Chapter 32: Service Begins
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
Two chapters today, this is the first one!
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28th November, 1942:
"You got your orders?" Jack Wells asks, entering our common tent with a letter in hand.
Amongst the 10 people in my tent, and my training group, Jack Wells was the one closest to me in terms of ability, and friendship. We weren't friends, not exactly, but we were as close as we can be, while training together.
He had a Military father, who fought in the Great War, and so, he had most of the stuff already filled within his head by him. This training did take a toll on all of us, however, and we were eager to leave.
I look up from packing my bags, raise my deployment order in answer, and say, "The African Campaign. Yours?"
Jack clicks his tongue in disappointment, sits down on his bed which was next to mine, and says, "France, with the Royal Navy. Pity, you would have been a decent addition behind me for when I finally killed Hitler."
I chuckle, and go back to my bags. I had spent 6 months here, in Camp Brancepeth, training for more than half the day, every day. Despite not having gone to actual War, the effects of this training showed on all of our bodies.
All of us had lost whatever fat we had, and a little bit of weight, most of it thanks to the amazing quality of food here, note the Sarcasm. I had grown a little bit taller, probably because my back was so straight now, and a little bit wider around the chest area.
The most visible of the changes, was that we were all fighters now. We're nowhere near the best, but we're definitely not the worst. The rest, only our experience will change us.
And just yesterday, we had all begun to get our Deployment orders. I was being sent to North Africa, along with hundreds of other soldiers and supplies, to provide support to the Allied First Army.
A lot of us had hoped that our groups, after having trained together for so long, would be allowed to Deploy together, but well, this is war. Rarely anything happens that you've already expected.
I chuckle at his enthusiasm, and say, "Well, I'll be sure to welcome you with the head of the Desert Fox." Pausing, I ask, "You informed your mum yet?"
Jack laughs a little nervously, and says, "I'm going to meet her later today. Dad's bringing her and little Donnie to meet me. She must've gotten so big now."
I shake my head, and drily say, "You've been away from the girl for 6 months. She won't have changed that much."
Donnie was his younger sister, 12 years old. I've seen a few pictures, which he enthusiastically showed everyone to, and she's cute, for a kid. Better looking than Jack anyway.
Soon, Jack leaves me alone, to go celebrate with the others. They were celebrating their eminent deaths, but well, I'm not their minder. They can do whatever the hell they want. Me? I'm going to do some homework.
The North African Campaign has been going on since the beginning of the War, with Italy, Germany, Britain, and France taking turns in ruling different parts. Currently, the most important part of the African Front, strategically speaking, was the entire northern coast.
Along with that, however, whoever holds the village of Tunis, was the one in control of the Mediterranean Sea. Plus, capturing Tunis would give us, the Allied Forces, a way to enter Italy from the south. Hopefully.
At the same time, another army would march from the East, trying to pin the Axis in the middle, and then capture them.
Currently, the Allied First Army was struggling to march towards Tunis, thanks to lower supplies, and the unforgiving climate. It was a literal desert, and it took a lot out of anyone not used to it. Still, the Army was moving steadily, attacking and winning against the Axis soldiers, but they were going to need soldiers soon, and a lot of supplies.
Kerosene, ammunition, food, water, were going scarce, and we were going to be the relief, thousands of us. Welp, I signed up for war, now I'm going to war.
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Hundreds of soldiers were gathered at the port, with many people gathered to either say goodbye, or to show their support. I was waiting a few steps away from Jack, as he said goodbye to his family, his father looking on proudly.
We were going to be shipped on the same day, although on different ships. But, I was just here because no one on my ship was anyone I knew. They were all strangers, and Jack, as new as he is, is kinda a friend.
I'd already met with Sister Agnes, to tell her the news of my departure. I didn't want her to wonder what happened to me if I disappeared without any notice.
Suddenly, I get pulled by my collar, and before I can do anything to defend myself, I feel soft pair of lips on my mouth, giving me an amazing kiss. As suddenly as they came, the lips disappear, and I see a girl, about 25 years old, giggle with her friends and waving me goodbye.
Well.. perks of being a soldier? Although, I'd have preferred a Hi first.
