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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2987617" data-attributes="member: 26473">The company moves out and Third Platoon falls in at the rear, immediately behind the headquarters platoon – the legionnaires see the two Arabs, father and son, their wrists bound with parachute cord which is in turn looped around their necks then tied around the waist of a bulky legionnaire from Le Capitaine’s section. The two donkeys lay bleeding on the sand, their throats slashed by another legionnaire – a cloud of flies have already descended on the dying animals’ wounds.Lt. Ramadier talks quietly with Capt. Martini as the column advances. David Nedjar catches Lt. Ramadier’s attention and recounts Pyotr’s observation about the animal tracks on the streambed, and the vulture.Vidal jumps in when Nedjar is finished. “Sir, the Arabs were leading the donkeys, so they covered their own tracks. It’s an old trick, mon lieutenant.”“Légionnaire,” Capt. Martini asks thoughtfully, “could you track those donkeys over rough ground? Across the ridges, if they traveled that way?”“Oui, mon capitaine” Vidal replies determinedly. The captain nods and thanks the radioman, then after a quiet word to Ramadier, the CO picks up his pace to overtake the paras marching ahead.The company continues along the oued for another hour when the word snakes down the column to halt. The wary legionnaires spread out and crouch down. A runner appears after a few minutes and instructs Lt. Ramadier and Kat’s section forward to the head of the column. “Fortier, you too,” the platoon leader instructs Marcel.At the head of the column Fourth Platoon has taken the point – Capt. Martini waits along with Sgt. Santos’ men as the hulking Sgt. Verdurand and Le Capitaine’s radioman, a legionnaire named Asturas, hover nearby. “Gaspard, over here,” the captain directs.The CO points to the ground. “The tracks leave the streambed here,” he says, gesturing at a low spot in the bank, “and continue up that ridge into some rocky ground. Can you follow them?”Vidal looks up at the rocks scattered along the ridgeline. If he has any doubts he doesn’t share them. “Oui, mon capitaine,” the radioman answers firmly.“Sergent,” Capt. Martini says, turning to Kat, “assemble your groupe for a patrol. The medic, too. Drop packs here - weapons and ammo, water, and a tarp or a djellba if they have them, understood?”Kat quickly relays the order to the legionnaires. Packs are dumped on the sand, to be retrived by paras from the rest of the platoon – Ortu pulls out his can of foot powder, shakes it, and sticks it back in his pack with an oath, while Burhan Pamuk retrives his thermos bottle and tucks it inside the front of his jump smock. Capt. Martini appears a short time later, with Asturas the radioman and Sgt. Verdurand in tow.“Do you want me to come with you, mon capitaine?” the first sergeant asks as they approach.“No, Bruno,” the captain replies. “Tell Lt. Degasser to keep the company moving toward the assembly area as planned, with First Platoon in the lead. We’ll let him know what we find.”Sgt. Verdurand nods without comment, and the captain turns his attention to the section. “We’re going to follow these donkey tracks as far as we can. If we lose them, we will continue cross-country to a point about two kilometers to the east of where we are now, to a point where we expect to find an ALN supply route. If we find signs of insurgents, we’ll sit on them and move the rest of the company up to begin a cordon-and-search. Any questions?”</blockquote>

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