Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

04: My Stars Shine Darkly Over Me

"My stars shine darkly over me. The malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours." - William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

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When Juliette returned to the house, Alexis had a message waiting for her. The small telegram was labelled simply with Alexis' code name, the typewritten script concealing the author, though she knew as well as he did who it would be from.

She sat on the sofa as she slid the slip of paper out of its casing and sighed once she had read the message three times over, conscious of Alexis' eyes on her.

Sunshine to be expected. A nightingale to fly overhead.
- S21

They were being sent information for yet another mission. They hadn't even been in Aldbourne for a full day and already they were being warned they would soon be moving out again.

Juliette looked up and found Alexis watching her; initially his expression was guarded, but when she held his gaze it melted into the melancholy that she thought may have been reflected on her own face.

"'A nightingale to fly overhead'," she read aloud the last sentence, puzzled. "Are they wanting me to pick it up?" she wondered, referring to the intel drop. It would be coming on the 21st of September, the following day, so she wondered why Alexis was showing her this; generally he'd pick up the intel and then tell them about the mission - she'd never seen the telegram that told him about the intel drop before. She could only theorise that it had something to do with the part that mentioned her code name.

Alexis sighed and came to sit beside her on the sofa. He paused, watching her for a moment before tearing his eyes away and choosing to watch the clock that punctuated the wall in front of them instead. It hung delicately above the dark brick fireplace and ticked loudly, as if to remind them of the importance of time where they were concerned. In their line of work, time was of the essence: if you were told someone had to be assassinated, they had to be assassinated immediately; if you were told fake intel had to be planted, it had to be planted right that second. Innocent and unsuspecting lives would be, and indeed had been, lost when time was wasted. It was a cruel thing, time, and the loud ticking of the clock on the wall only served as a reminder that they were running out of it.

"This next mission is yours," Alexis finally spoke. "That's why they want you to retrieve the intel. And I want you to go over it before any of the others because you're going to be going in alone."

"What about Tom?" she asked, dumbfounded. "And what about you?" Whilst her and Thomas often worked in the field together - they had trained together and were the two undercover specialists on the team - Alexis was her CO and was always not far behind as support. He was their tactician but also their leader, and he led from the front as much as he could without going undercover himself.

"The code means they want you to go alone. That's all I can gather from it." He was at least polite enough to appear guilty. Alexis' heart tightened at the look that passed over Juliette's face before she quickly schooled her features once more.

His hand twitched in his lap as he contemplated reaching out to her but quickly disregarded the thought; he wasn't sure she would appreciate it. He glanced back up at her face to find her eyes settled firmly on the floor, deep in thought. He knew she must be scared - he was scared for her at the thought of sending her in entirely without back up. He had wanted a break for her so badly, but it was not to be.

"I'll send William with you," he spoke with a certainty he didn't possess, surprising himself with the words he hadn't processed before blurting out. "To make sure you keep in contact with HQ," he added by way of explanation. As soon as the words had left his mouth he knew he shouldn't have said them, but he simply couldn't stand the thought of sending her in entirely alone. Still, until they had the actual mission details he couldn't make calls like that and he knew it. Recklessness was never a quality he possessed in his leadership, but he worried about his team more than he cared to admit. It was a side effect of working so closely and for so long; they were bonded by all they'd seen and done together. They were the only family each other had known in wartime.

"Well, we'll see what the brief says first," Juliette reasoned carefully. "The nature of the mission might dictate that only one of us really can go."

She was right and he knew it, but the man didn't reply.

"Don't worry about it too much," he resolved to say instead. He could practically see the younger girl locking her anxieties away for the time being and knew his words were redundant but offered them regardless, perhaps speaking more to himself than to her. "They wouldn't be sending you if they didn't think you could do it."

Juliette forced herself to muster a smile for him. The intentions behind his words were good but they both knew that being capable of completing a mission was not the only reason spies were ever separated from teams and sent out alone. Sometimes they were sent because they were the most expendable; sometimes people simply had to be sent on missions they knew they wouldn't return from. It was something all of them had had to agree to before beginning their training, but she felt as though she was having to confront the idea anew as she sat there wondering what exactly this mission would entail.

"Are you willing to die for your cause?" she had been asked all those years ago, and she had replied in the affirmative with so much certainty she would have just about done it right then and there had they asked it of her.

Now, having seen so much and having sacrificed so much, she knew she was still willing, but her chest ached at all she'd be leaving behind. There was something sobering about the difference between being asked and being told; she was fearless back then because she knew she wouldn't have to do it yet. Now, and not for the first time, she was staring death in the face, but this time she'd have to confront him alone.