=Hiccup's POV=
[Friday, 5/15/2015-8:00 am]
[Berserker Island; Berserk Military Base]

It's been an interesting time living with Heather and Dagur, but enjoyable, nevertheless. We have fun together, that's for sure. As more gratitude for them letting me rent their master room with my own bathroom; I cooked all of Thanksgiving dinner for them. I bought all the ingredients and made everything from dinner to dessert. It was a lot of food, so we also invited over Thuggory and Eret to join us. Thanksgiving was amazing, and though I wasn't with my family for it; I was happy to spend it with my second family. I called my family, of course; wished them a Happy Thanksgiving and maybe I'd be able to get some leave time to come see them soon. My parents and Gobber hoped for it to be Snoggletog, our annual holiday. Everywhere else around the world called it Christmas, but us Archipelago residents kept the old name set by the Vikings from long, long ago. I did spend Snoggletog with my friends again; we're kind of all we had on Berserker Island. We exchanged presents, enjoyed a nice meal together. Heather and I both cooked this time, Dagur cleaned it up, Eret and Thuggory brought store-bought desserts. We had a good time hanging out.

The New Year's celebration we threw at the apartment was phenomenal. Dagur and Eret grabbed alcoholic beverages and we all got drunk together. Yeah, technically against the law because Thuggory, Heather, and I weren't twenty-one, but we kept it controlled and inside the apartment. It's not like we got hammered either; drunk enough to basically have a good time without being foolish or stupid. Odin only knows what kind of trouble we could have ended up in if the cops got called to a noise complaint and learned three minors were drinking and was given said alcohol by two adults. Heck, we still get together and drink at the apartment sometimes; it's not all the time, but now and then to wind down and have some laughs. It's also usually just beer, maybe a shot or two. Eret and Dagur have both made it a big deal with Heather, Thuggory, and me turn twenty-one finally. All I keep hearing is the rite of passage and one crazy night. I'm starting to get concerned, but I'll likely enjoy it.

My birthday passed, I'm officially nineteen-years-old now. We're all actually older now, except Heather; her birthday is coming in June. But Eret turned twenty-four in December. Dagur turned twenty-three in March. And Thuggory just turned nineteen fourteen days ago on the 1st of May. Things have been great, and I like that I'm feeling better. I love what the life of being a soldier offers me; I like that I'm adventuring off Berk and seeing everything I am. I love my job, and the friends I've made. Does it mean I've forgotten everyone back home? Not at all. I missed my family, and the few friends I had there. Sadly…I still missed Astrid. I knew I could call her up and maybe we could clear the air between us; I suppose it wasn't right of me to just up and leave her. It made me no different than her saying no and walking away from me. I knew I was a dick for it too, and I hated how it felt.

Honestly; it was probably better this way. Astrid and I would only end up fighting; I didn't want that. The distance was better to deal with everything, and perhaps one day we'd see one another again, way later down in the future. I wished her all the best, and hoped she'd be happy. I'm sure she'd want the same for me. I didn't hate her; and she'd always have a special place in my life and heart.

"Private Haddock!" I snapped from my thoughts about my ex-girlfriend and saw my commanding officer of the platoon, Viggo, standing next to me. "Is there something else that has your attention you'd like to share with the company?"

"Sir, no sir," I replied instantly.

"Then perhaps bring your attention to Captain Bludvist who has an announcement to make," Viggo remarked firmly.

"Yes, sir," I responded respectfully. Gods, how could I have gotten so distracted during Drill Weekend? It was three days, Friday at 5 am to Sunday at 5 pm. Typically, it was all training to stay combat ready. Unfortunately; we were doing ours two weeks late because something came up to postpone the original date, which was the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of May. So far, we hadn't been told what the delay was all about; I guess we'd be finding out now because Captain Drago Bludvist doesn't typically address the entire company unless it's something big.

"First off; I'd like to apologize for the craziness. Secondly…" Drago paused as suddenly, we all got nervous. "The reason for the postponing is because we received a mobilization alert from the main base," Drago stated. Mobilization meant possible Deployment. "We're shipping out, soldiers," Drago announced. We stayed silent, wanting to hear everything. "You'll receive the official details from your platoon commanders, but we are going to Syria for one year in June," Odin above…A one-year deployment to Syria? I mean, I knew it could happen and expected it sooner or later; the news still hits you like a freight train. "Your platoon leaders will continue the briefing, and then once that has been settled; we'll move into the second phase," Drago stated. "Dismissed, soldiers,"

"Dragon Platoon, head for your barrack. Males and females can form up into just one of them for now," Viggo commanded.

