Chapter 1
1st Lt. Jacob Shaw leaned back in seat, illuminated by the low light of the troop bay. He and the five other soldiers who comprised his squad were on their way back to base after a two week patrol in the wilds of Colorado.
Since the war's end a few months ago, refugees had been heading every which way they could, desperate to escape the Coalition's wrath. Some never made it and some did. Those who didn't usually found themselves in one of the Coalition's prison camps. If they were lucky to be human and normal.
D-bees, sorcerers, demons and everything else usually were executed on sight. Couldn't take chances with them. One second of hesitation usually found you either incinerated with hellfire or watching helplessly as you slaughtered your comrades.
Shaw's team had encountered a refugee group that had just managed to cross the border. All human and not a single threat among them. Just civvies trying to get out of the way. It wasn't their fault their leaders got them involved in a war.
Such as it was, his orders were clear. But because they were no threat, he was able to have them imprisoned rather than having to kill the lot of them. He remembered the hopeless and defeated looks on their faces as they disappeared into the belly of the Death's Head transport. When he enlisted ten years ago, he believed in fighting for humanity, regardless of who or what they were.
Oh, he knew that some would be corrupted. In this world, it was almost a daily occurrence. But the poor souls who didn't have the fortune of being born in the Coalition or near a decent human settlement were still human all the same. Killing them was not why he joined up.
Since the war with Tolkeen, he'd killed more non combatants than actual soldiers. SpecOps like him lived for fighting real opponents, not playing exterminator on some innocent bystanders.
His thoughts were interrupted when his helmet's comm crackled. The pilot was calling for him. He raised the helmet up and seated it on his head.
"Shaw. What's going on?"
"Sorry, LT, but we just got a priority alert from Odessa Base. Recon patrols picked up hostiles moving across the border into Nebraska."
"So what?"
"We're closest to intercept. They want us to shadow them until they can get some troops out there."
Shaw sighed. So much for a decent bunk and a hot shower.
"All right. Lock and load chief. I'll wake the men."
"Roger that, sir."
Standing up in the cramped bay, Shaw stretched out. After loosening up sore and stiff muscles, he began waking his men.
First off, SSgt. Ed Rosen. A twenty year veteran, Rosen had fought just about every kind of bad imaginable. From shifters to Splugorth slavers. It had the side effect of costing him quite a few body parts. When full conversion was offered back in '05, he was among the first. Now, he was an armored juggernaut, bristling with weapons and armor.
Rosen had joined the team just after Sorcerer's Revenge, replacing the former xo who had been the snack of great horned dragon. Sharp and ever vigilant, he kept the squad focused and organized.
The old cyborg whirred as servos flexed. Visual receptors concealed behind the skull shaped faceplate focused in on Shaw.
"Are we there yet," he asked.
Shaw grimaced. "Change of plans. Bad guys spotted crossing the border and we're closest. Going to shadow them until the cavalry comes riding in."
"Great. Wasn't looking forward to sleeping anyways," Rosen mused. "All right, grunts. Up and at 'em."
Slowly, the rest of the team roused from their rest. Kaminski, the squad's sole juicer. Carson, sniper. Kelly, field engineer. And Gannon, dog-boy scout. All professionals dedicated to keeping the Coalition and it's people safe from the alien horrors that besieged them.
"Hey sarge, we getting bonus for this shit," asked Kelly.
"Can it, private. You're in the army. Bellyaching is for the navy," Rosen growled.
Thirty minutes later, the Locust gunship landed in a clearing just before the forest the suspected hostiles had vanished into. Silently, the six soldiers disembarked and proceeded into the woods.
On point, Gannon was already picking up the trail. A young boxer breed, the dog boy could smell the psychic energy emanating from the hostiles.
"Lt. I sense six of them. At least two are mages and one is definitely non-human."
"Good job, private. Keep on them."
As they pressed deeper into the forest, the gap between the two parties narrowly closed. Above, the night sky glowed as the moon sat high above. Coming to a glade, the group of enemy soldiers came to a stop.
Crouching in the brush, Shaw took in the sight. Six people were gathered in a circle. Five humans and a d'norr devilman. Of the humans, three looked like regular mercs, dressed in normal body armor and carrying Northern Gun make energy weapons. One human was a light cyborg of german design. The last human was dressed in simple robes and carried very little weaponry.
