Chapter 6: We Came, We Saw, We Shook Hands and Kissed Babies?
"WARRIORS BY DAY, LOVERS BY NIGHT, PROFESSIONALS BY CHOICE, AND MARINES BY THE GRACE OF GOD."
Common motivational quote used by Marines.
THREE WEEKS SINCE INITIAL INCURSION, 0700 HOURS, ALNUS HILL, SPECIAL REGION
The following weeks after initial contact with the enemy were nothing short of mundane once the battles stopped. Many troops found themselves being posted on menial duties and carrying out less than stellar tasks once FOB construction began.
FOB was an understatement however, as what started off as some tents and makeshift motor pools began to take shape into something much greater. Day and night materials were brought in from Japan on flatbed trucks or massive tractors. Prefabs, concrete, HESCO* barriers, building material of all sorts. It was almost frightening how fast the engineers had been working.
Over time a star shaped fortress of sorts began to take form. The logic was that such a shape provided equal protection on all fronts, something the coalition needed in order to properly stave off future attacks.
Not that the enemy had dared try to attack anymore not after one last final massacre that had only occurred but a few nights prior.
It had been a pretty normal affair up till then, the enemy would attack and get pushed back, rinse and repeat. This time however, a living legend had been born that night or rather a topic of a great many jokes. On the final night of the attacks the enemy had once again tried to conduct a sneak attack, sneaking was relative however as they had simply brought a much smaller force and tried to attack during one of the darkest nights.
Of course the enemy obviously still had no idea the coalition had their hands on top of the line night vision optics. In the enemy's world night raids were an effective and proven way of attacking the enemy. Back on Earth and in a world of modern warfare however, night raids were considered a fact of life and a nuisance easily prevented with good judgement and situational awareness.
So naturally something terrible was bound to happen and it did every time the enemy tried to attack in such a way. This night had been different however, and in its own special way.
On this final night the enemy was once again revealed by illumination rounds and once again attacked head on and cut apart. It was the one leading the attack however, that had been the topic of discussion among the troops.
Leading the charge was a very gruff looking general. Distinguished by his eye patch ornate armor, and horse mount, he had personally led the charge alone. It was all for naught however. As soon as he had personally made his way to the barbed wire defensive line, his horse was immediately incapacitated with him being thrown off and over the wire itself.
That had been strike one.
Strike two had been when his soldiers came to his rescue and were immediately gunned down while still holding their shields. The coalition gave the enemy credit however, some forces still had problems with barbed wire even in the modern world.
As the general's forces were decimated he then made his way forward a few meters, picked up a bow and had actually launched an arrow at the oncoming weapons fire. This very same arrow was still embedded in Kincaid's backpack, the backpack in question having been in the storage rack behind the turret.
It just so happened that in that backpack was one of Kincaid's prized energy drinks, one that had just so happened to get hit and punctured.
That had been strike three, and as the general laughed at the futility of his attack he was promptly vaporized by a HEAT round courtesy of Here We Go Again.
It was worth mentioning that during all of this the general had not once been hit by the overwhelming firepower being directed at his forces. There were even rumors he might've even survived the HEAT round itself, not a trace of his body had been found so far.
The only reason this had even been a story at all was because Kincaid and his crew had watched it all happen through their tank's sight system. The only person who had the last laugh was Kincaid however as he sent one of his own "arrows" right back.
Thus the General in question began acquiring all sorts of nicknames, the most prolific being General Goofball or General "Gotcha Kincaid".
Kincaid rolled his eyes as he felt the arrow shaft tap the back of his head for what must've been the hundredth time. His pack had been behind his cot and propped against the side of the tent his platoon was using as a temporary quarters. All night it reminded him of the event every time he went to shift his head, by now the sun had risen however and a small beam of light was starting to shine through the tent's entrance.
Which meant Kincaid wasn't getting anymore sleep.
Wiping the sleep from his eyes and donning his glasses, Kincaid sat upright from his sleeping bag atop his cot as he scratched his bare chest. The sounds of multiple Marines snoring had formed a sort of chorus of noise that made his ears ring. Coupled with the smell of tank and men in various states of cleanliness, the situation hardly made for a pleasant wake up.
Thankfully Reveille hadn't been sounded yet, which meant there was likely still some time before the platoon actually had to wake up.
Might as well go for a fucking run.
Kincaid grimaced at the sight of Wilkes's cot next to him. The heavyset loader was snoring loudly, occasionally mumbling some incoherent gibberish before shifting around some more.
Out like a light.
With great care and caution Kincaid reached behind his cot and into his Illbe pack, rummaging around for a few moments before fetching some basic running shorts. Once those were on and a pair of running shoes to go with them, he then fetched his Ipod Nano and headphones out of his assault pack and made his way out of the tent and into the lukewarm Special Region morning air.
Kincaid yawned before stretching as he gazed around the motor pool, his back giving a satisfying crack in response. It was about as bare bones as a motorpool could get. To the right of the tent sat the four tanks and their M88, one of the tankers slowly walking back and forth in front of them as he stood duty. Past that, there wasn't much else.
Save for the Japanese tanks right across and in another section of the lot, some genius had thought it would be a great idea to put to fundamentally different groups of armored crewman in the same area.
As Kincaid began to put his headphones on he paused before glancing at the Marine on duty. A short stocky Texan named Reeves he was the driver for Aldritch's tank and the resident historian, retro junkie and chef for the platoon. He was also one of the older Marines in the platoon at the age of twenty-eight. As a historian it almost went without saying he had a wealth of theories and questions over all the pseudo Roman things the Coalition had encountered up till now and his ramblings had been both a source of entertainment for the platoon as well as a source of irritation when he went on for too long.
There was also a running gag that he looked the same as Kincaid and many people outside the platoon had actually thought the two were brothers. Kincaid made his way over to the Texan, the shorter Marine fixing his coyote brown beanie before hopping off the front slope of his tank and looking at Kincaid with a tired smile.
