Chapter 3
A week or so had passed since they had left the Island in the pacific. Sanders and Allen had been sent to New York to report the incident at the Island. They were leaning against a streetlight pylon, clearly waiting for something and Sanders of course smoking. They heard talking from a phone booth nearby. The door of the booth had not been fully shut.
-"It's good to hear your voice again… Heh, sorry about that there weren't many phones around."
It was Brown talking on the phone. He was still supposed to be in a hospital but he had had enough of laying down and so he had fled through a window and accompanied Sanders and Allen. Allen and Sanders had been housed into some hotel for the time being, Brown of course having fled from the hospital needed a place to crash so he too was housed there too.
-"Are you okay? You didn't get hurt there, did you?"
-"I'm fine, just some minor scratches here and there. I can't talk for long, but I wanted to let you know that I'm alive."
-"That's good then… When are you coming home?"
-"Pretty sure I can come visit next week but we'll see about that. I really need to go now, I'll try to call you later today, okay?"
-"Okay… Stay safe Ned."
-"You too, mum."
Brown hung up, sighed, and exited the booth. He looked at the cars passing by, the big houses and people walking on the sidewalks for a moment and walked to Sanders and Allen. They all looked much better than a week ago. They didn't have bags under their eyes or red and swollen eyelids anymore, they had more meat on their bones, clean shaved and overall looked better. Allen much more at ease and relaxed, Brown was his usual happy self and Sanders was still… well Sanders, as in untalkative and with a blank face.
-"So are we ready to go now?"
-"Yeah, let's go."
They started to walk down the street, turned a corner, passed some shops in silence. The sun bored into them, the sounds of cars and people filling their ears and smell of food in their noses. Allen opened his mouth and said "You know what? We have some time, and I could really use some caffeine. Let's grab coffee." As he turned to look at the two others
-"Yeah, sure." Sanders answered with only a few words like he usually did. They still had an hour or so before they were supposed to give their reports so might as well.
They walked a bit before finding a café that would have to do. After getting their cups they took seats in a table outside. They sat back, stirred their coffees, and enjoyed the sunny day. Just three buddies enjoying their coffees and each other's company. Brown chuckled to himself after having thought something hilarious, well at least he thought so himself:
"You know Allen, you and I, we are aliens here."
Allen furrowed his eyebrows as he was trying to understand what Brown had said "What do you mean?"
-"We are legal aliens. We are Englishmen in New York."
Allen sighed but right after saying that the corners of his mouth curled into a smile as he said: "Shut up."
-"I mean can we say that we are Englishmen while we are drinking coffee here?
Sanders looked at Allen and when he didn't give an answer straight away, Sanders said: "I've been meaning to ask you about it. I have never seen you two drink tea, only coffee. What's up with that?"
-"Well, I have never really liked tea, I'm a heretic and a disappointment I know. What about you Allen?" Brown laughed at his own joke.
-"I guess I just grew out of it when I got deployed." After finishing his sip of coffee Allen answered as he shrug "It's so much easier to get coffee than tea while deployed."
-"What is wrong with our armed forces? Even captains can't get tea if they want." Laughed Brown
-"You'd need to be a Major to get your wishes granted."
They all chuckled and drank they coffees. After finishing, they got up and started to head for the building where they soon were supposed to be in. People around didn't either know how the Siren war was going or didn't show it. To an ordinary citizen the war against Sirens was a distant grief and hadn't affected their lives much.
They arrived at the place they were looking for. A fenced parking lot in front of a huge building with glass doors and many windows.
-"This the place? Are you sure?" Questioned Brown while eyeing the building.
-"Yeah, I'm sure. I had to report here once before." Said Allen as he was looking at the building. It had changed a bit, but he still could recognize it anywhere.
-"Damn it's like a mansion! Don't know what I expected but not this." Brown was still getting used to big cities and huge buildings.
They walked up to the doors and two guards were standing on both sides of the door. Rifles in hand the guards looked at the three men and the second one said, "State your name and business." In very matter-in-fact tone whilst glaring at the trio.
-"Captain David Allen. I'm here to give my report of our last mission."
