Author's Note
Hi, I'm PPsyrius. This is my first story, so if you had any ideas, advice or questions please PM me or leave a review. Thank you.
As the title of the story implies, this story is going to take place in the Southeast Asia Theater (The first arc will revolve around events in the Malay Peninsula). This story will not be regularly updated as I'm still very busy with my mountain of schoolwork.
As today is 11th November, the Armistice Day/Veterans Day/Remembrance Day/วันทหารผ่านศึก (or whatever it is known in your country, not counting the Pocky Day). A salute to all the veterans who had fought valorously to protect their families at home. - PPsyrius
Disclaimer:
I owned nothing but my Original Characters . The original series belongs to Shimada Humikane. Others OCs which is being submitted in belong to their respective authors. Big thanks to JJ Sama for SW-related info, Dima02 for beta-reading and the Royal Thai Air force Museum for Thai historical air battle records.
Legends
"Sample Text" - regular conversation
'Sample Text' - radio conversation
S͏̸͜á̷̀͘͡m̵̵̢̕p͜͢l̢̧̕҉ę̷̡́ ̸̷̷͢T̷́͠ę̵́x̡͏t̴̵̡ - bad radio signal/unknown word (temporary deafness from explosion)/abnormal hearing due to fatigue.
[x] - notice
Chapter 01: The (False) Quiet on the Southwest Pacific Front
The 514th Tropical Witches was formed from various Allied Armies in late 1941 to coordinate the defenses of the air-space over the Malaya Peninsula from Neuroi.
The wing was equipped with outdated weapons and strikers from Europe until the incident near the island of Koh Chang in 1941. Afterwards, they started to get the newer equipment from both Fuso and Britannia. The 514th JFW is being reinforced with mainly Liberion and Brittanian Commonwealth forces with a small number of Fusoan and other local witches. It's main goal is to protect the important maritime trade routes of Melaka and the rubber and tin mining industries within the region .
- excerpted from Forgotten: The Southeast Asia Theater during the Neuroi War
8th December 1941
Sadao, Singora, Siamro [2]
"I'm tired."
"I'm just as tired as you are. Stop complaining, kah."[1]
The Fusoan witch complained incessantly as we neared the border town of Padang Besar in Malaya. We were being sent to regroup with some Brittanian witches at a hastily-built airbase in Penang, near the Strait of Melaka. The crude airbase was equipped with antiquated gear and was staffed by mostly rookie witches, but it was still considered to be one of the better airbases in the region. The brutal war in Europe had swallowed up most of the resources and manpower of the Brittanian Commonwealth, leaving its bases in Asia undermanned and under-equipped. That all changed when the Neuroi attacked. Brittanian and Australi witches were now being dispatched to bases in Southeast Asia, and fresh Liberion troops were being deployed to Temasek.
My name is Wattana Sujarittum but I would prefer to be called by my nickname "Waan". I'm a Flying Officer in the Siamese Air Forces. I was stationed at Ao Manao Airbase in Prachuap Khiri Khan but was transferred to Songkhla Naval Air Station in Singora a few months ago.
I was on a joint night patrol with Masa Leiko, a Kempeitai exchange officer over Hat Yai last night when our old wing commander radioed us our new orders. We were being dispatched to warn the garrison stationed at Khao Kor Hong about the Neuroi breakthrough and provide air cover. The 5th Infantry Battalion did their best trying to hold back the Neuroi advance, but their best was not good enough. In the face of mounting casualties, army headquarters had issued a general retreat in the early hours. The subsequent Neuroi advance was as swift as it was terrifying. All witches were ordered to report to their nearest nearest air base, Which in our case is RAF Butterworth.
Since the main roads were clogged with refugees, we took a dirt road which ran through the jungle instead. The truck driver turned on the radio.
"This is the BBC with the latest news. A large Neuroi invasion occurred in Siamro, Malaya and the Philippines at 1 am Siamro local time. The Siamro government is now moved ..เ͘̕͞พ̧̀ล̶͝ง̷̸͝ม̶͞า́ร́͟͢͝͝์̕͠͏͜͟ช̷̡͜ ..emergency capital in Phetchabun as most ..ศ̢̡̀ท̨̡͡.̢͠҉̀̕͠͠เ̷̧͠ร̶̴̕͝า̕͢เ̷̢͢͜ห͞ล̵่͜͢า̡͘ ..including Bangkok now under Neuroi control with ..น̴̀̕͜ั͞ก̨͟ศ̶̢̀͢͡ึ̵̧͠ก҉̸͟ษ̸̡̢̀า̛͞ว̶̡͠͞ิ̕̕͞ช̵̴̨̀า҉̨ท̴̷̛́͝ห̡͟͠͡า͞͏̸ร̶̨͘͠ ..also suffered the same fate. the situation in Malaya, however, is currently stable. The Neuroi have failed to break through our defenses in Kota Bahru." A BBC reporter announced over the radio."In related articles..."
