Gallant Witches Episode 1: Into the Orange Sunrise (IC)

[Stensolkavia]

Madrid Airport, Hispania
0833 Local Time, 1033 Moscow Standard
April 15th, 2021
Flying Sergeant Lilia Yegorov

The past 3 hours, to put it lightly, were tiring. Normally a near maximum range flight would have been no trouble, but it was the fact that this was after a very awkward refueling operation in Łask with some very green maintenance workers who spoke only two words of Orussian that made the flight exhausting. The night before Lilia would have bragged about her planned landing being simply 'too great', what with the trick she was planning on pulling with the ATC tower, but now? Now just landing was good enough. Ignoring the chatter from ATC beyond 'Dismissed, 1030 hours', Lilia practically glided into the airspace above the airfield, glaring down at the witches below.

One thing worth mentioning is the 2nd Orussian Witch Regiment's very minimalistic day-of briefing. So minimalistic it was that Lilia had only been told to "report to the one in charge, no buts!", never hearing a name or of the eventual order to stand down. Nope, too green, too pale, too-

That must be her. Tanned from years of combat on the front, shoulder blades visible through her uniform, and, to Lilia's tired eyes, an imposing stature, that must be her!

Bringing her strikers to a hover just a few meters away from the SRU, Lilia let the forward momentum of her glide bring her into the unit with a soft clack, and let the Gs jerk her forward a small amount.

As the few flight line crew left began to do final checks on her gear, she slid out of the bindings and dropped to the ground with a dull thud as her boots contacted concrete. Looking around, two assumptions could be made in her head:
1: Everyone was tall. Scratch that deduction method then.
2: That tan girl was still seeming like the one most qualified "commander" of the bunch, especially since the actual commander was behind the wall of children and very much out of Lilia's view.

Believing her deduction to be bar none, Lilia took a deep breath and turned towards the crowd, making entirely sure to seem presentable.

Entirely ignoring the probably unimportant Fusoan and presenting the best attention she could to the 'commander', Lilia gathered the courage to speak.

"Ma'am!" She corrected her slight slouch and propped her right hand up in salute, "Orussian Flying Sergeant Lilia Yegerov, reporting in!"

She stood at her ignorant attention, waiting for the order to be at ease.

[Regria]

Dimitri looked away from Alice and down to Josephine. He sized up the mechanic taking in whatever important information he could. The airman was Liberion based on the uniform while her accent suggested that she had been raised there as well. Josephine's willingness to come out and talk to Dimitri personally showed him that she was a hard worker and eager to impress. Josephine's nervousness, however, told him that she wasn't all that used to speaking to such high ranking personnel, suggesting that she was fairly new.

"That would be me," Dimitri replied with a smile, holding out his one free hand. "As you will likely see of me. As for the plane Captain Matveev is the one you might want to be passing on such a promise to. She's the one the one that flies the plane, I just command the mission crew," Dimitri chuckled in a friendly manner. "Though in all seriousness I do appreciate it though not for my sake," he glanced over to the witches. "Remember Airman Na, our job is to keep them alive. You give our plane the best you can, and my team and I will give them the best support we can. A hundred and ten percent all the way right?" Dimitri smiled again. "Now if you excuse me Airman I have to go speak with the Squadron Leader," with one last smile, Dimitri turned and strode off towards Alice.

"Warrant Officer Alice Webley," Dimitri began. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Dimitri Penkov. I'm the tactical director aboard your squadrons dedicated AWACS. I was wondering if I could have a moment with you to discuss the Witches and the general situation."

The hesitant Liberion gave a bow before scampering off as Alice stared on, hand on her hip. The woman smiled just for a moment, before shaking her head and turning back to the older Orussian man. It was exactly as she expected, Dmitri, the squadron's AWACS operator. Oddly enough, the Brittanian was a bit surprised, as the AWACS she had during her old missions were launched from a separate base. As such, she never met them in person, so this was a new experience.

With a silent nod, Alice took a sip of her coffee, gesturing towards nowhere in particular. The coffee, for being low in amount, was still surprisingly hot even if Hispania's mornings weren't very cold in the first place. Her tone was mostly strong, but carried with it a slightly more comfortable undertone. Seems as if Officers generally tended to be more friendly if not angered, across all nations.

