Pillars of Glass

by Michael Polaski

  “Yes sir I do.”

  “Would you please tell me and the other officers present as to why you disobeyed that order?”

  Aaron fidgeted in the chair and looked at both Walters and Hawskins as he replied. “I was afraid for the men that came with us in the transports. They are all good men, men who saved our lives in Anderhill and ended up saving a lot of lives today as well.”

  “I will not argue that fact at all. If it weren’t for Mr. Maur here and the rest of the unit, my men may not have made it in time to assist, and we may still be fighting at the position we were originally established at further south of here. And had they delayed, a surprise attack at night would have been difficult for us all to defend. However the question of your insubordination is still very much of importance to me.”

  “I guess I was afraid more afraid for Staff Sargent Walters, Corporal Ortega and myself. When I heard over the radio that they were going to do a complete search of the vehicles, I knew they would find arms and munitions that we could not have brought back ourselves with our escape from the MLM patrol. I was afraid that we would be punished for not being forth coming about these men right away sir.” His frantic rate exhausted his lungs. “I owe these men as much of a debt as I owe you from saving my life the day I met you. I’m sure if my brother was alive, he would feel the same debt still towards you for pulling me out of the hot zone and assisting in our rescue then.”

  “And that is why you disobeyed a direct order?”

  “Yes sir,” Aaron pointed to Elijah. “These men no longer want to sit and watch on the sidelines, I think today’s skirmish proved that. “

  Hawskins looked over at Walters and nodded. “As little as I know the corporal, I do know that he has always done his best to execute every command I have given, even in the heat of combat. Therefore I know it was not his incompetence that led to the moment in question. I have only brought this to the attention of my senior officer so the man could be commended and placed into an officer training program.”

  Ehlingers mouth nearly hit the table at the recommendation. “Do you not agree with this assessment?” Hawkins asked him.

  The shock kept him from finding the words to say no while his brain was screaming at him for his in ability at this moment to speak.

  “He accepts the honor.” Elijah said which drew a nod from the still astonished youth.

  “Good, now that brings us to the matter of you. Mr. Maur. I understand that your boys wish to be a part of a special operations unit.”

  “Well sir.” Elijah said nervously. “I am truly not the one to speak about specifics with. See I am only as well versed as young Aaron here in military knowledge. In fact, it is my friend who is truly the leader of this unit.”

  Hawskins looked to the shadows behind Aaron. “Do you wish to join us at the table now?”

  A voice in the darkness spoke. “Yes. I only wanted to wait to hear Aaron’s defense of his actions before I sat.” The shadow walked past Aaron and sat at the table next to Elijah on his right.

  “And I want him to know that his brother is most certainly proud of everything he has done.”

  Pulling his hood down and having the his face illuminated for the first time, Aaron recognized the face. Dirty like it was when they grew up together, for the first time in seven months of hell, thinking he was dead, Aaron looked into the eyes of the true ghost in the room, his brother’s.

  Alex Ehlinger wasn’t just a memory anymore, he was real. He was the one who stayed behind and defended position after position terrorizing the MLM and then slipping away like the mornings mist as the sun rose.

  “Alex,” Aaron stammered. “I thought.”

  “We all did kid,” Hawskins spoke. “You didn’t forget I was the one that went back looking for the body did you?”

  “No sir I didn’t.”

  Alex smiled at his brother, a sight that warmed his heart. “After I was knocked backwards into the church, I hid below thee alter and saw the MLM come into the church and start searching it. They found my helmet and rifle there. Their leader told them to place my helmet on top of the rifle and left three men there to guard the square. I waited patiently until they started to separate from one another. I crept up behind the first and killed him with my hunting knife. I moved to the second one and attempted to do the same thing. His side arm went off in the struggle and I heard the third man start running. I hid in a dark corner and waited for him. When he got to where the other two bodies were, he started looking around, from there I made my move by running past him and tossing that lighter dad gave me down the back of his uniform. When he stopped screaming, I buried his body under some rubble and placed my helmet and rifle above it just in case anyone else came back. Then I just waited and saw who I now know to be Hawskins come back for my body. The storm started and he left. I decided at that point that I could provoke and prod the MLM to be more worried about a ghost in their midst instead of the NVA. After Elijah found me I decided to find a small group of men and that’s what we did.”

  “And that’s why,” Eli interjected. “The entire tent laughed at dinner last night when we learned you name kid. We’ve known this whole time, who you were, but once we picked up your unit in Anderhill yesterday and got back to our camp, Alex decided it was best for all of us to not say anything until we met up with a commander that you trusted.”

  “Staff Sargent Walters,” Hawskins said, would you please escort Corporal Ehlinger back to his new unit commander and then come back to me for your reassignment. If I remember correctly, you put in a request more of a desk job when you rotated back?”

  “That is correct sir.” Walters said in relief.

  “Great, I’ll find you a position. Corporal, I want to let you know that the NVC will no longer be a part of military operations. Instead they will be properly trained for combat or discharged. That was the terms of your brother becoming a part of this army.”

