Malta. Just far enough away to make it feel peaceful. Just close enough to make sure that you couldn't forget that there was still a war going on. Riikka found herself pondering the empty chamber of a Colt .45 as she walked away from the tent she called home. It was too warm, too humid, and just too peaceful for the Finn's tastes. She had nothing to do and it seemed like she had nobody to do it with. Everybody was too busy beach-lounging.
And then she had heard the jeep. It had pulled up quick, on the dirt crossroad several feet away. The driver and one of the passengers exchanged a few words, and then the drive had peeled out. Rather badly, even in the opinion of the Finnish farm-girl.
And she recognized the NECO stepping out soon enough. Deathly fast footsteps, running with the .45 tucked in her beltline, she threw herself in to the air, on impact her legs wrapped around the target's waist, and arms over her shoulders.
"Milena!!"
"Umpfff!" Sighed out the czech woman as something landed on her back and wrapped itself around her body. She made a few steps forward before she caught her balance finally. She straightened herself up and turned her head towards the side from which she felt a hot air on her neck.
"Good day," Milena responded with a sigh. "Seems you are healthy enough."
The Finn pouted, "Are you calling me fat, Kirjat?"
She kicked a leg at the woman's hips lightly and pointed off with a free hand.
"Tents and racks are that way." Then she pointed off to the sea, "Most of the lovely young naiset are on the beach right now."
"I guess I'll drop the baggage first." Milena nodded and went to the tent, Riika pointed at. She walked fairly easily considering all the weight she had on her. She held her backpack in one hand, sack with machinegun in toher and also gave piggy-back ride to a healthy full grown finnish woman. "So how did the mission go? Too bad I could not go with you girls."
"Eh, we lost one. But you know how it goes. Went like the green ones always do: stupid and too quick to stop it." Riikka did her best to shrug from her position "Held a ceremony, but once you've been to one you've been to a million. Doesn't make it easy but she's probably just the first. You know?"
If the Finn was expected by an outside observer to be impressed at the Czech's display, familiarity with both the woman herself, and the enhancements all NECOs retrieved meant she was rather nonplussed.
"So what have you been doing, Kirjat?"
There was the sound of rushing water from a small shed in the corner of the camp near the cottage the SORT's tents had been arrayed around. Then, with a loud awkward squeak, a young man stepped out through the door adjusting his waistline and belt. He sighed in satisfaction, and then waved his hand in front of his nose as though trying to wave away a bad smell.
It was Morgan, the young private who'd miraculously survived jumping from a flaming plane and been caught up in the groups first mission by mistake. The lieutenant had dragged the young private around to keep him away from blabbing to his comrades about the strange ladies.
He noticed Milena walking into the small group of tents, then he flinched a little as he saw what the blonde-headed woman had on her back. He waved to them both awkwardly.
Riikka found herself suddenly noticing something coming out of the shower stall just before she disappeared into the tent. She tapped Milena eagerly on the shoulder.
"Hey, hey Kirjat. Kirjat! Out there is a guy who shot me!" She was grinning a bit too widely for that kind of announcement.
Valerie was still lying on her bedding in her tent, and a loud yawn could be heard through the camp as the Englishwoman rolled over and took inventory of what happened last night. Her mouth felt a little dry, her head felt a bit heavy and she was in a state of undress under the covers. She rubbed her temples, robed up in some rudimentary casual wear she bought along, and emerged from her tent, scratching her feline ears.
Milena turned her and her eyes pierced the young american. She frowned, turned and walk the few meters to him. She checked him head to toes and then turned to Riika. "You were turned backwards to him or did he just got lucky?" Milena asked the Finn.
The Czech would get a seemingly playful swat on the back of her head, "Hey, don't be mean to Vauva. Not everybody just gets to shoot me and walk away with it. Besides," she shrugged, "he's kind of cute."
Morgan found himself staring at the ears. It was so strange, and all these women were so self- confident. It looked from one to the other. "Uh, hi." he said simply.
"Good day," Milena said to the paratrooper. She looked him up and down again and then grinned. She extended her hands forward, one holding the sack with MG and second backpack full of stuff. "Care to help a lady soldier?"
Valerie could hear the sounds of conversation somewhere out near the shores and started moving in that general direction, loafers, long dress, shirt and all. "Morning..." she said groggily to nobody in particular. "What happened last night?"
"Uh, alright." Morgan replied automatically, taking the backpack and MG bag without noticing how heavy they were until the combined weight of trying to pick up both spun him around and started causing him to stagger and topple sideways.
"Morning," Milena replied matter-of-factly to Val who suddenly showed up, while she grabbed the man by his jacket to not let him fall down. She giggled as she watched him. It was a little joke, but it was still a little mean. "Are you fine soldier?"