"Of course, sir. Do you wish to discuss details here, or some place more private? I understand that depending on the contents, discretion may be necessary."

[Nachfolgia]

"At least she didn't bring up Erica." Johanna muttered under her breath.

Elise frowned at her sisters words. "Johanna, don't you have a responsibility to report to the chief of maintenance here about the special arrangement regarding my striker unit?" Johanna grumbled some more before walking off. "Sorry about my sister, Sergeant. She has a very... poor view of the academy. Thank you for the compliment. Class 30-5 was also well aware of your accomplishments. In fact," Elise gave Friederike as shy smile. "You were one of my role models at the academy."

Friederike shot a short glance to Elise when she mentioned that she was a role model to her. It was the first time anyone has given her such a title. She always figured either no one viewed her as a role model or they were too afraid to say it to her. She knew what demeanor she gave off and she did not care. Friederike was there to do her job, not make friends, especially after what happened to the Grünherz. Still, Friederike did not expect a superior officer to call her a role model.

" Thank you, Ma'am. I always try to set the example." Friederike replied, rather monotonously.

Before more words were exchanged, a loud click of a heel hitting the deck brought their attention. When Friederike turned around, she saw a short Fusoan girl standing behind her. Judging from her uniform, Friederike knew that she was a sailor, but could not distinguish her rank aside from the fact she was a junior officer. . She lacked knowledge of the Fusoan naval rank structure, something that she would mitigate in the future. For now, Friederike will address the girl that interrupted them.

" Ma'am. " Friederike said coldly, nodding to her in acknowledgement of her presence. She then turned completely around to face the Fusoan. " Feldwebel Friederike Adler, Karlsland Imperial Luftwaffe." She continued, unenthusiastically holding out her hand for a shake.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Elise’s mouth twitched a tinge at Friederike”s tone, unsure of how to respond Was She annoying the sergeant with her presence, or was it something else. Fortunately several other witches crowded around the two.

“Elise Hartmann” She resounded on instinct, saluting the new arrivals as she did so.

[Rynagria]

Sergeant Philippa Handley

---

Philippa stood there, unsure of what to do next, feeling barely noticed or completely unnoticed at all.

"Everyone's already been dismissed, huh... I-I wonder what's better in this situation, a bad first impression or no impression at all?" She whispered to herself, looking around and seeing the other witches gather in smaller groups. At that moment, the shoulder she kept upright sank a bit as Philippa gave a small sigh and pondered for a bit on what to next. There are only so many things she can do in a place like this and initiating a conversation with someone new wasn't exactly appealing after what happened. Taking a few more moments to decide on her next course of action, she would finally decide on checking up on the status of her striker.

"I guess I'll go check out where they stored my striker, I heard something about Hangar 8? Maybe that's where they keep all the equipment..." Muttered Handley, as she made her way towards the designated hangar. Taking several minutes to get there, Philippa waited to see if she can find a staff member to help her. "Hello?"

[Regria]

"eh," Yuki replied a tad confused by Luce's arrival. She'd seen the girl land and saunter over to the group of witches as if this were some civilian air show. Yuki glanced over at Friederike. She pouted, balling her fist. This Gallian was a girl who lacked discipline, not her. "A cat on the airfield?" Yuki glanced questioningly towards Luce, then off in the direction Luce was looking in. "I don't see a cat," Yuki looked back at Luce.

"Why, that's because the kitten here is you," proclaimed Luce, smiling while glancing towards Yuki, head unmoving. She swished her palm back and forth. The girl of indistinct nationality looked forwards and closed her eyes, still wearing that mischevious smile.

"I'm just wondering what brings an innocent girl like you into our unit, is all."

Finally facing the Fusoan, Luce practically beamed as she reached out to pat the head of the tired girl, obviously coaxing some enjoyment from the situation.

"Be more confident in yourself, kitty. I'll be looking out for ya', so don't feel lost.~"

Chiyo put on a small smile as Alice pointed her choice of greeting out, holding the smile she answered with: "Roger that Ma'am, I will take note of it from now on. Permission to retire?"

