This Is Wrong, That Is Wrong [Ben]

[Niamh Dunlevy]

Country: England
Current Time: 11:25
Weather Conditions: A lot of cloud cover with a falling barometer, and rain possibly on the horizon. It's cool, the temperature hovering around ten degrees Celsius, with a slightly warm breeze moving across the landscape. The weather's holding up so far, but it could change at any moment.


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"You're doing ith wrong."

Riordan-Emery Dunlevy felt his left eye twitch, his whole body tensing from where he lay beneath the wooden cart. It had been the fifteenth time in the past two hours that his cousin, Niamh Dunlevy, had asked him that question. In-between the moments where she asked that particular question, she had sprinkled bouts of criticism. He was either hammering a nail in too hard, or he was using a plank to reinforce the sides that was too thin. The wagon needed to be shipped out of the carpenter's before one o'clock in the afternoon, when the next cargo ship left for somewhere in Italy. How could he finish it when Niamh wouldn't shut up, constantly pointing out faults that weren't faults at all?

"Niamh," said the Pavee carpenter calmly, slightly wearily, "for de last time, oi nade quiet. Oi cud 'av 'ad dis done in an 'our-and-a-half, 'ad yer not been 'ere. Oi said yer cud visit, not criticize."

"But fer God's sake, Rory," cried Niamh, "t'at t'ing will never hold up in t'e heath o' battle! You'll be sendin' our boys to the Reaper, ya will!"

"Oi nu waaat scon are doin', Niamh," Riordan-Emery said flatly. "Scon are de wan 'ere who studied ter be a carpenter, after al'."

"Buth t'e way you're doin' ith, you'll have our boys fallin' 'parth when Jerry comes rushin' down on 'em! We've goth clan an' mucker in t'e milithary, y'know!"

An exasperated sigh came from Riordan-Emery. "Oi realize dat, Niamh," he said irritably, "an' that's why scon are fixin' dis in de first place. Nigh be quiet, doll! Oi'm workin' 'ere!"

Niamh "hmphed" as the sound of her cousin's hammer rang through the air. "Yeah, well thell t'at tho Cillian! He says t'e carths are all bangin' and fallin' aparth, he did! Ith's noth my fault he's geththin' bad sthuff tho use!"

Once again, Riordan-Emery's eye twitched, although a little more strongly then before. His hammer missed the nail and hit his thumb, causing him to yelp and call out a few choice exepletives. Niamh snorted and rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the act.

"I t'oughth you were workin', Rory!"

"Scon are, doll! Nigh shut yer bake an' leave me be!" the other Pavee yelled angrily back.

[Ben Shirley]

Ben walks toward the carpenter area,socializing with his brother,Joseph.

"Joseph,I know you are nervous but just chill,you know nothing can stop our bondage as brothers."said Ben as he tries to calm his brothers nerves down.His brother has been worried ever since he has joined army with him.Joseph has always been worried about dying because of all the stories he has heard for all of his childhood.

"Well i guess...but not even bondage can stop me from dying!"said Joseph in a almost screaming voice.

"Joseph are you trying to hide the fact that I'm a Corporal and your not?"Ben said chuckling,trying to lighten the mood and change the subject

After walking for awhile Ben and Joseph reach the carpenter area looking around seeing the different inventions being invented and repaired.Joseph goes separate ways with Ben to check the whole area and report back.Ben goes onto the right side looking at everyone friendly,talking and asking questions.As Joseph continues on through the maze of wooden devices,seeing some being repaired and others being made.

Ben sees 2 interesting people working on a wooden wagon,he walks up slowly listening to their conversation.After awhile,Ben interrupts and says "Hello I'm wondering about how this wagon is going along? I hear lots of arguing and criticism.Patience is a virtue and even though she makes mistakes,there is a old saying"One must fail to succeed"

Joseph walks about,talking to many people,helping about and checking things were Josephs only interests.He would let Ben do the reporting work.Keeping morale high in the room wasn't Joseph's job but he felt like he was sorry for everyone in this room.Having to work almost all day,getting splinters and injuries from the wood and equipment.Joseph felt special when some people were saluting him."So this is what it feels like to be a soldier..."Joseph thinks as he continues on his duties.

Seeing his brother talking to a few women,Joseph giggles and whispers quietly,"That flirt...."