"You're up early."
"I'm going for a run."
Reeves raised a thick eyebrow and fixed his glasses before adjusting the sling for his M4. "I thought you hated running."
"I do."
"So why are you going?"
"Cause I'm bored and I can't sleep. Just make sure you let the others know I'm gone."
"Nobody wants to see your ugly ass this early bro."
Kincaid rolled his eyes. "Bruh shut your Mr. Potato head having ass up and go back to tending to your shitty memes. Better yet go back to listening to your eighties shit some more."
Reeves and Kincaid also had the sort of friendship only Marines well versed in being geeks could have.
"The eighties were the golden years, something your troll looking ass wouldn't understand. Besides you listen to eighties shit too."
Kincaid frowned before shaking his head. "Look man just tell em I'm gone."
"I'll tell them you ran away."
"Kiss my ass, don't talk to me or my dudes ever again."
The pair laughed before Kincaid slipped his earphones on and scrolled through his Ipod's workout playlist. Once he found a song he pressed play and slipped his Ipod back into his shorts' pocket and took off down the base's winding paths.
Kincaid's Album of Awesome
Track 6: Pigeon John "The Bomb"
PLAY?
"Wait, wake up in the morning to the clear blue sky
Turn up the music when I hop in the ride
The windows down let the whole world see
Can't nobody rock it like the little old me."
Kincaid huffed and puffed as he made his way through the base, paying close attention to avoid higher ups and dodge around troops returning from guard post. He also made sure to wave at any cute female troops he saw, which was of course met with mixed reactions.
"I got my chucks and my dickies and I put it on black
Banging Sinatra in the black Cadillac
My old lady leaning out the whole window
Everybody lookin' when we walk in slow."
As he went to turn past some storage containers he saw a familiar figure running ahead, it was Itami. Kincaid smiled as he went to catch up, Itami's pace was slow and methodical, his bushy hair flew around as he jogged in his JSDF physical attire.
Finally catching up Kincaid went to talk to his old friend between breathes. "Hey sir! Fancy seeing you here, wonderful Special Region morning we're having huh?"
Itami didn't even bat an eye as he continued jogging. Kincaid deduced he must've not heard him and began to run backwards in circles around Itami.
"Heloooooo? Sir?"
Finally Itami noticed and slowed his pace down even more as he addressed his friend between breathes. "Oh hey Kincaid, yeah I guess its wonderful. For now anyways."
"For now? Whadya mean?"
Kincaid began to slow down to a fast walk, one of his bushy eyebrows slowly raising in question. Itami stopped too and began to walk fast as he continued to deliver the news.
"Well, it looks like we have a mission today, your XO and my higher ups were up last night drafting it up. Apparently we're going to go recon the area and meet the local populace." As the two rounded a corner past some parked Humvees, Kincaid's expression changed to shock.
"Whoah, whoah. Wait, recon? With tanks? What the hell?"
Kincaid was no stranger to sudden missions. A life of quick reaction force drills and missions in Afghan taught him to be prepared for them, but the words coming out of Itami's mouth were as alien as the language spoken in the Special Region.
Recon was one thing, but using tanks to do it? That was not in their M.O. Search and destroy missions? Sure. Overwatch missions? Sure, but Recon with winning hearts and minds thrown in? That was a big negative. Tanks were hardly the tool make friends with.
As Itami sighed and put his hands behind his head, he went into detail. "Look I'm no fan of it myself, hell I have to lead a team, but apparently the brass don't want us leaving the wire without good fire support and until the air assets start getting shipped in? Well your platoon's name has spoken for itself. Besides our tanks are being regulated to defense, the crews don't have experience in operating in an environment such as this."
It was true, in fact since the make shift motor pool was shared by both Marine and JSDF tankers there had always been a source of friction between the two. This meant constant flexing contests between who's tanks and crews were better. Though it was all in good fun and both parties got along, there was still that big brother little sibling complex.
It was time for Kincaid's rebuttal however and he quickly tried to lay down the lack of logic in the plan. "Look sir, American tanks always operate in platoons of four and in sections of two, this is to avoid mechanical problems hindering mission performance, it also provides safety for all tanks. The fact that one tank is going per recon team is nothing short of asinine, if something happens who's gonna tow the damn things for Christ's sake?"
Itami shrugged as the pair stopped at an intersection, Kincaid pausing to turn around and wave before picking up his pace to head back to his platoon.
It was going to be a long day.
0900 HOURS, FOB ALNUS MOTOR POOL
As the Horsemen and various JSDF personnel stood across from each other geared up, Aldritch and Itami went over the briefing for how the recon operations were going to be carried out.
Each team would have two softback Toyota Mega Cruisers, a Komatsu LAV, and one Abrams. There were four teams, with the one Here We Go Again was attached to being designated as Recon Team Three or RCT3.
Itami's team.
Their mission was a simple one, they would use maps provided by short range UAVs and intel teams to scout potential FOB locations and learn the way of the land and enemy positions from the locals.
"Any questions ladies and gentlemen?" Aldritch had finally asked as the briefing was completed. Several Marine's hands had went up, the first of whom belonged to Kincaid.
"Yes sir uh, why don't we have dedicated recon teams doing this?"
"Because they're all busy having their hands tied conducting other operations."
Next was Elton. "Sir if one of the tanks go down due to mechanical failure how are we recovering it?"
"If in the event a tank goes down and can't be fixed with first echelon maintenance, radio it up and a M88 recovery vehicle will come to assist."
Then came Wilkes. "Yo sir, how are we going to refuel?"
"Every vehicle will be carrying spare fuel jugs for their vehicles as well as the tanks."
Finally Parker asked, or rather said what was on everyone's mind as a lit cigarette hung from his mouth. "This is reaally not a smart idea sir."
