Chapter 8
The company had set up its tents in a forest opening west of the bunker line. On the first day, leaving the accommodation area was allowed, but on the second, it was already banned, although no one actually complied with the ban. Even though there was no point in leaving the accommodation area because they were in the middle of nowhere, but it was done for the sake of principle. On the third day, however, they had to settle for a stay in the area, but it wasn't too bad in the end. During radio broadcasts they invaded the Captain's tent, who was nowhere to be, so they didn't bother him. There was a speech from a minister on the radio:
"The heroic liberation forces of Eagle Union have relentlessly pushed the enemy back towards the Pacific Ocean. Without sparing sweat and blood, they have…"
-"No goddamn way! Are you hearing this shit? This is what they tell people!" Someone said in amazement.
-"Shut it! I want hear this." Someone else growled.
XXX
Smith sat in her own tent writing letters to the relatives of her fallen men. Writing those letters was never easy, but this time it felt even more distasteful. She sighed in frustration and threw her pen at the tent's wall. Her state of mind was not improved by the fact that Captain Hill had scolded her after some of her men had left the area without permission. A few men had come to ask for permission to leave, but she had to send them back empty-handed.
-"Bad timing?" She heard someone say at the tent's doorway.
She turned to look at the asker and saw one of the Ship-Girls. She racked her brain for a moment before she could connect her face with the name she had seen in her guidebook about Ship-Girls.
-"Ah, Cleveland. No, not really. Do you have something on your mind?"
Cleveland nodded, Smith waved her hand prompting her to come in and sit. Cleveland stepped inside the tent and sat down on a wooden stool.
-"Coffee?" Smith offered and Cleveland nodded. Smith got up and walked up to her field stove and put coffee on top of it to brew
Smith sat back down and asked:
"Well, what did you want?"
-"Nothing special… It's a little boring here now that all of the action is over."
-"All of the action? Don't worry about it, some action is sure to happen sooner or later."
-"I guess so. Quite a few of us girls would like this to end soon."
Smith smiled and said:
-"Yes, believe me. Probably all of us ordinary soldiers would like that too. Where do you send your time outside of operations? I'm guessing you have some barracks to use."
-"Yes, we have. We have our own port at the pacific as a base. When Sanders was a company leader, his and Captain Allen's companies were guarding it for a few weeks before this operation began."
Smith raised her eyebrows in surprise:
"Sanders was a company leader?"
-"Uh, yeah… Didn't he tell?"
-"No, and I haven't asked about his career. I only became acquainted with him at the start of this attack. But you know him better, don't you?"
Smith got up, poured coffee into two cups, and gave one to Cleveland. Cleveland blew on the coffee and took a small sip.
-"I wouldn't say I know him. I mean, I met him when we rescued him and some of his men from dive-bombers on some island. And even then, we just exchanged few words with him because I was assigned to go and help Captain Allen's company."
-"Is that so? Smith said intrigued "What happened there?"
-"Eh… I think the high command and Admiral Reed had a falling out, so we weren't helping them during the attack, but eventually we were sent there to help that battalion, but at that point they had suffered too many casualties and we lost that entire island."
-"Right… what about this Captain Allen?"
Cleveland didn't get to start when someone cleared their throat at the door.
-"Yo! the Captain told me to tell you that we are leaving tomorrow by 508's. The tents must be dismantled at seven o'clock."
They both turned towards the man at the door. At the door stood the Captain's personal courier. The man had a high pitched and annoying voice. His behavior had become more arrogant when he was chosen as the Captain's personal courier.
-"Well… Thanks, let the Captain know that I copy."
The man gave a lazy salute and walked off. Cleveland smiled for a moment before saying:
"It seems that action is indeed coming."
Smith chuckled:
"Yeah, I guess so… I don't know if we're going to be deployed in the front, but we'll see."
