A big thing that had bothered me in my previous attempt at this story, was the interaction between characters. I felt like there merely hadn't been enough of it between the original cast and the tankers.
So I had to make this a filler chapter of sorts, very filler. That been said, now that the number of chapters is substantially shorter, we'll be off to Italica a lot sooner and at no expense in regards to pacing.
As for the timeline? I searched high and low for some effective way to show the time that had past as well as try to incorporate major holidays (I noticed that neither the Manga or the Anime showed any sign of holidays having passed except for a lone Christmas tree).
Then thanks to TMDF-Artyom, I found out what the time difference was and everything fell into place from there. So big shout out to him.
Chapter 9: Enjoy Your Stay
"Hell these are Marines. Men like them held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Baghdad ain't Shit."
Marine Major General John F. Kelly
TWO WEEKS SINCE INITIAL INCURSION, 1100 HOURS, CHECKPOINT ALPHA
Van Hauser directed his men to defensive positions they were expecting guests and wouldn't be caught dead unprepared for them. His Humvee was directed to the left side of the road while the other one was directed to the right.
Meanwhile Boyd remained on the top of Van Hauser's Humvee, his eye glued to the scope. If things went south he'd be the deciding factor into how long the fire fight would go. Boyd was a Georgia boy born and raised, years of hunting in the forests of his home had shaped him into a fine marksman. It had also shaped him into the squad's loud mouth.
The other Marines took up defensive positions behind the Humvees, the enemy may not have been in possession of firearms, but no one wanted to test their luck against an arrow. It would be a bad day for anyone involved to have one of those land in an unarmored piece of flesh.
Meanwhile, Van Hauser, Davey, and two other Marines stood their post in the middle of the road. They would be the ones conducting the search. Between Davey's keen nose and the two Marines' 870s, they were prepared for any eventuality.
Suddenly Boyd yelled down from his position atop Van Hauser's Humvee. "Boss I got eyes on! Looks like fifteen guys and two wagons, they're definitely armed! Not seeing any uniforms might be bandits or local militia!"
Vanhauser sighted in with his M4's ACOG, sure enough, he could begin to make out a large group. Two horse drawn wagons were slowly making their way up the road with armed men surrounding them. Van Hauser radioed to the rest of his squad via his helmet's boom mic.
"Alright boys look sharp stay low and hold your fire, I'll handle this. If they try anything stupid you have full permission to gun them the fuck down."
The rest of the men rogered up as rounds were racked into chambers and optics sighted in. For a while everything was quiet as the Marines fell back into old habits. They were focused, in their element. They had to be ready at a moment's notice should the situation go far left or far right.
Eventually the unidentified group made its way to Van Hauser's position and stopped within a short distance. Van Hauser looked over the group; rugged looking, no uniformity, armed with the usual medieval weapons and sinister.
Amateurs.
They also looked surprised and this was likely their first time ever seeing the strange new army rumored to have entered their world. Most of the group looked at the Humvees and the men surrounding them with suspicion, they knew this was a road block.
Slightly intelligent amateurs.
Van Hauser and many other Marines had been in the business of fighting non-uniformed enemies for a long time and everything about this group reeked of banditry. Eventually a large man emerged from the group and made his way over to Van Hauser.
Dressed in various furs and wearing a dark blue robed uniform, he carried a large ornate sword at his hip. With his unkempt facial hair and purple bandanna he radiated with violence. This was a veteran, a natural leader on the battlefields of his world. No doubt he was the leader of this rabble.
He was most certainly not phased by the strange warriors in front of him or their strange chariots either. Little did he know how big a mistake that was. Eventually he made his way up to Van Hauser and stopped a few feet in front of him. The large warrior stared down at Van Hauser, he dwarfed the Marine by a few feet easily.
None of this intimidated Van Hauser or his men, many of them had fought the worst the Middle East had to offer. From renegade soldiers to well trained fanatics they had faced them all and lived to share the experience gained with their fellow Marines.
Some including Van Hauser were even "Marjah Marines", grizzled veterans from a long and bloody battle in Afghanistan. That been said if the leader of this group of combatants though he could intimidate these Marines he had another thing coming
Without losing his bearing and maintaining a stern warrior's look of his own, Van Hauser faced the giant. His gloved hands gripped his carbine tightly. It was a good thing he had studied the Special Region's language otherwise this situation could go any number of ways.
"Lieutenant William Van Hauser, U.S. Marines. This is a military checkpoint, any particular reason why you and your armed entourage are coming through here?"
The large warrior continued to glare down at the small man in front of him before putting on a smile.
"I am Morlon Co Solidus, my men and I hale from Coda Village. We have heard of strange men entering our lands using strange magic and weaponry, but I didn't think you could speak our language."
The large warrior looked at the three strange chariots and the men near them before continuing. "My warrior's instincts tell me you must be them, well I can assure you we do not wish to experience what the other foolish armies have. During your recent arrival and subsequent annihilation of the Empire's forces, many bandit brigades and other ruffians have been out terrorizing the country side. We are merely returning to Argus after engaging one such brigade."
Van Hauser wasn't buying it, back during his tour in Afghanistan it wasn't uncommon for local insurrectionists to try this very same tactic. They'd pose as some local militia defending their lands against the Taliban and would give some sob story to a military checkpoint. Usually this would end in a VBIED* going off or the "militia" in question to get granted passage through only to turn right around and be found fighting that same checkpoint at a later time.
Van Hauser knew something was amiss and aimed to get to the bottom of it.
It also didn't help that Coda was officially declared as uninhabited, one of the recon teams and its tank escort had overseen its evacuation. Van Hauser himself had heard it over one of the radio channels.
Which meant this man was lieing. Still, SOP was SOP and neither Morlon nor his men were going anywhere.
"Well that's all well and good. I can understand the right for self defense, but before I let you through there's just one thing..." Van Hauser glanced around the side of the tall warrior and looked at the two wagons before returning his gaze to Morlon.
"We have a full search order in effect. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to search the contents of the wagons over there. If you could have your men gather off to the side we'll make this quick and send you on through."
At this proposition, Morlon's face seemed to lose some of its friendly luster. This was all Van Hauser needed in order to confirm his suspicions. Davey's growling at both the men and the carriages in particular certainly wasn't helping the situation either.
"Loo-tenant Van House-er was it? There's nothing but food and supplies in those wagons, I humbly ask that you let us through without delay. Many of our kinsmen at Argus are without needed rations we must hurry in order to bring these to them. We have been lucky to even get these off the bandits."
Van Hauser noticed some of Morlon's men looked a little antsy like they had something to hide. He knew as this was going on, his own men had their weapons leveled at the group and they were ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Meanwhile, Davey began to tug on his handler's leash as he whined at one of the lead wagons. Something inside it had really caught set off his senses and he really wanted to know what it was. Noticing this, Van Hauser kept control of the situation.