"Oh stop it. Like I said: Vauva is a little cute. Go easy on him." With that she hopped down from the Czech's back finally, moving around her to Morgan.
She grabbed the backpack from him, which was rather easy considering its weight. But she was no serving girl, somebody else could carry the machinegun. And then Valerie had showed up. Rather than talk, like a normal human being, Riikka's face suddenly gained a light red hue. She turned away from the Englishwoman and pointed towards the tents.
"C-come on, Kirjat. Let's get you to b-bed."
"Morning Milena," Valerie said to the Czech as she watched Riikka appear to blush and make tracks. "I see Morgan's all well after Sicily, sun's out too." She peered across the horizon and onto the water. She mumbled something about not enjoying swimming - she could swim competently, but found it unpleasant once her ears got to the water.
"I bet Catherine is hating on the sun already." Milena quipped with a laugh. She reached and grabbed the MG sack back from the soldier. It was just a joke, but for her it was really easy to carry. "Well then where is my bed then Riikka?"
Morgan sighed with relief as he was relieved of the weight, his red face slowly returning to normal color. "Ha, ha." he panted slightly. "Uh, well, I just wanted to say-"
"Oh, relax Vauva, just stand there and - and look cute." Riikka seemed to be making a visibly pointed effort to not look in Val's direction, "We're bunking two - t-two to a tent right now. Three if you're feeling cos - nice."
The stilted way that Riikka was talking was attracting Valerie's attention, she looked right back at her, eyebrow quirked. "Something wrong?" she asked from afar.
Riikka's nod was vigorous, and painfully forced, "Ye - no. No! Nothing wrong, Val. Just, go to the b-beach. Or something." There was a very quiet murmur of, "Jotain vaatteet päällä."
Just go to the beach? Well, in order to do that, she had to get her bathing suit on, and she left that in her tent. So she started walking towards her tent, and inadvertently getting closer to Riikka.
"Well Val," Milena stepped in to defuse the strange situation, she did not understand properly. "How did you do? I heard we lost someone on the first mission? Who? What happened exactly?"
"I guess I'll... miss her rosy personality." Valerie said, train of thought being re-coupled to the memory of Rosy. "She was a very chipper person during training with that tank rifle. Now she's just another ray of sunshine in the sky." She waxed poetical as she kept walking to her tent absently.
"What happened? She forgot to keep her head down?" Milena inquired more. She was curious, she wanted to know what happened to technical sergeant, so she could prevent that happening to her or other NECOes.
"She domed herself." Riikka announced, taking just a half-step further from Val, "At least that's the story I got." Again she muttered something indiscernible, Finnish, and most likely about Val, "So Morgan!" She was cheery at the change of subject "How are you fitting in?"
"Domed herself?" Milena turned herself to Val, to not interrupt Riika and Morgan. Doming she did not know, dooming she did. But one could hardly doom oneself, unless one jumped a cliff or stood before a rolling train.
"Brained herself, she means," Valerie clarified, tapping her forehead with her index finger. "According to the LT's report, her rifle blew up on her and the bolt took her head out."
"Well that was hardly her mistake. That was just bad luck." Milena frowned. She did not like Riika dispensing dead Rose as if she was moron. One could hardly control if her gun fails. It was not as if their weapons were not maintained. All of them had drilled into them to maintain all their weapons in top-notch state. "Probably a bad shell. Exploded in the barrel, threw the bolt back. Nasty business." Valerie nodded in agreement as she knelt down and went into her tent. The sounds of shuffling fabric could be heard inside.
Morgan's eyebrow raised as he listened to these women talk so casually about losing one of their comrades. He'd never met this Rosy, and with nothing to really add he kept silence for a while. He looked between the three women curiously. As the silence continued after Milena's last statement, he interjected awkwardly. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Riikka vaguely noted the Englishwoman disappearing in to one of the tents as she entered another. Picking one of the two bunks, she threw the Czech's bag on to it rather lazily, "You lose one, you lose a hundred, Vauva. That is just the way it all happens."
She turned around with her blush fading and a wide smile on her face as she regarded Morgan curiously.
"So! Vauva, you have beach clothes?"
"Uh, I'm practically wearing everything I own." Morgan said, looking down at his dirt stained uniform and boots, gesturing them with a hand and then looking back up.
The Finn shrugged, "Then we'll go alasti, Vauva, it'll be fun!" She shrugged, "What do you say? Come oooon! What's the worst that could happen?"
Milena tossed the MG-kit where Riika tossed the backpack. A good old field bed. More of a cot then a bed. Still it was something better to sleep on rather then ground. The woman leaned downed to her backpack and tied off the helmet that was there, placing it by the bed. It was an old custom of her. Back in Britain, everyone had a helmet handy. You never knew when shelling could come. Of course the chance of that happening here was astronomically minimal, but it could still happen. With that, Milena took of her jacket as it was still pretty warm, tossing it on the bed along with her belt and sidearm.
