Note: This story may expand more on Anthems story as well, but of course, I know little of the lore as of the moment as the game hasn't been released yet, so this story may progress a bit slower, (Yes most of my releases are taking a while, but trust me, I'm still working on them) and from the universes I combine with Anthem, some of the events of that world will be different like GATE, where the Empire doesn't encounter the Japanese, and some of the other manga universes might also be combined together based on either the time period or theme.
UPDATE: Sorry I've been away for so long, but school has been kind of hell this year, and I almost never have free time to write, since I also help the schools stage crew. I promise though that when I have free time, I will spend more time writing and yes, I will continue The Rogue and the New World. Possibly during the summer or over spring break, I'll have more time to write, but for now, it's a bit hectic right now, but I hope that you all enjoy this new series as well.
This was just another typical day to be a freelancer.
Jorge Davis , also known as Goliath of Fireteam Gamma, wasn't pleased to be woken at all as sleep was a rare thing for a Freelancer, but these short breaks were for rest, not to defend the Fort Tarsis wall from an incoming Elemental attack.
Still, he had a duty to the fort to uphold and he quickly donned his jumpsuit and pushed through the civilians heading for the safety shelters to get to the launch pad. Jorge wasn't just a normal soldier though, as he piloted a Colossus Javelin, one of the strongest Javelins there were. But his wasn't the standard type as his entire team had some of the most powerful upgrades for the Javelin. For him, he actually had shields and could resist more damage to the armor, and his assault shield had been upgraded to withstand heavier attacks. For his armor, he equipped a mortar for shelling enemies, lock on micro missiles, and a minigun that could automatically target enemies. He also carried his Mauler auto cannon for his primary and for his secondaries, a Lurker grenade launcher and a Constrictor shotgun. He was pretty much the definition of a war machine, but people who really knew him saw him as a kindhearted person, even in his intimidating red and white Javelin.
Jerome continued to run towards the pad, and alongside of him, came Tyrone Smith, also known as Tone, the leader of Gamma. Tyrone had been with the team since the beginning and he was known for being the best strategist and soldier to pilot a Ranger. His suit was outfitted with a grenade dispenser and a drop shield to protect his teammates, along with his own healing device to deploy a healing zone around his allies. He primarily used a Hammerhead assault rifle and a Scattershot shotgun for combat, but his prized possession was Jarras Wrath, a volt rifle acquired after a major battle against the Scar. This powerful weapon basically showed how he had superior gear and was meant to lead.
"What's the situation Tone?" Shouted Jorge as they ducked under a fallen pillar. Tyrone smiled, "We don't need to be so formal now, but alright, General Tarsis said that a strange surge of energy occured at that Arcanist camp near the main launch pad and an hour later, the guard panicked because they saw a hell of a swarm of Elementals heading for the base. Not only the Elementals, but there were a shit ton of Ash Titans rolling with them, but they've seen them around the entire city." Jorge grimaced, as the Titans were one of the most powerful foes to fight outside the walls, and it can be hard to take them down, even with a full fireteam.
They reached the pad, already seeing the other two members of Gamma, Cammie Marshall the active fast pacing explorer, also known as Pathfinder, and Nikolai Zakhaev a quiet, scientific genius, also known as Blitz. Cammie was a Interceptor pilot, fast, stealthy and incredibly strong, even with the lack of armor. Her armor mods included active camouflage, strength and speed enhancers, advance radar, and a newer thruster system which allowed her to fly for longer distances without draining power and overheating as much. She mainly used her Hailstorm machine pistol and Wyvern Blitz sniper rifle as she had the ability to lay hard and quick strikes to the enemy. She was rushing down the stairs and tripped, only to be helped up by Nikolai. She smiled and said thanks, and Nikolai gave a nod back, a rare thing coming from the man.
Nikolai's Storm Javelin was probably the most modded and different from the group as it used a mix of elemental and technological power to fight enemies. His elemental powers were wielded by his own hand as his right arm had special plates made to absorb energy and use it as lightning bolt and for if he were to smash his hand into the ground, it would create a shockwave. He could also generate a shield around himself to both force enemies back from him and protect him from incoming damage. He could also deploy small recon drones to either standby him and act like turrets, or use them to scout areas undetected. He mainly used his Wyvern Blitz sniper rifle, with the addition of a Vengeance shotgun and a Barrage heavy pistol.
The team began to enter their Javelins and just as they were able to move, a rumble shook the ground. The team froze and drew their weapons, and Jorge suddenly saw the platforms exterior door being ripped open. An Ash Titan had managed to climb the wall, and was attempting to access the city. Cammie and Tyson immediately fired at the hand that gripped the door, the titan was holding onto and it let go and roared in pain. Suddenly, Jorge flew past Cammie and she watched as he single-handedly tackled the titan, taking a blow for her that would have damaged her javelin, and tumbled off the platform to the ground below. Shocked, Cammie ran to the edge, hoping that the worst hadn't happened as they had only just entered the suits meaning the thrusters couldn't be fully charged yet. But, with the dramatic pause subsided, Jorge emerged, his Colossus rising up to the platform and the explosion of the titan below.
