Hello back in the next chapter! Sorry there was no chapter last week, but I got some serious cold and simply had no strength to do it. Last time, we saw Halt and Arlette infiltrated Lassigny's castle and performing at his feast. Well, actually only Arlette was doing that, but she did it well enough to put down Lassigny's and his servants attention. And now, Arlette will go for a night escapade to find where the prisoners are held.

So, let's go to the point!

Chapter 32

,,Night raid"

October 8, 2150

01:22

Arlette and Halt's room

Arlette slowly walked up to the window and looked through it. Towards the ground. Seven meters. Not much, but also pretty bad if you fall down without any assurance. Fortunately, Arlette was equipped with a rope. She pulled it out of the rope launcher on her wrist, just under the hand terminal. She attached it to the windowsill and activated her optical camo, to lower the chance of being noticed by any guard.

The reason she was leaving through the window was simple. She could activate optical camo and simply walk through the door, but what if there will be a guard? Pretty sure, he would be surprised, seeing the door opening and closing by itself. And if she made it out without anyone noticing, she could bump into someone on the corridor and then, optical camo wouldn't help her. So, the window it was.

She grabbed the rope and stood in the window. Next, she slowly started lowering herself on the rope, down the wall. After few seconds, she finally felt the solid ground under her feet, detached the rope and quickly moved away from the place. Fortunately, there were some bushes in which she hid, looking around the courtyard. She activated her night vision and looked around. Clear. No enemies in the radius of ten meters.

Arlette slowly left her cover and started moving along the wall, searching for some kind of window leading inside. Yes, there still could be someone, but any guard would not be a problem. Arlette would take care of that personally.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming from in front of her. She held her breath and waited. Soon, a guard walked past her and went towards the walls. Probably he was going to change his buddy, or something.

When the guard disappeared, Alrette resumed her walk. Finally, she noticed her chance. A small window, big enough for her to fit through. Deducing from the smell, it was a window leading to the kitchen. Slowly, Arlette walked up to the window and looked through it.

Crap. Someone was inside. Another guard, standing there, looking around. She didn't know what he was doing in there, but this did not matter. She had to quickly do something.

She quickly slid through the window, making sure to not make any noise. When she did, she looked at the guard. He did not notice anything in particular. Good for her. Now, came the time for working. Resistance soldier started walking up to the man, while he was searching for something in a box.

Before the man could notice anything, she grabbed him with an arm by the neck and started suffocating, at the same time covering his mouth. The man tried to resist, but Arlette was surprisingly strong. Turns out, Dora's rigorous training sessions were actually paying off for once. Another point for Arlie.

The man kicked several more times, before finally loosing senses and stopping to move. She checked his pulse. Still alive. At least, there will be no murder investigation. Another part of the task well done. She quickly put the man on the floor on the floor and looked into the box he was searching through.

Well, well, well. Bottles full of some transparent liquid. The French grabbed one of them, pulled out the plug and sniffed. Just as she thought. Alcohol. The guy probably wanted to drink a deeper one for the night. Even better for Arlette, which now had something to mask her presence with.

She took the bottle, approached the man and unceremoniously poured entirety of the bottle on him. He did not wake up and she simply put down the bottle next to him. Everyone will think he was just drinking while on duty. He will loose his job quicker than you could say 'First French Empire under the rule of Napoleon'. Arlette did not know, why this came to her mind, but it simply did. She grabbed another bottle of alcohol and hid it in her pocket. She felt, that she might need it soon.

The French looked out of the kitchen on the corridor and was lucky enough to see, that there was nobody there. She left the kitchen and just like before, she was walking against the wall, to minimize the risk. As she remembered from the plans, the entrance to the dungeon was somewhere near here, so she had to quickly find it.

Another set of footsteps reached her ears, making her stop where she stood and listen. Surely this was none of the guards, as she could not hear the sound of metal hitting metal. She got her answer soon, when a young boy walked from behind the turn and simply walked past her. Maybe some squire? Probably. But this was none of her concern.

She resumed her walk and continued like that for few more minutes. Thanks the science for optical camo, otherwise someone would notice her long ago. She thought that, as another guard passed by her.

