Italica, Formar Castle, November 29th, 0930 AT
For the past three hours, Pina stayed in front of the large window of the reception cabinet. She was watching every move of the helicopters and the men in green from where she stood. They were very carefully cleaning each street, e ach alley, each buildings from bandits. The thunder cracking every now and then made the princess, her cheeks still wetted by the tears, realize the power of the men in green. They were not men with powerful magic and strange carriages, they were soldiers of a country at war with the Empire manning weapons and vehicles stronger than the legendary Fire Dragon itself. She was now sure of one thing, she must do everything in her power to protect the Empire from them. The commander of the NSRTF was coming and negotiations will start over the fate of Italica. If they decide to conquer the city, the citizens will certainly welcome them with open arms after they protected them from the bandits.
Behind her, on the different couches of the room, some members of the third recon team were si*t. Trevis and a few of them had left the group for the parts of the manor where the civilians had been regrouped for the night to see if any of them needed help. Other were patrolling on the walls of the castle to assure the security of the building until the all clear signal comes. In results, the princess was in the room with the Lieutenant, Chaumond, Jenkins and Moltke, unsure if they were detaining her or just providing security. She hadn't said a thing since she entered the room, deep in her thoughts, but now she felt she needed to say something.
« What are you going to do with this city ? » she asked, still looking by the window.
« What did you say ? » asked back Anthony, not sure he heard the princess correctly.
« What are you going to do with this town under your rule ? »
Her voice was deep, full of determination.
« What ? We're not going to annex Italica, princess. That's not our mission. »
Pina turned her head towards the group of soldiers. In her eyes, Anthony saw relief and surprise.
« You… You… You are not annexing… Italica ? Why ? You have one of your enemy's most important city under your control and you are not claiming it as a victor ? »
« It is not how it works in our world, the officer started to explain. We are not here in Falmart to invade and to subject others. Citizens of my country died under the blade of soldiers, and now our world wants to find the ones responsible of the death of hundreds of innocents and make him face the consequences. »
« You… You want… revenge ? » she faltered.
« No. We do not fight for revenge. This Task Force is deployed for Opération Marteau de Justice. Justice's Hammer. What we want is justice for the ones who died for no reason. »
« Justice… For your people… »
Pina was there, paralyzed by this statement. The soldier of the other world were not fighting for the fame, the honor or the money, but for their people…
« This is Overlord to all elements within the Italica AO. The last enemy has been neutralized. Operation Roman Charlie is a success. » buzzed the radio.
« And you saved Italica… »
« Because we also care about the other people, simply answered Anthony. There is a proverb in our world that says "do not do what you do not want to be done to you." Do you understand, princess ? »
« I think I understand. » simply nodded the Princess, her mind not sure of what to think.
The silence fell back again in the room and the soldiers went back to their occupation.
« Did you counted your remaining ammo ? asked Moltke, sliding a empty STANAG magazine in one of the front pouches of his plate carrier. I went entirely trough five of my six mags, there is twenty five fifty-six left in the last one and I didn't touched at my pistol. »
« Hum… About the same for me. » Chaumond simply said.
« Only used three magazines, stated Trevis. A lot of men needed medical treatment so it explains it. And you Lieutenant ? »
« Huh… Let me see… Two, four… » he started to count but was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
« Enter. » ordered the princess that went back to her observation position.
From the door, one maid simply made a step inside before bowing. None of the soldier really paid attention to her as she started talking.
« Her Holiness Rory Mercury, Miss Lelena and Miss Marceau want to talk with Mister Moreau, and they are asking if he can meet them in the corridor. »
« Sure, simply answered the Lieutenant as he stood up and turned his head towards his men. You stay here with the princess, alri… »
« No, interrupted Pina. Make them enter. This might be the only room of the castle that is not full of people, and it doesn't disturb me. »
« Very well, your Highness. » simply agreed and notified the three girls that were waiting behind her.
Anthony's back had been facing the door the whole time, so when he turned around to say something to the three new people entering the room, he noticed a detail showing that the maid wasn't a human being.
She had large bunny ears.
In a way he wasn't surprised at all. When you are in a medieval city with a mage, an elf and a gothic girl apostle of the god of war, large ears isn't the weirdest thing.