"Seems we're in for quite a show, and I just had one hell of a prologue!" Jorge said, before recieving a blow to the shoulder by Cammie.
"Don't ever do something stupid like that again!" She yelled punching him in the shoulder again, before noticing the other two looking at her, surprised at the small outburst she produced.
"I don't want to have to drag your heavy ass back to the pad." She said quickly, backing off while unknown to the others, blushing. Tyrone chuckled, and Nikolai shook his head.
They flew down towards the lower walls, where Sentinels were shooting fire Elementals off the wall. There, they saw down by the waterfalls, more Elementals and Ash Titans were scaling the falls, and beelining it towards the wall. The Sentinels were equipped properly but were few in number, and they wouldn't last long. A lieutenant saw them descending and gave them a proper salute.
"What's the situation lieutenant?" Tone asked, as Jorge and Nikolai began shooting the enemies off the wall.
"Sir, we have little ammo left, but they're coming at a slower pace, we should be able to hold off until backup arrives."
"Lieutenant, you'll want to see this!" a soldier yelled, and they hurried over. Tyrone noticed that the few remaining Elementals and Ash Titans had backed off, and went back the way they came, almost as if they received an order. They looked at the console the soldier was looking at. The radar showed the retreating signals of the smaller enemies, but a larger signal was getting closer.
A hand reached over the edge of the falls, and began to rise up. It was another Ash Titan, but this one seemed different. The energy coming off it wasn't yellow, but blue, and the energy could be seen flowing throughout the body.
"Well Goliath, you said there'd be more to share, I think we'll let you get this one," Nikolai said, "Just know not to jump off another cliff."
Jorge chuckled and the team immediately flew towards the behemoth, Jorge already firing missiles at it, attempting to make it open up its weak spot. But the Titan only stood there and suddenly, it began to glow. The Titan was suddenly ripped apart, and in its place, was a energy barrier, which the team was being pulled into. Jorge flew in, as he was the closest and Nikolai followed. Cammie began to fall in too, but Tyrone grabbed her, attempting to pull them both away, but his thrusters overheated and they too fell through the barrier. The barrier then dissipated, leaving the troops behind in shock as Gamma was gone, just like that.
2 HOURS AFTER THE ATTACK
General Melissa Strickland looked around as she headed towards the wall where the barrier was. She was troubled by the event and this sudden attack on the fort, as the Elementals weren't sentient and shouldn't have been able to have such and organized assault like this. In the end, the people were safe, but cost her some of her Sentinels and Fireteam Gamma. She stepped onto the platform where the lieutenant and an Arcanist were looking at the console.
"Be quick, I still have to check the south and west walls, there could be another attack."
The Arcanist nodded and looked back to the console. "Well General, I've been looking over the lieutenants console and trackers and I'm still receiving transmission data from Tone, meaning they're alive, but not here."
Strickland crossed her arms, "Define, "Not here?""
The Arcanist pulled off his mask, with an expression of both concern and curiosity washing over his face. "I'm saying that they're not on this world at all. The only possible explanations are that they're on another world, or possibly another dimension. I think if you give me a little time though, I could use this to open that door up to send in the calvary if need be."
Strickland nodded, "Do it, we need to recover our freelancers, and this also could be a chance to open our kingdom up a bit more."
2 WEEKS LATER
Panache wasn't thrilled about their new assignment. Not that she was against her orders, but the situation was getting worse with Italica and the best consideration was for the empire to either let go of the city, or send their entire army to wave back the attackers. She, Bozes and Beefeater were to assist in retaking the city. They were almost there, as travel by horse would take a couple of days. Suddenly, a bright light shone down from the sky, lighting the area with a blue aura. The horses began to buckle and the knights looked up as an object fell from the sky and crashed into the ground to the right side of the road. The knights began to shout as the hole in the sky vanished.
"Is that a sign from the gods?"
"No you fool, it's a falling star!"
"QUIET!" Boxes roared as order was restored. "Panache, Beefeater, please see to whatever that was, but be quick, we can't keep the princess waiting.
Beefeater unsheathed her sword, "Understood, we will investigate, you go on ahead and we shall catch up."
Panache nodded and she and her fellow knight dismounted their horses and ran towards the object.
The knights stared into the crater shocked at the sight before them. A giant suit of red and white armor laid before them, smoke still rising from the impact. But this armor was bigger than standard Empire armor, and didn't seemed to be monster armor either. This thing looked as if it could easily take an ogre.
Panache noticed the shock in Beefeaters face as she said, "Do you think it's only armor?"
Her question was answered as the armor began to hum and glow. The helmets eye began to glow and the armor began to move. The knights drew their swords, expecting an attack. The armor rose up and the plates on it began to shift. Suddenly, before them, was a literal giant of a man, if it was a man at all.