"We are safe, at least for the time being..." I look at the map. I told the driver the correct route as he slowly drove us out of the forest
"We have witnessed this morning the attack on Pearl Harbor and .. ̷͝͏̢ก̵͠ร̶̶̕ม҉͠ก̵า̷̴ร͏̀ร͜ั̷̶̷͠ก̴̧̛́ษ̶̨า̵̛͜͞ด̷̷̕͝ิ̸̸̀น̢҉แ̷̸ด͠͞҉͘̕น̸̡̛́͝-bor by the Neuroi. The city of Honolulu has also been attacked and suffered considerable damage. This battle has been going on for nearly three hours. One of the Neuroi attacked within 50 feet of.. ̴͜͠ฝ̶̨̀͘͝ึ̶̢̢̛͟ก̸̡́͞ฝ̶̧̛͟น͏̡ ..taunty-tower ..ท͏̢͏̵̵ุ̀ก̸̨̧̛ค̸̡͞น̢.. We can be sure that this attack is not just a feint. This is the real invasion..." The truck was now out of the thick jungle and now heading dirt road into a small town. The truck then slowed down as we approached a building with an English sign that read "Train Station".
I woke up the tired witch next to me as I searched for my hat. I thanked the soldiers who helped us load our own striker units and weapons onto the train. It was both frustrating and convenient that most of my personal belongings were now buried under the ruins of what use to be Songkhla naval base. As the trains departed the station I could only stare aimlessly at the scenery outside the train window.
Somewhere between Padang Besar and Butterworth, Malaya
It was about one hour later when people began to shout and panic. The train decelerated as dark smoke began to rise from the locomotive. Both Waan and Masa decided to help the civilians moving their luggage out of the carriages.
"Tengok!" a boy shouted as he pointed his finger into the sky. Then, a large Neuroi launched its particle beam toward their position. Pure chaos ruled supreme as everyone left their belongings and ran for the nearest shelter.
"Quick, to the cargo car!" Waan ran straight to the military radio as she tried to get in contact with the headquarter as soon as possible.
'[Kinnari] to anyone out there, please come in.'
'This is [Killer Actual], what happened?' A witch respond through the radio.
'We are being attack by a large type Neuroi in Jahan Sehala. Require immediate assistance. Over. '
'Negative. That's a road sign. Try to ask someone beside you. Over.'
She look around and saw a woman covering in fear behind a tree
"Where are we, could you tell me please?"
"Alor Setar." Waan nodded her head and then continue the radio conversation.
'We are near A-law-say-tar. Over.'
'Roger. out.' Waan put the radio down as she rushed to grab her own striker unit and Madsen machine gun.[3]
Pilot Officer Masa Leiko POV
Masa had already spent all of her ammo, but most of her bullets missed. The few that hit did nothing except to alert the Neuroi to her position. The Neuroi craft changed course and charged at her. Its particle beam canon was starting to glow.
"F*ck." She knew from the beginning that her magic power was for support only. She knew all along that she would not be able to even scratch the Neuroi. But still, she felt a duty to protect those around her. That was why she became a witch, and that was also how she ended up in such a predicament.
Masa has already spent all of her ammo with little to none hit the target. "F*ck." She has already know from the beginning that her magic power is a support type and would not even scratch the neuroi.
"WATCH OUT!" Suddenly a shield popped up behind her, just in time to deflect the Neuroi beam.
"Thanks..." I looked behind me and saw Waan throw me a light machine gun.
"The Neuroi core is in inside its main fuselage...Just use this kah. I'll go and act as a diversion.!" I grabbed the gun and begun aiming at the Neuroi.
Waan began shooting her own Nambu pistol at the Neuroi. The monster screeched as it aimed its cannon toward her.
"Now...FIRE!" Waan shouted. I started spraying bullets at its fuselage, destroying its core in the process.
"We did it!" I cheered. But my smile quickly faded as four more Neuroi appeared from a cloud formation.
Then a Neuroi exploded violently into a cloud of dust.
