A/N: I do not own any of these characters. Not even the unrecognizable ones. Bummer.
"No one thinks of how much blood it costs"
-Dante
-Chapter One-
The Cost of Glory
I arrived on the Marine Corp Base in Guam on March 15th, 1945 after 3 years of sitting around on a base in the states. When Colonel O'Neill had pulled me aside at Camp Pendleton in California, I was entranced by the idea of finally getting to join in on the action.
The war had been going on for the past 6 years, and I was dying to get a chance to partake in it. Of course, my sister Caroline wasn't as thrilled as I was. Caroline and I were close. I had practically raised her from infancy, since mother had died in childbirth and father couldn't bear to look at her. She was the picture of mother, with her blond hair and hazel eyes--I could almost feel his pain every time he heard her voice, a perfect match of my mother's clear soprano.
My career in the Marine Corps had been postponed longer than I had liked, mostly because of concern for my sister. Father didn't know how to take care of his only daughter. So I had stayed behind to look after her, enlisting only when I was drafted in 1942. Caroline had written me a letter everyday for the past 3 years, keeping me informed of the goings on at home on the ranch and in her own life. Just recently she had written to tell me of her engagement to Jeremy Burns, her high school sweetheart, and I was saddened to find out that I would miss the wedding because of my tour to Guam.
The base was relatively small compared to Pendleton, but I knew I wouldn't be staying here long. There was a briefing scheduled for noon, where I would soon learn my assignment.
When I entered the briefing room, I instantly took in about a hundred other men sitting in school desks and talking amongst themselves. I found an empty seat next to a bronze haired boy with green eyes and took it, setting my bag down on the floor next to me.
The boy looked up at my arrival and reached out to shake my hand.
"Hi, I'm Edward, Edward Masen."
"Jasper Whitlock. It's a pleasure to meet you, Edward." I turned to face the front of the room, only to find myself face to face with a huge man with biceps as thick as my thigh. The burly man grinned at my shocked expression, and proceeded to crack his knuckles. I shot a panicked look in Edward's direction, only to see him roll his eyes.
"Emmett, stop scaring the poor man." Emmett chuckled and took the seat next to me.
"I'm Emmett McCarty." I shook the hand he offered me, slightly afraid that he would crush my own if he squeezed too hard.
"Do you two know each other?" I asked Edward.
"Of course!" Emmett interrupted, making Edward roll his eyes again, "Eddie and I are best buds!"
"We went to boot camp together two years ago, and I haven't been able to get rid of him since." He hit Emmett on the back of the head. " And don't call me Eddie!"
Emmett cursed, and I laughed at the exchange.
"Aw, Edward loves me. The two years he's known me have been the best damn years of his life, and he knows it!" He clapped Edward on the back, knocking the wind out of him.
"Attention!"
Simultaneously, every marine in the room stood at attention, quieting respectfully for the commanding officer that had just entered the room.
He was a tall man, his skin red from constant sun exposure, and his crew cut was silver at the temples. He marched to the large desk in front of us, sitting in the middle seat and leaving two empty chairs on each side for the other officers that had followed him in. He ruffled his papers for a few minutes while we stood, waiting for an order. The cool air conditioning in the large room gave us goosebumps.
Finally, the man looked up from his paperwork.
"At ease, Gentleman. You may have a seat."
All of us sat down in record time, waiting for him to start the briefing.
"My name is Simon Buckner, Jr., and I am the Lieutenant General of the Tenth Army."
Emmett, Edward, and I exchanged looks of surprise. The Tenth Army was comprised mostly of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps personnel, and had just recently fought in the Mariana and Palau Campaigns, for which they had received glory for a victorious fight.
A murmur of approval ran through the crowd, and General Bolivar smiled at us.
"As you know, during the campaigns in Mariana and Palau, we had many casualties." He looked around the room at us, serious now, "Many of our brothers died trying to bring peace to a hateful world."
He was quiet for a moment, giving respect to the many who had given their lives. I followed suit, bowing my head. I thought of their families and imagined their reactions. How would it feel to know you would never see your loved one again? How would Caroline and Father act if they knew they might never see me again?
I was called back to the present by a nudge on my right. Emmett caught my eye and I focused my attention back on Bolivar.
"You men are the best of the best. That's why we summoned you here to God-forsaken Guam."
He spoke of the little island with obvious distaste, and I couldn't help but agree with him. For the short while I'd been in the country, I had been forced to endure the heat, humidity, and abundance of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Thank God for mandatory Malaria vaccinations.
Bolivar cleared his throat before continuing. "I'm here to ask you boys to consider the greatest proposition of your military career, a chance to join the Tenth Army in the III Marine Expeditionary Force." The room was still as everyone took in what the General had said.
Join the Tenth Army? Everyone knew that the Tenth Army was the top of the elite, but with that respected reputation came a bloody price tag.
