Chapter 1

Jumpers

They were all kids, raised on video games and music television. As far as they were concerned war was just some television show to entertain and excite them. War was actually cool to some of them. Young and foolish they were, not yet tainted by the sins of combat. But as time passed, lives and innocence were lost.

Osean troops were young and eager to begin combat. Commanders managed to get their troops disciplined. But some of them doubted that these so-called kids were ready for the real thing. Sure, they had fired M-16s, jumped out of the planes and completed a lifetime's supply of push-ups. Yet none of them had ever been in a war. Commanders constantly reminded these boys, that training and war were two different things. Unfortunately, most of them didn't listen. They believed that they could fight the Yuketobanians with their eyes closed often announced in a loud boisterous fashion. Almost all of them believed they were men ready to jump out of C-17s behind enemy lines. What they didn't know was that they would soon be jumping into an area surrounded by Yuke marines, hardened by border skirmishes with the Belkans. A lot of men would die and a few would become heroes, in every sense of the word.

Morning, is a time that people should cherish, a moment to enjoy the beautiful sunrises and cool summer air. Unfortunately, the many young men of Echo Company, 1st Squad had no time to enjoy these simple pleasures. At the ungodly hour of four in the morning, the Echo boys, rose from their slumber and proceeded to change into their jump equipment. Breakfast consisted of the MRE style scrambled eggs and bacon. Most almost spit up as they swallowed the yellowish mixture, which tasted more like gooey plastic. Life as a paratrooper was hard.

The boys of Echo were a young bunch. The average age range ran from 18 to 22, guided by a few seasoned combat veterans. A lot of the paratroopers came straight from jump school, hoping to become part of the most elite airborne division in Osea, the Flamin' Angels. The Osean Army's 77th Airborne Division, the Flamin' Angels, prided itself on being a fraternity of elite paratroopers. The 77th jumped in time and time again all the way to Belka as well as Erusia. They were a unit that believed that no Flamin' Angel was to be left behind. That brotherhood had never been broken and every paratrooper took an oath to defend his brother.

As the sun rose, hundreds of troops walked out to the tarmac of MacKenzie Air Force Base. The glow of the morning sun reflected off the steel of the waiting C-17s. It was a beautiful sight to behold, causing some of the young troops to think they were still dreaming. Sleep just hadn't left some of them yet.

Conversation perked up last night during the briefing. Yuketobania was the last country they expected to jump into. Even though most of the soldiers were three year olds during the '95 War, they still remembered from their history classes that Yuketobania and Osea were allies. Fighting the Yuketobanians was just unconceivable. But after hearing about the ruthless attacks on Sand Island, which resulted in the loss of sixteen pilots and fifty marines, the troopers soon accepted the mission at hand, which was to secure and defend an abandoned farm that would later be used as a base for Osean Apaches.

If anyone could have been considered Captain Osea, it would have been Sergeant George Athos. He was the type that lived, breathed, and slept Army. No one under his command was undisciplined and he made sure of it. Even though Athos was just 29, he had seen combat in skirmishes along the Belka-Osea border. Athos had proven himself as a tenacious and assertive leader in those few skirmishes, working his way up to the fireteam leader of 1st Squad.

Athos was a perfectionist, considering his mission a failure if he suffered casualties. He saw men die before, just not under his command. Some of them were friends and others were commanders. Death was a sad reality of war, but Athos was determine to defeat that reality and protect the men he led, all seven of them.

While most other squads of Echo Company were still groggy, the men of 1st Squad were wide-awake, mainly due to Athos' booming voice.

"GENTLEMEN! HOW THE HELL ARE YA TODAY?" Athos yelled with a wide grin.

"PRETTY DAMN GOOD SIR!" Athos' troopers replied loudly, knowing he wouldn't want any less.

A lot of other soldiers looked in their direction.

"Good to see you all are awake. Today, gentlemen, is jump day. Now, usually I would have yelled at you more during training. But this is the real thing. If you get shot, you will bleed, if you get captured you will be interrogated. I believe there is no need for me to explain the risks involved. You all accepted them when you signed up, so don't waste time writing letters back to your folks." Athos explained.

The 1st Squaders listened intently. As much as they hated getting up at four in the morning, they knew Athos was here to protect them. That realization provided some solace, but the eventual inevitability of combat still scared most of them. For the first time they were actually scared. But no one wanted to admit it. Men weren't supposed to be scared and they believed they were men.

Athos looked at his men for a brief moment. He could tell they were nervous. In fact, he ventured to say that some of them were scared. But that was to be expected. If they weren't scared then that could mean two things. They were either crazy or lying their asses off. The last time Athos checked, his men weren't crazy. Scared these men were, but Athos had faith that his men would saddle up for the journey anyway.

"Didn't mean to scare you with that, but you will see scarier things when we cross the border. Anyway, I believe I should go over our mission one more time, because I caught some of you sleeping last night. Our flight will be six hours and we are due to jump in to a, supposedly, lightly defended area of Yuketobania at around sunrise, their time. Yes gentlemen, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west."

A couple of soldiers laughed.

"We'll be jumping near the town of Ardovka to secure an area that will eventually be used for our Apache attack helicopters. Don't know if I pronounced it right, but I don't speak Yuke too well. This town is lightly defended, as our intel points out and is thirty miles into Yuketobanian territory. Now our boys have given us air superiority over this region of the country, so we won't have to worry about getting shot down. But be warned gentlemen, even though our DZ is said to be cool, be ready for a fight. I don't plan on losing any men on the first day."

"We will be on our own for a good twelve hours when we hit the ground. This means we could be in for a long ass day when we arrive. But we are the most elite paratrooper division in the Army. We can defend our selves against armor and troops if we need to. I expect each and every one of you to be on your A-game today. You have your training and you have each other. We're brothers out there remember that."

"Now, I'm not going to say anymore. You know what you have to do. In case we get separated. Don't use your radios because the Yukes may be listening. I know that sounds harsh but we can't compromise the rest of the mission. But if you jump when you're told, you won't end up in that contradiction. Hoo oh!"

"Hoo oh sir!"

"Good."

The rear cargo ramps of the C-17s opened up, showing their brightly lit cabins. Jumpmasters yelled out names of squads getting troops ready for their mission. Looking back was bad luck according to Athos. His men considered it bad luck as well. Steadily they walked to the aircraft, feeling quite strange. This was their first combat mission and they preferred to keep quiet, not wanting to scare themselves or their fellow soldiers. Silence was one way of coping with fear, a coping mechanism that most of Athos' men preferred.

Once inside the aircraft, the jumpmasters started checking the equipment one last time. They tugged on the bags of the soldiers making sure they were tightly secured to their bodies. Satisfied they began moving in more soldiers until the C-17 reached full capacity.

"A OKAY!" The jumpmaster yelled.

"A OKAY!" The paratroopers yelled back in descending order.

With that said the rear cargo doors began to close. The boys of Echo, more exclusively 1st Squad wouldn't see their home for a long, long time.