Squad 13. One of the Squads in the Federal 9th Battalion. Every prisoner in the Atlantic Federation had a choice. Prison, Execution, or the 9th Battalion. Some people picked the 9th. By the end of the first year most of them would be dead. They will have learned the lesson countless others have learned before them. Only the Hardiest and the Luckiest survive in the 9th. The units in this battalion were little more than penal units, gathered by the Federation and sent off to its allies. Squad 13, in particular, were sent off to the Island nation of Kaluga, far to the west. There were only six soldiers in Squad 13. Any more, and there would be trouble. They were sent in for missions. Hostage situations, gang wars, Protection Details, anything the normal Police couldn't or wouldn't do.

(Present)

Isara had gotten used to the lifestyle of Squad 13. The man in charge of the squad, Werner Karst, had done his best to keep Squad 13 as an orderly unit. And he had succeeded. The group of people with radically different upbringings had become a professional fighting unit, although Karst had picked up several premature Grey hairs as a result of the ordeal. They had a tour of duty of six years in the American Army. Then they could go home to their countries.

She memorised the names in her head.

Werner Karst, the black haired Gallian Lancer who had personally led a unit during fighting around Anthold,

Liesel, the Former Imperial Shocktrooper whose blonde hair and brown eyes led many to believe she was an actress,

Derek Wilson, the teenage brown-haired scout,

Ossa, the Darcsen sniper who left any details of her own life a mystery,

And finally Radi, The hulking Europan Tank Commander. He said he had been a wrestler before he joined the squad. Isara found it hard not to be suspicious. He Always wore a visored cap to hide his face. Only his lower face and eyes could ever be seen.

And then herself. Instead of being a Tank Operator, she was reclassed as an Engineer. She was handed a rifle and ammo, then sent to the squad. Everyone in the camp wore their original clothing, duplicates, and regular pyjamas. It seemed only Liesel didn't wear her Imperial Uniform, instead opting for a regular Federation uniform. Derek, Werner,and Isara opted for their Gallian Militia clothing, Isara still wearing her Darcsen shawl, While Ossa wore Traditional Darcsen clothing and Radi wore a Kalugan Tanker Uniform.

Squad 13's camp were little more than a small barracks, an office, a washroom and a mess hall enclosed in a picket fence in the middle of a field north of the Capital of Yusaka. The field reminded her of Bruhl.

Truth is, the Squad liked the Isolation. Whenever they went to Army bars, They got hassle, ridicule and various racist insults against Ossa and Isara, but one look from Radi would always send the bullies scurrying back to their tables.

Every night, they would choose who got to wake up the others, this morning, it was Ossa's turn. she simply took up her rifle and shot a target on the firing range. The noise would always rudely wake up Squad 13 and freak out Isara. It had gotten to the point where Werner suggested everyone buy an alarm clock.

It seems Isara had overslept. Everyone else was out and about. Radi was mending his customised light tank, Derek and Liesel were chatting idly outside the door, Ossa was testing out her rifle on the makeshift shooting range behind the camp and Werner was filling out paperwork. A few minutes later, Isara walked outside the door, and was immediately stopped by Derek, who called her over for a second.

"Hey, Isara! I have a question for you." Derek said. Liesel was beside him, looking a bit smug.

"Uh...sure, ask away." Isara asked.

"Does a witch weigh the same as a duck if the witch is made out of wood?" Derek asked.

"...uh, well, if you try weighing, I think they would. Not that I watch that Gallian comedy group you two like." Isara said.

"Aaah, hurtful blow...but it's only a flesh wound." Liesel said, causing the pair to burst into laughter.

Radi shook his head, and continued his work on hs tank. He was now painting a crest on the side of the turret. Isara looked at it curiously.

"You know, I think i've seen that crest before." Isara said. Radi looked down at her from atop the tank, and replied. "Maybe. It's my family crest."

"What does it mean?" Isara asked.

"Well, it means-" Radi was interrupted by Werner calling everyone into his office.

"Oh well, there goes the whistle." Radi said, jumping down from the tank and walking over to the office. The rest of the squad followed him into the building.

"Well, Squad. I have news from the Capital."

"Such as?" Derek asked.

"Well, our Tour of Duty is 10 months from completion!" Everyone cheered.

"And second of all, they say we're going to get new suppli-" Werner was interruped by a bullet shattering the window and embedding itself in the wall.

Immediately, the squad got out their weapons.

"Is it a drill?" Ossa asked.

"No way. That was live ammo." Liesel pointed out.

"Find out where that shot came from." Werner ordered.

As soon as the squad got out of the building, several bullets peppered the ground in front of them, making them dive into cover.

"Ossa! How many?" Radi asked.

"Eight. It's a small squad. Probably scouting the area." the sniper replied.

"Which means they're only scouts. We have a sniper and shocktrooper. Liesel, I count three behind the barracks. Move in behind them, and take them out. Ossa. if you see a target, kill it." The two nodded, and moved off to their positions.

"Now, knowing scouts, three of them will move up the street in a triangle..." Radi muttered. Sure enough three scouts did just that. They were soon annihlated by rifle fire from Isara and Derek.

Unknown to them, three other scouts were moving behind them. And the first they knew of this was when Radi shouted a warning to Werner.

The three scouts, Darcsen Haters, aimed to fire at Isara, before several bullets from a machine gun scythed them down. Liesel had returned.