For once, Jorge honestly thought he hit his head on something too hard this time. The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the sky was clear. That's something you normally wouldn't see on Anthem due to the constant storms. He quickly stood up, and studied his surroundings. He was in a clearing by a dirt road, the background was the tall mountains, and lush forests. The thing that was really out of the ordinary were the two woman standing near him. One had purple hair and another had short silver hair, and both were decked out in full knight armor, with swords drawn. He didn't know wether this was a joke, or if he had ended up somewhere other than Anthem, but he should at least try to make a good contact, and not end up with a serious ass kicking. Of course, he would be doing the ass kicking, but he didn't feel right about them as they looked so young, possibly in their late teens. He checked to make sure he still had his weapons and fortune favored him, were all still there. He raised his hands to show he was friendly.
"Who are you, a man or a beast?" the silver one said, acting as if she had the higher authority.
"Answer to the Rose Order of the Empire, or we shall cut you down!" The purple one said with the same tone, but Jorge saw the nervous look in her eyes.
"I mean no harm, I need to get back to Fort Tarsis if you know the way ma'am."
This only caused them to tighten their sword grips, and just before the situation could escalate any further, an explosion in the distance caused all of them to look towards the sound, only to see smoke in the distance.
The purple haired woman looked and her eyes went wide. "Italica… The Princess and the Order need our help! We must go at once Panache!"
The one called Panache replied worriedly, "The horses ran off, and Italica is still too far for us to simply run."
"Well, if you can put those swords down and maybe loosen up with that attitude, maybe I can help you." The two looked at him suspiciously and did loosen up a bit but kept their ready stance.
"Mister, It would be kind of you, but we have no way no reach Italica fast enough if you haven't heard." Jorge sighed, then grabbed the two of them and held them under his arms and began to sprint.
"Hey, Put us down this instant!" Panache yelled, blushing as did the other.
"Just relax, enjoy the two minute flight, and thank you for flying air Jorge." Jorge chuckled, and jumped off the ground, engaging his thrusters. Thankfully with the upgrades, the thrusters should be able to last until they reached Italica, but he wasn't sure if they should expect a hostile presence in the city. He hoped for at least a warm welcome, maybe some tea, but in a world where everything seemed to be all medieval, it was probably likely that those chances were very slim.
Panache couldn't believe the power that this man had. Even though they clearly showed force against him, he still offered to help them and get them to Italica. And he could fly. Both Panache and Beefeater didn't say anything the entire ride, as they were amazed by the speed he was going at, considering his armor seemed to be almost light weight.
A smoke flume caught her attention and she looked down to see Italica, with smoke rising from the walls. No attackers were visible, but there was no sign of any activity in the city.
"Over there, that's Italica!" Panache yelled over the wind, the man looked up, and his eye narrowed.
"I'm seeing guys on the walls, and people behind the gate, are they yours?
"Y-Yes that's them." How could he see that far? Even at a short distance on foot, they wouldn't be able to see that far without an eyeglass.
"Well, hold on tight, I'm going for a quick landing, then I'll scale the wall."
"Wait what do you mea- AHHHHH," Beefeater was cut off as the man began to fall feet first, them clinging to him for dear life. Is this how they would go out? By simply falling from the sky than having an honorable death? But as they were about to hit the ground the man simply slowed their fall and hovered above the ground by just a few inches. Then as quick as they stopped, He flew over the walls, taking the Italica guard by surprise. He landed behind the main gate, letting them go when he safely landed, but Beefeater was still clinging to him.
"Uh, Ma'am, are you alright?"
"Y-Yes I'm fine!" She said throwing herself out of his arms, blushing furiously. Suddenly, armed guards rushed out, mostly comprised of the townspeople surrounded them. The man suddenly went into a defensive stance, throwing himself in front of them, holding what seemed to be a shield out in front of him, and multiple objects popped out of his back.
"NO STAND DOWN, HE'S WITH US!" Panache yelled, but a figure in a black and red outfit with an enormous axe jumped down from a building in the middle of the circle. It was none other that the oracle, Rory the Reaper. She was feared by those who did misdeeds as she was all for combat and was the vessel for souls to pass on through. She had her usual smile of mischievousness and began slowly walking towards the man, twirling her axe.
"Finally a better opponent, someone new, someone who shall pay for assaulting the city," She said. The man began to lower his shield, but stayed firm in his stance.
"I guess I should have knocked first, but let's not start brawling kid, I'm here to -,"
"You have no idea who I am don't you? Very well, death will be quick!" She said, full on sprinting towards him. Panache watched in horror as the blade struck its target, the blow so great, dust flew from all around. When it cleared, all were shocked to see the man caught the blow between his hands. Even Rory was shocked. Before she could react, the man kicked her back and disarmed her, throwing the axe aside and aimed a metal rod at her.
Rory stood up shocked, "Not even the fastest Bunny Warrior could move as fast as that! Who are you mortal?"
The man lowered his weapon, and the objects on his back retracted into his armor. "My callsign is Goliath, Freelancer from Fort Tarsis. And I'm here to help." He extended his hand out to help her up. Rory took it, smiling.
"Well I guess you aren't the typical bandit type, so you shall be a worthy ally in this battle." She retrieved her axe and walked away. But she had a troubled look on her face, almost still in shock that this man disarmed her so easily.
Goliath turned to the two, still standing where they were, the guards dispersing and returning to their posts, speaking about the armored man before them. "Well, after putting on a show like that, are you going to take me to a commander or something?" Panache was about to say something when Hamilton, the princesses assistant and fellow Order member ran towards them.
