You find yourself agreeing as you’re shoved sideways by a gust- Muninn marks it as moving at nearly 80 knots. The wyvern is more than able to handle it- in theory it takes fairly scary weather, like hail or tornado-force winds to really pose a significant danger- but at the same time, flying in low visibility soup like this with winds on the tropical storm side of the scale isn’t fun by any measure of the word.

“Deicing is active.” Kyou notes as you turn on heading for Keflavik. You shoot one more glance back at the Bush as the last two aircraft- a pair of EA-18 growlers- climb away. With them gone, they’ll clear the flight deck and suspend operations till the storm passes- though it’s predicted to last a day or two. In the mean time, of course, you’ll be expected to run operations out of the Icelandic airbase. “We can remain in the weather if you so decide.” She continues. “I am more than capable of shielding us from hail, should that be necessary.”

“Above the cloud deck should be smoother.” Muninn points out. “But I could use the atmospheric data we’d gain by flying under the storm to refine my control models.”

[] We’ll stay in the storm then.
[] I think I’d rather get above it.

>>3797858
>[X] We’ll stay in the storm then.

>>3797858
>[X] We’ll stay in the storm then.

>>3797858
>[x] I think I’d rather get above it.

>>3797858
>[x] We’ll stay in the storm then.

ok, votes called!

>>3797858
>[x] We’ll stay in the storm then.

File: The airbase has hosted mu(...).jpg (104 KB, 1200x798)

104 KB JPG

[x] We’ll stay in the storm then.

“We’ll stay in the storm, then.” You respond, setting your altitude comfortably at about five thousand feet- fairly low, all told, though the bottom of the storm clouds aren’t that much higher than you- a few thousand feet, according to laser rangefinding.

“Odd that we’ll be visiting a land base during our deck tour.” Kyou remarks. “Though perhaps if we’re fortunate we’ll be able to intercept a Soviet Bomber. I have heard stories about them.”

“They border the Icelandic ADIZ roughly twice a week.” Muninn responds. “The last sighting was yesterday, while we were over Spain. It’s likely they’ll attempt again either tomorrow or the day after.”

“Excellent.” Kyou responds.

“Though if we are called to intercept, it under restricted rules of engagement.” Muninn points out. “We may not fire unless fired upon, though we’re allowed to maneuver defensively without restriction.”

“I’m aware of that.” Kyou responds. “Still, it would be interesting to do so, especially if they have escort witches. Almost none of their witches remain in the pacific, and those that do typically live in the empire.”

Russian expats- predominantly witches- aren’t rare. After the end of the war, it’s estimated fully one in five Russians left for other countries- or, in some cases, elected to remain where they were after release from POW facilities. Even the famed “Valkyrie Battalion” of- depending on who’s being asked, ‘kidnapped’ or ‘recruited’- Icelandic witches, who served as part of Putin’s coup is largely gone, most of the witches having since left the USSR- it’s said that fewer than ten of them stayed in the country.

That said, of course, you have your own concerns about Soviet witches- one of the few warnings your father gave you, about his wartime stalker- and Natalya’s predecessor. You know of her, of course- the matron-general of the soviet union occasionally appears at the UN alongside the ambassador, as necessary, but not much else about her. Other, of course, than that she has a daughter- one Frank seems to think may be similar to her mother. You elect not to say anything, instead focusing on the approaching coastline of Iceland.

1/2

“We’re clear onto runway zero-one.” Kyou calls as Muninn drops a marker into your helmet’s display.

Landing is almost childishly simple- the runway, though wet, is an easy target, especially with the landing aids of the airport that shares the facility. You follow a ground guide humvee onto a long taxiway, trailing it for almost two miles before you reach an empty hardened aircraft shelter, the doors open to reveal it’s unoccupied, where you’re directed to shut down as a crew brings out the long umbilical line for ground power- as a major NATO airbase, they’re equipped to handle Wyverns.

“Welcome to Keflavik, Stormrider!” Olimpia greets from the gunner’s ring on the humvee as you climb down- it’s overcast and clearly rained recently, but it’s not raining now- just a bit colder than you’d like. “Heard you stayed in the storm the entire time.” She says with a grin. “ATC was trying to figure it out, but they know to leave military flights alone if they don’t have to mess with ‘em. How was the flight?”

[] Bumpier than I’d have liked. Shame there’s not two of you.
[] Smoother than Iraq was, anyway.

>>3798070
>[] Bumpier than I’d have liked. Shame there’s not two of you.

>>3798070
>[X] Smoother than Iraq was, anyway.

>>3798070
>[] Bumpier than I’d have liked. Shame there’s not two of you.

MAXIMUM INNUENDO

>>3798070
>[x] Bumpier than I’d have liked. Shame there’s not two of you.

Ok, votes called!

File: Not terribly shocking- ma(...).png (253 KB, 564x750)

253 KB PNG

[x] Bumpier than I’d have liked. Shame there’s not two of you.

“Bumpier than I’d have liked.” You admit, pulling your bag out of it’s spot in the small cargo pod- which the Bush’s crew didn’t bother to offload from the aircraft. You grab Kyou’s as well, carrying them both over to the waiting truck. “Shame there’s not two of you.”

Olimpia grins. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to flirt.” She says, then shrugs. “Besides, a drake doesn’t need the escort. A hawkeye does.”

“It must be tiring, having to escort so many aircraft at once.” Kyou remarks. “Is it not difficult to influence so much space?”

Olimpia shrugs. “Eh, not really.” She says. “You’re not really stopping the storm from doing what it wants, you’re just encouraging it to do it elsewhere. Besides, once ya learn how they work, it’s not hard at all to get them to behave how you want. Move an inflow stream somewhere else, and poof, there goes the hail.” She says. “Learned it over a couple summers home from the academy.”

Kyou nods. “I have heard the same from our Navy’s witches.” She says. “But they all hail from one family, and their association with the weather extends back thousands of years.” Kyou nods at you as she takes a seat in the back of the humvee, watching as the ground crew pushes Muninn back into the hardened shelter.

Olimpia laughs. “Well, I don’t go back that far. Not even really sure where the old country is, my old man said it was Poland, but we moved over in eighteen hundred whatever.” she shrugs. “Doesn’t really matter anyway. Mom wasn’t a witch either.”

Kyou nods. “I see. Emerging talent, then?”

“Maybe.” Olimpia says. “Doesn’t matter, though. At least, not to me. You two hungry?”

Kyou looks over at you. Of course she probably is- You’ve noticed that, regardless of anything else, Kyou can put away food like a starving linebacker. You’re gradually getting to where you can eat alongside her as well- even if it is about a tenth of the amount she does.

[] We could eat, sure.
[] Wouldn’t mind being able to change, first.

>>3798185
>[x] We could eat, sure.

>>3798185
>[X] We could eat, sure.

>>3798185
>[X] We could eat, sure.

>>3798185
>[] We could eat, sure.

>>3798185
>[] We could eat, sure.

Ok, votes called!

Nyan nyan?

File: You're kind of worried th(...).jpg (150 KB, 850x1489)

150 KB JPG

[x] We could eat, sure.

“We could eat, sure.” You say, getting a slight nod from Kyou- she’s been deferring to you more, but she very clearly has ideas of what she wants to do. Either she’s testing you- seeing how you’ll make the calls- or you just haven’t really made any she doesn’t agree with yet. You’re not sure yet, but you’re confident in your read of her otherwise. Of course, you’re not sure why she would be doing either of those things, either- you can’t imagine her adopting the role of subservient housewife.

“Awesome.” Olimpia responds. “The mess here is pretty alright, especially when it’s an air force unit here. The Germans are even better, but eh” She shrugs. “You take what you get.”

The drive to the base mess hall is fairly short- the rest of the base is set a short distance away, and from the road you can see the lights of the nearby town. “The whole base is a joint NATO thing.” Olimpia explains. “Technically the Icelandic government owns the land and all the buildings, and their letting us use it is part of their contribution. Most of the permanent staff is their people, ATCs and the MP s and that kinda thing. The garrison unit just comes in with their aircraft and their support people.”

The mess hall itself is fairly full, and much larger than the ones aboard ship. Your little group attracts more than a little attention as you walk in- of course, Kyou’s in her flight suit is going to instantly attract attention- you shift a little to block some of the lines of sight to her.

You go through the line quickly- it works a little like a cafeteria back home, you think. The air force, clearly, has different ideas of how to keep it’s people fed- the stuff looks like food, and actually smells pretty good. The three of you find an unoccupied table near the back of the room and sit down, Kyou electing to sit to your left, with Olimpia across from you both.

“We report to you while we’re here?” Kyou asks as you sit.

Olimpia hesitates, then nods slowly. “I guess.” She says, after a minute. “Honestly, I usually fly second string to drakes, so I’m not sure how it’s supposed to work.”

“Neither are we.” You supply. “Aboard the Truman, Spears kind of took the lead.”

Oli smiles at that. “Yeah, I bet she did, and ran you right into the fight, then tried to hand the lead back to you.”

“Is this a recurrent flaw of hers?” Kyou asks.

The other witch frowns. “Not really. She wants to take the fight to the bad guys and doesn’t always think past the end of that. There’s rumors about her, ya know, but it’s not really my place to go tellin them, either.”

“We were quite impressed by her ability and skill.” Kyou says.

1/2

“Oh, no doubt.” Olimpia responds. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s a hell of a fighter, but that’s all she lives for. She wants to fly and fight and that’s about the extent of it. Past that? eh.” She says. “But you can’t hold it against her. She took some bad hits a couple years ago and she hasn’t really squared that.”

“She did have a significant hate for her opponents.” Kyou points out. “Not one simply explainable by them being her foe.”

