This chapter was remade and reposted on the 07/04/2017
Paris, Champs-Élysées Avenue, November 5th 2016, 0900 hours Paris Time
The day was cool for an early November. A single-tone grey cloud was covering the entirety of the sky, only letting dimmed but uniform lighting to the city. From the outside, it looked like any other day in the life of any other capital city in the world. But it was only from the outside.
As you were getting closer and closer to the Champs-Elysées Avenue, you could see many parking lots, plaza and even entire streets transformed into the staging area for many military vehicles. And if, despite all the agitation, the crowds and other traffic jams, you managed to reach the most famous avenue in the world, you wouldn't be able to admire its true beauty as tanks and APC were blocking the view. One other thing was ruining the landscape : a giant metallic dome.
The Gate.
The destination of all these soldiers.
The unknown.
Maybe not completely unknown. During the last month, dozens of reconnaissance missions had been conducted by operators from the thirteenth Paratrooper Dragoon Regiment. There might have been no maps, no electronics and no support, but they still observed the enemy camp for days, bringing back all the information needed for a successful deployment.
For the past hours, French, American, German and British soldiers were taking their position under the watch of thousands of civilians amassed under the trees of the Champs-Élysées. The first in the lines were the tanks, mainly Leclercs, but also a group of M1A1 Abrams, followed by the first rows of troop transport vehicles carrying the infantry. As an almost perfect symbol, the unit chosen by the French Army to take the lead was the 126ème Régiment d'Infantrie, the unit whose soldiers bravely fought to defend Paris. Behind them were M3 Bradleys, FV103 Spartan, Transportpanzer Fuchs and all the soldiers of their respective nationalities.
The different groups were chatting in between each other or with the civilians restricted to the sidewalks by police officers. In the end, it looked a little like the fourteenth of July, with cold temperature, a giant hole in space time down the street and an actual state of war with a country no one knew existed a few months before.
But between the first rows of vehicles and the closed metal doors, there was a basic scene, empty for the past hours, and everyone was waiting for someone very important to step on it.
« Attention ! » suddenly requested a male voice through the loudspeakers that had been set up all along the avenue.
Every soldiers and civilians shifted their attention towards the scene, only to see a lone man in a French Army uniform standing, holding a microphone. He was not young, his short grey hair and his wrinkled skin showing not only his age, but also his experience.
« Soldiers, he started, you might already know me, but I'll introduce myself anyway. I'm General Pierre LaPointe and I was tasked by NATO to lead the FORSO. »
FORSO. It was the acronym for Force Opérationnelle Région Spéciale OTAN, translating in NATO Special Region Task Force. Those five letters were painted on the side of all the vehicles, and every man was wearing its emblem on their shoulder.
« I know what you feel. You are going very far away from home, you are all risking your lives and you will not be back until a long time. I felt the same when I got deployed in Iraq in 1991, and over time I learned how the battlefield works. But today, I feel really uneasy too. I mean, nobody has ever done that before. But we are all soldiers, it is our job, and we ought to do our mission well. There are some people on the other side that thought that they could attack civilians and get away with it. But all action has a consequence, and we are the consequence. So what I want, what everybody want, is you to go there and do you job so that Lady Justice can do hers. »
LaPointe took a step back and, in the cold Parisian morning, the Marseillaise rung.
Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé,
L'étendard sanglant est levé,
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes !
Aux armes, citoyens,
Formez vos bataillons,
Marchons, marchons !
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !
As soon as the song ended, the crowd roared, as to say how much it agreed with the words of the general.
The anthem was oddly in accordance with the current situation : bloody banners, fierce soldiers slaying your sons and your wives...
« I now declare the start of Opération Marteau De Justice. » LaPointe then simply stated, making the crowd roaring even louder, before getting of the stage.
A group of military engineer started to quickly take the stage apart while all the soldiers joined their vehicles.
