Well College is in full swing for me so updating is going to be around Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.
Thanks for the reviews so far,
Burpadski, no relative was in the war. I just really seen too many movies on the subject and it is a change of pace from the Iraq war stories that are up here.
I still do not own KP, Disney still does but my plan to over ride them will soon go into effect, so that may change.
I also don't own any rights to the movies I'm going to be referencing.
Enjoy Chapter 6!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Horrors of War, Ch 6
Flight of the Valkyries
The remaining squad members walked into the main headquarters of the 7th Air Calvary unit where they were supposed to get a lift to a LZ.
Helicopters flew low overhead as music blasted through the many speakers located around the base as Ron made his way towards the command center.
"Squad, listen up" Ron said, turning to face his remaining squad members. They stood around the Sergeant patiently awaiting instructions.
"The Corporal and I will talk to whoever is in command here in regards to our ride, get some grub and rest up, dismissed" Ron turned back around and motioned for Josh to follow.
"You back to normal yet Corporal?" Ron asked Josh as they made their way toward the general direction of the command base.
"Yeah, why do you ask Ron?" Josh said, curiously looking at Ron for some insight.
"Because it looked like you snapped back there smartass" Ron said, a hint of aggravation in his voice.
"Calm down there Ron-man, what's with the attitude all of a sudden?" Josh said, anger was starting to build in him as well, wondering what the hell was going through Ron's head.
Ron stopped in his tracks and turned to face Josh, Ron's expression was that of annoyment, he never really wanted Josh with him and now he was going to put Mankey in his place.
"Because you little shit, you hesitated to kill the enemy back there! Your hesitation cost Dobson his life and it almost cost you your own." Veins were making themselves visible in Ron's arms and neck as he pointed a finger right at Joshes face.
"If you hesitate here, you die. You got goddamned lucky that the little girl didn't take you with her." Josh backed away, as Ron got to the real point of his rant.
"How the Fuck am I supposed to trust a coward like you to watch our backs?" Ron glared holes into Josh, the words hitting him like knife to the heart.
Coward? Me? Josh thought as Ron continued his barrage.
"If you hesitate like that one more goddamned time Mankey, and it costs us our mission. You had better pray that you die a quick death, because you won't get one from me"
Josh stood there, pondering all the info his supposed friend just told him to his face.
Josh clenched his fists as he responded to Ron.
"What the Fuck did you expect from me Ron? I never thought in my life I could do what I did to that little girl. And you accuse me of being a coward? Bullshit, I'd like to see you do what I did to that girl without second guessing your decision."
Ron looked at Josh, his brown eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched as he spoke.
"If it isn't Kim, then I don't give a shit" Ron turned back around and continued toward the command center when Josh spoke up again.
"Just what the hell does that mean?" Ron spun around again to face Josh, his expression surprising the teen.
"It means that until I find Kim, I don't care what I have to do to get to her, whether it's killing a child or an entire village. As long as I get to her, she is the only one that matters"
Ron turned back and started off; letting his words sink into Mankey's thick skull.
Josh slowly followed Ron, staying back a few feet to allow some breathing room. While he thought about what Ron told him.
So that's how far he's willing to go for her, my god will she even recognize him after this?
Ron found what he believed to be the command center, only it was in shambles. The NVA must have struck hard on their offensive last night as bodies of the NVA lay all around him.
But something was unusual about this, Ron checked one of the Vietnamese bodies and pulled off a playing card. Ron studied the card, it was an Ace of Spades, and on the picture of the spade had a skull wearing a dark blue hat with a yellow kerchief tied around it. There were words under the spade which Ron read aloud.
"7th Air Calvary" Ron chuckled to himself, it was just like that Vietnam War movie he saw a couple of months ago.
Ron looked to his left and saw a large statue like figure standing there giving orders to fellow soldiers around him, all the while never moving.
Ron got up and made his way over to the figure noting his features. Unlike the other officers Ron saw this one was not in olive drab green. Instead he wore a sleeveless Dark blue shirt with a sword on his waist, on his bald head was a Blue Calvary hat with a yellow kerchief wrapped around the base of the hat, flapping in the breeze.
