"Danvers."
"Rogers."
The greetings were exchanged curtly. Not because the two officers didn't respect each other, but because their stomachs were in their throats, both battling the nerves of accepting that they had arrived at their first deployment. They rocked silently in the back of the covered truck that was escorting them to camp.
"Nice hair cut you got there," Rogers continued with a low whisper, choosing to break the tension. "I think it works."
"Do you?" Danvers asked in the same level of sound, reaching behind her head to run her fingers through her short dark blonde hair. She had left some volume on top, but the back of her head was almost buzzed to the skin. "I'm still getting used to it. But I'm glad you think it's passing. I was a little worried about it."
"Don't worry, no one will suspect a thing."
Lieutenant Steve Rogers watched as Lieutenant "Carl" Danvers looked down on the floor of the truck, her gaze vacant, her soul dealing with something inside her mind instead of the outside world. He had first met her about six months ago back in Doctor Erskine's office. They had both been selected to be a part of a top-secret government experiment, except, the government thought they were both males. Danvers was previously associated with the Women Airforce Service Pilots, and somehow through her missions crossed paths with the doctor. They got to know one another, sharing their personal passions for ending the war and somewhere in those discussions, the doctor saw a potential in the woman, and once he mentioned part of his project, Carol Danvers would not back down in wanting to participate in it. The had falsified her documents, saying she was a male fresh from training, as the doctor had done with Steve's, and somehow got the stamp of approval to let "Carl" participate. Except Lt. Danvers was luckier than Steve- at least she didn't have all kinds of aliments getting in the way of her service.
But Dr. Erskine assured the generals overseeing the project that his health would not impede on success. During the research stages, both Danvers and Rogers were given gel capsules to ingest, containing a performing enhancer. The doctor swore it would change the future of war, where soldiers would be able to withstand so much more in combat. He claimed the enhancer would make soldiers immune to particular viruses and infections that came about from a waring environment, would give them a higher pain tolerance, and make them somehow stronger. The thing was, not all these claims showed up every time. After four months of experimenting, Rogers had seemed to be clear of his asthma and could now keep up physically with an average man, yet was still quite scrawny, and Danvers seemed to only get the pain tolerance threshold increase. From time to time they would get a burst of extra strength, maybe a bit more stamina, but it did not arrive with every dose. Dr. Erskine tried to hypothesis that perhaps it would trigger their adrenaline better in battle and not in simulated fights. So, both officers agreed to continue the experimentation overseas, left Camp Lehigh in New Jersey to be deployed at war. Dr. Erskine said he would join them to document any future findings, but he had been placed on a different flight and would not arrive until tomorrow. The colonels said it would be better to separate them just in case one got intercepted. Better to have half the research left over than none.
The truck came to a stop a half hour later and both officers hopped out the truck and slung their duffel bags over their shoulders. The Sergeant driving the truck dismounted himself and came around to meet up with them.
"Colonel Phillip's tent is this way, please follow me." He turned around quickly and began to navigate through the drab camp. Soldiers were either struggling by on crutches or being pulled by stretchers. Some sergeants were huddled together in a smoker's circle, brows furrowed and silent amongst each other, not even noticing anything else around them.
"I know we're at war," Steve began, "but how's the morale here?"
The sergeant turned around for a brief second as he continued to lead the way. "Very low, Sir. We had a heavy defeat last night. The Colonel wants to brief you on the attack the second you get into his tent."
"Very well," Rogers accepted. He glanced at Carol, who nodded in acknowledgement.
When they arrived, the Sergeant announced their arrival outside the tent, and then was granted entry. Holding the flap open, he followed after Steve and Carol, who went in first.
"Oh, dear god," grumbled Colonel Phillips.
Both Steve and Carol raised their right arm in a salute, holding it.
The Colonel had a face that looked like he was always disappointed, but both young officers knew he genuinely was in this moment. "I guess I should have read the damn dossiers. I knew we were getting two officers to replace Major Shapiro and Captain Terry, but Butter Bars? And toothpicks at that." The two continued to hold their salute. With a defeated sigh, the Colonel returned it and they were finally able to drop their arms.
"With all due respect, sir, we are willing and able to continue the unit's mission to the best of our abilities." Carol said, somewhat deepening her voice.
"God," the Colonel muttered under his breath, plopping into his chair at the war table. "How old are you, sons? You look no older than seventeen."
