[GZG] RE: [GZG Fiction] Dear Ma.... 4 of 5

Toodei, bayldagch (able seaman) on MMN Sakalin, to his fiancée September 10th
2196

My most delightful Alma,

Hello darling, just a few more lines, hoping they find you healthy and happy.
It warms my heart to know you are safely posted to logistics and are far from
the front line, even if you find it boring or frustrating. Before I go
further, I want to stress how much I love you! Today I can make this letter
more interesting than my usual blather about the weather and cooks latest
culinary disaster, as we have been given permission to let you know at least
something of what is happening here.

As you already know I am stationed in the Kolyma More, off the northern coast
of the Tokalau Isthmus. I meant to find out why it is called an Isthmus for
you didn’t I? Sorry I had completely forgotten until now. It still mystifies
me, peninsular I could maybe understand (though even then it would be a
stretch), but isthmus?! Sorry I have wandered quite far from my original
point, which is that we have been taking part in the liberation of the
alien’s Martian holdings. We are doing remarkable well I think, especially
when you take into consideration the opposition the aɣur niɣur (raging face
or Kra’Vak) are putting up! The weather was reasonable the day we set sail,
but it dropped off and was quite poor by the second day. In fact it was a
little too rough for comfort, but we still got everything across OK. The
greatest incident of note was that we narrowly escaped being sunk by a aɣur
niɣur missile barrage. We had to draw in close to drop off a load of marines
and commandos and we were fired on by shore launched missiles. We dodged them
all fairly well, though we must thank luck as much as Yenisey, our defensive
AI. Yenisey drove us full astern, barely missing a bar, and
the main barrage slipped harmlessly across our bows - missing us by
about 3 or 4 metres, though in an engagement like this one it might just as
well have been 3 or 4 kilometres! The more frightening was when a force of 10
or 12 aɣur niɣur grav tanks flew out low and engaged us with their main
guns. It was quite nerve raking labouring away below, feeling the shudders and
groans from the old girl as she took shot after shot. Yenisey (supported by
quite a few flesh and blood crew) fought
them off with our guns and machine-pods. Not without loss however, we
took water on the port side engineering ports, though in a way that was a
stroke of luck as it helped put out a fire that the shells had started down
there. We lost 15 dead and 35 wounded though; grisly stuff, burns and
haemorrhaging amputations. Nevertheless I can honestly say it was a marvellous
achievement to get the whole of the force across, the entire 3rd and 4th
Divisions, with only the lightest of losses (numerically, it certainly does
not feel so light to know Sengelen, Irkut and Gurme won’t have me laughing
over dinner anymore). I don't want you to think it was as simple as a
dumpling, because it was far from it! I am just proud to see such a stream of
troops landed and the torrent of reinforcements and stores following them in.
What a difference it has made to have the aɣur niɣur gone from orbit. Now we
needn’t fear their bombardment. As you’ve not doubt been briefed yourself,
sadly we can not count on precision orbital strikes from our fleets over Mars
either though, as Mar’s atmosphere and climate has been judged to badly
wounded to stand anymore of that kind of support.

One a sight I will try to convey from that heady time, however, as it was
almost unbelievable. As we drew to our station on the first day, we were
called to the main deck to prepare the launches. I saw a dark cloud closing
fast and feared it was some mighty squall. When it drew nearer though I
realise it was the airborne. It is utterly impossible for me to describe my
exact feelings at seeing them, but my gut felt tight, my heart was pounding
and I had this thrilling strength shooting up my spine. From one horizon to
the other, as far as I could see by eye, the sky was blacked out by troop
transports, drop ships, VTOLs, gliders, and bombers. Hundreds even besides the
fighter cover that accompanied them. I do not know of any other site like it.

There is little else to say for now and my watch starts in 10 minutes, so I
had better sign off. Remember you have my heart. I love you so much!

Yours as long as the stars burn

Toodei

> [quoted text omitted]

Alma, baga türüüch (junior sergeant) in the 3rd Martian Division, to her
fiancée Toodei September 21st 2196

My own Toodei,

I was astonished and delighted to receive your letter today and to see how
fast it had reached me, never a sure thing even when we are so close by! I can
only guess that Baikal, who was post master in Tonopah last I heard saw your
letter and personally made sure it found its way to our Colonels packet.

How I have missed you! Especially today. After weeks of hard fighting al
of a sudden there comes this two-day break with almost nothing to do but
unwind, stretch out and try to get some rest, although that is not such an
easy thing in our present location. But I am quite getting ahead of myself. I
did not get a chance to tell you before I left, but I was one of the troops
your taskforce took across! I do not know what I would have done if I had been
put on your ship, as I would have had no time to have searched you out and I
do not know how you would have taken the shock of the news besides. You see at
the last they judged they were short a battalion and put one together from our
logistics group and trucked us down to the transport fleet before it sailed.
So here I am back in the frontline press. You never can tell where fortune
will land you in this mess of an army. I know it was some comfort to you to
think of me safe in support, but in all honesty I think I prefer to be in the
thick of it, rather than simply packaging boxes and thinking of you sitting by
the teeth of this alien maw. This is what I have been trained for afterall.

