by Dave Hazel
“Men, you are all dismissed, except for you Captain Diaz,” Chick said and broke up their little meeting. “Get your men squared away and be prepared to move out.”
Simultaneously the leaders all snapped to attention and shouted their response. “Yes Sir!”
“Myk,” Chick said and waited for the others to be out of hearing. “You’re a civilian, and I know you used to be an NCO, but you are the top dog here. You don’t have to ask for something like that. I had several briefings before this mission unfolded and I understand you have a special assignment that I’m not to question. I am to assist you in any way possible. For future reference if you suggest something in front of others that I do not think is a good idea I will phrase it in a way so that you will know we need to talk about it. At the end of the day, I’m here to support you. These resources are mine which in turn means they are yours. If you’re going to endanger the men, I’ll step in and make other suggestions.”
“I truly appreciate that. You’re right. I’m a little hesitant because of my former rank. I’m glad that you know I have a special assignment so I won’t have to feel like I’m walking on eggshells. Thank you very much. That takes a load off my mind.”
“May I make a comparison?” Captain Diaz asked Major Chick.
“Sure Ryan. Mykal and Towbar, this is Captain Ryan Diaz,” Chick introduced the Marine. “He is CO of Alpha.”
“That’s Commanding Officer?” Mykal asked. “Am I right?”
“Yes. He is Company Commander of Alpha Company. With all the different forces put together so quickly for this operation, we’re trying to keep all the titles and terminology simple and easy to use. Back to Captain Ryan Diaz here, he is a first rate Marine. I’ve known him for many years. Ryan, go ahead with your comparison.”
“Nice to meet you Sir,” Mykal said with a nod and accepted Diaz’s out stretched hand.
“Myk, I’m not sure if you know the Bible or not,” Diaz said while he shook Towbar’s hand. “In the Book of Genesis there is a wonderful story of a boy named Joseph.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know the Bible,” Mykal said and winced. He thought he would have to deal with another Jesus Freak like Ski. “I just haven’t had the time to go to church or anything,” he said and realized his lame excuse came across as a ‘lame excuse’.
“No problem, but the comparison I wanted to make was you and Joseph. As a teenager Joseph was sold as a slave and then was wrongfully accused of a crime he didn’t commit and thrown into a dungeon. Because of situations that occurred he was elevated to the number two person in Egypt, basically overnight. He became leader of Egypt, but only with respect to the throne was Pharaoh greater than he. You are just like Joseph. As Major Chick explained, you are the leader of this operation and this Regiment. Only with respect to military tactics and operations will he be above you. So like Joseph you basically went from a junior NCO to a Regimental Commander overnight.”
“That’s pretty neat,” Mykal said for lack of a better response.
“Captain Diaz does make a great point Myk. If I ever see that you’re stepping out of bounds I will make it known to you just between the two of us. And don’t allow yourself to feel the pressure of having all that leadership responsibility hanging over your head. That’s why we’re here. We will lead the men and put them where they need to be. We are here to assist you so that you can accomplish the task you have been assigned to. I fully understand you haven’t had the training, nor the experience, and all the years we have had to get where we are. You just do what it is you’re supposed to accomplish and we’ll be there to assist you.”
“Well thanks. That makes me feel a whole lot better. What I would like to do is to take a helicopter and fly ahead for a couple of reasons. One to make sure that you guys won’t be walking into a trap. We can report back what is ahead. And more importantly I need to make sure the Pass hasn’t fallen to the Sosos. As of five days ago it was still secure,” Mykal said and looked at Towbar who nodded in agreement.
“Not a problem. Take at least four helicopters,” Major Chick clapped his hands together. “More eyes in the air will see more on the ground,” he winked and gave a big smile. “I will get the pilots up and running. I will put a fire team on each of the choppers just in case.”
“Thanks,” Mykal said and knew he was going to like working with Major Chick. “Just so I know Major Chick and Captain Diaz, and this will stay between the three of us. You are the ranking man here. I want to make sure you don’t have a problem with me being considered an equal, cuz I don’t want there to be any problems, especially with you.”
