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And yet another part of Relic's Journal Series. Hope you enjoy it. Comments below please, both bad and good ones, just to try to get the quality of future articles up.

Some previous articles:

Relic's War Journal: Part 1
Relic's War Journal: Part 2
Beware the Sniper ! !
War in Argentina ?
Para's Plight
Relic's War Journal: Nostalgia for the Past
Relic's War Journal: The Spainards Are Coming

This is the eighth part in a series documenting Relic's time as a Paratrooper,
by Relic

A single, simple and familiar voice was singing a song which was very familiar to me. The song was waking me up slowly, like I wasn't there, in the middle of a battlefield. I wasn't sure who it was, nor what song the person was singing, but at that bare moment I didn't care. With what strength I had at my disposal I wasn't able to open my eyes and let alone think about what song it was. Slowly regaining my strength, I identified the voice as Lotfire's, but the name of the song was still escaping my mind. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Lotfire standing a couple of steps away, looking out through the window and scouting for any nearby movements. As he started the song all over again, I managed to catch a couple of lines, the first few.

“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe
In yesterday “

“Never heard you singing, specially didn't take you as a guy who'd sing the Beatles” – I said and stopped Lotfire from continuing singing his song. I was never able to remember those other lines.
“Meh, it would be polite if you told me that you were awake “
“Who wouldn't be awake next to such a passionate singer ?”
“Yeah, yeah, don't joke with me, you sleep very hard. Mind you, I wouldn't have to be too quiet to kill you during your sleep”
“Point taken!” - I understood what he implied there and I certainly wasn't about to push our best soldier to that edge.

“Everything OK during the night, Lotfire ? “ I asked while slowly getting up to sitting position on the sofa I slept on. Ain't the most comfortable sofa I have been sleeping on, but I certainly appreciated anything we slept on.
“Nothing much, few rounds shot around our position, but nothing implying that it's going to be anything hard to handle in this last few hours.”
“This last few hours ? I guess I haven't slept much, huh ? “
“No, couple of hours at most.”
“Meh, I'll get used to it, like I did before, ya know.” I got up and sat down at the table. I had my black Paratroopers T-shirt on me, but it was a bit cooler than the day before, so I decided to put on the top I had packed in case it gets even cooler still. I put my gun on the table, just so it was close to me. I like to feel secure.

“I have some coffee in the other room, where I was on guard before; feel free to give it a try.” - He smiled while offering me the coffee. I wasn't sure what was wrong with it, but on other hand I've never seen nor heard of Lotfire making something in kitchen... As much as I didn't trust it, a cup of coffee is a cup of coffee, so I took my chances by going to the other room and filling up my cup with not so fresh coffee. Coffee was slowly dripping in my metal cup, so slow it was depressing -

All of sudden I heard Lotfire saying: “Be quiet!”
From the sound of his voice I knew something was going on here. I dropped to the floor, looking around the room for my gun. It wasn't here, but my hand gun and knife were with me as always. Things you learn in war are always useful, but whenever you become too certain of yourself, you forget something important - like that weapon that was probably next to Lotfire. Imagine if someone shot him now... I'd be here without any proper weapons fighting off many foes. I didn't want to see that, so I went back to crouch position and proceeded to the room with sofa, where Lotfire was. As I was moving I saw Lotfire aiming out through the window; I wasn't sure what he saw or heard, but he always had an extra sense for these kinds of occasions. I entered the room and took my weapon off the table.


Lotfire signaled me to approach him and so I did.
“ I saw something move down there “ - he pointed at a part of forest. I didn't see anything, but I trusted him, I had fought with him for too long not to trust him. Plus he was far more experienced than myself.
“ Damn... I am going to find another window, for a better position, you keep the watch here, if something approaches let me know.”
“OK, get moving then! “
I climbed to the attic, a dusty old attic, quiet, dark and isolated from the world, perfect for scouting out the nearby area. As I moved closer to the window I saw something moving down there too, but everything was a bit too dark to see it clearly, it wasn't even dawn. I saw something glint this time, probably a helmet revealed by the moon light. I walked down slowly to ask Lotfire what to do.

