Industrious: Engineering Marvels - Chapter 24

This time we weren't smuggled in by boat.

The 'Castle Incident,' as General Phillips had taken to calling it in order to avoid saying the word 'vampire' in official meetings, had apparently spooked command staff enough that they wanted to give us a way to quickly extract ourselves if we came up against something that we actually couldn't beat with jolly international cooperation and a dash of crazy American bullshit. I didn't entirely believe such a thing existed, but I wasn't in charge of calling the shots despite my unique insight. At any rate, they plan they'd come up with wasn't half bad and this mission would serve as a testbed for it.

The Hydra base we were headed to this time had actually been picked up by a low-flying recon aircraft instead of being picked up on the map that we'd stolen from the base I'd appeared close to. I was actually pretty curious exactly what the Red Skull's relationship with Hitler was in this timeline given there seemed to still be quite a bit of cooperation between the two organizations.

Well, for a fascist value of the term 'cooperation,' at least.

The SS and the regular German Army (and the German Navy as well, for that matter) had all been rather infamously competitive with each other, all trying to acquire and maintain a plurality of vital resources. They each wanted to fund their own industry projects, supply them with increasingly scarce fuel and raw materials, and trade whatever excess they had to the remaining branches to force them to act in obedience to their own operations and mission objectives.

Cooperation between the branches, actual mutual aid, was viewed with suspicion even.

Because the fascist governments saw everything through the lens of personal loyalty and ideological purity. In some ways, it was more beneficial to look at fascism through the lens of the religious rather than the political.

But I digressed.

Hydra was still operating at least parallel to the 'mundane' German Armed Forces and, therefore, acting in support of the black market military economy that existed between the various branches and commanders. This, in turn, meant that even if a Hydra base was well-concealed in the rugged north-east of France, it would be vulnerable to observation via the supply network. Or, in layman's terms, you're only as hidden as your logistics chain.

How were we going to get there, if not by a smuggler's ship, then?

Well, Howard had overseen the conversion of a De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito into a seaplane of all things and we were going to land in a remote French lake that had been scouted by Resistance contacts. After that, it was only a 'short' twenty mile trek to the base in question.

If this worked, it would give us a new MO for our missions.

Normally, I'd be concerned about being on a plane flying into tightly-controlled enemy airspace, but the Mosquito was one of the few exceptions. First, it was one of the fastest planes on the planet at the time, especially for its size and maneuverability. Also, it was going to go down in history as one of the last effective warplanes created out of wood, for which it had long been overlooked before desperation finally led the British leadership to take the correct course of action.

The tried and true way of getting anything accomplished in the military.

As a result of its construction material, the Mosquito also had one of the smallest radar cross-sections of the whole war, on par with the biplanes the Soviets were fielding in the east. Just with the capability to handle much heavier bombs and machine guns.

Or, in our case, a group of heavily-armed murderous lunatics wearing uniforms...

...and one half-vampire, half-werewolf woman with glowing body art that everyone was trying to politely ignore.

“So what's your deal?” Nina asked, her voice carrying a supernatural quality as she settled in beside me on the hastily bolted-in seat. Between the noise of the aircraft and the collective rowdiness of more than a dozen burly children pretending to be soldiers, it was quite the awful din. The only way you could have a conversation, really, was by either yelling in each other's ears-

-or by possessing supernatural hearing.

“My deal?” I asked, looking up from where I was scribbling away at yet more plans for my future careers, investments, and lobbying ideas.

...need to convince Truman to make plastic bottles illegal except for medical use. Disposable syringes are a godsend for doctors and hospitals, but we could do without the floating islands of trash in this world.

As I made a quick note, Nina replied. “Your deal. I asked around. Bucky-er, Sergeant Barnes and Captain Rogers are supersoldiers, right? And Logan and Victor... they have their own thing going on. I'm a supernatural predator cursed from birth. What's up with you? All the guys will say is that you're some kind of 'ninja,' but that can't be true, right?”

I grunted a laugh and nodded. “That's about the size of it.”

“No shit?” Nina asked, cocking her head and staring at me with her luminous eyes. “I thought those were made up?”

“Ah... do you prefer Private Price or-” I began, raising my eyes and looking at her fully even as the wind howled outside.

“Nina, please,” she nodded, then looked around a bit self-consciously. “It's... weird, being around this many people at night. Normally...”

“You're alone?” I guessed.

“Or with Alexi – Alexi Kravinoff – he manages my family's estate out in the country. Since we, ah... need to hunt occasionally-” Her eyes widened and she cut herself off. “Not humans, of course! Just... deer or boar or the occasional bear.”

I simply nodded and she relaxed.

I noted the way Victor and Logan's muscles tensed and released at the momentary verbal slip. As far as Bucky and Steve went... I gave it a coin flip. They were embroiled in a discussion over a map, and their hearing wasn't quite on par with mine or the half-brother's.

“Well... I'm a ninja. Officially, my family hails from Japan originally. I'm personally from Louisiana and taught myself mystic punch-wizard stuff-” She giggled. “-from a set of scrolls my family kept. After they, the house, and my remaining family were lost in a fire-” She winced, grimacing. “-I decided to join the military, lied about my age, and here we are.”

