[Haus Vaterland, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, 28th of December, 1939, 7:45 PM]

Neriah Azhar as Oberst Reinhart Fetzer spent walking around the streets of Berlin without any escorts from the Wehrmacht which his peace of mind had gained. It was his first time to see the city streets on a cold snowy winter evening. Although there were patrolling soldiers and random  civilians who greeted him, he managed to nod back in greeting.

" These humans may be either friendly or hostile at times, " he thought and roamed around. " There's still a lot to discover here in Berlin before the curfew starts. "

Just then, a loud and upbeat jazz music had called his attention when he turned around and saw the large building with a huge dome at the top with some radiant neon light signage: Kempinski Haus Vaterland. Neriah curiously looked at the people coming to the lively establishment.

" Unglaublich wunderbar! (Incredibly wonderful!) " he lowly muttered in awe and pleased to see and hear what's happening. " So etwas habe ich auf diesem Planeten noch nie gesehen! (I have never seen anything like it on this planet!) "

Suddenly, he met an elderly drunken man who saluted and enthusiastically greeted at him, " Güten Abend, mein Herr! Sieg Heil! "

" Güten Abend, " the disguised Azurean warmly smiled and casually greeted him back, but he got cringed with the second sentence.

Walking inside the building, Neriah widened his eyes in shock as he had never seen such place before. It was an enormously wide and elegant place with bright chandeliers hanging. There were stairs going to the second upto the fourth floor. Then, he saw lovely women wearing dresses and gowns and handsome men in their business suits.

Neriah was dressed as a Heer Oberst and feeling awkward since his outfit didn't match with the extravagant party place. Several party goers and patrons cocked their eyebrows to see a Nazi officer entering the venue. He managed to smile and saluted like any other soldier he had seen back in the bunker.

" Also, ein Fritz wie Sie ist gekommen, um sich der Party anzuschließen, ja, oder werden Sie es wagen, unser Vergnügen zu stoppen? (So, a Fritz like you have come to join the party, yes or will you dare to stop our amusement?) " an attractive brunette woman in a red gown cheerily spoke and laughed.

Neriah secretly read the woman's mind as she seemed to be neutral about the situation. He chuckled playing along, " Ich möchte einfach ein anderes Ambiente, mein Fräulein! Sogar ein Soldat wie ich verdient etwas Unterhaltung und geselliges Beisammensein! (I just want a different ambience, meine Fraulein! Even a soldier like me deserves some entertainment and social gathering!) "

" Viel Spaß, Herr Offizier! (Have fun, Herr officer!) " she flirtingly grinned and winked at him kissing his cheek.

Neriah simply smiled back, blushed hard, and embarrasingly thought, " Ugh! Some female humans are the interestingly cringiest species in the cosmos! Andrea was such an exceptional and lovely woman I fell in-love with! I won't fall with the types of that party goer! "

He walked away and saw some entrances to the different establishments. Then, he noticed some Nazi soldiers as well and thought of walking away from them. Suddenly, a blonde lady receptionist in her late twenties approached him.

" Guten Abend, Sir. Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? (Good evening, sir. How may I assist you?) " she asked politely.

" Guten Abend, Fräulein. Ich brauche einen sehr ruhigen Ort, um zu Abend zu essen oder ein Bier zu trinken. (Good evening, miss. I need a very quiet place to have dinner or a drink of beer.) "  he replied.

"  Wir haben eine große Auswahl für bestimmte Restaurants, Cafés, Bars und Ballsäle. Sie können wählen, wo. (We have a lot of choices for specific restaurants, cafes, bars, and ballrooms. You may choose where.) "

"  Ist das so? (Is that so?) "

She nodded and handed him the booklet and guide of Haus Vaterland. Neriah intently read and couldn't decide which venue he would take. It took a long time for him to choose. Just behind him, a middle-aged brunette man with a pair of blue irises in eyes who was slightly shorter than him stood behind and crossed his arms. He was wearing a dark business suit and holding a hat.

" An deiner Stelle würde ich das Türkische Café im vierten Stock nehmen. (I'll take the fourth floor Turkish Cafe if I were you.) " he simply said.

Neriah turned around and curiously saw the man behind him. He was about to salute him when the patron heavily sighed.

" Nein, das müssen Sie hier nicht tun, mein Herr. Ich gebe Ihnen nur einen Vorschlag. (No, you don't need to do that here, mein Herr. I'm just giving you a suggestion.) " the man in a business suit seriously reminded.

