Chapter 92 - MSVI
Chapter 92 – MSVI
Del was waiting in the courtyard of Lullin State University. He was there while looking at his tablet and assault rifle in his hands. Inside of his backpack was his clothing, a tent, personal medkit, RPG-7 with a tandem warhead, his M240, MREs, and ammunition consisted of bullets and rockets.
It was heavy, yes, but due to his increased strength, Del really didn't feel that the weight on his shoulder which would be very heavy for a regular soldier, but for Del, it didn't feel that radically different from the weight of his backpack when he was still studying.
Different from what he previously expected, Del didn't get too much attention even though he used military-ish uniforms with helmets and armor. Maybe it was because of the fact that several students wore the military uniform of Ilbistirum. Del might be able to ask them, but Del assumed that they were also working with the military alongside finishing their education.
Anna was coming along with Alina to meet with the other members of MSVI. Alina would introduce Anna to the members of MSVI that would participate in the medical assistance mission. Del wanted to wait for them instead of coming for them.
Eventually, after waiting for a while, Anna came to Del alongside a group of medical students.. The medical students that were following Anna were wearing the same exact clothing, the difference between them was their physical appearance and that was all. All of them were wearing a tucked tan cargo shirt, black pants, black military boots, and tan Boonie hat. Why they looked so military even though they were basically medical students?
"These are our escorts, doc," Alina introduced someone to Del.
A man shook his hand. He was a tall man with quite a buff build and he was carrying a bolt-action rifle on his back. "Nice to meet you, I'm Doctor Hubert Houle, please call me Doctor Hubert, alright? I'm the person in charge of these medical students."
"Nice to meet you, Doctor Hubert, my name is Del Moore," Del said.
"Nice to meet you, it's a pleasure to be guarded with someone that managed to take out special force soldiers," Hubert said.
"The pleasure is all mine sir," Del said.
"C'mon, you don't have to be that formal, just call me Hubert or doc," Hubert said.
"I'll just call you doc, sir," Del said.
"Anyway, thanks to Alina that we can get security details for cheap, but I still have to write something for you later. Del, should we introduce you to our team?" Hubert said.
"Please," Del said.
Hubert introduced the students that he brought to provide medical assistance. Six students participated in that operation. Two were from the 1st year, three were from the 2nd year, and one was from the 3rd year. The 1st year was Alina and one other male student. The 2nd year students were all male and the 3rd year student was female.
"Introduce my friend, his name is Aiden," Alina said.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Aiden," Aiden said.
"My name is Leinz, these are my bros, Terry and Shawn," Leinz said.
"I'm Sharon, I'm the leader of this team, only seconded by Doctor Hubert," Sharon said.
Sharon was a third-year student. Leinz was the second year alongside Terry and Shawn while Aiden and Alina were the first-year students. Well, it was a good team combination. All of them were carrying backpacks on their back with the "+" symbol. On their left hand, there was a patch of MSVI itself.
"Anyway, Del, nice to meet you, it's good to be working with you," Sharon said.
"Thanks."
"Del, do you know what MSVI is?" Leinz asked.
"Nope, I don't know," Del said.
Leinz poked Terry, "Bro, explain to our little brother what MSVI is."
Terry replied, "Sure bro, Medical Volunteer Student for Ilbistirum is a non-profit, quasi-military, and independent organization that is affiliated with the Ilbistirum Medical Students Association and the Ilbistirum Military with the aim of providing medical assistance to those in need."
"Excellent answer," Hubert raised his thumb.
"Quasi-military? You guys work with the military in one way or another?" Del asked.
"Sort of, we are providing assistance to civilians in warzone based on the information given from the military. We also provide medical assistance to hard-to-reach areas and disaster zone," Hubert explained.
"Still, why do you need quasi-military?" Del asked.
"Because you really can't expect desk-nerd to go into the jungle and expect that he will come out alive. We have our own basic training, it's not much, but it's still important for the task that we will face," Hubert said.
