Part 1 (1/2)
SWORDS OF.
EXODUS.
by Larry Correia & Mike Kupari.
To Jess, for putting up with my c.r.a.p, to Emmee, for forgiving me for being gone so much, to Wally, for making me an EOD Tech, and to Glenn and Zog, for showing me the ropes.
Team d.u.c.h.ess: How is this happy fun time?
SWORDS OF.
EXODUS.
”The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.”
-Robert A. Heinlein.
Prologue: Set in Stone.
SrA VALENTINE, M.
521st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron.
U.S. Air Force.
Zargabad District, Western Afghanistan.
Seven Years Ago.
My shoulders ached. Dust filled my nose as the column came to a halt. I let my M4 hang on its sling as I pulled off my eye-pro and wiped my face with my shemagh.
Word came down the line that we were going to be here for a while. The Cavalry soldiers we were embedded with fanned out and took up good defensive positions. Being a team of enablers, we were just expected to stay put unless they needed us. That was okay with me. My rucksack wasn't sitting right on top of my body armor and needed to be adjusted. After a quick check of my area, to make sure I wasn't near any pressure plates, I set my pack down and plopped down next to it.
”That's a good idea,” said my partner. Senior Airman Arlene Chambers was a dog handler. Her military working dog, Muttley, was tired from the oppressive heat and sat next to her, panting.
At least there was shade. The village of Murghab was so far from the nearest US FOB that our only support came via helicopter, and was uncomfortably close to the Iranian border, but it was picturesque in its own way. Our patrol had come down a narrow dirt path that ran alongside a small, babbling creek. On the other side of the trail was a six-foot mud wall. Behind the wall was a row of tall poplar trees that sighed in the hot breeze and kept us out of the sun.
A Cavalry NCO stopped to check on us as he made his way up the line. ”How you doing, Air Force?” Sergeant Hanover wasn't really checking on us so much as he was checking on Chambers. She wasn't the only female out with us in Murghab. We had a two-woman Female Engagement Team up in front, interfacing with the Afghan women as part of our ongoing counterinsurgency efforts, but Chambers was easily the best looking female out with us, and she knew it.
My partner smiled at him. ”Oh, I'm a little tired but good to go.” She cracked open a bottle of water and tilted it forward. Muttley lapped at it eagerly, wagging his tail as he drank.
”How's the dog doing?” Hanover asked, kneeling down so he could pet Muttley.
”He's hot, but I'm watching him. He'll be good for the rest of the op I think. We're still flying out after sundown, aren't we?” There had been talk of extending our mission another day. It'd already been two days since a pair of Chinooks had dropped us off outside of the village.
”I'm okay too,” I said with a sarcastic grin. ”Thanks for asking.”
Hanover laughed at me. ”Patrol's been extended.”
”What's going on?” Chambers asked. ”Why are we stopping now?”
”We ran into some contractors up there. PMC guys in armored trucks. The ANA commander is flipping out because I guess n.o.body told him they were operating in 'his' AO. Our 'terp is trying to convince him that n.o.body told us, either, but he's pretty p.i.s.sed.” We'd only been operating with this Afghan National Army unit for a couple of days, but it had already become apparent that its commander enjoyed theatrical temper tantrums if it helped him get his way. I guess he thought it showed his men that he was willing to stand up to the Americans. All it really did was make Captain Drake, the Cavalry troop commander, want to punch him in the face. Hanover's radio squawked. ”Alright,” he said. ”I gotta get up there. We'll call you if we need the dog to check anything.” Muttley was pretty good at sniffing out explosives and drugs, both of which could easily be found in Afghanistan.
”Have fun!” I said encouragingly as Sargent Hanover jogged forward. I then stood up to stretch. So far, the mission to Murghab had been a bust. No contact with insurgents, no weapons caches, and thankfully no IEDs. It had been three days of just walking around, talking to the locals. It was still better than sitting back at the Expeditionary Air Base, stuck in a guard tower for twelve hours at a time. At least we got to get out into the war.
I scanned the village for threats, doing my best not to get complacent, as the leaders.h.i.+p d.i.c.kered with the ANA, the locals, and the PMC guys. Across the creek were more buildings made of mud, then a two-story mosque that was a lot nicer than anything else in the village. It wasn't made of mud, which was pretty remarkable for a village this remote, and was topped with a blue minaret. The generator behind it indicated that it even had electricity. Fancy.