"I'm sorry, but orders are orders. Now if you could please gather your men over to the side I promise to make this as quick as possible in order to get you back home, you have my word."
Just as Morlon was about to argue further a woman's cry came from one of the wagons. A young woman with dark black hair had stuck her face out of the lead wagon's tarp, with tears streaming down her face she looked at Van Hauser and cried out.
"Please help us!"
As she did so, the man who was behind the reigns for that wagon reached around and shoved her back inside. Just as Van Hauser returned his gaze back to Morlon he watched as a large sword was held high in the air.
Suddenly the bark of a rifle firing and the ping of metal on metal echoed loudly as the sword was ejected from Morlon's hand. He barely had time to register a look of surprise on his face before Van Hauser let loose a burst from his M4, Morlon's face erupted into a bloody mess as the 5.56mm rounds tore through it like a hot knife through butter.
Van Hauser finished Morlon off with a sharp kick to the abdomen sending the large warrior topping over. Not skipping a beat he yelled through his kevlar's boom mic.
"Scheisse! Squad open fire! Waste these assholes!"
It had been like a switch was thrown, suddenly the sounds of rifle and machine gun fire filled the air. Many of the bandits tried to charge forward only to get torn apart. Others had merely stood there dumbfounded, they hadn't expected their fellows to be killed off with such haste.
Meanwhile, Boyd worked with the precision of a trained marksman from his position. Bowmen dropped like flies as 7.62mm rounds popped each and every one of their skulls like ripe melons.
The horses had to be put down as well. During the fight they had began to panic to such an extreme that the decision was made to neutralize them before they could possibly hurt the Marines or the civilians.
It was over as quickly as it had began and by the time the last bandit was killed Van Hauser was already instructing his men to close the gap. After all, the mission of the Marine rifle platoon was to close with and destroy the enemy using fire and maneuvering.
Humvees roared to life as they began to form a perimeter around the wagons, infantry moving between them filling any gaps. Van Hauser and two other Marines to his right and left began to approach the lead wagon, weapons raised and ready for anything.
As they got closer Van Hauser motioned to the two shotgun Marines to take point with Davey. When the trio made their way to the wagon one of the Marines thumbed his shotgun's side mounted light, climbed up, and opened the tarp.
Meanwhile, Davey continued to whimper.
The Marine promptly exited out faced and faced his platoon commander a look of shock in his eyes.
"Uh sir, you might want to take a look at this!"
Van Hauser slung his carbine and promptly made his way over to the wagon. Climbing aboard he opened the tarp, what had greeted him inside had sent him into a seething rage.
Inside in the wagon and cramped together were tired and scared women of various ages, but it wasn't so much that as it was their condition that had made Van Hauser angry. Dressed in rags and adorned with collars confirmed one important thing.
They were slaves, "spoils of war". It stood against everything the free world represented and it made the lieutenant's blood boil.
The bandits had most likely killed the men of the village and had taken these women to do unmentionable things. Van Hauser stared at the women wide eyed for a moment before training began to kick in. Slinging his carbine and slowly removing his Kevlar revealing his ashy blonde high and tight haircut he reached a gloved hand out to the woman who had yelled out in the first place.
"Lieutenant William Van Hauser United States Marines, we're here to help you. It's okay now, you're safe..."
As Van Hauser got a closer look at the woman he began to notice some things training certainly hadn't prepared him for.
For starters her ears were the most obvious thing, sticking out from her shoulder length jet black hair on either side of her head were pointed feline ears. Then there were her eyes. Feline, dagger, dark green, the same ones piercing the lieutenant's own blue eyes.
She wasn't human, not by a long shot. Before Van Hauser could find his words she threw herself at him, sobbing all the while as she started
With her arms wrapped around his neck tightly she began to sob. "Thank you so much! These men they attacked our village in the middle of the night, they killed our loved ones and set the village to the torch. Had you not shown up, I shudder at the thought of what would have happened next."
So that's what had gotten Davey's attention, a cat girl.
Van Hauser tried to keep order of the situation and simply held her close, it was a new feeling to him. To be looked at as a hero, that was something he hadn't felt in a long long time.
With the young woman firmly holding his hand the Lieutenant opened the tarp and let the light of the sun fill the wagon. Meanwhile, the female captives slowly made their way to the front to look at their saviors and the freedom they brought with them.
Strange men adorned in green outfits and brandishing black staffs began to make their way over to the wagon. Most of them had warm smiles others were shocked to see the women in such a state of abuse.
And a lot of them were probably just as young as the girls were.
Behind the warriors the women could see strange large tan iron chariots that belched smoke and rumbled everywhere they went.
As Van Hauser and the woman exited the wagon he began to yell out orders and soon Navy Corpsmen began to look over the women and administer aid where needed. Meanwhile, various other Marines began to help the women out of the wagons, many found themselves being hugged and kissed on the cheeks. They were heroes today all of them.
Meanwhile, Davey had been sniffing at the strange cat girl and cocked his head in curiosity. Her smell said cat, but her appearance said human. It had completely thrown the dog's instincts out of sync.
Van Hauser grabbed his Kevlar off the lead wagon and led the cat woman over to one of the waiting Corpsmen.
"Hey Martinez take care of this one I need to go radio this mess back to main side."
Just as Van Hauser began to remove the woman's hand he felt her grip tighten, even through his glove he could the strength behind it.
Van Hauser sighed as he looked her in the eyes a second time. "Ma'am I need to go talk to my superiors, Martinez here will take care of you from here on. If you have any further questions or need anything else one of the Marines running around can more than likely help you."
The woman looked at a confused Martinez then back at Van Hauser, her grip didn't ease up in the slightest.
"Will you return?"
Van Hauser smiled and put his other hand over hers. "Yeah, someone's gotta oversee this mess."
At this response the woman smiled revealing her fangs ever so slightly, slowly her grip loosened and she allowed Van Hauser to head back to his Humvee.
"Now that's how we do it in Georgia! Well, the shooting that is, not the cross-species flirting."
Van Hauser groaned as he looked at the source of the joke. Resting against the scant shade provided by the side of the Humvee Boyd lay there with his M39 resting across his lap. The young Corporal perked his boonie's bill up, exposing his grin as he continued.
"Sorry bout the fancy trick shot on old boy figured you wanted to be the one who offed the sunuva bitch."
Van Hauser unslung his carbine and leaned it against the side of his Humvee, setting his Kevlar down next to it he opened the Humvee's door and looked over his shoulder at Boyd.
"Yeah real fancy shooting Boyd. As for cross-species flirting what about cross family flirting? I mean isn't that how ya'll do things in the south?"
Boyd merely chuckled and lowered his boonie back down over his eyes."Heh, asshole."
