Ok, so I have a controversial media opinion:
Transformers, the original live-action Bay movie, wasn't that bad. The thing that makes it a tolerable movie is the military characters. They were the only thing, outside the voice acting for the transformers themselves that were actually good. The parts with Sam Witwicky? They can die in a fire for all I care, and it's not because Shia LeBeouf is a pretentious dickwad. It's because Sam is boring and his whole arc could be done by a better-written character that isn't him. Now, why do I bring up Transformers despite the header of this entry and the table of contents specifying that this is a GATE crossover? That's because it is going to be a soft crossover, that being the characters of Transformers, especially the military guys.

What is this pilot going to cover? Well, this pilot will cover the first episode of GATE but with some additional characters near the events that happen at the end with the Emperor's Palace. Those characters? As previously discussed, they will be the military characters from Transformers (the first movie). At this moment in time, only the battle scene was planned and I'm not planning anything beyond that but if someone wants to roll with it, they can be my guest. A mass majority of the dialogue will be taken from the anime as well as the desert fight scene from when they encounter Scorpanok and get in contact with the military leadership. A lot of people have done this concept to death but this idea wouldn't leave me alone so I guess here we are.

Title: [undecided]

Summary: A mix of US Special Forces return to the US Embassy from a training mission with the Japanese SDF forces and are about to ship back home after some R&R, but an unexpected enemy makes itself known in the heart of Ginza. An enemy that will stop at nothing to kill, pillage, and enslave the local population despite being outgunned.

Rating: T+? I'm not quite sure how I want to do this one.

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my copy of MS Word and my desktop. GATE belongs to Takumi Yanai and the characters from Transformers belong to Paramount Pictures. I only own this really strange idea's concept. See the foreword for the full disclaimer.

XxXxXxX

A single Blackhawk transport helicopter flew over the skyline of Ginza towards a US Embassy that was pretty unassuming. It was built like any other US Embassy with high-impact glass and heavy concrete fortifications but gussied out to look like nothing more than a house converted into an office building. A veritable fortress in disguise. On the rear of the property was a helipad for VIPs to arrive and depart. The helicopter landed and its occupants departed heading towards the building. As they did the helicopter pilot powered it down. The former occupants were dressed in their service BDUs but were unarmored and unarmed.

The 'leader' of the group walked to the receptionist. "The Ambassador will see you shortly," she said as she went on to work on whatever she had been working on before.

They stood around for a short bit, treating themselves to the office's coffee and snack machines. They were ushered into the office and pretty mundane things were discussed. How the JSDF forces were in training and the like. It came down to them being adequate. Some were more disciplined than others and some were there for the benefits and pay rather than serving their country – but then again not many could judge in the US armed forces as there were people that did that as well and had that attitude. Before they could discuss any other things further an intelligence officer entered.

"Sir, check the TV!" he called out. They turned it on to see the local news showing prerecorded footage of a massive gate-like object showing up in a Ginza intersection and Roman soldiers alongside monsters. Some short and stocky while others were easily the height of a semi-truck.

"That looks like well-done CGI. It some kind of promotion?" the ambassador asked.

"No, sir. We had a Reaper in the AO on the way back from surveillance operations in the Sea of Japan and they caught this." The officer flicked a finger at his tablet and the TV's input changed to streamed footage from it. On it were the same figures but from a different angle. "And we did confirm that this wasn't costumes as IR shows that the figures are filled out and not hollow." Those in attendance watched in shock as these strangers opened fire with bows and arrows before charging at the shocked populace. They slew and captured whoever they came across. "Local police scanner intercepts show that they're trying to get the locals into the Imperial Palace."

"We can't leave them hanging like this," Captain William Lennox urged.

"How long until the JDSF is mobilized?" the ambassador asked.

"For attack helos? Maybe twenty to thirty minutes from the closest base? Any significant ground forces to counter the amount of these anime rejects though? Could be a couple of hours," the intelligence officer reported.

"And they would have limited fuel and armaments," Technical Sergeant Robert Epps added. "Maybe twenty to thirty minutes at most engaging with Hellfire and missile pods."

"There are rumors that there are flying hostiles as well."