Just when Aldritch went to berate Parker another voice rang out, this one belonging to the M88's vehicle commander Sergeant Muldoon.
"Uhhh sir, what do you want us to do?"
Aldritch scratched his head for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Just bring your 88 with my team. Better to have you guys out and about just in case, last thing I need is to try and finagle some sort of escort to accompany you to one of the teams in case of a maintenance issue."
"Yut."
Muldoon and the rest of his crew shrugged and went back to spitting their chewing tobacco out. With that Aldritch and Itami put the squash on all questions and sent the teams to their respective meeting spots to get head counts.
As the crew of Here We Go Again looked over Itami's squad and introduced themselves, the first thing they noticed was that there were two females. Working with females was a rarity, doubly so for Marines in combat arms MOS's and on deployments. So naturally the crew had almost been completely taken aback at the prospect, even more so considering neither of the two females were rough on the eyes by any means.
The first of the two had an unfamiliar face, a freakishly tall sergeant by the name of Mari Kurokawa, the team's medic. With her light blue eyes and general charming personality, she certainly seemed like the right person to go to for aid of any kind. The fact she was as tall if not slightly taller than Kincaid also gave off an aura of a stern almost motherly demeanor.
The second of the pair however, had a face that the crew knew all too well.
Shino.
When she saw the tank crew that had been assigned to them her reaction was anything short of a surprise. "Holy shit, It's you guys?! I didn't think we'd be on the same team! That's fucking awesome we have got to get another picture of the tank later!"
Kincaid and his crew simply groaned and nodded their heads.
The rest of the team was comprised of; a bunch of Privates with varying skills of use, An older Sergeant Major named Soichiro Kuwahara, a Master Sergeant by the name of Tetsuya Nishina, Sergeant Takeo Kurata, and finally Itami.
The irony of it all was that as far as real combat experience went Kincaid's crew had them beat rank or not. Of course they'd have to just play nice for now even though they were the armored backbone of this mission.
Kincaid and his crew introduced themselves and showed the recon team to the tank that would be accompanying them. They answered any questions the team asked them as well as told them the limitations of what their machine could and couldn't do.
"So this is an American M1A1, she looks like she's been through some shit." Kuwahara said as he looked the machine over top to bottom. He paid note to the name of the gun tube before raising an eyebrow. "Here We Go Again? Why's she named that?"
As the the vehicle's tank commander, Elton was the one to step forward and answer the question on behalf of the crew.
"Well Sergeant Major most of us on the crew are veterans." He pointed at a disgruntled looking Kincaid. "My gunner here was about to get out, but as you can see. Well, here we go again."
Kincaid merely nodded and huffed in response, prompting a laugh from Kuwahara. "Seems fitting, either way glad to be on the same team. Feels good to have the big guns with us."
As the sergeant major continued to grill Elton with questions Kincaid noticed Kurokawa eyeing the back of the machine with curious eyes. As the corporal made his way over, he remembered his customs and courtesies before addressing her. "Sergeant Kurokawa, something catch your eye?"
The medic paused from her examining of the vehicle as she fixed her eyes onto Kincaid's. "Ah, Corporal Kincaid was it? I was just 'admiring' your ride here, you're the gunner correct?"
Damn she's fucking hot.
"Sure am, and a pretty damn good one too I'd like to think."
I haven't even been a gunner that long.
Kincaid gave the side of the vehicle a couple of smacks."M1A1 Abrams, she's a good machine Sergeant. She'll give as good as she gets that's a promise. We push our machines just as hard we push ourselves."
"Of that I have no doubt Corporal, I've heard of the reputation of Marines. I didn't know you operated your own tanks however." Kurokawa paused before running a gloved hand over one of the vehicle's taillights. "I've never seen a tank this close before."
"Not surprising, lots of Marines don't even know the Corps has tanks" Kincaid chuckled before eyeing the tank himself, watching non tankers get excited over the vehicles was always an amusing time.
Especially if there were women involved.
"Sometimes we take the job for granted believe it or not. When you do it for so long you forget just what sort of power you have at your fingertips, the sort of importance you have to the mission. It's a rough but rewarding job, one I wouldn't trade for anything." He paused before putting on a shit eating grin. "Blowing stuff up never gets old."
"Oh I can only imagine, regardless." Kurokawa extended a hand with a warm smile as her eyes bored into Kincaid's. "I feel safer knowing we have a tank with us, I'll be in your care corporal Kincaid."
The corporal put some courage into himself before returning the gesture. "We'll keep you and your team safe sergeant, that's a promise. We'll be in your care as well if we get any scrapes or boo boos we'll be sure to give you a ring."
Kurokawa laughed before ending the shake and adjusting the sling for her rifle. "That's what I'm here for." As she went to go return to her team's vehicles, she paused before turning around and wagging a finger. "Oh and do try not to scare the locals away, hearts and minds remember?"
Fucking cute.
"Yep hearts and minds." Kincaid gave a thumbs up as the medic walked away, once she was out of earshot he turned around to mount his vehicle.
Only to see Elton and Wilkes with shit eating grins on their faces on the top of the turret. Their voices started to go high pitched as they began rapidly blinking their eyes.
"'I'll be in your care!'"
"'Don't scare the locals away, my panties are barely hanging on by a prayer as it is!'"
Kincaid glared before beginning his climb and making his way to his hatch. "Kiss my ass."
With that the various recon teams got the final frequencies dialed in, did radio checks and sped out the front of the compound. Meanwhile, the tanks had to be ground guided out by their commanders, gunners, and loaders before moving ahead of their respective convoys.
The entire area outside the FOB's large concrete walls was a massive field, most of it had been leveled from previous fighting and engineering vehicles constantly at work. The result was a large killing field that gave the coalition absolute coverage over the entire area.
