(Paestum Airfield, Province of Salerno - February 1, 1944, 1523 hrs.)

Gunther, Ibarra, Potter and Rosie were inside a C-47 Skytrain ready to perform a practice jump towards the ground. Due to the nature of the mission aside from its location, the OSS decided to perform a drop near the site. While waiting, the lights turn red.

"Okay, first-timers, time to stand up." The instructor ordered. "Hook up like what we told you."

"Like this, sir?" Ibarra asked while doing the hooking of the parachutes.

"Yeah, that's the spirit! Once the lights turn green, just keep your arms around you and jump. The static line will deploy your chute automatically."

"Got it, sir!" Gunther replied.

When the lights turned green, all is set.

"See the green light? Go, go, go!"

The team got out and their chutes are deployed.

"Yeeehawww!" Potter and Ibarra shouted wih excitement as they slowly head for the ground.

"I can feel like I'm flying above!" Rosie commented. "How 'bout you, kid?"

"Great!" Welkin agreed. "And nice that we can sneak from behind."

After a short while, they landed at the designated marker. They took out their parachutes immediately after.

"Whew!" Ibarra sighed. "That was fun!"

"He's right, Corporal." Potter agreed. "Even calming when we can find a safe spot and shoot at their exposed parts of their line. Anyway, let's practice some more."

"Roger, Sergeant." Gunther replied. "By the way, can you bring me a sniper rifle?"

"Sure, I would." Ibarra accepted. "I'm your right-hand man."

"Thank you."

(Near Atina - February 2, 1944, 2155 hrs.)

The C-47s carrying the infiltration team was flying calmy due to it being escorted by British Spitfires who were busy drawing the fire away from the transport. Ibarra was busy looking at his wristwatch to coincide with the arrival of the cargo at the base.

"We are right on schedule." He said. "At this rate, we should be able to look at what they are about to use. Hope the guys on the ground are okay."

"I hope, Pedro." Gunther replied. "Just pray we will."

Potter then woke from his nap.

"Are we there yet?" Potter asked before yawning.

"We're near, sir. It won't be long until we start getting off the plane."

"Just hope the OSS has the intel right. If we don't find anything special, I'm outta here."

"You don't have to, Potter." Rosie mildly responded. "The agency intercepted numerous communications hours ago. They are certain it will be there."

The lights turned red, reminding them to prepare.

"Okay, fellas. Red light's up."

"Get ready for the jump!" A soldier who is coordinating the jump shouted. "Hook up! Hook up!"

They then attached their static lines. Once the light is green, they are good to go.

"Go, go go! Good luck, guys!"

They jumped out of the plane just as it was about to head for home. The base was being protected with the aid of searchlights as they descend. When they landed, they head out on foot for the duration of the journey. When they arrived, they assembled for a field briefing.

"All here?" Rosie asked before the rest nodded. "Good. I'll break the details. The base is cofirmed to house three bunkers, each with MG42s. There is a gate at the south that is heavily guarded. Finally, they have at least five tanks and two AA guns."

"That sums up." Gunther agreed. "Me and Pedro will snipe the gunners. You and Segeant Potter will quietly sneak closer to the perimeter and we'll follow."

"I'll blow up some tanks as well." Potter assure. "If we can get them, our escape should be much easier."

"Thanks, Sergeant."

"Then let's go."

The team nodded before proceeding to carry out the plan. As Potter and Rosie closed in, Gunther and Ibarra armed their Springfields and aimed for two gunners.

"On three. One. Two. Three."

They simultaneously shot the gunners successfully. They followed the others from a distance to cover them as Potter and Rosie began aiming for the others with their Stens. A few shots from the submachine guns killed the remaining guards.

"All clear. Let's get moving."

They quietly entered the base and began to hide using the environment as they move along.

"Stay close to me." Rosie quietly ordered. "We don't want to get caught."

The men nodded and a few minutes after, they entered a nearby building.

"Everyone here?" Ibarra asked.

"Yes, we are." Gunther answered. "The infiltration part is done. Now for the hard part. Silence is key so make use of your silenced weapons. Use the others if we are in a firefight."

"Roger." The team replied.

"Alright, split up and search for the weapon." Potter ordered.

The members separate to cover more ground. Potter and Ibarra opted to stick together and they quietly moved to investigate some areas. After a while, they found a weapons cache.

"Well, just stocks of weapons." Potter commented. "Hey, there are rocket launchers here."

"I can't believe they stockpiled everything for any threat." Ibarra commented. "They sure are expecting anything but this."

"Okay, let's each grab one just in case."

