Ad Astra Per Aspera [2] - Band of Brothers

43 | family

" Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we'd give blood."

- Charles Dickens

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Within the coming days, Catherine was focusing more on making sure alcohol and weapons were more under control because there were a few too many times a drunk replacement found his way to supplies and was a reckless head case in Austria. It was exhausting really.

Catherine and the NCOs were like chickens with their heads cut off trying to keep people in line, trying to keep the company in line and people doing what they were supposed to be doing. Drinking was fine, but when they were still training and inevitably heading towards another war zone, it was not ideal.

" It's not fun keeping boys filled with testosterone where they're supposed to be on a night with a full moon." Catherine said as Nixon chuckled, pouring her a drink.

" You thought it would be?" Nixon questioned as he turned sliding the drink to her. Catherine made a face as Dick slowly entered the room with a few papers.

" Ah, the professor." Nixon said as Dick rolled his eyes and put the papers down in front of Catherine.

" Just in," Dick said as Catherine sighed.

" Should I be surprised? No, it's more geography I'm assuming?" Catherine said and Dick gave her a sympathetic face. She sighed.

" Oh, c'mon Miss. Cornell, I thought you loved this stuff." Nixon said as Catherine sipped her drink.

" I loved it when I wasn't about to go fight a whole other war." Catherine stated as Nixon smirked. Catherine sighed, softly moving between her cigarette and her drink as Dick shuffled through his own papers.

" You managing to keep the boys under control? Speirs holding up?" Dick asked her. Catherine let out a drag.

" If you consider replacements fighting over the last bottle of schnapps in the streets of Austria, under control, then yes we're doing fine." Catherine said and Nixon chuckled. Dick gave her a look.

" They're fine, we have some of the best NCOs in the Airborne, they're just getting harder to pull together now. I mean I have Chuck telling me he has replacements wandering out for drinks in the middle of the night or Tab telling me, a mini fire started because some fought over how to share a cigarette. They're restless." Catherine said.

" Nothing like Sobel's training," Nixon told her and Catherine nodded, understanding immediately.

" Or Thermes." she agreed, " Speirs though, he's right up there with them, it's just these replacements, they don't know the true horror of war, what it does to someone, and they go back to their barracks and act like they're on holiday. It's....it's not great."