Chapter 6 – What Lies Beyond Hate
Two days after the liberation of Bruhl, Squad 7 had returned to Fort Amatriain and awaiting further orders. Rumors were flying around the base that most of the Imperial invasion forces were gathering at the Naggiar Plains, and that a battle to decide the fate of the war was fast approaching. For Edy Nelson and her team, this was the very thing being discussed during a meeting with Captain Varrot.
"So let me get this straight," said Edy. "The Empire is gathering all of its forces at Naggiar?"
"All of the reports we have received indicate that," said Captain Varrot. "I expect that General Damon is going to give us the order to proceed there ourselves soon."
"Can't the Imperials ever give us a break?" sighed Ted. "All we've done the last few weeks is fight, fight, fight."
"Well it could take up to two weeks before we have to move out," Varrot clarified. "That's why I'm having most of the militia withdraw back here, to rest up."
"But didn't you just send Lieutenant Gunther and the others on a mission?" asked Homer.
"They requested to be on a certain operation themselves," said Varrot. "The details are not important at the moment. Now, as to why you're here, there have been reports of Imperial raids at villages along northern Gallia. The citizens of a small fishing village called Teschellberg have requested aid in evacuating the village as a precaution."
"Teschellberg?" gasped Edy. "That's my hometown!"
"So it seems," said Varrot. "It shouldn't be more than a routine escort mission, so I trust that you six will be able to take care of it."
"Well, I suppose it would be interesting to see what kind of place Miss Edy grew up at," mused Homer.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Very well," said Varrot. "Use one of the APCs when you are all ready. That is all."
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"At least we got an easy assignment," said Elysse as the group headed toward the armory . "I'm still worn out from Bruhl."
"You said it," agreed Ted. "Shooting Imps is fun and all, but it gets to you after a while."
"So how far away is Teschellberg Edy?" asked Lynn.
"It's about a six or seven hour drive from here," Edy explained. "If we hadn't taken Marberry Beach it would take two days!"
"You seem excited about this Miss Edy," noted Homer. "Do you miss your hometown that much?"
"Well it's been awhile since I've seen my family," said Edy as the group approached the armory. "I wonder what they'll say when they see me now."
"...Family huh?" said Marina. "Must be nice."
"Well it's just my parents and my little sister, Anna," explained Edy. "It's small, just like everything else in Teschellberg."
"Well I wanna drive, so everyone else get in the back!" Ted announced as they walked up to an APC.
"Do you even know how to get there Ted?" sighed Lynn.
"Hey, no sweat," said Ted. "That's what maps are for!"
The rest of the group let out a collective sigh but climbed into the back of the APC anyway, as to avoid any further annoyance from Ted.
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The first few hours of the trip was uneventful, with most of the team keeping to themselves. After the fourth hour of riding, Lynn decided to make an attempt at conversation.
"So, um, I don't know about you guys but it's a bit too quiet for me; the silence is going to drive me crazy."
Edy nodded. "Yeah, let's talk about something; this is way too boring. Oh yeah, are you and Karl gunna get married after the war Lynn?"
"If we can wait that long," laughed Lynn. "Karl insists that we have a big wedding in Fouzen because he wants it to be special for us. Personally I'm fine getting married on base..."
"So how did you two meet?" asked Homer. "I mean, your personalities are almost completely opposite, so it's kind of hard for me to imagine how it happened."
"We've known each other practically our whole lives," said Lynn. "We were close friends during childhood, so it was just one of those things that just happens I guess. I'm not complaining."
"Whatever works right?" said Elysse. "My dad is so uptight he won't even let me date a guy until I turn 18 next year."
"And yet he'll let you enlist in the militia to fight in a war?" Marina wondered out loud. "Interesting."
"Yeah, well about that," said Elysse. "He said it would toughen me up, cuz I'm too laid back or something like that."
"Is that really a bad thing?" asked Homer.
"He thinks so," sighed Elysse. "He's all like 'oh you'll never make a good sword fighter with that attitude!' And that's how I wound up here."
"Speaking of fathers, isn't yours a famous EWI veteran Marina?" asked Edy.
"...He was," said Marina, closing her eyes. "He died ten ten years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Edy. "I guess I shouldn't have brought that up."