“Oh, everyone hates those terrorist fucks.” Olimpia says. “But you’re not wrong either. Spears, eh.” She shrugs. “She’s a good shooter and she’ll hang with you, but I’m not sure about putting her anywhere where she isn’t gonna get stuck in right away. She’s the kinda girl to whom subtle means she uses detcord on a doorframe instead of a breeching charge.”

Kyou smiles thinly at that. “I see.” She says.

Olimpia smiles. “Ya know, I always thought the pilot of a drake was the lead. You seem awful quiet over there,” She says, looking over at you.

[] Kyou’s a lot better at this than I am. We play to our strengths.
[] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

>>3798408
>[] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

>>3798408
>[x] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

>>3798408
>[X] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

>>3798408
>[X] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

>>3798408
>[x] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

ok, votes called! This'll probably be the last update for the night- apparently, despite the whole 'hurricane' and 'flooding' thing, school's still opening in the morning. could be rains of flaming brimstone, they'd be like 'get an umbrella and get your ass to class.' It's almost admirable in a way, hahaha!

File: all of it, in this case, (...).jpg (276 KB, 1600x1068)

276 KB JPG

[x] Just thinking, don’t worry about me.

You shake your head. “Just thinking, don’t worry about me.” You say.

The witch smiles. “Thinking?” She asks.

“Morgan tends toward quietness.” Kyou supplies for you. “Sometimes I wonder how, considering his father.”

“I grew up with mom.” You point out to her- and while your mother isn’t exactly as quiet as you know you are, she’s also far from as talkative as your father.

“Brigitte Laroux, right?” Olimpia asks, and you nod.

“Man, that musta been fun.” She says with a laugh. “When did you start learning to throw knives?”

“Six.” You respond- it’s a stretch of the truth, but not entirely wrong, either. Maman let you play at it with a simple, wooden toy for a while, but you didn’t start throwing real steel knives till about the age of ten- a full two years after she’d started teaching you how to shoot. She didn’t start holding you to any kind of standard till you were twelve, though- up till then, it had all been self-motivation to improve.

She laughs. “About what I figured. I was elbow-deep in a mustang at that age. The car, not the horse.”

“You are interested in machines?” Kyou asks. Olimpia shakes her head.

“Nah, but I can fix them.” She says. “It’s one of those things. You learn a little bit of everything- mister smith needs a tractor looked at, something he just can’t figure out, and mister brown just up the road has some sort of crop blight. And then the next farm down the road has a prized mustang- the horse, not the car- that’s sick or injured… you get good at applying magic to a lot of things.”

1/2

“I see.” Kyou says, looking over at you- the bayou coven is similar, you know, and you’ve explained that to Kyou. “That is one of the failings of my teaching, I feel. My education focused on applying my ability in combat, and little else.” She’s expressed interest in learning as a younger witch would, should you have the time, but you doubt you will- by the time you’ve got that kind of sustained time off, you’ll both be near retirement age.

Olimpia shrugs. “Seems to be time well spent as part of a wyvern crew.” She points out. “I can’t say I’ve ever really met one where the witch didn’t have either some kind of super specialized combat talent or wasn’t a total technonerd.” She pauses. “Or both, I guess. If you don’t mind my asking, what made you go for it?”

“Many reasons.” Kyou says. “But I wanted to prove myself the best. I think I am well on the way now.”

“Is it worth it, though?” She asks. “I don’t mean the Lieutenant and all the stuff they say about how you’re gonna fall all kinds of in love, I mean the surgery and the commitment and all that.”

Kyou smiles. “Of course.” She says. “And I find myself beginning to wonder where Morgan was all my life. Though occasionally I do feel his sense of humor needs improvement.”

The other witch nods. “What about you, Lieutenant? You think it was worth it?”

[] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?
[] I have my reservations, but yeah, I think so.

ANd that's it for the night! Trying to work on getting a bit faster at the updates- got a bit sidetracked by the weather, haha! Overall, this one was pretty disappointing, just some wind and a little rain. not even any lightning. Sad.

Anyway gents, we'll be back tomorrow, but till then, cheers!

>>3798624
>[x] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798628
Thanks for the run Ghost!

File: __yahagi_kantai_collectio(...).jpg (142 KB, 1132x1601)

142 KB JPG

>>3798624
>[X] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798628
Thanks for the run boss.

>>3798624
>[] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798624
>[X] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798624
>[x] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798624
>[X] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798624
>[] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

>>3798624
[] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

ok, votes called!

File: They may not all be the s(...).jpg (23 KB, 458x305)

23 KB JPG

[x] Absolutely. What’s there to worry about?

You shrug. “Absolutely.” You state with a nod. “What’s there to worry about?”

“I can think of a few things.” Olimpia says.

“Such as?” Kyou prompts.

“I mean, I don’t want to get into a fight about it.” The other witch says, to which Kyou smiles and shakes her head.

“Oh, no. It is rather too late for anyone to talk us out of it.” she says. “And there’s little point in fighting over our choices with anyone. If we disagree, we disagree.”

“Fair enough.” Olimpia responds. “I don’t really trust the board. I mean, I know they say they screen for major personality differences and all that, but there’s no way they get it one hundred percent right all the time. And then there’s the surgery and the whole thing with the implant plugs.” She shakes her head. “That’s kinda creepy, honestly.”

Kyou nods, looking over at you. “I see your points, though I disagree.” She says. “The boards have, thus far, a flawless record. While I imagine failure is possible, it’s not happened yet.”

“I’m not so hyped on the idea of a plane that thinks, either.” Olimpia says. “Last thing I’d want to run into is some space odyssey or terminator mess.”

Kyou laughs- and you smirk- at the idea of Muninn becoming some malevolent, murderous AI. From what you remember in talking with Merlin, they’re not prevented from it, but their growth models have never shown it- based as they are on the personalities and subconsciousness of the crew, they tend far more towards ‘snarky teen’ than ‘skynet’. Clearly, Muninn has gone that route.

“What’s funny?” Olimpia asks. “It’s a serious concern.”

Kyou nods. “I know, and we’re sorry. It’s just that it’s incredibly difficult to imagine our ship’s AI behaving in such a manner. It’s far more like my little sister than any sort of threat.”

“If you say so. Still, I can’t quite square it for myself.” Olimpia says after a minute. “I’ll stick to strikers.”

There’s a pause as the subject dies away, and you finish eating. The food is actually pretty good- reminds you of any of the dozen or so midrange chains that seem endemic stateside.

1/2

Olimpia drives you over to the temporary quarters, where the displaced aircrews from the bush are billeted. “The rooms aren’t bad,” She says. “Bigger than aboard ship anyway. Only one bed per, though, so I don’t know how that’s going to work for you two.”

“We’ll discuss it between us.” Kyou answers. “What are our duties while we’re here?”

“We’ll be doing patrol hops up to the north side of the island and out over the ocean.” Olimpia says. “There’s not much up that way, but it’s a good way to get familiar with the landmarks in the region.”

Kyou nods. “We look forward to it.”

“Good.” Olimpia says with a smile. “Cos we’re going even if you weren’t looking forward to it. Be downstairs by oh-six. We’ll catch morning chow and then go sit in with the air force when they do their morning tasking. I’ve already cleared it with them, but this way they can all get a look at us.”

You and Kyou both nod.

“That’s it. See you in the morning.” She says, handing you a set of old keys with a room number on them and little else- and no directions on how to find the room.

Fortunatley, the building isn’t huge- and you find the room after about fifteen minutes of looking. Inside is arranged similar to most bachelor’s officers quarters you’ve encountered- bedroom, small bathroom, living area with an attached kitchenette. It’s a bit stuffy inside, as if it hasn’t been opened up in a while, and the furniture is all at least twenty years old, if not a little older.

“I will take the couch, if you prefer.” Kyou says, as you drop the seabags in the small bedroom. “I don’t intend to sleep for a few hours yet, so it makes the most sense.”

[] Works for me. I’ll see you in the morning.
[] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?

>>3800001
>[] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?

AUNT MERLIN'S EMAIL, DUMMY

>>3800001
>[X] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?

>>3800001
>[x] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?

>>3800001
>[] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?

>>3800001
>[x] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?
OPTIONS

Ok, votes called!

Sorry about the delay guys, got caught up doing something real fast. I'm writing now though, haha!

Can't we share the bed? You can sleep in the same bed without being inside of her. I think?

>>3800267
Yes, but she might be tempted.

We have to consider her flaws.

>>3800289
Wow that sounds horrible. We may even have to pet a fluffy tail. What was the downside again?

>>3800295
Sounds okay to me anon.

>>3800295
I'm down for that.

File: Honestly prefers clothing(...).png (327 KB, 1000x1297)

327 KB PNG

[x] I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed?

You shrug. “I can stay up, why don’t you take the bed.”

Kyou smiles. “Is this gallantry or simple pragmatism?” She asks, standing up. “regardless, I believe I’ll shower first.”

She walks past, already reaching to her back to release the zipper that pulls down to just past her shoulder blades- just enough to show off her flexibility and that, under the flight suit, there’s nothing at all. That, you think, was very clearly on purpose.

You wait for a second after you hear the bathroom door close- she doesn’t lock it, but that’s not really new- she hasn’t ever, so far as you know. Pulling out your laptop you plug into the ethernet cable provided on the lone desk in the living room and sign in, the usual welcome page appearing as you do so. The service here is much better than aboard ship- no cap or anything like that- though traffic could still be monitored, as you are using DoD provided service. You don’t let that bother you- that’s part of the deal, you figure.

Pulling up your emails reveals the usual- the as-yet unread one from your aunt, and a bunch of spam. While it’s interesting that steam feels the need to email you every time a game on your wish list goes on sale, it’s a little old by this point- as big as your wish list is, something always seems to be on sale.

