Man I feel old.
To be honest, I never knew how fast years can pass you by. Here we are on the cusp of 2016, and here I am playing video games during my off-hours that cam out when I was a kid of anywhere from six to fifteen years old. I mean seriously, just yesterday I fired up the old PS2 and the NES (yes I still have mine) and you know the first games I reached for?
SOCOM 1, 2, 3, Combined Assault, Suikoden 3, and after swapping in my PS1 Memory Card, the original Spyro trilogy and lastly Medal of Honor. On the NES I grabbed the Original Mario Bros., Demon Sword, and Legend of Zelda.
Back then you got a sense of fulfillment when you actually beat a game. These days it's all too easy...for example, the SOCOM series, the first one I got when I was 13, I never actually beat the game on Ensign (Easy) difficulty. SOCOM 2, I got to Commander (Hard), SOCOM 3 and Combined Assault I beat them on Admiral (INSANE).
Man...for those of you who know what I mean, make a list of games you have played through the years and then search for their original release dates. You will be surprised.
Anyway, enough nostalgia, on with the story!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE. ONLY MY OCS.
Chapter 24: Fugitive Hope
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The sun was sinking off in the distance. Dieter and his squadron had flipped their radios to the frequency that they used for personal communication in order to escape from both the incensed ramblings of the Shadowfell Airfield commander as well as the cheers of encouragement, if misplaced, from the ground forces they passed over. It appeared as if the word hadn't gotten out from Shadowfell yet and they were now near the border with Tellanos.
In the days before the war, Shadowfell had been a mere fifty miles from the Tellanian border. The only thing keeping the city safe was the griffon nests and the active volcano known to Shadowfell's citizens as 'The Old Guardian'. There was also a strong magnetic field in the area that interfered with compasses and made the maze of caverns below nearly impossible to navigate. Even at this altitude, Dieter watched as the heading compass spun like a top.
The stars were coming out and the sun was going down so they had enough of an idea as to their heading. Once the sun was down, the object of lunar navigation was to keep the North Star off their left wings and to keep their noses alligned with the series of stars that formed the constellation 'Draco Alpha'.
'When the sun would rise the next day, Draco Alpha would greet the new day and when the sun set, Draco Omega would bid the day farewell.'
It was an old Syllian tale about two dragons who performed such great works upon the earth that they were granted places in heaven as the Guardians of the Dawn and Dusk. They, along with the North Star 'Astral' and the southern constellation 'Hephedran' were the Watchers of the Night and charged with guiding lost souls on their way towards the new dawn. Dieter vaguely wondered what Syllia would be like. He had only seen glimpses of Launces in maps and old books but had never visited the city. Nor did he think he ever would have before this last week. He thought about the medallion that hung around his neck that Wolff had goven him.
It was a medallion that was said to ward off misfortune from those who had realized the severity of their sins and give them the chance to repent.
(So much blood and so many innocents...what must I do to redeem myself? Must I continue to repent till my last breath? Must I devote myself wholeheartedly to the cause of peace? Simply pray for redemption and salvation? Or must I die in battle helping to undo that which I have done?)
These thoughts invaded his mind constantly. He ran through the thoughts constant;y and even thought about radioing Wolff and asking his opinion. Then-
"Major! This is Voss, we've got a problem here! We're hot!" Before Dieter could reply, he heard Stern laugh.
"If you're hot then crack a window, or at least hit the fans!" Then a reply, aggitated.
"Not that kind of hot Stern! I mean we are hot! H-O-T! This bird is armed and the weapons are LIVE!" Dieter paled as he heard Stern and Wolf swear.
"Do you mean that you have Ragnarok bombs loaded and armed?!"
"That is affermative. We have one Ragnarok bomb, armed and ready. We also have what looks to be a Ton of standard explosives. Werner went back to relieve himself and then saw the hatch to the bomb bay was open. Poor little guy was half scared out of his mind. He's currently cowering under my seat."
"Voss, can you deactivate it?"
"Major, you know the answer to that. I'm a fighter pilot, not EOD. The best I can do is either find a place to crash this plane and bail out or drop the bomb somewhere where it won't do any damage."
"Well, we'd better think of something fast otherwise we cross the border we'll be over Tellanian territory and I don't think they'll forgive us for dropping a nuke on their soil, even if we dropped it in a desert or frozen tundra. I also don't fancy dropping it on any of our territory."
