I own nothing from Hearts of Iron nor the Kaiserriech Mod.
Private Petros Sahakian
Journal Entry 4
June 1, 1932, Wednesday
Guam was fascinating to see even only from a ship's deck. No shore leave this time. It's a shame really. The island seems like a great place to explore despite how remote it is. In fact I never heard of the place until we left the West Coast.
Its people are definitely welcoming. A bunch of kids greeted us from the shore as we came in. Most likely they were more excited about seeing a new ship than anything else. From what Gunny explained to me they're called the Chamorro. He was stationed on this island for a time.
Their ancestors have been living on the island for thousands of years long before the Spanish Empire came or the United States for that matter. Very proud of their heritage in spite of colonial rule for generations.
It would be a shame if our presence brought war to these beautiful shores. Then again Japan or Germany would probably snatch this island anyway even if we didn't have a station here. Especially since Guam is situated in a strategic position in the Pacific. Still the government in DC didn't exactly ask Guam's people their opinions on the matter then nor now.
Looking out to this island and seeing folks just trying to live their lives I can't help but pray to God that if there is a war to come in Asia that Guam at least would be spared the worst of it, somehow.
Earlier this evening I managed to get Eiji to talk some more, revealing that he has a wife named Yuriko and four kids with another one on the way back on Formosa.
He seems to smile briefly when thinking about them but Eiji doesn't know how he can face his family, since he promised to look after Goro, his wife's younger brother who accompanied him during the trip. It was Goro's first fishing job outside Formosa's coast actually. Eiji confessed a new detail only to me about how during the storm he tried to hold on to his relative and friend but lost his grip and was forced to watch helplessly as Goro was dragged down by the waves, screaming.
I can't even imagine all that pain he carries from that wretched memory.
At that moment I didn't know what to say initially. But in his eyes I couldn't help but think of my sister Nayat. She carries grief beyond words even after all these years. For our parents and our siblings. I never got to know any of them but she did and their deaths often haunt her sleep, even though it wasn't her fault at all.
To be honest I think raising me is what kept her going all that time.
Finally I told Eiji that his family wouldn't want him dead, that they need each other now more than ever. Provoked by it he demanded how I could possibly understand. So reluctantly I confessed to him some of my family's tragedy during the Weltkrieg and what it did to Nayat and how she still pressed on in spite of that to take care of me.
Eiji became more quiet after that before asking to be left alone and I respected his wishes. Hopefully he will find some kind of peace with himself.
Journal Entry 5
June 3, Friday
We're in the middle of the Philippine Sea now, getting closer to Shanghai.
Many of the guys in my unit believe Eiji to be a spy. They all have been arguing nonsense about how he is one and for who. Some claim he's really not a fisherman but with his country's military intelligence in fact, trying to snatch details on the East German Squadron. Others say he is a double agent for the Commune of France, trying to pit Germany and Japan against one another.
One idiot named Hatch from squad F even suggested Eiji sank the ship he was on purpose to cover up his mission.
Knowing Eiji's real story I lost my temper at the last part and gave immediately gave the jerk a right hook to his ugly mug. It escalated from there, we both threw in some hits while others egged us on before Gunny intervened, restraining us both single handedly. He demanded an explanation but both of us refused to rat each other out. As a consequence Hatch and I are going to be stuck on KP duty together until we reach our destination.
Just my luck.
Journal Entry 6
June 6, 1932, Monday
Earlier today as we were passing the Ryukyu Islands, our ship finally made the rendezvous with that Japanese destroyer. It's not one of those battleships but the Tanikaze does have enough firepower to sink us if they wished so. Three 4 inch guns and two torpedo tubes to be precise.
A small party of sailors led by the Tanikaze's XO and their chief medical officer came aboard. The latter examined Eiji who had been recovering more of his strength each day and concluded he was well enough to walk as agreed by our ship's doctor. From the look of the XO I think they would've dragged Eiji one way or another. Fortunately that wasn't necessary. They thanked us for taking care of a citizen of their empire before heading out.
As he left Eiji looked over to me while saying nothing gave a knowing nod. He had calmed down since that talk we had. The death of his friends still haunts him but the man wants to live now. It won't be an easy road for Eiji but he will pull through I believe it.
On another note I'm still stuck with Hatch on KP detail. We didn't speak to one another for the first two days but we both calmed down enough. Hatch grew up on a farm near Galveston, Texas apparently. Can't say we're friends now but we both want to get this over with. That means no fighting between us and that's suits me just fine.