2177-11-03
Hello dear sister, how are you faring?
It must be snowing back home now in Hokkaidō as winter is in earnest. The stars are out here in Canberra, though I increasingly wonder for how long I will still be able to appreciate them. Last night we were on patrol when we were ambushed by the separatist fighters. Our FV150 reconnaissance vehicle was hit by anti-tank weapon fire, killing our commander. He’s now bound for the home isles in a coffin bearing the imperial insignia, not too dissimilar to the moving metal coffin I will return to when my own injuries subside. I am fine, more or less. I write resting in our field hospital with burns and some lacerations from shrapnel, which are significantly better health conditions than the crew of the vehicle that was in front of us. The three of them were killed instantly after their ammunition cooked off. I truly hope their souls are at rest now. This war is a most brutal affair. It seems as if each time we venture outside of the city proper, every set of hills and mountain ranges in New South Wales harbors fighters ready to attack us. We are supposed to be relieved tomorrow to repair our equipment and be reinforced. Despite this, everyone in our squadron is still on edge from last night’s fighting. I am with my friend Tanaka right now as I am writing this letter. I met him during armoured specialist training, he is a competent soldier. I expect he will probably return home alive.
I hope you are doing well and I give you my warm regards. I’m not sure if any of the previous letters I have sent have made it to you, and I have not received any letters from home. Maybe they are being censored because parliament is still trying to downplay the extent of the insurrection, or perhaps the reason is something mundane. I only ask one thing of you in this letter. If mother or father asks you what I wrote, lie. Tell them I got assigned to Mars or Titan, just whatever you do.
私が戦争中であることを彼女に言わないでください.
彼女に私がオーストラリアにいるとは言わないでください.
Your sister,
Sgt. Estella Kanagawa
Royal Marine Commandos Armoured Support Group
539th Raiding Squadron, No.3 Commando Brigade