"Twenty-three," Carol replied.
"Twenty-four," Steve followed.
"Good aging, I guess." The Colonel accepted. "Must be damn hard to earn respect with your frames though. And you're gonna have to work very hard at that. The men in your unit, the ones you will be leading into battle at sunrise are really gonna need some convincing from you two. Shapiro and Terry were tanks of men, sturdy bulls, both of them."
"We will win them over, sir," Steve said with optimism and straight posture.
"If you say so," the Colonel muttered. "Anyway, the mission is this," He got up from his chair and walked to a chalkboard that had strategies mapped out in white scribbles of squares, circles, the letter X, and arrows. "we need to secure the church in the town, which is just an hour away from here by foot. I have already briefed Captain Rogg and Sergeant Barnes on the mission, so no worries about the rest of your leadership team. You will meet them when you meet the men. So, for the past two nights, we have tried to take that damn church. You see, it has a main tower, as many churches do. It provides excellent sniper and RPG defenses. But not only that, it also has two other really high spires at it's rear that the Nazis really love to crawl all over and provide high ground support from. Basically, there is no way we can move through this town, as our operation demands, to make it to our final objective: the university in the next town over. In this university, known Nazi scientist Doctor Zola is doing some kind of research there. We need to- dream situation: capture Doctor Zola, or acceptable situation- obtain documents on his research so we know just what those bastards are up to. I would have had us try to use our own RPGs on the church towers, but acquiring this fortress for our own utility would be a great defense factor in helping the mission of regaining France… and they're also limited, we are saving them for armored vehicles."
"Understood, sir," Carol said.
"Good, so whatever you do, try not to destroy the church. Since the start of this mission to take the church, your unit has lost about six percent of its original soldiers. Reinforcements came in yesterday morning, but out of them, seventy percent went down. Go to the medical tent and find Captain Rambeau. Figure out how much fighting power you have and if you need to borrow soldiers from another unit in this camp."
"Yes, sir," both officers said in unison, raising their hands in a salute once more. Colonel Phillips returned it.
"Now get out of my tent and win that damn church."
They exited the tent, and with common sense, found their way through the camp to find their soldiers at the medical tent. The sky didn't need to be gray and the weather didn't need to be drab for it to be a depressed gathering, and understandably so. They had two defeats in two days, and they probably all felt third time was the charm: they were all going to die this time and this nightmare would just be over. They looked like they were ready for it.
"Oh look," murmured a soldier with a cigarette hanging from his lips. "Some clean Lieutenants…" Everyone raised their weakened eyes as they scanned the pristine uniforms and faces of the officers, feelings themselves vagabonds in comparison. One of the nurses turned around at the mention as well.
Steve and Carol instantly raised their hands into a salute once more, "Captain," they addressed together. The woman raised her own salute and brought it down, allowing the other two to do the same.
"Hello, I'm the medical supervisor here," the Captain began, reaching a hand out. "Captain Maria Rambeau."
"Lieutenant Steve Rogers," Steve shook her hand.
"Lieutenant Caro- Carl Danvers." Carol cleared her throat upon the correction and shook Maria's hand.
"Pleasure to meet you both," Maria put her hands on her hips. "You have some big shoes to fill, I'm sure the Colonel told you."
"Oh yes," Steve agreed. "And it's gonna take some time to work towards it."
"What numbers are we looking at?" Carol asked, with her attempted voice change. Her eyes fleeted down Captain Rambeau's body on reflex, her mind drawn to the sight of wet blood soaking the sleeves of her uniform up to her elbows, making the army-green seem brown. There were drag marks of blood crusting on her lapels and shoulders too. The Captain must have been working all day on the wounded.
"Out of the manpower you have left after last night's defeat, you are looking at perhaps 50% of men ready for battle. At a precise number, you have 53 men, including the two of you, your lead sergeant, Sergeant Barnes, and your accompanying Major, Major Rogg."
"Where are these gentlemen?" Steve asked.
"Steve?"
The officers turned around and the eyes of the soldiers followed the voice as well.
Steve raised an eyebrow, ready to put on his officer air and ask who would dare to call him by his first name, but his face charged with color. "Bucky?"
"You know this noodle, Sgt. Barnes?" muttered the soldier with the cigarette.
