A/N: Well, surprise, surprise! This actually isn't going to be the last chapter! I planned for it to be, but I just couldn't resist putting one more in before my 4,000+ word final chapter. Again, like I said in the last chapter, do head over to my profile and cast a vote in the poll I have there! It will determine what pairing I am to use in my next multi-chapter story.
Enjoy this one!
Xxx
After a few days of healing, I was released from the hospital. To my surprise, I actually had news crews asking me tons of questions. Some weren't even Finnish. I recognized one of the crews to be from the BBC.
"Mr. Väinämöinen, you're being hailed as the hero of Camp Låssmed after eliminating the final Swede in the camp even while bleeding nearly to death. What do you plan to do, now that you're out of the hospital?" A microphone was shoved in my direction. I promptly ignored the media's constant questioning, but took into mind that I was, in fact, being hailed as a hero.
But what was so heroic about almost dying? I know that I had killed the last Swede there in Camp Låssmed, but I had done it out of the will to not let the last thing I saw be the death of a fellow soldier. Not because I wanted to be a hero.
Berwald, Lukas, and Mathias made their way through the crowd to a taxi, which we got in and headed away from the hospital.
"Where to?" The driver asked.
"Camp Rawhide. Just south of Kolari." I responded. He nodded and began to drive.
"So… What's with all the media?" He questioned while we were on our way north.
"Well… To make a long story short, I apparently am being hailed as a hero for killing the last Swede in Camp Låssmed when I was nearly dead… There were a few witnesses that saw what happened; I'm thinking they were Danes or Finns that were injured by the explosion that managed to get the story leaked out of the battlefield…"
"You think you'll get some sort of award or medal?"
"Possibly… I mean… This is one of the more major wars Finland has ever been in… And I, well… I didn't really do much. Or at least I don't think so… I was just doing what I thought was the better thing to do."
"Since it'll take a little bit to get up to where you want to be, could you tell me the whole story? I just want to know; it sounds very brave just by the little description you gave me."
I sighed. "If you insist…" I really didn't feel like giving my story away, but he was just a taxi driver. It's not like he was going to tell it to the media that were probably going to hound upon my very existence for quite some time.
"We had just received backup from extra Finnish forces outside the gates of Camp Låssmed; just in time too, we were running low on soldiers and were pinned down… When the reinforcements arrived, we forced the Swedes to retreat into the camp… That gave the high-ranking men a few moments to collaborate and organize the troops so that we could take the camp once and for all… We split into three groups, thirty-eight men each. The first was led by Major Leskinen and Mathias here; they were going straight in the main gates." I motioned to the Danish man whom was holding his crutches.
"The second came in from one of the sides, which was a street. It was led by Berwald here." I now motioned to my Swedish lover whom was sitting next to me.
"The third was going in from a small helicopter landing area, opposite the ones going in from the street. It was led by some other high ranking Finn… But we waited for a signal from Major Leskinen, since he was the highest ranking Finn in the area… When we got the signal, we all rushed in. Like a tidal wave from three sides. We had heavy fire coming from the center of camp; the Swedes had fortified themselves behind ammunition crates and sandbags. After a little while of fighting between forces, we were all thinning out… People were getting killed, Swedish, Finnish, and Danish… Major Leskinen died had gotten killed in action… So the Command of the forces went to Mathias, whom is the Generalløjtnant of the Danish Defence… Finally, we all thought we were saved; the Danish reinforcements arrived from their command point just outside of Pajala… A helicopter came up and hovered above the camp… The most elite of the Swedish Armed Forces, the Långtradare, are trained to use RPGs, so… what happened was one of the Långtradare pulled off a shot at the helicopter, making it crash to the ground in a fireball… I was on the ground, covering my head with my arms… I didn't get hit by any debris, but almost everyone whom had been around me was either dead or dying… I stood once I thought we were all clear, and looked around… The dead were… They were numerous… I neared the center of the camp to inspect the Swedish resistance that we had encountered… But I wasn't cautious enough… An injured Långtradare jumped out from behind his cover with a knife and managed to overpower and stab me in the abdomen… It hurt so bad,; I've been injured before, shot twice actually, but I had never been stabbed… I felt myself get weaker and weaker with every passing second… But as the man whom stabbed me tried to run away, a man whom I couldn't recognize at the time rushed after him and started to brawl with him… The Långtradare managed to fend off the attack and retaliate, beating the hell out of the man whom was now beneath him… I didn't want that to be the last thing I ever saw… I didn't ever want anyone to die when I could do something about it… So I took a hold of the knife in my stomach with one hand, starting to pull it out… I couldn't get it out with just one, so I got my other hand up and finally, with both hands and a lot of pain, I ripped the knife from myself and… I took it in my hand… And threw it right at the opposing Långtradare… Thanks to some training I had received prior to the attack, I… I hit the man square in the neck with the blade of the knife… Killed him, and saved the man underneath him, whom after a few moments got up and rushed over to me… That's when I learned that I had just saved the life of my lover… He… He held me in his arms… Pleading to me not to die; to stay with him… I just… I went unconscious in his arms… I thought that I was dead… but two days later, I awoke in the hospital in Oulu… With Lukas here tending to me." I motioned to the Norwegian doctor.
