The War

*War. What is it good for? Well that depends on who you ask. Sometimes you'll hear "absolutely nothing," and other times you will hear that it's necessary and that there's no way of avoiding an impending battle. In the case of EFW SummerSmash, a battle must be fought, a callosal encounter will become reality as three teams of three duke it out in the battle for ultimate EFW Supremacy. Now we look in at a war, a bloody battle in black and white like it's from years and years ago. In a medical tent we see Dusty J in full on Army outfit, along with TJ RocKeR and Duzer. Lying there on the table is one of their allies in the deadly fight who shall remain nameless until his family is notified of his worsening condition. The three men are wearing the same Army outfit as Dusty J with a "DHW" patch on the top of their right shoulders. The sick soldier is now weakening, he has holes in his uniform, rips and tears and scars all over his exposed body from the torture that the other side put him through, and his face is wearing the crimson mask, the blood of himself and many other men. The medical staff rushes over to the soldier and quickly cleans him off before preparing stiches for his cut open face, and also supplies to help these terrible bruises and scrapes heal sooner. His left leg appears to be broken, as it just sort of dangles lifelessly off of the table. Dusty leans over to look at his fallen comrad and holds back tears of anger and sadness for his fellow soldier. He fluffs the pillow that his buddy is resting his head on and yells to the nurses for more attention, for he is far too hurt for only one nurse to focus on. He looks at his buddy and nods his head reassuringly.*

You're going to be ok man, you're going to be ok. Don't worry about the fight going on, just worry about getting better.

*Fellow soldiers Duzer and TJ RocKeR look at Dusty and the ailing solider. Duzer makes his way over to them and begins yelling at the top of his lungs in sheer agony.*

We will find who did this to you. Mark my words, we will find who did this to you. And mark my words when we do i'm going to take that son of a bitch and ring his filthy neck, and then he will be feeling the pain you're going through! Trust me, he will not live to see the end of this god forsaken war, I will get redemption for you.

Calm down sergeant, we will not exceed our mandate here. We will care after our fallen compadre and then receive our orders. You will fall in line just like the rest of us and do what is asked of us.

I will do what I damn well please, i'm not going to take orders from anybody, i'm going to get my redemption!

You will do as you are told Duzer, you're not any higher than the rest of us, and you will not defy authority.

Authority never has, nor ever will mean anything to me Jeffords. Don't tell me what to do!

You will do as you are told!

And what the hell are you going to do if I don't? You going to hit me? Go ahead big boy, because I know I can take you.

I am not going to hit my fellow soldier, nor should you be egging one on. Do not instigate Duzer.

You can't stop me punk! I'll do what I want to do when I want to do it.

*Before Dusty (Jeffords) can retort to his disobedient soldier, Duzer shoves him backward, and Dusty trips over a power cable and comes crashing down onto his back. Duzer turns and runs out of the medical tent like a scalded dog, bloodthirsty and vengeful, he can't see for the common good of the force, he can only see for himself and his own selfish accolades. Dusty is helped up by TJ and then brushes himself off. He makes his way to the opening of the tent to see that Duzer is long gone. He turns around and looks back at TJ with a concerned look on his face.*

Well, he's gone.

He's never going to make it out of that warzone if he doesn't stay with the troop.

I don't see him staying with them, only straying away from all of his allies with a lock on the enemy, going at it alone. He won't survive.

Should we go after him?

No, the code says never to leave a fallen comrad, so we're staying here. Duzer left the fallen comrad, therefore he deserves no search party. Besides, he's not going to last long enough.

You don't think he'll make it back?

Make it back? He doesn't even know where he's going, he just rushed off with no gameplan, nothing. He is wreckless, driven only by anger, and he'll end up destroying himself.

Right. So now what are we going to do?

We're going to do what we're told, come on, lets check in with the nurses, see if we're needed.

*TJ follows Dusty over to a group of nurses who are on their break, despite the number of wounded soldiers nearly doubles that of the staff. The head nurse is smoking a cigarette and lounging in a chair, seemingly disconcerned with the wounded patients under her care. Dusty looks the nurse up and down, obviously worried about the competence of this staff.*

Excuse me ma'am, but could we be of any assistance to you? If not, i'm afraid we must report back to base.