Van Hauser laughed and took a seat in the driver's chair, grabbing one of the handhelds off the dashboard radio he began to radio back to Alnus base.
"Alnus Main, this is Checkpoint Alpha. Engaged and destroyed 15 foot mobiles, they attacked us first. Be advised we have approximately two wagons full of female captives, no major injuries so far, however they are definitely malnourished. How do you want us to proceed from here over?"
Van Hauser waited several moments before the CP responded.
"Checkpoint Alpha, Alnus Main copies all. How many civilians do you have at this time over?"
Van Hauser shot a quick glance out the window and did a quick estimation.
"Enough to fill a Seven Ton over." Several moments went by before the CP responded again.
"Solid Copy Alpha, we're sending some trucks that way ETA twenty mikes." Vanhauser sighed in relief, it would be out of his hands soon enough.
Before he could roger back to Alnus main, the net once again came alive.
"Oh and Alpha, Happy Birthday. Be advised we've finally got the timezone difference between here and back home. Current time back home is about sixteen hundred hours tenth November."
Van Hauser had completely forgotten, with all the operating and missions he hadn't been keeping track of the date. Today was in fact the Marine Corps' birthday and with this checkpoint search having been such a success? He had just been put in a good mood.
"Tango Alnus Main, Happy Birthday to you too, Alpha out."
Van Hauser fumbled through his assault pack and pulled out a small speaker, plugging his MP3 into it, he searched for one of his classics. Finding a song of his liking he pressed play and let the jazz fill the air.
Van Hauser's Album of Awesome
Track 10: Heinz Kiessling "Maraschino Moon"
Play?
"God damnit not this classical jazzy bullshit again!"
"Shutup Boyd."
Van Hauser set the handheld back into its cradle and leaned his head back against his seat, another smooth engagement. He glanced at the scene in front of him and took a moment to let his pride swell up. His men were moving around helping the females in any way they could, administering aid even sharing rations if they could.
His Marines were being looked at as saviors, for some of them the Special Region had been their first real taste of combat. For the veterans this was their first time actually being the "good guys" for once. No more political bullshit, no more propaganda, and no more one sided ROE's.
There was a clear enemy and the Allies were here to fight them and maybe help make this new world a better place while they were at it. Van Hauser got a good stretch in before exiting the Humvee, slamming the armored door behind him he shot a glance at Boyd.
"Hey Boyd, Happy Birthday Marine. Now lets go you can rest all you want once we're relieved here."
Boyd let out a loud groan and slung his rifle as he got up. "No shit? Happy Birthday man, hey how's about a birthday smoke?"
Van Hauser donned his kevlar and slung his carbine, once that was done he rolled his eyes and fished a pack of cigarettes out of his cargo pocket. Tossing them over to Boyd he adjusted his flak before hearing him cry out.
"Aw cmon man not this German shit again!"
Van Hauser merely chuckled and began making his way back over towards the relief efforts. There would be more than one celebration going down today.
He also hadn't figured out that cat girl's name.
"Hey William?"
"What?"
"What was that guy's name anyways?"
"Morlon Co Solidus? Why?"
"More like Solid Moron, what a fucking chump."
"Boyd?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
1200 HOURS, CAMP ALNUS
Kincaid felt the tank lurch to a stop as they made their way inside the main gate. Not skipping a beat he removed his comm helmet and balaclava exposing his greasy unkempt hair. The crew inside the turret would have to exit out in order to ground guide the tank over to the fuel farm and then to the waiting motor pool.
Before he got out Kincaid gave Wilkes a good kick to the back of his plate carrier.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty, we're home."
Wilkes let out a long yawn and made his way out of the gunner's station, removing his comm helmet all the while. As the three tankers from inside the turret made their way down and to the front slope, the driver's hatch slowly popped up and slid to the right.
"So how was my driving? Questions? Comments? Concerns?" Benitez said as he popped his head out of his driver's station.
Kincaid laughed and gave him a playful smack on the comm helmet as he slid down the front slope. "Not bad bro lets see if you can get us to the fuel farm without running anyone over."
Wilkes made his way around to the back right of the tank while Kincaid and Elton made their way to the front, a loud crank was heard as the parking brake was disengaged and the tank once again began to lumber forward slowly. As the crew made their way to the fuel farm they noticed many strange looks and cheers being thrown their way.
As it turned out, many of the Marines on the base had heard of the tank that stood up to a dragon and gave it such a good beating it had to run away scared. In a way the tank and its crew had actually lived up to an old Corp's recruiting commercial about Marines fighting giant monsters, the giant claw marks on the front right side of its turret was proof of this.
As the tank made its way through the winding HESCO paths an LVSR* with a massive fuel tank on the back of it came into view, this was where Itami's trucks peeled off to the left and over towards the Japanese side of the base.
As they drove off Kincaid and the other tankers gave them a wave and continued on towards the refuel truck and as the tank got closer one of the refuel Marines gave a whistle as he came out of the LVSR's cabin.
"Sweeeet Jesus! You tankers fans of big game hunting?"
Elton and Kincaid raised an eyebrow, the way the Marine had said it made it sound like as if they hadn't been the first to get into a scrap with the local fauna. As the tank lurched to a stop just off to the side of the truck Kincaid and Wilkes made their way over to the back of the tank and opened up the fuel caps atop the back deck.
While they did this Elton conversed with the refuel Marine as he went to work. "Tankers? What did the other guys come back dinged up too?"
The refuel Marine extended a large hose over to the back deck of the tank. As Kincaid got a hold of it he flipped a switch on a panel and let the fuel flow through the hose.
"Nah not like that! Two of the other ones came back with some strange critters they shot strewn about on the back of their turrets said they were gonna cook em up later."
The young Marine paused to get a good stretch in."That fails in comparison to you guys though, how big was that dragon?"
So they were famous, it didn't surprise Elton. Tankers always had a way of becoming the center of attention wherever they went, the giant seventy ton behemoths they drove only made up half of how they claimed their fame.
Elton rolled his eyes if there was anyone who did some hunting while they were out, it had to be Johnson and Parker. Southern boys to the end, Elton sighed before responding to the Marine's question.
"He was fucking huge bro and tough as fuck too, took a few 120's. Fucked him up pretty good though, I doubt he's going to live for much longer."
The Marine chuckled as he monitored the fuel levels on the panel. "Shit fixed wings have been coming and going all day, I reckon they're looking for that big bitch. His days are numbered that's for sure."
As Elton laughed he looked around the base. They had only been gone a few days and it looked like as if it had just evolved further over night, they already had air assets and large concrete buildings jutted up everywhere. The engineers had to have been slaving away day and night, same shit different station.
