Hey all...I know its been a while, but I'm still alive, if not exactly well. I managed to crank out another chapter for your enjoyment, furthering on the misadventures of the Nimitz Battlegroup after their debut battle in Northern Africa, as well as advancing the plot with our favorite 141 operators.

Enjoy!

ROMANGNA TWO WEEKS LATER

NEW SENTINEL SFG TRAINING FACILITY

It's been two weeks since the training regimine had begun and they were already running into problems. No...The girls were fine, but the problem came from some of the left over nobility. You see, they had some problems with mixing noble and common blood, as well as having those of common blood conducting the training. Thanks to this, Mason, MacTavish and Price had to report to a gathering of nobles with Lord Air Marshal Dowding and General Galland coming with them as backup.

"Ah...Thank you for coming, gentlemen. I do hope we can put this to rest once and for all." Dowding stated.

"Same here...We have a war on and all of this bullcrap about Proper social boundaries is all they can think about?" Mason grunted.

"Sadly, we have had this problem since long before the war began and there isn't much we can do without the funding we get from the nobles." Galland added.

"So these pampered nobles hold the purse strings?" Price mused.

"Yeah...They're still harpin' on about that crap..." Another voice joined in. They looked over to see another witch in Liberion uniform joining them.

"Ahh...Commander Preddy. I'm glad you could join us. Have you met them yet?" Galland asked.

"Nope...But glad I finally got the chance to." She stated, giving each man a strong handshake.

"Heard a lot about you guys." She added as they were joined again by a tall blond witch.

"Commander de Grunne...We weren't expecting you today..." Dowding stated.

"Hey Rosie..." Preddy yawned in greeting.

"Good morning Geena...Everyone..." She said, in turn introducing herself when the door opened.

"The noble council will see you now." A young page informed them as he opened the doors to reveal a large U-Shaped table with many very well dressed individuals sitting around it, surrounding them from a raised position.

"Lord Dowding...I see you have brought these...Men from the other world whom are training our soldiers. I see nothing special about them." One noble huffed.

"Peace, Marquis Bertrand...We have requested their presence for a reason." Another admonished.

"I see no reason for her to be here...The 506th will never be united, so she is wasting her time and ours." A third spat at Commander Preddy.

"Nasty bunch, aren't they?" MacTavish whispered to Mason, whom nodded in agreement.

"That is not all we have come to discuss today, my fellow lords. We also came to quell this notion that Project Re-Birth be abolished. There is no call to turn away retired witches whom still desire to fight for our sakes, especially in light of the threats these men have had to deal with in our stead." Lord Dowding replied.

"Hmph...You mean that incident at Castle Wolfenstein which nearly leveled it; Which by the way, WAS the property of Baron Wilhelm of House Wittgenstein. Then the incident with that waif of a Duchess in Romangna? Yes...I read the report and I find it hard to believe that all of this happened under our noses." Marquis Talleyrand huffed.

'Wittgenstein?! Does Heinreike know about this?!' Rosalie asked herself, wanting to ask her later.

"This may even call Chief General Eisenhower's ability to make impartial decisions into question." Lord Wolfram Richthofen added.

"Now see here...General Eisenhower has done an excellent job and he did not make that decision lightly. I was there when he did and even His Highness, the Karlsland Emperor, gave his personal permission to do so." General Galland defended.

"And our Generals share your opinion, yet we still have our doubts in letting an uncouth Liberion savage take command." Lord Talleyrand replied with dirision.

Their nasty remarks were really getting under their skin when Rosalie spoke up.

"I have nothing but the utmost confidence in General Eisenhower's leadership and his humble background has no bearing on his personal merit. Being noble or not does not matter to the Neuroi. Three of the most decorated aces in history are all of humble birth." Rosalie rebuked, her noble status putting her on equal footing.

"You refer to Commander Wilcke, Erica Hartmann and Gertrude Barkhorn...Mere flashes in the pan." Bertrand sneered.

"Then what about Flight Officer Clostermann? She mixes in pretty well with us so called commoners and no problems came up from what we've seen. Wing Commander Wilcke is also an excellent leader and ace in her own right, without noble blood." Mason finally spoke up, not able to stand them anymore.