[Niamh Dunlevy]

"Hello, I'm wondering about how this wagon is going along? I hear lots of arguing and criticism. Patience is a virtue and even though she makes mistakes, there is a old saying, 'One must fail to succeed.'"

Niamh bit back a giggle, a small and silly grin on her face. From his place beneath the wagon, Riordan-Emery tensed; it had been the fourth time that week that someone had mistaken him for a "Land Girl" - a female volunteer in Britain's "Women's Land Army". He quickly pushed himself out from under the cart, glaring up at the nearby soldier.

"Oi'm a lad!" cried Riordan-Emery indignantly. "Jist cos oi'm scrawny doesn't mean oi'm bibe!"

"Ith's thrue," Niamh said. "A loth o' people make t'at misthake. 'Sides, he can'th fighth - he's been excused from duthy. Mind elaborathin', Rory?"

The other Pavee nodded, grunting as he pushed himself out from under the still-unfinished wagon. One leg helped push Riordan-Emery out into the open, but the other...did nothing at all. Strong arms from years of working with wood were attached to calloused fingers, and the plain clothes of the young, lean carpenter were covered in sawdust. These, save the leg, all seemed to be the features of a perfectly normal person -

"It wus a freak accident wi' a truk. De tin' wus too bleedin mangled, an' they sawed it aff. Oi wus still in basic whaen it 'appened."

- But half of his right leg was missing, the end of his trousers on that side tied in a strong knot. Riordan-Emery's hand quickly felt around for his walking stick, and he grabbed it, managing to get to his feet by pushing himself up off the hard floor.

"Oi apologize for de wait, sir," the young man said, "but oi wasn't expectin' me cousin 'ere ter cum an' annoy me dis mornin'. Yisser wagon shud be done by noon."

[Ben Shirley]

"OK i understand,We all have our sad stories. Please can you leave this young man alone? criticism wont help or make this project any faster."Ben says in his serious voice.

Ben stays in the carpenter area and just sits down with his brother when a another soldier comes in who is British."Hey soldier whats your name and state your reason for you being here." Ben says as if the soldier was a enemy. As Joseph comes toward the soldier and Ben,he looks at the good looking woman his brother was talking to. "Hey nice to meet you. I'm Joseph I'm Ben's brother!". Ben looks at the man with the missing right leg and wonders how awful it must to get such a injury while still being basic. This thinking made Ben want to protect his brother much more.

The British salutes Ben and Joseph,then says "Hello I'm Private Jacob Swizz Smith. Been sent to be served under you as you see fit and willing to help in any way Corporal."

"Wait hold on soldier. First of all,you call me Ben. Second,your first commands are to help me and Joseph check out the carpenter area and go back and report for us." Ben says in his favorite command voice.

Ben sends the soldier off and continues his conversation with the carpenters,"Well keep on working good. When you guys have free time i would like to continue our conversation and maybe we can hang out when im not on a mission defending our country with honor and duty."

Finishing up around the place,Joseph goes and meets with Jacob."Hey my brother isn't a bad guy hes pretty cool and everything once you get to know him. You will get used to it. Hope we can do a mission together,Bye!."

[Niamh Dunlevy]

Niamh could only chuckle at the soldier's comment, although she did step out of the main work area. "Meh, he knows I mean no harm. I'm justh used tho fixin' carths, and I swear he's doin' somet'ing wrong. I mean, we can'th let Jerry go an' pounce on us unexpectedly, all because o' a bad carth, righth?"

"Niamh, quit tryin' ter put me oyt av business," Riordan-Emery snapped. "Yer nu nathin' aboyt a wagon, except dat yer were born in wan! Shut yer bake!"

"Oi, you shuth up!" Niamh snapped back, glaring at the other Pavee. "T'at isn'th somet'ing ya had tho yell outh loud, Rory!"

"Well neither is yisser critcism, Nivvy-dear," Riordan-Emery answered with a wicked grin, a mischievious light in his eyes more typical of his male family then him. He was about to add to his reply when another soldier came walking up, introducing himself as Private Jacob Swizz Smith. Another soldier piped up, saying his name was Joseph and he was "Ben's brother". Whoever this Ben fellow was, the cousins didn't know, and neither did they care. Riordan-Emery looked at the three for a moment, then resumed his work on the broken cart.

"Well keep on working good," said the Corporal, who now had his attention back on the Pavees. "When you guys have free time, I would like to continue our conversation, and maybe we can hang out when im not on a mission defending our country with honour and duty."

