Ishbal: A Soldiers Story
Part One: Policing Action
By Ken Gallant
The train jerked foreword as it came to an abrupt halt. Bright red light shone through the windows, illuminating the station. It was pitch black. It shouldn't' have been dark for another hour or two, but the military was burning tires around the station. I put on my deep blue hat, which matched my immaculate uniform. Many of the other soldiers were interrogating each other in regards to our location. I kept my mouth shut, we would be told soon enough. It was better not to waste our energy, because if this were Ishbal, it would certainly be a long night. I let my eyes roll into the back of my head, and threw my head back onto the cushion at the top of my seat. I heard the door open, and felt a cool gust of air on my face. I inhaled it, but to my dismay, it smelled horrible. I assumed it was from the tires. There was silence among those on board now. Finally, they would have their answers. I heard some voices coming from the platform, too distant to make out. Then the sound of worn boots ascending the rubber lined steel stairs leading to the passenger compartment. I opened my eyes, and sat up. Before us stood an unknown Colonel. His breast full of campaign ribbons, and various medals. Naturally, we stood up at attention. A frazzled Lieutenant trotted in front of the Colonel. He handed him our platoon roster, and they exchanged some muffled words before he took his place at the Colonels right hand. The Colonel stood up as straight as an arrow.
"Soldiers, at ease!" he bellowed. I happily adopted a more comfortable, yet still tense stance. "You are about to embark upon a great crusade. A crusade in which some of you may not return. However, you have the best equipment, the best training, the best discipline, and the most professional officers, and NCOs showing you the righteous path." He looked from side to side as he spoke, catching each of us in the eye, making sure we were following his every word. "Your mission is simple; you must maintain peace in this society, at any cost. However, it is important to remember, this is not a war, this is a policing action. You do not have the right to kill needlessly. Your duty is to maintain peace, not bring about conflict. Conflict must be avoided. By firing on the citizens of this city of Ishbal, you are failing your primary objective." He clenched his fist, and held it against his chest. "We did not train you to fail, we trained you to succeed. For this campaign, you will be known as E for Echo Company, Fourth Platoon..." the colonel glanced at the roster. "Of the 608th Foot Regiment. Your platoon leaders will take over from here. I have faith in you, and your success in this campaign. That is all."
With that, the colonel turned to the Lieutenant, again they spoke some muffled words, and then strode down the stairs onto the platform. The Lieutenant turned to face us, still a little frazzled. "Uh, men..." he spoke in a very quiet, almost shy voice. I severely doubted his confidence. "I'm Lieutenant Hanley, but you can go ahead and call me LT, or Hanley, or Craig. I guess I'm supposed to break you up into sections or something, let me see here..." he pulled a notebook out of his right breast pocket, and flipped through it. "Yes, I'm supposed to break you into three sections, of ten. Um, which of you are Corporals?"
I raised my hand "Sir!" Rockwell and Mackenzie followed suit. The Lieutenant had a puzzled look on his face. "Sir!" I decided this was a good time to speak up. "Sir, we already have our sections." He looked more cheerful.
"Well, in that case I guess you can all get off the train, and pick your weapons up. Your sergeants are waiting on the platform with your weapons. In addition, I will be briefing them on what we have to do this evening, so go see your sergeants for your weapons down on the platform, and then I will talk to them. I already said that, didn't I? Well it does not matter, carry on. Uh, DISMISSED!"
As we filed off the train, I felt a tug at my sleeve. It was my friend Leoni. He was a good foot taller than I was, and the vast majority of the rest of the platoon. He was tall, and well built. His uniform fit poorly. I remembered when he had it issued to him, the clerks just couldn't' find anything to fit him. He was just too big. "Heya Taybor, this sounds like a snap. We're just playing policeman."
"I'm not too sure." I replied, "They're burning tires, probably to conceal us from sniper fire on the platform. I'm not even too sure the Colonel knows what the hell is going on."
"Well he must know better than the Lieutenant. He has some issues. I don't' know how he made it through Officer Training."
We climbed down the steps onto the platform. Through the smoke, I saw a black figure marching towards me. "Corporal Taybor! Corporal Taybor!" A scared up sergeant stepped through the haze. "Are you Corporal Taybor?"
