March 12th, 2017 of the Gregorian calendar
The C-17 Globe master gently rocked as the paratroopers inside counted the time on their watches marched on. The men of the 504th regiment of the 82nd Airborne division were due to drop in two minutes, giving lieutenant Davis the time to retrace the plan in his head. At 15:00 hours they'd drop five miles due north of Arbor Porta and to begin the assault as soon as possible. Taking the city would mean the capture of Sadera's entire remaining fleet, preventing any threat from the sea and forcing troops away from the real attack.
Davis had short blonde hair and bright green eyes with a childhood scar on his chin. He by all accounts was a man of little words, practical, and no nonsense. His family had a military family since the war of 1812 and he hoped his teenage son could continue the family tradition. After this year he'd retire and with his pension spend the rest of his life with friends and family whom he treasured so dearly.
"Aright ladies!" Shouted the loadmaster, "Get ready to drop!" The men quickly stood up from their seats and latched their cables as the doors with each on either side opened. There was a slight delay before the he shouted, "Go! Go! Go!" "Good luck to you all!" Davis said as he before taking in a deep breath and jumping. The wind kicked him in the face while he quit gained speed, looked over shoulder to see the others not far behind him, one thousand of them to be exact.
Were they vulnerable to wyvern attacks? Hell yeah! Were there any in the area? Fuck no! The air force had already eradicated them a while ago and any that did remain were too petrified to even think of coming close. Soon he touched ground, undoing his straps before retrieving his M4 and organizing his men. Quickly the men advanced through the flatlands towards their objective, not encountering any resistance. By 18:00 hours they had stopped a mile from the city gates where bewildered people stood. Thankfully they had be dropped with a set of speakers to address the population. "populus Arbor portae! rogamur ut arma deponite, bellum perit. Parce domi tuae caedis." Commanded a translator, "pacem volumus quantum tibi. Quod si non parueris, vires experieris."
He had zero idea on what he was saying, but it seemed to work as soon they began to wave white flags signaling their surrender. 'Well that was fast' He thought, he expected more out of the infamous Saderan donkey but it seemed it would not be the case this time. Without hesitation they moved in to secure the town and prepare for any tricks the Saderans could pull. The latter had finally learned that fighting was futile and what was a skeleton crew of a city militia laid down their arms and was sent home while citizens were urged to head inside immediately. The town had been secured with no bloodshed and the ships sat in port with nobody to man them, rendering the Imperial navy nothing more then a waste of space and money.
March 13th, 688 of the Imperial calendar
It had come to a shock to Kowalski that Arbor porta had been taken so easily without a single shot fired, but he wasn't complaining. More and more men and supplies were being dropped hourly to keep the city from being recaptured in a counterattack. The operation so far was going far too perfectly to the point the general worried that out of nowhere, luck would strike them down hard but considering that most of the Imperial army was defending Sadera and the country suffering from rebellion, it shouldn't have been a surprise. It didn't help that famine and disease had ravaged what land that hadn't been turning into one-sided battlefields.
He was glad he put heavy reastrictions on civilian interactions and resources to creating vaccines of the various viruses and bacteria in this new world. The logical reason the Imperial army simply didn't disintegrate months ago was because they couldn't even get less then a mile away before being blasted into atoms.
But he was even more pleased about some great news: some of the prisoners had been found! Some agents of the Center Intelligence Agency had made contact with the Rusticas who revealed that they after liberating a mine ran by slaves came across hundreds of American men whom had endured unimaginable suffering, many barley clinging onto life. The president once learning of this rightfully ordered for their countrymen to be returned back home immediately, dispatching army engineers to quickly build a rudimentary airstrip in Rustica territory to allowed C-17s to pick up their precious cargo. It was estimated that the first people would arrive at Italica airstrip in two weeks, but the news had already been leaked.
To say the soldiers were pissed was an understatement, fighting a backwards enemy that raped, murdered, enslaved, and sacrificed as they pleased who now by account of rumors, treated their fellow Americans so badly that it made the Taliban look a little civilized. He in anticipation of this wave of anger gave his subordinates clear orders that any mistreatment of any Special region inhabited either civilian or military would be immediately punished harshly.
