Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's and plot. I mean no disrespect towards the real men of Easy Company.
The loud roar of motors shook the barracks. Men scrambled out of cots, clutching their ears from the unknown sound. We jogged outside, the sun hadn't even risen yet. 5 Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes flew overhead, elegant wings stretched out longer than the horizon. Sobel stumbled out of his office, almost like a drunk, looking for the source of the sound. Soon all the companies were joining us in the sunrise.
The plane on the left end dipped significantly lower. It flew adjacent to Currahee, then flew straight over our heads. Some of the men jumped out of its way, but I didn't. The sheer confidence amazed me. The pilot knew what he was doing, and I respected him for that. We started running towards the landing area, hot the planes heels. The plane on the far right also dropped out, and they both sped in different directions.
They turned flew around in a circle, us in the middle. They faced each other, and sped up. They were only feet above our heads it seemed. Daring each other, each went straight. With only milliseconds before an fatal impact, they both turned hard right, narrowly missing each other. One straightened out and continued on, while the other looped around, meeting up and flying next to each other.
The men went wild, me included. They zoomed over our heads, guiding us towards the landing strip. They landed simultaneously, slowly drifting off towards the end of the narrow lane. We ran onto the concrete, hollering praises. Malarkey and Skip raced each other forward, nearly tripping each other. We circled the two planes, but the pilots beat us out.
They were laughing as the slipped out of the aircraft, sliding down the wings. One was sitting on the wing, the other plopped down on the ground. They removed their goggles and flight helmets. Everyone was stunned.
The genius pilots we thought were 'one of the boys' were women. Long locks of hair circled their faces, each a different shade. I only then noticed the intricate designs plastered on the tail of the planes. Each was different pose, but the all had a mustang painted in silver on the back. The other 3 pilots walked towards us, and they were all women too.
The woman on the left of the group had intimidating features. Her black hair was sharply slicked back, her icy blue eyes cold from age. She was at most 25, her tan skin free of wrinkles. The woman on her right had deep brown skin, with the same intimidating look on her face, her almost black eyes darting around. The leader had pale skin, a beauty mark directly above the left of her top lip, with copper eyes and brown hair. She was obviously the oldest and most experienced. The 3 women had crisp, professional, cool personas, not even blinking as they walked past us.
The other 2 reminded me of the guys here. They had innocence in their eyes, and bright lively spirits. The girl on the ground was about as tall as the men here, with pale skin, platinum blonde hair, pale pink lips, and dark blue eyes. The girl on the wing of her plane had long wavy hair, the color of rusted gold in braided pigtails. She had steel gray eyes, nude color lips, a straight nose, tan skin, and was petite. I think even Perconte was taller than her. A fact he seemed proud of.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sobel screamed as he shoved us aside.
"Didn't the Colonel tell you?" The short one asked. She had a southern accent, maybe from Oklahoma?
"Tell me what?"
"We're training ta go ta war with ya fellows." She coolly replied back, with a smirk planted on her face. Sobel stormed out, gesturing for them to follow him. She shrugged at her friend and hopped down.
"Colonel Sink, a war is no place for a woman." Sobel stage whispered to the aging man behind the wooden desk.
"Now Lieutenant Sobel, these women have trained just as hard, if not harder, as the men here. These women have every right to go to war." Sink justified. I officially liked him.
"Yes, sir." Sobel quickly left his office, muttering insults as he left.
"Now young ladies, the Colonel at Avenger Field tells me that you are the best pilots he's ever seen. He also believes you should be overseas, helping your country, and I couldn't agree more. Which is why, under extremely rare circumstances does this happen, I am permitting you to train, and eventually go to war with my men."
"Thank you, sir." We all replied in unison.
"I make it a habit of mine to get to know my soldiers." We all knew that was a lie. "Each of you will report to me tomorrow morning, at different times. I usually wake the men up at about 5:30, so our meetings will be short. You there," he pointed to me.
"Yes, sir?"
"Report to my office at 4:30, and each of you show up 10 minutes after the other."
"Yes, sir." I groaned and Elizabeth tried to hold back her chuckle. I was hardly a morning person.
"Now, your Winters here will show you where you will be staying."
