en·e·my n.
1.One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe.
2. a. A hostile power or force, such as a nation. b. A member or unit of such a force.
3. A group of foes or hostile forces.
"OH sure. Join the Air Force. Get college credit. See the world. Fall out of burning helicopters somewhere over Alaska! Get shot at by Vipers!"
If anyone was around to hear the complaining of the new Greenshirt recruit, they didn't make themselves known. Karin really wasn't complaining, but trying to keep herself from going mad after being stuck in an icy wilderness for the past six hours. Her goggles thankfully protected her eyes from snow blindness, but after staring ahead at a seemingly unchanging landscape in unfamiliar territory, she wondered if it would be worse.
Senior Airman Karin Moreau felt like she was casting for the lead in Julie of the Wolves.
"You know, you complain too damned much." Her companion snapped.
"Excuse me to hell and back for not exactly being thrilled with current circumstances, Snake."
"I have a name, you know."
"It doesn't matter what your name is! Our relationship is dissolved the moment we get out of this place, understood?"
"Quite."
The Greenshirt's companion was dressed in a uniform of blue and red, a white thermal suit over it, which might not have seemed too abnormal except for the insignia decorating the sleeves and front. It was certainly one Karin felt sickened to see, having promised to help eliminate the threat it represented. She didn't want to like him, and every time she thought she might, she remembered the insignia and snarled.
"Look...whoever you are. Greenie. We're stuck together. We're not going to make it out without each other. Don't you think it would be better to get along? Cooperate?" The Viper glanced towards her, a sense of exasperation evident.
"No."
Face it, Brian. You're not going to win this one. The Viper sighed. It was going to be a LONG day.
Karin glared angrily ahead, pointedly ignoring the Viper. Instead, she replayed the events in her head again, wondering just where things went wrong. It was easier to put her feet on autopilot and not think at all about the individual who easily kept pace with her.
Her assignment had been fairly simple, but the work was tedious and technical...and just plain boring. Karin and a team were assigned to complete repairs on an older communication station, fixing towers and restoring the monitoring systems to receive and decode transmissions from a newly launched satellite. The team impressed those in charge by completing the task ahead of schedule, and was going home a few days early.
Karin remembered strapping herself into place inside the MH-60 Pavehawk, doing her best to relax. She never minded flying so much, but she hated the idea that she could fall from a great height like that, and so she placed herself as far from the entrance as possible and made it a point to think about her upcoming leave. To keep herself from thinking about the altitude, she had focused her thoughts of going back to her family in Mobile, Alabama. The humid touch to the air in early spring with the taste of her mother's traditional sukiyaki filled her imagination when she heard the copilot call out, followed by the rocking of the steel walls around her as a missile impacted with the side.
The rest of the memory was a blur in her mind. Panic had spread through the small team, accented by shouting and confusion. She remembered hearing the words "missile" and "Mamba", but had no way to see what was going on. Karin willed herself to be quiet and calm, trusting the armored helicopter to protect her and the others, but a second missile tore through the tail.
Her stomach flew up into her throat as the vehicle started to rapidly descend, her tiny world spinning around her. As she flew forward and rolled, her straps snapped and she slid, connecting solidly with the hatch before falling towards open air as it gave under her weight. Karin dropped backwards, and all she could see above her was the Pavehawk spinning out of control and crashing into a heavily damaged Cobra Mamba. The enemy vehicle discharged one of its side pods before exploding, and she knew with certainty that she was the only member left of her team. There was simply no way someone could have survived an explosion of that magnitude.
Then one thought turned into darkness as she hit the snow.
When consciousness returned to her, Karin had found herself held up by strong arms, a bottle of chilled water to her lips. Her head hurt, but after a quick self-assessment, she found that she obtained no other injuries. Upon opening her eyes, however, she found who her rescuer had been.
As Karin walked in silence, it occurred to her that she never thanked the Viper for helping her. She might have bled there in the snow indefinitely had the Viper not intervened. Wasn't he just using her then? The two had been required to carry the packs of supplies salvaged from the wreckage, patch up equipment, and navigate. He had proven to be a better tracker than she was, but Karin's more practical know-how with patching their nearly ruined gear kept them warm and functional. Politeness won in her mental debating, and so she looked over at the Viper.
