Chapter 18 - Irene...

Staring outside the window for two days didn’t help at all. I thought it would, but it didn’t. It got me thinking about all sorts of things, and what frustrates me is that I never got an answer to a question I had, no matter how hard I thought about it. I tried to stay out of the activities Scyth was taking with everyone else to re-organize the base. I didn’t want to be involved anymore, not after what happened two days ago, when the mutiny took a turn for the worst. I stayed with Amy and Sonic a lot, talking about all sorts of things that usually ended up with us crying. I kept on talking to Amy of how much I miss Nicole and if she would be alright. Amy never said anything whenever I was talking about Nicole but… She just listened…[br]
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As I was staring in the mirror one morning, I thought of how much I changed over the years. It scared me. I wasn’t the person anymore who I was during my time at the RRTS and I wasn’t the person anymore who I was 15 years ago… That’s all gone… Then the question was… Who am I now…? I never really liked humans but… I realized I hate them more then I could have ever imagined. I remember what Nicole said a long time ago, that I changed so much and that I actually “love”. She always thought that love would solve every problem, even in the darkest of hours. Maybe for her, but that wasn’t the case for me… She told me about the stuff that happened to her a long time ago, and even though she went through it, she still managed to love… How was that possible for her…? How come I never took over that ability…? Like with all questions… I didn’t know… Always see the good in everyone… She even did that with me… With every minute that passed by as I was staring in the mirror, I realized she loved and cared for me more then anyone ever did. And I loved and cherished her more then I ever imagined… She meant a lot more to me then I ever thought… [br]
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Tavish: Sergeant?![br]
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I looked up in the mirror and quickly splashed my face with water. I recognized that voice. It was Tavish… [br]
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Blain: ‘Sup Tavish, whatcha got? [br]
Tavish: They need you up front. [br]
Blain: … Right, I’ll be there in a sec. [br]
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After I was done in my room, I went over to the briefing room. I heard a lot of people talking and as I entered the room, I saw a lot of people… Even a few I haven’t seen before… Then I noticed Scyth… [br]
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Scyth: Alright, he’s here, we’re all here, right?[br]
Regan: Yeah, looks like it. [br]
Scyth: Ok good, inform everyone. [br]
Regan: Alright listen up!! [br]
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Then it turned total silence… [br]
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Regan: Last night, 6 pilots of the Mobian National Airforce Division arrived. They’ll be you’re pilots this evening for the mission. [br]
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Mission…?[br]
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Regan: Vilani, brief us in, please. [br]
Vilani: Yes sir. [br]
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Then a leopard stepped forward… The sound of her voice gave away that she was a girl, because you couldn’t really see it. She was all packed up and she had her helmet on. [br]
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Vilani: Few hours before our arrival, five gunships were gunned down near a small village called Redmondville. On the way, we’ve seen a prison camp and a supply depot. After discussing the tactical plans with sergeant Regan, we’ll be out tonight at nineteen hundred hours to secure the crash site and extract any survivors. We’ve got live satellite images and a UAV at our disposal to look for enemy activity. We’re not taking any risks, and as soon as we notice we can not commence the attack, the operation will be aborted. Codename to this operation: Irene. [br]
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Jarod: *whispers* Irene…? What kind of a shootty name is that for an operation…? Why not just call it Operation “Suck my big fluffy cock”…?[br]
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Tavish: Hehehehehe… [br]
Vilani: ‘Scuse me, private, you wanna add something?! [br]
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Then Jarod turned red… [br]
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Jarod: No ma’am.[br]
Vilani: Good… Get you’re gear, and go the gunship platforms. Re-group with you’re squad and board the designated gunship. We’ll let you know when it’s truly a go. [br]
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So we did what she told us to do. I could see the stripes of her uniform that she was a lieutenant. Normally, Regan and I had superior ranks, but seeing as she was leading this operation with the gunships, we had to listen to her. Luckily, she didn’t make decisions on her own, unlike the captain, whose dead now… [br]