“There is no problem here,” Chick responded without hesitation. “I am a Marine. When given orders, I obey said orders. I don’t question assignments given to my trust. Those above me have given a great deal of time and thought to my task. I don’t need to try to out think them. In some areas I don’t have the need to know all the details of my mission. Case in point your mission is something I don’t have all the details, but I know there is more importance to what you must accomplish than what I’m doing. My mission is to assist you and I just need to be successful and complete my mission with utmost urgency which is to help you. So to be honest with you Myk, we are not equals. I was instructed that you will be my superior unless it is a deliberate misuse of my men and resources and if it needlessly endangers their lives. Not to brag, but I am a top shelf professional warrior that my superiors will not waste. I can follow my orders without question because I am one dedicated Marine who lives for, and is totally devoted to, my Corps,” he said and his voice seemed to rise with his enthusiasm. “I am a United States Marine, Ooh-rah!” Major Chick declared firmly. His seriousness sounded contrary to his normal jocularity.
“Damn,” Mykal laughed with fired up excitement. “You guys make me wanna sign back up,” he joked.
“And I can vouch that those words are spoken directly from this man’s heart,” Captain Diaz said adamantly. “Besides my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, Major Chick is the man I admire the most in my life. He is a great leader of men, a great mentor and a close friend.”
“So to put your mind at ease Myk, my mission is to assist you. ‘Nuff said on all that. We won’t bring this up again. But,” he paused to emphasize the importance of his next statement. “You be sure to inform me if you encounter anyone who has a dilemma with your position. I will not tolerate disrespect to your position over this mission. I don’t care if your former rank had been Airman Basic, and if your former job had been dog catcher. We have a job to do, and it will get done.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that,” Mykal said and wished he would have known Major Chick in the past.
“Myk, I don’t know if you’re aware but we have eight UH-1D Hueys, they’re the Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter--” Chick stopped when he saw the lost expression Mykal gave. “Each Huey has a crew of two pilots and two door gunners. Each Huey can transport eight to ten troops or can carry six stretchers. They may be readied to fly within the next half hour. If you would like to get yourself squared away I will have them ready for lift off when you’re ready.”
“Sure. How many pilots do we have?” Mykal asked.
Major Chick started to laugh. “Mykal you will probably hear of some bickering and complaining, but don’t let it concern you. Direct it to me should something come up. I’ll explain,” he said with a sigh and another laugh. “These eight helicopters are property of the US Army, so originally twelve crews were selected for the choppers, eight to be on flying status and four in rest status at any given time. That is twenty-four Warrant Officers to fly and twenty-four Army soldiers to man the weapons. They fall under Third Battalion as do their maintenance personnel so you should never hear of any complaints.
The problem we came into was there were several Air Force helicopter pilots who wanted to be a part of this grand, unprecedented, mission. So someone pulled strings with some Air Force Generals and now we have four more helicopter pilot crews made up of eight Air Force
officers and they threw in eight more Army soldiers to man the weapons. The crews all stay together, they don’t interchange. So you will see eight regular officers flying, those are the Air Force personnel who pulled political strings to get their flying ‘face time’,” Chick added with a snarky smirk. “And then you will see twenty-four Warrant Officers who are Army pilots. I don’t have any concerns with any of the pilots involved, they are all exceptionally qualified. But you will probably see the Air Force pilots pushing their way to fly you specifically. For some people it’s all about padding their resume.
As a Marine, I don’t care about the Air Force versus Army air-jockeys, and who flies what. Like I just said they are all outstanding pilots. I would entrust my wife and children to fly with any of them. So don’t allow that to be a concern. But you know how people can be. They want to be close to the star or the leader. Yes that even takes place among officers. I just wanted you to be aware in case anyone asks you how Air Force officers are flying Army choppers when there are plenty of Army warrant officers available. Go get yourself ready. We’ll talk about it more later.”
“Thank you Sir. I appreciate the info,” Mykal said. He stood amazed when Major Chick and Captain Diaz turned away. “Wow, that’s one military man through and through.” Mykal snickered to Towbar. “I’m sure as hell glad that he’s on our side.”