"A lot of guards in here…"she thought."Oh well. This is a nobleman's castle. And a power hungry one at that. No wonder he has so strong security in here."

She stopped and looked around another corner. Her eyes sparkled, when she saw a wooden door with metal reinforcements, with a guard standing next to it. This must have been it. Now, she had to work fast and swiftly.

She started walking towards the guard, still at the wall, but as she approached him, she simply walked up to him, still in optical camo. The man noticed something weird in front of him, as part of the area started distorting.

"What the…?"

Before the man could say anything else, a powerful punch hit him in the chin, shaking his head, trying to regain reason. Arlette did not allow him, as she joined her hands and hit him from the top. Even the metal helmet did not help him and he fell on the ground.

After that, Arlette simply set him up in sitting position and took the alcohol bottle. She knew she would need it. Another guard was arranged to be drunk. Girl simply grabbed his keys and opened the door, making sure nobody was near her. Clear once more. She walked in and closed the door.

What she saw in front of her, was a staircase. She deactivated her camo and started walking down, with her weapon drawn, just in case. She had to have a lot of luck tonight, as again, there was nobody to guard the dungeon. Besides, who would like to guard this place so late at night? It was creepy…

She quickly proceeded to look through every cell she came across, using her portable flashlight. In every one of them, she saw nothing. Until she came across a different one.

The light from the flashlight entered the room and inside, she saw two people: a man and a girl. They were sitting against the wall, with closed eyes, faces visible. They both fit the description she was given by Cassandra and Halt.

She was about to knock on the door, when the two opened their eyes and looked towards the light.

"You're awake?"Arlette whispered.

The two looked at each other.

"Who are you?"the girl, Maddie, asked.

"Corporal Alrette Blancharde, Resistance Navy."Arlette introduced herself."We came here to save you."

"'We'?"Will asked.

"Me and a grumpy old man."Arlette said.

Will nodded.

"Halt?"he asked.

"Yup."

"I should have known he wouldn't let it go so easily…"Ranger said."But really, who are you?"

"There will be explanation later, but for now, I wanted to tell you, that soon we're going to break you out."

"Us and the prince, yes?"Maddie asked.

"If you tell us where are they hiding him, then yeah."Resistance pilot said.

"Good."Will said, nodding."He is held with the North-Eastern tower, in the last room on the top. We heard it while they led us here."

"Alright then. We will bust you out REALLY soon, so just wait."Alrette told them."For now, I have to go back."

"Alright, we count on you."Will said.

Arlette nodded and walked away. On the way, she activated her optical camouflage and quickly exited the dungeon. Fortunately, the guard she knocked out was still laying there, giving out smell of alcohol. Arlette closed the door with the key and gave it back to the guard.

The return was quicker than the way to the dungeon. She used her rope to climb into the room. There, she took off her uniform, dressed her other clothes and simply returned to sleep, as if nothing happened.

09:43

Castle's garden

After waking up and eating the breakfast, Halt and Arlette went to the castle's garden to have a talk. They found themselves a quiet corner and sat down on the bench.

"So, how did your night escapade go?"Halt asked.

"Pretty solid, if I say so myself."Arlette replied."It was easy to make it through, as well as make it back. But I made it to the dungeon, where I found them. But is it normal for Rangers to not sleep at night?"

"Actually, we are trained to keep vigilant even during sleep."Halt explained.

"If you say so…"the girl said."They also told me, where is that prince held."

"Where?"

"In the North-Eastern tower."

The two looked towards the said tower, which was visible from the place they were currently sitting in.

"So, what is the plan?"Halt asked.

"I will have to contact Dora and tell her everything."Arlette replied."She will take care of everything else."

"I hope so."

"Trust me, she is good at this."She jumped off of the bench."So, I will go and inform her now. You will go too or…?"

"I will sit here for few more minutes."

Arlette nodded and walked back to the castle. On her way, she noticed, that Lassigny was walking around, screaming at two guards, which stood in front of him. A smile appeared on her face.

"Heh, knew it."she thought.

