A Soldier of No Importance [ Band of Brothers ] 1

FORTY THREE

Another morning spent with Battalion Intelligence, another lunch taken alone. Alice sighed as she grabbed her tray from the Corporal who pulled KP duty. Nixon had been required to report to a second meeting in Intelligence. Dick, Harry, and Meehan had run a maneuver the last of those had decided Easy needed more work on. So with no one else to talk to, Alice slipped into a table near the back of the small mess hall they used.

Swirling the less than appetizing soup with her spoon, she frowned. The current estimation by Battalion for the invasion was two more weeks. The men didn't know any of that, just rumors floating around of the ever-nearing drop day. No official date had been set, though. Alice felt a pit form in her stomach every time her mind wandered to the invasion.

On the one hand, going back to France meant going home at last. But a nagging voice in her head kept reminding her that it had been two years since she'd been home, and quite possible it wouldn't look like the home she remembered. Add to that the fact that jumping into France meant she'd lose some of her friends, and Alice didn't know if she wanted it anymore.

But she did. When she even considered the idea of not going back, anger and a deep depression replaced the apprehension. In the end, it didn't matter what she wanted. The invasion of France would be happening no matter what, with herself as a part of it.

That morning, those officers involved with Intelligence, herself included, had been told of the decision to move the paratroopers to Upottery by the end of the week. That gave about three days. They'd tell the men tomorrow. She could feel her leg bumping up and down under the table as she continued to stare at her soup. But she couldn't stop it.

"Can't say the soup impresses me much, either."

Alice glanced up to see who had spoken to her. She was met with a stranger: hair so blonde it put her own to shame, blue eyes, height to rival Dick Winters. He looked strong, his stance confident. He had Second Lieutenant's bars. She must've looked confused, because he spoke up again.

"You're Lieutenant Klein, right?"

"Yes."

He held out his hand. "Lieutenant Buck Compton. I just arrived. Colonel Sink told me to find you. Apparently everyone else is out in the field?"

Her spoon slipped into her soup as she realized this was the new lieutenant replacing Moose Heyliger. Alice shook his hand after looking down at the bowl. "Alice Klein."

"Can I sit?"

She shrugged. "Sure." As he did so, she grabbed the roll next to her soup and took a bite. She hadn't wanted her soup anyways. Watching Compton sit down, she saw him hesitating. Alice smirked. "You can ask."

"Ask?"

She didn't dignify his thin lie with an answer. Instead, Alice just waited for him to continue. It didn't take long.

"The Colonel told me about your job," he admitted. Buck put his elbows on the table and watched her. "I'd rather hear it straight from the source. Why are you here?"

"Me, me? Or me, as a woman?"

"Both."

"The answer's the same for both," Alice said. "I'm good at what I do. I'm a translator, a sniper, and heavily connected in the Resistance for France. I've got contacts in Germany I can call on, too. Germaine put my name forward and the Maquis agreed. So here I am."

"Germaine?"

Alice shrugged. "We don't know her real name. She's an Allied spy, though she's currently in hiding."

Buck Compton nodded. He looked at her carefully. "And now you're an American Paratrooper?"

"Congratulations, you can see my jump wings."