Going Camping, Part 2
Disclaimer: Same as before…
Author's Note: The English translation for the Foreign Legion song Kepis Blanc was a balance between a literal translation and best English interpretation found on a blog.
Sleep, on the night of 8 March 2002 lasting into the morning on 9 March 2002, brought Conrad to a foggy seashore. He stood atop the Daytona Beach pier, a landmark of his hometown, and he heard the the lyrics of the song Kepis Blanc carried over the fog and waves long before he saw the singers.
From the fog, marching down the sand in that slow, steady way came a formation of skeletons wearing camouflage uniforms from the Indochina War and the white kepis of the French Foreign Legion. Their weapons were shouldered, yet bandoliers and belts of machine gun ammunition bedecked their frames.
"Since we must live and struggle in suffering." The skeletal legionnaires sang out as they marched by, emerging from the fog in a long and inexorably advancing column, "The day has come when we shall prevail at the front by the strength of our spirit, the strength in our hearts and in our arms."
Conrad felt the hairs on the back of his neck as he watched this column emerging from the thick fog as the lyrics echoed.
"Pacing the sombre mud, go the Kepis Blanc." The ghastly legionnaires sang.
He blinked. That first verse captures the austerity of an eight year period of my life in La Legion. And that last line, by the strength of our spirit, heart, and arms makes us formidable fighters. I hope it shall be enough to keep my teammates safe.
Conrad glanced back down as he saw the legionnaires marching underneath the pier, along the sand, the second verse echoing from their ranks, "The Street belongs to him who strides down it. The Street belongs to the Colours of the Kepis Blanc. Surrounding us the hatred, the dogmas that we defy."
Conrad mused to himself as he watched the legionnaires marching. The slower tempo makes it quite sombre, even grim, compared to the jauntier Panzerlied that inspired it.
"Pacing the sombre mud, go the Kepis Blanc."
What the Hell does this dream mean? I've had it for years since Africa. Conrad thought as he watched still more skeletal legionnaires emerging from the fog, marching down the sandy shores of his hometown.
"How many have fallen at random on a bright morning. Of our comrades who laughed at fate. We, too, will fall by the wayside, we will fall or conquer in battle." The skeletons sang as still more of them emerged from the fog.
Fall or conquer in battle. The way of La Legion. I will will not let Kate or the others down. I will fall before I allow that to happen. I pray it shall be enough. Conrad thought to himself as the skeletal legionnaires marched onward across the hard packed Daytona sand.
"Pacing the sombre mud, go the Kepis Blanc." The legionnaires sang out as they marched in neat ranks.
It is the way of the Legion to fight to the bitter end. I will do so for the team I serve with here in the jungle. I pray I will not let them down. Conrad thought to himself. Especially Kate. I don't want to fail her at a crucial moment. Let us hope the fighting spirit of the Kepis Blanc imbued into me over eight years will be enough.
"Life smiles but on the strongest, the most doughty. Vigour, pride, youth are in our ranks. For our battles, our struggles, Honour, Fidelity on our Colours." The skeletons continued to sing.
Honneur et Fidelite. Honor and Fidelity, the two words that succinctly define the legionnaire. These are two words that define my personal code of honor, then, as decided on the docks of Marseilles. Conrad thought to himself as he watched as the sun rose slowly in the east, bringing away the clinging fog.
"Pacing the sombre mud, go the Kepis Blanc..." The legionnaires as the rising sun made them vanish with the fog. And with the fog Conrad's somnolent state vanished.
Hotel El Panama
Kate, Conrad, Sedgwick, Roadblock and Todd
09 March 2002, 0606
"Morning, sleepyhead," Kate smirked as she joined Conrad in the lobby after paying for a cup of coffee from the small Starbucks kiosk.
"Morning," Conrad replied.
Another dream, probably. Kate thought as she took in Conrad's body language. She sat beside him on the small sofa and asked, "Sleep well?"
"Mostly," Conrad replied. Well it was about a half hour ago when I woke.
"Another dream about Fiddler's Green?" Kate asked. I do want to get to know this guy better.
"Not quite. A bit of a strange one," Conrad replied.
"Oh? What was it it about...if you don't mind me asking?" Kate asked.
"I was standing on the Daytona Beach pier just before sunrise with fog blanketing the beach. And from the fog came a formation of skeletons marching in close ranks wearing the uniform of La Legion singing Kepis Blanc."