09:53

Castle Araluen

Castle Araluen quickly went through sudden change in it's interior's decoration to suit the operation that was about to come. More precisely, Resistance was given a room, in which they installed their computers, screens and other devices needed to oversee the entire mission to liberate the prisoners from Lassigny's castle.

Dora was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and studying the map, when she got a call on her hand terminal. She accepted it and Arlette's face appeared.

"Arlie."Dora said."How are you doing with your task?"

"It's already done."Arlette said."I found the two King asked for. I also know, where the prince is held."

"Huh, would you look at that."Dora said.

Arlette quickly explained what she did last night. Dora nodded and looked back at the map in front of her. It was the map of Lassigny's castle and area around it. She specifically requested it to be printed. Holographic maps were nice, but she wanted to also touch the map.

"Alright then."Dora said."We will be there at night. Until then, play your role and everything should be fine."

"As you wish, captain."Arlette said, saluted and ended the call.

Meanwhile, Dora turned to a Marine, which was standing next to her in the room.

"Sergeant Sanchez, tell your men to get ready."she said."We're gonna have fun tonight."

Later that night…

Halt and Arlette's room

The rest of the day came and went by relatively quickly. Nothing important was happening, there were not feasts to be done here, so Arlette did not have to sing for Lassigny and his court today, what was actually good for her, as she could prepare her equipment for the mission, that they had to perform.

Halt sat on his bed and watched, as Arlette prepared her stuff.

"So this is gonna happen now?"he asked.

"Yes."Arlette replied shortly, checking her gun.

"So, what is the plan?"

"We have to go and release Will and Maddie, while Dora leads a team of Marines to distract Lassigny's troops. Also, there will be second team, which will save the prince."

"Pretty straightforward."

"Indeed. Can you turn around now? I would like to change."

"Whatever you wish…"

Halt turned around and Arlie quickly dropped her clothes and changed into her uniform again.

"You can look now."

"Now, when you're done, what do we do?"

Arlette smiled and threw the handgun to him.

"You get the little one."she said, grabbing her PDW."You know how to use it?"

"I might be old, by I have good memory."Halt stated.

"I believe you."the French said."Now, let me make another call."

She then activated her helmet communicator.

"This is Strider to Striker. You can begin."

Meanwhile, five kilometers away from the castle, a flight of two dropships was making it's way over the water. They were going just over the surface, leaving a water trail. They had all lights off, so they could move unnoticed from long distance.

Aboard, Dora accepted the call from Arlette.

"This is Strider to Striker. You can begin."

"Copy that."Dora replied."All right people! We have a green light! Let's start the fireworks!"

"Fire at will, but don't destroy the North-Eastern tower."one of the pilots said.

After that, both machines flew up from over the water and activated their searchlight. This was noticed by the guards on the walls, which looked at this dumbfounded.

"What are those?"one of them asked.

"I don't know."second replied.

Suddenly, more lights appeared and started coming towards them.

"Look! There are more!"

"I see, I see!"

"We need to inform…!"

Before they could say anything else, missiles hit into the wall, throwing entire sections of the wall into the air. Rocks started flying in all directions, hitting the towers and keep, as well as hitting some people, which were unlucky enough to be outside. Guards, which were guarding the inside of the castle, started getting their weapons and quickly ran outside.

Dropships flew to the hole they made in the wall and turned around, lowering their ramps.

"Go, go, go!"Dora shouted.

Marines quickly stood up and started running into the courtyard, forming a perimeter. Two other marines manned the heavy machine guns mounted on the ramps.

Guards already started running out of the castle and immediately were met with wall of gunfire from Marines.

Halt and Arlette watched it from their room window.

"That's…"Halt said.

"Yes."Arlette said."Let's go."

She came up to the door and opened it with a quick swing. Immediately outside, they met two guards. Alrette put them down with two precise shots.

"Okay, lethal force allowed."she stated.

The two started running down the corridor, still hearing the gunfire from the outside. But now, it was joined by screams of dying guards, but they didn't pay much attention to them. They were just making their way down the corridor. Mission was mission and they had to do it.

