Squirrelpaw, Rafter-man and six others soon arrived at the leader's office as Tawnypelt was looking over the mess. The table the mess was situated was piled high with cameras, photographs, newspapers and magazines. Tawnypelt was helping Blackstar clean the mess up when Blackstar turned to those that entered his office. Tawnypelt was busy writing in the report of the newspapers for distribution of the weekly news.
"Okay warriors; let's keep it short and sweet today. Any cat got anything new?" Blackstar asked them as he continued to clean the mess up. Squirrelpaw turned to Blackstar.
"There's a rumor going around that the Tet ceasefire is gonna be cancelled." Squirrelpaw reported as she was listening to what the others were spreading around. Of course she didn't think it was true. But this caused Blackstar to drop some of the magazines out of his paws.
"Rear-echelon paranoia." Blackstar hissed as he knew why the ceasefire cancellation was called. Blackstar soon went over as went to continue cleaning up the mess.
"A cat in the Intelligence says Charlie might try to pull off something big during the Tet holiday." Squirrelpaw reported as she knew she could smell something fishy. Blackstar turned to her.
"They say the same thing every year." Blackstar puts it bluntly. He continued to clean up the mess as he wanted to get the place cleaned for when they do more papers. Squirrelpaw wanted to continue speaking to him about it.
"There's a lot to talk about it, sir." Squirrelpaw tried to speak to him saying it was a big deal that their big break wasn't going to come at all. Blackstar wasn't too worried about it.
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. The Tet holiday's like the Fourth of July, Christmas and New Year rolled into one. Every Zipperhead in Nam, North and South will be banging gongs, barking at the moon and visiting his or her dead relatives." Blackstar responded as he knew there was nothing to worry about. Squirrelpaw soon got up and left leaving Rafter-man and the other privates to get the information as Blackstar continued to speak. "All right… Ann-Margret and entourage are due next week. I want someone to be there on the airfield and stick with her for a couple of days. Uh, Rafter-man, you can take it?" Rafter-man looked at Blackstar pointing his M16A1 into the air.
"Aye-aye sir." Rafter-man responded. Blackstar nodded as he wanted him to get some good details with it.
"Get me some good low-angle stuff. Don't make it too obvious, but I want to see fur and early morning dew." Blackstar told him on how he should carry out his actions. Rafter-man nodded as he knew what he needed to sir.
"Yes, sir." Rafter-man responded as he got up and left leaving Blackstar alone to begin reading.
"Diplomats in Dungarees—Marine engineers lend a helping hand rebuilding Dong Phuc villages…" Blackstar read as he turned to one of the editors are he wanted to make it clear.
"Talonpaw. If we move the Vietnamese, they are evacuees. If they come to us to be evacuated, they are refugees." Blackstar mewed as he wanted to make sure they had the basis of that. Talonpaw nodded as he took the paper.
"I'll make a note of it, sir." Talonpaw ran along as he wanted to make the note about that in particular. Blackstar went back to reading as he wanted to make reports of it and edits.
"N.V.A Soldier Deserts After Reading Pamphlets –A young Vietnamese Army regular, who realized his side could not win the war, deserted from his unit after reading Open Arms program Pamphlets. That's good, Smokepaw. But why does it say North Vietnamese Army regular? Is there an Irregular? How about North Vietnamese Army soldier?" Blackstar admired Smokepaw's work but he found a bump in the title and wanted some clarifications. Smokepaw looked at his leader realizing he made a grammarian error.
"I'll fix it up sir." Smokepaw responded as he took the paper away for some further revising. Blackstar continued to speak.
"Misses Leopardstar's interview gonna go out on TV in two weeks. Smokepaw, do a hundred words on it. AFTV'll give you some background stuff." Blackstar gave Smokepaw another assignment. Smokepaw nodded as he went off to do the assignment 100 words wasn't a lot. Blackstar continued to read.
"Not While We're eating—N.V.A. learn marines on a search and destroy mission don't like to be interrupted while eating chow. Search and destroy. Uh, we have a new directive from M.A.F. on this. In the future, in place of search and destroy, substitute the phrase sweep and clear. Got it?" Blackstar asked Squirrelpaw who returned after hearing her name.
"Got it. Very catchy." Squirrelpaw liked it. Blackstar continued to read it over when he realized something was missing.
"And, Squirrelpaw… where's the weenie?" Blackstar asked him. Squirrelpaw was wondering what a weenie was.
"Sir!" Squirrelpaw responded. Blackstar looked at her holding her paper.
"The kill, Squirrelpaw. The kill. I mean all that fire, the grunts must've hit something." Blackstar was wondering who was killed that day. Squirrelpaw was a little confused by his action.
"Didn't see 'em." Squirrelpaw responded as she didn't see any kills. Blackstar looked at her. He began to speak.
"Squirrelpaw, I've told you, we run two basic stories here. Grunts who give half of their pay to buy gooks toothbrushes and deodorants—Winning of Hearts and Minds—okay? And combat action that results in a kill—Winning the war. Now you must have seen blood trails… drag marks." Blackstar spoke to her as he wanted to make it clear. Squirrelpaw decided to come up with an excuse for all of this.