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Once I got my weapons and gear, we boarded a gunship as instructed. It was a huge gunship with room for around 10 soldiers to carry along. Tavish and Jarod boarded the same gunship I was in, but I didn’t see Regan or Scyth. They were probably somewhere else. I noticed that there were five other gunships were on the platform, ranging in size. Also, not every gunship seemed to be that heavily armed. All of them had board-cannons, sure, but not every gunship were the same. It looked like different types… [br]
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I kicked back in the open door, tightened my helmet and calibrated the small transparent HUD in front of my right eye. HUD stands for Heads Up Display, by the way. It gives tactical information on the battlefield and can be a life saver as it shows known enemies that others have spotted. It’s all acquired by the squad’s Net-Bat system that allows us to share information based on what we see. Also, radio and the headset were integrated, allowing you to communicate with others if you got the right frequency. I was messing around with it for a while until I was startled by the loud noises the jet engines made… It started up… [br]
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Vilani: *kssht* Good evening gentlemen! My name is lieutenant Vilani of the 563^rd Airforce Division! I’ll be you’re pilot this evening! The guy sitting next to me Keaton! He’s the co-pilot and makes sure we’re not getting gunned down! Currently, we are waiting for the all go signal from COMScann! Stand-by to move, over! *kssht* [br]
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Jarod: Lieutenant Vilani, ma’am?! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Yes private?! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Where the hell are my in-flight peanuts?! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Check under you’re seat! I’m sure there’s still a barf-bag that has a few chunks left, over! *kssht* [br]
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Jarod: *laughs* She’s amazing! I love her already! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Didn’t copy that, private! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: I said I can’t wait to kick some human asses, ma’am! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Haha! Ten/four! *kssht* [br]
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A few minutes passed by with a few guys arsing around. I didn’t. I just kept on looking at the other gunships. I noticed Scyth and Regan not too far from our gunship… [br]
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Vilani: *kssht* Irene is a go! Irene is a go!! *kssht* [br]
Tavish: Whooooo!! frackin’ Irene!! [br]
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And with that, the large doors of hangar opened up above, and one by one, we took off. As I looked down through the open doors, I noticed flightdeck crew signalling with coloured flashlights. They slowly faded away to tiny little dots as we got higher… [br]
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The guys were still talking after half an hour. I didn’t. All I did was to look outside… I did noticed that Lieutenant Vilani kept looking over her shoulder every once in a while. At some point, I looked at her. She smiled at me… [br]
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Vilani: *kssht* You must be Sergeant Blain. *kssht* [br]
Blain: Yes I am. [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Nice to meet you, sir. *kssht* [br]
Blain: Likewise. [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Sergeant Regan told a lot about you. Any friend of him is a friend of mine. *kssht* [br]
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Blain: Hehehe, why is that? [br]
Vilani: *Kssht* Because, he’s my cousin. *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Lucky bastard… [br]
Blain: Hehehehe… [br]
Jarod: You didn’t do anything to impress her and you’re her friend all of a sudden… [br]
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Vilani: *kssht* What was that, private?!* [br]
Jarod: The private has a name. lieutenant! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* Oh yeah?! And what name may that be, private?! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Private Jarod ma’am! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* I see! I guess that makes you my new best friend! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Rawr!! Haha! [br]
Vilani: *kssht* You cheeky little bugger! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Well since we’re being best friends now, how about we’re getting married instead?![br]
Vilani: *kssht* With a pussy like you?! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Whadda ya mean pussy?![br]
Vilani: *kssht* You’re a cat, right?! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Yes ma’am! An exotic domestic Ashera cat to be exact, Lieutenant! [br]
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Vilani: *kssht* Ooh, aren’t you special! *kssht* [br]
Jarod: Yes ma’am! [br]
Vilani: *laughs* [br]
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As another half hour passed by, I noticed that Tavish was unusually quiet… It wasn’t like him to be so quiet… [br]
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Blain: ‘Sup Tavish, you nervous? [br]
Tavish: Gaah… No… [br]
Blain: What’s wrong then…? [br]
Tavish: I don’t- I don’t feel so good… [br]
Jarod: You’re airsick?! How the hell can you get airsick?![br]
Tavish: I don’t know… [br]
Blain: You need to barf? [br]
