WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

Chapter 60

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Captain Capston smiled, easy and unhurried.

"Trying to persuade me like that, I'm a little hurt, honestly. If something truly has to be done, I can accept the personal cost. That's my real duty. Regulations can't take precedence over duty, can they?"

"I'm sorry."

A genuine apology. The captain shook his head.

"No need to apologize. You got me promoted, so getting demoted because of you is only fair. This isn't some personal favor you're asking for. You're just worried about people."

With that, he returned to the issue he'd raised first.

"What I called difficult is the ammunition requisition. You were only thinking about mobilizing troops, but you can't maintain a combat-ready posture without enough ammunition first. What the company manages on its own isn't much. Assuming you're right about the 「Trickster」 having infiltrated, whatever attack follows won't be small-scale."

"That's not something I overlooked, but..."

Gyeoul had figured that having the necessary troops awake and alert would count for something, at least.

"If the one they captured is planning something, it'll wait for the early hours when vigilance thins. I thought the biggest threat then wouldn't be the mutants but the chaos itself. If we're ready ahead of time, at least we can avoid the chaos. Additional ammunition... we'd have to secure it once the situation develops."

"So you're saying some casualties are unavoidable, depending on how things unfold."

"That's the realistic limit. We can't actually stage a mutiny."

"Maybe. There might be a way."

The captain thought for a long while, then called all company officers together over the internal line.

Gathering them took some time. It was Christmas Eve. One platoon leader who had been in the civilian zone didn't arrive until thirty minutes after the initial call.

Not much time left. Gyeoul kept checking the clock. No telling when things would break loose. Best case, nothing happened at all. But they were preparing as if it would.

Nobody looked pleased. Even in an emergency, people had a basic need for some personal time. Christmas was the biggest holiday in America, and nobody was happy about being called in outside of duty hours.

"Ah... seeing him here, I already know this is going to be rough."

Jeffrey's lament. He spotted Gyeoul, let out a heavy sigh, and grumbled under his breath. Fair enough, considering Jeffrey had just come back from a firefight while everyone else was celebrating.

The same applied to Gyeoul, though, which was why the complaining didn't last long.

The captain asked Gyeoul to speak. Third time today he'd had to explain the situation. Even Gyeoul was starting to feel a little worn out by it.

"...For those reasons, I'd like everyone to stay at maximum alert tonight. It's not asking much, really. If there's no attack, it's just one night of waiting. I'd appreciate your help."

Corporal Liberman nodded slowly.

"I thought there was something off about you earlier, sir. So that's what was on your mind. Honestly, I think you might be overthinking it, but..."

Gyeoul braced for pushback. There wasn't any.

"If it weren't for you, sir, our platoon would have lost a lot of people at that hospital. When everyone was off guard or thinking wrong, you were the only one who called it right. I'll trust you again on this one."

"Thank you, Corporal."

The NCOs were quick to voice their support. Unlike the Korean military, where NCO ranks begin at corporal, American NCOs worked their way up from basic training. A strictly merit-based group, and their thinking showed it.

Soldiers and NCOs clashed with higher command over the radio all the time in the field. Complaining that the brass had no idea what was happening on the ground, that was their lot. Maybe that was part of why they understood Gyeoul so easily.

Sergeant Pierce, the senior NCO, also took his side.

"Sun Tzu said that a true leader leads not by force but by example. A good soldier's instincts tend to ring true. We can't dismiss the ensign's opinion, especially given what he's delivered so far."

Sun Tzu? Oh, Sunzi. After a moment's confusion, Gyeoul felt a twinge of unease. That particular passage from Sunzi probably didn't mean quite what Pierce thought it meant. Still, no need to spoil the man's moment.

'He looks pretty proud of himself for memorizing that one...'

Pierce kept his usual stern expression, but there was a faint trace of something underneath. Gyeoul had a sharp eye for people.

Everyone wanted to look good. Even the most serious among them.

After that, the three remaining platoon leaders, Jeffrey excluded, along with the other ranking soldiers, began quietly reconsidering where they stood. Pierce stared them down in silence. That alone was enough to put them all on edge. In the American military, a sergeant first class was rarer to come by than a lieutenant colonel.

Ensign McCoy, the second platoon leader, sighed.

"Can't help it. I'd look bad backing out on my own... Fine, let's do it. If nothing happens, it's just one restless night. You did say there's no real risk unless something actually goes wrong... And honestly, I've had a funny feeling too."

With that, the others raised their hands in agreement. Ensign Sullivan, the third platoon leader, scratched his head.

"Home Alone is on TV right now..."

"..."

Americans celebrated Christmas with Kevin too?

Well. This was the home turf.

Last to agree was the weapons platoon leader.

"Once I've heard all this, there's no resting easy anyway. I'd just lie there worrying all night. If I'm going to be up, I might as well be useful."

With everyone in agreement, Captain Capston drew their attention.

"The problem is ammunition. Without it, no amount of preparation will be enough. Is there a way to pull rounds without going through the control room?"

The question was aimed at Pierce, more or less. The sergeant nodded.

"I'll manage it."

"How?"

"We say it's being drawn early for tomorrow's range training. Filing the paperwork after the fact isn't something you'd approve of, sir, but between us it's common enough. And with how often rounds have been requisitioned lately, given everything going on, nobody looks twice anymore. Routine breeds carelessness."

The "us" Pierce referred to was, of course, the NCO corps.

