Ordering the Fools[JT]

[Ben Shirley]

Country:
Current Time: 9:00PM
Weather Conditions : Night time with full moon outside. Rainy outside with a storm on its way.

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The clouds of the northern sky were getting a dark gray color, the full moon slowly getting engulfed by the enormous army of clouds. The night was peaceful, showing little signs of ruffling or rough housing as the clouds glided on the skies, as if they had feet and were dancing gracefully around. A sight that mere people can't see. Ben looked in to the night sky, wondering about his own problems as thoughts and ideas bumped and made their way inside his head. His eyes met the light of the moon, staring at it as if it was a precious jewel to a criminal.

"Let me go see if old man Pat is there," Ben said softly as he moved slowly and silently through the corridors of the base, the white paint looking slightly scratched. Ben tried to move quietly, preventing his clothes to make a loud ruffling noise. His lips felt dry, so Ben licked them in a circular motion making them a little more wet, making them glisten in the moonlight.

Ben kept following down the obvious path, as he saw a light and a big opened passageway that lead to a dining hall. Ben entered slowly, looking left and right before he entered any further.

"Hello, Sir Patterson is here?" said Ben in to the distance, waiting for a reply since it is his first time meeting the NCO.

[MAJ Patterson]

OOC: He's a CO, not an NCO

IC: Patterson had had a long night having been up longer then normal with paperwork for a few promotions within his unit, he hoped they would go through but only time would tell. His eyes stung a bit from lack of rest and his head felt as if the oncoming pain would give him a restless night. He grabbed a tray and pulled a few small items of food onto it before grabbing a seat. Midnight chow was usually just as crowded as the rest with men coming back from patrol and what not, but this night seemed to be a little less busy. Taking a swig from his canteen after pulling it from his belt he slapped it down on the table.

"Sir Patterson?" he muttered as the voice rang out in the distance. Must be one of those British guys coming for something...at this hour? Patterson put his spoon down and looked up...he couldn't see any British soldiers...in fact almost everyone he could see was from his own unit. The only one without an Officer's rank was a lone Corporal standing in the door way, he seemed to be looking around enough to fit the context of the situation. Isn't that the new guy? Henry thought to himself as he stood from his chair looking toward the boy...pondering what the heck a Corporal was doing in the Officer's mess hall.

Patterson stepped around the table and picked up a quick pace toward the door. "You have got to be kidding me!" he mumbled under his breath as he passed a few rows of tables. A few smiles could be seen popping up in the large Dining Hall. A few whispers as well, no doubt about the embarrassing moment that "Ol' Patty" was going through. Oh he had heard the names, his favorite was from his former XO, but that was not the task at hand. There was an image to uphold, and he set about doing it.

"Are you HERE asking for ME?!" He seared at the junior NCO. A sharp nod confirmed it and the boy seemed to open his mouth to speak as if nothing wrong had happened. Patterson smiled with a sharp sigh and cut him off. "Heh...Let me explain something to you Corporal. We have a chain of command, it's there for you to utilize! We have split DFACs so that the men and the gentlemen don't become buddy buddy and interfere with work!" Patterson swallowed hard as he could feel the veins in his neck begin to bulge as his blood pressure rose. "LEAVE!" he shouted at his subordinate, crisply turning to walk back to his seat and finish his small meal. He didn't make it far before the Corporal again spoke up.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

Robert was running from where he had just come from to report to a Captain. There had been a few fights the last couple of days and he felt it was the best thing to do to get a superior involved.

Robert had been running for only a few minutes and didn't feel a bit about it. He was used to that sort of stuff. He wasn't used to reporting things to bogshot superiors, though. Which was what he had to do tonight.

He made his way to the Officer's Mess and stood on the front step for a few moments. He straightened his coat and put his hat on. He pushed the door open and walked in. He heard yelling. Lots of yelling. It sounded almost animal in it's tone. This made him feel a bit uneasy but, not afraid. He wasn't afraid of man or what man could do.

He walked a bit further into the room and saw the only Captain in the room yelling at a Corporal like himself. He couldn't tell what the man was yelling but, it sounded like something about ranks or authority. Robert didn't really care. All he wanted to do was make his report then leave. So that's what he did.

"Corporal Robert Anderson. I have a few things to report, sir!" Robert said stiffened with a salute up. He didn't want the same treatment that the other man was given but, wouldn;t mind if he was given so.

