Hello there, we're back at Fantasy Roman Empire vs Interdimensional Alien Dominion, this time with a less action-packed episode, but before that, responses to reviews:

-Princess Moon Dew: Thank you, and I do plan some Saderan shenanigans as well
-HopefullyHelpful: All the things you listed, are indeed happening, honestly I don't know what made you think that this is an AU, I assumed that everyone thought that this is based on the standard canon. P.S.: Already saw those videos, but I rewatched them, and hopefully we'll see a good explanation for the "not immediate dimensional invasion" in this chapter

-Thaqif: Not planning to screw this up but if I do, I wasn't aware that I'm screwing it up :D ;in all seriousness I'm planning on adding new stuff, but currently I only have a few ideas, so suggestions are appreciated
-jaalco: Thank you, I'm planning to do just that

And with that out of the way, let's get straight into it, shall we?

Earth, City 17, several hours after the defeat of the invaders

The city was under a complete lockdown, with a curfew being put in place; anyone not a CP officer or Overwatch soldier caught on the street was immediately apprehended and detained, every single building was thoroughly searched for pockets of enemy resistance of which was few, while Sector-C1 and by extension the Gate itself was in firm Overwatch control, shield generators, machine gun emplacements were set up and 24/7 patrols were ordered, especially around the Gate.

In the street, a unit of CP officers were advancing, their heads on a swivel, expecting an enemy ambush, the streets were eerily quiet. They checked every building they came across, finding them either empty, or with citizens hiding in them, in that case they ID'd them, checked their assign hab-blocks, if they found one whose assigned hab-block was not the one they were hiding in, they were quickly sent their way home, with a harsh reprimand and/or beating, depending on the individual officers' beating quotas.

::This is getting boring, don't get me wrong I prefer 'boring' to 'intense firefight' but we're just wasting ti-AAAAAAH!::

That was when they rounded a corner and immediately an arrow lodged itself into the officer's shoulder, followed by a few more, luckily none more managed to hit.

::Officer 10-99, requesting Code 3 to my 10-20!::

::Where did that come from?!::

::From that 3-storey building, other end of the street!::

::Shit! Dispatch, we have an unknown number of suspects occupying a building at Sector-E7, requesting backup and a MEDEVAC, we have one injured! We'll mark the building with a flare!::

::George, you okay?::

::Yeah, I'll live, AHAHAAAHAOWW::

::George stay here, and wait for MEDEVAC, everyone else, start suppressing them and advance from cover to cover!::

A few officers stayed behind and strated sprayin'-and prayin' while the rest made a run for whatever cover they could find on the street. The suppression worked relatively well, the accuracy and firing speed of the enemy archers was reduced, albeit the advance was not without close calls.

::Damn that tore my uniform!::

::Jesus Christ who the hell are these guys?::

::Shut up and start shooting, so the rear can follow us!::

::Come on, move it!::

The advance was, to put it mildly sloppy and uneven, much like people trying out paintball for the first time. CPs didn't have any training besides the most basics, like how to reload a gun and clear a jam, but besides those, they were walking in the dark. By the time they got moderately close, they suffered another casualty, this time a fatal one, the arrow hit right into the chest of the officer. Another shot a flare up, signalling to their reinforcements.

::Bastards!::

::Officer down, Dispatch we can't keep this up!::

::WHERE'RE OUR BLOODY REINFORCEMENTS!?::

At this moment two APCs came to a screeching halt in front of the building, the Metro Police inside quickly filed out and breached the door, advancing inside, the ones with shields leading the way. What followed was a chaotic room-to-room fighting inside the building. To their enemies' shock their arrows just bounced off the Metrocops' shields while those who opted for melee combat were cut down by automatic MP7 fire. The last remaining half-dozen of legionaires and elven auxiliaries on the top floor saw the futility of their efforts and surrendered, whose faces, then were promptly introduced to the officers' stun batons, fists, and even feet a few times.