*The nurse looks at the two soldiers and takes a drag, blowing out the obnoxious smelling smoke ever so meticulously. She puts the cigarette out in an ashtray and stands.*

Afraid not boys, our break is just about finished, and we'll be getting back to caring for your friend and all the other patients, you can go back whenever you wish.

*Jeffords (Dusty) looks back at RocKeR and nods slowly, as if saying that it's ok to head back to base. The two soldiers head back over to their fallen comrad and wish him well before exiting the medical tent. They walk across a couple of feet and back into the main tent where the rest of their group is located, preparing for an important mission. Jeffords walks over to the man in charge, Haynes, and gives a debriefing.*

He's being treated, no further update. Sir.

Where is Duzer?

He...uh... ran off sir. He defied my orders and took off to find the men who injured the sergeant. Completely overcome by anger and agression, I suggest that we don't send a search party after him, for all we know he ran right into the midst of the battle.

Very well then. I shall grant that request, and we shall commense preparation for our own mission. We'll be departing at 2100, which gives the two of you about 25 minutes to prepare. We're going to attempt to infiltrate the enemy 8 Ball Base and smuggle out some supplies. I'm assuming you'll be ready?

Sir. Yes sir.

Dismissed.

*Jeffords walks back over to RocKeR who is waiting by their quarters, gathering food rations. RocKeR looks up at him and haults what he is doing.*

We're departing at 2100, so work quickly. We're going to need to conserve some energy.

Will do. Say Jeffords, when we first enlisted, did you ever imagine that the two of us would be doing this thing together after all these years? I mean it's not too common that we enlist, go to basic together, then you had orders to go elsewhere while I stayed behind, then I got those orders to join you, and bam, we're here at war.

I must admit, I never did expect it. But i'm glad it happened. I just wish our old companion Duzer could have seen it like that. Us, as a team. But now we must make certain that the dictators don't take over this godforsaken place, I will not let 8 Ball rule until they bury me.

Out of all the guys i've met in the service Jeffords, i'm most glad to be here with you.

The feeling is mutual. Let's get ready.

*RocKeR and Jeffords work furiously to get prepared as quickly as possible, and when 1900 hits, they had already been done for about 12 minutes, so they had some time to regroup, drink some water, play a hand of 5 card stud, and be on their way. They depart their tent and into the forest, manueving carefully throughout miles and miles of rugged terrain, it's very dark now, which makes it exceedingly difficult to see, but with teamwork and a couple of flashlights they are able to make their way to the foot of the enemy base. RocKeR looks through the bushes covering the squad and notices that the front is left seemingly unguarded. Jeffords looks at Haynes, and Haynes gives the order for everyone to scurry to the back, while RocKeR and Jeffords dress up in the opposition's uniforms that were stolen from a couple of their soldiers during a previous mission run by Commander Gress. The two change into the uniforms of the 8 Ball dictatorship and put on the hats bearing the 8 Ball insignia. They make their way out of the bushes, both with guns in hand, and march over to the main entrance of the base. They walk up a couple of steps and take a deep breath each before knocking on the door. The door doesn't open, but a small intercom pops out from the side wall and a voice begins talking. The person speaking identifies himself as Liutenant Andretti. RocKeR and Jeffords give false identifcation codes and make their way into the base. The two soldiers walk carefully, trying to keep a low profile, before sneaking off into the supply room. They spot what they had been looking for, grenades, and bombs. Jeffords walks back into the corridor to keep up a false sense of security around them as RocKeR quickly bags the explosives. When RocKeR finishes, he walks back out to Jeffords and they both head for the front exit, but they hear a scream coming from the detention cells, screams that sound very familiar... they rush over to the detention cells to spot it conveniently void of any 8 Ball troops. As they browse the cages holding captured folk, they spot Colonel Gregory Dixson, their longtime friend. Dixson had not been seen in days and left for dead, for he was thought to be the only casualty of Gress's mission. They grab a set of keys from the desk and open up the cage. Dixson sees his friends and stumbles out of the cage, obviously weak from the violent interrogations that 8 Ball conducts.*

Are you ok liutenant?