"It was raining, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Blackstar knew it wasn't good enough. He soon turned and spoke.
"Well, that's why Starclan passed the law of probability. Now rewrite it and give it a happy ending—say, uh, one kill. Make it a sapper or an officer. Which?" Blackstar advised her to rewrite the paper as he wanted to say that they were winning instead of spreading the truth around. Squirrelpaw nodded.
"Whichever you say." Squirrelpaw responded. Blackstar continued to speak with her. He wanted those papers to be clear.
"Grunts like reading about dead officers." Blackstar spoke to her. Squirrelpaw nodded if that was what he had wanted.
"Okay, an officer. How about a general?" Squirrelpaw asked him as she wanted to exaggerate on it. A few cats in the writing building laughed as Blackstar wasn't laughing at all.
"Squirrelpaw, maybe you'd like our warriors to read the paper and feel bad. I mean in case you didn't know it, this is not a particularly popular war. Now it's our job to report the news that these why-are-we-here civilian news cats ignore." Blackstar spoke to her on why he wanted her to brighten up the paper and not herself. He didn't want to ruin their morale so they knew they had to keep it high even if it meant lying.
"Sir, maybe you should go out on some ops yourself. I'm sure you could find a lot more blood trails and drag marks." Squirrelpaw told Blackstar to go out there himself and experience some combat. Every cat inside began to laugh except for Blackstar. Blackstar spoke to her as he wanted to square her straight away.
"Squirrelpaw, I've had my ass in the grass. Can't say I liked it much. Lots of bugs and too dangerous. As it happens, my present duties keep me where I belong. In the rear with the gear." Blackstar told her. Squirrelpaw nodded as she went off to go do her paper. Blackstar nodded as he was happy with the fact that she was going away to rewrite her paper.
Dusk approached as the fireworks were going off. It was clear that it was time to celebrate. Squirrelpaw sighed as she was in her cot. She was with Leafpaw, Crowpaw, Whitepaw, Mothwing and Hawkfrost. Squirrelpaw sighed as she was hanging out with the others.
"Tet. The year of the Monkey. Vietnamese Lunar New Year's Eve. Down in the Dogpatch The gooks are shooting off fireworks to celebrate." Squirrelpaw mewed to herself writing in her personal book. The others were in the bunks, reading, lazing around, smoking. Squirrelpaw yawned as she stretched herself. "I'm fucking bored to death. I gotta get back in the shit. I ain't heard a shot fired in anger in weeks." Whitepaw looked at her as she spoke.
"Joker's so tough, she'd eat the boogers out of dead tom's nose… then ask for seconds." Whitepaw mewed. Some of the cats in the bunks laughed. The door opened as Sorrelpaw joined them. Squirrelpaw decided now was the best time to put on her best accent.
"Listen up, pilgrim. A day without blood is like a day without sunshine." Whitepaw wanted to comment on that as she wanted to make fun of her.
"Shi-i—i-t! Joker thinks' the bad bush is between old mama-san's legs." Whitepaw responded as Sorrelpaw was laying down to rest up for the night. The same cats began to laugh again.
"Welcome to 1968. The year that Thunderclan kicks ass and eats brass." Hawkfrost responded as he soon grabbed his lighter to light up a cigar.
"She's never been in the shit. It's hard to talk about it. It's like Hastings." Whitepaw responded Smokepaw and Talonpaw came in as Talonpaw laid down on his cot.
"Aw, you weren't on Operation Hastings, Sky. You weren't even in the country." Talonpaw spoke as he was wondering about the operation. Whitepaw was ready to flip out.
"Eat shit and die you fucking Shadowclan apprentice! You fucking poge! I was there. I was in the shit with the grunts." Whitepaw defended herself as she was saying that she really was there No one bothered to laugh. Squirrelpaw soon in her accent spoke.
Don't listen to any of Whitepaw's bullshit, Rafter-man. Sometimes she thinks she's John Wayne." Squirrelpaw responded. Whitepaw couldn't really help but agree with her.
"You listen to Joker, new tom. She knows. Ti ti. Very little. You know she's never been in the shit, cause she ain't got the stare." Whitepaw spoke as everyone went silent when she said the last two words in that phrase. Rafter-man looked at her as he had just got into the bunk.
"The stare?" Rafter-man asked them wondering what they meant by the stare. Whitepaw decided to respond telling them what the stare was.
"The thousand-yard stare. A marine gets it after he's or she's been in the shit for too long. It's like… it's like you've really seen beyond. I've got it. All field marines got it. And you'll have it too." Whitepaw responded as the stare could happen to anyone. Mothwing lifter her head from her magazine as the cover had some she-cats on it.
"I will?" Rafter-man responded as he puts down his gear to feel more comfortable. No one really wanted to find out what the stare was and Sorrelpaw decided to come up with a joke to distract them from the discussion on the stare.
"Hey Sky. How do you stop five Kittypet toms from banging a Thunderclan She-cat?" Sorrelpaw asked her. Whitepaw turned to her as she wanted to hush her mouth.
