Toy Soldier » Band of Brothers

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟻

𝙰𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙻 𝟷-𝙹𝚄𝙽𝙴 𝟻,𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺

Training had come to an end. There had been twenty-two months of it, more or less continuous. All the men were physically and mentally hardened, past the level even of a professional athlete. They were disciplined, experts in the use of their own weapon, knowledgeable in the use of other weapons, familiar with and capable of operating German weapons, among a multitude of other skills.

Within Easy they had made friends they were willing to die for, and more importantly, kill for. 

They were ready, Tommy knew, but, of course, going into combat is an experience one can never be truly ready for. It's a mysterious thing, the shroud of uncertainty only thickened by the fact that those who have done it cannot put into words what it was like, how it feels. 

All they could say was that shooting and getting shot at to kill forces an extraordinarily emotional response. 

No matter how hard you've trained, nor however realistic the training, no one can ever be prepared for the real thing. 

And so, Tommy and the rest of Easy found themselves leaving Aldbourne with a sense of confidence, faintly overpowered by trepidation. 

They piled into the transport trucks, heading towards Easy's marshalling area in the southwest of England, in an open field beside the airstrip at Uppottery. 

"2nd platoon, listen up! I want the 1st squad in A side tents, right there. 3rd squad, second row." 2nd Lieutenant Buck Compton, an all-American catcher on the UCLA baseball team that played football for UCLA before graduating OCS and joining Easy in Aldbourne after completing jump school, said.

Tommy liked him. 

He was one of the new officers that had been added, with the aim of having two lieutenants per platoon, in expectation of casualties when combat began. Along with him, Winters was brought back as 1st platoons leader, and 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan of Baker was made the CO of Easy.  

Tommy looked around the barren airstrip, taking in the tarmac and the rows upon rows of pyramid tents. Then her gaze zeroed in on a frighteningly familiar uniform, her eyes widening to comical proportions and her hand immediately venturing towards the jump knife by her ankle.

"Whoa, Mate!" The soldier dressed in German uniform yelled, quickly bringing his arms up in front of himself, "We're Tommies." 

"So am I." Tommy wanted to reply, but thought better of the bad joke when she saw the young mans ashen complexion. Instead, she opted to let go of her rifle, and stick out her hand for a friendly shake, "Tommy Reller."

"Pleasure." The young man replied, introducing himself as Will Scoville. 

Tommy heard Hoobler comping up behind her, breathing out an impressed, "Holy shit," before coming to stand next to her. 

The British Soldiers seemingly learned from Tommy's abrupt greeting, and quickly said, "No, it's alright, mate. We're Tommies, not bleeding Boche."

"Is all this real?"

The British soldier smiled good naturedly, "Yeah, yeah. It's for you lads actually, so you can get your mince pies on some of this Jerry clobber, if you know what I mean."

Tommy and Hoobler looked equally confused, Tommy flashing an easy smile, "Not really."

"Hey, you got a Luger?" Hoobler suddenly exclaimed, "I'm dying to get my hands on a real Luger."

Will reached into his belt and drew out the coveted pistol, handing it to a starstruck Hoobler, "Yeah, go on then. Quick butchers, yeah?"

"Boy, she sure is a doozy, eh?" Tommy mumbled, her pale eyes zeroed in on the weapon. As strange as it sounded, Tommy had a somewhat morbid fascination with firearms.