I am now. Please, release the rest of our troops and we can get the hell out of here.

Roger that.

*Jeffords and RocKeR make quick work of releasing about 10 soldiers of theirs who had been captured. But three captives still remain who are not from the DHW army. Corporal Craze, a rescued DHW soldier, identified them as part of the EFW community, the land that had been under attack by 8 Ball, but who were not particularly friendly of the DHW soldiers coming into their country to volunteer their services. The three men are identified as Dev, Carroll, and Pearlman, all locals. Jeffords releases them and takes charge of the group, then locks the detention area door before pulling out his radio.*

General Haynes, i've rescued 10 soldiers from the detention area, including Colonel Dixson, we've also rescued three locals, and they're going to come with us. Anything you want changed?

Go ahead as planned. Do you remember everything?

Yes sir, we'll see you out there.

*Jeffords looks around and finds many pairs of handcuffs, he and RocKeR handcuff all the rescued men. RocKeR pulls out a couple of detonators our of the bag and plants them. The tropp then opens the detention area door before walking out into the main corridor. The 8 Ball soldiers think nothing of it, except Supreme Chancellor Hunt and his assistant Cady, who stop to chat and get clearance. Jeffords leads the troops out the back way to rendezvous with the rest of their party. RocKeR passes out the grenades to the troops, and on Haynes' order, they all launch them at the base of the 8 Ball dictatorship. Blasts and explosions come from the building as the detonators that were placed begin exploding. Other troops open gunfire on the now defenseless base. The darkness slows the reaction time of the 8 Ball troops, and as more explosives bombard their once prestigious base, it bursts into bright orange flames, looking like fireworks in the dark night's sky. The silhouettes of Supreme Chancellor Hunt, his assistant Cady, and the man known as Andretti are seen escaping the wreckage. The troops heads back hours later after all the damage is done. They gather back at their base to receive a debriefing from Haynes.*

Men, well done. But let it be known that there still is a lot of work to do in this war. We may have won this battle, but the most powerful influences in 8 Ball still operate today. We have not won anything yet. Stay focused and locked on your missions we did good today guys. I can only hope that it continues to go this well. Unfortunately, Duzer is still Awol, and we do not have the slightest idea of where to look, if we choose to do so at all. That is all. Dismissed.

*Jeffords and RocKeR shake hands with Haynes after the debriefing before heading back to the medical tent where their friend was being held. As they walk in they notice he is no longer where he was when they left earlier. The head nurse approaches them with a somber expression on her face.*

There were...some complications. His blood was infected. I'm afraid he didn't make it.

*Jeffords and RocKeR exchange sad glances. RocKeR puts his hand in the way of his face so that nobody can see the ocean of sorrow streaming from him. Jeffords tries to maintain his cool and talk to the nurse, but his voice is cracking just trying to do that.*

Thank....you.....f-f-f-for trying......miss.

*An assistant nurse comes by and hands something to the head nurse that resignates with Jeffords. The head nurse looks at it and nods, then hands it to Jeffords. It appears to be a namepatch. Not just any namepatch, but the name of the man who had fought so hard to make this army successful. RocKeR looks over Jefford's shoulder and begins to lightly weep. Jeffords begins walking back to main base with RocKeR at his side.*

It's so hard to believe that he didn't make it. I mean...it's just not right.

I know, but as they say, all is fair in love and war, but now it really hits home about this. When we come across those 8 Ballers again, I assure you we won't stand for this. We are going to make sure each and every one of them knows what it's like to suffer much like our fallen friend did. This War will not end until we come out victorious, but in due time, we will, step by step we'll take to the top of the tower of success, and we will win this war.

This is for him.

This is for the man.

*As the two continue walking, they look down at the name tag again, bearing the name of their long time friend, comrad, and fellow solider, Jeremy Nolin.*

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