Cleveland hummed in agreement and looked around the tent. The tent was pretty ordinary officer's tent. Smith had a small bed and this table. It was a little more comfortable than a normal army tent, but Cleveland couldn't compare the two because she had never stepped inside one of those. Her attention was drawn to the crumbled paper and pen that was laying on the floor, but she said nothing about them. Then she noticed a palm-sized dark box with golden decorations and on the cover read "Silver Star"
-"Whoa! You got the Silver Star medal?!"
A little embarrassed, Smith turned to look at the box and said after sighing:
"Yeah… Even though I shouldn't have gotten it. And besides, officially it's not mine yet."
-"Hmh? Why is that?"
-"I didn't do anything special to deserve this. Sanders was the one who planned the destruction of the bunker, but he only got the Bronze Star."
-"You're giving yourself too little credit. Wasn't it you who got the men moving and the one who was the first to attack?"
-"Heh, I guess so. I tried to tell them it was Sanders' idea, but they didn't listen at all… Don't tell others, but tomorrow there should be distribution of medals before we leave and Pennsylvania and Helena both will get medals."
Cleveland smiled from ear to ear and said:
"Well, those two really deserved them."
XXX
In the morning they were rounded up near the road to distribute the medals where the cars were already waiting for them. The regiment's Colonel had come to hand medals, as was customary. The men stood arranged in U-shape on their own platoons around the Colonel. Behind the Colonel there was a small table with a few medals on top of it. The colonel was a small man, perhaps in his sixties. His gaze, however, was kind as he spoke to the men:
"The regiment has already left its mark on the glorious pages of military history. Now that I have the first opportunity to see you all together after the start of the operation, I take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your bravery and what you have done for our country… On this date, Lieutenant Smith has been awarded the Silver Star Medal and Lieutenant Sanders the Bronze Star. Sergeants Peterson and Bell have been awarded the Bronze Star medals, Corporal Brown has been awarded with the Bronze Star and Private Haynes the Silver Star… Both Ship-Girls Pennsylvania and Helena have been awarded with the Silver Star medals as well."
In the same order as their names were said, they made attention and lined up in front of the Colonel. The Colonel took the medal, which was handed to him by the Major behind him, hung it to Smith's chest and said:
"Congratulations."
-"Thank you, Sir."
They shook hands and saluted to each other. This happened with everyone, even Brown had to submit and thank the Colonel properly. After the ceremony they returned to their tents and Sanders said:
"Let's disassemble the tents and prepare to leave. We don't need to walk, we get to travel on the back of 'Jimmies'."
The tents were disassembled one be one and brought along. When they arrived at the trucks Hubbard and Brown inspected the cars and chose the best ones for their platoon.
-"Let's take these, they seem to be in best condition."
-"Not that one. Did you not see that one's wheels? It's better to take this and that over there."
Lucky for them, Captain Hill wasn't nearby to decide who would take which truck, so they were free to choose which one they liked the best. They didn't know much about cars, but they still seemed to choose the best ones if there were even significant differences between the cars. Ship-Girls boarded the same truck where Brown and Sanders were sitting. Hubbard was in the truck in front of them and was blaming someone for taking too much space.
-"Put your fuckin' backpack under your ass and don't take up so much space."
Eventually, the trucks set off and carried those miserable souls towards the new and the unknown. At first there was a lot of talking in the cars, but after only a few miles the speech began to fall silent. After twenty miles or so, Helena quietly asked Brown:
"So… do you know where we are going?"
-"I guess they'll take us into the wilderness." Brown chuckled. "Do you know, Sanders?"
-"We should be taken off the frontline when we liberate some town in the west. Well, that is what I've been told. I don't know its name; it is secret information or something."
-"Sure it is, but how are they going to keep it a secret? After all, sooner or later a signpost should be seen."
-"Well, that's not my problem."
After thinking for a while, Nevada said:
"It is annoying that you can't write to a letter where it is from."