Marina shook her head. "It's fine. I'm not ashamed of him or anything. Gustav Wulfstan was my father's name. During EWI he was known as the Iron Wolf for his skill as a sniper; I'm told he took down 200 Imperials by the war's end. After the war he and I moved to the mountains, where he began to teach me what he knew about hunting and shooting rifles. I'll admit it wasn't the most normal father-daughter relationship, but we were happy."
"If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?" asked Lynn.
"One day he became sick," said Marina. "He held on for a month, but the illness eventually killed him...Hmph, I've never talked about my father to anyone before, so please keep it between us."
Edy and the others nodded and silence once again came over the group.
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The rest of the trip was uneventful and quiet, with the exception of Ted having to stop once to look over the map when he had taken a wrong turn. Finally, after six and a half hours of driving, the group had reached the outskirts of Teschellberg.
"Wow this is a small town," said Lynn as they exited the APC.
"I told you," said Edy.
"Well, it seems quiet so it doesn't look like the Imperials have been here yet," noted Homer as they began to walk toward the town.
"But doesn't it seem a little too quiet?" asked Marina. "I don't hear anything. No people, no animals...nothing."
"You think they've already evacuated?" wondered Ted. "The request for help was sent a few days ago after all."
"If that's the case...why are there still so many vehicles here?" asked Marina as she pointed out several trucks parked near the still-open town gate.
"L-let's hurry inside the gate then!" said Edy, her mood quickly darkening.
The scene inside the town didn't ease anyone's mood as the streets were eerily bare and just as quiet. With their weapons drawn, the six began to slowly make their way way down the main street, looking for any signs of people or fighting that might have taken place. Halfway down the street, Marina stopped the group.
"What's up Marina?" asked Edy.
"The door to that house is open..." replied Marina. "I'm going to take a look inside."
Edy nodded as Marina shouldered her rifle and pulled out a Colt .45 revolver, a keepsake of her father's. The group watched as Marina slowly opened the door and stepped inside.
Inside the house Marina immediately noticed several bootprints on the carpet. Now completely convinced that something was amiss, she followed the footprints into the nearby living room. What she saw caused her to wince. A family of four was lying on the floor, all of them shot to death. Would the Empire truly go this far?! Marina quickly rushed outside the house and ran across the street into another house, ignoring the requests of the others as to what was going on. She didn't have to go very far into the next house, for she found the occupants, an elderly couple, lying on the kitchen floor, also shot to death.
Edy and the others watched as Marina slowly walked out of the house and sat on the steps, burying her face in her hands.
"What's wrong Marina?!" demanded Edy. "What's happened?"
"They're...dead," said Marina, barely able to compose herself. "The Imperials most likely came during the night and attacked the town...They had no warning."
Edy let out a very audible gasp and suddenly took off toward the other side of the town.
"Edy, wait!" shouted Lynn as she and the others ran after her.
Edy continued to run toward the side of town where her house was, heedless of the shouts of her teammates. There's no way Marina can be right, she thought as she continued to run. They have to be okay, they just have to be!
Lynn and the others had lost track of Edy when she disappeared around a corner, but a few moments later they heard a scream from a nearby house which belonged to Edy. Rushing into the house, they discovered Edy on her knees, sobbing in front of three bodies; a man, a woman, and a small child.
"Mom! Dad! Anna!" cried Edy. "T-They killed them!"
Homer rushed over to Edy to help comfort her, holding her as she continued to cry.
"This is...worse than Fouzen..." whispered Lynn as she watched Edy continue to sob in Homer's arms.
"What the hell is the Empire trying to accomplish ?!" shouted Ted. "Occupying a village is one thing, but murdering the people of it?"
There was something about Ted's statement that got Elysse thinking.
"Wait...If the Imperials attacked this town...Why aren't there any Imp soldiers posted here?"
As if on cue, fifteen Imperial shocktroopers suddenly stormed into the house, and behind them, a man dressed in an Imperial officer's uniform.
"Well, well," said the officer. "I decided to stay and hide for awhile, and look what drops in my lap."
There was something familiar about the man to Marina. A moment later, his black, slicked back hair and mustache, sinister looking eyes, and pale skin suddenly registered to her.
"Giorgios Geld!" she growled.
"Oh, you know of me?" asked Geld, feigning surprise.
"I thought the Imperial commander had you executed after your last incident involving hostages," said Marina.