[MAJ Patterson]

Before he could finish his short order yet another soldier was pestering him, What is this? Some holiday I'm unaware of? he thought to himself. He took a deep breath and turned slowly and deliberately to notice a second Corporal metaphorically tugging at his shirt tail over something he didn't want anything to know about. It was starting to look like Patterson's men had no discipline at all, or self control. He was being made a fool of in front of the other officers and it was not going to be taken lightly.

With a subtle but firm grasp, the Captain wrenched his hands around each of his subordinates upper arms and briskly escorted them out the door and far enough down the hall that the rest of the men in the DFAC could hear the yelling that would ensue, but not close enough that they could understand it. He spun the pair around in front of him majoritively down a dimly lit corridor. "DEAR GOD HAS THIS TURNED INTO A FREAKING CIRCUS?!" he spat at the men. "Let's see here...Shirley and...Anderson...what in the name of my beloved unit are the two of you doing here, at this hour, asking for me? ME?! Of all the members of this unit you come to me! As I told your early companion, I'm assuming, there is a chain of command in this unit, you are Corporals, their are Sergeants next, then a whole litter of senior type Sergeants, than after that come Platoon leaders, those are the guys we call officers, some what like myself, and those are the guys that come to me..." he paused to wipe his mouth and gain a bit of composure, although anyone else that had seen the display moments ago wouldn't have blamed him too terribly for beating the Corporals senseless. "...so, as briefly as possible while still making sense, explain to me why you feel the need to bother me now, here...why you felt the need to bother me at all! Shirley, you're up and this had better be good!"

To say that Patterson was fuming mad would have been an understatement. He had been made a mockery of in front of his peers and no one ever took that likely no matter what standing or walk of life. The veins in his neck were bulging, along with quite possibly every vein in his arms trying to keep pace with his fists that had been balled up since they stopped moving. The Doc wasn't going to like the rise in blood pressure too much either, good thing he had just finished his check up.

[Ben Shirley]

It was obvious that Captain Patterson was extremely mad and it looked like his head was about to explode with a huge amount of magma that would scare the crap out of any German Commander. There was a Chain of Command that Ben had knowledge about, but apparently even those Sergeants and such were complete fools. They were playing with some of the Medical supplies, trying to get high on it. Afterward, they started towards the local Tavern and got drunk on hard liquor and started a bar fight. Ben had been there with Buck, but once those fellows came in he knew it was time to get the hell out of there since Ben didn't want any trouble. By the time Ben was a few feet away from the place, a bar fight had started with everyone going crazy.

Sorry Sir, but there is some trouble going on and I think your the only one who can take care of it. As you said, there is a Chain of Command, but as of now, no one respects the Chain of Command! Everyone that is drunk I mean, Sergeants, Platoon Sergeants, Privates, all the NCO and such are at a Local Tavern in a Bar fight with bottles and chairs. I thought I should of came to you since you could put some sense into their sober heads," said Ben as he tried to give a good reason for him coming. He knew that fight was true, and it was probably still going on.

Ben looked at the Corporal that was next to him and noticed that he was a new guy in the Division. He tried to not make his looking obvious so he kept his eyes on Captain Patterson. Ben had sweat trickling down the left side of his cheek and he blinked frequently from the adrenaline scare that Patterson gave Ben.

[MAJ Patterson]

Lovely, now there was a riot of sorts consuming his unit from the bottom up. This was turning into a regular nightmare. Patterson closed his eyes and pinched his mouth closed as he tilted his head back and took a long breath. Opening his eyes to view the ceiling he let out an exaggerated sigh of frustration. "So... he said in a calm tone, even though he was ready to go ballistic at the moments notice of anything else being out of line. ...let me get this straight. You come to tell me, in front of every other off duty CO on this instillation, that the majority of my lower chain of command has recently lost all bearing of who they are, who they serve, and their purpose here? Is this right? My men have completely lost it and the only person with enough brain cells to form clear thought is the two of you?"

Amazement just wasn't the word that could cover it. It seemed that ever step his unit took forward as a whole would inevitably take two backward at the first moment of liberty. They would win a huge battle to progress the war and then medical supplies would come up missing (I'm assuming you read that thread Ben?) they would pull out a narrow victory and then fights start all over the place, they bring in some P.O.W.s and...this never failed, as soon as they could start making a name for themselves the men would exert their best efforts to tarnish any bit of respect the unit had earned. Patterson looked on the bright side of things though Well at least they aren't doing everything wrong. he thought as he rolled his eyes while they were closed once more, rotating his jaw slowly in his skull.