"Ahh...You must be the common dregs of...What was it...Task Force 141? And what, do you think, gives you the right to talk back to your betters?" Talleyrand demanded.

"The fact that it was us that saved two entire groups of witches from that bloody psychopath Strasse, as well as more witches whom were discovered and rescued later by General Patton during a second sweep of the dungeons, some of them already dead and bearing signs of physical and sexual abuse. All of these things took place in that castle under your noses." MacTavish shot back.

"You...How DARE you, impudent commoner...Making these baseless accusations of nobility..." Talleyrand snarled.

"They never implicated you...Unless you have something to tell us." Galland spoke up, her steel gaze boring into the petulant nobles, shutting them up as one of the others stood.

"Ahem...I think that we should adjourn for now...Until we can come to a decision at a later date." He said, urging the meeting be closed as everyone filed out.

As everyone filed out, Talleyrand caught up with Rosalie and held her back a moment.

"What do you want?" She seethed, not wanting this man to touch her.

"You know...Your father's death was truly unfortunate..." He responded.

This made Rosalie stiffen. Her father's death was a very sore point for her, seeing as she loved her father dearly and the Neuroi took him from her. This left her as the head of the family and in control of substantial wealth. This also unfortunately made her the target of many would be paramours, lusting after the family fortune and noble title. Lord Talleyrand was one such opportunist. She knew that anything he wanted would be entirely for his own gain.

"...And? What is it you really want?"

"It is also unfortunate that your family has no heirs. A noble house with no heirs cannot remain noble. Now...I have the means to help you with a multitude of problems, the merging of the 506th included...Should you agree to my proposal."

"...What is it?"

"You must marry me."

"Have you taken leave of your senses? For the last time...No. Never."

He had proposed to her before and she'd spurned him time and again. Now, he was likely going to try to force her hand since he knew her career as a witch was entering it's twilight, seeing as she is 20 and her powers are fading fast. Once she no long had a military rank to bolster her, he would likely try to take possession of her family's assets and force her into marrying him. He now had the resources to make good on his threat.

"Then how would you like it if I just bought your family estate, forcing those lovely younger sisters of your into the streets? I can imagine that they have no other skills than being laid on their backs..."

*SLAP!*

"Damn you..." She seethed with rage after slapping him with all of her might, causing him to sneer at her and raise his cane, only for a strong hand to grasp it from behind.

Talleyrand spun around to see the taller Liberion Commander standing behind him, his face one of anger as the cane was forcefully wrenched from his grasp and snapped in half over his knee then discarded on the floor, Commander Preddy, Colonel Price, General Galland and Major MacTavish standing with him along with Lord Dowding, each with a scowl on their features.

"A Noble lashing out like a spoiled child...Pathetic." Price grunted.

"We heard everything, Lord Talleyrand and know this, your actions this day have shamed your family name. Should you decide to follow through with your courses of action, rest assured we will NOT remain silent." Lord Dowding stated, his old voice laden with authority.

Talleyrand backed away quickly with a cliche sneer on his face before running off.

"Something's not right...I get the feeling he and a few of the other nobles are up to something dodgy." Price stated.

"Yes...I fear you may be correct, Colonel Price. I shall ask Colonel Donovan, Captain Blazkowicz and Manon to look into this for us. Until they can find any answers, we must remain on guard." Lord Dowding cautioned.

"Cripes...First the Neuroi, now these backstabbers..." Geena sighed as she and Rosalie headed back to their base in Gallia while Price and Mason headed back to the 501st base. They needed to step it up a notch if these new forces were going to be needed.

END FLASHBACK

Once they returned, they shared what they had seen and witnessed, garnering a scowl from Minna and Mio. They too had dealt and clashed with the nobility before over Perrine's presence amongst them. That time, Lord Dowding and General Eisenhower managed to prevent their disbandment but only just barely. Their nasty attitudes only incensed them to step up the training.

