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Irregulaire Thorn in the Bushes
“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t care.” Red replied. “Before you called us here, we were already killing. Well, maybe not all of us, but Mick and I certainly did. You paid us, and we have to be responsible for our job, whatever happens. Besides, in combat, the only people we can trust is the ones besides us, sir,” “That is correct,” “And here, we’re merely keeping each other alive, sir.” I joined in, “If we bailed out, it means we broke your trust, sir. We don’t do that,” The Colonel went on to thank us again for our help multiple times. At some point he even insisted that we should go home. But if we were to go home, where would we go? We don’t even know where our families are or how they are doing. We had nowhere to go. Along with that conversation, I proceeded to ask him about where Sergeant Major was. He said that as far as he knew, Weiser was inside all along, trying to send in air support for our comrades on the ground. At least that assured me for a while, but in the end
Irregulaire Blurry
Things were starting to get confusing. We had been attacked by unreasonably sizable forces out of nowhere and now this? Ian should have been safe behind the lines, and his death adds more to the peculiarity of the situation. “You figure someone did this on purpose?” Red asked me after we walked out of Grace’s room. “Yea. Like we had waves of tangos as if they know exactly where we were and what we had. We had them rolling in with technicals and stuff. Someone must’ve tipped them off,” “Tom?” she asked again. “I think there is someone else, and I won’t like it if it’s who I’ve been suspecting,” “Who is it, then?” Sergeant Major came out of nowhere all of a sudden, with a very disappointing look on his face. He seemed to have disagreed with someone and argued. “Ah, there you are. The Colonel is looking for you guys. He’s just outside the door,” “Yes, Sergeant Major,” we said almost simultaneously. We went outside and saw the Colonel looking uneasy. I guess he was the one Sergean
Irregulaire Rescue Mission
----- Sergeant Major came in through the door behind us. “Ah, there you are. The Colonel wants you. Quick,” he said. We then followed Sergeant Major to where the Colonel was. It was a CP in the middle of the base. They got everything from radio to coffee. “Mick, Anne, we have a situation,” the Colonel started. “There was a group of Marines who radioed in, asking for help. They said they are in bad condition and needed support. These Marines were sent out on a patrol and is on their way back. However, they were caught in a firefight. They say they are with civilians now, which worsens their condition,” “Where would they be, sir?” Red asked. “The Delta Regency, just—" “A mile North of here,” I jumped in. “Yes. We need you to find these people and bring them in,” the Colonel continued. “Any priorities, sir?” Red replied. “Nothing in particular. Just a rescue mission for stranded Marines,” “So just us or are there gonna be more people?” Red asked “How many of you are still here?”
Irregulaire Familiar Faces
“Gavin?” I called. “Hey Mick! The hell are you doing here?” “I should be the one asking questions, you son of a bitch! The fuck are you on, here? You with the Marines?” “Yea, as a matter of fact I am now a militia—or something! Hold on, are you regular?” “Nah, I’m irregular too. Got some of my friends here, we got Anna, Mark, Ryan, and Kris. How about yo—wait a second. Are you with…?” I gestured, seemingly not wanting to say a name. But he got the idea. “Well come with me and see for yourself,” Gavin said. I followed Gavin to the room they have been in. When he opened the door, I couldn’t believe what I saw—or rather, who. She was looking after the wounded guy. It turned out the guy was their close friend, too. I grinned ear to ear before calling out to her. “Hey, Q,” I greeted her. She then looked at me, wide-eyed. “Mike? MIKE! OH MY GOD, IT IS YOU!” She exclaimed, walking towards me. “I thought it was weird to hear your voice from a military radio!” “Dammit, Q, it’s good to
Irregulaire The Dark Room
“Red? Are you okay?” I called as I approached her. Then there it was. She broke down again. I proceeded to grab her by the arm and walked her to a nearest wall she can lean on—right next to Gavin and Q. “Let’s sit down, okay? Come. Sit down,” I told her. “What happened?” said Q as she saw us. She got up and closer towards Red. “I’m so sorry,” Red sighed. “I might not be able bring you back safely. I should’ve had us waiting in the house,” “Hey, it’s oka—” “It’s not okay, Gunny. It’s not okay at all. You all trusted me but what did I do? I couldn’t even see better options when they’re right in front of my fucking eyes. I got guys killed. I even got that guy killed, Gunny. A civilian in my group is now dead because of me,” “Red. Look at me. I could’ve objected back in the house. I didn’t. That’s how much I trust you. That means I’m also ready for the risk that any of your decision brings. We all do,” “But I promised. I fucking promised the rest of you will make it out of this,”
Irregulaire Return
We spent another half hour in that house, unable to move. We don’t actually need green light to do anything, but I don’t want to risk it. The morale of the guys was low—they were exhausted and scarred. Red entered the room where Ryan and Harrison were resting. “Dude, come with me,” she called to me. I obliged. “Hey, you two,” Harrison greeted, “Are we cleared to move yet?” “No idea. I tried contacting Seagull One—no answer,” I said. “Should we try and move out? The firefight has died down, I think,” Red added. “Well… since it did, let’s try. But keep an eye out,” Harrison said. “They could still be out there, you know,” I interrupted. They both seemed to agree. We still can’t risk it. At this rate, we’re just dead squad walking. “How about sending a lookout?” I suggested, “I’ll go,” “No. I can’t allow it,” Red denied. “I’ll keep you in touch. I have a radio, right? I’ll give you green light if it’s clear,” Red contemplated for a while. She seemed hesitant, but she knew sparin
