Snippet #1923295

Falling asleep to the Crump! of mortar rounds and small-arms fire was a first for Johanneke, who managed to get a good night's sleep throughout the ordeal. After having sat through the briefing the next morning, Johanneke now prepared for a mission that would do something about the pesky opposition harassing their base. As she prepared her gear and weapons for battle, however, she was surprised to look up and see Saladin coming towards the picnic table where she was loading her RPK drum magazines.

"Saladin?" Johanneke asked as the gunsmith sat down and began filling UZI magazines. "What're you doing here?"

"I am preparing for the mission, Miss Johanneke." Saladin replied as he slid 9mm rounds into the first of several 32-round magazines.

"Drop the 'miss', but anyway, why are you going out on this mission, shouldn't you be in the armory?"

"After the briefing this morning, I felt I should participate, contribute to the force going out there."

"What was your reason?" Johanneke queried as she inserted another five rounds into her current drum magazine.

"It is as Mister Victor said-- it will allow us to operate without being killed the moment we step outside the base, and I feel I should contribute to making our lives a little easier. As I understand, Miss Lucinda is also participating, and she's just a driver and mechanic. I would be a coward, then, if I did not help out."

"Saladin, what will happen if you go down out there? We can't afford to lose you, mate! Killing others is no business for a gunsmith, regardless of how brilliant they are!"

"Johanneke, please calm down! I know you are worried about me, but I have to do this!" replied Saladin with a raised voice. "It is not like I am not capable of taking another person's life, but there are reasons why I am not a soldier..."

Johanneke paused, letting Saladin begin his story. "It was a few years ago, back at Bagram Airfield, when I was still not yet an adult. The base had come under attack, and before I knew what was happening, there was a man--he looked like he was a Taleban-- staring me down. I saw him brandish a blade as large as I have ever laid eyes on, and he let out a yell, and he started charging towards me. I was scared, I thought I would die if I did not do something quickly, and I saw a Kalash not far from me. The Taleban was almost upon me now, and I did not know if the weapon I had was loaded, I just pointed it at him and held down the trigger."

Saladin stopped, and Johanneke had to prompt him to continue. "Then what happened?"

"When I opened my eyes, the Kalash was empty, and I looked down to see that the Taleban was on the ground. If you saw what I had done to him, Johanneke, you would be horrified. My bullets did not just kill him, they transformed this man into a wretched creature that was barely recognizable as a human. There was so much blood, and spilled innards... I could not sleep properly for a few weeks after that... That is why I am not a soldier... killing someone up close like that, that was not something I will ever forget."

The pair was quiet for a few moments before Johanneke spoke again.

"Wow, Saladin, I didn't know you had ever killed another person... It was justified, of course, but that can't have been easy for you to cope with, and that makes me worried. Are you sure you'll be all right in this mission?"

"I will put my fears aside, Johanneke. I must, or I will fail you and everyone else greatly."

Johanneke snapped her filled drum magazines shut, before getting up to leave.

"I promised Lucinda she could call on me for any help, so I have to go check on her, Saladin. Just remember, if you don't feel you're ready to fight, you don't have to go out there."

Without waiting for a response from Saladin, Johanneke turned and left, heading for the garage, leaving Saladin alone with his thoughts and weapons and equipment.