Speaking of training, Soap was almost done on his end while Mason still had another two weeks to go. The young women under his command were growing faster than he believed they would to his shock and pride. He over heard a couple of them talking and found that he had been dubbed as somewhat of an unofficial uncle to them. But, not all was sunshine and roses. One recruit was being given the cold shoulder by her fellow ex-witches, Katerina Margot Strasse. None of them could forget about the infamous Butcher of Wolfenstein or of the downright evil things he'd done to their kind, and knowing his only daughter was amongst them put them ill at ease, despite her valor in battle and her known loyalty to her fellow witches. It wasn't outright abusive tactics used against her, just snubbing and the like but she plowed on. She continued to take the reins and even took responsibility for the mistakes of her fellows. Yes, she suffered the punishments but she just brushed them off and kept on going. This slowly gained her the respect of her fellow witches.

Mason had been watching her ever since he caught wind of it and saw something within her. He saw the strength of a leader.

"Trainee Strasse...Report to my office." He called out when they were filing in from chow one evening, the young woman reporting as ordered.

"Sir...Trainee Strasse report as ordered, sir." She announced stoically.

"...Have a seat." He instructed without turning around, which she did without question.

"Do you have any idea why I called you in here?" He asked, still looking out the window.

"...No sir."

"Then I'll tell you. You have been deliberately undermining my instruction methods by taking the punishments for the other trainees. I have half a mind to kick you to the curb." He barked, trying to get a reaction out of her.

"...I was doing what I thought was right..." She whispered.

"Excuse me?" He asked now turning to face her, getting in her face to see how she would handle the pressure.

"I was doing what I thought was right, sir." She repeated, this time in a stronger voice, not flinching a single bit and impressing Mason at the same time.

'Hmmm...She didn't even flinch or miss a beat...So far so good...' He thought as he decided to get personal to further test her mettle and character.

"Seems as though the others don't think too highly of you anyway. I doubt they'd even care if you got the boot. After all, knowing who your father is, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..." He replied coldly.

'C'mon...Don't disappoint me...'

"...That hardly matters to me. They are my sisters, the ONLY family I have. I would rather die than betray them or let them down." She bit back.

'Good girl...I knew you had it in you...'

"...Then...There's only one thing to do." He replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled something out, sliding it across the table to her.

She picked it up and saw that it was a Captain's insignia. She looked at it in shock then back at the man whom was only a moment ago on the verge of giving her the boot, only to see that he was smirking at her.

"Wha...?" She stammered.

"I had to test you, to see how you would react. I wanted to see if you would put the well being of your fellow witches above your own and defend it against authority...And I'm proud to say that you have more than proven your dedication to me and everyone else beyond any doubt. Congratulations, Captain Strasse. Once you graduate from this course, you will lead your sisters in arms, protecting the younger generations of witches." He explained to the shell shocked young woman.

She silently stared at the insignia, tears slowly forming in her eyes as she looked at the man whom had given her a chance to shed her father's ghastly shadow with newfound respect, popping tall and giving him a crisp salute as she fought back tears of pride.

"At ease." He ordered after returning the salute, handing her a stiff Whiskey that he and his aides sometimes indulged in to calm her nerves.

"Just knock it back in one go." He instructed as she did just that, the burning sensation catching her off guard as she coughed a bit.

"That...Was my first time drinking hard liquor." She wheezed.

"That was a toast to your success, hopefully only the first of many in your new career." He told her as he downed his shot and sent her on her way.

BACK IN 2016...

WASHINGTON D.C...

"What the hell was that thing?!" POTUS asked of his staff and the Joint Chiefs in attendance.

The object he was inquiring about was the massive black...thing that suddenly appeared above Afghani airspace only a few days ago, captured on a satcam. At first, it was though to be some kind of new drone, since China was up to God only knows what these days since sitting out of the War and they had a notorious reputation for stealing designs and software from everyone else, sort of like a kleptomaniacal neighbor. However, that theory was dispelled when this object opened fire, literally, on random targets including a Chinese spy drone that happened to be filming Bagram AFB, all coincidence of course. As if only to make matters even worse, one of their Carrier Task Forces had gone missing in the in the Persian Gulf.