" Richtig, danke. (Right, thank you.) "

" Gern geschehen. Sie kommen gerade von einigen Büroaufgaben und Streifendiensten zurück, nicht wahr? (You're welcome. You've just come from some office tasks and patrolling duties, yes?) " 

"  Ja. Wie heißen Sie? (What's your name?) "

"  Otto Daniel Rosenfeld. Und du? (Otto Daniel Rosenfeld. How about you?) "  the brunette man politely smiled and shook hands with the disguised space alien.

Neriah repeated the gesture and went silent when he was asked for his name. He understood that he didn't want to be identified by his real Azurean name. He secretly read Otto's mind and saw some bad experiences from his past. Instead of telling him, he would rather ask some questions. Otto noticed the long silence and cocked his eyebrows.

" Fetzer, Reinhart Fetzer..."  he replied and smiled using his assumed alias.

" Schön, Sie kennenzulernen, Herr Fetzer. (It's nice to meet you Herr Fetzer.) "

"  Es ist viel besser, wenn du mich stattdessen Reinhart nennst. (It's much better if you call me Reinhart instead.) "

"  Okay. "

[Moments Later: Turkish Cafè, Fourth Floor]

The place was reminiscent of the usual colorful and relaxing restaurants in Turkey. There were lights hanging as well as curtains. The two gentlemen spent eating at the most distant side of the restaurant where they decided to converse of serious things and avoided not to get near with the grey and black suits.

" Sie haben also die Armee verlassen, als Sie in Polen waren? (So, you left the Army when you were in Poland?) " Neriah asked and held his fork.

" Es sind einen Monat und fünf Tage, die ich im Kampf gegen die Sowjetrussen und die Polen ertragen musste. Das Schlimmste habe ich erlebt, als ich als Hauptmann diente. (It's a month and five days which I endured fighting the Soviet Russians and the Poles. I have seen the worst when I served as a Hauptmann.) " Otto continued and finished his cup of coffee. " Lassen Sie uns weniger als eine Million Opfer für die drei Streitkräfte erwarten. (Let's say less than a million casualties for the three forces.) "

"  Wie ist es dort? (What is it like there?) "

"  Hölle auf Erden. Ich war dort an der westpolnischen Grenze. Ich arbeitete in der Heeresgruppe Süd unter dem Kommando von Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt. Ich und meine Truppen griffen von Deutsch-Schlesien und von der mährischen und slowakischen Grenze aus an. Von da an habe ich viel Blutvergießen gesehen. Also beschloss ich zu gehen. (Hell on Earth. I was there on the western Polish border. I worked under by the Army Group South, commanded by Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt. Me and my troops were attacking from German Silesia and from the Moravian and Slovak border. I have seen a lot of bloodshed from there. So, I decided to leave.) " Otto continued.

" Es tut mir leid, das zu hören.(I'm sorry to hear that.) " 

" Hören Sie, ich weiß, dass Sie nicht dem Norden zugeteilt wurden. Du hast also Glück, dass du in Berlin stationiert bist, aber irgendwann wirst du dort sein und die Hölle erleben. Wenn ich Sie wäre, würden Sie besser nach Frankreich oder in die Vereinigten Staaten fliegen. (Look, I know you weren't assigned to the North. So, you're lucky that you're stationed in Berlin, but eventually you will be there and see hell. If I were you, you'd better go and fly away to France or the United States.) "

"  Was machen wir mit diesen Orten? (What are we going to do with those places?) "

"  Natürlich sollten Sie ein ruhigeres Leben führen und einen neuen Job annehmen, bei dem es nicht um Kämpfe geht. Ich hoffe, dass ich niemandem wie uns von der Fritz begegnen werde. (Obviously, live a quieter life and get a new job that doesn't involve fighting. I hope I won't encounter anyone from the Fritz like us.) "  Otto simply answered and raised his left hand in interjection.

Neriah finished eating and recalled of Andrea's dreams to live in the same peaceful life as she was hoping for. He was long silent and letting out a deep melancholic sigh. The brunette man noticed his new friend's dead silence.

" Geht es dir gut, Reinhart? (Are you okay, Reinhart?) "  Otto asked with a concern.

"  Nein, nichts. Ich habe nur aus den Nachrichten über den Krieg und die Invasion in Polen gehört. (No, nothing. It's just I heard from the news about the war and invasion in Poland.) "

"  Ja, ich habe so viele Todesfälle unter Männern, Frauen und Kindern gesehen. Dann die Obdachlosen und Verletzten. (Yeah, I have seen so many deaths among men, women, and children. Then, the homeless and the injured.) "

"  Ich verstehe, was du meinst. Wie ist Ihnen die Flucht gelungen? (I see what you mean. How did you manage to escape?) "  Neriah asked.