It is still hard to believe we have only been here a little over two weeks.
These past fifteen days have been filled to bursting with sights and sounds
that I'll probably recall always. I can’t claim I found any of it the kind
of enjoyable you’d seek out at your leisure, but it was most certainly
exciting, if pretty nasty. For the greatest part we haven't actually been
close enough to catch the leading edge and impact
of the assault, but we have had more than enough to do in the clear-up
and the glimpses we've had of the thicker fighting have been enough. We landed
north of Ariza and fought south along Gurderain Way for the next three days.
Since the Krak too it a bit of a year back they have been busy building what
appears to be breeding ranches for those cavalry beasts they ride and what
appears to be mariculture pens and spa and sauna comlpex of all things! What
did they think the place was a resort?! Some of the guys reckon that the
Kra’Vak are party amphibious or something and need these structures for food
husbandry and shelter and what not. They’re weird enough that could be true,
but I’m still sceptical.

The Torguud (commandos) basically ran on ahead taking the edge off for us,
while we cleaned out the pockets they’re missed. We lost Manzan as we
reached the northern suburbs of Ariza, he was chopped in half by concentrated
RG fire. It will take weeks to fully secure the island, though it seems there
wasn’t as many Krak here as we thought, that or the majority of them
scampered back to their mainland haunts to prepare ahead of us jumping there,
leaving only a painfully tough rear guard to bloody us up and make us pay for
this toehold. We have cleaned up enough of them at any rate that we can have
the odd break between bouts, at least for now. I do not know when we will be
thrown into the main fray around Orduna.

We have done much talking about our feelings of late. More so than I
would’ve expected given our tendency to usually duck the issue and laugh
instead. Its as if the alien nature of our enemy and the threat they pose has
focused the mind more seriously. Others, who knew they were coming, claim they
have been under growing tension and doing a
great deal of self-searching. For myself, we were thrown into this so
suddenly that I could do nothing but ride along and make myself set for
anything. I have this sense of completeness, a security of knowledge that
there is reason in my living up to this point. A lot of that has to do with
you, Toodei. I am overwhelmingly grateful to you and for you; this encompasses
my entire feelings and burns brightest in my thoughts. Above all else I pray
to the ancestors that I live to make you happy. Of all I want to do, that
alone is yet to be done. I want to live, darling. Live with that sense of
wonder that has always been like a new spring day, a new revelation, a new
childhood toy for me. I wanted to live for you and with you. The promise of
our tomorrows stretches ahead of me and is delicious just to contemplate. For
all of these reasons and millions more I love you, darling! Every hope and
desire I have for the future is ours, just as we must stay resolute in the
knowledge that every agony and desperation that this war brings now is
ultimately for our benefit. Everything is twice as hard, while also being
twice as easy and a billion times more consuming and wonderful than anything
that's ever been in this galaxy or any other. Hold tight to our faith in us
Toodei. Call on our love as deep as you need, as it is unending. Live for us,
live for me darling. I love you something wonderful and all I want is a chance
to show it free from this alien scourge.

Stay safe and strong my angel, my guiding star. Stay well, for me, for us.

I love you, darling.

Always your Alma

> [quoted text omitted]

Major Marcello Minte-Vera 35th (Brasilia) parachute regiment, to his
sister September 23rd 2196

My dear Hem,

I hope Mamma and all the little ones are fine. Have you had word from Rodrigo?

Thanks ever so for your letter. I received it while I was in hospital, but
have not had much time to write until now. As you can see, I’m out now,
thank our Lord. I am more or less all alright again. I have a very fetching
scar that runs up my forearm and a bit of a dent above the elbow, but it’s
nothing really and I’m sure the girls will swoon over it. Yeah in my dreams,
I can hear you saying it now. I’ll be the first to say the Lord smiled on me
that day. The shrapnel missed everything important and really did little
permanent damage. It went in about 10cm below my left shoulder on the inside
of my arm and stopped just as it was breaking the surface above my elbow on
the other side and diagonally downwards. Managed to miss the biggest blood
vessels and didn’t break anything too badly. I got a bunch of bruises and
scratches beside, taking a nice blow to the head which finally did me in as
far as our medic was concerned. One moment I’m in the thick of the biggest
not to be missed party on Mars and next I’m looking into the big blue eyes
of Sven the Swedish nurse back in Nirgal. As you guessed in your letter it
something I wouldn’t have missed for the world though. I was in it barely 28
hours but what I saw, it just takes the breath away. Listening to the reports
and talking to some of the others around the hospital, for everything I saw
that first part was a picnic compared to what came after. It feels like some
bad dream or over the top VRexe, somehow so big it can’t be real.