The giant nodded in agreement. “I too was taken by his professionalism and demeanor.”
6.
“The choppers are ready for you Myk,” a Marine lance corporal approached the van. “Major Chick sent me to get you.”
“Thank you.” Mykal looked at the young man and though they were about the same age Mykal felt so much older.
“Myk, if you don’t mind me asking, do you think we’ll run into any Sosos?” The Marine asked while holding tightly to the strap of his M-16 rifle. His camouflage uniform was crisp and clean as if he had just pressed it before making his way to deliver the message.
Mykal noticed his camouflaged cap was also pressed and looked to be starched. “I’m not really sure,” Mykal answered
“From the numbers I’ve heard tossed around, it sounds crazy,” the Marine continued. “Do you think we’ll have any trouble with the Sosos?”
“I don’t think so,” Mykal answered confidently. “They have the numbers. No doubt about that, but if they haven’t taken control of the Pass we should be fine. If they took the Pass then we could have problems. Ya know,” Mykal sighed and paused while he looked around in all directions to the picturesque scenery as if showing the Marine around. “It’s beautiful out here, but don’t let the scenery fool you. The Sosos are ruthless, vicious bastards.”
“So it was pretty rough the first time, huh?” The Marine asked though he had heard the stories repeatedly. When he knew he was selected as a volunteer he devoured everything he could get his hands on to read. He wanted to know as much as possible.
“What is your name, Anka?” Mykal asked and read his name tag. “The first time was pretty bad because we didn’t have a clue what we were up against. We were just dropped right in the middle of it and had to figure it out and deal with it as it hit us. There were only about seventy of us who made it to the Pass and we held off all the assaults. We had the townspeople with us and eventually the Dwarven people helped too, but now we’re pretty prepared. We have way more weapons and personnel than we had. I think we’ll do much better. You’re not afraid to kill, are you?”
“Hell no, Sarge. I mean Myk,” He laughed lightly. “I’m a damn Marine. Freakin’ Ooh-rah baby,” he raised his voice and furled his brow. “I train for battle. I live for war. I de-sire to cause may-hem. Those Sosos don’t know what the hell they got when they got us, Sir. I’m a lean mean killing machine,” he declared with a cocky, but confident smile.
“Good,” Mykal replied. The antics of Anka caught the attention of those nearby. “That’s what I wanna hear.”
“I’ll meet you at the choppers, Sir. I’m going to be one of the fire teams that fly ahead with you. Semper Fi. Ooh-rah!”
“What the hell was that?” Roy Jr. asked when he came around from the other side of the van.
“That is one of America’s finest,” Mykal said proudly. “That is a United States Marine. Your father was one of them.”
“Yeah. He didn’t talk about the Corps or ‘Nam too much.”
“That Anka seems like a sharp kid,” Mykal said.
“What the hell did he say? Center fly?” Roy Jr. asked.
“No, he said Semper Fi,” Boris quickly replied. “It’s short for Semper Fidelis. It means Always Faithful. The Marines are always proud, and dedicated. They are loyal and committed,” Boris sighed. “I could never get into the marines because I could never get myself into good enough shape.”
“I’ll tell ya what,” Mykal chuckled. “I am so glad that about half of our force is the Marine Corps.”
“Eagle, globe and anchor baby,” Baby Hulk called out referring to the Marine Corps emblem. He pumped his fist in support of the Marines. “I have a cousin who is in the Marines and he loves it.”
“They’re just a buncha damn jarheads,” Burns mocked.
“You wanna say that to them?” Mykal offered. “I dare ya. And I’ll tell ya, I’m proud to be associated with those jarheads as you called them. I don’t think I coulda ever made it as a Marine,” Mykal admitted. “They’re too tough for me.”
“Easily brain washed,” Burns mumbled and didn’t realize Mykal could hear him clearly.
“Who would you rather have in a fight?” Mykal asked. His anger towards Burns started to show.
“I was just kidding,” Burns said and lowered his head now that their group was all looking at him.
