Gate: And So The United Republic Fought

Special Region

Alnus Base

Giselle walked around with the Republicans' base with a sense of pride. Her wounds had completely healed and her lost strength had fully returned. No longer did she hobble around like a beggar. Now she walked through the streets full of confidence with her scythe resting on her shoulder. Behind her trailed the dark elf Yao who had pledged to serve her.

While she was still healing Yao had told her of the places of interest here at Alnus. The town built by refugees, the large city of the Republicans, and the base which the Gate sat in the center of. Most important to her was the 'airbase' which is where the Republicans keep their 'aircraft'. Judging from Yao's description, these aircraft were the same things that attacked her and the Flame Dragon. Since the Republic's leader was in Italica she couldn't meet with him like her Mistress wanted. Until he returned she decided to poke around this 'airbase'. If these weapons were able to kill the Flame Dragon then her Mistress would be interested in knowing more about them.

She was able to enter the base with little difficulty. This was mainly because she simply flew over the large metal fence that protected it. While the strange sharp metal rope served as a deterrent to most unwanted visitors there was little it could do against someone with wings. One of the Republican soldiers did see her and spoke into one of those radios no doubt informing his superiors. No guards came to apprehend her so she took that as a sign that she was allowed permission to look around though she bet someone was discreetly watching her.

Yao had to stay behind since she lacked wings of her own. She told the elf

There was a large variety of these aircraft around. There were the small ones that attacked her and these huge ones that shouldn't even be able to fly. There were ones that were able to fly using something resembling windmill sails. These machines were unfortunately so alien she couldn't figure out how they worked through observation. She would need someone to explain it to her. She spotted a group of soldiers talking near one of the aircraft. Among them was a woman soldier so they might be a good source of information.

General Harris' quiet time was interrupted by his door loudly being kicked open by Lieutenant Yeager. While he was reluctant to pause his Red October audiobook he knew Yeager wouldn't enter in such a manner if it wasn't important.

"Yes Yeager?" He asked "Is anything wrong?"

Yeager wasted no time. "Giselle is at the airbase."

He immediately stood up. "What!? When!?"

"She was spotted flying over the fence a few minutes ago. That's not the worst part of it, sir. She's with Mobius Squadron."

Harris felt a heart attack coming along. Everything he feared seemed to be happening faster than he anticipated. He hoped that Giselle would hold off on visiting the airbase long enough for them to get some weapons that could harm an apostle. Not only was luck not on his side but it seemed to have a sick sense of humor seeing how she immediately ended up running into Mobius Squadron. The ones responsible for killing the Flame Dragon and almost killing her. Mobius Squadron was certainly going to start bragging about their past victories and when that happened they'll have one dead squadron and one angry demigod dragon lady. Of course this would happen when Ms Mercury was away...

He and Yeager both left his office for the command center. They would have to put the base on high alert. Putting down an apostle will not be an easy endeavor. He did some research so he had some idea on how to defeat her. Since they didn't have any radioactive ammunition they would have to hit her with enough explosives to reduce her to pieces and separate them quickly enough so she couldn't regenerate. It wasn't the best plan and Giselle would likely bring a lot of troops down with her.

Yeager had ordered the soldier that informed him of Giselle's location to continue monitoring her and call him the moment there was a problem. Yeager's radio had been silent meaning that either nothing hadn't happened yet or the soldier was already dead. Yeager got in contact with him and Harris could hear some commotion on the other end.

Yeager asked the man for a status report. Yeager listened in silence as a look of disbelief started to form on his face. He thanked the soldier and told him to keep monitoring the situation before hanging up.

"So what's going on? Code Red?" Asked Harris

Yeager turned to him the look of disbelief still on his face. "General, Giselle and Mobius Squadron have become friends!"

"What!?"

Giselle knocked back another pint of this 'beer' stuff. Far better than most ale or mead she's had. Her new compatriots were kind enough to treat her since she lacked Republican paper money. She was trying to limit herself to avoid bankrupting them but was finding it increasingly difficult with how tasty this alcohol was.

She had approached Mobius Squadron hoping to get some information about the Republic's aircraft. As luck would have it they happened to be pilots, special soldiers whose job it was to fly these metal beasts into battle. They reminded her of the wyvern riders in Sadera. A bunch of braggarts who believed themselves superior to the common footsoldier. Flying a wyvern was no easy feat so they were allowed to brag a little. These pilots had the same annoying habit.

When she met them she noticed a cute depiction of a flame dragon on the side of the aircraft. When she inquired about it Frank, the big one, clasped her on the shoulder and went on a long winded tale about how he was locked in combat with the Flame Dragon and valiantly took it down. An impressive tale but one that was lessened when Kathy, the woman, rolled her eyes and said that she and Frank killed the hatchlings while their leader killed the parent. Their leader, Henry, was a strange one. He didn't boast at all or take any kind of public pride in his victory. He just sat there and drank quietly.