"Oh, you're quite right," Geld confirmed. "It's too bad 'His Grace' failed to consider that I still had a few men still loyal to me. I escaped from Ghirlandaio, and am now free from the Empire's rules and protocols; I can do whatever I want!"
"So you killed all these people?!" demanded Ted.
Geld gave out a sinister laugh. "Of course! Nothing beats listening to the pleas of people begging for their lives; take these three for instance. They begged me not to kill the girl, so what do I do? I shot her and watched her bleed to death in their arms. Their cries of agony were so splendid, I could barely contain myself!"
At this Edy jumped to her feet and pulled out the combat knife that was strapped to her boot. Screaming "You monster!" she charged at Geld, but one of the shocktroopers stepped forward and smashed her on her forehead with the butt of his machine gun, knocking her out.
"Hmm, seems I struck a nerve with her," mused Geld, his smile growing wider. "I'll have a little fun with her later, but need someone awake right now, because otherwise, how can they scream?" He scanned the group and upon seeing Lynn's trademark Darcsen blue-black hair, he drew a handgun and pointed it at her. "Hmm, it's been awhile since I've killed a dark-hair. This should be fun!" He then dragged her to the opposite side of the room.
Lynn did her best to put put on a brave face as he put the barrel of the gun against her head, but her courage was quickly failing. Am I going to die right here? I...I didn't even say goodbye to Karl before I left... She closed her eyes and waited for the gunshot that would end her life.
A gunshot did indeed fire off, but it wasn't from Geld. The gunshot was followed several others, all of them from outside the door. This took Geld's troopers by surprise, and were all shot dead while Homer, Marina, Elysse, and Ted had dropped to the ground in order to avoid the sudden storm of bullets.
To everyone's surprise, more Imperial troopers entered the house, also led by a man in an Imperial officer's uniform.
"So this is where you've been hiding at Giorgios," said the officer. "You've gone too far this time."
"So...Maximilian sent you to be the bloodhound Captain Lemouri?" asked Geld, as he watched the troopers train their guns on him.
"Your trail wasn't hard to follow," explained Captain Lemouri. "You killed nearly every civilian on your way here..."
"And it won't be the last time!" shouted Geld as he held his gun up to Lynn's head. "Back away, or I will kill her!"
"You think I care about the life of a Gallian soldier Giorgios?" asked Lemouri.
"You have a certain weakness called 'honor'," Geld countered as he began walking toward the door with Lynn. "I know you and your men won't shoot."
"..." Captain Lemouri and his men watched as Geld backed out of the doorway with Lynn in front of him as a shield. When he was a safe distance away, Geld shoved Lynn to the ground and began to run towards the APC that Edy's group arrived in.
"He's going to get away Sir!" said one of the troopers.
"Damn that Geld," muttered Lemouri.
Marina quickly stood up and grabbed her rifle. On of the troopers pointed his gun at her but Lemouri stopped him, understanding what Marina's plan was.
Largo and the Captain may have had their reasons for not killing this man, but I don't! Marina thought as she zoomed her scope in on the back of Geld's head.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Geld as he approached the APC. "I escape yet again! What fools, those Gallians and Lemouri!" He reached his hand out to open the door to the APC but that was as far as he got. A single shot rang out and Geld fell to the ground, having taken a sniper's bullet in the back of his head.
Satisfied, Marina lowered her rifle and watched as the Imperial troopers trained their rifles on her and the rest of her team.
"What do we do about the Gallians Sir?" asked one of them.
"Let them be," said Captain Lemouri. "We only needed to deal with Geld; not pick a fight with a few Gallian soldiers."
He looked at Edy lying on the ground then at her murdered family, and finally back at Marina. "You there, sniper, tell me what happened."
Marina nodded and gave him the details of what had happened to the villagers and of Geld's appearance.
"...I see," said Lemouri, his blue eyes showing a degree of sorrow. "I was charged with the task of finding Geld and carrying out his sentence when he escaped from Ghirlandaio, but he and his men were always one step ahead of me. I never thought he would stoop to such barbarism. I am sorry for that; this is not how the Empire conducts its business... Gerry!"
One of the troopers walked up to him. "Yes Sir?"
"Take the men and recover all of the villager's bodies and bury them. Take Geld's body and secure it so that His Grace can see that the deed has been done." ordered the Imperial Captain. "We can do that much at least."
"At once Sir!" The trooper saluted him and left the house with the rest of the soldiers.