Patterson turned his attention to the second Corporal. The man was new by the looks of it, his uniform wasn't faded anywhere, the elbows and knees hadn't been worn out and he still bloused his boots, all tell tale signs of a new recruit, but the Captain didn't mind it so much, at least his ranks were still growing, course the recent display by his current, and possibly soon to be ex, XO left them in the hole on troops, at that rate the unit will be all but non-existent withing the year. "Corporal I'm assuming you are hear pertaining to the same matter...are you or is my plate not full enough that there is yet another emergency?"

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

Robert was listening closely. Tempted to let out a chuckle at a few of the remarks but decided against it. He knew if he did the Captain would surely explode. This made him think it even funnier. He never uttered a smile, though. All he did was stare and try and look respectful, which was very hard to do because he kept staring at a particular vein in the Captain's head that kept throbbing and looked like it was about to burst.

Robert kept listening. Hearing only about the man's rank and about the other off duty CO's. Does this man think alot of himself or what? Rob said to himself. Well I guess I would too if I was that high of a rank. I'd much rather be out there racking up some kills with my fellow soldiers, though. He didn't think the man overreacted in any way. Most CO's had anger issues due to all the stress and long days with many ignorant soldiers. Robert didn't think he was ignorant he thought himself to be, different.

"Sir, yes sir. I've been here not even two days and I've already seen men try and fight others let alone myself. Not to mention the Med Kit in my barracks has been stolen." Robert said. Not complaining but telling the Captain the facts.

"With all due respect, sir. May I suggest something?"

[Ben Shirley]

"Yes sir, That is the whole situation. I know it sounds quite unbelievable but it is quite serious at the moment since anything even more ironicly stupid could hap-" Ben was cut off from his sentence as he heard the most familiar sound a American would hear in their life-"The sound of Fireworks on July 4th." By the sound of it and the direction it was coming from, the drunk fools of NCO and such must have set it off in the Latrine. At this moment, Captain Patterson would have lost his marbles and punish the whole entire division for their level of stupidity but, God forbid that would happen.

The night seemed young with the pretty display of various different patterns the fireworks gave off, but it wasn't the time for that due to the crisis at hand. The sound of soldiers crying out with battle cries and happy voices made it sound like they had just fought a battle and then won it 3 seconds later. Quite stupid if Ben had been asked his opinion on such a matter.

"Sir Patterson, it is getting more and more serious at the second and I know you have lots of things to do. I believe that a simple plan must be made to wrap up this disaster and forget this had never happened," suggested Ben as he licked his dry lips in a circular motion with his pink and reddish tongue.

[MAJ Patterson]

This was indeed somethinig that required immediate and close attention. Maybe the men missed the fight, maybe they were just sick of the war, whatever the case may be they were starting to come undone as a unit and someone had to reel them in back to reality, and fast. "Jesus...ugh...you two, come with me, Corporal walk and talk!" Before he could step off toward the issues at hand it almost sounded as if indirect fire had hit, but it didn't feel like it. With a quick look around the colorful flashes of light could be made out in a fuzzy manner our the rear exit of the corridor. Looked as if it was coming from the Bravo Company Operations Building. That was just lovely, not only were there men there at unscheduled hours, but they were intent on ebing shot before dawn.

It just seemed like on thing after another, at this rate the unit would be disbanded before the month was out and the COs would be stripped of their ranks along with it. Patterson stopped before shoving the door almost cleanly off it's hinges to take a few deep breaths while squeezing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Where did I go wrong? What could have possibly brought all this on? his thoughts were troubling to put it mildly. He took great care and had pride in his unit, one of the strongest to grace this horrible time on earth, but every machine breaks down once in a while and the more working parts it has, the more complex the problem will be. There had to be an explination for all of this, there had to be a logical reason, but nothing came to the Captain's mind, he just couldn't get the image of a courtroom out of his head for the moment.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

"Sir. I suggest that this problem be dealt with severely. Punishment is the only way order can be restored to these men since, giving them leave would most likely not be an option." Robert said trying to sound convincing. As they walked Robert was thinking about the look on Patterson's face when he saw what they were up to. He smiled at the thought. They were walking quickly. He could feel the tenseness in Patterson. Like a balloon that would explode at the sight of anything that dissappointed him. As they got closer he could almost see the smoke coming off of his head.

