Chapter 19: Squad Story 3: Cold Embrace
According to an old legend, ancient Darcsens ravaged Europa with continuous warfare, bringing death and ruin to the continent until the intervention of the Valkyrur. Decimated by the Valkyrur's god-like powers, the Darcsen race was reduced into becoming second class citizens in the continent to be scorned for centuries for their supposed ancient sins.
This single legend fueled many anti-Darcsen sentiments and policies throughout the centuries, especially in authoritarian regimes such as the Empire, but Darcsen culture prevents us from fighting back and simply implores us to endure the hatred. Personally, I do not agree with simply enduring the racism, there must come a time when one must draw a line in the sand.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean all reactions to these racist remarks and policies are justified… Ever since the advent of the Ragnite Revolution in 1825, many factories have popped up throughout Europa, changing the landscape of the continent as production shifts from craft produced goods to ragnite powered machines.
It's well known that ragnite helped many nations flourish, with some historians even arguing that it was because of this revolution that allowed the Europan nations to form the two superpowers, but this prosperity was built under the foundation of a suffering labor force.
There were barely any labor laws passed for more than a hundred years after the revolution first started. The lack of proper labor laws allowed companies to exploit their workers to the point that emergency exits are a mere suggestion to them. Child labor, underpaid workers, horrific working conditions, and high probability of death are just a few of the common occurrences that happened in these factories and Darcsens made up most of the workforce.
It was only a matter of time before the workers revolt…
January 31, 1928
Castleton, Edinburgh
A group of disgruntled Darcsen factory workers decided to rise up in revolt against the inhuman labor conditions set upon them by their companies. This was not a peaceful protest.
The Darcsen protesters started attacking factory managers & factory owners, destroying property, and even shooting at the police.
Caught in the crossfire were a 12 year Sora Andersen, her 9 year old younger brother, and her parents. Her family owned a textile factory in the city and was well known in the community. Most of their workers were of Darcsen descent.
When the protesters reached the textile factory, they did not hesitate to shoot at the hapless family despite the protests of their fellow Darcsen workers. Sora's mother and father shielded their children from the gunshots, dying from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.
Sora recounts how she simply sat there and stared at her dead parents, the shock seemingly stopping her from even blinking. Her younger brother, overcome by grief and anger, grabs a pair of scissors and charges at the assailants but his father's workers quickly stop him from going through with his attack.
The violence continued all the way into the night and was eventually quashed by the Edinburgh Army. Sora and her younger brother were then sent to an orphanage as they had no other relatives to take them in.
Sora didn't tell much on how life was in the orphanage but she mentioned how her brother had changed from being energetic and happy-go-lucky to brooding and antisocial. Needless to say, that the revolt had changed both siblings.
Eventually, her younger brother escaped the orphanage, leaving his older sister behind. He didn't even leave a letter or told his sister of his intent. Sora was devastated as she had felt that the only family member she had left abandoned her. This was the final straw for Sora… She had lost her everything to these Darcsen workers despite her entire family being kind to them. This would be the spark that ignited her hatred for Darcsens in the years to come…
She was later adopted by a couple living in Appledore and moved to the city, living a somewhat normal life. With the advent of airplanes, Sora found herself in awe of the flying machines as she sees them flying across the sky eventually leading to her enrolling at the Royal Flight Academy in 1933.
The following part is a full transcription of a series of tape recordings made by Lt. Sora Andersen from February 18, 1941 to March 1, 1941
This is Tape 1 of Lt. Sora Andersen's war diary dated February 18, 1941. If you're listening to this tape then that means I'm dead. Haha! I always wanted to say that!
I found this nifty tape recorder and a couple of blank tapes in the Bergano market the other day. I don't like writing that much and this war is starting to get to me a bit so I guess these tapes are a godsend!
Of course, I can always talk to Wil about my concerns but … … … he listens to me and such but … how do I put this?
He just listens and doesn't say much other than your generic words of encouragement. I know he's the son of a mob member but damn the stereotype is real.
Anyway, we've started our voyage to Assar Territory. The other day, I met up with Denzel.
Poor guy… Some soldiers are talking about his near insubordination on the last mission though what got me concerned was the rumor that he participated in some kind of extrajudicial killing in 1935.
