Chapter 2: Third Recon Team

Alnus Base, briefing room

D-Day + 25 days

It was a fairly big briefing room. Itami was present with four other officers of the JSDF. In front of them was a colonel.

"You have already been given command of 11-men platoons. Your mission is to make contact with the locals and learn about them, about their language and culture, economy and everything you can. I suggest you follow these routes as we have noticed several settlements along the roads. You must keep in touch with the base by reporting in every four hours. Our UAVs noticed nothing spectacular. The enemy army is retreating and they are already two days away from here, they split up. Our guess is that they retreat and regroup. Avoid contact with the enemy as best you can. If there are no questions you are free to go."

Itami sighed at the thought he has to get up and do his job. The chair was so confortable for his lazy legs. He slowly stood up and left the briefing room. In less than an hour he was ready to go. Third Recon Team a.k.a Recon Team Three (RCT3) was ready to depart on the main road with the other recon units. Every unit had a Leopard tank assigned to them as an escort. Erwin's tank happened to be Itami's support. He and his men, Franz, Fritz and Bauer were having a good laugh with RCT3 members and with, to Itami's surprise, Lt. Alistair. The latter noticed him and moved forward to greet him.

"Itami! There you are. You didn't think you were going out on your own, right?"

"What? What's with you?"

"Every recon team gets paired up with a tank and an international unit."

"I've heard about the tank from briefing. But nothing about you."

"General Hazama decided, along with NATO command, that every unit was to be assigned with an international squad. Here are my men. These two young fellas are Private Lewis, the boy, and Private Carter, the lady. This older one is an old comrade since Afghanistan deployment, Sergeant Jackson."

Carter was a young blonde woman, fresh out of training. She keeps her hair in a pony tail and is of average height. Lewis was 'fresh meat' too. Always shaves and keeps the same haircut as his CO (commanding officer) – very short. Jackson was the same age as Alistair, a man who has seen extensive combat and left with scars in his soul.

"Sir! Pleased to meet you, sir Itami! Hey!" were the greetings of the three. Itami waved at them and shook hands. "What's with the balaclavas?" he asked. All four them were wearing black balaclavas with a skull drawing for the face and tactical goggles for their eyes. "It is to intimidate any possible threats. I see your squad likes them."

Itami turned his head only to notice his subordinates playing around with the balaclavas. "Hey, be serious! You guys can't possibly mean to use them too…"

Kuribayashi and Kurata were in love with them while the others preferred to keep their faces visible. "Oy, make sure you don't scare off anyone friendly with those. Now, everyone aboard!"

The five recon teams left the base. Itami was in the lead Humvee, a light truck behind him, the LAV with the .50 Browning heavy machinegun followed by the British Humvee and Erwin's Leopard 2A6. Every tank in the unit was painted with a winged leopard on both sides after the battle to fit with their new name, the "Hussar Leopards".

Kurata, the driver of Itami's Humvee asked with joy in his voice: "Lt. Itami, what do you think we will meet in this world?".

"I don't know. I hope the least trouble would be nice."

"Man, I really wish I meet a fantasy girl! A beautiful elf. Or a kitty girl! We would meow forever! Hehehhe!"

"Oy Kurata, you might just get your wish fulfilled one day. With what we've seen so far…dragons, wyverns, ogres and trolls. There is a lot of potential and I'm excited about it. But I am very lazy too. Maybe with the least effort, we can get the best." Itami smiled as he spoke to the young man.

Coda Village, Special Region

"Sir, I see the first village marked on our map. Right among those trees."

"Good spotting Kurata. Take us there."

"The landscape reminds me of southern England". Alistair stated in his radio comm.

"Not very different from Japan either. Ali, make sure you don't scare anyone with those dead faces on your masks. But your face ain't any better…ouh well." Itami was teasing the British lieutenant.

"Ouh cut it, you slimy ole' snail! We almost there."

They arrived at the gate. Itami's Humvee made a stop right in front. The column came to a halt as some disembarked the vehicles and headed into town. Itami and Kurokawa were the first to go past the small wooden wall as the others were at the cars. They noticed people tending their daily chores and kids playing in the center. The villagers noticed them quickly because of the tank's engine sound that notified them of their arrival.

"Who are these people? Are these two together? What's with the clothes, are they wearing a uniform?" were few of the questions the villagers were asking in their native language. Kurokawa waved at them and smiled. Itami came forward, he stopped near a woman washing some clothes.

"Hello. I Itami. I bring peace. I soldier, need information."

"Speak to the elder then." She spoke as she pointed him to the village center. There, sitting on a bench, was a man in his late fifties, following the strangers with a questioning eye. When he was approached he raised and took his hat off.

"Hello. Me Itami. She Kurokawa."

"Such a lovely couple. Welcome to Coda! What can we help you with?"

Their cheeks turned red for a few moments. "No no no! We are not married. We are friends. May we sit down and talk?"

"Of course! Have a seat on the bench. Who are you, people? I have never before seen such a uniform. I take it you are a soldier."

"Yes, we both are. Me and my friends outside."

"Hm? Your friends?"

As the two were speaking, children started to gather around Kurokawa and stare at her unusual facial features and hair color, a black and slight dark blue. She took out a Snickers baton from her pocket and handed it to a child. Shortly afterwards, the vehicles except the tank entered the village. When the people saw the huge beast parked right in front of the main gate they started to wonder what it was. Out of it, a hatch popped open and Erwin came out of his tank. Bauer had his head out of the driver's hatch, he was happy no cars were kicking dust and he could breathe the fresh air. Fritz and Franz were still in the tank. The villagers were curious what the steel behemoth was, it was painted in the regular Bundeswehr camouflage pattern, black, brown and green, with the iron cross (emblem of the Bundeswehr) and the winged leopard on both sides.

