This has been in my head for quite some time! Apologies for length – but I don't like to spoon feed the reader, and I wanted to give a reasonably thorough introduction to the story. Enjoy!
Chapter One: Appearances are Deceiving
It was strange. For the first time, she felt relaxed. Well, as relaxed as you could be in the middle of a war. Still it was enough for her to finally give in to the tiredness. And boy, she was tired.
It had been ten days of hell. Heat. Sleep deprivation. Hunger. And the smell. Sure, sitting next to a bunch of awful smelling men wasn't fantastic, but hey, she knew what she was getting into when she agreed to join the unit. No, what killed her was the smell of the rotting bodies next to her. Perhaps in time she could shake the vision of death. But she definitely wasn't going to be forgetting that smell any time soon. It was so heavy, as if you could cut through it. The putrid, lingering smell that made you catch your gag reflex every time you took a deep breath to try and escape the heat.
"What you need, my tamāhine," my Mother always used to say, "is some good old fashioned pampering." For once, her Mother was probably right. It was a rare time that she, of all people, would admit that she needed to feel 'pretty'. But she figured after the last couple of weeks, it was perhaps not the worst idea she had ever heard. Well, if you could call washing her hair 'pampering'. In any case, she was definitely looking forward to feeling clean again.
A sudden jolt ripped her out of her sleep. It took a second for her to snap awake, switching from a sleep induced stupor to an alert, focused state of consciousness. Noise. Lots of noise.
She moved to grab her rifle and felt a whizzing sound past her ear. She flattened herself onto the bottom of the truck and twisted her head to see a hole penetrating through the tarpaulin. Too close.
"Troopers, move! Targets are situated in the clearing, to the left. Fire at will."
They were lightning quick in their movements. It was all too familiar. Find cover, find the target, pop the shot. Heartbeat thundering in her ears. Breathing shallow. The strain on her joints as she tracked her targets. Exhale, squeeze the trigger, release. Exhale, squeeze the trigger, release. Nothing else existed.
Feeling movement she briefly glanced to the right to see Roo taking up position next to her.
"Need a hand?"
"Does it look like I do?"
"Well, if there is one thing I've learnt about you, is that appearances can be deceiving."
"And if there is one thing I've learnt about you, is that you won't stop until all the women of the world are drooling at the sight of you."
"You're breaking my heart, Saz."
She smirked. "Australian."
She heard a grunt. "Kiwi."
She chuckled, and followed her next target. Exhale, squeeze the trigger, release. It was all too familiar.
Aldbourne, August 18 1944
Dick was deep in thought. Just over one month ago he was promoted to Captain, and it was something that he was deeply proud of. But at the same time, he didn't feel like he could really take any satisfaction from it. Obviously he wasn't so naïve as to think that no-one would die during the invasion – after all, war was in so many ways a death sentence – but he just hadn't envisioned that such an important promotion would come hot on the heels of the death of Lieutenant Meehan.
It was times like these that Dick really appreciated his stoic appearance. It helped to keep questions at bay, but –
"You think too much, Dick."
– unfortunately some people knew him too well.
"Morning, Lew."
"Seriously Dick, you think too much. Every time I see you lately you're staring off into space."
"Old habits, die hard," Dick shrugged at his friend. "You would know. How's the head this morning?" He grinned at Nixon, who screwed up his face.
"I disagree with that tone, my friend!" Nixon chuckled. "The head is fine, I shocked it back into gear with a cold shower this morning."
They started heading over to the lecture hall.
"Any idea what's on the agenda today, Captain?"
Dick rolled his eyes at Nixon.
"I'm going to keep making a big deal out of it until you stop squirming about it." Nixon said. He then stopped mid-stride. "Dick, people die, people get promoted. It's shit, but it's the truth. If you keep dwelling on how you got here, you'll never survive the rest of the war."
Dick sighed and looked Nixon in the eye. "Fair."
"Good. So let's go see what shenanigans we're in for today, shall we?"
She woke up in a spluttering, hacking mess. Ugh. She cracked open an eye and was greeted with a particularly gleeful Roo staring back at her.
"You're looking rather happy with yourself," she grumbled.
"Only because in about two minutes time I'm not going to have to put up with you hacking phlegm all over me in my sleep."
She shook her head and opened both eyes. "We're that close?" She wedged her fingers into a hole in the side of the tarpaulin. "Since when was it sunny in England?"
