Italica, East Gate, November 28th, 1624 AT

« Actual is down ! Actual is down ! »

By reflex, the three soldiers raised their rifles towards the woman that had opened the wooden door.

« Cover me ! I'm checking the Lieutenant ! » yelled Trevis, reaching for Anthony, lying on the ground, not moving.

Pressing her fingers on his neck, she felt the small pulse of the blood passing through the carotid artery.

« I have a heart beat. He's just unconscious. » she stated, pulling back the body by the shoulder behind Jenkins and Denham.

« Just wake him up ! Don't want to be stuck here. » Jenkins barked, the finger ready to switch of the safety of her M249 at any moment.

« Was… Was that my doing ? » asked the red-haired woman, the confusion visible on her face.

The synchronized nods of Lelei, Tuka and Rory replaced confusion by fear. Did she just sealed the fate of Italica ?

The medic raised her right hand high over her head, and as hard as she could she slapped the sleeping Lieutenant.

The large red mark on Anthony's left cheek and his sudden rise were the witnesses of the violence of the shock between the gloved hand and the unprotected head.

« Ah… Putain de merde, muttered Anthony, passing his hand over the hot skin. Can someone explain what happened ? »

« You got knocked out by the lady over there. » Answered Denham, pointing his G36 at the woman in an elaborate white armor that was paralyzed.

But at first, Anthony didn't noticed the armor, sign of her nobility.

« Hey, he launched towards her in the local language while standing up, can't you be careful ? »

The answer didn't came from the red-haired, still paralyzed in the middle of the door, but from a shorter woman in a similar armor, but with less decorations.

« Impudent fools ! she yelled, making a step in front of the other woman and blocking the way. This is an affront to the Third Imperial Princess, Pina Co Lada ! »

« What ? »

« Third Imperial Princess ? »

« Pina Co Lada ? »

The news this time paralyzed the four soldiers. Meeting a princess here was the last thing they expected.

Anthony, taking off his helmet as sign of peace, tried to say something to kill the tension.

« We are not going to attack this town. We are not enemies. We are just here to sell things. »

Turning his head towards his men, he ordered them to lower their weapons. On top of the walls, those that were holding bows and crossbows did the same.

« Please follow me. »

On this words, Pina turned her back and started to walk away, towards the castle that sat above all the medieval looking buildings of Italica.

« For generations, Italica has been ruled by the counts of Formar. The links between the Empire and Italica has always been strong. »

The group was walking down a long corridor as the princess was explaining the history of the town. The sounds of each step made by either the four soldiers, the three refugees or the princess on the white marble were bouncing on the fancy red velvet covering the walls.

« But when the news of the death of the last count arrived here, the two oldest daughter that had already been married started to struggle on who should be the guardian of the rightful heir, Myui, the youngest sister. »

« That stuff happens in every worlds, huh ? » nodded Jenkins.

« You can understand what she said, Mary ? » asked Lelei, apparently surprised that the machine gunner understood the language without having to translate, like she often did at the refugee camp.

« Yup. Even if I don't know some words, I get the whole idea. Always liked hearing about the family drama in history. »

« When the Emperor asked for the formation of the Allied Army, the whole Italican Army left to meet with the armies of the others vassals. Not a single soldier returned. Now, the security situation in the whole county is at its worst. Even defending the city has become something difficult. »

This NATO soldiers shared an embarrassed look. In a way, they were responsible for the current situation. Maybe if they could do something, it would help and show the good intention of the NSRTF.

The princess stopped in front of a large wooden door. On it, a scene representing the coronation of a count in front of a large crowd was engraved. There wasn't a doubt on the fact that it was the door leading to the throne room.

« Beyond this door lies Myui, the current leader of Italica and countess of Formar. » she stated, putting her hand on the handle.

The door creaked in its long opening.

The throne room of the Italica wasn't as big as Anthony expected. Sure, the Italica castle wasn't big, but he thought that it would have been larger.

At the other side of a long blue and yellow carpet, on a small podium, a small blonde girl in a pink dress was sitting on one of two large wooden chair between two guards holding tightly their spears.

This, however, was expected. The fact that the leader of this city was a child was known since the recon team leaved Alnus and Lelei explained the high probability of such a thing.

In the blue eye of the young girl turned countess a little too soon, the Lieutenant felt the fear, the terror and maybe a small amount of doubt.