As Kincaid and Elton ground guided the tank out the gate they waved to the Marines on post before clambering aboard their war machine. Wilkes soon fell in shortly after and took place behind his loader's 240. Once everyone was aboard the tank's tracks kicked up dirt and dust as it led the rest of the convoy off into the unknown. It was a quiet road march for everyone, this was their first time actually leaving the safety of Coalition controlled territory.
They were now officially in hostile lands something most of the the crew of Here We Go Again was no stranger to, in short order they began to fall back into routine over their tank's internal net. Short chatter coming over the whine of hydraulics and grinding tracks.
"Four-Eyes pick up your scan, keep it slow and smooth bro. Little John maintain this speed, you're doing good. Rampage, radios good?"
Wilkes ducked back down into the turret and looked at the two large olive drab radios in front of him. All green across the board, he promptly popped his head back out of his hatch and manned his gun once more. "Yeah bruh."
Elton watched as the Special Region countryside passed by occasionally rotating his .50 cal weapon station. "Word, alright this is it. Keep your heads on a fucking swivel we got babysitting to do. I don't know what kind of fantasy bullshit is out here but I swear to god it better keep its fucking head down."
Here We Go Again sped down the road, its gun traversing left and right as it scanned for signs of enemies, meanwhile the rest of the convoy followed in shortly after. As the team went down the road various Marine and Japanese teams could be seen at checkpoints with their armored vehicles.
As they hit a small bend in the road a massive sign jutted up from the grass.
You are now entering the Special Region No Man's Land. Enjoy your stay and shoot to thrill! Courtesy of the 3RD MEU
As the convoy continued to follow the road Elton looked at his map and back at the terrain features they were close to the first village. He keyed his comm helmet forward as he came over the net.
"RCT3 Actual be advised we have eyes on a settlement, map describes it as Coda Village. We're gonna go ahead and pull off the side of the road and into an overwatch position, let us know if anything happens down there."
"Solid Copy Horsemen Four, RCT3 Actual out."
As the two groups parted ways the Japanese pulled into the village. In short order they exited out of their vehicles and began the slow methodical process of establishing first contact. Some of the Japanese troops couldn't help but wonder if this was how the first conquistadors felt in the olden times exploring new lands.
Meanwhile, atop a hill over watching the village Here We Go Again sat with its sights fixated on the proceedings. The tank's engine had long been turned off the only sound occasionally coming from its turret traversing. Inside the tank the crew began to fall back into their usual bored chatter.
"Maan this shit beats the fuck out of Afghan." Wilkes lit a cigarette staring up at the sky before letting out a puff of smoke. "That place is fucking garbage."
A series of affirmative grunts came over the internal net.
Benitez keyed his comm helmet to the rear as he paused from reading his manga. "Was it really that bad over there?"
Wilkes had almost choked on his cigarette at that question sputtering before giving his chest a few thumps. "'Was it really that bad over there?' Man that place is a fucking lost cause nigga. Dumbass kids throwing rocks or stealing shit, ANA* not performing for shit or trying to shoot you in the back. Don't even get me started on the fucking Georgians."
Elton chimed in as he keyed his comm helmet back. "We told you the stories man. Niggas will tell you we were fighting 'freedom fighters', that we were over there for oil n' shit."
Kincaid nodded before letting the turret gently slide to the left. "There's no fucking oil in Afghanistan and Freedom fighters don't shoot their own kids just to get a reaction from us. Fuck that place man, you're lucky your first deployment was here."
He paused. "For now at least."
The gunner looked away from his sights for a moment as he took a sip from his Camelbak's hose. "Well peep man, at least we accomplished what we set out to do. Got Osama's dumbass, fucked his buddies up. It ain't our fault the goddamn ANA and the people there don't give a fuck enough to hold what we give em."
He paused as he lit a cigarette, taking a long drag before continuing. "If they cared enough about their home they wouldn't let those assholes run rampant. That's just my take on it though, I only work here."
The crew remained quiet for a while Benitez in particular simply unsure of what to say. It wasn't his war, wasn't his burden to deal with. But this one, the war here in the Special Region this one was his war.
And a small part hoped and prayed it wouldn't make him as jaded as them.
"But yeah man man this place is unreal. Wouldn't be so bad if you know." Elton smacked the top of the turret. "We were here working."
Wilkes adjusted his 240 before groaning. "Preach that shit nigga."
Back to normal.
Kincaid took a stretch in his seat before patching through to Benitez. "Hey Little John think we're gonna see some Elves or some shit? So far everything else has been adding up to them being here."
"Beats me amigo, I can't see shit out of these periscopes anyways I just hope they don't have reality bending magic or some OP shit."
Elton rolled his eyes as he put a map he had been reading down. "Both of ya'll are fucking nerds, even if they did have magic I doubt they can stop a fucking tank."
Kincaid went back to looking through his sights as he zoomed back in on the village watching as the Japanese interacted with the locals. "Man you say that now I'm just waiting for these guys to come running out of the village screaming cause some fucking Golem busted out of a house or some shit."
Elton gave Kincaid's back a kick. "Man hush with that shit."
"I'm just saying bro. Like anything can fucking go here, did you get a postcard saying there weren't any Golems or shit here?"
Silence.
"That's what I-OOF."
Another kick to the back.
More silence for some time.
"So what do you think of the Japanese?"
Elton looked back up from his map and down at the village before keying his helmet back. "I think they're noob as fuck."
Kincaid took another sip from his camelbak. "Well yeah, they're green as all hell. Itami seems like okay peoples though. You saw what he did during Ginza, man's got his head in the right place."
"Yeah okay peoples is good and all, but out here? In this shit we don't even understand?" Elton slammed a gloved hand on the top of the turret. "Doing this bizarre totally against SOP shit? I need raw pipe hitters dude, not guys that go to anime conventions and don't want to do shit besides be nerds."
He paused.