"By God...Are those lasers?" Army General Ridgley gasped.

"Can't be anything else." Admiral Stines replied grimly. He knew that against that kind of firepower, his ships stood little to no chance in a head to head fight. Tactics would have to be looked into immediately.

"The original questions still stand...What the hell is that thing and where did it come from? Don't tell me this thing came from outer space or some ludicrous notion like that..." Sec Def Nimzicky scoffed.

"Well...Where the hell else could it have come from?! Sat Cams also captured a...Miasma of some kind around 40,000 ft above Afghani Airspace. Any drones sent to investigate had gone missing, then Bagram was attacked. Sure, we managed to blow that bastard out of the sky, but it still did a fair amount of damage before we could respond." State Sec Powell retorted as an aide ran into the room.

"Mr. President! We just got word that MORE of those things have appeared! India, Pakistan and other countries in the area have also reported similar sightings. Afghani officials are beginning to shift the blame onto us for this new occurrence." He announced.

"What?! How can we possibly be to blame for this when our base was attacked?!" SECDEF bellowed.

"They're likely scared shitless right now and frankly we probably should be too. This may just be an extraterrestrial invasion of some kind. Now...I know some of you will scoff at this, but what other possibilities are there?" General Ridgley stated.

"...Consolidate our forces. We can't afford to look for the missing Task Force right now. Have all Sat Cams keep an eye out for more of these Miasma Gates and inform our allies in the area to step up their Anti-Air countermeasures." POTUS Helms ordered as another aide ran into the room.

"Sir! SATCAM just found the last known location of the missing Task Force! They were traversing the Red Sea, bound for the Suez Canal when their GPS signal vanished. Meteorological reports indicate that a freak electrical storm came from seemingly nowhere and after it passed, the Task Force had vanished. Smaller craft from Bahrain had been dispatched to investigate, but no trace of the fleet had been spotted. However, one of the Frigates had somehow passed through what the Captain believed to be a Fold in Space/Time. He was able to come back through, but they are now awaiting orders as what to do next." He stated giving them the coordinates.

"Hmm...The Carl Vinson Strike Group is only four days away from there. I'll send them to investigate since they will still be within a few days of this Miasma Gate and have the smaller patrol ships from Bahrain secure it until they arrive...Especially before anyone else finds it." Admiral Stines ordered.

"Are you sure?" General Ridgley inquired, not too happy with Stines pulling the fleet away from supporting his crippled base.

"If they're correct, we may have just discovered what happened to our missing fleet. We will need to mark and secure that fold for further research. 7th fleet from Yokosuka, the Washington Strike Group can be called in to support your boys in Bagram while they are occupied." Stines replied, setting Ridgley at ease.

"Okay...I have an airwing stationed at Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, a handful of F-16s. I can have them provide extra security for your naval teams until the fleet arrives. Your contact there will be Colonel Charles Sinclair." Ridgley offered in return.

"Good thinking. Do it immediately. If anyone gives you any grief about territorial violations, ignore them. You have authorization to fire back if fired upon. This is far more important than any of their petty claims." POTUS agreed, everyone breaking from the meeting to enact their plans.

BACK IN ALT 1945...

Another month had passed by and the former witches had completed their training, now graduating their first class of close to 20 witches with newly minted Captain Katerina Strasse in command. They were then broken down into smaller teams and sent to other bases to aid in protecting active witches along with aiding in Sentinel Operations, the new Special Forces group which MacTavish had trained up. This boosted the 141's manpower from a paltry 7 up to near 50, enabling them to cover far more ground than before.

However, the Neuroi were also evolving their tactics and becoming more aggressive. Newer land warfare units had been spotted in Central Europe that were in a more humanoid shape but still bearing the same crystalline texture they were known for. These new Neuroi Infantry types were incredibly aggressive, stood around 7 feet tall and had two small scale shard launchers, whose shards were capable of piercing light steel easily and had a respectable rate of fire. They also boasted some resistance to small arms fire along with the same auto repair the larger Neuroi were infamous for and were deployed along side the larger Walkers to act as support. The new weapons had been put to the test and they delivered as promised.

