Eleven: The Sequel of AlterMyth

Waltzing Matilda

Prologue

July 26, 1969 - Unknown Time

Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone

Somewhere beneath sector Hotel-11

In the dark, damp confines of a strange subterranean river cave, Captain Baelz "Bae" Hakos of the Australian 6th Infantry Battalion stood face to face with a wounded Viet Cong infantryman. Bae had her trusty Browning Hi-Powered pistol pointed at her enemy while the wounded man watched Bae from behind the iron sights of his Tokarev. Only a small flashlight that Bae had tossed aside provided any sort of light and illuminated the two soldiers' faces.

The VC man eyed Bae's weapon and spoke Vietnamese, " Người Úc? "

He's asking me if I'm Australian... Did my pistol give it away?

Bae steadied her breath. She listened to the water dripping from the rocky ceiling above and the flow of the subterranean river by her feet. Her bright blue eyes saw the abject fear in the VC man's eyes. Seeing this, she answered in the affirmative with her rough, heavily accented Vietnamese, "Đúng."

When Bae said this, the VC man seemed utterly relieved. He then spoke slowly in response, " Chúng ta không nên đánh nhau. "

He doesn't want to fight. Well... neither do I.

" Tôi đồng ý. " She answered, agreeing with him earnestly.

Slowly but surely, Bae and the VC man lowered their guns. He then pointed to a path that led deeper into the dark cave and spoke again.

It's not safe here, he says. We have to get out of here, he says.

Bae nodded, picked up the flashlight that she had tossed away and followed the man's lead. The two of them kept their pistols drawn, but they were pointed in the same direction.

While the two of them followed the path of the underground river, Captain Hakos wondered how she got into such a strange situation.

...

The Feathers In Your Hair (Prologue)

Waltzing Matilda

...

First Verse - It's A Long Way To Da Nang

Earlier that day, Captain Hakos was travelling north with 'R' Company of the 6th Battalion on buses. Bae's company dubbed themselves the 'Puckapunyal Brats'. Their destination was the headquarters of the American MACV in Da Nang Airbase, well outside of the Australian contingent's area of responsibility.

Most of the Brats were not happy with their commanding officer because of it. Bae felt their glares digging into her back like knives from behind throughout the whole trip from Nui Dat to Da Nang.

Bae sat at the front of the bus together with her adjutant, Sergeant Major Philpott, who seemed to be one of the few who wasn't visibly displeased in their bus. Bae herself wore a large frown on her face, played around with her locks of red hair and grumbled.

"Why did this have to happen to us, Firebutt?" Bae asked her adjutant.

CSM Philpott was unfazed by the bad nickname. After two years of serving under Captain Hakos, he was already used to it. Instead, he cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses and reminded her.