Gratitude (24 JUL 2016)

Constance woke slowly, as though rising from the lightless deeps of the ocean. The first thing she consciously noticed was how bright it was through her closed eyelids, and even through the fogginess of the drugs they were pumping into her system, she ached. The second thing she was conscious of was of the fingers wrapped loosely around her left hand. Groggily she pondered this, considered opening her eyes to see whose hand it was, but in the end it was too much trouble, and she slipped down once more into the darkness. 

When she woke again later, the light seemed less intense, and her eyelids flickered open. It took several long seconds for her eyes to focus on the sterile ceiling above her, though the steady beeping from somewhere nearby still seemed to echo weirdly through the haze of anesthetics. After several more moments, Constance remembered how to move, and she gently squeezed the fingers that still grasped hers, before turning her head to look at the owner. 

She was unsurprised to see Oskar's bed pushed close, his hand stretched out to grasp hers. He was asleep, his face relaxed artlessly, and his whole torso still swathed in a mass of bandages from his injuries of a month ago. She smiled gently, though even that bit of movement set off twinges; How long had she been out? For everything to feel this stiff, it was probably several days at least. She heard a quiet shuffle, and turned her head the other way to see a medic approaching her. 

"Sergeant 1st Class Makhandule," said the medical officer as he approached. "You're finally awake." His address caused her to lift an eyebrow; She must have been promoted while she was under sedation. "How do you feel?" Constance considered the question before answering, idly noting the name tag that read "Medical Officer 3rd Class Lentz" on his chest. 

"Sore, stiff," she replied after a minute. "Alive." It was the medic's turn to raise an eyebrow at her reply, and she smiled. She was alive. That was what counted. In the end, that was almost the only thing that mattered. "What happened? My memories are hazy right now."

"Well, the laser went straight through your chest, burned through a lung; Luckily it cauterized the wound, or you probably wouldn't have made it," his smile faded as he described her injuries. "It was touch and go, but we've managed to patch the lung as best as we're able; The rest will be on your body's ability to recuperate." He paused and looked at the chart that he'd picked up from the foot of her bed. "The flak from the rocket explosion was more problematic. It opened an artery on your cheek, and completely tore up your chest and abdomen. The blood loss, aggravated by your continued activity, was extreme, and there will be extensive scarring." Medical Officer Lentz's face was grave as he delivered the news, and Constance winced at the matter-of-fact description of the damage.

"Thank you," she said, and once again his eyes widened in surprise. 

"Thank you?" he repeated uncertainly. "Why are you thanking me?" 

"Thank you for being honest with me," she answered. "Thank you, and the rest of the medical staff, for my life." 

"I expected you to be considerably more upset by the news," he admitted frankly. "Most troopers aren't happy to hear that they will carry extensive scarring for the rest of their lives, especially on their faces." 

"I'm not happy either," she replied with that same serenity. "But what will getting angry do about it? Will it heal the scars? Will it bring back my lung capacity?" She shook her head, and smiled again, realizing now why it hurt to do so. 

"Well, it might help with the lung capacity," he said with a fleeting smile, "though I'd refrain from yelling at medical staff until the mesh is fully healed." He shook his head, and returned the clipboard to its hook on the foot of her bed. "That's a surprisingly healthy outlook."

"When you have seen what I have seen," Constance explained, "you have a few choices before you. You can let it break you, you can let anger define you, or you can accept that there is evil in the world, strive to change what you can change, and be grateful for the good things that come your way." She paused to formulate her thoughts before continuing. "Today, I am alive. There are others who cannot say so. So I am grateful for what I have."

Before the medic could respond, the fingers wrapped loosely around hers twitched, and she heard Oskar stirring. She gave the medic a brief smile before turning to watch Oskar as he woke. His eyes opened, and she saw the startlingly blue-green eyes focus on her face, and he smiled sleepily. He was pale after a month in medbay, but all in all, he was looking good. Medics said he had another month at least, but she had a feeling he'd be up and about before they knew it. 