I suddenly remembered the riots again. I guess topics like that are still sensitive to me after all these years…
Obviously, I gave those rumormongers a piece of my mind. There's no way that Denzel, of all people, would stoop to such an atrocity but the way he responded when I told him about the rumors… I can't deny that there may be some truth to the rumor but there's more to story than what the rumor gives off.
I want to know the truth but Denzel doesn't seem to be ready to talk. I'll respect his privacy and wait for him to tell me. When he does share his pain, I'll comfort him as best as I can.
This is Tape 2 of Lt. Sora Andersen's war diary dated February 25, 1941.
It's been only a week since this whole expedition started but it feels like it's been months. I mean there's barely anything to do. Most of us are cooped up in the quarters! Damn claustrophobic if you ask me so my new routine is to go to the deck area and stare at the open seas though the deck of an aircraft carrier doesn't have much spots to just sit down and relax.
Haha. Actually, right now, I'm inside the cockpit of my plane so I can have some kind of change in scenery. Of course, no one knows about this!
Hmm… What else? Nothing much to talk about since there's barely anything worth mentioning other than my dreams, recently, are about the riot that happened years ago. For some reason, I can't stop thinking about it and the boredom is just making it worse!
This is Tape 3 of Lt. Sora Andersen's … Forget it! Why am I even doing this intro? Ok. Recording this on February 27, 1941. I'm not my full spunky self today…
At around noon, someone picked a fight with Wil. I don't know the full details as to why the fight even started but I kept hearing the guy mention the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. I wonder if that soldier is related to one of the victims. Luckily, Wil walked away before the fists started flying.
Worried, I looked for him and I found him smoking at the carrier's edge. I tried comforting him but he brushed me off and even downplayed what happened.
He tried to shoo me away but that wasn't going to happen. I am quite proud on how stubborn I can be when I want to though I only stayed with him for half an hour.
Wil didn't wanna talk about his family but he did mention one thing: his dad was indeed part of the mob but not as a simple grunt but rather one of the many confidants of the mob boss. I heard rumor that his dad was a high ranking mobster but I didn't know it was that high.
Wil described his dad as a caring father and actually discouraged him from joining the mob, looks like his dad wasn't so proud of his profession. I can relate but I'm surprised that a mobster so deep in the mob's ranks had enough conscience to do the unthinkable… Wil's dad testified against his own boss and actually got a conviction.
Getting a mob boss arrested is rare enough but hearing the word 'guilty' in a lawsuit. Damn. Just damn. Of course, fucking with the mob never ends well and his dad was shot dead in 1935.
I don't know the full story but it looks like Wil's dad didn't want to be remembered as someone who allowed such a killer loose. Honestly, I don't really know what to say… Wil's story kind of hits a bit close to home in a way.
Damn it. I'm remembering the incident again. Maybe talking about it in these tapes could help lift some weight off me. Not right now though.
This is Tape 4, dated March 1, 1941. It's been 2 days and I'm still thinking about the past. This is getting heavy so I'm gonna put this in tape form. Maybe it'll lift some weight off me. Where do I start?
I've hated Darcsens ever since the riots in 1928. Mum and Dad were kind people. They treated all the workers in the factory, even the Darcsens, with kindness. Everyone was paid descent wages and had benefits that no other company offered. Hell, dad even allowed them to go on vacation while still receiving their daily salary. The Darcsens were treated kindly and everyone knew it but that didn't matter to those protesters.
All they saw were factory owners and nothing more. They didn't bother to find out if mum and dad were cruel to their workers. No. Just being a non-Darcsen factory owner is enough evidence for them to deem my parents guilty and deserving of death. I still hate them. Their kind may be oppressed but that doesn't excuse this atrocity!
Because of them, me and my brother were moved to an orphanage. The incident shook us both to our core to the point that my brother lost part of himself. He always locked himself in his room and would only come out when it's time to eat or if he needed to use the bathroom. He wouldn't even talk to me. That was the beginning of my hatred. My life was destroyed and my brother's spirit was broken because of these 'oppressed' people and the fact that my brother suddenly disappeared without telling me only fueled that hatred. At that point, I was completely alone.
Years later, I got adopted, lived in Appledore, and got into flight school. Around the 6 year anniversary of that riot, I graduated from flight school and got assigned to the Royal Flying Corps where I met Jesse.
Jesse was part of the squad I was assigned to and he was a Darcsen. He had this friendly aura and got along well with everyone except me, of course. I hated his guts the moment I saw the color of his hair.