"So… Yeah… That's the whole story."
"You're serious?" The driver asked, sounding astonished.
"Yeah."
"That is extremely worth being distinguished from other soldiers… You're seriously a hero. With what you just told me, you deserve so much."
"All I want is peace, at the moment… But the job isn't ever going to be done. Even if I'm let out of the Finnish military because of my injuries I've acquired over my short amount of time in the war, I'll still be hounded by the media, and will still have to pay a whole hell of a lot of attention to the military."
"Well, let's just hope this war doesn't last too much longer. It's taking a toll on the Finnish economy."
"It's taking it's toll on a lot of different economies, even outside of Scandinavia."
"Whatever happened to start this war? I mean, seriously. Does anyone even know?"
"I do." Berwald spoke up.
"You Swedish?"
"Former Överstelöjtnant, actually. I'm a traitor though; I defended a Finn from being hurt by one of m' men."
"So you know how and why this war started?"
"For th' most part, yes."
"Care to explain?"
"Well… Th' new Prime Minister… He felt that th' Finnish Armed Forces were getting too strong, and that they were posing a threat t' Swedish security… So… We wasted no time in invading Northern Finland. It's just one of those pointless wars, y' know? The Prime Minister is using his power and influential abilities t' try t' win an unjust war… I don't know why th' hell I left m' home t' serve… We didn't even get two miles into Finland before we were beat back into our own homeland."
"Wow… I didn't know that the new Swedish Prime Minister was so influential…"
"It happens… People get greedy, and people like us have to deal with it." Lukas said.
"So what did you do to contribute? I mean, not that you haven't done anything, but what did you do? You haven't been mentioned as a soldier." The driver asked him.
"I was a volunteer Norwegian medic; I'd been there since before the Norwegian alliance… I offered my assistance to the Swedes, but ended up saving Tino here from his nearly mortal wound. I wasn't just going to let someone die, no matter their alliance… I'm not going to support the Swedes any longer now that they officially have my nation's military helping them…"
"There's no harm done in that. You going to go back to Norway?"
"Possibly. I'm actually thinking of working as a medic for the Finnish forces, but I'm not completely sure I want to continue to participate in the war. I've failed to save so many that were wounded… It was all simple injuries too; things that I could normally deal with if I had medical equipment… But in Camp Låssmed there was practically no medical equipment for the trauma I encountered… All I had was a shelf full of different pills and injections… Some minor equipment like scalpels and sutures… Half of it wasn't sanitary at all… If I did manage to save people, they then had to worry about infections and such… God, I don't ever want to go back to doing that. The battlefield isn't the place for me… I did my service for eight months in the RNoN*, and was done with my mandatory service. The Swedes allowed me to volunteer due to the lack of medics in Northern Sweden… I didn't think much of it until I started losing people to simple wounds…" Lukas' voice was full of emotion when he spoke of his time as a medic in Sweden.
The seemingly cold Norwegian must have held back so many emotions from showing; he had lost so many men to injuries that would usually be able to be treated in a hospital. I was lucky that I wasn't one of the dead. I seriously had to give Lukas credit for what he did now. He never let anything become too overbearing, or at least he didn't show it.
"Well… We're here. You don't have to pay me for this ride; you're veterans. Thanks for the conversation by the way; you all deserve far more than what you're going to be getting." The driver said as we pulled up outside of Camp Rawhide
"Thanks man. We're just glad we're all still alive." Mathias said. We all exited the vehicle, the Dane getting some help from Lukas so that he could stand and get his crutches under his arms.
"Have a nice day." The driver told us before heading off.