-"It really is! It's always so weird when I send a letter to my sisters and I can't tell where we are, hopefully this ends soon enough." Cleveland chimed in. "Do you think we still have to fight?"
-"Hards to say… If all goes well, we'll be left about ten miles from the town and we walk there uninterrupted. That bunker line was strong enough to be their main defense line but can't be sure." Sanders spoke out loud.
Some private closer to the front on the truck joined the conversation and said:
"Yeah, many good boys disappeared there, luckily we didn't have to go into the worst places there."
They tried to play some cards for a passage of time, but the poor condition of the road made the game so much more difficult. Every now and then the truck drove into a small pit or a rock and everything went flying and almost off the truck's platform. After giving up the card game, Brown quietly began to sing:
"We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day
Keep smiling through
Just like you always do
'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away-"
XXX
The next morning was beautiful and bright. The sky was clear, blue, and cloudless. If you hadn't known the season to be autumn, you could very well have thought it was summer. The cars had left the 2nd machine gun company far away from the town the night before. At night they had still heard artillery bombing the town.
They were marching forward and were about to arrive on a small cliff when they heard a man from the first platoon yell something while already on top of the cliff:
"There it is!"
Those words quickly piqued the men's interest and the last thirty yards they ran like a contest. Not even the heavy machine guns slowed down the men's pace as they tried to overtake each other if the runner in front seemed to be running too slow. After reaching the cliff, Brown said:
-"It really is there and look there's smoke."
In front of them opened a large field and behind it the town's cluster of houses. Smoke rose from the town and they heard infrequent shooting from here and there.
-"Because of that fucking piece of shit we have been tormented?"
They were amazed at the greyness and the rugged appearance of the town. There were some cleaner stone houses in the inner town, but not many. Overall, they were disappointed in the town. They never had been promised a great and big city, but rumors spread fast and mere expectations quickly come true. The sight was very picturesque, but it wasn't enough for them.
-"Stoo-op."
Everyone stopped at the cliff and they looked at the city. They still had a certain sense of fulfillment in them. After all, they had suffered, fought, and suffered a bit more because of that town.
Hubbard cursed and was impatient:
"Why the hell are we staying here? We are losing many good trades now."
Sanders did not join the conversations, like he often didn't. He had laid down on his back on the cliff and facing the sun. He had taken a straw of hay and rolled in from the side of his mouth to the other. He enjoyed the sunshine and hummed to himself: 'Warms nicely…"
-"What did you say?"
He opened his eyes and saw Atlanta's face upside down. He blinked a couple of times before saying:
-"Nothing important."
Atlanta chuckled and sat down next to Sanders. She looked at Sanders for a moment before she too decided to lay down and said:
-"Ah… What now?"
-"I don't know, but they'll probably come up with something."
-"What are you going to do after this?"
-"If they put me on vacation, I have to go home. My mom sent me a letter that said they need help with the farm."
-"Well, what if they don't?"
-"Then there's not much choice… What about you?"
There those two laid on the cliff talking, their hands supporting their heads. Brown on the other hand sat a bit further back with Helena watching the city. A smile had appeared on his face, but it disappeared when he said to Helena:
"I wonder what's going to happen now…"
-"Hmh? What do you mean?" Helena smiled questioningly.
-"I wonder if we're going to be assigned as the garrison to the base Azure again or somewhere else."
Helena's smile disappeared immediately. She had not thought about such a possibility, she had always assumed that the company would not be assigned anywhere else. In fact, the whole thought had not been on her mind once and now all of a sudden, she was scared.
-"T-they can't reassign you! Who would guard us then?"
Brown smiled sadly and said:
"Well maybe they'll replace us with another company."
-"No way!" Helena was quick to deny it.
-"Hey Smith!" Brown called the lieutenant walking by "Do you know if we're going back to base Azure after this?"