Merlin’s email- like you expected- isn’t to do with work. At least, mostly- you aunt usually can’t help but talk about some exciting new thing or other, a new theory she’s working on or a new advancement somewhere else in the field that has interesting prospects. In this case it’s a short update on Spears- and, you note, ‘Aunt’ Wendy. Both of them have had their plug surgery, and she expects them to be flying shortly.

She’s much more able to contain any embarrassing slip-ups while writing- though you’re sure she makes three or four proofreading passes over the Email before she sends it. Even so, there’s a few things in there- a suggestion you take leave at their beachfront ‘vacation’ home in Florida- and another, a little later, talking about her troubles selecting a swimsuit these days, owing to her changing figure.

You close out of the email and check youtube- nothing fun going on, you note- as Kyou emerges from the bathroom, her wet hair falling loosely behind her head. “Anything from your aunt?” She asks. “I am interested in Spears’ progress.”

[] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.
[] Not really, just a personal Email. She wants us to spend leave at their beach house.

>>3800325
>[X] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

>>3800325
>[x] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

>>3800325
>[x] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

>>3800325
>[x] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

>>3800325
>[X] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

>>3800325
>[] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

>>3800325
>[x] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

note to self: still waiting on good opportunity to make de chili now that the crew have kills.

>>3800325
>She's concerned about her swimsuit figure and needs me to help

Ok, votes called!

File: Fully capable of taking c(...).png (891 KB, 1784x2584)

891 KB PNG

[x] Nothing much, she just got her plugs yesterday.

“Nothing much.” You say, closing the laptop and setting it aside. “She just got her plugs yesterday.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Kyou says, taking a seat on the couch next to you and stretching her legs across your lap as she leans back. “So she will begin flying soon?”

You nod. “Most likely. Aunt Merlin isn’t going to want to keep her on the ground long.” You say, taking one of her legs and lifting it enough to get your thumbs on them enough to massage them, working around in small circles. As you assumed, there’s a few, small, knots there- Kyou stretches before her morning runs, but sitting in a fighter as much as you have been the last two weeks will show. You don’t spend too long thinking about how her lower back and shoulders must be- you have to imagine they’re about the same.

“Ahhh.” She sighs. “I find myself looking forward to flying with her again.”

“One flight and you’re already sold?” You ask. She smiles.

“That is all we had initially, isn’t it?” She says, then laughs. “And look at how well that has turned out.”

[] It’s only been a couple weeks, you know.
[] Fair enough. Guess I’ll go get a shower now myself.

>>3800455
>[x] Fair enough. Guess I’ll go get a shower now myself.

>>3800455
>[X] Fair enough. Guess I’ll go get a shower now myself.

>>3800455
>[X] Fair enough. Guess I’ll go get a shower now myself.

>>3800455
>[] Fair enough. Guess I’ll go get a shower now myself.

Ok, votes called!

File: Of course, for Cass, the (...).jpg (13 KB, 250x188)

13 KB JPG

[x] Fair enough. Guess I’ll go get a shower now myself.

You nod. “Fair enough.” You say, grabbing one of her ankles and pushing it away. “Guess I’ll go grab a shower myself.”

She smiles. “I had hoped you intended to stay a little longer, but I’ll admit the hot water heater here is excellent.”

You don’t say anything, instead going into your bag to fetch a clean pair of PT clothes and your hygiene bag as the TV comes on in the living room. Kyou’s right- the hot water is nice, and there’s a fairly large tub here that even looks like it has water jets. Sadly, you know you don’t really have the time to enjoy it.

Kyou is stretched out on the couch when you step out of the bathroom, absently flicking through the TV. “Is American television all this bad?” She asks, sliding forward a bit to clear a spot for you and then leaning back into you when you sit down. The message is clear enough- you start to knead her back with your knuckles, finding a couple knots almost right away.

“It’s better stateside.” You say, frowning at the programming here- there’s the major channels, of course, and the armed forces network, but most of the major cable channels aren’t on. It’s better than what’d be available aboard, of course, but that doesn’t make it good.

“I should hope so.” She says, finally stopping on one of the ‘educational’ channels in disgust- history, you think. “How is the day to day business of a pawn shop at all historical?”

“Some of the things that come in are historic?” You ask, working your knuckles up to the base of her shoulder blades.

She scoffs. “Curios at best.” She counters. “The astrogation dome on a B-29 is hardly of worthwhile historical value.”

You shrug. “It must be popular though.” You point out. “They keep renewing it.”

“A firm argument against your federal democracy.” She says- then laughs. “Of course, Japanese TV isn’t much better. Still, it seems easier to say it is when this is what passes for programming here.”

She sighs, leaning back further. “I fear I’m going to fall asleep here.” She says, changing the channel. “And what is this?”

“Naked and afraid.” You supply.

“The premise seems interesting.” Kyou says. “I am sure you would be quite capable in such a scenario, no?”

While she’s not exactly wrong- maman did teach you more than a little basic survival, and you’re reasonably confident in your ability to pull off the challenge on the show, you’re also far more comfortable with access to your tools. Of course, Cass was pushing for the two of you to register to make an attempt- actually, she was fairly determined about it for a little while. It never came to anything- the show excludes witches for the most part.

[] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.
[] Probably. I’ve never tried.

And that's going to be it for the night from me!

Just as a heads up, I do have a couple things to do tomorrow, so we may have a slightly later start, but I'm still shooting for 1800EST as our starting time every day.

Other than that, I don't really have anything else, so till tomorrow guys, cheers!

>>3800640
>[X] Probably. I’ve never tried.

>>3800640
>[] Probably. I’ve never tried.

>>3800640
>[] Probably. I’ve never tried.

File: EF-2000_Phoenix.jpg (845 KB, 1431x1073)

845 KB JPG

>>3800640
>[X] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

>>3800642
Thanks for the run boss.

>>3800640
>[x] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

>>3800642
Thanks for the run Ghost!

>>3800640
>[] Probably. I’ve never tried.

>>3800640
>[X] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.
>While she’s not exactly wrong- maman did teach you more than a little basic survival, and you’re reasonably confident in your ability to pull off the challenge on the show, you’re also far more comfortable with access to your tools. Of course, Cass was pushing for the two of you to register to make an attempt- actually, she was fairly determined about it for a little while. It never came to anything- the show excludes witches for the most part.
I'm not sure if this implies that Morgan did the "test" in the past or not.

>>3800640
>[X] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

>>3800640
>We could get naked now and find out.

>>3800640
>[x] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

>>3800640
>[X] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

>>3800640
>[] Probably. I’ve never tried.

In the hopes that this option implies trying right now.

>>3800640
>[x] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

Hey guys, just got home, sorry about that! Votes called!

File: Witches, you've learned, (...).jpg (134 KB, 850x1275)

134 KB JPG

[x] I could get by, but it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.

You shrug- part of the issue, of course, is the setting they’d put you in- you’re more than capable of living in any kind of swamp or jungle, of course, and consider yourself fairly well equipped for anything other than the arctic and perhaps the middle of the ocean. Of course, they have thrown some exotics out there before- the African plains might be a problem, and anything in an alpine region would be challenging. “I could get by.” You allow, getting a very slight nod in response, “But it’s not something I’d want to try if I could avoid it.”

“I see.” Kyou responds. “I do admit that while it looks like an interesting challenge, it also would perhaps wear thin quickly. Though I imagine that, with the proper partner, it would perhaps remain very interesting.”

She sits there for a while longer, before sighing and standing up, turning to face you. “Of course, I have a partner in mind, but for now I think it best to sleep. Do you want me to wake you for a morning run?”

“Yeah.” You say, standing yourself. “Give me a second to pull my woobie out of my bag.” She nods and you walk past her, leaning around the corner of the bedroom to grab your seabag and pull out your poncho liner. Kyou nods at you, pausing as she moves back to the bedroom. She gives her head a slight shake and walks past and swings the door about halfway shut.

Morning comes quicker than you’d have thought- Kyou wakes you by simple dint of turning on the lights and handing you a steaming cup of liquid. “Tea.” She says with a smile. “From my bag.”

You take a sip, nodding gratefully. “Time?” You croak.

“Oh-five.” She says. “Enough time for a short run, then we must be downstairs for Olimpia. Shall I set the pace?”

[] Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.
[] Maybe I’d better.

>>3802375
>[x] Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.

>>3802375
>[X] Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.

>>3802375
>[] Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.

>She gives her head a slight shake and walks past and swings the door about halfway shut.

Do we have autism? What are we doing?

>>3802397
If she doesn't like woobies, I don't like her

I knew choosing her was a mistake.

>>3802375
>[x] Maybe I’d better.

>>3802375
>[] Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.

>>3802401
>>3802397
She probably found it hilarious that Morgan of all people has one.
I mean, considering he doesn't really look like the type of guy to bring one around.

Ok, votes called!

>>3802417
Anon, "woobie" is a common nickname for the standard US military poncho liner.
They're the best blanket ever crafted by man, and EVERYONE in the military loves them because they're a gift from the gods.

>>3802401
>>3802417
>>3802440
Yeah, I know. I've used one. I mean why are we not sharing the bed.

>>3802443
Because anons are cooks and voted for the couch

File: frick.png (171 KB, 262x261)

171 KB PNG

>>3802440
Oh, I see.
I thought it meant whatever that cute thing is. I had a nice image of Morgan just sleeping with something stuffed so I guess it's fine.

>>3802452
the god damn mother of fucking night did not raise an offspring that requires a cute stuffed thing to go night night

Cass probably stole them all and still has a weird shrine somewhere or in her duffel

>>3802443
Royal romance rules. Kyou probably wanted to share the bed but can't, hence slight headshake.