-"…Sorry but I have not been informed about this. You cannot enter."
-"What? What do you mean not 'been informed'?" Allen was really surprised. The guard just shook her head. Allen eyed the guard "Can you at least go and ask somebody about this?" The guards sighed "Sure." And as she was about to turn around and head inside the doors opened and a man with clean black suit, hair that had been slicked back and a mustache walked out:
"Ah, Captain Allen, Lieutenant Sanders and Corporal Brown, I assume."
-"That would be correct, yes."
-"I was sent here to fetch you, so if you would kindly just follow me."
They walked inside and were in a large lobby. They were led across the room and up some stairs. They walked past some vases, paintings and even some sculptures. Office workers hurrying past them carrying stacks of papers, typewriters, and other office supplies. The place seemed really lively, probably because it employed hundreds of people. Stairs up again and a right turn, through a corridor with many doors both sides, a left turn this time and stairs up once again. They stopped before a door and the guide turned to them:
"You need to wait here; I'll inform the major general and the admiral about your arrival." He flashed a smile, bowed a bit and turned back towards the door.
The man opened the door, slipped inside, and closed the door after him in one swift motion. The trio just stood awkwardly in the corridor for a moment before Brown broke the silence:
"Damn… I did not think that such high nobs would waste their precious time on us."
-"… Mhm…" Allen hummed "But have you wondered why they would summon you? I mean you are just a corporal after all."
Brown was quiet for a moment while pondering and opened his mouth "…Uh… Probably to court-martial me. Ross and I had some minor disagreements before I got injured."
-"Right..."
Sanders was about to add or say something but just then the door opened, and the guide's head peeked out "You may now enter and report your… reports..." The guide opened the door fully, stepped aside and they walked in. Inside there was the major general and that admiral, the guide had mentioned. On the right side of the room there were two accountants to write down their reports.
-"Ah, Captain Allen, Lieutenant Sanders and Corporal Brown." The major general said and motioned with his hand them to sit down.
After they got seated the general continued "Let's get straight to the point and let us hear your reports from 'Operation TT' or 'Tropic Thunder'."
Allen was the one to start with his report. He went into detail about the whole operation; their attack, the casualties, the orders from Ross, the ship-girls' support, and the retreat. He did not spare many details in his report and was precise about the times and such. Brown and Sanders just stared at him. How could one man remember so much that had happened with such precision and accuracy? It did not take long for Allen to wrap up his report and now it was Sanders' turn. Sanders was the exact opposite of Allen with his report. He didn't hesitate to skip details and parts he saw unnecessary. It was much shorter than Allen's report had been and barely passed as a report but nevertheless passed.
"…mhm… Okay… thank you... mm…" The major general hummed "I need some clarifying regarding some parts..."
They were asked about the armament of the troops, more about Ross' orders and Sanders' decision to throw away the machine guns and more. After getting their answers the major general started to search for something. After a moment he found what he was looking for and took out a small stack of papers:
"Hmm, yes… Here are your new orders… Uh let's see here… You'll be granted 2 weeks' vacation, after that you are to report with your companies at base LIMA. There you will equip your men as you see fit and you'll be flying to base Azure and placed under the command of Rear-Admiral Susan Reed. The base is where the ship-girls or KANSEN are stationed. You will be the garrison at the base and will guard it with everything you have."
-"Uh… Sir, aren't the ship-girls more than enough to guard the base and then mor?. From what I saw, I can tell that they don't need protection." Allen questioned the order. He wasn't against the order, but it just seemed odd to him.
-"That would be correct, yes, but the ship-girls are the most valuable asset we have and we cannot take risks with them. It's better to have some troops guarding them. Understood?"
-"Yessir."
-"That should conclude this meeting… Or maybe not. Corporal Brown?"
-"Yes?"
-"Colonel Ross has requested your discharge and prosecution. He has referred to you as, and I'm quoting 'the filth of this battalion. A louse that thrives and lives in filth and should be removed ASAP.'" The admiral read out loud.
