Chapter 6
I didn't look forward to this forced leave time. All I really wanted to do is take my unit out and see if I could find Major Christopher Jacobs. According to Adam if we weren't able to find him that night laying with all the others who had been wounded or killed he was still alive and would show up on his own before long. That wasn't soon enough for me. I needed him now, and now was when I couldn't have him. Why did time have to be such a cruel master?
“Hello Jeff, is dad there?” I asked.
“Can I tell him who's calling?” Jeff asked.
“God-damn-it Jeff you know damn well who I am, is dad there or not?” I asked angrily.
“Sam is that you?” Dad asked.
“Hi dad. I'm doing okay and should be home tomorrow, if that's okay,” I said.
“Sam you know you're always welcome here. So how is military life?” he asked.
“An adventure. I wish I could talk about what I'm doing in the Air Force, but unfortunately most of the work I do is classified and to talk about it would mean a court-martial. I'm afraid I don't have any civilian clothes any longer unless I still have some there,” I said.
“So what rank are you or is that classified?” he asked.
“I'm a Captain, or at least I am for now, I might be a second lieutenant when I get back to my company though. A few problems with a General,” I said.
“Sam please don't tell me you got into it with a General. What were you thinking?” he asked.
“I was thinking about saving the lives of a few hundred men. General Long didn't agree with my ideas of how to do it,” I said.
“You tried running rough shod over a General?” he asked.
“No he happened to be wounded and in the hospital When I got to where the men where I was the highest ranking officer fit for command. He thought because he was conscious he was fit for command still even though he had noway of assessing the situation. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it was his fault those men were in the predicament they were in,” I said.
“I think this is something that can wait until you get here. Is everything else okay?” he asked.
“I guess everything is okay. I keep hearing stories of some Captain Waters, that from the stories can walk on water,” I said.
“Really I don't know of any family other than you in the military and I believe you're the first Waters to ever serve in the military as an officer rather than enlisted,” he said.
“As far as I know I'm the only Captain Waters too. The stories are about me dad. They all sound so grand when I hear them, but when I remember the events they talk about grand is one of the last things I think of. It's so hard not to let the men under me see just how scared I am sometimes,” I said.
“You have your own command?” he asked.
“I'm the commander of a recon team, but as a Captain that's the extent of what the military will let me command other than as a temporary commander. My first commander was wounded on our second mission and I had to take command to get our company back to base. We were given another commander and our first mission out with him he was killed and I had to command again this time we hadn't even accomplished our objective. So we finished our objective and then ran into another company, and their commander had been wounded and his second in command thought him dead and left him laying where he fell. When I ordered a team to go back and get the wounded and dead they couldn't find him. I think he was only wounded and somehow found somewhere safe to heal enough to find a way back to base, but so far nobody has seen a trace of him,” I said.
“It sounds like you've been busy,” Dad said.
“Busy is an understatement, but we can talk more when I get there. I just wanted to let you know I'd be there tomorrow, it would be nice if the whole family could get together while I'm home. It'll only be for thirty days and then I have to get back to my new company. I'll be second in command under Major Adam Jackson. The stories about him make the ones about me seem like nothing. The only commander who has more stories about them is Major Christopher Jacobs, the man whose second in command left him for dead,” I said.
I ended the conversation before I said something I shouldn't. I had already said more than the public knew anything about, and if it went on any longer...
Twenty hours on a plane didn't sound like much fun to me and personally I would have rather been in another situation like the one I had just left than spend that long on an airplane again.
“Captain how would you like to have a faster trip home than these slow cargo planes give?” Colonel Talbot asked.
“Colonel if it means not taking leave I'm all for it,” I said.
“You aren't getting out of taking leave that easy, We have a fighter that's due to be rotated back to the states and I was wondering if you felt up to the task,” he said.
“Can I shoot down a couple enemy birds first?” I asked.
“Sam it's taking the bird to its home base and then catching a commercial flight from there. I don't want anything fancy just deliver the bird, then go home,” he said.
“You know you're good at taking the fun out of things. I guess I can either agree, or you'll make it an order so I'll agree,” I said.
“I wasn't going to order this Sam I figured you'd enjoy the flight more if you weren't going to be stuck in a cargo hold for twenty hours,” he said.
“True enough, so is it a one seater or a two seater?” I asked.
“I was hoping you might be willing to take that young Lieutenant Strong with you,” he said.
“Colonel, Lieutenant Strong is older than I am, so calling him young to me doesn't make much sense. Tell him to be ready on the flight line in two hours or he'll be looking for another way home,” I said.