Smith thought for a moment, scratched her head, and said:
"I haven't heard anything about that. From what I have understood is that the company under Sanders' command no longer exists. Isn't there a one company guarding the place still? Maybe there's no need for another, but it's hard to say."
It was the wrong thing to say. As soon as Smith had turned her back on them, Helena grabbed a hold of Brown's jacket and whispered quietly to him:
"I won't let go of you."
Surprised, Brown replied:
"What? Don't be like that. The sun is shining even if you can't see it."
-"Promise me you'll come visit."
-"There are other men in the world. I'm sure you will find someone much better if this goes bad." But after seeing some tears forming in Helena's eyes, he stopped joking and slowly pulled her into a hug "What's with you? You shouldn't give up hope just yet."
-"Promise me."
-"… I promise."
XXX
For the rest of the daylight, they were then blocking and securing the roads to this town so interesting to them. And all-day Hubbard cursed his ever-increasing loss of trade. It was not until dusk that they received a rushed order to march into the town as an occupation battalion. There was no longer any real occupation needed in the town, after all the rest of the regiment was crammed there already. According to the order, the Sirens had left the town without much fighting. They walked along the cobbled streets towards the central square. The view around them amazed them. The town looked almost untouched, but every window of every building was shattered. There were piles of glass shards on the streets.
-"This town is something else. First, they break the glasses from the windows and then no residents show up. It's like being in a ghost town." Hubbard wondered.
-"I'm a bit scared that something bad happened to those people. This town has been under the Sirens for several weeks… And we all know what they have done to the innocent as well." Smith said. Although they were supposed to walk in formations, it had become impossible as soon as they had entered the city. Smith had given up trying to herd the men into a formation and happened to be walking with the third platoon.
-"Yeah."
Upon reaching the central square, they were directed to one of the houses where the regiment's command had been placed. Of course, no ordinary soldiers were allowed in, only Captain Hill and the platoon leaders could enter. Fortunately, even the October evenings in California were not cold, so they were warm enough outside.
-"In there those wankers decide our fate."
-"We are going on a vacation now? Do not kid yerself. Who then would do all the attacking if we were on a vacation? No one else seems to be doing it."
The duration of meeting the regiment commander felt like an eternity for them. At first, they walked around and explored some houses, but almost every one of them had already been taken over by some other squad or platoon, so they contented themselves with sitting around the command building. Ignorance became nerve-recking and they tried to play cards to take their minds off it, like they often did.
-"Well, what do you have?"
-"Six tits."
-"No, I mean the cards."
-"Fuck off."
-"Well, I have Alabama night riders."
At long last the platoon leaders came out with Captain Hill. The men quickly grabbed their winnings and their belongings and grouped into their own platoons. The platoon leaders walked to stand in front of their platoons. Sanders stood quietly in front of his men as if arranging words in his mouth and then he began:
"Eh, Daily allowances will be distributed tomorrow, so it's probably a good idea to be there. We have booked a hotel for us, so we get decent beds."
-"What happens now? I mean, is there a vacation for us and if there is, what's after that?"
That was when Helena clung tightly to Brown. Sanders fell silent and breathed out slowly. For a moment he cleared his throat and swallowed before he began again:
-"Right… Yes, they gave us a vacation. According to them they can finish here without us. We'll be here for a couple of days to secure this town and after that we go home through base Lima. At the base we leave our gear as usual, and everyone goes their own way. Two weeks they said and after that back to Lima."
There was silence. Helena bit the inside of her cheek before saying with a shaky voice:
"W-what about base Azure? Will the company come there after the vacation?"
Sanders sighed hard when he saw Helena's suffering face. He would have liked to be anywhere else right now:
"…Under current regulations, we are not needed there. We'll remain in the base Lima as a reserve."
-"No." She whispered quietly.
-"First ones at the hotel get to choose their rooms. And officers get their own rooms, of course."