Ron approached the figure which hear him approaching and turned to face the source of the noise.
"Sir, you in charge of this operation here?" Ron asked as he let his rifle hang
"Yes I am soldier, how could I be of assistance to you" The large man said, arms never leaving his hips as he looked Ron over through his big dark sunglasses.
"Sergeant Ron Stoppable, My squad is supposed to get a lift from you guys to a LZ up north" Ron said breaking into a crisp salute.
The man smiled and returned the salute "I've gotten word of your mission Sergeant, we are willing to help in any way possible"
The figure held his hand out, Ron took and shook his hand.
"Commander Jonathan Durand, I run the 7th Air Calvary"
"Pleasure to meet you Commander" Josh came up next to Ron at this point, Ron was quick to introduce him, hopefully to get him away from them "This here is Corporal Josh Mankey, my second in command. The rest of the squad is off getting some chow"
Durand shook Mankeys hand, causing Josh to crack a smile, first time since that morning.
"Good to meet you Son" Durand said to Josh.
"Corporal, why don't you join the men for some food? Durand and I have a lot to discuss, I'll brief the men later" Josh nodded, he knew Ron wanted him as far away from him as possible at that time, Josh didn't have a choice in the mater.
As Ron watched Josh head off, a smile crept up on his face. For it was the first time since they arrived he had some time away from the headache.
"So Sergeant, how was the hike up?" Durand asked
"Not to good sir" Ron recalled the events of earlier that day, McCormick's fall into the trap, the little girl and Dobson, and the medics that had gotten blown to bits.
Durand took it all in and shook his head
"Goddamned Charlie, they always try some sneaky shit like that" Durand said as he placed both hands behind his back.
"Sir, about the lift?" Ron said, careful to not push the issue onto the commander.
"Oh right, we will load up tomorrow. We'll take you guys to the northern most LZ, it was in bad shape yesterday so it will be a full on assault. You'll have to stay and fight till we rid Charlie of the land, but after that you should have a smooth trip till you reach the river."
Ron though about what he just heard
River? We have to deal with a river now as well?
Durand sensed Ron's confusion and finished his speech.
"Don't worry, we have arranged for you guys to get a ride with a Navy PBR up the river to a firebase we have along there. From there it shouldn't be farther than 10 clicks till you reach your final destination"
"Ah, gotcha"
"We will be hitting LZ X-Ray tomorrow, familiar with it Sergeant?" Durand asked
Ron remembered faintly about some big raid on X-Ray earlier in the war and nodded.
"Well it appears Charlie wants the land again, defense shouldn't be a problem but I'd bring some extra ammo if I were you"
Ron took in this information in and nodded.
"You and your men better get some sleep, we move out tomorrow at 0430. Rest up Sergeant and god speed" Durand turned and saluted Ron.
Ron returned the salute "Yes sir, thank you sir"
Ron headed over to the mess hall for some food, he caught up with the men there and filled them in on the operation.
They finished eating and slept for the night, for the big push was tomorrow.
0430
7th Air Calvary Base
Helipads
The squad was headed for the helipads that morning; the sun was just about to rise when they saw 20-30 Bell UH-1C-Fs also known as Hueys on the pads. The choppers massive blades cutting through the air with a hypnotic
WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP
Commander Durand greeted the squad as they approached, 2 LOACH recon choppers flew over head.
They were guided to one Huey near the back of the group; they were riding in a gunship out to the LZ.
"Good Luck Sergeant! Bring our boy home!" Durand yelled over the sound of the ever increasing Turbine engines, He signaled to the man standing off to the side.
The man raised a bugle to his lips and started playing Revel.
Soon the air was filled with the sound of Jet Turbines winding up as the choppers started off toward the LZ.
Ron sat by the open doors and looked out at the surroundings; they were on the far left of the squadron of Slicks as the pilots kept in contact with the LOACHES for any enemy activity.