"Um...whoever you are. Thank you for rescuing me."
"I couldn't leave you bleeding to death there, could I?"
"You were going to kill me when you shot down the Pavehawk."
"Huh, shoot you down? Didn't you fire on us first?"
The Viper looked at her in honest surprise.
"Well...no! The pilot said we were under attack!" Karin eyed him suspiciously.
"That's awfully fishy." The viper replied, frowning deeply. "Maybe we've got a mystery to solve, then."
"Look, genius. This ain't Scooby Doo. We gotta stay alive first!" Karin snapped.
"Southern girl? You don't have much of an accent. I'd peg you for Louisiana. Coastal. Maybe Biloxi or someplace near there."
"Excuse me, but what the hell does that have to do with staying alive?"
"Everything. We're going to work together, so we need an understanding. I'm not going to trust my life to a stranger, and I don't expect you to either. We need to put aside our differences for this." He stopped, turning to the Greenshirt. "I'm not asking you to like me, but I am asking you to trust me."
Karin looked him squarely in the eye, trying to see what ulterior motive the Viper might have, and was almost disappointed to find none. Her tense shoulders finally relaxed, and she nodded.
"The name is Moreau. That's all you get."
"Smith, here. Don't give me that look; that really is my last name." The Viper laughed at Karin's disbelieving expression. "Now, let's get moving. Looks like there are a few caves up in the distance, so we can take shelter there for the night."
"Yeah, fine." Karin replied shortly, but followed after the Viper. No, it's Smith. His name is Smith. She reminded herself, shooting a glance at his shoulder.
"So why were you so surprised when I said that you'd have shot us down?" Karin inquired. "Aren't your group supposed to knock out any Joe vehicle you see. That's what I heard, anyway."
"Things aren't aways what one expects. Our orders were to keep it quiet and not engage unless we were attacked. In this case, we were attacked." Smith explained, pausing to check around to get his bearings again. He lapsed into silence when Karin didn't speak again.
He thought back to the state the Greenshirt had been in when he found her, laying deep in the snow, an arm in what looked like an uncomfortable position. After checking her vital signs, he knew she was alive, and so he took out his gun to make a permanent change in his enemy's status.
Should I have just fired? Once I looked at her face, I couldn't do it. He thought derisively to himself. Maybe he had been trained all of his life to hate what the Greenshirt represented, but compassion won. Instead, Smith tended to her sprained shoulder and the bump on her head, and made sure Karin would be in a position to walk.
"By the way," Smith spoke, and then reached into his jacket. He held out the firearm he took from Karin before waking her. "You can have this back as long as you promise not to shoot me in my sleep. God, my commander would have my head if he could see me now."
Karin eyed the gun and then the Viper, finally taking the weapon and returning it to the holster at her hip. When Smith handed her the second one, she found its place as well, relaxing visibly now that she was armed.
"Thank you, Smith."
"Just don't make me regret it."
Karin snorted in response.
"So, you're awfully personable for a Viper." Karin commented. "I thought you were all supposed to be violent killing machines for the glory of Cobra Commander, or something equally stupid."
"And what about you? How can you proudly say you serve such a corrupt administration?" He retorted, a touch of anger ghosting his voice. "Crime is on the rise, the leaders are breaking promises left and right, and..."
Karin cut him off sharply. "You know, you don't need to go into your little Cobra bullshit. I know what they teach you. I can't say I speak for any of the other millions enlisted, but I can say I love this country, even if I don't agree with the general actions of our government lately. I'm doing my part to fight for those who can't. To keep them safe from what you represent. If your boss has his way, everyone would be under his bootheel, but I can't expect you to understand that."
Smith was genuinely surprised by the passion in Karin's voice. He knew there were people who truly believed in what they did, but he had never experienced a kind of fire for one's chosen work that she exhibited, being in her position. Outside of the upper ranks in Cobra, he had never seen anything more than the usual cocky commentary about how badly they were going to beat their enemy. Few had ever willingly stated the reason for joining other than that it had been expected, or they were lacking a direction, or that the system no longer worked.