The troop compartment of a VAB is probably the best thing to describe a lack of comfort. Little space for your legs, small height forcing you to always bend your head, hard seats and a proximity with your neighbor beyond the socially acceptable limit. But Anthony had always liked the feeling of sitting down on one of those seats as it meant they were going on exercise somewhere in the wild, or that they were going back from one. But here, it wasn't like that. They were going to an actual war zone, and it was making him nervous.
The soldier in front of him noticed that he had started to shake his leg out of nervousness.
« First deployment Lieutenant ? » he asked.
Anthony felt the experience in his voice.
« Yup, Anthony nodded, if you don't count walking slowly in the streets of your own country as a deployment. Corporal... ? »
During the Battle of Paris, all the soldiers under Anthony's orders had been injured one way or the other. But he was still asked to go to the Special Region, mainly to allow Public Relations to make great posters for recruitment. So he ended up transferred to another company of the 126th, not really knowing anyone, while everyone else knew him.
« Corporal Marc Sostat, he answered. Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant. Don't worry, I was like that during the whole flight to Kabul when I was sent to Afghanistan. »
« Well I hope this place isn't as bad as I heard Afghanistan is. »
« Apparently those guys can't even shoot back at us. You were here the 19th, so you probably know way more than any of us. »
The Lieutenant laughed before starting to answer.
« They still had things that looked like orcs and dragons, so I wouldn't be surprised to see mag... »
He was interrupted by a voice over the radio.
« This is Overlord, be advised that allied armored cavalry has started crossing. Infantry, movement in 1 minute. Overlord out. »
As soon as the radio stopped, every soldier could feel the wheels of the armored vehicle rolling on the pavement. The whole group of motorized infantry was setting up for an immediate dive into the black limbo that was inside the massive stone structure.
Every one stopped talking, focused. For the soldiers, this minute has been the longest of their lives.
After what seemed to be hours of waiting, the soldiers felt the vehicles rolling at a moderate speed on the pavement of the Champs-Elysées. And then nothing.
Everyone could hear the loud rumble of the VAB's engine, but it felt like the vehicle was at a stop, or gliding like one of those futuristic train prototypes.
No one was able to tell how much time had passed, but soon enough, the radio spat, despite a few interferences, words coming from the Command Post.
« This is Overlord, be advised, the tanks are on the other side. I repeat, the tanks are on the other side. No hostile forces spotted. How copy ? Over. »
The young private in charge of the communication almost dropped the microphone in his haste before responding.
« Foxtrot 1, copy. Over. »
« Hey soldier, said Anthony, be careful with that thing. We only have one. Don't want to be without comms out there. »
« So...Sorry Sir. » he faltered.
« First time too ? » asked Marc.
Anthony had noticed too how fast the private had answered, showing the obvious lack of experience.
« Huh...Yes, Corporal. »
« None of that Corporal bullshit with me. Call me Marc. »
« Private Pierre Chaumond, Sir. »
« Well pleasure to meet you, Pierre. » said Anthony, extending a hand to shake Pierre's.
Making some friends in this new company was probably one of Anthony's to priority.
Only a few seconds later, the driver of the VAB turned his head and shouted to all the vehicle's passengers.
« All right boys ! Thirty seconds ! Be ready to move. »
The day was slowly appearing over the forest covering the slopes of the holy hill of Alnus. Despite the current events, Faram Em Lanti had always enjoyed the sight of the Imperial Army camp, even with the weight of almost sixty thousand disappeared souls on his shoulders. Only one or two thousands had made it back to Alnus, completely terrorized, telling the tales of green iron monsters, only bringing a small group of prisoners. There were also some rumors about ghosts haunting the area, some soldiers seeing bushes moving far away, other talking about strange prints on the ground and some even disappearing without a trace.
Ever since, Faram had trouble sleeping, waking up too early every day. The only thing he could do was watching the horizon, hoping each time to see the colorful banners of the Allied Army appear. He had requested reinforcements directly to the Emperor after the failed attack, and the messenger that came back carried the word that the Allied Army had been summoned, without many details.
And ever since, he and his men waited.
As usual, the men down below were slowly starting to exit their tents, some lighting up some campfires to warm themselves. All of their actions were accompanied by distinctive sounds that, all together, created a very unique melody.
