"We are flying above the Boudica Wetlands and rainforest. A mess of swamps and jungle, impassable via ground vehicle. So the United States and United Kingdom adopted a policy of Air Superiority in the region. Drones, helicopters, and a revolutionary air defense dome made of drones, missiles, radars and hundreds of computers all guarding the airspace of the jungle…" David said into the camera.

The camera turned from David and towards the ground below. The green jungle below flew below them. The camera turned back from the ground to Kovic who blushed a bit as the camera was on, "And what exactly are we doing here?"

"Since high command cant send troops through the forest, we are going in via aircraft. We have to secure Hellfire Junction. It's a crossroad between two major highways in the region, both of them being the only real roads in the entire region. We have been hearing reports from our recon drones that there has been heavy guerilla and pirate activity in the junction, which is surrounded by a village. The village itself has civilians who live their lives in fear of pirate raids, and guerilla activity because of the economic and strategic value of the village."

It was true, the entire village had been changing hands from one occupier to another. During the outbreak of conflict in the region it was an Iscariot-Russian checkpoint and was relatively safe. Many people fled the violence in the outer villages and town in the jungle toward Hellfire Junction, the village that resided in the junction being the Village of Mai-Kai. But then the Russian garrison took their guns and left the area, leaving only the Iscariot army with swords, spears, and a few rifles with limited ammunition.

As fate dictated, the Iscariot garrison didn't last for very long, it was under siege by communist rebels soon afterwards, and they established a stronghold in the region. Under their occupation they killed and massacred anyone thought to have been loyal to the Iscariot. They killed 150 of the men, and raped countless of the women and children. The village had a population of only 22,000, and this was a tragedy to them.

However the Communists didn't last there for long, a UN/NATO task force kicked the communists out of the village after a battle that lasted for five weeks and led to the destruction of the surrounding villages in the region. NATO carpet bombing was ultimately what won the battle as the fire burned guerilla hide-outs in the region.

For about three months NATO and the UN retained control of the village and were greeted with praise. NATO and UN occupation brought about relative stability and much of the village was rebuilt. Schools, hospitals, and infrastructure were propped up throughout the region in that time, and more people migrated to Mai-Kai. But NATO couldn't hold on to it forever, Russian T-80 tanks moved into the village and the NATO occupants surrendered and were forced to leave Mai-Kai or face a long and grueling siege.

The Russian occupiers were much like NATO. They built the village up, and increased defenses around the city. The Russian Federation even began an education and free healthcare campaign inside of the village.

Yet the Russians too were kicked out as Communist guerillas armed with Chinese tanks and rifles invaded and retook control of Mai-Kai after a battle that left 2,000 Russians, 15,000 guerillas, and 10,000 civilians dead or seriously injured. The guerillas then underwent a process of 'retaking what was rightfully theirs' and branded the people of Mai-Kai (A strange mix of Humans, goblins, elves, avians, and demi-humans) as property of the Peoples Revolutionary Army. And were treated as such, subjugated basically as servants to their occupiers. Any caravans that came through were taken and searched, usually having their goods confiscated. Anybody found trying to escape were shot on sight as they were traitors.

But the PRA found that keeping control of Mai-Kai was hard, the Boudica Free Militia overthrew the PRA. They occupied the town now and like the NATO and Russian occupiers did mostly good things inside of the village. However since they were strict isolationists, they did not allow NATO, Chinese or Russo-Iscariot convoys to pass through. Pirates in the surrounding region were paid off by the BFM to raid caravans passing through, and that leads to right now.

Currently NATO and China were launching a joint operation to hopefully co-occupy and finally keep the city under their control. Of course the future of this was uncertain as they weren't sure how to divide the occupied sectors, yet it was cooperation between the two powers nonetheless.

A fleet of UH-60 Blackhawks, AH-64 Apaches, and AH-1 Cobras made up the United States' task force to occupy the city by providing aerial support, and airborne troops to support the Chinese task force that was moving along the main highway. American drones and a few aerial gunships supported the attack, followed by a squadron of Lightning II's.

The Chinese force was compromised mainly of Type-99's, as well as imported Russian BTR-80's and some troop transports. Together the United States had the air power, China had the land force. They would establish firm control over Mai-Kai and more importantly, Hellfire Junction, permanently.

"What is really intriguing about this operation, is that this is the first sign of cooperation between the United States and China. As China actually has a ground force to help and jointly occupy Mai-Kai with NATFOR. This is a good sign for the Special Region, as now the US and Peoples Liberation Army can hopefully establish an actual deal over Iscariot territory."

"Never thought after all my time in the Marines, that I'd be fighting alongside the Chinese…" Flint muttered to himself.

"Face it lil' bro. The world is changing. Fast." Hezekiah said.

Oracle 1-1 here to Whiskey-2, we are approaching the LZ. We have eyes on heavy anti-aircraft fortifications surrounding the area. Prepare for evasive maneuvers.

