A/N: Hey Peoplez!
Another Chapter update and I hope you enjoy! Now... I know that some of you are a bit upset that in my last chapter I had slaves apparently killed during a Coalition night attack. Now that was not my original intention and it was not intended to shock anyone, but it was what it was. I hate to tell you this, but slave/POWs have been killed during war in similar circumstances.
Case in point, in 1942 the USS Grouper torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant ship Lsibon Maru. Completely unaware that the vessel was carrying 2000 British POWs from Hong Kong. Another Incident, the German Freighter SS Cap Arcona was sunk by RAF Typhoons while carrying
prisoners from concentration camps. The vessel was not marked with Red Cross colors.
Yea... not justfying what I did, but it I bit more true to life.
To NRF: No
to MKOficial357: Maybe? :)
To Major Simi: I did say it was a short chapter, didn't I?
Tox37JB51x : You better not copy this for your story you uncreative snowflake!
To everyone else, thanks for your input. Now on to the Story...
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( Chapter 31: Welcome to Alnustown)
February 18th, 20XX
It had been six months since hostilities between the Empire and the Coalition began and three months since Japan and her allies crossed through the Gate in retaliation. Despite what they had been told about the Other Worlders and their would be intentions, the people who called the Alnus Provence home soon realized that the men and women of the Coalition forces were not the demons the Empire had painted them as.
With the Imperial Army now non-existent in the region, the Coalition had taken it upon themselves to secure the Provence from not only the Empire, but the bandit hoards that sought the take advantage of the situation. A task which was made easier after the Battle of Italica, where most of the bandit armies were eliminated by the Coalition. With Italica now an Independent nation and the region now firmly in Coalition hands, Alnus had become very peaceful. Even more so than when the Empire was in charge. The numerous roads that ran across the land were now being patrolled heavily by coalition forces, thus allowing caravans of goods and people to move freely without fear of falling victim to Bandit attacks.
Trade began to flow freely between not only the villages, but with Italica itself and even the former vassal states of the Empire. Once again, Italica was becoming one of the more important trading post within the former Imperial Provence. But Italica was not the only major trading post in Alnus, as another town began to flourish in this new age.
What originally began as a refugee camp for those fleeing the conflict, "Alnustown" had grown into a thriving settlement that existed in the shadow of Fort Ginza. As news about the new town began to spread, thousands began to flood into the settlement. Some saw it as a place where they could escape the laws and subjugation that came from being under the Imperial regime. While for others, Alnus town was a chance to start over and live new lives. Not surprisingly, many Demi-Humans and escaped slaves began to arrive and what began as nothing more than a refugee camp, became quite the small city.
With assistance from Coalition Engineers, Alnustown had been developed with a lot of planning included. The streets, though not paved, were wide and allowed free movement of traffic, the building themselves were constructed using techniques not even the most seasoned of wood workers, tradesmen and masons had even thought off doing. They were much sturdier that anything they had seen before and the fact that said buildings were constructed much quicker than traditional housing, made the locals adopt these new techniques as their own.
Proper drainage prevented water from settling and turning the dirt streets into muddy messes, while pipe lines provided the town with a daily supply of clean drinking water. Now one would think that such a diverse mix of peoples and cultures would cause problems in this new village and there were a few minor incidents between Demi-humans and those who were not happy with the idea f having them live there. But in reality, Alnustown was quite peaceful and many of the town's inhabitants did not really care just who lived among them. Just as long as they did not cause any trouble, that is.
In the beginning, Japanese Military Police patrolled Alnustown and kept the peace. But with the United Nations now throwing its support behind the Japanese lead operation, it was not long before other military organizations began to exit the Gate under the banner of U.N. Peacekeepers. One of the more notable units to come through the Gate, were over 400 members of the Italian Armed Forces. Specifically, the Carabinieri. They were sent to assist the Coalition police not only Alnustown, but Italica as well.
It was not uncommon to see Carabinieri Unimog parked along side Japanese High Mobility vehicles in Alnustown, while Egyptian soldiers made foot patrols around the recently established market place. Even more so, it was not uncommon for local children to interact and even play with some of the Coalition soldiers/peacekeepers that ventured into the settlement while off duty. As a matter a fact, there were a number of establishments that not only catered to the local population, but coalition soldiers as well.
Fort Ginza itself, was still abuzz with activity. Despite the apparent lull in the conflict, the Coalition was still very much active in not just Alnus, but some of the surrounding areas as well. Patrols were still being sent out into the country side to ensure that the Provence and Italica remained secured, while helicopters of various sizes and types continued to fly in and out of the fort in support of ground operations.