"This is Wolff. This may sound crazy but, what about the volcano?" Dieter went wide-eyed at this and keyed the radio with such force he nearly crushed the mike.
"The VOLCANO! Are you out of your mind Wolff? There is no telling what an explosion of that magnitude will do to the volcano! It could cause it to erupt and remember, Shadowfell is merely fifty miles away and the city of Gaton is even closer!"
"No. What I mean is that the lava could possibly destroy the bomb before it detonates!" This time, Jyne spoke up.
"What if it doesn't? That thing blows it'll give everyone from Gaton to Tiburan one hell of a hot foot!"
"Just listen! Lava is hot enough to melt anything! If the bomb falls into the volcano and explodes, the worse that'll happen is that the rim of the volcano crumbles. What you're all talking about is the worse case scenario!" Dieter grimaced as he tried to picture an atomic blast in the heart of a volcano.
"Voss...can you do it? What you're talking about is a pin-point strike." The silence from Voss concerned Dieter for a moment.
"Yeah...I think I can do it. I've locked in the...uh...gyroscope, whatever the hell that is, and the bomber is on a straight, smooth, level flight. All I've got to do is release the latch on the bomb bay doors and...ah crap."
"I didn't like the sound of that. What the hell did you do Voss?!"
Dieter was answered when the bomb bay doors on the bomber suddenly dropped and a single bomb fell from the bay. Dieter's heart leapt to his throat and his face went white as a linen cloth.
"Crap! All planes climb! Climb!" The jets rushed to climb above the bomber when the radio came back on.
"No need to panic, Major! That wasn't it. Eh...Werner stepped on a switch to release a standard bomb..."
"Voss...when we land, I'm going to kill you. All fighters climb to eighteen thousand feet and await the signal to engage afterburners from Voss. Voss, level off at fifteen thousand and when we cross over The Guardian, drop the bomb. The atomic one." At that moment, Stern came on the radio.
"Eh, Major. What about we not drop the bomb but instead deliver it to Launces? I'm sure they could figure out a way to disarm it."
"The thought did cross my mind Stern, believe me. Still, we don't know how unstable or how delicate that bomb is. My guess is that someone on the ground fucked up by arming the bomb prematurely and as far as I'm concerned I don't want the bomb rocking about as we try to land on a Syllian airfield. Hell, I wouldn't even fly this thing over a combat zone. For all we know about atomic weapons, one stray bullet or richochet could cause a mid-air explosion."
"Copy that Major, I'll steer clear of any engagements. Okay, since no one is objecting to me releasing the bomb, I'm lining up the sights now. Here's hoping it don't bounce."
Dieter watched as the lumbering jet bomber edged this way and that lining up the approach.
"Okay. Horizontal is stable. Verticle is stable. Releasing in five... four... three... two... one... Release!"
This time, a much larger bomb fell from the forward bomb bay and fell towards the volcano. Dieter slammed the throttle to full and flipped the switch for the afterburners.
"All aircraft, climb and engage afterburners! Full power, NOW!"
Dieter's aircraft rocketted forward as the afterburners kicked in and nor was he the only one. Jyne, Wolff, and Stern's jets were also zooming upwards with bright orange flames shooting from the exhaust ports of the engines. Looking at Voss' bomber, he saw the same coming from the bomber's twin engines.
He looked at the clock and swore.
"Dammit! Does anybody have eyes on that bomb! Did anybody count the time down for detonation?"
To his shock, all his comrades answered negative.
"Then who the hell is clocking that damn bo-"
Dieter was cut off as a huge gust of wind buffeted his jet. Followed by a tremendous BOOM that rattled the canopy and that familiar sense of dread. Daring himself to look back, a large pillar of fire and lava shot from the volcano along with a massive mushroom cloud that he guessed was the trademark of an atomic blast. Yet, somehow, the worst case scenario didn't happen.
The volcano didn't crumble in on itself or explode outward as he had feared. Rather, the lava seemed to have incinerated the radioactive particles and all that remained was the obvious signs of an explosion. With the exception of the mushroom cloud, it displayed all the trademarks of an eruption or at least a flare up.
Dieter switched the radio to the Gaton frequency and heard all manner of curses, confusion, and chaos. Bravely, he picked up the reciever.