A tall man with flaming red hair, crystal blue eyes, pale skin with brown freckles scattered across his face met us outside. He nodded his head to us and showed us around. We were, unfortunately, forced to stay on the other far side of the base, passing by the men we were now sharing Easy Company with. One of the men, with soft brown hair and gentle eyes as brown as chocolate looked at us from outside the door of his barracks. Men were wandering around, dreading what they would do today.
"And here's where you will be staying, sorry it's not very comfortable, but it works." Winter apologized when he led us into a small barrack, which only held the necessary 5 beds. There was only about 2 inches between each bunk, and only about 5 feet of walking room. I love my girls, but this was going to be hell.
"Thank you, Winters." He blushed and hurried out.
"Oh, fuck!" Amy whispered when he left.
"What?" Anna asked, while laughing at the expression on my face.
"We don't have any extra clothes."
"Oh, shit." We all giggled, and tried to find our way back to Colonel Sinks office.
4:10 came too soon, and I was stumbling around in the dark, trying to retrace my steps back to the Colonels office. Men were still snoring, and I envied them with a passion. My hair was swaying back and forth from where it was perched high on my head in a loose ponytail. Unlike the other girls, I couldn't stand to have my hair pulled up. My hips and hair were in perfect rhythm, something I grew accustomed to. A figure was slowly approaching me from the front, his frame lean and skinny, and his milky white skin almost glowed in the early morning darkness. He sent me a casual smirk as he stopped in front of me.
"May I help you, ma'am?" His voice reeked of a caddy from California, the badgering tone evident while he talked.
"No, thank you," I stopped short, gesturing for a name.
"Joseph Liebgott."
"Well, thank you, Joseph. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
"What's a pretty little lady like you walking around here at this God-forsaken hour of the morning?"
"I'm meeting with Colonel Sink, and I really need to hurry up." I quickly passed by him.
"Hey!"
"Yes?"
"I never heard what your name was."
"And who's fault is that?"
"Well, what is it?"
"That's for me to know, and you to find out." He chuckled and shook his head, before stalking back to wherever he was going before.
I finally made it to Sink's office, at exactly 4:29. I knocked and slowly entered. Nobody was there. This was his office, right? I snuck a peek at his desk. A picture of a handsome soldier was placed on the far right corner of his desk, with pictures of a women and children in front of it. Was that him as a soldier, and was this his family? I didn't have time to ponder, because his raspy voice broke through my thoughts. He was talking to a dark haired man I recognized as Sobel. I rolled my eyes and stood in front of his desk again.
"Ah, glad you could make it."
"Thank you, sir." He took a seat behind his giant desk again, before gesturing for me to sit.
"So, what is your name?"
"Nicole Zaborowski, sir."
"That's quite a name."
"Yes, it is, sir." I cracked my charming smile towards him.
"Yes. Where are you from?"
"Lawton, Oklahoma."
"Interesting. Why did you join the Air Force?"
"My dad was a pilot in World War 1, and he taught sissy and I how to fly when we were young. I knew I wanted to be a fighter pilot ever since."
"How old are you?"
"19, sir."
"And your sister?"
"23, sir."
"Hmmm. Do you have a nickname?"
"Back home they called me Nikko."
"Well, Nikko, it was a pleasure to meet with you. You may go back to your barracks. Sobel will wake you at 5:30, and you will go on a run up Currahee. Hopefully you can make it."
"Oh, I thoroughly believe in myself, and the other women, sir."
"That's good. I like your confidence, Section Officer Zaborowski."
"Thank you, sir."
I quickly walked out of his office, and headed back towards our barracks. Liz passed by me, yawning and shooting me a wink. I passed by the rows of barracks, and ran into another man I didn't recognize. This on, however, paid me no attention. I smiled kindly at him, and continued on my way.
It seemed like I was only asleep for a minute when Amy woke me up. I yawned and stretched.
"Come on, lets go, any day now ladies." She said in her loud Georgia accent.
"Oh, be quiet." I moaned, rolling over onto my side again.
"Fuck it." A hand grabbed my calf, ripped me out of bed, and left me lying on the floor. I groaned but sat up Indian style, with both legs tucked beneath me. I ruffled my dirty hair, and yawned again.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Amelia shouted in her thick Brooklyn voice. Usually the rough accent reminded me of a solid brick wall that built a house, now it felt like that house was falling on top of me. Amelia became my big sister after I lost respect for mine. She slept with my fiancée, and became pregnant with his child.