Lassigny's office

When first explosions came to his ears, Lassigny was sitting in his office, writing letters and reading reports from people loyal to him. When they were joined by regular explosions, he just couldn't ignore it.

"What the hell is going on there?"he shouted.

The door opened and guard captain came in.

"My lord! We're under attack!"

"Under attack? Did that fool Philippe finally decided to work?"

"I don't think it's him…"

"Then who?"

"We don't know…But their weapons…I never seen such magic before! They're spitting fire fast as lighting!"

Lassigny felt anger rising in him. He just couldn't believe, that someone was stupid enough to attack hi beloved castle. When he gets them, he will personally hang them on the walls.

"Lead me there."he said.

"But my lord…"

"Lead me there, you imbecile!"

Captain just swallowed and did what he was told, leading the baron out of the office.

Back with Arlette and Halt

Halt pulled the trigger and fired. The bullet hit another guard, which tried to charge at them. Arlette followed suite and sent a short, three shot series, which hit another guard, making his head explode. Nothing could stop high-velocity bullets.

"Nice shot."Arlette said.

"Thanks."Halt replied."So, which way to the dungeon?"

"Where is the kitchen?"

"To the left."

They quickly turned left and ran down the corridor. This time, group of over ten guards came at them. It was surprising, how many men can simple baron have. They already killed ten enemies. Now, they were going to double this number.

Arlette aimed her PDW and pulled the trigger. Closed space turned out to her ally, as bullets had easier time hitting their targets, making their heads explode and spill blood around. Halt also joined and supported her with handgun fire. Guards didn't even stand a chance. The corridor was filled with their bodies.

"Through here."Arlette said.

She led halt through the remaining corridors and finally, they stopped in front of the dungeon door. Again, there was a single guard at the door. Seeing the two, he raised his spear.

"You! Stop or…or…or…"

Seeing approaching Arlette, he just lost all of his confidence. The French took a swing and hit the man in the face, sending him on the ground. Next, she pulled him up and placed at the wall, with PDW put to the face.

"Okay, listen here."she said in French."Give me the dungeon keys and I will let your fat ass go."

"And if I don't…?"

"Then I will blow your brains out."she said with acidic smile.

Man completely lost his composure and grabbed the keys, giving them to Arlette. She let him go, noticing, that he made a stain on the floor.

"Now go."she said.

Guard stood up and ran for it. But before he could run just one meter, he received a bullet in the back.

"That was ruthless."Halt said, shocked, as even he didn't expect anything like that from Alrette.

"Sometimes, you have to act ruthless, if you want to reach your goal. He wouldn't get out alive anyway"Arlette replied, shaking the keys."But we have this."

She put the keys in the hole and opened the door. She activated her flashlight and the two quickly ran down, towards the cell, where Will and Maddie were held.

"Will?"Halt asked, looking inside.

"Halt?"familiar voice said."You're really here?"

"Of course I am."Halt replied."All thanks to Alrette."

Will and Maddie stood up.

"So, how are you going to get us out of here?"Maddie asked.

"Stay away from the door."Arlette ordered.

She aimed the PDW at the door hinges and pressed the trigger. Three precise shots and hinges were torn apart, allowing the door to fall on the ground with loud thud.

"That works."Halt said.

Will and Maddie waled out. Halt and his former apprentice looked at each other and grabbed their hands.

"Good to see you here."Will said.

"And I'm happy to see you alive."Halt replied.

"And what about me?"Maddie asked, pretending to be upset.

"You too, kid."Halt said, giving her high-five.

The three smiled and looked at each other.

"Listen, I don't want to destroy your happy moment"Arlette said"but there is a regular battle going on out there and we have to run through the wall of fire."

"And what about our horses?"Will asked.

"Horses? Oh, right. Halt told me about the bond between Ranger and horse…"she said."Alright, let's go."

"Right after you."Maddie said.

The four quickly left the dungeon and went towards the stables.

Back with Lassigny…

Baron, together with the captain and several guards they took on their way, continued to walk down the corridor. As the fate would have it, they came across the opened dungeon door and the body of the guard.

"What happened here?"Lassigny asked.

Captain walked up to the guard and looked at him.

