Chapter eleven: Chosen by fate
Kuala Dungun Prison, Malaysia, June 9th
The girl laid on her bed, counting off the days she was stuck in the prison. Her once smooth hair was now crumpled up, and her face was weighed down by depression and humiliation. She was once the captain of the Malaysian Tankery Team, a hero of Malaysia; Now she's been imprisoned for nearly sixty days. She looked down at her tattered prison garment. Her pride and joy was taken from her and brutally murdered in front of her eyes. She groaned and rolled over. She didn't care anymore. The Chinese should just put her out of her misery.
The prison door opened, and the girl looked up.
"Get up," The Chinese guard ordered, motioning with his rifle for her to stand up.
She did as she was told. The guard grabbed her arm and began to drag her.
"Where are you taking me?" The girl demanded.
The guard did not look at her. "Someone's here to see you. If you're lucky she'll be your ticket out of here," He growled. He led her upstairs and into a white room.
….
Sitting in the chair was a young woman, sipping green tea. She had long, silky hair and had a light complexion. She wore a People's Liberation Army uniform, with medals shining off the bright light. She placed her cup of tea down and looked up. "You are captain of the Malaysian Tankery Team, Minah binti Agung, are you not?" She asked slowly.
Minah glared at the woman. "You!" She shouted.
The guard slammed her on the ground. "How dare you speak to Lady Wu like that?" He screamed.
Wu raised her hand. "No need to be rough with her," She ordered. The guard bowed and stepped back.
"Now," Wu turned to Minah, who was boiling with anger; the one who killed her friends was in front of her.
"You bitch.." She spat out.
Wu raised her eyebrows. "Just as I thought. I had hope for you but you just reinforced the notion I got from the battlefield. You are too hasty in your decisions, in combat and in common sense," She sighed, "You're not worth my time."
She waved her hand; the guard grabbed Minah and began dragging her back to her cell.
"You fucking bitch! You'll pay for this!" Minah's screaming voice drifted away as Wu picked the cup of green tea back up.
There was a ringing, and Wu fished out her phone. "Hello? Oh, darling how are you?" She said sweetly. "Oh, you finally beat them? That must be wonderful."
Uruma, Okinawa
"Yeah, it took a few days, but I got them." Mi-jing spoke on the phone as she picked her way through the rubble. "The fight was pretty hard, to be honest." She stopped by a dozen or so Japanese soldiers surrendered to the North Koreans. The North Koreans grabbed the surrendering soldiers and threw them down onto the ground, then began shooting them.
"What is that noise?" Wu's voice demanded from the phone.
Mi-jing groaned. "Nothing," She answered. "How are things over there?" She asked.
"Oh, wonderful. Even when the enemies are working together, they can't stop our advance. I wish I had it just as easy like you do," Wu teased.
"It's not that easy," Mi-jing replied with an annoyed tone.
"Oh, you're right, I'm sorry. But when this is all over we can be together again," Wu sang.
Mi-jing rolled her eyes. "Could you please stop acting like we're married or something?" She asked.
"Sorry, you're no fun. Well, bye then." The call ended and Mi-jing stared at the phone. She sighed and put the phone away. She was always strange… She thought as she walked towards the temporary HQ. She saluted as she entered the abandoned city office.
"Ah, Ryuk! Good job securing this town." Ryang's booming voice rang out.
"Thank you, general. It was all too easy," Mi-jing quickly replied.
Ryang nodded. "Good. Then the next mission will be easy as well."
"Next mission?" Mi-jing asked.
Ryang nodded. "Yes. The enemy has pushed our offensive in Ogimi back and we have suffered heavy casualties. It seems our assumption of them was wrong," He somberly muttered.
Mi-jing shook her head. "It was only unfortunate it was the militias that met the enemy. If it was our regular troops, they would have crumbled immediately," She explained.
"Is that so? Well, it seems their Nishizumi was instrumental in their counteroffensive. How do you feel about that?" Ryang asked.
Mi-jing laughed. "They rely on greenhorns for their operation, which shows how professional they are. They're a paper tiger," She answered.
Ryang sat down and flipped through several papers. "Are you sure about that? Aren't you severely underestimating them?" He inquired.
Mi-jing shrugged her shoulders. "We overestimated the South, didn't we? It's just the same thing, really. Sir, I think the enemy is projecting themselves as strong, to mess with our nerves," She answered.
Ryang sighed. "Maybe you're right, I'm overthinking this. You'll get some rest before the final offensive." He told Mi-jing. "You need rest. Dismissed."