The new line of Folsom firearms had already begun to find their way into the hands of the Task Forces and witches, whom gave them rave reviews after using them in actual combat operations. The new carbine was roughly the same weight as a Garand, but had vastly superior firepower and keeping the ammo type the same eased logistical pressure considerably. Generals such as Patton and Rommel were very impressed with what Folsom Firearms and Lieutenant Hartmann were able to accomplish in such a short time. Not to be outdone, the Britannian Webley Armory had crafted a standalone rotary Grenade Launcher, the Webley Mk.1 MGL, which was chambered to accept the 40mm Grenades used by the Folsom series, giving fire teams and witches more options and firepower in combat while the Enfield Armories aquired the license to manufacture the Folsom lines in the more familiar .303 Enfield, soon to go into full production along with a new semi-auto combat shotgun which would be magazine fed, the Rossmore 238 SAMCS, named after its designer Jamison Rossmore.

Next, Ursula Hartmann and her colleagues at both MIT and Folsom had finally completed their most ambitious project yet, the XM-120 Hailstorm Gatling Gun. This six-barrelled, electrically driven, back-pack fed monstrosity, chambered in the reliable Liberion .30-06 Armor Piercing rounds was capable of an astonishing 3,000 rpm. However, only 30 have been completed so far, this weapon intended for vehicles and heavy weapon specialist witches only since it weighed in at a whopping 94 pounds. To that effect, one found its way into the hands of Captain Gertrude Barkhorn, whom was heard cackling madly amidst the ripping sounds of her new toy.

The lost American Nimitz Task Force had made their way through the Suez Canal and finally into the Adriatic Sea to link up with a small Liberion supply fleet, as arranged by Admiral Ernest King at the request of General Eisenhower as thanks for helping the Africa forces repel the largest combined offensive they'd ever seen. After their food stores had been re-supplied, they steamed toward the the southern Gallian Coastline just North of Sicily, where the plan was to have General La Pointe fly ashore along with Commodore Newbern to speak with Allied HQ to discuss their predicament.

Along the way, they had been joined by a fleet from Fuso whom were going the same way, General Rommel informing them that they were allies so the Commodore and Captain Yelland agreed to join forces. 200 miles South East of Crete, however, they had been set upon by a large flight of Neuroi. The Fuso Carrier Akagi managed to get some of its fighters and a single witch into the air while the Nimitz suffered a glancing hit which resulted a massive catapult failure, rendering it unable to launch its fighters while the Neuroi tried to focus their firepower in the otherworld fleet, seeing it as a bigger threat.

"This is Lieutenant Karibuchi! Nimitz, go ahead with your repairs while we cover you as best we can!" The witch, Takami Karibuchi, assured them as she lanced into combat alongside the Akagi's fighter wing.

Soon, the fighters from the Akagi had been cut to pieces and Takami had been seriously wounded, taking only a few of the Neuroi with them. A few of the Akagi's escorts had taken fatal damage while three American Destroyers had been damaged and one, DDG-88 USS Preble, had been lost during the conflagration as they desperately tried to fight back, taking down a few more with RIM-7s. They were about to order a retreat when a young witch clambered into a striker and armed herself.

"This is Hikari Karibuchi! I'll try to buy you some time to escape!" The girl stated as she roared into the skies.

"You're only a trainee! Don't do it!" The captain of the Akagi tried to stop her, but was too late.

From the deck of the Nimitz, crews worked at a frenzied pace to repair their catapults as their fighters sat, heavily armed and ready to get into the fight to repay those brave witches whom bought them valuable time. The SAR squadron had also launched to recover the few downed pilots they could find, also managing to recover Lieutenant Karibuchi to the Akagi's relief.

Soon, though the young girl fought valiantly, was being overwhelmed and tiring fast. Luckily, the Nimitz had repaired their Bow catapult system and had begun launching Warwolf squadron into combat, resplendent with a full AA loadout and itching for payback with 4 more F/A-18Fs from VFA-103 launching right behind them.

"Warwolf 1, Fox 3!"

"Warwolf 2, Fox 3!"

