Chapter 11 – Liberion Cries

Almost two weeks have passed. The next day after Toshiro ordered the parts from Junko, Amaki flew in with a box of parts. While she drank some tea, Shirley and Toshiro checked if the parts are indeed intended for this model. After a few minutes, the repairs were done. Since Lynne wasn't around at the time, Shirley did a test flight.

After a while, she flew in into the hangar, and said, "It works, but I wonder how Bishop can fly with such a slow Striker…"

Few days afterwards, a small shipment flew in. The contents of the transport plane were the luggage of everyone besides Toshiro, Francesca and Shirley. When Mio unpacked her suitcase, and found her ID, she tore the temporary one with a demonic smile before everyone. They also got some produce, and Francesca was issued a Fiat G.55S Strega Striker, an upgraded variant of her old G.55, which she tested alongside Shirley with pure joy.

Yoshika, Lynne and Perrine were getting along nicely, with the last helping the former in the kitchen. Yoshika, without any incentive, kissed Toshiro whenever they were alone, once a day.

Minna was swamping Toshiro with reports to write, after which he had to process them in the archive with Trude.

Toshiro practiced with the trumpet, and learned a few new melodies.

The date was April 12.

Toshiro was sitting in the chair during his morning shift at the war room. He was half-asleep, because the static lulled him to sleep. Suddenly, he heard a voice that surprised him.

"Hello? 501st base?"

"Erica?"

"Oh, Toshiro! No, it's Ursula."

"Oh, hi, Ursula! What's up?"

"I'll be bringing in new toys, both for you exclusively and something to test for the rest."

"Oh, you have my attention… What will it be?"

"A surprise… I guarantee you; your socks will fall off."

"Hah! I hope so! When are you coming?"

"About 2130, more or less."

"Then I'm waiting for you eagerly, Ursula."

"I also want to see you after all this time, Toshiro. Take care."

"You too."

Toshiro ended his shift as Shirley came in at high noon.

"Toshiro, you look like you were here for forty hours, not four."

"Let's see how you will look in four hours, smartass."

"You'll see, I'll be like a fresh spring flower!"

"We'll see… We'll see… Okay, the seat is yours, have a blast…"

Toshiro went into the office, and slumped down behind the desk.

"My, my… Is it so boring?" Minna asked.

"Writing reports is umpteen times more fun…" Toshiro said with his face pressing against the desk. "Oh…" He straightened up. "Ursula will come in the evening. She said she has stuff for both me and you guys."

"Oh? Thanks for the heads up. The R&D in Rosario never stops inventing stuff."

"Any hint on what it might be?"

"I have a hunch… When I was in Sint-Truiden, we received a report about a prototype jet Striker being finalized for field-testing. The Messerschmitt Me 262 V1 it was I believe."

"A jet Striker… Whew… Then I should consider my Akuma a relic of the past now…"

"I doubt it, Toshiro. The first prototype was made in '43. Our dear friend, Adolfine, was the first to fly it on April 22, 1943. Supposedly, she said "It was as though angels were pushing"… Anyway, this is 1945, and it took them so long to release the first batch of prototypes for field-testing. It seems that the technology needs more attention than initially expected… But I doubt you will get it for testing, heehee…"

"Well, taking into account what you said, they would probably need a year to remodel it for me. Nevertheless, I'm pumped. Considering what they made for me up to this point, it probably will be something jawdroppingly good."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it were so. And considering that they can put bigger Strikers on you, and bigger guns, they have almost endless possibilities… Well, anyway, I finished the book. Want to read it?"

"I would be glad to… Thanks." Toshiro said while picking the book up. "I'll be in my room."

"Be sure to look by here after dinner, we have some paperwork to do."

"From which crevice of Tartarus does all this paperwork come…? Gods…"

"Well, if you were not me my superior, I wouldn't have to bug you, and you could idle all day long. But I bet you couldn't refuse this one, right?"

"I was so stoked that I didn't even think about it. And outright refusing Rommel would be a bit different that refusing my uncle…"

"True… Have a nice read."

"Thanks, I hope I will."

Toshiro went up to his room, and immersed himself into reading so much, that he forgot about the whole world around him.