-"Yep, definitely sounds like something Ross would say." Commented Brown, it amused him that Ross would write to his superiors like that. He was informal while speaking and was laying back on his chair. It was definitely bit of a stunner to those two 'nobs' because they stared at Brown for a moment before the admiral cleared his throat and said:
"… Yes… We thought about it for a while… You won't be discharged for now at least but you will start to respect the discipline and order, if you won't we will use harsher methods. Your lack of respect is not acceptable." The Admiral stated "Do. I. Make. Myself Clear?"
-"Understood."
The answer Brown gave seemed to be satisfying enough because he didn't continue to press on about it. "We however want to congratulate you for destroying a Siren tank, it was not something that any man could or would have done.
-"Thank you… Sir."
XXX
XXX
The two weeks' vacation had come, and it had passed. Sanders had been helping around his parents' farm: Plowing the field, repairing their house and barn. It was early morning, the sun had not risen yet, so it was somewhat dark outside. He was in living room looking at the pictures of his brother and sister who had fallen already. Sanders sighed; it was time for him to head for the base LIMA. He changed into his uniform, grabbed his backpack, and walked out his room, down some stairs and out of the house. His father was sitting on stairs with a pipe in his hands. Mr. Sanders was often even less talkative than his son was he only glanced at his son, turned to stare his pipe in hand and was quiet for a moment:
"Alice and Leonard fell already. Do you have to go kill yourself there too?" The words came out very bitterly, maybe even more bitter than he had intended.
Sanders opened his mouth, but he found no words to say to his father. He looked at his father, he had stopped filling his pipe with tobacco. For a long moment neither of them said anything. His father lit his pipe and started smoking it. Sanders looked at his father and said "... Bye then, I'm going now." Walking past his father and towards the road that curved behind their old shed and disappeared from view. However he stopped near the barn, hugged, and said goodbye to his younger sister, brother and his mother before he left. Mr. Sanders stared at his sons back before he disappeared behind the shed. He let out a long sigh that was mixed with a grunt.
And so, Sanders started to walk to base LIMA. He walked along a road that brought him away from his home. The trip to town took him a few hours even though they were not horribly far from town, but Sanders stopped every now and then to look at the nature. In town he hopped onboard a train that took him to base LIMA.
XXX
It was already night when Sanders got to base LIMA. He checked in and made his way to officer quarters to get some rest. The officer quarters were next to the barracks and as he was walking past the barracks, he heard someone call out:
"Hey you!"
Sanders stopped and turned around to see who had called. As Sanders turned around, he was face to face with someone he did not expect to see. A girl with pink hair. Sanders stared at the girls eyes it took him a moment to realize where he had seen those bright blue eyes before.
Atlanta looked Sanders up and down for a moment "Yeah! It was you! You were that officer that we saved from bombers, right? What was your name? I don't think you told it to us!"
Sanders looked at Atlanta "Uh… Yeah, it was me. Name's Arthur Sanders"
The girl nodded "I also wanted to apologize for being rude back then, but I had to make sure that nothing would happen to Helena."
-"No need to. You can't trust everybody you meet."
Atlanta nodded again and asked, "Are you having a new mission or just stationed here?"
-"Um… We are supposed to be stationed at base called… what was it again?... az-… base Azure or something like that."
-"Wait what?! Really?! That's were we Ship-Girls are stationed at!" Atlanta was surprised about the news.
-"Yeah that's what I've been told. We'll be there to guard the KANSEN." Sanders was glancing at the girl's eyes again. They were mesmerizing.
-"That's great news! Good to get other people over there!"
An awkward silence fell over them since neither one of them said anything for a while after that. Sanders turned to look at a truck that he had been in just a moment ago. It was Atlanta that broke the silence:
"C-could you walk with me for a moment?"
-"Sure…"
They walked around the base for a bit in silence. It was already close to midnight, so it was quiet outside. They got off the path they were on and walked on grass for a bit before Atlanta stopped and sat down. Sanders stood for a moment but decided to sit down as well. It was cool night, not too cold, just the right temperature for a night. Atlanta pulled her legs to her chest and Sanders glanced at her. Still neither of them wanted to break the silence, well Sanders was used to awkward silences with people, so it didn't bother him too much.