The American squadrons fired their AMRAAMs into the formation of Neuroi, further thinning them out as they pulled alongside the tired young witch.

"You did good, kiddo. Go ahead and land on the Nimitz, you've earned the rest." Colonel Bishop told the girl, whom nodded and headed for the American carrier while they pressed forward to engage.

The resulting fighting had been fierce, losing one Super Hornet during the battle but they had finally managed to take down a few more Neuroi just as witch reinforcements arrived from the 502nd, led by Commander Gundula Rall to aid them in finishing the rest off.

"This is JFW 502, Flight Commander Rall speaking. We will be joining to battle." She stated to the surviving combatants after introducing herself.

"This is Colonel William Bishop, Nimitz Airwing OIC. Glad you could join us, 502. These things are pretty damn stubborn." He replied as they proceeded to wipe the floor with the remaining Neuroi.

As the final fragments fell into the sea, all allied forces began to take count of their losses and re-group. The 502 had been told they would be debriefed by Field Marshal Rommel aboard the Nimitz.

"Wow...That carrier's HUGE..." Nikka Katajainen, Nipa, commented in awe.

"Yeah...But did you see how those jet fighters landed on that thing? Crazy..." Naoe Kanno added.

The witches were guided in by LSOs on the platform and approached from the fantail, just as they saw the others do and landed without difficulty. Upon landing on the deck, they had been greeted by the man whom commanded the flight they fought with, Colonel Bishop, whom in turn guided them to the Med Bay to check on Lieutenant Karibuchi to find her younger sister at her side already.

"She suffered some deep lacerations to her right hip as well as a sizable concussion, but rescue teams found her in time and we've already treated the worst of her wounds. We estimate she will make a full recovery in due time." The medical Lieutenant Commander informed them to their relief as they let the younger witch stay with her sister.

'So...That's who the other striker belonged to.' Commander Rall thought to herself as they were ushered into the CIC briefing room, where everything had been explained to them and for the sake of brevity, I'll leave it there.

"I see. However, with Lieutenant Karibuchi down, our squadron fighting strength is somewhat diminished." Commander Rall stated as she had Georgette Lemare take a look at her to see if she could speed her recovery along.

"Well...That Hikari girl acquitted herself pretty well during the fighting and bought us valuable time." Colonel Bishop suggested.

"While she did do extremely well for a beginner, she was incredibly lucky and still has a lot of training ahead of her. Normally, we would not be able to train her AND keep up with our normal responsibilities. However...If we could request the assistance of your airwing from time to time, it would ease our burden considerably as well as allow us to train her more efficiently." Edytha Rossmann replied.

At this suggestion, the ranking officers deliberated on what to do.

"While we would like to aid you, we need to be careful and conserve what fuel and weapon stores we have for our fighters. If we can aid you, however, we will do so." General La Pointe replied.

"Does your ship not need fuel, too?" Anna Pokryshkin asked.

"Oh...Our ship is Nuclear powered. It won't need refueling for another...20 years." Captain Yelland answered her to their utter shock, but they just chalked it up to another modern advancement they had yet to acheive while they continued to converse and rest up aboard the American super carrier.

In the CIC, the Comm Techs were monitoring all frequencies for any sign of being able to communicate with their world when they received a transmission from an unknown source...One using THEIR encryption protocols. The Comms and Ops Officers had been notified and wanted to try hailing the unknown contact. To their utter shock, they replied.

"Nimitz CIC...This is the USS Carl Vinson, CSG-1 of the American 3rd Fleet. We're damn glad to hear from you again!"

A/N: Okay...I feel that's a good place to stop for now. I made sure to note that the Nuclear reactors the Nimitz and her sisters are equipped with can run for a VERY long time, but her weapons and fuel stores are limited, even when stretched out between fewer planes than it would normally field. Also, modern fighters aren't invincible, they're just very fast and hard to hit, plus their munitions pack a nasty punch. As for how they can lock on, PFM. Pure Fuckin' Magic.

Also, I dropped more info on the new weapons being developed as well as the Neuroi's response and change of tactics.

Anyway, I hope to have more for you all soon.