When they were finally done refueling the Marine who had fueled them up gave the crew their fuel consumption and asked for a picture in front of the tank. Smiling enthusiastically Elton held the Marine's phone and snapped a photo of him between Kincaid and Wilkes. Before they departed the Marine yelled at them.
"Hey! Happy Marine Corps Birthday Devils!"
Elton raised an eyebrow as he looked at the others. Since they got here they had no idea what the time difference was back home, someone must have finally linked back to the outside world and received the good word.
Throwing his arms around Wilkes and Kincaid Elton smiled and yelled.
"Yo it's the Corps's Birthday! Happy Birthday guys!"
Wilkes and Kincaid merely chuckled, motivated or not the birthday was still a thing of pride in the Corps. It also meant there was usually an amazing feast. That would explain why the other two tanks had gone hunting.
As they came to a large gate Elton and Kincaid noticed a large billboard hanging from atop it. As they got closer, they couldn't help but laugh at the artwork. Evidently one of the other tankers had decided to go the extra mile and actually draw up some sort of insignia for the platoon. In this case it had been their four tanks with each of the biblical Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse riding atop each.
With the jagged letters underneath, the piece wasn't too bad. Except for the piss poor spelling.
HOME OF THE FOUR HORSEMEN. ACE IN THE HOL
Kincaid laughed and shook his head as they made their way through the gate. "Fucking motards didn't even spell hole right!"
"Ironic considering we're always chasing that shit!"
"Preach!"
As the tank and its crew made its way into the motor pool, the first they noticed was that this was not just their home, but the home of a few others as well. Arranged in neat rows were various other Marine armored vehicles that had came through the gate. From LAVs to AAVs, all of the MEU's armored fighting vehicles could be found here, ready to move out at a moments notice.
As the crew made their way past the hustle and bustle brought about by the crews of the other vehicles they finally saw the rest of their platoon. Arranged in a row against a large HESCO barrier sat the rest of their platoon's tanks and the M88.
Two of them sat with their guns over the front and their hatches opened ready to move whenever the go order was given. The last one however had it's gun over the right side. As Kincaid and his crew got closer they began to see why. Hanging from the tank's gun tube were four skinned carcasses their bodies being drained of blood into makeshift buckets put underneath them.
Spotting an empty spot at the end of the line, Kincaid and Elton directed the tank over towards it. As the tank pivot steered in place Elton gave a signal to Benitez to stop the tank and once that was done he went over to Kincaid, they still had maintenance to do before they could relax.
"Jasper make sure you guys walk track and do track tension*. Do all the other small bullshit after ops* too, quicker we get it done the quicker we can relax. I'm gonna go talk to the XO."
Kincaid did a mock salute with his tongue out and started climbing aboard the tank to grab the tools. Wwhile he did this Elton made his way over towards where the rest of the tankers were. Two large rectangular buildings served as their housing quarters, one for the enlisted and one for Aldritch.
Soon the enlisted door burst open as the rest of the tankers made their way over to Kincaid and the others, their brothers had finally returned to them. They surrounded Kincaid and Wilkes with warm smiles and hands outstretched in greeting. There would be a lot of stories to be told.
Elton approached the XO's door sighed and gave it a firm knock. "Sir, it's Corporal Elton!"
After a few moments Aldritch's voice came from within. "You're good!"
Elton mentally prepared himself and opened the door into Aldritch's quarters. As he entered the first thing he noticed was Johnson off to the side leaning against a map on the wall, he looked absolutely pissed. The bald heavyset sergeant chuckled, his regulation mustache almost jiggling as his trademark southern draw came loud and proud.
"Well Well, if it isn't our resident dragon slayer. Good to see you Elton." Reaching his hand out he shook the corporal's hand before continuing. "Crew alright?"
Elton took his gloves off and put them in the cargo pocket of his FROG trouser's, letting his dirty calloused hands get some much needed air.
"Yeah they're good, tanks' a little dinged up and Kincaid got a nasty headache. Other besides that we're gucci."
Johnson went back to folding his arms and looked back at Aldritch. "Well talk about a close call eh sir?"
Aldritch raised an eyebrow before sighing and shaking his head the mountain of paperwork in front of him had clearly been taxing him up till now.
"Look Johnson I understand, truth be told I don't like the way things have been going anymore than you do. These calls aren't mine to make and until told otherwise we'll just have to make the most of it. We're Marines foremost wouldn't be the first time we've had to adapt and overcome."
Johnson shook his head and grabbed his eight point cover off a filing cabinet.
"Just voicing my concerns that's all, we got lucky this time. Next time who knows what might happen." The sergeant opened the door and paused before turning around with a thumbs up.
"Anyways I need to go check on the meat. We're gonna be having a birthday feast tonight!"
Aldritch nodded as Johnson made his way to the door, leaving the lieutenant and Elton alone to discuss the after action report.
"I never thought my first time leading men into battle was going to be against goddamn dragons and psuedo roman soldiers. Your stunt with the dragon was a close call Elton, were this operation up to me I would've never let the tanks accompany these recon teams. LAV's would've been a better choice."
He paused and rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Jesus, this trip to Japan was supposed to be a simple training operation, now here we are at war. The company was set to disband at the end of this year and now we've been reactivated."
Elton took his plate carrier off and set it down next to a steel folding chair. As he took his seat he winced as the sore feeling of wearing his flak for hours at a time started to come back.
"Sir permission to speak freely?"
Aldritch went over to a cooler and took two bottles of water out, tossing one to Elton he returned to his seat. "Granted."
Elton took a long swig of the cool beverage savoring every gulp. After he had completely finished it he let out a satisfied breathe of air before he began his speech.
"Sir you're doing fine, everyone here is at their wits end. Truth be told sir, Lieutenant Itami and the civilians probably wouldn't have survived had we not been there in the first place. I mean, yeah. I agree that the tanks breaking off with the teams was a pretty piss poor move everyone got back alive though."
He took another gulp before continuing.
"It's done, it's in the past sir and we won't have to do some dumb ass shit like that again. As for us being here well least we're getting paid. Kincaid's gonna bitch that we're gonna be here for a while, but he'll get over it. Shit I secretly think he likes being here."
Aldritch looked over some paperwork and looked back at Elton with a grim look on his face, the type of look an officer made when he's about to give bad news. Elton raised an eyebrow and felt like a stone had been dropped into his stomach.
"Sir? Bad news I'm guessing?"
Aldritch got up from his chair and stood over by his window, gazing at the Marines outside, his Marines. Elton turned in his chair and stared at Aldritch.
"Sir?..."
Aldritch sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We're going to be working with Itami's team a lot more from now on."
Elton realized what that meant, but not believing it he simply cocked his head to the side. As he did so Aldritch explained what he had meant in further detail.