She knew that they had killed her father, but she also heard the stories of similarly dressed men that fended off the Fire Dragon to save the villagers of Coda.

Pina took a few steps and positioned herself on the small platform, next to the slightly decorated throne.

« As you can see, it is too much to ask her to lead an army. As such, I took command in her stead. »

« Princess, who are those people ? » asked Myui with her acute voice, another witness of the innocence of the countess.

Without letting the princess answer, Anthony took a step in front of the group and saluted like he was expected to salute an official.

« Lieutenant Moreau, madam, officer of the 126e Régiment d'Infantrie of the French Army. I am with Staff Sergeant Trevis of the 1st Battalion of the British Army, Lance Corporal Jenkins of the 36th Infantry Regiment of the US Army and Private Denham, 3rd Aufklärungslehrbataillon of the German Army. We are member of the NATO Special Region Task Force and you can be assured that neither us nor our respective armies desire to threaten you or your city. »

« So, if you are not enemies of Italica, can I ask for your help ? The princess' knights are going to reach the town tomorrow, but I am pretty sure that we will not be able to defend ourselves this night. »

The small girl in a dress that was slightly too big for her talked like a political leader despite her young voice. Those who were teaching her apparently were efficient.

Anthony expected this question too. If the decision was only relying on him, he would have accepted right away. But he had superiors, and those superiors might not accept the fact that twelve of their soldiers helping out the enemy.

« I can't tell for now. I would like to help, but I need the approval of my superiors first. »

« What ? Your camp is at Alnus ! Two days of walk are needed to reach it ! You can't possibly ask for permission ! »

Just to show the might of long distance communications, the Lieutenant grabbed his radio and turned it on in front of the confused princess and countess.

« Recon 3-3, Recon 3 Actual. Local authorities, including the imperial princess, are asking for our help to protect this city from bandits for this night. Can you contact HQ and ask them if we can modify our current mission. Over. »

« Huh… Roger that Recon 3 Actual. »

« Oh ! And don't forget to say that it would be a perfect occasion to show our true intentions. Over. »

« I was doing to do that ! Why do you always have to think I can't do stuff on my own ? Recon 3-3 Out. »

Putting back the radio in its pouch, he smirked, perfectly knowing what question was about to be asked.

« What did you do ? »

« Me ? I just talked to one of my men that is still at the town's gate and asked him to do something. »

The eyes of the princess, the countess and the two guards were open enough to say how much of a surprise it was.

« Wha… Are you also a mage ? Why don't you have a staff ? » asked Myui, confused but also curious.

« Not a single one of the ten thousands men of the NATO Task Force is a mage, answered Lelei. Everything they do is possible thanks to their advanced technologies. »

« Advanced technologies ? »

On that question, the radio came back to life.

« Huh… Recon 3 Actual, Recon 3-3. Command is ok with us helping the city, but they want as much intel as possible and ASAP. Over. »

« Roger that 3. I'll try to gather as much information as I can. Actual out. »

« What did it said ? »

« That our officers back at Alnus are willing to let us help you to defend this city. »

Maybe for the first time since a few days, hope came back on the faces of those that were under siege. They knew that it will make the moral of the few fighters left rise.

« Well if you are going to help us, started back Pina, we must start to plan our defenses immediately. Follow me please. »

She stepped down from the small stage, Myui on her heels, and opened another door in the wall that was behind her a few seconds ago.

The group of soldiers and refugees that was still at the entrance of the throne room quickly reached this door and entered the next room.

It was some sort of reception cabinet. A table surrounded by sofas and armchairs was sitting in the middle of the small space. The wall at the opposite side of the door was almost entirely made up of a large bay window, while the other three walls were covered by paintings of Italica and portraits of the different counts and countesses that had sat in the throne before the young girl that was with them.

A woman with short black hair, dressed in an almost cliché blue maid outfit was dusting off the lower panels of the large window. Hearing the steps getting closer, she stopped, turned around and bowed at the sight of her mistress and one of the most important person of the Empire.

« Countess. Princess. » she saluted in a very humble way.

« Mohmu, can you please bring some beverages for our guests and one map of the city ? » asked the countess with a delicate voice, almost making it not feel like an order.

« Obviously, Countess. »

She bowed again and left by a smaller door on the right of the room.

« Please, have a seat. » Pina said while pointing the sofas. It was obvious that they have been made with looks in mind instead of comfort, and the seating was even more uncomfortable with entire modern combat gear on.

