The Oregon Trail
I hope you've been enjoying the story and series so far hopefully you can see where this is going now, although that said I hope I can surprise you a bit, I'm not really following the canon set out in the book that covers the inter game years, mainly because I haven't read it, but I hope you enjoy my telling of the story. But anyway onto the real stuff, I don't own COD but I do own Anchor!
We drove into the night eventually reaching the Scottish boarder, "Now Soap no making haggis out of the American," Price said as he thundered along the A74 up into the belly of the beast.
"Aww you ruin all the fun," Soap chuckled next to me as we started slowing down on the approach to Lockerbie. I spotted a sign post as we passed through the town not saying a word, through fear of the name, it pointed out that it was still seventy two miles to Glasgow.
I looked out of the rear passenger window seeing nothing but fields, "Well we're well and truly in Pictland now," I laughed over to Soap who was twiddling his mobile in his hands.
"'Ey those men we're heroes," He looked at me scowling, "I had a poster of William Wallace on ma' wall when I was a wee one."
"But…..But," I stopped him, "At your weird little child touching catholic comprehensive did you shout when running at sports day, you can touch my willy but ye' can noy take ma' virginity!" I said holding my hands in the air in fists.
"Do you really think that some priest was gonna touch me?" He quizzed back with a grin on his face, "I touched that fucker and then went to the monastery for a bit more."
We were both now laughing in the back of the car, "What's so funny?" Shepherd said angrily back into the rear of the vehicle.
"Erm nothing, Sir," Soap replied trying to stop laughing but he couldn't seem to.
"About ten miles from Glasgow, Shepherd," Price said from the driver's seat and continued driving onwards towards the fourth largest city in the UK.
"Good, continue on this highway and get onto the M8," The General said calmly.
"It's a motorway," Soap corrected.
"Now, now, Soap, we need to go simple for this American," Price said sarcastically as he turned off onto the M8 heading towards Paisley.
"Get on take the next exit," Shepherd butted in on Price.
The view from a top the Erskine Bridge over the river Clyde was almost magical, you could see right up the river towards Clydebank and on the other side out to the west you could see right up to where the river widens out into the Lochs.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Soap said over my shoulder as we watched the surrounding countryside go by.
"It's nice but it hasn't got shit on the Thames estuary," I chuckled.
"Yeah if you like shopping trolleys and dead sea gulls," Price replied as he exited off the bridge and turned on the A814 which lead towards Garelochhead.
"Thirteen more miles," Shepherd butted in again.
"Wait all that's up here is HMNB Faslane," I said to Shepherd as he checked his map covering it up as we started seeing signs for the base.
"That is our destination," Shepherd replied as he folded the map away on our approach to the base.
"Can I find anything else out yet?" I asked him.
"Not yet, but you will in time," He chuckled as we approached the outer barrier of the base.
"Halt!" One of the two soldiers at the check point shouted as he readied his SA80 whilst the other raised his rifle and looked down the scope into our car. We slowed down to an eventual halt with the soldier who shouted walking towards us whilst his friend took over watch. "What is your intent here?" He asked into the driver's side window but Price just looked across to Shepherd who got out a base pass.
"They're with me," He said sharply as I looked at the soldier he had a marine dagger on his lapel.
"Hey bootlegger, what tab are you from?" I asked him from the rear whilst he waved for the gate to be opened.
"Four three, I used to be in one ass," He replied briefly looking into the rear of the car.
"I was in one agram, when were you in that?"
"About 2009," He shot back pretty quick.
"After my time then mate," I laughed as we started rolling.
"Gentlemen can we refrain from fraternising with the guards?" Shepherd ordered from the front seat, "I know you were a commando but now you're not so these people mean nothing to you."
"Roger," I accepted reluctantly, these men I could see around me were my brothers in arms they would stand by my side and fight just as I would there's but hopefully this shit wouldn't take long and I could get out before the shit hit the fan and made a mess.
"Price, stop at this next gate," Shepherd ordered it was over six hundred metres between gates so we had time to kill as we were only travelling at five miles per hour.
"Roger, pulling up at next gate," Price pulled us up about ten metres away from the guard post in an allotted bay guided in by one of the guards who didn't actually have a rifle he just had a Sig in his holster.
"Go time," Soap whispered as Shepherd led the chorus of door opening.
Shepherd led us towards the guards who were much more relaxed than the ones at the previous gate, they had their weapons lowered but I don't know if that was just because Shepherd was in full dress or just because he didn't feel threatened by our presence.
"Sergeant," Shepherd addressed the guard who showed us to the bay.
"I've been briefed go through," He replied simply as one of his men opened the gate and allowed us into the base.
We followed Shepherd who led us to a billet where a Major from the marines and a Rear Admiral from the Royal Navy, the two Officers saluted Shepherd as we approached and he gave them a half assed one back, which pissed off the Admiral.
"Sir, we're here to take your detail to the staging area where we will pass you onto the marines who will pass you on at sea," The Admiral stated as he turned abruptly and led us towards the water's edge. I just looked around the base it had been so long since I had been by the sea although this was just the edge of a loch but it's still salt water so close enough. I watched sailors pulling ropes around doing PT all the time being laughed at by the commandos, I loved doing that.
