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7/21/1950

Dear Mom,

I am sorry it took so long to write to you. I meant to write to you after training, but as soon as that was done, we were deployed. Things have calmed down enough that I can finally put pen to paper. You probably want to know how the soldier's life treating me?

I regret joining. While I knew that the life of a soldier would be rough, I wasn't prepared how rough it would be. Our training was grueling and often seemed pointless. One of the exercises they had us do was carrying buckets of water. If we were too slow, we had to start the obstacle course again. If too much spilled out, we had to go to a river and refill it then do the obstacle course again. It took some of our group all day to do it to the commander's satisfaction, missing meals in the process. A lot of the guys quit after that, making our unit smaller. Another thing I can complain about is the food. It is so bland and tasteless. If you didn't like what they were serving, you had to go hungry. Even as soldiers fresh out of training, the food is still bad.

If there is a bright side to this it is the money. The recruiter wasn't lying when he said they would pay the soldiers through the nose. I was blown away when they handed me my first paycheck. I mean, this was double what I made working for Mr. Stone. I don't know if Dad was able to find a new job by the time you get this letter, but I hope sending my paycheck with it helps you, even if it is a bit. I filled out a special form so you and the rest of the family will receive the money instead of me. I'm going to be fine here, other members of my units are going to help me scrape by between paychecks. They're great people Mom, at least the ones from my unit are.

The weather down here can only be described in one word, hot. No matter what time it seems to be here, the air is always going to be hot and muggy. While our fur may be thin, some of my thick furred friends suffer a lot from heatstroke. While the prospect of doing maintenance of the vehicles and weapons are boring, I gladly do them if it means not being out in the sun and bugs out there. Speaking of bugs, the insects are huge down here. As big as my hand. How do the locals deal with them?

I am running out of room so I am ending it here. I promise my next letter won't take too long next time.

From your favorite cub,

Donny

9/15/1950

Dear Cordelia,

Words cannot describe how grateful I am that you are taking care of my daughter. I do not regret sending Maki to you, though I am sure she hates me. I have gotten used to how quiet my house is without her around and I hate it. But I will gladly endure it if it means Maki will be safe and out of harm's way. Life here has been getting worse since the Empire took over. They said it was for our prosperity, but a child can tell they are plotting something. I thank the gods I had the good sense to send Maki to you when I did. Getting off the island seems impossible now. Even getting this letter off the island is difficult. Chances are you probably won't be able to send me anything, even if you wanted to. I found someone to take the letter off the island.

I have joined a resistance movement here on the island. Most of my missions so far have been info gathering. I will usually go out and find whatever info I can find to help kick the empire out of the island. What they have done to our home is unforgivable. The resistance is planning something. I don't know the details or what we are going to do. Only that it is dangerous and I am volunteering. Please don't tell Maki about this. I have written a separate part for her below. If she asks to see just tear up the top half. But I know you. You probably won't do it. I remember growing up, you would do things that would irk me on purpose, to prove I wasn't the boss of you. But can I ask one thing. If something happens to me, please take care of Maki. Take her back to the island I work so hard to return to her. Please, listen to your older brother at least once.

Dear Maki,

I hope you are well. Do not worry about the above, I asked Cordelia to do it. The part above had a lot of grown-up words you wouldn't understand. You do not need to worry about me. I make sure I go to bed at a good time. I am making sure I bath and shower every day. As promised I haven't had any of those favorite meals you like, no matter how much I miss them. I ran into your teacher Ms. Flotem, she is doing fine. She is very lonely since all of your other friends have already left the island to go with other relatives. I have been keeping her company since the others left. She said out of everyone she misses you the most.

Anyway, how are you behaving? Have you been a good cub and doing what Aunt Cory tells you. Are you getting along with your cousins? They must have gotten so big right now. I promise to come over to get you when I can. No matter what you hear is happening on this Island, I promise your Papa is going to be fine and we will see each other someday.

