Chapter 13

Over With and Done

Peters' was a man that liked to clean up after himself. Besides, there really was no reason to keep the Osean prisoner alive. He had served his purpose and it was only fitting to dispose of the body. No sense in another man taking up space. Peters hoped the Oseans weren't planning a rescue mission. A firefight in the middle of Ardovka was not how he wanted to spend this evening.

Taking refuge in a grassy field Peters took some time to rest. As always he propped his neck up against some ammo crates, letting his boonie hat shield his face. Sleeping in such a way wasn't exactly the most comfortable way to sleep but Peters had been though worse. What more could you expect from a hardened marine.

Though his eyes were closed he could still hear the bustling military activity nearby. From time to time he would feel the earth vibrate as the occasional five-ton truck convoy rolled by. Troops spoke in muffled voices keeping up on their various duties while helicopters buzzed in the distance.

"Sir." A familiar voice said.

Peters casually moved his hat from his face. He looked up to see his trusted Sergeant, Tomas.

"What we do now?" Peters asked getting to his feet.

"We're up apparently. Brass thinks the Oseans may be planning something for tonight." Tomas replied.

"And lemme guess. They want us to investigate?" Peters asked rather rhetorically.

"Couldn't be more correct Cap'n."

"Well, you know what that means. Gather up the rest of the team and tell to hurry the hell up. Don't wanna keep intel waiting much longer." Peters said with a smirk.

"Don't I know?" Tomas asked sarcastically.

--

Athos was convinced that paratroopers always got the short end of the stick. They always parachute behind enemy lines, are surrounded on all sides, and almost always have to wait forever for reinforcements. Such was the situation the Osean 77th found themselves in once again. Waiting for reinforcements, surrounded on all sides by an Army that wanted to kill them.

But something bothered Athos. Why hadn't the Yukes just gotten it over with by now? The Yukes were numerically superior and had more than ample opportunity to obliterate this lone Osean force. For a moment, Athos was unsure of whether or not they were blessed or just damn lucky. Either way, he never took the time to complain. His squad was still alive at least.

Suiting up was quieter than normal. Usually Athos and his squad would have been laughing and joking. This time however, they were quite silent. Something told Athos the silence was due to his outburst earlier today. He hadn't quite forgiven himself and saw this as his punishment. But he also couldn't discount the fact that his men were just plain scared.

Up to this point his men were still virgins. While not making commentary on their sex lives Athos and other Osean troopers referred to virgins as men who hadn't taken a life yet. No one in his squad had taken a life and no one wanted to. Death they had witnessed, but death they had not inflicted. The prospect of killing another human being was quite disheartening to these men. Still, that was not the end of their concerns. They realized that there was someone out there waiting to kill them as well. None of these young souls knew what awaited them in those dark Yuktobanian fields. A part of them wanted to find out, who or what was awaiting them. On the other hand, none of them really wanted to find out.

Darkly camouflaged faces represented the darkness of the unknown. It was easy to be brave when you knew what you were up against. In this moment, nobody knew what they were up against a fact that was more terrifying than anything they had known. But Athos had to give his men credit. Despite an obvious sense of fear they had enough strength to saddle up for the ride anyway.

After finishing up with the face paint Athos turned around to address his men.

"Alright gentlemen listen up. Tonight, is our first offensive operation into Yuktobania. A lot is riding on this one and we're the first squad in. Our job. Identify and designate five key SAM launchers near the town of Ardovka. While it has been stressed that we are only a recon element, that does not mean we aren't in danger. Intelligence has placed significant importance on troop strength levels. Ardovka is not only a major Yuktobanian town it is a major military stronghold as well. That means the outlying areas around the town will be heavy with activity. Expect roving patrols and even the occasional dogs. And yes gentlemen, fluffy bites this time." Athos explained.

"Once again, I have to reiterate how important it is to stay quiet. That means radio silence and hand signals. We've trained like this plenty of times gentlemen and last time I remember we did pretty damn well in training scenarios. I know that doesn't help much but rely on the skills you learned in training. Praying is great, but reliance on training is much more assuring."

"We stay out of sight and within the nearby brush. Satellite photography didn't give us the luxury of finding the SAM before hand. But at least we know the number of SAMs we're looking for. Remember gentlemen, our job is only to only point out and identify the SAM launchers. Once we complete our objectives we wait for further orders. Most likely we'll have to engage the enemy in one form or another. But for now we're just peeping toms."

"Radio codes are as followed. Though we will not be using our radios for quite some time it still doesn't hurt to know our designations. First off, Papa Bear are the boys in charge. Spear 1 is our designation and rightfully so since we're leading this operation. The designation for the fighters is Wardog 1 though 4. They are counting on us to lase the targets for them. Distraction squads, in case the Yukes decide to retaliate, will be known as Weasel 1 and Weasel 2. They will buy enough time for Apache gunships to fuel up and cover our retreat for a while. Hopefully this battle won't be drawn out. Fortunately, more reinforcements are on their way as we speak expecting these SAMs to be wiped out. But get this gentlemen, Wardog is supposed to stay on station after engaging the SAMs. CAS it turns out. So we aren't all alone out there. Lets just do our jobs and get back it one piece. Hoo oh?"

"Hoo oh?" His men replied.

"Lets start the show." Athos replied hoisting his rucksack over his back.

Towards the open Yuktobanian fields and brush Athos and his squad faded into the darkness. Like ominous specters the darkness of the night soon enveloped them. Fear and anxious weighed heavy on their minds but they proceeded anyway. They had to have in themselves and faith in each other. Once the shooting started they would only have each other to count on out there. War made no promises but these men promised to protect each other and just such an attitude was what they needed to survive.