"Which means that the hellfires would be reserved for them."

"Ground clearing until the calvary arrives is going to be tough until the mobilized forces show up. Let us go, ambassador," Lennox pleaded. "These guys are supposed to be our allies, right?"

The ambassador was quiet. But there were both upsides and downsides to letting Lennox and his team assist. On one hand, some may see it is as 'American interventionism,' but on the other hand, it was them helping in a crisis situation and holding out until the main forces show up. "Take whatever you need from the armory," the ambassador said.

Lennox and his team moved from the ambassador's office to the underground armory. It was kitted out with every weapon in the US's arsenal – well for small arms, that is – ready to be used in a siege situation. For many years, it was thought that this measure in Tokyo of all places was absurd; it appears that for once it actually has a use, as unexpected as it was. One outfitted with their preferred arms, they boarded the same Blackhawk which was waiting for them, its rotors already whirring to life.

"We aren't kitted for ground ops," the pilot said over the radio. "Once we drop you off, you're on your own."

"Copy," Lennox replied. "Are we expecting any air support?"

"Unknown, assume none at the moment. We still have to get approval from the SDF to deploy on their soil wholesale."

The trip didn't take long, maybe a few minutes. They made one pass over the palace before hovering above the street outside the palace, civilians scattering below it but still heading towards the palace itself. Ropes deployed from the Blackhawk and the team repelled down and made their way to the guardhouse, watching behind them but kept weapons at low ready.

"Americans?" one man asked in a t-shirt.

"Captain William Lennox. US Army Rangers," Lennox introduced himself.

"First Lieutenant Yoji Itami, SDF," Itami identified himself.

Lennox's radio crackled, "This AWACS callsign Jotun. We are in your AO providing ariel surveillance."

"One second," Lennox said to Itami and the two officers. "Jotun, this is Mercury Actual. Good to hear that the Airforce showed up."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up too soon, Mercury Actual. We were on our way into Yokohama and were redirected to provide intel. The base commander is trying but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Heads up, several hundred foot-mobiles inbound to your position. ETA, twenty minutes."

He turned back to Itami and the officers. "I have good news, I have bad news and worse news. The good news is that we have intelligence support from an inbound AWACS. The bad news is that we're at least a half-hour out from any support from the SDF as you know they have to fuel and arm whatever they're going to send out."

"And the worse news?" Itami asked.

"We got several hundred hostiles inbound. We need to get the civvies inside and quick."

"I tried explaining this to the two officers here but-," Itami started to explain. One of the officers went off to a phone in the booth. He turned and reported something to Itami before running off. "The Emperor has ordered that the gates be opened and the civilians be allowed to enter."

Lennox and his team assisted in getting people inside. Once everyone was deep inside the palace, Lennox started to set up his team on the platforms that looked over the wall. They looked to see an entire standing (ancient) army just over the bridge. "Jotun, how long until we get support?"

"Ten minutes," the operator replied.

Lennox looked to his squad, the police (which included their SWAT team), and Itami. "We have to hold out for 10 minutes before we get air support," he announced. "Make your shots count." He looked to Itami. "You play college ball?"

"Baseball?" Itami shrugged. "I played a pick-up league."

"Think you can be a grenadier?"

Itami smirked. "Probably the most unexpected use of my baseball skills."

And thus, a ragtag group of men and women fired upon an ancient, yet formal, army. Their firearms sliced through the Romans' armor and shields. Those who were further back in their phalanxes used the bodies and armor of their fallen comrades as barriers. This made it difficult for the non-armor piercing rounds to hit those further back. This was countered by Itami throwing grenades on top of their shield formation. They shrugged it off like it was just a rock that fell into their shield wall. This became an instant mistake as a second later it explodes sending deadly shrapnel into dozens of men. It looked like they were going to retreat, but their commanding officer in the rear kept pushing them forward, shouting orders. Lennox took this opportunity to take a shot with his M4 carbine, but his aim was slightly off as an arrow whizzed past him and the 5.56mm NATO round hit the horse in the side instead, which threw the officer from it to the ground. What felt like hours passed and hundreds of these ancient soldiers fell to their 'advanced' weaponry. However, there was a bit of an issue: ammo.