"Yes Sergeant!" I shouted back. "Most of my section is still on the train Sergeant; I will proceeded to prepare them for your briefing as soon as they are assembled!"
"No need Corporal. We have an easy job today, recon up some back streets. You, me, and two men of your choosing. The rest will be taken by Sergeant Harris over there to their barracks." He motioned to another smoke covered black figure, who was now ordering platoon after platoon to fall in to the left of the platform. "Pick your two, and lets get out of this smoke. Meet me on the northeast corner of this building in five minutes. You might want to bring some weapons along; this ain't no ice cream social."
"Well." I turned to Leoni, "You ready for some action?" Grab Cage and head to the Sergeant, I'll go get us some weapons."
"Yes Corporal Taybor." He gave me a mocking two-finger salute.
I slipped on my dust mask. The smoke was getting to me, I wasn't sure why I didn't do that beforehand. When I reached the amenities office inside the station, I requisitioned three standard rifles, the SAR 14, some semi- automatic pistols, and a submachine gun. I packed a bag full of grenades also, just in case. It was completely against regulation, but my biggest fear was running out of ammunition. This way I wouldn't have to worry as much.
I slipped the bag onto my shoulders, and grabbed a dolly to carry the other weapons on. When I arrived at the northeast corner of the building, I saw Cage and Leoni standing with the mysterious sergeant. "Good work Corporal." the Sergeant pulled a rifle off the dolly, and snapped the bolt back examining it closely. He shoved a round into the breach, and then placed the magazine into it's respective place. "See Corporal, I've just modified the standard SAR 14 rifle. It is now capable of firing a 16th round before reload. During lulls in combat, I suggest you do the same." I could tell he was mocking me, just by the words he used. Modified? Standard SAR 14? Maybe he was just very 'by the book.' Regardless, we did as we were told.
"What should we address you as Sergeant?" I asked him in a passive voice.
"Well son, you can call me grandpa. I find it makes you green soldiers feel better about yourselves, even if it's not regulation. However, if an officer hears, you will be in a world of shit. Do you understand?"
"Ye-ye-yes Grandpa." I stuttered, I didn't' expect his response to be as it was. I slung the submachine gun under my arm, and held my rifle across my chest, pushing the butt hard into my shoulder. This, like the rest of my platoon, would be my first time in a hostile environment.
We stepped out of the thick black smoke, and were greeted by the now setting sun, and a steady breeze, throwing sand and dust into our faces and eyes. The area was relatively built up; the architecture was different from that of Central, but the buildings just as glamorous. From the stories I heard of Ishbal as a kid, I expected it to be a barbarian settlement. Our soldiers had only been "Policing" these streets for three days, yet already some buildings were in complete ruin. Windows had been shot out, and the smell of decaying flesh filled my lungs. War was not the romantic vision I had as a recruit; I knew that on first glimpse.
Grandpa selected me to take point, most likely because I decided to carry the submachine gun. It was impossible to walk down main streets in small groups explained Grandpa, snipers were everywhere. So we took too alleys. The alleys seemed deserted, but of course, I felt as if I was being watched. I could see that I was being watched.. Every hundred meters I saw a muzzle of a rifle sticking our of a window. They drew back in as we got close. I raised my forearm at a ninety degree angle, and made a fist. This was the signal to stop. Cage and Leoni dropped to their knees, scanning all the windows in front of us, and then behind. I turned around, and Grandpa was right in my face, with a puzzled look.
"What is it?" he asked me.
"They're tracking our movements; can't you see them pulling away from the windows?" I was very concerned. "I don't think it's safe to continue."
"They always do that." He reassured me. "They just like to watch. Our firepower is too great to take on, so they try to scare us away in this exact manner."
I got back onto my feet, feeling no better than I did before. This was my first time out. How could Grandpa expect me to just ignore people pointing guns at me? I turned around once more.
"But they've got guns Grandpa." I felt very silly calling him that.
"Well." he replied, "So have we."
The Colonel had lied to us. This was no Policing action, this was suppression. The people here were terrified of us. But what did the Colonel have to gain from lying in the first place? Why the hell do I keep questioning things? It's not my job to question, it's my job to listen, and except what we were told as truth. What would the Fuhrer think if he knew that his soldiers were questioning his officers?