Love you, your Father and Brother,

Balthier

9/20/1950

Boss,

Sorry but I am in a rush so forgive me for being brief. I found someone who can get the letter off the island, but he gave me a strict timeline to do it. Reminded me of you. As you probably heard, the Empire did take over the islands. Even the timing is identical to the info we got. But there is more.

Once the Empire took over, they basically put the place on lockdown. Any info coming in comes from the Empires messengers and I know for a fact they can't be trusted. Get this, when I asked why they were here, they lied to my face. They said they received permission to occupy the port for some reason. I couldn't tell if that was the truth or just something they said to keep the locals quiet.

To be honest, life sucks down here for the islanders. The army has been taking up a lot of the supplies, forcing the other to fight for scraps. Apparently, the Empire came after the Hulling, a massive migration of fish through the waters, they were supposed to use those reserves to last till next season, but the Empire picked the worst time to occupy the port and hogging resources. It's no wonder a resistance formed almost immediately.

The odd thing is that the Empire is not even occupying this port correctly. I mean this is certainly different from other occupations they have done. Most of the guys patrolling the streets seem like new recruits. The way they carry themselves gave it way. They also don't have a 'base' on the island. Just their ships and some warehouses for stuff. So I decided to see what these new recruits were told about coming over here. The ones that talked to me straight up told me they have no idea why they came here or what the purpose of this occupation is even about. They just said that they just answered a call to arms and a need for money. Granted I don't think the Empire would be honest about why they are doing it. Maybe that info you got has some more clues.

Anyway, the Island Federation Navy landed on the other side of the island. Any battles that are happening are in the jungle that covers most of the island. From what I can gather, the IFN did attempt to have the Empire leave peacefully, but that quickly fell through. If you were here you would hear the sounds of gunfire and other stuff taking place in the jungle every night. I can understand trying to keep the battle out of port but I wonder how long they can last.

I should also mention the resistance movement earlier. One formed a bit after they came here. Actually too quickly if you ask me. Again from what I gathered, it's like most of them hit the ground running and went to work immediately trying to sabotage the Empire from day one. It seems too organized to be made up of non-trained patriots. By the time you read this, I may have figured out why that is if I survive that is.

I know the resistance is planning something and it is about to go down. A few days ago, one of the warehouses they used for weapon storage was broken into. I heard it with a couple of recruits. They are aware that there is a resistance force and they are going to raid a place tomorrow. I, unfortunately, have front row seats to it as it is just over the next street. I'm going, to be honest Boss, I doubt I am going to survive this. If I don't make it, I'm just going to write it down.

I want to thank you for my opportunities in the field. I know I give you shit when I am able, but I really do look up to you. Words cannot tell you how grateful I am for you helping me pursuing my passions. Maybe I'll see you again if I survive.

Signed, your annoying journalist,

Oscar

10/01/1950

Dear Boss,

I bet you are surprised to hear from me. By the time this letter reaches you, you would have known what happened to the Island. Chances are they lifted the blockade surrounding the island as well. I do plan to return to the mainland, but things on this Island are bad and they need all the able-bodies they need. I should start from the beginning about what happened on the Island. Did I tell you about the raid in my last letter right? It feels so long ago. Things didn't go as planned. I was going to go to the other side of town when the raid began, try and avoid the trouble and bullets. But life has a way of fucking with me.

The raid happened in the middle of the night, almost an hour after I handed the letter to the guy to sneak out of the blockade. Gunshots filled the air as the rebels fought the Empire soldiers. The fighting quickly filled the streets and some of the buildings, like the one I was staying in.

It was terrifying. I listen as some of the other rooms were kicked open and some of the guests were shot, by either the rebels or Empire I couldn't tell. I think the only reason I survived was because I locked myself in the bathroom as soon as the fighting starts. I didn't look out the window. I just had my back to the locked door and try to stay quiet. From the bathroom, I heard someone use my room as a gunner's nest. Shooting at people on the streets. I don't know how long I was there.