::Hey, Marty, check out the ears of that one.:: ,one of the Metropolicemen said, hefting one of the elves up, by his lorica hamata, his face a red-purple pulp.

::Holy shit, is that an actual elf?::

::I know, right?::

:Never thought I'd see one, let alone this way.::

::Aliens invading us is one thing, but goddamned fantasy elves, and all the shit we saw today? The world's now completely upside-fucking-down.::

Citadel, roughly the same time

"Yes, bring them in, dead and alive, doesn't matter, their equipment as well." said the Consul into his radio.

"The city has been secured, sir, all the remaining pockets of enemy resistance are being mopped up as we speak." he said, turning towards Breen.

"Very good, Consul. Now, if you'd please follow me. We have a meeting with the Advisors."

The Consul gulped, but reluctantly followed the Administrator and his guards into the waiting elevator. Even though he never had to be in their presence, since all of the discussions in which he was involved were done via computer, they were still sending shivers down his spine. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be in the presence of one, like Breen did regularly.

"Don't be alarmed, it'll be one of our standard meetings through computer, they have been already briefed about today's events, but I must ask you this, Consul: Can I trust you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, then help me convince them."

"About what, sir?" asked the Consul intrigued and worried at the same time.

"You'll see, my friend."

The elevator doors opened, and they walked into the "conference room". At the far side was one of the Combine's signature computers, it's screen already split up and showing the Shu'ulathois or Advisors. In front of it was a table with 2 seats. A "speech-to-text translator" device was set up for the Consul, since the only person on Earth who could understand them without augmentation was the Administrator.

"We'll keep this short; your current orders are to hold this side of the portal and conduct exploration using robotic scanners until further notice. That is all." wrote the translator.

"If I might object, I believe that our current forces, on this side are sufficient in taking control of the planet beyond. I humbly request that you give our species this chance to prove ourselves as part of the Union." Breen interrupted.

"Your opinion has been noted, Administrator. Your orders are unchanged."

"Gentlemen if I might give my own opinion on this matter, the methods and modus operandi of these attackers have a striking resemblance with one of the empires in our species' history, a rather well-documented one at that, even the main species in their army is the same as us, humans. Furthermore, their level of technology is thousands of years behind the Transhuman Overwatch's own. If I may be so bold, I would say our weapons seem like magic to them." said the Consul.

"Trust us, we will bring that planet under the Universal Union's rule." added Breen.

What followed was a several-minute long discussion between the Advisors, during this period the translator was shut off, the sound was muted and the images were blurred. After an intense waiting that felt like years to the pair of humans, everything returned to normal.

"Normally this would result in the termination of your duties and the downgrading of your species to Class-0, and would be brought off-world for processing. But you have convinced some of us, in conjuncture with the difficulties of opening a new portal better suited for a Level-5 invasion of our liking. In short, you have your chance, but make no mistake, once your forces cross to the other side, we will want results and we will want them fast. Major failure in either this or the far side will have serious consequences for both you and your species. Invasion parameters will be given to you within the 7th to 14th planetary rotations. That is all.

And with that, the meeting abruptly ended. The Administrator sighed a huge sigh of relief, and stood up, while the Consul could do nothing but sit dumbstruck about what transpired just a few minutes ago.

"Sir, what just happened?" asked the still sitting Consul, his mind in overdrive.

"We have taken the first step on the route to our species' salvation, Consul."

"I- I don't understand Administrator, how could this help us?"

"This invasion, that Gate is a blessing in disguise, Consul, if we offer them an entirely new world on a silver plate, we will be in their dept, and our species' future within the Union will be secured."

"But why don't they just open up portals to the other side like they did with Earth? Why can't they do that?"

