Chapter V:
They were only a few kilometers away from their destination. The blonde girl could already feel the scent of the trees of her homeland, the natural beauty of its cities with their full majesty, their architectural richness, among other characteristics of their Germanic culture. Ed flew close to her, in formation with the other members of the squadron. The silence together with the coldness of the air was endless, while not a single bird passed by, there were only them, heading towards their mission of vital importance. The Sun was beginning to show through the mist that was disappearing in front of their eyes, the calm persisted, where were the "Shadow Neuroi"?. There was no signal, not even on their tracking equipment. Everything seemed so strange, so static, what could be happening in front of them?. The mountains of Karsland were visible beyond, but not a single enemy presence.
- Erica, are we still going to Berlin?.- Jimmy asked.
- Yes, that's right, how will our plan be?.- Added Sarah but the girl did not answer, her eyes were focused on the North. Suddenly, a mysterious glow appeared in the skies and from there she noticed how a strange "line" was heading towards them.
- And that?.- Trudie wondered when they noticed that the lightning shot almost hit them head on.- Shit, we're under attack!
It was like an ambush. From the heights and in the fog emerged several enemy ships, which began to shoot at them, attacking them with everything they had, while those present offered resistance. Erica headed towards one of them, firing a round of bullets from her MG-42, which destroyed its armor and with the help of Ed, who had shot down two ships, she managed to destroy the one attacking her girlfriend just in time before she recovered. The ship the blonde shot down was plummeting, tracing circles in the air, engulfed in flames and from there she saw it crash into the ground, causing a huge explosion along with a dense column of black smoke that rose through the Heavens.
- There! There!.- Jimmy pointed to more enemy ships coming towards them.
- They were waiting for us, I was right!.- Exclaimed Eddy and fired several rounds of "Magic" against the opponents, unleashing a real "Inferno" on them.- That was their plan: wait for us to cross and leave Italy unprotected, but what a lousy attack they designed, Kanker!.- One of the machines flew at the boy, trying to take him by surprise, but the other one reacted and shot at the opponent, destroying him just in time before he could accomplish his task.- Don't fall asleep, Jimmy, keep your eyes open!
The white-haired boy could not believe what he was seeing, before his eyes and with that enemy ship burning like a campfire in the middle of a camp, collapsing against the surface, he witnessed the change in the personality of the one who had been responsible for ruining "Friendship Day". A "trip" through time took him back to those moments when he devised the perfect plan to humiliate them and thus earn the hatred of the neighborhood but, had it not been for Francesca, he would have gotten away with it and everyone would back him up, leaving the three Eds with nothing to show for it. But, now, at that very moment, he also saw himself and noticed that change that Perrine had been encouraging him to make and which he carried out.
At one point, coming out of his own thoughts, the albino charged at another ship, destroying it from the very Center, sending it flying through the air and with that he continued to put up a fight.
Meanwhile, Erica and Ed were making their way through the other flying enemies. They were like "hungry" mosquitoes but battle-hungry, they knew no limits and shot at anything that moved. The air was tense and a mixture of the smell of gunpowder and other components made it annoying, permeating the nostrils and causing many to stay away from the stench. That combination was added to the energy that the "Shadow Neuroi" burned and did not seem to run out, however, at one point, they managed to destroy the ambush, leading them to retreat from there.
The Karsland blonde lowered her MG-42, took a deep breath, the air felt clean again thanks to the currents in front of them. She closed her eyes, waiting to look out over the horizon. Ed walked over to her to check if she was hurt or something.
- They didn't hurt you.- The boy asked.- It's just that I saw you fighting very close to them and I was afraid that some shrapnel or lightning might hurt you.
- No, no, don't worry, I'm fine. Just a few scratches from an explosion that took me by surprise, but I didn't run away, so that's all.- She reassured him with that relaxed tone so characteristic of her.- Even so, we have fought a good battle but this is the beginning of the most difficult test. We are not very far from Karsland, so we will have to open our eyes and keep our senses alert.- She left that warning to those present and once they had complied with everything, they resumed their march.
They said goodbye to Eddy and Francesca, who would return to Romagna and watch their mountainous borders in case the enemy tried to make an incursion maneuver.
- We will be in touch, both with you and with Eila, Sanya and the others.- Promised the short boy, who was carrying a military radio.
- Yes, Eddy?.- She asked.