>>3802472
More that she's not sure she can resist the D if they share the bed. It was noted earlier that Wyvern crews usually have a kid within 2 years of linking, and Kyou's not quite ready to be a mother with a war (and our Quest) looming.

>>3802472
Or did want to and can't figure out what Morgan is doing on the couch.
>>3802497
She doesn't have to get pregnant.

poi?

NYAN NYAN

File: Giant and ungainly, the T(...).jpg (54 KB, 1080x953)

54 KB JPG

[x] Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.

You nod. “Yeah, but remember we’re flying patrol today.” You caution- the last thing you want is to have to hammer out some brutal, 6-miles-in-24-minutes pace set by the wolf princess here, and then find your legs are doing a jello impression the rest of the day.

She smiles. “Of course. I had planned only one lap around the housing area we are in.”

You nod at that, pulling on your running shoes and standing up. “Lead on then.” You say, and she steps out of the door into the hallway.

The morning air is fairly cool and humid- about like you’ve run into in the late fall at the Bishop house. What strikes you, however, is how the land around the base is fairly bare- there’s only a few trees standing outside, mostly near the buildings themselves, and while there’s mountains in the distance, the ground here is fairly flat.

Kyou sets a pretty good pace- and maintains it without seeming trouble without summoning her familiar. You’re not sure about the distance- honestly, you found yourself distracted more than once when Kyou started to pull ahead of you a little- which is unusual, to say the least. You’ve always considered yourself well inured to that kind of thing, if not entirely immune. It’s not that you don’t appreciate it- it’s that you’ve always been surrounded by it, so it’s not particularly interesting. Kyou, though…

You do a short cool down lap before heading back upstairs to take a short shower, just enough to get the sweat off you, and change into a clean flight suit. Kyou follows suit, showering and changing, opting to wear the warmup pants that are provided for witches in cold climates.

Once you make your way downstairs, you find Olimpia waiting, her own flight bag next to her. “Sleep well?” She asks. Kyou nods.

“Very.” Your crewmate responds.

Olimpia smiles. “Always thought the beds here were a bit too soft. Anyway, let’s get to the morning briefing. They’re expecting us.”

1/2

>>3802585
Nihao Nyan

The operations building here was rebuilt after the war- Iceland was invaded by soviet troops, both in an effort to cut the Greenland-Iceland-UK line that prevented their submarines and bombers from getting to the Atlantic convoys, and, as it turned out, to find and press into service Icelandic witches. How they were able to remains a matter of contention- Icelandic witches being famously belligerent among the Nordic peoples.

Inside the operations building, Olimpia leads you to a fairly large briefing room, where you quietly step in and find a spot near the back- one of the seats reserved for visitors and observers. Kyou sits next to you, with Olimpia opting to sit next to her.

The briefing officer sets the tasking for the day- you’re surprised at how many patrols the base puts up, all told- several P-3 Orion flights have a pair of Eagles as escort each, and there’s a further two pairs detailed to the northern side of the island. You’re last, predictably, drawing what is, probably, the worst patrol region in the plan- North-Northeast out over Jan Mayen Island, where you’ll maintain a patrol pattern for a few hours before heading south to the Faroe Islands, then back to ‘home plate’- Keflavik, in this case.

You’ll be armed, of course- defensively, though on a wyvern that’s still a pretty heavy payload. Twelve AMRAAMS and eight sidewinders- slightly more firepower than any of the pairs of eagles taking off today.

Once dismissed, you and the witches join the eagle pilots on the crew bus, which takes you out to the flight line- though you still have a walk to Muninn, still inside the hardened shelter. “I find myself hoping for more unexpected combat.” Kyou admits as you walk. “Though I know that, were we to find it, it would be far more significant that in Iraq.”

You nod. Soviet aircraft or witches shooting at you would be, on the whole, very major- maybe not ensuring war, but certainly causing a massive diplomatic incident, regardless of outcome.

“Still, perhaps we’ll be able to intercept one of their bears.” She says. “After their attacks on Hokkaido during the war, we have little love for that aircraft.”

[] If we even see one. We probably won’t.
[] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

>>3802600
>[] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

>>3802600
>[X] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

>>3802600
>[X] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

>>3802600
>[x] If we even see one. We probably won’t.

>>3802600
>[] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

>>3802600
>[X] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

Ok, votes called!

>>3802600
>[] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

File: The F-14 is a fleet mains(...).png (150 KB, 495x700)

150 KB PNG

[x] Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.

“Dad doesn’t like Tupolevs much, either.” You say, watching as a ground team rolls Muninn out of the hardened shelter and into the morning sun. Further down the flight line, you can hear the whine of jets as they start up and the first aircraft begin rolling, their canopies still up as they taxi.

Kyou pauses. “He was there when Stalin’s wall dropped, was he not?”

You nod. “Yeah. Right at ground zero, according to aunt Merlin.”

“I can only imagine.” Kyou says, quietly. “It is a good thing that your father and she were able to stop the soviet’s final gamble during the war as well. One can only imagine at the destruction a Megalith warhead would have caused.”

You shrug- postwar, Megalith was mostly abandoned, with the warheads being removed from the remaining weapons and being stored in a ‘secure location’ that, so far as you know, has never been revealed. It’s widely speculated to be one of a handful of EDF bases in remote locations, though it’s widely speculated that they were moved to one of the EDF facilities in the southern cross mountain range- one of the few known to house the massive, surface-to-orbit defensive missiles still.

Your train of thought is cut off as Kyou starts walking towards your fighter as the aircraft tug stops moving- a signal that you need to, too. You do the usual walkaround inspection as she pulls off the warmup pants, stuffing them down into her flight bag and climbing the ladder into the cockpit. By the time you’ve finished the inspection- not finding anything amiss, as you expected- she’s already got her helmet on and her legs in the interface units, leaving a thin strip of her upper thighs exposed to the air.

1/2

You drop into your seat quickly, pulling on your helmet as you tug the various straps holding you in your ejection seat down. Muninn seems to have settled on it’s avatar by now, you note as you activate the MIU uplink and Kyou brings the other systems online- now that you’ve been flying together with Muninn aware, most of that job falls to her and the AI, leaving you little to do but concentrate on flying and fighting.

Still, Muninn is quiet as you power up and disconnect from the ground umbilical, instead communicating nonverbally as much as necessary. It’s quiet in the fighter as you roll to the back of the line of F-15s, where you’re joined by Olimpia in a pair of F-14E strikers. She looks over at you, nodding once as you slowly advance forward as each pair of eagles ahead of you takes off.

You pause as she rolls ahead of you- witches roll before fighters in joint flights, as they generate negligible wake turbulence- whereas yours can and will toss her all over the sky.

It’s not till she’s rolling that you note that Muninn- or Kyou, you’re not sure- is spending a bit too much effort rendering her hindquarters in gorgeous, high-def multiple sensor imaging.

Frankly, you’re not sure which possibility is more worrisome.

And that's it for the week! Haha.

I know tonight was pretty slow- long story short, I'm pretty beat, haha. As it turns out, the old man wanted to start moving his tools back out of storage and into the shop and Tablesaws are pretty damn heavy! Still, I'm kinda looking forward to the whole setup- have a couple things I want to build. Of course, I'd also like a mill and a lathe out there for my own projects too, but right now I'm both too broke and pretty sure it's not wired for that kind of equipment, haha! I should be able to start streaming occasionally though, once I'm moved to the apartment above it- no chance of waking other people in the house up!

Anyway, gents, that's it for the week! I'll be around some to answer questions or comments if there are any, but otherwise, till next time, cheers!

>>3802769
>It’s not till she’s rolling that you note that Muninn- or Kyou, you’re not sure- is spending a bit too much effort rendering her hindquarters in gorgeous, high-def multiple sensor imaging.

A LEWD AWOO, OR A LEWD BIRB.

APPROVE.

File: Russian Air and Navy Witc(...).jpg (383 KB, 1300x764)

383 KB JPG

>>3802780
Thanks for the run boss.
Anything from the writefags? It's been more then a few threads...

File: ask the cutie before you (...).jpg (348 KB, 1920x1080)

348 KB JPG

>>3802769
>It’s not till she’s rolling that you note that Muninn- or Kyou, you’re not sure- is spending a bit too much effort rendering her hindquarters in gorgeous, high-def multiple sensor imaging.

>>3802780
Thanks for the run Ghost!

>>3802825

Nothing, though I've had a pretty severe drop-off here in terms of being able to get updates out on time and run on the days I say I will, so it's mostly down to me being largely bad at this, haha!

>>3802780
Thanks, Ghost
>>3802833
Man, I need to finish VC4

>>3802841
Quantity over quality this has been said before.

>>3805345
Ehhhhhhhh......there's a balance to be maintained. I'd much rather have 3 quality 3-entry+posts in an evening versus 9 3-4 line ones.

Ultimately I think it's Ghost keeps getting asked to do things around the house while he's running.

File: Katrina's eye, as seen fr(...).jpg (75 KB, 800x1067)

75 KB JPG

Ok, sorry for the late start, gents. had a couple things going on, got them knocked out later than I'd planned. Homework is stupid, but eh. Is what it is.

No real news this week, other than that.

===========================================================================

The ocean north of Iceland- between there and Jan Mayen- is one of the most heavily observed pieces of water on earth, and has been since the end of the war. While it’s all friendly, you’re on BVR radars from both greenland and the northern edge of Iceland still, as well as the Norwegian station on Jan Mayen itself. While the Norwegian defense forces don’t maintain much in the way of actual combat assets on the smaller island here, the much larger Svalbard has an airfield that can handle both their F-16s and P-3 sub hunters.

