Chapter VI: A Night on the Town
Mel stretched and tried to stifle a yawn. He wasn't really tired from a lack of sleep, but rather too much of it.
He swung his feet around and off his bunk, then sat up.
He looked around. The bunk room was almost empty.
Becker looked over at him and said, "Welcome to the land of the living, Mel."
Mel shook his head to try to clear the drowsiness from it. "Ha ha. Where is everyone?"
Becker smiled. "Ah, you missed the announcement. We got word that we're ready for some R&R, courtesy of the men at the top."
"Good," Mel said.
"What I'm trying to figure out," Becker said, "is whether we got it because we deserved it, or because they just couldn't find any more damn fool missions to send us out on?"
Mel stood up and stretched again. "Does it matter?"
"Probably not."
"So we're allowed to leave the base or something?" Mel asked.
"Anywhere you want to go in town, long as you're back here in the morning." Becker opened his office door. "If you'll excuse me, I have to do a few things. Have a good time, Mel."
"Thanks, Dennis."
Mel walked into the shower room and got a quick shower, then changed into a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans. He stepped back out of the shower room and saw Jessy sitting on one of fifth squad's bunks, waiting for him.
"Why are you still here?" he asked.
"Kind of a dumb question,
don't you think." Jessy stood up. "I was waiting for you to finish resting."
"Ah."
"You're not leaving this place without me, Mel."
"Do you really think I would?" he asked.
Jessy laughed. "Not if you know what's good for you."
Mel shook his head. This should be interesting.
* * *
Becker leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He'd had his dream fulfilled, been given a command.
But this wasn't how he'd envisioned it. He didn't think he'd be sent into combat almost immediately, fighting an enemy that outnumbered his troops and has much better weapons and armour.
But that was the way things turned out.
In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't so bad. One Platoon had suffered less than twenty-five percent casualties, but had inflicted many times its number in casualties on the enemy. That was better than most other units that had been fighting on this world.
Two combats, and already his whole perception of commanding a combat unit had changed.
He opened his eyes and looked at the picture of his wife and daughter on the desk. They were why he had chosen to do this. If not for the Guardsmen who
constantly fought and died, there would be no one to protect the average citizens, people like his wife and daughter.
He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts, but wasn't able to. They stuck in his mind.
Looking out of his office, he noticed that most of the troops had left for night. He got up and decided to take a stroll around the base compound.
As he walked toward the door to the barracks, John Bernard called out to him, "Hey,
Luey. Where are you off to?"
"Just a stroll," Becker answered.
"That it?" John said. "You're not going to check out the city?"
"No, I'll leave the trouble making up to you
young'uns."
John chuckled, then said, "Five years difference and I'm a
'young'un'?"
Becker smiled, reaching out to open the door. "You're one of the oldest, John."
"Touché."
Becker opened the door and stepped out of the barracks. At times like this he really did feel like an old man.
* * *
Bill laughed as Paul told another of his ridiculous jokes. Bob simply groaned.
The three of them walked down the streets of Thebes, looking for a place to enjoy themselves. Finally they came upon a bar with a sign of a decapitated Ork hanging from it.
"I heard of this place," Bill said. "It's
famous among all the soldiers who were here before we were."
"The Butchered Ork?" Bob asked. "Sounds like fun."
"Let's go in." Bill opened the door and led the way in.
The interior of the bar was a smoke filled place with loud music playing in the background. The smells of a dozen brands of cigarettes and dozens of liquors assaulted the three soldiers' noses. The noise, with the loud music and dozens of bar patrons talking loud enough to be heard over the music, was almost like a physical force trying to drive back anyone who tried to enter the bar, daring them to resist and come through the door.
The trio walked in and grabbed some stools at the bar. "I'll have a beer, whatever's on tap," Bill said. The other two ordered the same.
Bill turned to Bob. "This feels great, getting a night to go out and explore our surroundings, doesn't it?"
"After two days of hell right after getting out of a six-month training course? I'll say."
"We
gonna' take time to check out the girls in this town?" Paul asked.
Bob nodded. "I think there's plenty of time tonight to check out the babe scene."
The bartender set three glasses of beer down in front of the trio, and they each grabbed their cup. Bill said, "Wait! We should make a toast."
"You're right," Bob said. He raised his glass. "To freedom from the tyranny of aliens."
Paul raised his next. "To our fallen comrades."
Bill followed suit. "And to those of us poor bastards unlucky enough to march off to war again."
The three touched their glasses together, then said, "Cheers!"
* * *
Jim, Sara, and Teresa all three sat down in a booth at the Galactic Diner. The waiter took their orders and left to fill them.
Jim leaned forward on the booth's table. "Mack doing okay?" he asked.
Teresa nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. But he still wished he could come out to the town with everyone else."
"Poor guy."
Sara looked over at Jim. "You're not going to keep bugging him about his injury, are you?"
Teresa gave him a mock glare and said, "Well?"