Reluctantly I kept moving foreword. I kept my head a little lower this time. About an hour after we set out, it was quite dark, so Grandpa told us we should start heading back. I was calmer in the dark. The city was quiet, and the air cool. Even if we were being watched, I would not know, as I couldn't see into the second and third story windows. Then I realized something. There were no lights in these buildings. In fact, the only light cast on us, was from the small lamp Cage was holding, and the dim moon. I begin to worry again. We could be pulled into any open door, and sliced to pieces before we even had time to react. Quietly I fixed my bayonet to my rifle. Onwards, and onwards through the maze of alleys we pressed. I could hear the station, the chaos of new soldiers still flooding off trains. We were getting close. The sky was brighter here, from the fires, which covered the station and platform with a thick blanket of smoke. I began walking faster and faster towards my destination. Then someone grabbed me by the back of the collar. I panicked and shoved my bayonet straight back into whatever had me. However, they sidestepped it, I felt my arm being pulled back. I fumbled my rifle, and it fell to the ground. I knew I was going to die.
"What in the holy hell are you trying to do Taybor?" whispered Grandpa. "Damn it son, you have to be more careful. Ease up a little; you almost put me on an instant weight loss plan. It's great that you're cautious, but at least identify your target before you take it out, alright?" I felt like a complete idiot. I was excessively tense. My training had taught me better, but I always felt as if it would never apply to me. I felt so brave, enlisting in the military, I thought I would be the kind of soldier who picked up the heavy machinegun, and fired it from his hip while pinned down squad members crawled to safety. "I was trying to get your attention to tell you, we aren't going back to the station, we're going to the barracks, it's about a kilometre north of the station, and since we are northeast of the station, that means the barracks is four blocks to the west." I still lay in his arm, staring at him blankly. "Do I need to shoot you in the leg, and have an orderly carry you back on a stretcher?" I got up quickly.
"No Sergeant, I'm fine. Just a little stunned, and tired." He said nothing, put pointed to the west. I regained my composure, and pressed on. I could hear Leoni snickering behind me. I'm sure this won't be the last I hear of this incident.
Part One: Policing Action
By Ken Gallant
The train jerked foreword as it came to an abrupt halt. Bright red light shone through the windows, illuminating the station. It was pitch black. It shouldn't' have been dark for another hour or two, but the military was burning tires around the station. I put on my deep blue hat, which matched my immaculate uniform. Many of the other soldiers were interrogating each other in regards to our location. I kept my mouth shut, we would be told soon enough. It was better not to waste our energy, because if this were Ishbal, it would certainly be a long night. I let my eyes roll into the back of my head, and threw my head back onto the cushion at the top of my seat. I heard the door open, and felt a cool gust of air on my face. I inhaled it, but to my dismay, it smelled horrible. I assumed it was from the tires. There was silence among those on board now. Finally, they would have their answers. I heard some voices coming from the platform, too distant to make out. Then the sound of worn boots ascending the rubber lined steel stairs leading to the passenger compartment. I opened my eyes, and sat up. Before us stood an unknown Colonel. His breast full of campaign ribbons, and various medals. Naturally, we stood up at attention. A frazzled Lieutenant trotted in front of the Colonel. He handed him our platoon roster, and they exchanged some muffled words before he took his place at the Colonels right hand. The Colonel stood up as straight as an arrow.
"Soldiers, at ease!" he bellowed. I happily adopted a more comfortable, yet still tense stance. "You are about to embark upon a great crusade. A crusade in which some of you may not return. However, you have the best equipment, the best training, the best discipline, and the most professional officers, and NCOs showing you the righteous path." He looked from side to side as he spoke, catching each of us in the eye, making sure we were following his every word. "Your mission is simple; you must maintain peace in this society, at any cost. However, it is important to remember, this is not a war, this is a policing action. You do not have the right to kill needlessly. Your duty is to maintain peace, not bring about conflict. Conflict must be avoided. By firing on the citizens of this city of Ishbal, you are failing your primary objective." He clenched his fist, and held it against his chest. "We did not train you to fail, we trained you to succeed. For this campaign, you will be known as E for Echo Company, Fourth Platoon..." the colonel glanced at the roster. "Of the 608th Foot Regiment. Your platoon leaders will take over from here. I have faith in you, and your success in this campaign. That is all."