"Knights Panache and Beefeater, the princess requires you both at the palace, and to bring this man with you."
"Understood, we will be with you shortly, Goliath, will you please follow us?"
"Lead the way Ma'am"
And the four of them headed for the palace, where the defences for the next attack were already being put underway.
The minute Jorge saw the planning room, he saw what a mess command these people had. The red haired teen at the end of the table must have been the princess, who gave him a quick look and was almost nervous of the situation. Panache and Beefeater introduced him to her and the Knights around the table.
"Your highness, this is the man we stopped to investigate on our way here. This is Goliath of Fort Tarsis and he-"
"I don't have time to know a complete stranger, who also managed to best our best warrior in our defence! The enemy said they would return within two hours and our numbers and defences are dwindling."
Jorge stepped closer and the knights at the table drew their swords, but he ignored it and looked at the plans laid out before them. He saw the enemy had been attacking the same side, the main gate, and they were most likely about to hit it again, as he saw how damaged and battered the wall on that side was. But instead of increasing some of the troops at that gate, she put the majority of her men around the others walls and had very few soldiers at the gate. What was even more shit about it was the majority of the people at that wall were civilians.
"Your Highness, I'm going to be straight with you but this is a very shit plan you have that will result in multiple civilian casualties."
"What did you say?" The princess replied angrily, but mainly surprised, probably since no one has ever talked down on her before.
"You spread your troops too thin and you put civilians to guard the most hit gate. I guarantee you that when your attackers come, they will hit that same gate again and it will fall, you need to strengthen the east gate otherwise it will fall."
"Nonsense, that gate has held, and it will hold again!" A knight yelled at him, as the others apart from Panache and Beefeater, followed in suit.
"We will keep the strategy the princess has lasted this long!" Another yelled, "Who are you to question our leaders strategy?"
Jorge had about enough of this. These people were acting as if they were all high and mighty, but most of them were complete dumbasses. "Ok so how many battles or defences has she led?"
"This is her first, as the leader as the Order of the Rose and Pina Co Lada of the Empire."
Jorge facepalmed himself. "You gotta be fucking kidding me, this is a joke!"
Two knights drew their swords, "How dare you insult the Empire, you shall pay!" They both rushed him, almost pronouncing how they would boldy defeat him but Jorge knew that once again, these morons would fall. The first knight tried to stab him, but Jorge yanked him up and the knight let go, unseathing a knife and plunging it into the armor. The armor caught the blow, but Jorge was pissed, He fired a concussion blast right into his chest and the man went flying backwards. The other Knight went for a downward strike, but this time, Jorge smacked the blade up causing the knight t stagger backwards, before kicking him across the room. As the other knights began to draw their swords, Jorge drew the Mauler off his back and fired several rounds into the air. He looked around, only to see the Knights on the ground in fear, the princess on the ground as well in shock. Jorge took a few steps towards the princess, and she was scared of him. This was not the ideal first impression. He sighed, put his weapon away, and extended his hand out to her.
"I know this isn't the ideal first impression and I get that here you have your power status, but that doesn't make everything you do seem holy and mighty. I'm sorry I began the argument and fought your men, but could we please put this behind us and move forward? I want to help these people because it's what we Freelancers do. I may be new to this world, but I'm still going to do my job, whether you like it or not. So can we please work together?"
The princess gave a long stare before pushing his hand aside, non-aggressively and standing up. "Panache, please escort this man out of the building for now, I have no time to have talks."
"Guess they're going to keep me out of the loop," Jorge thought, as Panache escorted him out. This wouldn't stop him from doing his job though, he would defend the town, with or without the Empires support or permission. Panache led him out, amazed at the strength and willpower this man had shown.
The situation was starting to look like shit, just as Jorge knew it would. The Empire's main soldiers were around the wall too thin and they were messing around, not even one was on lookout. Sure the Sentinels and Freelancers could joke a bit in their work but they still got the job done. These fools were just there to harass the citizens and slack off, as the villagers on the defence were put behind a poorly constructed fence behind the main gate and were herded like animals. The guards even beat a man who looked too weak to fight back, they only backed off when Jorge got close. The citizens were more curious than scared of who he was as he treated them with kindness. The Empire's soldiers looked at him like he was taking their job, as if their job even existed. He had also learned some more about the Empire and Italica, as well as the surrounding area. But the information he heard about the Empire was not good as they were extremely disregarded of their citizens and treated them the way they wanted. And if they needed to keep citizens from joining the enemy, they would just kill them then and there, without thought. But apart from learning more about this world, Jorge kept hoping to hear or see signs that his fireteam was here as well, but no luck so far. As he leaned against the top of the wall, Jorge pulled up the comm unit to see if it was working. With luck, it did and it also showed his team status, which all showed healthy and green, but it couldn't track them or communicate with them. "Guess I should have been listening more to Nikolai about comm repair." Footsteps came from behind and he turned to see Panache walking towards him. She and the other knight Beefeater seemed to be the only ones who would talk to him and show a bit of kindness.
