Stage 02 - Loss and Grief
August 14, 2031 – 02:20 Hrs.
Abandoned Electronics Factory
Somewhere in Pasig, Philippines
The next thing I remembered was waking up in this dark room. Bandages wrapped around my abdomen. I tried sitting up, but there was a sharp pain coming from my back. I managed to finally sit upright, which made me lightheaded.
Everything was a blur, and I don't know what happened to our outpost in the former Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club. The last thing I recall was the klaxon blaring and our forces opening fire. Followed by flares that illuminated our positions, a mortar barrage – then an explosion nearby.
A mortar shell hit the forward listening post, and Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Abad was caught in the explosion, his legs blown to pieces.
His final orders were to retreat south and he entrusted me with a picture and letter to be given to his wife and daughter in Marinduque where President Madrigal is located. As I was trying to recall the events that happened, the door to the room opened and three silhouettes entered. I couldn't see who they were given that it was dark.
"Captain Suzuki!" a voice called out as they approached, the footstep sounded like they were cantering towards me. When they got closer, the moonlight coming through the hole on the roof of the building enabled me to see the three people that entered – UVF Lieutenant Angelo Pangilinan; Navy Lieutenant Commander Janell Hernandez, MD; and Army Captain Alexis Bragais, adjutant to the late Lieutenant Colonel Abad who was killed in action.
Lt. Commander Hernandez was quick to check my bandages and ask how I was feeling. I told her that I was a bit lightheaded and that I felt a sharp pain on my back after trying to sit up. "It's best not to move too much sir, try and get some rest while you can".
"Thank you Doctor"
"What's the plan now sir?" Captain Bragais asked, catching me off guard by his question. I looked at him a bit confused before I turned to Angelo.
"Shin. What's our next move? We were able to get away from the Wack-Wack outpost just before the chinks dropped napalm on the entire area" Angelo explained, but for some reason I couldn't remember any of what he just said. I may have made a confused look at my face as Captain Bragais and Angelo looked at Lt. Commander Hernandez, waiting for answers.
"He might still be in shock, I think it would be best to let him rest-" Lt. Commander Hernandez tried to explain before I cut her off. The shock and surprise on her face cannot be overstated as I tried to get up from where I was sitting, but the pain prevented me from even straightening out my legs.
Captain Bragais and Angelo were quick to help me sit back down, "Sir! You're in no condition to move right now! The shrapnel pierced your left lumbar area during the escape from the outpost. It nearly hit your left kidney, but luckily it missed it be a few centimeters" Lt. Commander Hernandez explained.
"What the hell happened back there!?"
I raised my voice out of frustration. "What's the current situation? Who's in command!?".
There was silence as the three people in front of me looked at each other, before Captain Bragais and Lt. Commander Hernandez looked at Jasper. His face looking exhausted, sweat rolling down his forehead as dirt and mud covered his entire uniform, his left arm bandaged up as well.
"Shin. You're in command" Angelo revealed, "Lieutenant Colonel Abad promoted you to Captain just before the Chinese offensive that killed him". The word "promotion" and "Captain" jogged my memory, remembering the moment when Lieutenant Colonel Abad promoted me to Captain, and ordered me to withdraw together with the UVF and link up with friendly forces in the south.
"Why am I the one in command?" I asked, given that both Lt. Commander Hernandez and Captain Bragais had seniority.
"I'm a medical officer, and I have no experiencing commanding units in the battlefield. In addition, as the only surviving surgeon here I'm needed more where the wounded are instead of being in command" Lt. Commander Hernandez responded - a justifiable argument.
I then looked at Captain Bragais who was the only other qualified commissioned officer to lead our unit. His face looked surprised and uncomfortable.
"I might be a Captain, but I was in-charge of logistics and administrative affairs before I was transferred to the front. I've never commanded any units in actual combat before and most of my duties were administrative under Lieutenant Colonel Abad"
I gave out a sigh of disbelief before Angelo spoke again, "Those were the reasons why you've been chosen to lead this unit Shin. With respect to Captain Bragais, you have more combat experience and tested leadership under fire than he does".
Although I was reluctant, I had no choice but to take command of our unit. Angelo's reasoning has merits to it, and with our current situation debating who's going to take command was the last thing we should be doing.
After wrapping my mind around my newly found position, I asked another question.
"Where's Audrey?"
Angelo lowered his head as silence filled the room. "Angelo?" I called out his name, but he didn't answer - his teeth clenched, his hand fisted.
"She didn't make it, Shin" Angelo finally spoke. All I could do was place my hand on my mouth, trying my best not to break down from the news I just heard. We just lost Justin from the artillery barrage earlier, and now we've lost Audrey as well.
