Hisashiburi, I did a Radical Reconstruction in this chapter, so please feel free to read
I'm reaaaaally sorry, It's been a long since I write, the thing is, I participated in an exchange student program to Japan, and I was chosen. so I was busy...and forgot my existence in ffnet. I will write again from now on.
Enjoy the read, and review if you feel like it!
Title: Consequences of War
Pairing: America X Vietnam
Summary: Alfred, a Colonel of the US Air Force during the Vietnam War, was critically injured during an aiding mission. Then he was saved by a Vietnamese nurse. The woman teaches him the true meaning of war, nationalism and pride in the eye of the innocent and the suppressed, and also love. Then the American's views changed rapidly.
Type: Angst and Romance
Characters: America, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, China, Canada, England, Fem!France, South Korea, Thailand, and a minor appearance of Russia . Mentions of Hong Kong. Also, some OCs as soldiers and citizens.
Warnings: Violence, mild language, character deaths and also, since I only know a few of the commanders of Vietnam War, there'll be no real life person in the American/Vietnamese Military, since this is fiction after all. And last but not least, if you feel offended about anything related to Vietnam War, don't read.
Bien Hoa, 27th November 1967
The garrison was filled with noises and chats until a certain Colonel came in.
"Division 32, stand!" the Colonel shouted "I'm assigning you an important mission"
The noises stopped and a rhythm of foot steps echoed as they stood.
"What's the situation Colonel?" One of his subordinates asked.
The Colonel, Alfred F. Jones, stared at a map of Vietnam , his fingers caressed the rough paper.
"We'll send some aid to Tak Dang, there's been an assault by the Viet Cong in the town next to it, and also send some aids to Pleiku" Alfred said "The Ground Infantry has been attacked for 3 days, they're in a dire situation"
"What aircraft should we use?"
"An A-70 Helicopter, 5 of them, and 3 F-60 Fighter jets for air coverage" He checked the list of the available aircrafts "Jason, Steve and me will ride the F-60, and Matthew will lead the medic team to Pleiku. Sergeant Richard, Ben, Rudolph, Ned and Ingram will pilot the helicopters, 3 will assign to Pleiku to bring the medics, 2 to Tak Dang for the supplies and ammunition. I believe in you all will succeed" He smiled defiantly.
The soldiers saluted and left for their post, except for Matthew who stood in front him.
"Uhm..Colonel…"he started
"Don't call me Colonel, Captain Matthew, we're brothers! Call me Alfred bro" Alfred's dignity face faded into a cheerful face "So what's wrong Mat?"
Matthew, who is a Flight Surgeon, Medic and also Alfred's little brother stuttered "Well, there's said to be a problem with the Army and Marine Corps, they said that they're starting a mutiny and also use drugs. I wonder if the war really needs to go on"
Alfred smiled slightly "I don't know Mat, but if America says it should go on, then it will go on"
"But it killed many wasted people!"
"That's what a war is, Mat. It kills people, and that's a fact" Alfred sighed "But you'll be dismissed from your duty next year right? That's awesome!"
Mat sighed as his brother changed the topic "Well, I…"
"And I'll be taking a day off too! We're certainly eat your favorite pancakes with maple syrup, and also hamburgers! I'm cravings for those since forever"
Matthew just silenced, it's really hard to keep up with his brother.
"So, let's get ready and finish this war quickly, Mat. So we can freely eat hamburgers" Alfred wink and trotted off.
Alfred focused his energy to concentrate. The cloud was visible, right on top of him. Another Fighter were situated behind the two helicopters.
"We're almost there, 20 miles away"
"Roger"
The mission seemed to be harmless and smooth. But it wasn't.
"Colonel! My jet got shot by an AA gun!"
"What?" Alfred narrowed his eyes. They got attacked by the North Vietnamese Soviet-made AA guns
"Wait, Sergeant Jason..."
"I'm falling! Help! Help! Go-"
The radio got cut off.