"Attention Gaton Militia this is...Flight 978 out of Carilo, we have just spotted a massive eruption from the Guardian. Please initiate emergency protocols immediately!"
"Copy that 978. We heard the blast but didn't know what the hell it was. By the way, you haven't seen a light bomber in the area have you?" Dieter's knew he shouldn't stay on this frequency too long but curiousity got the better of him.
"I think we saw one en route to Tolbina just a few minutes ago. Why?"
"Bastard'll probably be coming up one bomb short because one of the locals is complaining about an aircraft that blew up his outhouse. Almost blew up the farmer too. I think he's more upset about his magazines and newspapers that were stored in there rather than the outhouse."
"Well, what can you say? There is a war on."
"Apparently."
"Now then, I bid you good night, I'd best switch back to my regular frequency before my supervisor has my head."
Dieter switched back to his frequency and couldn't help himself. He keyed the mike and allowed his humor to influence his voice.
"Hey boys, let's hope none of you have to take a piss. According to the ground control down there, Voss just blew up the only outhouse in twenty miles with that first bomb he dropped. Heh, had the poor farmer below convinced it was the beans."
They all shared a laugh as they continued on east.
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The course Dieter and his group took weaved them in and out of air space that they knew scouts up at this time of night and also away from cities and major metropolitan areas.
Not that there were many left in Tellanos.
Mechanos had been brutally efficient in dealing with his enemies. Tellanos was a shell of its former self. The railroads that once connected the nation now lie in ruins, slowly being pieced back together by a labor force of Tellanian POWs and civilians. What few cities remained intact were either bases for the Tellanian Resistance or 'Reclaimed' towns for Rotiart.
The Reclaimed towns were towns in which there had been resistance to the invasion and Rotarian high ranking officers had forced the citizens out and then parcelled the town out to Rotarian civilians, soldiers, and their families in order to make a 'small' supplement to their own salaries. For example, if you wanted a home overlooking the Southern Ocean, all you had to do was find an appropriations officer, give him the location you were interested in, he'd find the location and send a letter of reference to the commander in charge of that spot and then the commander would send a parcel to the interested party containing the basic information of the property, the price tag, and the monthly installments.
It seemed ludicrous to Dieter that one could simply pay 19.99 per month and within a year or two you owned the land and house that had once been the property of another. For a further payment you could even get the people who once owned the land hired out to you as servants.
(More of Mechanos' doing I'll bet. It wouldn't surprise me to learn the bastard was behind this. Rotiart was once a nation built upon slavery but that practice was cast away decades ago. It seems he's going to revive the old traditions along with the new...)
Dieter checked his map and the stars and then gazed north and saw the spotlights over what was left of the city of Chamberlain and sighed.
(We've got to find a way to end this madness somehow...) He flipped his radio on and nodded to the map.
"All planes, we are now passing Chamberlain. Come to course 174, south-east to continue to Launces. Once we cross the Syllian border, I'll begin broadcasting."
He gazed at his fuel tanks and then flipped on the wing tanks and dropped the belly tank. If his math was correct, the belly tank would get them to Launces and they'd drop them just outside the city.
Provided, that was, they weren't attacked or ambushed between here and there...
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(Launces)
Bertram saw in the cockpit of the new jet fighter as it sat on the runway. He fingered the throttle nervously awaiting the order to takeoff. His group had been ordered into a night mission to patrol the route from the Tellanian border, to Callen's Hill, and Launces. Once they turned back and reached Callen's Hill, the second patrol group would take off so that they could land and refuel.
Behind him, Ayatane and Sahne sat in their jets, after them was Kani and Lee, and then there was Miller and Holt, Cyriaque, and lastly the Poole brothers, Josh and Jay. These people plus him made up the entire A Wing of the Launces 1st Air Wing.
Bertram saw a green light begin flashing from the control tower and Bertram keyed his radio.
"Launces Control to Alpha Flight, you are cleared for takeoff. Save travels."
"Copy that Control, this is Alpha 1, callsign Paladin. Beginning takeoff procedures now."
Bertram released the brakes on the landing gear and revved the engines to full speed and felt the jet begin rolling down the runway. The speedometer passed 130 mph and he felt the nose beginning to lift.
"Paladin here, I have lift. Pulling back on the stick to gain some air."
