On the road right Welkin answered the call from Rosie.

"We've come across what looked to be an ambush we can't identify the victims or the survivor," she spoke over the radio, "We're thinking of taking him back to base and towing the vehicle he was with as well. It's something none of us have seen before."

"Alright, make sure you get back safely, as soon as you drop off the survivor get over here as soon as you can," answered Welkin.

"You reckon it has something to do with the ghost ships?" asked Largo.

"Haven't a clue I'm afraid but I hope they're actually whales. Even if it really isn't the time of year for migration," he replied.

"Same here," said Aika nervously fidgeting with her rifle. It was only at Vyse's insistence that she even came along as she was terrified of ghosts.

"Aw, come on! The possibility of ghosts is what makes it exciting!" said her friend, clapping her on the shoulder.

The road unexpectedly ended at a fenced gate. Behind it several buildings were visible. Largo stopped the jeep and everyone got out, pulling out their weapons. They all eyed the unusual structures, many of which had long metallic antennae coming out the top.

"This is the place," said Alicia after consulting the map, "I can just hear the waves from here but there was no mention of any buildings around here."

"That's strange," Largo took the map and checked it too, "We're at the right place but there isn't supposed to be any village or port around for two kilometres."

Welkin glanced about before taking his cap off and scratching his head, saying, "There were reports of unknown structures in the vicinity."

"I didn't know… ghosts could… also include buildings as well," stammered Aika.

"Let's check it out Welkin!" insisted Vyse excitedly, "No point coming here and turning back now, the sea is very close."

"Alright Squad, Alicia, Aika and I will take point, Largo follow us but keep your distance at three metres minimum, Vyse will have our six, got it?" ordered Welkin.

"Are you sure I have to go in front?" whined Aika.

Alicia reassured her, "Don't worry; Welkin and I will be right next to you, I'm sure this place isn't haunted."

They approached the gate but as they came within a metre it slid open unexpectedly. Aika jumped at this but Welkin said, "Keep moving."

The gate shut behind them and this only served to get more on everyone's nerves.

"There's some sense in me that's tingling here," Vyse warned in a slow voice, as he turned, hearing a soft whirring noise from behind and to the left.

They'd only advanced along the paved road before they caught sight of what looked like a long row of large tents. The camouflage covers signalled something more ominous.

"It looks like a staging ground for an army of sorts," said Welkin, peering forward before he was interrupted.

"Did you hear that?" asked Alicia. She'd picked up the noise from earlier but it was approaching from the front.

"You hear it too?" said Vyse, raising his gun this time.

"Find some cover, it's coming closer," said the Lieutenant but realised there was none.

They all gathered in a circle, facing outwards. The whirring was coming in from all directions now and seemed to encircle the squad.

A PD-6 sentry drone suddenly appeared after turning a corner and faced the group. It was fairly small, about one and a half metres long with caterpillar treads. On top it mounted a 6.8mm minigun and a pair of rocket pods. An electronic eye scanned the humans, recognising their weapons for what they were but unable to recognise their models nor could it detect any IFF signals from the Gallians. It then followed protocol and paged the nearest security team.

The squad stared at the drone for a few moments, especially at its minigun which was pointed squarely in their direction. They all jumped when it then spoke through electronic speakers, "Please drop your weapons. You have twenty seconds to comply."

At this Aika seemed to panic, "It's possessed… it's talking… let me go!"

Largo and Vyse had to grab onto her arms to calm her down lest she try to bolt. The sudden movements appeared to provoke the robot.

In a louder tone it commanded, "Please drop your weapons. You have ten seconds to comply. Lethal force is authorised and you will be fired upon."

"Wait!" called out Welkin, "We don't mean you any harm…"

It was Alicia who dropped her weapon first.

"Welkin, that gun looks like it can going to cut us apart in a blink. I don't think it is living but I'm not about to call its bluff," she said and beckoned the others to do the same.

Welkin nodded to the other Gallians who laid down their guns and took a step back; keeping their hands where the drone could see them. Largo did so reluctantly, tossing aside his lance saying, "If only we had some cover I could have taken out that thing out. I could even take it with my bare hands."

The drone recognised the arms up as a sign of surrender and said, "A security team will be dispatched to your location, please do not move. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Do you think its ghosts we're actually dealing with?" asked Vyse.

"Clearly not," replied Welkin as a team of sentries appeared with their weapons raised.

The security team had seen the footage streamed from the drone's electronic eye after they were awoken by its alert.

"Stand down," the CO called out, issuing a voice command and the drone dropped its aggressive posture.

The Gallians relaxed a little but Welkin muttered to the others to keep their hands up and to leave the talking to him. Alicia and Largo looked about ready to object but kept their mouths shut when they saw that the guns were still trained on them.

"Identify yourselves," the officer said loudly as two his subordinates confiscated the weapons from the Gallians while the others circled around.

"I'm 2nd Lieutenant Welkin Gunther, commanding officer of Squad 7, 3rd Regiment of the Gallian Militia," answered Welkin, keeping his voice even so as not to appear intimidated.