“I was kind of hoping you'd be ready in fifteen minutes. Everyone is waiting on you,” he said.
Fifteen minutes. He had to be out of his mind. If that plane was already sitting on the runway...
“I guess we better get going then sir,” I said.
The flight plan had already been filed and the plane was sitting on the tarmac waiting when we got to the airfield. I did a quick preflight to insure it didn't have to many holes in it and was sitting at the controls when Lieutenant Strong started climbing the ladder to take the navigator seat.
“I hope you don't mind getting home fast Lieutenant. I haven't had the chance to fly one of these since leaving the academy so it might take me a little time to get use to her,” I said.
“You do know how to fly it though right?” he asked.
“It'll be fine Lieutenant, I've logged maybe five hundred hours in one very much like it, besides maybe I'll just use a little magic and before you know it we'll be there,” I said.
“You can do that?” he asked.
“For the record, I don't believe in magic any more than I believe in gods,” I said.
“Captain I want to thank you for all you did for us. I know we didn't make it easy at first,” he said.
“You did what you thought was right Lieutenant, I can't fault you for that. As for what I did, I would have done the same for anyone. You didn't ask to be in the situation you found yourself. For that I blame General Long. You and your men never should have been out there, and it was his screw-ups that got so many of your friends killed and wounded,” I said.
“You really don't like him, do you Captain?” he asked.
“He's nobody special to me. I personally don't care one way or the other,” I said.
“He did cause you a lot of grief,” he said.
“That he did, and the grief he caused isn't over yet. I should have been up for my gold cluster which would have gotten me my own company. Now if I don't get busted I'll have to wait who knows how long before they'll let me have my own command. I guess I shouldn't have told him to shut the fuck up, but I just didn't see him or his sycophants not trying to undo everything I was doing without saying it,” I said.
“I almost laughed my ass off when I heard you say it. I'd wanted to do
that from the time he got wounded, I just didn't have the nerve,” he said.
“I'm sure my mother will think I deserve to be in trouble for what I said,” I said.
We carried on a nonmilitary conversation throughout most of the flight back to the states. He told me his wife was pregnant when he left and according to the last letter he got he was the father of twin boys who were already walking.
“Lieutenant how would you like to learn to fly?” I asked.
“Sir I was in infantry for a reason, besides as soon as I get home I'm done with the military. I was never so scared as when we thought just maybe we weren't ever getting back. I watched you from the time you first showed up and how confident you were about us going home, and was able to draw strength because you never doubted you would get us home,” he said.
“You called me the White Rose a few times there at the end. Care to tell me why?” I asked.
“Everyone was calling you the White Rose. I guess it just seemed the right thing, you look so innocent because of your age, but it's like there's more strength than imaginable under that gentle innocence. Sir if you have the time I'd love to introduce you to my family, they're supposed to be meeting me on base when we land,” he said.
“I should be able to find the time, besides maybe you could give me a ride to the airport for the final leg of my journey home,” I said.
“Do you know when your flight will be sir?” he asked.
“I haven't got reservations for a flight since I planned on flying jump status on military aircraft. We have a base not far from home. But according to Colonel Talbot there won't be any flights from where we're going to my home so he said he'd pickup the cost of flying commercial, just as long as I'm back at work in thirty days,” I said.
“You aren't married are you sir?” he asked.
I laughed at the idea of me being married. I knew I'd be married one day, and if I could put any stock in my dreams I would be the woman I know I am when I do get married.
“No Lieutenant I'm not married. I didn't even have a girlfriend when I left for boot camp about two years ago. Lieutenant I haven't been home in close to two years. I never really even thought about going home in that time. I wouldn't be going there now except I wasn't given a lot of choice. Colonel Talbot ordered me to take leave,” I said.
“So you're only going home because you were ordered to?” he asked.
“Something like that. I had a fight with my family at my oldest sisters wedding and left for boot camp the following week. The fight is the reason I don't want to go home though,” I said.
“Maybe it's time to forgive sir,” he said.
“I did that before I left for boot camp Lieutenant, but I doubt my mother has. I doubt she ever will. Lieutenant my mother has never forgiven me for walking away from her religion. She just can't understand why anyone would walk away from something as oppressive as that damned church of hers,” I said.
“You don't believe in God, do you sir?” he asked.