She blinked, frowning more gently now. “Should you be telling me that you lied about your age?”

“Well, I'm legal now and too useful to get rid of, so I'm pretty sure it's fine,” I grinned.

I saw you roll your eyes, Victor. And that snort too, Logan.

“You said... officially,” Nina suddenly realized. “Does this have to do with everyone in the squad thinking you're some kind of spy?”

“Definitely,” I nodded, my grin shifting to a smirk. “And you're not cleared for the unofficial version. I'm pretty sure I'm not cleared either. If it hadn't happened to me, government men would probably have shown up to cart me off by now.”

Nina openly laughed at that, and I saw a few of the guys sending her appraising glances... before they caught her glowing eyes and shifted uneasily.

She sighed and slumped in her seat.

I caught her eye and gave her a reassuring nod. “Give them time, they'll get used to it. They got used to me, after all.”

She waved at her face pointedly. “It's not quite the same.”

“Say that after you've seen me in action,” I replied.

Nina raised an eyebrow and looked me over. “You really think you can compete with me? With someone who's running on a curse like mine?”

Oh, honey... bless your heart.

I don't think she'd been in the south enough to understand the subtle dig with that sentiment, so I spared her. “Ask me that again in six months, okay?”

She blinked, taken aback by the change of topic. “Six months? Why?”

“Demon took a bite out of my soul,” I replied.

Nina blinked, then stared, undoubtedly trying to work out if I was serious or not.

I nodded gravely and she jerked a little, reevaluating me visibly. Meanwhile, I was really hoping I didn't have to do anything to exacerbate my metaphysical wounds further. Thankfully, Howard had come through with the last bit of the rare material I'd requested from him for the device I'd been planning on and off for the last month, but I was putting it off because of the amount of stored chakra I'd have to expend. If I channeled too much of it, I could possibly make my injuries permanent. At the same time, if I'd had it during the fight with Blood, it would have made my life a lot easier.

Decisions, Decisions...

“I never did thank you,” Nina said suddenly.

I blinked, then grimaced slightly. “I volunteered you for a military unit in the most destructive war the human race has ever fought. I'm not sure if you should thank me.”

Nina shook her head. “It was either this or being put under a microscope back home. At least this way I can quietly disappear after everything is over.”

“And your family's estate?” I asked.

“My parents are dead, so it will pass to Alexi.” She gave me the ghost of a smile. “Officially.”

I gave her a slow nod, understanding she probably didn't want to say anything more. “As long as you trust him.”

Hopefully it'll turn out alright. Kraven had some honor about him, maybe he came by it honestly.

I wasn't enough of an idiot to believe that 'Kravinoff' was all that common a name, after all.

“If it comes down to it, you've got friends in the unit who'll help you get enough space to make a run for it,” I stated firmly. “I'm one of them.”

She smiled and nodded, sliding her fingers through her hair and pushing her platinum blond locks back behind an ear. “Thanks. I mean it. You... Steve, Bucky, even Dino... I never expected anyone would side with me if word got out.”

I obligingly ignored her as she wiped at her eyes and opened my mouth to-

“Approaching the landing zone!” Bucky turned back to us from one of the front seats. “Touchdown in five! Get your shit together, ladies!”

“Shouldn't you be callin' the dame a gentleman?” Duncan asked, grinning as he checked his gear.

“Nah, she'd still look prettier in a suit than you in a dress, Dougan!” Jim shot back.

A few people elbowed the two jokers of our group, casting worried glances towards Nina, who visibly rolled her glowing eyes and held up a single finger at the two men. “Skirts or trousers, boys, it still won't change how you measure up where it counts.”

At that, the unit truly earned their unofficial designation and really set to howling with laughter.

She and Dino exchanged a firm nod and Nina relaxed as we neared our target. I aimed my next words at her in a lower undertone, audible only to her. “Good job.”

“Thanks,” Nina nodded, doing the same. “I know the general was worried about unit cohesion, and if this is the first mission you have that goes badly... Well, I just don't want anyone to feel awkward around me. Or, at least, the kind of awkward that would get them killed from worrying too much, and I've been around enough roughneck film crews to know how to handle men like them.”

“Best get ready, then. We'll hit the ground running once we get to the lake.

We did, at that.

The entire area was deserted, as promised by our contacts, save for a small group of three men using a bullseye lantern to signal us by Morse Code.

Soon enough, the seaplane had been pulled into a forested cove with tarps thrown over it and a layer of clipped vegetation thrown over that to disguise it by air. As some of us completed the task of concealing our ride home, a few of us spread off to take the first patrols around the campsite that the remainder of the team was putting up.

Given the task required good night vision and the Resistance fighters weren't all that accustomed to our general strangeness, Nina and I were sent to watch from one direction while Victor and Logan took the opposite.

“So how do things usually go?” Nina asked, her voice whisper-quiet as we set ourselves up on a good position overlooking a country road.

“Usually we send in one team to set bombs and disable any security before the main force attacks at some prearranged signal,” I replied, my own voice cast similarly.

Nina hummed. “Will this be the usual, then?”

