High School Soldier
123. Sib

“I understand how you feel, but you think too much about your friend's death. You're too much in mourning Chandra's death.”

Those were the words from the General to Nio who today spent the two cigarette butts he enjoyed in the watchtower. Today is a free activity for Team 1 after the death of Sergeant Chandra.

“Yes, I understand,” is the only answer given after the General is no longer in front of him.

Nio stared weakly at the outside of the fortress, precisely the Holy Land where dozens of goats were released to eat the grass that grew there. His middle and index fingers flank his third cigarette butt for today. He had never before felt this depressed until he broke the rule he made himself, smoking once a week.

He knew, saying everything on his mind in the loudest possible way would not make him feel better. It was possible that the person he was talking about was unaware of the mistake they made, the person in question here was the three journalists that the Cruiser Squad 1 protected at the expense of one soldier.

If there is something that can make this frustration disappear from the heart, if it exists it only makes it annoyed and increasingly restless. Nio had no way out for his frustration, and he felt like his fallen friend was going to snap at him because of his behavior today. But still, the reason he felt angry was because he had lost one subordinate, as well as a friend. Nio felt that this was his biggest failure in leading a unit.

Chandra was a 20-year-old soldier when assigned to another world, he was from the Pontianak Garrison. The young man was jolly and could not keep quiet, and all the girls in the Squad hated him for frequently teasing them after hearing Liben was dating Ivy.

Nio could not forgive the injured party and make him lose one friend, even if the party was Indonesian. But, as a soldier he was bound by the rule that he could not hurt civilians even if he just hit their buttocks. That's what makes Nio's heart feel that something is stuck before beating the party that makes Chandra have to go home by being carried in a coffin lined with red and white flags.

Nio lowered his head, from above he saw some squads were doing an afternoon run or doing patrols. He was already used to this scene, but the atmosphere of grief changed everything. Nio was disappointed that he could not take Chandra to the grave. He only received the honor of getting a place to carry a coffin that was lined with red and white flags, and contained Chandra's stiff body.

“Chandra, even everything you've been through, never once have you held a grudge, not even you yourself had time to say your last words.

Chandra's soul had already flown to a paradise filled with warriors, leaving behind his friends who still had to defend the Republic from the barbaric otherworldly forces.

**

After the 3rd night after Chandra's death, everyone in the Squad isolates themselves or engages in activities with a hope, that is, in order to quickly forget the sorrow in the heart and accept Chandra leaving them for eternity. Each of the members of the 1st Cruiser Squad grieved in their own way. So, tonight there was no one wandering around Nio's room.

Two moons adorn the night sky of Yekirnovo State, and the bright shining star makes hundreds of neon lights in this fort still less bright with the celestial object.

When the entire room where the soldier lived was dark, only the room of First Lieutenant Nio's Maid was bright. Because he turned on the little lights in his room, and was still struggling with the keyboard and hundreds of sheets of paper. The word processing software on his PC has received 519,321 words from a report that Nio made for a purpose. Although this has gone to bed, but there are still many soldiers who talk, and for those who are caught having to deal with patrol officers. Nio was one of those thousands, but he had to complete this report before the next mission.

He occasionally opened a notebook that was enough to fit into the pocket of the field uniform. This little book is very important for the 19-year-old youth leadership team, Nio himself who wrote all the writings that filled this little book. This book is a reference source for Nio to make a report that he will give to Sucipto as soon as possible.

In front of Nio's desk, hung a necklace with a hexagon-shaped pendant and bearing the symbol of the Student Army. The pendant itself contained various data about the soldier wearing, excluding the way he died. The necklace belongs to Chandra, and Nio will hand it over along with the report that is still in the process of making. Nio himself also has a necklace with a similar shape, and all information about him will be shown after Nio dies.

After gazing at the necklace pendant engraved with Chandra's name, Nio hoped that this would be the last time he would see his friends pass by him wrapped in a body bag.

“That's a shame, my friend, you can't see the peace that Mr. Nio will make.”

**

Nio threw out hundreds of neatly stacked papers, and a necklace belonging to one of the fallen members of the 1st Cruiser Squad. The one who was faced with this sight was Sucipto, and there was only him in this general's special room. As the supreme leader of the Expeditionary Force, Sucipto gained the largest living and working place of any soldier.

Sucipto took a serious look at the soldier who gave him this pile of paper, and Nio also looked at the general no less seriously. Nio successfully completed this report fifteen minutes before dawn, and made him not sleep at all. Sucipto was quite concerned to see the soldier in front of him standing with reddened eyes and the area around the eyes blackened from not sleeping.

“What report is this? Isn't your mission just going to be carried out tomorrow?”

