Very interesting AAR you have here, robou, I'm really intrigued, I'll be awaiting the new update. And I agree with stylan, he could be very impressive with his AK, at least for a while.
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Capibara: Thank you very much 
Indeed, but what if the ammunition does run out? Luckily he hastn used any yet
Ok People! Exams are over and done with, therefore as promised, i have an update ready. Its only a short one, but sometimes, i hope, short is sweet. Enjoy, and expect more updates from now on!
here it comes....
Indeed, but what if the ammunition does run out? Luckily he hastn used any yet Ok People! Exams are over and done with, therefore as promised, i have an update ready. Its only a short one, but sometimes, i hope, short is sweet. Enjoy, and expect more updates from now on!
here it comes....
Chapter III: Tell me Everything!
No one had told Nikolai anything since he had been picked up. The young officer had simply carted him towards the centre of the camp. It was all slightly strange. Here he was, standing orderly in a queue outside a large tent, in the middle of a battle. It was not any old battle, but one that made no sense to him. Nikolai, though, accepted it; there was nothing else he could do.
His best guess at what the tent was that it was a form of headquarters, even the residence of the famous ‘General’, perhaps. He looked at what was around him. It was certainly a place of importance, defended by several elaborately dressed guards, obviously trying to deter any of those brutes from attacking it. The queue he was standing in had many other men dressed as the officer, possibly officers themselves, all going into the tent one by one. Soon enough it would be Nikolai and the officer’s turn.
Nikolai gave the officer a nudge, trying to get his attention. The officer jumped, he had not been expecting Nikolai to do anything. As far as he was concerned, Nikolai was just like one of those Brutes. “Yes?” questioned the young man hastily.
“Well, this may seem like a stupid question, but-” Nikolai paused, not quite knowing how phrase the next part of his request, “- what is going on here?” his voice cracking at the seeming dumbness of what he had just asked. The officer burst out laughing, not able to control his amusement. Nikolai had expected that reply, but he still found himself lowering his brows and frowning at the young man. “What?!” demanded Nikolai, “I demand to know what is going on!”
The officer finally took a gasp for air and controlled his laughter, though an amused smirk still held on his smile. “Well it’s a battle… isn’t it!” stated the officer, almost breaking into laughter again. Nikolai was angered at the man, he had no clue what was happening.
“Well thank you Captain Obvious!” shouted Nikolai, turning his head away from the officer. The man looked confused by the statement.
“No, no, my name isn’t ‘Obvious’, it is Koniev, and I am a Lieutenant, not a Captain.” Nikolai almost smacked him in the nose, had it not been for the guards all around. Instead, he continued with his question.
“I mean, why am I here? What is going on? What is the date?” Nikolai’s face fully reflected his mood. Koniev finally registered this and pulled himself together.
“Ah yes, of course. You are one of those time travellers!” his face lit up with his discovery. Everything that had been going through his head finally made sense. This man he had found was one of them!
Nikolai was taken aback. The words ripped his lungs of oxygen, and no words could leave his mouth. What was being suggested was… impossible! The Soviet administration had told him that such mystical things such as that did not exist. “I-” his breath slowly being regained “I am a… time traveller?”
“Well… yes” exclaimed the officer, still jubilant about discovering the mystery of Nikolai. It was too much for the Ukrainian to take. His head filled with blood with disbelief. Who was lying here, Koniev or the Soviet Government? Nikolai collapsed.
* * *
Nikolai’s eyes flickered open, just like they had done a few moments before, when he had originally woken up in this odd new world. Kneeling in front of him was Koniev, and they were in a tent, just as he had been previously. Nikolai’s mouth was dry, and as he licked his lips, a deep pain in the back of his throat caused him into a coughing fit. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, coughing fits never were, but it caused him to bend upwards, clenching his stomach muscles.
Koniev moved out of the way to prevent himself from being head-butted. “You have recovered from your shock” said the Russian with a smile. “Now drink some of this!” he stated, thrusting a tankard of beer into Nikolai’s mouth. As the unusually strong liquid careered its way down Nikolai’s throat, the coughing came to a gradual stop.
“I hear that our subject has recovered?” asked an unknown voice, though still Russian, pure and noble in accent.
“Indeed he has, sir” answered Koniev, turning to look round at a man sat in a chair covered in thick furs. “Are you ok to talk to the General?” he prompted Nikolai. So that was the ‘General’! Nikolai gave no vocal answer, his throat was still sore, but nodded in agreement. Koniev offered him a hand, and as he had done before, Nikolai accepted it and Koniev pulled him up.
