Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mind of the Soldier ❯ Before the breach ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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Chapter 11: Before the breach

The room was quite small and barren. Norman was correct about this once being a school. This was a classroom they were in. On the wall was a chalkboard, and overhead was a lamp. Norman looked ahead and saw a table with several foldable metal chairs around it. In the coroner was a small desk with a personal computer atop it. The table was littered with folders and assorted charts and papers. Norman also noticed a single filing cabinet to the left of him.

"This is our intelligence room, Captain." Curtis said. Walking toward the table. "It's not much to look at, but it gets the job done."

"You have electricity in here?" Norman inquired. This place seemed to be powered, to his surprise.

"We have a big diesel generator running this whole encampment. We have perimeter lights and everything." Curtis sat down and Norman and Brooks followed suit by joining him at the table. Curtis took off his helmet and put it on the table, then reached into the breast pocket of his vest and pulled out a package of cigarettes.

"You smoke, Captain?" He said.

"I gave it up." Norman responded. "Please, call me Tomas." Curtis gave a little smile at this, and lit up a cigarette.

"I notice you don't have your stripes." He said pointing to Norman's shoulders.

"It was on purpose." Curtis chuckled and pointed to his helmet.

"You're smart all right. That's good. These helmets still have the captain insignia on them."

"You take them off if you're in sniper infested territory."

"That's very true." Curtis replied. Curtis puffed his cigarette and sighed. Norman could tell he had combat fatigue. Norman could tell that Curtis wanted nothing more than to go home, but that was not going to happen any time soon, sadly.

"Can I ask, Walter, I can call you Walter?"

"Sure. We're not among the men right now."

"I need to ask what kind of heavy equipment you have. Do you have any mobile suits?"

"Used to. They all were sabotaged by those UCO bastards."
"What else do you have?"

"We have three German Leopard tanks, and two Apaches fully loaded with AGM hellfires and seventy millimeter rockets."

"Are they in good condition?"

"One of the Leopards took some damage and needs to be repaired. The rest of the tanks and choppers work well. We have a couple of humvees too."

"Food provisions?"

"We have tons of that. We have lots of canned foods, rice and beans. We even have a freezer out back with some stuff in it."

"Looks like we're well off here." Norman observed. There was another pause between them, then Curtis spoke.

"About your mission. This is really important to us and Oz. If we assassinate Parker, this will definitely end the war up here. Most of the UCO's troops are inexperienced. Parker is the centerpiece of their forces up here. We should be able to stop their advance."

"Do you know where Parker might be in this area?"

"That's one thing we don't know. Even our reconnaissance guys can't figure out where he's hiding, or where their main camp is up here." Norman took this information in carefully. If Parker had not ever been seen by them before, had he been warned by Darlian? It seemed as if the UCO was working from the underground up here. Brooks, who was silent till this time, cut in to the conversation.

"What I suggest sir, is that we lead an assault on some of their territory to gain land, before they know Tom is up here with us." They might already know we are up here. Norman thought to himself. He frowned and continued thinking. Brooks might have a good idea. If they did not know they were here, they could lead an attack with some of the soldiers here to surprise them.

"That could be a good idea, Lieutenant." Curtis said. "They know we are short on officers, and now that there is another experienced man up here, we should be able to give them what we've got."

"Do you have any officers that could help us?" Norman asked.

"Well, we have one guy that's kind of unstable but a great soldier." Curtis replied. Unstable was true. After a while, men had a tendency to become unstable and do maniacal things. Norman decided to find out more.
"So when do you want to make this attack?" Curtis took a look over at Brooks.

"I think as soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow if we could get enough men ready." Brooks commented.

"We can have them ready in an hour." Curtis replied happily. "That's no issue."

"What do you think, Tom?" Brooks turned to him and asked.

"I don't know, those kids we brought up here..."

"They should be fine." Curtis said. "I wouldn't worry too much." Norman was trying not to worry. They had been trained well, but would they be able to shoot another man if they had to? That is what it all seemed to amount to. War brought up these moral questions that arose in the minds of each man at some point. It was not about John Wayne storming beaches.

"Alright." Norman replied hesitantly. "I'll go for it."

"Great." Curtis said smiling. "Before we do anything, Tomas, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"There's not too much to say. I was just starting a career as a lawyer, when I noticed Oz needed educated and intelligent men to be officers. That's when I joined. I've been with them ever since."

"Are you married? Any children?"

"No, I'm not married. I spent most of my time in the Alliance Wars. I've had no time to settle down."

"Well, I have two children of my own and a wife. I can't wait to get back home to see them again." Norman was saddened when he heard this. He knew many men who had families that wanted to see them again. They never did though. They were killed like many others, and their wives became widows, their children became fatherless. It was sad when people had to be caught up in conflicts like these.

"I'm happy for you." Norman replied. That's all he could think of saying.

"Shall we get started?" Curtis asked. Norman nodded, and Curtis left the room. When Curtis came back, he entered with a tall man, with a hard complexion upon his face. He looked grim, and had brown hair and hazel eyes. To Norman, he looked unstable. Norman noticed that on his helmet and vest he had written in big yellow letters "GOD OF WAR". Norman could tell this man was a little over the edge.

"Captain Norman, Lieutenant Brooks, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Roger Kent."

"Call me Mars." Kent said, remaining his stolid expression. Curtis laughed a little.

"That's right. Mars here fancies himself as the God of war. He's gonna help us out."

"What sort of recon do you have?" Norman asked Curtis. Curtis went on to explain how there was a small camp north of here that had two bunkers protecting the area. He said how they could take two teams, his and some more of the fourty-fourth, and take out the bunkers. They could distract the men in the bunkers with covering fire, while men could come from the sides and toss some grenades in.

"I don't know sir." Mars chimed in. "Those UCO can be sneaky fuckers. Those bunkers might be just a trap to lead us in." Norman thought Mars might have a point.

"How many days ago was this recon taken?" Norman said.

"About four days ago. I don't think they would update their positions, though."

"If you're sure." Norman replied. He was not sure, however. Something about what Darlian had told him nagged at the back of his mind. Something that might relate to this situation. He decided to push that inner voice away again, and go along with this plan.

"I just hope this won't be another D-Day." Norman commented.

"It won't. The assault on the bunkers should work." After they finalized the plan, Norman wandered outside again, and saw the rest of his squad waiting for him.

"How did it go?" Johnston asked.

"Fine. Looks like you'll get your first taste of real combat tomorrow."

"Why is that, sir?" Rodriguez inquired.

"We're attacking an UCO encampment tomorrow."

"Pardon me sir?" Stadler, who was still pretty much a kid, said.

"You heard me, Private." Norman looked at his eyes. He looked scared. They were the eyes of an intellectual. He did not belong here.

"We need you, Private." Norman told him, sounding happy for his sake. Stadler was not paying attention and knocked his own helmet off his head.

"Why is that, sir?" He asked again.
"I understand you specialized as a medic in training. They only have one doctor and two other medics up here left, so we need you."

"Al-Alright sir." He replied turning away to pick up his helmet.

"Take it easy, Private. You'll be okay." Norman turned back to the doorway of the school to see Curtis standing there.

"The barracks and mess hall are in here too, Tomas, so relax until tomorrow." Curtis said casually. He also saw Mars studying him intently. What a weird man., Norman thought to himself. Another case of combat fatigue. Norman panned across the camp grounds, looking at the various soldiers sitting around. Who would know for sure which would be alive by the end of tomorrow. His mind was uneasy, and remained that way for the rest of the day.