"Fuck you, Sorrelpaw." Whitepaw snapped at her. Sorrelpaw wasn't really bothered by this that much.
"Throw'em a basketball." Sorrelpaw responded as everyone laughed at the joke except for Whitepaw. Soon a hurl was heard as an explosion went off. It sounded like a mortar was going off. Smokepaw looked out to see some mortar shells exploded right in front of their bunker.
"Incoming!" Smokepaw shouted. Whitepaw got out of her bunk as she raced off to grab her M60.
"Oh shit!" Whitepaw cursed to herself as she grabbed an ammo belt as she loaded it into the M60.
"They're outgoing." Talonpaw called out. Smokepaw listened as they continued to rush through. Grabbing weapons and getting ready to fight.
"That ain't outgoing!" Smokepaw called to him. Another explosion happened as it was much louder this time.
"That ain't outgoing!" Talonpaw shouted. Smokepaw looked at him.
"Now what did I just say?" The cats soon grabbed their helmets, weapons and flak jackets as they all run to the gates.
"Joker is this for real?" Rafter-man asked as he grabbed his M16A1. Squirrelpaw looked at him.
"Yes it is Rafter-man." Squirrelpaw responded. The cats were soon running everythwere as mortar rounds land in the distance then others near them. Fires were beginning to break out. They soon piled into a defensive bunker ready to fire. Squirrelpaw grabbed a spare M60 laying around as she loaded a 250 round belt into it as she was ready to spray lead and let them get a taste of it.
"Hey, I hope they're just fucking with us. I ain't ready for this shit." Squirrelpaw responded as they soon got into their defensive positions. Sorrelpaw soon joined by her side loading her M14 in.
"Amen." Sorrelpaw responded. Soon a truck appeared as it was heading straight for the gate as the gate although closed, was not immune from damage. They however were prepared for it. The truck soon smashes through the gate as they all began to open their guns up on it. The truck was one big target and able to take a lot of led. The truck didn't stand a chance as it soon exploded and started to burn. N.V.A cats soon ran inside as Squirrelpaw was spraying them away with the spare M60. The attackers struggled to find cover as they weren't prepared for this as they were mercilessly mowed down like a lawnmower cutting grass. Soon the speakers erupted with the voice of a cat.
"Cease fire!" The cat shouted. Soon the fire went silent as they knew it was over but it was just the beginning.
Rafter-man and Squirrelpaw walked through the wreckage of the battle from last night as Prisoners were lead past them. Blackstar decided to make an announcement.
"The enemy has very deceitfully taken advantage of the Tet ceasefire to launch an offensive all over the country. So far we've had it pretty easy here. But we seem to be the exception." Blackstar announced as he wanted all the cats ready to fight instead of publishing papers.
Later they were all gathered as Blackstar was making the announcement as the cats knew that this wasn't good at all. Blackstar walked around speaking.
"Charlie has hit every major military target in Vietnam, and hit 'em hard. In Saigon the Thunderclan embassy has been overrun by suicide squads. Khe Sahn is standing by to be overrun. We also have reports that a division of N.V.A has occupied all of the city of Hue, south of the perfume river. In strategic terms, Charlie's cut the country in half. The civilian press are about to wet their pants and we've heard Cronkite's going to say that the war is now unwinnable. In other words, it's a huge shit sandwich, and we're all gonna have to take a bite." Blackstar mewed as he laid out the news. It was clear that if the cats wanted action, they were going to get it. All the cats stayed silent as a few minutes passed. Squirrelpaw soon spoke.
"Sir, does this mean that Ann-Margret's not coming?" Squirrelpaw asked. Everyone laughed. Blackstar was pissed off and he had to straighten her act out before making any more remarks not appropriate to the topic.
"Squirrelpaw… I want you to get straight up to Phu Bai. Firestar will need all his cats." Blackstar gave her the direct orders. This counted for the other apprentices. Crowpaw, Mothwing and Hawkfrost as well as Tawnypelt.
"Yes, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Rafter-man headed forth as he wanted to go with her. Blackstar soon spoke.
And Squirrelpaw, you will take off that damn button. How's it gonna look if you get killed wearing… a peace symbol?" Blackstar was confused on why she was wearing a peace symbol on her flak vest. Rafter-man soon interrupted to speak to Blackstar.
"Sir? Permission to go with Squirrelpaw?" Rafter-man asked Blackstar. Blackstar turned to him as he spoke.
"Permission granted." Blackstar responded. Rafter-man was relieved.
"Thank you sir." Rafter-man responded. Squirrelpaw wanted to speak.
"Sir, permission not to take Rafter-man with me?" Squirrelpaw asked. Blackstar looked at her as he didn't like it.
"You still here? Vanish, Squirrelpaw, most ricky-tick, and take Rafter-man with you. You're responsible for him." Blackstar wanted Squirrelpaw gone and have her take her friends with her. It was clear that they were going to get more than what they bargained for.
[A/N]: Sorry for not responding. I needed a break after getting these chapters out and I want the attention. If you can review as well as read this, I will be grateful to see there will be more people willing to get this out. More chapters out the faster I can get this done. I will see you next chapter.