For the most part, the soviet airforce- such as it is- avoids overflying either island directly, though they often skirt very close to them- enough so that the Tu-95s, you’re told, are largely ignored by the few residents.

“They’re pretty nice down there.” Oli says, as Jan Mayen crawls by your port side after you turn- you weren’t going to overfly it either, and can’t land their either way- they’re not equipped to handle the Wyvern’s ground power requirements. “It’s all Norwegian military for the radar station and weather station there, but if you’re ever forced down in the area, it’s not a bad place to be.”

“It looks rather remote.” Kyou observes. “I cannot imagine they are well-supplied.”

“They get a resupply bird every six weeks or so.” Oli responds. “I’ve weathered there once or twice when a storm popped up even I couldn’t handle.”

“How severe must a storm be before it’s beyond your abilities?” Kyou asks. “

You look over to see Oli frown. “Cat two plus, I guess.” She says. “Storms are easy enough on their own, but the really serious stuff that blows up here or in the north sea, there’s way too much energy there for me to do anything with. Learned that the hard way with Katrina.”

[] You were in that storm?
[] If you could do anything to a storm like that, I don’t think the navy would be able to keep you.

>>3812874
>[X] You were in that storm?

>>3812874
>[x] You were in that storm?

>>3812874
>[] You were in that storm?

>>3812874
Remember to update your twitter Ghost

>>3812874
>[X] You were in that storm?

ok, votes called! I'll be grabbing a shower after this update, so the voting period will probably be a little longer

File: About as old as the B-52,(...).jpg (268 KB, 1920x1057)

268 KB JPG

[x] You were in that storm?

“You were in that storm?” You ask. It’s one of the few times you can remember maman actually being worried enough to for you to notice it- she’d sent both you and your younger sister, Elizabeth- who was only four at the time- to the Bishop’s home in central Texas.

“I got seconded over from Annapolis to ride with the hurricane hunters.” She responds. “Well, after bugging them for a while. Normally that’s not something they allow, but I got an exception.” She says. “Rode in a couple of the air force Herks, but I didn’t really do anything. After my third flight they pulled me and sent me back, I was just taking up space.”

“Heads up.” Kyou calls- immediately pulling your attention away from the storm and back to the flight. “Radar on Jan Mayen just got a return on a Bear, heading two-five-zero, angels twenty. Take heading zero eight one for intercept.”

“Sooner than I expected.” Olimpia says as you turn onto your new heading- these kind of flights are usually fairly routine- the bears won’t breach Norway’s declared ADIZ around either of the islands, nor will they breach Iceland’s, but they’ll usually come up within a couple of miles of them- hence the need to intercept and ‘escort’ the bombers. Prewar, it was assumed they were loaded with electronic gear, though these days, it’s probably a matter of maintaining face.

“Follow my lead.” Olimpia warns. “Trigger cold, You can radiate, but do not lock them with any kind of fire control radar. If they have riders, close up on me, and don’t let them rattle you.” She pauses. “They shouldn’t try, considering a drake could probably kill them and their bomber before anyone could scream for help, but let’s not test that.”

You click off a nonverbal response and get a nod out of Olimpia, who starts a gentle climb so you come in above the big bomber. Mentally, you check your triggers- guns are armed, loaded with the combined effects rounds- incredibly nasty blast-frag shells that are an outgrowth of the special effects API rounds from the war- but with their triggers cold. Your missiles, of course, are in a similar state. It’s about as defanged as a drake ever gets with live ammunition- any safer and you’d be flying with captive training weapons.

The Bear slides into view long before you intercept- the giant aircraft is anything but stealthy, and Muninn has it picked out against the sky almost as quickly as the long range cameras can see the glint of sunlight off it’s silver exterior. Also visible is the long contrail behind it- for a moment, you wonder if they can also see yours.

1/2

“Stay to their port side.” Olimpia orders as you close in on the bomber. “Between them and friendly land.” She leads you around in a gentle, wide turn, and you close behind and above the left side of the bomber, both visibly out of position to shoot- and very clearly capable of getting in position to shoot, should it become necessary.

You’re almost out of position to see the small shapes drop free from the bomber a few seconds after your intercept- though Muninn detects them passively as their striker engines fire, sparking a new infrared source.

“Ah, damnit.” Olimpia snarls. “Alright, they’ll be coming over here to try to ‘escort’ us away from their bomber.” She says. “Close up on me.”

“Two.” you respond, watching the two witches roll over the top of the bomber, arrowing in at you, their rifles slung across their chests, their expressions unreadable under their helmets. One, with dark hair and similarly dark eyes- seems to be the lead, while the other catches your attention- her hair and eyes are exactly the same color as Natalya’s.

[] Warn Olimpia- Silver hair and that color blue aren’t exactly common outside your family.
[] Keep quiet and cover Oli- she’s lead, we’re playing this her way.

>>3813174
>[X] Keep quiet and cover Oli- she’s lead, we’re playing this her way.

>>3813174
>[] Keep quiet and cover Oli- she’s lead, we’re playing this her way.

DON'T RUB YOUR BISHOP ON EVERYTHING

>>3813174
>[x] Warn Olimpia- Silver hair and that color blue aren’t exactly common outside your family.

No reason not warn her

>>3813174
>[x] Warn Olimpia- Silver hair and that color blue aren’t exactly common outside your family.

Might be, might not be. Better she knows of the possibility than not.

>>3813174
>[X] Keep quiet and cover Oli- she’s lead, we’re playing this her way.

Let our flight lead be the flight lead without distractions, we can comment on it afterwards.

>>3813236
The problem is that someone as strong as Natalya could break most shields, maybe even ours.

This is important information, when it comes to possible combat.

>>3813174
>[X] Keep quiet and cover Oli- she’s lead, we’re playing this her way.

File: Information is ammunition.jpg (19 KB, 480x360)

19 KB JPG

>>3813174
>[x] Warn Olimpia- Silver hair and that color blue aren’t exactly common outside your family.

>>3813242
Information is Ammunition

ok, votes called

File: It's not common, as a rul(...).jpg (514 KB, 850x601)

514 KB JPG

[x] Keep quiet and cover Oli- she’s lead, we’re playing this her way.

You elect to keep quiet about it. While you- and Natalya- have suspicions that she wasn’t the last, and that the Soviet Matron-General’s girl may have been one of her ‘sisters’, you can’t prove it by any means- and even if you could, it’s not like you’d be that worried about it right now. Splashing a drake- even one with you and Kyou aboard- and killing a witch is hardly a way to start a war.

The soviet witches both display the unmistakable insignia of the Moscow guards regiment- the flat black paint on their strikers and the black bodysuit they wear, adorned only with a single red star on the tails of their striker units. They keep their arms loose by their sides- about as far from their weapons as can be comfortable.

“Moscow guards.” Olimpia says. “I was hoping we’d see some of the one nintey fifth again. Some of them are ok. Tighten up a little more, get me right off your nose, I’ll slide back and we’ll stack high.”

You click your mic in response, sliding in directly behind and a little below the witch- she looks down just long enough to confirm your position before slowing down, dropping back to the usual ‘cover’ position above your fighter. While on a normal drake, that would be fine, in yours it obscures the VLS cells- not that it matters right now, as they’re unloaded.

The soviet witches seem perfectly happy to respond, sliding into flanking positions. While neither seems interested in doing anything other than flying in an odd formation with you, it’s vaguely threatening- or would be, anyway, without Kyou’s shield.

“That silver-haired witch keeps looking at us.” Kyou remarks, as you bank around in a gentle turn as the bear turns away from Iceland’s airspace.

You look over- and notice that, indeed, she is- with the same look you typically see on Natalya’s face. That half-contemplative, half-predatory look, the one she wears when she’s trying to be as unreadable as possible. Muninn, for her part, has been rapidly been building a facial profile.

You stick with the big bomber for about 45 more minutes before the soviet witches both break away, the silver haired one rolling underneath you and jetting away, recovering via a dorsal hatch on the bear, which can’t be fun.

You break away as you close on Soviet airspace- while you’re sure their ground based search radars are already looking for you, even the biggest of their over the horizon sets would struggle to pick you up- and you can’t even detect their radiation this far out.

“That kinda sucked.” Olimpia complains. “Of course we had to get Moscow. If they’d been from the nintey eighth or two fifty second, we might have been able to trade a little.”

[] Trade? I thought they always had commisars to prevent that sort of thing?
[] Kinda glad it was Guards.

>>3813362
>[] Trade? I thought they always had commisars to prevent that sort of thing?

Que?

>>3813362
>[X] Trade? I thought they always had commisars to prevent that sort of thing?

>>3813362
>[x] Kinda glad it was Guards.

>>3813362
>[x] Trade? I thought they always had commisars to prevent that sort of thing?

ok, votes called! This is gonna be the last one for the night gents, I have some homework to knock out and I want to get up a little early to get some time in the shop to myself!

File: If there's anything to it(...).jpg (192 KB, 342x800)

192 KB JPG

[x] Trade? I thought they always had commissars to prevent that sort of thing?

“Trade?” You ask- You’ve heard from Katya and Natalya how that kind of thing was very strictly monitored, even with witches- and while things have softened since Stalin’s wall was put in place, the soviet union is still very much a closed-off world. While the peace treaty forces the USSR to allow any foreign born witches to leave whenever they want, and their efforts to rebuild forced them to allow in western nonprofits, trade is still limited, at best. “I thought they always had commissars to prevent that sort of thing?”

“Not always.” Olimpia responds. “They put them on aircraft randomly, there’s not enough of them to go around to put one on every flight. If you luck out and get a flight without a commissar and with witches, usually you can trade small stuff- I’ve got a bottle of jack in my strikers.”

“Is that common?” Kyou asks, her voice carefully neutral.