"Last mag!" Lennox called out.

"Same!" another of Lennox's men called out. Many of the officers only had revolvers and thirty-six total rounds of ammunition of .38 special.

"Running low on ammo too, cap!" their SAW operator reported.

"On a scale of 'one to fucked', how fucked are we?" Epps asked.

"When was the last time you studied up on your CQC or knife fighting skills?" Lennox asked in return.

Before any of them could despair, Lennox's radio crackled. "Mercury Actual, this is Falcon 2-1 ready for close air support, over," a male voice called over the radio.

"Mercury Actual, Falcon 2-1 and 2-2 are A-10s loaded with full ground support loadouts," Jotun added.

Lennox smirked as he turned to Epps, "Call 'em in, Sarge."

"Falcon flight, this is Mercury-2. We got a bunch of Roman rejects sitting pretty outside of the Imperial Palace. Coordinates are-," He read off the coordinates on his GPS. Lennox popped a canister of orange smoke. "Friendlies are inside the orange smoke. Attack direction south-east. You're cleared hot."

"Inbound," they reported. "ETA, 30 seconds."

"Lennox, the heat's coming!"

"Laze the targets, we got a beam-rider incoming!" Lennox ordered his squad. They stopped firing and activated their laser attachments. Lennox saw out of the corner of his eye that the Warthogs were lining up their noses. "The heat's coming!"

"Bring it!" Epps cheered as they were incoming.

"Tone received," Falcon 2-1 reported. "Guns, guns, guns." A large swath of the army exploded as several hundred 30mm cannon shells exploded in their midst. Then came the Warthog's 'brrrts of justice'. Then came a second burst from Falcon 2-2 as they too opened up with their 30mm cannon. Another part of their army blew apart in pink mist as the Romans were shredded. They didn't stand a chance as those shells were designed to shred main battle tanks. But that wasn't all. "Fox-2, Fox-2." Two missiles left their mountings on each Warthog and slammed into the formation. Those that weren't shredded were killed by what many would be considered 'overkill' as 'fire and brimstone' enveloped the formation. When it passed very few remained and they fled rapidly. It may have also helped that their commanding officer was downed in that skirmish.

They held out at the palace, and eventually, the JSDF showed up with ground forces alongside US Army and Marine complements from the garrisons. It was several days before the entirety of the 'Roman' forces were routed completely. They held their ground fiercely at Ground Zero of what many were calling the GATE which had some kind of acronym but no one cared to learn what it was. Some kind of scientific term that seemed pretentious. Those that weren't killed were captured and what was learned by interrogators infuriated the entirety of Japan along with many world leaders. A force calling itself the 'Empire' opens these gates randomly and invade, stealing the population to be used as slave labor and absorb their culture and technological progress into their own.

As one could imagine, this made many angry. In the following days, Japan saw a huge spike in JDSF applications from their population. For those on the outside looking in, it was like if Japan had received their own 9/11 or Pearl Harbor event. The Prime Minister asked the President for support and got it. Allies and all that. However, they couldn't go off half-cocked. It would be a year before those that were affected by the GATE were able to get revenge. Recon missions were undertaken. Drones launched that could fly indefinitely thanks to private-sector innovations in fuel cell and solar energy development. Valuable information was gathered, analyzed, and planned around. One year to the day, the JDSF and her allies ventured forth into the GATE.

And thus, they traveled there.

To be continued…? (Probably not.)

XxXxXxX

And that's all I have for this story idea. I do not intend to continue with this one. It was just an idea that got stuck in my head that I just couldn't get rid of until it was completed. The big thing is that there isn't really anything special about this story. Many people have done the concept before and have done it better in my opinion. But hey, maybe someone will use this idea or use the characters in their own story. As for this idea, not much else to speak about it.

IRL stuff, not much. Got 3 new volumes of manga again. I really need to sit down one of these days and complete this massive stack that I've got going on. Now for other story ideas. Right now, I got a couple of ideas so we'll see how they pan out.

Let me know what you guys thought in the usual places. I'll see you next time in whatever I decide to do next.