"Dead."he said.

"Who might have break into the dungeon?"one of the guards asked."There wasn't anything interesting."

Lassigny looked at the guard and the open door again. There was nothing interesting in the dungeon, only…

It struck him like a lighting. These two! They were there and someone probably freed them! If he catches them, he will really hung them from the walls!

"Let's go! We can't let the prisoners escape!"he ordered.

"Yes, my lord!"captain said.

The group quickly ran down the corridor.

Meanwhile, Arlette's group was making it's way towards the main courtyard. As it turned out, the fighting still continued, with Marines continuously firing at the guards, which tried to reach them.

"But really, how many guards can he have?"Arlette asked.

"We didn't even know, that there are that many."Will replied."Is that your support?"

"Of course. Keep your heads down."

They reached the door leading outside and Arlette activated her communicator.

"Dora, this is Arlette."she said."We're going out towards the table. Tell everyone firing in that direction to cease fire."

"Stables? Why there?"Dora asked.

"Horses."

"Why would…Oh, right. That thing. Okay, count to five, then you can go."

"Alright."

After five seconds, Arlette immediately recognized, that the cannonade decreased. She looked at the others.

"Move!"she exclaimed.

She kicked the door open and they all went into the courtyard. Marines were still firing behind them, but the ones aiming towards the stables were quiet. Unlike the guards, which quickly decided to take their chance and after noticing the group led by Arlie, ran in their direction.

However, they didn't have much success here as well, when Arlette and Halt started firing at them. Bullets penetrated the armor and simply put them all down.

"When did you learn that?"Will asked, looking at Halt.

"They showed me back in Araluen."Halt quickly replied.

They made it to the stables, where they saw Tug and Bumper jumping around, terrified by the sudden noises. Abelard was also making noises, trying to calm them all down. Will and Maddie ran up to them.

"Hey, hey."Will said."Calm down. There is no need to worry about anything. You don't have to be scared."

"Bumper, calm down."Maddie said to her horse."These sounds won't hurt you. Better, they're here to help us."

Two horses looked worried for few more seconds, before finally calming down.

"Huh, works every time, I think?"Arlette said, rubbing back of her head.

"It does work every time."Will said."Shall we go now?"

"Yes."

Three Rangers untied their horses and quickly started making their way towards the dropships.

As this was happening, the angry owner of the estate also made it to the courtyard. He looked around and was shocked to see all of his guards slaughtered. This was the last straw. The punishment for the attackers will be bigger than simple hanging.

In the corner of his eye, Lassigny noticed movement. He looked in that direction and saw four people, accompanied by three horses. There they were.

"Men!"he shouted to his group."Weapons! We shall not let them run!"

"Yes!"the guards exclaimed.

Everyone unsheathed their weapons and…exploded.

One of Resistance machine gunners noticed the group of armed people at next to the keep and was not thinking twice. The group they had to rescue was already coming, so this couldn't be friendly. He simply aimed and pulled the trigger, making .50 cal bullets fly in their direction.

Effect was devastating. Captain's head exploded, splattering blood onto Lassigny and everyone around him. Other guards didn't last much longer, when bullets ripped through their bodies. Soon, they ceased to exist.

Arlette, Halt, Will, Maddie and three horses already reached Resistance line. When they did, soldiers immediately opened fire at the remaining enemies.

"Arlie!"Dora shouted.

"Is everything done?"Arlette asked.

"Yes. We even got the prince."Dora replied, pointing at a young man sitting in the dropship, confused as much as possible.

"Good. We're done too."Alrette replied, pointing at the group behind her.

"Okay then, Load up, everyone! We're leaving!"

Soldiers slowly started backing off, still aiming their weapons, expecting more enemies to come at them. But no. It seemed, like they took out every single guard in the castle. They just entered the dropship and sat on their places. It was a bit tight, because of the three horses, but they had to live through it.

Two dropships increased their altitude, turned around and flew away.

"Phew, that was crazy."Maddie said.

"Indeed."Will said.

"So, you are Will and Maddie?"Dora asked.

The two looked at each other again.

"Yes. And you?"Will asked.

