Desert Lovers: The Start of the Journey
Greetings All, first off let me start by saying this is NOT my story. This belongs too Seamus Volp, my mate. I simply did a rewrite for him upon his request. Please give him the credit he deserves for this. Bane Accendo belongs to me. I'm posting them on my account upon his request.
Desert Lovers: The Start of the Journey
It was at 0600 hours at Camp Patriot in Iraqi Green Zone. The camp was relatively quiet, but then again it was close to the changing of the Patrol Units. In one of the barracks on the bunk in the very back of the room, a red wolf and a green fox slept soundly. Both were completely unaware of what the day had in store for them. From their point of view it was still fresh and young, in fact from the snoring one could assume it hadn't even started yet. An alarm went off in the large room, and soldiers of all ranks and types slowly began untangling themselves from their beds. It was a small base so each bed was a bunk bed. It was actually covenant unless the mess hall served beans of any type, in that case the guy on bottom suffered throughout the night. But on this day all were safe. Both the fox and the wolf rolled out of bed, both groggy and in need a cup of coffee. The wolf was Lt. Bane Accendo, a six foot tall moderately built red wolf, and the fox was Capt. Seamus Volp, a five foot ten inch green Irish fox. As the two shook the sleep from their eyes they quickly dressed in their perspective uniforms and then decided to head for the mess hall. Both were relatively hungry, granted the two was almost always hungry. As the two headed for the mess hall, Sgt. Kitsukyo passed them on the way to command HQ on the base. Sgt. Kitsukyo was the PT officer; he was in charge of getting the green soldiers in fighting condition. It was generally accepted that he was the one person who could get a new recruit in a condition to fight and survive the hell that was Iraq better than anybody else in the camp. Seeing the Sgt got both Bane and Seamus thinking of their own training. They had been friends long before they joined the army, but training had brought them much closer. They were more than friends, they had become brothers. They were in the same unit so they were usually patrol partners. Their mission was to secure the green zone, but it didn't come without its risks. From time to time militants would be stupid enough to try and blow up something. Often they would succeed but without much success at gaining territory back.
The two friends entered the air-conditioned mess hall. The two went through the line and each got their breakfast order. Then sat down and licks their maws at the plate before them. Bane had gotten the largest plate of eggs and bacon that Seamus had ever seen and Seamus had only gotten some toast and orange juice. He preferred a light breakfast whereas Bane wanted a hardy breakfast. As the two consumed their breakfast a loud whistling sound rang out and the west wall of the mess hall disappeared in a cloud of smoke and debris. Brick and food flew throughout the room, the next round hit the motor pool lot. Several hummers went up in a ball of fire. The third round hit the barracks; fortunately nobody was in them at the time. The last round hit in the middle of the PT yard. Throughout the raid, body parts were flying everywhere. Several tables of privates had simply vanished under a large pile of rubble and the structure was groaning loud threats of giving the rest of the occupants the same fait. Bane's ears were ringing loudly at the attack, and he was disoriented. As he attempted to move the realization that a beam from the roof was on his leg caused him to stop. As he looked around, Seamus quickly came into view. He helped his friend up and the two looked around. Soldiers lay in various states of death, groaning and screaming rang out throughout the base. Bane let out a low growl. "Whoever's responsible for this will pay for this!" Seamus nodded at his friend as he continued to survey the damage. "Who's not dead," called out Capt. Volp. Overall the damage wasn't as bad as he had first suspected. One table was crushed by debris but most were alive. Body parts were laying around, but the majority had survived. In this hell hole it was the best one could hope for. The surviving men in the mess hall started to get up, and everybody was looking at Seamus for orders.
"Everybody who's not dead, go to the armory and get suited up. Grab as much ammo as you can, we are going hunting." A universal yes sir rang out through what was left of the building. Seamus then turned to Bane, "go and scout for damage. Bring me a report on where we stand as soon as you can." Bane nodded his understanding and walked from the building. As he stepped outside, Bane was in awe at the destruction. He counted up the number of smoke plumes coming from the camp and counted one more than they had heard. One bomb had hit the command building. As Bane took in the sight, a stretcher carrying Col. Brannon passed him headed to the medical tent. As they passed, one of the medics informed him that a mortar had landed practically in his office. The Col asked the men to pause a second and looked at Bane. "Lt. Bane, go get those bastards!" Bane acknowledged his orders. He quickly ran to what was left of the barracks and retrieved his and Seamus's service revolvers. The never went into battle without them and that wouldn't change now.
Bane then quickly reported to the armory to get himself geared up. He quickly gave Seamus a rundown of the damage and the orders he had been given. Seamus thought it covenant as that was his plan anyway. Bane quickly got into his battle gear and as they were about to leave Capt. Fredrick Tyler, a tall bay horse, came into the building. Fred was Captain of Fox Company, and close friends to Bane and Seamus. "Hold up Seamus, I'm comin' with y'all," Fred said. "Sir, I Don't believe that's in line with protocol." retorted Corporal Joker. "You know Corporal, for someone with a name like Joker, your sure a hard-ass," I said, "and Fred. How many times do I have to tell you to call me James? That's the English translation for it." "Oh alright I'll try to remember that James. Anyway, what do you say? Can I come with you? Please?" he begged flashing his beautiful eyes. Fred knew that James couldn't say no when he did that. James couldn't help but to admire the horse. He had always had a thing for him but could never admit it. If Fred reacted the wrong way he could destroy the fox's military career and have him booted for being gay. The last thing James wanted was a dishonorable discharge. "Wweeellll... alright just stay near me." "Awesome!" he exclaimed as he dawned his body armor and helmet. "Let's move out!" James ordered. The platoon went to the motor pool and each grabbed a hummer that wasn't smashed and was off.