"Connie," he said, his voice scratchy from his slumber. She wrinkled her nose, bringing another twinge of pain, then smiled. She hated the nickname really, but from Oskar, it wasn't so bad. He laced his fingers within hers, and scanned her face intently. She could see the small winces as he took in the bandaging on her cheek, and as his eyes trailed down her neck to the full cast that encased her chest, but he said nothing else for a moment. 

"Did you sleep well?" she asked quietly. 

"Nein," he replied. "Not really. Couldn't, until I knew you were okay." they laid quietly, their hands intertwined, for several minutes, with just the quiet hum of the machinery and the beeping of the monitors. Oskar finally broke the silence. "I thought I might lose you, when they brought you in. You... flatlined three times."

"It seems the medical staff earned their pay," she murmured back, gripping his hand tightly. "I'm still here." Bits and pieces of the mission were coming back; It had gone well, all things considered, but she knew she'd be out of action for a while. The very real concern she saw in Oskar's eyes told her just how close permanent retirement had been. "Besides," she continued, smiling though it ached, "I had to make it back. I couldn't let you have all the fun."

OPERATION PATIENT THUNDER - AFTER ACTION REPORT (21 JUL 2016 @ 0826)

OPERATION PATIENT THUNDER - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SSG Constance Makhandule


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 16x EXALT Agents

o Friendly Forces
 - SSG Constance "Deadbolt" Makhandule (South Africa)
 - SSG Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
 - SGT Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
 - CPL Anant "Rooftop" Dhalon (Pakistan)
o Covert Operative
 - SPC Edward Dudek (Poland)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Argentina, 21 JUL 2016 @ 0826 hrs, IOT extract CO Dudek with EXALT Data.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 0655 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 0714, and we touched ground at 0826 hrs in a trainyard in Argentina. We made contact with CO Dudek, who notified us that he needed to hack two more transponders before he was complete, but that EXALT had already moved into the area. I directed him to flex around the edges of the trainyard, and meet up with us, so that we could attack from the same direction. 

As he moved toward us, we moved toward him, and spotted the first EXALT agent. Daiwa, in concealment took a shot and crippled him, leaving him vulnerable for me to finish off. When Dhalon advanced, he spotted another, and was able to put Zhu on target to take him down. When another pair of EXALT came into view from the trainyard interior, Zhu was able to put one of them down as well. When I advanced to get a better angle, I was spotted by a few other EXALT, who scattered to cover, leaving myself fairly exposed. To eliminate the biggest threat, Dhalon charged in and took him down. The remaining EXALT, caught off guard by our advanced, took one shot at Dhalon and pulled back to regroup.

One of them was foolish enough to take cover in a direct line from SGT Zhu, who ensured he'd never learn from the mistake. SSG Daiwa moved forward to the nearest transponder, drawing fire from a pair of EXALT, which cleared Dhalon to advanced and take down the sniper across the flatbed car, and me to move up and injure the other agent. He was still able to take a shot at Dhalon, but he reported no injury. I then advanced to nearby cover, but did not account for the sniper in the rear; I felt the bullet pass through my chest, and I had to crawl into cover. 

Zhu and Daiwa reported black ammo, and Daiwa withdrew to reload, which left Dhalon to cover the center. he advanced and eliminated the injured EXALT, remaining in cover to hopefully dissuade any further advance. Dudek also linked up with us, and hunkered in cover near me, asking if I was good to continue the fight. Somehow, knowing I was injured, the EXALT fired on my position, but I avoided further injury hunkered by the cargo crate.

Daiwa and Zhu, reloaded, advanced to provide cover. I attempted to eliminate the two who had Dudek and myself pinned down with a rocket, but when the launcher kicked against my shoulder, I nearly dropped it, and the rocket went wide. Dhalon went after the sniper remaining on the right flank, taking a hit in the armor as he charged. Unfortunately, he only managed to wound him, when the sniper threw himself to the ground. Meanwhile, the EXALT on the left side continued to focus fire on my position.

