Diebal Mountains, German Encampment

These snowy mountains on the soutern Gallian borders form what is called the Diebal Mountains. The mountains were once filled with ragnite, ready to be mined for the small country's use. Many Darcsen miners have settled in the mountains to mine the mountains for the mineral. Although the mines have been long abandoned, the settlements that were built because of it remained. One of those settlements is a village where a man named Vern lives ii with his family. The man right now is sitting in beside a campfire, facing what looks to be a German officer.

The officer looked to be in his mid-forties, wearing an officer's uniform with a gray trenchcoat to go with it. He was awaken by Hans and Jurgen earlier and was told that the man in front of him knows where they are. He was rather surprised by this, but immediately welcomed it. He woke up the others in the camp for them to also know. They've been traveling for God knows how long in a land unknown to them. The man reached into his pocket for a cigarette and lit it with his lighter.

"Do you want one?" The man reached into his pocket once more and offered Vern a cigarette. Vern nodded yes and reached for it and the man lit it in response.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, my men here says that you know where we are right now?" The man pointed to the eight men behind him. The eight men are divided into two, it being seen with their two different uniforms and equipment. The first four are wearing a gray thick uniform meant for the cold, light gray gloves, and black ankle shoes with black gaiter to finish it off. The others are wearing what looks like a camouflage printed jacket, gray pants, black gloves, and black boots. Their guns also differ, the first four equipped with their STG 44 and the other four have their FG 42 slung on their shoulders.

"Yes I do. But I have to ask, who are you people? By the looks of it, you guys ain't Gallians nor Imperials that for sure."

"Well you are quite right in the fact that we are neither of those two, but before we introduce ourselves to you, can you tell us who you are and where are we exactly?" Vern nodded in response.

"Well, my name is Vern Malheim and we are in the Diebal Mountains, a mountain range just near the border of southern Gallia." The major and the others had a puzzled look on their faces.

"Uh...Gallia? Is that a province in Belgium or something?" A man from the first group said. Vern got confused and shook his head sideways.

"Uhh..No? It is a country. Though I've never heard of this Belgium you're talking about." The Germans are now confused. They've never heard of any country called Gallia before and if there is, they should definitely know. The major inhaled deep his cigarette and thrown the butt to the ground.

"Okay then, at least now we 'know' where we are then. I guess it's our turn to introduce ourselves." The major stood up and dusted off the snow on his clothes.

"My name is Major Aurick Herrmann and I and the four men here.." Dirk pointed to the first group. "...were part of the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division while these four men here..." Dirk now pointed to the second group. "...were part of the 5th Parachute Division." The man offered his hand to Vern and he shook it in response. The eight men now went up to Vern to introduce themselves individually.

The first group consisted of Hauptmann(Captain) Heinz Muller, Unterfeldwebel(Staff Sergeant) Eckard Lehmann, Obergefreiter(Corporal) Edgar Drescher, and Obergefreiter(Corporal) Hans Kruger. The second group consisted of Oberstleutnant(1st Lieutenant) Wolf Schultz, Leutnant(2nd Lieutenant) Erwin Koenig, Obergefreiter(Corporal) Jurgen Fuchs, and Schutze(Private) Otto von Richter.

"So Mr. Malheim, think you can give us shelter in your village? If it ain't obvious, we're pretty much freezing our asses out here." Heinz asked. Vern had a skeptical look on his face. Sure, they may not be Imperials, but who says they aren't allied with them.

"Before I do, I must ask you all one last question. Are you guys Imperials? Are you allied with them?" Vern said with as much conviction as he can, the Germans hearing the seriousness in his voice.

'The Imperials must have traumatized this poor man. Whoever these Imperials are must be dangerous.' The Major thought. The others also had similar thoughts as well. The Major went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I assure you son, that we are not part or associated with these Imperials. I highly doubt we would anyway since all of us have no idea who these scweinhunds are." The men snickered at the remark. Vern phewed, relieved and convinced that the men he just met aren't part of the Imps.