Combat jets would occasionally fly out of Alnus Air Field to conduct air patrols aw well. After the incident with the Flame Dragon, the Coalition did not want to take any chances that another similar creature would appear in the skies above Alnus. As a result, a "No Fly Zone" now existed above not only Alnus, but Italica and even along the border with the United Independent Kingdoms of Falmart. But despite these facts, Alnustown thrived and as far as the residents were concerned, the war was stll very much far away.
Children happily played in the streets as new shops catered to the growing population. A town market had recently opened in the town's center while PX Store was due to open within a few days.
While in a recently opened tavern, the residents frequently interacted with Coalition troops who often came in for a drink or even a hot meal.
"You have to admit, this is pretty impressive!" Williams stated, as he and Itami made their way through the town's main street on foot. The two men were on their way to check out the recently opened PX store, as well as visit some of the town's people they had befriended over the last few weeks. Many of whom had settled here back when the town was nothing more than a basic refugee camp. "You would never guess that this was nothing more than a tent city just a few months ago." Williams continued, as he saw some children run pass him.
"Yea!" Itami replied, just as a Carabinieri drove past. "And it's still growing!"
"People like to feel safe, after all." Williams stated, "and from what I have heard, Alnustown is the safest town in the Provence."
"Well that, and the PX store selling a bunch of product the people here have never seen before." Itami added, as the duo came up on the Tavern. "Old Skool told me that only the PX store existed here at first, now the whole town seems to have been built up around it."
"Yea, he told me that too." the Marine replied. "He also said that a lot of people are buying stuff here and are making a killing by selling it to the nobility in the Empire."
"So that's what's going on?" Itami said with a smile. "Well a little free trade is a good thing."
"I am just glad the UN decided to send in Peacekeepers to help us maintain security in the town." Williams told his friend. As he saw some Italian soldiers walked pass wearing the signature blue helmets that designated them as being apart of the United Nations Gate Task Force. "Kinda eases the strain on our guys and allow us to focus on the other towns in the region."
Suddenly there was a loud crash and a man was sent flying out of the Tavern just feet away from the two young men.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" one of the tavern workers, a bunny girl, exclaimed. As the yelled after the same individual the former warrior bunny had just thrown out. "This ass is for show, not for trash like you to grab and smack!"
"Watch your mouth, bitch!" the man growled back, as he tried to get back on his feet. "You're messing with the wrong-"
The would be creep was cut off from finishing his threat, as a large axe suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Well hello there, little fellow." Rory said with a smile, as the Apostle not stood between the tavern and the creep with a pair of Italian Peacekeepers. "Would you mind if I messed with you? I'm sure you are aware of who I am, are you?"
"E... Emroy's girl?"
"Look at that, you got it on your first try." Rory replied, as she continued to smile at the now frightened man before her. "But if you are still interested in getting messed with, I can happily oblige"
It was in that moment the would be pervert realized that he rather enjoyed having all his limbs and head attached to his body. He then proceeded to practice the time honored tradition of "Running for one's life" , as he disappeared into one of the nearby side streets.
"Out on patrol again, Rory?" Itami asked the Demi-goddess, just as the same creep from before was being brought out by 2 Japanese soldiers in handcuffs.
"There have been a lot more people coming in and out of town lately." the Apostle stated. "many o them are idiots like that guy just now, who cant seem to keep their hands to themselves."
"Well, you're doing great!" the JSDF officer replied.
"Well were you two heading into the Tavern?"
"Actually, we were heading to the PX store." Williams replied.
"Well, that's a shame." Rory replied with a pout. "Oh well... next time." And with that, the Demi-Goddess playfully skipped off into the town on her merry way.
"I swear, that girl scares me sometimes." Williams stated, as he saw the "Child" skip off.
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After so many months of traveling alone, she was certainly not expecting to see this. A massive fortress with a thriving town just outside it's walls.
Months ago, the Dark Elf had left her home in an attempt to save her people. Once upon a time, her clan lived in peace in the Schwarzt Forest, far away from not only the Empire, but from the numerous kingdoms that surrounded her clan. They never had an interest in interacting with the outside world, nor did anyone have an interesting with them. But it was a fact that did not really bother her fellow clan members, as the forest provided them with everything they needed to survive . But one night, that all changed.
While the villages were getting ready to celebrate one of their many holidays, a Aquadraco suddenly emerged from a near by river and attacked. The massive creature did not fly nor did it breath fire, but it moved at unnatural speeds and blasted powerful jets of water from its nightmarish mouth. Jets so powerful, they could smash the sturdiest of stone structures as if they were a child's tow and drown entire villages in one blast. Many of the clan's best warriors tried to fight the creature off, but none ever returned and more villages were destroyed.
