=Normal POV=
(Friday, August 16, 2019-12:45 pm)
[Archian Military Outpost; Aleppo, Syria]
The flight was five hours and forty-one minutes long, with one layover in Vienna, Austria that was an hour and a half. During this, the Warriors were allowed to deboard the plane, use the restroom, and grab a snack if they were hungry; most grabbed a coffee or energy drink. All bags remained on the aircraft unless it was the backpack containing their personals and electronics. Hayden didn't say much the entire trip, not even on the layover, which worried Troy. Hayden had been informed right before take-off that the reason he was made Staff Sergeant two weeks ago is that of back up situation in the event their Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Kristopher Hunters, was absent; this could range from a simple meeting to death. In either case, Hayden was Kristopher's second in command, and would take control of the Platoon if Kristopher wasn't able for whatever reason. Troy tried to get Hayden to talk about it on the plane, but Hayden said he would prefer to keep the information quiet for now, to avoid any problems with the others who might not like that nineteen-year-old Hayden Haddock was selected for such a big job. The layover involved Hayden using the bathroom, getting a coffee, then sitting down and just thinking about everything. Donovan and Kristopher spoke to him a few times to make sure he was alright, and Hayden said he was, but Troy wasn't buying it.
However, now, the Alpha Company had just arrived in Aleppo, Syria, and with the time change; it was actually fifteen minutes to one. Donovan stood as the plane landed and rolled to a stop. "Listen up, Warriors!" the Commander yelled to get everyone's attention. "You are to deboard and form up into your platoons swiftly and silently. Don't turn on your phones, don't make calls home; just stand there with your bags. Once we're off; we'll be moving to our location on the base. You will receive further instructions when we arrive,"
"Yes, Commander Bludvist!" the one hundred and forty-eight men and women replied.
. . .
[Section M; Archian Outpost]
The venture to the place Alpha Company would be residing in for the next nine months wasn't very far from the airfield; twenty minutes at best. Right away, it was set up a lot like Fort Archian, so at least there was some familiarity. Already it became clear that there were twenty-six main sections, all lettered according to the alphabet; there were some sub-areas too. The central headquarters building was placed in the middle of everything; this was where all the big decisions were made, then sent out through different leveled officers. The Warriors got to look around, trying to take in the new surrounds and continue to wrap their heads around the fact they were in a massive war zone; it wasn't just a bad dream about deployment; they were really here for the next eighteen months.
"Twelve barracks, six platoons. Males on the left, girls on the right. They are labeled the same way back home. For example; Inferno, you were A1 and A2, this time you're M1 and M2," Donovan informed.
"What does the M stand for?" someone from another platoon asked.
"Anyone feel like taking a whack at why?" Donovan offered. Hayden rolled his eyes, then raised his hand. "Hayden?" he gestured.
"Twenty-six sections to the base; they follow the Barbaric Archipelago Islands Armed Forces Phonetic Alphabet. Just as A is Alpha, M would be Myrkur, which translates to Darkness in Icelandic," Hayden stated.
"Correct. Well done, Staff Sergeant Haddock," Donovan smiled. Hayden nodded and stayed quiet. "Now, as this is your first time in war; the base leaders have allowed one week of settling in. You get from today, the 16th, to the 23rd to get situated in your barrack, learn the layout of this camp, the daily sounds, and more. Think of this week as intake and learning," he said. "For the time being, you are to get unpacked in the barracks, then we'll move to a tour of places you'll most likely be in. And yes; it will include a lunch break because I'm sure you're all hungry. Dismissed; we'll yell when it's time,"
"Commander Bludvist, you forgot to ask that other thing you mentioned on the plane," Kristopher reminded.
"Ah, yes! Thank you, Lieutenant Hunters. The officers have their own quarters which doubles as an office too. If anyone needs anything; that is where you will typically find us," Donovan mentioned as he walked away. "Oh, and any Warriors who were promoted to Staff Sergeant are in charge of their platoon's barracks. Warriors should report to them with any problems," he added quickly, then was heading for the Officer Barrack.