« We found Lyudo among the citizens that had been gathered here last night, started Lelei as she sat on one of the couch. He told us that he is willing to pay two hundred gold cinque and four thousands denarii. He will give us the gold and a thousand silver coins when we will pass at his shop, he will make a draft for two thousands more and he will also give information on the different markets. »
Tuka was looking at the numerous painting of the counts of Italica and Rory was looking through the window next to the princess, making Pina feel very uneasy.
« Well that's a lot of money. Do you know how you are going to use it ? » asked Anthony.
« For now, we will work to secure a food income to rely the least possible on NATO… »
Like almost every time, the radio buzzed in the middle of a sentence, interrupting the mage.
« Recon 3, this is Overlord. Be advised that the General helicopter is inbound at Castle LZ. ETA 2 minutes. Over. »
« Copy that, Overlord. Moving with the princess to meet LaPointe. Recon 3 out. »
The soldiers stood up and Anthony made a few steps in the direction of the princess, trying not to show her fear of the Apostle that was observing the helicopters flying over Italica.
« Princess, the leader of the NATO Special Region Task Force, the General LaPointe is in his way to meet you. If you could please follow us. » stated the officer in an official manner.
Pina took a deep breath. She was going to negotiate with the most powerful man of the terrifying Nayto army. Apparently he will not ask for the annexation of the city, but what will he want from her or the countess ? The only thing left to do was to pray the gods.
Silently, she nodded and started to walk towards the door of the room. The soldiers started to escort her along the long corridor towards the castle entrance. By the open doors, they could see large groups of Italicans that were waiting for the authorization from the cavalry soldier to go back to their homes.
The group passed through the hall and met with Hamilton and the countess. Outside, she could hear the noise of the spinning blades of a helicopter getting close to the manor. As two guards opened the large wooden doors, she was almost immediately attacked by the wind produced by the rotating wings of the large machine hovering a few meters over the gravel of the court. It was another type of helicopter. It was painted with the same green as the one of the iron dragonfly, but it was shaped like the black ones but taller and less large. On the machine tail was written a phrase with the same old runes.
Armée de Terre
Pina noticed a man in green wearing a shiny orange vest doing hand signs to the machines to guide it, making the line between the machine and the beast blur a bit.
The helicopter touched the ground and the blades started to slow down, making the loud invading noise slowly disappear. Anthony raised his back and yelled an order to his three men.
« Attention ! »
The princess heard the shocks of heels against the ground as a panel of the side of the beast slid on its side, revealing a grey-haired small man dressed in a simple uniform. It didn't had the same pattern as the other men in green and the numerous pouches and protection. Instead, it was just plan tan and on his torso was several colored line, looking like decorations. Behind him was a man similarly dressed man but with almost no decoration and a group of several men in green fully armed.
Even if he clearly wasn't as young and as strong as the other NATO soldiers, Pina felt his authority as he made his way first towards the Lieutenant.
« General. » Anthony said, saluting his superior with the rigor imposed by the protocol.
« Lieutenant, saluted back LaPointe. You did a great job. As soon as you are ready, go back to Alnus with the refugees. You deserve a long break. »
« Thank you, sir. »
The General made a few steps towards Pina, stopping a few feet in front of the fourth most important person of the country he was still technically at war with. He bowed with respect.
« Your Highness, Countess, I salute you on behalf of the NATO Special Region Task Force and the Government of the Republic of France. I am the General Pierre LaPointe, and I am honored to meet you. » he stated in the local language that he clearly hadn't mastered yet.
« I am also honored to meet the leader of such a great military force, she answered trying to also show as much respect as possible. But we are not going to talk outside, so come with me. »
With a formal way, she turned back towards the castle and lead the General, the man that looked like a translator and his escort into the same reception cabinet as she had been for the past hours.
She pointed one of the sofas to the officer and his assistant and sat with Hamilton on the one facing them at the opposite of the table. Myui, technically the mistress of the place, sat on the most decorated armchair and started to watch the negotiations knowing that, being only eleven years-old, she must let the political discussion to the adults and learn from it.
« First, started the princess, I would personally like to thank Nayto for the assistance it provided to defend the city of Italica from the Bandits. »
The translator whispered the meaning of the sentence into LaPointe's ear.