I stifled another yawn and pattered out the door, right behind Liz. We made it to the meeting area, where the other men were standing. Another yawn tried to escape my mouth, and I hid it behind my fist.
Obnoxious cat calls started from the men. I rolled my eyes and pranced along anyways. I was suddenly very hyper. Hyper and I don't mix well together as you can imagine.
Sobel charged up to us, face contorted in anger. I blocked him out and listened to the fly that was buzzing around Amelia's head. We were ordered to stand in the back, at attention, while Sobel walked around, trying to find faults in his men. I suddenly remembered a quote my dad told me, "A leader leads by example not by force." Sobel was the opposite of the leader described. Maybe that's why I didn't like him. He talked bad about everyone else, but couldn't even prove he was better than us.
"We're running Currahee." His voice broke through my silent discussion. The men groaned but jogged back to the barracks.
Now I know why the men hat Currahee. It's not the fact it's a mountain, I can handle that. It's the fact rocks get in the way, and everyone has to stay in a pack. You can only go as fast as the person in front, and everyone in front of me was going slow. I was itching with impatience.
Sweat was pouring down Amy's dark skin, and beads were stuck in her thick black hair. Anna was glaring at the head of the soldier in front of her. Amelia was looking on with unnatural patience, and Liz was fidgeting like me.
A narrow part of the road broke out in front of us, and we were allowed to go our own pace. Liz and I, being the stupid ones, decided it would be a good idea to race. How very wrong we were. The soft ground simply absorbed all the energy my muscles were giving out. The springiness that was usually awake in each strand of my thigh and calf was now weak. I was having to put in twice the energy to travel half the distance I used to be able to run.
We finally made it to the top and back, our lungs aching with the effort. After we were all assembled at the bottom of Currahee, we were allowed to go ahead and eat breakfast.
Winters introduced us to a dark haired man named Lewis Nixon. He had one eyebrow that seemed permanently raised. I chuckled at the thought of his mother telling him that his 'face would freeze if he kept his face like that.' I smiled and half-heartily listened to Liz babble on to him. I missed my mom. I missed the way she would take her fresh pies out of the oven and leave them on the windowsill to cool down. I missed the feeling of her scruffy apron on my cheek when I would hug her when I was little. I missed her warm smile and warm brown eyes.
"Hey! No name!" A familiar voice sprung my from my thoughts. I heard another voice whisper that 'that was rude.'
"Liebgott!" I shouted back.
"So you remember me." I quickly informed Liz I was leaving, but she was too absorbed in Nixon-fever.
"So how are you?"
"Just dandy after that run."
"Huh. Yeah."
"Are you ever going to tell me your name."
"I don't know. Should I?"
"I don't know. I can keep calling you no-name. But I'm sure there's a pretty name to go with that pretty face."
"Aw. Are you seriously trying to flirt with me?"
"What if I am?"
We both started leaning in towards each other, eyeing each other up. I cocked my head to the side, and put on my innocent face. He broke out in a stupid grin, and I fluttered my eyelashes. He edged closer and closer, until we were only inches apart. In a quick instant I reached up, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed his face down into my mashed potatoes. Or the lame excuse that was mashed potatoes. He sputtered and looked at me indecorously. I smiled my sweetest smile.
"Damn Joe, what the hell happened to you. Your supposed to eat your food, not wear it." Another solder with a deep Philly accent said to him.
"Oh, I was just showing him what a facial was." Joe wiped the potatoes off, glared at me, and finally broke into fits of laughter.
"That was good. I like you no-name."
"Well, that's a relief. I couldn't be able to stand it if Joseph Liebgott didn't approve of me."
"Now you can rest well at night."
"Thank you, kind sir." The other men were looking at us with shocked expressions on their face, ever since I shoved Joe into the food. And I realized they thought I was going to die. They had probably never seen a woman put a man in his place, especially not a man like Joseph Liebgott. Who, let's face it, had an ass-hole aura around him.
"Is your name really no-name?" The Philly man asked.
"Yeah, you know, my parents couldn't decide what to name me, so they just named me no-name. It's quite remarkable. I think it's going to become a big name later on. You should seriously consider naming your kids no-name. It's a very masculine, but has a gentle touch to it, don't you think?"
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say your being a smart ass."
"Wow. Give this man an award, he's a genius. How ever did you figure me out?"