Once all that's done Chiyo-chan took a few steps and left room for Yamada-san to introduce herself, the same one who had escorted her over to Hispania. Why Yuki hadn't asked to join her on the Dominie until they were in Dubai was beyond Chiyo, but what's done's done now and the consequences would have to be dealt with.
Moving on Chiyo made note to properly apologise to Yuki later, for now, her body strongly demanded that she find a bunk or food, whichever came first stat. Before she could move to do so though, the peace of the airbase was utterly destroyed by a barbarian who thought it funny to buzz the whole place at high supersonic speeds. Hélas, civilisation didn't come naturally to everyone after all.
Just as she was going to give her apologies to Yuki the very same barbarian - Chiyo learned later - that buzzed the airfield got in her way. Immediately after that some other Gallian also joined the fray. Now cocking her eyebrows at the congregation before her countrywoman Chiyo Furuya adjusted her shoulderboards and gently put her heels down behind the Gallian with an audible "Clack!".
"Good morning ladies. I hope we are all getting along?"

Interrupting Luce from her fun was the other Fusoan, whom had stopped rather loudly behind the tan girl and therefore announced her presence after having spoken to Alice rather professionally, though not as disciplined as Friedrike. Taking note of this, Luce practically twirled around from speaking with Yuki, the Gallian's smile returning to normal as she responded to Chiyo with a satisfied and amused undertone, flashing a thumbs up.

"Of course! Me and the little kitten over here are getting along well. She's in my care now, so you can count on me!"

Regardless of the girls reaction, Luce continued to toy with her, though not in a bullying sense.

Madrid Airport, Hispania
0833 Local Time, 1033 Moscow Standard
April 15th, 2021
Flying Sergeant Lilia Yegorov

The past 3 hours, to put it lightly, were tiring. Normally a near maximum range flight would have been no trouble, but it was the fact that this was after a very awkward refueling operation in Łask with some very green maintenance workers who spoke only two words of Orussian that made the flight exhausting. The night before Lilia would have bragged about her planned landing being simply 'too great', what with the trick she was planning on pulling with the ATC tower, but now? Now just landing was good enough. Ignoring the chatter from ATC beyond 'Dismissed, 1030 hours', Lilia practically glided into the airspace above the airfield, glaring down at the witches below.

One thing worth mentioning is the 2nd Orussian Witch Regiment's very minimalistic day-of briefing. So minimalistic it was that Lilia had only been told to "report to the one in charge, no buts!", never hearing a name or of the eventual order to stand down. Nope, too green, too pale, too-

That must be her. Tanned from years of combat on the front, shoulder blades visible through her uniform, and, to Lilia's tired eyes, an imposing stature, that must be her!

Bringing her strikers to a hover just a few meters away from the SRU, Lilia let the forward momentum of her glide bring her into the unit with a soft clack, and let the Gs jerk her forward a small amount.

As the few flight line crew left began to do final checks on her gear, she slid out of the bindings and dropped to the ground with a dull thud as her boots contacted concrete. Looking around, two assumptions could be made in her head:
1: Everyone was tall. Scratch that deduction method then.
2: That tan girl was still seeming like the one most qualified "commander" of the bunch, especially since the actual commander was behind the wall of children and very much out of Lilia's view.

Believing her deduction to be bar none, Lilia took a deep breath and turned towards the crowd, making entirely sure to seem presentable.

Entirely ignoring the probably unimportant Fusoan and presenting the best attention she could to the 'commander', Lilia gathered the courage to speak.

"Ma'am!" She corrected her slight slouch and propped her right hand up in salute, "Orussian Flying Sergeant Lilia Yegerov, reporting in!"

She stood at her ignorant attention, waiting for the order to be at ease.

Finding herself in a new situation, Luce turned to address the Orussian who had just now addressed her, and mistook her as the commanding officer of the establishment. At first surprised, the Gallian saw a golden opportunity and smiled widely, swiping her still short hair as she mustered up her best command voice.

"Luce Campo. A pleasure, flying Sergeant. At ease."

A brief pause was followed by a smirk, as Luce broke out into a half-snicker when she spoke.

"Nah, I'm just kidding with ya'. But, I wasn't lying about the dismissed part. Squadron Commander Webley made sure of that."

[Regria]

Sergeant Philippa Handley

---

Philippa stood there, unsure of what to do next, feeling barely noticed or completely unnoticed at all.