"Damn it" Alfred cursed, and immediately contacted the two helicopters behind him "Hey! How's the situation"
"One of the helicopter got it's propeller damage"
It's not as easy as it seems, he thought. Suddenly, he felt his plane shaking, and the steering uncontrollable.
"Everyone! Turn south!" he demanded.
"What?
"Just do as I say, we're retreating!"
Alfred forcefully steered the plane South, the plane shaking up and down. Am I going to die? He saw an opening in the middle of the forest. A little bit more…
Alfred forced a landing, shaking as if his spine could have been flying. Then, the motion stops, and all went into silence and darkness.
"Shit" was the first word Alfred could think of when he opened his eyes. Once again, ended up in a crash. It has been twice in his career as a pilot a crash happened to him.
"Colonel, are you alright?" a voice went into his mind. What? Did I received help?
"My glasses…"
"Here, the lenses broke though" the Sergeant handed him his glasses and Alfred wore it.
"It seems like we're stuck inside a forest, filled with Viet Cong" the man exclaimed "Man, we really need help, do we?"
Seem like not. He sat up, rubbing his throbbing neck.
"It seems only one helicopter made it back to Saigon, and one of us is dead" the Sergeant sighed and took out a cigarette "I want to smoke"
The sergeant offered a cigarette, but Alfred declined, so he offered them to the Privates.
"If we're lucky, a patrol could have find us" Alfred exclaimed and took out his rifle "Also bring out your guns… there's a conflict nearby"
He can certainly hear the noises of gunshot, from the north according to his compass.
The other 4 soldiers nodded and also brought out their gun.
"Private Wilson, you're an engineer right? Can you fix the helicopter?"
"Uh… I'll do my best" the soldier nervously nodded and prepared his tools.
"Colonel, we brought some mine detectors in the helicopter"
"Good, I think that will be useful" He snatched the mine detector "Private Chris, stay here and protect Wilson, the rest of you, follow me and let's assist the Army"
A sudden gunshot fired. Private Wilson fell down, his head covered by blood.
"Damn, the Viet Cong here!" The sergeant shouted.
Alfred shot the source of the gunshot, and a body fell from the bushes. Another gunshot fired, and this time, it got his right shoulder. Held his right arm as he groaned in pain.
"Are you alright, Colonel?"
"Don't give a damn about me and kill them!"
Another bullet grazed his rib, and another one scratched his stomach.
Alfred panted from the pain. It wasn't sudden, but he was really careless. The ground shook, and the helicopter immediately exploded. The corpse of the Sergeant and a Private lay dead on the ground.
"Damn you, mortars" he gritted his teeth and immediately ran away.
"They're dead! They're exploded and dead!" the private cried as they ran "They…they…"
"That's what the Ground Infantry sees everyday, don't be a crybaby damn it!" he growled.
What they see everyday. He felt pitiful. No wonder they're so stressed out that they do drugs.
"God help me!" the private cried louder…..and suddenly exploded.
Alfred threw his eyes forward as he heard the mine exploded. He felt like crying.
"Sorry guys…" he kept on whispering. I'm not competent enough
After he ran for what it felt like an hour, at last, he stopped running, as he already ran for…1 kilometer? 100 kilometers? He couldn't tell. Feeling very faint, he leaned on a tree, coping himself with the pain his wounds gave him. He groaned as he unbuttoned his uniform. Then he ripped his shirt off and tied it in a cloth on his bare shoulders, which his shoulders became bloody. His eyesight was fuzzy, and his breathing was uncontrollable. He finally decided to close his eyes, hoping for a clear mind when he woke up.
Alfred opened his eyes, staring towards the ceiling. He then glanced at his body, which were bandaged properly. A faint feeling of relief overwhelmed him as he knew that he was alive. His eyes then examined the house. It was made out of wood, with a mat and a table as the furniture. He sighed ay himself, that he's not a prisoner of war. Then, something dawned to him. This can be a communist's gathering house, right? Am I healed so they can torture me for information? His awareness increased and he tried to sit up, but his muscle pain prevented him to.
"Damn it!" he fell back on the bed, clenching his stomach.
"What are you doing?"