The sergeant looked at the officers in awe, "This man is my best friend." He made his way over with a quick jog, then saluted, and broke into the biggest smile of his life since going to war. "Steve- well… Lieutenant Rogers, I knew you were trying to join, but I… I didn't think they would let you in!"
"Got in with a special program, I'll tell you all about it later," Steve initiated a quick hug, which Bucky accepted crushingly.
"Hey, be careful there, sarge, you might break the twig!" came the same soldier.
Bucky let go of Steve quickly and spun around, raising his hand to aggressively point at the man. "You will respect your new officer. BOTH your new officers. Do you hear me, Private Hodge?"
"What's are you going to do?" he murmured, blowing a weak stream of smoke out of his lips. "Kill me by putting me in the front of tomorrow's attack? Let me lean back at camp doing details instead? They both sound good to me…"
"That's enough!" shouted a commanding voice. Another man joined the scene, this one bearing the golden oak rank of a Major. Once more, salutes were raised.
"Major Rogg," Maria greeted. "These are the new officers for the unit. They will be assisting you in leading the assault of the church."
"I see," the man put his hands behind his back as if he were going to parade rest, but he walked around the new officers, looking them up and down. "And they will make a fine addition to our leadership. Skill and logic can reside in anyone, that's what you need to lead you into battle, soldiers. Let them prove themselves to you."
"Yes sir," the soldiers all mumbled.
"Captain Rambeau," Major Rogg turned his attention to her. "I have a good feeling about this attempt. Move a medic station closer to the town as soon as they dispatch. We are going to capture the church this time. We have seen their defenses twice now, and we know they haven't received reinforcements either."
"We haven't sent a scout out today, we don't know if the defenses, with the exception of the church itself, are in the same spots. A wise enemy would either change positions for the element of surprise or add more." Maria contributed.
"They won't be wise this time," Rogg smiled confidently. "They will be so drunk on their previous victories that they will fall into pride instead of strategy."
"No offense, Major, I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly, we're trusting this victory on arrogance?" Rambeau asked with an eyebrow arched.
"Enemy arrogance, experienced leaders like me and Barnes, and two new brains. I'm telling you, I woke up with a good feeling today, and I just know it's about tomorrow's operation. Everyone get some good rest, drink plenty of water, and finish your entire Field Ration. You're gonna need every source of energy."
Carol was thinking about going to bed early, but as she picked at her metal canteen cup, she found herself to be too anxious to clear her mind, or finish her meal. She sighed shakily, shifting herself on the wooden crate that she was sitting on outside her tent.
"The stewed rice isn't that bad," came a voice.
Carol was startled in her heart, but didn't move a muscle. She looked forward and saw Captain Rambeau walking her way. She jolted to begin standing, so she could salute, but-
"Don't," Maria ordered, shaking her head and waving a hand. "Please, stay seated. Do you mind if I eat with you?" Carol just then noticed the brown package in the captain's hand.
"Of course, ma'am," Carol answered eagerly. "Would you like me to find you a chair? You can have my crate if you want."
"No, that's okay, I'll sit on the ground," Maria said, already lowering herself onto the ground. Carol instantly relocated as well, moving herself off the crate.
"I can't sit up here if you're down there," she said honestly. Maria didn't say anything of it but instead started opening up her Field Ration.
"Do they all just come with biscuits and coffee?" Carol asked curiously. She actually never had a field ration before, and wondered just how this was supposed to be enough to keep a soldier strong.
"Oh yeah," Maria confirmed, using the key that came with her can to peel open the metal container. "Biscuits, coffee, cheese, sugar cubes, gum and cigarettes. All a warrior truly needs!" She added that last bit sarcastically. "But we're lucky some of the French locals have offered to make us food. I would rather have bland home-cooked rice with my biscuits than just the biscuits themselves."
Carol took a nibble of one of her biscuits, dropping many crumbs onto her lap.
"Sometimes you get a different kind of biscuit," Maria added randomly, watching Carol brush the crumbs away. "Or… if you find a C-Ration, you can get chocolate."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, the men like to trade cigarettes for them," Maria chuckled. She opened her biscuits and began to eat them, looking at the camp surrounding them.
"… What do you think about tomorrow's mission?" Carol couldn't help herself from asking. She was scared- she wasn't going to show it. She knew it was normal, but it was her job as an officer to keep herself together. She couldn't possibly inspire her men if she was shaking in her boots in front of them.