"Why are doing this for us?" asked Homer as he tended to Edy.
The Captain closed his eyes a took a deep breath. "Some time ago, one of my men was found injured by two Gallians soldiers, like yourselves," he explained with a stern, yet soft voice. " Though they tried to save him, his wounds were too serious and he passed away. The two Gallian soldiers gave him the honor of a burial, of which I personally saw. You could say that I am simply returning the favor." He then left to assist his men with their task.
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Burying the nearly 150 murdered villagers took the entire day for both the Imperial and Edy's team to complete. After a few hours, Edy had recovered well enough to assist as well, finishing with her family with the help of her friends. When the last villager had been buried, Captain Lemouri gave a final apology and farewell, then left the village with his men.
Nighttime had nearly fallen when the Imperials left, and the Edy Detachment was preparing to leave as well. Homer and Lynn spotted Edy sitting on the cliff that was behind her house, looking at the sea beyond.
"Homer, go to her," said Lynn. "She needs you right now."
"M-me?" asked Homer. "Why?"
Lynn gave him an angry look. "Don't play dumb! You know why."
"You're right," admitted Homer. "But I'm not very good at this sort of thing."
"I don't think that will matter right now," assured Lynn. "She's probably feeling like the loneliest person on Earth right now."
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Edy was still sitting on cliff side when Homer approached her.
"Come to see the washed-up actress Homer?" asked Edy as she tried to fight back tears.
"Well, that's not how I was going to put it," said Homer as he sat next to her.
"They're all gone Homer," said Edy. "Everyone I ever knew, grew up with, loved...They're all dead now! I'm completely alone now!"
Homer watched as Edy broke down into tears again, trying to come up with something to say.
"Miss Edy, I..."
"Why are you even here Homer?!" sobbed Edy. "Do you even know what it's like to lose everything you ever knew?!"
"...When the Imperials first invaded Gallia...they destroyed my hometown," Homer began to softly explain. "They didn't resist, since the people of my village are pacifists. I found out later that it was that Geld officer that led the attack. I survived because I had been running an errand at a nearby village, but when I came back, everyone had been killed. I would have killed myself right there if my religion didn't forbid it, so I did the next best thing. I joined the militia. I even told the Lieutenant that the entire reason I had signed up is so that this war can claim my life. But then I met someone. She was mean to me sometimes, but I didn't mind. I knew it always made her feel better. She always liked having me around for some reason; and I found myself enjoying being with her."
"Homer..."
"Edy, I might not have the chance to tell you this again, so I'll just say it," Homer paused for a moment, stood up and gathered his courage. Taking her hand he looked into her brown eyes with his blue ones and said, "I fell in love with you. You're the reason I'm still alive today, you know? And seeing you like this it's...it's killing me. I know I may not have much strength in this frail body of mine, but I'll support you however I can. I'll even die for you if need be."
When he finished, Edy stood up and hugged him. "I thought I was the only one who felt that way," she said as she continued to cry. "I didn't want to say anything because of what happened between me and Salinas; I was afraid you'd think I was just using you as a last resort or something. You've always been there for me and I've treated you terribly! Who'd want someone like that?"
"It's fine with me Edy," said Homer as he continued to embrace her. "I don't think I'd have you any other way. You're not alone anymore, so please don't cry."
Edy nodded and wiped her eyes and looked back at Homer. "You're right. But don't think I'm going to let you off so easy for keeping your feelings from me for so long!"
Homer watched as Edy removed her right glove from her hand and clench it into a fist. "Go ahead," he said. "I deserve it." He closed his eyes and prepared to feel Edy's fist smash against his face.
What he felt, however, was the soft touch of her hand on the left side of his face and a moment later her lips against his. After ten seconds had passed, the kiss ended and Homer opened his eyes to see a very confident looking Edy Nelson looking back at him.
"Uh...E-edy..." Homer felt like he was going to melt into the ground for a moment.
"You were saying?" asked Edy.
"Um..thanks," said Homer, unable to say anything else.
"I should be thanking you," replied Edy as she began to walk back towards the rest of the group. "I think I would have lost my mind without you by now."
"So are you okay now?" asked Lynn when the two rejoined the group. "We can stay longer if you need us to."
Edy shook her head as she took one last look at her hometown. "I can't look back anymore. I'm going to move forward the best I can. I'm sure it's what they'd want..."