"Everyone's already been dismissed, huh... I-I wonder what's better in this situation, a bad first impression or no impression at all?" She whispered to herself, looking around and seeing the other witches gather in smaller groups. At that moment, the shoulder she kept upright sank a bit as Philippa gave a small sigh and pondered for a bit on what to next. There are only so many things she can do in a place like this and initiating a conversation with someone new wasn't exactly appealing after what happened. Taking a few more moments to decide on her next course of action, she would finally decide on checking up on the status of her striker.

"I guess I'll go check out where they stored my striker, I heard something about Hangar 8? Maybe that's where they keep all the equipment..." Muttered Handley, as she made her way towards the designated hangar. Taking several minutes to get there, Philippa waited to see if she can find a staff member to help her. "Hello?"

As Philippa revealed herself to the hangar, she would find it to be almost entirely empty, save a few pieces of AGE lying around. Dim, overhead lights flickered occasionally, her voice almost echoing.

However, there was a small group of men lounging against the east wall, most kicked back and observing their smartphones. The sound of a voice caused them all to perk up, glancing towards the girl. One of them pat the back of another with a grin.

"Looks like you owe me a beer, Chee!"

The man, who was rather tall in stature glanced back, obviously not pleased over apparently losing a bet. Nonetheless, he shook his head with a sigh, jumping down from a barrel he was sitting on to head towards Philippa. From his uniform, the man was obviously from Liberion, his skin complexity being a shade darker than normal.

Extending a hand out to the Liberion, the man spoke in a more hard-boiled tone, older than the rest in he hangar.

"Captain Chee, Liberion Air force. I'm one of the B1 pilots. It's good to have you on board."

He glanced momentarily at the one who was jeering him earlier, then back towards the girl.

"Sorry about Sergeant Harrison's behavior. We had a bet that none of you would come to us for at least 2 hours. It was nothing against you."

[Rynagria]

As Philippa revealed herself to the hangar, she would find it to be almost entirely empty, save a few pieces of AGE lying around. Dim, overhead lights flickered occasionally, her voice almost echoing.

However, there was a small group of men lounging against the east wall, most kicked back and observing their smartphones. The sound of a voice caused them all to perk up, glancing towards the girl. One of them pat the back of another with a grin.

"Looks like you owe me a beer, Chee!"

The man, who was rather tall in stature glanced back, obviously not pleased over apparently losing a bet. Nonetheless, he shook his head with a sigh, jumping down from a barrel he was sitting on to head towards Philippa. From his uniform, the man was obviously from Liberion, his skin complexity being a shade darker than normal.

Extending a hand out to the Liberion, the man spoke in a more hard-boiled tone, older than the rest in he hangar.

"Captain Chee, Liberion Air force. I'm one of the B1 pilots. It's good to have you on board."

He glanced momentarily at the one who was jeering him earlier, then back towards the girl.

"Sorry about Sergeant Harrison's behavior. We had a bet that none of you would come to us for at least 2 hours. It was nothing against you."

Surprised by the much taller Liberion Air Force Captain approaching her, the diminutive Philippa instinctively took a step back. Getting over the dull shock of not finding the strikers here, the small group of men making remarks she didn’t quite have the full context to, completely threw her off. Regardless, after the Captain’s terse explanation, Philippa hesitantly shook the man’s hand and gave a response.

“Um... I’m not much of a talker when it comes to new people and I’d figure I should check in on my striker, make sure nothing’s wrong with it... I'd hate for it to ” She began, shortly continuing on after a brief pause, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly while laughing nervously. "But I'm Sergeant Handley, Liberion Air Forces as well. Since you're a Captain, I guess I should salute you?"

Having said her joke, calmed down. "Although in all seriousness where do they keep the Strikers?"

[Finorskia]

snip

"Private I think would be best. Though, if only because it gets us off the flight line and someplace a bit quieter," Dimitri replied gesturing to the main building. He gestured for Alice to lead the way, which she politely accepted. "Wait, hold on," Dimitri said after only a couple of steps. He turned back towards the group of witches. "[Fechenko, Kuznetsov, if any new witches show up send them to Hanger 8 for check-in]," Dimitri yelled at the two witches in Orussian. With a smile he turned back to Alice, once more gesturing for her to lead the way. She nodded and they continued on. "I couldn't help but notice you're mug. Tea or coffee?" Dimitri asked.