The nose pitched up more, the tail and wings cleared the ground and a few moments later, he checked the altimeter and nodded at the safe altitude.
"This is Paladin, I have a safe takeoff. Proceeding to patrol course 305, northeast. Awaiting squadron and then proceeding to night patrol."
As he checked behind him, he saw the other aircraft come up and join him in formation and together they climbed to altitude. As he settled in, a red light flashed on the radio.
"Emergency! Emergency! Alpha Flight, our scouts report sever strange looking aircraft crossing the border and are headed your way! Heading is 174, high rate of speed!"
"Paladin copies. All aircraft: safeties off. Looks like the enemy wants to play with us tonight."
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(Near Callen's Hill)
Dieter flipped the radio to a Syllian frequency, hoping that he was within range of Launces so that they could hear him. He had delayed contact because of a small flight of F10s near the border and didn't want to risk alerting them with unknown chatter. This diversion had also force them to burn the rest of the fuel in their wing tanks and they were on their interior tanks.
The fuel gauge was reading his jet at half and upon checking with them, he discovered that the others were barely better off.
"Attention. Attention. Launces Aerial Command, this is Major Dieter Muntz of the Rotiart Air Aggressor Force. I and my flight of five are defecting from Rotiart and I am requesting landing directions. We have no ammunition and are running low on fuel. Anyone there, please respond."
Nothing.
"Attention. Launces Aerial Command, this is Major Dieter Muntz of the Rotiart Air Aggressor Force, 215 Squadron. ID Number 010244677. My flight of five are defecting from Rotiart and are requesting permission to approach Launces Air Space and land. Again, we wish to defect. Anyone there, please respond."
Still nothing.
Dieter sighed and then began scanning the ground in hopes of at least finding a soft spot to land. Just then, he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye and then pulled back on the stick just as green tracers buzzed under his plane. There was static and then a voice.
"Oh dear, oh dear, Major. It seems that you're not the only one who listens to Syllian radio frequencies nowadays is it?" That voice immediately grated on Dieter's ears as he remembered it.
"Alfred Marks, commander of the 666th. So you must be the dog that Mechanos sent to bring us to heel."
"If that were the case, Major, I could have intercepted your flight after that little 'incident' in Gaton. To be honest, I was convinced you wanted to prove your loyalty to the Empire by dropping an atomic bomb on Launces. Imagine my surprise when your bomber dropped the bomb into an active volcano. I became curious and decided to follow you to your destination. I must say I never imagined in my wildest dreams that you were a traitor. I've already broadcast your little 'transmission' back to Shadowfell and Mechanos has already signed your death warrents. Don't worry though. You'll still be a hero. Mechanos isn't foolish enough to publicly announce that one of our nation's greatest heroes had defected. Rather, you were shot down while carrying out a top secret mission over Syllia...yes...I think that story will be rather believable." Dieter grimaced and then dodged another burst.
"Better men than you have tried to kill me Marks. None have succeeded."
"Until now that is. Look at my plane's position as compared to the bomber and poor Sergeant Voss." Dieter looked up and paled as he saw Marks' jet slightly above and behind the bomber, perfect position to attack it and bring it down with one well aimed burst.
"Voss! Evade! Evade!" Dieter keyed the radio and then, prayed that someone was listening.
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Major Dieter Muntz of the 215! Have come under attack from elements of the RAAF, 666th Squadron! Requesting assistance from any Syllian aircraft in the vicinity! Extreme distress! Repeat: Extreme distress!"
"Bad choice Major. All fighters, annihilate the traitors. For the Emperor!"
At that moment, one of the jets closing on Voss burst into flames as a roaring filled the skies. Dieter's radio piped up.
"Attention 215 Squadron, this is Alpha Flight of the Launces 1st Air Wing, Major Bertram de Launces, callsign Paladin, commanding. Resume to course 174 and continue to Launces, emergency clearance has been granted. We'll hold these bastards off of you!"
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Bertram had, quite honestly, been shocked when he heard the radio crackle to life with Dieter's voice. Most impossible was the fact he was defecting. He had actually been coming in to escort them to Launces when he heard the mayday call and saw tracers arcing through the darkened sky. Arming the 20mm cannons, he lined up the nose with the closest enemy jet and opened fire.