“ Did you see something shiny down there ? “
“ Yes, I did “
“ What should we do ? “
“ I am not sure “
“ I'll go out and look around, if something comes up you start firing at them ... “ I knew it wasn't the smartest idea, but I was sure we lacked any better ones.
“ Use the side doors, they're right down that hallway. “
“ See you in couple of minutes “

I quietly rushed down the hallway, opened the door slowly and carefully, trying not to make any noise. I crept around the corner and got to the back of the house, facing the part of the forest in which we saw something moving. I looked through window where Lotfire was and he signaled me that he can still see me. The forest was really dark, not much to see. I had two choices: Either hide and walk silently around the forest until the visitors reveal themselves or shout something and see what they want.

In times of war the second idea isn't usually the smartest one, but I always go for easier option, so I revealed my presence by shouting:” ANYONE THERE ?!”
“ eUK Paratroopers here - don't fire! “ said an unfamiliar voice
“ Come out of the forest and put your gun down on the ground. “ Just as I said that I noticed that there were more people in the forest, more than I had thought. I wasn't sure what I could do if they decided to open fire on me. I was right there, with a gun in my hand, ready to fire, yet so defenseless. Who knows who they are ?
“ We've lowered our weapons, we're coming out now “ - I've indeed notice three persons, with eUK Paratroopers marks on their jackets. I signaled to Lotfire not to fire at them, but he remained aiming at them, just to make sure. As they got a bit closer, Lotfire probably recognised them - it wasn't too long before he lowered his gun too.

“ What are you doing here, on the border ? Got lost, fighting or what ? “ I asked while letting my aim drop from the troopers.
“ We were trying to get to our position and relieve Navy guys, we were told they took some heavy beating. “ - I wasn't sure if I trusted them, but in a case like this, you follow your instinct: it told me to trust them.
“ OK, get your guns and go inside. “

They gathered their weapons and got inside. In there we realized how lost they were, they managed to miss their objective by about 5-6 clicks. From the moment they got into the house, time just started flying by, real fast. Soon our shift came to an end and five of us slowly went out and returned to the city. It took us about hour or so to return to the Paratroopers HQ. When we arrived, the three guys had to return to the post that they were supposed to reach a couple of hours ago. As we entered the room to get our orders, we were probably last, since it was pretty much empty, just like the last time we were late. We always seem to be late.

Well, Polio and Hassan were really the only people there. They told us PHOENIX was preparing a RW in Germany. We were meant to capture Saarland, a beautiful region. Pity it is war that always brings me there. Well the plan was simple on the paper, like usual, in reality we didn't know how it will turn out. Well, me and Lotfire were separate😛 I was going to get to Saarland during the first wave and his place was in the second.

My wave was kinda the wave that would go first, just to clear out few points - when the rest of army would jump out to the positions that we have secured. After that we start a resistance war to clear out the occupiers. A guerilla war, my favourite. I always prefer the tactical combat instead of just full scale attack. Plus I was really used to this type of warfare. Why ? Well, in past times eUK didn't exactly have the best military equipment you can find in the eWorld, so I kind of got used to it. Of course the plan wasn't quite the most secure there is, but it was certainly the best one we could make so fast, as fast as was required at the moment. I was scheduled to parachute in at 1:00 AM and it was barely 1 PM. The other crew would drop in the next day, at about 10-11 PM.

Well, anyway, I had about 12 hours and the best way to spend them was to get some sleep. After we said our goodbyes I went to my apartment. Guess what! The pool of water was still there and the other bed was still empty. I changed all my Paratrooper clothes for my sleeping ones and I took out my spare Paratrooper uniform and I put my just worn one in the washing machine. I figured it'll get clean by the time I wake up, I'll put it out so it dries itself and by the time I am back, they'll be like new. They weren't quite dirty, but you never know when you gonna need a clean uniform. After I did that, I laid down in my bed. You really appreciate stuff more when you lose them. The bed was so good, I'm always sorry you couldn't pack a bed and sleep on it in the battlefield. I had a really nice sleep, haven't had one so peaceful in few days.

