Chapter 1.
This is it! Some of you asked for it, and here it is, a "Balto Wings of Change" WW2 story! It will take place in 1940, during the Battle of Britain. After a bit of thinking, I decided to do it. Personally, I'm making this story as in 2025, it will be the 100th anniversary of the 1925 Nome Serum Run!
Southern England, June 1940…
For the second time in the 20th Century, the previous year (1939) war had broken out between Britain, France, and Nazi Germany, led by the Nazis Party, led by Adolf Hitler. Germany had invaded Poland in September 1939, from the west, whilst the communist Soviet Union led by Joesph Stalin invaded from the east. Then in the following months the Germans invaded Denmark, Norway, and in early 1940, Belgium and the Netherlands were invaded, France quickly after that. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had been trapped, but thanks to a lot of brave civilian boaters, who braved across the channel to Dunkirk, the army was brought back home to fight another day. But France was defeated and now England was fighting on its own. People feared that an invasion of England, which hadn't been invaded by a foreign power since William the Conquer, was inevitable. The German Air force, the Luftwaffe, ("Air Force" in German), was ordered to destroy the Royal Air Force, (the RAF) to clear the way for the German Army to come.
Balto and his wife Jenna had not been happy when the Nazis came to power in 1933, seeing them warmongers, seeing through the talk and hopes and following years of economic growth as preparations for war. In 1934, they and their kids left German by steamship, Balto, Jenna and their younger son Kolby (or "Kodi" as his new friends and fellow pilots had named him, a name he liked and embraced), Boris and Muk and Luk went to England, whilst Balto and Jenna's daughter Ailna (or Aleu as her new friends called her) went to America (which was neutral but some hoped that one day it would join the way). By 1940 they lived in a small village near an RAF airfield, and spoke good English with decent accents (Balto being half-English with his slightly English accent also helped). The airbase consisted of mainly a wide-open grass field and a small building which was used as a command room, and also a pilot's room. Several trucks with fuel stood nearby, the squadron, consisting mainly of Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires, stayed out on the grass, ready for take-off at a moment's notice. Kodi, having been interested by airplanes all his life, reading aviation books and watching people flying in gliders (due to aircraft restrictions after WW1 by the Treaty of Versailles, gliding became very popular in Germany before the Luftwaffe was formed), had joined the RAF. He was besotted with actually flying a plane. Balto and Jenna (her short brown hair with a few strands of grey) and Boris (whose brown hair was now almost completely grey, and a bit chubbier) helped around on the airfield, Jenna (her dark brown hair also greying) making teas and coffee for the pilots. But Balto (his short brown hair now getting grey) was worried. If the Germans did invade, he may be found out, and being half English and having fled his country, might be accused of treason and shot.
On this particular day, Kodi ad his squadron were up in the air on patrol, while Balto was walking around the empty field, reminiscing a memory of Kodi when he was younger, seeing a plane flying over their old home town of Luneberg, seeing from the top of the mountain they were walking on. "Schauen Sie es sich an (German for Look at it go)." Young Kodi had spoken in awe at the plane that was flying away from them, standing in between his mother and father. "Hast du dich nicht jemals gefragt, wie es ist, dort oben auf die Welt herabzublicken?" (Don't you ever wonder what it's like up there, looking down on the world?) Kodi then asked his parents. "Nein, ich nicht. Ich-Ich-Ich verstehe nicht, wie diese großen Stahl-Was-auch-immer-sie sind, wie ein Vogel fliegen können." (No, not me. I-I-I don't get how those big steel whatever-they-ares can fly like a bird.) Jenna said back. "Was für ein Gefühl." (What a feeling) Kodi signed. "Du willst da oben sein, mein Sohn... Fliegen?" (You want to be up there, son… flying?) Balto asked him, looking leftwards/downwards at him. "Ja, Vater." (Yes, Father.) Kodi said back, looking rightwards/upwards at him. "Weißt du, manchmal schwebe ich in meinen Träumen über den Wolken, frei." (You know, sometimes, in my dreams, I'm soaring above the clouds, free.) Kodi added. Balto then finished that ironic memory as the sounds of plane engines filled his ears. He looked rightwards to see the squadron settling their wheels down on the grass. The planes decelerated down the field, then turned to face the way they've come (for when they need to go up again), and stopped their engines and propellers.