"Sir," A man stepped forward from the water and saluted again Shepherd gave a half assed one back, "I'm Petty Officer Wilks, I'll be taking you to your rendezvous," He nodded as he turned to his men who were manning and arming a Zodiac RHB.
"Come on Anchor," Price said as he climbed into the boat but I was too absolved in the surroundings to notice that I was being waited for, "Anchor! Get in the rib!" Price ordered as he pulled me into the craft.
"Huh?" I wondered as I hit the hard floor of the boat.
"Get your arse in gear numb nuts," Price demanded as he pulled me up onto one of the pontoons of the RHB as we set off out of the harbour.
"Where we headed?" I asked Shepherd.
"To the rendezvous point," Soap said calmly as he stared off into the distance bouncing as the craft hit each wave.
"What's up Soap, you still not got your sea legs?" I asked him.
"You don't know the half of it," Soap replied as he continued to fixate on what I assumed was the horizon.
"Get your shit together!" Price said calmly as he stood up in the bumping craft and looked over to the horizon at the mouth of the loch.
"Eyes on rendezvous point alpha," the seaman on the GPMG said as he tracked a small craft in the direction Price as facing.
"Suit up Gentlemen," Shepherd said as he readied himself for the incoming craft. We approached the craft with trepidation but they quickly had us in their glare they used a smoke grenade to signal to us, "That's them," Shepherd said as we approached the craft.
"Desert Fox?" The man in the other craft challenged as Shepherd stood at the fore end of the RHB.
"Frogman," Shepherd countered as he stepped onto the other craft whilst the challenger held the two crafts together, Price followed, then me and final Soap jumped across, nearly falling into the drink as he did.
"Thank you gentlemen," Shepherd said to the seamen in the craft that had gotten us to this point, and gave them another half assed salute as the new craft set off.
"USS Oregon, USS Oregon, this is mike one Juliet, rendezvous complete, RTB," The man who had let us onto the boat spoke clearly into his radio as we blasted out into the Firth of Clyde.
"USS Oregon copies all ready for RV Bravo three clicks sierra sierra echo off Isle of Arran," A mysterious voice replied from his radio.
We all sat in silence for about an hour, I had time to look over the variety of the weapons that the crew were armed with, it varied from the US M4 to the French FAMAS with one soldier using a PSG-1 sniper rifle.
"Syrup kill the engine," The man who pulled us onto the boat said as he scanned the horizon with a set of binoculars but he couldn't spot anything, "USS Oregon, USS Oregon, we are in position over," He spoke clearly into the radio as he stood on the precipice of the craft.
"One mike," The voice said again. About thirty seconds later a huge black craft exited to water about two hundred metres for'rd of the zodiac that we were in. It's nose crashed back into the water sending a shockwave back towards us almost toppling our small vessel.
"Fuck me," The pilot of the zodiac shouted as he tried to steer the craft back to fight the tipping.
"USS Oregon, USS Oregon, mike one Juliet, prepare for dust off in two mikes, out," The man who obviously led the craft said as he waved to the pilot to turn the craft back over. We started to rip through the waves towards the huge submarine which had not entirely settled yet still a couple of men were making their way onto the massive deck which we were heading straight for. As we drew in the top of one of the silos opened and the pilot aimed us straight for it.
"Mike one Juliet we are ready for your exfail," The voice sounded from the radio but it was barely audible over the sounds of the crashing waves and the roaring engine.
It took a further thirty seconds before I felt the zodiac crash up onto the makeshift pontoons the sub had in place to guide us into the silo. "USS Oregon we are all aboard."
"Roger that," The voice echoed in the wide empty space as the silo door started to shut again and the pontoons were deflated. We were plunged into complete darkness with only the occasional flash from one of the guys on the crafts helmet torches.
"Mike one Juliet?" A sailor questioned as he switched on a flashlight finally illuminating the dark hole we were in.
"Roger that," The squad leader said as he climbed out of the RHB and onto level ground. We all followed as someone opened a hatch which led us out onto the deck of the submarine.
Shepherd stepped forward and turned to me, "Anchor welcome to your new home, this is the USS Oregon, forward staging ship for the newly instated task force one four one, under my personal command," He said proudly as he made his way up onto the superstructure of the submarine.
"It's a big tin can, full of hot sweaty men I'll give you that," I replied as I started the assent up the superstructure.
"Yeah in the marines their used to getting dirty with one and other in a trench," Price joked back at me as he pulled me up the ladder.
"Yeah but we all got a wet dream of having a wank outside the palace, lucky you could in the Coldstreamers," I said back to him as a very shaken Soap made his way up the structure and was first down the ladder into the belly of the beast.
"Cheeky bastard," Price said as he allowed me down the ladder before him, "Thought you'd get the best view on your descent."
"Mike one Juliet, all squared away," The sailor said over the intercom as the hatch up top was closed, leaving us with a dim red light.
"Roger that, attention all hands, attention all hands, dive, dive, dive." The voice said over the radio, I could feel my ear drums pop as the ship dove deeper into the Irish Sea.
"I hate boats," Soap said simply as we continued to shuffle through the narrow corridors of the ship.
I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter of the story and I shall try and update soon…..ish. Please leave a review I really do like the feedback even though my responses have a habit of sounding prickish I do not mean it that way, I really am happy with every snippet I get given. But anyway I've gone on enough so until the next time…PEACE!