"Uh, what does that even mean?" The young man asked, scratching the back of his and cocking an eyebrow at Riikka in confusion. "Are you a kraut or something?"
The tent that Valerie had popped into opened again, and she emerged in a conservative one piece bathing suit. It was made for the colder British waters, whose idea of a 'a day at the seashore' was normally a cold affair. She looked herself down and sighed. Since the NECO process, it didn't sit as well on her as it used to.
"Well then," she mumbled as she evaluated herself and frowned. "Guess I'll see if these Maltese beaches are all they're cracked up to be..." and she walked right past Riikka towards the beach.
"A 'kraut', pffffffffffft! I'm a Finn, Vauva!" She smiled, "So come on, silly!"
"A Thin?" Morgan asked. "Is that a state or something?"
"It - its a country." She deadpanned, "Near Russia. In Europe." The Finn rather angrily shook her head, as if dismissing the issue, "Whatever! Come on, Vauva: you. Me. Beach. Let's go!"
"Colour me surprised," a sarcastic remark could be heard from the tent as Milena emerged again. She only wore a t-shirt, her pants and actually took her boots off. "An american who does not know geography. You are invading a continent and you don't even know what countries are on it soldier!"
"Ah, okay!" Morgan replied to Riikka, smiling. "Sounds like fun."
"You kids go have fun, I am going to go have a smoke and cup of coffee in the mess-hall. I assume that is the big tent over there." Milena pointed at a big bloody tent.
"Of course it sounds like fun, Vauva!" At that point the Finn energetically took the GI by a wrist-grip, and took off for the beach, "So let's go!"
By now a perceptive man would have noticed the Finn hadn't changed yet. This puzzled Morgan slightly, but since he didn't have a swimsuit either he guess she must just like the sand as he was pulled along, he ran to keep up with her, but his legs couldn't quite seem to catch up with her. He laughed in amazement as he saw the clear quality of the water.
"Wow, I didn't know ocean could be like this. I thought it was cold and grey." He marveled as he ran with her.
"I know, right? Its amazing!: The Finn was practically laughing.
She let go of his wrist and started to slow down. She seemed to be trying to keep up her speed while working at getting her boots off. They were tossed aside carelessly and she waved for him to follow. Continuing to work at some of her clothes.
Morgan skidded to a stop as he saw her somehow skip off her boots at full run, quickly he leaned down to start undoing his own, leaning down and bending his leg up to reach his laces. He hoped on one leg and looked back up at her running towards the water as he fiddled with his laces.
One time he would look down and she was still mostly clothed. He might look up again and see she was down to her bra. Another glance away and he wouldn't have seen her without her pants because she'd already dived in to the water. The pants were laying on the beach, completely abandoned.
She was waving for him, laughing the whole time as she went out into the water.
Morgan's eyes slowly widened as looked on stupefied. Had she just run into the water naked in front of man? Truly these women were unlike anything he'd encountered. Slowly he got his boots off and stripped down to his skives, hoping clumsily out of his pants leg towards the shore before falling into the waves with a splash, quickly swallowed by a lazy wave of salty water.
He shook his head as he looked up and scanned the sea for his companion, still only half believing this was real. The water felt refreshingly cool against his skin after the heat of the day and his heavy uniform.
By then Riikka had disappeared, or at least he wouldn't be able to see her. Yet behind him, the Finn managed to maneuver. It was equal parts devilish plan and hatred for water that encouraged her to work for the surface. As she popped up, hands clamped down over the GIs eyes with a triumphant cry from the Finn.
"Surprise, Vauva!"
Morgan laughed. "Hey!" he complained, smiling. "No fair!" He twisted around to try and break her grip over his eyes playfully.
And with legs quickly around his waist, Riikka fought for the advantage against the admittedly taller human. A fight which couldn't end well floating in the open water.
Morgan swung around fruitlessly, stepping in circles with the enhanced woman on his back, laughing. His arms swung it mock panic and then the grasped her hands and pulled his head back. "Ah ha!" he declared triumphantly as his eyes could see again.
Not one to give up so easily, Riikka did her best to maintain her "assault", with the GI thrashing about while she tried her hardest to keep a hold on him. He managed to grab at her hands and nearly threw her off-balance - but threw her weight forward, closer to Morgan's back. This was her chance.
"Not so easy, Vauva!"
She used her superior strength to wrap her arm fully around Morgan's head to block his eyes once more, pressed to him to try gaining better control. Inadvertently, her chest pressed against his shoulders.
The young man paused, and she felt the heat building up in him as he blushed. "Uh, Uh, Rii-" he uttered. "I, I don't think that's a good idea!"