"This is [Killer]. The cavalry has arrived."
I looked in amazement as a witch in Royal Australi Air Force uniform flew out of the cloud formation. The witch was carrying a modified QF 6-pounder 57mm gun in her hand...An anti-tank was in addition to racks of rockets carried on her back. She was a literally flying battlecruiser.
Then, another witch in Royal Air Force Uniform swooped in behind the second Neuroi and killed it with a carefully placed burst of her Bren light machine gun.
I began reloading my own gun while the other two tried to score more killsl. A rocket barrage from the heavy weapon witches quickly obliterated a large part of a Neuroi's wing. I saw the core and shot it, causing the Neuroi to disintegrate into flakes midair.
"Ha! That's my 47th kill!"
In the meantime, Waan was chasing down the last Neuroi. Waan put away her pistol and pull out an old sword with the word "Wichaikatks[4]" inscribed on its blade.
"Naraiprabmarn!" she said as her sword hit where the Neuroi core was and destroyed it, earning herself a kill.
"I'm tired..." Waan's voice became slurred as her sword fell from her grip. Her striker unit propeller stopped spinning. I quickly rushed toward the falling witch, trying to catch her before she hit the ground. But then, something hit my head, and I lost consciousness.
RAF Butterworth, Penang, Malaya
Flying Officer Wattana Sujarittum's POV
"...ฝ͘͜͝ึ́͠͞ก̨̀ฝ͠͠น͏̢͏̴ท̴̷̶ุ̨̛͜͡ก̸̵̷̵̀ค҉̸̛͢͢น͏͞รู้̨͘̕͟͟͝͞͞͠จ̸͢͢͝ั͏́ก̸̷̧͡ใ̴̨͟͟ห้̧̡͞҉́͠ร̵̀͘ั́̕̕ก̡͟͝͝แ́͡ผ̴่̡̢͟͢͢น̵̶̡̢͜ด̷̵̴͢ิ̕͞͞น͏̨͢͏..."
"...ผ̶่̡̛́͜น̡͡แ̵̨́͡͝ด̡̀͘น͟҉ไ̶̧̡ท̨ย҉̵͠..."
I slowly open my eyes and saw myself sitting in a bed. A girl wearing an RAAF uniform with black knee socks sat next to my bed. She has waist-length blond hair with a red bow and large blue eyes. The another witches
"Oh good. You're finally were going to start charging you for an extended stay if you slept any longer. You must be Flying Officer Sujarittum." I turned my head and saw the RAAF witch walking towards my bed.
"I'm Clara Rachael Caldwell, the squadron leader of the newly established 514th JFW." She said.
"You can call me Waan, ma'am," I said. My own name is too long and usually gets mispronounced. I started to look around the room. The Wichaikhatka was laying against the wall in its sheath.
"Where am I, ka?"
"I welcome you to the wonderful paradise of Penang. You fainted after the sword attack of yours. The Fusoan witch tried to clumsily catch you in midair, but your sword hit her and knocked her out. You'll have to teach me the sword-dropping trick later. I'd love to drop some dumbbells on the brass in London."
"Ohayo~!" Masa said as she walked into the room. There was a bandage on her head, and her left leg was in a cast. Poor Masa, I really felt bad for her.
"Sorry for those injury you've received kah..." I said quietly.
"That's nothing compared to what I got in Kanazawa." She gaves me a thumb-up as the RAF witch placed a breakfast set on the over bed table.
"Looks like I didn't introduce myself yet. My name is Rinesta 'Quin' Strifen, I'm the one currently in charge of this wing-lah." She said as I noticed something similar to pad mee khorat on the plate.
"That's mee goreng, a famous dish here in Penang." I then started to dig in the noodles. I felt very hungry after the battle.
"You were out cold for three days so I've already prepared some more for you. You can ask Clara for more. I'm going to take care of your documents." She then walk out of the room. I gulped down two more dishes and fell into a food coma. I needed some more rest. The fight ahead of me was going to anything but easy.
To be continued.
Author Notes:
[1] ##Linguistic Notes & Translations##
Tengok! - Look!
Jahan Sehala - One Way (road sign)
Pad mee khorat - a stir fried rice noodle dish commonly served with papaya salad (Som tam) in Thailand.
Mee goreng - a flavorful and spicy fried noodle dish common in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
"Kah" or "Ka" are transliteration of the word "ค่ะ",the polite particle used by females but in reality it can be use in many cases (but less frequent than the word "Lah" in Singlish/Singaporean English). This can also be considered as Waan's verbal-tic.