Honestly she by all rights should have hated him. He killed the Flame Dragon and nearly killed her! While he was unaware of the latter deed she had reason enough to kill him for the former. He had made himself an enemy of Hardy by killing her pet and as her Apostle she was honor bound to end him. Fortunately for this Henry, Hardy hadn't sent any execution orders most likely not wanting to come into conflict with the Republicans' god. It was probably for the best. You couldn't really get information from a corpse.

Until their leader returned learning about the Republicans' weapons and customs would suffice for now. If the Republicans were here to stay then Hardy wanted to know as much about them as possible to make bringing them to her side easier. The Republicans' God said Hardy was welcome to try converting the Republicans. Well challenge accepted...

"I am not wearing that."

Pina sighed. The Wanderer was willing to don Saderan style clothing for this party she had set up but he absolutely refused to wear the matching hat.

"But the outfit won't match without it." she said

"Princess." The Wanderer replied "In all my years I have never seen a more ridiculous looking article of clothing."

"You're exaggerating." Pina said annoyed

"Mommy! Look at that man! He looks so silly!"

The Wanderer and Pina look over at General Baker who was wearing the same outfit as the Wanderer hat included. A young boy was pointing at him while his mother who had a smirk of her own pulled him away. Nearby children and a few adults openly laughed at the hat while most adults simply had looks of amusement. Pina was mature enough to admit the hat wasn't as noble as she thought it was and did sort of resemble one a jester might wear.

Baker had a look in his eyes that said 'Not one word'. He didn't respond to the laughing and pointing instead choosing to walk over to the Wanderer and say "We're discussing a raise when we get back to the Republic…"

The Wanderer sighed and nodded. Before Pina could comment she jumped upon hearing a loud crack. She recognized it as the sound the Republicans' 'guns' made. Itami's 'demonstration' must have started. She brought the idea up with General Baker. She wished to show the senators the futility of continuing to fight the Republic and believed a small demonstration of the Republic's weapons would do so. Baker merely glanced at her stating he liked her before leaving.

The machine Gladys explained that meant she had earned Baker's respect saying he had a dislike of politicians seeing many as spineless cowards. He and Itamu immediately made preparations bringing some weapons along with them for the purpose of scaring the senators.

She could see it was already working. The looks of awe and worry as they saw the gun's tear apart their targets which wore Legionary armor. To watch armor that was considered some of the best on the continent made absolutely useless was a hard truth to swallow. Then the Republicans brought out the mortars. The faces of the senators now had looks of fear as they saw the explosion happening far away. Senator Cicero La Moltose appeared to be the most shaken. He was one of those that voted to send the Imperial Army through the Gate and was a staunch supporter of the Empire. He was also pragmatic and an intelligent man. He knew a hopeless situation when he saw it.

Unfortunately Zorzal had gotten wind of this little get together and was coming to crash the party leading them to make a quick exit. It so happened that she was sharing a carriage with Senator Cicero.

"You're playing a dangerous game." he said after spending much of the ride silently appraising her.

"I am." she agreed "But if the Empire is to survive it is one that must be played."

"Your father, brothers, and most of the Senate won't see that way. You would be lucky to just be imprisoned for treason."

"They haven't seen the things I have. I was at Italica. I say the destruction their weapons made firsthand and I've seen the land beyond the Gate. It has wonders I can scarcely believe…"

"Tell me." He said

Pina told him everything she knew of the Republicans. How their guns and aircraft annihilated the force attacking Italica. The metal behemoths they call 'tanks'. How they killed the Flame Dragon. The size and wealth of their capital which lay beyond the Gate. She also told them of their leader, the Wanderer, who was an immortal being thousands of years old. At the end of her tale Cicero slumped in his seat holding his head in his hands.

"It appears that we've foolishly attacked a nation that is many times our superior." he sighed "From what you've told me is that they can easily destroy us. So why haven't they?"

"I wondered the same thing. So I asked the Wanderer why he hasn't ordered his army to destroy us?" she replied "His answer was eye opening…"

"Why haven't you destroyed us?" she asked

She was completely alone with the Wanderer giving her the chance to ask this question. Their subordinates were off making final preparations for the party which was in a few hours. She was more than willing to make peace with the Republicans but one thing still nag at her. Just why were they being so merciful?

They had destroyed the Imperial Expeditionary Army despite being caught by surprise. They annihilated the Imperial Army and the armies of the Allied Kingdoms at Alnus without losing a single soldier. They eliminated the bandit army attacking Italica, a force that besieged the city for days in mere moments. After all that she was fairly certain they could easily swat aside Sadera's heavily depleted garrison.. So why didn't they?

The Wanderer laughed. "Princess, if a child accidentally broke a window at your home would you kill them? Would you go to their home and burn it down along with slaughtering their family & friends? No. You give a measured response. You make the child apologize and fix the damage they caused.

"The Empire is more than a mere child." Pina replied with her love of the Empire causing her to do so in a tone that wasn't entirely respectful. Remembering who she was talking to she attempted to apologize but was interrupted by the Wanderer laughing again.

"Compared to the Republic the Empire is a child." he said "The Republic is thousands of years old while the Empire has only been around a few centuries. We are ahead of you by centuries in technology and societal development. Our industry and economy dwarfs yours. To destroy you would be laughably easy but morally wrong. Besides do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

"Hmph." Cicero said vaguely impressed "I'd call him an arrogant bastard if his words didn't ring so true."