"This isn't an opportunity given to many young Marines, such as yourselves." Bolivar continued. "Even some of the most experienced Marines don't fit the criteria to join this Brigade."
Criteria? What could I possibly bring to the table that an experienced Marine couldn't? Youth, obviously, but I knew what the deeper, unsavory truth was. I was young and reckless, willing to die, more for glory than for God or country. This was a suicide mission.
"You are not obligated to join this task force." Bolivar said, interrupting my thoughts, "However, I must ask those of you who wish to leave to do so immediately."
Everyone looked around the room at one another, waiting and wondering, watching for the first person to leave.
I knew him as soon as he stood. Peter was a young married man with a baby on the way, and I couldn't blame him for choosing to stay behind. At least his child would grow up knowing their father.
A few more people, none of them recognizable to me, followed behind Peter, walking silently out the side door we had all entered from.
As soon as they were gone, General Bolivar stood and walked to the front of the room.
"Alright men, Congratulations. You are now a part of the III MEF, a third of the Tenth Army."
He began to pace in front of us. I straightened in anticipation.
"Usually, task forces in other parts of the military wouldn't receive any information about their mission before leaving for duty. Due to the nature of this mission, the board and I" - here he gestured to the four officers sitting behind him- "have decided it would be in your best interests to let you know what the hell you're getting yourselves into."
He chuckled, trying to keep the mood light, but I saw through his facade. The mission we were about to partake in was no laughing matter, and he knew it. As if he had read my mind, Edward shot me a glance, one eyebrow raised. I shrugged at him, not knowing what to say. I glanced at Emmett, and saw that he had been one of the ones chuckling with Bolivar, completely oblivious to the tension in the General's shoulders or the tightness in his smile, a sure sign of distress.
"We will be leaving for Okinawa in two weeks time, plenty of time to launch 'Operation Iceberg' on April 1st." He went to the chalkboard behind the desk and pulled down a map and pointed to a small island, south west of the main island of Japan. He continued to talk about tactics and the routes we would take to get to the northern side of Japan, but I was barely paying him attention.
I could feel the excitement in the air, most of it coming from Emmett and Edward beside me, and I couldn't help but feel anxious to get started.
The meeting lasted several hours, going well into late afternoon.
As Edward, Emmett, and I tried to make our way to the door through the sea of people, a hand grasped my shoulder.
"Major Jasper Whitlock?" I turned around, seeing one of the four commanding officers that had been sitting at the desk all afternoon.
"Yes sir?" The man was about my height, muscular in build, and in his late 30's as far as I could tell.
"I'm Aaron Brandon," I took in his colors and saw that he was a Colonel.
"Its nice to meet you, Colonel Brandon." I shook his hand and he grinned widely at me.
"Your reputation precedes you, Major Whitlock. Colonel O'Neill has told me ALL about you..." He winked.
I chuckled. "I'm sure there was plenty to tell, sir." Sure, I had been top of my class in California, but that didn't mean I didn't have a little fun.
"We should chat more, you and I. How about you come over for dinner this Friday?"
My jaw dropped in surprise. Did my commanding officer just invite me to dinner within two minutes of our introduction? It was almost unbelievable. I nodded my consent.
"It's all settled then." He started to move off through the crowd. "Friday at 18:00. Don't be late!" The back of his head was lost in a sea of people.
Emmett and Edward sidled over, seeing the end of our conversation.
"So, Major Whitlock, I think this calls for a celebration!" Emmett's cheery voice reverberated throughout the hall.
"Major-" Edward began,
"-Please, just call me Jasper." I gave him the best smile I could manage, and he returned it, one side of his mouth going up higher than the other.
"Jasper," he began again, "we're going to take you to the best diner in town!"
"You mean the only diner in town." Emmett chuckled, pushing Edward and I down the hall and through the doorway, out into the blinding sunlight.
I shook my head, ready to decline. I had just met these guys, and they already wanted to buy me lunch? Either they were genuinely good people, or something fishy was going on.
Edward wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Come on Jasper, it's our treat." He and Emmett both flashed me huge grins. "Besides, there's someone you need to meet."
End Chapter
A/N: hoorayyyyy!! hope you guys liked it. :) just to clear some things up: I am NOT abandoning "An Unexpected Legacy". I am currently writing the 11th Chapter. Also, thank you to the 7 people who reviewed: ohhemmettx3, IWillBeThereWhereYouAre, LuckyCharms19, werewolflvr, gillx, pricel, and fyd818!
Next Chapter: Read to find out! Bwahaha
Also, thank you to IWillBeThereWhereYouAre for being an excellent Beta! Thank you to ohhemmettx3 for letting me bounce some ideas off her! Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews! You guys make me smile! And some of you even make me chuckle a little bit :)
RedHeadedBelle
P.S.
If you love me, read and review my other story, An Unexpected Legacy!
Sayonara!