The four of us turned to the mains gates to the small camp I had been assigned to previously, and I sighed heavily.
"Something wrong?" Berwald asked.
"Come on… I bet the Commanding officers here are going to be pissed that we practically went A.W.O.L.**…" I replied, walking up to the gates.
We were approached by a few guards, whom questioned us a bit, and eventually let us in. Once we were in, a few high-ranking Finns meandered over to us.
"We've heard quite a bit about all of your guys' heroism at the attack on Pajala. The General wishes to speak with each of you, one on one." One spoke. To say the least, we were astounded.
"Whom does he want to see first?" I questioned.
"Which one of you is the Former Överstelöjtnant?" Berwald raised his hand slightly.
"That'd be m'." He said.
"Come with me. We'll take you to the General."
Berwald glanced to us, obviously unsure.
"Go on." Mathias urged. Berwald sighed a bit and followed the high-ranked Finn over to a small concrete building. They entered, and so initiated a period of waiting for him to come back out.
After about twenty minutes, Berwald exited the building, carrying in his hands a white uniform and a pair of boots, along with a cap suited to that of an officer. I didn't recognize it to look like anything the Finnish officers of the military wore, so it must have been either something new, or something that wasn't from here in Finland.
"What's that stuff for?" Mathias questioned.
"… Award-receiving ceremony. General had custom uniforms made for us… Even y', Lukas." He replied.
"You'll learn more once you've talked to him. Which one of you is Mathias?" The high-ranking Finn from before asked.
Before long, it was my turn to go and speak with the General. Mathias had received a white uniform similar to Berwald's, but it had a red collar and Mathias' current rank's insignia on the shoulder. Lukas had received a maroon uniform with a red plus on the shoulder, and white trim along the edges of the fabric. I knew that Lukas was going to feel so odd wearing such a uniform, and to be honest, I was too; but we had to wear them. They were for ceremonial purposes.
As I was ushered inside the concrete building, I was taken to a small room where a square table was. The General of the Finnish Armed Forces was sitting at one end in a chair. I, for one, was astonished to be in the presence of this man.
He stood with a smile and approached me.
"I have heard quite a bit about your from your friends out there, Väinämöinen." He said as he offered his hand to shake. I took it, smiling at the taller man.
"I don't doubt that, General." I replied.
"Take a seat, please." He said, motioning to the chair at the end of the table opposite where he sat. I nodded and sat down, heart beating with anticipation. I was in the presence of a great man; the General of the Finnish army. He had asked personally to see me, and I was only a Private 1st Class. My story must have gotten around quite a bit.
"So, Tino; you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"
"Not at all, sir."
"Alright. So, Tino, I've been told of your heroism by Danes and Finns alike. For a young Private like you at the age of twenty-three to be hailed like this from men of a different army of much higher rank; it caught my attention quite a bit. Your comrades outside did quite a bit of contribution as well, but nothing quite like what you did. Tell me; what were the injuries you received throughout your experience in the war? Tell the story behind each one, if you wouldn't mind."
"Well… The first injury I received was in the first attack on Pajala we Finns tried… Our helicopter was shot out of the sky, and it crash-landed in a parking lot. I managed to survive with no injuries and crawl out of the wreckage… A nearby Finn tossed me a shotgun after I had gotten up and told me to clear out the Swedes in a nearby building across the street… I managed to get across without getting shot, and went inside, only to come face to face with a Swedish soldier. He had a gun to my head, but I shot him before he had a chance to pull the trigger… He was the only Swede in the room, so I continued up a flight of stairs to get to the next floor. I peeked through the door and noted that there were three Swedes firing their guns out of a large hole in the wall at Finnish soldiers… So… I took a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it by their feet. Once it exploded, I opened the door and went in. There was a man trying to surrender… But I had my orders to kill any Swedes, so I shot him… I then went over to the gap in the wall and saluted to my fellow soldiers as a sign that I was on their side, but… Berwald, whom was with the Swedish Armed Forces at the time, tackled me out of the wall. It was a two story fall, and when I landed I fractured a vertebra in my spine."
"And who gave the verdict that you had fractured that vertebra?"
"Lukas did, actually. You see, I was captured and taken to Camp Låssmed so that I could be used for decoding Finnish communications for the Swedes, but since I was in so much pain and could hardly move, I was taken to the medical barracks. Lukas was there working as a medic for them."
