Metal Birds

Chapter 60: Brothers and Sisters

London, England, January 15 1944

To those whom it may concern, as it may be many;

We are all aware of what has been happening throughout these last years. And it has been hard for us. These years have brought upon us nothing more than challenge, but there has been triumph. And it is in the triumphs, in these successes against the enemy that we must rally ourselves. We must stand, and we must bear arms. The Nazi machine will fail if we push. We may, finally, be able to speak sense into Ludwig. Into those of his cohorts who decided to join him. 

But before we build anew, we must reach our final triumphs. Our victory as a whole, as an alliance. 

And this is where I ask you for help. 

Brothers and sisters, all of us, we know we have not been able to stand among each other for long. But we must. And I ask, I beg that we may rally here. That we may face our enemy head on with our hands held high to take our victory and to end this war once and for all. For each other, and most importantly for our people. 

I am weak. When I am alone, I falter. Most of us are the same. However, a final stand is all that we need to push through. And what I am going to ask of you is a lot. I know we all have our fronts and our battles. We all have our own wars to fight, but this war, in the end, is single. 

Please. Gather to your fronts. Bear arms, hold each other up. Those in Egypt and the Middle East, in North Africa. Burn from the tip of Italy to Berlin. Those of you in Greece, in the Slavic States, push back, rally your people. If you can spare a moment, even if you aren't involved, please, spare it for the sake of those who will suffer. Spare it for our future. 

There is no requirement for you to push. You don't have to. 

But it would be best. 

With greatest regards, 

Arthur Kirkland

oOoOo

To those whom it may concern, 

As of the latest months, and what will become months ahead of us, the generals and strategists of my own table have begun pulling together a plan. They call it Operation Overlord. It is merely a figment of our imaginations at this point, but it would require our presence. 

We are not human, and we are being acknowledged in that regard. We have been asked to push ahead before landing troops. The plan is to deploy from Dover, and the southern tip of England, my territories, to push into Northern France. It will take a multitude of men and resources, and I feel the last of what we have, but it will be worth it. It must be. 

We will push ahead to drop supplies and locate things such as bunkers and rally points. To call in the planes when need be. And, when we are close enough, to fly ahead to Berlin. Those of you who receive this letter will also receive my concerns. I am afraid that others, Ivan Braginski, more specifically, disagree as to how to handle Ludwig and Gilbert if we are to succeed.  We all came to the conclusion that it would be best to diminish the old Germany to as little as possible. However, this proved only as a push towards the war we are now caught in. 

I believe, that now more than ever, we must support each other. Consequences must be faced, but taring each other apart will only ever make things worse. We will never be satisfied. We will never be at peace, at least not for long, if we decide to rip each other to shred. No, we must rebuild. We must aid. We must prove that there is no reason to fight. 

For there shouldn't be. 

Please, if you do wish to take part in this; we should gather by June at the latest. And from there on out, we will take Europe back. 

Sincerely, 

Arthur Kirkland