Act 1, Chapter 1: G-Day
A/N:
Speech/Thoughts in 'standard text'
Inscriptions, engravings, written text etc. in 'bold text'
Locations, time etc. in 'underlined text'
ONE HOUR AFTER JACK'S SACRIFICE,
OLD GUARD'S CEMETERY,
NEW EPHYRA.
Here lay to rest all who have given their lives in service to the COG to protect humanity during the Locust War
Marcus Fenix silently read the inscription of the engraved bronze plaque just outside the cemetery before walking through the front gates to pay his respects to a close friend.
One he considered a brother.
Fully clad in his COG Armor and armed with a Lancer Mk.3 and just coming back from patrolling outside New Ephyra to ensure none of the Swarm remained, he peacefully strolled under the late evening sunlight, to the cenotaph he wished to pay his respects to.
Cpl. Dominic Santiago
21 B.E. - 17 A.E.
He holstered the Lancer on his back, took a knee and produced a medal from one of his pouches. This wasn't just any medal; it was the Embry Star, Dom's Embry Star.
"Sorry Dom, was meaning to give this back to you after James found it in Settlement Two. Just never found the time until now…", Marcus thought as he gently and carefully placed the COG's most prestigious commendation on his late brother-in-arm's flat headstone.
The Locust War veteran had intended to get up and leave after returning the medal but instead, he stayed knelt on one knee, allowing thoughts of their childhood spent together and all of their hard-fought battles against the Locust come to mind. A life-long friendship forged in youth and tempered in the battles that dared to undo it all.
One day, Delta had found themselves in a hopeless situation, one where the chances of escape were slim to say the least. However, Dom gave Delta a way out, but at the cost of his own life. 'Loss' was a mortal despair that Marcus had to endure mercilessly, time and time again, as was the case with many a Gear, but when Dom gave his life for him and Delta on that fateful day, it was a loss unlike any he had suffered. It felt like a part of himself died with him on that day.
"Thanks for everything, Dom", Marcus thought to himself while never looking away from the headstone.
As he was about to leave, he heard footsteps on the soft cemetery grass nearby.
Still taking a knee, Marcus turned his head to the source of the footsteps nearby.
It was a fellow gear, but this one in particular was well-built and had "GRUB KILLER" graffitied onto his worn chest-plate among other non-standard armor markings.
"Carmine..."
"I wasn't interrupting was I? I just thought I'd visit Ben and Anthony and pay my respects"
"No, you're alright. We lost a lot of Gears today..."
"The grubs don't know when to quit, do they?", Clayton questioned rhetorically.
"No, they sure as shit don't", Marcus gruffly replied as he stood back up and turned to face Carmine.
"At least it's just the Grubs we're dealing with now. No Lambent means we're only fighting on one front"
"Yeah, there's always that", Carmine concurred reassuringly.
Almost as if in response by a higher power that wanted to spite the deeply-scarred veteran, an incoming Tac-Com transmission proved him wrong to say the least.
"All call-signs, This is Control! Proceed immediately to New Embry Square, civilians are under attack from an unidentified force! I repeat, civilians are under attack by an unidentified force!"
"You've got to be fucking kidding me…", Marcus cursed under his breath, just barely holding back the explosive outrage violently boiling just below his stoic demeanor.
"This is gonna be a long day…Carmine, let's move"
Clayton promptly nodded and both gears unholstered their Lancers and wasted no time rushing over to New Embry Square.
TWENTY MINUTES EARLIER,
NEW EMBRY SQUARE,
NEW EPHYRA,
CELEBRATION OF THE SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF NEW EPHYRA.
"Woah, I hadn't drank this much before!"
"Yeah man! You look so wasted!"
"That dress looks so cute on you, where'd you'd get it!?
"Thanks! I got it at a sale yesterday"
"Don't they play more than six songs? Hey DJ! could we get something different!?
"You got it my man! So what song do y-"
"I must've had too much to drink, that wasn't there before"
"It ain't the booze, I can see it too..."
"Hey, check that out"
"Is that the latest cloaking tech that the COG is using or something?"
"If it is, why'd they use it on some fancy stage? It must be some show if they're using that kind of tech"
"I don't know, looks kind of like a gate or something..."
The frivolous and cheerful atmosphere of the celebration quickly turned to one of silence and mystery.
The mysterious and strange structure that had suddenly appeared in Allfathers Plaza, next to New Embry Square, got the undivided attention of the party-goers.
Before any of the New Ephyrans could further ponder the peculiarity of the situation, a rhythmic series of thumping sounds emanated from the pitch-black void of the structure's "entrance". The sound being akin to that of marching.
Something was exiting the structure.
Soon, the source of the "marching" sounds made itself known after exiting the structure's dark void. It was an organized formation of soldiers wearing what appeared to be ancient armor and wielding ancient weapons. To add more to the confusion, these "ancient-looking soldiers" were accompanied by "strange humanoids wielding extremely crude weapons". This new development only raised more questions than it answered.
"Are they rehearsing for a movie or play or something?"
"It must be a movie with a high budget, just look at that level of detail!"
A man wearing distinctively ornate ancient armor riding on an equally armored horse galloped to the front of the formation.
"What magnificent architecture...", Consul Decimus stated in awe as he assessed the grand buildings of marble, stone and glass and uniformly-paved roads of some kind of smooth black stone that lay before him and his soldiers.
"The Empire shall enjoy the wonders that the artisans and craftsmen of this world will create for it! But for now I must focus, we must subjugate these barbarians first before doing anything else", He thought to himself.
Decimus stood proudly upon his mount and took a deep breath.
