Ten Minutes after the fall of Rome
Skies above Romagna
Lynette Bishop "Lynne" P.O.V
The burning city of Rome fall over the horizon behind us as we head for home, the smoke from the burning city is still visible towering high in the sky but thankfully the city no longer is. I don't think either Yoshika or Lucchini could have handled the sight for much longer, it must be horrible for Lucchini watching the capital of her homeland burn and just as bad for Yoshika knowing all those peopled died back there and there was nothing she could have done to prevent their deaths. Neither Yoshika or Lucchini are their cheerful self's both look sad and depressed not making a sound as we fly them away from the city. Carrying Yoshika on my back she's so still and quiet that it's hard to believe she's even alive, the only reasons why I know she's still alive is because I can feel a growing wetness on my back from her silent tears that breaks my heart, her breath on the back on my neck that sends shivers down my spine each time she exhales and her heart beat which I feel steadily beating against my back. Having Yoshika this close to me feels so good and makes me feel so warm a fuzzy inside, I wish it didn't take a city being destroyed to make me feel this way and that we could fly like this forever as I never want this feeling to go away.
"Lynne" Yoshika whispers as I feel her move her arm most likely to wipe away her tears. "Are we going home now?"
I almost start crying at the sound of her voice, she sounded weak and sad almost like a child when she asked me that. Her voice made her sound so helpless that I can't stop a single tear leave my eye and roll down my cheek, I have to take a few deep breaths before answering, I need to be strong for her and not sound scared or depressed. "Yes Yoshika, we are going home"
"Who were those people?" Yoshika asks her voice sounding just as sad and helpless as before and now I really am on the brink of tears. I hate hearing anyone this sad and it's even worse hear Yoshika like this. "How could they kill all those people?"
"I don't know" I tell her fighting really hard to keep my voice steady and my tears away, I hope Yoshika doesn't ask me anything else, it's not like I don't like talking to Yoshika because I do and I could talk to her till the end of time it's just that I know I will become a weeping mess if I hear her voice one more time.
Mio Sakamoto P.O.V
"Minna where are we going the heading you put us on won't take us back to base?" I ask as I fly up next to my Commander and friend.
"We not heading back to base" Minna answers not looking my way, instead she looks down at the countryside below and that's when I see tears covering her cheeks and dripping off her chin.
"Minna" I say placing a hand on her shoulder wanting to cheer her up but not knowing how, I have never been good at stuff like this and always let someone else handle it.
"We been ordered to Sicily and the rest of Romagna will be abandoned" Minna continues with her answer pausing to wipe away the river of tears traveling down her face. "We failed, I failed, I promised to protect Romagna but now we have to abandon it"
Hearing her say that and knowing that it means I've failed as well is the closes thing that has ever happened to me to bring me to tears. "Minna it's not your fault no one could of predicted something like this" I tell her hoping to cheer her up and to take my mind of my failure so my tears won't join hers. "Have you told the others yet?"
"I can't bring myself to" Minna replies still trying to wipe away her tears. "I know it will just destroy Lucchini and I can't bring myself to do it"
"I can do it for you if you want me to" I say but Minna just shakes her head instantly refusing my offer.
"No I'll tell them" Minna says after taking a deep breath. "It's my job I'll tell them, I just need a few minutes"
Ten minutes later
Charlotte E. Yeager "Shirley" P.O.V
"Lucchini its ok we will take the city back" I tell my young friend who's crying into my chest her face buried between my pride and joy. I hate to see Lucchini upset we've been partners since we joined the 501st and are more like sisters than friends. I hate seeing her like this, she's been crying nonstop into my mountains ever since we left the city very rarely coming up for air. I can her mumbled cries and feel my chest get damper and damper with each passing second. "We are going to regroup and take the city back just you wait and see"
"I know we will" Lucchini replies looking up at me with a weak trembling voice and a just as weak smile on her face, her eyes have reddened from all the crying she has done. I smile back and stroke her head, this is the first time she smiled since we left, it may be a small weak smile but it's a massive improvement over the crying.