It felt like everything was falling apart, the people I befriended back in High School, and those who I went through boot camp with are dying one by one.
It's like flower petals being plucked one by one until there's nothing left. I mustered the strength to keep myself from breaking down. I had to stay strong since I was in command of God knows how many survivors. I don't even know how we were able to escape our position since we were completely surrounded and cut-off from the rest of our forces.
All I can do now is to follow Lieutenant Colonel Abad's final order and head south per President Madrigal's instructions before our communication with Military Command was severed, and by some miracle, reach Marinduque without any major losses or incident along the way.
But first, I needed a complete Debrief.
I removed my hand from my mouth, "Give me a SitRep Captain Bragais" I immediately asked so I can get up to speed with where we are, what the situation is, how many souls are under my command, and what our supplies are looking like.
Although quite shaken, Captain Bragais was able to give a detailed report with the help of Angelo and Lt. Commander Hernandez. The news caught me off-guard but didn't really surprise me as much. Out of the total 470 people we had in the Wack-Wack outpost only 147 made it.
Out of the 147 that survived, 64 are UVF personnel; 22 are Navy personnel, mostly from the medical corps; 32 from the Army; 7 from the Air Force; 6 are from the Police Force; and 16 from the National Guard. There were originally 184 that managed to escape from the Wack-Wack outpost 37 died of their wounds before we reached our current location, and at least 14 are severely wounded.
According to Lt. Commander Hernandez, most of the medical supplies that remained were all destroyed at the outpost, and the very few supplies that they were able to take with them were basic medical supplies, which was in no way enough to operate nor save the severely wounded.
Most of them according to her are going to die in a few hours' time or in the following days unless we could bring them to a medical facility where they could be operated on and/or received blood and plasma.
In terms of supplies, we have enough food and water for three days. Ammunition is enough for small skirmishes and hit and runs, but not for a head-on fight with the PLA. According to Angelo were able to commandeer Armored Fighting Vehicles, HUMVEEs and a few trucks that we were able to use to quickly escape the Wack-Wack outpost and breakout from the weakest area of the PLA encirclement.
Gasoline was not a problem, but the main concern was the Chinese Air Force, which has been utilizing UAVs to scout and recon the surrounding areas, given they have aerial superiority. Since we have a convoy of at least 18 vehicles, we would be easily spotted from the air, and with no anti-air capabilities, we will be sitting ducks for their planes and drones.
In addition, we were able to end up in Taytay Rizal, and are currently hiding out in an abandoned appliance factory, which was damaged during the initial stages of the Chinese invasion.
At the onset the war, the People's Liberation Navy launched multiple ICBMs and long range-rockets and targeted the areas outside the capital, with the aim of destroying critical infrastructure to deny the capital of food and supplies, making it easier to capture Manila - at least that was their plan.
The PLA did not expect heavy and fierce resistance within the capital, and we were able to hold out close to a month. Of the four divisions that were made up of several units from different branches of the military that were tasked on defending the capital - numbering over 100,000 - only 147 survived. Most of our senior officers, along with the brightest and best officers were KIA during the Battle of Manila - most of our armor and artillery have all but been destroyed or captured.
After they manage to gain a foothold in Luzon, the PLA commenced non-stop bombing runs and artillery bombardments of critical infrastructures, military installations, and major cities. The bombing and bombardment campaign leveled not only Metro Manila but the neighboring provinces as well – resulting in massive collateral damage and civilian deaths.
After hearing our current situation, I immediately ordered Captain Bragais to check our equipment and supplies to get an accurate count of what we have on hand. In addition, I also charged him with ensuring that the survivors get as much rest as they can before we depart for our objective.
Although the most logical route would be to go through Cavite and Laguna, it's an area that we have to avoid at all cost, given that the PLA has a strong presence in the region, and their vanguard is pushing south from Paranaque, at least according to reports we received two weeks ago.
After the encirclement of Metro Manila, Chinese forces were trying to push south towards Cavite to capture Mount Pico De Loro and link up with their forces in Corregidor and Mariveles, with the aim of closing the mouth of Manila Bay, denying any and all access for the Philippine Navy to send relief to the capital by sea.
I also ordered Lt. Commander Hernandez to do the best she can for the wounded that we have and asked her whether it's possible to keep them alive until we link up with friendly forces in the south. A question that she answered with much pessimism, but pragmatically.