Then I felt the heat as Zhu took a long shot directly over my head, through the train car, and eliminated the EXALT agent furthest back on the right side. Then Dudek rushed forward, disabled the transponder and shot the EXALT rocketeer at close range. Daiwa took this opportunity to meet me and provide first aid for my wounds. Feeling somewhat better, I took a shot and winged the wounded rocketeer. The EXALT withdrew, disoriented by the comms outage from the disabled transponder, as heavy reinforcements came in from an EXALT chopper.

Dhalon finally managed to catch the sniper in the open and put him down, clearing our right flank for now, and opening the path for Dudek to move to the second transponder, once the overwatching reinforcements were taken care of. In the meanwhile, he finished off the rocketeer he'd wounded. I took another shot at where the reinforcements were positioned on top of the train car with a Shredder Rocket. At the same time, Daiwa moved into the open to draw their fire, allowing CO Dudek to get clear and move toward the second transponder, before dropping back into cover. 

As Dudek continued toward the second transponder, Dhalon did a scoot-and-shoot, throwing himself into the train car where one of the EXALT had taken cover, putting him down decisively. Daiwa moved onto the top of the train car to take a look, and spotted the other EXALT agent, eliminating him before he could get a shot off. Then Dudek reported that the second transponder was down, and we started to move back toward the LZ.

That was when I heard a warning beep from my rocket pack. I pulled a Shredder rocket and realized it had been damaged when I took that hit, and was about to detonate. I flung it as far as I could, but wasn't able to get completely out of range before it detonated, peppering me with flak. Only the painkillers from the medkit kept me upright.

Then EXALT reinforcements came in from our front, and rear flank. Zhu was able to take down one immediately, while Daiwa killed another. I ordered Dudek to get the data onto the Skyranger, and tried to get the squad back too, but we found ourselves surrounded on all sides. They started firing at me and Dhalon, pinning us down. I managed to make it to the Skyranger ramp, but was still in the open while the rest of the squad maneuvered in. I did not expect to survive. 

The rest of the squad moved in as quickly and safely as they could, except for Dhalon, who opted for cover by superior firepower, shooting down the EXALT agent who tried to get into his way as he made a beeline for the LZ. I can only credit God that the sniper who had me pinned did not manage to hit me as they moved in. I also credit Daiwa, as he reached the LZ, for not giving the sniper another chance. I fired my last rocket at the remaining target, managing to catch him in the blast, though he was still moving. Then Zhu and Dhalon made it in, and I was unceremoniously scooped up and carried into the Skyranger before I passed out and woke in medbay.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Coordinated movement and fires
 - Maintaining appropriate OPTEMPO

o Improve:
 - Manage ammunition better
 - Trust cover over divine intervention

OPERATION SOARING SLEEP - AFTER ACTION REPORT (01 JUL 2016 @ 0202)

WAS TO HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED WITH PART 2 OF GANGPLANK;

Sorry folks, I suck. I'll get it done, though!

OPERATION CURSED FUTURE - AFTER ACTION REPORT (24 MAY 2016 @ 0313)

OPERATION CURSED FUTURE - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SGT Constance Makhandule


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 3x Thin Men, 3x Floaters, 3x Sectoids, 1x Outsider

o Friendly Forces
 - CPL Constance Makhandule (South Africa)
 - CPL Ghaith Khadem (Egypt)
 - CPL Lara Jordan (Australia)
 - SPC Simone Ribeiro (Brazil)
 - PFC Wushun Zhu (China)
 - PFC Leigh Fahey (United States)
 - PFC Maurice Vos (Netherlands)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Alberta, Canada, 24 MAY 2016 @ 0313 hrs, IOT clear and exploit a downed alien scout craft.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The mission alert came in at 0230, and we were wheels up by 0255. We touched down in Alberta at 0313. After taking some time to observe our surroundings, I moved the squad toward the barn, as the nearest heavy cover, with Zhu taking an overwatch position on a silo. Moving into the barn was uneventful, though we heard movement in the darkness. It wasn't until Vos and Zhu took up positions in the silo that we saw the first of the enemy, a trio of Thin Men who'd taken position on the roof of the barn.

