Among the trees of the jungle, an Australian sniper in camouflage was sitting on the tree. Looking like an overgrown weed on a branch, he scoured the jungle floor. Then he received a message from his headphones.
"There was a Nationalist helicopter crash down the river. Careful for any Nationalist troops," said the radio.
"Aye, mate," replied the sniper. He then saw some troops moving below him. They had heavy armor that made them look oversized. The sniper recognized the creed immediately.
"Sector B-5, Navy Stormtroopers in. Gotta need some assistance," whispered the sniper. He knew one thing for sure, he had to lay low and still long enough for the Stormtroopers to walk past. He lay on the branch while watching the Stormtroopers gathered around the tree he was on.
"Oh fuck!" he thought. Then some gunshots hit the Stormtroopers on their necks. Some dropped dead, the others ran for cover. The sniper looked at where the gunshots came from and saw Rina and her team firing at the Stormtroopers. He couldn't believe his eyes; he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Damn I swore I saw ladies kicking fascist butt. I must be sleeping," thought the sniper before pinching himself. He felt the pain and that kinda sums it all. But he kept on reasoning.
"Must be my loneliness," muttered the sniper. He continued to watch the battle between Rina and her team and the Stormtroopers. When the fight ended and bodies of Nationalist troops started to stink, Rina and her team gathered under the same tree.
"Ok girls, we have to locate them Australians," said Rina. The sniper felt it as a threat. He quickly threw his voice deep into the jungle.
"Don't you move, missy, or I'll pop yer head off," yelled the sniper. The girls turned around to locate the voice. Then Rina spoke.
"Where's you?" asked Rina.
"Why should I tell ya? Are you friend or foe?"
"Friend. We've been sent to locate you guys," replied Arthuria.
"I'm not askin' you, blondie. I'm askin' yer leader." Arthuria's face turned sour.
"Like she said, friend. Sent by the Eurasian forces to locate you," said Rina.
"How am I supposed to know that what you say is right?"
"Have you seen what we did just now?"
"Nope." The sniper lied. "I just came when reports told me Nationalist troops invadin' our secure points. By the way, yer gals stole my kill."
"Ok, fine. Have you seen a female Nationalist trooper?"
"Not that I know of."
"Nationalists DON'T employ women warriors because they're sexist." The sniper was astounded.
"Fair point. How can I trust you that you gals won't shoot me?"
"You've got my word."
"Ok. I want you to take 5 steps away from the tree you're standing next to." The girls took five steps away from the tree. The sniper jumped down with his boots landing hard. This gave a shock to the girls as they turned around and aimed their rifles at the sniper.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, mate! I'm the sniper you've been talkin'," said the sniper. The girls lowered their rifles.
"How the hell can you throw your voice into the jungle?" asked Arthuria.
"Blondie, it's a skill we snipers have to learn to avoid getting caught," replied the sniper.
"Hey, don't call me blondie or I'll kick your balls so hard that you can only make high-pitch squealy noises," said Arthuria before turning away. Rina gave a pat on the snipers back.
"Don't call her blondie, man. She gets offended easily," advised Rina.
"Is she British?" whispered the sniper.
"Yes," replied Rina.
"No wonder."
"What did you say?!" growled Arthuria angrily. The sniper got intimidated.
"I was just sayin' good ol' Britain gave birth to us Australians," said the sniper. Arthuria just ignored and turned her back to him. The sniper heaved a sigh of relief.
"So where to?" asked Rina.
"Follow me, mates. There camp's this way," said the sniper. They followed the sniper deeper into the jungle.
On the way to the camp, and to cure her boredom, Rina asked the sniper some questions.
"I didn't catch your name back there," stated Rina.
"Oh, the name's Giles, Jones Giles. Sorry if I was a bit rude to not introduce meself," replied the sniper. He jumped over a log.
"I'll have to refer to you as?"
"Just call me Jonsey will suffice."
"Jonsey? That's sounds like a girl's name," commented Arthuria.
"Well, Artie sounds like a boy's name, doesn't it?" shot back Jones.
"Thank you," replied Arthuria, taking it like it was a complement. Jones was dumbfounded. He missed a step and almost tripped.
"She's a bit of a tiger, mate. Don't try her bad side," whispered Rina.
"Looks like the kitten needs a trainer to calm her down," murmured Jones.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" said Arthuria loudly. Some birds in the trees fluttered away.
"Cool down, mate. With that roar of yours, you're going to scare all the Nationalist bastards," stated Jones. Arthuria's face turned sour and was about to start talking. Rina warned her.
"Arthuria, stop. He's trying to help us and you're making it hard for him."
"But he insulted me!" exclaimed Arthuria, with tears forming on the brim of her eyelids and pointing her finger at Jones.
"Okay, okay. Sorry mate. We're just talking to pass the time. The camp's not far now," said Jones and they continued walking.
"Drama queen," murmured Saya to Diva and they both chuckled.
They reached the regiment camp, where local and Australian soldiers gathered to fight against the Nationalist occupation in Indonesia. If they succeed in taking back Indonesia, the Australian regiment was ready to take their country back. The camp blended with the jungle, the trees became their watchtowers and all the soldiers there were living off the earth. Jones and Epsilon team reached the camp and were greeted by small children no older than 12. There were men and women in the camp, preparing firearms for the fight and food for the night. An Indonesian commander came out of a wooden hut.
"Ah, soldiers from the front. What brings you here?" asked the commander.
"We are Delta 13 and here to assist the takeover of Indonesia and Australia," replied Rina.
"Delta 13? Surely you must be joking. Who were your predecessors of 13th squad?" asked the commander.
"Commander Leslie Navin and team," replied Rina.
"Come in," said the commander. The team followed into the wooden hut. The hut wasn't big; but had some modern equipment and a table.
"Please, take a seat," said the commander. Rina and her team sat on the chairs around the rectangular wooden table.
"You don't need to lie now, Epsilon. I know your true identity," said the commander. Epsilon team was surprised.
"As you can see, Melvin was a great friend. He's the one sorting the logistics for our troops here. He's the one who notified me of your arrival. I had to send out our snipers to await your arrival." Then the commander spotted Rina's bandaged arm.
"What happened?" asked the commander, pointing at the bandaged arm.
"Oh, abseiling down from the chopper. Enemy couldn't wait," said Rina, trying to crack a joke.
"I see. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nandi Andhika, regional officer of the Sumatran forces. The other commanders, mostly Australians, are now battling the Nationalists on the other islands."
"Right now the Eurasian's newest naval crafts have reached to assist the takeover."
"Really? I thought they just sent you here to help us until they've secured the Indian Oceans."
"They've started the counter-offensive. Aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines on their way to the islands." Nandi's eyes opened wide.
"They have……..aircraft carriers?" The team nodded.
"About time, I'd say. We are almost not sane staying in the jungles for too long. So what are the directives?"
"I thought Melvin told you."
"Our networks broke down yesterday. Damn Nationalists took out our radio stations just north of here."
"Well then. The directive is to hit the main base in Palembang," said Rina.
"Tell the high commanders to give us two hours. Be prepared for support," said Nandi. Then the meeting was dismissed.