I woke at about 11:30 PM, which gave about an hour until I had to report on the airfield. I took the liberty to look at the file I got earlier, it had the list of paratroopers coming with me on this trip. I saw Vettige Swa's name so I thought I could call him and ask him out for a beer or two, just to ease our nerves. I dialed his number on my phone and we arranged to meet at the bar where Lotfire found his chosen waitress: since it wasn't too far out I found it ideal. Reaching the crowded bar, everyone was drinking tonight. It could be their last day around, since Resistance wars were always dangerous, far away from home and with really limited supplies. Just the way us old paratroopers were used to.

I saw Vettige sitting down at the table and waiting for me. Approaching him -
“Oi, Vettige, have you ordered anything yet ? “
“No, not yet, the bar seems to be full and that waitress is awfully slow”- he pointed at Lotfire's favourite waitress.
“Meh, she'll come here soon enough, I assume “ - I said, sitting down...

We spent couple of minutes talking before the waitress showed up, when we both ordered beer and started reminiscing the good old days: back when I had my cheer-leading platoon. ( It's an old internal paratrooper joke, you had to be there to actually understand it! ) After a few drinks, we noticed that it was time to get to the airfield, the one I had been to only a couple of days ago. It was time for us and another thirteen unlucky guys to head out before the rest of the crew. To get there and get order into chaos.

As we approached the Airfield, I noticed it was cleaned of the snow that had covered it the last time I was here; I assume it was crucial to get everything right, since this was an important Resistance War. I saw our plane. Big, but black, probably hard to see while it's cloaked by the darkness of the night. Me and Vettige grabbed our equipment and supplies and settled in next to the doors from which we were meant to jump. As we settled in, the plane took off from the airfield. It didn't seem to me as if it's 1 AM, but I guess the sooner we go there, the quicker we come back...

As we approached our target I realized I haven't parachuted ever since my basic paratrooper training over a year ago.

“Vettige, I just realized something ...“
“ What did you realize ? “ - he replied by shouting, but even then I barely heard him.
“ This is my second time jumping out of an Airplane, I kind of forgot what I am meant to do... “
“ Say again ? I thought you just said this is your second jump ? “
“ That is what I said! “
“ Wait, what ? Haven't you jumped out of airplanes before ? “
“ Well, we either jumped out from a truck or a ship ! “
“ OK, well, if you remember something, then it's pretty easy. “ - He tried to cheer me up.
“ Could you explain it to me, just so I recall od it again ? “
“ Sure, stand by the door, don't look down too much, if you get scared, I'll push you! While falling wait until you reach the maximum velocity and then open up your parachute. “
“ Sounds like riding a bike ... “
“ No worries, it's easy. Just don't get lost or stuck at some tree, it could kill you “
“ A good way to cheer up a friend ? “
“ Sorry, what did you say ? The noise Is awful, can't hear you ! “
“ Never mind “

I was a bit scared, but I guessed I couldn't screw up too badly. I shortened my time by playing with my Zippo that I got when I left the eUK Military. It was a nice Zippo, sometimes it kept me awake when I needed it the most. All of sudden, Vettige hit me with his elbow.

“ It's time to go now, get up “
“ OK, I am ready ! “

I got up and stood right next to the doors. I looked down and saw pretty much nothing, only a few scattered lights. I knew it was the countryside in which we were meant to be dropped, so I didn't feel suspicious at all. The light which pointed when we were over our designated position was still red, but the red went out soon and it was exchanged by the green, meaning it was time to jump. It took me couple of seconds to make myself jump, but I did it. It's very weird feeling, all of sudden the wind gets into your face, but the feeling is liberating. If you exclude how uncomfortable the parachutes are. It's like flying. I remembered everything, how to navigate and how to land. The feeling lasted for couple of seconds and then it was exchanged by a painful feeling, a strong wind was blowing me away from my desired course. I noticed other Paratroopers above me were having the same issues. I was landing way too fast and in matter of seconds I found myself above the trees. I knew that if I land there that I'd probably be stuck. I tried to navigate away from it, but the wind just kept dragging me further and further over the forest. It was then I realized that I had no chance of escaping the trees and that I have to land as best as I can... I took a deep breath and prepared for impact...