Kate shivered slightly at the thought of the image of ghostly, skeletal legionnaires marching in ranks at a steady and inexorable pace, singing one of their sometimes grim songs. Knowing what the lyrics of that song translate into…
"What do you think it means?" Kate asked.
"That as a legionnaire death was never far from me. And as a law enforcement officer this is still the case. I won't lie to you, Kate, I woke suddenly this morning. I can only promise I will do all I can to ensure I do not fail you as a partner." Conrad replied, voice quivering, "It is the way of the Legion to be loyal to one's comrades to the bitter end. Honneur et Fidelite."
"I don't know what to say, Conrad." Kate said, "I have faith that you won't let me down. I can trust that if the chips are down you're not leaving my side."
"The words, Honneur et Fidelite, a slogan of the Legion that means 'Honor and Fidelity' are three words I live by."
"I can see that." Kate replied, gently putting a hand on his shoulder and feeling Conrad shudder slightly at the touch.
For his part Conrad felt that near electric current Kate's touch brought. If I were to love again, a woman like Kate is best. I am honestly jealous that Tim has her love, but even if she were single, could she love a man troubled as I?
Conrad forced that line of thought out of his mind. No time to consider such things. Perhaps at some point I should say what I've lately been feeling about Kate, but now is not the time. I resolve to defend her to the death in the jungle if the worst comes to past.
Thankfully the arrival of Sedgwick, Roadblock and Todd helped put such thoughts out of his mind. Todd hopped into the lobby, not bothered by the 30 or so pounds of backpack that he was carrying.
Presently they all piled into a waiting van that took them back to the airfield where Wild Bill was performing preflight checks on a V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. There was a small ammunition shed where Kate, Conrad, Roadblock, and Sedgwick went to gather ammunition for their different weapons.
"Why am I not surprised that you're cramming grenades into every available pouch that doesn't have a spare magazine on it?" Kate asked.
"Fortune favours the prepared." Conrad smirked, "As well as the bold."
"I think your idea of 'Fortune favors the bold' translates into 'fortune favors he with the most grenades'." Kate quipped.
"You know me well, mademoiselle." Conrad toothily grinned as his whistled the tune Kepis Blanc.
The four adults boarded the V-22 with Todd, strapping into their individual seats as the cargo ramp closed and the aircraft lifted off into the air with Wild Bill at the controls and two aircrew in the back of the aircraft with the five passengers. Soon the hustle and bustle of Panama City were left behind as the aircraft continued east over the jungles of Panama.
Todd glanced out of one of the small side windows, blinking, "Wow, look at all the trees! I've never seen so many trees in my whole life."
"We're here!" Wild Bill announced over the aircraft's internal speakers.
"Now what?" Todd asked.
"Now we gotta rig up," Roadblock replied as he took a parachute from a hard case strapped to the floor.
"What do you mean? Aren't we going to land?" Todd asked as Roadblock handed him a harness.
"Sorry there aren't any landing zones, you'll have to jump." Wild Bill replied over the aircraft intercom.
"WE'RE JUMPING OUT OF THE PLANE!?" Todd shrieked in terror before clinging to the seat, "NO! NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE! NOT AGAIN!"
"Todd, you are not gonna die!" Roadblock said, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist in an attempt to pry him from the seat. Todd wrapped his legs around the seat as a result, clinging for dear life.
"Toad, listen to me! It's going to be okay! You'll be attached to me and we'll have a parachute on...LET GO OF THE CHAIR ALREADY!"
"NOOOOOOOO!" Todd howled, nearly shattering the eardrums of everyone in the confines of the aircraft.
THWACK! Todd's tongue shot out and wrapped itself around the seat.
"Todd, it's going to be alright," Kate began as she spoke calmly. I hope we don't have to jump from this thing too….
"Toad," Roadblock said, "Let go! I'll be with you the entire time! I promise!"
"NO!" Todd shouted, "NOT AGAIN!"
Roadblock let go of Todd and stepped back as the realization hit him, "Oh man. Todd, listen to me…"
"No...no…" Todd whimpered, still holding on for dear life.
"Todd, this isn't like before! I'm going to be with you the whole time!" Roadblock replied as he knelt beside Todd before a realization hit home. Man, what was I thinking…
"No...no…" Todd whimpered, as he clung to the chair, "I don't wanna get thrown outta a plane again."
"Todd," Roadblock replied, in a soothing voice, "This is totally different. You'll be attached to me the entire time and I won't let go of you. It's perfectly safe."
"No, no…." Todd continued to whimper.
"I have a better idea," Wild Bill's voice came over the PA system, "Guys, can you execute plan B?"