"Lah" is a slang used by mainly Malaysian and Singaporean English speakers which originates from the Chinese can be uses instead about 11 particles, mostly borrowed from Hokkien or Cantonese, to indicate attitude to what is being said. They work rather like "you know" and "you see". The three most common are ah(usually expects agreement), lah (strong assertion) and what (usually corrects something).
All Malay languages featured are from either Berlitz dictionary or google translate. Any Malaysian readers out there please PM me if the words are wrong or a better phrase can be use instead. (Thanks to Yukihana Kye for some word correction)
Bad radio signal text is created by inserting some random Thai lyrics into the Zalgo text. Feel free to implement this feature into your own story. (for this chapter it's Thai ROTCS March. (มาร์ช นศท.))
[2] ##Some of the place mentioned in this story##
Sadao (สะเดา) is a small border town and district on the border of Malaysia in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand.
Singora (สิงขระนคร) was a heavily fortified port city in southern Thailand and precursor of the present-day town of Songkhla founded in the early 17th century.
Phetchabun (เพชรบูรณ์) is a province in northern Thailand. Due to its strategic location, in 1943 Mueang Phetchabun was planned to become the new capital of Thailand, named Nakhonban Phetchabun (นครบาลเพชรบูรณ์). However this plan of Prime Minister Field Marshal Plaek Phibulsongkram did not get approval of the parliament.
Melaka is the name Malacca from Bahasa Malaysia.
Temasek or Tamasik are the alternate names for Singapore, from Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) respectively.
[3] ##Jargon Dictionary##
Madsen Light Machine Gun
The world's first true light machine gun produced in quantity. Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schoubue designed the weapon, and it was proposed for adoption by Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War. The Danish Army adopted in 1902. Consequently, Madsen was able to sell it in 12 different calibers to over 34 different countries worldwide. It saw extensive combat for over 100 years.
Nambu Pistol
Type 94 handgun (九四式拳銃 Kyūyon-Shiki Kenjū), also known as Nambu pistol was a series of semi-automatic pistol produced by the Japanese company Koishikawa Arsenal later known as the Tokyo Artillery pistols. They were designed by Kijiro Nambu and saw extensive service during the Russo-Japanese War, Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.
Bren Light Machine Gun
The Bren Gun, usually called simply the Bren, was a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry light machine gun in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War.
Ordnance QF 6-Pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, or just 6 pounder, was a British 57 mm gun, their primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II, as well as the main armament for a number of armoured fighting vehicles. It was first used in North Africa in April 1942, and quickly replaced the 2 pounder in the anti-tank role, allowing the 25 pounder to revert to its intended artillery role.
[4] ##Character facts & other related information##
Wattana Sujarittum is loosely based on the retired Air Marshal Srisak Sujarittum (พลอากาศโท ศรีศักดิ์ สุจริตธรรม), now 99 years old (2015), one of the WW2 veteran who had both participated in Thai Franco War in 1940 and the pilot who fought valorously against the Japanese during the invasion of Thailand in Ao Manao, Prachuap Khiri Khan where 140 Thais fight against 4,000 Japanese troops who came ashore in the early hours of 8 December 1941.
Clara Rachael Caldwell is also loosely based on Clive Caldwell, the leading Australian air ace of World War II.
Wichaikhatka (วิชัยขัทคะ) is a reference to Phraya Pichai Dab Hak (พระยาพิชัยดาบหัก; literally translated as "Phraya Phichai of the broken sword")was a historic Thai nobleman in the late Ayutthaya to Thonburi period who fought against Burmese invasion with a sword in each hand until one was broken. In this story it's a legendary single-hand Thai sword. Its usage similar to Mio's Reppumaru but instead of sucking magic from its user, it would instead suck life energy that can cause things ranging from a small fatigue to coma if it's use more than its limit .(1 time/day) The real ones are believed to be given to Police Major Khunpantaratratchadej (พันตำรวจตรีขุนพันธรักษ์ราชเดช) by Phraya Pichai's descendant during his service in 1945 who was later known as "Khunpan the red sword".
Naraiprabmarn (นารายน์ปราบมาร) is a name I got for "Reppu-san!". Narai is from Sanskrit "Narayana", a name of Hindu god Vishnu who has four arms and being conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector" with marn means demon. It's proper English name would be "Demon slayer".
ver 1.0.1 - Last Edit: 12/11/15