Kowalski took a sip of his coffee and smiled, enjoying the small pleasure that otherwise would be a commodity back home. He loved the Italican tea but liked his black coffee better. Then the phone rang, "Darn it..." He set down his cup of coffee and picked it up. "Hello?" "General Kowalski," He recognized that voice. "As you know, the last of lord Ezimaas' build up at Felxa is wrapping and is projected to try to provoke our forces into a trap. But it seemed they have fallen for their own instead." He knew full well of Ezimaas' plans and may had Zeniadi in their pockets but he wasn't to be underestimated. The man had many friends in the Imperial court and could drive Avion into a civil war if the conditions were right. "What has happened?" He could hear the man on the phone hide a slight chuckle, "Rough waves have just wrecked about a forth of the ships present." He explained, "Moles inside have revealed many of the sailors and lords are getting antsy and possibly just abandon." "But that means no battle to set the scores, to wipe the slate clean." He still knew that the enemy destroying themselves was the better option, he had gotten use to the Falmartians just killing themselves in the thousands for glory. "It may be so general, but rest assured, they won't be a problem soon..."
Mars 13th, 688 of the Imperial calendar
She was furious, terrified, and ashamed all at the same time. She was supposed to be the representative of her patron yet was helpless as her fellow apostles were taken away in a devious and devastating attack that took them all out of commission. What made things worst was that their bodies now in several pieces couldn't be found by Hardy as they had been taken across the gate, imprisoned for at least four hundred years for the oldest. She had no idea if they'd become gods on the Other-world but the possibility of being eternally separated from her homeland was unbearable beyond all words created at that point.
"My lady." The apostle said to her goddess out loud, looking up at the moon the shown brightly against the pitch black background that was the night sky. "What I am too do? The Americans have weapons that far surpasses the power an apostle possesses." There was a brief moment of silence before her question was answered. 'Im afraid for now the intruders are here to stay for some time. I can't close the Gate and they if they wanted too can wage a war of absolute extermination if they wanted to.' Giselle could feel something pinch in her heart, further bringing down her mood. 'But...there is one thing you can do...' The flame of hope began to flicker. 'The heretics are planning to attack Sadera soon. As you know many of my followers are marching towards the city now as of my commands. You too are to contribute to the defense.' "My lady, I mean no disrespect to your divine wisdom." But she was cut off, 'I understand your concern Giselle, but you mustn't waiver! You are an apostle! The streets of Sadera will be your hunting ground, ripe with prey ignorance to the presence of the huntress. It is a win-win situation dear. If the Empire wins, the enemy will be stunned and negotiate more equal terms. If the Empire falls, then both sides will be humbled.' "Of course!" Exclaimed Giselle as the campfire glowed off her blue skin. "In despair, my mind was clouded but now it has been cleared." 'Good...now return to Sadera! The fate of the world rests upon your shoulders!'
March 14th, 2017 of the Gregorian calendar
It was was four in the morning when the guns first erupted, the night sky lit up as shells going faster then the eye could see were lobbed at Saderan defenses. Air burst rounds liquidated troops while fortifications were destroyed seamlessly like paper. The poor and tired Saderans with no night vision couldn't fight back against an enemy miles away that were turning their positions into craters
After almost an hour, things got worse. The night lit up as white phosphorus and napalm incinerated whole units and men screamed while their skin peeled off. On earth this would be a warcrime that was to be shunned upon but on Falmart, this was fair game. The Oprichnina of course refused to allow soldiers to retreat, often times men who were on the same side fighting each other over the matter of survival. Once the bombardment stopped they thought it was all over but fate is a very cruel mistress.
Above, massive B-52 bombers dropped hundreds of bombs as acres of land were saturated, everything inside having no chance of survival. Drones the loitered over the battlefield destroyed whole columns of retreating men and dugouts were targeted relentlessly. Many ran around like chickens in order to avoid the countless explosions going off all around them, some prayed to make peace while others huddled as they were reduced sobbing children awaiting their fate. This orchestra of death with awesome destruction had obliterated any patriotic hope in the heart of the legionnaires whom many ran away into the night, never to be seen again.
But it all stopped, disappearing as the sun rose over the horizon. They crawled out of their underground lairs and holdouts to witness the sunrise that signaled another day. Thousands had been lost in only a single night and many more lost faith in the war, unwilling to give their lives for a hopeless dream of victory. Suddenly, over the hills and in the distance, unidentifiable things could be seen apportioning them. The commanders looked through their creaked spyglasses and turned white, for the iron elephants had arrived to finish the job...