Balto stepped towards the planes as he watched the pilots get out. He noticed Kodi (a 6-foot 3 muscular man, with his mother short dark brown hair, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth, a brown fabric helmet with bulges for his ears and earphones for communication on the sides on his head with googles over his eyes, a blue flying suit with a brown sheepskin leather jacket over it, a parachute on his back with a scarf around his neck, black boots and brown wrist-length leather gloves) take off his oxygen mask, open his cockpit glass canopy, stand up and removed his goggles and headgear. Then he moved his left leg over the left side onto the wing, brought out his right leg and then turned around leftwards and stepped off the wing towards his fellow pilots Squadron Leader (Royal Air Force equivalent to Captain) Kirby and Flight Lieutenant Ralph (both of whom were from Canada). "We were slow getting up again, sirs." Kodi spoke as he stepped up to them. "Big deal. We're just on patrol." Kirby (A muscular bodied 6-foot 2 man with blond hair) said back. "Yeah, on patrol for pigeons, sir." Ralph (a wide-bodied 6-foot 3 tall man with light brown hair) joked on Kirby's left. "Shut it, Ralph, we would have been up on time if you hadn't been dragging your bottom." Kirby, chastised, to which Ralph gave a shocked expression. "Me? Excuse me, sir, but I got a sore ankle and it's driving me crazy. Besides, Squadron Leader, didn't you have trouble starting up?" Ralph protested then asked Kirby. "Hey, that was my engine, not me." Kirby said back. "But that's no excuse for being late up. People on the ground are counting on us. To destroy the enemy bomber and their fighters from harming them." Kodi spoke proudly. "Yes, and to keep the Germans from knowing you're a traitor." Ralph spoke sarcastically, to which Kodi shot an angry glare at him, which made Kirby sign. "Look, Kodi, bottom line, we did our patrol, found nothing, got back alive. End of story, airman." Kirby spoke, to which Kodi saluted, Kirby and Ralph saluting back. "Looks like the flyers are finally back." Balto spoke sarcastically, as Jenna came alongside him on his right. "Come on, Balto, you know how much Kodi loves being a pilot. He has that Germanic fire in his eyes." Jenna said back, looking leftwards at him, before she looked forwards and they both walked over towards Kodi. "Oh, Hey, Dad. Hey, mum." Kodi greeted as he approached them, then started walking with them on their right. "Looking good up there, son." Balto half praised. "You think so? I am hoping… that me being a pilot will mean something. You know, make a difference." Kodi replied as he led them towards the main building, a small brick building. "Well, just… try to stay alive… and maybe you'll survive the war." Balto said, unsure what to say. To clear his head, Balto walked towards the nearest Spitfire, which was Kodi's, got up on the right-hand side wing and stared at it. "Watch it, Mr Balto." Ralph's voice came from the direction of the main building, but he ignored the pilots voice and sat on the wing, staring down at his feet. "Dad, don't go getting any ideas. We need all these to do our duty." Kodi spoke to him, louder and closer than he expected causing him to look up to see Kodi had waked up to him. "Me? What, do you think id just hop in, go for a fly?" "Yes, which you'll be arrested for, civilian." Kodi replied with a stern look on his face, to which Balto signed. "You're right. Besides, it doesn't seem right for someone like me to fly. Say, where's Boris?" He then asked, looking around to see the old man, to which he received no answer.
That's it, the first chapter done! Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry if its a bit short, i just wanted to ge this story started. Got the German translations from Google Translate. Oh, and I came up with Ralph and Kirby being Canadian on the spot, so they'd be in the story, as at that time in the war America was neutral, and Canada was a Dominion, and thus was in the war. Hope my summary of the war at that point in time was sufficient (I like my history). In my opinion, Balto (1995) should have been a better movie at the box office. And I also think the centenary should be celebrated with something like a remake. Oh, heh, and on the subject of films, I personally think that G-Force (2009), which I made a humanised story about (if you havent, read it please) deserved a sequel.
NOT SURE WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE OUT, AS I'M TRYING AND GET BACK NTO THE STORY-WRITING GAME, WHICH I HAVENT DONE IN A WHILE, PLUS I DONT WANT TO MAKE THE ENERGY BILLS TOO HIGH, WITH THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS, SO PLEASE BE PATIENT!
OH, AND FOR THE RECORD, I MAY NOT BE AMERICAN, SO IT WAS OUT OF MY HANDS, BUT I HATE DONALD TRUMP! AFTER FINDING OUT HE WON, I FELT DEVASTED AND TIGHT IN MY STOMACH MUCH OF THAT DAY, FELT LET DOWN BY AMERICA AND WONDER WHAT DARK PLACE AMERICA WILL SINK TO. Please don't judge me for saying this, it's just my opinion.
DEDICATED TO BALTO AND TOGO AND TO ALL THOSE DOGS AND MUSHERS WHO TOOK PART IN THE 1925 SERUM RUN!
AND ALSO DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN THE RAF DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AND TO ALL THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN WW2 FOR THEIR COUNTRIES, FOR DEMOCRAZY AND FREEDOM.