Irregulaire Edge of the Seat
The night was calm, as if there was nothing wrong happening around us. It felt wrong the first time, but with all that has happened today, I think my brain got too tired and decided that a calm night is a pretty normal situation. It would go on like this for four days, I think. Firefights from afar can still be heard, but for a base this size in the middle of nowhere, no one would expect this level of calm during a war. I figured I would sleep outside tonight. Some of the guys too, as we’re accommodating new people. I woke up around 6.30 in the morning. As expected, everybody else already woke up and were getting their breakfast. I wondered why no one had been waking me up until this point. I guess they think I did lots and deserve some sleep. Lucky I never woke up past seven. Otherwise, maybe they would start getting annoyed. I got up and fetched myself some coffee and a piece of bread just to get myself started. I saw the guys laughing over by the mess tent. Mark and Kris seemed to
Irregulaire Shrink
“GET READY!” I shouted. “Q, Bob, be ready to fire your weapon!” I commanded over the rain. I peeked over the fence to make sure the enemy is already in range. A few of the Marines have already started to return fire, but inexperienced as we were, I want to make sure that we don’t just waste ammunition. As I crouched back down, I looked over towards Red’s position to my left. Mark set up his SAW on the fence with the bipod folded while Kris was just on the edge of the fence. He laid himself down on prone with his M60 on the bipod. Red was still crouching with her rifle pointed upwards, ready to take aim and fire at any moment. I just remembered a thing—my team didn’t have a machine gun. I saw Ryan and Harrison, with bandages across their shoulders, rushing out of the inner compound towards where we sat. They each brought their own weapons. Bloomberg and Ericsson were close behind them. When I saw them, I signaled for Ryan and Harrison to get to Red’s position. The rest of them would c
Latest Chapter
- Irregulaire
Thank You
Thank you for reading Irregulaire! This was one of my many war story ideas, however only a few turned into a meaningful fruition, including this one. I usually draw instead of write, and this is my first ever completed work. However, a few sketches were made, but since this platform doesn't have that feature yet, I have not been able to include any of the pictures I have made outside the covers. Like a lot of stories, it began with a what if. It did take inspiration behind an amalgamation of various historical wars involving separatist groups and invading forces, such as the Vietnam War, Korean War, Russo-Georgian War of 2008, etc. with one question: "What if a ragtag band of college friends was to participate in a war?" The result was quite fun, with worldbuilding (that had not yet been completed as of this publishing date) that takes ages to write and carefully spun-off historical events. I get to experiment with a lot of ideas for the storyline, and it turned out pretty good. An
- Irregulaire
Glossary
2IC: Second in Command, i.e., assistant leader. ACOG: Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, a type of telescopic sighting equipment used on rifles and machine guns. AK: Automatic Kalashnikov. Introduced in 1947, its design evolved into a wide variety of firearms. Bandolier: ammunition pouches sewn into belts or sling. Boobied: slang for booby-trapped Booby Trap: traps set up to maim or kill enemy soldiers. The term came from how it fools the enemy thinking it was safe, hence the term booby (=fool). C2: Command and Control center Cal.: slang/short for Caliber Company: a unit of soldiers consisting of roughly three to four platoons plus their commander Compound: a military encampment Detcord: A type of explosive charge, shaped like a cord (hence the name, detonating cord) DMR: Designated Marksman’s Rifle Friendly Fire: incidents where soldiers opened fire on their own comrades, whether or not the shots hit FN: Fabrique Nationale, Belgian arms manufacturer GPMG: General Purpose
- Irregulaire
Epilogue
I took Red to the casualty collection point near the temporary aid station. Blood was still dripping down her face. Q followed close behind, with Mason and Vic walking alongside her. That 100-meter trip was the longest walk I had ever walked my entire life. The fountain we passed by became crowded with wounded men as temporary aid station was placed there. Bloomberg was talking to Stubs. Major Patterson was seen organizing the men, telling people where to go and stuff. I put Red down near the building on the east side of that fountain. A medic then approached us, asking whether or not he could’ve helped. After putting her down, I reached into one of her pockets to retrieve our diamonds, figuring I would sell them later to make it easier to distribute among us. I had also taken Red’s leather sling off her gun before we pulled back. I figured I’d take it home. Near the fountain, Q sat and stared blankly into the ground while Mason was beside her, caressing her. Vic offered them cigare
- Irregulaire
The Last Push
We then occupied the building, which turned out to be a bakery, with Bloomberg and Vic clearing the other rooms. I instructed Q to stay away from the windows and Mason to guard the entrance to the rear. I then took a good look of the dead enemies laying around. They have similar weapons as we do, again, but they are now in uniform. It’s the ANB again. “Red,” I called out, “These are Broenis again,” “No, shit,” she exclaimed. “Where the hell are the Marines?” Yeah. Where the hell are the Marines? We’re sitting ducks here waiting for them to break through and relieve us. it’s five past two, and the Marines are supposed to be here. Bloomberg and Vic were already done clearing the room and joined us downstairs. From our position, we could see the rest of the platoon lining up along the rubble I mentioned. “Mason, get on the radio and—where the hell is your radio?!” Red asked. “Lieutenant Stubs told me to leave it at the base, Sergeant,” Mason replied, to Red's disbelief. “Bloomberg!