They continued their journey before encountering a room. They can hear Germans talking.

"Get that? Looks like guards. Just quietly move forward."

They silently went far away from the room when a German went outside to head back for his duties. In another area, Rosie was searching the nearby areas for anything useful. After seeing a German patrol, she took cover as she observes them moving away.

"Whew!" She sighed.

She then reached a records room and proceeded to get the documents. After that, she began to head out and search some more. Then, she found another patrol while hiding.

"Hello, what do we have hear?

Gunther was moving alone when he found something odd in a large room.

"What is that?" He wondered before moving inside.

When he got close, he noticed a long, cylindrical container in the middle featuring a small viewing window on the top. Inside, he saw a girl asleep inside.

"What the hell?! Why would the Germans do that?!"

He decided to free her by using his pistol to shoot the locks loose. After that, he opened the pod and saw her wearing a modified version of the German Army uniform.

"Holy..."

"...uuummgggghh..."

She began to wake up from her slumber in front of a still-surprised Welkin. She then saw him face-to-face.

"Uuhh...hello there." Gunther nervously greeted.

"Hello, too." She replied before looking at her surroundings. "Uh, where are we?"

"No time for that. I'm getting you out of here."

"Okay."

It wasn't long before the soldier spotted a glowing crate. The girl followed him as he was about to open the crate, revealing an ore sealed in a semi-transparent canister glowing with a blue hue.

"What is that?" Gunther wondered as he began holding it.

Suddenly, a German patrol showed up seeing what is going on.

"Intruder!"

Gunther didn't hesitate and began to hold the girl's hand.

"Get down!" Gunther shouted before the two took cover.

A firefight ensued. Gunther then armed his Sten and opened fire at the German patrol. He killed them moments after.

"C'mon, we better move!" He said to the girl.

The noise can be heard from around the base as the Germans began to prepare for hostile contacts. Meanwhile, Potter and Ibarra were surprised.

"You hear that, sir?" Ibarra asked. "Somethin' bad's happening."

"Yeah." Potter answered. "Time to give 'em hell."

Rosie also felt the same thing.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" She uttered while leaving for the source. "Please don't die on me!"

Gunther and the girl were running away from the site. They then saw German personnel running to secure the base as the sirens wailed to life.

"Keep the base on lockdown!" One of them ordered. "Don't let them get away!"

Welkin kept observing for a possible break.

"What should we do now, sir?" She asked. "I can't die here."

"Just hold on." Gunther assured her. "We'll get out safely."

Gunfire erupted again as the Germans try to shoot an intruder.

"Grenade!" One of them shouted but the blast caught them in mere moments.

"Go, go!"

The two ran before Rosie shouted.

"Heey!"

"Rosie, glad to see you." Gunther replied.

"No problem, but...who is that girl you are with?"

"I don't know, but we have to get out of here while we still can. If we can destroy the AA guns, we can direct an air strike, dragging the weapon down along with the base."

"Good idea. Let's find a radio."

The three then fought their way to the radio post as the Germans scrambled to respond. After reaching the post, they began to transmit the signal.

"Any Allied aircraft, this is Agent Stark! Requesting air strike at our coordinates! Transmitting now!"

Gunther opened fire using a MP40 he got from a fallen German soldier and continued to shoot at the remaining enemies who are attempting to retake the post.

"How's the transmission going, Rosie?" Gunther asked.

"I'm working on it!" She replied. "C'mon, make it work!"

Static continued to dominate the radio as a nervous Rosie was still waiting.

"Repeat! Any Allied aircraft..."

Then, the voice of a pilot was received.

"Affirmative, Agent Rosie. We'll head for your coordinates. ETA 15 minutes."

"Copy."

She ended the transmission with entusiasm.

"Guys, we have the the planes bombing this place, so let's destroy their AAs. Three of 'em."

"Affirmative. I'll inform Potter and Ibarra about this." Rosie nodded as Gunther began to use his radio. "Potter, come in!"

"Corporal Gunther, got anything interesting?" Potter asked as he and Ibarra were under fire. "We've got some Jerries attacking us here!"

"Go find any AA guns and take them out. We'll regroup at the south."

"Affirmative! Over and out!"

The three then head for an AA gun that has an increase in German activity. They took cover as they fire their weapons.

"Rosie, throw a grenade at them!" Gunther requested. "I'm going to get close to the gun! Watch our backs!"

Rosie nodded before Gunther began to move under fire. She then threw a live grenade at the soldiers.

"Grenade!" Once the grenade landed, it exploded, killing a few soldiers.