"Don't tell me, that was your first kiss, wasn't it?" Jack asks, the asshole that he is.
Scowling, I say, "No, your mum takes that spot."
"Hey now, don't bring my mum into this!" Jack says, getting in my face, pretending to be too angry.
I snort, breaking the silence, and pat his shoulder, as he starts laughing. He says, "Come on, you can find her after the war if you want to."
I shake my head, and start walking towards my own ship, as he goes towards his. Time to go to war!
Although, I didn't expect Egypt to be the place I begin my military career. Well, I'll go with the flow, for now. I can just mind control my superiors into transferring me somewhere else anyway, if I feel like it.
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North Africa:
It took us 15 entire days to go from the United Kingdom, to the Egyptian coast. The place where we landed was under Allied command, so we didn't have much troubles in landing and getting to the mainland safely.
After that, we had to march, along with the new Armoured division, and the artillery division, towards the village of Tunis, to give support to the Soldiers hopefully already there.
2000 Soldiers, 100 tanks, and 200 trucks full of supplies, were all marching towards the East, knowing that the Allied First Army was waiting for us, holding their ground, or capturing Tunis.
I am somewhat in the middle, wearing the standard Private Uniform, holding a rifle in my hands, a handgun on my hip, a pair of knives on my leg and hip, and a few grenades on my body. Marching without any problem, towards Tunis.
Alas, we didn't encounter the results we expected.
Our commander, a Colonel Grey, raises his arm to order us to stop, right as we were about to cross a small hill. He then takes a team, and walks forward to talk to the Allied First Army that I could feel in the distance, and we all could here the gunfire already happening. They were exchanging fire with someone I couldn't see, which is probably the Germans, or the Fascists of Italy.
"The fuck is that about? Shouldn't they have captured Tunis by now?" Someone from my right asks, not to me, but in general.
Frowning, as I could clearly listen to the thoughts of Col. Grey, as well as the Gen. Kenneth Anderson, whom he was talking with. I say, "The soldiers are probably too green, just like us. Defeating an experienced army will be tough, even if they didn't have better airfield advantage."
Plus, there's the Luftwaffe currently flying overhead. And we were soon going to become a welcome target, if the higher ups don't speed things up with the talks.
This is going to be a long campaign, isn't it?
Sure enough, Col Grey aporoaches us, and says, "ATTENTION! SOLDIERS! THE GERMANS HAVE GOTTEN SUPPORT IN THE FORM OF 20,000 SOLDIERS, AND THE LUFTWAFFE! OUR JOB, IS TO HELP GEN. ANDERSON IN HOLDING THE LINE! DON'T LET THE GERMANS THROUGH THIS LINE, OR THE CAMPAIGN WILL BE LOST, THE WAR RIGHT BEHIND IT!"
Thankfully, while I could feel how hopeless it is from his own mind, I also knew that there were efforts at capturing Egypt from the South-east. Hopefully, they'll give us some advantage later.
As we march forward to join the Allied First Army, and start digging more trenches, and walls, I join a group of British and French soldiers in their trench, to sit and wait, enjoying the peace that this small lull in war is giving us. God knows it won't be this peaceful for long.
But, the war isn't always just exchanging bombs and gun fire. There's a hell of a lot of waiting too, and I'll have to experience that a lot. All the while, remaining a muggle.
Why did I think this was a good idea again?
-
March 1943, Near Tinus, Egypt:
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" Our CO yells, as we keep exchanging fire while walking backwards.
I fire my tommy gun, getting a few soldiers, while some others duck away in time. I was getting the hang of using a Machine gun now, over the Enfield rifle that we were first issued with.
But, things.. weren't going well for us. We had Morocco and Algerian coasts under our control, giving us full control over the Suez Canal. But, we were too spread out, the line too thin.
Our numbers also weren't that many. Including the reinforcements provided by the Canadians and Americans, we had just about 150,000 soldiers at the beginning of this campaign, whoch was now down to 120,000, 3 months later. The Axis, meanwhile, had almost 300,000 men, as well as airports nearer to the line. Our airports were all the way in Algeria, which made bringing supplies in that much harder.
Suddenly, machine gun fire rains down on our spot, making us all duck down behind a mound of sand. A pained choke makes me turn to my right, to see that the French gunner beside me had gotten hit in the chest by a single bullet.