Mi-jing saluted. "Thank you, sir." Ryang saluted back.
She stepped back outside, and stared at the cloudy sky. Smoke from the battle was still lingering in the air. Bodies littered the rubble strewn streets. Burned out vehicles lined up, carcasses too burned to be recognized leaned out the hatches. She stared out into the stormy sea. The waves slammed against the pier, and the wind blew hard across the ocean.
Mi-jing picked up a stone and threw it at the ocean. The stone skipped over twenty times before it sank. She whistled in surprised. She began walking again, jumping over broken road blocks and going through abandoned houses.
She stopped and stared at a burned out building, charred black. The windows were all blown out, the stench was overwhelming. Only the walls were remaining, the entire inside burned up. Mi-jing rubbed her eyes, and when she looked up again, the scene had changed.
It was night, and the moon was out. Right in front of her was a burning hotel. People were fighting the fire, but it was useless. The hotel fell apart, flames falling on the firefighters. Mi-jing's heart raced; and she was overtaken with confusion and shock. She stumbled back and fell over. When her head hit the ground, the scene shifted back to reality.
Mi-jing was lying on the ground, in front of the burned out building, looking at the cloudy sky. Rain began to pour, drenching her.
"Commander?" Maeng peered down from above. "What are you doing?" She asked, "And why are you crying?"
Mi-jing felt her face; tears were streaming down. She smiled. "Who knows?" She replied.
St. Gloriana Girls High School
"Come on, maggots? You call that running? My dead grandma ran faster when she was on sedatives!" The drill sergeant screamed at the jogging girls.
"When I heard an Englishman was coming, I didn't think it would turn out this way," Orange Pekoe panted.
"We don't even get enough teatime…" Assam complained.
"Where's Darjeeling sama?" Orange Pekoe asked. They both turned around and saw Darjeeling trailing behind the rest of the group, barely keeping up.
"This...is...unladylike…" Darjeeling wheezed.
"Get off your tea-drinking ass up, you fucking snail!" The drill sergeant shouted at Darjeeling, who winced.
The girls collapsed on the lawn, metaphorically dead after running the most laps any of them ran in their lifetime, while the drill sergeant watched on.
"All you ladies are weak! It seems you all were drinking the wrong tea this entire time!" He spat. "All except for Rosehip. All of you should learn from her, she's been running nonstop for-" He looked at his watch. "-Around two hours." He looked up, and the girls turned around.
Rosehip was running full speed, leaving a dust trail behind her. "Desuwaaaa!" She yelled as she ran past the drill sergeant.
"Keep it up, you'll get extra scones and tea!" He encouraged. He glared at the rest of the girls. "Now, until all of you get your royal behinds in shape, no more teatime for you. Now, excuse me. I need to light my fag," He turned around and took out a cigar. Orange Pekoe and Assam picked up Darjeeling, who pouted.
"What's with him? He is the least gentlemanly person I've ever met!" Darjeeling whimpered, "Comparing us to Rosehip, that's an insult!"
Ooarai Girls High School Carrier
"Miporin? Miporin?" Saori waved her hand in front of Miho.
"Sorry. I've just been thinking.." Miho smiled.
"Thinking about that boy again?" Saori asked.
Miho sighed. "Yeah, I guess. It sure is a coincidence that a cousin that I didn't know was on TV, along with my sister," She replied, "And Alice. It's a strange coincidence it would be him that she would like."
"Are you saying you would like Alice to become your half sister-in-law?" Yukari inquired.
Miho turned red. "I don't know. It'll be kind of weird," She said.
"If he was your half brother, you guys have the same father, don't you. Have you met your father before?" Hana asked.
Miho shook her head. "No, it was always mother who took care of me. She never even mentioned him,"
"So it was a completely surprise," Mako commented.
"Yeah, it was." Miho agreed. "I hope I'll get to meet him in person, though. It would be really interesting." She said. "
I agree. I'll make him fall for me!" Saori jumped at Miho. "Finally, a chance for true love!" She exclaimed, while Miho laughed nervously in the background.
Nerome, Ogimi, Okinawa
Maho watched as columns of soldiers disembarked from the transport planes.
Arai approached her from behind. "Just amazing, right?" She said.
Maho turned around. "What is?" She asked.
Arai chuckled. "They're just some of the near 70,000 troops that's piled on this tiny island. Almost 200 tanks have been delivered to fight here. We're going to launch an offensive and liberate Nago," She put her hand on Maho's shoulder. "You are going to have a bit of rest before being sent back to the frontlines. That's fine with you, right?" She asked.
