A View From the Ice Part 4
Michal, Misha and Old Leopold sat in the corner of the bar as people moved around them celebrating just to be alive and free again with both former prisoners and people from Griffins Roost drinking, dancing and talking together like old friends.
The Dracs had gone they were getting the tendons and bones of civilisation set up as former prisoners, and their new allies worked in the snow and ice to get new generators set up, better-insulated shelters set up, roads and all other such infrastructure to ensure they could survive and thrive here. The food they had sent along with other goods had proved to be mana from the heavens they had even sent chocolate which they had seen given to the young children of the former camp first.
To see their eyes light up as they got the old luxury had warmed many a heart.
Things had been going very well they'd even after a debate and a vote on it the former prison camp had its name changed to something more fitting to remind them of home.
Old Leopold stood, and the whole room went silent as they waited on the old man's next words.
"To the people of NowY Gdańsk and our new friends," Old Leopold said, "May the dreams of our people never die! Twoje zdrowie!"
"Twoje zdrowie!" the whole taproom yelled and downed their drinks.
The Old Leopold sat heavily down and looked over at his son chatting to one of the soldiers who came from Griffins Roost with a smile on his face.
He then looked back at them and said, "I'm glad the Koszmar is over, and my son is healthy," the smile fell from his face, "we must prepare though for their return and retaking our homeland according to Jake we have time, but they could break the ceasefire if they so wished."
"Yes," Misha said with a smile at the old man, "we must prepare, but for now we let our people celebrate they have suffered much they have earned this moment of happiness."
Michal nodded at her and grinned, "They have, but we have come out of it stronger we will rebuild, and we will go back and liberate our people. Zrzeszenie Wolność I Niezawisłoś."
----
The next day all three of them stood out on the cleared area they were using as a rough Dropport with ground crews made up of Armia Keajowa and ground crews of AFGR. They stood with Michals old platoon awaiting their important guests. Around the perimeter stood the rest of the Armia Keajowa keeping an eye on the crowd with infantry from AFGR assisting them in holding back the crowd that had gathered.
Michal sent a silent thank you to an old seamstress, and several tailors had managed to throw together what looked like the old winter uniform of the Nowa Warszawa. Though, with the Armia Keajowa symbol in place of the Nowa Warszawa flag for the Armia Keajowa forces they had trained up, it made them feel more like a military unit than a scratch militia.
"Can't believe they are sending them to us," Young Leopold said he looked to his father, "We believe we got all the snake scum, but there could always have been one who slipped through the cracks."
"Yes that is why we aren't taking any chances," Old Leopold said as he scanned the drop field waiting for the incoming dropship, "never expected to be getting royal visitors so soon."
"Aye," said Michal, "I put the Armia Keajowa on alert and spoke to Major Park of the AFGR were coordinating with them for the drop though they don't seem to bothered."
"Looks the way, sir," said Sierżant Rowecki, "whatever they must be brought for an escort must make any assassination laughable wish we could get some guns off them I miss my old
Grot Rifle and if the dracs comeback I'd rather be able to shoot back even if it doesn't do any good against their walkers."
"Same Sierżant," said Michal.
"Whatever the case," Misha said, looking over at Katlyn, "they re bring more medical equipment and medicine we need we are still having people go down from frostbite."
Katlyn nodded, "Not as many as we did at the start of the nightmare and their doctors have been miracle workers but...." she looked at Misha's scared face.
"you'd rather have more than less," Old Leopold said, "given the situation, I can't blame you."
It was then they saw the dropship burners cutting through the atmosphere decelerating it and landing on the landing field steam rising around as the flame melted snow that had blown onto the cleared runway.
Steam rose and as the burners cutout and the Dropship settled the was
USS Enterprise the first dropship of Griffins Roost along with
HMS Hariss. Each of the leaders and their aides wondered if the Dracs never came how long it would have been till Nowa Warszawa built something like the
Enterprise.
The door opened on the
Harris, and Michal felt his hand twitch to a non-existent pistol at his side, and he heard Old Leopold and his son curse. He also felt Rowecki and Misha tense, ready for violence or to run.
However, what he heard from Katlyn shocked him, "oh, they are absolutely adorable."
That brought involuntary laughter from everyone, as they looked to see what could only be described absolutely massive black tigers with glowing blue stripes.
Michals eyes narrow as he saw them scanning around obvious threats as they spread out into the snow. It was then the doors of the enterprise open and out came their two royal visitors with the Tiger in-between them and their more human bodyguards.
They walked forward the rest of Michal's old platoon following behind them nervously as they made their way behind them. The tigers zeroed in on the group moving up towards them.
"Damn," said Rowecki, "they are bigger than I expected."
"Intelligent too," said Misha, "if the what the Grifs told us is right."
"That to ma'am," Rowecki said glancing at the closet Tiger, "still I would not want to get on the wrong side of them."
They reached the people who just got off the dropship, "your grace's welcome to Nova Gdansk."
