Becky's Marine Ch. 03

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me. The opening events actually happened to me in twenty-nine palms during training. I was the ammo runner who plowed into an infantry Sergeant.

Rate, comment and enjoy. More is coming!

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Chapter 3

"Sergeant Anderson, we have guests."

I looked over and saw one of my best Marines, Lance Corporal Ronny Tyler, leading several Marines to our gun.

"How's it going? Sergeant Andrew Anderson," I said shaking hands with the group. "You guys the grunts they sent to watch us?"

"Yes Sergeant. We were told we could come watch, so we decided to see how the other side lives," a short, stocky Corporal said.

The infantrymen greeted us warmly, joining us in sharing past experiences and just generally bullshitting. I took a moment to brief them on what to do when we get a fire mission.

"When we get moving, stand either at the back of the truck, or off to the sides. Most importantly, stand out if the way. When we get rolling, we won't stop to dodge you, but will plow through you, got it?"

"Got it," they replied together.

Not five minutes later, we got the call. "Fire mission!" Came the voice on the radio.

"Fire mission!" Everyone yelled, getting to their assigned spots.

Fire direction control gave us our mission, now it was on us to get ready. The mission had the special instruction, 'at my command', meaning we had to call back ready and they would tell us when to shoot.

"Get that round up here!" I called, seeing a young PFC carrying the 100 pound shell.

"HE,PD!" He said, referencing the High Explosive shell and Point Detonating fuze screwed into the top. I gave the fuze a hard twist to verify it was in place correctly.

"HE,PD verified!" Called our recorder, who verifies what we give him against FDC's request.

"Load it," I said, seeing the powder man coming my way with the powder charge.

The round was placed on the loading tray and dropped to the opening of the breach with a hydraulic lever. A second Marine came up with the ramming staff and together, they pushed the shell into the barrel with a grunt and a dull thud.

"Charge 8 stick!" The young Marine said, showing me the cardboard tube containing the propellant.

I heard a smack of kevlar on kevlar and a thud as someone fell. Turning to look, I saw the infantry Corporal laying on his ass as the Private with the ramming staff began laughing.

"What the fuck! Come here Private!" The Corporal said, more than a little pissed.

"Belay that! James, carry on," I said, defusing the situation. The Corporal looked at me as I turned back to the matter at hand.

"8 stick verified!"

"Load it," I said, seeing him place it in the breach with the red end out. One end has a small red pouch of powder on it, to be lit off by the primer, much like how a bullet works.

The powder man held up his hands, indicating he was clear of the breach. "I see red, clear!" He called.

"Clear!" Said the assistant gunner, closing the breach with another hydraulic lever. He flipped the priming handle down and jumped off the trail he was standing on. "Primed!"

I verified the deflection and quadrant, which is the same as angle and altitude, then checked to make sure the other three rounds we had to fire were fuzed and ready.

"Tell 'em gun 2 is ready," I said, proud of how quickly we got set up. Even with Corporal asshat getting steamrolled, we were ready in 25 seconds. I headed over to talk to him.

"What the fuck Sergeant, you just gonna let him run me down like that?" He asked, trying his best to keep calm.

"Yes, I told you to stay out of the way. Since you didn't listen, he did what he was supposed to," I told him, a small amount of anger flaring inside.

"I just.."

"No, you didn't listen, so you got put on your ass. Go stand over by the ammo truck, that's where you can watch safely."

"Aye aye Sergeant," he said, going to where I told him.

"Battery, stand by!" Came the radio.

"Standby!" I shouted, seeing the gunner grab the lanyard and prepare to pull.

"Fire!"

It came from the radio, then a second later I shouted it. The gunner twisted his hips, pulling the cord attached to the firing mechanism. The cannon roared and shook dust up as the shell left the barrel. The force caused by the charge 8 stick propellant dug the trails in deeper and pushed the 10,000 pound gun back about six inches.

--

I sat up in bed, groaning and stretching. This was one of the more pleasant military dreams I've had lately, as it didn't involve combat or me dying. I looked at the clock and saw it was 5 AM.

'Fuck it, might as well go for a run' I thought, swinging my legs over the bed and getting ready. I put on my running shorts, a shirt and my sneakers before grabbing my iPod and heading out the door.

