Strike Blacklight chapter 3: Enlistment

Hello again, fellow witches! I'm here with another chapter, this time detailing Blacklight's "official" enlistment into the 501st! But it seems that Minna is opposed to him joining because you know why. Will Blacklight get rejected or will Mio manage to convince Minna to let him in?

Also, I'm creating a new story so be on the lookout for that. 1 internet cookie to whoever can guess which series it will be about correctly!

And without further ado, let's begin!

Blacklight: *nods*

White House Situation Room, United States of America, the President, 3:00 PM, April 27, 2015

The situation room is the room where all the important subjects concerning the military or national security are discussed. Usually, only the highest ranking officers or the most important personnel ever visit this room.

There were both officers and important non-combat personnel this time in the situation room as the president looked around.

One was a three star general in the navy while one was a top scientist. Another was a satellite operator from NASA. One was a Coast Guard officer. And then there was Commander Casey Yeager-Sakamoto, the one who reported the incident.

The public doesn't know what happened. The president wants to keep it like that, for the public will get suspicious if a plane just suddenly disappeared. They'll start throwing theories around and after that, they'll start demanding who the pilot was, what it was doing, etc.

The president cleared her throat.

"Ahem, officers, the meeting will be starting now" she said.

They all sat up, listening intently.

The President motioned for Casey to start. She stood up.

"Officers, as you may have already known, our experimental ace pilot, Blacklight, had disappeared on April 24th at 1:45 AM and has not returned ever since then." Casey stated, getting to the topic immediately.

One of the officers raised his hand. Casey motioned for him to speak.

"Commander Yeager, how in the world does one of our top experiments manage to disappear just like that?" he questioned. Casey frowned.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out myself. According to the planes I sent out to the area, there weren't any signs of an explosion or debris from the planes other than 12 MIG-21 fighter crafts. Oh and please don't refer to Blacklight as just an experiment. He's also a boy, too." She answered. No one else raised his or her hands.

The President sighs, clearly agitated by the disappearance of their ace pilot.

"Alright, just what the hell did happen the night Blacklight disappeared? Was he doing recon or something?" the president asked, curious about the events that happened.

Casey cleared her throat.

"You were right about the recon part. At 1:00 AM, we detected a flight of old MIG-21 flying triangle formation. What they were doing we don't know, but those same jets were reported missing by the Russian government a few days before. I suspected they were those same guys who stole the jets, so I sent Blacklight out. Thing is, there was another plane in the middle of the triangle." Casey explained.

"Wait, another plane? How did you not know that?" the president asked skeptically.

"We're still trying to figure that out, but when he reported that, I thought of two things. One, is that these guys weren't dropping off the annual shipment of coffee and Girl Scout cookies, not from where they came from, and two, a dozen MIGs, just to protect one C-130? They must've been escorting something important. And something important was correct, because it was a nuclear bomb. So I gave Blacklight the go ahead to pick off the MIGs and contact the C-130" Casey explained. The president stiffened.

"And why did you authorize that?" the president asked, irritated that Casey decided to do such a thing. Casey shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry. Besides, had Blacklight just contacted the C-130 without engaging the fighters, the fighters would most likely have attacked him and the C-130 might've escaped or worse." She reasoned. The president nodded.

"Continue"

"Right. And so, after Blacklight had shot down the MIGs, and by the way, I'm just going off of what I expected Blacklight to do, he contacted the C-130. Whoever was commanding it probably didn't want to be captured so they must've used something to try to take down Blacklight whilst destroying the plane and whatever cargo they were transporting. And then after that… that's where things get a little trippy."

The president took a few seconds to think about what Casey explained before sighing.

"Alright, does anyone else have anything to add?" she asked. The satellite operator stood up.

"Mrs. President, while I was busy looking through satellite images, I noticed that, approximately 15 minutes before Blacklight was reported missing, the cameras stopped working," he reported. The President looked skeptical.

"So? How's that special? Malfunctions always happen somewhere," she pointed out.

"Well, the camera came back online after 5 minutes, and there was nothing irregular recorded." He stated.

The president cupped her chin, thinking. A plane disappearing without a trace, a satellite going offline under abnormal conditions, things aren't adding up.

What was going on?

The president turned to the general.

"General, how fast can you scramble anything out to our pilot's last location?"

"I can get a decent sized search party over to the location within 3 days"

"Good. We'll need to keep this operation a secret from the rest of the world. When you walk out of this room, I trust you to keep your mouths shut. And general? Make sure you put the order out to the search team that there is to be no talking about this operation. I'd hate for some chatty mouth sailor to learn of this and cause an uproar. Understood?"

They all saluted.