"Gallian?" asked one soldier after a pause.

"Yes, we're members of the armed forces of the Principality of Gallia," replied Welkin who was just as confused and then saying a little indignantly, "you're standing on Gallian soil at the moment."

"Wait a second… is your country affiliated with the European Federation?" another asked, wondering if Gallia was one of those small European countries no one has ever heard of."

"European Federation?" Welkin raised an eyebrow before glancing at his comrades in confusion. "If you referring to the Atlantic Federation then we most certainly aren't."

The Americans stared at the strange, old fashioned attire of the Gallians. The Gallians stared back, taking in the Americans' unusual camouflaged uniform and their helmets.

"Tell me, where exactly is this place again?" asked the security team CO slowly.

"Continent of Europa, Principality of Gallia like I said and we're somewhere on the west coast. I can show you a map if you wish."

"That won't be necessary now. And the year?" asked the security team's CO, glancing dubiously at the weapons taken from the Gallians.

"1935," answered Welkin who shared everyone's extreme befuddlement.

"Shit… My watch says it's 2020. You'd better come with us then, we're going to take you to General Blaise," said the CO.

"Who's that?" asked Alicia.

"He's commanding the task force," the American officer answered, waving a hand about at the seemingly empty rows of tents and buildings.

"We've got Blaise's chip telling us he's incapacitated," reported one of the soldiers.

"Dammit. What the hell is going on here?" the CO asked.

After Rosie finished calling Welkin she returned to the task of policing the ambush site with Knute. Salinas was tending to the stranger in the jeep who was unconscious. Isara was examining the Humvee with Montley.

"What an unusual vehicle, its radiators are insufficient for using ragnoline," she commented while opening the bonnet. "Engine layout is unfamiliar."

She opened the fuel cap and recoiled before adding, "Uses some kind of evil smelling fuel that most likely isn't ragnite derived."

She looked up at the remote weapons station mounted on top and said, "A military vehicle obviously."

Isara pointed out the pods which were attached to the corners and the front and back of the vehicle. Which the components of the humvee active protection system against projectile attacks like missiles and shells and shaped charged explosives.

"But I don't know what these are for."

"Reckon we can tow this thing with the Edelweiss?" asked Montley, "I'm guessing Leon and Kreis will want to see it."

"It shouldn't be a problem," replied Isara, turning to go get the towing cable from the winch on the tank.

"Both of you stop fawning over that thing and help us over here!" called Rosie.

They had transferred the corpses into the boat that was being towed by the jeep. Eleven of them including the survivor had different gear and to the rest. The dead all bore injuries.

Their weapons were being gathered up as well. Rosie hefted one of these, a SCAR-A1 with a grenade launcher and an ACOG scope. It had the proportions of the Mags series machine gun she used but it also sported a grenade launcher that normally featured on scout rifles and a telescopic sight which seemed more suited to the rifles the squad snipers used. Shrugging, she slung it over her shoulder along with several others she'd found.

Besides weapons, a collection of other accessories were also found alongside these unusual soldiers. Some of them were familiar like field rations, medical kits, knives, binoculars and canteens and but others were just mindboggling to the Gallians. Foldable boards with a glass-like panel and keys similar to those on typewriters for instance.

"Just what are these things? Some of them look really expensive, I've never seen such craftsmanship before, but then they could just be ornamentation," mused Knute as he prodded cautiously on the screen of a military ruggedised tablet (MRT) he'd found.

Once they'd cleared the site Rosie contacted the nearest support unit to clean up the wreckages then the Edelweiss and the jeep set off towing the Humvee and the boat full of bodies respectively.

At Ft Amtriain, Varrot worked briskly as she filled out the forms pertaining to the discovery of the unknown soldiers and their equipment. The survivor who was identified as 2nd Lieutenant Allen Reyes by his dog tags was moved to a guarded isolation ward at the base hospital. The bodies were kept locked in the morgue. Kreis Czherny and Leon Schmidt, the R&D boys were examining the weapons and equipment as well as the vehicle Isara towed in.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come."

One of the squad medics entered and saluted, one of three identical blonde triplets named Fina, Gina and Mina.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am, the patient, Lt. Reyes has regained consciousness."

"Oh really now? I guess I'll go speak to him," replied Varrot, "what's his condition?"

"Lethargic. We have him on a 10% ragnaid drip ever since he was admitted but I don't think he'll have the strength to walk. Judging by his physical condition the doctor guessed he'll make a full recovery within a week.

Varrot followed the medic to the isolation room. A pair of MPs sitting outside the door stood and saluted. She waited for the medic to unlock the door and entered alone, shutting the door behind her.

The room was dimly lit with a shielded light, there weren't any windows. She stared over at the pale yellow curtain where the single occupied bed stood. Behind a silhouette could be seen moving about. The curtain drew back and a doctor stepped out.

"How is he?" asked Varrot.

"A few broken ribs and a sore arm, he'll get over those quickly," answered the doctor.

"Ok, I'll let you know if I need anything." Said Varrot and after the doctor left she pushed through the curtain.