"Sir, yes sir!" those of us in Dragon Platoon replied. Not that it mattered because the other three platoons were receiving the same orders by Ryker, Johann, and Krogan. With the permission to get moving; we all headed for the barracks, four of them for Alpha Company. Two for the girls, two for the boys because it didn't matter if our platoons mixed or not. We'd separate when called to do so for training or anything for that matter.

Reaching the barracks, we grouped up with Viking Platoon; it made sense since Viggo and Ryker were brothers and always had our platoons doing the same things. We all found a spot to stand as Ryker and Viggo came in. "Have a seat," Ryker stated. We relaxed and sat down on either trunks or beds, but some remained standing just because they wanted to. "Your lead, little brother,"

"Not the time for jokes, Ryker," Viggo reminded. "As told by Captain Bludvist; we're deploying to Syria in June," he started as we all paid very close attention. I definitely couldn't afford to miss this information.

"We'll be basing at Camp Draconian in Aleppo; it's a main operating base," Ryker added in.

"We'll be taking off from this base at 0500 hours," Viggo stated. 0500, that was five in the morning. "You need to be here for 0400; we'll be doing a quick headcount and then boarding the C-130 to get to Syria. It'll be a five-hour flight, and upon landing; the time will be two hours ahead the Archipelago," he added calmly.

Eret put his hand up as Viggo nodded to him to go ahead. "When are we leaving in June?"

"Sunday, the 28th," Ryker stated.

I put my hand up this time as Viggo gave me the nod to speak. "What is the housing like?" I wondered.

"Barracks" Viggo replied.

"I think he means, like, what is the base like? Do we get beds like here, cots? We're looking for more of a description of what life on deployment looks like," Dagur said boldly.

"You will be residing in barracks, like here. The barracks are tents that will hold cots to sleep on; you'll also get a nightstand crate, and stand-up locker. Use of the restrooms are in the form of three or four porta-potties outside the barrack, or you'll find them all around base. The barracks sleep about a platoon of forty people, and to save space; the girls and boys will share," Viggo said.

"What?!" screeched one of the girls.

"You'll be in a separated part of the barrack with a door; I did not mean you girls would be sleeping in the same area as the boys. You'll be in the same barrack, but there will be a cut off section to accommodate the females in a platoon," Ryker informed. "And you'll have a secondary point of entry, so that you don't have to walk through the boy's section to get out,"

A lot of the girls sighed in relief. I guess I could understand; that would be pretty awkward. We had roughly eight girls in the Dragon Platoon; the rest were males. The girls didn't so much serve the purpose of combat battle as they did being medics, drivers, or radio operators. While they still wielded guns if necessary; they were more…Support, and were fine with that too. If things got heavy; the girls were more than allowed to jump in on command to do so.

"Also, while deployed; we're near the heart of the base…Mess Hall, Medical Tent, Support Infirmary, Main Hospital…Even some fast food trucks," Viggo added in. "It's not gonna be luxury, but you'll have what you need in a slightly less modernized fashion,"

"Is there air conditioning and heat, depending on the weather? I've heard Syria gets hot and cold. And we're from here…Where it usually doesn't get higher than fifty degrees in the summer," Thuggory questioned.

"You are correct, Private Meatsen. From the months of June to September; it's hot with an average temperature of ninety-five. Maybe higher. And the winter is from November to May; it can range, but reach temperatures like here," Viggo replied.

"Are we doing the same kind of work we do here if not in battle or on a mission?" asked another male.

"Likely. If not engaged in a battle or mission; you'll be given assignments to do around base or more training," Ryker mentioned.

"What happens now that you told us? Bludvist said there was a phase two?" inquired one of the females.

"Phase two is that we prepare you for war life. Evaluations, pre-deployment training, so on and so forth. You're permitted to tell your families about the deployment. However, after we arrive; what you tell them regarding deployment will be limited to what we allow you to say. I'm sure you understand why?" Viggo informed.

"Security reasons," I remarked.

"Yes," Ryker and Viggo nodded.

"And returning from war next year; that is also expected we don't talk about certain things?" Dagur asked.

"Correct," Viggo said.