"Sure," one of the two aircrewmen in the back of the Osprey replied as they went for the hard case where Roadblock had gotten the parachute.
"What's Plan B?" Roadblock asked.
"I had a feeling in my bones something like this was going to happen, so I had my crew chiefs rig up a little something," Wild Bill replied.
Kate glanced over the shoulder of one of the two men and said, "It looks like a basket."
"That's what it is, kinda," the crew chief said, "Except it's got a canopy penetrator on a rig a few feet below so they don't get tangled up in the branches."
"Canopy penetrator?" Kate asked.
Conrad pointed out a conical rig connected to the bottom of the basket by several steel cables, explaining, "That rig will punch a hole for the canopy wide enough for the basket to get through."
"It's got enough room for you, the kid, and your supplies," the other aircrewman said to Roadblock.
"Thank you," Roadblock said as he unbuckled the various straps of his parachute and placed it back into the hard case.
"Ready to go, boss!" the crew chief said after he hooked the basket to a winch and tackle rig bolted to the roof of the aircraft's cabin.
"I'm bringing her down a few more feet then you can lower it down." Wild Bill replied.
"All you guys gotta do is get in and we'll wind you down," the crew chief explained to Roadblock.
"Come on, Todd, get in," Roadblock replied as he stepped into the basket with their supplies and backpacks.
"Well, at least it's better than jumping," Todd replied with a gulp after letting go of the seat and getting into the basket with Roadblock.
The basket worked as advertised and soon it was winched away into the jungle canopy. And a few minutes later it was reeled back up, empty. And then after it was tied down to the floor and the cargo ramp closed the Osprey took off for the next camping site.
"We're not jumping out of this thing, are we?" Kate asked.
"No, this place has a proper landing pad," Sedgwick replied.
Kate sighed with relief as the aircraft began its landing…
Sherman Annex, G.I. Joe Jungle Base
6.5 kilometers North of Colon, Panama
Kate, Conrad, Sedgwick, and Recondo
09 March 2002, 0838
Kate glanced upward at the sky as the Osprey lifted up and away before flying west to the Albrook airfield. She saw Conrad take a deep breath and blink.
"Been here before?" Kate asked.
"No, I haven't been. But my father served in Panama in 1989 with SEAL Team 4." Conrad replied, "He actually fought to capture the airfield where we landed during Operation Just Cause. Look up the Paitilla Airfield battle sometime."
"Okay," Kate replied before she picked up her duffel bag. Conrad did the same as they followed Sedgwick to a plywood hut on the perimeter of the helipad. After stepping inside and closing the door Kate saw that the inside of the hut was a simple one room affair with three cots.
"We won't be staying here long," Sedgwick said, "We go out to the jungle this afternoon."
Oh, fun. Kate thought, picturing the various creepy crawlies Todd had been salivating about.
"And to think Roadblock and Todd are 12 kilometers from us." Conrad remarked.
"And I wish they were closer so Toad could eat the creepy crawlies…" Kate groaned.
"I could tell you a few wild stories about many a mission profonde in French Guyana." Conrad replied, "Many times my friends over there encountered fairly large spiders…."
"Ugghh…." Kate groaned, holding up a hand before regaining her composure, "So what's a mission profonde?"
"Long range patrol mission in the jungle, often lasting ten to even fifteen days at a time," a man answered from over Kate's shoulder.
Kate turned her head in time to see a slim bodied fellow in faded camouflage. Black hair poked out from underneath his green slouch hat, matched by his black moustache. He carried an M16 with an M203 grenade launcher bolted underneath the barrel, a machete hanging
"Mates, this is Recondo," Sedgwick replied, introducing the man, "He's G.I. Joe's jungle warfare expert."
"You two must be Agents Hart and Todd from ACME and the Secret Service," Recondo said, "Welcome."
Both Conrad and Kate shook Recondo's hand as Conrad concluded "You must have done some training with the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment in French Guyana."
"I did go through the French Army Jungle Training Center a couple years ago, yes." Recondo said, "You were in the 3rd?"
"No, I was in the old 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment, near Avignon." Conrad replied.
"6th Engineer Regiment, huh? Know a fellow named Sergent Holck? Red headed German fellow?" Recondo asked.
"He's an old friend." Conrad said with a small smile.
"He's an instructor there now, just came back from a tour of duty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the Composite Intervention Groups." Recondo replied.
"I served with those guys," Conrad replied, "But I was in the Central African Republic."