"Major Dora Heidel, Arlie's commander."White Squadron 2IC said."Well, you're going home. Happy?"

"Yes, but…"Maddie looked back towards the castle. Back ramp was still open.

"Lassigny still is a danger."Will said."He still might try and start a rebellion against the King of Gallica"

"Don't worry, we are prepared for that."Dora stated.

"Really?"Maddie asked.

"Yes."She reached her hand terminal."Egon, your turn."

Back in the remains of the castle, Lassigny slowly rose up from the ground. When they were fired upon, he quickly fell down, so he would evade the wrath of the enemy. It actually saved his life. When all his guards were falling around him, he managed to survive.

But he was not happy because of that. No. He was simply humiliated, nothing more, nothing. Some unknown people just stormed into his fortress and just like that, took away his prisoners, not even breaking a sweat. Oh no, he was not going to simply let it all slide just like that. He will be chasing them to the edge of the earth! He will find these attackers and…

Giant shell fired by Ike slammed into the ground, erasing the castle from existence.

"Dear god…"Will said.

"Yup, pretty much Arlette said.

"Even I am impressed."Halt said.

"Good to know that."Dora said."But now, let us go back to where we should.

With these words, two dropships turned towards their first destination.

12:44

Castle Araluen foregrounds

Skyhawks slowly came to a touchdown and sat on the ground. The back ramps opened and every soldier and passenger inside, walked out of the machines onto the grassy field surroudning the castle.

"Wow."Maddie said."Coming back home like that really makes you feel different."

"Nothing new for us."Dora said.

"Maddie!"a familiar voice exclaimed.

Everyone turned around and saw Cassandra, running towards them, with Horace approaching slowly behind his wife. Woman ran up to Maddie and hugged her tightly.

"I was so scared about you!"Cassandra said.

"Mom, not again…"Maddie said, trying to get out of her mother's grasp."I thought you're over your overprotection…"

"You know mother will always be worried about her child."princess said and looked at Will."Oh, how are you?"

"Good that you admit my existence."Will said."Been better, in fact…"

"Where have you been anyway?"

"We had to make a detour…"Arlette said."There was the prince of Galica with us too."

"If only you saw Philippe's face when we came by this dropship."Maddie added with smirk on her face.

Horace then came up to the group.

"Hi dad."Maddie said.

"Good to see you, Maddie."Horace said, hugging his daughter."And good to see you, Will."

"Yeah, yeah."

Next, all Araluenians looked at Dora and Arlette.

"Thank you. I don't know, what else I could tell you?"Cassandra asked.

"Nothing, really."Dora said."Although…"

"Ah, right."Horace said."Let's go to see the King."

Right then, the air was torn by a powerful 'bang', which could simply rip their ears apart.

"What was that?"Maddie asked.

"Follow us."Horace said and turned on his heel.

Everyone followed him through the gate and entered the castle's courtyard. There, they saw a peculiar sight. Gilan was kneeling while seating on his other leg, with Yuko's sniper riffle in his hands. The Japanese was standing over him, telling him something to his ear and pointing forward, towards a group of three dummies. Next, Ranger Commander pulled the trigger, firing another bullet and making another dummy disappear in cloud of splinters.

"And, what will you say?"Yuko asked.

"Amazing."Gilan said, reloading the riffle."You think you could do it for me?"

"Sure, I know some people."Japanese said with smile.

"That's something I never expected to see."Will said, s the group approached.

Gilan looked at Will and smiled at him, giving the riffle back to Yuko.

"Will, Maddie."he said."I'm glad to see you here."

"What you two were doing exactly?"Maddie asked, pointing at Yuko.

"Well, let's just say, that I made a deal with the Resistance."Gilan replied.

"Deal?"Halt asked.

Ranger Commander looked at him perplexed, but then nodded.

"Yeah, you were not here."he said."While you were gone, I talked a bit to Yuko about some things. And as soon as the alliance between us and Resistance is signed, there will be new trainings for the Corps soon."

Rangers risen their eyebrows.

"Trainings? What alliance?"Will asked.