Otto looked around again and lowly spoke, " Ganz einfach: Ich habe vor den Augen der Polen und Russen so getan, als wäre ich tot. Sie brachten mich in das Massengrab, während ich darauf wartete, dass sie gingen. Dann trat ich meine sehr lange Heimreise an und schloss mich kürzlich dem Widerstand gegen die Nazis an. (Simple, I pretended to be dead in front of the Poles and the Russians. They brought me into the mass grave as I waited for them to leave. Then, I started my very long journey home and recently joined the resistance against the Nazis.) "

"  Wenn ich mich nicht irre, seid ihr diejenigen, die sich im Grunewald versteckt haben, oder? (If I'm not mistaken, you're the ones who went hiding in Grunewald, right?) "

"  Ja, meine Freunde waren diejenigen, die den Juden, Katholiken, Protestanten, Heer-Desertenten und einigen gebildeten Menschen bei der Flucht aus Deutschland halfen. Ich bin erst vor etwa fünf Tagen beigetreten. (Yes, my friends were the ones who helped the Jews, Catholics, Prostestants, Heer Deserters, and some educated people to flee from Germany. I have just recently joined around five days ago.) "

"  Dann werden Sie alle nach Frankreich, Amerika oder England gehen. (Then, you will all go to France, America, or in England.) "

"  Eigentlich habe ich vor, bald nach Marseille zu reisen. Möchten Sie kommen? (Pretty much, I'm planning to go to Marseilles very soon. Would you like to come?) " Otto invited.

Without any hesitation, Neriah nodded and asked, " Was ist der Plan? Wie sollen wir dorthin gelangen? (What's the plan? How should we go there?) "

"  Das flüstere ich dir jetzt zu. (I'm whispering this to you now.) "

Neriah carefully listened at the instructions from Otto and nodded. Suddenly, they saw some men in grey suits who arrived at the restaurant. The two gentlemen became vigilant and thought of leaving immediately. The Heer Deserter and the disguised Azurean man both paid the bill to the waiter and stood up from their seats.

The Nazi soldiers saluted Neriah as he nodded. Otto remained silent and waited for his new friend to finish confronting them. The disguised Azurean man sensed his newly acquainted friend's uneasiness in seeing people from his former affiliation.

" Mein Oberst, sollten Sie nicht in der Einrichtung sein und die Ermittlungen überwachen? (Mein Oberst, aren't you supposed to be in the facility and monitoring about the investigation?) "  the soldier asked.

"  Ich spreche hier mit einem Geschäftsmann. Er ist bereit, die Einrichtung zu verbessern und unsere zukünftige Forschung und Entwicklung für unsere Wissenschaftler zu finanzieren. Außerdem wäre er eine Bereicherung für die Nazis. (I'm talking to a businessman here. He's willing to improve the facility and fund our future research and development for our scientists. Besides, he would be an asset to the Nazi.) " the disguised Azurean man made a convincing smile.

Otto heard of the fake Oberst's response and played along smiling, " Ja, Ihr Oberst hat mit mir darüber gesprochen, was verbessert werden muss und wie viel ich in Ihre Laborausrüstung und einige Möbel und Einrichtungsgegenstände investieren kann. (Ja, your colonel has spoken to me about what it needs to be improved and how much I can invest with your laboratory equipment and some set of furnitures and fixtures.) "

"  Sehr gut. (Very well.) "  the soldier nodded and changed topic. " Ich muss Sie daran erinnern, Mein Oberst, dass NZDTLD-939 oder Neriah Azhar nach dem plötzlichen Aufstand vermisst wurde. In der Einrichtung befanden sich verstorbene Leichen. Wir haben versucht, dieses außerirdische Subjekt im Labor zu finden. Keine Spur von ihm, wie wir überprüft haben. Wir vermuteten, dass er entkommen ist. (I need to remind you, Mein Oberst that NZDTLD-939 or Neriah Azhar has been missing after the sudden riot. There were deceased bodies within the facility. We tried finding that extraterrestrial subject within the laboratory. No traces of him as we have checked. We suspected he has escaped.) "

Otto grew puzzled and cocked his eyebrows in doubt when he heard the word 'extraterrestrial'. Neriah seemed to be anxious and managed to smile. Then, he loudly laughed to divert the soldiers' attention to something else. They shared glances and grew curious of why their leader was laughing. Then, the disguised Azurean man ceased and frowned. He thought of imitating the real Reinhart Fetzer before he could speak up and make another excuse.

