Chapter 15

Anton took the largest crystal and enclosed it in his cupped hands.

He mumbled a spell and then had to repeat it. He was shaking slightly from the effort. His powers weren’t what they used to be, and he cursed the damn interfering faeries. He then looked at the results.

He now held about twenty gems between one to three carats, cut into various configurations depending on how the rock split. He also had about ten half-carat ones that he had formed out of the chips and a small amount of rock dust that was the impurities.

He had just increased the value of the gemstone fivefold. He carefully put the other raw gems into one of the magically enhanced pouches on his backpack. He had several uses in mind for them.

Anton doubted that Jacky knew the true value of the diamonds. He was sure that Jacky wouldn’t quibble the money he’d get from the ones that Anton had reshaped.

Anton believed that if what he was looking for was where he thought it was, he would need the other gems for making new items. Unfortunately, his current magical artifact didn’t give him the ability to create new ones. His plan was to get his old items back.

He just had to get off this cursed planet first.

The new Commando squad was in the bar downstairs when Jacky found them.

They were all rather flabbergasted when Jacky handed each of them, even Captain Bisset, the equivalent of one pound in notes. He told them that Major James had given them to him as an advance. He didn’t say for what. This was a lot of money to spend on beer and frivolities.

It was decided that they would all go to the pictures. The film, ‘Forty Thousand Horsemen’, was playing and they hadn’t seen it yet. To their surprise, Abe said he was paying, and they could all buy him a beer when they cracked their bigger notes since he got two of the ten-shilling notes.

Abe loved being in Australia because they would let him into almost any establishment if he was in uniform, and as long as white Yanks weren’t using it. He felt a lot of sympathy for the Aboriginals who received the same treatment as his people did back home.

At present, there weren’t many of Abe’s compatriots in town, so he felt safe enough going out with this rather eclectic group. Plus, being a Captain, he didn’t cop a lot of shit, as rank still had its privileges.

So, it was agreed, and they all went to get spiffy for their night out.

The new unit thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

They decided it was safer going back to the hotel to drink. It was an unwritten law that if you hired a room, you could use any of the amenities the hotel provided, no matter what your nationality was.

They chose the small drinking garden as it was a lovely night, and several of the boys could have a smoke without annoying everyone else. It wasn’t considered polite to smoke inside. They were having a lovely time until they were interrupted by eight sailors.

“Hey, Negro, what are you doing in here drinking with Abos and Chinks? What a bunch of losers.”

Abe lent over to Tommy, “Go get the Major.”

Tommy didn’t have to be told twice, and he quickly scurried away. David looked at Jacky as she started mumbling under her breath. The sailors began scratching.

Russo looked at the sailors and stood, “Go away, we aren’t harming you, and we don’t want to fight. We have every right to be here since we are patrons of this hotel.”

The other engineers were rather surprised that Russo was sticking up for all of them. Then Abe stood and flanked Russo. Both were big men with breadth as well as height. Stan and Ernie stood and moved to flank them.

“Who is your commanding officer?” Abe barked at the men.

Even the Navy personnel could tell that Abe was wearing Army Captain’s pips. Black or not, they could get into some serious shit if they did anything to him. One of the men tried to pull his more aggressive, drunken mate away.

Several of the others also deemed that this lot were best left alone. Something about them made them all feel wary. The sailors were all starting to scratch at themselves by this time, and they felt the urge to leave increase in magnitude.

Everyone jumped when Anton barked, “Attention.”

The sailors spun and automatically slapped their feet together. The team who were still seated found themselves also standing and assuming the position. They couldn’t help smiling when Anton asked the sailors the same question that Abe had just asked.

“Have you men heard of the Commando units?” Anton asked them more conversationally. He smirked as the eyes of the eight sailors went wide.

“Yes, this squad is a poor choice to pick on. I shall report to your commander that if I see a repeat of your atrocious behaviour, you will be court-martialled and branded as racists.”

He then barked, “Do you understand me?”

The squirming men spat out, “Yes, sir.”

“Get the hell out of here, and don’t let me see you in here again,” Anton told them and stepped out of their way so they could leave. Each sailor saluted him as they hurried past. They were all scratching like mad as the left.

Anton waved a finger at Jacky, “That was naughty.” He turned to the others, “I suggest you call it a night. The surf is supposed to be good in the morning. Good night.” He turned and sauntered out with a big grin on his mush.

The others all turned to Jacky, and Abe asked, “What did you do?”

Jacky shrugged and gave him the ‘I don’t know’ look.

Abe chuckled, “I can see that we are in for interesting times. Thank you, Lance-Corporal Russo, for your assistance. I believe I shall call it a night.”

So, saying, they all decided it was time to turn in and went to their rooms.

As far as the new commando unit was concerned, the next six weeks were a blast.

They learnt how to jump out of a perfectly good plane and then how to land one in an emergency. They got lessons on navigation through dense jungle, reading maps, basic survival skills and fixing problems with diesel engines.