“Boris, Roy Jr. and Towbar let’s go,” Mykal called out when he heard the helicopters being started. He turned to baby Hulk and Burns. “I need you guys to show Major Chick and the others where to go.”
William looked like he wanted to go along, but he didn’t ask to go. There seemed to be unspoken tension between the two. “Myk, do you know how long it will take for us to meet at the Pass?” William asked.
“If you guys take your time, you should be there about this time tomorrow unless you guys drive straight through. Then maybe sometime in the morning,” Mykal explained and was thankful William didn’t ask to go along. Mykal knew he was under the watchful eye of someone. Who else could it be but William? “I wouldn’t drive too fast though.”
Mykal and Towbar greeted all the helicopter crews before boarding. It surprised Mykal that the helicopter pilots, the door gunners and their maintenance teams were classified under the civilian / non-combatant personnel in Third Battalion. All of the pilots joining him were Air Force Officers, but the door gunners and the helicopters were actually property of the United States Army. Mykal smirked and understood what Chick explained about the Air Force pilots pushing their way through to get their “air jockey face time.”
Mykal’s helicopter carried Towbar, Boris, Roy Jr. and one four man fire team. The other three helicopters carried two four man fire teams beside the chopper crews. Mykal wore a headset that enabled him to communicate with the pilot. The pilots were able to communicate with Towbar One on the ground. Major Chick relayed they would be evacuating within minutes and would drive straight through but at a slowed pace for the larger trucks.
Sometime later Towbar pointed to a small forest near the mountain wall. It was the town of Pallomee, completely hidden by the trees and mountain wall. Mykal, Boris and Roy Jr. looked at each other because the town brought back memories. Boris’s best friend Kurt Jones had been with them when they drove Towbar to warn his people of the coming Soso invasion. While there and they had a run in with some locals. When they returned from warning the town of Pallomee of the coming Soso invasion Roy Jr. discovered his brother, Baby Ray had died from a Soso death arrow.
Flying past the hidden village of Pallomee didn’t reveal much. Sosos went to Pallomee. There would be no survivors. The wis
e choice had been made by those who fled and moved to the Pass.
Mykal saw they had arrived near the edges of the Pass. To the north the Soso army camped out and looked to cover miles upon miles of land. “Hey Mykal, what is that over there to our left along the mountain wall?” Captain Barstow asked.
“Those are bodies,” Mykal answered. Barstow had pointed to piles of discarded, decaying bodies that were carried away from the Pass after the battles. “Thousands upon thousands of bodies from the war. They tried to burn them,” Mykal added. “Most of the bodies are Sosos.”
“Damn. Chopper One to Chopper Two, Chopper Three and Chopper Four. I’m going a little lower to the left. You’ll never believe what has been sighted.”
The three other helicopters followed his lead and flew closer to the two large piles of rotting corpses. The bodies were piled on top of each other as if thrown away like trash. The scene was reminiscent of Nazi death camps scenes after the camps had been liberated, but on a grander scale.
“I can’t believe what I am seeing,” Lieutenant Gibbard, one of the other pilots called back through the static filled radio. “It’s the worst damn thing I ever witnessed. Look to the right.”
“Those are Sosos,” Mykal said joyfully.
“You sound happy Myk,” Barstow acknowledged.
“Oh yeah, it’s a good thing,” he replied, while directing his friends to have a look. “Since they’re out in the flats, as Towbar calls it, that means they’re not in the Pass, which is a very good thing. Right Towbar?”
Towbar nodded. He looked happy to be home. Towbar’s expression reminded Mykal of his first time returning home from his first duty assignment. Mykal felt happiness for his friend’s anxiousness to touch down and be united with his people.
Mykal eyed the overwhelming numbers of Sosos covering the ground Mykal could only wonder why they hadn’t attacked yet. Were they waiting for an even larger force? Were they awaiting the arrival of Zizmon-Tarl himself from the other side of the world? Before returning home, Mykal heard Towbar’s people discuss their fear of Zizmon-Tarl arriving with armies from around the world.