Nikolai stumbled slightly as he got up; his head was still not great. “Perhaps not so recovered then, eh Koniev” said the General with a wide smile.
“Maybe the beer went to his head, sir” chuckled Koniev in reply. Nikolai didn’t care if he was being laughed at, he didn’t care about anything to much, apart from his sore throat.
“Please, soldier, have a seat” offered the General, pointing his hand towards an empty seat in front of the General’s desk. Nikolai accepted, and sat in the fur-coated seat, taking in its luscious warmth.
“So!” began the General, “what can we get out you?” asked the General rhetorically. Nikolai sat, his face screwed into a grimace. “How about your name?” Nikolai did not change his stance. “You do have one don’t you?” the General desperate to get some form of conversational interrogation out of the Ukrainian.
Nikolai began to open his mouth, but chose his words carefully, to prevent any nasty surprises such as the debacle outside the tent. “First, ‘General’, I want to request a few things of you, is that possible?”
“Well I don’t see why not, as long as it is within reason” conceded the General, shuffling in his chair a little.
“Ok, firstly, can you tell me what the date is?” asked Nikolai innocently. The General almost broke into laughter, just as Koniev had done, but some silent gesturing by Koniev informed the General of the fact that Nikolai was a time traveller.
“Well, yes I can. The date is March 14th” stated the General, matter-of-factly. Nikolai was still blank faced.
“No General, I would like the year please?” Nikolai asked again. The General frowned, but continued to answer.
“The year, my friend, is 1850, and to prevent any more questioning, just in case you don’t know, we are in southern Chechnya.” Nikolai’s face lit up: things were beginning to make some sense.
“And one last thing, General”
“Yes?” the General was beginning to get impatient.
“Are those men attacking your camp from 1850?” Nikolai requested with an intelligent look grabbing his expression.
“Well, if you really must know, they are not. They are from the 13th Century AD” the General’s head dropped as he conceded defeat. “Those men outside, they are Vikings…”
Vikings! :wacko: I had pegged them for Nikolai's savage Cossack ancestors, initially. :rofl: The 1850's Russians seem awfully blasé about a bunch of people from the past and future invading their world - I'm sure there's a reason for that that will become apparent in future updates though.
An interesting turn of events - and now I understand the title of the AAR too. It'll be interesting to see what'll happen next.
An interesting turn of events - and now I understand the title of the AAR too. It'll be interesting to see what'll happen next.
awww, i always prefer it when nobody believes he is a time traveller - the life on mars thing. still cool though.
Indeed, it is quite suprising to have the bloody downstreamers be perfectly at ease with the idea of time travel. And I can't say I would have taken the jokery they were giving about the date and all very well.
Morsky: Intresting, but i spose it could have been a cossack
BritishImperial: As much as i enjoyed life on mars, this is the other way round, he dosent believe it.
asd21593: Merci beaucoup!
J. Passepartout: soon to be explained...ish
stnylan: Thats only the begining
Subcomandante: Well as much as i would like to, i feel fitting Bevis and Butthead into this would be dificult
Capibara: That one caught quite a few of you out
update comming tommorow or friday....
BritishImperial: As much as i enjoyed life on mars, this is the other way round, he dosent believe it.
asd21593: Merci beaucoup!
J. Passepartout: soon to be explained...ish
stnylan: Thats only the begining
Subcomandante: Well as much as i would like to, i feel fitting Bevis and Butthead into this would be dificult
Capibara: That one caught quite a few of you out
update comming tommorow or friday....
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Chapter IV: A New Mission
The General was tired; it was obvious as he rubbed his hands over his blackened eyes. Whatever kind of a war this was, he was certainly getting the worst of it. The old man lifted his head up, looking straight into Nikolai’s bright blue eyes.
“I have told you want you wanted, soldier” begun the General, almost sounding sarcastic, “now, perhaps, you can answer my questions?” Nikolai nodded in acceptance.
“So, can you tell me what your name is?” asked the General, his eyes still unmoved. Nikolai didn’t say anything at first. Amidst the chaos of whatever had happened to him, he didn’t know if he, the Nikolai of the ‘real’ world, was actually present.
“Pvt. Nikolai Vadrasnyi, 14th Guards Rifles Division” he stated, unflinching.
“14th Guards Rifles? No division exists!” the General chocked out with a laugh.
“It does where I come from!” Nikolai shouted, angrily, smashing his hand on the table.