---

Snip 2

"Kitten? Me? Innocent? Feeling lost? " Yuki muttered the words out loud as she pointed to herself, not quite realizing that she was being made fun of. "Wait a minute," Yuki stammered in realisation. Her brow furrowed and she stomped the ground. "I am not a kitten, I'm not innocent and I definitely don't feel lost. In fact, I know right where I am," Yuki folded her arms across her chest confidently. "Besides, I have my 5 kills so I'm technically an ace, which I bet is 5 more then you have," Yuki huffed confidently. Of course, she didn't mention that she only had her kills because her last squad had used her as a long-range sniper for the sole purpose of finishing off the enemy. Nor did she mention that of the 5, 3 of them had been only small ones that were hardly a threat. Of course, it didn't matter in this situation, kills were kills and experience was experience and she was gonna lord it over the obnoxious girl.

"Of course! Me and the little kitten over here are getting along well. She's in my care now, so you can count on me!" Yuki heard Luce say to Chiyo.

"HEY!," Yuki yelled stomping her foot. "Are you even listening to me? I said I'm plenty experienced and don't need your help," Yuki looked to Chiyo a half-angry half pleading expression on her face. "Don't listen to her Midshipman, I am most definitely not in her care." Of course, Luce was once again no longer paying attention to Yuki as she instead turned her attention to Flying Seargeant Yegerov. "And now you're impersonating an officer? Have you no self-control or do you just enjoy annoying your fellow squadron mates?" Yuki asked folding her arms. A gesture ruined by the massive yawn that immediatly followed it.

[Regria]

Surprised by the much taller Liberion Air Force Captain approaching her, the diminutive Philippa instinctively took a step back. Getting over the dull shock of not finding the strikers here, the small group of men making remarks she didn’t quite have the full context to, completely threw her off. Regardless, after the Captain’s terse explanation, Philippa hesitantly shook the man’s hand and gave a response.

“Um... I’m not much of a talker when it comes to new people and I’d figure I should check in on my striker, make sure nothing’s wrong with it... I'd hate for it to ” She began, shortly continuing on after a brief pause, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly while laughing nervously. "But I'm Sergeant Handley, Liberion Air Forces as well. Since you're a Captain, I guess I should salute you?"

Having said her joke, calmed down. "Although in all seriousness where do they keep the Strikers?"

He smiled lightly at Philippa, giving a firm shake.

"Not to worry, Handley. The mechanics here are by far some of the best I've seen,"

He glared back at Harrison, who gave a carefree smile and a wave.

"Despite their apparent lack of discipline," he finished.

Looking back to the fellow Liberion he shoved his hands into his OCP multicam pant pockets. His expression softened slightly.

"After all, being chosen for a deployment to a 500 squadron is a huge honor."

He gestured his head towards the way she came.

"Hangar 1's where they store your units, though they're still bringing in the SRUs. Yours might not be there, yet."

Looking back, a smile formed on Chee's face, trying his best to be accommodating.

"However, I can still show you to wherever you'd like. We all put our time aside to make sure you girls know what to do, after all."

[Regria]

"Private I think would be best. Though, if only because it gets us off the flight line and someplace a bit quieter," Dimitri replied gesturing to the main building. He gestured for Alice to lead the way, which she politely accepted. "Wait, hold on," Dimitri said after only a couple of steps. He turned back towards the group of witches. "[Fechenko, Kuznetsov, if any new witches show up send them to Hanger 8 for check-in]," Dimitri yelled at the two witches in Orussian. With a smile he turned back to Alice, once more gesturing for her to lead the way. She nodded and they continued on. "I couldn't help but notice your mug. Tea or coffee?" Dimitri asked.

The two walked at a leisurely pace, Alice leading Dmitri as they were already a notable distance away from the group by the time Dmitri spoke up about her mug. In response, the Brittanian witch glanced at him with her eyes, shrugging.

"Coffee. While transferring here, I forgot to bring my preferred type of tea," Alice looked forwards, taking another sip from her still-hot mug. "So aside from booze, my maid brings me coffee in the mornings to wake me up."