"Can we…Take pictures and videos?" Eret wondered.

"Yes, as long as it's nothing combat-related," Ryker remarked.

"Are we getting right into things when we arrive?" inquired another female.

"You'll be given a week to settle into your barracks, learn the layout of the base; basically to adjust to the new life," Ryker assured. "After that; we'll begin assigning duties,"

"Expect simple things at the beginning; patrols, guards, etc.," Viggo nodded.

"What's all this pre-deployment stuff?" Dagur asked lightly.

"It's training, Private Bazirk. Exercising, shooting, evaluations, different war scenarios," Ryker informed.

"Oh, so intense basic all over again for the next month?" I chuckled with a few others.

"Yes, just more situated to war life, not so much combat where you learned all your skills," Ryker nodded.

"Do we have to stay here like it was in basic?" Thuggory wondered.

"No, you a permitted to return home at night unless directed others due to night training," Viggo assured.

"Thank Odin…I'm gonna have to tell my sister about this right away," Dagur sighed some. "Are we coming back to Berserker after the tour?"

"That hasn't been decided yet, but once we have that information; you'll be told," Ryker stated.

"Alright," Dagur nodded.

"When do we get leave?" Eret questioned.

"You aren't eligible until after six months on tour. You can take a full two weeks once, or a one-week leave twice; separate times," Ryker stated. "If you choose to do the one-week twice option; you're eligible after four months, and then again after eight months," he clarified.

"It should also be known that your time starts when you land back in the Archipelago, and that we do our best to accommodate everyone going home for the dates they request, but there are absolutely no guarantees. You stand a better chance of putting in for it as soon as you're eligible, and understand that we can't send too many of you at one time," Viggo informed calmly.

I'd definitely need to make note of that information. Being deployed; I absolutely needed to tell my family, didn't I? I know it was the right thing to do. I feel bad that I don't make a lot of contact as it is, maybe once or twice a month. I do my best too, but being active duty for the Barbaric Archipelago Army just keeps busy all the time. And now I'll be twice as busy while deployed, but I had to let them know. As soon as I got back to the apartment; I would call them.

. . .

[Sunday, 5/31/2015-6:30 pm]
[Berserker Island; Apartment of Heather, Dagur, & Hiccup]

Dear Gods, It's been absolute madness to prepare for the upcoming deployment to Syria, which was now just four weeks away from today. I, regretfully, have not had any time to call my parents and let them know about the year-long tour. It's been training day after training day since we found out on the 15th of May. We all got full physicals and evaluations to make sure we were set physically and emotionally to go to war. Following that was a lot of moving things around and preparing for what we'd go Syria with. And now it's just training like crazy. Exercising, target practice, mission, guard, and patrol scenarios. Fighting one another to ensure our hand to hand combat was good. It's just been unreal how much goes into preparing for a deployment. However, today wasn't awful, and I'm not ready to pass out instantly as I have felt the last couple of weeks since this started.

Most nights, unless we were doing night training; Dagur and I got back, ate dinner, grabbed a shower, and knocked out from exhaustion. Our days started at 5 am and ended at 5 pm, seven days a week. And sometimes, it was long longer than twelve hours; it really depended on what we were doing that day or night. I had already taken a shower and eaten supper. Now, I was sitting on my bed, dialing my parents' house to tell them that in a month; I would be in Syria for a year.

I took a deep breath, pressing the call button and setting it to my ear. I never gave them the number because I know they'd blow my phone up wondering when I'd call. It might be kind'a messed up, but I literally just get too busy to call whenever. Three rings in; there was a pick up.

"Hello?" came the voice of my father, Stoick.

"Hi, Dad," I replied.

"Hiccup!" Stoick announced with joy.

"My baby!" Valka almost cried. Gods, I knew this was excitement for her now…As soon as I told them I was deploying; it would be shock, fear, concern, and tears of sadness.

"Hi, Laddie!" Gobber called.

"H-Hi everyone," I said softly. "How are you all?"

"We're great. Things are going great here, son," Valka replied lightly.

"How are things with you, where ever you are?" Gobber wondered.

"Currently on Berserker, but…Leaving again in a month," I said; there was no point beating around the bush with it.

"No chance of us seeing you before you go?" Stoick inquired.

I seriously doubted I'd be granted leave right now with all the training. "No, I'm sorry," I said apologetically.