"Perhaps," replied Riordan-Emery, who was now placing planks against the side of the cart, trying to see which length would fit better near the back end. "But please understan', dis war 'as me workin' day an' noight. If yer want ter go oyt for a draink, it might not be for a while. Our boys are makin' 'eadway in Italy, yer nu! They nade their supplies nigh!"

"Yeah, I heard t'at t'ey're doin' well, thoo," said Niamh, although Riordan-Emery noticed she sounded a little...off...when she spoke. Her hand went to her pocket, as if seeking comfort from something, and the carpenter couldn't help but mentally raise an eyebrow. Why had she deflated like that? Had she heard about what happened to her Uncle Matthew's second-oldest? Incidents on the front line were always relayed as quickly as possible amongst the family, just as soon as they came....

[Ben Shirley]

"Come on privates! move out!." Ben walks out of the main work area and calls up Jacob.Look here young man,here is your main objective while your in my command: protect my brother. Anything happens to him i will be VERY sad. How long have you been in the army?. Ben turns to the left hallway that leads into the street. Jacob follows Ben into the hallway and then after they are outside,he says "Well Sir,I have been in the army for awhile. Your brother was asking the same thing and said if i could help him with his problems.He said....." "Hey Jacob I'm pretty scared.....to die in the army is scary...."

"Don't worry. All you have to do is just not think of dying, and think about serving country. I learned this from a fellow uncle that was in the army. He said that,if you clear your mind and think about positive things and outcomes,then good things will happen to you."

"Thank you Jacob for your excellent advice. I will hope to use it sometime. Oh,come on Ben is calling us...." And that is how it happened. Anyway,I hope to do my best for you Corporal...eh i mean Ben. So where are we going? I'm pretty hungry." Following Ben some more,they arrive at a supermarket just down the street.

"Well i be darned...My brother is scared about that? those movies have spooked him pretty bad. But,thank you for your briefing Private. I will question you more once I get the chance. Lets eat before we start to starve.... come on Joseph!hurry up or else you won't get anything to eat!." Ben and Jacob and Joseph walk into the supermarket and buy a few things. Then they head off near the carpenter area and sit down,eating lunch. "OK guys,once we are done eating we are heading off to the cabin HQ gave us. We will stay there for awhile so i can write the reports back to HQ. Once i am done we will have the night off. Any questions you want to ask can be asked after i am done eating."

After about a hour or so,everyone got up from there sit-positions and start to head off toward the cabin. Jacob stay a little bit behind Ben so he can talk to Joseph. He whispers to Joseph.. "[Hey whats your brother like? Ive been under many commanders but he is a bit different...?

"Well Jacob,hes pretty down straight forward,he is mostly serious and when he means something,he MEANS it. So it would be good to be on his good side for the time being. But,don't worry your on his good side as long your friendly and follow his orders correctly. "

After a few minutes,Ben opens the door of the cabin a few yards out of the town. Seeing the place a little dirty,Ben orders Joseph and Jacob to help clean the place a little. During the first few hours of cleaning,Joseph starts to talk to his brother and explains, "So when are we going back to the HQ?".

"You have to be patient Joseph. We are leaving in about 2 weeks. These 2 weeks gives us time to relax,regain our strength and clear our wits. We are going to need all the rest we can get before our missions come in. Oh yeah, you missed a spot."

"Yeah yeah very funny." Joseph says as he mops the floor.

After a few more hours of cleaning,the place looks more clean. Then,Jacob goes outside saying he is going to see a few friends. He said he is coming back before Ben finishes making the reports. Joseph sits himself on the top of the bunk-bed,reading a book about karma. Ben sits at his desk taking his typewriter and writing his report. His report said:

Date:December 15,1942

Army report on:Army Supplies and Reproduction

The carpenter area is very good as i can see. I see normal reproduction speed and also normal activity. No problems detected so far but will continue to monitor until called back to HQ. The factories are also very good but need more metal to advance. The supermarket is also very good. Did regular check on foods and freshness. Local pubs are making good money to fund the army and this upcoming fund-raiser will be a success to our hopes. Will continue this monitoring as ordered until I am ordered back,as stated earlier. Corporal Ben Shirley,out.

Your trustful NCO,

Ben Shirley

[Daniel Brennan]

Mod Post:

CP:
Niamh: 6CP

Ben: 6CP


~Dan