« It is always a pleasure, answered the General making pause regularly to allow his translator to catch up with what he said. But I will be direct, we want to assist you more. When you will try to rebuild, you might be attacked by another group of bandits without being able to defend yourself. »
« So you want to take control of the city ? » asked Pina that had believed the contrary from what the Lieutenant had told her. Hearing that question made fear quickly run through the heart of the countess.
« Yes and no. We don't want to annex or politically take control of the city, but we want to help rebuild it and assure the security of Italica and its vicinity. And for that we will need one thing. A base here. »
Hearing that, the two leaders sighed. If this was their only demand, they were ready to accept it right away. But there was always other demands in negotiations.
TREATY OF ITALICA
Imperial year 687, second day of the month of Mist
1. The present treaty marks the end of all hostilities between the Formar County and the NATO Special Region Task Force.
2. The NATO Special Region Task Force is authorized to take five prisoners of their choice, including their belongings, from the group of captured bandits
3. The rest of the prisoners are under the responsibility of Myui, the Countess of Formal.
4. Said prisoners are to be treated according to the Geneva Convention and other war laws in vigor.
[…]
7. The Italican Authorities are to indicate possible positions for a Forward Operating Base for the NATO Special Region Task Force to use.
8. The NATO Special Region Task Force is to help the rebuilding and humanitarian operations taking place in Italica.
Lu et approuvé par General Pierre LaPointe
Seal of the Formar Countess
Third Imperial Princess Pina Co Lada
« This thus conclude the negotiation. » stated Hamilton, rolling the large scroll the treaty was written on.
« Then I believe it is the right time for a toast ! » launched the countess, making a hand sign towards the human maid waiting in a corner. The black haired woman bowed and leaved through the door.
« Our reserves of food are at an all time low, she continued, so I hope that you will understand our inability to hold a banquet. »
« I perfectly understand countess. It must be difficult to live under such condition… »
He was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door.
« Enter. » Pina simply said. She knew that the maid bringing the drinks would not have to knock, so she was confused about who could need to enter in the room as they were still in it.
The door quickly opened, revealing one man in green apparently in great haste.
He quickly saluted before telling what the matter of his visit was.
« Sir, we have a problem with the third recon team. »
Earlier…
Tessalia Highway, 50 km east of Italica, November 29th, 1035 AT
The saying goes "an image is sometimes better than a thousand words", but at that moment, a sound could be the best to describe the situation.
A yawn.
The three vehicles were on the road for an hour now. Almost half of the soldiers of Recon 3 and the three girls were asleep, and the rest was either almost sleeping or feeling the tiredness enough to frequently yawn.
« The beds of the barracks are going to feel so good when we'll arrive. » started Jenkins to fill the relative silence of the Humvee's interior.
« May I remind you that the things called "paper work", "ammunition retrieval" and "vehicle cleaning" exist, Staff Sergeant ? » simply came back Anthony, watching the seemingly infinite cereal fields that were laying until the horizon.
« Why do you always have to break our hopes and dreams when we need them for morale ? » sighed the driver as she turned her head to face the Lieutenant. The road was long and almost perfectly strait, so she didn't felt like she needed to absolutely watch for any danger.
« There is a difference between crushing your dreams and making you face reality, Jenkins. » he laughed, returning to observing a group of farmers apparently curious about the strange green carriages passing on the road at a high speed for those that only knew horse powered vehicles.
A few minutes passed, the rumbling of the engine simply rocking Anthony that yawned again.
« Boss ! Smoke on the horizon ! » suddenly barked Jenkins at the moment he was about to fell in Morpheus' arms, also waking the other passengers of the Humvee.
« Huh… The heck's going on ? » asked Trevis, confused by the suddenness of the call.
« Looks like something is coming towards us… It's producing a lot of smoke, answered Anthony already grabbing his radio's microphone. To all, this is Actual. Pull over on the side of the road. Something is coming towards us. »
« An allied convoy ? »
« No… Command said that the first convoy going to Italica will leave at 1100 hours. »
« Well if we saw them thanks to the smoke, they probably also saw us with our smoke. » stated Denham, looking for his googles. Anthony also pulled out his binoculars to examine the group coming towards them.
« Large group of horse riders. They're armed and they have shiny armor… Wait, are there only women ? » said the Lieutenant.