Anthony was in the middle of one of the sofas, facing the two nobles, with Dehnam directly at his right and Rory at his left, trying to put her ebony halberd somewhere it doesn't get in the way.

« Did I pronounced the name of your unit right ? » whispered the Lieutenant to the German soldier.

« Meh… It was close enough… »

As the rest of the group was sitting down, the maid reappeared from the same door, holding a large tray. On it were nine golden cups, a big pitcher and a trolled up parchment. Putting everything on the table, she gave everybody a cup and filled them with the content of the jug. The beverage was a bright pink liquid that looked like having a wine-like texture. When all the cups were full, the maid unrolled the map.

Even if it was only a drawing, it was really precise. Every roads, streets and alleys were represented.

After taking a sip of the sweet drink, Anthony returned to his position of soldier by grabbing a pen and a small notepad.

« So… I need to know how many men are currently under your orders and how strong do you estimate the bandits are. »

« We can count on at least a thousand men to defend the city, while we think the bandits are only seven hundred or so… But we don't know what they still have up their sleeve. »

Anthony nodded while taking notes.

Defenders : At least 1000

OPFOR : Around 700 but maybe more

« So in theory, we have the advantage on the number. » commented Anthony.

« But this is only in theory… The bandits are former soldiers that survived the attempted attacks on Alnus. They all endured basic training when they joined an army, and a lot of them have combat experience. On the other hand, those who want to defend the city are mainly just peasants and farmers with spears and pitchforks. » stated the princess.

Next to his notes concerning the defenders he added the detail that change everything.

NOT TRAINED

« As you can see, she continued pointing the map, the northern wall stand directly next to the cliff of this rock, which in itself is right next to the river, meaning that the enemy will not attack us from this side. »

On the map, the north of the city was like glued to a geological formation that was shaped like an almost perfect rectangle. This rock was pierced in the middle by the part of the Dessria Highway that leaved Alnus from the north.

« The bandits attacked from the south gate last night. The doors are heavily damaged and it is very likely that they will try to attack us from there. »

« What are those dots on each walls of the city ? » asked Anthony. It was explained in the map's legend, but the hand writing was too hard to decipher.

« Ballistae. To fight dragon riders. There are four on each wall. »

Again, Anthony wrote another important detail on his notebook.

4 basic AA on each walls

« Can the castle welcome every non-fighter ? I don't want a civilian to be in the middle of the fighting. »

The princess turned towards the countess.

« Normally yes. We might be a little cramped, but I think this will be possible. » answered Myui very seriously.

« Good. I want as many empty houses as possible for security reasons. »

The girl nodded before launching the most important question of the whole discussion.

« What will be your strategy ? »

Before he could answer, Pina took the initiative.

« I want you to guard the south gate. They will without a doubt try to attack us from there, and if the rumors we heard are true you will be able to push them off. »

Anthony almost agreed before realizing something.

« I'll agree to your plan if one of my men is at the other doors. If they decide to attack us from there, we will know it and we will be able to help as reinforcements. » he stated, trying to post his strategy as the best while still looking as friendly as possible.

The princess looked at the map and at the group. She witnessed this instant communication between two people that weren't in the same location. If the bandits ever attacked the other two gates, it could be great to have them help.

« Then we have an agreement. With your men, head to the south gate. If you ever need something, I'll be here. »

Anthony stood up and saluted before leaving the room, his men and the refugees following him, by where they entered, leaving the Princess and the Countess alone in the room.

« Is it a good idea to let them inside the wall ? » asked the younger one, still unsure on if they were good or evil.

« Only time will tell. »

Camp Alnus, Briefing Room, November 28th, 1700 AT

« Attention please. »

The brouhaha that was filling the room suddenly stopped as LaPointe stepped onto the small stage.

« Today, Recon Team 3 made contact with the city of Italica, the most important trade hub of the region. The thing is it is currently under the attacks of a large bandit force. The local leaders asked for assistance and we are going to help them. »

Behind him, an aerial image of the city taken by a reconnaissance helicopter a few days before the beginning of the siege.

« According to our men there, the south gate has already been damaged by previous combats and maybe will be the target of the next attack, he continued while pointing the gate he was referring to with his finger. The problem is the attackers are way more trained than the defenders and we will likely have to send reinforcements. Now that the 1st Cavalry Division and the 5eme Régiment d'hélicoptère de combat has joined us, they will have their first combat in the Special Region. I want all the Black Hawks, as many men as they can carry and the Tigres of Shooter squadron to be ready for sortie during the night. Understood ? »

As the spectators were all nodding, one raised his hand.