“Ah yes! ‘Where you come from’ ” the General laughed out loud, oblivious of the continuing sounds of battle outside. “I’m sorry, but you’re not the only one!” the General said with a finishing feel. Nikolai would not let it end there.
“Well that’s great isn’t it? Great!” the Ukrainian blurted with exasperation. “I’m stuck in the wrong time zone… or whatever this place is… and nobody gives a damn!” the pent up rage that had built up inside him being unleashed on the General. The old man, on the other hand, had leant back in his chair, ignoring Nikolai’s outburst. His hands were tightly clasped together over his legs, and he looked vaguely content. He had done what he had wanted to do with Nikolai. The mans face no longer showed the ghastly exhaustion that had plagued it only a few minutes before.
“I will ‘give a damn’ about you Nikolai” he said, calmly moisturising his parched lips with his tongue and making a fait clicking noise while doing so, “As soon as you ‘give a damn’ about us!” he shouted in laughter. Even Koniev, who had been standing behind listening in on the conversation looking decidedly dumbfounded by everything, joined in with the General’s laughter. “My request is simple; you help us, and I will give a damn. Fair enough?” the General asked, a sly smirk continuing on from his laugh.
Nikolai’s mind was blasted by his situation. So far, he had been knocked out, almost axed to death by a Viking and now was being asked to help some people who claimed to be from a different time to win a war against an enemy from another different time. Nikolai swore under his breath. One more piece of stupid information like that and his head might as well explode. However, he guessed that the best way to try and get back from wherever he was would be to assist his captors. With some deep regret, he nodded his head again.
“I take that is a yes, Nikolai?” the General said patronisingly, hiding an amused smile beneath his thick beard. Nikolai nodded his head, ever so slowly, again. The General brought a huge content smile across his face, which even the beard could not hide from anyone. “Excellent!” the old man shouted out; the power of his lungs was clear.
“Right!” he began on a new tone, “Koniev come here.” The young man reacted surprisingly quickly, seeing he had been glued to the same spot ever since Nikolai had got up. “Nikolai, I must fill you in on a few things” the General started, looking surprisingly serious. Nikolai leant in and propped his arm on the table. “This is not a conventional war we are fighting. It has gone on for the best part of four years, and never does the enemy seem to be get weaker, even with every victory we have over them” the eyes of the old man began to darken again. Beside Nikolai, Koniev was nodding in agreement.
“We have fought hard, Nikolai, and have so far not been beaten” it was Koniev speaking for the General. “However, the last few battles have been testing to say the least, and our numbers are getting thinner” the young officer shook his head in a strange feeling of disappointment at the Russians actions.
“Don’t fear, Koniev!” replied the General, patting him on the shoulder. “I have received word from Astrakhan. The Tsar saw fit to send another regiment to assist us” said the General giving a comforting smile. “That will more than remake our numbers, then we can take the fight to the enemy” the General exclaimed, hitting the table softly for each syllable that left his mouth, “rather than having the dishonour of being attacked in our camp at night!” he spat out the last part of the sentence. “In fact, they are already on their way, though this may come as a disadvantage to us.”
The flap of the tent opened, and the sounds of battle were amplified for a few seconds before a scruffy man, dressed like Koniev, entered the tent. The flap fell behind him as the man snapped to attention. Giving Nikolai, who looked every part the stranger against the backdrop, a quick glance he waited for the General to begin the talking. The General threw his hands round in circles, trying to get the man to speak. He finally did so and gave his message. The General sat listening, looking very uninterested. “The Vikings are running, sir!” he began triumphantly, “though we expect the finishing off to take another half hour.” The General nodded, though said nothing. The man, sensing that he was not wanted, began to leave. The General halted him just before he exited.
“Lieutenant Drakolov, prepare two companies of infantry to march out in a few hours. They will need two day’s marching equipment and plenty of ammunition” the General ordered, serious faced. The man saluted and the General waved his hands in a gesture of leaving. Koniev’s face looked as if he had eaten a rotten egg, the confusion in his mind forcing him to screw his face up.
“Two companies of infantry, sir?” he question to the General. The man nodded. “But, why –ah- where?” his mind did, obviously, not have the capacity to imagine. Nikolai, who had been silent for some time now, looked on in the same disbelief he had carried with him all that night.
“Think about it, Koniev” the General chuckled, “use that brain of yours!” he said lightly slapping the officer’s hat off. Koniev picked up his hat and continued to ponder what was going on. The General looked into his eyes, and shook his head, smirking as he did so. “No idea?” the older man asked. Koniev shook his head as well.