I was quiet for a moment, then shook my head. “Probably not. I think the castle spooked Steve a bit. We've gotten lucky so far, but... if things had been different, it would have gone really badly.”

“So Captain Rogers will want to change things up?” Nina asked.

“He and Bucky are planning a straight assault. We might be tapped for light recon, but we won't be going in the building ahead of the main force, just a lap around the perimeter to make sure all of our intelligence is right and we've got the entrances marked out,” I explained.

“And after that?”

“Probably a feint, if I'm reading Steve right,” I hummed thoughtfully. “We'll detach a smaller force with a heavy weapon and stage an attack from that position. Once all of the guards are moving that way, the attackers will pull back and circle around to meet the main force.”

“Which will be pressing from a different direction to catch the bulk of the base's security off-guard,” Nina nodded, releasing a sigh.

I raised an eyebrow. “You going to be good with this?”

She grimaced, then nodded, patting the long knives strapped to her sides and thighs. “I'm not... unused to fighting humans. Or human-shaped creatures.”

“That's a good way to think of them. Human-shaped creatures,” I replied firmly.

“Captain Rogers gave me an introductory interview on the subject. He was rather... traditionally uncomfortable with the idea of a woman in combat, even if he acknowledged it was the best option I had. He told me that we needed to look at this as a cruel necessity. Something that only needed to be done because it would help other people.” Nina paused. “For some reason, I think you have different thoughts on the matter.”

I was quiet for a long moment, my eyes locked on a distant homestead, empty and dark as it was against the night. “Steve's a nice guy. More than that, he's a good guy.”

Nina chuckled. “Many women are familiar with the difference, yes.”

I gave her a small smile. “I'm sure, deep down, Steve believes that there's a human heart beating in the chest of all the Nazi SS, German soldiers, and Hydra Agents. He's the kind of guy who'd give them a second chance, if they really wanted it. If they really proved they deserved it.”

 “And you don't?” Nina asked.

“Maybe some of them do regret what they've done, but it won't bring the dead back to life.” I stated. “It won't un-rape the women. It won't un-murder the children. It won't un-scar the history of the country they claim to love. They made their choice.”

“You've made yours, as well.” She replied pointedly, nodding at my uniform.

“To liberate the people they've chosen to oppress, yes,” I nodded. “The choice they made was the oppression. When a people make that choice in sufficiently large numbers, they either have to purge themselves of the atrocities committed or someone else has to do that for them.”

“And that's you. Here to purge the country of evil?” Nina asked, her tone more than a bit biting.

“Here to do my small part of it, yes,” I nodded, unapologetic about the fact.

She opened her mouth, her narrow gaze hinting at something more vitriolic about to come out of her mouth before she inhaled slowly and sighed the breath out, turning away from me. “I wish I could be that sure. I've faced violence all my life. Small, petty violence between animals that look like human beings... it's hard to believe that regular humans could merit the same prejudice to exterminate them.”

“You saw what Hydra was capable of back in the castle,” I pointed out. She turned back, ready to object, when I continued. “Vampires might have made that mass grave in the basement, but it was humans who bent the knee to them, who asked for that curse in exchange for power. Vampirism... Lycanthropy... these things don't change people, Nina. They don't make them any better or worse than they already were.”

“Then what do they matter?” Nina whispered slowly, waving at her face. “What does any of... this matter?”

“It's power,” I replied bluntly. “And when you give a person power, you give them implicit permission to exercise that power; to use it to do what they want. And that's when you really learn who that person has always been.”

Nina was quiet for a long moment, then shook her head. “We should go back to standing guard.”

I'd never stopped, but it would be petty to point that out. Instead, I simply made a sound of agreement and let a cold silence wash over us until morning as I organized my own thoughts. It was always a bit startling to remember that World War Two, the war I was now fighting, had its own protesters. Every war did, really, but this one was so drenched in the mythology of the 'Greatest Generation' that it was jarring to remember things hadn't been as clear cut way back... now.

When the sun rose, Nina's eyes lost their glow, her claws receded from her fingers, her ears rounded out, and her hair lost the gossamer luster it had under the light of a moon.

She yawned deeply.

“C'mon, time for a shift change,” I told her, speaking for the first time in hours. “And Nina?”

The seemingly-human woman looked at me cautiously, silently.

“Seeing the good in people is a choice. A choice that makes you a better person than others simply by making the attempt,” I told her, looking over my shoulder. “But other people... you can't choose what they see in themselves. That's their choice. These people? They've earned what's going to happen to them tonight, many times over, through that choice.”

Nina grimaced and looked away.

“Let's get some sleep,” I finished up, walking back to camp. “We're in for a busy night.”

~~~

As promised and only a few hours late this time. Sorry about that, but this week's been busy. Well, when are they not?

Anyway, this is the 'getting back in the saddle' chapter. Ray & the Howling Commandos are returning to fieldwork now, with the addition of a new heavy hitter in Nina Price, AKA Vampire by Night.

And, of course, since Ray has been busy running around and talking to people, he's the only member of the squad Nina hasn't really gotten to know yet.

So, that needs to be fixed, and this chapter is it.