On the first day, he introduced himself to me and tried shaking my hand but I brushed him off, insulted him, and swat his hand away. My prejudice was at an all-time high during this period and I was a heavy smoker to boot.
But for some reason, Jesse kept approaching me, always trying to strike up a conversation. To be honest, it was kind of annoying. He knew I hated him to the core but he just wouldn't leave me alone. It came to a point that I even slapped him in the face after he said that smoking was bad for me.
Jesse then told me: "We're part of this squad, like it or not. We'll be on missions together and we have to watch each other's backs when we do"
I answered: "I'm never fighting by your damn side"
I made it clear to him that I won't be flying by his side and that I will never watch his back. After that, Jesse finally gave up and stopped bothering me.
[Sora proceeds to talk further but is cut off mid-sentence]
This is Tape 5 recorded the same day as Tape 4. I didn't realize that the tape ran out of space so I basically rambled to myself for a few minutes.
To continue; when the war started a year later, our squad was assigned to many missions around Europa, most of which were just intercepting Imperial bombers or supporting ground forces. On a side note, it feels kind of weird that just 6 years ago, I was flying a Gloster Gladiator. Flying a biplane feels so different from flying monoplanes.
Anyway, in most of those missions, I always made sure to keep my plane away from Jesse's. Now that I think about it, it's kind of a miracle that we managed to complete missions flawlessly. That is until Operation Northern Cross.
My squad was assigned to provide aid to the advancing Federation forces though our airfield was back in Federation territory so our missions were just quick interceptions or air support. Everything went well for the first two months. Our forces were advancing at a steady pace and we had just won the Battle of Siegval. Victory was within reach until winter came early for some reason and that was when things went south. A surprise attack at the forward HQ crippled the advancing forces and a full retreat was called.
I still remember that final mission in the mountains… It was around October. We were assigned to protect the retreating soldiers as long as we could.
The fighting was intense. The Imperial I-15s were tenacious and they managed to shoot down a couple of my comrades but we managed to hold steadfast and repel the enemy planes.
With the air under our control, we provided heavy fire support to the soldiers below. The Imperials were just too many and too fast. The Federation soldiers weren't ready for the winter and were suffering massive casualties.
No matter how many Imperials we gun down, it wasn't enough to thin their numbers. They can smell Federation blood in the water and that was more than enough for them to continue the hunt.
We couldn't keep this up forever. We were fighting all morning and most of the afternoon. Eventually, most of the squad had to pull out because of low fuel but me and Jesse stayed behind. Despite being the only Federation fighters in the area, I still refused to fly close to him.
Around a few minutes later, another wave of Imperial I-15s came and attacked. It was an even tougher fight. Fuel was running low and I don't know how much ammo I had left but I had to fight off these I-15s or else they'll decimate the Federation forces.
I shot down a few planes in the span of half an hour but one managed to get on my tail. I tried and failed to shake him off. I could see the bullets fly past me, some even made holes on my wings. Honestly, I was ready to accept my fate.
But Jesse flew from my right and shot down the I-15 behind me. I was shocked. After everything that happened, why did he save me?
Overcome with emotion, I asked him why.
He answered: "We're part of the same squad. We look out for each other"
I don't really know what to say about that. Even now, I still don't know what to say. I was rude to him, I constantly threw racial slurs against him, and I even slapped him. And yet, he still considered me as a comrade.
I think that was when my hatred started to subside. For the first time, me and Jesse fought side-by-side against numerous I-15s, eventually repelling all of them though both our planes were heavily damaged.
I told Jesse over the radio: "Let's go home. I'll buy you a beer"
Jesse answered: "That would be great…"
I noticed the somber tone in his voice so I looked at his plane. I saw Jesse's plane streaming something. I told him over the radio about it.
He responded that he was losing fuel. Looks like an Imperial managed to shoot the fuel line or something.
I asked if he had enough to fly back. He answered no and told me that he was going to land in the mountain.
There was a fairly large clearing nearby but it wasn't on a level spot. Jesse decided to land there anyway.
I watched him land that plane as so much snow came up to his plane. The plane was mostly in one piece but the fuselage was bent. It wasn't a soft landing.
He did land but I wasn't sure if he landed successfully. His plane wasn't bursting into flames so I assume he at least managed to limit the damage. I flew around the crash site for a while, constantly looking at the cockpit.
