Advance Wars: Rise of the White Sun Chapter 1: Bad News 0800 HOURS

'Andy, we need ground forces mobile, now!' Shouted Nell down the intercom in the war room. 'Green Earth are moving in hostiles! They're trying to take the H.Q!'

Her voice was riddled with worry and determination. Andy, taken aback by the news, replied, his voice wavering with an implacable emotion. 'Wha-a-What? We had a treaty? An agreement! What happened! Who's the CO?'

'That's uncertain at this time, but multiple airborne signals suggest Eagle. As for the treatie, we have no way of knowing. We are not entitled to such knowledge by our superiors, you know tha-'

'EAGLE! Oh no, I'm not fightin' him again, not since last time.'

'But there are no other Commanding Officers available.' Nell was persistent in her efforts to persuade Andy into engaging wit the feared tactician. 'I LOST 3 OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS IN THAT AIRSTRIKE! ONE OF THEM WAS MY BROTHER! But d'you know what's worse, Nell? He laughed at me. HE LAUGHED AT MY FALLEN COMRADES! Never again…' Andy bowed his head and closed his eyes. A small tear could be seen to trickle calmly down his cheek. 'Look Andy, no one's more regretful of that than I am, but if we don't do this, we'll lose this war. You're in this fight, and that's a direct order! Break it and you will be Court Marshalled without mercy. There is no choice.' Nell's usually calm voice had grown harsh and stern, a side of her which Andy had not seen before, and he doubted many had. He dried his eyes and uttered one word. 'Fine'. Nell leaned back in her chair and relaxed. 'I'm sorry. You know as well as anyone that if I could send someone else, I would. It's out of my hands. I'm sorry. Now, report to the War Room for debriefing and unit deployment.

0900 HOURS The War Room

Andy was unusually quiet when compared to his normal, loud and excited self. Nell began the debriefing; 'Now, as you are aware, our radars detected hostile forces moving in on our location at 0800 hours. Such forces were also reported to have recently attacked Blue Moon, of whom we have a strong alliance with. They provided us with useful information of which we can use to or mutual advantage. We now have confirmation that the active Commanding Officer is Eagle of Green Earth. However, after a long debate, we have reason to believe that he is not under the faction's order. It is possible that he has been employed by Black Hole against the wishes of Green Earth. At this point, it is impossible to tell. Now, our best bet is to station Anti Aircraft guns around the shore to fight back the wealth and might of his army. There are also a large number of naval units on the way. As with the AA guns, to counter these, we have stationed various submarines around the city. With luck, this should prevent him from reaching the shore. There is still a possibility that he will, however, so we are mobilising medium tanks, reconnaissance and infantry units, both mechanised and regular, most of which shall be deployed around the H.Q. Enemy forces should come within firing range at approximately 0100 hours. That about wraps it up. Any questions?' Nell looked around the room. She focused on Andy. 'None? Andy?' He solemnly shook his head. 'Good. Then we're ready. Andy, I'll be on hand to supply advice, but I'm afraid that's all I can do. But don't worry. This won't be like the last time. I'll make sure of it.' Normally, Nell's words would be reassuring to Andy. This time they weren't. He nodded and left.

0950 HOURS The Battlefield

The atmosphere was tense as a carrier helicopter weaved through the sky above the city. Below, the helpless soldiers looked like ants as they worriedly prepared for the oncoming attack, aware of the fact that many of them would not see the battle's grim conclusion. There was a group of mechanics clearing the helicopter's landing pad. Vomit churned in Andy's stomach as he observed the scene. He knew that as soon as the copter touched down, he was as good as dead. The copter he was in was flanked by two others, containing his squad. He also felt a sense of guilt that he would be behind all the action, and not on the front line like all the soldiers, desperate for a way out of the situation. But no matter how long they waited, no retreat order was passed. No brilliant news of enemy forces withdrawing. Just the stench of vomit and fear. The blades slowed as the helicopter landed on top of the H.Q, soon followed by the other two. Andy climbed out of the cockpit, silent as the rotors blew his hair to and fro randomly. There was no going back. As the members of his squad dismounted, he thought of his fallen comrades. He thought of facing the enemy that had taken them from the world. The enemy that had laughed in his face after doing so. He curled his hand into a fist and collapsed to his knees on the concrete floor. He took deep breath to fight back the sickness. It wasn't working. He was helped up by one of his squad as the helicopters each took off in turn, and flew back to safety. He scrambled after them on all fours, spluttering out random noises in desperation, only to vomit repeatedly. The men on the pad shook their heads sorrowfully before helping him up again and walking him down into the H.Q.

The building was heavily guarded, more so than usual, for obvious reasons. The windows were lined with snipers and the doors with armed guards. Andy was escorted into the Tactical Operations room. In the centre, there was a large table with a digitised LCD display of a bird's eye view of the city, with tracking devices on all squads and squad members. A cruel way of preventing unauthorised retreat. A good way of issuing direct orders to specific units. A voice buzzed through speakers at the corners of the room; 'Enemy forces still advancing. They shall enter firing range in approximately 3 minutes.' Andy sat and was supplied with a glass of chilled water as he recovered steadily. The city's defence minister spoke out; 'Mr Andrews, requesting permission to launch a sword of Class A Sparrow fighters to intercept the enemy aircraft.' Andy sat, shaking, seemingly ignorant to the man's words. 'Sir, we need to launch now, else we'll suffer the attack head on, facing almost certain defeat!' Andy still sat silently, images of the falling bombs, screaming soldiers running for their lives, the penetrating sound of Eagle's cold blooded laughter. Andy gripped the glass firmly, shattering it, sending shards into hi fingers and water down his front. He brushed the glass off his person and sat up. 'Granted' he said firmly. He was no longer shaking. Anger coursed through his blood, his heart beating unhealthily fast. One thought stuck in his head, one word running over and over. REVENGE.

The 5 aircraft took off in formation and had broken the sound barrier within 20 seconds of leaving the airfield. The squadron leader armed his weapons. 'Eagle 3, Fox 1, loaded.' The other 4 pilots mimicked this. 'This is squad leader, we have confirmed visual, reading 5 bogeys, look like scout class fighters. Maintain formation!'

'Roger'

'Affirmative'

'Roger Wilco'

'Aye, roger'

The pilots sped on, ready to fire at first contact. 'This is 3, I have an incoming missile!'

'Evade! Evade!'

'I can't, it's a heat seeker! Requesting immediate assistanc-' His panicked voice was cut off. Only a small explosion could be seen through the dense clouds. The shattered wreckage of the plane sped to the waters below in various pieces, before hitting the surface of the water and sinking along the with remains of the man who had valiantly piloted it. 'CONTACT!'