[IC] Strike Witches 1991: The Gulf Neuroi War

[Aleranicus]

Stephen had to wait a good thirty seconds to let his heart slow down and his lungs clear out of oxygen to feed his fanboy squee. Of course, he then had to reconcile with the fact that Powers - THE Powers- was putting her hand on his mouth. Thankfully, he was able to calm down before passing out from oxygen deprivation and quickly took a few steps back, giving Powers a very wide personal bubble.

"Ah'm sorry I called ye a Bonnie lass, miss. I promise it will na' happen again! Just meant to be nice and all. I just saw all of your films up a' the film house in Inverness with Craig. Even saw WWN twice!"

The offer of a chilled cola shut him right back up. 'I'm never throwing this bottle out!' he thought to himself as he took a sip. Of course shipboard cleanliness would see the bottle disposed of by the time he returned from the first mission, but he would inevitably cry about it when it happened. And besides, she used his NAME!

"Oh, ah'm nae much ta hoot about, marm! Just, well, kind of popped up one day when I was out with Craig, having a laugh an' other such things. The, er, spooks at home dinna want me tae be out an about with it either. They tryin' tae puzzle it out themselves, so I got tae report in for testing every few months. Was supposed tea head to Edinburgh for the next round when things went south here in the gulf. Queen an' country sent me when they go' the word India might be next on the Neuroi list."

[Lost Cause]

Nicole leaned out from behind the open locker door that had conveniently hidden her from view so far. That was the advantage of being as small as she was; it was easy to hide in odd places. Her white uniform shirt was unbuttoned and there was a BDU jacket in her hand.

"I heard someone scream like a little girl. Did y'all find a mouse or something?"

[Skylar]

Powers smiled and sipped at her cola as Stephen gave a brief recap of his story. She doubted it was everything behind the occurrence of a male magic user, but she'd leave seeking out more juicy details for later.

Just as she was about to comment, her other roommate in the room spoke up. Powers hadn't even noticed even with the open locker. "Just a case of sudden recognition." Offhandedly remarked Powers, before reaching into her bag for another bottle of cola to share. "I'm lieutenant Emily Powers, nice to meet you miss...."

[Avalant]

Dorothy gasped for breath once MIna had pulled the hugging Orussian off of her. She stumbled back a bit, still bewildered by it all, before coming to her senses. "Ke-Keep me?" she quietly said, confused at Mina's comment. She couldn't exaclty tell were the joke was in that, but Mina continued.

"Ah, right I forgot. I am Mina Kalaska, and the one that molested you is Svetlana Venediktov. I can spell it out if you need to make a report." Again, not very clear... "We didn't see your name on the list, so sorry for decorating without consulting you and all, please make yourself at home heh." She said, seemingly embarrased by the complete take over.

"Ahh, no, I should say sorry ma'am. I was the one who arrived late." Dorothy said nervously. The Orussian that had nearly choked the life out of poor Dorothy rested her chin on Mina's shoulders, peering down at Dorothy with an almost creepy smile.

'So you're Dorothy then? I apologize for that... I can get a bit eh, excited at times.' She at least had the grace to look embarrassed. 'As my Mina says, I'm Svetlana and I will be your new Mama.' Sveltana said, gleaming. This utterly threw Dorothy off into a state of utter confusion now. She glanced the two with the most confused and shocked face she had ever given.

"Ma.....Mama.....? What....? I-....I'm sorry...but....uhhh....is this typical.....in Orussia..?" she blurted out after snapping out of it. The emotions she was trying to keep bay from the mention of "Mama" where nearly visible, if not the struggle at least. Not the mention the other mixed feelings coming from finally meeting someone who seems willing and friendly, but at the same time utterly in contrast to her own personality.

[Kitsune]

Mina reached up and attempted to place a hand onto Svetlana's face "You're scaring the poor girl. At least let her get use to things before you start getting creepy" Or not at all would be nicer, though that would never come about and once someone was past the overly friendly wall that was Svetlana they would feel comfy.. Maybe... "Please ignore what she says for the time being, you soon drown it out." For some reason she had a horrible thought of what would have become of Dorothy if she wasn't here to buffer.

"Anyway, if you want you can take one of the lower bunks or we could unfold one of the upper ones. Depends on who you want to go above though." She would have to remind herself to install a cage on Svetlana's area of the room just for laughs later, but for now she was trying to act like a professional, despite what the girl had seen before. "Ah, I forgot to ask, but what if your role? I am a heavy weapons expert." Changing the subject is always good right?

[Avalant]

"Anyway, if you want you can take one of the lower bunks or we could unfold one of the upper ones. Depends on who you want to go above though." Mina said, motioning to the one over hers. In hopes of not getting smothered to death or something in the middle of the night, Dorothy gladly took up the offer.