"I want to say its impossible," Maria sighed, "but if I lost all my faith, I don't think I could make it. Mentally." Maria set her biscuits back into the tin. Carol felt a little guilty, she hoped she didn't make the captain lose her appetite. "I see the men come back every day… and it's just horrible. They all need you so bad when they're hurting and they need you to tell them it's okay…" she swallowed roughly. "All I want to do is be there for them and heal every single one of them. Sometimes I get frustrated when so many come back needing healing, but I have to catch myself- I would rather them all come back needing me to help them then have to deal with seeing only twenty or so percent return." Maria shook her head, "Uh, back to your question. Um. I think it's possibly, but it won't be easy. The only way to clear those church towers is to sweep the building from the inside. Every time we try to send a sniper of our own, they don't have enough time to find a covered spot. The damn Nazi's have such a good horizon on us."
"So what would make our infiltration tomorrow morning any different?"
"Well, you're going at sunrise. Kind of an old trick in the book of war- have the sun rise behind you, blinds the enemy before you. We're hoping the darkness before the rise will help us get into position, and then when you rush, the sun might hurt the Nazi sniper's eyes. Who knows. We're trying everything."
"So, no artillery, no armored vehicles on our end, no form of rockets… just good old fashioned manpower, huh?" Carol huffed, stirring her canteen cup once more.
"You can do this," Maria said, reaching over to pat Carol's knee. "I can tell it's your first battle. But once you get through this one, you will be changed, you will see things differently."
"If I make it through-"
"You will," Maria urged.
"… what was your first battle? Here?"
"No," Maria said. " I mean, I haven't fought in the sense of charging an objective. My first station was actually Pearl Harbor. I was there for the attack. I was just a second lieutenant back then, like you are now. My services in the triages earned me a somewhat swift promotion and when we finally official entered the European campaign, I requested my commander to assign me to any front lines."
"Did you always want to be in the service?"
Maria pondered a second, probably choosing her words wisely. "Kind of. I've always wanted to fly."
"Me too," Carol grinned. "I was in-" she was about to say she was in WASP, but retracted it quickly. I'm a man! She told herself. "I've flown a couple times, but knew that accepting this mission would probably keep me grounded for a while."
"I can't believe you would give up your wings."
"Well, it's not really giving them up. I'll always have them. And who knows, maybe I will use them here."
"Can you keep a secret?" Maria whispered.
"Oh, of course," Carol smiled eagerly and leaned closer to Maria.
"This one time, in Pearl Harbor, a fellow officer- not in the medical field, of course- taught me how to fly."
Carol pulled herself back in surprise. "Really? That must have taken quite some time."
"I was so eager to learn it took me about a few months to master. I haven't had any combat experience, obviously, but I know all the basics."
Carol nodded, remembering her own learning experience. "That officer though… not a lot of people would risk their own career to teach someone how to use government aircraft… the man must have been enamored by you."
Maria blushed and looked down at her food. "Possibly," she murmured.
"I don't blame the man," Carol continued, opening her stick of gum from the field ration. "I'd probably be tempted to risk myself in an attempt impress a beautiful woman too."
Maria seemed to be chewing on her cheek. "Oh yeah? You'd teach a girl how to fly?"
"For a kiss or something, yeah, probably," Carol laughed.
"What a small price. Well don't get enamored by any of the French girls here," Maria said with amusement. "You never know who may be a German spy. Unfortunately."
"Don't worry, Captain, I'm all business," Carol swore in mock.
"That's good, hopefully you can get the soldiers to be that way too."
"Of course, Captain."
"Call me Maria when we're not in front of the men, please. I need some dosages of old-fashioned human interaction a lot these days."
"Of course, Maria," Carol nodded.
Maria hadn't finished her ration, yet began packing it up. "I'm going to bed now. Or try to, at least. I have to make sure everything is ready for making a forward medical camp for tomorrow's operation. Try to sleep, Carl,"
Carol felt weird at hearing her alias because she didn't feel like she was being Carl just now, she was just Carol, but she knew the ruse had to continue.
"I will, goodnight, Maria."
The captain got up and shook Carol's hand. "Remember, you are gonna make it, okay?"
Carol looked deep into Maria's brown eyes, captivated by the inspiration she saw within them.
"Yes, ma'am. I will."