Troy watched Hayden close his eyes and sigh quietly as Kristopher approached Hayden, who saluted respectfully. "All SNCO's are permitted to stay in the Officer Quarters as you are considered Junior Officers; the decision is yours, Staff Sergeant Haddock,"
"I'll stick with my platoon, Lieutenant Hunters," Hayden informed.
"Understood," Kristopher began to walk to the Officer Barrack. At this time, Hayden felt like all of the Inferno Platoon's eyes were on him, waiting for orders.
"You heard Commander Bludvist, boys and girls. Into your barrack, start unpacking!" Hayden said loud enough for the twenty-three others to hear.
"Yes, Sergeant Haddock," the platoon replied as Hayden groaned a bit.
"You okay?" Troy asked Hayden.
"We've only been here for about thirty-five minutes and I have a massive headache," Hayden admitted.
"A bit much to take in?" Troy questioned as they walked into the M1 Barrack. Two rows of cots were really all one could see, a few posts for support, one locker, a folding table nightstand, and a trunk were present for each bed going all the way down the line. There had to be at least thirty beds, but that was set up for the standard thirty people to a barrack maximum. Inferno Platoon had fourteen males and ten females, so this might work out that they weren't all crammed together in one living space.
"I guess you could say that. Two weeks ago I was just a Private, now I'm a Staff Sergeant; Lieutenant Hunter's second in command, and in charge of the platoon barracks. I feel like a camp counselor," Hayden muttered. Troy chuckled a little and gave Hayden a small hug.
"Well, thankfully; we all get along, so you shouldn't have to mediate any massive situations between us. It is a lot of responsibility, Hayden, but I don't think they would have selected you if they didn't believe you could handle the job and perform the duties assigned," Troy offered.
"I suppose so; just happened so fast, and here we are. It's difficult to process anything when more and more keeps piling on," Hayden informed.
"I know, but hey; you got me, and I'll help all I can to make this a bit easier on you," Troy told him.
"Thank you, Troy; that means a lot to me. I guess we should start getting settled. Um, beds close to each other like at home?" Hayden inquired with a faint blush.
"Are more comfortable with us near one another?" Troy asked. Hayden nodded to him. "Helps with us being away from home, huh?"
"Yeah, this is all kind'a new. I'd like to hold onto a little familiarity," Hayden stated.
"I won't argue with that logic. Come on, there are two beds right here by the entrance we can use," Troy smiled as he and Hayden moved towards them. Each bed came with a fitted sheet, pillow, then two blankets; a light one for Winter, and a heavier for Summer. "You want right by the door?"
"Doesn't matter to me," Hayden shrugged as Troy set his bags down on the second bed in the left row as Hayden placed his on the first in the same. The barracks were long and curved at the top with hanging lights and fans. There was an air conditioning unit, but there wasn't a need for it right now; it seemed cooled off within the barrack. From what most of them could tell; each section of the base had male and female bathroom/shower units towards the Officer Quarters, and there appeared to be two porta-potties per barrack. Also, by the officer office for M Section; there was a Company Medical Center. This was for small injuries and primary illnesses. For anything more significant than that, there was a full Combat Hospital near Central Headquarters. Hayden felt like he didn't need a tour; he'd pointed out a lot of leading landmarks just by looking as they walked to their area.
. . .
