiar voice of a Karlslandic engineer over everyone's intercom. "Why are you trying to prevent a time paradox when the time paradox itself is impossible. You guys really are stupid. The time paradox is impossible because we were already here since before we got sent back in time. We are reliving history right now. We where always here, we where always destined to be here, and if we try to do anything that will actually change the future something will happen that will keep us from doing so. Or are attempts to change the future will just end up as part of what happened to cause the future, or I should say our present. Now because there is no record of us ever being here that means all records will be destroyed or lost at some point. All those who where present will either forget, somehow hove their memory's of the incident wiped, or they will just keep quite about the whole thing." Heinze was pacing around the bridge of the carrier holding the microphone for the intercom very proudly.