Gunther repeatedly opened fire and ducked as he move along. Once the last soldier is killed, he planted a Comp B charge on the AA gun and escaped to safety before the charge detonated.

"Alright!" Rosie cheered.

"Way to go!" The girl followed.

At the other side of the base, Potter and Ibarra were handling another AA gun as they are about to destroy it as well. When he saw a distant German soldier on the captain's left side, he armed his Springfield.

"Captain, get down!" Ibarra shouted before Potter complied. He killed the soldier.

"Thanks, Private!" Potter replied. "Time to move!"

They carefully move in as they shoot at the opposition. After closing in and a few melee attacks on nearby Germans, they planted the charge and escaped to regroup. The gun was disable moments after.

"Private, I think you deserve a promotion after this." Potter commented. "The way you kicked their butts reminds me of Morocco."

"Thanks, sir." Ibarra said in thanks. "I appreciate it."

Potter smilled. Then, the sound of a German Panzer IV was heard as it closes in.

"Damn, we got a tank comin' here! Better take it out!"

The duo took cover as the tank attempted to get an aim at them. Potter sneaked behind and opened fire with the launcher from a distance, destroying the engine.

"Ibarra, it's your turn!"

Ibarra fired another rocket to finally destroy it. The two nodded in agreement before running to meet up with the others. When they arrived, they were surprised to see a girl among Gunther and Rosie.

"Glad y'all okay but...who is she?" Ibarra asked while referring to the girl.

"Uh, we don't know yet." Rosie answered.

"What about the weapon?" Potter asked.

"Same thing." Gunther followed before showing the glowing canister. "But I do have something which could give us a clue into what's going on."

"Whoa!" The rest were curious about it.

"We better get the hell out of here while we have the chance. We'll take a truck."

They nodded before stumbling upon a truck carrying two different-sized crates and they drove off to the Gustav Line. On the way there, Rosie began to radio the units waiting for them.

"This is Agent Stark, we are rendezvousing at the designated location. We are using a stolen truck for our getaway. Do not shoot at it. I repeat. Do not shoot."

As they move along, two German motorbikes appeared to try and stop them. The gunners armed their MG42s before Rosie noticed them.

"We've got bikers behind us!" She shouted that got the group's attention.

Welkin and Pedro noticed them and began to aim for the drivers. They shot them and the bikes began to crash.

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" Gunther asked.

"I'm trying!" Potter replied while taking the wheel.

Ahead, word of the escape reached to the German soldiers. They began to position roadblocks in an effort to stop the getaway. Potter noticed one and began to turn in order to evade it.

"Guys, watch our backs!" He ordered. "Don't let 'em get an advantage!"

Then, more German vehicles joined the chase.

"Those Krauts don't want to give up, do they?" Rosie uttered.

Evading fire and dodging roadblocks, they began to close in on the Gustav Line. Few minutes later, Allied aircraft began to drop bombs on the facility and after, a sudden large explosion engulfed the facility.

"What the..." One pilot uttered as the shockwaves rattled the planes. "D-d-do you see that?!"

"Yeah, that explosion caught us by surprise!" The flight leader responded. "I wonder what they are storing."

Soldiers under the command of Major Faldio Landzaat were watching for signs of the team.

"See anything?" Faldio asked.

"Negative, sir. No sign of...hold on! I think I saw them." The soldier replied while using the binoculars.

"You do?"

"Yeah. Over there. I can see them." He began pointing at the source.

Faldio used his binoculars and saw the chase.

"Holy...get the men ready! I want all hands on deck!"

"Affirmative!" The soldier replied before leaving to inform the others.

The truck continued moving towards safety. Then, Faldio launched a flare to signal them.

"I see a flare!" Gunther uttered. "We're almost home free!"

Suddenly, two Bf 109s appeared from a distance.

"Messerschmitts!" Gunther shouted before the planes strafed them with no results.

"Cover fire!" Faldio ordered as a gunfight ensued. "Get the radio transmittin' fast! We've got planes here!"

The planes began to turn for another pass as the truck began to move dangerously with the risk of rolling over.

"This is gonna be rough!" Potter shouted before another strafing attack forced the truck to roll over and it stopped.

"All units, move carefully." The German commander cautioned. "Shoot them if you have to."

While the planes were proceeding to attack Faldio and his men, some of the German soldiers close in on the truck. The Gunther and his friends were down after the impact.

"Unngghh...guys?" Gunther shouted before tending the wounded.

"Yeah...arrrgh!" Rosie replied with some pain. "I should be alright!"

"Owww...I'm fine as well." Potter answered. "Hou 'bout the others?"