Maho nodded. "Thanks. I think Erika needs the most rest though,"
Arai whistled. "Where is she?"
Maho shrugged. "Back at the barracks, I suppose,"
…..
Erika was reading through the book Kaito had given her. It was extremely interesting, this was the book that helped create the Panzerwaffe.
"Yo!" Erika looked up and saw Kaito in the doorway. "How's the book?" He strolled over to Erika.
"It's really good. I'm really enjoying it." Erika replied.
Kaito smiled. "Great. I also have The Art of War, if you want," He suggested.
"Really? That would be awesome!" Erika grabbed Kaito's arms. "Why do you own so many books on strategy?" She asked.
Kaito shrugged. "My dad forced me to read them when I was young, and then I gathered an interest for them myself. I brought them over so I could read them in my downtime,"
Erika raised her eyebrows. "You thought you would have downtime in a battlefield?" She asked.
Kaito shrugged again. "I don't know. I didn't want to be bored, you know. And you get to read them all, if you want. My library's all yours,"
"Thanks, commander Nishizumi." Erika let go of Kaito's arm.
Kaito gave her a disappointed expression. "You don't have to call me that you know. It's either 'You' or 'Nishizumi'," He said disappointedly.
Erika looked down at her lap. "Then what else should I call you?" She whispered.
Kaito leaned in close. "Just call me Kaito, won't you?" He smiled.
Erika's cheeks flushed red. "But.." She started but Kaito interrupted her.
"Hey, give me your phone. I want to put myself in your contacts." He waved his hand over. Erika passed him her phone, turning even more red. Kaito quickly scrolled through the phone, before handing the phone back. "Later then." Kaito swiveled around and exited the room. Erika glanced at her phone, and smiled.
Keizoku High School Ship
"So, were you blown here by the wind as well?" Mika asked as she strummed her kantele.
The man in front of her slammed his fist against the table. "Stop blabbing on about the wind or whatever. This is serious!" He shouted.
Aki grabbed Mika by the shoulder. "Don't say things like that in front of important guests!" She turned to the man. "I'm sorry for her behavior, she's always behaving like this." She bowed profusely.
The ma snorted. "That doesn't matter. What matters is your failure to meet the quota!" He growled.
Aki trembled. "Please, we're a poor school. We can't allocate resources or students-"
"Why do you think the government is spending money on your school for?" The man raised his fists.
Aki shrunk back in fear, and crawled behind Mika. "We're still struggling," She whimpered.
The man lowered his fists. "Other poor schools gladly recruited students for the war effort, you know?"
Aki nodded. "I know, but we already have less students and staff,"
"Do you think you can be selfish in such times? You know, I could just shut this broken down ship down." The man threatened.
"But-but-" Aki tried to talk but was overwhelmed by fear.
"Fine. We will accept your demands," Mika spoke up.
The man nodded. "You better," He stood up and stomped out.
Aki stared at Mika. "Why?" She demanded, tearing up.
Mika sighed. "One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it," She said.
Aki gave her a confused look. "What does that mean?"
Nerome, Ogimi, Okinawa
Maho stared at the line-up of tanks and equipment down the street. Arai had gone away to a strategic meeting. Erika was reading that book Kaito had given her. Everybody else was also gone, spending their day enjoying their rest.
Hiroi walked up to her. "Everything going well?" He asked, surprising Maho.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She replied quickly. "I've got nothing to do today."
Hiroi sat down . "Same here." He said.
"Have you talked to Kaito ever since last night?" He asked.
Maho shook her head. "No. He's been hanging around Erika,"
Hiroi snorted. "He took a liking to your subordinate, eh? That's pretty funny. I don't think she'll fall for it though. She is your guard dog after all," He chuckled.
Maho looked down. "Are you sure?" She asked.
Hiroi shrugged. "Yeah, probably," He answered.
"But people are unpredictable, so who knows…" He glanced at Maho, and sighed. "So, you wanna go eat somewhere?" He prompted.
Maho smiled. "Sure."
The loud roar startled Maho. Several jet fighters flew overhead, heading towards the North Korean positions.
"Look at them go!" Hiroi whistled. "They're going to blow those bastards up!" There was a loud rumbling and the ground shook. Hiroi pumped his arms into the air. "Woohoo!" He shouted. Maho looked at him and snickered. Hiroi started laughing as well.