"Good. I'll want a monthly report on what you guys might've found. If it's something that could possibly be the answer to the mystery, I want you in my office ASAP." The president requested.

"Understood" they all answered in unison.

"Dismissed." the president saluted.

The officers and Casey saluted. As they were preparing to leave, the president walked up to Casey.

"Commander, do mind if we talk in private?" she asked.

"Sure" was her reply as they got out and walked down a hall where no one was looking or walking.

The president turned to Casey.

"Commander, I'm pretty sure you know of the circumstances that went on during Blacklight's disappearance." She stated.

Casey nods.

"Good. Now, this may seem a bit odd coming from me, but I want your opinion or theory about what just might've actually happened." The president requested.

Casey cupped her chin for a few minutes, then turned to the president.

"Mrs. President, I have two theories that may seem a bit odd sounding. Are you sure you want to hear them?" she asked.

"Hit me"

Casey hesitated for a second. Then, she launched into her theories.

"The first theory I've thought up with is that whatever nuclear bomb was inside that C-130 must be a powerful bomb, which, in that case, might've vaporized Blacklight. That's the logical theory of mine, since there are some bombs out there powerful enough to vaporize jets, or…" Casey stopped.

"Or?" the president prompted.

Casey inhaled.

"What if Blacklight was actually taken to somewhere far, far away?" she asked.

"Commander, are you just taking cues from Star Wars? Because 'a place far, far away' sounds like Star Wars to me." The president asked, not wanting to play games.

Casey shook her head.

"No, no, not like that, but maybe… a different universe? I'm pretty sure you've heard of the theory of multiple universes, right?" she asked the president. She nodded.

"Well, what if Blacklight was actually thrown into one of those universes? What if, whatever was on that plane was powerful enough to not just vaporize a whole city, but was actually able to rip the fabric of time and space and Blacklight ended up getting sucked into it?"

"Commander, you're starting to lose me here. How the hell can a bomb be enough to create a portal to wherever the hell our ace is?" the president questioned, really confused. A rip through space and time? There's no way that could ever be done, at least, in this time.

Casey shrugged.

"Like I said, they're theories, and confusing ones at the moment, but with time, we may be able to uncover the answers" Casey stated.

"Is that all?" the president asks. Casey nods.

"Alright. Come to me if you got any other theories floating around in your head. Until then, dismissed." The president saluted. Casey saluted back, then walked out of the White House.

501st JFW base, Britannia, Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke's office, 7:00 AM

Minna looked at her second-in-command and longtime friend with anger in her eyes. She was very agitated with her since yesterday. Why, you may ask?

Well, Mio had, much to Minna's chagrin, brought back a boy and said that he was going to join. And when the boy said he can go transfer to another squadron, Mio stepped in and said that he can't! And he didn't even argue!

Well, she was going to get a piece of her mind!

"Major, I understand that he's powerful and all that, but I'm pretty sure you remember my policy on males at this base: no one is allowed to ever interact with any boys or men at all." Minna said with annoyance seeping from her voice.

Mio nodded. "I fully remember your policy on that matter, but you have to understand, Blacklight's power goes above and beyond what other witches have. Even the elite witches don't have as much power as he does. And his potential is even greater! If we can somehow unlock that potential… we may be able to defeat the Neuroi once and for all!"

Minna sighed. She looked at the window and imagined Kurt, her long-lost boyfriend, staring back at her, wondering what she had done. Then she turned back to Mio.

"What if this Blacklight fellow gets killed? Not only will-"whatever Minna was about to say was cut off by Mio cutting in.

"Commander, I highly doubt that Blacklight will ever get killed. His power is very strong." Mio said.

Minna looked at her best friend with confusion.

"How would you know that he wouldn't get killed?" she asked. She remembered when Kurt said he was going to meet her soon before the blasted Neuroi took his life. That's the reason why she implemented the policy.

Mio pointed at her magic eye.

"While I was busy trying to fight the Neuroi, I sensed an immense power coming from that witch. I knew that. With enough training, he can surpass all of us. When that happens, the Neuroi's going to have a bastard of a time trying to just put a shot on him."

"It sounds like you have a lot of confidence in him." Minna sighed. Then she looked straight into Mio's eye.

"Alright, I want to speak to this fellow. If he checks out alright, then he'll stay. But if he dare tries to do anything to one of my subordinates, he's going to be out faster than a gun shot. Understand?" Minna stated. Mio nodded, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Send him in."

Unbeknownst to them, Blacklight, who is right outside the door, heard their conversation completely, thanks to his enhanced hearing. He never knew that there was a policy concerning boys on the base. It was rare for such a sexist policy to ever exist, at least, in the U.S. air force. Apparently, such policies exist in this world.