"That one's a lord magus and the devilman's a battle magus, sir. I've never seen even two of the same kind together let alone two different ones," said Gannon.
Shaw nodded in understanding. Battle Magus were the elite shock troops of Dweomer, combining spell craft with normal combat techniques. A lord magus was the consummate mage, with a knowledge of some of the most powerful spells known to the mortal realm.
From the circle came the sounds of chanting. The lord magus was busy performing a complicated ritual. Whatever it was, it had to be stopped. Shaw had seen far too many such rituals to know the evil that came of them.
Taking aim with his pulse laser rifle, Shaw fixed his sight on one of the human mercs. Carson, in position atop an overturned boulder, sighted in on the lord magus. The rest of the team charged their rifles and unsheathed their blades.
"Ok. Light 'em up," cried Shaw.
The sparks of laser fire pierced through the trees. Only to slam into an unseen barrier encircling the former Tolkeen soldiers.
"Damn it all," muttered Rosen. "Bastard's put up a field."
Soon both sides traded fire. Rosen's massive particle beam rifle hammered relentlessly while railgun rounds and plasma fire sliced through trees and brush at the old 'borg.
Meanwhile, Kaminski sped around the circle, getting ready for when the energy field collapsed. She would be the one to take the lord magus when the time came. From her forearm gauntlet, a trio of twelve inch vibro blades snapped forward. Party time, she mused to herself.
Under the relentless barrage, the barrier did not hold for long. When it fell, the real melee began. Rosen dropped his weapon to the ground, charging forward into the fracas. He and the light german cyborg began their dance, sparks clashing as fist scrapped against armor.
Kaminski leaped forward. Her lightening fast dive was halted by lightning bolt summoned by the d'norr magus. As she lay smoking on the ground, the lithe and red skinned man approached her. He was about to sink an enchanted blade in her when she leapt back to her feet.
"That the best you can do," the juicer asked as she charged the spellcaster.
Meanwhile, the rest of the squad traded fire with the other enemy troops. The human mercs took cover behind a boulder summoned from the earth as the lord magus continued his spell.
Shaw had just changed out another mag and continued to fire. The magus was still working on his ritual. Suddenly, a laser bolt seared through the magus' personal shields. The searing pain caused him to lose focus.
Flashes of white lightning began arcing all around them. Trees caught on fire and the earth around them shook. Wind howled and thunder cracked.
"Fools," cried the lord magus. "You've killed us all."
A brilliant flash of white erupted behind the magus as massive wall of energy snapped into existence. The rift began sucking in everything in the area. Shaw, his men and the Tolkeen soldiers vanished into the maw.
Consciousness came slowly. As he blinked his eyes open, he instantly became aware of the pain he was in. A broken arm and some cracked ribs to be sure he felt. Shaw looked around for what was left of his team.
Rosen lay nearby, the head of the german cyborg firmly in his grasp. Kaminksi was already up, stooping over the body of the battle magus she had eviscerated. Carson was dead, a smoking hole coming from his faceplate. Kelly was unconscious still but bleeding badly. The young sergeant had lost a leg and arm from the looks of it.
Finally, Gannon sat whimpering. The poor creature had both hands clutching the sides of his head in pain. Shaw slowly stumbled his way and held the soldier close. He'd been around dog boys long enough to know that what Gannon was experiencing was a telltale indicator of how bad things were.
The natural attunement they felt towards the supernatural was what made them good at hunting it down. In the presence of powerful and often evil magic power, the creatures became very ill and terrified.
Sprawled amongst them were two of the human mercs. One was bleeding profusely while the other was dead. The third one was nowhere to be seen as was the lord magus.
Whatever his plan was, it was cut short quickly. From high above, the whine of engines could be heard closing fast. Searchlight pierced the darkness and fixed upon them. Around them, the ground shook.
Turning towards the rumbling, Shaw used the built-in binoculars to take in the four lumbering forms approaching. One was massive, with what looked liked missile launchers on it's shoulders with a tail whipping about behind it. Another looked like a giant armored human, only with devil-like horns and insectoid eyes.
The other two looked similar. Only they appeared hunched over, with long razor claws dripping with something that burned the ground beneath them.
The light got brighter as the searchlights got closer. From above, a human voice boomed into the night.
"Attention, hostiles. Do not attempt to move. You are now under the authority of the New Earth Government. Resist and be destroyed."