They attempted to surround us, both in the loft and below. Before they could get into position and fire upon us, SPC Ribeiro had taken the one in the loft, while Jordan and Vos took down the one outside the barn door. The third attempted to burst in on us through the side door, and was taken down by massed fire. Apologies to the science team for the condition of this specimen. Khadem and Ribeiro were caught in the noxious cloud as it died. I had myself and Jordan move to overwatch positions outside, and we waited until they'd recovered from the poison.

Then we assaulted the downed UFO. I knew it was likely from reading other reports that confronting the command element, probably one of those energy beings they call the "Outsider", that the rest of the crew would come running, so I ensured my assault team and my overwatch element had sufficient cover before we went in. The assault element, consisting of Horus, Athena, SPC Ribeiro  and PFC Fahey stacked on the side of the craft, while Zhu, Vos and myself remained back on overwatch. Ribeiro peeked the right side of the UFO, getting eyes on the Outsider while the rest of the team moved around the left. Horus, Athena and Ribeiro pinned it down while Fahey charged in for the close range flank, and killed it.

Once the Outsider was eliminated, the squad reset for the assault. It started with a pod of Floaters in the field. PFC Zhu was the first to spot them, and managed to cripple one of them, and I followed it up with a rocket that finished the job and wounded another. That survivor began to fire wildly at me, peppering my position with plasma, while the other rocketed into the sky, landing somewhere on the other side of the barn. A pod of Sectoids, attempting to take advantage of our focus on the Floaters, tried to flank, but PFC Vos scattered them to cover with his SAW. 

CPL Ghaith saw the rocketing Floater and fired at it, drawing Jordan's attention, who maneuvered to assist. Fahey charged forward and eliminated the Floater that was pinning me down, which freed me up to blow the Sectoids that Vos had spotted into bits. Jordan reached cover where she could see the remaining Floater, and put it down with a precise shot to the head. 

We cleared the remainder of the site, meeting no further hostiles, and called for the site exploitation team. 


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:
 - Massed Fires
 - Use of explosives against clustered enemies

o Improve:
 - Don't move into a Thin Man's poison cloud
 - Higher OPTEMPO may yield more Meld

In Memory (01 MAY 2016)

"It was the dodgiest squiddie I'd ever seen," de Matos said. She was lying in bed, her upper chest a mass of bandages, while Faber leaned against the side, listening. "It took three shots from point blank range, and still it kept coming. It was Hassan that finally put the caralho down. We were all so focused on it, we never even saw the bastardo Thin Man until he was almost on top of us. Daiwa was the first to react, but not fast enough. Huisman didn't make a sound. He just.. he.."

"Shh," Faber turned and caught de Matos' hand, lacing her fingers through it and squeezing tightly. "Monica, you don't have to talk about it right now." De Matos reached across and covered Faber's hand with her other hand, but she didn't stop talking.

"There was nothing I could do. I heard the shots and Daiwa called that it was down, but before I could even get Houston out of my way, I knew. The hole went straight through, Kevlar, alloy vest, everything. His eyes were still open. They were green. I never realized they were green." Her voice started to choke up and she finally stopped talking, as Faber leaned in to stroke her hair with her other hand, making soft soothing noises.

"But you made it count, Schätzchen," she murmured into Monica's ear. "You went on, and you put the rest of those fickeren into body bags, and you brought him home. More importantly, you brought the rest of them home alive." Faber glanced down the line, where most of the rest of the squad rested. She saw SGT Lindemann visiting with Houston and Maillet, the most severely injured of the survivors.

"Thank you, Liesel," de Matos said, pulling Faber's attention back. "Gata, could you get me some water? My throat is dry." Faber nodded, reaching out to stroke de Matos' cheek before moving away to grab the pitcher and a cup.