" Ihr dummer Idioten! Haben Sie jemals gedacht, dass er inzwischen tot sein könnte?! Warum kannst du nicht einmal in dieser vergeblichen Einrichtung suchen oder deine verdammten Augen statt deines Mundes benutzen?! Du hast ihn in Ruhe gelassen, um getötet zu werden! Der Führer hätte dieses Experiment erlebt, wenn Azhar noch gelebt hätte! (You stupid idiots! Have you ever thought he might be dead by now?! Why can't you even search within that futile facility or even use your damned eyes instead of your mouths?! You have let him alone to get killed! The Führer would have met that experiment if Azhar would be still living!) "  Neriah angrily yelled and indignantly pointed at them with his left index .

" Aber mein Oberst, seine Leiche war nirgendwo zu finden! ( But Mein Oberst, his body was no where to be found!) "

" Dann sucht ihr weiter, bis ihr seine Leiche findet, ihr dummen Dummköpfe! (Then, you keep finding until you find his dead body, you stupid blockheads!) " the disguised Azurean man heatedly spoke. " Wagen Sie es nicht, meine und Ihre Zeit zu verschwenden, verstanden?! (Don't you dare wasting my time and yours, understood?!) "

" Ja wohl. "

The soldiers saluted and instantly left the cafè. Otto sighed in relief and turned to the fake Oberst. Then, he asked, " Danke, dass du mich davor bewahrt hast, Reinhart. Aber ich habe eine Frage: Haben Ihre Männer noch etwas anderes von dieser Welt ferngehalten? Gibt es etwas, das ich wissen sollte? (Thank you for sparing me from them, Reinhart. But I have a question, did your men keep something else out of this world? Is there anything I should know?) "

Neriah remained silent before he could speak up. In his human appearance, he didn't want to reveal his true identity as an exiled Intergalactic soldier and Nazi experiment since he had just met a new friend. He had let out a deep sigh and thought of revealing himself once he would be out of Germany.

" Ich denke, das sollten wir besprechen, sobald wir das Land ohne die Nazis und die SS verlassen haben. Vorerst sollten wir uns aus Ärger heraushalten. (I think we should discuss that once we're out of the country without the Nazis and the SS. For now, we should stay out of trouble.) "  Neriah lowly spoke.

" Verstanden. (Understood.) "  Otto nodded. " Okay, wir sollten jetzt besser gehen. (Right, we'd better leave now.) "

[Grunewald, Berlin: 28th of December 1939, 11:50 PM]

As the winds grew colder than some hours ago, the trees had watched some nightcrawling animals touching on the snow. The hooting of the owls and the howling of the wolves were heard. The skies grew darker when the snow fell down. Neriah was standing and leaning on the tree after a long walk to this place. He recalled his Halloween-Mission which he committed and failed to spare the Zeta Reticulans from the murderous Voturnite. He heavily sighed and looked at the snowy evening skies.

Suddenly, he heard some footsteps and turned around. From a distance, there were indeed a group of humans hiding behind the bushes. They had come from all walks of life. Neriah moved his head and stepped out of his position, approaching them.

" Güten Abend! "  he warmly greeted them.

The people were terrified to confront him. Some of them were very suspicious of seeing a high ranking Nazi officer coming with them for their exile. The others doubtfully murmured as they couldn't believe in what they saw. They thought of him as a spy. Neriah heavily sighed and secretly read their minds as these humans couldn't trust him in this disguise.

Suddenly, a rogue German Army cargo truck arrived when Otto was driving and parking it near the tree. Then, he left the vehicle and heard the people speaking in unison. Neriah looked at his friend with concern before he could say something.

" Bitte beruhigen Sie sich. Er ist mein neuer Freund, den ich im Haus Vaterland kennengelernt habe. (Please calm down. He's my new friend who I met at Haus Vaterland.) " Otto reminded and assured. " Es ist okay für alle. Sie müssen nicht misstrauisch sein oder sich vor ihm fürchten. Er ist ein Wehrmacht-Heer-Deserteur wie ich. Er kommt mit uns nach Frankreich. (It's okay everyone. You don't need to be suspicious or even afraid of him. He's a Wehrmacht Heer deserter like me. He's coming with us to France.) "

Before they could respond and argue, Neriah heard some motorcycles and other vehicles coming from a distance and turned to the exiled Jews, Heer Deserters, and the German Resistance people.

" Sie kommen! Wir sollten jetzt besser in den Truck steigen! Beeil dich! (They're coming! We'd better go into the truck now! Hurry!) " he warned.

The escaping crowd exchanged glances in disbelief. One of them heard of those vehicles coming who was a dark haired Jewish woman in her late thirties.

