"As we all know, the Nationalists' armada is in the Mediterranean Sea, blocking our African reinforcements from pouring into Sicily. This means we have to go in without help," said the intelligence officer from the com-link.

"Can we get an estimate of the number of troops in Italy?" asked a senior commander at the table.

"It seems they're amounting to about 400,000 troops. And the numbers could rise."

"They're using the old World War II tactic," said Rave, turning heads on the meeting table.

"World War II tactic?" asked Doug, trying to get a clearer picture of what tactic would be pulled out.

"The Battle of the Bulge. The Allied offensive held the lines until the reinforcements arrive. Now, if the Germans pushed all the way to Paris, the Allied leaders would have pushed the Allied troops aside and cut it from its neck. That way, they can easily finish off the enemy forces," explained Rave. Several commanders discussed amongst themselves of this possibility.

"They're planning for us to concentrate all of our forces into Spain, so they can easily cut the neck as the troop numbers in Denmark and Italy have been fuelled into the Spanish offensive. This would have wasted all five years of effort." The commanders started to make more noise on this situation.

"Looks like you've done your history homework. Where did you get this information?" asked a commander.

"Wikipedia. Everything about it is in there," said Rave.

"So what do you propose we do?" asked the intel officer.

"I think we all know the answer to that. We have to capture Italy so that this doesn't happen," said Doug.

"It's easier said than done. As I said, they've cut our reinforcements from Africa. Most of our other battalions are stationed along the French lines so that the Nationalists can't advance any further, and the East European countries are running low on reserves. Getting troops from Asia will take too much time, so we are all by ourselves on this one," said the intel officer.

"Call every base in Italy to put every single special forces soldier into service. Our manpower should be enough to push into Rome," said Doug.

"We only amount 12,000 strong. There's no way this manpower can go against 400,000," said the intel officer.

"We never say that we're going head-to-head with 400,000."

"Then what do you propose we do?" asked a commander.

"Shock and Awe." This gave a surprise to the commanders at the meeting.

"But we don't have the firepower to use 'Shock and Awe'."

"No, we make them retreat. We snipe their heads, and they will run. I noticed that the Nationalists are using slave armies to continue fighting for their cause."

"So that means……."

"If we get the heads, the slave armies will run or surrender. We know that neither of the slaves wants to fight for the Nationalists. They're doing it because they're threatened."

"Conscription for slave armies. How sick could they be," commented Rave.

"SHOCK AND AWE! That's right! This will give shocks to the enemy's ranks, possibly even making them retreat!" said a commander.

"Everyone in favor of this plan say 'aye'," said Doug. All present agreed with the plan.
"I'll forward this to high command. We'll get a reply by the evening," said the intel officer before shutting the com-link.


The Hinds were getting ready to get off. Troops from the Special Forces' branches have come together. TSWAT Alpha 1st squad and Delta, SAS Group F, PeaceKorps, Waffen-GSG and Spetznaz-19 have gathered to do the biggest assassination attempt on enemy forces. 12,000 Special Forces troops were going to snipe 1,300 Nationalist officers estimated in the region. But the catch was that they have to go through 400,000 troops worth of cannon fodder in order to get to the officers. Doug got into the Hind where his team was. A helicopter attendant was about to close the helicopter door when a blonde was running towards the chopper. She wore standard infantry uniform and armor, with a shotgun strapped behind her back. Doug indicated to the helicopter attendant to open the door so the blonde could get in.

"Is this going to Rome?" asked the blonde.

"Yea, hop aboard," replied Doug. The chopper started to lift from the ground in unison with other helicopters. The attack helicopters moved forward faster than their transport counterparts, in order to cover any possible strikes from the ground. The helicopters were on their way to their designated destinations all over Italy. During the flight, Doug asked the blonde girl that hopped into his team's helicopter earlier.

"I didn't catch your name," said Doug.

"The name's Alice Peach. I'm your guide through this mission. You can call me Peach," Peach replied, her Italian accent very clear.

"Okay Peach, can you tell us the situation in Rome?"

"We'll be landing at the outskirts of Rome. The Nationalists' Roman command centre is near the epicenter of the city, where the nuke hit. The radiation level is now low, so it's quite safe. We'll need to enter the city on foot though. It's too risky to get into the ruined city."

"Whatever you say, Peach."

"ETA on landing site, 10 minutes," reported the helicopter pilot. The helicopter started to descend, then go on a hover. Outside, the Eurocopter Tigers continued moving forward before turning back, making sure the area was safe. The doors opened, and the team started coming out of the door. James and Yee Lin were the first to come out, keeping heads down while aiming the surroundings with their rifles, making sure an ambush was not made to the chopper. The rest came out later; the helicopter started pulling out of the area. Now, the team was all alone, with radio silence initiated after the drop. Peach indicated at them to follow her as they enter the ruined city of Rome.


Stones and concrete littered the once busy streets of Rome. Charred metal that were once cars were overturned, lodged into deserted buildings, one atop the other. The team periodically took cover behind anything on the ground they could find; concrete slabs, wrecked vehicles and tanks, walls. Ivan, Terry and Vespin had their head up, looking and hearing for enemy snipers while Doug and the rest scoured around them for hidden enemy troops. Steel beams that looked like a cross could be seen sticking out like a sore thumb among the decimated buildings of the city across the street. Then, a murmur of a moving engine grew louder.

"Enemy tank. Everybody take cover," whispered Doug to his teammates. They all find cover in buildings and waited. The M1 Abrams tank moved past with some troops covering its sides. Doug stopped breathing as the enemies' footsteps could be heard just behind the wall. They went pass, and Doug whispered a statement through his radio.

"Don't fire. I repeat, don't fire." Ivan peeped from behind the pillar to see their movements. Peach just aimed the shotgun at the parade from a window, ready to take action if they noticed that they were here. Yee Lin tried to take a glance at the moving squad from on top of a building when she slipped and a rock fell on the ground. James quickly grabbed by her collar vest and pulled her away from the edge she was about to fall. He held her safely and ducked on the floor, falling silent. A soldier fired at the location with his rifle. The bullets penetrated through the walls, clearing way above James and Yee Lin's heads. The tank commander came out of the tank to look at the soldier firing.

"What the hell are you shooting at, soldier?!" demanded the commander.

"A rock fell down, sir," replied the soldier, pointing at the building where James and Yee Lin were hiding.

"That's nonsense, soldier. Buildings here always crumble. Get back in formation!"

"Yes sir!" The tank company kept on moving and disappeared at the junction ahead.

"Thanks James," said Yee Lin, giving him a peck on his lips. Across the street, Doug heaved a sigh of relief.

"Whew, that was lucky," thought Doug. He radioed everyone to come out when the coast is clear. They all came out and regrouped.

"I'm sorry, Doug. I tripped and almost fell. I shouldn't have taken a glance," apologized Yee Lin.

"Honey, it's not your fault," said James, smelling her hair and hugging her from the back. Terry sweat-dropped at the action.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. We're just lucky to be alive," said Doug. He then turned around to see Peach looking out for Nationalist soldiers ahead.

"We'd better move. Another scout team will come at anytime soon," said Peach. They all followed her deeper into Rome.