Indo-Malay Alliance captures Adelaide after 2 month long siege:

Heavy Loss of Life: No official word on death count.

The senior generals in the ANZAC forces have confirmed that the South Australia state capital, and important port city, of Adelaide has fallen after nearly two months of fighting between the defending ANZAC forces and the invading army of the Indo-Malay alliance. The senior command has not released official death toll, nor named any soldiers as being killed in the siege, however it is predicted that the number will be high given that the city has long been encircled, with only sea access available to the ANZAC forces.

There is little hope for the men captured with the fall of the city as the Indo-Malay Alliance forces have not been known to keep any prisoners alive, nor do they return bodies meaning that it could be a long wait for families of servicemen to learn the fate of their loved ones.

The news came today, Banjimen died in the fall of Adelaide a few weeks back. We knew he was stationed there with his unit, and given we hadn’t heard from him since the defeat of our forces we had assumed the worst, but without official word there was always a glimmer of hope, and we humans are good at keeping hold of even the smallest glimmer of hope, no matter what our rational minds tell us. Everyone is of course deeply upset by the confirmation of our worst fears, but in true style we are going to go out tonight and get trashed, in his memory. Sure he was a staunch non-drinker, and tended to look down on the rest of us drunks for our character flaws, but still it is what we do, it is our thing. He used to come with us anyway, even if he disapproved of the activities we got up to, he would come, and tell us off if we got too crazy or started to cross his moral lines. It wasn’t like we listened to him, but it was always nice to have that moral compass, having that one person who kept the rest pointed in the right general direction. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to have fun, and didn’t get up to pranks and tricks, but his ideas were always more intellectual, more refined, less trashy. Carefully thought out pranks that always had a dry wit and interesting aspect. One of the ones I always thought of as one of his best was a capping day prank just before the war; a big banner hung on the side of the Engineering School: “I was thinking of doing Commerce - Yeah Right.” The so-called comedians at the Tui advertising department never had anything as good. I think he thought it rather base though, however it made fun of commerce students and the beer company while promoting Engineering as the pinnacle of university life, so he was happy. It also provided a logistic and engineering challenge: How to make a banner big enough and make it clear and easy to read, then get it onto the side of the 12 story building that is our Engineering School? It required a big effort from everyone but we did it; Sneaking up the stairs with the 15m long roll, breaking onto the roof, bribing lecturers so we could lean out their office windows to guide the banner down and so they wouldn’t tell on us (it always helps to have good humoured lecturers that you go drinking with on regular occasions.) It was huge, and it is still talked about in the halls and corridors around school. Good times….

There are so many things I remember about Banjimen, that sometimes it is hard to realise he has gone. Not that we have talked much in the past 2 years, the war started, he signed up and I was drafted in another way. Since then it has been the occasional letter and a few weeks a year when he was back on leave, though he tended to not have leave. Such a good solider. He could of stayed here as well, he was a better student and researcher than me, he could be doing the same as me, but he felt his duty was in the fighting, and now he is dead, another meaningless death in this meaningless war, and yet I continue my research which only causes more to die. Sure those dying are on the other side, and more on my side are protected, but what are sides in this? Are the South-east Asians any less human just because they fight on the other side of this waste of history? Do those who are in the front lines hold sway with the political echelons of power to make any decisions? Or are they just there like our soldiers, doing what they are told to?

Of course I am much the same as them, but maybe I have more choice in what I do, but still I couldn’t refuse to carry out my orders, or at least if I did I would be drafted and shipped off to the front faster than I could blink and then how much free will would I have? At least here I don’t get shot at, I can do some interesting studies and have some freedom. Sure the anti-war people hate me for working on military projects and the pro-war people hate me cause I refuse to serve, but still it works for me, and my own survival is highest on my priority, especially in today’s world.

On a side note, I haven’t heard from Jaedyn and the others in the north front. I hope they are still ok; the fighting has been less intense there so they should be. I should write Jaedyn a letter, though I suppose he has heard about the fall of Adelaide and the death of Australia and New Zealand’s brave son, but you never know with our military, especially since the war and the amalgamation with the Aussies.

Anyway I better get going, the others will be looking to head out soon and woe to he who is tardy!

Rest in peace my friend.