"I'm sorry about the fight between our knights and you, they were severely reprimanded for lashing out like that." Jorge sighed, lowering his head. Panache looked confused. "Was it something I said?"
"More like what your men do. I understand that we come from different societies, but in my point of view, your Empire is not what you all say it is. I've seen the way civilians have been treated, and how you do things, but it just isn't right." He decided not to tell her about the horrendous acts the Empire did to the people yet. "Also just your occupation force in general, A good leader should not come up with a strategy that could cost the battle."
Panache leaned over the wall railings, looking into the distance. "I know, I agree with you on that, but I can't do much about it, even if I'm one of her majesty's main knights. We follow our leaders, knowing our great empire will continue to last. I hate watching my fellow knights die, but we follow our orders, as this will help continue our reign."
The two just watched the sun, leaning over the barrier, when an guard cried out, "INCOMING INVADERS!"
Jorge looked out to see an army outside the city. He estimated the attacking force to be consisted of at least 700 foot mobiles, maybe 300 horse riders, and artillery such as catapults coming up over the hill. The catapults launched volleys of fireballs over the wall, and one almost hit their position and killed them, if Jorge hadn't grabbed Panache and flung them over to the next piece of cover. "I'll slow them down, you get to safety and make sure the civilians are in a secure position!"
Panache panicked, as arrows began to fly, as this man was about to disobey a direct order from her highness. "No, you can't the princess will be furious and the empire will target you as well, and I don't want you to die!" Jorge was shocked that this woman, who only met him a few hours ago, actually didn't want him to go, even if she was part of an empire. She blushed, then said, "The knights can deal with it!"
Jorge looked down into the streets, seeing the civilians scared shitless. He even saw a child amidst the crowd. He couldn't let these people fight by themselves, as the raiders had already reached the wall and were in the process of knocking the door down. He grabbed Panaches hands, and said, "I'm doing this so there can be less loss of life and so you'll be safe too. I promise you that I will return." Panache looked shocked at these words. But she nodded and let go. Jorge nodded, then hopped on top the wall, his armor shifting to reinforce and shield, and grabbed the Mauler off his back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm late to an asskicking party." And with that he flew over the wall, and headed towards the artillery. Those had to go first. He locked on to them and strafed the entire row, lighting up the hillside and the troops as well. He heard a scream from below, "ARCHERS, SHOOT THAT THING DOWN!" Arrows began to fly and he barely missed a volley, with only some bouncing off his armor. He began to fire more missiles and brought out the shoulder mini gun and began to fire onto the horse riders. It was a absolute massacre, as they couldn't stand up to the Colossus's might. Suddenly the enemy began roaring with glee, and he turned to see the gate had been kicked down. He knew that as their tactics haven't changed much, they could only send a small amount of troops over the walls and through the gate, but the townspeople wouldn't last that long, so he reversed direction and headed into the city.
The head of the brute bounced across the ground and over towards the invaders as Rory swung her axe again. The civilians behind the makeshift barricade were trapped and couldn't help her. The raiders began to laugh and circle around her but as they were about to charge, something slammed into the ground. The raiders flew back away from her and hit the other troops lined up. When the dust cleared, Rory saw the armored stranger, Goliath, looming before her. He pulled some sort of contraption off of his back and it began to fire off pieces of metal that killed the soldiers almost immediately and even cut through their armor and shields with ease. A warrior closed in on him, but he punched him and threw him aside. Goliath began to walk forward, killing anything in front of him with ease. Rory rushed forward, hoping to not miss the bloodshed to come.
The raiders in the city were wiped out immediately by this mysterious man, Pina was almost complete disbelief as she watched him and Rory easily slayed anything in their path, and forced the enemy back out the gate. Hamilton, and the other elder knight with her were looking on in shock too.
"Such power, he doesn't even have to get close to kill his enemy."
"Did you see the artillery being destroyed? The fire erupted from him before hitting the catapult!"
"It has to be magic right?"
Pina looked onto this. This power almost bests what the Empire had, and this man could be their greatest foe. Suddenly the wind picked up, and a figure flew overhead and over towards where the battle was occuring. But she noticed in that direction as well, she saw all of the remaining enemy forces charging the city. They were making their final, desperate push, and that was too many men for the remaining soldiers to hold out against.
Hamilton began to shake in fear, and the elder knight was becoming concerned once more. "Your highness, what do you want the men to do? You need to counter this movement?"
The Princess could only stare, mouth agape, as she realized today was the day, that the Empire would actually lose a battle.
"I should have known you'd find us you smart bastard!"
Jorge smiled and gave a thumbs up as Nikolai began descending, his cape flowing dramatically in the wind. Nikolai touched the ground and walked towards him, both fistbumping to greet each other. "How'd you find me?"
"By your comms beacon of course, I repaired mine and I immediately headed to your position, did you not fix your comm?"
"Yeah, no."
"I see, well I'll repair it later, but for now, should we take care of those charging barbarians outside the gate?"
Jorge looked to see the rest of the raider force charging the gate, as they had only one final push left in them. "Yeah I guess so, you ready to pull a hellstorm maneuver?"