"No offense. Ya'll nerd as fuck hell I fucking love DC and Marvel, but at least I know we can get the job done. These guys don't even know what war is. Itami did great at Ginza and so did his guys there, but this is a different ballpark."
Benitez keyed his helmet back. "Well, they certainly know what war is now."
Elton rolled his eyes. "No man, this is different. This isn't Korea, Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan. You don't become a war-fighter overnight bro, that shit has to be bred into your organization after generations of veterans dude."
Kincaid zoomed in on the Japanese and watched as they continued to interact with the locals as Elton continued. "They don't have veterans, hell their country likes to stick to its own shit. They've got a lot of learning to do man and until I see something amazing? I'm gonna remain skeptical, yeah Itami's a cool dude but like I said. He's got learning to do."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Benitez sighed before going back to reading his comic.
After an hour passed Itami's voice came over the net freeing the tanker's from the boredom they were starting to fall into.
"Horseman Four this is RCT3 Actual."
"Send it."
"We're all wrapped up here you guys ready to move on?"
"Yeeeup. Did we learn anything?"
"Not a whole lot really. They're a small bunch, keep to themselves."
Wilkes chuckled before keying off on internal comms. "But are they real niggas?"
The rest of the crew laughed as Elton responded to Itami. "Cool..I guess. So it was a waste of time?"
"Nani?"
Elton started crackling an old power bar wrapper near his mouthpiece. "Ah shit sorry, had some static. I was asking where are we heading to this time?"
"Oh ahhh, I can't really pronounce the name."
Wilkes furrowed his brow. "DICKHEAD."
Elton rolled his eyes. "Roger that we'll meet you down the hill, Four out."
Once the tank made its way back down the hill and linked back up with the rest of the convoy the journey continued. Things were quiet for a while until Itami came back over the net in an attempt to break the nervous silence with conversation.
And breaking the "Fuck, kill, Marry" game the tankers had been playing over their internal comms.
"This world is something else huh? Real shame we're at war, I haven't ever seen air this clean before."
Elton's voice promptly responded over the net. "Yeah, it is. Probably cause there isn't any man made pollution here, we're probably the first humans to ever bring machines through here too."
A pause.
"Just my two cents though."
After some more silence Kurata's voice came over the net. "There's some places back home like this, Hokkaido being one of them."
If Kurata could have listened in on the internal net he would've known that Elton was voicing how much he really didn't care. Or how the tank commander really just wanted to get this mission done before the sun went down.
Instead the response he got was a simple one.
"Never been, I'm from the Burgh."
"The what?"
"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."
"Oh."
Some more silence before Kurata responded.
"Never been."
Kurata also might have heard Elton say. "No shit."
Things went back to being quiet as the convoy continued on its way.
In Itami's vehicle Kurata continued to watch the tank as he followed behind it his eyes occasionally glancing at the passing countryside.
"Sir? You said two of those Marines were like us right?"
Itami looked up from his map. "Come again?"
"Didn't you say two of those Marines were 'otakus'?"
"Well yes and no. Like I said before their definition of it is different than ours over in the West. I think they just like anime."
"Ah." Kurata focused back on the drive before talking again. "I'd never guess, they're just.."
Itami raised an eyebrow. "Just?"
Kurata sighed. "I don't know hard to read? I dunno, I've never worked with Marines before."
Kurokawa had been sitting in the back of the truck blissfully ignoring the sounds of Shino's open mouth breathing as she fell into a sleep. "Maybe you should get to just know them better."
Itami nodded in agreement. "Agreed, they're a bit rough...around the edges but they're okay guys. I think."
"Seems like an understatement. Something just seems wrong about them...it's like as if they're trying their best not to completely break down. Like they've got a lot of pent up..anger? Rage? Depression?"
Suddenly a new voice came over the net.
"They're Afghan veterans, U.S. Marines no less. Their walk of life knows constant war, knows suffering. If anyone is off here I think it might be us."
Everyone registered a look of confusion as Kuwahara's voice came over the net. "Sir, if I may."
Itami scratched his head in confusion there was no way the Sergeant Major could have overheard them, he was in a separate vehicle. A quick glance at the dash confirmed the lieutenant's suspicions.
Kurata had left one of the radios open.
Itami gave the embarrassed sergeant a thump on the kevlar before keying out. "Sergeant Major? What're your thoughts?"
"Something tells me we're the weird ones here sir...we're the ones out of place."
Itami raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying we're gonna wind up like them?"
There was some silence before the older soldier responded. "Well I hope not, but that's not what I mean. What I mean to say is, we need to listen to them. We're in their neck of the woods now something tells me we're gonna be looking to them for answers very soon. Who can say how veterans act except for other veterans?"
More silence.
"Just a nugget of wisdom. Oh and here's another one, keep the net clear and be thankful that was on our own private channel."
Kurata nodded embarrassed. "Roger Sergeant Major."
Silence resumed for some time.
"Sir how old did you say their tank commander was?"
Itami paused from looking at his map before sighing. "Twenty-four, Sergeant."
"And they're mostly Corporals?"
"Just focus on driving."
As the sun began to set, the group made its way towards where another village was supposed to be. So far the other recon teams had similar trips so far, just not as "Vibrant" as RCT3's had been.
"RCT3 Actual this is Horsemen Four, be advised got eyes on a lot of smoke at our immediate twelve, looks like a fire hold back while we move in to give it a look, over." It was Elton and sure enough the smoke clouds began to become visible.
Here We Go Again pushed
It was a mess, the fire raged uncontrolled. Whatever had done this was very thorough and very violent. After a while there was still no sign of any enemy presence, as the glow of the fire reflected off the front of the tank Elton began to stand his crew down and went to send word over the net.
"All clear, might be natural causes ov-Holy shit! Gun front!" Elton's voice suddenly cut off.
"Horseman Four?! Four!?"
No response.
"Sergeant gun it!"