Jim held up his hands as if trying to ward off some physical blow. "Hey, hey! Show some faith in me! I'm not going to get onto Mack for his unique wound."
He leaned back. "What makes you think I would anyway?"
Sara smiled. "I know you - thank you, waiter - too well, Jim." She took her drink from the waiter and sat back so the waiter could hand Jim's to him.
"That's right, you do.
Fooey," Jim said. He unwrapped a straw and stuck it in his drink, then began sipping it.
"Thanks for letting me go with you guys," Teresa said.
"No problem," Jim said.
"Mack can't be out here, so I doubt he'd mind you going without him."
Sara nodded. "Hey, we're your friends."
The three sat back and gave a round of "thank
you's" to the waiter as their food arrived.
Jim looked down at his plate. "Oh, man. A real burger and fries. You know how long it's been since I've had once of these?"
"Should I?" Sara asked, picking up her own burger and taking a bite of it.
Jim shrugged, then turned back to Teresa. "As I was going to
say, Terry, Mack won't be worried because he knows I'll protect you from any harm."
Terry tossed a fry at Jim and he ducked it. Sara laughed.
"I'm only trying to help," Jim said, smiling.
Terry shook her head. "With help like that, who needs the Tau's tender loving care?"
* * *
Mel and Jessy danced together on the floor of a night club. The music was noisy and not too good, the people around were lousy dancers, but it allowed the two of them to escape the world of being an Imperial Guardsman.
Mel watched Jessy's moves with a mix of humour and, not a surprise to himself, a bit of longing.
"You do this often before being recruited?" he asked.
Jessy smiled at him. "All the time. And it was fun, too."
"Sure feels like it," Mel said.
Jessy reached out and twirled him around, spinning around herself. But when Mel found himself back where he'd started the spin, Jessy wasn't there.
Nervously, he looked around, then spotted her dancing elsewhere. She looked back at him, smiled, and waved.
Mel shook his head. She was full of surprises.
And so was the club, he found out, as another girl was spun right into him. Mel stumbled for a second, unexpectedly, before the girl reached out, grabbed his face, and gave him the deepest, wettest kiss he'd ever had.
Mel tried to push her away when he felt her tongue snake into his mouth. He managed to pry her off, and she gave him a sweet smile. "Too hot for you?"
"Eh, no, it's just I don't know you..."
"Perfect," the girl said, rubbing against Mel in what had to be the most sexually explicit dance he'd ever seen. "Then there's no reason for any inhibitions."
"Now, see, I've got m'self a girl already, and..." he began, but it was no use. He was pressed up against the wall. The girl began kissing him again, then reached up to unbutton his top.
He closed his eyes. Oh, hell, this was not good.
Suddenly, there was no one there. The kiss left, and so did the hands. Mel opened his eyes.
Jessy smiled at him. "Getting acquainted?"
"You set me up!" Mel said.
"Of course." Jessy reached out and wrapped her arms around his chest. "It's so much fun to watch you squirm."
"Now I know what they meant by 'antics.' If you were a card, I wouldn't know whether you were the Queen of Hearts or the Joker."
Jessy giggled. "Both. Now let's get back on the dance floor."
* * *
Bob sipped his second beer, not wanting to take it all down in one go. He had no intention of getting drunk, even though he could.
He heard heavy footsteps behind him and he turned to see what they were. A large man, dirty looking and wearing a mangled jacket over a shirt and a pair of jeans that had once seen better days, stared at him.
"You smug little soldier bastards," he spat.
Bob set his drink down and said, "Excuse me?"
"You think you're so special," the guy said. "You're just a bunch of murderers who get good people killed!"
Bob drew his head back. The comment should have been ignored, but it caused a reaction in him so deep he knew he could do nothing to stop himself.
He jumped from the stool, grabbing the man's shirt. As he fell to the ground he rolled, using the momentum to throw the man across the room. He landed on a table, smashing it.
Bob jumped up. Another three men were approaching.
He smiled at them, giving a grin that would have matched that of a cat ready to leap on a mouse. The three men stopped their advance, hesitating.
Bob jumped forward, slamming a fist into one's face, then spinning and throwing his foot into another's. The third man wung at Bob, but he caught the man's arm and chopped down on his elbow. A sickening crack and a scream of pain told him it was broken. The man went down, whimpering over his arm's sorry condition.
More men were standing ad walking toward Bob, Bill, and Paul. Seeing no way out, Bob shrugged and decided to do what he found out was his best skill: inflicting pain.
He jumped onto a table and then threw himself at two men, bringing them crashing to the floor. Then he got onto his knees and slammed a fist into both men's faces. He leapt back to his feet, ducked to groin-punch a man,
then flipped backward, slamming the toe of hit boot into another's jaw as his did so.
All across the bar, a melee broke out.
* * *
Becker walked down the streets of the town, trying to find a place to have some fun. He'd abandoned the idea of staying at base.
A man flew through a window not ten feet away. He stood up, glass falling from his clothing, and screamed into the bad he'd just exited so violently, "I'll get you back for that, soldier!" Then he ran.