Correction. Smith considered. The system no longer worked for them, not that it wasn't working. By the time the unlikely pair reached the distant ice caves, the overhead sky grew dark, stars emerging to dot the sky with twinkles of illumination. Neither soldier noticed, too fatigued to appreciate the clear view of the overhead constellations, and too relieved to finally find shelter.
Smith helped Karin settle down, surprisingly gentle with his attention to her shoulder. She mumbled a word of appreciation and slumped against her backpack.
"I'll take first watch, Moreau. You just rest. I'll wake you in a few hours."
Karin might have argued, but he had proven himself trustworthy so far, and she was far too weary to argue. I'm at his mercy anyway, so I may as well get some rest.
"Fine. You kill me in my sleep, and I'll be one hell of an angry spirit of vengeance. I'll be haunting your ass through your next four lifetimes." She growled.
The comment brought a smirk to Smith's face. "See that you do, Moreau. I'll hold you to it. Now, about that sleep?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it."
Smith settled back against a bit of rock at the cave's opening, listening to the even breathing of his companion as she slept. Perhaps it was the situation, having to depend on each other to survive, or maybe it was that she was the only other company there, but he found himself beginning to like her.
All of my life, we were taught that they were evil and corrupt. After talking with her, getting to know her...was I taught wrong? All I see is just...another human being as worried as I am. Just trying to survive as best as she can. Just like me. Where's the blind follower of the government Cobra Commander portrayed them as? The Viper sighed softly, the thoughts troubling him. When we meet in battle again, would she hesitate to kill me if she knew I were there? Would I?
Things were so much easier when your enemy remained faceless, he decided.
Karin relieved Smith when he woke her, replacing him where he had been seated before. She watched his face carefully, wondering about her enemy as he lightly slept. The cold of the rock seeped in through her layers of clothing, but she still remained where she was, finally looking away towards the expanse of ice and snow they were trekking across only hours ago.
All your life, listening to that bullshit. No wonder you believe it so completely. How can that have happened? She mused over that, finding herself curious about the Viper despite her best intentions to keep him as a stranger.
Karin focused her thoughts on the present and remained as she was until her watch indicated it was 0500. With that she kneeled next to Smith and gently shook him.
"Wakey wakey, sunshine. Get yourself together, and let's get going."
In less than an hour, the pair was back to walking, this time not bothering with keeping up appearances. Both had decided that as long as they were in it together, they would be civil, and so kept an loose conversation going, until Smith asked an unexpected question.
"So, why the Air Force?"
Karin peered over at him. "My daddy was in the Navy, like his daddy was. I'm not much one for water. My daddy died at sea."
"He drowned?" Smith shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"I was a small child. He had been discharged due to injuries, and started a deep-sea fishing business in the Gulf of Mexico. One day, he was out at sea when a tremendous seismic disturbance sent waves out, more than his boat could handle. It was overturned and he was trapped inside."
Karin released a sigh. "On the news a few days later, we found out that Cobra Island had been made a sovereign state."
Smith didn't know what to say. As far as he had known, the creation of Cobra Island had been without mishap, a testament to the genius of Cobra Commander. True, one couldn't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs, but he had never before met anyone so personally affected by that event.
"Moreau, I...."
"Stop it. You weren't there, and it wasn't your fault. You still serve those responsible, so anything you say wouldn't amount to much to me at this point." Karin snapped. "Save it. Just.....duck!"
The two barely had time to find proper cover before a dark aircraft shot overhead, search lights streaming from the underside. Both could easily make out the Cobra insignia as it passed, and exchanged looks, both worried.
Smith stood, about to offer a hand to Karin when a voice sounded behind them.
"Freeze, identify yourself."
Smith turned around. "Viper A4524. Brian Smith. I retrieved an enemy captive from a crashed GI Joe helicopter."
"Good work. We'll take her to base." The other Viper leveled his weapon at Karin. She rose, her hands behind her head with a very dirty look shot in the direction of Brian.
"Should have known...
"Keep quiet. Walk."
Karin did as she was told, listening to the conversation that carried on between the two men behind her. I need to keep my head, but where will I go? We have to be near that Cobra base!