They arrived to where the men were shooting off the fireworks. It was just outside of one of the hangars. There was nobody there when they got there. Robert smiled, This is gonna be good. He thought to himself. They walked into the hangar to see if anyone was there. As soon as they did, men from the brigade sprang out from behind barrels of gasoline and a wall that covered the office space of the hangar. They were almost as loud as the Banzai Group that Robert had encountered a few weeks ago.

"Well Captain Patterson. Happy Birthday, sir." Robert said before saluting him.

[Ben Shirley]

Ben continued to walk down the corridor with the other Corporal and Captain Patterson who looked like he was steaming hot and ready to cook the asses of the NCO hooligans with a court-martial shoved up their ass and a side beverage of Get the Hell out of my Division. It was obvious Captain Patterson had a full course dinner for the NCO's that involved many punishments. But luckily, The Corporal wouldn't blow his cover while Ben just seemed normal through the whole ordeal.

"Damn Corporal and his smirk. I think I AM surrounded by idiots.." thought Ben the moment he saw the other Corporal smirk as if he was the most intelligent bastard in the 3ID which pissed Ben off even more, it showed that he didn't like certain white dudes that are conceited and are stupid enough to give off a small smirk that could land both Ben's and the other Corporal's butt into Detention(Court Martial) when it was only a scheme to lure Captain Patterson into a excellent surprise that could change the whole Division and start giving everyone a happy memory to keep if any of them died. It was going to be a happy moment in the history of the 3ID, hopefully.

Once they made their way near outside the hangar where the fireworks was set off. Before they made it their, Ben was hoping they had positioned themselves correctly so that they would be hidden. Once he found out that they were well hidden and not being forgetful and out in the open so that they could get grinded into meat. Once they entered into the Hangar to see if anyone was there, It was the cue to jump out.

Everyone jumped out and shouted loudly as if they were at a parade and only hoped that Captain Patterson wouldn't get mad for tricking him. He saw the Coporal Salute to Captain Patterson and say happy birthday, so Ben followed suit.

"I never thought you would do such a good job with the set Anderson, I hope you like it Sir Patterson. Its a good Happy Birthday I would say."

[MAJ Patterson]

Patterson twisted and stormed toward the end of the corridor, the pair of Corporals in tow. Then he received a suggestion, about how to do his job. Something snapped and Patterson had had enough of the embarrassment. He stopped firmly and shifted his weight forward, spun abruptly and shoved off his back leg, planting hid palm firmly into the chest of one, Corporal Anderson. "Corporal, I can do my job, I've helped build this unit you wear the patch of, from nothing, and should be extremely honored to do so, what have you done in your time here?! Wipe that grin off your face and come with me, when this is sorted I want you in my office!" But Patterson didn't know what was going on, given all the happenings in the past couple of minutes anyone would have lost it. But it could have all been avoided...had he remembered his own birthday.

He stepped back slowly, pulling his arm back down to his side and tugging on his jacket to straighten his uniform. He took a deep breath and continued toward the rear entrance. With a swift jolt he popped the door from it's place, causing it to bounce on the exterior brick wall, but he had cleared it's path before it came swinging back. He stopped. The few remnants of fireworks were still falling, but no one could be seen, he took a deep breath to prepare for the ass chewing of a life time he was about to deal out to what seemed to be no one. But he was halted abruptly, to his surprise people were jumping out all over the place. At first he couldn't understand what was going on, his blood pressure had rose to a point where his hearing had been temporarily impaired, and the sheer shock of the night that had unfolded so far was still spinning in his mind.

"...Birth..day...?" he asked under his breath. Something wasn't' fitting right, his birthday wasn't until Thursday. With a quick glance at his watch it seemed that it was indeed Thursday, and a huge feeling of regret fell over him. He had gone a bit insane with the pair of Corporals, he would ensure that their patience with him would be rewarded.

A huge smile crept over his face as he let out a slight laugh. "Oh my gah! This is...well this is most unexpected to say the least! Oh wow!" he raised his arms to place his hands together over his mouth, before running one over the top of his head and putting an arm around the nearest man to him, just so happened to be the one he planted in the wall only seconds before. He honestly didn't know who it was he was grabbing, he never looked, he was in awe as the fireworks started again and he noticed that somehow, someone had found a way to get a delivery of party hats in. He smiled from ear to ear and laughed loudly with the men. "This is crazy! HA HA! Thank you guys, I had totally forgotten about it."