-

"How are they?" Constance asked. She was chafing at being stuck in medbay after her collapse, but the medics said she'd be out in a few more days, at most. Oskar came to visit her regularly, though today he'd spent most of his time visiting the member of the squad he'd just brought back from Oklahoma.

"They're very out of sorts. The pain medicine is very strong," he replied. "Still, they remember what happened."

"It was a good mission," Constance replied. When Oskar's face clouded, she said it again. "It was a good mission, Oskar. Your squad faced the biggest threat we've had, and you brought back enough materiel that the research and engineering teams are going to be busy for months."

"It was not worth the loss of a man," he replied, bitterness thickening his accent.

"It never is," she agreed. "It never is, but you're a soldier, as was Hidde. He knew what was at stake, and he made us all proud." She waited a moment, gauging the expression on his face. "So did you, Oskar. You wouldn't be wearing those stripes on your shoulders if the Commander didn't agree." She reached out for his hand, and after a moment, he extended it, letting her wrap her calloused, slender fingers around his larger hand. The contrast between her nearly black skin and his pale skin never ceased to intrigue him. She squeezed, hard, and he looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time since he'd sat down by her bed.

"It is harder, somehow," he admitted. "When I was KSK, it was human enemies. Even with the terrible things they did in Afghanistan, it wasn't so bad." Oskar clenched his fist, his jaw tightening as well, until he heard Mak make a small sound of discomfort. He relaxed his hands, and gave her an apologetic look, to which she smiled slightly. After a deep breath, he continued. "When I saw Huisman fall, I was scared," he said quietly. He glanced around to see who was near, but no one appeared to be listening in. "It was so much, I wanted to order everyone back to the LZ. We'd barely moved twenty meters, we were still outside the craft. I didn't know what else awaited within, and I didn't want anymore blood on my hands." Constance made a sound of protest, but he overrode her. "Hidde..." he paused, seeking the words. "He was quiet. Barely spoke to anyone, but always willing to help out, if needed. But on the battlefield, he was a monster. He charged in where brave men would hesitate, and he was a virtuoso with that shotgun."

"Oskar, you forget who was with you on that last mission," Constance interrupted. "I knew him, too." Lindemann nodded as she continued. "You couldn't give up, because you knew he wouldn't, in your shoes." Oskar just nodded again. He couldn't dishonor the man's sacrifice by giving up. "You know, he'd be proud of what you accomplished. This is a solid win, and Hidde's contribution helped bring it home, but it was your leadership that saw it through to completion."

Oskar just nodded again, no more words to be said. Mak seemed to know this too, and she just held his hand and closed her eyes with a small, sad smile.

-

The day room was quiet, but it wasn't empty at all. Most of the troopers were there, those not on duty or in medbay, but even the inevitable hum of packed bodies wasn't enough to cover the occasional cough. The small table by the memorial was lined with empty shot glasses, and all of the tables and chairs were occupied with small groups sitting quietly, some drinking, others talking in hushed tones, others still just sitting in silent contemplation.

Most of the troopers didn't know CPL Huisman well, but he was the first casualty since they got here. Some remembered Jensen, but they'd all been so new that his death hadn't made the same impact. Since then, there'd been injuries, even serious ones, but it had begun to seem like XCOM was invincible, that the war was inevitably theirs. Now, the reality of what they did was pinpointed by the photo on the memorial wall, and no one felt like celebrating the strategic victory that the mission represented.

Jade Colman didn't sit with any of the groups clustered around the room. She stood alone at the memorial wall, a full shot of whatever whisky had been going around clutched forgotten in her hand. She hadn't really known Hidde all that well either, but she'd been starting to. After he'd approached her the other day, she'd asked around, and learned that he didn't talk much. Most of those who'd been on mission with him expressed surprise that he'd managed to string so many words together as to actually hold a conversation, let alone the several they'd had before he'd gone on mission. She'd prattled on about rocks and geologic pressures and he'd listened without ever giving any impression that he wasn't really interested. When she'd prodded, he'd revealed small details about his life in Rotterdam, and had told her a couple stories about his brothers in Amsterdam that had her roaring with laughter. He had been a friend, and she'd thought maybe there was more.