"Shut ya trap."
"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Or are you normally this sensitive?"
"Fuck you."
"When and where?" Food suddenly tumbled out of Joe's mouth, who was watching our interaction with an amused smirk. Philly man was staring with wide eyes, and the entire room was silent. Shit, how is it all the things I regret saying always end up being heard by the entire company?
"Right, well, I'm going to go before I say anything else stupid." I quickly scampered out of the mess-hall, my cheeks stained red. I heard the roar of laughter as I quickly walked away. The chuckle was getting closer, and I realized Philly man was following me.
"I wasn't serious about fucking you. It just slipped out."
"I know ya were. Just wanted to know ya name."
"Right. Nicole Zaborowski."
"Damn, how do you spell that?"
"N-I-C-"
"Not that, ya last name." He rudely interrupted me.
"Do you really wanna know?" "Not really."
"I imagine so. Can I know your name. I don't like referring to you as 'Philly Man.'"
"When did you call me that?"
"I didn't. I thought it."
"Right. I'm Bill. Bill Guarnere."
"Nice ta meet ya Bill Guarnere."
"You as well Nicole Zab-a-something-or-other."
"Zaborowski. You can just call me Nikko."
"Right. Nice ta meet a Nikko."
After that, the day passed uneventfully. We ran some more, did push-ups, sit-ups, and every other kind of ups. We finally ended with a 12 mile march, full pack. Sobel deemed us fit, and we were excused to leave.
Bill wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me back to the barracks. I realized I wasn't the only one who made new friends. Liz and Amelia were talking to Nixon and Winters, Anna was with some short Italian guy with a fetish for brushing his teeth, Amy was with George Luz, who laughed when Bill introduced me to him, asking if I would 'fuck him too?' Which earned him a slap on the back of the head from Liebgott, who took it upon himself to be protective of me. I yawned and leaned on Bill's shoulder.
"Do ya want me ta carry ya Nikko?"
"Nikko, that's ya name?" Joe asked from behind me.
"Aw, Bill, Joe wasn't supposed to know."
"Sorry no-name." Bill apologized.
"So Nikko's ya name, huh?"
"No, Joe. Nikko is not my name."
"Bull-shit."
"I don't think Bull took a crap anywhere around here. I think he has more manners than that. Plus I think we could of smelled it." I loved Bull, he was like a big, squishy, red-headed teddy-bear. Plus, he was my neighboring state. Just a little land border between us.
"I can't guarantee ya I didn't take a shit around here Oklahoma."
"Damn."
"So Nikko,"
"For the last time Joe, my name is not Nikko."
"Yes, it is. Why else would Guarnere call you it?"
"Because Bill is an idiot. That is something I can't control."
"Hey! I take offense to that." Bill said in his gravel-like voice.
"I'm surprised you know what offense means."
"Ouch. How did that feel on you ego, Guarnere?" Joe asked him.
"Please, Bill's ego has it's own solar system. I doubt it hurts too bad."
"I resent that."
"Wow. You know what resent means too. Damn, you're like a portable dictionary."
"Shut ya trap."
"Aw, this is how our relationship got started Bill. Except now Joe doesn't have mashed potatoes all over his face. I must say Joe, your face looks much silkier and healthier now. I take full credit for all the ladies that are going to be attacking his face, begging for sex."
"Are you drunk?"
"How on earth would I be drunk Bill?"
"I don't know, you Southerners love your whiskey. Maybe Bull slipped you some."
"No, trust me, you'll know when I'm drunk."
"I want to see little Nikko drunk." Joe taunted from behind me.
"Joe, I swear to all things Holy, next time you call me Nikko I will shove my foot so far up your ass you will be able to taste it."
"Ok, Nikko." I quickly jerked out of Bill's grasp, turned around, and tackled the boy from San Francisco, my knee landing dangerously close to his family jewels.
"Next time, Joe, I won't miss."
"Ok." I shoved myself off him and resumed talking to Bill. He chuckled and draped his arm over me again.
So there it is, the first chapter. I didn't realize it was going to be this long. 7 whole pages. Wowzers. So the girls here are from WASPS: Women Airforce Service Pilots, who were women learned to fly all the main aircrafts in WW2. The women didn't go overseas, but I changed that up a little bit. I'll be putting pictures up of all the new character soon.
Guiding Light