-"Helena told me about the whole operation, she had heard it from Corporal Brown." Atlanta was staring straight ahead and spoke ruefully and quietly.
-"Mhm…"
-"I first heard the story from the colonel and his story was way different from what Helena told us. The colonel also said some pretty nasty things about you and your men."
-"I can imagine, leaving those machine guns was a blow, alright."
-"Doesn't he care about the men or what was that all about?"
Sanders was quiet for a moment thinking "The colonel… uh… has hard time to accept setbacks. I'm pretty sure he knew it was the right thing to do but couldn't admit it."
-"That makes sense… But he didn't talk ill about Captain Allen at all. What's up with that? I mean he lost those cannons, but you were the only one to get blamed."
-"Captain Allen has always been… popular among the higherups and besides losing those anti-tank cannons wasn't really his fault."
-"Yeah… I guess…"
Sanders turned to look at Atlanta who was looking at him. Those damn eyes. He was immersed in them and couldn't hear when Atlanta asked something. He missed the question completely "mm?" he hummed after he got back to reality.
-"I asked what do you think about Allen?"
-"…Uh…" Sanders blurted out "He usually gets things done."
-"…I see…" The answer clearly did not appease Atlanta.
Sanders noticed that. He stared in front of him for a bit "You don't have to worry about most of the boys they are well enough mannered not to do anything… Well everyone except Hubbard… He can be… troublesome."
XXX
The next morning the company had gathered on an open field where they stood in formation. Sanders was giving advice and orders to the other platoon leaders. He was the company commander and took lead of the 1st platoon. After finishing with the platoon leaders, he walked up to his platoon which was the most non-militaristic looking. Their hats so-so on their heads, shirts and jackets opened way too much and stubble on their faces.
-"The company gets moved to another base by a plane. That is why all unnecessary equipment will be given away. In backpacks I recommend taking another pair of underwear, socks and footwraps. If your clothes are ripped or broken, get new ones from the warehouse… and take your rifles with you. Probably better to shave now so there will be no trouble later. Sergeant Wood keeps an eye on you… Try to hurry."
It was really surprising how fast the men moved. They shaved reasonably well and took their mattresses to the warehouse. Some bought something to eat on go from the canteen. Sanders was sitting near the trucks they'd use to go to the airfield. He was taken aback when the men arrived already. Brown walked up to Sanders, grinned and said:
-"We are ready now. It seems like everyone wants to get as fast as possible out of here!"
-"I'm really surprised, I was anticipating you half an hour later, but this works."
As they were loading the men onto the trucks, they heard someone call out behind them:
-"Excuse me, can I have a moment, please?"
Sanders and Brown turned around and saw Atlanta and Phoenix. They weren't supposed to be here anymore. Sanders had been told that the ship-girls left with Allen a few hours before.
-"Oh wait… it's you two." Atlanta managed to say between her breaths. She was clearly out of breath from running.
-"What happened? Did you miss your flight?" asked Brown they were surprised to see the girls here.
-"Yeah… We did…" said Phoenix she wasn't as much out of breath as Atlanta but still panting a little.
Atlanta, after leveling her breathing asked "You said that you are going to be stationed at base Azure, so we assumed you are going there right now. Can we come with you?"
Brown turned to look at Sanders wanting him to answer that because it wasn't his place to promise something like that. Sanders looked at the girls for a moment "Three Douglas C-54s are taking us there so there should be a few empty seats available."
-"Thank you, we'll make it up to you somehow!" Smiled Atlanta. Sanders just waved his hand dismissively as they boarded one of the trucks that was empty. The Ride from the base LIMA to the airfield took around 20 minutes. They boarded the planes, and they were off. With no Idea how long the flight would take Sanders decided to take a nap because last night he had not slept much. Talking with Atlanta had caught his curiosity about ship-girls, and he had stayed awake wondering about things.
Brown talked a bit with the girls himself but after a while he too decided to rest. As soon as he laid his head down, he was fast asleep.
XXX
After getting off the plane they realized that they were in a town. Base Azure didn't have an airport so they would have to walk there. After an hour or so they were pretty close to the base, well so they thought at least. Sanders was in front of the company walking silently. Brown had gotten into an argument with somebody about what was the best kind of beer. Sanders heard someone's footsteps as they sped up to catch up with him. The someone was actually two people: Atlanta and Phoenix.