“Eh. It depends.” Olimpia responds. “I hear it’s really common in Alaska, but out here it’s fifty fifty.”

You sit quietly as Kyou asks more questions- it’s no secret the Soviet bears hit the northern islands pretty hard during the war, and did a lot of damage to cities on Hokkaido and northern Honshou- and that soviet witches, escorting the bombers, were able to inflict pretty severe casualties on the imperial army airforce’s efforts to stop them before Japanese witches were shifted north. There’s little love lost between the Empire and the Soviet Union- and you can’t imagine Kyou being open to trading even small things with a soviet witch.

You’re more interested in the silver-haired girl. You pull up Muninn’s profile- noting that the AI got a fairly good full-body profile, using multiple sensor systems in the short windows it had to do so. “Interested?” Muninn asks.

“Not like that.” You respond, and she shakes her head.

“Not what I meant anyway. She’s got enough features in common that there’s going to be questions when I sent this back to Merlin.”

[] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.
[] Assuming she doesn’t already know.

Ok guys, that's it for the night from me! I have some homework to do, and then I need to be up at 07 again to get to the lab and get a couple hours in with a tig torch before class.

So till tomorrow, gents, I'll be around for a bit while I knock this out, if there's any questions or comments, but otherwise, cheers!

>>3813451
>[] Assuming she doesn’t already know.

>>3813451
>[x] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

Might be family. Let's not put her on the militaries radar yet.

>>3813451
>[x] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

>>3813452
Thanks for the run Ghost!

File: Good Night.png (962 KB, 2560x1440)

962 KB PNG

>>3813451
>[] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

>>3813452

See you next time, boss.

File: XR-45_Refueling.jpg (228 KB, 800x500)

228 KB JPG

>>3813451
>[X] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

>>3813452
Thanks for the run boss.

>>3813451
>[X] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

>>3813451
>[] Assuming she doesn’t already know.

>>3813451
>[X] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

>>3813451
>[] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

Ok, votes called! Sorry about the delay, dinner.

File: It's widely assumed that (...).jpg (6.27 MB, 4207x2719)

6.27 MB JPG

[x] Wait for a few days, I’d rather deliver that in person- I have calls to make before you do.

“Wait for a few days.” You say- getting a raised eyebrow from the AI’s avatar. “I’d rather deliver it in person, and I’ve got calls to make before you do.”

“I see.” Muninn says. “Well, fine. I’ll dump it to your box, you can handle it.”

You nod- the AI can see the motion, and even if it couldn’t, it’d detect it via the medical sensors- not to mention the MIU, of course.

Muninn busies herself with other tasks as you turn back towards Iceland. You’ll be recovering at Keflavik, still- though you wonder how long you’ll be there. You’re not actually sure what the process is for an interrupted part of a deck tour- though you’re sure there is one.

The sky over the airbase is clear as you approach from the north, passing over the capitol of Reykjavik, where Muninn highlights the Udaloy-class destroyer the Soviet navy had sent here as part of their abortive effort to form a surface group to operate in the north Atlantic- the ship, damaged when the USMC liberated the island, was scuttled by the retreating soviet troops. The Icelandic government later raised and converted it to serve as their war museum and memorial. It’s completely decommissioned these days- the guns are all nonfunctioning reproductions, the missile hatches welded closed, their ordinance long since removed and expended stateside in comparative testing.

Kyou, for her part, is suspiciously quiet as you land behind Olimpia, and remains that way as you taxi to the pad- a sign you’re probably returning to the carrier today, instead of later. The storm must have blown out, you think, as you come to a stop- at least, till you notice the Air Force one-star waiting with a small group of staff nearby as you shut down.

Muninn, thankfully, remains quiet as you shut down and the crew connects the ground umbilical- though you also note the presence of additional crew, bringing up external tanks and a fuel truck lurking nearby.

“Afternoon, Lieutenant.” The general says, approaching after you climb down, returning your salute as he stops. “Hear you had to chase off a Bear?”

[] Not sure you could call it that, sir.
[] More or less, sir.

>>3815195
>[X] Not sure you could call it that, sir.

>>3815195
>[X] More or less, sir.

>>3815195
[x] Not sure you could call it that, sir.

>>3815195
>[x] More or less, sir.

>>3815195
>[] Not sure you could call it that, sir.

>>3815195
>[x] Not sure you could call it that, sir.

>>3815195
>[] Not sure you could call it that, sir.

Just a staring contest

>>3815195
>[] More or less, sir.

I SMELL THE TREACHERY OF FLAG RANK AHOY

Ok, votes called!

File: Midair incidents aren't u(...).jpg (68 KB, 706x522)

68 KB JPG

[x] Not sure you could call it that, sir.

You look back over your shoulder as Kyou drops off the ladder, taking a step to stand next to you- the general nods towards her, but neither of them salute. “Not sure you could call it that, sir.” You say- the mutual staring contest hardly qualifying as ‘chasing off’ the Soviet bomber.

“Either way.” He responds. “We got new orders for you, to be relayed as soon as you landed.” He says, handing you a pair of folded papers. “We’re gonna refit you for max ferry range, and you’re headed back to Miramar.”

You blink, opening the papers, and they confirm what he’s just said. “Something happen, sir?”

“There was an incident in the south china sea. One of their jets rammed a Stratofortress that was doing a freedom of flight operation in their claimed ADIZ. Our crew got out, they’ve been recovered. Theirs didn’t.” He says. “You’ll get more information in Cali, I’m sure, but you’re on the recall list.” He looks over at the ground crew, already loading the external tanks on your wing pylons. “You’re wheels-up as soon as they’re done refitting you and refuelling everything. Forty five minutes.” He says.

You nod, folding the paper back up and stuffing it in your shoulder pocket. “Do we need to stay here, or are we allowed to gather our personal effects?” You ask.

“Go get your kit from quarters, but get right back here as soon as you do. I’ll have a truck waiting.” He says. “Clear?”

[] Yes, sir.
[] Do you know anything else sir? Are they recalling more than just us?

>>3815271
>[x] Do you know anything else sir? Are they recalling more than just us?

>>3815271
>[X] Yes, sir.

>>3815271
>[] Do you know anything else sir? Are they recalling more than just us?

>>3815271
>[x] Yes, sir.

>>3815271
>[] Yes, sir.
Does Morgan know about his father's midair collision in the cat?

>>3815271
>[X] Do you know anything else sir? Are they recalling more than just us?

>>3815271
>[] Yes, sir.

>>3815271
>[] Do you know anything else sir? Are they recalling more than just us?

Might as well ask, the worst that can happen is that he says he doesn't know.

Looks like it's a tie vote, gents! Ten minute extension and I'll go grab a drink haha!

>>3815271
>[X] Do you know anything else sir? Are they recalling more than just us?

>>3815271
>[x] Yes, sir.

>>3815271
>[] Yes, sir.

Ok, votes called!

>>3815271
>[] Yes, sir.

File: Most of the ice is gone t(...).png (4.73 MB, 1920x1080)

4.73 MB PNG

[x] Yes, sir.

You nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He says. “Get moving.”

You nod again, grabbing your flight bag and heading for the utility truck- a GMC that’s probably been here since the war, it’s old woodland disruption pattern camouflage fading in places. The driver, who looks like she’s about 18, gestures for you to jump in back, and you vault over the side of the bed, though Kyou takes the passenger seat in the cab.

The two of you work quickly to gather your things from your quarters. Kyou remains silent, though she radiates excited energy- you suspect she’s going to be in her own mental world, at least till you’re back in the air. Still, you’re packed with time to spare, and back out to the truck in just a few minutes.

It’s a short ride back to the pad, where they’re fueling Muninn up for the trip to Miramar. The general is gone, but there’s a junior member of his staff waiting, along with Olimpia. The two of them turn to face you and Kyou as you approach.

“Crazy how fast things move, huh el-tee?” Olimpia asks, and you nod. She shakes her head. “I don’t know if I could have handled the whiplash, but it doesn’t matter cos apparently I’m headed to the pacific anyway.”

“You too?” Kyou asks, and the other witch nods.

“Yeah, but I’m not going through Miramar.” She says. “I’m heading straight to the Regan via Japan.”

“Perhaps we will see each other then.” Kyou says. “Our orders only extend as far as Miramar.”

Olimpia shrugs. “Maybe.” She looks over as the fuel crew finishes filling the tanks- you won’t need all of the gas, of course, but it gives you extra in case of an in-flight divert. “You should have up to date weather as soon as you get turned back on.” She says. “But you’re flying alone. My ride’s over there.” She jerks a thumb back over her shoulder at a loitering air force transport plane. “Take care.”

Kyou nods. “You as well.” She says. Olimpia turns to leave, and Kyou looks at you- you shrug. You’re not sure. “I’ll get started.” She says with a slight smile, turning to climb up the ladder and into the cockpit.

1/2

You do a short walkaround- everything’s in place, though the jet exhausts are still very faintly warm. By the time you’re done, though, Kyou’s already got things rolling- Muninn is back up, and you’re barely strapped in before she’s got your number one engine started up.

“I’m pulling information on the incident.” Muninn says as soon as you’re linked back in- you can feel Kyou’s slightly distracted presence, getting the same speech. “There’s not much, yet. They’re claiming the BUFF caused the collision via a sudden aggressive maneuver, we’re claiming their fighter was behaving aggressively and dangerously. The B-52 crew escaped their aircraft, the Chinese are claiming they’ve also recovered their pilot.”

“They are?” Kyou asks. “We were told the Chinese pilot didn’t escape their aircraft.”

Muninn’s avatar shrugs. “That’s what most outlets are reporting currently, but it’s still too soon to know. Information is still sketchy.”