"Evidently command decided that they had indeed jumped the gun with sending tanks out with the recon teams. At the time they had no idea what was outside our area. Now that we have a better idea of what's out there the need for tanks will once again be regulated to operations where armor will be a necessary asset. However, seeing as how your tank is the only one that fought a giant dragon and worked alongside the "Hero of Ginza", command deems it necessary that we're all guilty by association. Therefore, if Itami asks for us? We go unless we absolutely need to be elsewhere."
Elton's jaw dropped; this was wrong, this was stupid, and this was most certainly not standard procedure at all. Tanks didn't do "recon", there were plenty of JSDF vehicles. Unless Itami's team was off clearing villages or assaulting strong points, they wouldn't need tanks.
Of course to be fair Elton's old company did plenty of weird missions back in Afghanistan. But that was against an enemy who could fight back.
The corporal's fists balled up he didn't have a problem with Itami or the team at all, but it felt like as if the Marines had no control over the missions they were being sent on.
"Sir, with all due respect...what the fuck? Has command lost its mind? Like I know the Japanese are running the show but this is some straight up bullshit."
Aldritch turned on his heels with a look of anger on his face. "Look Elton I pleaded with Kane to see reason, but what the hell can I do? He's a goddamn Colonel! In truth he didn't seem all that thrilled about it either!"
The two Marines sat there for a moment as they let the information sink in, arguing about it certainly wasn't going to get either of them anywhere.
Elton let the information sink in, what could he do? He was only a Corporal, a cog in the machine and the machine had spoken. "Well sir, if that's how it's gonna be.
Elton sighed and stood up, as he grabbed his plate carrier, he joined Aldritch in looking out the window. A smile spread across his lips as he gazed at the scene outside.
His tank was surrounded by many of the other tankers as Wilkes raised his hands above his head and made wild gestures no doubt telling them the stories about their trip and subsequent fight with the dragon. He could see Kincaid and Benitez punching the gun with the ramming staffs, occasionally taking a break to laugh or confirm what Wilkes had said.
"I may not have been in charge of you guys for long and I know as your officer I shouldn't be opening up like this, but you're the best damn group of Marines I've had the pleasure of working with. A real officer should be able to confide in his men, not this bullshit robotic crap you see so much of with other units."
Elton turned and offered his hand out for a handshake, as Aldritch shook it firmly the corporal spoke his mind.
"Sir we'll do what you ask of us in the end it's our job. If I can be honest? When you first came to us you were a boot. Plain and simple, but in the short period of time we got called upon to carry out this operation you've gotten a hell of a lot better. I'm sure the guys feel the same way too, just don't make bad calls and we can keep it that way. I appreciate the honesty though sir you're a breathe of fresh air in the midst of all the bad leadership we've had these days."
The two men finished shaking hands and went back to business as usual. Aldritch briefed Elton on the bigger picture as well as the new gear they had to go pickup after they were done working on the tank. Elton also gave Aldritch a full debrief on the events of the "Recon" mission, when Elton had informed him of the damage the tank sustained, the lieutenant's eyes went wide.
"Let's go take a look at it shall we?"
As Elton donned his plate carrier Aldritch secured his pistol holster to his thigh and grabbed his eight point cover. The two men made their way out the door and over to the tank, as they got closer they could hear the usual chatter and loud music that accompanied the tankers wherever they went.
They could also hear the sounds of Kincaid, Wilkes, and Parker's crew going back and forth.
"Bruh you should've seen Kincaid, ole boy was a dragon fighting lady charming machine!"
"Shiiit you don't say? Dunn got all googly eyed at a goddamn cat girl we saw on the side of the road. Man you shoulda seen her, made me want to ditch all the girls back home in a heart beat!"
"Man you are seriously killing my vibes here."
"It's cool I'm pretty sure Kincaid has his eyes set on the elf girl we brought out of the well, medic-chan or not he's still a man of refined tastes. He's gonna start his own harem mark my words."
"Really? Damn Kincaid that's wavey as hell my dude."
"Dunn don't listen to his bull shit, Wilkes pass me the goddamn ratchet and breaker bar one of the wedge nuts looks like it's about to pop off. Oh shit! Rah sir."
Kincaid had been kneeling over the left of the track as Elton and Aldrtich approached. Noticing them he looked over his left shoulder and had given Aldritch the proper greeting of the day. Aldritch had merely nodded as he made his way around the tank to get a look at the battle damage.
Three long jagged claw marks were cut into the turret face. Thankfully they hadn't exposed the composite armor beneath, but they were still an impressive display of power all the same.
As Kincaid got up and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm he noticed Adlritch running his hands over the cuts. "Yeah he was huge sir easily as tall as the water towers back at Lejuene. I don't think I've been knocked around that bad since Afghan."
Benitez had been on the back deck of the tank checking fluid levels when he noticed Aldritch's arrival. Dusting himself off he hopped off the back of the tank and joined the others in admiring the dragon's handiwork. "He was fast too sir, very fast. Thank god Lieutenant Itami and the rest of the team came when they did. I mean don't get me wrong had we not thrown track we probably might've killed the puta, but eh what can you do?"
Meanwhile, Parker had lit a cigarette and whistled as he once again looked over the claw marks.
"Shiiit we gotta get that asshole's head as a trophy, or his horns don't matter to me. Shit'll look good at the CP back at Lejuene. I reckon his days are numbered."
Aldritch folded his arms and smiled as he looked over the crew. "Fine work boys, part of me wanted to see your asses put to the burner, but you did good. Good enough to get the Colonel's attention."
Aldritch looked at his watch before fixing his cover. "Well boys I've got work to do, hopefully Parker and Johnson will get the meat from those animals they killed cooked in time. Oh and Happy Birthday Marines."
All the Marines resounded as one. "Happy Birthday sir!"
Aldritch turned on his heels and headed back towards his quarters. As he did so Parker and his crew went over towards their tank to get the meat prepped, meanwhile Kincaid and the rest of the crew huddled around Elton.
"Boss so whats the good gouge?"
Elton set his plate carrier on the front slope and lit one his last cigarettes. "Well good news and bad news, which do you guys want first?"
Wilkes rolled his eyes as he produced a fresh pack of smokes from his cargo pocket, no doubt taken from within the squad bay. "Shit no such thing as good news in this bitch, hit us with it all."
As Kincaid and Benitez each took a cigarette from Wilkes Elton began diverging the good word he got, or rather bad word. Right as Kincaid heard the words nine and months he choked on the last drag he had taken.
"The fuck? Nine months?!"
Elton merely sighed, he knew Kincaid was going to start bitching. "My man you should've ditched the idea of getting out soon months ago, besides I haven't even gotten to the best part."
When Elton told them about the attachment to Itami's squad each of the tankers resounded in their own special way.
"See told you there wasn't good news, fuck it."
"Ay dios mio, what's next we gotta help build huts?"