Whiskey-2 WILCO, flares ready. Moving to REDCON-1. Get the infantry on the ground, We will cover you with some close air support. Whiskey out.

They flew over the village and immediately the guns of the attack helicopters began to blaze. Missiles and bullets rained down on the village below, but it didn't seem to hit inside of the actual village. In return rocket fire rained from below and missed a helicopter that swerved out of the way in time. Flares were dropped and helicopters raced about in the sky harassing the enemy outside of the village.

The helicopter violently swerved around, almost to the point where some of the soldiers became sick.

Two Lightning II's swooped in from over the horizon, dropped an ordinance that exploded on contact with the ground, and jetted upwards. Popping flares on its way out. A pillar of smoke rose from the area. Artillery shells rained down on the city from above.

The main junction was visible, it was mostly paved and formed a perfect intersection as the two roads met in the middle of the town. It divided the city equally into four quarters. Which was good for the invaders as it made it easier to occupy the city.

The Chinese tanks were visible coming from the north, and they opened fire on multiple targets in the village. Explosions, and gunfire came from down below as the mechanical beasts opened fire. The helicopters landed in the middle of the village and Misfit landed outside on the hot summer day. Kovic yelled out orders to the soldiers while the camera crew followed. Gunfire rung through the air and explosions shook the skies.

An American Seastallion landed nearby with a Bradley attached to the bottom. The Bradley detached and rolled about on its own, firing rounds at the enemy force. Misfit, along with the rest of the teams dispatched, managed to secure this first area of the village. However, they still met heavy resistance from the BFM as gunshots and sniper rounds rang out.

Misfit and Tombstone squadron attempted to break through the enemy barrier of defense but they were quickly met with machine gun fire pinning them down. Misfit quickly dove behind a collapsed wall that provided some form of cover.

"Bloody Hells Bells! They've got us pinned down! We cant move!" Brian yelled out.

Flint kneeled himself up and took out a grenade, the pin came flying out as he aimed, "OPEN UP AND SAY 'AHHH' YOU BASTARDS!"

The grenade flew over the air, right into the window that the machine gun nest was located in. An explosion and silence from the gun nest signaled the grenade had killed the gunner. The NATO units that were pinned down and began to push further into the village to establish connection with the Chinese force, while the airborne Bradley tanks supported them from behind.

After fighting through the streets of the village, Misfit eventually saw the easily recognizable green camouflage of the People's Liberation Army. The two squadrons met and identified themselves. Hezekiah even shook one of their hands. The two forces would be friendly…

For now.

But fighting was still far from over. The BFM may have lost control of the southern portions of the city, but Chinese Armor was having trouble breaking through the Eastern part as the BFM was still dug in throughout most of the city. The NATO-Chinese coalition barely made a dent into the most heavily controlled zones of BFM control

But as of right now the camera crew that accompanied Misfit was able to take a photo of the historic moment. The handshake between the two feuding empires. NATO and China.

Hezekiah was now a historic icon. Hooray?

The fighting for Mai-Kai and Hellfire Junction continued for a grueling eight days. Even though NATO managed to secure the southern half of the town, it took artillery shelling, armored breakthroughs, carpet bombing in the surrounding region, and door to door searches to fully secure the village. By the end of the week, th village of Mai Kai was half bombed out. Craters lay in places where entire homes were. The jungle surrounding Mai Kai was on fire.

Two hundred and Eighty NATO forces lost their lives. Two hundred Chinese soldiers were to be gone forever. And at least one thousand civilians either killed or severely injured.

It all ended when NATO and PLA forces surrounded the city central to destroy the last cell of active BFM forces. A blue and red flag, blue on the left, red on the right, was raised over the Mai Cathedral which lay in the center of the city, being the largest building. Five soldiers, three NATO and two Chinese raised the flag. The blue of the flag meant to symbolize the NATO west and the red to symbolize the Communist China.

The CNN camera crew captured everything.

The city was under joint occupation and divided north and south. The democratic free South, and the Socialist free North. For now though, both NATO and China reviled in their victory in the Boudica Wetlands. And so too did their people, who were waiting for news of a major victory on the front. The CNN camera footage served as a major morale boost for the people back home on Earth, and support for the war was ever higher.

This peace was shaky, China and the United States still weren't necessarily friends. But, they were willing to cooperate for the sake of their economies. Europe, The US, and China were all economically dependent on each other and to work together presented just too many advantages. The embassies in both Beijing and Washington began to open up to warm up to each other.

Chinese and US tariffs dropped and Earth experienced a bit of world peace between the two superpowers. However of course, Russia was left out of this deal and it only solidified their beliefs that NATO and China were out to get Russia and to box them in. Valentine was even more suspicious of Europe and America than he was before, but he also gained a new rival: China.

The Bald Eagle, Red Dragon, and Brown Bear. All of them fought amongst each other for supremacy of this new land. Only time would tell how and what would happen…