Ron looked over the rest of the chopper, for a gunship it was pretty well armed.
The nose had a grenade launcher, twin 'Zuni' Rocket pods on either side, or 4 mobile M60 machineguns, not counting the crew chief and door gunner on their own m60s in the doorway.
"Sergeant!" A voice in the chopper yelled, Ron barely heard it over the sound of the blades cutting through the air.
It was Wilson,
"Yes Private?" Ron yelled back, turning to look at Wilson.
"Do you know what we should expect when we hit the LZ?"
"Yeah, Everything" Ron called back
Ron didn't know what to expect when they hit the ground, he was told to expect a firefight but that was about it. They had to make this fast, otherwise they could be there for a long time before they were able to advance toward their goal.
"Approaching LZ X-Ray, Battle stations people, crew chiefs and door gunners, check your guns!" The pilots yelled back.
Simultaneously both gunners fired their M60s into the jungle below, making sure that they worked.
Ron looked ahead at the lead helicopters, they began to dive down getting as low as possible, just barely clearing the tree tops.
Ron saw black smoke on the horizon and knew that was their heading. Their gunship went into a dive and joined the others at treetop level, branches whizzing by at an alarming speed.
Soon a large clearing in front of a hill came into view,
"There it is! LZ X-Ray!" Ron cried as he pointed ahead.
As if on cue, bullets started flying toward the approaching choppers
PLUNCT, PLUNCT
Ron could hear the rounds impacting the bottom of the chopper,
"Anybody got a visual?" The pilot cried into the headset,
"Joker 5, they're coming from the tree lines take them out before they cut us down!"
"Roger that, Joker 5 beginning gun run" the pilot banked the chopper aligning it with the tree line in front of the LZ
The Rocket pods came to life as 2 rockets shot out of each pod, the machine guns started opening up on the line, and explosions rocked the ground in front of the chopper as they cut through the area.
Once the finished the pass the pilot banked to the right to circle into landing formation, Josh leaned forward and looked back at the tree line, three more gunships following their lead blasting the line with more rockets.
The Slicks had already started unloading grunts and a few were in the watchful circle formation flying around the LZ. The Loaches flew in low, their single door gunner opening up on the figures he saw come out of the tree line.
Soon their chopper was in landing formation,
"Alright, as soon as we are close enough I need you guys to bail" The Pilot called back
"Bail? Are you fucking insane?" Josh cried, there was no way he was bailing out unless the skids hit the ground.
"You don't have a goddamned choice; these things are easy fucking targets on the ground. The shorter the time spent on the ground, the more time we have at protecting your sorry ass" The Copilot retorted, giving Josh a rather nasty look.
Josh was going to respond but the pilot interrupted his train of thought.
"Game time, Give them Hell!"
Without thinking Josh was forced out the chopper falling 2 feet and landing face first into the tall grass, before he could get to his feet he felt the squad jump out on top of him.
"Now is not the time to take a nap Corporal!" Wilson laughed as he helped Josh to his feet.
The Gunship was already on its way back to the guard them, the whole drop off took no more that 20 seconds.
"Thanks Wilson!" Josh said as the two rushed over to the rest of the squad.
"Don't mention it, next time land on your feet though. I don't want to keep pulling your sorry ass out of the mud" Wilson laughed as they joined the rest of the squad which was hunkered down on a birm overlooking the tree line.
"What's the situation Sergeant?" Wilson asked as he and Josh landed prone on the birm.
"Not good, NVA resistance is stronger than what was expected. We may not be leaving here any time soon" Ron sounded bleak, not his usual angry cheerful self.
Josh peaked over the birm to see what lay in front of them.
They were maybe 300 yards from the tree line, and yet there were hundreds of Americans laying there, most were just pinned down from fire, others were just down.
They then heard a sound they never wanted to hear, the sound of a jet turbine engine struggling to stay alive.
The squad turned to look, one of the slicks took a direct small arms hit in the engine while on approach.