An hour and a half of unpacking and getting used to things; the tour was called for so the Warriors were taken through the bathrooms, showers, and CMC(Company Medical Center). Each bathroom had four toilets and shower stalls. The men's room had three urinals, but otherwise, the same things as the girl's. The CMC was equipped with three head medics, and several helpers, cots, and what not. Without leaving section M; the men and women were told where Headquarters was, and the primary hospital. Of course, before all that happened, the Warriors were overjoyed to find the Chow/Mess Hall for a late lunch. Now, this building was one level but big enough to be three High School cafeteria's into one. As it had been explained; this establishment was used by three other Companies, so in total; that's five-hundred and ninety Marines in just this four-section group. As the Warriors learned; this is their tour Battalion group, and it didn't really have a name; just labeled MNOP, which stood for, Myrkur, Nox, Ormr, and Plasma. Everything was relatively easy to navigate, and it was rare Alpha Company would be leaving their area unless for missions, patrols, and guards, which could take place anywhere in the Aleppo as it was the second largest city in Syria.
Also, while walking, Donovan or the other Platoon Leaders would point out individual sounds for the Warriors to learn the meaning of, but no matter what; none of them would do anything without orders from their Platoon Lieutenant or Company Leader. In their journies, the Warriors were able to locate their supply buildings for the battalion. And this is when they were issued their weapons to keep on them at all times, but while in the barrack; the objects could be placed in their metal lockers, or on the tops of their trunks. It didn't matter as long as they were quickly accessible to the rest of their combat gear. Finally, when the tour ended, the men and women were able to return to their barracks to mull over the rules, and let everything set in. By the time they reached the barracks again; it was bordering 4:30 pm. Hayden laid down on his bed and stretched out, at this point dinner would be in a few hours; but the cool thing was that the Mess Hall was open all the time. The kitchen might be closed, but there were tons of vending machines for snack and drink. Also, within the Archian Outpost were twenty-four-hour meal tents that sold burgers, fries, onion rings, hot dogs, chicken fingers and sandwiches, etc. There were one or two located near the Chow Hall. The Mess Hall doubled as an entertainment location too. Music, movies, and internet also. This place wasn't bad at all; aside from the fact it's a war zone, but if you looked past that; there were small comforts of home all around.
Hayden was beginning to doze off when Troy shook him a little. "Hm?"
"I know you're tired and all, but should we call home and let your uncle and my family know that we're here safely?" Troy asked.
"It's only 2:30 pm back on Berk, Troy. My uncle is still working, but I'm gonna call him later; maybe after dinner. You go ahead; I think I'm going to try and get some sleep," Hayden yawned.
"You sure?" Troy inquired.
"Yeah. If you get through, tell your folks and little brother that I say hi, and would be there, but I need sleep before I pass out," Hayden chuckled some.
"Will do. Rest up, I'll wake you for supper," Troy bent down and kissed Hayden's forehead, then went to sit on his bed while Hayden rolled over and closed his eyes; slowly drifting to sleep.
. . .
[Berk; Haddock Household]
(7:30 pm)
"Spencer, for the love of Thor…Will you please sit down and stop pacing back and forth? You're making me dizzy! Hayden will call; he promised he would. I don't see what you're so worked up about, and why all of you felt it was necessary to gather up here; it's not like he'll want to talk to anyone but me," Gabriel retorted with a roll of his eyes.
"That's still our son, Gabriel," Vivian huffed.
"And we want to know he's alright, even if he doesn't want to speak to us," Spencer sighed.
"Well, I suggest that when he calls; you stay quiet. I'm sure he'll figure out I'm here like last time, and give an update, then hang up," Gabriel reminded.
"I just want to hear his voice, and know he's okay," Vivian mumbled as she looked at the TV screen where Gabriel had been kind enough to hook up his laptop, while it was signed into Skype. After just a few moments of silence, the ringing started as all eyes fell on the screen where a box to accept or deny a call had come up from; TheVikingWarrior_0019{Hayden}. Gabriel rolled the mouse over to the green camera button, then clicked it as the call began connecting, slowly. It wasn't just the Haddock parents and Gabriel tonight, the former friends had come when Spencer informed Avery that Hayden told Gabriel he would call after landing and getting settled in to let his uncle know he arrived safely. As such, this got all the friends over to make sure he was okay.
