Charade (Band of Brothers)

" A MAN ' S GAME "

Kate was right. The day had been gruelling. From 0600 hours to 1800 hours, the men had jumped through obstacle courses, crawled through pig entrails, and marched through miles of Georgia backcountry. As she lay in bed, she let her mind wander over the events of the day, some of them better than others. Her muscles ached from the PT, but in a way that felt satisfying, like the reward of a hard day's work. By no means was Kate excelling in her training - she wasn't even near the men's average. However, there were always one or two men trailing her in the exercises, and her level of fitness didn't particularly stand out as awful. Most of the men accredited her shortcomings to the fact that James Nicolli was new, and their encouragement was at times the only thing that kept Kate going. 

"Enjoy it, James, it'll still taste better than whatever we're served at the mess tonight!" Don Malarkey called over his shoulder as Second Platoon inched through the guts strung on the barbed wire over their heads. Kate let out a wry chuckle, ducking her head under a particularly large innard. After mostly sticking around Luz the previous day while she gained her footing, Kate was getting to know the men of her own platoon better. Malarkey had proved to be a real decent guy, and she appreciated his friendliness, as some of the men took longer to open up. Luckily, in befriending Don, Kate had also made friends with the rest of the mortar squad. 

Kate emerged from underneath the wires a few seconds after Malarkey, covered in swine blood. She jogged to catch up with him on their way back to the barracks. 

"I sure hope that's the last we see of that." She said, trying to shake the dirt off her uniform. 

"Yeah, well, somehow I doubt Sobel is gonna cut us any breaks. The crazy son of a bitch didn't even give us time to change out of our gear last time we did this, a couple days before you got here."

Kate shook her head in bemusement. 

"So, if you don't mind me askin', where are you from? You don't strike me as the kind of guy who likes to get his hands dirty with this kind of stuff." Malarkey asked. Kate cringed, not surprised that she didn't look like the manliest soldier. On the other hand, she thought, that meant she looked like an urban man, after all. 

"I'm from upstate New York. You're right, my family wasn't exactly that friendly with the great outdoors growing up." She sighed.

"Well, at least you're here now. Why'd you choose the airborne?" 

Kate thought for a second. She was going to tell the truth. 

"I was at home, watching all these men around me go off to war, and I knew I couldn't just sit there while they died for their country. It wouldn't be fair. So, I decided that if I was going to join the army, I would push myself to join the finest. Somehow I had this feeling that I could do it." 

Malarkey rubbed the back of his neck. "Wow, that's pretty similar to what I felt. Then again, I guess most of the guys are here to be among the best." 

"Among the best, like Captain Sobel?" Kate huffed. They both snorted at the irony. 

Both of them looked up as they approached the barracks where Muck and Penkala were waiting for them. 

"Hey guys," Skip leaned in towards them. "God, you smell like a dead animal." He joked. 

"You aren't exactly daisy-fresh yourself. Better wash up before jump training." Malarkey shot back. The company was to have their first jump training at 1300, after lunch at the mess hall. The three men headed inside the barracks. 

"Get pig guts on my bunk, Don, and you're a dead man." Kate snorted as Malarkey reached onto the bed above hers. He chuckled, but the smile was wiped off of Kate's face as she watched the men grab their towels from their footlockers. This was the moment she has feared most about basic training. If she had to take a shower with everyone else, she was a dead man - ahem, woman.