He had a point. Gyeoul had just come back from a firefight himself, and rounds were being burned through at all hours with no end in sight.

Leftover ammunition after operations wasn't tracked down to the last bullet. You requested what you needed and drew it. Each company kept their own reserve. They'd have liked to follow peacetime procedures, but simply couldn't.

Firearms inventory was a different matter, kept rigidly tracked. If weapons found their way into the refugee population, riots would follow.

"Will that hold up? Range training on Christmas. Pulling rounds at this hour, ahead of time, who's going to believe that?"

The captain looked skeptical. Pierce smiled gently.

"Well, your reputation for being inflexible is well established, sir. If we let slip a little grumbling about the CO being unreasonably demanding, the men will join right in and accept it without a second thought. I'll apologize in advance for whatever ends up being said."

"..."

Captain Capston pressed his fingers to his temple.

Easy to say, but far from easy to do. It was the kind of thing only a sergeant with Pierce's experience and connections could even attempt.

Pierce turned the conversation to Gyeoul.

"Ensign Han will need to help as well."

"Me?"

"The armory guard duty belongs to Abel Company. Those kids are very fond of you, sir. Having you along will make things considerably smoother."

He seemed to have a thorough read on the mood among the soldiers. Gyeoul thought back to what Corporal Amy had said at the checkpoint by the Chinese quarter.

"Be careful. If you get taken down by some mad dog, our whole company might just lose it."

'Some of them, if you explained it straight, would probably come around on their own.'

Gyeoul nodded without hesitation.

"Right, that makes sense. I'll do it."

With time running short and everyone's position settled, things moved fast. The ranking soldiers sprinted off to muster their troops. The rest got down to planning.

"Since we know nothing about the enemy's plan, ours should be mostly improvisation beyond the essentials. For now, assigning fallback positions and patrol zones will have to be enough."

The captain spread the camp map on the table. Pierce nodded.

"Don't worry about it. Once the fighting starts, the first thing to die is always the plan."

Tracing routes across the map, they worked out that assuming a proper response, initial forces could be deployed within three minutes no matter which direction trouble came from.

"What about your people?"

The captain asked Gyeoul and offered his own thoughts.

"They're lacking real combat experience, so putting them at the front would be difficult. Keep them on standby and use them to calm the refugee zones if things go wrong. What do you think?"

"I agree. That's a good call."

As he'd said before, chaos might end up being the worst enemy of all. Given the population density of the refugee zone, if panic set in, the crush deaths alone would be considerable.

And if the refugees just bolted outright, that was its own problem. The defensive line could get overrun from behind.

Two squads' worth of 「Gyeoul Alliance」 combat units weren't going to cut it for that.

"The chance of running into the enemy is low, but don't mistake that for an easy assignment."

Gyeoul took the concern fully to heart.

"There are also the soldiers already on checkpoint duty. If we can give them a heads-up in advance, that would help. Within the range of my influence, at least, I'll warn the refugees ahead of time."

"That matters more than the ammunition, honestly. Go now. We'll handle the rest here."

Pierce cut in.

"Come find me at the armory once you're done, Ensign."

"Understood. I'll be quick."

Thirty minutes to midnight. The soldiers at the checkpoint watched him sprint past, puzzled.

The large tent he'd left hours ago was still loud and festive, so much so that many people didn't even notice Gyeoul walk in. But Yeon-cheol spotted him immediately and came over, his face open and glad.

"You're back. I don't know what it was, but good work."

Gyeoul shook his head.

"It's not over yet."

"Pardon?"

"Vice-Captain Jang. Gather all the Alliance officers. Yura-ssi and Jin-seok-ssi too."

Yeon-cheol caught his tone and looked thrown off. He'd never seen Gyeoul in a rush before. Even so, he nodded quickly and began calling out to people. The festive crowd took one look at him and went quiet.

Most of the faces that gathered were unfamiliar. Yeon-cheol had interpreted "officers" broadly. Not a bad call.

Gyeoul delivered the situation as briefly as he could. Min Wan-ki coughed a few times with a grave expression, and Yeon-cheol's face went tense.

"So, Little Captain, sir... there might be an attack before dawn?"

"That's right. It's not certain, but we should be ready for it. Yura-ssi and Jin-seok-ssi, head back to the barracks now. Get armed and wait at the parade ground. Once the ammunition's drawn, Charlie Company will attach someone to you. If anything happens, do your best to keep the refugee area calm."

Yura and Jin-seok still lacked the judgment to read a developing situation on their own. Getting an NCO from Charlie Company attached to them was essential. Gyeoul's gaze moved to Yeon-cheol and Wan-ki.

"And Vice-Captains."

Before he could say anything more, Wan-ki nodded.

"Don't worry about it. Go on, sir. Ahem. The Captain can't handle everything himself. That's what Vice-Captain Jang and I are here for."

"..."

A small, natural smile crossed Gyeoul's face.

"Alright. I'm counting on you both."

The young officer ran for the armory and arrived before Pierce. When the sergeant appeared soon after, he looked mildly surprised.

"I didn't expect what you had to handle to be so straightforward. You're here faster than I thought."

"I have good people helping me."

"Heh."

A short laugh. Pierce walked ahead of Gyeoul.

The soldiers on guard at the armory post were familiar faces. One of them especially so. Sergeant Matthew Cohen. He spotted Gyeoul and looked mildly startled.

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