The slight creek of the opening door was about enough to pull him out of his reading trance.

"Toshiro, dinner's ready." Yoshika said with a soft voice.

"Oh, cool. This book is really something; I have to admit that to Minna… So, what's up for grabs?"

"Okonomiyaki!"

"Sold!" Toshiro shouted while he jumped off his bed. "Lead the way!"

"Forward, march!" Yoshika commanded with a radiant smile on her face.

They went down to the hangar, where everyone was already munching the savory pancakes with rich topping. From what Toshiro noticed, Yoshika added green and red paprika, grilled ham, onions, some cheese, fried octopus and radish.

Toshiro ate his portion, much to the satisfaction of Yoshika.

"Oh, Toshiro, maybe another one? You have to eat to keep that strength of yours!" Yoshika said in a motherly way.

A few girls snickered hearing Yoshika's words.

"Yoshika, please… You are embarrassing me…"

"Oh… Heh… I just behaved like my own mother…

"Hey, Miyafuji, don't feed my bro too much of your food, or he'll get fat." Erica said. "And you know that they say… The fatter the smaller…"

Yoshiro turned her head sideways, not knowing what Erica meant.

"It's obvious you didn't do it yet…" Erica sighed.

Yoshika blushed heavily and ran off to the stove.

"And when did you get so knowledgeable in love matters, sissy?" Toshiro asked with a wry smile.

"Belgica is a really open country you know…"

"Ugghhh… I won't get into the details… So, anyone has anything to say while we are all gathered?"

"Me!" Shirley shouted and raised her hand.

"What is it, Shirley?" Toshiro asked.

"I saw that the radio we had in Africa is gathering dust in your room. Why not drag it here so everyone can listen to some tunes?"

"My, my, what a good idea, Shirley. I concur." Minna said.

"If Minna likes the idea, than I don't have a choice, right?" Toshiro asked with a smirk on his face. "Okay, Shirley, go fetch it if you want…"

"Yes sir!" She shouted energetically and ran off.

After a few minutes Shirley was back, and she installed the radio on a stool near the table. But after she flipped the switch, she only heard static.

"Hmmm… Oh damn… We need a better antenna to receive that Liberian station…"

"Hey, Elwyn, when did you get the authority to choose the radio station?"

"Don't call me Elwyn! And since I came up with the idea, I get to choose! Be right back!"

She ran off to the storeroom, and came back with some wire, thin pipes, electronics and soldering supplies. After ten minutes, she made some kind of antenna with some electronics attached to it.

"Hoho, good work, Shirley! I knew you had it in you!" Toshiro said while patting her on the back.

"But what is it?" Lynne asked.

"A crystal amped radio antenna, basically the same thing we had in Africa, and now have here. It's just a bit cruder in design."

"Thanks for explaining, Toshiro." Shirley said. "Let's see if this works…"

After some dabbling with the wires, she turned on the radio again. Some swingy tune immediately poured out of the speaker.

"Yay! It works!" Shirley cheered.

"I still don't approve of the station selection…" Trude mumbled. "Decadent crap…"

Toshiro was busy for the rest of the day, first with his new book, than with paperwork. During supper, he announced that a shipment would be coming, omitting the fact that Ursula is also coming.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!? And you held that until now?!" Shirley shouted.

"Well pfff, I could just wait until the damn thing just flew in… Or wait for Minna to say it."

"Oh no, I would also wait for the plane like nothing happened." Minna said and giggled. "Anyone waiting for the shipment? I know that Toshiro, Mio, Shirley and me will wait for sure."

"Me too!" Francesca said.

"And me." Trude followed.

"And me…" Lynne said.

"If Toshiro is waiting, then I'll accompany him!" Yoshika shouted with a proud face.

"Might as well stay…" Perrine said.

"If I can start my patrol later I can also stay…" Sanya said quietly.

"Oh, me too then!" Eila said.

"Bro is getting new toys? I'm in!" Erica cheered.

Near the time when the plane was to arrive, Toshiro heard a voice in his transponder.

"Hello, Toshiro?"

"Oh, hi there."