« Just a question, sir. »

LaPointe turned towards the american officer.

« What is it ? »

« Why are we not going there now ? Or why aren't we sending armored infantry ? Won't it be more effective ? »

The other officers exchanged a few looks. The question was legitimate and many didn't thought about that, but discussing an order given to you by your general might be considered insubordination.

« Well… How to put that simply ? Let's say that we don't want to sent troops right now when there is not a direct need because it might be considered to be a hostile move. And one of the "local leaders" that I mentioned is actually a princess. We are talking about the fourth most important in the Empire : Princess Pina Co Lada. »

Obviously, the whole room burst into laughter. How could someone be name like that. But the face of the general was telling how serious he was.

« Gentlemen… »

The small crowd quickly to the seriousness of military officers.

« So… As I was saying, we still need to make a solid impression, and this is the perfect opportunity. The only things they ever saw flying were birds and dragons, so imagine how she is going to see us when you'll arrive with the helicopters… She will certainly become a support. I understand that her alone will not change anything, but she has influence and could probably be of great help. It is an opportunity we must take. »

Anthony stopped at the corner of the corridor. From behind the angle, he could hear the screams and the swords slashing through bodies. They were piercing his ears.

The sounds of pain.

After taking a breath, he slid a fresh magazine into his FAMAS and jumped out of the corner, knowing his men to be behind him.

Being completely focused on the combat and under the effects of adrenaline, he only noticed the group of enemies in the center of the large room. There was no time to think about what they were doing or what they even were in the first place, so he and his men emptied their rifles towards the shape, bringing them down in an instant.

But as the combat euphoria was slowly disappearing, they realized what was going on in the room.

A pile of corpses had been erected in the center.

Bodies, limbs or just gore stacked up in front of the soldiers. Between the tiles of the tiled floor, the blood was slowly spreading following the square pattern.

The sight of pain.

On top of the gruesome pyramid, one body moved and grunted.

It was a woman, aged less than thirty years old, dressed in trendy clothes. As the soldiers tried to let her get off, they noticed the long open wound that had been piercing completely through her chest.

She couldn't be saved.

But she was suffering.

The best thing to do was to end her suffering.

Anthony pulled his PAMAS out of his holster and aimed it for the head of the woman that smiled at the sight of the pistol.

He looked away, towards the bright blue sign which white letters were saying where they were.

Station Franklin D. Roosevelt

And he shot.

Italica, South Gate, November 28th, 1854 AT

For a moment, Anthony was lost.

He felt like the gunshot had pierced his ears, but feeling the cold stone with his hand, he realized it was just a dream.

Nightmares.

The same images of him and his team going into the subway, trying to help as many civilians as possible, only to encounter the macabre spectacle were haunting him each night since that day. The medication was helping him forget it, but it suddenly reappeared. Maybe because he was about to fight to protect innocents from merciless men that only want to bring chaos and destruction.

The Lieutenant shook his head and stood up.

He was on the wall, just over the gate. Along the walkway, several soldiers were setting up sandbags under the curious looks of the locals.

In the small plaza that was laying behind the gate, another group of soldiers were helping some members of the militia fixing the wooden barricade representing the second line of defense.

On a small table, Chaumond and Elkader were cleaning their rifles, Lelei behind them, observing silently the two privates disassembling the guns and wiping the different metallic parts.

A few meters away, Tuka was shooting a target painted on a haystack with a bow and arrows given to her by a local armorer. Only two arrows were a little off, but the dozen other wooden projectiles were stuck in the center red spot.

« Slept well, Anthony ? »

The voice coming from behind was identifiable between thousands.

« Could have been better, answered Anthony while he turned around to face Rory, but at least I will not fall asleep this night. »

« You were moving during your sleep. Bad dreams ? »

She was putting the finger on the thing he didn't wanted to talk about, but he was forced to answer by her piercing red eyes that were always making him uncomfortable.

« It's just… I saw terrible things happen to innocents, he started to explain. It's printed in my head and I often dream about it… In a way, I want to protect this town to redeem myself. I don't want to see the same things happen to the civilians here. It's one of the reason why we fight here. »

« And what are the other reasons ? » she asked, feeling like something interesting was hidden from her.