She sighed lightly, glancing down at the light brown coffee in the mug sloshing around.

"Even with all this sugar and milk I still find it bitter, though."

"Kitten? Me? Innocent? Feeling lost? " Yuki muttered the words out loud as she pointed to herself, not quite realizing that she was being made fun of. "Wait a minute," Yuki stammered in realisation. Her brow furrowed and she stomped the ground. "I am not a kitten, I'm not innocent and I definitely don't feel lost. In fact, I know right where I am," Yuki folded her arms across her chest confidently. "Besides, I have my 5 kills so I'm technically an ace, which I bet is 5 more then you have," Yuki huffed confidently. Of course, she didn't mention that she only had her kills because her last squad had used her as a long-range sniper for the sole purpose of finishing off the enemy. Nor did she mention that of the 5, 3 of them had been only small ones that were hardly a threat. Of course, it didn't matter in this situation, kills were kills and experience was experience and she was gonna lord it over the obnoxious girl.

"Of course! Me and the little kitten over here are getting along well. She's in my care now, so you can count on me!" Yuki heard Luce say to Chiyo.

"HEY!," Yuki yelled stomping her foot. "Are you even listening to me? I said I'm plenty experienced and don't need your help," Yuki looked to Chiyo a half-angry half pleading expression on her face. "Don't listen to her Midshipman, I am most definitely not in her care." Of course, Luce was once again no longer paying attention to Yuki as she instead turned her attention to Flying Seargeant Yegerov. "And now you're impersonating an officer? Have you no self-control or do you just enjoy annoying your fellow squamates?" Yuki asked folding her arms. A gesture ruined by the massive yawn that immediately followed it.

For the most part, Luce purposely canceled out the words spoken by Yuki whilst conversing with Chiyo. When she expressed her wish not to be helped to Luce however, the Gallian had a moment of distinct pause. In but a moment, her wide smile curled into a dejected frown, the girls' eyes looking down with an expression of heartbreak and disappointment.

"Ah, you just looked so confused that I couldn't help myself, but if you really don't want my help, then..."

Her apparent sadness subsided however, after Yuki criticized the tan short haired lady for impersonating an officer and coaxing enjoyment from such an act. Though she likely might've gotten a scolding from the more stern elements of the squadron, she carried on regardless with a sly smile.

"No self-control? Everything I do is completely intentional, I'll have you know." The Gallian winked towards Yuki, pointing her index finger at the short Fusoan.

[Rynagria]

He smiled lightly at Philippa, giving a firm shake.

"Not to worry, Handley. The mechanics here are by far some of the best I've seen,"

He glared back at Harrison, who gave a carefree smile and a wave.

"Despite their apparent lack of discipline," he finished.

Looking back to the fellow Liberion he shoved his hands into his OCP multicam pant pockets. His expression softened slightly.

"After all, being chosen for a deployment to a 500 squadron is a huge honor."

He gestured his head towards the way she came.

"Hangar 1's where they store your units, though they're still bringing in the SRUs. Yours might not be there, yet."

Looking back, a smile formed on Chee's face, trying his best to be accommodating.

"However, I can still show you to wherever you'd like. We all put our time aside to make sure you girls know what to do, after all."

Philippa gave it some thought, as to where she would like to go.

“Well maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be shown the whole base, if you’re allowed to do so.” Started Philippa, continuing shortly after finalizing on where she would like the senior airman to take her. The armory would be pretty neat, but finding where the grub is kept would probably be the best, especially given the low rumble that came from her stomach. Smiling at the rest of them, the tiny Sergeant spoke up. "Before all that though, can we stop by the dining hall first?"

[Finorskia]

snip

"A good cup of tea is always nice, but, hmmm. Nothing quite beats a good cup of coffee to get the mind turning. At least in my opinion," he chuckled to himself. "Never was a big fan of cream and sugar in my coffee though. Unless it's Vietnamese iced coffee, now that. That shit is good. But, honestly, nothing quite beats traditional Arabic coffee in my opinion," Dimitri continued to rant about his love of coffee all the way to Alice's office.