The burst was spot on and apparently the intel about the Rotiart jets being made of wood was true as well for the plane burned like an oil soaked rag as it fell. He pitched the nose up and then wheeled around to face another enemy fighter. He spotted Dieter's aircraft and keyed the radio.
"Attention 215 Squadron, this is Alpha Flight of the Launces 1st Air Wing, Major Bertram de Launces, callsign Paladin, commanding. Resume to course 174 and continue to Launces, emergency clearance has been granted. We'll hold these bastards off of you!"
"I thank you. Heh, it seems that day you and I discussed in Avalon has finally arrived."
"We can discuss it later, right now, I need an easy way to distinguish your jets from theirs."
"Very well. First off, my wing is flying defencive formation around the large bomber you see in the middle of the formation. All of our jets have our squadron number '215' painted somewhere on the fuselage and we have blue and white highlights. Marks' jets have red and gold highlights and their number '666' painted stark white on the fuselage."
"Copy that. I've got a bead on one of the bastards now!" Bertram's guns opened up and slammed into the enemy jet with enough force that the wings ripped off and the engine exploded." As he turned another jet was shot down and he heard the voice of Holt through the radio.
"Hey Major! Is it just me or do these things look like bombs once the wings and engine have been taken off? They sure fall like them."
"Major! Mystic here, how do we know their request to defect is genuine?"
Aware that Dieter was likely listening, Bertram took the moral high ground.
"Of all the times I've crossed swords with him he's never once lied to me. I don't believe he'd pick now of all times to start. Plus, why would the 666th try to kill him if he wasn't defecting? If they still did have a bomb they wouldn't try to destroy the bomber. They can't do any damage to the city. Defection is the only plausible explanation."
"Very well sir. I'll go along with you." Bertram replied dryly.
"Nice to see I've got your trust."
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Marks was furious. Not only was Dieter and his traitors escaping but now the Syllians had jets that could actually match theirs. He watched as he lost two more of his sixteen fighters and then scanned the skies for Dieter's group.
(Come hell or high water, I will not allow those traitors to live a moment longer!)
Marks pitched his jet into a steep roll and aimed at the closest jet to him. He smiled as he saw the number and clicked the safety off of the rotary 30mm.
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Dieter could see the lights of Launces in the distance and sighed, all the pent up stress finally leaving as they neared safety. He looked around to his unit and smiled. They had all made it out alive. He heard another jet and looked to see what he hoped was Bertram's jets but was greeted with the horrific sight of Marks' jet baring down on him, the rotary cannon on the nose revving up to fire.
At that moment, tracers lit up the sky as Jyne whipped his fighter around and began engaging Marks.
"Holy! Jyne! You're armed!"
"Affermative sir. Seems I was the only one who had ammo in the magazines."
Marks, seeing the danger, broke off the attack and began to retreat as Bertram's flight returned.
Dieter saw his old friend and comrade fire burst after burst at Marks who seemed to dodge every single one of them. They rolled, dove, climbed, yawed, turned, flipped, and rolled some more trying to get behind one another but Jyne clearly outmatched Marks. Then, all of a sudden, Jyne's guns emitted a 'clang' that could be heard easily in the sky.
His guns had jammed.
Marks, taking advantage of Jyne's predicament, pulled hard on the stick, kicked the rudder over, extended the flaps and flipped his jet over onto its right wing and rotated it on that axis. As Jyne passed, a mere split second, Marks fired the rotary 30mm point blank into the jet.
Dieter watched as time slowed down and he saw each and every round impact Jyne's aircraft. Six rounds impacted the nose, sending pieces of debris flying. Next was the wings, the engine, and finally the tail. Jyne's crippled jet began billowing smoke as the engine caught fire and seized. Dieter quickly clicked his radio.
"Jyne! Bail out! Bail out! Eject! Eject! Eject!" Still, he could see it was too late.
Marks closed the distance and opened fire again, this time with the 30mm and both 20mm cannons. The 20mm rounds went wide and started ripping the wings apart and the 30mm shredded the tail section before reaching up and peppering the cockpit. Dieter felt his heart sink when he saw Jyne come around, the canopy busted and stained red with blood.
The radio brought him back and he clicked it on. Jyne's raspy voice came through.