"Same here but..." Ibarra followed while staring at the girl who is holding what looks like a lance. "...the girl's glowing!"

"What?!" They shouted while looking at her who's hair turned bright silver and her eyes red. She then jumped out of the truck after picking up a shield.

"What the..." The four operatives were shocked.

The weapons the girl is using then changed form into a spiral design. The Germans then saw her alone defending the truck. Even Faldio's team were doing the same thing

"N-No way!" One of them reacted.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Faldio followed.

The girl began attacking the Germans. Due to her power, the latter was caught by surprise as she stiked them down. Despite the planes and some soldiers returning fire, it was clear that they are no match and they are forced to retreat. The girl stopped.

"Heey!" Gunther shouted as he and his friends ran towards her.

The girl dropped her lance and shield and she returned to normal.

"I'm glad you are all okay." She replied with a smile.

"That power...do you know this?"

"I honestly don't know. It just happened a while ago and I decided to protect you people hoping you could get away."

"Thank you. By the way, I'm Welkin."

"Alicia. That's my name."

The team and Alicia smiled as they head for home.

(February 3, 1945, 0613 hrs.)

A Kubelwagen carrying a German officer arrived at the destroyed base. He began surveying the damage as the survivors of the attack began to be treated for their wounds.

"What a waste." The officer expressed his disappointment before heading out on foot.

He then began to look for the officer in charge. As he moved, some of the details of the incident were revealed. Soon after, he found him.

"What happened here?" The officer asked.

"Ugh...Colonel Reginrave, sir!" The officer responded nervously. "We have been attacked by four soldiers and they took the subject along with them. I don't know what else they stole but I received word that the documents were gone at the same time. The bombing finished the base off."

"Evidently, you are ill-prepared for the attack. Not only that, but whoever they are must have gotten the training advanced enough to pull this off. As punishment, you are dismissed from your post."

"But...why?"

"The S.S. wants to hear of your failure. Don't worry, you will not be killed but you will be reassigned."

"Uhhh...right away, sir!"

The officer left before Colonel Reginrave looked at the sky.

"I want to know who are these guys who did this." He said to himself.

(Paestum Airfield, Province of Salerno - 1628 hrs.)

Welkin and his team arrived at the base where Lieutenant Colonel Balton is waiting. The team saluted.

"Glad you all people made it." Balton greeted. "Did you took care of the weapon?"

"Ummm...about that, sir." Welkin replied while pointing at Alicia. "'She' is the weapon."

Balton was surprised by what Gunther meant.

"You mean her?"

"Yes, sir. We even recovered a lance and a shield, alongside this canister." Gunther took out the canister holding the ore. Then, Potter and Ibarra showed the officer the other items.

"I'll inform the OSS about this."

"Here are the papers as well, sir." Rosie followed with the documents.

"Excellent. For now, get some needed rest. The girl can stay here for a while."

The team saluted before the officer left.

"So...now what?" Alicia asked. "Now that I'm staying with you, I think you can show me around here."

"Don't worry." Potter assured. "We are well within friendly territory. There is plenty of time to do things."

"Hey Welks, meet us back at the mess." Ibarra said. "A little celebration should keep us relaxed for a while."

"Alright, we'll be there." Gunther answered.

"Good job, kid." Rosie said. "I look forward to action like what you did back there. I'll be with them as well."

"Thank you, Rosie." Welkin replied before the three of them left.

Then, an officer came with a letter.

"Corporal Welkin Gunther, am I correct?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." He responded.

"Here is a letter."

"Thank you."

The officer saluted before returning to his post. Gunther took a moment to look at the letter before opening it to read the contents. He then recognized the author of the letter.

"Dear Welkin,

How are you doing in Europe? I hope that you have the time to write me back because good things happened back at home. You will be excited to hear this.

Martha has given birth to her fifth child. We were happy to welcome him despite some little issues on the way to the hospital. I've elected to take care of them while they stay there. Her family will be preparing some dinner once we brought the baby to his new home. As well, I'm having a recital at school. I'll show you a picture of it when I have the chance.

Anyway, I better get going, I have plenty of things to do back here. All I ever wanted is seeing you alive and well. I wish you good luck on this endeavour.

Your sister, Isara."

After reading, he closed the envelope.

"Isara..."

"Who?" Alicia wondered.

"Isara...she is my sister."

"That's a sweet name."

"Yeah. I can let you see her once this entire war is over."

Alicia smiled in reply.

A/N: Second chapter is done. This will set the stage of more missions the team will undertake. A couple of characters would appear from the other Valkyria games as the story progresses.

See you.