Nikolai nodded, and energy began to crackle around him as he lifted off the ground. "Set to blaze and burn."
Jorge hopped onto the wall and readied the lock on missiles and the mortar, while Nikolai began to charge up energy and raised his shields. They then let loose hell on the enemies. Nikolai rained lightning upon them row by row, while Jorge took out any of the remaining stragglers with his missiles. The enemy force was reduced to rubble and ashes within two minutes. The enemy commander and a soldier were attempting to flee. "Nikolai, if you'd do the honors?"
Nikolai pulled the Wyvern Blitz sniper rifle off of his back and aiming straight at the two figures, "Gladly," and pulling the trigger, taking both of them out with one shot.
The two high fived and landed back onto the ground. Panache and Beefeater approached the men as the villagers began to cheer, while the Empire's soldiers looked on in shock at the ravaged land and strewn of bodies before them. Jorge noticed a weird look on Panaches face as she looked down and around his body before realizing she was looking for wounds. Nikolai turned to look at him. "New friends of yours I presume?"
Jorge smiled before beckoning them over. "Yeah, something like that. Are you all alright?"
Panache nodded, "Yes,thank you for helping Italica even though it was not your fight, we are very grateful for that act. But may I ask who this is?" She pointed towards Nikolai, who was hovering above the ground, still contracting energy.
"This is Blitz, the Storm of Fireteam Gamma, and as you can see, a powerhouse for our team as well."
"Hello ma'am, is there anything else we can do to assist?"
Panache was about to ask more questions, but the arrival of the queens right hand stopped her, Hamilton, he thought was her name. The woman whispered something in her ear and she nodded. Then, Hamilton turned to face the armored men.
"The Princess has ordered the two strangers and you knights to her chamber immediately for a important matter. No exceptions are to be made so follow me please."
Nikolai opened his visor, a concerned and disapproving look swept across his face. "Can't this woman wait? These people need assistance and by the way I'm seeing things, your men aren't doing a thing to help." He was right. The Imperial soldiers were boasting about the victory, already heading off to celebrate while few villagers were left to tend for the dead, who were trying to save their homes from the fire. "We can't just go off just yet. While your soldiers boast about, there is still wounded left on the battlefield."
The knights beside Hamilton gripped their blades. "This is not a matter of argument. You shall come with us." The other Imperial soldiers began to raise their weapons. as well Jorge raised his autocannon and Nikolai raised his shields. Things were about to get ugly. Suddenly, thuds from behind and the sound of weapon safeties being clicked off were heard behind them. Jorge turned to see Sentinels appear behind them, weapons pointed at every armored soldier. Jorge looked up and saw a portal above them, the source of the Sentinels drop point.
The armored form of General Strickland's storm armor also landed with the Sentinels as she began having them secure the soldiers and form a perimeter. Her armor almost resembled the Monitors armor, except all white and gold. Jorge and Nikolai saluted her as she came forth, even though they weren't Sentinels, they still showed respect to her and the other high ranking officers. She looked around and outside the walls at the destroyed army. "At ease Freelancers, I take it that you two already started some trouble?"
Jorge's helmet finally came off, revealing his face for the first time in the new world. "You could say that ma'am, but it's a bit complicated, so would you like the story now or send you a debrief later?"
Strickland took off her helmet as well, revealing the 46 year old woman underneath, smiling. "Send it later, I'll look it up once the city is secure, for now it looks as if you'll need some assistance, so as the ones to make first contact, please, tell us what you need done."
Jorge began to point out the most hard hit areas, and Sentinel Colossus's began to move debris and begin repairs to the wall and gate. Sentinel medics began to treat the wounded, and Sentinel soldiers were already beginning to secure the imperial soldiers who were surrendering their arms in a less friendly way.
"This is madness, who do they think they are?" Panache thought as she and Beefeater were currently being arrested by a soldier from the other world. They were about to be taken when Jorge intervened. "Hold up there soldier, they are with my team, they're cool."
"Yes sir! Sorry ma'am, please don't take this the wrong way."
Panache rubbed her wrist where the soldier had grabbed her. "Jorge, why are your soldiers taking our soldiers prisoner?"
"Well, the minute the princess made that aggressive move against me and Blitz over here, they attempted to subdue freelancers of Fort Tarsis, so until the issue is resolved, we may be on opposite sides of a possible conflict for now, but since you two took no action against us, you're fine so you'll be treated normally, just please don't start fights with our men. Your soldiers will be imprisoned temporarily and will be treated fairly until they can be released. But if any of your soldiers attempt to attack them, the Sentinels will not hesitate to defend themselves."