"You have a nice office," Dimitri remarked. "We did not have anything this fancy in the Congo. Anyways I think it's time to get down buisness," he placed his briefcase on the desk and opened it up to show his stack of files. "There are two things I would like to discuss with you a warrant officer. The first is that this base lacks a proper commanding officer. As far as I can tell, at the moment I am the highest-ranking officer on base. I was informed that this might be the case and am prepared to assume those duties as necessary. You, however, have a great deal of field experiance, perhaps even more than I do. As such I will leave the details of the squadron to you and do my best to support you witches in any way I can. Which brings me to the second thing," Dimitri reached into his briefcase and pulled out the thick packet of personnel files. "I have already taken the time to review and familiarize myself with the squadron, and I want to hear your thoughts on how you plan to organize and command it. That way I have a better idea of how to monitor and support you and the rest of the witches in the field."

snip 2

"So what you're saying is that this is all some big joke to you?" Yuki huffed at Luce. "Well it's not, I may not have much too much experience myself but I...I...I haff seeuuuuhh what happens to wiches who treat this as a joke," Yuki yawned in the middle of her scolding. She turned red a little in embarrassment. "Anyway, don't come crying to me when you get shot down," Yuki then turned and headed off towards hanger 8 in frustration.

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

-snip 1-

-snip 2-

-snip 3-

-snip 4-

-snip 5-

-snip 6-

---

The Karlsland Potato Barbarian seemed at least semi-civilised when she was not flying, Chiyo thought as she gently shook Friederike's hand. "Chiyo Furuya, Kaigun Shōii Kōhosei. It's a pleasure."
Moving on from the Karlsland Potato Barbarian Chiyo's attention now turned to the... "argument" that had erupted between Yuki and the Gallian, and given the "topic" of the "argument" it did not take very long at all before the Fusōnese Midshipman's eyebrows were going proverbially through the roof. "The Flight Sergeant will do just fine under her countrywoman's care thank you very much Gallian. Chiyo Furuya, Kaigun Shōii Kōhosei. Now you are?" With an eyebrow still in the high position, Chiyo proffered her hand out to Luce to shake.
"In any case." Stealing a look at the Orussian Sergeant still with her hand glued to her temple Chiyo sighed and addressed the both of them. "Firstly, Sergeant Yegorov was it? You are saluting a Gallian Corporal. Warrant Officer Webley, our officer-commanding is over there behind the wall of other people surrounding her. Secondly, you can stand at ease already. Thirdly, we have nothing planned for today per Warrant Officer Webley's instructions. Fourthly, per Warrant Officer Webley's instructions salutes are unnecessary on the flight line. Fifthly, I am Chiyo Furuya, Kaigun Shōii Kōhosei of the Imperial Fusō Navy. It's a pleasure." Turning towards Luce, Chiyo delivered her final point: "Finally, Mon cher Caporal, you will now have to excuse me as we are at the moment a bit busy. If there's anything you wish to address to Yuki or me find us in the common room. I bid you a nice day." With that all said and done, Chiyo turned around still with a smile she's been putting up for the last conversations, and smartly stepped off towards Hangar 8, her luggage in tow behind her making that rolling sound so familiar to everybody across the tarmac.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

"Didn't feel like socializing either?" Johanna asked as Elise fell in next to her.

"Things were getting a bit... heated." Elise replied glancing back at the multiple arguments going on between the various members of her squad. "I'm not sure how well this squadron we be able to work together, and certainly doesn't look like anything grandmother mentioned in her memoirs."

"Could be worse." Johanna muttered. "You could be the one in charge of this loony bin like I'm sure a few people in high command argued for. "Wouldn't be that hard either since since you technically outrank her."

"I also only have a couple months experience." Elise meekly replied, terrified of the idea of commanding a squadron. "I doubt high command would throw me to the wolves like that." She added, ignoring the the eye roll Johanna was giving her. "And even if they did, mom would never allow it."

"That's true." Johanna chuckled. "You probably don't know about what happened when the recruiters first started showing up after your familiar appeared."

"No, I do." Elise responded. "I was only blind by that point, and I am well aware of what mom sounded like when she was angry thanks to all the shouting matches between you two. So, did you find the engineers yet?"

Johanna shook her head as they reached the hanger, noticing the large group of airmen standing in it. "That might be them though. Hey" She called out to the group. "You wouldn't happen to know where the mechanics are would you?"