  “Sounds great sir, and thank you.” Aaron turned to face his brother again. “Al?”

  “We’ll catch up when the Lieutenant and I are finished here.’

  The reunion was short lived for now, but Aaron understood why. As much as he loved his brother, he knew there were more important things to be done with the war. Aaron stood up saluted the men at the table and followed his former Staff Sargent out the door.

  “Are you in here?” Alex’s voice was clearly recognized by his little brother.

  “Yes I’m on the left side.”

  Alex started walking down the bunks on the left side and finally made it to his brothers. They hugged one another and then took a seat on the trunks across from the other.

  “Look Aaron, I’m sorry I didn’t come and find you. I thought after you were rescued and I heard the forming of the NVC that you would be too young to go into combat and they would have you be a drone in one of the command centers and I’d eventually find you once we made contact with the NVA. But when I saw you though the window in that alley in Anderhill I knew it was time for me to get you off the front lines. If mom and dad were here, they’d already be pissed at me.”

  “Have you been able to-”.

  Alex stopped his brother mid-sentence. “No, but remember our hometown is so rural, more than likely they haven’t been invaded at all.”

  “But wouldn’t they be worried about us? I mean by now they would have heard the news about the school coming under attack an Aurorae being taken over.”

  “I’m sure mom is, and dad is probably doing as best he can to calm her down. Now you can’t write to them any letters. If they saw it postmarked from Vanahei they may think they are adding the NVA and could be imprisoned by the MLM. We just need to have faith.”

  “Faith in what? This world has become the embodiment of the word hell. The great cities are in rubble. The Pillars are the only things to give anyone hope.”

  “Then have faith in those. Trust in something you hold dear. As long as those stand, there is a chance we have a shot. Right now both sides are l
iving in fear of the other, when they should fear only this movement and not where you and I come from.”

  “Alex, if man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between man and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of like’s exciting variety, not something to fear.”

  “Then when the chance comes, let’s not let the fears in one another continue, but instead help change that fear into anger against the MLM.” Alex sat back against the bunk and continued. “Aaron I want you out of the front lines for now. Before you object, I want you to learn from Raymond and the rest of the guys as they help train the NVA into a better army.”

  “But Alex I’m going to be an officer now! I need to lead men into battle.”

  “No, you need to learn how to do that.”

  “What if I say no to your decision?” Aaron said with the tone of a disgruntled sibling.

  “Then you will be placed under arrest for insubordination this time. And I won’t be able to make that charge go away as easy. You aren’t the only one in this family that is an officer now.”

  Aaron rolled his eyes. “And what did they make you?”

  “A Second Lieutenant Colonel and they are transporting me to command tomorrow to meet with the military heads and be given a specific mission. Elijah will remain here with you Raymond and the rest of the guys. I want you to listen to Eli, then Raymond. If you have an issue with an order or question it, do so quietly and wait till you can speak with one for them and they will assist from there.”

  “So this is goodbye?” Aaron choked on the words as they came out.

  “For now. Should something happen to me they are under orders to inform you. You won’t know where I will be or where I’ll be going, but I will know where you are and be able to get to you quickly. Just stay out of the way of the bullets, and I promise I’ll see you again soon.”

  Aaron was not happy with the reply. “You mean like you promised last time?”

  “I saved your life when you needed me too right?”

  He scoffed and then smiled. “Yes you did big brother.”

  “Good, now get some sleep and be ready to report in the morning. Good luck kid.”

  The two brothers stood up, once again hugged and just as quickly as Alex had come back into his brother’s life, he was floating away again, quietly like the ghost he was rumored to be.

  At dawn, Hawskins walked into the officers’ quarters and up to Alex’s bunk to wake him. Unsurprised to him, Alex was already awake and ready to be taken to command. His duffle was packed and both of his weapons, his rifle and AR, were cleaned and sitting at the foot of his bed. The men exchanged nods and Alex got out from his bunk. Hawskins picked up the .500 Caliber while Alex tossed his duffel over his shoulders and picked up his AR.

  “Lead the way Sir.” Alex said to Hawskins.

  “Colonel, you are now the superior officer to me, remember that.” Hawskins replied laughing.

  “Right,” Alex said with a laugh. “Well lead me to my transport then Lieutenant.”

  “Follow me sir.”

  The two men exited the tent and moved towards the motor pool. There was very little movement around the camp at the hour, a few men were cooking and others completing early errands while some did a morning PT jog together. Alex saw men standing guard on the newly constructed towers and was confident that Aaron would be left in safe hands. Lieutenant Hawskins was competent enough to know what he was doing and would be able to keep an eye on Aaron. After tossing his bag and rifle into the back of the Humvee, Alex turned to the Lieutenant.

  “Thank you for doing this.” Hawskins put his hand to his head to salute, Alex grabbed his arm. “No, don’t salute me until I earn it. Keep Aaron safe and with my guys as long as you can.”