He flinched as a voice appeared and cautiously said "W-Who are you?"
"Don't move or your wound will open, I recently removed the bullet that resides in your shoulders"
A women appeared from the door, frowning. Her hair is tied back, her eyes are slanted, and she wears Ao Dai, which is green in color. He stared at her hands, which seems to hold a bucket.
"I repeat again, who are you?"
"Just a mere villager, soldier" she said coldly
He snarled "You're not a communist? A Viet Cong?"
"No, I'm not"
Alfred then sighed, as he started say in a calm tone "Good, sorry about that"
"Don't apologize, just rest" she assured him and compressed his head with a towel "You've got some blood loss from your arms, and some from you rib and stomach, but everything else will be all right" she brushed his face with the drenched cloth "Good thing it isn't fatal, but you can't move your right hand for a while, and it will be permanently affect you arm movements once it heals"
Alfred huffed. This is the first time being saved by somebody else before, as for someone with the motto 'save someone and become a hero'. He examined her face…quite cute for a Vietnamese woman, and also, filled with dignity, unlike the ones he usually see in back there...
He rested his right arm to his side, and tried to sit up, pain jolted in his stomach and chest.
"Don't sit yet, a graze isn't fatal, but a graze is still a wound" The women warned.
Alfred smiled at her, and began to talk with his smooth, friendly tone "By the way, my name is Alfred F Jones"
"Is that really a wise thing to say soldier?" she exclaimed.
"What?"
"If you give out your identity easily, you could get blackmailed by the enemy"
Alfred became alerted "Wait, so you're really a communist?"
"No idiot, I'm just reminding you, since being clumsy and careless isn't really a good thing for a soldier like you"
"Whatever" he grumbled "My rank is quite high you know, I'm a Colonel"
"Oh, and don't be arrogant, or you'll piss me off, military rank doesn't have to do anything with attitudes"
Alfred gritted his teeth at the Vietnamese "You didn't even say your name!"
"My name? Do you have a reason for knowing it?"
"Yes! You already know my name, so hurry up and give me your name!"
She smirked "Okay, Alfred, my name is Nguyen Anh Linh"
"Linh huh" He pondered on her words for a while, and asked "What's your job?"
"You ask too much" she sighed "I'm a nurse"
He scratched his head, deciding to stop nagging her "Sorry to ask, did you see any of my comrades when you found me?"
"Comrades?" She raised an eyebrow "No, the only person I found is you"
So it was true…they died. But a war is a war, and he already lost so many friends since he started his military career.
"By the way, you're pretty heavy. When I found you with my little sister, I have to ask the help of the carpenter on the outskirts of this village, even with all his muscles, he transported you with a wheelbarrow, it's either you're the one who is too heavy, or he's just too lazy"
Hearing the long insult from the nurse, he looked away from her and grumbled "Whatever"
Linh made a frown in her expressionless face "Sorry, I ended up making you depressed even more, even though what I just said was true, but my purpose is actually to amuse you"
"Just tell me, how long should I stay here?" he ignored her explanation.
Linh's lips twitched, feeling a bit hurt "With that wound you have, it should be 3 days" she stood "Probably food will cheer you up a little bit, don't be too depressed or it'll deepen your wound. Your glasses is on the table and your military uniform is being washed by my sister. While your rifle… is being examined by my brother."
She headed out of the house, leaving the American alone.
He frowned, probably because he wasn't too excited for the food, since he knew that in Vietnam, there'll be no hamburgers.
Well, at least Vietnamese foods are more edible than Calorie Mate or military rations he usually eats.
He sighed and pondered, about his lost comrade, and his job as a soldier, and more of that, a Colonel.
He failed just for a time. It's not like a human could succeed every time.
Man he really wants to go back to the US Air Force.
But being injured like this isn't really a great condition to return. To add that he can't move his arm at all.
So he has to be stuck in this humid house for a week,
Not to mention the woman who lives here kind of irritates him.
But the fact that she saved his life made him worried if he couldn't pay her back.
"Well, I can live with that" He sighed.