Thick black smoke poured out the top of the rotors as they saw the pilots struggling to keep the chopper aloft. It pitched violently to either side, the men inside held on for dear life as the chopper started bucking wildly. The Turbine straining to stay on, but it was no use.
The Chopper nosed forward, the nose smashing into the ground at a 45 degree angle, the Rotor bladed chopping up the small amount of ground that lay between the chopper and the tree line.
The squad heard the screams as some of the men aboard bailed out, the choppers body started turning to the left as the tail smacked into a tree, twisting the chopper to its side as its blades still tore up anything that lay in its path before the chopper finally came to rest on its left side, smoke pouring out of it.
The LZ was eerily silent for a moment, only the sounds of the choppers above and the screams of the men could be heard.
Men rushed over toward the downed Huey, trying to save as many as possible.
Soon men were coming back with the wounded, one mans arm was sheered off from the rotor blades, another was cut in half desperately trying to hold his intestines in.
They heard more screams come from the Huey and when they looked back at it, they saw that it was on fire. The air was soon filled with the screams of men burning, and the smell, the horrible smell of cooking meat.
"Sweet Jesus" Johnson said looking at the burning Huey
"My God" Jacobson muttered, trying to cover his mouth from the sickening smell
Ron just lay back and turned to face the tree line in front of him, his lungs filled with the smell of the men being burned alive.
Ron felt something inside of himself, something he never really felt before. He felt it working its way through him, starting to take over him.
He clenched the M16 tight enough that he heard his knuckles crack. His Mystical Monkey power seemingly mixed in with his held up rage, embracing it as if becoming stronger, enveloping him, and taking him to a very dark place.
Josh looked over at Ron and saw his hands, he had a white knuckle grip on his rifle and his hands were starting to shake a little.
Josh was able to see into Ron's eyes and was shocked by what he saw. Ron's brown eyes had turned blue, and were glowing.
"Sergeant?" Josh said. Ron didn't respond
"Ron?" Josh used his name this time and placed a hand on his shoulder
Almost instantaneously Ron's eyes went back to their brown hue, and his grip lessened on the rifle.
Ron soon regained his composure and turned to Josh,
"You ok Sergeant Stoppable?" Josh said, forcing a little smile
"A, yeah Corporal. I'm fine, just fine" Ron said as he lay back onto the birm.
Jesus, what is this War doing to me? Ron wondered.
Ron looked over the men, his men. He reminded himself that they were his responsibility on this mission, and he already lost two.
He though that they didn't affect him but after what just happened apparently it did. He almost went to a darker zone and it wasn't even over his own men.
He had only been there a grand total of 3 days and he was already letting it get to him, he had to keep himself in check. For his sake, his men's sake, and more importantly for Kim's sake.
Hold on Kim, I'm coming for you.
Later that night
The squad hadn't moved much since they arrived, they had some choppers drop off some supplies and carry the wounded or dead off, but that was it.
They had dealt with some sporadic fights with Charlie when they advanced on them, they were easily shoved back to the jungle.
By the way things were going Josh knew they would be here a lot longer than any of them expected, and he knew that the others had the same feeling.
Little did they know how dire their current situation would become.
Ron kept watch as his men slept, he still had other groups of men out in front of him but still decided it was better safe than sorry.
The mobile command was 50 yards behind Ron, there they coordinated their attacks to try and force Charlie off the hillside, and some light gunfire could be heard in the distance.
"INCOMING!"
A Mortar shell exploded not 20 feet in front of Ron, sending two bodies hurling through the air, the jungle in front came alive with movement and muzzle flashes.
The entire squad was awakened on the blast and got in defensive positions on the birm.
They all opened fire on the enemy and soon the LZ was quiet again.
This would be how things were over the next few weeks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Uh, I hate it when I do this.
Chapter 7 is already in the works, I have no idea how long I will end up making this but I am on a roll as of now.
Kim will be brought back into play in a few chapters, I promise, you have my word of it.
Drakken and Shego will also appear, but later on after Kim is brought back into the story.
Read and Review please.