"Consider it God's gift to his favourite troopers," a voice boomed. "How you feeling today, Lieutenant?"
She turned to face who spoke. "Better, Captain. Better."
Captain Ryan gave her a wink, and she chuckled. Ryan was one of those men who, no matter what, always had a twinkle in his eye. Surprisingly, it was quite the redeeming feature in the middle of war. But that wasn't the reason why he was in charge. He was in charge because he was a natural born leader. Confident, intelligent, and constantly in tune with his surroundings. Everything a good officer needed to be.
"Good to hear. We need you in good shape so you can scare the crap outta these yanks for us, right boys?" Ryan roared.
"Definitely," a voice from the back exclaimed. "I never get tired of the look on people's faces when we get to roll you out in front of them."
"No, no, Mouse, you're mistaking the reaction that people have when they first meet you." She flipped back. The truck roared with laughter.
Mouse, was, by far, the smallest of the group. Barely scraping in at 5 foot 3 inches, he did not look like your typical special forces soldier. But what he lacked in height he made up for in other areas. He was quick on the battlefield. Extremely quick. He was also the perfect person to send out on reconnaissance, because, in another reference to his namesake, he was as quiet as a mouse.
Roo put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Saz. You know it's the only time you'll ever let us treat you any differently. Besides, you know you enjoy it."
She peered at her companions with a smirk on her face, and a mischievous look in her eyes. "Well sure, it is severely satisfying. But I'm not always so pleased about being the number one act in the circus' freak show."
"Nah, you're too good looking for that Saz," Roo said, while patting her on the cheek. "I think you're more of a show pony."
The air filled with laughter once again.
And even she had to laugh at that.
"Good morning, men." Colonel Sink appeared from the side of the room. "Please, please, take a seat."
"We have just a few administrative matters to file away today. As you are all aware, we have had a number of cancelled operations over the last month. The silver lining of all of that is that it's because we're just so damned good at what we do, boys!"
There were a numerous cheers around the room, and Nixon let off a short, sharp whistle next to Winters.
"But we are coming closer to the time that will see you boys dropped back into Europe."
The room got quieter.
"We don't know when yet, but it is important that you boys know that it will be soon. On top of that, you'll be having some guests accompany you."
Well, this was news to Winters. He glanced at Nixon, who had a confused look on his face. Apparently this was news to him too.
"A troop of Commonwealth Special Forces will be attached to Easy Company for the next operation. It is expected that there will be an increased need for small, tactical operations that they will assist Easy Company with, and vice versa."
Nixon raised his hand. "Sir, what exactly are you meaning by Commonwealth?"
Before the Colonel was able to answer, his aide was whispering in his ear.
"Why, I believe that they have arrived. Perhaps they can answer that question for you."
At that point a small group of sixteen men walked into the hall. To put it simply, they looked awful. Mud still caked on their faces, their uniforms, and their boots. They really had just arrived.
"Gentlemen, say hello to Captain Ryan." Colonel Sink turned to Ryan. "We just had a question seeking clarification as to what Commonwealth Special Forces are Captain, if you'd care to answer."
A stocky fellow, Ryan stepped forward to address the room. "To put it simply, Commonwealth Special Forces are, for lack of a better term, a 'break-off' squadron to the British Commandos, and are made up of personnel from throughout the Commonwealth." He gestured to the men behind him. "Our troop of sixteen here has 2 Canadians, and Australian, and a New Zealander. The rest of us are British."
Captain Ryan turned towards Colonel Sink. "Before we go clean ourselves and get some much needed sleep, Colonel, I'd like to make a quick introduction."
Colonel Sink nodded.
"Our troop organisation, while smaller in size, is not too dissimilar to yours. With that in mind, it is important to introduce to you my second-in-command, Lieutenant Price." Ryan gestured towards a figure in the middle of the row.
Winters could hear George Luz mutter a comment, but couldn't quite make out what he had said. There were a few whispers. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about.
And then the penny dropped.
Lieutenant Price, was a woman.
The Lieutenant took a step forward. From then on in it was as if time had suspended. Winters took in the figure. Tall, lean, and imposing. Dark. For all intents and purposes she appeared to be a very intimidating person, and on the surface, seemed completely at home in what the majority of women would find uncomfortable circumstances. But there was something else moving behind her eyes. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something... more.
Appearances really were deceiving.
Please review, I'd really appreciate it.