"Yo someone run my foot over with the tank."
XXXXXXX
Five Hours later
Kincaid resembled his M4 with practiced hands. Bringing the upper and lower receiver back together with a satisfying snap before popping the pins back into place. After a quick functions check consisting of a few crisp racks and some dry fires, he then eyed the weapon with a satisfied smile before slapping a magazine into its hungry maw.
All cleaned and ready to continue service, complete with the smell of CLP.
Contrary to popular belief, the M4/M16 series of weapons weren't jam machines that couldn't kill the enemy. They were light precise weapons designed for a military that prided itself on professionalism and marksmanship.
Like most Western militaries.
They may not have been built like an AK or an FAL, but that didn't matter. There was no such thing as a weapon that didn't need to be cleaned whenever feasibly possible. Of course, only people who had served or had experience with handling firearms would know this.
That didn't mean the troops would complain if the new Heckler and Koch 416's some of the SOG guys got became standard issue though. Familiar and with the HnK seal of quality, same seal adorning the M27 IARs some lucky 0331's got their SAWs replaced with.
"Jesus man you gonna beat your dick with the damn thing? I'm sure it's good."
"Bro, listen here. I like guns, I like my gun. Scuse me If I didn't luck out like you and get to swap my gun for a goddamn pump nasty*."
Kincaid lowered his carbine and looked over his shoulder at Elton, the tank commander standing there with his tan beanie on and shotgun slung he looked at gunner with a goofy smile.
"Don't be jelly, anyways I'm trying to eat and go shower bro. You're up first for guard duty, 2000 at the tanks so you'd better hurry too. Now before you go bitching I already asked, we're not getting complacent just cause we're in a massive fortress. XO's exact words."
"Oh joy."
Kincaid sighed and slung his carbine as he adjusted his boonie cover low over his head, at least he had guard duty first. The two made their way over to a large table that had been set off to the side of the two buildings the tankers called home. With a large camouflage netting hanging over it and several flood lights set up, it was as close to comfortable as they could get.
Around the makeshift dining area the other tankers in the platoon stood, smoking and joking they watched as Johnson and Parker grilled the day's kill over a simple grill. In true southern fashion they had even hooked up a large speaker and were blasting their music.
Parker and Johnson's Album of Awesome
Track 11: Florida Georgia Line "Cruise"
Play?
Elton rolled his eyes he hated country music with a passion, but if he wanted to eat he knew to just keep his mouth closed. After all there were a hell of a lot more southern boys then northern boys in the platoon.
As the two made their way over to the table Wilkes and Benitez could be seen tossing a football with the other tankers. It didn't matter where they went, someone always brought the old pigskin with the platoon. Kincaid lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, mirroring Kincaid Elton did the same before patting him on the back.
"You good man? I mean I haven't really asked since we got here."
Kincaid let out a long cloud of smoke as he watched Wilkes and Benitez tackle a driver from one of the other tanks.
Smiling he looked at Elton. "Yeah, man you remember when we used to talk about deploying again? How we'd do it in a heartbeat with our old company? Funny how we wound up doing it with this one, I figured most of the guys would've lost their shit or acted like idiots, but so far they're doing pretty well."
It was true, out of the entire of the company. Elton Wilkes and Kincaid were the only Afghan veterans hailing from the long disbanded Delta Company they had been transferred over to Charlie to serve out the rest of their enlistment. Elton chuckled and took another drag from his smoke, as he exhaled he looked up in the sky deep in thought.
"Yeah man, kinda thought we'd be spending our last year doing pointless training and dealing with garrison bullshit. Course Little Caesar and his gang of fuckheads had to go screw that up huh?"
The two Marines laughed, it was times like these among kindred spirits where Marines put the troubles of the now aside. So long as they had each other and their little comforts they would fight to the end.
Elton watched as the stars began to shine brightly through the darkening Special Region sky. "So you get any mail from home?"
Kincaid had finished his cigarette and was about to light up another one, a chain smoker to the end. It was a serious question of medical science how he hadn't contracted lung cancer.
Or any of the other tankers for that matter.
"Yeah wife's doing good, Abigail is starting to walk. Like really walk, she's all over the place. Looks more and more like me everyday."
Elton took a small photo out of his left shoulder's cargo pocket and held it under the light, a small light skinned girl was smiling as she waved at the camera. Kincaid could tell Elton missed her, he knew when he was about to get sentimental. He pat his tank commander's shoulder as he began to change the subject to something less discouraging.
"Yeah it's pretty crazy how fast the mail system got set up course I'm sure everything is being screened for sensitive information. I got like five different letters, most of them were from mom, but the other two were from dad and Janice. They're all doing well, Janice is still doing good in college and dad's still doing his secret agent shit over in Sudan."
Elton chuckled, the running gag was that there was Kincaid at every corner of the earth. Given the Kincaid's long family history of government service it was certainly no surprise. Elton lit up another cigarette
"Look bro lets just get through these nine months and go home, then it can be someone else's problem. All we gotta do is keep stacking the bodies until these assholes learn to quit, shouldn't be too long till that happens."
Kincaid took a long drag, his gut told him it wouldn't be so simple, but who was he to question the big scheme of it all. After all he was just a Corporal tanker. Suddenly Sergeant Johnson's voice came loud and proud over the sound of the music.
"Alright boys! Its time to chow down! Lemme just start by saying that I have absolutely no goddamn idea what the hell we killed."
He paused as if he was about to say something important only to shrug before continuing for dramatic effect.
"But it smells good. So far I haven't died from giving it a taste test either so I guess they're edible. So without further ado, get your asses over here and get you some of this deeeevine Georgia cooking!...well with a Special Region twist."
All the Marines cheered and went to grab the Styrofoam trays that littered the table someone had even gotten their hands on a bunch of assorted chips from the mess hall supply storage containers. No doubt some form of deal was made for those, tankers always found a way to get what they wanted.
As the Marines began to line up sergeant Johnson's face twisted into one of surprise, noticing this the other Marines looked in the same direction and began to mirror his expression. In fact even the music had abruptly stopped.
Leading a small group of strange looking women and locals, Itami and Aldritch made their way over towards the table. Not far behind them the rest of Itami's squad held large cases of UGRs*. Seeing Rory holding onto Itami's arm some of the Marines were visibly uneasy, Kincaid and the rest of his crew certainly didn't blame them.
As the group got closer Rory let go of Itami's arm and made her way over the group of stunned tankers, she giggled sensing their uneasiness.
"My my, so these must be the rest of the famed warriors who ride atop iron chariots."
She put a finger to her lip in curiosity as the scanned the Marines from left to right. "Now where is my favorite knight?"