“Well, you, my friend, are going on a rescue mission!” the General smiled at the officer. Koniev still didn’t understand.
“Rescue, sir?” he shook his head, still, not registering the situation. “But there is no one that needs to be saved...” his voice trailed off as his confusion continued. The General laughed, just a small coughing splutter of a laugh.
“Put your head too it” said the old man begging he show some intelligence as an Officer of the Imperial Russian Army. “I have just been sent a full regiment of Infantry who know nothing of the war they will be fighting. And they are marching alone through a hundred miles of enemy territory” his laugh, as before, was gone. “They will be mincemeat!” he exclaimed, giving his verdict on the situation.
Koniev’s face finally lit up as he began to understand what was going on. “I see” he began, “but how am I meant to save them?”
“You will march up to here” the General referred to the map which was spread over the table, “and set up a defendable location, and then wait for the column to arrive” he finished throwing his hands across the surface. “Those men are going to need some help if they want to reach here alive” he stated, his face showing signs of disgust. “Go on, get your men ready for the march” he ordered, ushering the officer out.
“Koniev!” he stopped the man in his tracks. The lieutenant turned round to face the General. “I think you are forgetting something” he said jokingly pointing his hands towards the passive figure of Nikolai. The Ukrainian finally awoke from his day dream into a horrible reality.
“What!” he screamed, “You are sending me with….” his words trailed off and he threw up his arms in despair. The General simply smiled back at him. Nikolai saw he had no choice, and slowly rose out of his comfy seat. He gave the General a quick glare, and then exited the tent with Koniev.
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stnylan: when you are in his position, you have to!
Sematary: better late than never
demokratickid: Thanks and welcome
J. Passepartout: Please do explain Personally he is one of my favourite characters to write for.
Capibara: Indeed it will, if he can get near the enemy
update is ...
Sematary: better late than never
demokratickid: Thanks and welcome
J. Passepartout: Please do explain
Personally he is one of my favourite characters to write for.Capibara: Indeed it will, if he can get near the enemy
update is ...
Chapter V: Getting to Know You
Nikolai watched the men assembling; the first light of a new day poking over the horizon and illuminating the fabulous uniforms the soldiers wore. Nikolai began to compare his own equipment to theirs, but stopped when he realised that his really looked inferior. His helmet looked drab and out of place, but their tall hats suited their tunics perfectly.
“You can ride, can’t you?” asked a voice from behind him. Nikolai turned round to find Koniev astride a tall horse, holding the reigns of another close by him. Nikolai looked at the beast, ad as he did so it snorted back at him. He hesitated a little longer, before deciding.
“Ride?” he repeated, “of course I can!” he bellowed. Koniev smiled a very friendly smile. He moved both the horses towards Nikolai. The Ukrainian moved up towards his stead and stroked gently on the nose; it snorted at him again. Moving to the side, he stuck his foot into the stirrup and launched himself up, though lacking the power in the jump, he fell right back down again. The horse began moving round in a circle as Nikolai desperately continued trying to propel himself onto the horses back.
Beside him, Koniev laughed, unable to contain his amusement for the Ukrainian’s bad luck. “So you…” he paused for a breath and a laugh “you can ride?” The chuckling continued as Nikolai continuously tried to get onto the horse. “Now I see why they don’t let serfs be in the cavalry!” Koniev shouted, now laughing at his own joke.
“I-” Nikolai began “I am-” he paused while attempting to force himself upwards again “-not a serf!” finally he propelled himself as the horse came to a halt, throwing him onto the horses back. He sighed heavily and threw out his arms in relief. “I am a Cossack!” he chuckled.
“Obviously one in need of training” said Koniev, his laughter wearing out as he almost ran out of breath. The officer looked round to see several of the men staring at him. It was time to go. Koniev spurred his horse forwards, Nikolai following reluctantly behind.
“Now men” Koniev addressed the crowd of soldiers ahead of him, “I know you have all fought hard, and last night was no exception. However, soon enough we will be relieved and the fighting can rest on the shoulders of others” his words sounding as comforting as they could from Noble to Peasant. “However, a rest does not come without sufficient work! Most of you will think you have done that sufficient work, but unfortunately that is not so” he sounded more and more like a stuck-up noble every second the speech went on. “There is one last fight that we must take to if we wish to rest. Reinforcements are on their way from Astrakhan and will be here within two to three days. But these men don’t understand the war that we all, you and me, have been fighting. If we do not escort them safely here, then I fear that they never will learn before they pass on to another life.” There was a general murmur in the ranks. “Therefore, we men will go and intercept, escort and, hopefully, save this column of men so that we all get the rest we deserve.” The murmur died away as Koniev ordered the drummer to sound a march. The column, with a loud order from the Sergeant-Major, began its rescue mission.