"To answer that question, you must understand how the Union conducts interdimensional invasions. I will spare you the mathematics and theoretical physics, but in a nutshell when the Union detects a previously unseen dimensional rift, they not just have to understand how it came to be, they also have to "untangle" it. Like a thread that you have to turn into a clew, but much more complicated than that, of course. The portal storms on earth were a moderately common phenomena to the Union, so they just had to make minor changes to their methods. That was aided by the fact that their points of origin was Xen, a dimension that is connected to most, if not all known dimensions, in one way or another. It is called "The Borderworld" for a reason. That Gate down there utilizes a method that, miraculously, have never been encountered by the Union, it would take them a decade to find a way into that dimension, which is now our saving grace."

"Sir, I hope you realise that the Overwatch at the present moment is not equipped to carry out an interplanetary invasion."

"Yes, Consul, which is why you are tasked with making changes and reforms to the Transhuman Overwatch that will help our invasion go as smooth as possible, with prior consulting with our Advisors and Benefactors, of course."

"When do I start, sir?"

"Tomorrow, today was stressful enough for the both of us, I believe."

The Consul saluted the Administrator before turning to leave for his office.

"Clever, opportunistic bugger he is, though I am excited about this, I like a challenge." were the thoughts of the Consul before the elevator doors closed, returning him back to his duties.

Falmart, legionary fort at the base of Alnus Hill, one and a half weeks after the expedition across the gate

Cornelius Severus was, unlike his comrades, conscripted into the Imperial Army, Legio XVI, to be exact. He has been in service for roughly one and a half years. His training, while harsh, was helped by his previous life in his village, where everyday hard work was a fact of life. His first campaign was to the north of the Empire's borders, against the various barbaric tribes there, human or otherwise. Following that rather successful campaign was the expedition across the Gate.

It was a disaster, perhaps one of the worst defeats the Empire has ever suffered. Despite initial successes, the invasion was bogged down by the superior aerial monsters and creatures the enemy used, which decimated their Wyvern Corps. His leaders were still optimistic, thanks to the swift advance against the enemy's militia forces, who peppered them with strange, loud magic from their staffs, but ultimately they were inferior in close combat. They also used strange red-eyed flying contraptions with spinning blades attached to them. The nobles on horseback scoffed at this, 'cowardly savages who can't face us honourably' he heard one of them say. Of course they weren't the ones who had to deal with several of them at once. The deep cuts on his thigh were proof of that. Thank La and Nirvene for their milites medici.

The more he and his cohort advanced, the tougher, and more desperate the enemy resistance became. They also encountered, what he assumed to be the real army of the enemy. Their methods were not too different from the militias, but their magic was far more devestating, a single contubernium of them able to decimate his cohort, they continued to cast their magic even when they had arrows lodged into their limbs. Their advance came to a standstill, until the enemy's 3-legged giants arrived, roaring like an elephant, they seemed invincible, their magicks causing devestating damage to those foolhardy enough to continue their assault, and that's when their advance collapsed.

He couldn't remember exactly what happened next. The screams of his comrades, the loud booms of the enemy's weapons, the roars of their monsters, the cold, emotionless, inhuman voices of the enemy themselves kept echoing in his mind since that day. If it wasn't for the quick thinking of his centurion, he thought, he wouldn't be alive right now.

At the moment he was contemplating what to do, having been awoken from another nightmare. For Emroy's sake he saw his comrades reduced to nothing in beams of light with his own eyes, and at the moment he could only think about one thing.

Curses, curses upon the Army, curses upon the nobles who turned tail at the first sign of trouble, and curses upon the selfish Emperor!

He had enough, and he knew that retaliation is coming, and personally he wasn't too keen on experiencing the offensive might of their otherworldly adversaries. He made his mind up. He would make his escape from the camp tonight.

He was going home.

Author's notes: Hey, ladies and gents, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Originally, I planned this chapter to be a bit longer, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting, and I had ideas I wanted to implement before I forgot them. Anyways, if you'd like longer chapters with more waiting in between, feel free to write it down in your review. Suggestions and reviews are appreciated, as always. See y'all next time with a chapter of "pre-invasion preparations" for both sides. Until then, take care and goodbye!