Before he could answer, Trevis appeared from behind by the small stair making the connection between the ground and the top of the wall. She was holding several night vision googles.

« Lieutenant, here are your NVGs. » she said, handing one of the device to her officer.

Anthony simply nodded and grabbed the googles. Without really thinking, he tried to fix them on his helmet while it was still on his head, but wasn't able to fix it.

« Huh… Why can't I get it in ? » he mumbled.

« Give me your helmet. I'll hold it for you. »

Anthony turned around to face Rory, her arms open. He kneeled and put the SPECTRA helmet between the child-like hands of the Apostle before starting to slide the mount into the shroud rived into the helmet.

« And why are you interested in our reasons in the first place ? » he asked as he was checking if the googles were strongly fixed.

« Emroy is the god of war. He does not consider killing a sin, but your motive is the most important thing for him. He welcomes at his side warriors who fought with honor and bravery, but he makes the bandits undergo the worst tortures. Falsehood and deceit will contaminate your soul. »

Like a Queen knighting him, Rory put back the helmet on the head of Anthony, still kneeling before her.

« It is true that we want to protect the people here, but we have another reason. » stated the Lieutenant, making Rory tilt her head of curiosity. We want the princess to understand that it is better for them to work with us than to fight us. »

Those last words caused a large smile to appear on the face of the Apostle.

« I like it. No… I love it ! Fear ! Terror ! You are going to terrorize the princess to her very core with the power of your terrifying weapons ! » she started to shout, spinning on her heels in a small dance.

It was obviously drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity, making Anthony feel uncomfortable.

« If that's it, I would be happy to help. It has been such a long time since I've had an opportunity to go crazy, and I can't wait ! » she continued as she bowed exactly as she did in front of General LaPointe.

« Not really what I had in mind… » tried to say an embarrassed Anthony.

Shortly after, the radio came to life as it received a communication.

« Recon 3 Actual, this is Recon 3-5. Everything is set up here. Over. »

« This is Actual. Roger. Do you need anything else ? » he asked, walking down the stairs to join the soldiers that were taking away fires.

« The only thing I need is someone to tell Knighty MacKnightFace to stop looking at me like I'm going to blow the fucking place up. »

« Just ignore him and focus on the enemy. Once the fight will start join us here ASAP. Ok ? »

« Yeah I know. Recon 3-5 Out. »

Italica, East Gate, November 29th, 0544 AT

In the Special Region, the night was dark. Numerous bonfires were lighting up the barricade standing behind the gate and the walkway. Away from the different groups of militias that were slowly falling asleep, in the darkest area she managed to find, Jenkins was checking the road, her night vision googles in front of her eyes.

The problem was that she was falling asleep too.

Even if it was night, sunrise was drawing closer and the probability of an enemy attack was getting smaller.

Jenkins put her M249 down on the ground of the wall's walkway and sat down on the small stool that has been given to her, watching the small grove next to the road without really paying attention.

At first, she saw the figures getting out of the bushes, but didn't really realized who they were until she noticed the dozens of small bright dots appearing in front of the group.

Bright dots that started to fly towards the wall with a curved trajectory.

One landed violently next to her.

It was a burning arrow.

After understanding that the city was under attack, she turned around while grabbing her machine-gun.

Now, from the grove, an important group of men holding heavy shields and ladders were now running towards the walls.

She armed the M249, switched off the safety and started to return fire.

She expected that the loud detonations of automatic fire would be accompanied with the fall of the attackers, but none of that happened.

Instead, each 5.56mm round was diverted by a blue force field.

Not believing what she just saw, Jenkins fired another burst. But the result was the same.

Running along the wall towards the gate, she started to yell through her radio.

« This is Recon 3-5 to all Recon 3 elements. The Echo Golf is under attack ! I repeat, Echo Golf is under attack ! I need assistance ! »

But what came back was only a loud buzz, letting Jenkins all alone under the rain of burning arrows.

Thanks for reading the ninth chapter of Gate : OMJ. Hope you liked it.

So, the fun part of the story is coming next week. I know that I am not the best at writing action scenes, so I'll try as hard as I can to produce something interesting.

You may have noticed that the attack takes place at 6 in the morning, and you might think that it's too late compared to the 3 o'clock of the original story. Why did I chose to do that ? Well because in the manga/anime, I have the impression that time pass to quickly. Itami and stuff leave the south gate in the night, and they arrive at the East gate in the clearest day possible.

With that said, see you next week.