Panache was almost angry, but scared at the same time. Earlier, she watched as Hamilton and her escort were taken into custody, resisting too much that the soldiers knocked them out. Panache thinking to herself of how the situation would end as most of the time, the Empire would either engage in all out war, or negotiate to integrate that kingdom into the Empire. As Jorge walked off, she reflected what she saw of their people so far. He and Blitz had been willing enough to defend a city that wasn't theirs, and even focused on rebuilding and helping the citizens first before the celebration. She couldn't believe it, but she was actually beginning to admire the man for his actions, although she and him were on opposite sides of a possible conflict. She then realised that since Italica was now under the control of these people, they might do unspeakable things to them. The marauders attacked Italica to plunder the city and take advantage of the people, including the cities young ruler, so wouldn't these people could also have their way as well. She thought that at least they could attempt to help these men rebuild the walls while waiting for the princess to give them an order, unless she gave them up as concubines to try to keep peace. She beckoned Beefeater over to the two Colossus holding up a house, attempting to rescue two civilians underneath it. She and Beefeater got the two out and the Colossus dropped the rubble, one of them falling over in the process. Beefeater helped him back up and his visor dropped down and he smiled, thanking them. "What else could we do to help lord?" She asked.
The giant looked at them strangely for a moment, then pointed over towards the east gate tower. "Well, your watchtower is going to collapse without proper supports so could you please gather some citizens who would be willing to pitch in and help us? We can hold the tower and move the heavy material, but it's your design so we'd like you to be the one to place the foundations."
Beefeater nodded, "At your service Lord," before running off. The expression on the mans face changed to a puzzled, yet concerned look. Panache began to panic. Were they not pleased with their efforts? "Lord is there something wrong? Have we not done something right? Please forgive us!"
"Whoa there lady, calm down! You did nothing wrong!" the soldier said, picking her up off the ground, "and also, I appreciate the attempt at royalty, but I'm just a staff sergeant, engineer first class, so no need for that. And also I don't think that, -" was the last thing he uttered out before she jolted up, hitting him square in the head with her metal glove, knocking him out cold. Panache looked down in horror at what she had done and looked around as two Sentinels surrounded her. "Alright lady take it easy, just please come quietly."
"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER!" yelled Beefeater from behind as she charged the Sentinels, her sword out in front ready to strike. The soldier shoved the blade aside then grabbed her neck from behind and pinning her to the ground. "UNHAND ME! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"
The soldier replied in an exaggerated way as he chained her and pulled her off the ground. "As a matter of fact I do, You're another kid in an order that almost seems to be surrounded by complete belief that you are high and mighty, but in reality, you're basically playing dress up, and have no idea of how to defend a city, which had good defences, but also lacked the proper strategy to withstand a siege." Panache flared up too. Who did this man think he was talking about? Both these "Freelancers," and these Sentinels seemed to see the Empire and the Order as complete nonsense, as if they were all a joke. And before you knew it, she too was arrested and taken to the castle dungeons, where they awaited certain torture and rape by these conquerors.
Nikolai usually loved to attend peace negotiations, but this one was almost funny and frustrating at the same time. First, the minute they arrived, the Sentinels were ordered to take all the Empire soldiers and imprison them for now as they had already attempted to attack the Freelancers, and this process was almost long and annoying. The soldiers resisted with swords and spears which were nothing compared to the Javelins, with all soldiers being either captured or shot if resistance was getting bad, with only minor damage to the Javelins. Nikolai got the worse of this resistance, as a soldier on a horse attempted to escape the city, only to be yanked off by Jorge. The horse in fear, kicked Nikolai who was directly behind it, straight into a house. Jorge sure got a hell of a laugh from that. Then, the General and this Princess Pina chick had met up to agree to a peace and to release the rest of her soldiers, but the Empire was to leave Italica alone. She was stubborn to negotiate with and almost had her way, until the leader of the city, Countess Mui agreed to it as, she saw it as a good opportunity for her city, and to also be protected if the Empire troops came to burn their city next. He also wondered why an 11 year old was in charge of a damn city, but it wasn't really the time so he kept quiet about it for now. Then only about an hour after the treaty was signed, the two woman who Jorge allowed to roam free assaulted an engineer and they were immediately detained. Now, he's about to listen to Strickland lecture the girl on the whole treaty.
"Do you not have a proper way of communicating with your people and telling them of the situation?" Strickland asked. Frustration poured out of her, but she remained calm and cool. "Now I just want to clarify that -"
Pina cut her off with a whole lot of bullshit excuses and arrangements, but he could only make out just some of it, but one thing they said absolutely pissed off the Sentinels. "Please forgive us, they shall be severely punished for what they've done! Perhaps we can come to an arrangement, give them to you as concubines perhaps? "
Strickland was shocked and furious and so was Nikolai and the two Sentinel escorts. Who would sell out their own as concubines just to save their own hide? "Who the fuck do you think we are?" yelled one of the Sentinels.
The princess was now shaking, fear was about to consume this girl. "I-I don't understand, what's the -"
"Princess Pina, we are placing you under temporary arrest for these actions. Blitz, handle them."
"With pleasure ma'am."
Pina's guards rushed out in front of her, the few order knights that were allowed to be with the lady. A brown haired woman stepped in front of her, shielding her from the Sentinels. "PROTECT THE PRINCESS, TAKE CARE OF THESE MEN!"