But Faram immediately noticed the sound of a man in light armor running towards him, forcing him out of his troubled thoughts. A young man, almost young enough to still be called a boy, stopped next to him, covered in sweat and breathing heavily.
« My… My Lord… » he faltered, missing air in his lungs.
« What is it, soldier ? »
« The… Gate… They… have crossed it ! »
There was a second before the still asleep mind of the general truly understood the words.
« What ? »
« Some big creatures appeared from the Gate… Green, enormous and with a large snout. They didn't see us, but we saw them… »
Probably without realizing it, the young scout had talked loud enough to be heard by several groups of soldiers now looking confusedly at them.
« Are you sure ? »
Part of Faram were highly doubting the words of the boy, but others were sure that what he just said was true.
The nod that was his answer was the only thing he needed to call out all the Centurions of the army. And after a short meeting, the soldiers started forming their ranks and walking towards the Hill.
Their strategy was simply to surround the Hill and push them back through thanks to their higher numbers. It was simple, too simple maybe, but they couldn't think of anything else in a so short period.
When they entered the forest, their pace slowed down, but they continued their advance until they reached its border.
In the dark of the night, Faram recognized immediately the giant structure of the Holy Gate. But there were other shadows on the hill, coming out of the portal. They were large, rapid and loud. Some had a large metal tube sticking out of them, while other were boxier and let out humanoid shadows from their bellies.
« My lord, said one of Faram's men, what do we do now ? »
« Wait until everyone has reached their positions, then we laun… »
But the general stopped himself in the middle of his sentence. There had been a louder noise, like if a hammer was very violently hitting on a piece of metal.
« What was that ? » asked Faram, but his confusion was shared by many of his soldiers.
There were a few seconds of silence, and then day appeared in the middle of the night.
Way over the tallest trees, two or three bright yellow lights appeared in the skies, slowly falling towards the ground. The light they were producing was so bright that one could now clearly see all around him as if it was noon. And it could only mean one thing.
The enemy had seen them.
Faram looked at his officers. They all had confusion in their eyes as magic of this sort was supposed to be impossible. Quickly, he grabbed the shoulder of the one holding the horn.
« The charge ! Quick ! » he ordered, almost yelling.
« Wh… What ? »
« Give the order to charge ! Now ! We don't have the effect of surprise anymore. »
The young man reached for his instrument and blew inside, creating the distinctive melody recognized by all the Imperial officers.
For Faram, there was now only one thing left to do. He grabbed his sword and pulled it out of its sheath before making a step outside the forest, facing the Gate. He started running and was quickly followed by all of his soldiers. It was finally the battle they had all waited for.
He run for a long time, not feeling the fatigue. But suddenly, for a split second, Faram saw like hundreds of small flashes of lights coming from the shadows, and pain exploded inside his torso, like if something had passed through it at very high speed, completely ignoring his armor.
The pain made him stumble, then another burst of pain in his leg made him fall heavily in a large puddle of mud.
His vision started to get blurry, the only thing he was seeing being the lights still appearing and disappearing in the sky.
It was the end, and now Faram perfectly knew it. He coughed a large amount of blood, and, before his last forces left his body, he prayed to Emroy.
Unknown location, November 5th 2016, 0945 hours (Paris time), unknown local time
Inside the troop compartment, the eight soldiers felt the wheels taking back grip on the dirt and the usual rumble of the armored vehicle came back. It made them quickly return to reality. They had a mission to accomplish.
It was still night, but sunrise was close. On this world, the Gate was situated on a tall hill with a large and flat top. The long slopes were clear, offering a perfect position to observe the big forest of oak-like trees that was lying at the hill feet. The only thing that showed a past human activity in the area was a large space where the only thing left were the stump of numerous trees, like to create a huge path for a large army.
The VAB took the direction of his assigned point and, after rolling for about two hundred meters, stopped between a Leclerc and a M1A1 Abrams.
« Alright, terminus everyone. » launched the VAB driver.
Immediately, the two large doors of the compartment started to open, and the reflexes that Anthony had acquired after dozens of training missions started to kick in.