The next morning the gunfire was quite enough that I was confident that I would get shot at. When I peek out of the bathroom I saw the corpse of guy who used my room as a nest. I didn't stay to find out how he died. I was just focusing on one thing at the time; survival.

The scene outside wasn't any better. At the same time as the fighting, a lot of riots seem to fill the streets. Maybe they were part of the resistance, maybe they were people who saw an opportunity. Running for your life doesn't give you time to search for answers. I didn't try to reason with them or ask for help, I just try to stay away from the angry mob. The Empire didn't waste time trying to settle down the crowds, they just shot at them. They almost shot at me a few times, but I manage to avoid being the same areas as the soldiers.

I ran into one of the new recruits while I was running around. I got close to him during our stay here. He was a brown bear named Donny. He was a nice kid when I meet him. It seemed to just be in over his head when he joined the army. Told me that he only joined for the money, not that I fault him. But when I saw him on that day, Donny was different. He wasn't happy or cheerful, just tired. He held his gun close to his chest, bodies surrounded him. He didn't respond to me, just muttering to himself. I had to leave him behind when I heard footsteps approaching. I haven't seen him since. Maybe he was rescued and shipped back home. Maybe he was killed. I just hoped he got help.

I ran into a person who manages to help me survive for a bit. His name was Balthier. He was a native puma who lived on the island his whole life. He offered me a place to stay during the riots. I was too scared to refuse. His house was on the outskirts of town, so it was the safest place I could be while all that shit went down. His house was very modest, not big but comfortable. Balthier immediately put me into his basement upon arrival. He told me the IF army was going to come out of the jungle soon and that his basement was probably the safest place for me and a few others. He then closed the doors on me and shut us in. He didn't come back.

Honestly, the places were stocked as a bunker. Food, water, gas, there was even paper which I used to write this letter. There were two other people down in this bunker with me. One of them was a scientist by the name of Oscar, same as me. He just happened to be in the city when the raid and riot broke out. He worked for the Empire. The second one was a really messed up dude named Dylen, he worked for the resistance. It seemed like he got beaten pretty bad before all this started and was taken here to stay safe. They both filled me in on some info while I was in the bunker.

The first bit of news involves why the Empire took over the Island in the first place. There seems to be a rare mineral that forms on this island. A lot of the things Oscar told me about the mineral went in one ear and out the other. I know you would be disappointed in me to read that but science was never my strongest major. He said that at first the Empire and Island Federation had some sort of agreement involving this mineral. The islanders would mine the stuff and the Empire buys it, seems simple. Then something happened. As Oscar puts it, either the higher up think the IF was sending inferior quality and keeping the best stuff for themselves or something happened to the deal itself. No matter what happened, the Empire took over the island in retaliation.

The other bit is about the Resistance, which Dylan filled me in on. I mentioned in my previous letter that I think they were too organized to be just be made of untrained civilians. Well the reason for it is because most of the resistance members have been given training before the Empire came down here. Seems the IF also got word of Empire occupation force was coming and started training some civilians in secret so they can hold them off while they mobilize the IF forces to push them back. The resistance has been taking orders from a unit in the IF saboteur units who have been keeping in contact with the main forces.

We heard lots of noise while we were down in the basement. Sounds of gunfire. Sounds of combat vehicle passing in the streets. I don't know how some of the other reporters stand it. It was just terrifying being in there.

We stayed in that basement for three days after all the noise quieted down. The outside doesn't seem recognizable. Most of the buildings surrounding us were destroyed. Even parts of Balthier's house seems to be missing as well. We were lucky it didn't collapse on itself while we were still down there.

So I survived. For the past few days, I have been trying to do whatever I can to help these people; clean up the rubble, distributing food, helping with the injured. In whatever free time I got, I have written down any info I can about what happened and putting it in a format that won't cause you to pull your fur out. I am sending it along with the info Oscar, the scientist, provided he can recall from memory. I can't make heads or tails of it so I hope it is some use for you.

I am looking forward to seeing you again boss.

Sincerely,

Oscar,