Isara saw a trooper behind the wash room aim at Derek, and fired at him. He was knocked off his feet and toppled into the dust.

The last trooper decided to cut and run. He had gotten several yards outside the camp when a rifle flashed from the mess hall. The bullet disintegrated his helmet instantly. He was dead before he hit the ground.

After the firefight was over, the six soldiers peeked out from their positions.

"Who were these guys?" Derek asked, also it was obvious who they were.

Liesel examined the dead bodies and answered the question they were dreading. "Imperial soldiers."

"What are Imperial soldiers doing in Kaluga?" Ossa asked, turning to face Werner. Werner, looking at something behind Ossa, blanched. "Well, maybe you can ask them." The squad swivelled around to see a Regiment of Imperial soldiers and tanks emerge from the treeline a few kilometres away.

"What are we going to do? We only have one lancer." Isara asked.

"And even so, I don't have enough rockets to take out those tanks." Werner said.

"And My tank has no ammo." Radi said.

"So what do we do?" Isara asked.

"My friends, He who runs away, lives to fight another day. We can't take on that amount of troops. We should retreat, and meet up with Kalugan Forces." Radi said, surprising the rest of the squad.

"Huh, how'd you know that?" Werner asked.

"I served the mandatory year of service in my Country's Armed Forces." Radi replied.

"He's got a point. We stay here, we get killed." Liesel piped up.

Werner looked at his squad, and nodded.

"Ok. We head to Yusaka. Now. Take the ammo, clothes, and food supplies. Load them onto Radi's tank." Werner ordered.

As they did this, the Imperial Regiment got closer and closer, until the squad were done packing.

"Everyone onto the tank! We're getting out of here!" Werner yelled. The six soldiers scrambled onto the tank, while Radi fired up the engine. The Regiment was one kilometer away when the Tank burst out of the gate and made a beeline for the Capital, an hour away.

Behind them, the Regiment had reached the camp. While several soldiers collected the dead scouts, the commander, dressed in an Imperial General's uniform, stood in the office. Her blue-black hair and eyes signifying a Darcsen. Amazing as it was, this soldier had been Transferred from the Calamity Raven to the Emperor's Drei Stern.

A Shocktrooper captain appeared in the doorway. "General Chesnikov!"

Erika Chesnikov, 21, turned around, her eyes dullened from sleepiness. Crossing Time zones can do a lot for someone.

"What is it?" She asked.

"The Kalugan Squad stationed here didn't seem to sustain casualties. They've also slaughtered Scouting team Epsilon." The captain reported.

"I could see that for myself." Erika muttered.

"Emperor Geginuave asks for a status report." The captain said.

"...Pretend we have Equipment failures. I don't want him leading us away from the capital. Only we can have the honor of crushing resistance here. Don't respond to ANY calls from him, or anyone else. Total Radio Silence." Erika turned around sharply, her long hair fanning around her.

"Yes ma'am!" The soldier saluted, before withdrawing. Erika, however, sat down in a chair and went over the forms for the squad.

"Hmm...two Darcsens, a former Imperial Shocktrooper, two members of the Gallian Militia, and...and..." She dropped the bios, looking like she had seen a ghost. "So...this is where he is..."


At the City limits, they saw that a long line of refugees were being processed at the City Gates. While they were waiting to to enter the city, Werner started talking to a Fisherman.

"You know why there's Imperial Forces in Kaluga?" Werner asked.

"I sure do! It's an invasion. Tanks, infantry, They even have a fleet!" The old man replied, spitting on the ground.

"But why would they invade us?" Isara asked.

"For every other conflict i've known! Land!" The fisherman said. "They want our land, so they're going to take it! There's ships in the harbour! We're going to be evacuated, civvies, soldiers an'all! We'll come back later and give 'em hell!"

By now Werner had gotten enough information for the moment, and thanked the man for his help.

"And of you see any of those Imps, whack 'em in the face for me, will you?" The man asked.

"Sure." Werner replied, waving goodbye. The man turned around and blended into the crowd.

Liesel blanched. "Should I tell him I'm a former Imperial?" She whispered.

"It'd be best for all of us if you don't." Isara replied, but immediately stopped talking when they reached the checkpoint. The Kalugan soldiers waved them through without a second glance. They needed all the help they could get.

When they got to Yusaka Harbour, they found several Companies, but no ships. Very annoyed, Werner sought out an Kalugan soldier, and started grilling him for answers.

"Where's all the boats?" Werner asked.

"There are no boats." The soldier replied. This made Squad 13 groan in disbelief.

"No boats? What do you mean, no boats?" Derek asked.

"There were going to be some here, but the Imperials have a Blockade around all the ports. Right now, we're ordered to defend the harbour from Enemy attack." The soldier responded.

"So, you're saying we're stuck." Isara asked.

"Looks like it." The soldier said, turning around and walking off to try and find his squad.

"Well squad, it looks like we're going to have to defend this place until Help arrives." Werner told his squad solemnly.

"How long would that take?" Isara asked.

"Days. Weeks. It could be months. We'd better find a spot to rest in before all the space is gone." Werner replied. The squad immediately set off looking for a space in the harbor, before finally finding a spot under a small crane in an isolated part of the harbor.

"Well guys. We'd best get comfy. We're going to be here for a while." Werner said, putting his stuff on the ground.