Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 19:10:23 GMT -5
Nicole's eyes opened slowly. She looked looked at the ceiling from the floor she currently slept on. So much for the bunks... But if that meant she could do this she didn't care. She turned to see Jace sleeping next to her and she smiled.
Part of her couldn't believe what she had done. But boy did she feel alive right now. Her mind was still drunk from the wave of satisfaction she felt along with the pleasure of his touch. It was something she hadn't felt in years. This is what made the next part difficult. She was leaving now to go to Polk. If things played out the way she wanted them to, she could be back midday tomorrow.
Slowly she pulled the blanket back and gathered up her previously discarded clothes and dressed. After she lace up her boots, she took stock of what she was taking. Second Chance Vest, her MOLLE vest, assault pack with some food and water for the trip, her M9, her M4 and the most important thing... one of the trucks outside.
She was supposed to bring Will, but she wanted to be in and out as fast as possible not to mention she had to do something for herself she preferred to do on her own. It wasn't the full closure she wanted, not yet. It was going to be something though.
This is where the hardest part. She was going to need the key to the gate Jace had. She quietly moved around him, careful to not disturb him while he slept and reached for his pants, checking his pockets carefully before finding what she needed. "Sorry," she whispered truthfully. "...but I'm gonna need this." Pocketing the key, she left in silence.
It took her a minute to get out of the ship but she was getting more used to it. It was dark outside and silent. Surprisingly chilly even. She used the key and pushed the gate open and then stopped to secure the gate. She slipped the key into one of her M4 magazine's just under one of the 5.56 rounds and threw the mag over the gate.
Nicole wasted no time and immediately went to the nearest truck, checked the fuel gauge and opted to take it upon further inspection. It was quick and to the point. After starting the truck she looked at the ship that was now going to be her home and bit her lower lip. It sucked that she was doing this to Jace, but some battles you have to fight on your own. To Nicole this was one of those battles. The trip to get some gear and equipment that the group would no doubt need was important but not as important as some peace of mind.
With that in mind, she pressed down on the gas and drove...
Nine hours later
The trip took maybe three hours. After that, she got on post the same way she had before and first stop was the AHA. She loaded up some addition rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 in the hatch of the truck. Moving from bunker to bunker, she managed to find only one crate of M67 fragmentation grenades but she had loaded that as well. Getting the ammo together took about an hour.
Next on the shopping list was the CIF building. Central Issuing Facility. It took her longer here since she didn't know where the hell half of what she was looking for was. She filled four shopping carts with some IOTV body armor, the plates to go with them, the Kevlar helmets (ACH's) and the bolts and chin straps to go with those. That task took her roughly two hours.
After that, she went to the motor pool again. This time, she drove through the truck line and found a trailer to attach to the M1151A. It was a pain in the ass to set up alone but she did it. It was here that the real pain in the ass task would begin. She gathered up as many jerry cans as she could find and loaded them into the trailer. After that, she cruised through the motor pool til she found a fueler and topped off her truck as well as the jerry cans she had loaded up. Nicole carefully approached the maintanence bays and prayed to not disturb any of the dead that might still linger inside of it. She found some transmission fluids, oils and a small handful of fan belts and she didn't want to press her luck any further. This task was three hours of hell and she was tired beyond measure come the end of it. But one more task remained.
Only a few minutes passed from when she drove out of the motor pool before she was face to face with her old barracks building. It was smaller and only two stories tall. This was the NCO barracks for her BN. She parked her truck close to the main door with the drivers side facing said door.
She had been inside the building for a few minutes staring at her hold room door. The floors were dusty and the air was stale but the building looked terrifyingly the same. The tag next to the door still read her name. SGT YOSHIDA, NICOLE 258TH MP CO 519TH MP BN. In her shaking hand was her key. It had been with her this entire time. And now she was about to do something she hadn't dreamed of doing since she left this post.
She was about to step into the past. Inserting the key, she unlocked the door and let it swing open. Her jaw dropped. The room was exactly as it was when she left it. The living area had her table, her chairs, couch and love seat, her entertainment stand, TV... everything. The small kitchenette still had her toaster oven, waffle maker... everything.
It was like she stepped into the 'Twilight Zone.' Fuck, she half expected Rod Serling to show up. A fucked up corpse of Rod Serling, of course. As she stepped into the room she looked to the bedroom door and slowly approached it. With her still trembling hand, she rested it on the door knob and turned it, pushing open the door letting it swing open. Her bed, her desk... As she left it. On her bed was her IOTV body armor and her ACH. Her name tapes were still in place, her rank her... her fucking everything.