The main landing was a dawn raid, with full engagement by midday. It still
seems so unreal to me that we stand our best shot against these alien monsters
in broad daylight. I feel most for the leading teams, all NSL. They had to go
in by night, when the Krak are at their best, and clear the shoreline LZ and
harbour for the main assault. We were
supposed to be close in behind, but due to a screw-up in the orbital
support we ended up coming in hours behind them. They did a stand out job, but
it was still a close run thing as we hit the ground. It’s never easy to land
in an area swarming with the enemy, whose one objective is to liquidate you
before you can do it to them.

Some of the younger guys kept commenting that it was like some exercise, but
I’ve been in this game too long for that. I was chewing my lip before we
left Harper, that tingling rush in my fingers making it hard to sleep. The
doors of the dropship opened while we were still over the Binzert. I was
sitting first in the row, still holding number one jump spot after 45 jumps,
well I was until I got winged. Now I’ll have to work my way up again.
Anyway, I had a grand view as the coast rolled past below us. I couldn’t see
a hint of those alien bastards, thanks to the RNAAF and the Swabians. A few
shots were fired at us, but not so many it was ever a worry. I remember Cisco,
who jumped number two, exclaiming "Look at those craters!" as we flew in over
the beachside suburbs. We were soon past those and close to our drop zone. In
no time the red light was on and then the green. Out I went. My mind its usual
whistling blank as I watched the ground race up at me. I remember almost
nothing of my descent. It didn't take long at any rate. My landing was pretty
poor. No one’s was outstanding, with all the craters and broken ground, but
mine could still have been better; my fault entirely. Too fixated on the view
and didn’t kick in the brakes until real late. I got bruised knees for good
measure, which made crawling into position from then on a painful reminder to
be more careful next time. It was only something I did about a 1000 times that
day! Anyways, I scrambled to my feet and unhitched from my chute pronto before
rolling down into cover so I could take a look around.

I called up a HUD overlay as I wasn’t exactly sure where I was. I knew I was
more or less in the LZ, as Felipe, Ernesto, Chico, Raul and Tulio had come
down around me. The Krak had some heavy weapons firing at the dropships and
planes to our east and north. Quite a lot of what I think was flak was being
thrown up to our south, but at least there was no sign of any enemy in our
immediate vicinity or behind us, between us and the water. I called the men
around me to order and we headed for the rendezvous, more greens registering
on my HUD as we moved closer. Turned out the battalion had made it in fairly
untouched and it wasn’t long before I met one of my platoon commanders. Then
as I ducked into a busted out warehouse, there was the colonel and another
captain. We checked our position and then as if from some maniac’s version
of a war movie the commandos came in, replete with piper! He was dirty and had
a bloody cut to his forehead, but was in full blow. A surprisingly pleasant
sound, and I have completely revised my view of bagpipes!

I know the majority of what I've given here is rather sketchy, but I can not
give you full details; and using only these simple posted media I could never
hope to give you any sense of the true atmosphere, it is
really quite indescribable. The smell of broken hab-domes, burnt out
air-scrubbers, hulled buildings and the sharp tang of explosives is
extraordinary. In many ways the countryside is much as you would remember it
from our summers here as children, though it is now torn, reverting in places
as the violence tears up what terraforming had put in place. It is also
littered with broken vehicles and parachutes and old equipment crates. Debris
everywhere, in the open spaces, in the streets, even in the fences and
xerophytic hedges. A number of the jump harnesses look badly broken, to the
extent that it is hard to believe anyone could have survived the landing. Yet
it is only in a very few cases that anyone succumbed on landing. Many have
died, but nearly all in the days after the landing. It was a really amazing,
but very unpleasant and tragic two days. Guido, my company 2IC, never turned
up at the rendezvous. His body was found four days later, in the leading edge
of the LZ, he must have been killed soon after landing. He was an amazing man,
as evidenced by the three dead Kra’vak found littered
around his body. It appears he took them down in hand-to-hand! Sadder
still, Alano is still missing, as is everyone from his dropship. Mrs
Vasconcelos must know by now, but please go see her and pass on my sorrow,
tell her how we tried to find him. I was desperate to find him. We really
don't know what happened to him. Losing your best friend of 25 years is a pain
that both cuts and numbs to the core.

Having heard this you probably find it is hard to imagine that after I left
they had an ever sticker time, but I assure you it is true. Most of the
officers were killed or wounded. Our colonel amongst them, the announcement
was in today's gazette.

I have rattled on for some time now and must get back to my chores. There is
much to be done before I meet up with by battalion again in a week.

Look after Mamma.

Marcello