It was not long before the clan's numbers began to dwindle and the survivors were forced to shelter in the many caves in the nearby mountains. But it was only a matter of time before the Aquadraco found them and finished off their clan once and for all. Out of desperation, the Dushi Clan sent out several of their best/surviving warriors to find help. Despite their reclusive lifestyle, the Dark Elves of the Schwarzts forest would occasionally encounter travelers that would pass through and who would tell them about the goings on of the outside world. It was during one of these encounters that one traveler told them about strangers that came from another world and who had killed a Fire Dragon after it attacked them.
These... "Other Worlders" used strange but powerful weapons and were able to kill the beast swiftly. The traveler even produced a scale he had taken from the dead creature, to prove that her story was true. Of course not everyone believed this story at first, but with a Aquadrago rampaging and with Schwarzts clans now on the brink of extinction, the Dark Elves were desperate for any kind of salvation.
As a result, seven elves consisting of the Dushi Clan's best warriors were sent out to not only locate these other worlders, but ask for their help. They were told to do what ever was need to convince the Other Worlders to save their people and they were even given what was left of what ever valuables jems the clan had to pay them.
That was over 2 months ago and out of the seven warriors, Yao was the only one left. One by one, her companions were either killed in bandit attacks, or fell victim to infections from the wounds they sustained. Yao buried them all by hand as she openly weep for her comrades, the last one dying after being impaled by a bandit's sword. All alone, Yao continued on her mission for another month and in that time, she was forced to make some hard decisions and do things she rather not remember just to survive. But despite there hardships, the Dark Elf woman began to hear more and more stories about these Other Worlders and how they had saved towns, liberated slaves, even freed one of the Empire's most important cities from Sadera's influence. It were these stores and more than convinced her that the Other Worlders were real. That they could save her people from destruction.
But finally, after all her hardship and pain, Yao had finally arrived at the home base of the Other Worlder army. They were real and from what she was seeing, they truly were from another world. Wiping the tears from her eyes, the Dark Elf was able to join a small caravan that was entering the town and blend in to the group. To her surprise, the settlement did not look too different from the other towns she had seen. If it were not for her already knowing that said town was in the shadow of the other worlder fortress, Yao would have believed this to be just another town.
Of course, this illusion was quickly cast aside when she saw a Japanese Humvee and Carabinieri Land Rover drive past her. Needless to say, Yao was completely overwhelmed by the sight of two "carriages" moving without the need of horses. She wanted to follow them and see just where they were going, but the two vehicles were moving too fast for her to follow. With a defeated sigh, Yao wandered for a bit before she came upon Alnustown's Tavern and entered the establishment.
Yao ended up spending a couple hours in the tavern and even chatted with the Bunny Girl that served her drinks while she was there. It was during this time that the Dark Elf learned that even though the "Men in Green" would visit said tavern, none of the were there at the moment. But they were more than likely to visit again tomorrow.
Eventually, the elf woman left the tavern and went into the forest to get some sleep. Hopefully she would be able to locate the other worlders and if she did, then her people could be saved. She just hoped that she would still have a clan to return...
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"... once I return to my nation, I will do everything in my power to locate everyone who was taken from Ginza and return them to their families..."
The Empire had made a grave mistake, this was a fact that haunted the Imperial Princess ever since speaking before the United Nations. Her father's attempt to expand the boarders had brought an enemy the Empire had no hopes of defeating, an enemy that was angry at her nation's aggression and calling for justice for all those who had been killed or taken. The princess remembered the promise she made all those weeks ago and it was quite possibly the only thing preventing the Coalition from marching on Sadera itself and burning it to the ground.
She needed to keep her promise, or risk open war with the Coalition. She needed to find those who had been taken by the Empire from beyond the Gate, but it was a task easier said than done. Despite her title, Pina never really associated her self with any nobles who were known to be major players in the Slave Trade. Mainly because unlike her older brothers, Pina was the child of one of her father's many concubines. In the minds of many, she was just one of Colt's many "illegitimate" children born out of wedlock.
But there was one person Pina knew would have the connections she needed to complete her task and keep her promise. Pina just hoped that she would not regret bringing this individual into her plans...
"Princess?" Beefeater E Caty spoke,as she approached her long time friend and leader. "The Knights are all ready to leave."
"Thank you, Beefeater." Pina replied, as she got up from her desk and walked toward her fellow knight. "I wish I could join you, but I have to stay here and meet the nobles that will be visiting in the coming days."