"Alright… So what was the second injury you received?"
"Well, when I managed to escape the camp during another attack on Pajala thanks to Berwald attacking his own soldier, I ended up back here in Camp Rawhide. Mathias arrived not too soon after I did in a helicopter. I… Well, I supposed you could say I was having a hard time coping with being away from and fighting against Berwald. He's been my lover since far before this war started… But anyways, Mathias noticed me just sitting alone and, well, noticed that I was crying… He asked why, and we got to talking… I found out that Lukas, the medic from before, was Mathias' boyfriend… Mathias and I came up with a plan to sneak out of Camp Rawhide to head over to Camp Låssmed undetected so that we could warn Lukas of the attack that happened a few days ago… We… We didn't want to have to fight against the ones we love. So we snuck out and went to the Swedish camp during the night, planning to come back in the morning before the attack. We managed to infiltrate it with almost no trouble… We got to Lukas and warned him of the attack… and then went out of the medical tent… We tried to go around the side, but just as I turned the corner, I ran right into a Swedish soldier… Mathias jumped into action with his knife and slit the man's throat… But we were caught. We found ourselves surrounded by Swedish soldiers. We were handcuffed with zip-ties and tossed into a little tent with cages; like a prison for those captured… Berwald was in there, so we got to communicate a bit, and he got my cuffs off… He was beat to hell because he had been a traitor, and his men apparently decided that was his punishment… But anyways, not too long after I was tossed in there, a few Swedes came in… The one that seemed to be in charge spoke a bit in English, and then spoke some Swedish… Which horrified Berwald and made him try to plead with the man… Before I knew it, the man had opened the cage door and had pointed a pistol at my head… Mathias tried to stop him, but was unsuccessful… The Swedish man with the gun's aim was off, so when he fired the first shot, he hit me in the neck." I moved the collar of my shirt to show the scars that the bullet had left, then continued.
"A few seconds later, he shot me again, this time in the shoulder." I now pulled the collar down over my shoulder and exposed the other scar to the General. I fixed my shirt, and continued once again.
"The man with the gun then lifted me up and put the barrel of the gun under my chin, ready to kill me once and for all… But Lukas, the medic whom Mathias and I had told about the attack, rushed in. He grabbed the gun and tossed it away, forcing the man not to shoot me because ultimately, Mathias and I had just committed a form of treason against our own nations by telling someone allied with the Swedes very important information… Mathias tried to stop him from telling the Swede whom had shot me all the information… But failed in doing so… Lukas told the man the Finnish and Danish plans and the Swedes allowed us to be released… I was laying on the ground, bleeding a lot, and in a lot of pain from the bullet wounds I had received… So Lukas, being the medic of the camp, told Berwald to take me over to the medical tent… Once we were there, I underwent two painful surgeries to seal the bullet wounds… Lukas only had numbing agent, so I still felt a lot of what he did… I survived the rough surgery and was carried over to a different bed to recover… And then Berwald was treated for his injuries; though they weren't as major as mine, they still caused him quite a bit of pain."
"And the third… Er… fourth wound you received was the one that's been so publicized; the stab wound you received by a Långtradare after surviving the helicopter explosion?"
"Yes."
"Well, from what I've been told, basically, you had gotten to Camp Låssmed with help from the Danes and had participated in the infiltration. When the Danish helicopter crashed, you were uninjured. When you got up and went towards the center of camp, that's when the Långtradare jumped out of his cover and stabbed you. When you were on the ground, Berwald went after the retreating man, and was soon being pummeled mercilessly. You, despite your weakened condition, pulled the knife from your abdomen and threw it at the Långtradare, killing him with a direct hit to the neck… You saved Berwald, whom rushed over to you. You then fell unconscious, and were kept alive by Lukas, whom along with Mathias and Berwald, took you to Oulu. You were then treated for the stab wound, and recovered; thus leading you here."
"Precisely."
"Well, Tino, you're an excellent soldier… We've been lucky to have you with the Finnish Armed Forces. Sadly though, we have to let you go due to your injuries. But not without parting gifts, I suppose you could call them. You, Tino Väinämöinen, are set to receive six different awards. Four are being bestowed upon you by the president of Finland, Esa Aalto. We spoke with him, and informed him of your deeds. He has decided to award you with the 1st and 2nd Class Medal of Liberty, the 1st Class Medal of the White Rose of Finland with the Golden Cross, and the Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland. You are being honored extremely by our nation, Tino. I hope you understand why you are receiving all four of these awards from our nation."***
"Of course I do, General. I am extremely grateful to be receiving these awards… But what were the other two? You mentioned six."