"Laddie!" Gabriel greeted with a broad smile when Hayden's side loaded up and showed him before the camera without his hat on and wearing a pale green t-shirt, then a pair of dog tags hanging from around his neck.
"Hey, Uncle Ga-And you're at my parent's house again, aren't you?" Hayden remarked.
"Sorry, kiddo. They have been riding my ass since they found out two weeks ago," Gabriel informed.
"It's whatever. Too tired to care," Hayden stated.
"Kind of loud on your end," Drew mentioned.
"I know. Hang on," Hayden said as he was seen turning his head towards the others. "Guys! You all need to frigging chill. It's almost 9:45 pm and most of our Company are settling down for the night to sleep. I'm not getting my ass chewed out by Lieutenant Hunters or Commander Bludvist because you're too rowdy,"
"Sorry, boss," one of them replied as the others nodded.
"Don't call me that," Hayden ordered.
"But you-," someone started as Hayden glared. "Shutting up, sir,"
"I don't care if you're up; just quiet down. It's been a long day for everyone," Hayden reminded. After that, it was calmer and everyone going back to what they were doing. "Sorry," he sighed.
"You look exhausted," Gabriel pointed out.
"I've been awake since," Hayden checked his watch. "2 am Archipelago time, so…Almost twenty hours plus the two-hour time change; I guess that makes it…Twenty-two?" he finished.
"It makes it that you need to get some sleep," Gabriel ordered.
"I plan to after this. I promised I'd call to let you know I got here alright," Hayden enlightened.
"And yer a good lad for keeping yer word," Gabriel chuckled.
"Hey, it's one of the things that make me, well, me," Hayden smiled.
"Those barracks look better than mine did," Gabriel laughed. "We had tents in my day,"
"Yeah, I guess these aren't too bad. I'll send pics tomorrow for you," Hayden yawned.
"Go to bed, Hayden. Once you start missions, patrols, and guards; all you're going to want is to lay down for five minutes without worrying of an attack," Gabriel reminded.
"Oh, don't worry; we've already been warned that after this week we start the hard shit," Hayden replied. The males began to get loud again. "Son of a bitch, really? GUYS! I JUST TOLD YOU TO COOL IT! If I have to repeat it; you're all dropping and giving me twenty!"
"You can't do that," someone tried to argue.
"Who is in charge when Lieutenant Hunters isn't around?" Hayden asked.
"You…" the males responded.
"And who has command over the M1 and M2 Barracks?" Hayden continued.
"Also you," they said.
"Then I think you will find that I very much can make you do that. Now, relax because when I get off this call; I'm going to bed and so Odin help you if I get woken up," Hayden warned. "Anyway, Uncle Gabe; I did arrive safely around 1245 hours here, and I'm all settled in for the next eighteen months. I'm not sure when leave comes around, but I'll let you know once I do,"
"You likely won't qualify for it until at least the six-month mark, kiddo," Gabriel informed.
"I'm not worried about it, honestly. This place might be a war zone, but it's pretty comfortable. I'll tell you more tomorrow, for now, I'm gonna hit the sack," Hayden smiled.
"Alright, laddie. I love ya," Gabriel said.
"We love you too, son!" Vivian jumped in.
"Aye, we do," Spencer added.
"Stay safe, Hayden," Avery, and Hailey mentioned at the same time.
"Hope we can see you when you get back," Fisher interjected. Hayden was quiet for a few moments.
"Love guys too, and I don't know; we'll see. Talk to ya soon. Goodnight," Hayden replied, then he ended the session as Gabriel closed the laptop.
"I told you he still loved you even though you hurt him, and he still feels that, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from him much or at all," Gabriel reminded. Spencer and Vivian nodded, then the friends did too. Not long after; the former friends left; glad that they got to see Hayden, and he didn't just hang up upon knowing they were there. Hell, he even responded to them, sort of. Gabriel went home by 10:15 pm, and that was it for the evening. Hayden was officially on tour, and they all only hoped that the next eighteen months flew by.