Her eyes swelled with emotion. It wasn't just one type. It was all of them all together all at once. Those were coming. She quickly crossed to the bed and looked at nothing else in the room. She couldn't afford to just yet. After a thirty second jog from her room, she was throwing those two items into her truck and jogged back, bringing her assault pack with her this time. She went straight for her dresser and threw her clothes into the bag. Fresh clothes. Well, not fresh but her clothes. Jeans, t-shirts, blouses, shorts. All went into her bag. Moving straight to her closet she threw in some of her running shoes and extra boots, uniformed boots and a pair of nice black knee boots.
Nicole jogged to her truck again from the room and threw in her assault pack. Jogging back though took longer. It took longer because she wanted it to. On her desk, the last place she wanted to pick clean was going to be the hardest of them all. Hell, she hadn't even looked at it while she cleared out the rest of her bedroom.
And this was why.
The pictures on her desk showed everything that had gone away. The first was one of her and her team. She was in the middle of the two soldiers, one arm around Cooper and one arm around him. They were in full kit minus the ACH. Smiling. Another of Nicole and him, this time just the pair. They were at a bar. She was laughing leaning against him while he raised his glass of beer. Another of just him and her laying on a bed together. Their heads were touching just slightly. They both looked tired but content with loving smiles. Then there was Cooper and him with their upper torso's exposed wearing only their ACU pants and boots flexing in the hot sun, goofy faces and all.
Her knees buckled before the desk. Had she been any slower she would have slammed herself into the desk. She wanted to vomit. The room spun. There were rules against this sort of thing. Rules she broke. And this was exactly why they were implemented in the first place.
This was her fault. This was her fault. This was all her fault.
Something in her broke all over again. She picked up her desk chair and threw it across the bedroom and it went straight through her window. She took her M4 and removed the sling from around her body and threw the weapon at her dresser while she screamed... "IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME! ME! IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE YOU! ME! YOU LEFT ME ALONE! You... you left me alone. It was supposed to be me..." She exploded and paced before her voice went soft. A gutteral wail escaped her lips as she collapsed to her knees and grabbed the picture of the two of them laying on the bed. She fell back onto the floor and clutched the picture to her chest.
She cried. She cried and cried and cried, curling into a fetal position with a vice like grip on the picture. Nothing in this moment mattered. Nothing.
Part of her couldn't believe what she had done. But boy did she feel alive right now. Her mind was still drunk from the wave of satisfaction she felt along with the pleasure of his touch. It was something she hadn't felt in years. This is what made the next part difficult. She was leaving now to go to Polk. If things played out the way she wanted them to, she could be back midday tomorrow.
Slowly she pulled the blanket back and gathered up her previously discarded clothes and dressed. After she lace up her boots, she took stock of what she was taking. Second Chance Vest, her MOLLE vest, assault pack with some food and water for the trip, her M9, her M4 and the most important thing... one of the trucks outside.
She was supposed to bring Will, but she wanted to be in and out as fast as possible not to mention she had to do something for herself she preferred to do on her own. It wasn't the full closure she wanted, not yet. It was going to be something though.
This is where the hardest part. She was going to need the key to the gate Jace had. She quietly moved around him, careful to not disturb him while he slept and reached for his pants, checking his pockets carefully before finding what she needed. "Sorry," she whispered truthfully. "...but I'm gonna need this." Pocketing the key, she left in silence.
It took her a minute to get out of the ship but she was getting more used to it. It was dark outside and silent. Surprisingly chilly even. She used the key and pushed the gate open and then stopped to secure the gate. She slipped the key into one of her M4 magazine's just under one of the 5.56 rounds and threw the mag over the gate.
Nicole wasted no time and immediately went to the nearest truck, checked the fuel gauge and opted to take it upon further inspection. It was quick and to the point. After starting the truck she looked at the ship that was now going to be her home and bit her lower lip. It sucked that she was doing this to Jace, but some battles you have to fight on your own. To Nicole this was one of those battles. The trip to get some gear and equipment that the group would no doubt need was important but not as important as some peace of mind.
With that in mind, she pressed down on the gas and drove...
Nine hours later
The trip took maybe three hours. After that, she got on post the same way she had before and first stop was the AHA. She loaded up some addition rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 in the hatch of the truck. Moving from bunker to bunker, she managed to find only one crate of M67 fragmentation grenades but she had loaded that as well. Getting the ammo together took about an hour.