"But sir surely they can handle it-"
"I gave you an order, move!"
Itami and the other trucks gunned up the road to regroup with the tank, if something was going down that made a tanker panic it had to be bad.
As the trucks got closer the sound of thunder rung out causing everyone's teeth to chatter and waking up a very confused Shino in the process. Soon after the chatter of automatic weapons fire began in earnest another shot ringing out.
Whatever was going on the tank wasn't sparing any expense in making sure whatever it saw was getting as much hurt as it could dish out.
Finally, the trucks crested a small corner and saw it.
Large, red, massive wings. A dragon, one very much on the run but a dragon none the less. Below it a scene of carnage began to play out as the Japanese jumped out of their vehicles and took positions.
The village the team had been supposed to get to had been burned down. Deep down Itami felt something, something new. A feeling of shame.
If only they had gotten there sooner.
As the dragon flew away Itami gave the order to stand down. It would've been ugly to fight that thing, tank or not. The sheer destruction it had caused would have inflicted at least mild casualties to Itami's small group. Something they couldn't afford.
Meanwhile inside the tank, the crew fell into chatter.
"Did we hit it?"
"Yeah, yeah I hit it."
"Then why ain't it dead?"
"MPAT* air might not do the trick bro, fucker was huge. We're gonna need to hit it dead on."
"Is that a shot you can even make bro?"
"Dude...seriously?"
"Jesus...a real fucking dragon. Yeah, we're in fantasy world alright, yo Little John give it two and kill it. Wilkes let's go talk to the Japs, I'm sure we fuckin spooked the crap outta em."
As the chatter continued Kincaid glared through his sights as the dragon flew off into the distance. "I'll get you next time."
Once the tank's engine whined to a dull murmur, Elton and Wilkes dismounted. Clambering down over the front slope, they jumped off and hit the ground letting small ash clouds puff away beneath their boots.
"Enjoy the show sir?"
Elton raised an eyebrow at Itami's dumbstruck expression.
"Sir?"
Itami snapped back to life. "Ah sorry, Corporal. You were saying?"
Elton shook his head.
"Whatever the hell that thing was, it's gone. We didn't see anything in the village but I'm thinking we wait for the fire to die down and move in to assess the situation, just my two cents." Elton took his comm helmet off and ran a hand through his matted hair.
Itami watched as the fire continued to burn, his eyes almost glazed over.
It reminded him of someone.
"Perhaps it just likes to burn things down out of habit."
"Come again sir?"
Itami shook his head and snapped out of his daze before looking at a confused Elton and company. "Ah, sorry. Just a stupid hunch."
"Personally I don't give a rats ass why it did it that thing is a threat and it just so happens we're in the business of removing threats." Kincaid grumbled as he made his way off the tank to join the group Benitez following in short order.
Kuwahara thumped his chest with his fist letting his flak jacket rattle as gear shifted. "Indeed!"
Itami smiled at this proud remark, it was true. They were a team, a newly formed and confused team but one none the less. So long as they stood together nothing would stand in their way.
So with that the Marines and soldiers of RCT3 waited for the fire to die down. A process that dragged on well into the night even with their armored vehicles both groups remained vigilant.
Throughout the night strange noises could be heard off in the woods whether they were local wildlife or other people was anyone's guess.
The Otakus both Marines and Japanese in particular began to formulate all manners of wild speculation, ghosts, skeleton warriors, goblins. They had seen enough fantasy to know the score and they were most certainly not taking any chances.
Naturally this was met with the usual response "Fucking nerds."
XXXXXXX
The next day
The scene that awaited the men and women of RCT3 was a somber one. The dragon had ensured that whatever splendor the village might have had before was all but a distant memory. All that remained now were ashes and death, lots of death.
Too much for the Japanese and just enough to give even the Marines some pause.
Rain had begun to fall turning the ground into mud. As Here We Go Again lumbered through the ruined village Elton and Wilkes had their weapons drawn as they scanned from outside their hatches. There was no telling if bandits or god knew what else hadn't come to plunder the place.
Meanwhile, Benitez looked through his periscopes at the scene in front of him with disdain. He sighed, taking his cross out from under his flak he kissing it as he mouthed a silent prayer.
As the tank lumbered ahead Itami's squad proceeded on foot near the tank's sides covering any blind spots it couldn't maneuver its gun to. Meanwhile, the rest of the vehicles were back a ways proceeding slowly but just as alert.
As the group reached a well in the village center the rain began to slow down to a sprinkle then finally stopped and with it the convoy's approach. Once all the vehicles got situated the order was given to spread out and search the village for signs of survivors.
Elton keyed his helmet back. "Alright Little John kill the engine. You and Rampage stay here and monitor comms, Four-Eyes you're with me."
Kincaid's face registered a look of confusion. "Why me? Who the fuck is gonna fire the gun if the dragon comes back? Wait, why the fuck are we getting out period?"
"Because you know how to talk the language better than I do. Rampage knows how to fire the gun."
"Yeah? And who's gonna load?"
"Just fucking hop out bro we'll be fine."
Kincaid groaned as he fetched his M4 from its weapon mount. As he made his way towards Elton's hatch he gave Wilkes's leg a pat.
"Battle Carry HEAT, if that bitch comes back at least you'll have a round in the tube."
Wilkes stomped his foot as his voice echoed down from above. "Way ahead of you bruh, shit's been in there."
"Word."
As Kincaid clambered out he donned his kevlar before making his way down to meet Elton. As he slid off the front slope of the tank he hit the ground with a look of pain and winced between gritted teeth, an act that caught Kurokawa's attention.
"You alright Corporal?"
Kincaid pat his knees as he kept one hand on the pistol grip for his M4. "Yeah I'm good just have shit knees. Tanker problems ya know? Thanks though doc."
Kurokawa folded her arms before beginning the speech any soldier in the medical field would give troops. "Well don't over do it if you have any problems let me know there's no sense in working till you break yourself."