"Okay then, I am convinced. There is an old cottage in the village outskirts you can use. A family used to live there, but they up and left a few years ago so it should be fine if you want it."

"It would do us just fine. Just let us pack our gear before we get there."

"Okay then. Come to me when you're ready and I'll lead you to it." With haste, the men packed up their tents and gear and put out the campfire that they lit. They did it relatively quick and came back to Vern ready to go. With that, Vern lead them through the forest and into the outskirts of the village. The village itself is small compared to the other ones in the area, but what makes it unique compared to the others is the way it was built. The village has two roads that cut through the village and each other, making some sort of cross in the process. This makes the village more valuable because the two roads make a vital crossroads from Gallia to the rest of Europa.

Vern lead them to the old cottage, but was dismayed when he saw the door was boarded up. That changed though when Heinz kicked it open and let themselves in. Vern can only shrug at the action.

'They are getting in anyway.'

It was obvious that the place has been long abandoned. Dust, cobwebs, dirt, anything you can think finding in an abandoned place is there. Edgar, one of the panzergrenadiers, blown away the dust from the old furniture, resulting him coughing from the dust cloud.

"Ah scheisse,*coughs* this place is a mess."

"Hey compared to a trench, this place is a fuckin mansion for all I care." Otto replied, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs inside.

"Agreed." Most of them said in chorus. A few seconds passed before someone replied.

"Hmmph, you boys are lucky. At least in yours, you don't live in it for so long rats start to live with you too." The Major somberly replied. Any kind of jovial mood had pretty much got killed and was now replaced with a solemn mood. Seeing the situation, Vern immediately made his way to the door.

"Umm...If you need me, just go to the village in the morning and just ask one of the people there." With that, Vern left the house. For a few minutes, the men went cleaning up the place in silence. It was broken though when Heinz popped a question towards the man who started it.

"Sir?"

"Yes Heinz?"

"Why did you decided to fight in this one too? I am pretty sure you could have just gone on doing what you are doing in peace for quite a while." Aurick stopped cleaning and looked to the others. All of them curious and are waiting for his answer. Aurick took a breath and exhaled.

"I decided to fight once more because I want more of you boys to survive." The men were surprised at his response.

"Now don't get me wrong. I don't like war and I sure as hell would pretty much do everything to avoid it, but if I can save boys like you from dying like the others back then, I would gladly join the fray once more."

They've heard stories on how brutal the fighting was in the Great War. They themselves have already experienced the hell of this war, how much more when you have to charge through killzones and go through poisonous gas yet, here is a man who would willingly go back to hell just so he can save a few lives. The men smiled at his response.

"Thank you Sir. If that's how you feel, then we'll be with you to the end." Heinz replied.

"As if we have a choice after a speech like that." Wolf added in. All of them laughed at the response, the jovial mood returning back once more. In minutes, the men have cleaned up the place as much as they can. The house was now mostly presentable with the dust and dirt cleaned up and all the furniture all in their right places. The men decided to go back to sleep, with Hans and Jurgen again taking watch, considering the fact that it was still their turn.

Aurick though was still awake, looking through the files and pictures that he have kept in his satchel ever since he acquired them. These things being responsible for the very situation they are now in. No, it wasn't these that got them into this, it was all him. He could have kept it all to himself entirely, but the situation was changed and now him, his group, and others just like him are now about to do what they and many others should have done earlier in the war.

And what are they trying to do exactly? Its quite simple really...

Defect to the Allied Forces and help bring the downfall of Nazi Germany.

Merry Christmas!

Maligayang Pasko!

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

счастливого Рождества!

Hello guys, and Merry Christmas. Are you surprised? Either way, I hope you like how it is going so far.

You got to wonder though how would Squad 17 react to them being here though, especially to what's inside the Major's satchel.

Thankfully, you'll get to see that in the next 2 chapters. YAY! And I'll be sure to bring it to all of you soon.

Thank you once again and Merry Christmas everybody. Peace :D

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN VALKYRIA CHRONICLES