« There are three roses on their banner… Isn't that the princess' knight order or some shit ? »
« It looks like it is, agreed Anthony before taking again the radio's microphone. This is Actual to all. The group ahead of us is not hostile, but they might not know about what happened in Italica and the treaty, so caution is advised. Copy ? »
« This is 2, copy. »
« This is 3, copy. »
« Good. I'm dismounting to show were not hostile. Actual out. » concluded the Lieutenant, already taking off his plate carrier.
« You're doing what ? » asked Jenkins, absolutely not sure about what she heard.
« What better way to show you're friendly than to expose yourself unarmed, he simply stated as he opened the door and stepped outside, only wearing his combat fatigues. Heck I sure that nine millimeter is enough to scare them if needed. »
Without hearing any opposition, Anthony made a few steps in front of the three now sleeping machines and started to wait. The cloud of dust was growing as the group of knights was closing in at a high speed for a group of cavalry women. They were only five hundred meters away when he noticed how the hair of the one leading the pack was cut. Her long blond hair had been modeled into ringlets that you don't often see on the "normal world".
The group closed the gap between them and the green carriages before stopping in the middle of the road only a dozen meters in front of the parked vehicles. Another woman from the head of the pack made her steed advance to meet Anthony.
« Where are you coming from and where are you going ? » she asked loudly to be heard by everybody.
« Where are coming from Italica, and we are heading towards Alnus. » answered calmly the officer, showing his empty hands as sign of peace.
« What ? Are you the enemy from the other world ? »
« Yes, we came from the other world, but you can be assured that we do not… » tried to come back Anthony to calm the situation, but he stopped when the knight he was talking to drew her sword and pointed it towards him.
« Surrender ! » she yelled with the clear intention of attacking the Lieutenant if he don't cooperate.
He was completely focused on the blade and didn't noticed that the blonde knight stepped off her horse and started to walk towards him. Anthony only heard the sound of her moving armor when she was only a few meters of him. He just had the time to turn his head before she violently grabbed him by the collar of his camouflaged shirt. The rest of the third recon team had been tense since the first knight had grabbed her sword, but now they were all ready to intervene if needed.
« Wait ! Wait ! launched Marc through the radio. Don't give them a reason to attack ! »
« What did you just said ? » asked the blonde woman with zeal in her voice and a dark look.
« We are coming from Italica and we are heading back to our camp in Alnus. » he answered, slowly making his hands come down along his legs, trying to reach for his holster. In his mind, he was planning to grab his PAMAS and shoot a few rounds on the ground to scare the knights and their horses to reach the Humvee and contour them.
But the knight noticed that the man she was holding the collar tried to grab a small device that was on his leg. Immediately, she grabbed the man's arm to prevent him from using the device and punched him with her hand covered by the iron glove of her armor.
Anthony screamed in pain before turning around, the knight's hand still tightening around his arm, and yelled to the rest of Recon 3 an order that no one, not even himself, expected.
« Run away ! Inform HQ ! Don't bother about me ! Just run ! »
Almost immediately, the three vehicles roared back to life and quickly turned their back to the group of knights and accelerated on the road, creating a large cloud of dust.
« Overlord, this is Recon 3. We encountered the group of knights from the Rose Order ! They thought we were hostile and managed to capture Recon 3 Actual. We ran away to not break the treaty. They're heading towards Italica ! We need assistance. »
« Copy that, Recon 3. Sending reinforcements your way. »
Camp Alnus, Interrogation Room, November 29th, 1200 AT
Behind the one way glass, the interrogator was looking at woman he was going to question. Taking a last sip of his small cup of coffee, he was trying to find all the differences between her and a human. At the moment he had noticed the hair made of green feathers and the legs similar to a bird's, but he knew that he should expect more. She was silent, but scared of the guard that was tightly holding his rifle in a corner. Her right leg was covered by bandages, witnesses of the bullets wounds she had suffered during the intense battle.
After putting the empty white cup on the table of the observation room, he grabbed a handful of documents and walked towards the door linking the two rooms before stopping in front of it. He took a deep breath, his hand on the handle, like he was bracing himself for what was coming.
« You are alright, George ? » asked another man, sitting in front of numerous screen showing live the feed of the numerous cameras covering all the angles of the interrogation room.
The man named George let go of the handle and turned to face his colleague. The two were dressed similarly with a simple white shirt and black costume pants.