"M-Major...listen to me...d-do not mourn me...I-I only wish that, I could have seen my family when this is all over...Tell them...for me...Tell them I died a hero...doing what was right...and not what some lunatic told me to do...Promise...me..." Dieter held the mike and then clicked it.
"I swear to you Jyne...I'll help end the war...and then your family will know the truth of it all, I swear."
Jyne didn't have the chance to reply as Marks leveled the guns again and fired another point blank burst. This time, the rounds set fire to the fuel tank and jet burned for a moment as it fell, then, with a loud 'bang!' the jet exploded, with it's end, came also the end of Jyne Grant. Dieter watched Marks retreat and angrily squeezed the mike as if he held Marks' by the throat.
"Marks! I swear before this war is over, I'll kill you! I'll kill you you son of a bitch! You hear me?! I'll rake your jet with as much ammunition as I can possible manage and then I'll consign your broken and bullet-ridden corpse to the deepest darkest parts of the ocean! A bastard and a murderer such as you would not even be allowed a place in the infernal abyss! Hell itself would vomit you back out!"
There was no reply for a moment until...
"I look forward to meeting you again Major...perhaps when you aren't in so foul-tempered a mood and perhaps you will actuall be armed at that point. Until then."
The radio went silent and Dieter stared at the wreckage where Jyne's aircraft had gone down and gave his fallen friend a salute before aiming the jet towards Launces. Through his radio, he could hear Bertram's voice.
"This is Alpha Flight signing in. We are four extra and requesting use of the emergency runway. Our extras don't have any fuel remaining and are in a dire spot."
"Control copies Alpha Flight. By the way Bertram, your Father wants to meet with these defectors as soon as they've landed."
"Copy that." Apparently this got Stern excited as he keyed the mike.
"Excuse me, Major de Launces? We've been asked to meet your Father? Archduke James de Launces?" There was laughter as Bertram responded.
"Indeed. Although he isn't Archduke anymore. After the incident at Lavonshire, the King abdicated the throne so that his wife could return to Praetoria and become the new Empress. As a result, Father was recently crowned as James the First, the new King of Syllia."
Needless to say, THAT got Dieter's attention.
"The King you say? So that makes you a Prince doesn't it?"
"Indeed it does. Why do you ask?" Dieter chuckled nervously.
"I'm just curious as to why your Father, the new King of Syllia, would want to meet the enemy pilot who's been taking shot after shot at you. That's all." This got Bertram laughing.
"Afraid of being locked up in a tower somewhere?"
"No, more afraid of having my head chopped off."
"Don't be so dark-humored. We don't behead people anymore...Not since the headsman misplaced his axe that is...Nowadays, we simply place them before a firing squad or in an electric chair."
"You're kidding right? Right? Bertram?"
Laughter filled the radio as Bertram and the rest of the group laughed. Eventually, even Dieter had to chuckle a bit as he brought his jet safely down.
They had reached safety...(he hoped).
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Okay, whoo. So, another update for you all to look at.
Dieter and his squadron, minus poor Jyne, have made it to Launces. but now they must go before the King! The very man who's son Dieter had engaged in battle time after time!
What will happen? Your guess is as good as mine!
By the way, a little military terminology for you. EOD stands for 'Explosive Ordnance Disposal'. It is one of the most if not the most dangerous job in the military. They defuse everything from unexploded bombs and old landmines to IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).
So, you see a soldier with an EOD patch on their sleeve, no matter what country you're from be it America, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Japan, etc., shake their hand and tell them thanks for making the world just a little bit safer. (And a lot less likely to explode in our faces).
Also for those of you who don't know what an outhouse is. An outhouse is basically an outdoor toilet or outdoor 'water closet' (WC) or whatever you guys call them in Europe. Anyway, ever since the original gag/joke aired on Dukes of Hazzard in the 1980's, blowing up an outhouse has become a well known comedy gag for farmers and other country folk.
Heh, I remember a Marine friend of mine, he told me a joke about how during mortar training one day, someone accidentally sent a dummy round through the window of the officer's latrine. He said the round all but landed right in the lap of a young Lieutenant fresh out of Annapolis.
Guess he really needed to use the head (Navy slang for 'toilet') after that. Hope he was wearing his brown pants. (See what I did there?) XD
As always, please rate and review. By the way, going to take a little break from Bertram for a while and shift the focus to his brother Joshua for the next update.
Next Time: The Shores of Broken Anchor