"Prin... Pina, are you certain this is the best course of action?" the Rose Knight Captain asked, a hint of concern in her voice as she spoke. "If your father finds out..."
"He will not find out." the Imperial Princess replied, "He is too busy trying to convince the senate not to panic. He will not notice anything we do."
"Still... if word gets out that we are helping the other worlders..."
"I am very well aware of what can happen." Pina replied. "But it will be nothing compared to what will happen if the Other Worlders are not able to retrieve their people. The Empire can not and will not win this war. The best we can do is appease the other worlders and hope that we are able to convince them to show mercy on us."
"You really believe that the Empire will lose this war?" the noble asked curiously. Genuinely unsettled by her princess' statements, as Pina was quite possibly the biggest supporter the Empire had.
"No... we have already lost. All the Empire has to do now, is accept it as fact." Pina replied, as she handed the knight several scrolls. "Lady Boses will remain here with me to meet with the noble house leaders when they arrive and Grey is already on his way to Italica with Panache and Hamilton to assist in training the City Militia. You will be heading to Alnus to meet with the commanders and hand them these."
"What are they?"
"Lists of Slave pens and the Imperial Families that control them." Pina explained. "The Other Worlders want their people back and I intend to help them."
"How... how were were able to get these?" the noble/knight asked her leader, a shocked expression now evident on her young face. Pina hesitated for a bit before she replied...
"How I got these are not important. What is important is the survival of the Saderan people. You best be of now, I don't want any anyone to see the knights leaving the Jade Palace and inform anyone who does not need to know what we are doing."
Beefeater just stood there in silent shock, what Pina was asking her to do was straight up treason! The Prince was activly assisting the other worlders on Alnus hill and if caught, not even her status would save her or the Rose Knights. Pina had changed since her meeting with the Other Worlders and even more so after returning from her trip beyond the Gate. But Beefeater herself was well aware of just how powerful the Other Worlders were, as she could still remember being taken prisoner by them while riding to Italica's "rescue". She had no reason to doubt that Pina's actions were to ensure the survival of the Saderan people and was doing everything she could to prevent angering this Coalition.
All Beefeater did was nood before exiting the Princess' room and heading off to lead the Rose Knights out of the Capitol. Leaving Pina alone to ponder the consequences of her potential treasonous actions.
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Outside Alnustown...
Yao woke up to a strange sound that seemed to come from all around her. The Dark Elf had spent the night in the forest that surrounded Alnus town, as she did not feel comfortable sleeping in such a strange environment. She did have a lot of valuables on her and did not want anyone to get an opportunity to to steal from her.
As she quickly wiped the sleep from her eye, the strange sound only got louder and louder. Desperately, the lone elf scanned her surroundings for the unseen threat, but it soon became clear to here that what ever this sound was, was coming from the sky above! She soon snapped her head upwards and when she did, she was greeted by the most spectacular of sights.
For now flying over her in formation, were 3 OV-10A/M "Bronco" attack aircraft flying in formation low over her location. The aircraft in question belonged to the Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas ( Philippine Air Force) and were currently returning from night time patrol of the Tyran River in support of Riverine operations between the Ginza Canal and Italica. They found no targets during that patrol, but this was only their first outing and their were many more night missions to come.
Upon seeing the Broncos fly off, Yao suddenly felt a great joy fill within her. After weeks of hardship, pain and tears, the Dark Elf now felt as if her mission was finally coming to an end. The Other Worlders were near and they would save her people.
This was her only thought, as the Dark Elf quickly gathered her things and ran off in pursuit of the three aircraft...
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A/N: Now for some bad news... there will be a delay in the next update. I need to start working on a new article for a website (If you been here long enough, then you know what I am taking about) and as a result, I need to do some research. That means I will not be working on this fic until that article is finished.
As always, leave a review and tell me what you think. It really helps me when I write. Until next time, NIGHTSTALKER OUT!
Trivia: The Italian Carabinieri are the national Gendarmerie of Italy and usually carry out domestic policing duties . But they are also a military force, being the fourth branch of the Italian Armed forces and have been deployed on a number of peace keeping missions along side the Italian Military. also did you know that Egypt is one of the largest contributors to United Nations Peace Keeping operations? not the largest, but one of them.
Also... the OV-10 is a twin engined light attack/observation aircraft originally developed for the United States Military, but is still in service with the Philippine Air Force.
One more thing... since i killed the Fire Dragon, i had to get creative when it came time to introduce Yao. Since the Flame Dragon is dead, decided to use a "Water Dragon" since... well i will not spoil the plot if you have not seen that far into the Anime. just trust me on this, okay?