“What’s the response?” You ask, looking out to find an aircraft marshal signaling you to start rolling- you do so, following his instructions to the taxiway.

“The Chinese have claimed the airspace is closed, we’re contesting that.” Muninn responds. “Since we don’t recognize their claims over it to begin with. Most of the bordering countries are either staying out of it or siding with us.”

“Hmm.” Kyou says. “I imagine the imperial response has been one of support?”

Muninn nods as you line up on the runway to wait for clearance. “The IJAF and AAF have already offered escort fighters, should they be necessary.”

“As I thought.” Kyou says, sounding- and feeling- rather pleased. “We’re clear.”

You nod, rolling the wyvern down the runway and into the air, banking slightly to the left as you climb out- you’ll be following a more or less straight route that’s going to take you across the southern end of Greenland, over Hudson bay, and across Montana, Idaho, and Nevada. You’ll be able to supercruise for part of the trip, though over southern Canada, you’ll have to return to subsonic flight- you’re expecting to be in the air almost six hours, all told.

“If this was deliberate,” Kyou says, a few hours in, “Then it is an incredible act of aggression on their part.” She’s been reviewing the data as it’s come in- the Chinese claims of recovering their pilot being proven tragically false when he was pulled out of the drink by a Philippine Navy missile boat. “What could they be thinking? They must know they cannot win a war.”

[] No telling.
[] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[X] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.
What exactly is the Philippines like in Strikers universe, anyways?

>>3815501
>[x] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[X] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[x] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

>>3815501
>[] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

Because you know, "China Numba Wan!" mentality. And the perceived superiority of thousands of years of history via Imperial China.

Ok, votes called!

File: Some schemes are less gau(...).png (260 KB, 1920x411)

260 KB PNG

[x] Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.

“Nobody thinks they’re gonna lose a war they start.” You point out.

“Still, this is incredibly foolish. Against both the Empire and America? Even a limited war, an invasion of Taiwan, is impossible for them to win. Unless they assume the UN somehow still has the power to enforce a cease fire or peace.”

You contain a laugh at that- the UN’s inability to deal with the last war cost it more than a little faith from it’s member states, and a great deal of it’s funding. Even the once vaunted EDF is a shell of it’s former self, with only a handful of defense bases remaining- their sole claim to their title is their stewardship of the majority of the world’s nuclear weapons, stored, now, in Antarctica.

“I doubt this is a direct prelude to war.” Kyou says, after a moment. “It is perhaps an escalation of tensions, but even they wouldn’t dare start a shooting war over claims as flimsy as they ones they are making now.”

You nod- for what it’s worth, you happen to agree. Kyou, however, falls silent after that comment, though she continues to monitor the news as best she can via Muninn’s links. Below you, the Canadian tundra gives way to the northern plains of Montana, and then the rocky mountains. Traffic in the US seems more or less normal- there’s certainly heightened communications in some places- Mountain home AFB seems to be busy, as does Fairchild, nearby in Washington, but there’s no sign of massive mobilization. Not that you expected there to be- frankly, one B-52 isn’t worth a war.

Nevada slides by below you, and before too long, you’re over the familiar terrain of southern California- it seems like it’s been months, but it’s only been a few weeks, you remind yourself. The ramp at Miramar is packed- you count no fewer than a dozen Wyverns, Navy and Marine Corps alike, and probably close to a hundred F-14s and F-35s, with a few Marine hornets among them.

Once you land, you’re guided to a spot among the Wyvern row- parked inbetween an aircraft painted a high gloss crimson red and another painted a matte black that seems to drink the fading evening light- you imagine it’d be almost invisible at night. CPO Brown waits for you on the ground, the crew already ready to hook up the ground umbilical and get to work.

“Welcome back, ma’am, sir.” She says, grinning as she salutes- Kyou waves it off for both of you.

“There is little need to salute us, chief.” She says, smiling. “And it is good to be back.”

“We were just about to get our bird to join you aboard when this shit all popped off.” the chief says. “Now no one knows what’s going on.”

[] Any guesses?
[] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

And that's going to be it for the evening from me! Haha. Kinda felt like we were getting a bit faster on the updates there, did it seem the same to you guys? Hope so, that's one of my biggest worries- I know I've slowed down enough that it's been pretty noticeable.

Anyway, I'll be around a little if there's questions or comments, but otherwise, gents, till tomorrow, cheers!

>>3815637
>[X] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

>>3815637
>[] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

>>3815637
>[] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

Thanks for the run Ghost!

Also
>aircraft painted a high gloss crimson red
That has got to be hell on the crew to maintain while on deployment.

>>3815637
>[] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

>>3815637
>[x] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

>>3815644
Thanks for the run Ghost! Updates definitely have been faster

>>3815637
>[x] Any guesses?
Crew always knows something.

File: X-02_PHOENIX.png (2.98 MB, 3186x2682)

2.98 MB PNG

>>3815637
>[X] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

Wonder if we'll meet other Wyvern crews while here this time?

>>3815644
Thanks for the run boss.

>>3815637
So Ghost was the similarity of that Russian witch to Natalya or Frank

>>3815727

>>3813174
>her hair and eyes are exactly the same color as Natalya’s.

>>3815637
>[] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

>>3815734
Yeah but that was merely determining that she was a super-witch. There was also facial pattern talk, which something something rumors something something.

>>3815644
Nyan Nyan

Wow guys, I'm sorry! haha. Maus is in town (again) and we went up to a warhammer. Apparently all the GW stores got renamed? Anyway, it all looks pretty cool, and they were a talkative lot... especially after learning I helped invent the fish of fury.

Anyway! It's a little late this evening to continue, so we'll pick up tomorrow! I'm sorry about the short (no) notice here, I honestly didn't expect to be out as late as we were, otherwise I'd have said something.

Sorry again gents! We'll finish this week up tomorrow though! Till then, cheers!

>>3817996
Wait. The Fish Of Fury was your fault!?

>>3818040
I only claim partial credit. I was involved in theorycrafting it and the tactics it evolved from, and then testing it as it matured. I didn't develop it by myself by any stretch of the imagination, haha!

>>3818040
Apparently it was.

>>3818072
You utter arse!

Alright gents! sorry about the whole pass last night, we were out far longer than I thought we were gonna be. Votes called here, let's get rolling!

File: Not a demanding boss by m(...).jpg (111 KB, 600x1000)

111 KB JPG

[x] We’ll find out when we need to know. Do you know where we’re staying?

You shrug, looking over your shoulder at the rest of the parked wyverns. You’re pretty sure you recognize one or two from the documentaries over the years, and, frankly, it’s a little surreal to be standing this close to them, even now.

“We’ll find out when we need to know.” You say, getting a nod from both Kyou and the chief. “Do you know where we’re staying?”

She nods. “Yessir. There’s still a couple of places over at the training dorm still open. You’ll be in one of ‘em.”

“What of flight?” Kyou asks.

The chief shakes her head. “I’m not sure, but the bosslady said she had work for us as soon as you got in. There’s a whole mess of shit coming in from Vought, for you and everyone else here. Full refit and overhaul where necessary.”

Kyou blinks. “The situation is that major?”

The Chief shrugs. “No idea ma’am, no one tells me a damn thing. If I had to guess, this is insurance, since they’d want it done before sending a drake downrange anyway, and if they defuse this whole thing then it’s done and they don’t have to worry about it for a little while.”

“And our aircraft?” Kyou prompts.

“Nothing major. The boss said you had some things coming, a new set of pods to swap, but other than that we’ll just be looking for the usual maintenance issues and handling those.”

“Will we have an opportunity to change other components?” Kyou asks.

The Chief hesitates. “I’m not sure, ma’am.” She says, after a second. “Possibly, but we’re under orders to get every aircraft here squared away with their overhauls first. The exception is FAST packs and pods, those are easy to swap.”

Kyou nods. “Very well.” She says, then smiles. “Will our assistance make the process go more quickly?”

1/2

The Chief pauses again. “Maybe, but right now I don’t know if you’ll have the time.” She says. “The boss said she wanted to chat with you, but it’s too late and she’s probably racked out by now. I’m sure she’s gonna get you in the morning, though.”

That sounds about right- Merlin probably either knows you’re on the ground already or she’s got a notice sitting on her phone- either way, you’ll be seeing her tomorrow, you’re fairly positive. Personally, you also kind of want to find Spears and see how she’s getting along- it’s been a little over a week, which isn’t much time at all, but you know full well how fast an MIU equipped aircraft can teach a pilot.

“If you want, sir, ma’am, I can get one of the guys to give you a lift over to quarters.” The Chief says. “I know it’s not a long walk though, and maybe you wanna stretch your legs after being in the air this long.”

Kyou smiles. “I wouldn’t mind the fresh evening air, of course, but I will leave the choice to Morgan.”

[] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.
[] We’ll take the lift. Thanks Chief.

>>3821045
>[X] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

>>3821045
>[x] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

ROMANTIC EVENING STROLL

>>3821045
>[x] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

>>3821045
>[x] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

>>3821045
>[] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

AWOO NEEDS WALKIES

>>3821045
>[] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

File: 53831.png (1.51 MB, 1364x3108)

1.51 MB PNG

>>3821045
>We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

Ok, votes called!

>>3821045
>[] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

File: She's not exactly going s(...).jpg (181 KB, 850x1504)

181 KB JPG

[x] We’ll walk over, thanks anyway Chief.

“We’ll walk over, thanks anyway, Chief.” You say, bending down to grab both yours and Kyous seabags, pulling one up onto either shoulder.

The chief nods. “Sure thing.” She says, then looks at her watch. “Aw shit. Sorry sir, ma’am. I gotta go. They’re doing a line chief meeting and I gotta be there.”