Up the trail, I could see the PMC vehicles Hanover told us about. They were MATVs, like the ones US forces used, but painted white instead of tan. The dirt road they were parked on was one of few in the village wide enough for a big vehicle to use. The contractors were clad in Desert Tiger Stripe fatigues and mismatched head gear, and a couple of them were walking down the line with Captain Drake.
The ANA took the halt to mean that it was chow time. They were easy to spot in their mint chocolate chip digital camouflage fatigues, and were already stripping off their armor, laying down their weapons, and breaking out the rations. ANA units varied widely, from pretty decent to dangerously incompetent. This particular unit gravitated more toward the incompetent end. When we bedded down in strongpoints for the night, they busted out the has.h.i.+sh and started getting high. It was ridiculous.
”Great,” I said to Chambers. ”The ANA's hungry. We're going to be here for a while.”
Chambers stood up, keeping one hand on her M4 and another on Muttley's leash. ”They already had breakfast a few hours ago!” It was only about ten thirty in the morning, but we'd been on the move since first light.
”Second breakfast, I guess. Like hobbits.”
Chambers laughed at me. ”Nerd.”
”I'm just saying. Afghanistan would be way nicer if hobbits lived here instead of Afghans.” I paused for a second and looked around. ”Hey . . . where'd the little dusties go?”
”Yeah, you're right,” my partner agreed, looking around. A troop of Afghan children, aged five to probably thirteen, had been following us around all morning, begging us for treats and candy. ”I haven't seen them in a while.”
The air was suddenly filled with music as the nearby mosque began its call to prayer. Islamic music blared tinnily over a loudspeaker, making it difficult to be heard.
”That's weird too,” I said, raising my voice. ”Don't they usually do it after noon?”
A wry smile appeared on Chambers' face. ”Do you think they have an atomic clock in there or something? This is Afghanistan. It's whatever time they say it is.”
”You don't know that. Maybe they have a sundial or some-”
Chambers suddenly fell to the ground, landing in a puff of moon dust. She had a very surprised look on her face. I was about to ask her if she was okay when I saw the blood. I'd heard the shot. It just happened so fast it didn't register. My heart dropped into my stomach as I processed what was happening. ”Medic!” I screamed. ”Contact right!”
The ambush began in earnest. I fell to my knees and tried to apply pressure to Chamber's wound as gunfire erupted from every direction. I tried to ignore that and focused on keeping my partner alive. Bullets buzzed and snapped overhead like so many angry hornets, pock-marking the mud wall we'd been leaning on. I screamed for the medic again as blood poured out from under my hands. Chambers' eyes were wide as she writhed in agony. Muttley whined and licked her hand.
Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d! I let go of the wound long enough to fumble for my medical pouch. I had some hemostatic gauze in there that might stop the bleeding. The bullet missed the plate on her vest, blasting right through the soft armor of her vest and deep into her side.
”I got this!” A Cavalry medic materialized at my side. ”Give me that.” He took the gauze package out of my hand and went to work. I didn't move. ”Hey!” he said, looking up from Chambers to stare me down. ”I got this! Cover me!”
I nodded my head, turned, and tried to process the chaos around me. The ANA had been caught completely off guard. They scrambled for the weapons they'd laid down, and most of them didn't have time to get their armor back on. A low BUUUUUURRRP sound echoed through the village as the PMCs opened fire with the minigun mounted on their MATV.
The mosque. The shot had come from the mosque. Above the cacophony of battle a very loud rifle report resonated from the direction of the mosque. An ANA soldier's chest exploded, sending him tumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust.
”Shooters in the mosque! Shooters in the mosque! They have a fifty-cal up there!” No one seemed to hear me. Orders were shouted over the radio. Complex ambush. Many insurgent personnel. Multiple wounded. KIA. a.s.sault through. MEDEVAC delayed until attack helicopters could be spun up to escort.
Boom! Someone found an IED. Christ. All the while, the medic struggled to stabilize Chambers. She was either unconscious or dead. I couldn't tell.