"Everyone there's something I need to tell you" Minna's voice sounds over the radio, her voice isn't steady and I can tell instantly that she's about to tell us some bad news. I just hope it won't hurt Lucchini too badly, from everything that's happened it's clear to me that the bad news we're about to receive involves Lucchini's homeland. "We are not going back to the base, we are going to Sicily"
"We not abandoning Romagna are we?" Gertrud asks shocked by Minna's words.
I feel Lucchini tightening her arms around me and bury her face deeply in my chest upon hearing this. "Don't worry Lucchini it won't be forever" I tell her stroking her head trying my best to cheer her up.
"Unfortunately we are" Minna replies and I look over to see her eyes are as red as Lucchini's, this loss must have been hard on her too. "We are to land at an airbase on the outskirts of Messina were we will be assisting with the evacuation of civilians"
On-board the A.A.S Atlas
Duchess Maria of Romagna P.O.V
I've been stuck in this cage for nearly half an hour, just thirty minutes but it already feels like I've been in here for a life time. My captors only make it worse by playing white noise over speaks out of my reach so I can't smash them which I already tried and they have also made the room so cold that I have to curl up in a ball to keep warm. I shivering from head to toe and can no longer feel my nose, fingers and toes, my ears are burning and there's not a blanket in sight for me to huddle under for warmth. The person in charge said he'll let me out as soon as I agree to surrender but I will never surrender, never. Romagna will not fall, not to the Neuroi and not to these monsters, monsters seem like a good name, these people are not human, no human will kill another or treat me like this. They are monsters, monsters not humans.
Jonathan Irons P.O.V
"How's the princess doing?" I ask entering the room where every prison cell on this ship is monitored, the two men inside quickly get to their feet and salute me. "At ease, so how is she doing?"
"She tried to smash the speakers but apart from that she's behaving" One of the men replies taking a quick glance over his shoulder to look at the monitor displaying the Duchess's cell. "She's stubborn sir but I don't think it will be long before she breaks"
"Good" I say turning around and leaving the room soon she will break and her country would be mine.
I walk out of the room and head straight towards the bridge when one of the communication officers runs up to me. When he reaches me he's out of breath and sweating, he bends over in front of me trying to catch his breath. I wait for him to regain the ability to speak and five minutes later he finally does speak and tells me his message that was so important that he ran all over the ship just to tell me. "Sir… The city… Is secure and… And we just intercepted a transmission… They are leaving the country"
"That fantastic now go get a drink and take a quick break before going back to work" I tell him thinking how much easy this is going then I thought.
"Yes sir" The man says before he walks off and I head towards the Duchess's cell, I think she would like to hear this.
Duchess Maria of Romagna P.O.V
I've been laying and shaking for as long as I can remember, all I can think about is the coldness of the room the white noise making it impossible for me to think about anything else. My body is starting to ach and stiffen because of from how long I've been laying curled up in a ball for warmth. But it isn't the coldness or the white noise that hurts me the most. It's the fact that I'm trapped here while my fellow countrymen bravely fight and sacrifice for our country and freedom that hurts the most. I'm useless here, trapped and unable to aid those brave souls still fighting that's eating away at me. That helpless uselessness feeling is what's going to break me, not the monsters that hold me prisoner. I would never break for them. I hear the metal door to my cell slide open with loud screech quickly followed by the sound of footsteps on the clod steel floor of my cell.
"I just received some interesting news Duchess" The voice of the monsters leader says his voice is as cold as the temperature of my cell. "It seems I now control your country"
"You're lying!" I shout as I jump up to my feet my body complaining with pain emitting from my cold stiff limbs. He's lying he has to be, he's just trying to get into my head there's no way Romagna would fall after one battle no matter how devastating a defeat it was. "Romagna will not fall to a monster like you!"