But there was no more. Not now, not ever. No more quiet conversations. They'd never go digging around in the tunnels like they'd discussed. This was war, and war tore friends away and ended possibilities. This was the greatest enemy humanity had ever faced, and she'd be damned if Hidde died for nothing. Those bastards wouldn't win this, no matter how many others fell. With that thought ringing defiantly in her mind, Jade lifted the shot glass of whisky, raised it slightly in salute as she stared at the photograph, and drank it down in a single swallow. She placed the glass on the end of the row, then opened her other hand, looking down at what it contained. She blinked several times, then set it down on the shelf, below his picture. It was a geode, broken open so the purple and green crystalls within caught the light, casting tiny ovals of color against the wall. Jade turned away then, approaching the nearest group, who made room for her without a word. Tomorrow was another day, another battle. Tonight, however, she planned on forgetting everything.

OPERATION PURPLE SWORD- AFTER ACTION REPORT (20 APR 2016 @ 2001 )

OPERATION PURPLE SWORD - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SPC Constance Makhandule


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 3x Sectoids, 6x "Floaters", armed with plasma weapons and carbines

o Friendly Forces
 - SPC Ward Parsons (Australia)
 - PFC Constance Makhandule (South Africa)
 - PFC Lieselotte Faber (Germany)
 - PVT Jirina Markusova (Czech Republic)
 - PVT Svetlana Petukhova (Russia)
 - PVT Maurice Vos (Netherlands)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Darwin, Australia, 20 APR 2016 @ 2001 hrs, IOT disrupt alien abduction operations.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 1800 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1802, and we touched ground at 2001 hrs near an observatory. SPC Parsons was squad leader, and lead the way, moving to the doors of the observatory, before directing the rest of the squad to stack on the wall for breach. We moved into the building before breaking into two teams, consisting of SPC Parsons, myself and PVT Petukhova in Team A, and PFC Faber with PVTs Vos and Markusova in Team B. Team A breached the storage room to the side, while Team B approached the door at the back of the main room.

At Parson's signal, Vos opened the door, revealing a new X-Ray. The creature appeared to be partly humanoid, but augmented with machines, and had its lower body replaced with rocket thrusters. PVT Vos' initial contact report described them as "Floaters". The floaters stayed clustered, as PVT Vos threw a frag grenade at them. While they were recoverying from the grenade blast, which appeared to do minimal damage, Team A maneuvered to firing positions, and Markusova and Parsons took shots, destroying two of the three. That was when alien reinforcements closed on our position, consisting of more of the floaters, as well as sectoids. The remaining floater fled while we were adjusting cover for the new threat.

Parsons, from his vantage on the roof, designated one of the new floaters, allowing Petrukhova, Markusova and Vos to mass fires and destroy it. The sectoids began moving into the building in an attempt to flank, while one of the floaters blasted off into the night sky, and the remainder took cover and fired on our positions.

PVT Vos tossed a grenade toward where the Sectoids were hiding inside the building, blowing the wall out and exposing the X-Rays. Markusova, Petrukhova, myself and Parsons took advantage of their immediate confusion to eliminate the floater and the two Sectoids revealed.

Suddenly, one of the floaters, presumably the one that had blasted off, came in behind PVT Petrukhova. Despite her position being under fire from the last Sectoid, she took a shot and destroyed the floater before it could take a shot at her. I attempted to expose the remaining Sectoid with a frag grenade, but wasn't able to do sufficient damage to blow out the side of the truck it was using for cover. Immediately after, the Sectoid took a shot at Parsons and managed to severely injure him, and another floater appeared and began suppressing my position as the rest of the squad advanced under fire.

