Wings of Honor: Meeting The Enemy

Chapter 9: Sleeping In

A shell exploded not far ahead of us, spraying me with dirt and snow. I dragged the general into the trench.
"Stay here!"
I got back up. The winter wonderland illuminated with tracers and flares, shell craters littered the whitewashed ground. The distant but frighteningly close echoes and terrible screeching of panzers bearing down on us. Silhouettes of men running across the snow.
Diving into the trench with our 1919, just as he ran out!
"Ammo!"
"That's it?"
The assistant let me fall to the ground, while the Gunner set the next belt.
"That's all I could find. Dump's blown up." I pushed myself up with my hands.
"Shit." He said through his teeth.
"Keep up the fire!"
The 1919 started chugging away again.
"You brought the fucking general?" The gun captain looked over where I came from, spotting the man with the helmet with a silver star.
"The camp was under fire. He's safer here." While I racked the bolt, opening magazine pouches, prepared to fight them back.
"Right. At the fucking front." Sarcasm dripping from his mouth.
"Shut up. Keep that gun smoking!"
I looked over, my rifle bearing. I drew a bead on the shadows. Taking up the slack on my rifle.
We fought. We fought them as hard as we could. But there were too many Infantry, too many tanks, artillery still pounding down around us, and we were just plain not prepared. I took down as many as I could, as fast as I could, until a chilling announcement rang in my ears.
"The line's collapsed!"
I shot up. Sucking in air that was solid as ice. Tanks and armored vehicles were littered about, in smoking, smoldering wrecks. The MG was still steaming, but with no ammo to it. The Gunner and assistant lie dead, shot up, slouched in the trench. The gun Captain huddled next to me.
"We need to move!" I yelled at him.
He pointed to the trench I left the general in.
"Go! I'll hold them back!"
"No! It's suicide Staff Sergent!"
He set his hand on my shoulder. Everything disappeared, all I saw was his determined face.
"Tertia Semper Prima, Tech-Sergeant. Third always first."
Then he grabbed a B.A.R. Setting it up on the parapet, and layed down fire on the enemy.
I snapped back, taking advantage of the break. Stepping out into the open, I dashed for the trench. I ducked into the trench, then looked back. Just in time to see him manning his gun, look up at me... and then he burst into a cloud of white, black, and maroon.
I collapsed back into darkness.

When I awoke, I realized there was light on my face. I opened my eyes to greet the blinding sun. Shielding with my hand, still squinting, I maneuvered myself to sit up.
Tatsuo was laying a couple logs for a new fire, while Grace raised her head to look at me.
"Finally awake?" She said with a smile.
"Hrrmm?" Was all I could groan as the disgusting morning taste worked me awake.
"That's good. You need your sleep."
Only now did I wake up feeling unnaturally refreshed, I also realized I was halfway to being awake already, even without coffee.
"What time is it?" Was my first question.
Tatsuo checked his watch. "It's 'ten thirty Captain."
That jolted me awake.
"Ten!-" I let out a long exhale.
Ten thirty was completely out of left field. I always wake up at 6:00, even when I don't have too. I never wake up after 8:00, I haven't done that since...
the weekends... during my education .
"Why didn't anyone wake me up? You know you're supposed to wake me up early."
"We wanted you to get your beauty sleep." Grace smirked now.
"And besides," Tatsuo inputted, "with what little sleep you've gotten with all that you've done, you deserve it."
I rubbed my face down.
Ten. TEN! Hours of my day: wasted. Instead of my usual six! Do you know how much you can get done with a whole day and night at your disposal? You can take a hill, preform recon, start and complete a report, or even displace an entire company. Yeah, I've seen things done in just a single day. More often then not they take up the whole 24 hours! I already sacrifice a fourth of my day just sleeping. I've learned to survive off just six hours, even less if shit comes to it.
BUT NOW THESE MOTHER-YOU-KNOW-WHAT-ERS JUST MADE ME LOSE ALMOST 30% OF MY DAY! DO YOU KNOW HOW LIMITING THAT IS?
"MARVIN!" Grace screamed, holding her head.
I snapped back for a moment. Getting up and making a beeline for the fire.
"Why didn't you wake me up? Why did you guys agree to not wake me up? I'm fine, okay? Ask Travers or even Tatsuo, they will tell you getting only six hours of sleep is normal!"
Grace fumed for a moment, then made scrunchy motions with her mouth.
"What are you doing?" I asked confused more than angry.
"Trying to stop myself from setting the record straight." She snapped at me. "You are the first to tell me that just because it's 'normal,' doesn't mean that it's right."
"Yes, but I have my routine! I have to get my clothes on, get food going, sweep around to make sure nothing sneaks up on us!"
"But we got that! Tatsuo got the fire, Travers is scouting around, and you can get your clothes on in one or two minutes. Packing up doesn't take that long. You practically already have an hour to yourself to wake up! You could use that hour for sleep!"
I took a breath and held it. "That's my hour to do what I want or have to do before my day actually starts. Read, play a game, maybe do nothing and just recover. Otherwise, I'm up-and-at-'em as soon as I'm up, and that's not fun for me. Besides, it gives me more time to plan the day out and organize what I need to do! I'd rather loose sleep than loose time."
Like Sun Tzu or somebody said. Space you can recover, Time: never. I couldn't afford to lose not a second I could use.
Grace scoffed. "You know what? It's the mentality like that that keeps people suffering. You always complain how you're sleep deprived, but I haven't seen you do a single thing to fix that. And the moment we try to help you, you get angry at us for some totally different reason! It's things like that that don't make much sense. Hell, it will take all of someone sometime sitting down somewhere someone says she shouldn't, and that will spark an argument that will last over half a century!
"Think of your health, Marvin! Not just your physical health, but mental as well. Think of how much better you can be with a fresh mind rather than a groggy one. And if everyone is supposed to be getting eight hours a night, how are you hindering yourself by getting six? What do you lose for the time you gain?"
I stared down my dragon, breathing fast. She was also breathing fast, halfway to baring her teeth. But I knew I couldn't convince her, but it wasn't the same likewise.
She does have a point. How many things have I missed because of a sleepy mind? I've seen soldiers miss entire tanks because they were up for days before. I may have it better, in that my effectiveness only diminishes, whereas others might lose whole functions, but both are major conns. Especially in a combat zone, where a flash of shadow and a split second decision can either mean shooting a friendly or an enemy.
I sighed. "Fine. Thank you guys then. I thank you all." I said in a monotone voice. I was kind of thankful, but not enough to make a show of it.