First, exit the troop compartment. Second, kneel down next to the opening. And finally third, provide over watch while the rest of the squad disembark.
Even if there were two tanks next to them, they still went through the procedure. When Pierre shouted that he was the last man out, the doors closed and the Lieutenant ordered to find cover facing the forest, the only place from where the enemy could come.
« Chaumond, tell command we're in position. » then ordered Anthony.
« Yes Sir ! the young private responded before reaching for the radio microphone. Overlord, this is Foxtrot 1, we're in position. No hostile contact. Over. »
« Roger Foxtrot 1, stay in position and wait for further instruction. Overlord out. »
While the soldiers were flicking on their night vision googles, the commander's hatch of the Abrams opened and a black man poked his head out
« Finally you're here, he started. We were starting to get bored. How's been the cross ? »
« Fine, thanks for asking, responded Marc. You don't have anything on your thermals ? »
« Nah, but the ground is cold so it's not the most reliable now. You should tell that to the one using that pea-shooter. »
He pointed with his finger the large machine gun and all its optics, sitting on top of the VAB.
« Well thanks for the advice, replied Marc. Heard that, gunner ? Switch to infra-red, thermal isn't useful. »
« Yup, responded the gunner over the local radio, switching to IR. The only thermal contacts I got were too small. Maybe local wildlife »
« Wildlife ? Thought it would be the first thing to be scared and flee because of the engines. »
Meanwhile, Anthony had started to scribble down the characteristics of the terrain on a small notebook. The only thing of importance was the forest, two hundred meters down the slope, and nothing else in between. But suddenly, something moved in the bushes.
« Wait, he yelled. I think something moved. Two o'clock, around 250 meters, in the forest. »
« What ? answered Marc before turning his head in direction of the Abrams' commander. You have something ? »
« Checking the area with the magnification, standby. »
The M1A1 turret and optics slowly turned toward the general direction indicated by the Lieutenant and started sweeping the area.
« Looks like there's something over there, confirmed the commander before grabbing his radio microphone. Overlord, this is Horsemen 4, we have something moving in the forest. Can we do a warning shot with the fifty ? Over. »
« Negative Horsemen 4, the mortars are setting up and will shoot flares. Then confirm the presence of hostile personnel. Over»
« Roger that. Awaiting flares. Horsemen 4 out »
The silence which followed was cut by the metallic clicks of the rifles safeties being switched off and bullets being chambered. Then, there was the loud and deep noise of the eighty-one millimeters mortars firing.
And day appeared in the middle of the night.
The mortars spitted out their payload of light and smoke in the sky of this inhabited land. Every soldiers switched off their night vision googles, and through their scopes, they searched for anything that could have been hiding behind the line of trees.
And they found something.
In the forest, the bright light coming from the flares revealed men in armor trying to sneak up on the invading forces. Surprise, and maybe even fear, caused those men to stand up, looking at the light source and wondering what kind of magic it was, thus revealing their swords and their spears.
Without thinking twice, Anthony rushed for the microphone of his radio.
« Overlord, this is Foxtrot 1, he yelled, we have hostiles in the forest. I repeat, we have hostiles in the forest ! Distance two hundred and fifty meters ! »
« Copy Foxtrot 1. To all units, you are cleared to engage targets at less than two hundred meters. »
« You all heard that ? » asked Anthony to all of his men
« Yes Sir ! » was the unanimous answer he got, and he refocused on the enemy group.
Obviously, they were all confused, and from their improvised covers, the soldiers could see them looking at each other, like they were trying to know what they were supposed to do. But then, the sound of a horn pierced the cover of the engines. This time, the confusion was in the side of the riflemen.
But before any question could be asked, the sound died and was replaced by a cry.
A war cry.
And the men in armor started to exit the forest, running towards the armored vehicles.
« Shit, they're charging ! » screamed a private.
« Two forty meters. » started to count another soldier with a telemeter.
Despite the run, the cry seemed to never end.
« Two thirty. »
A wave of roman like soldiers closing the gap between them and the armored vehicle.