Next on the shopping list was the CIF building. Central Issuing Facility. It took her longer here since she didn't know where the hell half of what she was looking for was. She filled four shopping carts with some IOTV body armor, the plates to go with them, the Kevlar helmets (ACH's) and the bolts and chin straps to go with those. That task took her roughly two hours.
After that, she went to the motor pool again. This time, she drove through the truck line and found a trailer to attach to the M1151A. It was a pain in the ass to set up alone but she did it. It was here that the real pain in the ass task would begin. She gathered up as many jerry cans as she could find and loaded them into the trailer. After that, she cruised through the motor pool til she found a fueler and topped off her truck as well as the jerry cans she had loaded up. Nicole carefully approached the maintanence bays and prayed to not disturb any of the dead that might still linger inside of it. She found some transmission fluids, oils and a small handful of fan belts and she didn't want to press her luck any further. This task was three hours of hell and she was tired beyond measure come the end of it. But one more task remained.
Only a few minutes passed from when she drove out of the motor pool before she was face to face with her old barracks building. It was smaller and only two stories tall. This was the NCO barracks for her BN. She parked her truck close to the main door with the drivers side facing said door.
She had been inside the building for a few minutes staring at her hold room door. The floors were dusty and the air was stale but the building looked terrifyingly the same. The tag next to the door still read her name. SGT YOSHIDA, NICOLE 258TH MP CO 519TH MP BN. In her shaking hand was her key. It had been with her this entire time. And now she was about to do something she hadn't dreamed of doing since she left this post.
She was about to step into the past. Inserting the key, she unlocked the door and let it swing open. Her jaw dropped. The room was exactly as it was when she left it. The living area had her table, her chairs, couch and love seat, her entertainment stand, TV... everything. The small kitchenette still had her toaster oven, waffle maker... everything.
It was like she stepped into the 'Twilight Zone.' Fuck, she half expected Rod Serling to show up. A fucked up corpse of Rod Serling, of course. As she stepped into the room she looked to the bedroom door and slowly approached it. With her still trembling hand, she rested it on the door knob and turned it, pushing open the door letting it swing open. Her bed, her desk... As she left it. On her bed was her IOTV body armor and her ACH. Her name tapes were still in place, her rank her... her fucking everything.
Her eyes swelled with emotion. It wasn't just one type. It was all of them all together all at once. Those were coming. She quickly crossed to the bed and looked at nothing else in the room. She couldn't afford to just yet. After a thirty second jog from her room, she was throwing those two items into her truck and jogged back, bringing her assault pack with her this time. She went straight for her dresser and threw her clothes into the bag. Fresh clothes. Well, not fresh but her clothes. Jeans, t-shirts, blouses, shorts. All went into her bag. Moving straight to her closet she threw in some of her running shoes and extra boots, uniformed boots and a pair of nice black knee boots.
Nicole jogged to her truck again from the room and threw in her assault pack. Jogging back though took longer. It took longer because she wanted it to. On her desk, the last place she wanted to pick clean was going to be the hardest of them all. Hell, she hadn't even looked at it while she cleared out the rest of her bedroom.
And this was why.
The pictures on her desk showed everything that had gone away. The first was one of her and her team. She was in the middle of the two soldiers, one arm around Cooper and one arm around him. They were in full kit minus the ACH. Smiling. Another of Nicole and him, this time just the pair. They were at a bar. She was laughing leaning against him while he raised his glass of beer. Another of just him and her laying on a bed together. Their heads were touching just slightly. They both looked tired but content with loving smiles. Then there was Cooper and him with their upper torso's exposed wearing only their ACU pants and boots flexing in the hot sun, goofy faces and all.
Her knees buckled before the desk. Had she been any slower she would have slammed herself into the desk. She wanted to vomit. The room spun. There were rules against this sort of thing. Rules she broke. And this was exactly why they were implemented in the first place.
This was her fault. This was her fault. This was all her fault.
Something in her broke all over again. She picked up her desk chair and threw it across the bedroom and it went straight through her window. She took her M4 and removed the sling from around her body and threw the weapon at her dresser while she screamed... "IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME! ME! IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE YOU! ME! YOU LEFT ME ALONE! You... you left me alone. It was supposed to be me..." She exploded and paced before her voice went soft. A gutteral wail escaped her lips as she collapsed to her knees and grabbed the picture of the two of them laying on the bed. She fell back onto the floor and clutched the picture to her chest.
She cried. She cried and cried and cried, curling into a fetal position with a vice like grip on the picture. Nothing in this moment mattered. Nothing.