« It's just that I have problems realizing what is actually going on here Franck, he answered. Two weeks ago a freaking king from the middle ages was sit in this room, and now I'm going to ask questions to a bird woman that can use magic to deflect bullets. »
« I see what you mean, Franck came back as he laid down in his swivel chair. I personally try to not think about it. It must be a mission like all the other missions. »
« If you say so. It's just that it isn't what I expected to be my first real mission. » sighed George as he opened the door and stepped inside the room.
He slowly closed the door and took the direction of the empty chair. His entry hadn't apparently be noticed by the woman that was keeping her head down. The interrogator sat on the opposite side of the small iron table and put down the papers he was holding on it.
« Hello. » George simply said with the softest voice he could do.
The girl raised her head a little to observe the man that wanted to talk to her, but it was enough to allow him to see the mark of the tears on her cheeks.
« Don't worry, he continued, we are not going to torture you or to hurt you. I'm just going to ask you simple questions and I want simple answers. Alright ? »
She remained silent as she stared into his eyes like she was trying to find something. It was an intense look that was reflecting even more the tears in her eyes. George looked inside the pocket of his shirt, pulled out a handkerchief and put it in front of her. Unsurely, she reached for the piece of cloth with her tied hands and wiped her cheeks.
« What is your name ? » George asked, trying to be as friendly as possible.
« Myuute… she answered with the voice similar to the one of teenager. My name is Myuute Luna Sires. »
He took a few notes before asking another question.
« And how old are you ? »
« I'm 19. We sirens have a similar lifespan than the humans. »
« Siren ? This question might feel obvious, but is that your species ? »
« We are known by many names in this language. The best term is Siren, but we are often called Harpy in a pejorative way. »
« Why did you joined the group of bandits that attacked Italica ? »
Myuute stopped her action, paralyzed. The tears started to reappear in her eyes that she quickly buried in her hands still holding the piece of fabric.
« Did I asked something wrong ? »
« No… she started to answer, sobbing. It's just… It's just that… I was forced to join them after they attacked our village and… they killed all my family. If I didn't followed their orders, I would have suffered the same fate. »
George put his pen on the table and grabbed softly her arm.
« If you help us, we can stop the groups of bandits that exist here. » he whispered to the Siren.
« Really ? » she asked before sniffing.
The interrogator nodded before letting go of the thin arm of Myuute.
« After the Battle of Alnus, a lot of soldiers were willing to find a place to have a real fight. When our leader heard about the destruction of the Allied Army, and thus of the Italican Army, he immediately launched us to recruit as much men as we could to attack the city, promising them that they will have a last fight. »
He wrote a few notes on his papers before putting back his pen in his pocket.
« Thank you Myuute. I have all the information that I needed for now. I will probably ask you more things in the future. » George said, raising from his chair.
Passing next to her, the Siren followed him with her look. As he put his hand on the door's handle, she raised her voice.
« You forgot your handkerchief, sir. » she said, George noticing the confidence that had appeared in her voice.
He turned his head, and, a large smile on his face, he answered with a voice full of sympathy.
« You can keep it. As symbol of our good intentions. »
He was about to open the door, but launched a last sentence before leaving.
« And don't call me Sir, my name is George. »
Tessalia Highway, 45 km east of Italica, 1100 AT
The group of knights was still going as fast as they could after the capture of the enemy commander. The man with the strange green clothes had his hand and his feet tied together and had been laid down on his belly on the back of Boses' horse. It was the best compromise she could find between keeping the speed of the convoy and being a torture for their prisoner.
The blonde knight was galloping in front of the rest of the Rose Order detachment that tried to keep up with her.
« Slow down, Boses ! yelled Panache, trying to make her steed reach the one rode by Boses. The rest of the group is too tired to follow. »
« I know Panache ! I know ! yelled back the knight that had hung the sheath of the man in green's small weapon to her saddle. But the Army from the other world is already in Italica, and they might have captured the princess ! We can't slow down. »
The man tried to say something, but the gag in front of his mouth and the constant punching of the horse's back on his stomach transformed his words into a muffled gibberish.
« You, shut up ! » she yelled again in anger after she punched him with her elbow.
Silence returned on the group, only broke by the sounds of the horseshoes striking the dust of the Tessalia Highway.