Becker rushed to the bar and jumped inside, to be greeted by a scene he didn't expect.
Bill and Paul were fighting together, trying to keep themselves from going down. Bill appeared to have blood coming from his nose.
Bob was the biggest surprise for Becker. He was cut in several places and was still moving about quickly, throwing men much bigger than him across the room, breaking ribs, cracking jaws, and causing damage to the men attacking him in any way possible. On his face he wore a grin like a madman, and occasionally he barked out a short laugh as he downed another man.
The last of the bar patrons fell, and Becker looked around.
Everything was destroyed. The tables, the chairs, the racks on the wall, the bar, the drinks behind the bar. Everything.
Bob crouched low and looked around, as if daring someone to get up so he could take them down again.
Becker walked over to him. "Bob?"
Bob blinked, then shot to his feet. "Sir?"
"What just happened here?"
"I was assaulted, sir."
Becker looked at Bob and couldn't figure out what he was seeing. One minute, Bob had been tearing through the bar's patrons and almost seemed to be relishing it. The next, he was a totally different person, standing at attention and not even noticing the suffering around him.
"So you fought back?" Becker asked.
Bob nodded. "Yes, sir. I had no choice."
Becker put an arm around Bob's shoulders and swept his arm out
in front of him. "You and I need to talk, Bob."
Bob's reaction to the devastation around him was one of total surprise. He looked as if he had no idea what had happened just minutes before.
And that scared Becker more than anything else.
* * *
Jim took a sip from his shake and smiled at Terry. "Come on, you and Mack have something good going too."
Terry nodded. "Yeah, but not like you and Sara. At least, not yet."
"You will. Just wait and watch." Jim smiled.
He looked down at his chrono, then looked back up at Terry. "Sara's been gone an awful long time. Wonder what's keeping her?"
* * *
Sara leaned against the wall, trying to brace herself. She felt weak, but couldn't imagine why. She was well-rested, so it couldn't be that.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and relax.
It was not a good idea.
Visions of dead soldiers, human and alien, stretching out for hundreds of feet in all directions came to her. The sight of the dead Guardsman she'd stumbled over. The Tau she'd slashed with her own bayonet. The sickening sound of her knife plunging into flesh over and over.
She opened her eyes. She reached down, absently, and rubbed her right leg.
The deep cut there was easy to feel. It was why she'd chosen to wear a long skirt.
Terry walked into the restroom and asked, "Something wrong Sara?"
Sara shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. Just dizzy for a moment."
"Oh," Terry said. "Jim's just a bit worried about you."
Sara smiled, but didn't feel any mirth behind it. "He should stop worrying so much about me. I'm a big girl, I don't need
him to watch over me all the time."
"Okay," Terry said. "I'm going back to let Jim know you'll be along soon."
"Thanks," Sara said.
As the door closed behind Terry, Sara looked at the mirror above the sinks.
A pair of haunted eyes looked back.
* * *
Jessy pulled Mel along by the hand, and he made a show of trying to resist.
"Come on, Jessy, we have to get back to base."
She smiled. "By morning, Mel. Nothing was said about tonight."
"Well, where are you taking... Oh." He looked up and saw a large sign that read "The Solar."
"Wait a minute..." But
Jessy was already pulling him inside.
She walked to the desk and casually said, "Room for two."
The desk clerk said, "Sign here." He then got a key.
Jessy signed, and pulled out some money. She exchanged some cash for the key to the room.
"Room 203," she said, looking at the key as they left the desk. "Second floor."
They stepped into the elevator, and as its doors closed Mel turned to Jessy. "What are you doing?"
She smiled and said nothing.
On the second floor, they found room 203 easily and opened it with the key card. Once insider, Jessy flipped on the laps in the room.
Mel sat down on the end of the bed. "I take it this is where you tell me to take my clothes off?"
Jessy sat down beside him and said, "Oh, you know the game. Good." Then she gave him a serious look. "Is it so hard for you to relax, Mel?"
He sighed. "Truthfully? Yeah, sometimes it is."
"Why?"
Mel shrugged. "We've just been through two straight days of fighting, more than I ever thought I'd see in my life, and we've had to kill and see our friends killed."
"I know how you feel,"
Jessy said. "But if we go on forever without taking time off to relax and have fun, we're going to just end up bitter and unhappy. Frankly, when I die, I'd rather die knowing I lived my life to the fullest and not danced around
any risk, any chances, and just took the safe road out."
"Yeah, you're right," Mel said. "it's just..."
Jessy pressed him down against the bed and kissed him. Mel looked up and said, "What?"
She looked into Mel's eyes and he could see a mix of
concern, longing, and a million other emotions there too complex for him to sort out. "You kept talking."
"And?"
"You know the game. Shut up and get undressed."
Mel sighed. It was going to be a heck of a night.
END CHAPTER VI
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER VII: A RETURN TO
NIGHTMARES
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