It was a warm April when Asui was admitted to the gundam pilot training course. Asui had been a successful second-line pilot in the regular Air Force, flying inland interdiction missions and reconnaissance for the army, and gaining a reputation for skill as a pilot. It was a satisfying military career and her country was holding its own in the long running war with its neighbour, but Asui was ambitious, and wanted to get out of merely flying airplanes. She wanted to be a gundam pilot - a controller of the massive humanoid robots that had come to dominate front-line combat in the war.
Asui didn't know why she wanted to go to the front line units - the work was more dangerous and the pay no better than her relatively cushy job as an aircraft pilot. But she felt an affinity with the gundam wings she had escorted, and the idea of becoming the controller of such a magnificent super-human force appealed to her dominant sensibilities, and the lure of potential heroism wasn't offputting either.
So it was in that April that she found herself on a bus through a military access road in the mountains with about 17 other girls - all pilots of a similar age to her (she was 23) - all having been admitted to a new, secretive and highly selective course for a gundam wing they had never before heard of - the 11th.
Asui and the other trainees got off the bus in the remote mountain airbase. In the distance, a series of large hangers sat at one end of the base, while more conventional hangers and low barracks stood just in front of them. A row of transport planes sat on the tarmac to the east, while just over the top of one of the hangers, Asui could see the top radar housing (shaped - for effect - a bit like a human head) of a gundam!
The trainees were dressed in standard air-force trainee gear - either knee length skirts or trousers, military boots, jackets with trainee rank badges embroidered on, and ladies' military hats. However, it was immediately noticeable that this was not the way that other personnel on this base dressed. The trainees suddenly stood silent and gawked when a group of four female pilots walked past, chatting to each other.
It wasn't their jackets that were unusual - they were a fairly elaborate but not uncommon form of officer jacket with braiding, a stand-up collar, officer pips and a double-breasted front - immaculately tailored over the chests of their wearers. Nor were the white pilot hats that they wore - again standard-issue with a gundam unit badge embroidered on the side.
It was what they wore below the jackets that was causing consternation, for they were wearing startlingly little! Each pilot was wearing either a thigh-length white version of military combat boots covered in staps and buckles, or a combination of thigh-length embroidered leggings with standard white dress boots. In addition, one pilot wore just a pair of white panties, another wore an obscenely short miniskirt which revealed at the back the curved undersides of the pilot's toned buttocks (and, Asui was sure she saw, a flash of uncovered pussy from the front as she strode), the third wore only a small white thong which tied up at the sides like a bikini, and the fourth wore what appeared to be a white scarf tied around her hips like a miniskirt, and knotted at the front where the ends of the scarf hung down between her legs (again, Asui was shaw she saw a flash of pink behind this).
The pilots waved briefly to the trainees and strode away purposefully. Looking around, it was obvious that a) everyone on the base was female and b) everyone - irrespective of rank or station - dressed like that except the airside engineers in their hi-vis dungarees. A combination of standard military jackets of various colours, matching thigh-high leggings or boots, and usually thin cotton panties, although lacy panties, skirts and other things were in evidence as well.
What a strange way to dress, thought Asui. It was not an entirely unprecedented manner of dress for the Kantabrian Army - the standard uniform for women in military bands was a similar sort of thigh-length legging, plus a dress leotard and ceremonial hat. But never had she seen actual on-base personnel dressed any way like it, and it had to be said that the panties being worn here left a lot less to the imagination than the bandswomens' leotards.
The trainees were ushered inside the drill hall and not given the opportunity to ask what was going on.
-—
After filing into the hall and sitting on the plastic seats that were laid out in front of a basic podium, an officer dressed - as seemed to be the norm - in a white jacket (it bore Commander-rank pips), white thigh-length leggings that bore a number of embroidered markings on the right hand thigh, and small white bikini-cut panties - strode out in front of the group and stood at the podium.
"Welcome ladies to Arabikan airbase. My name is Commander Kuanani. When we are at ease, you may address me as simply "Kuan". When we are on duty you will address me as "Commander". I have been assigned as your unit commander. You will report directly to me. You will obey my orders, and you will succeed.
"Thank you, and welcome once again. You have elected to join a very special unit - the 11th Gundam Wing, Special Services Division of the Air Force. We are called variously the "banshees" or the "femi-gundam". This is an all-female unit, as you can see. This is, indeed, an all-female base. The reasons for this will soon become evident to you, but we maintain strict gender separation here - no men are allowed in the base for any reason.
"This is also a highly elite unit. We are the most successful squadron in the airforce on a pilots-to-kills ratio. We bring unparallelled firepower into the arena and we are dominating this sector. The airforce is in the process of setting up other similar all-female units, but everything that we do here is absolutely top secret, so you have been subject to the highest level security clearances in being selected.
"Being stationed here will be the apex of your careers. It will also be the most fun you will ever have in your lives, I am quite confident in saying that.
"You are dismissed to barracks for the day. You will be issued with new uniforms and will report at the next assembly in those. You are trainee members of the 11th - congratulations. Go now.
Filing out of the hall, Asui whispered to Kana and Lisu who were standing behind her "Hey! What's going on here? What's with the knickers and boots?"
"No idea Asui" replied Kana.