With that, the colonel turned to the Lieutenant, again they spoke some muffled words, and then strode down the stairs onto the platform. The Lieutenant turned to face us, still a little frazzled. "Uh, men..." he spoke in a very quiet, almost shy voice. I severely doubted his confidence. "I'm Lieutenant Hanley, but you can go ahead and call me LT, or Hanley, or Craig. I guess I'm supposed to break you up into sections or something, let me see here..." he pulled a notebook out of his right breast pocket, and flipped through it. "Yes, I'm supposed to break you into three sections, of ten. Um, which of you are Corporals?"
I raised my hand "Sir!" Rockwell and Mackenzie followed suit. The Lieutenant had a puzzled look on his face. "Sir!" I decided this was a good time to speak up. "Sir, we already have our sections." He looked more cheerful.
"Well, in that case I guess you can all get off the train, and pick your weapons up. Your sergeants are waiting on the platform with your weapons. In addition, I will be briefing them on what we have to do this evening, so go see your sergeants for your weapons down on the platform, and then I will talk to them. I already said that, didn't I? Well it does not matter, carry on. Uh, DISMISSED!"
As we filed off the train, I felt a tug at my sleeve. It was my friend Leoni. He was a good foot taller than I was, and the vast majority of the rest of the platoon. He was tall, and well built. His uniform fit poorly. I remembered when he had it issued to him, the clerks just couldn't' find anything to fit him. He was just too big. "Heya Taybor, this sounds like a snap. We're just playing policeman."
"I'm not too sure." I replied, "They're burning tires, probably to conceal us from sniper fire on the platform. I'm not even too sure the Colonel knows what the hell is going on."
"Well he must know better than the Lieutenant. He has some issues. I don't' know how he made it through Officer Training."
We climbed down the steps onto the platform. Through the smoke, I saw a black figure marching towards me. "Corporal Taybor! Corporal Taybor!" A scared up sergeant stepped through the haze. "Are you Corporal Taybor?"
"Yes Sergeant!" I shouted back. "Most of my section is still on the train Sergeant; I will proceeded to prepare them for your briefing as soon as they are assembled!"
"No need Corporal. We have an easy job today, recon up some back streets. You, me, and two men of your choosing. The rest will be taken by Sergeant Harris over there to their barracks." He motioned to another smoke covered black figure, who was now ordering platoon after platoon to fall in to the left of the platform. "Pick your two, and lets get out of this smoke. Meet me on the northeast corner of this building in five minutes. You might want to bring some weapons along; this ain't no ice cream social."
"Well." I turned to Leoni, "You ready for some action?" Grab Cage and head to the Sergeant, I'll go get us some weapons."
"Yes Corporal Taybor." He gave me a mocking two-finger salute.
I slipped on my dust mask. The smoke was getting to me, I wasn't sure why I didn't do that beforehand. When I reached the amenities office inside the station, I requisitioned three standard rifles, the SAR 14, some semi- automatic pistols, and a submachine gun. I packed a bag full of grenades also, just in case. It was completely against regulation, but my biggest fear was running out of ammunition. This way I wouldn't have to worry as much.
I slipped the bag onto my shoulders, and grabbed a dolly to carry the other weapons on. When I arrived at the northeast corner of the building, I saw Cage and Leoni standing with the mysterious sergeant. "Good work Corporal." the Sergeant pulled a rifle off the dolly, and snapped the bolt back examining it closely. He shoved a round into the breach, and then placed the magazine into it's respective place. "See Corporal, I've just modified the standard SAR 14 rifle. It is now capable of firing a 16th round before reload. During lulls in combat, I suggest you do the same." I could tell he was mocking me, just by the words he used. Modified? Standard SAR 14? Maybe he was just very 'by the book.' Regardless, we did as we were told.
"What should we address you as Sergeant?" I asked him in a passive voice.
"Well son, you can call me grandpa. I find it makes you green soldiers feel better about yourselves, even if it's not regulation. However, if an officer hears, you will be in a world of shit. Do you understand?"