"So that's what happened? You fired the EMP ray? You know it made our navigation system go crazy, right?" Smith fixed his comrade with a serious look.
"Calculated risk. You're alive, right? Too bad for those jerks in the 'copter though. They were right over our hidden cannons when we were doing automated testing."
The Viper laughed at that. "Well, too bad for them. Good for us."
"Yeah. Good for us. No one cared that we'd get into a fight because they thought we fired on them first?"
"Huh? What does that matter? It was a calculated risk; our leader said so." Smith was fixed with a disbelieving look.
"So what's going to happen to the fodder here?"
Smith did his best not to let the concern or sense of betrayal sneak into his voice, and he fixed his eyes on the back of Karin's head.
"Huh. Probably gonna interrogate her. She knows it's coming." He leaned over to whisper out of Karin's range. "She's not going to be valuable enough to use as a hostage. Probably end up executing her. One less to gun down later, ya know?"
Smith barely nodded, his mind a chaotic mess of thoughts. So, they were going to kill Moreau. That made sense, really, to do so once they found out what she knew. Still, an unfamiliar feeling gnawed at his heart: guilt. In the end, it was wrong, and he knew it. That was all Smith needed to know.
Letting his step fall behind the other Viper, he flipped his gun around in his hand, raised his arm, and let the grip connect solidly with the man's shoulder, forcing the gun to fall. The Viper let out a surprised yelp of pain.
"What the hell?" He was answered by that hard metal connecting solidly with his eye, puncturing the protective goggles. The Viper clutched his face, only to find a knee connecting solidly with his groin.
"Take his radio, Moreau. I've got him down. We'll get you home." Smith turned the gun around, training it on the writhing Viper at his feet, expression unreadable.
"Done." Karin stood back with the radio and the Viper's gun, and she continued backing up. "Are you coming with me? There's no way they'd let you get off for what just happened." Her expression was one of relief and disbelief, traced with concern for her companion of the past Someone needs to be held accountable." With that, Smith turned and ran from the injured man, Karin only a few feet ahead of him. His world was sinking out from under him, having turned his back on what had been the only life he had known since he was a small child. He took one last glance over his should, just in time to see the injured Viper stand and take aim with a small gun.
"Moreau, look out!" He called after Karin. She turned just in time to see Smith come between her and a hot bullet fired from that firearm, the force of impact shaking the body as he fell over her. Karin's reaction was instant and instinctive, pulling her own gun on the Viper and stopping him with a well-aimed shot right in the bruised eye. He fell over dead, but Karin didn't stop to notice, intent on pulling Smith out of the line of sight.
She had him under a small rock formation, far enough away from the Viper, she decided, for anyone to realize where they had gone. Her hands worked frantically to pull the fabric from the gunshot, cleaning the area.
"Oh god, I don't think I'm gonna be able to get it out..." Karin told him, her voice despairing. She pulled gauze from her emergency kit and pressed it there.
"Don't worry about me. Just radio for help."
"What?"
"Don't look at me like that. Just do it. I'll...be ok." Smith painfully rolled over, leaning back against the rock wall, and reached out to pat the Greenshirt's hand reassuringly. "Just do it, Moreau."
"My name is Karin." She said in a soft voice.
"Nice to meet you, Karin. I'm Brian. Now, about that call for help?"
Karin nodded and went to work on the radio, finally adjusting it to where she could radio for help.
"This is Senior Airman Karin Moreau, requesting aid and extraction. I have one wounded with me. Do you read me?" She repeated her message, sparing an occasional glance for the wounded man next to her.
"Moreau, this is Wild Bill. I'm readin' ya loud and clear. What's your location?"
The slow Texas drawl was unmistakeable, and Karin replied readily, relief evident on her tired features.
"Sir, we're near a Cobra Base towards the northwest. We've been walking roughly a day with about six hours delay for rest."
Smith watched as Karin gave the coordinates and worked out rescue details. For once in his life, he felt a true sense of pride, that he had done the right thing. Slowly, he allowed his eyes to close, confident that he had completed his last mission successfully.
End?