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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2324763" data-attributes="member: 26473">Marcel heads up the hill, remembering the bloody Sgt. Neumann. He finds the German sergent resting against a rock, surrounded by spent cartridges, as he drinks sips of water from his canteen – he looks wan but alert. Gonzalez lies on his back among the rocks, his rifle across his chest. His dark eyes are glassy as he watches Marcel, a profound weariness in his gaze.“Ich lebte,” Neumann says heavily, shading the sun from his eyes with a blood-stained hand. “Through the shoulder. A clean wound.”The sergent is right – the bullet that caught the German’s shoulder left two neat holes, one just above the clavicle, the other over the scapula, through and through. Apparently the round missed major vessels, as neither hole is bleeding badly now – a ‘million franc wound’. Not sure who else may be more badly wounded, Marcel promises to check back after finishing his rounds.____Normand picks up the rifle released by the fellagha he dropped, a Mauser with a Spanish stamp on the barrel, and turns up a spare magazine. He follows Lavareaux as they check the insurgents. The scene is bloody: the grenades did their butcher’s work well, as did Pyotr’s headshot of the hiding fellagha. After recovering his own rifle, Normand follows Lavareaux as they make their way over to where Duval and Vidal rest – Duval is speaking on the radio as they approach, wreathed in the slowly dissipating red smoke from the grenade he tossed. He points at Lavareaux, then at Normand, then points to the gully just west of where the jumpmaster kneels. The caporal-chef nods and says to Normand, “Defensive position, over there.” The two legionnaires settle in to cover the flank.____Marcel sees Pyotr working his way carefully across the desert, rifle held ready, as the medic returns to Duval. Normand and Lavareaux have taken up position in the gully, not far from two dead fells, and Marcel checks on the two men. Both are clearly in rough shape, but both are conscious and alert. “What about Dinter and Martinez?” the Picard asks.____Pyotr advances across the desert, his eyes shifting back and forth to pick up any hint of movement. Scattered here and there along the gully are bodies of fellaghas struck by the legionnaires’ fire. One wounded fell, clutching at his thigh with bloody hands as he lies on the floor of the dry streambed, watches Pyotr warily – he makes no move as the Russian approaches, keeping both hands tight over the wound, blood oozing between his fingers. Moving on cautiously, Pyotr reaches the position strafed by the Mistral’s cannons – not since the war has he witnessed a scene of such destruction, bodies torn to pieces by the 20mm shells. The MG-34 is upended, its bipod sticking into the air – the gunner’s headless corpse lies nearby.____Vidal listens as Duval speaks on the radio to the pilot in the L-18 overhead. “Copy, Juliet 4, fellaghas moving north along the oued. Break. Trident 1, Hourglass 1?”“Hourglass 1, Trident 1.” The voice of capitaine Villiers can be heard over the receiver. “What is your status, Jean-Marie?”“The fells have disengaged and are retreating north along the oued. Juliet 4 has them under observation,” Duval replies. “Estimate approximately forty to fifty enemy KIA. Our casualties are one KIA, five wounded, and two MIA. We are scavenging ammo and medical supplies.”“Understood, Hourglass 1. We are working on getting support for you now. Hang on there. Trident 1 out.” The radio grows quiet.Duval offers the handset to Vidal. “Can you monitor this?” he asks.____Marcel passes the sergent-chef and the radioman as he makes his way north. Dinter and Martinez – last time he saw them was before the smoke grenades started going off, out on their own in the streambed to the north. Rifle in hand, the medic advances carefully. The streambed is littered with the bodies of nearly a dozen fells, some shredded by grenade splinters, others by submachine gun and rifle fire. As he looks around vigilantly, he spots two forms in the familiar camouflage of the paras sprawled to one side of the gully – neither is moving. Moving toward the men, he sees Martinez and Dinter lying in a heap on the rocky ground.</blockquote>

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