* * *
The horse’s hooves sounded completely out of sync with the marching of near on three hundred men. The column kept near perfect order, all marching in step and in time with the drumming. This is what four years of non-stop warfare did to men, it made them cowards or fighting machines. In the case of Russians, it was the latter. It Nikolai’s mind, images of the “May Day” marches came together, and he saw the same drilled fighting men in his mind as he saw through his eyes.
The rolling hills, bathed in bright morning sunlight, that surrounded him and the perfection of the Russian soldiers took him a million miles away from a vicious battle with people from a different time. He felt, surprisingly, happy. Despite the fact that he had no idea what was happening, where he was or why he was there, Nikolai found himself smiling for the first time since his arrival. He trotted closer towards Koniev, who had been suspiciously quiet since they had left.
“So,” he began the first conversation of the journey “where were you born Koniev, and into which family?” The officer turned around to face Nikolai. Koniev was as taken aback by the fact that Nikolai was smiling as the Ukrainian had been, and even more so that he was willing to go into a conversation and not a row.
“Oh!” he blurted, nothing more intelligent able to procure in his mind at short notice. “I was born in St. Petersburg, to the Koniev Dynasty” he smiled stupidly. Nikolai cocked an eyebrow.
“St. Petersburg? Where is that?”
“Well it’s only the capital!” Koniev laughed, it all seemed quite innocent to him. Nikolai desperately searched his mind, and then took an educated guess.
“St. Peter, as in Peter the Great?” he asked. Koniev nodded, Nikolai was onto something.
“Ah!” he almost felt like slapping his thigh. “You mean Leningrad or possibly Petrograd; you might know it as that!” Koniev only looked on dumbly. Seeing the officer was beaten, Nikolai gestured that that conversation was over.
“So why did you join the army then?” Nikolai questioned the Officer again.
“All young nobles do, it is almost a requirement” Koniev said with a frown. “Unfortunately I got sent here, and haven’t gone home in four years.” Koniev blinked, trying to hold back a tear. He sniffed strongly and composed himself, especially important in front of the men. “How about you? You joined the army in the future?” Koniev returned the question.
Nikolai shook his head. “I didn’t join the army; I was conscripted to fight in the future Chechnya. I had no say if I could or could not join, I was just lucky that I had my father to give me advice; many people lost their's in the Great Patriotic War” it was now Nikolai who was on the verge of tears. However, an unintelligent comment from Koniev was able to cheer him up.
“Conscription? You mean Levée en Masse; like Napoleon did?” he tilted his head while asking the question. Nikolai coughed and laughed at the same time.
“As if I would know French” he chuckled at the noble’s lack of respect for the fact that he was a commoner. “France is the enemy of my state, we are told to hate the French!” he snorted in disgust. For once, Koniev was confused beyond the use of words. Instead, he changed the conversation again.
“You know this is my biggest command yet!” he smiled with delight. He looked round at the men marching behind the horses and grinned larger than Nikolai had ever seen anyone grin before.
“And how, ‘Commander’,” he said sarcastically “are you finding your command?” he hid his amusement at Koniev’s enthusiasm beneath the surface, for good measure.
“Well,” Koniev screwed his face up and gave a few quick ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ before the smile straightened out again and he continued “it is both scary and brilliant!” he raised his voice ecstatically. “If I fail, it will be bad and I will be shot or something, but if I succeed, well the options are endless.” Nikolai knew that the officer was over doing the situation; this was 300 men he was talking about.
“Talking of command, Nikolai,” the officer pointed ahead of them at a large hill “that is our rendezvous point. We should go and scout it before the troops arrive!” Before Nikolai could reply and try and calm Koniev down, the young man had already twisted in his saddle
“Sergeant-Major, we are going to scout the position, meet us there as soon as you can.” The man nodded, and Koniev twisted back to face forwards. Nikolai raised a hand to try and speak, but Koniev had already pressed his boots into the horse’s sides and begun tearing off towards the hill. Nikolai turned round, shook his head and rolled his eyes at the Sergeant and then kicked in his boots and began to catch the noble up.
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