- Irregulaire
Ambushed
“GET THE HELL OUT OF THE STREETS! GO!” Stubs commanded the rest of his men. “Get away from the windows! Mark!” Red instructed. The explosion then rang all around us, rattling windows and kicking dust. A few rounds landed really close to the building we were in—thankfully, none of those landed on top of us. The shelling lasted for only less than a couple minutes, but it surely scared the hell out of us. when it fell silent, we poked our heads out and looked out the windows. Most of the platoon seemed to be okay, and we got out of to the streets again. Stubs then told us to move across the intersection and take the now empty machine gun nest and settle there. “We’ll stay here for the moment,” he said. “Dukeman, take three men and cover our south. Hal, take four and face east. They might be coming down on us really soon,” The Platoon then took a little break, drinking water and such. A few of them even lit cigarettes, thinking this break would be long. The rest of them checked for am
- Irregulaire
Going Out
By 12.15, we were already out front, lining up for the vehicle we were boarding to head closer towards our objective. “I thought you said we’re walking,” I said to Stubs, who was getting his driver ready. “I thought so, too,” he answered, “But Major said we could use the vehicles halfway through. Don’t want to tire this little lady over here,” he added, looking at Q. she grinned. These trucks are big, and it could be a bullet magnet if we drive all the way up to the front. Besides, we’re supposed to be a surprise element. It makes sense if we were to be dropped halfway. “Oh, yeah. Tell your radio guy to leave his pack. I got one with me,” “Alright,” I said, “Mason!” I called him. “This is it, folks,” Red announced up front. “Go for equipment check,” We did as we were told, and found nothing wrong. We carried enough ammunition and explosives—even Q carried 8 magazines—and brought water and several food items we can fit inside our vest. Because we were going far from base, we didn’
- Irregulaire
The Father
With Beavers gone, we’re down to only 12 men. The only team with four men would be mine. With that in mind, I returned to the men. A thought had occurred to me that we would volunteer to try and find Price, but I chose not to. Seigers was still mourning his deceased friend. Victor and Mason knelt beside him, as they had served together. “We found Price,” Hal approached us, “But not in the ideal state,” “What do you mean?” Red asked. “He’s dead,” Hal answered, “The shelling and machine gun fire had blown him away,” “That figures. Now we’ll never know what they were all up to,” I joined in. “We still have something,” Stubs appeared behind me. “What is it, sir?” Hal asked. “Identification papers. It might sound normal, but there were two of them,” “I figure one of them was forged?” “Yes, and it doesn’t match as well,” “doesn’t match… how?” Red asked. “It didn’t say that he’s 2nd SOD. It said that he was 18th Highlander, and his name was Matthieu Price. Now that can already mean
- Irregulaire
Rage
Out of anger, a few of the officers and NCOs ran off to catch those three men. They had already gone into the tall grass towards the South at this point, and a few gunshots can be heard. An eager officer later, a handful of men had already run outside, carrying only rifles and what little ammunition they could immediately take with them. It soon erupted into a firefight, as they had been walking—or running, rather—straight into an ambush. They soon pull back, with the rest of us standing by near the outer fence providing cover. I left Red and Harrison with Stubs to try and assist those who pulled back. It turned out, they somehow managed to capture Price, which was surprising. A corporal said he tumbled over a rather large rock and fell. He took a fair case of beating, but was brought in relatively awake. He was relatively calm; he didn’t try to fight back or escape—probably because he was beaten up first out on the field. His hands were tied, and he was then handed over to Major Patt
- Irregulaire
Guests
We then saw rolling dust moving in towards the gate. I hope it’s the rescue team returning, as I had left my rifle inside. As it closed in, the gate swung open and three intact vehicles came in. Well, that was quick. But hey, at least they’ve made it. We stood up and walked towards them, and saw the three survivors of the crash. They were all in uniform, army fellas. They were quite heavily armed as well, looking like special forces. You go, guys. Stubs and the Colonel welcomed them and had them debriefed. We heard that they were being sent to the aid station, as Mason and his guys were. One of those spec-ops guys were taller than the others, and has a strikingly messy hair—something unusual for soldiers, but I guess it’s fine since they’re special force. “Well shit, this base even has a hooker on board,” one of the three exclaimed, looking up and down on Red. “We’re Marines, you asshat,” She replied, seemingly upset. “And she’s a squad leader too,” I added. “I don’t remember ask
