The Company was getting ready to push for the courtyard. Evans looked at Sergeant Knowles gathering his rifle team. He then looked at the Lieutenant, “So what is going to happen to the Sergeant Ma’am?”

“Do not worry Evans. Once we take the Courtyard, he will die. I just need him for now. I’m reassigning Boswell under you as one of my runners. And for Lance Corporal Drummond…” She gestured to Evans’ rifle, “In the heat of battle, sometimes soldiers are accidental shot by their own side. I fear that in the chaos, poor Drummond might be killed. I accidentally dented his helmet while inspecting his platoon earlier. So…”

“Yes Ma’am,” Evans checked his rifle and got ready.

The Lieutenant pursed her lips, pulled up her whistle, and blew. The Company started to move out.

Evans walked alongside the Lieutenant, who was acting if this was an afternoon walk. She made idle conversation with Evans. It was obvious that she missed the more ‘refined’ company she was used to.

After about an hour, the Vledscan’s opened fire. Evans first moved the Lieutenant into cover. She seemed a bit annoyed that Evans pushed her down, and no doubt she would remove herself almost immediately. He then moved and looked for Drummond.

It was hard to find in the firefight, but eventually he saw the helmet that the Lieutenant had dented. He was unsure how exactly a dent that large could have been played off as an accident, but, that wasn’t the matter. Evans took aim with his rifle, pretending to aim for a window downrange, and pulled the trigger. Lance Corporal Drummond was knocked forward and collapsed. Evans yelled out, “Drummond’s been hit!” He then ran back to where he had put the Lieutenant. She was not there. Evans looked around the battlefield.

The Lieutenant was near the front, directing the fire of a few riflemen. A grenade landed near the group. One of the privates dived down it and closed his eyes. Nothing happened. He stood up, tossed the grenade away, and smiled. Evans ran forward and waved for the private to get down. The private was knocked over. Evans dove and crawled to the Private.

The Private stared at him and yelled, “I think I’m lucky today!”

Evans looked at the soldiers helmet, it was slightly too large, and a bullet had passed through the extra space.

Slowly the fire petered out. Evans ran forward to the Lieutenant, “Are you alright Ma’am?”

“I am fine Evans,” She looked over towards Third Platoon, “Anything happen?”

Evans nodded, “I saw a Lance Corporal get hit.”

She smiled, “Damn. Now, quickly check for casualties and then send a runner back to report our losses.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Evans ran from Sergeant to Sergeant, getting each count. Light casualties. Good. He then tracked down Boswell, “Private!” He wrote the casualty numbers on a piece of paper and handed them to her, “Run this back to the Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Yes Lance Corporal,” Boswell grabbed the note and ran.

Tiscornia walked up to Evans, “You’re growing up so fast. When I first met you, you were a little kid. Now, you’re a Lance, with people who do errands for him, and you’re married and expecting a child.” Tiscornia extended his arms to hug him.

Evans cocked his eyebrows and laughed, “That was… like… four months ago.”

“Me and Mom are so proud of you.”

“Wait, is Giuliano Mom?” Evans looked at the Company, starting to get together.

Tiscornia shook his head, “Ew, no, Chilly is the Mom. Why would Giuliano be the Mom?”

“Because you two are inseparable, and obviously dating.”

“Shh… I she doesn’t know I’m into her,” Tiscornia jokingly looked back and forth.

“Right. So you were just platonically kissing her while on watch the other day.”

Nodding, Tiscornia responded, “I was um… helping her… She had something stuck in her teeth, so I was finding it… with my tongue. Because I’m helpful. That sounds like a real thing. I’ll go with that.”

“Great. That definitely sounds real.”

Grabbing Evans’ shoulders, Tiscornia shouted at him, “Wait! I remember why I’m talking to you!” Tiscornia took a step back, “Chilly wants you to tell Lieutenant Kestel that our team is running low on ammunition. About twenty rounds per person.”

“Right,” Evans nodded, waved goodbye, and ran back to the Lieutenant. She was talking with the Sergeant Major, so he stood at parade rest and stared at her.

Eventually, the Sergeant Major left, and Evans approached the Lieutenant, “Ma’am, Sergeant Chilcott’s team is running low on ammunition.”

She nodded, “I’ve been getting news from the other Sergeant’s to that effect. I need you to run back to the Lieutenant Colonel and request more ammunition.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Evans turned about and sprinted back towards Battalion headquarters. He tried to remember which streets Battalion Headquarters was on today. A horseman rode by, Evans flagged him down.

The man, a Corporal, rode over and pulled up next to Evans, “What do ya need Lance?”

“I’m looking for the 2nd Battalion Headquarters of the 202nd.”

“No shit!” The man dismounted, “Are you with Fox?”

“Yes Corp.”

“Right, I was sent in advance of your runner Boswell. You need to advance fast, Intel reports that a Vledscan unit is advancing to the courtyard you are pushing to.”

“We need Ammunition.”

The Corporal shook his head, “You’ll get resupplied once you take the Courtyard.” He handed Evans a bag, “Green Flare when you take it. Red Flare if you fail.”

Evans looked in the bag. Two green and two red. He ran back to the Lieutenant, “Ma’am! No ammo until we take the courtyard.”

“Well, I guess we will have to take it fast then,” She drew her sword and pointed towards the courtyard, “Tell the Sergeant’s to pool their ammunition, and get ready to push forward.”

“Yes Ma’am.”