« Two twenty. »
At second look, there were not only humans, but also humanoids with horns, pig faces or even goat feet.
« Two ten. »
It was just like Paris, but this time they were the invading force.
« Two hundred meters ! »
« Fire ! »
On this word, everyone opened fire. Infantry emptied magazines after magazines of five fifty-six, the troop transport vehicles fired their larger guns and tanks were making the ground shake with each shot of their main cannon as mortar shells were raining from the skies. Some soldiers working in logistics later declared that in only a few hours, the amount of ammunition that got shot was superior to several "normal" days in Afghanistan, and that if NATO command hadn't decided to increase the number of resupply trucks, the fight might have ended with clashes between bayonets and swords.
The sun slowly rose over the now dead battlefield. Faram did not know how much time had passed ever since he fell down. The pain had not stopped, but he somehow grew used to it despite knowing that his blooding was still flowing on the ground, mixing with the mud. He was weak, barely conscious, but still alive, just like if Emroy was torturing him. The only thing he was now waiting for was the sweet relief of death, but it was not coming. The only thing Faram could see was the blue of the sky, and the only thing he could hear was the constant noise of thunder coming from the hill.
But suddenly it stopped, giving to his ears an almost perfect silence. It remained like that for a few minutes, then it was replaced by the sound of boots hitting the ground.
And then, Faram finally saw them.
When they passed next to him, completely unaware that he was still alive, he saw that they were men, wearing green clothes and holding with their two hands large wands like he had never seen before. Faram immediately knew that it were those wands that produced that powerful magic that was in itself a complete disrespect for Emroy. They were not fighting with honor, and the gods were not going to be pleased.
Faram coughed blood, his death slowly coming closer. Apparently, one of the enemy heard him and stopped before looking at the mortally wounded general. He looked at Faram's body before sighing. From a pouch of on his right leg, a pulled a black object and pointed it at Faram's head.
« Désolé, mais ce n'est pas personnel... » he said in his incomprehensible language, looking the general in the eyes.
Then thunder rang loudly one last time, and all faded to black.
After a little less of two hours of fighting, the order was given to the infantry to progress into the forest to chase down the runaways, capture those who surrendered and kill the highly injured that didn't have any chance of being saved. At an estimated time of 0800 hours – time estimated thanks to the position of sun in the sky – the area was declared clear and the engineers of the different countries involved started to work on the construction of a base.
At the end of the battle, one side won, and the other was simply destroyed. But there had been damages on both sides. The total number of imperials killed was never truly precisely determined, but averaged over the thirty five thousands, with hundreds of prisoners, but on the other hand, there were casualties too on the FORSO side. When the infantry pushed through the forest, some hostiles managed to sneak on some soldiers, attacking them before being shot by their teammates. No one was killed, but many beds were filled in the field hospital installed on the Earth side of the Gate. Some nurses leaked that the vast majority of wounds were slicing or stabbing wounds in the arm or the leg, and that the most injured patient had to be amputated two limbs. With those numbers, NATO Command declared that the battle that entered the History books as the Battle of Alnus Hill was a complete victory.
Anthony looked at the trees as he made his way back through the forest. A he came closer and closer to the top of the hill, he noticed how the number of bullet impacts on trees and rocks augmented, as well as the number of dead bodies. There were everything : human, orcs, dragons and even pig men. He and other soldiers couldn't help themselves but take photographs or to pick up souvenirs on the corpses as a mean to say to people back home that all of that really happened.
He grabbed a helmet that had flew off the head of its previous owner, pierced by one clean hole.
« A brand new world, huh ? »
Thanks for reading the first real chapter of Gate : OMJ.
When I reread this chapter to update it, the think that really stroke me was the complete lack of scene from the Imperial perspective, which had become down the road mabe a signature feature of OMJ. So with the correction in grammar and vocabulary, I added a brand new complete scene featuring the Imperial General Faram Em Lanti.
Now I will work on chapter 21, so I can't say when the remade chapter 2 will come out.
Hope you enjoyed.
Salut !