"MAN DOWN!" I yell, and put the gun on my back to start his treatment.
In these three months, I had become an official combat medic, since healing was my speciality. I did use guns too, obviously, since this is a war, but I never turned down healing my allies, and even a couple enemies that needed to be interrogated before they die.
Thankfully, I have a wonderful gift of telekinesis that makes it so I don't get unknowingly shot at.
This is something I developed while in the War itself, since I couldn't do it before without practical experience. Around me, was a telekinetic field, almost always active. The bullets that approach this field are curved around me, making it so that I don't get hit when I don't want to.
But, no bullet hitting me is also suspicious, so I had to take a few hits and grazes in harmless places, and only those places which I can heal without any magic.
The Bullet holes on the man's chest and back told me that the bullet had gone clean through, meaning I just need to stop the blood flow, and patch the wound, all before the Nazis catch up with us.
"COVER ME!" I yell over the sound of gunfire, to the men around us. The other 7 men, some French and some American, nod, and keep firing, giving me enough place to do what I need to.
Washing the wounds with whisky, I quickly dab at it with a dry cloth, ignoring the whimpers of the man I'm healing. I take out a bottle of sulfa powder from my bag, and spray a healthy amount on both sides. Now, to stop the blood flow, since I don't have anything on me to do it, I tear two pieces of cloth, and roll them into a ball.
Pressing them to his chest wound, I wound it up around his chest using a bandage, and do the same to his back wound. First aid is done, now to take him away.
I pick the man up, and am about to lift him on my shoulders to carry, when the gunfire on us suddenly stops, the Nazis aiming it somewhere else. I look up, to see the other men looking just as confused as me.
"Someone's drawing fire away from us." One of them whispers, pointing at our 5 o'clock.
I lift the injured, now unconscious man, on my shoulders, and say, "We'll thank them later. For now, let's follow our orders, and retreat."
"We'll cover you." Another man says, as we start running towards our own army, which has gone a bit further away from us for now. The 7 soldiers that were with me stay around me, to cover me from the back, and I hear a few gunshots going from our group.
My fellow soldiers were helping whoever is drawing fire there, good. Hopefully, they stay alive long enough for us to thank them. But now, retreat.
That night, as we stay around a camp, once again in the safety of Algeria, I see the Frenchmen that were with me talking and laughing with a group of men, wearing Canadian Uniform.
Normally, just this won't get my attention, but I clearly heard a lot of thank yous from the Frenchmen.
"Hey, Medic!" The guy yells, as he sees me walk towards them.
"The name's Aves, Gunner." I say, nodding my head at him, and approach the group with a glass of diluted whisky in my hand. Can't drink too much, we can be attacked any moment.
The gunner points his hand at the Canadians, and says, "I'm Dubois. These lads were the ones drawing fire away from us. You should have seen them, Medic, these two gentlemen here ran at them with guns and knives! Knives! And they came out alive, with barely a single wound!"
"This ain't our first wa- battle, bub." A rough voice says, making me look at the person, and I freeze.
"The fuck are you looking at?" The man snarls, standing up, obviously drunk from the alcohol he's been drinking, with the Cigar definitely not helping things. Holy fuck, it's him!
The taller man beside him says, "Jimmy." in a warning tone. He then pulls him back, and whispers something to him, making the shorter man widen his eyes. The tall man walks towards me, stumbling a little, and offers me his hand. I see his nails growing a lot more than is sanitary, or healthy, but ignoring it, I smile widely and accept his offered hand. Holy fuck, I can't believe I'm meeting them, this.. is huge!
Wincing, as he presses my hand a little too much, I say, "Private Mason Aves, Medic. Pleased to meet you."
The man smirks, and says, "Sgt Victor Creed. That angry little kid there's my brother, Corporal James "Logan" Howlett."
Well, I thought I might see them sometime, but I didn't think it'd be this soon! Wolverine, and Sabertooth. And to think, they saved my team's life.
"I owe you guys one, Sgt Creed. Want some whisky?" I say, and point at the barrel of whisky to the back.
