The Atlantropa Articles by Cody Franklin

Author:Cody Franklin [Franklin, Cody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781633538368
Publisher: Mango Media
Published: 2018-08-30T23:32:54+00:00

Honor in Death

The ship is damaged. We patched it up the best we could, but there wasn’t much we could do with the resources we have out here. We’ll need to get to an Eagle Nest for repairs, and it’s at least thirty kilometers away. The Howling Dark is limping its way to safety.

We lost nine men. Two to gunshots. Six to cannon fire. One to broken glass. Ulric, Volker, and I stand in the empty husk of the Bridge. The day is clear, so only a little bit of sand comes through—even so, we still need to wear our armor and helmets to stay safe. Volker was able to get patched up. We buried the dead, including Witzel, in the desert, placing tokens with swastikas on top of the graves. From the environment of the crew, none of them blamed me for what happened.

It was just the nature of the Kiln, and the nature of the Scavengers. Our friends died serving the Reich, and as the Eternal Führer preached, that is the most noble death any of us could hope for. They all died heroes—but deep down, I know they didn’t need to die like that.

I’ve done that same maneuver dozens of times. Sure, it is risky, but it always came with a big reward as well. The shots from the main cannons were missing. They have a narrower range than the side cannons. It was meant to be one decisive blow, and it has worked before. Yet instead of celebrating victoriously while sailing away from the wreckage of our enemies, I watched over my men’s burials in this land of salt and sand.

With the tread damaged, nobody knows how long we have until it gives in. For now, we simply take it slowly and delicately. It may give out at any second, or it may not. For now, I stand here on the Bridge, in my armor, staring out through an open window, anticipating the clunk of the tread’s final rotation.

I pick up the radio to prepare for emergency pick-up from the nearest Nest in case our ship is stranded. I click the button, but there is no soft white noise. I click it again, and then again. Then I try my helmet. Nothing.

“I’m not getting any signal from outside the ship,” I tell Volker.

“What do you mean? I can hear you fine through the helmet intercom,” Volker replies.

“Yeah, but the helmets work on a limited range, I’m trying to use long range and it isn’t working. I think our long range communications are damaged.”

“Fuck. I’ll send somebody down on the deck to check,” Volker replies. He turns around and says through the short-range radio, “Hey, go check the long range communication rod see if it’s there, we can’t get signal outside the ship.”

We stand in silence awaiting a response.

“They knew what they signed up for,” Volker responds in a reassuring tone. “This is the Kiln. Fuck, every boy in the Reich dreams of fighting against the Scavengers. When we get back, they will be remembered for what they did today.

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