Allen sat in the bed, looking out the window while his fingers fidgeted slowly with a thread from his bedsheet. His left torso was bandaged where the Humvee door had fallen and pinned him while he was unconscious. His dirty blonde hair looked unkempt and a tick pulsed under his right eye, both of them were blue and had the 1000 yard stare.

"I'm Captain Varrot. Do you know where you are?"

"It's not Kansas that's for sure," came the reply dully.

"What year do you think it is?" asked Varrot.

"2020."

"You're either insane or you are not of this world. From what we've been able to piece together you're from the United States of America, part of a military unit called the Joint Strike Force neither of which exist and yet here you are."

He didn't answer.

"We'll try and accommodate you and any survivors we find of similar association," said Varrot while she took a seat next to the hospital bed, "Hang in there in the meantime. We may be calling on you in the future."

Indeed they would have to call on him in the future. If those things were real weapons and technology, Gallia would need them in order to take the fight back to the Imperials. Failing that, they'd need a bargaining chip with the Atlantic Federation. Allen here would be the only person who could answer their questions. There was a knock at the door and Varrot got up to speak to the officer waiting for her.

"Call for you ma'am. One Major General Robert Blaise. United States Joint Strike Force. Commanding officer of Joint Task Force Acid."

Forward Operating Base Lujbaton – Imperial-Gallian Border

Ever since FOB Kloden was seized by Gallian forces, the Imperials were hard pressed to find another suitable location for a base in the region. It was simply too resource and time consuming to clear out the forest and establish another base so the Drei Stern had to shelve their plans to unleash a southern offensive against Randgriz and Gallia's southern cities. Such a plan however, was wishful thinking from the start. Few roads through the forest could handle the quantity of armoured vehicles required for such an operation without causing a bottleneck which would be vulnerable to attack. Nonetheless, before the fall of the base, smaller scale operations were underway in Kloden and the south, supported by small numbers of trucks braving the forest roads. Such units were generally well trained and equipped light infantry units, sometimes backed by small mechanised elements if they encountered serious Gallian resistance. This was enough to tie up some of the Gallian forces which would otherwise have joined the main fronts in the north and east. For the foreseeable future however, the south was going to be quiet, even thanks to Squad 7.

At the beginning of the invasion, FOB Olan in the Gallian-Federal-Imperial border region, was the joint staging area from which the Drei Stern and local Imperial forces launched their offensives into southern Gallia and the Federation territories respectively. It was from this base that the supplies flowed into FOB Kloden after its establishment. The grim situation for the Gallians in the south changed in their favour when the Imperials hamstrung themselves. First, the majority of the artillery units loaned to the Drei Stern from Imperial Continental Command was quickly reassigned to the greater war effort against the Atlantic Federation. Secondly, in April, FOB Olan had become an exclusive base to facilitate the invasion of the Federation, not Gallia. The Drei Stern's staff there had to vacate Olan in favour of FOB Lujbaton, just fifty or so kilometres east of the border town of Bruhl. It was from here that the 103rd Imperial Panzer Division issued forth into eastern Gallia in the opening stages of the invasion. Ever since mid-April, FOB Lujbaton supported the entire southern and eastern front. For the former, supplies were trucked under escort along endless highways of the Barious desert before filtering into the sparse road network in Kloden to reach the base there. This longer route put the plans for a southern offensive into serious doubt before the loss of FOB Kloden which was the last nail in the coffin. For that reason, Lujibaton would remain a vital base for the invasion force, totally out of reach of the Gallians and hence a comparatively safe posting.

That morning at the Lujbaton, the sense of complacency was shattered when an Imperial sentry in his watchtower saw what could only be a flying machine approaching from the north. After a frantic radio call to his superiors, the sentry sent out a general alarm. This galvanised everyone on site into action. Some went for bunkers which were hardened against artillery. Others went for their guns and vehicles and wired up the supplies, equipment and fuel that could be used by the enemy. Documents, cypher devices, codes and other sensitive material were also prepared for destruction.

The Russian Ka-65 Howler helicopter hovered in mid-air as the crew radioed back to Kbley Air Force Base, or at least that was the name of the base from which they'd come. Neither of them recognised the landscape as Czech when they'd set out. While they waited for a reply, the pilot suddenly saw a flash and pulled the helicopter away as a lance zoomed right by. Immediately the gunner fired the nose mounted cannon at the tower from which the lancer had fired. As the structure came crashing to the ground, the gunship released the fury of its arsenal on the base. First its cannons shredded the administrative building before firing a slew of rockets into the motor pool. On the ground, the Imperial troops scattered. The few which were prepared to fire their lances at the flying monster suddenly dropped their weapons and cowered. As the gunship's cannon cut through a series of fuel depots, the stand down order arrived on the radio. A voice bellowing desperately to the helicopter crew to cease their attacks. Both Russians paused for a moment and shrugged. They were wasting ammunition after all but that brilliant blue set of explosions was seriously beautiful to observe in a perverse sort of way. The helicopter ascended to a safe altitude out of weapon range and waited while the Imperials rapidly abandoned the base like ants escaping a drowning nest below.