- After we finish our patrol, shall we take the opportunity to go for ice cream?. I'm buying.- He suggested and she flew to him, hugging him tightly.
- Of course we will!.- Exclaimed the black-haired girl excitedly.
The couple was left behind, as they made their way back to Romagna and the "Squadron" led by Erica and Ed maintained their course of travel towards Berlin. But as they were passing through the Germanic forests, the blonde made a right-hand stop in mid-air, taking the others by surprise. She stood a few meters away from the others, looking at the horizon, and with that she turned her eyes downward.
- What's going on?. Is everything all right?.- Minna asked, walking over to where she was.
- Don't worry, I was just checking for enemy presence. They must have fortified every region of Karsland.- Answered the blonde and that could not be omitted, since the danger of running into some impregnable enemy stronghold made it an arduous task and it would take time to liberate the country by sectors. Still, after that tense moment, Erica resumed the journey with her boyfriend and the other members to the German Capital.
The trip was coming to an end, soon they began to see the buildings of the capital city, its "Casco Historico", its squares and parks. That was making its way, in the middle of a thick fog that was dissipating until reaching the clearing point, a view that gave way, before their eyes, to astonishment. Words did not come out of their mouths, it was like being immersed in a kind of "Alternate World", where the "Shadow Neuroi" had turned Berlin into a kind of well-protected "fortress".
- Minna, Erica, Trudie, there may be Artillery down there!. We should be careful!.- Sarah warned.
- Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if that's true.- Said the blonde.- Listen, we'll go down quietly and take the first building or business we have available. There we will establish ourselves.- Erica imparted that message and they complied to the letter.
They descended and when they reached the streets, one by one they went to an alley, where they took up positions, since the enemy's land armies were patrolling the streets. With a wave of her hands, Erica guided them through the taken capital city, knowing the place very well together with Minna and Trudie. They did not want to fire a shot that would alert the opponents, since they could send reinforcements and, practically, it would be the end for them and their plan to liberate Karsland, so they chose stealth and finally they could locate a building that had a small hole in the walls, product of the combats unleashed between the Armed Forces and the invaders until the fall of Berlin.
The first to enter was Sarah along with Jimmy, Perrine, Yoshika, Lynne and Charlotte. Then followed Erica and Ed. The last were Commander Wilcke and Lieutenant Barkhorn and once inside they took charge of plugging the breach, camouflaging it and thus avoiding detection by the enemy roaming the streets. They were lucky, as a patrol of the "Elite Guard" was heading in that direction, armed and carrying with them, in shackles, several civilians, among them, many young men.
Minna watched it all through a hole and felt her blood boil to the max. She clenched her fists but restrained herself, they couldn't do it. For their part, Trudie and Charlotte set up a small observation post and followed the enemy advance with a telescope that let them know what kind of mission the enemy had there. Once that patrol disappeared to the north of Berlin, they began to secure the perimeter of the building and thus turn it into their base of operations.
- It seems that the Kankers are not only killing those who defy them, but also taking them away as slaves. They must be using them in the factories and mines to obtain Karsland's resources.- The dark brunette made her theory known.
- Those damned ones!.- Minna muttered angrily but restrained herself.- Okay, as we told you before, this mission is going to be extremely important and it may take us a while. What we will do would be to avoid its lengthening as much as possible, so we will carry out the plan: First, turn this building into a defense zone. Second, to investigate where the surrenderers are going and thus make "Intelligence" for, third, to strike our blows against the Kankers and thus promote morale among the military, giving us a hand to liberate the country.
- Do you think we can do that here in Berlin?.- Jimmy asked.
- Don't worry, we will go one step at a time.- Promised the redhead.- For now, we will take care of the first step, the defense of the building, and with that we will move on to action shortly," Minna instructed those present and without saying anything else, they got down to work.- Just stay out of the windows for a long time. The enemy must not know that we are here.
The first phase of the plan for the liberation of Karsland had begun, however, what they did not know was that they were being observed by an enemy drone that captured their arrival and was transmitting the captured data to May Kanker, who remained standing and plotting his next plan.
[I recognize that this chapter is short but I'll explain: I'm going to put this story on hiatus for a few days. Until Monday at the latest. I need to think thoroughly about the next chapters and also to get more inspiration, but don't worry, I'll be back with everything during the week.
I send greetings and thanks to Matfix, Franco M. Romano and the rest of the followers.
Take care, Comrades and have a good start of the weekend].