Seeing Kincaid and Elton standing together in the back she quickly sprint to them and threw her arms around Kincaid's waist. Watching this the rest of the Marines gasped, a few had their hands on their weapons just in case. Meanwhile, Kurokawa was anything but amused as she watched from behind the rest of Itami's group.
"Jasper the dragon fighter, my favorite out of all the knights. The man who can't be kept down for long, I looked everywhere for you and your fellows you simply must give me another ride. It was...exhilarating."
Rory's lips held a mischievous smile as she gripped Kincaid tighter, eliciting a look of annoyance from the Marine. Kincaid struggled for a moment before an idea crossed his mind. "If you think our tanks are good...you should see the ones Itami's people use. They're even more fun than ours."
Rory's eyes lit up as she looked at Itami. "Really?"
Meanwhile, Itami looked at Kincaid with a look of sorrow, why had he forsaken him so?
Kincaid gave her a big grin. "Hell yeah! In fact it was supposed to be a secret, he was going to show you them tomorrow."
Rory let go of Kincaid and ran towards Itami, mirroring the same form of request she had used on Kincaid. As this happened, Johnson had finally had enough confusion and spoke on behalf of the rest of the platoon.
"Could someone please tell me what the fuck is goin on? Who are these people sir?"
Aldritch came forward and raised an arm as he introduced the group. "Boys this is Lieutenant Youji of Recon Team Three, the rest of these fine men and women are under his command. They were the ones who helped bring our boys back alive and well. As for the refugees, they're part of the group the team had rescued. As an act of comradery and thanks, I invited them to join us in this time of celebration, treat them like you would your fellow Marines."
As Itami and his team introduced themselves, the rest of the tank platoon came forward and began helping them offload the UGRs onto the table. If the XO said they were good people, then they were good people to the rest of the platoon. Especially if they had helped bring their brothers home safe.
Meanwhile, Lelei had came forward and spoke to Johnson. "When we smelled your cooking we simply had to be here, I've never seen the Grass Grazers prepared so well."
Johnson adjusted himself and put on a good face. "That what they're called? Sheeut they looked like giant mutated Weasels to me, but thanks little lady. That's South Georgia cooking you're smelling there, mighty fine if I do say so myself."
Lelei took a look at the grill and noticed that the flame was beginning to dim, making her way past the Marine Sergeant she began to chant a small fire spell. With palms opened towards the fire a small spark began to form in her hands, muttering another phrase the spark made its way over to the grill and reignited the flame.
Johnson and many of the other Marines watched with their mouths agape, this was their first time seeing magic since they had been here. To the men and women of RCT3, this was just another day with Lelei.
"Jumpin Jesus on a stick! What the hell was that!?"
The Sergeant had finally rubbed his eyes with his hands, not believing what he had seen. Meanwhile Lelei stared at the Sergeant, her blue eyes filled with question in them. "That was a simple spell, I can do something greater if that wasn't enough."
Suddenly Itami ran over and put his hands on her shoulders. "No that won't be necessary Ms. Lalena! I apologize about that Sergeant. Lelei here is a mage, we probably should have informed your Lieutenant."
As the rest of the Marines began to calm down and try to make sense of what just happened Itami took charge of the situation and tried to change the subject.
"Well uh looks like we're all here and ready! So lets get this...how do you Americans say it? Oh, shindig started!"
Shrugging, the Marines went back to work and the night continued. As the table was prepared for the Tankers' new guests Kurokawa made her way over to Kincaid and helped him set a UGR down on the table.
"Jasper, it's good to see you. Happy Birthday by the way! How's your head feeling?"
Kincaid gave her a thumbs up as cheesy grin began to form on his face. "Thanks and I'm feeling like a million bucks doc."
As they set the food down Kurokawa gave Kincaid a warm smile. "Good, well just to be sure I want to give you a look over at least once a week, we'll say, 0900?. Concussions can often have lasting damage and we still have to make sure everything else is fine."
As she said this, the platoon Corpsmen HM3 Carter came forward. A small fellow from Wisconsin he didn't look intimidating in the least. Still, Kincaid and any other Marines in the platoon were his priority. The small Corpsmen looked up at Kurokawa before fixing his glasses.
"Won't be necessary, I already gave him a MACE* exam and clean bill of health. He's good to perform his duties."
Kurokawa looked at Carter with a stern look as she glanced over his name tape. "Were you there when it happened Carter?"
The Corpsmen folded his arms. "No, but these Marines are in my care-"
Suddenly Kurokawa interrupted him before he could continue. "Well then, so long as he's attached to RCT3 he's under my care as well. I've already gotten clearance from Lieutenant Youji as well as Lieutenant Aldritch if you'd like to discuss this further."
Defeated, Carter simply rogered as she walked away prompting of the other tankers to mutter.
"Aye ma'am or some shit."
Kincaid and Carter flashed the Marines a glare as they went back to work. Eventually the table was prepared and the food served and everyone at their respective seats.
To say it was an interesting gathering was an understatement, especially for Kincaid who just so happened to be stuck between Kurokawa and Rory. Meanwhile Shino had been trying to persuade an annoyed Wilkes to an arm wrestling match, so far she wasn't having any luck.
Before the two groups began to eat Parker took a stand and made a request. "Well on behalf on the Marines of Second Tanks Charlie Company I'd like to lead us in prayer."
Nodding in approval various Marines as well as as the Japanese bowed their heads in respect. Meanwhile, the refugees did the same.
"Heavenly father, we thank you for this bountiful meal on this evening of celebration. We ask that you continue to watch over our brothers and sisters in both the Corps and the JSDF as we continue our fight here. In the end we know not why you called us here to do you will, but in the end can we ever question your plan? Father I pray you continue to comfort our families at home as well, give them your careful gaze as you do for us. In your name we pray, Amen."
A series of Amen's rang out from the table, the JSDF gave their thanks for the food in Japanese and dug in. The rest of the dinner after was a story for the ages.
Stories of service were told from both groups as the evening went on and even Elton, Kincaid, and Wilkes divulged some of their old war stories to wide eyed listeners. To everyone else stories of Afghanistan were to be listened to carefully, many valuable lessons could be learned from them.
At one point Rory had even jumped atop the table and claimed that the tankers were to be called the "Riders of Emroy".
This had been met with a few laughs and some Marines even liked the name. Of course there were the more spiritually devoted Marines who had simply shook their heads. The only god they served was Jesus Christ.
Long after the food was done the antics continued Wilkes had finally caved in to Shino's request and arm wrestled her. The solid beating he got as a result would be a joke used to death in the coming months. Even Benitez was asked to play some of the music from his country and translate what was being said.
Meanwhile, Kurata attempted to discuss the finer points of Otaku life with two of the tank mechanics. So far he wasn't having any luck and just about the only real response he had gotten from them was being called a "Fucking Weener".
They did know what Runescape was however.