"Ye-ye-yes Grandpa." I stuttered, I didn't' expect his response to be as it was. I slung the submachine gun under my arm, and held my rifle across my chest, pushing the butt hard into my shoulder. This, like the rest of my platoon, would be my first time in a hostile environment.
We stepped out of the thick black smoke, and were greeted by the now setting sun, and a steady breeze, throwing sand and dust into our faces and eyes. The area was relatively built up; the architecture was different from that of Central, but the buildings just as glamorous. From the stories I heard of Ishbal as a kid, I expected it to be a barbarian settlement. Our soldiers had only been "Policing" these streets for three days, yet already some buildings were in complete ruin. Windows had been shot out, and the smell of decaying flesh filled my lungs. War was not the romantic vision I had as a recruit; I knew that on first glimpse.
Grandpa selected me to take point, most likely because I decided to carry the submachine gun. It was impossible to walk down main streets in small groups explained Grandpa, snipers were everywhere. So we took too alleys. The alleys seemed deserted, but of course, I felt as if I was being watched. I could see that I was being watched.. Every hundred meters I saw a muzzle of a rifle sticking our of a window. They drew back in as we got close. I raised my forearm at a ninety degree angle, and made a fist. This was the signal to stop. Cage and Leoni dropped to their knees, scanning all the windows in front of us, and then behind. I turned around, and Grandpa was right in my face, with a puzzled look.
"What is it?" he asked me.
"They're tracking our movements; can't you see them pulling away from the windows?" I was very concerned. "I don't think it's safe to continue."
"They always do that." He reassured me. "They just like to watch. Our firepower is too great to take on, so they try to scare us away in this exact manner."
I got back onto my feet, feeling no better than I did before. This was my first time out. How could Grandpa expect me to just ignore people pointing guns at me? I turned around once more.
"But they've got guns Grandpa." I felt very silly calling him that.
"Well." he replied, "So have we."
The Colonel had lied to us. This was no Policing action, this was suppression. The people here were terrified of us. But what did the Colonel have to gain from lying in the first place? Why the hell do I keep questioning things? It's not my job to question, it's my job to listen, and except what we were told as truth. What would the Fuhrer think if he knew that his soldiers were questioning his officers?
Reluctantly I kept moving foreword. I kept my head a little lower this time. About an hour after we set out, it was quite dark, so Grandpa told us we should start heading back. I was calmer in the dark. The city was quiet, and the air cool. Even if we were being watched, I would not know, as I couldn't see into the second and third story windows. Then I realized something. There were no lights in these buildings. In fact, the only light cast on us, was from the small lamp Cage was holding, and the dim moon. I begin to worry again. We could be pulled into any open door, and sliced to pieces before we even had time to react. Quietly I fixed my bayonet to my rifle. Onwards, and onwards through the maze of alleys we pressed. I could hear the station, the chaos of new soldiers still flooding off trains. We were getting close. The sky was brighter here, from the fires, which covered the station and platform with a thick blanket of smoke. I began walking faster and faster towards my destination. Then someone grabbed me by the back of the collar. I panicked and shoved my bayonet straight back into whatever had me. However, they sidestepped it, I felt my arm being pulled back. I fumbled my rifle, and it fell to the ground. I knew I was going to die.
"What in the holy hell are you trying to do Taybor?" whispered Grandpa. "Damn it son, you have to be more careful. Ease up a little; you almost put me on an instant weight loss plan. It's great that you're cautious, but at least identify your target before you take it out, alright?" I felt like a complete idiot. I was excessively tense. My training had taught me better, but I always felt as if it would never apply to me. I felt so brave, enlisting in the military, I thought I would be the kind of soldier who picked up the heavy machinegun, and fired it from his hip while pinned down squad members crawled to safety. "I was trying to get your attention to tell you, we aren't going back to the station, we're going to the barracks, it's about a kilometre north of the station, and since we are northeast of the station, that means the barracks is four blocks to the west." I still lay in his arm, staring at him blankly. "Do I need to shoot you in the leg, and have an orderly carry you back on a stretcher?" I got up quickly.
"No Sergeant, I'm fine. Just a little stunned, and tired." He said nothing, put pointed to the west. I regained my composure, and pressed on. I could hear Leoni snickering behind me. I'm sure this won't be the last I hear of this incident.