Harry barely heard a low murmur of conversation coming from the back of the bunker. No words were discernible, only voices. The sound relieved him. Whatever Chip was grappling with was better hashed out between him and Lee rather than soothed by Harry's anecdotes or awkward platitudes. No part of Harry's explanations and examples would have been news to Chip. Chip knew as well as Harry did that battlefields weren't divided between heroes and cowards. Battles were most often waged by men simply forced by circumstance to fight for their own lives and those of their fellow combatants.

There were exceptions; the true cowards and the truly courageous. And, if ever two men were brave by instinct and nature, it was the two talking now behind the curtain. Nelson would never doubt Chip in battle and had never before known him to doubt himself. But, never before had he faced an order to be still, forbidden to act. To possibly watch a brother die then be forced to scavenge his remains from a sea of carnage. Harry imagined it was the inaction, and the consequences of not acting, that most disturbed him. To only stand by and watch contradicted Chip's nature. To stand by and watch Lee die… No doubt that preyed on Chip's mind most, just as it did Harry's. To be duty bound to be still and watch Lee die, die by a device fashioned by Harry's own hand.

Much as he'd tried to quell it, that fact had hovered relentlessly on the edge of Harry's consciousness as he assembled the explosive charges. Knowing, as he handed each finished piece over to Chip, it could be the one that ended Lee's life. It was a fact that didn't matter, that couldn't interfere. Harry was a commander and, at war, wouldn't hesitate to use any honorable means to win, order any sacrifice he deemed necessary. The demands of duty would force Lee down that hill and force Harry to stay still at it's foot. As a commander, Harry knew victory was the objective and resultant consequences were irrelevant. Harry, though, wasn't in command here. He was a man facing battle for a country not his own. This time, contrary to all other times he'd fought, victory was secondary in his concerns and losing the battle was not his greatest fear. Harry lit a cigarette and looked towards the curtain that hid his men from view.

Chip sighed and fell back onto the cot.

"I don't know why I ran my mouth to the admiral like I did," Chip said. "I think he thinks I've lost my nerve. I think I got away just in time." Chip cringed as he spoke the next sentence. "I think he was about to console me."

"No wonder. Under the circumstances, it's normal for anybody to be nervous or -"

Chip cut Lee off in mid sentence.

"You're not trying to console me, are you?"

"Outside the vomit thing, no."

"Good. Because, outside the vomit thing, I'm fine."

"I know."

NOTE: I know this isn't much, but it's the best I can do for now. I'm posting it just to reiterate that I have NOT abandoned the stories and will finish them as soon as I can.