  Nodding Hawskins agreed. “I will sir. Thank you for keeping my men safe, if you have your chance to end this thing. Take your shot.”

  “I will.” Alex shook the lieutenant’s hand and got into the vehicle. He was off to meet the leaders of the NVA at an undisclosed location, his new commanders in their secret base. At an earlier meeting between the officers, before Aaron was asked to join, a prearranged conference from Central Command had the entire leadership was assembled and delayed due to the skirmish the prior day. After the bathe had concluded, the council had asked to speak with Alex in person and dispatched one Humvee with special instruction’s to transport him at dawn the next morning.

  Closing the door after he climbed into the Humvee, Alex was met with a small handgun drawn on him. The driver quickly turned muttering only one word.

  “Avalon.”

  It was a coded check the driver was to perform assuring no one infiltrated the camp overnight. The code was not divulged to Alex for the exact same reason. Should the humvee be high jacked on its inbound route, the enemy could take Alex and torture him for information. Instead, Command stated there would be a code phrase to be uttered by the driver and directed Hawskins to give him one response from the sealed list, stored in a safe that only Hawskins knew the combination to, it had the appropriate responses written inside. Alex removed a compact plastic case from his jacket and broke it. The case split in the middle like a candy bar and inside on red parchment, was a list of challenge and responses. Unfolding it, Alex calmly replied.

  “Olympus.” A long pause went through the cab of the vehicle; the driver was testing Alex to see if there was any hesitation in his response. The moment lingered on as the sun broke the horizon and poured itself into the cab. Slowly, the driver lowered the weapon and placed it in a holster in the customized dashboard. Reaching out his hand for the list, Alex gave it to him and the driver took out a lighter and burned the list in front of the both of them. Once it was out, the driver spoke once again.

  “Colonel, I understand you know where I will be transporting you today?”

  “Yes I do. “

  “Good. It will be a longer drive to ensure that we are not followed. Our path is also very dangerous, it’s in the open, and we will be easily visible. There are several underground tunnels that lead us to Command, and at that time we will be escorted directly to the council.”

  “Should we be worried about any possible insurgents on our journey in?”

  “We will be behind our own front the entire time starting on a south eastern heading then shifting west, the journey will take us towards command and into the heart of the continent. Should the enemy locate and trail us, I have explicit orders to destroy any and all intel that may fall into the hands of the enemy. Including and not limited to this vehicle. Under my seat is enough explosives wired to blow should any heavy artillery hit us. The entire vehicle is bullet proof and can withstand a .500 slug impacting the glass and paneling.”

  “What if we drive over a mine field or IED?” Alex asked appalled that his fate was now resting in a man he never met.

  “I hope for both our sakes sir, that the sensors that are in the HUD of the dashboard work.”

  Alex looked and saw what his chauffeur was talking about. In front of him was a digital display projected onto the windshield of the Humvee. There it showed a digital wireframe of all the buildings, their perspective path, direction, speed, weather report and even tracked the men patrolling the walls.

  “If we get close to a mine field, there will be a red line that pops up as to where the kill zone or blast radius would be in driving past the mine. Most of the enemy mines have been magnetic, which as you could tell would be an issue for any vehicle. It will also show the change in terrain and altitude, and direct us on the safest path around any mine fields or IED’s that may be buried in the road some place.”

  “Do all of the NVA transports have this type of driver assistance?”

  “All the high priority transports do. The grunt and troop transports are being installed as we speak. Sadly, these things are expensive.” The chauffeur turned the key and smoothly started up the vehicle. “In addition, they also are
powered by a solar cell that will hold a charge for an addition thirty-six hours of operations time, should it be necessary.”

  “How do we afford this? I know I’m young, however I have never heard of any appropriations for this type of transportation.” Alex found himself lost in thought. He remembered back to when he use to help the farmers with their combines back home. There was a similar, but more basic HUD for the combines to help insure they were on the right path and helped the drivers keep the vehicle inside the rows of crops. Some of the newer luxury cars had similar features he remembered when he was learning to drive on the weekends in Aurorae. But no system had been as comprehensive as this one.

  “Couldn’t tell you sir, I am only the delivery boy, as they like to say. I pick up and deliver high priority targets to their destination. I guess it also helps that I was an armored truck driver for the banks before the war started. Never saw any action with that, Not many people tried to rob those things.”

  His words became background noise as Alex watched the ever-changing display in front of the driver. The digital map was perfect. It could track every detail imaginable, even down to the faint tree line resting on the horizon as they exited the encampment. Alex could tell the delivery boy was telling him the truth about their initial heading in a southeastern direction, as displayed in the lower right along with the speed.

  “The other feature that these high priority transports have is a reflective active camo system. Basically the entire thing acts like a chameleon and the panels on the exterior of the vehicle change with refection of the light source around it. Kind of like a mirror. It works best during the daytime. Normally before dawn or at night, it’s too difficult to see the vehicles unless the moon is out, so I don’t really turn it on then. However I will during our trip today. It’s just an experimental thing command is trying before they place them on the troop transports.”