"Oh but it has" He persists. "I can even show you the ruins in a day or two"
"In a day or two you would be defeated and I'll be showing you your cell" I reply refusing to believe a single word coming out of his mouth, there nothing but lies and no way could they be true. I know my country and citizens and I know they won't surrender after a single defeat"
Landing on Sicily
Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke P.O.V
We all touch down on the airstrip and head to the hanger without saying a word, no one feels like talking. None of us like defeat and after the one we just suffered and knowing our defeat resulted in the loss of a country made it even worst. Moral for the whole unit is low because of the defeat, everyone has their heads down as we make our way to the hanger. Yoshika and Lucchini are the worse I can see that Yoshika is scared by what happened in Rome and Lucchini is taking the loss of her homeland hard crying throughout the flight. Just looking at Lucchini's face brings me to tears, I can see the sadness and shock the loss of Romagna has brought her and it's all my fault, I vowed to protect this country and I failed just like I failed to protect Karlsland and Kurt. I can't protect anything not even the man I loved.
We all fly over and dock our Strikers, and put away our weapons and ammunition. No one says a word as we wait in the hanger unsure of what to do or where to go, all we were told to do is land on the airstrip and told where to put our Strikers over than that I have no idea what we are meant to do. But we are not left hanging around for long, I hear footsteps approaching us echoing inside the hanger. I turn round to see two people approach us, the first person a man I recognize the second who's a young girl about the same age as myself, I don't have any idea who she is. The man is wearing a Karlsland General's uniform and I instantly recognize and sault him, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring one of the three military leaders in charge of the Allied forces in Romagna. The girl is wearing an Orussian officer's uniform and I see the rank of Wing Commander on the insignia on her shoulders. She has green eyes that shine brightly in the shade of the hanger, her skin is tanned clearly marking her as serving in the Mediterranean or Africa, she has long brown hair tired in a pony tail that goes down to her waist and on her neck I can see a small birth mark.
"Commander Minna" Kesselring says as he and the girl approach us.
"Yes sir" I reply as I hear the others notice and salute the Field Marshal. There is something I pick up on in his voice that tells me I am in trouble, I can feel sweat start to form on the back of my neck as I wait for him to continue.
"You are demoted to the rank of Major and Wing Commander Tsyrinskaya Lidia Yermolayevna or Lida as everyone calls her" Kesselring tells as Lida steps forward. "Also Lieutenant… Sorry Sergeant Patricia Schade will be transferred to your squad and will be arriving in a few days"
With that the Field Marshal leaves us along to take in the news about my demotion, our new commanding officer and soon to arrive squad member. Lida stays where she stands looking over each member of the squad and giving us time to take in the news. Looking around at each of my girls I can tell they are shocked by the news of my demotion and replacement as head of the squadron. I knew I would most likely be a scapegoat for the defeat and it sound like the now Sergeant Patricia Schade is another one. I'm upset about my demotion but at the same time I'm glad it's just me being demoted and not any of the others. I look over to my and my squad's new commander and find her grinning and staring, I follow her eyes to see them locked on Sanya who's looking nervous and fidgeting with her hands. It doesn't take an expert to work out these two have a history I just hope it's not bad one. But with my recent demotion and lost battle I don't think I'll be lucky enough for them to have a good history.
Tsyrinskaya Lidia Yermolayevna "Lida" P.O.V
"Are you really our new commanding officer?" A blonde haired Karlslander asks if I remember correctly from the personal files I read her name is Erica Hartmann a lieutenant from Karlsland and sister of Ursula Hartmann a genius developing the Jet Striker. I don't think we are going to get along from what I read about her. She's lazy, messy and according to her friend and wingmen Gertrud Barkhorn she lacks discipline.