"Nice to finally visit," Willis said, "I've only spoken with your people through vid messages, this is my daughter Sarah who is currently studying history."
"Nice to meet you all, Sarah," said smiling at them.
"And this is Bastet," said Sarah, "unfortunately her board isn't configured for Polish."
Bastet eyed the small crowd chuffed in acknowledgement then went and licked all the Nova Gdansk party causing the two Royals to smile.
"It's a sign Bastet likes you all," Sarah said.
"Pleasure to meet you all," said Michal, "As you know I'm Michal head of the Armia Keajowa with my aide Sierżant Rowecki," pointing at his old friend, "To my right is Old and Young Leopold's who presentative of labours and in charge of labour, supply and distribution."
He then looks over at Misha and Katlyn, "this is Misha and Katlyn they represent the women and medical concerns of our people."
They went wrong shaking hands and in Katlyn case tentatively patting then hugging Bastet.
"She has always had a soft spot for cats," Misha said, "We best get into the meeting room."
As they walked towards the meeting room, they saw Sarah and Bastet run a bit ahead of them playing the snow with some of the other tigers bringing a smile to everyone's face.
----
They were in a meeting room which they used for the business of running NowY Gdańsk. Mainly because the doors were wide enough to let Basset in without much difficulty. A small pot of tea had been laid out, and everyone gratefully took a mug and sat down.
When Misha took her muff off, he could see Sarah start a little at her scared face, but she hid her reaction quickly.
After some small talk, Willis said, "anyway thought it would be best if one of us Royals came up here as the process of establishing formal relations with you and Sarah and Bastet tagged along to see the snow."
That drew a chuckle from old Leopold, "and play in it with the other Tigers if their antics on the way here are anything to go by."
That made everyone laugh and Willis said, "I guess they wanted to have fun they are also here to help with security since we thought battlemechs would be impolitic."
"Yes, I imagine they would," Misha said with a small smile, "Still we are glad for the extra security amongst other things."
"Emm," Sarah said and looked around the table, "can I ask a question?"
"What is it, child?" asked Misha as she looked over to the seat Katlyn had taken and was quietly cooing over basset.
"What's your world like?" Sarah asked, "NowA Warszawa?"
Misha looked to Michal and Old Leapold who smiled at her and then she said, "It is a cold but beautiful world it is in the ideal zone for human life but much colder than the old homeworld, our people are descendants of those who were cast out by the Terran Alliance and sailed the stars until we found a world like our old home country. She has one large continent Warsaw with two smaller sister Krakow and Witold and several large archipelagos of islands." Misha smiled, "her climate is cool as I said with various mammals that evolved they're like the Mężczyzna Wilk which can be a hostile predator though some have been tamed and used like dogs."
"You and Misha have something in common she studied the history of NowA Warszawa," said Michal with a smile, "she can talk your ear off later if you like."
Sarah smiled, "I'd love that."
"As would I," Misha said with a smile at the younger girl.
Willis then cleared his throat, "I'd hate to ask this but how did your world fall to the Drac's we need to know what it's like so when we go back out we can help you."
All of them looked to Michal who clenched his fist sighed, "that is a hard topic for most of us, but you need to understand something first."
He leant back looking Willis dead in the eye, "We aren't like Griffins Roost," Michal said, "We lost a lot of technology from before we were cast out we had only recently regained space flight before the Dracs came and were sending shuttles into space and are armour was mainly conventional aircraft and tanks with a lot of infantry."
Then he closed his eyes, and he was back there in the chaos remembering the smells as crews cooked inside their
Grom tanks and the screams as his fellow soldiers fought hard but died against a threat they never had in the wildest dreams thought to face and the screams of the civilians as they fled or were crushed on the dracs.
What was even worse when the Dracs aerospace fighters had dropped incendiaries into the mass he shudders as he hears their screams all over again. Then he is pulled out of it feels and hand on his shoulder and opens his eyes, seeing Misha beside him.
He rests his hand on hers, "Forgive me those mroczny dni still haunts me."
"It's alright," Willis said, and Michal nodded.
"To continue," Michal said forcing down the old wounds, "they landed we tried to fight back, but it was a blood bath they rolled over the Winged Hussar formations sent to meet them and burned into our cities slaughtering our forces where they attempted to fight back and eventually overwhelmed the assembly and claimed victory all in almost a week of fighting."
"My God," Willis said.
"But we refuse to die easily," Michal said with a cold smile, "like our ancestors, we formed the Armia Keajow and have been fighting back with mainly improvised weapons, irregular warfare, IED and refusing to give up and die for those bastards, we have been giving them a hard fight, or so it was when I left."
"Could they still be fighting," Sarah asked.
"More than likely," Misha said, "we will continue to fight they will not crush us like maggots, and we will gut them whenever and where ever we can."
"Yes," Michal said, "and hopefully in time we will push them out of our homeworld and liberate our people."