"I don't have any solid proof but I've heard the Republic possesses weapons that could destroy entire cities. I want to write it off as propaganda but…"

"You aren't sure if it is actually true or not and don't want to be caught by surprise." he finished "A wise stance, princess."

"I have seen many things that would be considered impossible but the Republicans use it casually. Honestly by this point city-destroying weapons wouldn't surprise me." she sighed

Cicero slumped further into his seat. "Is this what a barbarian feels when he gazes upon the Empire?" he muttered to himself

Cicero looked up at Pina with fire in his eyes. "We must convince your father to end this foolish war lest he bring the Empire to ruin!"

"What about Zorzal?" She asked

"What about Zorzal?" he replied telling her all she needed to know. Together they might just have a chance.

Eli Vance looked around as the bus emerged from the Gate. He was one of the few scientists selected for 'New Black Mesa' which was to be the center for their research on this world. Currently it was a small collection of buildings at the base of the mountain near Alnus but further expansion was already in the works. They were planning on drilling into the mountain to build underground facilities like Black Mesa back on Earth.

As he stepped off the bus he was followed by several scientists from Aperture. Aperture was still scouting locations to build their Special Region branch so they would work at New Black Mesa until then. He was glad they were here. They would need Aperture's expertise to construct this portal. While the Wanderer was satisfied with the progress they made the Republic Military was constantly breathing down their necks. Ever since they learned the Gate would eventually close the military feared the day it would suddenly close leaving tens of thousands of troops and civilians stranded with no way back home. Every other day either a General or the Secretary of the Military would call asking for a progress report. Once even an Admiral called to give them his two cents.

Since they now had entered the final phase, construction of the portal itself, the constant calls would stop. The military wanted the portal wide enough to support a four lane road. The Pentagon had quickly grown weary of having to send reinforcements and supplies through Republic City. With their own way into the Special Region in a secure military site they can bring in the bigger stuff. There were a lot of things the military wished to bring in but could due to not wishing to crowd up the capital's streets with a growing supply chain. Republic City citizens were already sick of the constant traffic jams with military convoys near constantly moving through the city despite several roads being reserved for military traffic. Not only that but the city's West District was under military guard with troops walking the streets. The situation bordered on martial law and the West District's residents were getting tired of it.

Once the portal was operational a lot of people would have a load taken off their shoulders. Honestly the pressure would have been stifling if he wasn't so confident it was going to work. Well time to get started.

"All right everyone!" Eli called out "Get settled in and get some rest. Tomorrow we're going to start construction of the portal frame."

On the hill not too far from New Black Mesa a lone figure watched the proceedings. The figure was a fox demi-human female. She had silver fur and wore a set of traveling robes. She carried with her a pack of books in one hand, a bag of supplies on her back, and a massive spear in her other hand. This spear was large and ornate. It would take several men to even attempt to lift it and yet this fox woman held it like it was nothing.

"What's this?" the fox said "A place of learning and culture exceeding Rondel? Now this I have to see~"

With that she began walking down the hill towards the collection of buildings where she could sense the scholars within.

Far on the other side of the continent at the foot of a volcano was the town of the Draconians or dragon people. While smaller villages of their people existed all across the continent this settlement had the largest collection of the demi-human race. The town with a population of around 10,000 was a known demi-human haven. The Empire had tried on several occasions to conquer the town but had failed each time due to either the harsh volcanic environment or the interference of Hardy. The Draconians were devout worshippers of the Underworld Goddess and she showed her appreciation by protecting them. Even the ever arrogant Empire got the hint when the ground opened up in front of their armies and a bunch of slobbering underworld beasts started eating their soldiers.

The safety of the town allowed it to rapidly grow in both size and wealth. It had walls, stone buildings, and cobblestone streets. Demi-humans had few places that they could call safe for their people so any town that welcomed them was destined to become a place of commerce. The streets were filled with a variety of demis the most numerous of which were the Warrior Bunnies. Those that couldn't make it to Italica and weren't sold into slavery usually found their way here. They and the Draconians got along very well due to their similarities. They were both warrior races and they both were mostly female with few males of their own so needed human males to continue the species.

The human population of the town were those that didn't mind Demi-humans. They didn't believe in the Empire's preaching of human superiority. Living with Demis wasn't any different from living in a human town. They worked, ran businesses, and did other activities like a human would. Most days the human residents would forget their neighbors weren't human as well. This wasn't one of those days.

All day the Demi-humans of the town were acting strangely. They were moody and on edge. When asked they mentioned that they felt like something bad was going to happen but they didn't know what. This only to seem to affect the 'animal' demis. Draconians, Warrior Bunnies, Felids, and Sirens all walked around with looks of fear. The humans and non-animal Demis like elves and orcs while confused simply shrugged it off. If something bad was going to happen then they'll fight it off. They always have.

As life went on in the town beneath their feet the natural processes of their world beyond the understanding of even their gods continued towards an event centuries in the making. Soon the mountain towering over the town began to rumble.