There was omly one person who had yet to say anything, the elf. Dressed in her newly acquired white T-shirt and jeans she had remained quiet throughout the feast. Every so often she'd raise her head and look around like as if she was expecting someone. After a while she'd simply sigh and return to staring at the table.
Kincaid had seen this and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "So you gonna sit there and keep staring or you gonna join in the festivities?"
Kurokawa promptly elbowed him in the side and whispered. "Her name is Tuka and we're pretty sure she has a very bad case of PTSD from her father's death at that burned down village. She's been kinda in and out all day."
Kincaid's eyes widened, PTSD. The silent killer, his old foe. He had long conquered his, but even now old memories didn't always stay gone. He shook his head and snapped back into focus.
"Sorry I didn't mean to-" before Kincaid could finish Tuka had finally spoken softly, bowing her head as she did so.
"Its, alright. I was just wondering when my father would be here that's all, I am Tuka Luna Marceau. I saw your valiant display against the flame dragon and I thank you for saving myself and the others. Truly I am in your debt."
Kurokawa looked at Kincaid in shock, she hadn't opened up like that since earlier that day. Reaching his hand across the table to her Kincaid gave her a smile.
"Think nothing of it ma'am, Jasper Kincaid U.S. Marines, Second Tank Battalion Charlie Company Headquarters Platoon. My fellow tankers and I are here to serve."
As he said this a series of grunts of approval rang out, along with some motivated "Oorah"s and "Yuts"s.
Tuka stared at the strange warrior's hand, like the rest of his comrades Jasper was of a much different complexion than Itami and the rest of his fellow warriors. She finally reached her hand forward and shook his, the first thing she noticed was just how heavy it felt. Covered in callouses and signs of military service she could feel the stories contained in it.
She also sensed, pain?
After some highly demanded magic displays from Lelei, there was one final even to go down. The one that had always remained a tradition within the platoon. As the feast continued suddenly a song began to grow louder and louder.
Kincaid and Wilkes's Album of Awesome
Track 12: Alexandra Stan "Mr Saxobeat"
PLAY?
Kincaid bowed his head in embarrassment he knew what was coming next. Suddenly all the Marines began to yell.
"Kincaid! Wilkes! Do the dance!"
The Japanese and the three girls looked around in surprise as the Marines began to pound their fists on the table. What exactly where they talking about?
Itami leaned his head over towards Aldritch and asked with a raised eyebrow. "What exactly are they talking about?"
Aldritch chuckled not removing his eyes from the sight of the Marines banging their fists on the table. "I was wondering when this would happen. You see, Kincaid and Wilkes have this choreographed dance they made out of boredom in Afghanistan. Needless to say every time we go out into the field the guys ask them to perform it. You're in for a real treat, or an embarrassment."
Itami and the rest of RCT3 watched with wide eyes as Kincaid sighed and set his carbine down against the table. Making his way over to a flat piece of dirt he flexed his shoulders and took a deep breathe. What happened next had absolutely made their sides hurt in laughter.
Kincaid began to shuffle in the dirt to the rhythm of the song, as the beat really began to drop he started to kick his feet every which way as he slid to the left and right. Dirt was kicked from his boots as he continued his strange dance.
As the song continued he began to do a motion with his hands like he was pulling a rope, the audience stopped their laughter for a moment trying to figure out the cause for this. Eventually they saw their answer as Wilkes began to pretend he was getting dragged in.
Once the two were side by side Wilkes began to mimic every move Kincaid did as they danced together. Meanwhile, the Marines hooped and hollered as the pair continued to dance in synchronization. Just when things couldn't get any stranger everyone noticed Rory had left her seat.
As Kincaid and Wilkes continued their dance a newcomer had joined in with them, one that had almost thrown their rhythm off as she grabbed Kincaid's hands and began to try to copy his foot patterns. What resulted was two Marines who tried to keep their best smiles on as they danced with the apostle. Meanwhile Rory laughed and giggled, she was having an absolute blast. Even Kurokawa had to let out a laugh.
Eventually the rest of the Marines had gotten so amped to the point of zero restraint. One by one they began to run over and do their own dances to the beat of the music. To the Marines of any other units that had seen this, this was just another scene of Marines being the goofballs they were. To the members of RCT3, this had been both the funniest and strangest thing they had ever seen.
Eventually even Shino had jumped out of her seat, if anyone wasn't going to be showed up by Marines, it was her. Many of the Marines gave her a wide birth as she jumped in, no one wanted a trip to the BAS*.
That was how the night went, bonding between the troops of two different forces. United by the stress of being away from home and the uncertain future of the campaign they had came together during a time of celebration.
Eventually everyone had made their way back to the table and tried to catch their breaths. As an exhausted Kincaid sat down at his seat Kurokawa turned to face him with a smile and raised eyebrow.
"Well that was...interesting. How did you get so good at that?"
Kincaid lit a cigarette and took a long drag, as he let a long cloud of smoke out he responded not removing his gaze from the smoke cloud.
"We had waaaay too much free time on our hands over there."
Kurokawa merely giggled, Kincaid was surprising her more and more each day.
Eventually Itami and the rest of RCT3 had to take their leave handshakes were shared and good feelings of trust were exchanged between the two groups. With that RCT3 thanked the Marines for the meal and took their leave.
As they made their way out of sight, Kincaid lit another cigarette and waved at them. Meanwhile, chatter began to break out among the tankers they had always thought they were the odd ones. This new group that arrived had definitely dissuaded them of that notion.
"A goddess of death? She looked like she couldn't be any older than my sister!"
"Right!? You see that elf though? The jeans didn't do her justice man, that ass was like ready to bust free."
"Bruh, I saw Dunn staring at Gandalf. Yeah the fucking magician you retard. Dunn's a..whatcha call it? Oh yeah a lolicon!."
"Duude...not cool maaan, seriously killing my positive waves here."
"Dunn its okay amigo, Kincaid's about to get some suffering sushi from that Sergeant. Mmm arigatou Jasper-Kun, tee hee."
"Oooooh! Shots fired!"
"Shut the fuck up! Why does everyone think I've got the hots for her!? And Benitez, you like little lush lolis! So don't give me that shit!"
"Fuck you man!"
After some more ramblings and a few wrestling matches, the group began to make their way back into the comfort of the squad bay. Eventually Kincaid and his crew made their way out of the squad bay. Clad in their PT attire and carrying their hygiene kits, the four tankers began making their way to the showers.
Talk about one hell of a Marine Corps Birthday.
Jargon/Lingo/Acronyms
LVSR- Logistics Vehicle System Replacement. Big ass logistics truck made by Oshkosh
BAS-Battalion Aid Station. It literally winds up being used for every medical facility however.
UGR-Unitized Group ration. Hot food in a big green box, sometimes good sometimes not. You learn to love that shit in the field though.