"The pilots say that its pitch dark as long as far as the eye can see. Could you shed some light on the runway?"

"Oh, of course! Stupid me!"

Toshiro looked around the hangar, and saw a fuse box near the entrance.

"What is it, Toshiro?" Mio asked.

"Oh, nothing."

He ran up to the box, and opened it. There were only a few controls there, but they were described in Romagnan.

"Francesca, could you come up here?" Toshiro said.

"Sure!"

She ran up to him and asked, "What's up?"

"What do those labels mean?" He asked and pointed out to the inside of the fuse box.

"Hmmm… Well, pista means runway, pennone means flagpole, and you can guess what hangar means, heehee." She said with a wide smile.

"Well thanks."

Toshiro flipped the breaker, and small green lights lit up sequentially on the whole runway in the direction of the sea.

Oh, what the hell! Might as well see how the illumination of the flagpole looks like…

He flipped the second breaker.

"Okay, everyone out!" He shouted.

The whole lot exited the hangar into the dark, moonless night, which was only illuminated by the small lights of the runway, and a point light shining on the flagpole.

Sanya suddenly brought up her Magic Antenna and asked, "Toshiro, I have the plane in range. Should I guide them down?"

"Of course, Sanya."

The antenna on her head hummed and buzzed for a few second, and Sanya said, "Okay, I'm guiding them down. ETA two minutes."

A moment has passed, and Toshiro saw the lights of the plane. It was so silent, that Toshiro recognized the plane based on the engine noise. Four BMW 801H engines were rumbling in the air, which meant that a Junkers Ju 290 was incoming.

"Sanya, please be careful." Toshiro whispered. "Ursula is on board."

"Oh, okay… I'll be cautious."

The flashing red-green lights neared the runway, and a screech of rubber skidding over concrete could be heard.

"Everyone, take step back into the entrance, let the plane have taxying space." Toshiro ordered.

After everyone took a few steps back, the plane came into view, majestic as the first time Toshiro was it, back in Britannia.

The plane took a 180 turn, using the trust of engines working on only one side, and its rear now faced the hangar. The loading ramp started descending slowly, and a blonde girl in a white lab coat, accompanied by mechanics in black overalls came to view.

"SISSSYYYYY!" Erica shouted and ran up to Ursula, hugging her tightly in front of everyone. "What a surprise!"

"Hello, Erica. Judging by your spontaneous reaction, I believe I wasn't announced. "She said and winked to Toshiro.

"Bro, you dick!" Erica shouted. "How could you not tell my Ursula is coming!?"

"Now, now, Erica. Don't back talk to Toshiro, especially since he now is who he is. I believe he wanted my arrival to be a surprise, and alas, I'm only here to drop off the equipment, and go to Belgica."

"Aaaaawwwww… Okay then… It's nice that you're here anyway."

"Männer, Loss, ausladen Sie alles. (Men, go, unload everything.)" Ursula commanded.

"Jawohl, Frau Oberleutnant."

The men started bustling around, and unloading crates of various sizes, all chain locked. He saw a big crate, and a long crate, just like in Britannia, but the rest was rather meager in size.

"Ursula, what exactly did you bring?"

"Various things. Here's the list, and a stack of manuals for everything." She said, bent over to the side and picked up a heavy looking stack of documents. She gave it to him and said, "The shipping manifest is somewhere inside of that stack. And… Sorry, but most of your equipment is in pieces. You'll have to assemble it yourself… But at least you have the manuals and we provided you with proper tools, so you'll manage."

"Well, at least I'll have something to do here, heh… I also have to thank you for not changing your attitude towards me."

"I figured you would like to keep our relationship on the previous level, Toshiro. Especially after I saw the article, heehee…" She looked behind into the well-lit interior of the plane, and said. "Well, that's everything for your unit. I'll be in Belgica for two days, so if you have any problems, just holler to Sint-Truiden."

"I will. So… Goodbye?"

"Hmmm… Yes, Goodbye Toshiro. Goodbye Erica!"

"Gooooodbyeeeeee!"