"I-I'll just take that folded upper one over you......" Dorothy said, walking over to the upper bunk and began to unfold it from the wall. As she placed her bags up on the bunk, Mina continued, attempting the change the subject.

"Ah, I forgot to ask, but what if your role? I am a heavy weapons expert."

"Oh, uh...my role?" Dorothy stopped putting her bags away and turned to Mina. "I uhh..... I'm suppose to fill the role of special operations..... I'm a stealth witch, so I will be flying on night missions and taking out high valued targets deep behind enemy lines.... Or at least... That's what my handler said. I don't know how I may be deployed in conventional operations with the unit. I wasn't really prepared for operating with regular Witch units. I was actually supposed to go to the 901st Delta Witches, but the 707th was short on manpower and tal-" she cut herself before finishing that word. Dorothy was essentially regurgitating what her CIA handler had told her, and had only just realize how mean the next statement was. She shook her head, brushing it off. "U-uh, never mind. I'm not with the CIA now anyway. I-I uh look forward to working with you guys." she said, her shyness kicking in again. This had probably been Dorothy's first time truly getting to know the people she was gonna work with, it was all very new to her.

[Lennon79]

'Mffglr! Ghkkr argh Mnniinaarr...' Even had Mina's hand not been covering her face, Svetlana would not have made much sense. It was slowly dawning on her that perhaps she had been just a tiny bit too enthusiastic in greeting Dorothy, but the only way to make amends would be an apology, followed by a make-up cuddle and dinner, maybe sharing a bed for the night... But Mina stood resolutely in the way, shielding the adorable girl from Svetlana's love. Just you wait, she thought evilly. When you turn your back, I'll be there and I'll hug the Hell out of you for this... Suddenly her ears perked up as the conversation drifted to another one of her specialties; fighting. 'Ooh, ooh! Me too! I hit things and shoot them with biiiig gun from reeeal close. I guess you would call me... close combat specialist? I do like being close.' She fell silent as Dorothy replied, reeling off a whole load of things that appealed to the other side of Svetlana's soul, the professional soldier and (former) heir to an ancient military dynasty. 'Ooh stealth bomber, da? So you are like Witch version of assassin, get in kill like crazy, then escape under cover of darkness? Cooooool... Now I want to see your Striker in action. Show me sometime, da?' Her tone had changed dramatically; no longer was Svetlana channeling the overexcited puppy, instead settling into an easygoing but professional military mindset. Nevertheless, the puppy was still there, deep inside... waiting for it's chance.

[Kitsune]

"Oh? Wow I don't think I have ever met a stealth witch before." She must have been pretty damn strong to go out alone and take out powerful targets like she did. It seemed like Svetlana had calmed down, strange how that worked as soon as combat was mentioned, though so was the fact that they may not have been talented at all, which visibility effected Mina's mood for a moment, such a shame they really likely meant that, but she knew the girl meant no offence. Soon she perked back up and went back to the topic of combat "Well, I suspect you wont have to wait long, we are pretty close after all and I dont think they will wait around for us to get settled." Smiling to Dorothy she placed her hands on her hips in a prideful manner. "Don't worry, we will keep ya safe. Though I expect you to do the same for us"

[Lost Cause]

"Bradshaw. Ensign Nicole Bradshaw." She shook the offered hand. "Probably a bit greener than everyone else in the wing."

She sighed.

"So what's got him all riled up then?"

[Skylar]

"He's a bit of a fan of mine." Replied Powers, sipping at her cola. "Seems like half the ship are fans of some of my shows when I was in USO doing World War Neuroi and a bunch of Joint Wing Reenactments."

Powers turned back to the issue at hand of unpacking her bags and setting up her loft, putting up pictures of the past. Of smiling actresses and actors, a few flyers of her past films. And a special framed picture of her old USO wing. Wistfully sighing, Powers then wondered what to do next. Equipment check before dinner she supposed. "I'm going to check in on my Striker. Wanna join?"

[Lost Cause]

"Should be fun." Nicole threw her uniform shirt onto the unoccupied bunk and slipped on the desert camo one instead. "Hopefully they didn't break the damn things getting them over here."

[Avalant]

"Ooh stealth bomber, da? So you are like Witch version of assassin, get in kill like crazy, then escape under cover of darkness? Cooooool... Now I want to see your Striker in action. Show me sometime, da?" Svetlana said, with her whole character suddenly changing into a much more seasoned soldier than an crazed pet lover. Dorothy thought for a moment, then said,.