Markusova came to my support and took a shot at the floater, eliminating it, which allowed me to fire a rocket at the Sectoid, destroying some of its cover and forcing it to move, which is when Faber put it down.


Parsons fell to his wounds shortly after, and had to be evacced to the Skyranger while we secured the rest of the site. I am writing this report in his stead, as he is still in surgery at this time.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:
 - An enemy exposed is a dead one
 - Fire teams and intersecting fields of fire

o Improve:
 - Snipers excel with a good vantage point
 - Never assume your backtrail is clear

Skies Above (05 MAR 2016)

The barracks bay hummed with the low sound of a couple dozen people going about their business. What "business" meant differed from person to person, group to group. Over here, four heads were bent over a folding table, an intricate pattern of dominoes forming between them. Over there, one woman was reclining on her bunk, reading a technical manual. Oskar scanned the room until he finally saw someone he recognized. PFC Monica de Matos was sitting cross-legged on the floor by her bunk, her carbine pulled apart in front of her, running a brush through the barrel.

"I thought you would be done with that. It's been hours since we finished our debrief," Oskar said as he neared her. De Matos looked up and smiled, shaking her head.

"I went to visit Faber in medbay," she replied. "Moça says she's had enough of close-range combat."

"How is she?" Lindemann asked, his brow knitting with worry. She'd been pretty badly injured, though she'd waited until reaching the Skyranger before collapsing.

"Docs say she'll be fine, though she'll be out of action for a month or so. I'm kind of surprised she's going to be coming back at all." De Matos' expression went still for a moment, considering. "It's really good she had that medkit. I didn't even know she'd been hit until the firefight was over."

"Don't worry about it. You did good work on Daiwa, he's already limping around on crutches." De Matos smiled at that, before bending her head back down to her weapon. "Have you seen Mak?" Oskar asked.

"Vi, I saw her," she nodded, glancing up. "She said she was going to the hangar. Something about bay door maintenance." 

Oskar lifted an eyebrow, but nodded. "Danke," he said as he turned to go.

Oskar made his way out of the barracks, cutting across Mission Control. He glanced up at the Hologlobe, seeing the Skyranger icon tracking across the short distance to the UFO in Texas. That would have been a sight to see, but he was just as happy that the mission this morning was what it was. Who knew what sort of monsters would come out of an UFO?

He found her in the hangar, sitting back out of the way on a crate, and staring upward. The hangar bay doors were open, and Oskar could see small figures moving around up there. PFC Makhandule smiled at him briefly as she noted his approach, but then turned her eyes back upward.

"What are you doing?" Lindemann craned his neck upward, trying to see what she was looking at. Other than the technicians above, there was only empty sky.

"Looking at the sky," she said. "Before this morning in France, it has been days since we saw it last. I think it will be even longer before we see it again." Oskar looked at her, then looked up again. He could see a few stars above. He'd never really thought about the sky much, but it did seem odd to contemplate that he wouldn't be seeing much of it.

"Did you know PVT Jensen?" Makhandule asked quietly. Oskar had to think a moment as to why that name was familiar before it came to him.

"The man who died on the first mission?" he said. "Nein, I did not know him. That mission was already underway when I arrived on the bus. Did you know him?"

"No, not really," she said after a long silence. "We talked on the plane from Cape Town, though." She smiled faintly, her eyes still focused above. "He recognized me as a fellow recruit when he saw the folder I was holding." Oskar didn't answer. He didn't really know what to say. When the silence stretched on, he finally cleared his throat and broke it.

"You were countrymen, then." It wasn't a question. He wasn't really sure what it was.

"Yes, though we came from two separate worlds." Mak sighed as the bay doors above began to slowly close. "Did you need something from me?"

"Ja, I wanted to go over a few incidents during the mission, make sure I get the report right."

Makhandule slid off the edge of the crate and stretched. "They're done for today. We can go over the mission back in the barracks."

Oskar nodded, but as they left the hangar, he paused for a brief moment and tossed a glance back up at the sealed bay doors. He smiled briefly, and moved on.