"I've never seen such carts before, able to move without horses. Where are you from?" asked the elder.

"We are from a very far away place called Earth."

"What are you doing so far away from home?"

"We are exploring. Explorer soldiers. Yes, we're explorer soldiers."

"You are merely a scouting party." The elder was afraid the army Itami was part of would sack the village if he was not useful to them. "What can a small village such as ours do for you?"

After 15 minutes of talking, RCT3 was making ready to leave, the vehicles making a small circle as they were turning to leave the village. Erwin who was playing with the kids on the tank enjoyed the short break.

"I see you're getting along with the kids, commander." said Bauer. "They are just kids, Bauer. I remember my days as one. No worry in the whole world. My only worry was how to avoid the mid-day nap. Oy, make ready, I see we leaving." Erwin waved the kids goodbye as the cars and LAV were slowly hitting the road. And so, the kids waved back at him as the Leopard came to life, roaring its engine and accelerating.

"Lt. Itami, my tank can go 200km more with you before needing to RTB (return to base). We were given the maximum fuel capacity."

"Don't worry about that, mister Kalb. We won't go that far away. Guys, everyone check your maps and location on it just to confirm we on the right path."

Lt Itami was pissed off at the thought they had no GPS here and he was always worrying they might get lost in the area. The journey to the nearby woods was entertaining and relaxing for them. The men and women of the unit told jokes and sang songs together. When they reached the tree line the convoy came to a halt.

Erwin did not like the looks of the forest. "Sir, I fear the woods are difficult terrain for tanks to traverse. We might be ambushed fairly easy."

"We still have to go through, Lt. Kalb. We can't afford to circumnavigate these large woods. It may take too much time", Alistair gave his opinion on the radio.

"I agree with both of you. But we can't hang on here too long. We've learned from Coda that there is a settlement in the heart of the woods. An elf one too. We have to make contact with them." replied Itami.

"Oooooo! An elf village? Commander, we must go now!". Kurata was looking forward to meet a fantasy girl.

"Calm now, Kurata. So..uhm, friends, I suggest we make camp for the night over that small hill, at the cover of the few trees. Good vantage point and plenty of space."

RCT3 agreed with Itami's suggestion and set up camp as the sun was setting down on them, leaving room for the night to set its dominance again over the land. The sky was clear, a few lost clouds making their way nowhere. The soldiers have set three tents around a campfire. The tank's sensors were keeping an eye out for any intruders. The spirits were high. Jackson was sharing war stories with Pops. The girls were stargazing together, talking about who knows what. Itami was enjoying his canned dinner when Alistair and Erwin joined him.

"Hey guys. How you doing?"

"Very well, sir Itami. Enjoying the nice evening." a tired Erwin replied.

"Oy, we're off duty in a way now. You have no obligation to address to me with 'sir'. You don't have to do it either way since we're all three lieutenants."

Alistair took a seat near his Japanese friend. "As you say Itami. What are you eating there?"

"Pork. Want some?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Erwin?"

"Thank you, but I'm fine as well. Say gentlemen, what are we in for?"

Itami raised an eyebrow of confusion. "What do you mean, Erwin?"

"We slaughtered a lot of soldiers at Alnus. I have personally killed a bunch of those riders. Now…I've been assigned to a scouting unit. Is a bit odd for me, why would the brass assign a tank to a unit who is supposed to be small and quick on its feet?"

"We can only throw assumptions, mister Kalb. Maybe they want to impress, discourage. When we went on a patrol in Iraq and Afghanistan we had tanks with us because their sheer power and majestic stature had a demoralizing effect on any possible threat. While we're dealing with nations a thousand year behind us, this tactic may prove useful."

"You can call me Erwin, Lt Alistair. Ever since Ginza… what are we going to do after we learn about this place? A place so virgin, not harmed by industry. I like the idea of living here…far away from crowds and noise and pollution like in big cities. Just like those good childhood days."

"All I want is free time to enjoy my hobbies. Why do we have to work?"

"Itami, you can't derp around and have other people do your job or keep feeding you endlessly. Our society was built in such a manner that one must produce money for the rich in order to survive."

"I am not dreaming of a utopia, Ali… I want less stupid obligations. But I won't lie. I like this place more than I expected. If I had my novels with me that'd be great. If it wasn't for those bastards in Ginza, the sale would have gone smoothly… ouh well… I'm tired. Let's get some sleep. The following day will bring more dust in our faces from the road."

Itami put his can away in a trash bag and made his way into a tent to sleep. "Goodnight, everyone!". Alistair and Erwin returned to their men and had a good night's sleep. The night was uneventful. RCT3 woke up at sunrise.

Alnus Hill, cavalry battlefield

D-Day + 26 days

Bozes, a knight of the Rose Order, Pina's knight group, was scouting with two more knights the surroundings of Alnus Hill. When the group of three came upon the rotting bodies of the dead horsemen they threw up. The smell of decay was like a needle in the nose and like poison to the stomach. The field was littered with dismembered bodies of what once were proud knights of the Alguani heavy cavalry. Holes in their armor allowed blood to flow out of them. But there was no blood left to flow out of the wounds. It was half dry. Pieces of broken chest plates, gloves, swords and lances were everywhere.

Bozes asked herself with a loud voice: "What happened here?"

Knight 1: "I do not know, milady."

Knight 2: "I can barely stand the smell…I'm gonna thr… " and he threw again.

"Who did this to these men?". She wanted to go in there and have a better look but the smell and the gore had her. The young knight decided to leave and report her grim findings to her princess and commander at the same time, Pina Co Lada.

AN: Second chapter, posted in quick succession first four chapters. Please review, I am new to publishing but I write sometimes.