-"Hiya!"
-"Hello!"
Sanders looked at the two girls "Hi." The girls had been talking with Brown before he got into the argument. No doubt they didn't want to take part in that.
-"Where are you going to house all these men? At the base we only have enough rooms for us girls." Asked Phoenix curiously.
Sanders sighed "Yeah I figured as much. I told squad leaders to pack tents with them so housing shouldn't be a problem." He glanced at Phoenix and turned his gaze quickly away.
-"Ah, clever thinking!" Phoenix commented. She had wandered about the housing for a bit even though it didn't concern her at all.
-"Man, I can't wait for taking a dip in one of those hot baths in the bathhouse!" Atlanta said as she stretched her arms over her head and bounced a bit with her steps.
-"Me neither! Hey, Let's ask if Helena and Clevie would like to join us there." Said Phoenix as she turned to look at Atlanta.
-"You have a bathhouse?" Asked Sanders. Base Azure was a military base was it not? Not a relaxation camp.
-"Hell yeah we have one! It's the best! A hot bath after a battle where you have come back from the verge of death, there is nothing better!" Phoenix stared at nothing as she reminded herself how it felt to dip in that hot water.
-"I can see the appeal in that." Admitted Sanders. For a moment he looked at Phoenix weighing things in his mind and for a moment a small hint of a smile lit up in the corner of his eye.
Phoenix sneaked a peek towards Sanders. She noted that he had had a blank face every time she had seen him. "Uh… Is something wrong?... Every time I have seen you, you have looked kind of… emotionless..."
-"Phoenix!" Atlanta scolded her.
-"Uh…" Sanders made a noise that you do when you don't know what to say at first. "This is just how I always look." He was surprised because that came out of the bushed for him at least.
-"Oh…"
The awkwardness didn't have enough time to become apparent as they saw Allen's men sitting both sides of the road, near a gate that presumably led to Base Azure.
-"Greetings! If it ain't the old Artie!" Yelled Allen before they could even see the man.
-"Greetings to you too. We got here in the end." Sanders greeted Allen who seemed to be in a good mood. Allen was in his usual captain's uniform and it was super clean and tidy like always. Even Sanders looked decent now that his clothes were clean enough, his face wasn't dirty, he had no stubble, and he didn't look like he had just woken up.
-"Oh, Atlanta and Phoenix? Where have you been? Some other girls came looking for you after we got here."
-"Sir, we missed the flight that we were supposed to be on but we are here now." Said Atlanta while they both saluted. They still seemed unsure how formal they should be in Allen's presence. They had already noticed that Sanders didn't care about formalities.
-"Well, that's all that matters I guess." Allen said and turned to look at Sanders and questioned him "They came with your company's flight?" Sanders nodded and hummed.
-"Sir, permission to go see our friends?" Phoenix asked while shifting awkwardly in her place.
-"Granted"
-"Thanks and bye-bye! See ya around, Sanders!" Atlanta yelled while waving because they had catapulted towards the base as soon as those words of approval exited Allen's mouth.
-"See ya."
Sanders and Allen chatted for a bit while they waited for Sanders' company to catch up with them.
-"Have you met the rear-admiral yet?" Sanders asked trying to keep the conversation alive, first time for everything, right?
-"I have not. I was turned back at the lobby by some gray-haired girl named… Washington was it?... Yes. Washington saying that the admiral was busy, and that I would have to go back later." Allen informed "That was like 2 hours ago and I was just about to go there now but you showed up."
-"Okay, let's go then. The sooner we get this done the better."
-"Agreed"
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A/N: Well, another chapter done. I thought I could relax after getting some important exams done but it seems like I get no slack. Oh well… I try to keep this story going. I had a bit of trouble at the start of the chapter and I'm not 100% happy with it but I'm too lazy to start rewriting it now.
Like before reviews are very much appreciated whether or you like this story or not. Feel free to say what you think about it and I'll try to make future chapters better.
See ya hopefully next time! Some Dood out!