1st September 1977
"To answer your question Steve, I never imagined of doing something like this, let alone with two Soviets and two Japs helping me, so my nerves are a little fried right now." Shepard told his friend.
"Aww Greg, I'm crushed! You're saying I was useless?" Steve said, feigning hurt.
Shepard chuckled and answered:
"Sampling the drinks isn't really helpful pal."
After a few laughs, Shepard said:
"Come on, let's find the others."
Finding Nikita and Anton proved really easy. They were engaged in a loud discussion with an allied spy and a guardian tank commander over which kind of beer was the best.
"Nothing like a Bavarian Bamberg beer for a night like this." said the allied spy.
"Are ye kidding ye pricked gobshite? Irish dark beer is the best of them all in this God's green earth!" shouted the tank commander.
"Russian rye beer. End of discussion comrades!" Anton retorted.
"Sorry for cutting this discussion short, but I need to take these two with me." Shepard said, while grabbing both Nikita and Anton.
Finding Katashi and Hiroshi was a bit more difficult. They were on the rooftop, throwing knives at fruit. While the fruit were midair. In low visibility.
"Ah Shepard." Hiroshi slurringly greeted, holstering the knives he was holding."I managed to hit eight out of ten targets while drunk. Try to surpass me if you can."
"Liar! You only hit four! I counted them!"
shouted Katashi, who also appeared completely inebriated.
"At least they look like they have fun. That's progress." Steve said.
"Yes. They are better than before. Remember what happened six days ago?"
Nikita asked Steve, who obviously cringed.
"Godamnit, don't ever talk about that. Never again!" Shepard nearly shouted.
Flashback, six days ago...
"Alright fellas, the place is approved. The event will occur in the island of Mykonos, Saint John beach, in the local estate in ten days, 1400 UTC, 1700 local Greek time. Steve, Nikita, are the supply orders correct?"
Shepard was in full drill sergeant mode. No one dared to cross him that time.
"Yes sir!" both of them shouted at the same time.
"Katashi and Anton, is the building safe and secure?" Shepard asked.
"War bears and attack dogs searched every inch on the ground. Combat engineers secured tunnels and built underground bunkers in case of emergency." Anton said.
"Surveillance burst drones are searching the whole area 24/7. All the civilians are temporarily rellocated until the event is over. Allied snipers and Imperial shinobi warriors are around the area. Nothing passes undetected." Katashi answered.
"Hiroshi. Is the building and the catering ready for the event?" Shepard asked.
"Imperial and Allied engineers made sure that the structural integrity, the lighting and the plumbing of the building are in perfect condition. Decorations were brought from every corner of the world to make every faction feel welcome inside. There is enough room for 200 people and the catering services have people competent, capable of speaking English, Russian and Japanese and discretion is guaranteed." Hiroshi finished.
Shepard nodded his head and said:
"Alright, good job everyone. Looks like there is something else us blockheads can do instead of waging war."
Everyone else snickered to the comment.
"Now all there is left to do is check the supplies, eh?" Steve asked, cunningly.
Shepard exhaled with annoyance:
"Just don't overdo it. We may have a blank cheque but that doesn't mean you can drink yourselves dead and just get away with it."
Steve was jovial:
"Don't worry lieutenant, it's just a cultural exchange. A few drinks between fellow soldiers. Am I right everyone?"
Nikita, Anton, Katashi and Hiroshi all nodded yes.
"See? Completely harmless lieutenant."
said Steve.
"Alright, let's go before I change my mind."
Shepard finally answered.
Two hours later...
"And that's why you should never give vodka to a war bear." said Anton.
Everyone laughed at the story. They were all completely plastered, empty bottles around them.
"How the fucking hell did you manage to make that bear drink?" asked Steve.
"Haha, simple my friend. I swapped the labels between 'bear food' and 'morale provisions'. The bear went completely berserk. It crashed into my commissar's tent while he was busy jerking off. Easy to say, he wasn't very pleased." Anton said.
"Hahahaha, not pleased? I never heard so many curse words in only one minute. Even our dreadnaught captains aren't that foul mouthed. You were lucky no one saw you doing what you did. He would throw us both in the gulag after that stunt."
said Nikita.
"At least he deserved it. An officer who doesn't gain the respect of his men is not worthy of his command at all." added Hiroshi.
"Do you have any war stories lieutenant Shepard?" asked Katashi.
Shepard wasn't talking for a bit, like he was contemplating something.
"To be frank..." he said with a grave voice
"...I'm tired of this war. I'm tired of fighting and tired of watching everyone die."
Everyone looked at him confused. Shepard suddenly stood up and shouted:
"THIS WHOLE SHIT IS REAL FUCKED UP! EVERYTHING! THIS GODDAMN WAR BROUGHT ONLY DEATH AND MISERY TO ME! I lost five of my original platoon in Brighton beach! Three more in Cannes! Six in Gibraltar! And the rest in Leningrad!
Later, I lost both my brothers in the Yucatan islands. Both dead from Soviet grinder tanks! This isn't war, this is a godamned massacre and I'm sick to fucking death by it!" Shepard finished his rant and sat down, beer bottle in hand.
Everyone stood quiet for a bit.
"You're not the only one who lost lieutenant. We all lost friends and comrades." Nikita tried to console him.
Hiroshi called: "A toast to the fallen."
and raised his glass.
Katashi continued: "May their sacrifice never be forgotten."
The rest raised their glasses and Steve said: "I'll drink to that."
They clinked glasses and drank.
"Hey, who has cigarettes?" Shepard asked.
Everyone pulled out a pack each.
"Alright, let's have a smoke and get back to work." Shepard ordered while pulling out his own pack.
Everyone obliged and lit one cigarette each. Unknown to them, there was a lot of pooling liquor on the floor. Flammable liquor.
" Hey Greg, maybe we shouldn't smoke in a room full of flammable alcohol?" Steve asked Shepard anxiously.
"What?" asked Shepard.
Suddenly, the whole room erupted in flames. The six soldiers barely had time to bolt out of the room, dazed by the smoke and the alcohol in their veins.
"FIRE, FIRE, BRING SOME GODAMNED FIRE EXTINGUISHERS FOR FUCK SAKES!"
shouted Shepard.
Ten minutes later...
"All the hard liquors are burned lieutenant.
We need to buy new ones." Steve gave his report. A few engineers were already gathering the burnt wrecks and repainting the walls.
Saying Shepard was pissed would be a collosal understatement. He looked ready to snap at a moment's notice. However, he tried to keep his cool.
"Anything else damaged?" he asked, his tone hoarse
"The fires are extinguished and the damage is slight. But we need to buy new liquors if we want the party to succeed" Steve added.
"We have no time Steve. It took seven days for express delivery and there is only five days left." Shepard answered and sighed.
"There's only one solution left Steve."
Shepard went to the phone and called a number he had years to use.
"Lieutenant McKenna speaking."
"Hey Eva, I need a favour."
AN
Lieutenant Eva just made her appearance. What is her past relationship with Shepard? Are they just friends, or maybe something else? Find out at the next chapter.