[Ben Shirley]

Phew. A sigh of relief came from Ben as he noticed Captain Patterson was actually happy about the Birthday Party Surprise. They actually got the timing right, it was a good feeling. They made Captain Patterson happy, and now the party was about to begin while the Fireworks kept on booming for a few more minutes. Everyone did something to help, they brought out all of the beer, some of the wine, before they set it up all on the table at a spot inside the building where that where ever you went, the Fireworks were visible as they banged and boomed with various colors as they painted the sky as a nice photo. The Full Moon outside of the building gave off a bright light that showed many shadows on the ground, being able to see figures and such but without being able to see the persons face.

Then, out of nowhere, Ben had been grabbed from the neck by the laughing and happy Captain Patterson. It was good, being able not have fun for once and not be judged by his color. The party had started, and everyone started chatting and such before the music started and the dancing had begun. Captain Patterson probably wasn't fond of dancing in front of his soldiers, or any other male for that matter, but Ben thought a toast would be suitable for Captain Patterson considering all of the things he has done. Ben stood up, and announced, "May I have your attention Please? I would like to propose a toast, To Sir Patterson for doing such a great job with this Division. If it wasn't for him, we probably would be dead by now. But, Captain Patterson is a man of great intellect, and he should be treated as such. This is a toast in honor of Captain Patterson, and I hope as well as all of us do, that Captain Patterson will continue to kick some GERMAN ASS!" said Ben as he finished his speech.

All of the men listened, and then once Ben finished, they all cheered with him as all of the beers clanged together in honor of Captain Patterson, probably the greatest CO to live in the history of the American Army.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

Robert felt somewhat out of place when he started to join the party. He had been having problems with his superiors and easily made peple mad. Everybody was so up tight when they weren't drunk or soon to be. At this celabration he felt like the odd man out. He didn't really care though. It was just like Highschool he thought. Might as well enjoy this here party before Patterson chews me out later. He thought to himself as he remembered the Captain's words from a few minutes earlier.

It had been about an hour when Robert was just done. He didn't want anymore to do with the men. They had been drinking and swearing for long enough. Robert always had problems when he was around drunks and he didn't want it to happen on this particular night so, he got up and started making his way towards Patterson's Quarters so he could wait outside. Before he was halfway out the door he heard a man stand up and proclaimed Patterson's excellence. Robert grinned and looked down. "Hear, hear." He said in a low voice. He then looked at the Corporal who had accompanied him to get Patterson to his party. Robert then looked the man in the eye and shook his head as he looked down with a smirk. He then started for the door.

Robert had just stepped outside when he felt the precipitation in the air. He looked up and saw a few rain clouds rolling in. Just my friggin' luck. He said to himself. He kept moving until he had made it to Patterson's maybe ten minutes later. It had just started to trickle a few drops when he sat down on the chair in front of his CO's Barracks. He felt tired and a little dizzy. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep in the chair in front of Captain Patterson's Barracks.

[MAJ Patterson]

Patterson couldn't wipe the smile off of his face if he wanted to, this was a most pleasant surprise indeed and he had totally forgotten about it, his blood pressure dropped of a bit. Then the booze came out, he rolled his eyes, he and his former Executive Officer had a run in about alcohol a long time ago, before most of the men had even made it into this unit. Riley had been a character, a polar opposite of Patterson almost, it didn't mesh well for decision making, but having to styles of leadership did get the job done rather well in every other aspect. That man would have loved to see this day, Henry thought of him for a moment and hoped he was doing well, then the toast started and he had to get back to the party that was unfolding around him.

Was a great toast, and the men seemed to like it as well, especially the nice loud ending. The roar from the men echoed off the exterior walls, luckily they were far enough behind the lines that the fireworks shouldn't draw too much attention. He'd tell the men in the morning that PT would run over, just to make sure they sweat out all the alcohol they had illegally brought on base, but for now they could have the night for the morning was his.

"Do we have anything to eat, I'm starving." he said as the music started and the boys went about their way of celebration. The Captain just sat back and watched, it had been a long time since he had seen so many happy people in the same place at one time, he just took it all in, this would undoubtedly be one of his best memories from this war.