"W-Well....I-I could show you... I think its okay for me to use my abilities right now.... so here it goes!" With that, her hawk like features appeared as her body began to glow with the typical magical aurora as she closed her eyes. Suddenly, she faded from sight, becoming seemingly invisible. Only a slight shimmer in the light marked where she once stood. Though almost as quickly as she disappeared, she became visible and her magic faded off. She gave a small sigh and opened her eyes. "I can only do it for a short while outside of my striker.... I still need practice."

Dorothy finally seem to relax a bit with the two Orussians now that Svetlana seem to finally calm down as well. Mina's last comment seem to really stick to Dorothy. It really confirmed with her that she was here and these were her new squadmates. Her new family. Dorothy, now taking on a slightly more confident stance smiled and nodded to the two.

"Thank you. I promise I will do my best to protect you two and everyone else! I'm still growing as a witch, but I will get stronger." she said confidently for the first time. Though for some reason, she caught herself and returned to a bit more timid state. "I-I hope we can all be good friends! I-If that's okay...." she said, averting her gaze out of embarrassment. On the inside, Dorothy was as happy as could be. She finally met two friendly witches who would seemingly be her friends.

[Aleranicus]

Stephen was still left mildly in awe that he was sleeping in the same room as his Hollywood idol, drinking coal from her hand, and wasn't able to fire the neurons in his brain enough to say 'Thank you.' The back and forth between the previously unseen third bunk mate, Nicole, and Powers didn't bother him that much either, until the possibility of broken Striker units was raised.

"Broken? They broke my Striker? Oh no! Nononononono!"

[Skylar]

"Relax doughboy, this is just a precautionary check. Nothing got broke yet. Although I would like to see what equipment you got." Said Powers as she put the rest of her stuff in her locker and picked up her bottle of cola before walking out of the room to the hanger deck.

On her way to the hanger with her fellow witch and warlock in tow, Emily noted the sideways glances the ship's crew was giving her. More than quite a few fans of her show on-ship, no doubt more would recognize her if their movie library was up to date. Could be good, could be bad. Good in that it would mean getting ahold of "essentials" would be easy onboard a supercarrier of this size and with the right connections. Bad in that the Karlslander 2-CO would probably lob a load of grief on her for her popularity and "softness". Well, an actress had to deal with all kinds of audiences and directors. This was no different. She hoped.

Picking up a safety helmet and ear protection as she entered the bustling hanger maintenance deck (better safe than sorry as the old motto went), she prowled over to Witch country where the strikers were being kept, looking out for her distinct set of engines. A-10 strikers tended to stand out for their design, and because of the gatling gun they were paired with. So where was it? This carrier was carrying a lot of spare tank strikers, so where were the planes?

[Lennon79]

'Ooh, you go all invisible, da? Never thought I see something like this. Kinda wish I could too...' Svetlana's voice trailed off to nothing at that last part as her mind began ticking over, thinking of all the things she might be able to do if invisible... Teasing the hell out of Mina would be a worthy start. Meanwhile Dorothy was getting more and more adorable with every passing moment, as if intentionally enticing Svetlana... It was that last line that broke the camel's back. 'Dooorooo-feee~~!' She swept forward like a force of nature, barging past Mina in a heartbeat to gather the younger girl up in a hug tighter than anything to date. She even managed to pick Dorothy up off the ground by nature of her ample chest, the top of the girl's hair surfacing between Svetlana's twin peaks like a breaching dolphin. Her passion getting the better of her, Svetlana didn't notice her magic starting to build as she hugged tighter and tighter, didn't see the shining golden aura slowly building all around them.

Thank providence that the ship wide tannoy announced dinner just then, or else Dorothy might have had to be surgically removed from Svetlana's bosom. 'All Witch crew, all Witch crew. Afternoon meals will be served at 1435 in the secondary refectory. I repeat, 1435 in the secondary refectory. Alert ends.' Anyone unfamiliar with Svetlana and her proclivities would have been gobsmacked by how rapidly she went from giving Dorothy a half-naked bear hug to being almost fully clothed and halfway down the corridor, food the only thing on her mind. She didn't even look behind her to ensure Mina and Dorothy were coming; well, she knew Mina would be there just as fast as herself, but Dorothy was as yet an unknown, albeit a soul-crushingly cute one. Despite the confidence of her movements, Svetlana had no idea where she was going and it took a good ten minutes of strutting up and down the ship before she finally made her way into the refectory. 'Privyet tovarisch! What is on menu for hungry witch?'

[Skylar]

Powers gave up on finding her striker as the lunch call sounded, figuring that it was likely in the machine shop for maintenance. It was then she realized she had no idea where the mess hall was. Meaning she had to ask for some directions.