---

Two weeks later, Becky got a job working as a receptionist for the local dentist. She was very excited, mostly because she wanted to be a dental hygienist and, even though she hadn't taken classes yet, she figured it would be a good way to learn some stuff by observing first hand.

I decided to congratulate her, sending her a text to see what she was doing. It was still early, 11:43 AM by the clock on the wall.

To Becky:

Hey beautiful

From Becky:

What's up troublemaker

To Becky:

What are you doing tonight?

From Becky:

Nothing but the usual. What's up?

To Becky:

I heard a celebration is in order. Dinner tonight?

From Becky:

Sure. Where we going?

To Becky:

Nowhere fancy. I figured I'd cook up something for us

From Becky:

OK, what time you want me to come over?

To Becky:

I'll pick you up around 5:30. We can make a night of it

From Becky:

What about the food?

To Becky:

I have a plan. Why do you always doubt me?

From Becky:

Because.. You.

To Becky:

Ouch. I'll see you around 5:30

From Becky:

OK. See you then.

I went to the store and grabbed some steaks, potatoes and veggies. On the way home I stopped by the liquor store and got some alcohol; whiskey, wine and beer. I went home and did all the prep work, finishing with several hours to spare before I had to pick her up.

I loaded everything in a cooler, grabbed the old Coleman camping stove my dad had passed down to me as well as some other stuff, then went to set everything up. I wanted it perfect for her.

After a quick shower I headed to her house, knocking on her door at 5:33. I could hear her bounding down the stairs to see me. She opened the door and made my heart skip a beat. She was wearing a faded flannel shirt, denim shorts and a pair of work boots. Not exactly the dress of a princess, but I was captivated. The way it complimented her figure had me hooked.

"You're late," she said, crossing her arms on her chest.

"Fashionably so, how are you my dear?"

She lept into my arms, almost knocking us back down the couple of steps that led to her porch. "Great now that you're here."

"Glad to be of service," I said, straining against the sudden weight. She wasn't all that heavy, but she caught me off guard.

"So what's this plan of yours?" She asked as I let her down.

"Grab a blanket and I'll show you," I said.

She went and grabbed an old blanket before we headed to my truck. She spied the cooler and alcohol, giving me a smile. I opened the door for her, closed it behind her and hopped in on my side. We drove a while and bantered until we came to a good size hill, where I stopped.

"This is your plan? Camping?" She asked, sounding a bit upset.

"Up there is the best view I can possibly give you," I said.

"Let's go then," she said. I dropped us into 4x4 and we trudged up the hill. I parked under an old pine tree, letting her soak up the view.

It was a clear evening, the moon was full and visible in the fading sky, just rising over the mountains in the distance. The sun had yet to set behind us, painting a sky several shades of red, orange and purple.

In the small meadow on top of the hill was a small table with a set of chairs. Candles and a blue tablecloth set the mood along with the nice china my mother had given to me. I had the stove set up on a stump as well as a small table next to it for holding plates of food. A small fire pit had been dug to cook the potatoes in and I set a grill on top to cook the steaks.

"Oh my god, this is amazing," she whispered, taking in everything. "You set all this up for me?"

"What can I say, I like ya," I said, pulling her close and kissing her. "Come on, lets get dinner going."

We hopped out of the truck and grabbed the cooler, napkins and alcohol out of the back. I also grabbed a box with paper plates, pans and other cooking utensils, setting it down by the stove and starting the fire.

"It's so beautiful up here," she said, sitting in a chair, "how did you find this place?"

"Google earth."

She laughed at me until she realized I was serious, then she laughed harder. I got the fire going and lit the stove, setting a frying pan on it. I turned and looked at her as she watched me work.

"You want something to drink?" I asked.

"Wine sounds great right now, and you got my favorite kind. How did you know?"

"I asked around. For a small fee, Kenny told me what you always order at Smokey's,"

"Nice. I underestimated you, well played sir," she said smiling.

I grabbed the corkscrew and opened the bottle, pouring each of us a glass. We took a enjoyed a glass as the grill and pan heated up. She poured us another as I began to cook, the sun disappearing below the horizon behind us.

"So what's on the menu tonight?" She asked, coming up behind me as I sautéed some peppers and onions in the pan. The steaks were on and the potatoes were ready to go in the coals, wrapped in foil. I also had green beans fresh from the farmers market cooking.