"Well, part of the deal of saving you, is that Araluen will sign up an alliance treaty with Resistance."Dora said."Not long after, there was also Gilan's proposal."

"Soon, Rangers Corps will receive courses by Resistance instructors."Gilan said."We will learn how to use sniper and assault riffles, as well as new close quarters combat techniques and usage of sidearms."

Hearing this, the three Rangers widened their eyes.

"But…that will completely change the structure and traditions of the Corps."Maddie noticed.

"I know, but this change is needed."RC said."Look at Resistance soldiers. You think we could rival their power?"

Immediately, image of Lassigny's castle being obliterated played in their minds.

"You see? This is why I decided, that we will do some weapon changes."Gilan stated.

"Besides, it's not only Ranger Corps."Horace said."Our entire army will now be armed and trained by Resistance."

"Is it not too much trouble?"Will asked.

"No. We're already arming and training armies of former Allied Kingdoms on Falmart. We can handle it."Dora provided."Now, let's go and see the King, shall we?"

"Yes."Cassandra said.

And so, they went to King's office. On the way, there were several guards, which saluted them, making Will and Maddie rise an eyebrow.

"We already showed them some things."Dora explained.

Now, they didn't even bother to knock at King's office door. They just opened them and went in. Seeing the two newly rescued, Duncan stood up.

"Hi, granddad."Maddie said.

"Welcome, Your Highness."Will said.

"Will, Maddie."Duncan said."I really am happy, that I can see you again."

"All thanks to your new friends."Will said, pointing at Dora.

Duncan looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you a lot."he said.

"No problem, Duncan."Dora replied."Now, if you want of course, could we start setting up the treaty?"

"If I want? Hah! I was just waiting for you to ask!"Duncan said."Anthony, get us something to write!"

"Of course, Your Highness!"Anthony said and left.

When he returned, everything started. Dora, to make everything more official, used her hand terminal to allow admiral Chesterfield to also take part in the talks. As it turned out, admiral and King quickly found a common language. They spoke of some things, like what will Araluen do in the alliance, if Resistance will need something in return and if what Dora said about country's membership was true. When everything was talked through, the resolutions were written down and signed by King Duncan and Dora, as a representative of admiral Chesterfield.

The terms were as follows:

1. Kingdom of Araluen will officially join Resistance Alliance. It is not required to join any wars currently partaken by the alliance, but it can, if it sees it fit. Also, Resistance is obliged to defend Araluen in case of invasion by a foreign enemy.

2. Resistance is allowed to built military bases and instal civilian institutions in Araluen. These military bases will serve as training areas for Araluenian military and Rangers Corps. Civilian authorities will support training new police, fire and medical services.

3. Araluen is allowed to join United Nations at any point of time, if it shows intentions to do it. If it doesn't, it's not gonna be forced to.

4. Resistance will support economical development of Araluen by trade and introduction of new technologies.

5. Resistance is allowed to use Araluen as a base for diplomatic missions across all of Gernea.

Signed by

Duncan, King of Araluen

Dora Hiedel, representative of Resistance

Anthony read the terms out loud and looked at the King.

"Is it good, Your Higness?"he asked.

"Indeed, Anthony."Duncan said."I hope our cooperation will be fruitful."

"I hope so too."Dora said.

"So, what are you gonna do now?"Halt asked.

Dora stood up and stretched herself.

"Our mission was to scout the continent and make first contact with the locals."she said."Our mission is done. Now, we should go home and wait for another mission, when the time comes."

"So you're leaving?"Will asked.

"Well, we have to."Dora stated."But don't worry, I'm pretty sure, that we will see each other few more times in the future. Now, allow me to depart."

"As you wish."Duncan said.

She, Yuko and Arlette turned around and walked out of the office and went to find Suvi and Aqi. Tertan was easy to find, she was just making some check ups on her Xarar. Suvi was harder to find, but finally, they found her in pretty 'suggestive' position with one of the guards, inside of a locker. It seemed, that she really can't keep herself from doing her usual stuff…

After scolding Suvi and almost hanging her head down, the five boarded their fighters and left for Fort Terhis.