"Yes I am" I tell her and she quickly surrounds me with two others I recognise as her wingmen Gertrud Barkhorn a Karlsland Captain and Charlotte E. Yeager or Shirley who is also captain but from Liberion. I think I'll probably get along with Barkhorn, she's disciplined and always does her duty, Shirley on the other hand I think we will have some problems, she also according to Barkhorn lacks discipline constantly blowing off her duties to tinker with her Striker. "Do you three want anything?"
"Why are you in charge of our squad?" Barkhorn asks, I was expecting this question I didn't know when or who will ask it but ever since I was told I would be in charge of this squad I knew I would have to answer that question. "Minna was doing a good job"
"Because Command is looking for scapegoats for the loss of Romagna, Minna and Sergeant Patricia Schade are the lucky ones because they only getting demoted" I answer as honestly as I can knowing that lying to them right now would only cause problems with my command. "Squadron Leader Federica N. Doglio and Flight Lieutenant Takei Junko we're forced to retire"
"What?" The Fuso Women I recognise as Major Mio Sakamoto, I can tell she's surprised at the news that Junko was forced into retirement as her file shows she and Junko are close. "Takei is a great witch why would they do that to her?"
"Because no one wants to be blamed for the loss of Romagna so Command is shifting the blame onto use witches" I reply and no one is surprised at the news everyone knows that most of the military hates witches.
Sanya V. Litvyak P.O.V
It's her. Why is she here? Why? I thought I was done with her when I joint the Orussia Air Force but no she's back. I joined up to run away from her not to fight. I can feel my body shaking just by her stare and hearing her voice fills me with fear. My heart started pounding in my chest the moment I spotted her and sweat is covering my body, more sweat begun to cover me and my pounding heart went into overdrive when I heard she was going to be my new Commanding Officer. The girl that tormented me in childhood is my new CO. From what little I can hear over the pounding of my heart with her conversation with Barkhorn, Shirley and Erica I can tell she's doing what she did years ago, she's acting friendly and nice so no one would believe her victims when they say what she's doing to them. That's why I had to run because no one believed me when I told them what she did and said to me, they all saw her as sweat and innocent. And now… Now she's…
Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen P.O.V
I am just about to walk over and join the group speaking to our squads new Commander when suddenly Sanya falls against my side. I catch her before she can hit the ground and look at her face, the instant I lay my eyes on her closed eye's and sweat filled face I'm scared and my mind and body instantly becomes flooded with worry. I check Sanya's pulse only to find it rapid a lot higher than it should and when I move my fingers away from her pulse point my fingers are drenched in sweat, Sanya's whole body is drenched in sweat. Somethings wrong with her and I don't know what it is, she could be sick or poisoned oh god I hope she hasn't been poisoned I would make sure who ever poisoned her suffers. I'm out of my depth and don't know how to help Sanya. I feel tears start to rain down my cheeks as I revise that there's nothing I can do to help my precious Sanya. But I know someone who can help her, someone who will know what to do.
"Yoshika!" I call out as I lower Sanya to the ground resting her head gently on my lap. "Yoshika I need your help somethings wrong with Sanya!"
I hear several pairs of footsteps run towards me and know Yoshika is among them, I feel a sigh of relief as I see her knee in front of me.
"What's wrong with her?" Yoshika asks.
"I don't know Sanya just collapsed, her pulse is raided and she's covered in sweat" I tell her not taking my eyes off Sanya's beautiful face. "Please help her"
"I'll see what I can do" Yoshika replies reaching for Sanya's wrist, she checks her pulse and when she finishes her hand too comes away covered in sweat. She the places a hand on Sanya's forehead to check her temperature but nothing, she does nothing after that to help my poor Sanya. "I think it's the flue but I can't be sure we need to get her to the medical room can you carry her?"
"Of course I can" I reply standing up and picking up Sanya in one swift movement. "Where is the medical room?"
"Follow me I'll take you there" Lida says and I don't hesitate in following after her.
"Hold on Sanya we'll get you help and you'll be better in no time" I tell Sanya as I carry her out of the hanger.