You nod, Kyou mirroring the movement as the chief turns and walks off, heading for the far hangar. You both turn for the operations building, crossing the distance fairly quickly- the ramp is quiet, this time of evening, and you imagine there’s a few crews getting changes of orders and preparing to do major overhauls on their aircraft.

Ops isn’t exactly quiet- a contrast to the situation outside, the building seems packed with both navy and marine personnel and civilian contractors, all hurrying from room to room- no doubt gathering information and orders for their respective officers. The basement, even, is busy- the secure cage in the locker room is staffed with at least six people you see, all at work on wyvern gear- a helmet painted in jolly rogers’ colors, another painted a deep blue, with a field of stars on the side. You turn in your equipment quietly and change into a pair of shorts and a simple T-shirt after drawing a locker and sticking your uncontrolled gear inside.

You have to wait a short time for Kyou, who emerges similarly dressed- a simple t-shirt and a pair of gray PT shorts. She smiles a little when she sees you. “It is perhaps a little less dignified than I should be enjoying, but it’s comfortable.” She says, indicating her clothing.

You shrug- while you understand her worry, at least marginally, you note that she manages to look regal regardless. She walks a half-step ahead of you the entire distance to the training quarters- you can hear the sounds of people in the pool as you approach the outer doors, though you have to wait to be let in by the marines on duty at the desk. You note that now, one of them is sitting with his equipment on, the armored vest pulled in tight against his chest and his rifle nearby.

“Evening, Sir, Ma’am.” One of them says without standing up.

“We are just arriving from Iceland.” Kyou says. “And were ordered to report here for quarters.”

“Wyvern crew?” He asks, turning to his computer, then nodding. “Oh, yeah, I see. Damn, they interrupted your fleet tour? That’s harsh. Alright, you’re on the top deck again, room five sixteen, down on the end.”

“I wonder how much of our flight record he was able to access?” Kyou says as you head upstairs using the elevator, noting the wet spots on the elevator floor as you do. You briefly wonder about the expected behavior of the cadets while they’re here- clearly, they’re allowed some personal liberties, but the building is hardly a hotel.

1/2

The rooms you’re in are the same as they were before, though with a different view- you look out across the pool and the wall over the street and the transport aircraft on display in the empty field next door. As views go, it’s not great, but it’s at least better than the old one.

Kyou yawns as you set down your seabags, and leans against the back of the couch- the twin of the other in your last room- and frowns. “I was considering utilizing the pool, as we were interrupted last time we were here and had a chance to, but I find myself wanting to sleep more than anything else.” She says, after a minute, then smiles. “Or perhaps curl up on the couch here and see if American TV here is any better than it was in Iceland. But I find myself unable to decide.”

“Is that your way of asking me?” You ask, turning into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“It is.” Kyou confirms. “What would you prefer to do?”

“You could just do whatever without me.” You point out.

She frowns at that. “I find myself far more interested in doing anything with you more than anything without.” She says, looking vaguely troubled. “I’m aware of why, but you are right. Just the same, I find myself not wanting to.”

[] In that case, let’s head down to the pool, I guess.
[] We probably ought to catch some sleep- I can’t imagine they’re going to let us take it easy while we’re here.
[] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

>>3821194
>[] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

>>3821194
>[x] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

>>3821194
>[X] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

>You briefly wonder about the expected behavior of the cadets while they’re here
The Katya-spawn lurks nearby...

>>3821194
>[x] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

>>3821194
>[] We probably ought to catch some sleep- I can’t imagine they’re going to let us take it easy while we’re here.

>>3821194
>[x] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

The right one might provoke another sort of "Physical Exercise" to keep her happy

>>3821194
>[x] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

ok, votes called!

File: No doubt fishing for a fo(...).jpg (155 KB, 850x1511)

155 KB JPG

[x] I think a movie sounds like a good idea. Any preferences?

“I think a movie sounds like a good idea.” You say- you’re not tired enough to be able to sleep just yet, regardless of sneaking suspicions you may have about it’s necessity, and the concept of going to the pool- possibly sharing it with a bunch of teenage cadets- doesn’t appeal to you at all. Kyou may enjoy showing off her ‘catch’- you get that impression once in a long while- but you’d rather not.

“No, but perhaps we can find something.” She says, walking around the couch to take a seat and pick up the remote off the coffee table in front of it. You fill another glass with water and bring it over to her- the fridge is empty, though that’s no surprise. She stretches out as you take a seat on the couch, twisting so she can stretch her legs out and sit her feet and ankles up on your lap.

After a short time spent channel surfing, Kyou settles on the martian- You’ve seen it once, Cass dragged you to the release and insisted on treating it kind of like a date. Still, it’s one of the movies you enjoy- it’s reasonably accurate, and did a good job, you think, of showing normal people doing things. Too many movies, in your opinion, have the requisite witch presence to act as a deus ex machina- this one was one of the few, you feel, to attempt to show them realistically- the crew’s witch was a healwitch, sent along specifically to help mitigate the dangers of long space flight like that.

“What do you expect we’ll be doing tomorrow?” She asks, as the movie winds down- Watney is saved, the crew rejoicing, and they’re going into the epilogue. “I imagine our aunt will have things to discuss with us, but do you think we’ll be able to track down Spears?”

[] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.
[] Maybe, but we can’t count on it. I get the feeling we’re going to be pretty busy.

>>3821360
>[X] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.

>>3821360
>[] Maybe, but we can’t count on it. I get the feeling we’re going to be pretty busy.

>>3821360
>[X] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.

>>3821360
>[x] Maybe, but we can’t count on it. I get the feeling we’re going to be pretty busy.

>>3821360
>[x] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.

>>3821360
>[x] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.

>>3821360
>[] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.

Ok, votes closed! Sorry about the longer period there, had to shower and shave. Was getting pretty neck-beardy! haha.

File: You're never sure what to(...).jpg (462 KB, 800x1130)

462 KB JPG

[x] I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway. If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.

You grin, finally taking one of her feet in your hands and working your thumbs into it, getting a slightly surprised intake of breath in response. “I’d be more surprised if Merlin didn’t want us to talk to her anyway.” You point out, making little circular motions with your thumbs. “If something’s brewing, she’s going to want us to have a wingmate.”

“True.” Kyou agrees, nodding. “I wonder if she has any additional witches she wishes us to fly with?”

You shrug- you’d be surprised if she didn’t, you know Wendy is here, afterall- and given her history, you’d be shocked if she wasn’t advanced as a possible wingmate. You’re not sure if Kyou will even bother thinking though- she seems pretty set on Spears already- despite the relative earliness in your careers this is. You’ve barely even flown with other witches, you think.

Kyou frowns. “If she does, it’s rather difficult to simply ignore her suggestions.” She says, half for her own benefit, you think. “I readily admit I may be wrong in thinking Spears the best match for us, simply because she was our first wingmate in combat.”

“Just keep in mind that Aunt Merlin isn’t the best judge of people.” You point out. Kyou smiles wryly at the comment.

“I am more aware of that than you may think.” She says. “The drama involving her and the younger Sakamoto son is well-known. Frankly, from the stories, it’s amazing she recovered from that as quickly as she did.”

1/2

You nod- though there’s a lot that she’s never told a lot of people- to include, you’re fairly sure, your father. You know little bits here and there- times when she’s had a bit much to drink and let things slip- but even you’re in the dark when it comes to her personal life around that period of time.

“Regardless, it feels wrong to simply accept the first witch we fly with as our wingmate for the forseeable future when there could be additional talent out there.” Kyou says. “It’s a shame this program doesn’t have it’s own method of scouting for witches.”

You nod again, switching feet. While there’s no assurances there isn’t- you’re pretty sure Aunt Merlin could scare up any witch she wanted from the US without much trouble- it also wouldn’t surprise you to find out that she hadn’t thought of that at all, and was simply relying on her contacts to supply her names. Which, to be fair, so far, has worked out, you think.

Kyou leans her head back, closing her eyes for a moment, then picks it back up and smiles at you. “I wonder if all witches in the program feel their pilot is the best?” She says, smiling again. “I am aware, of course, the MIU link will attempt to draw those in it as close as possible, but at the same time, I feel as if I have been incredibly fortunate.”

You shrug. “Seems that way.” You admit- luck probably did have a lot to do with it, but you also put a lot of stock in the selection board and the navy- who, so far, have a perfect average.

She smiles again. “Of course, I am sure that the more tangible elements had their say as well. How odd it is, however, to admit that perhaps they knew better than we did who would make an ideal partner.” She pauses, and yawns. “But perhaps we should dwell on that another day. For now, we should rest.”

You nod, letting her swing her legs over before standing and helping her up. You note, however, that, as you’re shutting out the light in your room, she’s left her door open.

It’s only a slight surprise, then, that it takes her as long as it does to migrate across the suite sometime that night.

And that's it for the week gents!

So We're expecting to be done with the apartment above the shop.. sometime this week, possibly. That may mean I'm moving one of the usual thread days this week, and can't run. I'll let you guys know what's going on as soon as I can there.

Other than that, no real news, so that's all! I'll be around a little bit to answer questions or comments, but otherwise, guys, till next time, cheers!

>>3821506
Thanks for the run Ghost!

File: X-02S_Ridgebacks.png (2.76 MB, 1920x1080)

2.76 MB PNG

>>3821506
Thanks for the run boss.

>>3821506
Thanks Ghost!

File: extreme high impact sexua(...).png (542 KB, 700x900)

542 KB PNG

>>3821504
>It’s only a slight surprise, then, that it takes her as long as it does to migrate across the suite sometime that night.

Now is this AWOO cuddles? Or AWOO Cuddles 18+ Edition?

Also, Archive Up.

>>3821557

You'll have to wait for the answer on that one, haha!