October 10

18:55

Fort Terhis

Following the successful operations on both Orisia and Gernea, both groups of White Squadron returned to Fort Terhis, where they immediately decided to go to grab some R&R in Alnustown. However, Ester and Dora had no such privileges. This is why they had to meet within the command building.

"Ester."Dora said.

"Dora."Ester said.

They both grabbed their hands and shook them.

"How was your time in Orisia?"Dora asked.

"Pretty cool. We helped some people win a battle, made an empire collapse and made friends with exiled prince."Ester said."And your time in Gernea?"

"Same. Met some Rangers, infiltrated a castle, saved other Rangers and blasted the castle out of existence."Dora summed up.

Next, the two laughed.

"Well, then it seems we both were quite busy."White Squadron commander stated."Did admiral Chesterfield called you?"

"Indeed. And she called you too?"White Squadron 2IC asked.

"Yup. Probably to hear our reports."

"But she knows about my results."
"Then I have no idea, what are we doing here."

Right then, the door leading to secretariat opened and Sulio's head peeked out.

"Admiral will see you now."he said.

"Sure."Ester said.

The two entered, passed by Sulio and his desk, then entered through the door leading to admiral's office.

Amanda was sitting at her desk, looking at her hand terminal and sipping some coffee. The two stood in front of her and saluted.

"Major Ester Barkhorn and captain Dora Hiedel report!"Ester said."We…"

"There is no need to report anything, major."Chesterfield said."At ease."

The two did as they were told.

"So…What is it you wanted to talk with us about?"Ester asked.

"I wanted to tell you something."Amanda said and stood up.

She came up to one of the binders and grabbed some documents from it. Next, she handed one folder with 'TOP SECRET' written on it with big, red letters. Squadron commanders looked at it with confusion.

"What is it?"Dora asked.

"Look inside."admiral said.

They did as they were told and looked into the folder. In there, they saw several documents, printed map of the Galaxy and several photos. This confused them more.

"Sir…"Ester asked.

"Yesterday, a special meeting of Resistance General Staff took place in Tel Aviv. Last things were prepared and finally, a plan was agreed on by all commanders, as well as General Secretary and other leaders of Great Five."the woman explained.

"Plan? For what?"Dora asked.

"We used these six years of stalemate for a good cause."Amanda continued."This plan…is gonna be something never before seen in Milky Way."

Ester then looked at one of the documents with large letters on it.

"Operation: Galactic Liberation."she read out loud.

"Exactly."Chesterfield nodded."Biggest counteroffensive in galactic history, aimed at breaking Holy Order's advantage over us. In the next forty eight hours, Holy Order fleets and military infrastructure along the frontline will become targets for attacks performed by our special forces. Shipyards, ships and stations, all are gonna be destroyed. Twenty four hours later, our newly reorganized and rebuilt fleets will launch an attack along entire front to finally break through."

Ester and Dora looked at the documents in their hands and the admiral, trying to understand, what they just heard.

"Why we never heard about it?"Ester asked.

"This plan was our top priority. Only selected group in the higher ups knew of it, as well as leaders of Great Five."Amanda explained."Task Force 04 will have to retreat from this planet and take part in the operation."

"But wait, what about everything we built and did here?"

"Don't worry, Africans and civilian institutions will take over for the time of the operation."admiral provided."We bind our greatest hopes with this operation. If it fails, everything will be lost. Right now, Holy Order is most vulnerable. They are blinded by their current status and don't expect us to launch something like that. If we miss our chance, we might not have anymore. You understand that?"

Dora and Ester looked at each other, once more stood at attention and saluted.

"We understand, admiral."Ester said.

"Great."Chesterfield said with smile."Now go and pack yourselves. The upcoming months will be decisive. W must succeed. Or everything we know, our loved ones, our homes…all will be gone forever."

XXX

And yeah, that's the end of Gernea Arc! And at the same time, it's the beginning of a new. For the few upcoming chapters, we will again return to Milky Way to take part in the biggest and most important operation of the Great Galactic War. The effect of it, will decide the future of the Galaxy. Of course, when we do what we need in Milky Way, we will continue with adventures in Falmart.

So, until the next chapter! See you!