"Filet Mignon dressed with peppers and onions, potatoes with the works, and some green beans."

"Mmm, sounds amazing. Smells amazing too," she said, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Only the best for you."

She kissed me on the cheek and let me finish cooking. We talked about her new job and about how work was going for me. A short time later we were eating, candles illuminated the table perfectly, as the sun had finally gone down and the moonlight only added to the intended effect.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was so beautiful with the moonlight shining on her hair and the candles lighting up her striking blue eyes. She must have thought I looked good too because she couldn't stop watching me.

One dinner for two and a bottle of wine later, we had the site cleaned up and everything but the chairs and table packed. We sat by the moonlight and enjoyed our last bottle of wine. She eventually moved closer to me, taking my hand and kissing me on the cheek.

"Thank you for this. This has been the best night of my life," she said, resting her head on my shoulder.

"You're welcome. You mean a lot to me Becky, I just felt I had to show it." I stroked her soft hair, lightly brushing it away from her face.

"Nobody has ever done something like this for me," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Well, no offense, but I don't think many people saw you as anything but a piece of ass," I said. The look she gave me told me I was right.

"I know, what do you see me as?"

"The most perfect creature to grace this planet."

She smiled at me, a genuine smile of happiness. Then, she smacked my leg.

"Kiss ass," she said with a grin.

"I meant every word."

She laid on my chest for a while, drinking a few more glasses of wine before grabbing the blanket and covering us.

We finally left around 2 AM. She cuddled up next to me on the drive home, softly singing songs played by a local country station. I walked her to her door, got a goodnight kiss and headed home to rest. Sleep was peaceful that night, my dreams being about Becky.

----

It had been almost 2 months since my second date with Becky, which turned out to be probably the most incredible night of my life. I sat in the smoke shack at work, enjoying a break from the hustle and bustle of a Wednesday day shift when my phone rang. I checked the called ID and saw it was Becky.

"Hello."

"Hey trouble."

"What's up?"

"Nothing, just helping out on a friends farm and thought I'd take a break and call you. How's work going?"

"It's going, been a bit busy today but nothing I can't handle. What are you doing tonight?"

"Smokey's probably. Will you be there?"

"For a bit, but I can't stay too long because I work tomorrow."

"When are you off again?"

"I finish up Thursday evening, then I go back on Monday night for some overtime."

"Sounds wonderful."

"Is that sarcasm I'm hearing?"

"Maybe. We should go on another date."

"Sounds like fun, what did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. What do you wanna do?"

"Well, the Marine Corps Birthday Ball is coming up. Would you like to accompany me?"

"Maybe, when is it?"

"Well, the Marine Corps birthday is November 10th, but the ball isn't until the 12th."

"Sounds fun actually. Will I get to meet guys you were deployed with?"

"Probably, depends on who shows up."

"OK, its a date!"

"Great, I'll get all the details for you and keep you updated on any changes. I gotta go now, back to slaving away for the man."

"Alright, talk to ya later Devil Dog," She said with a laugh and hung up before I could respond. I hated being devil dogged. It was a name given to us by the Germans after the battle of Belleau Wood and is commonly used as a motivator for Marines. More often than not it's heard right before one got in trouble, such as 'hey Devil Dog, come here!'

I emailed her all the information for the ball and within a few days she had a dress all picked out. I had to get my dress blues dry cleaned and ready, which took the better part of two days. The ball was to be held at a casino outside of Temecula, CA which meant we had to take a trip. I had some money stashed aside for just such an event so on November 10th, we boarded a plane to LAX.

Upon arriving in LA, I rented us a car and we drove to our hotel in Temecula which is about an hour or so from LAX, just down I-15. We had a nice dinner that night and the following day went to Knots Berry Farm to ride some roller coasters. I had been there plenty of times before in the seven years I was stationed at Pendleton, but I wanted to make sure she had a great time.

The following day we had breakfast at a local spot and by 4:30 we were both getting ready for the ball. She had on a short red dress and a pair of black boots, while I was in my dress blues. I had just finished getting everything on but my jacket when she walked out of the bathroom, her boots clicking on the tile floor caught my attention and I looked up.

"You look ravishing," I said kissing her hand.

"You're not looking too bad yourself," she said looking me up and down.