Nio sighed, and could already guess if the first reaction that Sucipto gave after receiving such a pile of papers.

Sucipto took the top one out of hundreds of sheets of this report. This submission report is the thickest report Nio has ever made.

Nio could feel if the atmosphere suddenly changed, but that changed after Sucipto finished reading the one page report. It was true the words of the officer who had spoken to Nio, that the General's room was more pressurizing than a battlefield.

“Address Submission Extraordinary Rank Sergeant Two Chandra, yes?”

“Why can you write this much? Do you have your own informant?”

“Ready, I don't have some kind of personal informant. Actually I wrote all the performance of my Squad members in this book, including things that include achievements on the battlefield. Including Chandra, in addition to being killed for protecting the group of people (third of journalists), he and several other members managed to save the informant who had important information. So, in addition to Chandra, I hope my members who found and saved the informant were also given praise or something like that.”

Nio gave his little book to Sucipto, the cover of this book looks unconvincing because it is filled with mud stains and the paper is ugly.

However, after Sucipto read a few pages of the book, everything Nio said was not a lie. Nio actually wrote all the performance of his members during the mission to the Luan Empire, as well as guarding the borders of the Yekirnovo State and the Luan Empire. Not many unit commanders did this kind of thing, perhaps even Nio the only soldier who recorded every job his subordinates did.

Nio writes the work of each member on every mission carried out in sequence and in order of time. However, only one name was not written on each mission in this little notebook.

“Why don't you write your own performance?”

“Ready, I don't care about that. The task of the commander ensures that all subordinates carry out the mission smoothly, correctly and safely. Then, if any member makes achievements on the battlefield, then I will file and plead for him to get a corresponding reply.”

“So, you don't care if you get an award for your achievements?”

“Siap, about that I leave it to the superiors. The most important thing is that my members can get a reply that matches their performance.”

Nio thought that the submission report he made would be rejected because it was not complete enough, and he had already prepared himself if this possibility really happened.

“Actually, saving the informant is enough as an excuse for your subordinates to get an award.

According to the news, a female informant who was found by the members of the 1st Cruiser Squad turned out to have very important information, including the formation of the Alliance Army. The formation of the army could have changed the course of the war, but the TNI here would not simply retreat. There are hundreds of millions of Indonesian residents who need 15,200 Expeditionary Force soldiers to protect.

“I will contact the Commander about this, you just need to wait for the good news.”

After answering Sucipto's words, Nio saluted before leaving this room. Sucipto looked at the young man's back, and felt quite amazed by Nio. He stared with a wry smile stacked paper in front of him, in fact he could order some of the headquarters staff soldiers to help him with this job.

But, this was only the submission of the promotion of one soldier, and only one person made this thick filing report. Sucipto will be embarrassed by Nio who has been making this submission report all night alone if he still needs the help of his subordinates.

Sucipto had only read a few submission report sheets, but almost all contained the conditions that had been met if the soldier would rise in rank.

“If this continues, Nio can rise in rank within a few months. But, why didn't he join the Main Force instead? His achievements as a Student Army soldier exceeded several officers.”

**

Nio walked out of the building that was used as the Expeditionary Force Headquarters. Right in front of this building stands a flagpole, actually not only here there is a flagpole. There are dozens of flagpoles on every corner of the fort. Usually the flag will be flown one pole full, but after the fall of Chandra the flag is flown at half mast. It shows that the life of one soldier is very valuable, but there are still some parties who are not aware of it and consider if the soldiers lost their lives due to protecting civilians is a natural thing.

In essence, the party did not particularly like it if the news of the death of the fallen soldier was too exaggerated.

The fact that Nio could not forget the moment when he saw Chandra's face for the last time was able to make Nio's heart claustrophobic. The young man could barely stem his tears as he looked at Chandra's smiling pale face, as if he had already reached the end of his goal of becoming a soldier.

Nio had witnessed his subordinates berating the three journalists who were still locked up in the Expeditionary Force prison. Still, the three journalists are trying to say something that could make them win, and appear innocent of Chandra's death.

That jolly warrior, was the greatest shooter in the Cruiser Squad 1. However, he was still one level below Nio regarding this feat. Unless you compare the math between the two of them, of course Nio lost far to the Civil Engineering student. Remembering that made Nio smile to herself.

However, Nio's smile became extremely lonely when recalling that. Although they both work together in a short time, which is 6 months, but the experience they get in the other world is more and more stressful.

That said, all the teenage soldiers in the 1st Cruiser Squad considered each other as brothers.

Nio chose not to join the training his unit was doing, and walked slowly to the barracks to prepare for tomorrow's mission.