Unless, according to her, we are able to secure necessary medical supplies in Angono, which has been evacuated and have been abandoned for a while now. She also added that if the hospitals in Angono still have working and intact operating rooms, she may be able to stabilize and at least increase the survival of some of our wounded until we link up with friendly forces.
Of course, given our current situation, I couldn't risk overstaying in Angono since it was still within reach of the Chinese Air Force. In that regard, I also ordered Captain Bragais to send a small detachment to scout the area to see if they can find an operational hospital, as well as to scavenge any and all supplies they can find - medical supplies, ammunition, and food.
After Lt. Commander Hernandez and Captain Bragais left the room, I was left alone with Angelo who told me what happened back at the Wack-Wack outpost. After the mortar barrage began, it immediately took out several machine gun posts that were key to holding off the enemy infantry – the same barrage that killed Lieutenant Colonel Abad.
Afterwards, a massive offensive led by waves and waves of Chinese infantry charged straight towards the outpost's defensive perimeter. Although the defenders were able to hold them off, the arrival of Chinese fast-movers severely crippled the defensive line, and one by one, the trenches were breached by the enemy, and a brutal and bloody close-quarter combat ensued.
According to Angelo, after Audrey dragged me out of the forward listening post, we were able to make it to the UVF Dugout where the majority of the UVF personnel were. Although I was disoriented, I was able to relay Lieutenant Colonel Abad's orders to withdraw, and most of us retreated back to the tunnels.
Due to Captain Bragais' efforts we were able to evacuate most of the UVF, wounded, and medical personnel in the tunnels, along with some of the soldiers within the outpost. Angelo also explained that due to the chaos when the evacuation order was issued, some members of the UVF and other personnel were unable to receive the message.
At the very back of the tunnels was a secret passageway that led to an improvised motor pool underneath the old Philippines Overseas Employment Administration building due west of the outpost, where the vehicles that we used were hidden.
Angelo recalled, that even though I was disoriented, I, along with Audrey and a few other UVF members and military personnel covered the escape of those who were trying to enter the tunnels. It was then when our other defenses completely collapsed. Angelo said that I tried to stay behind to push back the enemy and wait for more people to evacuate, but Audrey urged me to enter the tunnels and escape as she provided cover fire, since I was the only highest UVF ranking officer alive.
As we were having that argument, an enemy RPG hit our position, and a metal shrapnel from the rocket pierced my lower back. Angelo and a few others pulled me into the tunnels as Audrey, who was also wounded, continued to fire her weapon to cover our escape.
After I was pulled into the secret passageway, Angelo and a fireteam tried to get Audrey, but it was already too late – she and the others who remained outside the tunnels providing cover fire were overwhelmed and gunned down by the enemy.
Before she drew her last breathe, she was able to detonate the explosives that was setup at the trenches in the event it was overrun by enemy forces, preventing the capture of the outpost. The explosion instantly killed her and the other survivors, along with the enemy infantry within the trenches, and the outer perimeter.
The explosion caused the mouth of the tunnel to cave-in, forcing Angelo and the others to quickly run back to the secret passageway as the tunnel collapsed behind them. Assuming temporary command of the survivors due to my incapacitation, Captain Bragais loaded the survivors in the vehicles at the motor pool, grabbing all and any supplies they could take before planting explosives in the fuel tanks, detonating it after the convoy have cleared the area to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
I was taken into one of the AFVs where I was sedated and operated on by Lt. Commander Hernandez to remove the shrapnel that pierced my lower back, using the last of the operating supplies that we had. The convoy then slipped away from the outpost and broke through an area of the encirclement were enemy concentration was the thinnest.
As the convoy managed to slip away undetected, the survivors watched from a distance as enemy fighter-bombers dropped payload after payload of napalm where our outpost was, decimating the last major military holdout in Metro Manila, effectively allowing the enemy forces to finally control the capital - a major defeat for the Philippine Military.
After Angelo recounted the events that transpired, I asked to be alone. He shook his head and gave a quick salute before excusing himself. I could feel the wind entering through the holes and cracks in the wall of the room I was in. The moon shining brightly, illuminating the area we were at.
There were so many things going on inside my head. Although this kind of defeat and situation has happened over and over again, it was still hard for me to comprehend everything that was happening and has happened.
It felt like it was just yesterday when I arrived in the Philippines. I was so naïve and overly excited about everything. Back then I was just looking forward to attending high school, making friends, and living my life in my new country.
I've often asked myself during the course of this conflict whether it was the right decision to join the UVF instead of the NYP where I was accepted into. Most of the NYP personnel were evacuated along with the Government since they will be the ones who would carry on running the country once this war is over - if it does end, and if there is still a country left to run.