Recondo nodded, going silent for a few moments, before saying, "Hey, let's all meet up here in half an hour. That should give you time to get ready."
After the group broke up Kate turned to Conrad, "What was that all about?"
"It was in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic where France fought some vicious actions against Cobra. Our Composite Intervention Groups took some serious losses there." Conrad replied.
Remembering Conrad's stories about Commando Depuis Kate gently touched his arm, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, mademoiselle," Conrad replied as they walked back to the plywood hut.
"On another note, I'm glad that the basket idea seemed to have worked for Toad and Roadblock," Kate replied.
"Wonder how they're doing?" Conrad asked.
Toad and Roadblock's Campsite
20 k.m. West of Sherman Annex
Roadblock and Toad
09 March 2002, 0748
As the basket lowered away from the hovering Osprey Todd wrapped his arms and then his legs around Roadblock from behind.
"Todd! Take it easy…" Roadblock began as the basket shook. The only response was a wordless whimper.
"Todd! Get off my back!" Roadblock continued, before feeling the world going dark, "Get your hands off my eyes! I can't see anything!"
More whimpering without words and the basket shook more violently, "Todd! You're shaking the basket!"
The basket rocked from side to side as it penetrated the jungle canopy. The oscillation became more and more pronounced before the sound of a thump as the heavy bag a few feet below hit the ground. Finally, the basket rocked so violently before Todd and Roadblock and the supplies were pitched out a few feet above the ground.
"Well, that was lucky," Todd blinked from the ground, "Hey, I landed on something soft."
"My head didn't used to be so soft," Roadblock groaned.
Todd hopped off, a sheepish expression on his face, as he gulped, "Sorry."
Roadblock glared at him, and soon the Osprey was nothing but a memory as it flew off westward. Roadblock looked around and checked the various supplies, his expression softening, "At least nothing's broken."
"I'm sorry about freaking out like that," Todd said, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet.
"Well," Roadblock said with a sigh as he approached his adopted son, "A lot of it was my fault as well. I should have realized you weren't ready to jump out of a plane."
"I try to be brave, Roadblock," Todd replied, looking at him with big eyes, "Really, I do. I can't help being a coward."
"Now stop talking like that," Roadblock said, as he turned to face his adopted son, "You can be very brave when you want to be. And as for the crying thing...we're working on that. You've gotten a lot better. Really."
"You really think so?" Todd asked with wide eyes.
"Yes," Roadblock replied, "Now come on, let's pick this stuff up and set up our campsite."
Second Campsite
8 kilometers West of Sherman Annex
Kate, Conrad, Recondo, and Sedgwick
09 March 2002, 1050
Kate wiped sweat from her brow as the four halted for a ten minute break. As they did so Recondo began, "Whenever we do these short halts always try and see, hear, or smell anything you can."
Kate nodded. She had been walking behind Conrad for the past hour, covering the sector behind and to Conrad's right with Recondo behind her covering the area behind her to her left. Sedgwick was bringing up the rear.
Now they all had dropped to one knee as Recondo gave a quick lesson. Kate reached for her canteen and after unscrewing the lid she took a sip of water. Then after closing her canteen she tucked it back into its pouch.
"Kate, your turn to take point." Recondo said.
"Psst," Conrad whispered as she passed him by, "Take a quick gander at your map."
Kate took her position and after reaching into her cargo pocket for her map and getting her bearings she started moving. After she'd gone about ten meters she let out a curse as she felt a vine rub against her left leg.
"I believe that's what you Yanks call a wait a minute vine." Sedgwick quipped.
"I can see why," Kate grumbled as she pushed past the thicket.
After another half hour of patrolling, Kate came upon a clearing. Remembering the various lessons she'd learned she raised her non firing hand in a clenched fist. The sign to stop.
"Good work, Agent Todd," Recondo said after he walked up to Kate and whispered into her ear, "Now the next thing we need to do is a cloverleaf."
"It's a maneuver where we move in pairs around each cardinal direction of the clearing in a counterclockwise direction. It's meant to spring ambushes early." Recondo replied, "You go with me. We'll take care of the south and east parts around the clearing"
Recondo pointed to indicate the areas in question before he turned to Conrad, "Agent Hart, you and Sergeant Sedgwick take the west and north."
The patrol split into the two pairs, searching around the perimeter of the clearing before they rendezvoused and continued on, this time with Sedgwick on point, Recondo behind him, Kate behind Recondo and Conrad bringing up the rear.
As they continued their training Kate thought to herself, I'm getting the hang of this stuff.
TBC