Chapter 1650: Chapter 1567: Unable to Speak Out
When he opened his eyes once more, Frid found himself lying on a clean hospital bed, a needle inserted into his hand with a transparent plastic bag hanging above him.
This intrigued him since the only time he had experienced IV fluids in his country involved a rough-looking glass bottle.
Now, he was using a square transparent bag, seeming like plastic, a rarity in the Dorne Empire.
Curiously, he continued to observe his surroundings, realizing he wasn’t the only one lying there. The tent was vast, accommodating at least twenty beds, each occupied.
Some were Dwarves, some humans, with many Dwarves lacking beards and having high hairlines, some even bald, their bare faces amusingly odd. However, he knew these Dwarves were pilots like him.
Only Dwarves needing to wear oxygen masks would reluctantly shave their beards, and only those exposed to pure oxygen for long periods experienced such severe hair loss.
Frid seemed to be the last unfortunate one to wake up in the room, as he distinctly saw a Dwarf leisurely flipping through a magazine from the Great Tang Empire while receiving an IV, and two humans quietly conversing while gesturing in bed.
Someone else was sitting cross-legged on the bed, arranging playing cards, seemingly preparing for a game, though he wasn’t sure what the new rules were.
He had played cards in Dorne too, although the rules varied by region, and some people even devised their own rules to play all day.
“You woke up?” A Dwarf wearing the Ice Cold Empire Air Force uniform, yet devoid of any identification markings, noticed Frid’s eyes open. He walked over with items in his arms, speaking in a deep voice.
His uniform lacked epaulets, insignia, or weapon belts, and he was carrying miscellaneous books and magazines instead of medical tools.
“I am Fokke, the deputy captain of the 7th Air Squadron of the Ice Cold Empire,” the Dwarf introduced himself, placing the items he was holding on Frid’s bedside cabinet. “Here, I’m responsible for distributing magazines and caring for patients… Let me know what you need?”
As he spoke, he pulled out a somewhat worn deck of playing cards, awkwardly explaining, “They’re all old, can’t help it… We’re all prisoners here, only using what others don’t need.”
“Where am I? This place…” Frid wanted to understand his situation, thus asked the Dwarf who appeared knowledgeable.
The Dwarf named Fokke scratched his head, “This is a POW camp or POW hospital of the Great Tang Empire. You were sent here yesterday; most people here arrived yesterday… As for me, I was shot down a few days ago, parachuted, and got captured, now taking care of patients here.”
As he spoke, he pointed to himself, “I’m a prisoner too, but can wander around nearby. They’re accommodating to pilots, as you can see, the conditions here are quite good. Of course, there are occasional Scud missile attacks, but they aren’t frequent.”
Frid listened to him, then looked at the somewhat worn deck of cards, and glanced at the magazines with beauty ads, finally choosing a stack of newspapers to keep.
Fokke stuffed the cards in his pocket, picked up the remaining magazines and books, and, after advising on meal times, left.
Soon, a Tang Army doctor with a stethoscope hanging around his neck entered the tent, beginning to ask about everyone’s condition from the position nearest the door.
When he reached Frid’s bed, he showed a tired smile, “Not bad, you woke up. How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? When they picked you up, you were still strapped to the ejection seat, with many injuries; I’ve arranged antibiotics for you.”
“Thank you.” Frid, feeling relatively alright, partly due to not being abandoned for treatment, expressed his gratitude.
As he spoke, another commotion emerged at the door. Several Tang Country officers filed in, entering the tent.
They glanced at the human pilots lying in beds and, disregarding them, began conversing among themselves.
“They’ve been interrogated; these pilots are all from Dorne, this one, that one, all,” a young officer briefed his superior, “The Ice Cold Empire received reinforcements, at least 200 planes, including ground staff and pilots… The Dorne’s fighter jet model in battle was Peidao, yesterday they nearly deployed their entire fleet, we shot down over a hundred planes, today they’ve been much more subdued.”
“Pulled out all their savings?” the leading officer asked with a sneer.
“Pretty much, they exposed two small field airports, probably even activated the reserves.” The young officer nodded in agreement.
Listening to the Tang Country officers, Frid wanted to retort but found no harsh words to say.
He indeed launched yesterday, participated in the battle… yet he was shot down, now lying here… What could he say in such circumstances?
Recalling the screeching sirens and that moment of despair before parachuting, he found himself speechless for any strong words.
“They flew thousands of miles, traversed several countries… to come here to die… I really can’t decide whether to feel sorry for them or laugh,” the lead Tang Country officer glanced at Frid. “Many of them were taught by us…”
“We never taught them such clumsy tactics… In fact, as far as I know, many of the pilots studying abroad with us are not qualified to fly a plane anymore,” another air force officer interjected in relief, “They aren’t trusted in their own countries. No authority to command air battles, and banned from many decision-making roles.”
“It’s those countries’ loss!” The lead officer sneered, “Yet, it’s an advantage for those pilots. However, like the air force commanders in Qin Country avoiding battle, not very likable.”
“If those cowards were in command, they wouldn’t even dare let us take off for combat!” Frid couldn’t hold back, expressing scorn for those cowards.
“Really?” The Tang Country officers looked at him, one mocking, “Do you still believe they’re cowards now?”
Like a fishbone caught in his throat, Frid got stuck there, unable to speak until the Tang Country officers left.