Victor graciously accepts, and walks back with me, James following right behind, allowing me to sift through their minds a little. By Gods, they've been through a lot. So many wars, so many bullets, and even bomb explosions. Thankfully, they heal from it all, but the pain's still there.
James is wary of me, feeling something is different about me, but he doesn't know what. Victor, meanwhile, already knows that I'm a mutant, because he can somehow smell mutations. Damn, I didn't even know that was possible. I'll have to do something about it later, because I know he's an amazing tracker, and now he has my scent. I don't like this much.
"So, you're like us." Victor says, once we're sufficiently far enough away from other people.
Frowning, pretending to be surprised, I ask, "You can tell? How?"
Victor smirks, and says, "Your smell. Our kind has a different scent, it's really distinctive for me. Jimmy there hasn't got a good nose, or he would have been able to tell too. You could also feel it, right? Thats why you froze back there."
I nod, and say, "I have a feel for it. But I didn't know it for sure until I looked at your brother and you. So.. what can you do?"
James, who had been silent until now, says, "We heal. Very fast." To show off, Victor raises his hand, starts growing a nail fast, and cuts it into his own hand. The hand bleeds for a few seconds, and then stops, the hand healing up.
"What about you, Medic? What can you do?" James asks, as he shows off his claws too. Damn, those claws are cool as fuck!
Well, obviously I'm not going to say I'm a telepath, because that's a recipe for disaster. I look around, just for show, already knowing that no one's looking at us, and bring my whisky glass holding hand up.
The glass rises from the hand, and moves around my hand a bit, and then, I hold it back in my hand again. I say, "I can move stuff with my mind. It's a lot easier to stay alive when very few bullets hit you. I can keep my vitals safe, even if some bullets sometimes get through."
James chuckles, now losing his suspicions, and says, "That explains why all 7 members of your squad were alive back there."
Well, we're not exactly a squad. We were just fortunate enough to be grouped together during a run back to Gafsa.
Victor offers me his hand once again, and says, "You and I, Aves, we're gonna be the best of friends. You're in my squad now, don't worry, I'll deal with it."
"How the fuck would you make that possible?" I exclaim, already knowing the answer.
Victor chuckles, and says, "You go and get ready to move. We'll clear it up with the brass, and get our next mission. Remember, only three of us have powers in our squad, so keep it hidden as much as you can. Don't want no normals attacking us along with the enemies."
I nod, mutely watching the two go. James Howlett, and Victor Creed. Two of the most dangerous ferals on Earth. One, a 5'9 tall bearded man, and another 6'3. Both almost 70 years old at this moment in time. I'll have to see about getting some of their blood, for research. I'm a doctor, so that should be easy.
Hey, I'm a pursuer of knowledge, and getting to study their abilities first hand, without actually experimenting on their person is not something I'm going to give up.
I could think of a few Rituals I can modify to be able to use their blood, and gain their Healing ability. Oh, boy, now I'm excited!
-
3 daya later, 10 of us were laying down on top of the hill, looking at a group of walking Italian soldiers, 10 trucks full of supplies, and two panzers. They were taking supplies to Tunis, where the Desert Fox was still holed up.
Including me, James, and Victor, there were 4 other gunners, one sniper called Justin, the tactical expert called Larry, and one demolitions expert called Matthew. I, along with being the Medic, was also their language and infiltration expert after they found out I could understand and speak Italian, German, Dutch, and even Russian. Didn't matter that I couldn't act like a spy, not to these guys.
Justin, James, Victor, and all four gunners were all Canadian, Larry was French, and Matthew was American, with me being the only British.
Larry, who was looking at the convoy through the binoculars, says, "209 men, excluding the men hidden in the trucks and the panzers, Machine guns and Rifles. This is going to be tough, boys."
"We know." James says, for once not smoking a cigar. Holding a machine gun on his back, he asks, "What's the plan, Larry?"
Larry sighs, and says, "James and Victor, draw their fire from 2 o'clock, we know you'll survive. The gunners will attack from 10, providing Matthew enough distraction to take care of the Panzers. Justin, take care of the drivers before giving cover fire. Mason-"
"Mason's with me." Victor suddenly says, making Larry frown. At Larry's questioning look, he says, "I know what I'm doing, don't worry."