The men looked around for a moment and then turned their heads towards the platoon next to them, which in turn looked at them. The 2nd platoon had heard about the choosing of the rooms at the same time. Neither group moved at first, but then Hubbard took a first step forward. At the same time the other platoon broke out into a sprint towards the street where the hotel was. They were quickly followed by all the other platoons and the men mixed with other platoons because everyone wanted to get to the hotel first. Only the senior officers remained with the Ship-Girls and some privates who calmly walked after the crowd. Captain Hill turned around and began walking the other way whilst murmuring something.
Brown's expression was sad, but it was nothing compared to the look on Helena's face.
-"This… is so… wrong…" She said between her sobbing. Her face, which she had pressed against Brown's chest was wet from tears. Her whole body shook at the rhythm of her sobbing.
-"Sh sh sh sh… It's going to be alright, okay?" Brown soothed her and squeezed her into a tighter hug.
-"No… they can't… they can't do this… We… we… didn't deserve this… I'll run away."
-"Sh sh… Don't worry. We'll come up with something." Brown's voice had become very heavy.
Helena broke away from Brown's hug and started quickly walking towards the command building. Brown grabbed Helena by her wrist, but she yanked herself free. Brown caught up with Helena and swooped her legs with his left arm and supported her back with his other arm and pulled her into a bridal carry. Helena struggled against Brown's grip and he turned around to carry the girl away.
-"Put me down! I'll show them!" She screamed.
She could have broken free easily by summoning her rigging but fortunately she could not think straight. With her rigging she could have easily maimed or killed Brown accidentally.
The other girls watched the event in dismay. They exchanged some words and started themselves walk towards the command building.
-"Don't do it." Smith said, stepping between the girls and the building.
-"Move." Cleveland said, tone of her voice was not her normal and cheerful but a threatening one.
-"You'll only make things worse." Sanders chimed in.
The girls stared at each other for a moment before Phoenix said:
-"We have to do something! I can't stand seeing her in a state like that."
-"Trust me, I know how you feel, but you can't help it from here."
-"Well, what are we supposed to do?"
-"Eh, talk with Admiral Reed, she has probably has enough authority to do something." Sanders said after thinking for a moment "Right now, however, we should not make hasty decisions."
After thinking in through the girls complied and left. Smith sighed and said to Sanders after the girls left the hearing distance:
-"Do you really think the Admiral has enough authority?"
-"… No, at least not alone."
Sanders offered a cigarette, but Smith didn't take one. They said goodbyes and went in different directions.
XXX
At night, when Sanders sat in his room, he heard a knock on his door. He stood, walked up to the door, and peeked through the peephole, but saw nothing. When Sanders opened the door, he only saw a glimpse of pink before something slammed into him.
-"You don't know how hard it is to maintain big-sister image during times like these." Atlanta muttered.
A small sad smile appeared on Sanders' face for a moment before he said:
"No… No, I don't."
They chuckled and Sanders closed the door behind Atlanta. Atlanta stood in the middle of Sanders' hotel room and said:
"This is a… depressing looking room. And not in a good condition either."
-"Oh? I thought this was fine."
-"Hah! Well, I have something that makes it either less or even more depressing." Atlanta said, grinned from ear to ear and showed a bottle of bourbon whiskey she had with her.
-"Hmh? Where did you get that?"
-"I have my ways… Well, shall we try it?... As a farewell drink if nothing else."
-"Sure, why not? Is it good? You know I don't know much about alcohols."
-"Only one way to find out!"
XXX
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A/N: Not much to say, this was fun to write. I don't like writing action parts and there were none here.
If someone wondered about the song that Brown was humming, it's called "We'll meet again" by Vera Lynn released in 1939.
CrimsonJarhead: I might have something planned for Littorio or I might not well see. I'm pretty sure that Admiral Fluffy is going to release a story about Littorio sometime in the near future, so she will get some love there as well.
Like every time reviews are very much appreciated no matter what you want to say.
See ya hopefully next time! Some Dood out!