"I don't even have the jacket on and you want to rip these clothes off? Wait till later and maybe, if your a good girl, I'll treat you to something special," I said with a wink. She gave me a playful slap in the arm and grabbed my jacket of the hanger.

She held it for me while I put it on and buttoned up the buttons, then helped me with the clasp on the collar. I turned to look in the mirror and she stood behind me with her arms around my waist.

"You look so handsome," she said smiling and kissing my cheek.

"We make a pretty good pair don't we?"

"Yes we do. What are all those medals you have?" I turned so she could see them. Most were things which took little or no effort to get, like the national defense and sea service deployment medals. As she studied them she came across two which stuck out.

"What are these two?" She asked pointing to the two medals.

"This one here is the Bronze Star with combat 'V' and take a guess what that one is."

"That's a Purple Heart."

"Very good."

"Will you tell me how you got those?"

"That, my dear is a story for another time. We need to get going."

She gave me a pouty face look and grabbed her coat. I grabbed my hat and we were out the door. 20 minutes later we arrived at the casino, following the signs for the event and found ourselves in a large ballroom with a wooden dance floor in the middle and large round tables and chairs around the outside. Against the left-hand wall was a full bar and several tables of food. The rest of the room was decorated with potted plants and several pictures of landscapes and far off locations.

We were looking around, trying to decide where to sit when I heard a familiar voice.

"Holy shit on a shingle Batman! Is that Drew?"

Two Marines were walking towards us, one had the insignia of a Corporal and the other bore the single chevron of a Private First Class. The Corporal was about 5'11 with close cropped brown hair and a rather boyish face, while the PFC was only about 5'7 with short blonde hair and scar on his cheek which ran from about the corner of his lip to his ear.

"Why if it isn't little Lance Corporal Tyler, all growed up," I said turning to face the pair of Marines.

"That's Corporal Tyler now," he said as he turned to show off his stripes. "How long has it been?"

"Three years at least, well met brother," I said, giving him a hug. "My god, where are my manners? Becky this is Ronny Tyler, Tyler this is my date Becky."

"Pleased to meet you," she said.

"The pleasure, is truly mine," he said with a grin.

"Ok, quit hitting on my date. I know how you are."

"I have no idea what your talking about," he said with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Oh yes you do. You'll fuck anything that moves."

"Not anything, just most things."

We laughed as if we had spent no time apart. I looked to the young Marine standing with Tyler. He hadn't said a word and judging by his lack of ribbons had just gotten out of boot camp.

"Hey man, I'm Andrew Anderson, but most everyone here calls me Drew, and this is my date, Becky." I said presenting my hand.

"PFC Danny Ryan, good to meet you Sergeant." He shook our hands nervously.

"Wow, I haven't been called that in a long time. You don't have to address me by rank, I've been out for three years now."

"Got it. Nice to meet you both."

"Where were you planning on sitting Drew?" Tyler asked.

"Wherever's clever man. Close to the bar preferably."

We found a table along the wall near the bar and ordered a round of drinks. Unfortunately for Ryan, he was too young to drink, so he got a Coke. We chatted and had some food before the ceremony started, retelling old war stories and stories of drunken revelry, much to the embarrassment of several people. The ceremony began with words from the commanding officer.

"Welcome Marines and honored guests, to the Bravo Battery Marine Corps birthday ball. We are glad you could join us on this, our 240th birthday."

He received a short applause before continuing. He gave a short speech as well as gave the traditional reading of the commandant's remarks and Marine Corps order 47. When he finished a pair of caterers wheeled out a large, 5 tier cake which was cut by the oldest and youngest Marines present.

When the ceremony was over, music began playing and people began dancing. After several songs, the DJ requested all couples to the dance floor.

"Let's go," Becky said as she pulled me out of my chair, getting laughs from some of the guys.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said as she lead us to the dance floor.

The music came on and we began to dance, quickly becoming lost in each other.

"Are you having fun?" I asked as we danced.

"I'm having a great time. It's funny to see you with all your old friends."

"I'm glad your having fun."

"They're all watching us," She nodded her head towards our table.

"Well let's give them something to gawk at," I lifted her up off the ground and kissed her. We kissed for I don't know how long but I remember her lifting her legs up to her ass and us twirling around.