Toshiro went down the ramp, and the mechanics went up and inside the plane. The engines started revving up, and the ramps began to close. After a minute, the plane started accelerating, and soon disappeared into the dark sky.

"Well, that was fast… In and out, just like all you Karlslanders…" Shirley said. "So, Toshiro, whatcha got, huh?!" She asked with enthusiasm.

"Yes, bro, what's in the crates?!"

"Wait a second, I have to find the manifest first. Nobody touch anything until I find it."

Toshiro went inside the hangar, followed by everyone. He slammed the stack of papers on the desk, and started going through them.

"Ahah… I think I…"

The cheerful music on the radio suddenly stopped. Toshiro was surprised by it, so he turned to the radio. Suddenly, a voice started speaking.

"We interrupt this program!" The voice of the announcer that Toshiro knew recognized from all the WCCO broadcasts, Paul Wann, said, "Flash. President Roosevelt is dead. The Associated Press has just announced in this flash that we have read to you that the president is dead. We have no further details, how-however… Here is a bulletin just handed me… The White House announced, just a few moments ago that President Roosevelt died of a terrible hemorrhage at Warm Springs, Georgia. We have no further details. Stay tuned."

The voice stopped talking, and one could only hear static in the radio in the deeply silent hangar.

"This can't be… He was alive just then and…"

"Toshiro… I told you, that man was already living on borrowed time… I'm sorry…"

He looked at the girls, and saw that all were deeply concerned, but Shirley looked as if it didn't faze her.

"I have to go fetch something…" She said with a lifeless voice, and started walking outside.

"Somebody help her, and watch over her." Toshiro said.

Erica and Francesca immediately went to the sides of Shirley. Shirley walked out of the hangar, and turned left.

"Oh my… Poor Shirley…" Yoshika said. "I hope she's okay."

"She's not, Yoshika. She's probably under such shock right now that her body is working autonomously." Toshiro sighed. "Poor guy… At least I got to know him…"

"You knew the President of Liberion?" Minna asked surprised.

"Yes… I met him in Tobruk… Ehhhh… "Toshiro sighed deeply. "Let us wait for Shirley to return… I hope you all know how to handle such situations?"

Everyone nodded without exceptions.

Toshiro and the girls walked up before the hangar. After a few minutes, Shirley came back, holding something in her arms. When she came into the light, Toshiro recognized what it was. It was a folded flag of Liberion, the Star & Stripes. Thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red, seven white, and a white square in the upper-left corner, with sides the length of eight stripe heights, with a blue star in the middle. Shirley mechanically went forward to the flagpole, and started attaching the flag to the steel line used to hoist flags.

Yuki, help me with this one…

The time slowed around Toshiro. He jumped up to the balcony and went inside the room. He took only one thing, the trumpet.

He then jumped down, and resumed the time flow.

Shirley finished attaching the flag and pulled it up to half of the masts height. Once she did it, she walked back a few steps, stood attention, and saluted.

Toshiro put the mouthpiece of the trumpet to his mouth, and started playing the sorrowful melody of Taps.

The proverbial straw of Toshiro's playing was all that was needed to push Shirley to let it all out. She then fell down to her knees and started wailing, covering her face with her hands. Toshiro stopped playing, went to Shirley and crouched before her. She probably felt it, because she immediately clung onto him, not stopping her endless wail. Toshiro returned the hug, and they remained like that until she calmed down.

"Thank you, Toshiro…" She said silently. "I don't know how this happened…"

"No problem, Shirley. It only shows that you are a true patriot."

"Yeah… I want to sleep now…"

They stood up, and the girls swarmed Shirley. Toshiro separated himself from her and went to his room.

He put the trumpet back on its place, took a bath and went to bed.

However, at about midnight, a shy tapping on the door sounded through his room.

Roosevelt's death – the facts are all accurate from what I could gather, and the broadcast is transcribed from a WCCO AM radio broadcast from the days, read by Paul Wann. You should find it by pounding 'wcco tapes paul wann' in your favorite search engine. It's only a half-meg mp3, so you can download and play it on a microwave oven.

And if you want to praise/rant about my story, please leave a signed review, so we can continue via PM's. Seriously, I don't bite. Unless provoked :]