Kincaid chuckled, not looking away from his carbine as he slowly racked the charging handle back to do a brass check. "Doc working till we break down is what we do, the Corps doesn't have time for band aids and boo boos."
With that he shouldered his carbine and proceeded to help the others search the village. Kurokawa sighed and readied her Type 64 as well. So far these Marines had been; nerds, violence prone, comedians, and foolish. At the same time they had also been; experienced, professional, and easy to talk to. Kurokawa promised herself she'd learn more about how their minds worked before proceeding ahead.
Some of them weren't too bad on the eyes either.
Everywhere the team looked there was nothing but death and destruction. Charred corpses in various states of decay littered the area, it was truly a grim scene. The air was rank with the stench of burnt wood and flesh.
Some of the Japanese Privates had actually emptied their bowels on the ground at the sight and smell of the village.
Kincaid walked up to one of the larger Privates and patted him on the back. "It gets easier."
The private stopped heaving for a moment as he registered a look of confusion. "'Gets easier'?"
"Fuck it, forget I said anything man."
As Kincaid proceeded ahead he reflected on the words he had told the Private.
He had seen men die in a great deal many ways; torn in half, vaporized into bloody red mists, burned alive, and even decapitated. It never got any easier, but he had learned to bottle it up a long time ago. Afghanistan taught him that, It was his hobbies and his fellow Marines that helped keep his mind off it.
Of course there had also been a time where he couldn't bottle it up.
Elton made his way up to Kincaid slowly racking his shotgun's slide back to ensure everything was good. "Real fucking grim bro. Making waves with the Japanese."
"Like you are?"
"Nope, but at least I don't sound like a fucking edge lord."
Both Marines' boots made sloshing noises as they continued on their way through the village, their weapons up but not fully shouldered. Everything was just mashed together into a slush of wood, debris, mud.
Charred corpses.
It was an absolute mess and the stench was something the likes of which they had never smelled before.
Kincaid tried his best not to retch as he stepped around another corpse. "Fucker sure did a thorough job."
"Yeah, yeah he did." Elton eyed another ruined hut the pair passed. "But I guess when you go and pick on shit that can't fight back your bound to do a lot of damage."
Kincaid tried his best to not look at the smaller corpses as the words sank in. "Yeah...looks like ISIS has some competition.."
The pair continued on their way until they finally found a semi intact hut. This was one of the very few they had seen that looked structurally sound enough to warrant a search. Each Marine hugged a wall on opposite sides of the door and waited for a few moments as they listened for any sounds of life inside.
Nothing.
The two Marines exchanged glances before Elton turned inwards and kicked the door in clearing the left side of the room as Kincaid cleared the right, their PEQ-15s' laser dots scanning every which way.
"U.S. Marines!"
Nothing, no response.
Elton lowered his shotgun and went to give the okay before something caught his eye.
In the center of the room a large figure was hunched over three smaller ones, they were all charred but had somehow kept the position they had been in during their death. The larger figure had tried to shield his family from the flames, it was to no avail however.
"Fuck, hell of a way to go out."
"Well at least he went out like a man."
Elton shook his head as he understood the gravity of the situation. It was something he could relate to. "Yeah...a god damn family man."
The two Marines took a knee, Kincaid wincing as he did so. They took their kevlars off and hung their heads down for a few moments before rising up redonning their kevlars. As they made their way back to the door they stopped.
Standing at the door frame Kurokawa had watched the entire event.
"Are you, religious men?"
Elton lit a cigarette with Kincaid doing the same in short order as they made their way past the confused medic. "Nah, just felt like the right thing to do."
Kurokawa watched them as they walked away before looking back into the hut. "I suppose you're right.."
After a few more hours of similar occurrences the men and women of RCT3 finally met up back the village well. Distraught and shaken they stopped to catch their wits as Itami took his kevlar off.
"We need to find this thing's nest when we have the time and prevent further attacks like this from happening again." The rest of RCT3 nodded in agreement the dragon was a top priority target that would be relayed up to the higher echelons as soon as possible.
Wilkes yelled down from the top of the tank as he cracked his knuckles. "Shit we'll waste that bitch the next time we see him, he might've shrugged off an MPAT round, but I doubt he'll take a HEAT too well."
Elton nodded in agreement with this. "We'll bring the pain ten fold next time we see that bastard, scout's honor."
It was true, if anyone could bring that thing down it was the tankers. As all the troops present went back to tending to their respective stations Itami threw a bucket down the well. As it hit the bottom a noise could be heard, one that caused everyone to give pause.
It had hit something soft.
Elton made his way to the top of the well and flicked his shotgun's side mounted flashlight and looked down into the well. He scanned around for a moment before yelling back. "Yo, we got a live one! We need to get her out fast!"
The troops promptly sprung into action, the Komatsu was brought forward and lowered Itami into the well using a wench system. Meanwhile, Kurokawa readied her medical supplies and a stretcher.
After a few minutes of waiting Itami finally emerged from the mouth of the well with an oddly dress woman in his arms. There was something ethereal about her, the green flowing dress, long blonde hair.
The pointed ears.
Kincaid's mouth went agape. "Fuck me running...looks like we really are in a fantasy world."
Benitez popped his head out his hatch and mirrored his gunner's expression. "Dios Mio..."
As everyone continued to stare at the elf Itami made his way over to Kurokawa and left her be as she went to work with Shino. This was a job for females and the men kept their distance out of respect.
Meanwhile, Elton clambered aboard the tank and sent the info up to Aldritch over the radio. A dragon and a survivor, an elfish survivor no less, this was something that had to to be sent up the chain.
It wasn't long before Kurokawa returned and gave the rest of the team the prognosis on her patient. The elf woman was alive, but in bad shape. She had acquired Hypothermia overnight and had a slight concussion on her head. She would survive, but needed to be looked after with extreme care.