"NO WAIT!" yelled the princess, but shit already went down before she knew. The Sentinels shot the swords out of two of the knights hands and forced them on the ground while Blitz shot a bolt of lightning at the last knight, who fell unconscious to the ground. Thankfully, Blitz learned how to control the power and voltage of his lightning or else a standard blast would have vaporized the guy. The brown haired knight jumped from the small platform the princess was on and was about to strike a nearby soldier, when Nikolai tackled her and threw the sword aside, the woman somehow threw him off and kicked his legs out, denting the armor a bit. "Her armor is different, better try the magnetic grenade." He thought. The magnetic grenade creates a magnetic field that pulls all metal objects towards it, primarily attachments and gadgets, so Javelins aren't affected. He tossed the grenade and it detonated right on a wall. The woman's armor was ripped clean off, leaving her only in a tight black cloth outfit. She blushed furiously and proceeded to charge n before being slammed into the ground by the again only for a concussion blast to hit her square in the chest, sending her flying across the floor, until she hit the ground, right at the princess's feet. Strickland sighed, stepping around the downed knights and stood directly in front of the princess, Nikolai on the side in case she tried anything. "Princess may I make myself clear, you violated the treaty within an hour and for now, your kingdom and my Sentinels are in a tight standoff. We wish to only have peace, but we can't do that when you can't keep your own soldiers under control. For now, your Knights are going to the holding cells, while you and I are going to have a discussion about how things might play out if either the peace continues, or we are forced to go to war with your people. Do you understand?"
Pina nodded, regaining composure. "I may be with the Empire, but I prefer peace than war. My father and brothers however, are a different story, as they would likely go to war when they hear of this incursion. They will gather the biggest force you've ever seen, and I fear that even your impressive magic and armor may not fare well against them." Truth be told, she wasn't sure how the Empire could hold out against these people. Their firesticks were extremely deadly and the armor seemed to be some sort of magic enchantments, but there's no way that simple magic could create that kind of power. So I would like to see to it that peace can be achieved."
Strickland smiled, "Alright, just resign this treaty please and your soldiers will be released and sent back to the capital. If you are going to work with us, we will send a way for you to communicate with us, but we will only trust your Order with keeping the peace. If we go to war with the Empire, we'll work on peace still, but if your own soldiers get caught in the crossfire, I can't tell my men to not defend themselves. So, are we clear?"
Pina nodded, "Yes General, I'm clear on the details. We will hopefully hear from you soon yes?" Strickland nodded, then beckoned for her men to follow her, and they headed out the door to the dungeons to release the troops. The brown haired knight shot a glare at Nikolai, apparently not pleased with the situation, and because of her humiliating defeat at the swipe of a hand. She apparently wasn't convinced that this treaty would work as well, but she followed in suit. Strickland told him to regroup with Jorge, and wait for their new tasking. Nikolai wandered the palace, searching for Jorge, as this place was huge, almost like the markets of Fort Tarsis. Finally Nikolai opened the door to a lounge room, where he found Jorge sitting on the floor, surrounded by maids, telling them what seemed to be the history of the Legion of Dawn. The thing that he noticed about the woman is that some of them had animal traits. There was one with rabbit ears, one with snake hair, and another with cat ears and a tail. The other was completely human. Nikolai was surprised at the sight, but then again, he should have expected something like this. After all, it wasn't like exploring the Scar's structures, or even the Shaper structures created by the Anthem.
"Alright up and ready big guy, General wants us ready for tasking so let's get to the gate."
Jorge stood up and shut off his comm unit. "Sorry kids, looks like we're cutting history class short today. Hopefully, you'll either see me again, or a friendly neighborhood Arcanist can teach you all you need to know!" The maids squealed and waved them off as they flew off from the palace. Nikolai noticed at the south gate, soldiers were already beginning to leave the city and make their long journey back to the empire. Hopefully, the king wouldn't overreact like he expected an all powerful man would and declare war, but it was the inevitable. Just as they reached the east gate, off in the distance, flames roared and shot over the trees. Something was going down already? Their luck must be either piss poor, or golden luck. Strickland immediately came onto the comm, already sounding frustrated as she now had a new situation. "Freelancers! Get your asses over their and check it out now please? That may be a good distance today, but the last thing we need today is a dragon or more fantasy bullshit to deal with." Nikolai smirked, knowing Jorge was going to have another story for the ladies when he returned. "Affirmative ma'am, we're inbound to target location, ETA one hour."
Tyrone wasn't too thrilled with how his, "new world," experience was going. When he and Cammie landed, both their comms were knocked out, as well as their thrusters, which had somehow overheated extremely so they wouldn't work till they cooled off. Then while on their long run, they came across a fantasy village, hoping to make contact. Then they found out these people were elves, that didn't even speak their language, and they couldn't translate with their comms offline. Then, almost on cue, a damn dragon came in and began laying waste to the villagers. The Freelancers began to barrage the beast and had little effect on it until Tyrone shot it in the eye, and Cammie slashed its arm off. This wounded the beast, but only angered it as it rampaged through the village. Cammie had already grabbed the last of the surviving villagers and dashed off, but there were two more left, one the apparent village leader and the other a young female. A wall of flame erupted around them as the beast closed in. Tyrone grabbed the two and began to sprint for a nearby well he jumped down and turned around so he would take the impact of the fall. The last thing he remembered was the eruption of flames roll over them before blacking out completely as his head hit the rocks.