'What caused her to create such a policy?' Blacklight mentally asked. 'To protect her subordinates from something? Trauma? I don't know, but trauma may be the reason'

He sighed as he rummaged through his pilot suit's pockets and pulled out an IPod and some earphones and proceeded to listen to a song called 'This Will Be The Day' (1), which happened to be his favorite song. When he was waiting for something, he likes to lose himself in music, which helps him pass the time.

Just as the song ended, the door opened and Mio stepped out.

"Blacklight, the commander wants to see you." She said. Blacklight nodded, then walked into the office.

The first thing he notices is that Minna was studying him as if she were an inspector inspecting a brand new, fresh off the factory floor F-22. She took her time before grunting. Blacklight saluted.

"Airman First Class Blacklight reporting for duty, ma'am!" he stated crisply.

Minna saluted back.

"Wing Commander of the 501st Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke." She introduced.

Blacklight assumed proper military stance, with his hands and arms behind his back and his legs spread out.

Minna thought for a few seconds on what to say.

"Blacklight, huh. A codename?" she asked. Blacklight nodded.

"Then tell me then, what is your real name?" she requested. This time, he shook his head.

"Why not?" she asked, a bit curious.

"My other commander would chew me out if I ever revealed my name." he explained.

"But you're under my command now, so I'm ordering you to reveal your identity" she stated. Again, Blacklight shook his head.

"Maybe when I could trust you a bit easier, but for now, Blacklight will have to do" Blacklight replied back, which caused Minna to glare at him.

"And why can't you trust me?" she asked.

"First of all, I know about your little policy on men on this very base and I'm assuming you'll be looking for a chance to send me off on whatever excuse you can manage. And second of all, would you ever trust anybody who's from a different world?"

Minna sighed, unable to argue with that kind of reasoning.

"Alright. But a few rules first. First rule, you will follow my orders no matter what. Second rule, no going off base unless I say otherwise. And third rule, no girlfriends. Understood?"

Blacklight cocked his head to the left.

"What's a girlfriend?" he asked.

It started with Francesca's jaw dropping, then Shirley's barely contained laughter, then to Eila's eyes widening, and so on until Mio busted out laughing. They were at the door, trying to listen to whatever conversation was going on.

"S-S-S-Seriously!? He doesn't know what a girlfriend is!? What the heck!" and Shirley could continue no more as she engulfed herself in laughter, as did Mio.

Minna's eyes widened when he asked that question. Of all the questions she had expected for him to ask, this was the least expected, considering that he's a boy.

"Wait, are you saying that you don't know what a girlfriend is?" Minna asked. Blacklight shook his head.

"Boyfriend?" shook his head.

"Husband?" shook his head again.

"Wife?" again, another shake of the head.

Minna sat back in her chair, amazed that this boy doesn't know all those terms.

"Now, getting back to the discussion, I will tell you what I am, if it will satisfy you for now" Blacklight stated.

Minna nodded. "Go ahead."

"I am an experimental ace pilot born and raised and genetically modified in the U.S. laboratory Shadow 1. I have capabilities that surpass a normal human pilot, such as enhanced reaction timing that allows me to react faster than a normal person, enhanced eyesight that allows me to see birds from over 5 miles away in both day and night, enhanced strength that allows me to carry a 2 ton weight, enhanced running ability that allows me to run at 18 miles per hour and jump at least 3 stories high, and enhanced memory that allows me to remember exact details of events that happened since my birth." He explained.

Minna looked at him with utter shock in her eyes, shocked at that he had been genetically modified at birth. Heck, she didn't even know how he was 'genetically modified', although she assumed it wasn't pretty.

"Blacklight, just how old are you?" she asked. He cocked his head to the right.

"Wasn't there a report on me filed by captain Sugita of the Akagi?" he asked back.

"Well, you're here right now, so I want to know right now" she snapped. Blacklight sighed.

"12 years old" was his answer.

"And when did you start doing combat operations" she asked. He shrugged.

"When I turned 10 years old" he answered.

"TEN!? HOW THE HELL WERE YOU ABLE TO FLY!? THAT'S AN AGE EVEN THE WITCH CORPS WOULDN'T ALLOW WITCHES TO BE!" she shouted.

Again, Blacklight shrugged.

"Actually, they had me use a remote controlled fighter craft prototype when I was ten. Then, when I was 11 and a half years old, they wanted for me to gain experience actually flying a plane. 'Getting to know the thrill of flying' they said, so I went along with it. Pretty soon, I got the hang of flying the actual aircraft."