Tavish: I’ll be alright… [br]
Jarod: Remember that time we got locked on? The gunship did a lot of corkscrews, somersaults, twists and- [br]
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Tavish: *hurls* [br]
Jarod: Oh dude, that’s just nasty. Keep it in will ya? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, corkscrews- [br]
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Then all of a sudden, Tavish smacked Jarod’s helmet off and barfed in it… Jarod looked at Tavish who had an innocent smile on his face as he pressed Jarod’s helmet in his hands while we just laughed. Jarod was all pissed off and pressed his helmet back in Tavish’ hands while he grabbed Tavish’ helmet. [br]
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And another half hour passed by… Since everyone was quiet, I could hear Vilani and her co-pilot talking… It sounded like they were worrying about something… [br]
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Vilani: Something’s not right.[br]
Keaton: Yeah I know, its way too quiet around here. We should have seen enemy activity a while back now.[br]
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Vilani: Yeah… [br]
Keaton: Want me to contact COMScann? [br]
Vilani: Yeah, you do that. I’ll run a system check. [br]
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Keaton: Copy. COMScann, this is Outlaw 2-5-niner, do you read, over? [br]
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Radio: Outlaw 2-5-niner, we read you, go ahead. [br]
Keaton: Requesting UAV support on our location. Map grid 12756-niner, over. [br]
Radio: Roger that, Outlaw 2-5-niner, UAV is up and running. [br]
Keaton: UAV data is being patched through. [br]
Radio: Copy. UAV coming down in 3… 2… 1… Transmission cut. [br]
Keaton: Thanks for the heads-up COMScann. Outlaw-2-5-niner out. [br]
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Vilani: You got a visual on the terrain?[br]
Keaton: No, not really… Data isn’t very clear… It’s a bit blurry, like it’s being jammed by something. [br]
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Radio: All call signs, this is COMScann, be advised. We're seeing enemy armour in the palm grove west of the river, escorted by two infantry battalions. Their causing interference to your communication devices, over. [br]
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Keaton: Copy that, COMScann. Any alternative routes? [br]
Radio: That’s a negative, Outlaw 2-5-niner. UAV data shows out that their closing in fast. An alternative route is not possible at this moment, over. [br]
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Keaton: … Copy that COMScann… [br]
Vilani: shoot, shoot, shoot… Warn the other gunships and tell them to fly in a V formation. We’re going in low. [br]
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Keaton: Wilco. [br]
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Vilani: Gentlemen, may I have you’re attention please! We got a little problem here! UAV data shows out enemy armour closing in the palm grove, west of the river! Mop up any troublemaker with the Mark 19! [br]
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Jarod took immediate action and took place behind the grenade launcher. Some other guy took the other grenade launcher on the other side and they loaded it. [br]
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Jarod: Portside! Gun ready! [br]
Echidna: Starboard side! Mark 19 ready! [br]
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Vilani: Listen up. UAV showed out enemy activity a few clicks from here, guys. We’re going in low, so expect enemy fire. Try not to be heroes here, alright? We just wanna make it back in one piece. [br]
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Blain: Will do, lieutenant. [br]
Tavish: “Whaye we ar bein’ sind onh this mission… We do not know… Buh Ah do know… The faif-O-six… Will rise aginh…”[br]
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Blain: Hoo-ah… [br]
Jarod: Yeah, Hoo-ah to that, college boy!! You might wanna consider speech therapy!! [br]
Tavish: Shut the hell up! And gimme my frackin’ helmet back!! [br]
Jarod: Hell no!! [br]
Tavish: You’re a port gunner!! You don’t need a helmet!! [br]
Jarod: Well I sure don’t need a helmet that got your puke in it!!
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Vilani: Portside gunner, heads up, first tank rolling through!! [br]
Jarod: Yeah, I see him, lieutenant!! [br]
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Radio: Outlaw 2-1-niner, at your six. [br]
Radio: Outlaw 2-3-niner, I got yo’ back. [br]
Radio: Outlaw 2-2-niner, at your service. [br]
Radio: Outlaw 2-0-niner, joining the party. [br]
Radio: Outlaw 2-6-niner, whoo! Wouldn’t miss this![br]
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Vilani: We’re going in low, stay in formation.[br]
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Then all of a sudden, Vilani made the gunship drop until we got very low to the ground. We were flying just above tree top height and made our way to the river, flying just above it. I saw a tank going over the hills, and once we flew above, I noticed a lot more tanks… And that’s when I became scared shootless… Not because there were so many tanks, but because Tavish was hurling again… I tightened the straps of my helmet and held on to it…[br]
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