"Excuse me seaman, could you direct me to the secondary refectory?" She asked, tugging on a technician's sleeve. The young man wearing said sleeve promptly turned to answer, only for his jaw to drop when he saw the questioner, then peered over her shoulder before looking back. Briefly turning to see what he was gawking at, Emily was met with a World War Neuroi movie poster someone mounted on a column, with her face (and the rest of the main cast) on it. And more than a few other sailors were beginning to realize who was walking amongst them. She better snap them out of it before they started asking for autographs, not while she was hungry. "Sailor? Give a girl a bit of direction?"

"Ah! Sorry ma'am. Second mess is six bulkheads towards the stern, then up a deck. You shouldn't be able to miss it.....ah, Lieutenant Powers."

"Thank you seaman. Carry on." With that, Powers strode out, taking in the hushed awe that was spreading faster than light among the crew as she walked along the deck. The awe of a movie star on their very own ship. Powers felt a certain swell of pride in their attention, and responsibility to her audience. She was on stage now, like heck she was going to let these expectant boys and girls down. But first, food. Her magic-hunger was kicking in again.

Walking into the mess, Powers found she wasn't the first one there as a Orussian witch was at the lunch line waiting for food to be served. Falling in alongside her, Emily picked up a tray and decided to make some light conversation as they picked up their meal. "Hamburger, mashed potatoes, peas, and...* sniff sniff* is that bacon I smell? Man, they're pulling all the stops to welcome us onboard." She remarked as the mess cook girl stacked up the buffet for the witches to pick and choose. "I'm Emily Powers, you must be one of the Orussian tank witches with us? Looking forward to seeing you in action."

[Kitsune]

Poor Dorothy, there was no way that Mina could have stopped the hugging rampage known as Svetlana even with her enhanced abilities, more so because she was distracted by talking with the girl thank stopping what was behind her. As she was pushed past Mina fell onto the near by bed. Though she was right up and ready to pounce on Svetlana to stop her, the alert caught her attention, more so since it was telling them that their food was now ready! She was just about ready to run off along with Svetlana but stopped and decided to resist for a moment to help Dorothy up. "Sorry about her, trust me she means no harm heh.. Come on, we got food to eat"

Mina would wait for the girls answer until going off to where the food was located, following her nose the whole way, and the signs that were on the walls that she bet that Svetlana had missed.....By the time she arrived she was taking her place behind Powers, and she felt like it was her duty to warn her. "Watch out she bites." She was of course talking about Svetlana,....

[Lennon79]

'Ham-borg-er..? Why would you mash potato? And where is borscht?!' For the first time in her life, Svetlana was experiencing culture shock. The lack of familiar meals was bad enough, but the strange way these Karlslanders prepared their food upset her far more than it should have done. She piled her plate high anyway; food was food, even if it wasn't real food. 'Yes, I am... Sorry.' It took Svetlana a moment to get over her disappointment, but when she turned to face Powers she was all smiles once more. 'Da! I am Tank Witch from glorious Orussian Motherland! As my Mina here says, I do bite a little bit.' She tried to pass that off as a joke, but it still came out a bit carnivorous. 'So Emily? You are Sky Witch, da? I have seen posters of girl just like you on ship; everybody had doppelganger, da?' It wasn't clear if she was putting on an ignorant act or if she simply hadn't realised who Emily was, but Svetlana was apparently convinced that the girl in the poster wasn't the one stocking up on bacon ion front of her.

[Skylar]

Emily giggled a little at the accusations being passed around by the pair of Orussians whilst piling on food. If they paid any attention to that, they might have noticed she was packing on a lot on her tray, just as much as Svetana was. And plenty of hamburger to go with some ships biscuits. And a coke to go alongside it.

"Do I really look that different on a poster?" She inquired playfully, the ignorance of her compatriot being a welcome change from the fanboyism of her roommate, but something she felt she had to correct before further misunderstandings happened. "Okay, I admit I grew up a bit since I was in that photo-shoot and I'm not wearing my usual flight suit getup, but that really is me. I'll take you to one of my movies to prove it to you someday. Anyway, lets eat, I'm famished."

Powers took an open seat as at a mess table and immediately set about assembling biscuit, hamburger, and bacon into meaty sandwiches to consume before picking up her coke and flash-chilling it to her liking. "Want me to chill your drink for you comrade?" She offered friendly, whilst taking a bite of delicious bacon. Oh, that always hits the spot.

[Lost Cause]

Nicole couldn't help giggling at the Orussian's confusion as she stood behind her in the queue.

"Someone's not used to Liberion food then, I take it?"

In fact, even though she was the smallest of the group, she'd also loaded herself down with as much food as she could fit on the tray.