“Prove to me there's a god and I'll believe. I'm sorry Lieutenant if that offends you, if god works for you great, but for me I believe in cold hard facts. Some book that justifies killing in the name of some god no one can prove even exists isn't proof I can believe in. I know according to most of the religions of the world that makes me worthy of hell, but if there really is a hell I don't see it being any worse than what I've already lived through and according to most of the religions hell sounds like a vacation to what I've been doing since joining the Air Force,” I said.
“You really hate killing don't you sir?” he asked.
“If there were another way Lieutenant... If I could solve the problems of this world, I would. Unfortunately I don't think anyone can solve the problems of the world. There are to many hypocrites who preach peace and then condone war. I can't imagine a god who is supposed to love condoning war for any reason. I don't believe a god who is all powerful would allow the strong to torture and kill the weak, and then to allow them to do so in his name, to me that is the ultimate in hypocrisy. So to answer your question, yes! I hate killing. When I shot that man that stopped the needless slaughter of so many men on that battle field I had no idea it would stop the fight before it really even started, but I'm glad it did. I'm glad no one else had to die that day, I'm glad you and your men all got to come home without having to shed any more blood,” I said.
“Sir, why did you have a fight with your family?” he asked.
“Because they couldn't accept me for who I am inside. Because they wanted me to be who they thought I should be and couldn't accept me for who I know I am,” I answered.
“So how did you make Captain at such a young age?” he asked.
“Why don't you try to get some sleep Lieutenant, we still have a long flight ahead of us,” I said.
Was I really that young? I felt like I had lived ten life times already.
“Lieutenant you still with me back there?” I asked.
“Sir... is that land?” he asked.
“It is Lieutenant. We should be landing in half and hour, we just came in range of the base control tower. I had them call your wife and let her know our approximate time of arrival. If you'd like I could see if they'll patch through a call for you,” I said.
“I'd like that sir,” he replied.
I called the tower and ask if they could patch through a call to the Lieutenant's wife and a few minutes later he was talking to her over the radio. I unplugged my flight helmet to give him more privacy and to keep from becoming distracted since I was getting tired from the flight.
“Rose one this is command,” the tower called.
“Command this is White Rose one,” I said.
“Rose one you are cleared to land on runway niner. Your glide path looks good your speed is a little fast,” the tower said.
I throttled back just a little and saw the lights of the runway and took us in. as the wheels hit the runway I throttled back all the way and turned onto the tarmac taxiing to the nearest hanger.
The ground crew had a ladder up to the cockpit before I was even unbuckled, and somehow released the windscreen from the outside.
“Captain I trust the flight was good?” General Long said.
I looked at the man standing at the top of the ladder.
“The flight was fine General. I hope the flight you had to the hospital was good. I'm sorry I didn't bother to find out when we finally got back to base I had other things on my mind,” I said.
“I'm sure you did son, I'm sure you did. You know in thirty years in this army I've never had anyone treat me the way you did, and I don't mind saying I deserved every bit of the scolding you gave me. I wish I could say fear drove my motive for treating you as I did, but that would be a piss poor excuse. I knew you were there doing a job few others could do and I went out of my way to make that job harder. I want to thank you Captain for bringing my boys home safe,” he said.
“Thank you sir, but I couldn't have done it without their help,” I replied.
“I can't help wondering about that Captain. I heard what happened after you met up with Alpha company. Word is you stopped a slaughter single handedly,” he said.
“General surely you know stories like that only happen in fairytales, life doesn't always have happy endings. We just got lucky this time and a lot of men who didn't need to die got to live,” I said.
I finished unbuckling and pushed myself up to get out.
“Captain Waters if it isn't to much I took the liberty of booking you a flight and made my car available to get you past all the security at the airport,” General Long said.
“Well General unless that plane leaves in the next hour, I kind of promised Lieutenant Strong here I'd meet his family,” I said.
“There's no rush Captain the earliest flight I could get doesn't leave for four hours. My car will be available to you while you're here. I just wanted to thank you, if it weren't for you and your men all my men and I would probably be dead right now. You
gave us all a chance to make something more of ourselves,” he said.
“I did my job General, that's all I did, was my job,” I replied.
I stepped out on the ladder and stumbled from exhaustion as the reality of how things could have been finally hit home. I wasn't dead and I didn't know why. Was it luck that I happened to have the enemy commander come out of that tent at that moment? What if it had been a junior officer rather than the commander of the force assembled there? Was there such a thing as magic after all? No! Magic was no more real than god was.
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“Sam, it's time to get up dear.”
“But I don't want to go to school mom.” I knew mom loved me, she always called me her little angel, and smiled a lot.