" Er hat recht! Wir sollten jetzt besser reingehen! (He's right! We'd better get inside now!) " she exclaimed anxiously.

Otto gestured everyone to come into the truck. Neriah helped the people to enter as he could. Just then, the Nazi soldiers were coming very close. The others had sniffing and barking German Shepherd unit along with them.

Being aware of their arrival, Neriah was the last person who entered the truck as Otto instantly turned on the engine and rushingly drove away from the incoming Nazi soldiers. The vehicle zoomed farther than its point. The disguised Azurean man sighed in relief and removed his hat while leaning on his seat. The soldiers tried to chase the truck, but it was too late.

Just then, an elderly Jewish woman who sat beside Neriah sincerely smiled at him and said, " Du hast uns gerade das Leben gerettet, junger Mann. Sie gehören nicht zu den Männern in grauen und schwarzen Anzügen, die mein Haus gewaltsam überfallen haben. Danke schön. (You have just saved our lives, young man. You're not one of those men in grey and black suits who violently raided my home. Thank you.) "

"  Gern geschehen, meine Frau. (You're welcome, mein Frau.) " he smiled back and blushed when he heard of her appreciation and flattered. " Ich bin mir ziemlich sicher, dass du ein neues Zuhause finden wirst. (I'm pretty sure you'll find a new home.) "

" Nochmals vielen Dank für Ihre freundlichen Worte. (Thank you for your kind words.) " she commented.

" Gern geschehen. (You're welcome.) "

[Outskirts of Strasbourg, Alsace Region, France, 3rd of January 1940: 7:45 AM]

With the six-day travel from Berlin to Strasbourg, Neriah had  learned a lot from his fellow exiles which he heard the  stories before the war from his fellow passengers. He was pleased to get to know more about their lives. However on his end, he wouldn't reveal himself as an extraterrestrial since he didn't want anybody to know about him. Instead, he listened and kept asking questions. They were truly convinced that he wasn't a ruthless Heer deserter since he had been very warm and friendly to everyone.

This time, he was loudly snoring as the children laughed at him. The disguised Azurean man with disheveled scarlet locks was unaware when they gently poked at his shoulders and giggled at him. He quickly opened his eyes and got startled.

" Gaaah! " he exclaimed and turned his head around to and fro as the meddling children laughed at him. " Was im Kosmos ist los?! (What in the cosmos is going on?!) "

" Guten Morgen, Herr Fetzer! (Good morning, Mr. Fetzer!) "  they happily greeted him in unison.

" Richtig...Guten Morgen, Kinder! (Right...Good morning, kids!) " Neriah warmly smiled and greeted. Then, he stretched his arms, turned around to the adult passengers, and asked. " Wie lange habe ich auf dieser Reise geschlafen? (How long have I been sleeping in this trip?) "

"  Du hast 12 Stunden geschlafen, Reinhart. Schlafen Sie normalerweise so? (You have been sleeping for 12 hours, Reinhart. Is that how you normally sleep?) " the middle aged Jewish rabbi asked with concern.

The disguised Azurean man nervously chuckled before he could respond. Still, he had no intention to disclose his true identity to his friends inside the truck. In reality, a space alien like him has 8 to 16 hours of sleeping period everyday which it was longer than normal humans.

" Oh, es liegt wohl in der Familie. Besonders väterlicherseits! (Oh, it runs in the family, I guess. Especially, my father side!) " he laughed and made another excuse.

" Normalerweise schlafen wir etwa 6 bis 8 Stunden. Es könnte etwas ganz Besonderes sein, solche Schlafstunden zu haben. (We usually sleep around 6 to 8 hours. That might be very unique to have that kind of sleeping hours.) " the lady doctor answered.

" Ich schätze, das darf man sagen. Wie auch immer, wo sind wir? (I guess you may say that. Anyway, where are we?) "

"  Straßburg, Frankreich. Vielleicht möchtest du dir den Ort ansehen. (Strasbourg, France. You might wanna take a view of the place.) "  Otto replied and took his turn to take on the wheel while his driving partner who was a middle aged Protestant preacher was also found sleeping on the passenger seat.

Neriah nodded and closely peeked from the truck's tent opening. He saw a very peaceful view of the nearby forest and the farm. From a distance, he eyed at the centuries old building, but the entire city including its outskirts was now a total ghost town. The disguised Azurean man grew intrigued as his questions started to formulate in his head. He needed more answers once he would get there.

References:

Invasion of Poland: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland

Haus Vaterland: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haus_Vaterland