To Steal a Secret

A juvenile marches along with his compeer on the street outside. They wore light grey uniform, the sign of the Pioneer Corp of the Changeling youth organization. In front of their column, an army sergeant leads them towards the city train station. Upon arriving, he could see many of the nearby ranks are already present.

As the mass begins to board the train, a changeling hiding close by writes down their numbers. He couldn't believe his eyes, kids, he thought, many aren't even fifteen, moving towards the front. Are they truly that desperate to win this war? Had the war turned against the queen already? Did she really made the outrageous decision to send children to fight? And on what numbers? He's counting a fifth of a thousand just alone, what of the other cities?

Meanwhile, on a hill overlooking a small village, a squad of Olenian border guards begins their patrol. A nutmeg deer trots next to the chain-link fence, leading the team. He could tell something had stirred the top brass so amply that their work had been tripled. The others seem to agree. The small village had been placed under lockdown, as well as the many towns dotting the countryside and the roads leaving the nation.

22.15---16th-November-1014
Edvard, recently received a message from Site Kilo, organized a team of four to secure Marion. They went not long after midnight, arriving at the bakery's alley. Due to the locked door, they decided to let Edvard climb.

Edvard was fit, by all standard, however the climb took every bit of effort from him and his companions. After several labouring minutes later, he perched on the roof and began to move on the balcony in front of the house. Climbing down slowly, he managed to land without making a ruckus.

Knocking on the balcony door, he received no response. He was beginning to get worried, fearing the patrol which could arrive within the next half and hour or so. Knocking once again, this time louder, the curtain finally opens to reveal a fawn, Currie, child of Marion and Marie. He had met the child before, even knowing her personally, now she's his only hope of saving the family.

The tired fawn spoke first, "Setä Ed, what are you doing here?" she said drowsily but happily.
"Hei sweetie, I need to speak to your father, will you please let me in?"
"Isä told me not to do what stranger said," she ponders, "But you're not a stranger!" she cheerily replied. "Though maybe it's Freia I was thinking about?" she smirked.
Realizing what game she is playing, Edvard replies, "Of course my dear, I'll get you lots of candy, and sjokolade, please let me in," he smiled.

Happy that she had won, Currie lets him in. Edvard quickly closes the door and curtain before thanking her. He then slips towards the hallway outside, unsure of their bedroom. Currie passes him, and walks toward her parents room. She knocked on their door, several times, before Marie opened it. Her soporific eyes grew wide at the sight of Edvard, before calling Marion.

One minute passed, and the two talked downstairs, on the dining table. Marion sat and asked for his business on his home, appearing clearly sore for Edvard break in. Edvard for his part, opened the backdoor where his comrade are waiting, they too enter the house, which only further irritates the professor.

Following a short briefing of their situation and need for a cryptologist, Marion was uncertain whether he should help or simply leave them be. He had always wanted to contribute something, and to once again tinker the enigma. But joining the resistance would certainly be a death sentence to him, or even his family should they be caught. He begins to imagine her daughter growing up only with her mother. Or their dead bodies buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the nearby forest.

He looked at Edvard straight in the eyes, his face stiffens as he asks whether he could guarantee his family safety or not. He promised him security by the Gray State. Marion refused, asking for something better than a makeshift army which held no fort nor ground, fighting a professional juggernaut that is the Wehrmacht. Edvard didn't answer that. He needn't to, for that was all Marion needed. "If you could not secure my family, then I could not secure you my help. However, I do sympathize for your cause, and hope to once again live in a free country. I can direct you to my colleague from my time in helping the government. But no more."

Edvard realizes the professor reluctance once more, knowing that he won't budge, they bid him goodbye and one by one exits into the back alley. Crossing the street, they slipped in the shadows, avoiding further patrols and sentries.

02.18---17th-November-1014
Meanwhile, after the sun had set, on a small farmhouse just beyond the city of Snöflinga, a dark copper deer enters with a satchel on his back. His father, the owner of the stead, was a veteran of the invasion, losing his left rear-left hoof after an explosion.

He wraps the machine with fabric, to prevent any damage during the ride. He placed it inside a sack, before filling it with potatoes. Placing it on his pickup, alongside several other sacks, he left the farm just after midnight.