"Hiccup…We haven't seen you in nearly a year…" Valka responded, a clear frown in her tone.

"I-I know. I'm sorry, Mom; things have just been crazy and-," I started.

"Son, we only hear from you twice a month, sometimes only once and it's when you call us…" Stoick sighed.

"It's easier for me to contact you when I have time rather than the other way around where you try to contact me and get the voicemail…Also…On that note; you're probably gonna be hearing from me less…" I stated.

"What do you mean, lad?" Gobber asked.

I sighed. "I'm…Deploying overseas," I informed. Silence on the other end.

"You're what?!" Gobber and Stoick yelled.

"No! No! Hiccup, no! Please don't say-," Valka became frantic.

"I already said it, Mom…My group is deploying overseas at the end of June," I remarked. My mother was bawling and it hurt me to hear.

"H-How long will you be gone, son?" Stoick asked nervously.

"A year…"I said. My mother burst into louder tears as I closed my eyes. "Mom…Mom, come on…It's not that bad…"

"Not that bad? Not that bad! Hiccup, you're only nineteen and going to WAR for a YEAR! It's THAT bad!" Valka sobbed.

"Okay, yeah it sounds bad…" I sighed to myself aloud. "Look, I'll be okay…I'm a soldier, I was trained for this kind of thing…" I tried.

"Hiccup…No amount of anything you say is going to make this sound better…Or easier to process and accept," Stoick sighed heavily.

I kind of figured that, but at least I tried. "Will we get to see you when you go on leave?" Gobber inquired.

"I'll do my best, but that's a long way off. All we're doing right now is training, training, and more training until the night before we leave. Well, there's some packing and cleaning of equipment too, but you get the idea. It's been madness," I stated calmly. "How is…Everyone back home?" I decided to ask.

"Everyone is good. Your friends miss you a lot…They…Told Astrid you made contact in November," Stoick mentioned. I tensed at the name of my ex-girlfriend who I still thought about at least once a day since things happened.

"How'd that go?" I wondered.

"We told her the truth, Hiccup…" Gobber informed. "That you left to move on with your life, and got a job that keeps you busy. We didn't tell her it was the army, though," he mentioned.

"Thanks for that…" I mumbled.

"We told her that you moved on, and she should probably do the same. Maybe a day would come where you'd meet again and could talk, or whatever; clear the air and be friends against. But for now, it'd be best for her to move on with her life as you did. But son…How come you don't want her to know anything, Hiccup?" Stoick questioned.

"It's easier for her to get over me if she knows nothing. If she…Believes I just vanished; she has nothing to wonder or worry about. We don't have to worry about talking, or bumping into one another," I enlightened them. "Don't think I'm cruel for it…Astrid was my first friend, and girlfriend; she will always have a special place in my heart and life. I'll never forget her, and part of me will always love her. But it's just easier for us not to speak or see one another…What happened still hurts me, and it's been almost a year now," I explained softly. It did still hurt me; I didn't know why, but it did, as fresh as the day it happened.

"We understand, son," Valka informed gently. "You sound tired,"

"Dead tired, Mom. I've been pulling twelve-hour days for two weeks straight, some all-nighters too. It's all prep for the tour," I replied, yawning.

"Go get some sleep, laddie. Try to keep in contact? Maybe give us an e-mail address?" Gobber hoped.

"I gotta make a new one. Can't remember the password to the old one. As soon as I get a chance to set it up, I'll hit you up and let you know. My cell phone will likely be useless where I'm going, but there will be Wi-Fi; I'm taking my laptop/tablet with me. I'll likely download Skype, and we can talk that way while I'm gone," I mentioned.

"Where are you going?" Stoick wondered curiously.

I paused. We were told not to tell our families where we were deploying. I know Dagur broke that and told Heather, but said she couldn't tell anyone. I didn't want to break the rules. "I…Can't tell you. Sorry; those are the orders we were given for the time being. I'm not sure if it'll change, but we only have permission to tell you about the one-year tour of duty," I stated.

"We understand," Valka replied. "Go get some sleep, son,"

"Alright. I love you all, and I'll contact you again soon. Night," I said softly.

"We love you, Hiccup!" Valka said quickly.

"Bye," I pulled the phone down and ended the call. I took a deep breath before setting the phone to charge on my nightstand and then crawling into bed. About fifteen minutes later, everything went black and I was out.