A few minutes later, I saw smoke coming from under the cowling in his plane. I got worried but then he waved at me from the cockpit so I was relieved for a moment.
That relief disappeared immediately when I noticed he wasn't trying to get out of the plane. Something was wrong. I barely had any fuel left so I decided to crash land near him. I gave one last radio transmission about the situation before attempting my landing.
It wasn't a pleasant landing but it was a bit better than Jesse's. I hurt my back a bit but the adrenaline made sure it didn't register in my head.
I leapt out of my plane and ran to Jesse's side. He was calm but he was freezing. He didn't have his helmet and he had no gloves on.
He said he was trying to take his gloves off to unbuckle his parachute until things went south. Lucky for him, I was carrying a woolen cap and a scarf. I put both on Jesse, hoping that he could get warmer. I tried helping him out but it was no good. His legs were trapped in the twisted metal. No way a single person could get someone out like that.
There was nothing I could do. For some reason, Jesse started some random conversation with me. Stricken with grief, I finally had a normal conversation with Jesse. I still remember everything we talked about.
I finally understood why everyone in the squad looked up to Jesse so much. He was a fun guy to talk to and even in this intense situation; he still managed to throw jokes that actually made me laugh though it couldn't last forever. His final words were: "If anything happens to me, tell my wife, Daisy, how much I love her".
Those final words hit me hard. I even considered chopping his legs off to get him out but all I had was my combat knife and I had no bandages to cover the wound.
It was then that Imperial soldiers started opening fire on our position. All I had was my M1911 against Imperial rifles and submachine guns. Jesse wasn't moving, seems he passed out from the cold. I furiously stayed by his side and returned fire even though I knew I won't be able to hit anyone from where I was. I just got to know Jesse and I realized how much of a good person he was. There was no way I was going to leave him to die especially since he had a wife and child!
As the Imperials closed the distance, I was surprised when a squad of Federation soldiers came to my rescue. They were a small squad of five who volunteered to rescue us after they heard about Jesse's crash landing.
I was relieved that there was hope for rescue. As they neutralize the Imperials, I quickly turn to Jesse, trying to wake him up. He was ice cold and had no pulse. He froze to death during the fighting. It was devastating. I think I lost it after that. I refused to leave which forced one of the soldiers to knock me out.
This is Tape 6, same date as Tape 4 and 5.
Next thing I remember, I woke up in a makeshift medical tent. Because of what happened, I joined the Federation soldiers retreating from the Imperials.
I survived the days of constant fighting and retreat, eventually linking back with my squad. I told them about Jesse and not surprising that they accused me of leaving him for dead. The war was over by that time so I left the squad. I didn't even try to defend myself. I deserve all the scorn and hatred they threw at me.
Eventually, I met up with Jesse's wife and I told her about Jesse's last words. She said she knew me through the stories Jesse was telling her. I was surprised she didn't throw her own set of slurs at me. I even asked why she didn't hate me.
She answered: "What good will that do? You said you stayed by his side until the end. I believe you because if you didn't, you wouldn't have seek me out and you wouldn't have known I existed"
I'm still friends with Daisy and I write to her a couple of times too.
After retiring from the army, I opened a sewing business in the capital but the regret I had for the things I did to Jesse still weighed heavily on me to the point that I would smoke a lot more than usually do.
I haven't completely forgiven myself even until now. I still hate those Darcsen that murdered my parents and destroyed my brother's spirit but I now know that they don't represent the entire Darcsen race. My prejudice was misplaced and I really regret not valuing Jesse's attempts to form a friendship.
I wrestled with these feelings for years until a certain incident happened in 1938. I was walking home after buying some groceries. The war was back on but I didn't want anything to do with it. I felt that I had no right to go back to the army.
Anyway, as I was getting closer to my store, I saw Jesse leaning on the door going to my store. He looked at me and, with a smile on his face, waved. I was overcome with emotion that I dropped my groceries and started walking towards him.
After a few seconds, the sun's rays break through the clouds and blind me for a bit. That didn't stop me though since I just covered my eyes. When I put my arm down, Jesse was gone.
Was he visiting me? Was he trying to tell me something?
I don't really know but it was at that moment that I decided to quit smoking and return to the army.
Jesse. If you're hearing this, I'm sorry for all those insults. I promise you that I'll live the rest of my life atoning. Rest well, good friend.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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