"Yeah, I used to participate in a similar organization before too, I get your point," Del said.
"Awesome, then, shall we go to the train station then?" Hubert asked.
"Sure, please, lead the way," Del said.
As a formation, Del stayed in the back while watching their flank while Anna was in the front while watching the front. To communicate, they used their radio transmitter minus the headset. It was not because they didn't want to wear their comtac, but if they wore it, the MSVI would be thinking that they couldn't hear them at all which would hinder communication.
In the train station, Hubert paid for their train tickets and they waited for the train to come to the platform. As usual, Del was excited to come on board the train, and Anna was too. Thinking about it, Del wanted to buy a car for his usage in Ilbistirum. It would be very cool and it would also reduce his transport time if he needed to walk.
"I really wish I have much money," Del sighed.
"Relax, you'll get much later," Anna patted Del.
"I hope so," Del said.
Del and the rest of the medical teams entered the train once it arrived at the station. Del and Anna took a seat in front of Aiden and Alina while the rest of them sat on the other seats. Del put his rucksack right below his seat.
The train started moving away from Lullin. The stewardess had begun offering drinks and small beverages for the passengers of the train. Once the stewardess arrived at Del's seat. Since Aiden and Alina were literally sitting down right in front of him, Aiden ordered Del a cup of coffee.
"This is a treat from me, you still my junior after all," Aiden said.
"Thanks, Aiden," Del said as he retrieved the cup from the stewardess.
"Don't mention it, do you want the cake too?" Aiden asked.
"Nah, it's not necessary," Del said.
"Alina spoke so highly of you and so did her brother. If what he said were true, you were surviving on your own, alone? Man, if you ask me, I won't be able to pull that off myself," Aiden said.
"Thanks for the compliment, but past is past, right now, we see the future, right?" Del said.
"Yeah, and Anna, sorry for your loss," Aiden looked at Anna.
Anna shrugged, "I really don't think too much about it. The pain keeps me focused on what I should do next and what I should have done earlier. The flame burned through my skin and marked the end of my past."
"Emm, Anna, are you ok?" Del was worried by Anna's statement.
"I understood what she has gone through," Aiden nodded.
Del sipped his coffee as he looked at the view of grassland through the window. Many people were living on the grassland in small houses connected to a concrete road that led to the main road that was made of asphalt.
However, all roads seem to be connected to one big road system that looked like an interstate. No carriage could be found there, it might be because of safety reasons. It seemed that Ilbistirum had begun replacing animals with machines for the most part which was good.
"Amazing, isn't it? This was our wet dream one hundred years ago, but now, look how modernization affects society for the better," Aiden commented.
"Sorry?" Del didn't understand.
"Those damn separatists prioritize their culture over modernization. As far as I know, it is all of those royalty bastards who want their privileges back. Their privileges and their authority were strongly against the modernization of society, but look where we are now," Aiden sighed.
"I'm glad to hear that Ilbistirum has changed for the better," Del said.
"I meant, look at us, we improve our healthcare system, our food system, our transportation system, our warfare system, and even our society. One hundred years ago, Ilbistirum is just another country filled with a bunch of books that were only accessible by the royalties and their pesky children. Now? Anyone smart enough to read can get an education, and eventually, improving society," Aiden explained.
"In short, this was the work of your grandfathers and ancestors?" Del asked.
"More or less, yeah," Aiden said.
Anna asked another question, "How was the revolution?"
"It was bloody. It was the scholars and the working class versus the royalties. I meant, we were throwing a bunch of bodies to the royalties just to abolish them, and we raised our arms and our guns against the royalties. It was horrifying, but it was worth it," Alina answered.
"Ah, the Bourgeois revolution, so that what happened here," Anna said.
"Bour— what?" Alina asked.
"Just some fancy terms that my sister uses, haha," Del laughed.
They all discussed politics and a bunch of stuff that happened in Ilbistirum. Eventually, they were bored and enjoyed the ride by looking out at the window. The train trip would take around twelve hours so they decided that sleeping was a good idea.