Now Minna was confused. 'Remote controlled aircraft'? She had never heard of that type of aircraft. But judging from the words 'remote' and 'control', it must mean that it was a type of aircraft that was flown without a pilot.

But how did the people in his world manage to create an aircraft that could be flown without a pilot? Was their level of technology that advanced? They managed to make Blacklight into a sort of super human pilot without using magic. Did they even have magic in their world?

"Out of curiosity, what year was it in where you're from?" she asked.

"2015" he answered.

'2015? That's over 71 years into the future! No wonder they got technology so advanced!' though Minna. She wondered about how that technology would affect the war against the Neuroi when Blacklight cleared his throat.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" he asked.

"One more question" Minna answered.

"Did… did you ever fight Neuroi in your world?" she asked. He shook his head.

"There were no records of any Neuroi appearing in my world" he answered.

"So your world was peaceful?" she asked, although she mentally kicked herself for asking a stupid question.

He shook his head.

"Far from it"

At 8:58 PM…

Blacklight took an extensive tour of the base, courtesy of Shirley and Eila, who also took actions that made Blacklight very, very confused, much to their chagrin and disappointment. He was particularly interested in how the magic that the girls possess interact with the strikers to let them be able to fly without using any sort of fuel in the process. He guessed that it was sort of something like electricity powering a fan, but instead of using electricity, the strikers use the magic.

He mentally made a map of the compound so that he could navigate his way through the base without getting lost. He also mentally noted any and all escape routes so that in case of an attack, he could lead his fellow pilots to safety and out of the base.

He wasn't going to take any chances if they ever get a warning of an attack.

Like his commander said, "Take no chances when it comes to war".

As he was walking to Mio's room to sleep for the night, he heard Minna walking up to him at a brisk pace. He spun around.

"Is there something you need, commander?" he asked. Minna nodded.

"Meet me at the cliff on the north west side of the base in 15 minutes on the clock. Don't be late" she said as she walked ahead of him.

Blacklight stood there, thinking about what Minna might want to say or hear from him. He shook his head as he proceeded to head south west of the base.

Just down the hall from where Minna came from, Yoshika heard them talk. She was equally confused as to why Minna wanted to talk to him. But she was tired, so she just filed that little piece of information somewhere in her brain and proceeded to saunter to her room.

The cliff northwest of the base, 9:17 PM

Blacklight had arrived at the cliff on the time Minna said she wanted for him to arrive on. Once there, he saw Minna facing the sea, where the waves roared and crashed onto the cliff wall. In her right hand, she was holding a Walther PPK 9mm pistol.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

Minna sighed. Not bothering to turn and face him, she spoke.

"I had a very close friend of mine named Kurt" she said. Blacklight nodded.

"I see. How's he doing?" he asked.

Minna sighed again. Talking about her past love to someone unfamiliar is very hard to do, but she needed to say this, before she can take action.

"He… he was helping out with the evacuation effort in our city because the Neuroi were attacking. And he… he…" Minna choked on her words.

"What happened?" Blacklight asked, curious, oblivious to the fact that she was talking about a very sensitive subject.

"…He died. He was killed by a Neuroi beam while he was helping one of the evacuees get onto a ship" she said with sadness seeping from her voice. Blacklight bowed his head.

"I'm sorry for your loss, commander" he stated.

"After that, I became broken. I didn't eat, I stayed awake every night thinking about him, to the point of crying myself to sleep. I became cold to many boys who tried to woo me into becoming their girlfriends. And then I became commander of this wing"

Blacklight said nothing as he took in all of the words. While he was processing those words in his head, a single thought raced in his head.

'So it was trauma after all'.

"When I became the wing commander, I wanted to shield my fellow witches from what I've experienced. I didn't want them to become broken as I did. So I took steps to make sure that they didn't become attached to any boys in their time as witches" she explained. Blacklight still remained silent.

"It's because of that that I didn't want you in my wing, for I fear that a witch may become attached to you, and then, when you die, she'll become broken, just like me. I still don't want that to happen. So I have to do this."

She turned to face him. Then she raised her pistol and leveled it at Blacklight's head.

"That's why I have to kill you"

To Be Continued…

The song that Blacklight was listening to is called "This Will Be The Day" by Jeff Williams. It's featured as the opening song to the awesome show from Rooster Teeth, "RWBY"! go watch it, it's really good.

Uh-oh, looks like Minna decided to resort to killing in order to "protect" her squad mates. What will Blacklight do this time? Will he just let Minna put a bullet through his head? Or will he fight back? Who knows! Find out next time, on chapter 4, "Attempted Murder"!

Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, and do whatever you feel like doing!

Tyou here, signing off!

(NOTE) A poll has been added on my account

Question: What do you want Blacklight to do about Minna?