Larry nods, and says, "We got 10 minutes to go to our locations. Watches synced?"
We hold our watches in the middle, and see that they're already synched to the second.
"You know your tasks, and your positions. Don't mess up, this is important. Mason's intel says that this convoy can give the Italians a new strength, and neither the brass, nor we want that." Larry says, making us all nod.
James, Victor and I move towards our designated location, knowing our jobs. The convoy was still a long way away, so we were on our position before the convoy even gets there, even when on foot.
"Listen, kid." Victor says, once the Convoy starts getting closer. I look at him, so he continues, "Jimmy and I will go in first, take in most of their fire, and disorient them. Hang back for a while, and only jump in once the Panzers start firing at us. Use your gifts freely, if you want to. They're all going to die anyway, and Matthew already knows we're.. gifted."
I nod, knowing they know better than me. Hey, this is literally their third War.
Soon, it's time, as the Convoy is right in front of us, and the two brothers jump in, guns blazing. The Italians immediately take action, and start firing their weapons at James and Victor, ignoring everything else. Within 5 seconds, they have already taken care of more than 20 soldiers by themselves, giving the others time to do their tasks.
A loud gunshot sounds from somewhere to the right of me, and the truck stops, one of the wheels having burst. Another gunshot takes care of the truck driver, and Justin keeps on with his task of being a Sniper.
Meanwhile, to the back of the convoy, our gunners were beginning with their own attack, trapping the Italians between us.
James gets shot in the head, suddenly, and drops down on the ground. Already knowing about his Healing, doesn't stop me from being horrified at him being shot seemingly dead, and it is just as horrific to watch him rise up from the ground as if nothing happened.
"He's a monster!" One of the Italians yells, in Italian, and starts running away, but a shot from the Panzer, meant for James and Victor blows him up.
Okay, time to go.
I jump in, my gun raised, and run towards the middle of the crowd, immediately gaining their attention. One of the Italians fires at me, fear apparent in his eyes, and I lean away, letting the bullet pass by harmlessly.
Harmlessly for me, that is.
Thanks to my Telekinesis, the bullet that was fired at me is turned away from its path and hits another Italian near me. I widen my eyes, and duck, letting the body of a man pass over my head. It hits the one that fired at me, and takes him further away from me.
Using the opportunity of the distraction Victor inadvertently provided me with, I aim my gun and start firing at the distracted Italian soldiers. I shoot 5 soldiers, most on their heads, with some getting shots at their heart, before they regain their senses, and start shooting at me again.
Each and every one of the bullets fired at me gets diverted to someone else's head, and some that try to get closer are taken care of by either the diverted bullets, or by Justin, the sniper.
Soon, two big explosions gain our attention, as the Panzers are blown up by our Demolitions expert, Matthew. I dodge away from a knife wielding Italian, who's yelling slurs at my while slashing his knife.
Somehow, he's gotten too close to me, that I can't use my gun on him, and neither can Justin kill him, for fear of harming me. I take out my own knife, and parry his attack, taking a cut on my wrist for my efforts.
"GET DOWN!" I hear, and immediately duck, recognising James's voice.
Suddenly, a bloody door of a truck passes over my head, taking the Italian man with it. The edge of the door, while not sharp, is reinforced, and it hits the Italian on the head, causing a pretty grave injury.
Welp, he's dead.
Sighing, I stand up, to find that our job was done. The Panzers were destroyed, the Italians killed, and the trucks now driverless. All of this, with only one man injured, none dead.
Now, the next part.
As everyone walks towards a truck designated to them, I pick up the knife that cut me, and pocket it. Not risking my blood on anything, and wiping it won't be enough. I'll destroy the knife later. But now, time to take these trucks back to base.
My first mission as a member of a focused squad, is complete. All thanks to meeting Victor Creed and James Howlett. Wonder what my life will bring next?
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A/N: There are bound to be many mistakes in the facts of that era, or lingo, or places, since even after researching a lot, I seem to have no affinity to history. This is ironic, considering I always put my MCs in the past lol, (not on ffn though.)
I'm still deciding how I'll make him meet with Steve Rogers, and the other main characters. When I do, you'll know!
Thank you for your support! Tata!
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