« Panache, do you think that the princess will be alright ? » asked Boses, fear and lack of confidence starting to rise in her voice.
« You know Pina for longer than I do, answered softly the white haired knight to reassure her friend. She always knows how to get out of trouble. »
Boses simply nodded before returning to focusing on the road and on their destination.
Italica.
On the horizon, a group of black dots appeared and started to quickly close in. And another sound filled the air.
Bells.
Bells that, a few seconds later, were accompanied by a slow melody of metallic notes. Boses ordered the group to stop, making the music even clearer. But the knights also heard another thing.
A muffled laugh.
Still on the back of the horse, the captured man in green was laughing without any control. The knight dismounted before grabbing her prisoner and launching him on the ground. After the violent impact with the ground, she tore the piece of cloth in front of his mouth with the force of rage, making the laugh even more hearable.
« You are all doomed right now ! Doomed ! » he launched, still on the ground before Boses stroke him with her foot.
« What have you done ? » she screamed in his ears.
« My army is coming to save me. Flying machines that can launch explosive projectiles larger than your arm will reduce your worthless group ot ashes in an instant. Those bells ? They are Hell's Bells. »
« Hell's Bells ? »
Seeing a large smile on the face of the man made the fear grow even more in the heart of the knights.
I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain,
I'm coming on like a hurricane.
« Combat formation ! » yelled Panache.
Immediately, the knights executed their training and formed a large circle, the ones carrying long spears in front of the ones equipped with bows and arrows.
My lightning's flashing across the sky,
You're only young but you're gonna die.
Taking him from the ground, she gave another punch to the man in green, spilling blood on both the torn uniform and the shiny armor.
I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives,
Nobody's putting up a fight.
I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell,
I'm gonna get ya, Satan get ya
The machines arrived over the group in only a few minutes. Large black beasts and green metallic dragonflies turning around the scared knights liked a group of vultures around a dying animal.
Hells Bells !
The music stopped and was replaced by the loud voice of a man.
"You are surrounded. Let go of your prisoner or we will be forced to open fire."
« What have you done of the princess ? Where is she ? » Boses asked back as loudly as she could, he hand on the knob of her sword.
One of the flying machines that was sticking out by its shape different than all the others and its color close to the one of the green triangular beasts landed at a safe distance in front of the group.
The door at the side of the machine slid open revealing someone that Boses didn't expected, making a few steps on the dust road.
« Princess ! I… I… » she faltered before kneeling like the rest of the members of the Rose Oder.
« Boses, let him go. Those men helped us defend Italica and are not our enemies. » Pina started with a solemn voice.
Behind her, another flying beast, this time being one of the majority, landed next to the first one and men holding a large plank got off.
« Sure… Surely your highness. » answered the knight, standing up from her bowed position.
She made a sign with her hand to two of her knights, ordering them to pick up the poor man, and grabbed his weapon on the saddle of her horse.
The men in green holding the plank, all having a red cross on their arms, laid down the former prisoner on it and carried him back towards the open door of the machine.
Pina took a few steps towards Boses, and whispered in her ear.
« I want to see you in private as soon as you arrive in Italica. »
Here it is, the new chapter of Gate : OMJ. Hope that you enjoyed it.
First, I would like to apologize for the lack of update since the 14th. I have several reasons, like a preparation stage before the start of the school year and the fact that I lacked an internet connection the last two Sundays.
Second, I want to announce that I will not publish my chapters every Sundays anymore because of said school year. I enter Preparatory Classes for Great Schools in maths, which means that I will have more than 40 hours of works a week, without counting the homework. Don't get me wrong I am not going to pause writing OMJ, but I will slow down. With enough time, I'll try to associate work and writing. Plus having more time will allow me to increase the quality of my writing.
recordman – I noticed that a lot of fictions never really focused on the locals POV, only using it secondary for a few things. But it's actually quite difficult trying to think like people that live in the middle age. You have to find what the best way to describe cars or helicopters with things from a thousand years ago.
Celestia's Paladin – Helicopters, machine guns and music is always a good thing.
MRMercenary47 - Maybe I should indicate the sudden change of music, but I wrote that in helicopter you need half an hour to reach Italica and they're not going to play Fortunate Son in repeat for 30 minutes.