Itami folded his arms and addressed the rest of the team. "We need to head back to Alnus Hill, on our way we'll stop by Coda Village, we should let them know about what happened here."
With the rest of the team in agreement Here We Go Again's engine fired up and led the convoy out of the village and back to Coda Village. Meanwhile, the elf woman was wrapped inside a blanket and put inside Itami's Vehicle with Kurokawa keeping a close eye on her.
As RCT3 approached the village, Here We Go Again veered off the road and into an overwatch position, allowing the rest of the team to enter the village without scaring anyone.
1100 HOURS, CODA VILLAGE
"A fire dragon? Here?! We need to leave this place!" The village leader panicked as Itami briefed him on the situation. As the villagers began hearing this, panic began to spread throughout the village.
Families began loading carriages and supplies were hauled back and forth. As Itami and RCT3 watched the scene unfold the village leader went on grimly. "Once a dragon has tasted the flesh of man it's appetite cannot be satisfied." His eyes scanned the horizon nervously. "That beast will return, mark my words."
Suddenly the ground began to shake slightly as a noise began to grow closer, the panic had begun to settle as villagers stopped to try and identify where the noise came from. Their answer slowly began to take shape as it lumbered into town.
The tankers had decided to show up.
XXXXXXX
A large tan square began to move into the village atop it was a flat head that had a long nose and a single eye. It had no feet but somehow it propelled itself along the ground using some sort of black material on either side of it.
As it finally stopped just in front of the village sign it sat there for a moment hot air coming out from behind it for a while and then finally stopping as it emitted a soft whine. The villagers, unsure of what to do, merely sat there dumbstruck for a few moments.
Well, most of them.
Suddenly, one of the younger boys curiously approached it against the protests of others. As he approached the front of its body, two dark skinned men came from the top of it followed by third lighter skinned man with a mustache. Each of them had some sort of strange helmet on their heads and wore green clothing similar to what the others wore.
The boy stood there in awe as they began to come down, suddenly another sound was heard and a fourth man revealed himself from just under the snout of the iron beast. He too began to climb out and joined his fellows on either side of the beast's snout.
They stood there for a while and exchanged confused glances until finally one of the darker ones began to read from a strange red book. "People of Coda Village, I am Corporal Parker Elton of the order known as the United States Marine Corps. To my left and right are the rest of my men. We are warrior knights from a land far far away known as the United States of America. We know that you are afraid right now, but fear not! We have faced far more dangerous foes on our iron steed here. So long as we breath life we hereby swear that we will protect you to the best of our abilities, no foe has bested us before and none will now."
As the man continued his speech, one of the other warriors with the mustache knelt down towards Aidan. He smiled as he removed his helmet and took a ripe green apple from his pocket offering it with an outstretched hand.
The boy looked back towards the others who simply stood there trying to make sense of what was going on, not seeing any source of disagreement he reached out and took the apple from the warrior's hand. As he did so, the warrior finally addressed him
"What's up little man?"
The boy stared at him in curiosity for a moment as he tried to comprehend the strange figure of speech.
"What is up? The sky? What else could there be?"
The warrior chuckled and nudged one of his fellows talking in a strange language. The pair laughed for a few moments before he returned his attention back to the boy.
"Ah, you wouldn't understand."
He slowly lowered a gloved hand. "I'm Kincaid. What's your name?"
The boy cocked his head to the side in curiosity, he had never heard a name like that. He shook Kincaid's oversized hand as he answered the question. "I'm Aidan."
"Aidan huh? Well shit, never heard a name like that before."
Kincaid paused for a moment. "Say, ever wanted to climb aboard a tank?"
"A tank?"
"Yeah."
Kincaid stomped his boot against the top of the strange wagon. "This is a tank, but not just any tank. She's the best tank."
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Her? It is alive?"
"Nah, but I suppose I have a lot to explain huh?" Kincaid paused before bringing his voice to a whisper. "You know this thing can kill a dragon?"
"Really?"
"Sure can, wanna take a closer look at it?"
Aidan understood this, he knew what dragons were and this man had just claimed this "Tank" could kill one.
That was more than enough motivation for him to get a closer look.
XXXXXXX
"Well would you look at that." Kurata took his kevlar off and shrugged. "I guess they do have a soft side after all."
Itami and the rest of RCT3 watched as the villagers drew closer to the tank in awe and curiosity. The Marines had brought a huge war machine into a village a machine known back in their world as a symbol of destructive power. In this world, they had turned it into a symbol of protection and pride.
This was something that simply couldn't be done back on Earth.
Itami watched as Kincaid picked up a young boy and brought him aboard the tank, several other villagers below the tank put their fists in the air and cheered. They may have had to leave their homes, but so long as these strangers from far away were here they would be safe on the roads ahead.
Kuwahara approached Itami and folded his arms. "I've been in the self defense forces for a long time and I've worked with a lot of different men."
Itami listened as the old soldier continued. "I've always heard stories about Marines that have varied greatly from time to time, but the one thing that always remained constant was their ability to get the job done. Looks like the rumors were true."
The old Sergeant Major gave Kurata a pat on the shoulder. "Told you they know a thing or too."
Kurokawa smiled and watched Kincaid act like a grand warrior knight. "Warrior Knights" where did they think up these ideas? Agreeing with her superiors she voiced her opinion as she eyed the tanker.
"Yeah they're really something else."
Between the Japanese and the Marines, the villagers were in good hands.
Jargon and Lingo
HESCO-Might need to just google this one but I'll keep it short and simple. Basically wire mesh with tough canvas in the shape of a cube. You fill the cube up with sand and voila, durable and efficient wall. Shit's been the gold standard of base defense for years.
MPAT-Multi Purpose Anti Tank. There's a fuse on it that allows the round to air-burst, useful for low flying targets.