"Yes, I did. The other two are being bestowed upon you by the monarch and government of Denmark. They have been informed by Mathias of your achievements as a soldier. You are being honored in an extremely rare way by the Danes; they commissioned a new rank of medal just for this occasion. The first medal you are receiving from them is the Defense Medal for Bravery. The second, the newest rank of medal awarded from the Danes, is the Defense Medal for International Service in Sweden, V Class. It differs from the standard Defense Medal for International Service in Sweden, given to regular soldiers whom have been injured or have retired from the fighting in Sweden already, by stating exactly what the person must have done in order to receive the V Class medal. The V standing for Väinämöinen, your last name."****
"What do they have to do to get this V Class medal?"
"They must be near-mortally wounded in battle by the enemy, and keep fighting even mere moments away from presumable death; showing no fear, bravery, and combat excellence. Oh, and it has to be in this war, of course."
"Wow… I didn't think that what I did would have me receiving all these medals…"
"You probably were thinking you wouldn't see another day."
"That's for sure…"
The General cleared his throat and sighed in satisfaction.
"Well, Tino, I have one thing to give you. It is a ceremonial uniform you are to wear tomorrow morning when you receive the medals. This should fit you correctly, since we have your height, weight, body size, etcetera, in our military database." He said, leaning over and picking up a small pile of neatly folded clothing.
It was a black uniform, with golden epaulets and golden trim around the edges of the fabric. The collar of the uniform shirt was adorned with silver stars, and when I looked closely at the buttons going down the shirt, I noticed something that nearly brought me to tears. On the gold buttons, there was a detailed design of a man cradling another soldier in his arms on the ground. It was a design of the moment I had gone unconscious in Berwald's arms.
"You like the buttons, don't you?"
I could only nod as a response.
"Once of our soldiers actually got a photo of that moment. He gave it to me, and I sent it off to a manufacturer so that we could make this uniform special. It may have been expensive to do, but it's very worth it. I personally think what you've done in this war stands out so much; you're already a legend to me, like the Simo Häyhä of this war."
"Th-Thank you, sir… This means so much to me…" I tried hard to keep my composure in front of the General, but it was hard when so much had been done for me. Not only was I receiving medals from my home country and Denmark, but the ceremonial uniform had such personal detail, and I had just been called a legend by the General of the Finnish Armed Forces.
"Ah, and here's a pair of boots for you to wear, by the way." He placed a pair of shining black boots in my arms and smiled.
"You look tired, Tino. You can sleep the day away if you'd like. I can inform the men that our resident legend is not to be bothered. There is another concrete building beside this one, you may go in there to rest. It's normally the officer's barracks, but the officers here prefer to use the standard soldiers' barracks." He told me. I nodded. It was true, I was exhausted. I hadn't done all that much, but I had done a lot of stressful thinking and explaining.
"Thank you again, General… Thank you so much." I said, looking up at him.
"You're welcome. Now go on. I know you want to go sleep." He motioned to the door, and I nodded, walking out.
A little bit later, I was laying on one of the rather comfortable beds in the officer's barracks, Berwald laying with me, already snoozing away. I rolled over, resting my head on the chest of my Swedish lover and smiled.
So this was how my legacy started.
Xxx
* Royal Norwegian Navy
** Absent Without Leave
*** I did as much research as possible on the awards system of the Finnish government, and let's just say it was extremely complicated. I'm unsure about most of the meanings behind these awards. I should have just made up some new ones or something…
**** Again, same as with the Finnish government's award system, the Danish one was complicated as well… I just made up the one Defense Medal for International Service in Sweden, V Class, since I saw ones that actually exist for similar things (Defense Medal for International Service, Afghanistan, Kosovo, etc…). There actually aren't classes for these Defense Medal for International Service medals, so I guess I just kinda blatantly ignored that fact here. Tino deserves to be special anyways. Bow down to the near-immortal Finn! Haha.
I hope you enjoyed this surprisingly long chapter as much as I did. This actually isn't the last chapter, and it's over 4,000 words… I think I'm going to 5,000 for the final chapter… Damn that's going to be killer.
Attention: Head to my profile to vote on a pairing for my next multi-chapter story, please. Oh, and please review.