"Heed my words barbarians of this land! By order of his majesty, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, these lands now belong to the glorious Saderan Empire! Surrender now and submit or face your destruction!"
For a few moments, nothing happened.
The party-goers just simply stared at the ancient-looking soldier in utter confusion with a few even giggling quietly. Otherwise, silence was the only answer Decimus got, a silence he deemed to be an insulting show of non-compliance.
"How dare these barbarians refuse to even respond to the Empire's demands! No matter, this defiance will only serve to make this land's subjugation that much more enjoyable and glorious", he mused to himself.
He took one more deep breath, unsheathed and raised his sword.
"Attack!"
The sound of horns could be heard bellowing, followed by the Imperial archers in formation aiming high and letting loose a hail of arrows. What ensued next could only be best described as pure and utter chaos as the party-goers screamed and ran for their lives.
The Imperial foot soldiers began to indiscriminately slaughter and cut down any innocent civilians that stood in their way.
Packs of small but quick goblins began rushing at their victims with small crude clubs and daggers.
Groups of trolls armed with crude maces and hammers butchered and bludgeoned anyone who made the mistake of getting too close.
Wyverns emerged from the Gate, with their riders armed with lances impaling any unfortunate soul unlucky enough to be in line of sight.
With everything the Imperial expeditionary force was using, the civilian body count rapidly rose, soon turning the immediate area into a nightmarish blood-bath filled with gore. At the rate the Imperial Expeditionary Force was advancing, Decimus predicted a swift and fruitful victory, little did he know that a force far greater in power than his would soon arrive to teach him and his forces the true meaning of humility and fear.
COG HIGH COMMAND,
NEW EPHYRA.
"Another day, another mountain of paperwork to get through, now let's see what we have here...", Colonel Herschel Landry mumbled to himself as he was sifting through different stacks of documents.
Without warning, his office door was slammed open with a loud thud.
"By the Allfathers! What is so damn urgent that you had to burst into my office like that!?" Demanded Landry, as he dropped the mug of coffee he was drinking out of.
"Sir, this is extremely urgent, you need to come to the comms center, NOW", urged CIC Controller Mia Verlaine.
Colonel Landry stood from his seat at his document-laden desk and swiftly exited his office with Mia in tow.
As the two traveled down the hallway to the comms center at a very brisk pace, they could see COG personnel, both armored and administrative, running up and down going to where they needed to be in a manner suggesting a state of emergency.
"Mind filling me in on what's going on", Landry asked in a vexed tone.
"We've received multiple reports on an unidentified force attacking civilians at New Embry Square"
"Come again!? An unidentified force attacking Embry Square!?
"You need to see it for yourself, sir"
When both reached the comms center, Mia opened the door revealing a room lined with computer monitors displaying incoming and outgoing information and dozens of comms officers hastily tending to urgent calls and requests.
Mia motioned Landry to follow her to one of the monitors and she quickly brought up a live security camera feed of Allfathers' Plaza.
Nothing could prepare Landry for what he witnessed on the monitor. A whole slew of men and non-humans in ancient armor, wielding ancient weapons, massacring civilians.
"Where did they come from!?"
"From this structure here, sir!"
Mia panned the security camera to get a full view of the structure that the unidentified hostile force was pouring out of.
"We checked the footage from the last hour, sir. It just appeared out of thin air..."
"Just appeared out of thin air!?"
"Yes...sir"
Landry was having an extremely difficult time trying to process what was going on but quickly came to his senses.
"I want all available Gears and DeeBees to proceed to New Embry Square and repel this hostile force and evac civilians to the emergency shelters immediately!" Barked Landry with a grim but determined expression.
The atmosphere in the Comms Centre became ever more chaotic as all present comms officers scrambled to get the order out.
With the order given, Landry exited the comms center and headed for the armory.
PRESENT,
CONSUL'S COMMAND TENT.
It was only just twenty minutes into the conquest and for Decimus, victory was in sight. A respectable number of barbarians had been captured to be later sold and used as slaves and other items of interest were procured.
"The women of this world are of excellent quality, they're exceptionally clean and healthy, so they'll fetch a high price on the slave market. Perhaps I should keep a few for myself", Decimus thought to himself with a lustful grin.
If things were going the way they had been in the last twenty minutes, the consul was very excited at the prospect of what spoils could be gathered by the end of the conquest.
Decimus was taken out of his musings when an Imperial scout hurriedly ran into his command tent and kneeled before him.
"Milord, our legions are advancing unimpeded", the Imperial scout reported.
"Is that so? This may very well be the most trivial conquest the Empire has ever conducted. It is a shame that glorious combat will be scarce, nonetheless we will enjoy yet another successful expansion campaign. Have the legions continue their advance"
"I shall relay your orders, Milord"
"Keep advancing, victory is within reach!" ordered Legate Triticus, leader of the vanguard legion of the expeditionary force.
Triticus could take pride in knowing that out of the four legions partaking in this conquest, his legion was advancing the furthest. The six thousand comprising his legion, of which five thousand were human Imperial legionnaires and one thousand were non-human auxiliaries, had thus far met little to no resistance since the conquest commenced. Nearly all of the strange citizens they had encountered fled in terror upon seeing them, with only a few brave ones daring to feebly defend themselves, ultimately succumbing to the wrath of Imperial blades and bludgeons. As far as Triticus was concerned, it looked like the campaign of conquest could only end in victory for the Empire. Unfortunately, he was about to be proven wrong, fatally wrong.
As he and his advancing forces continued to travel up a road, the sound of deep thumping could be heard in the distance. "What in Emroy's name could that possibly be?", he questioned. He and his forces soon got their answer when they saw a formation of Troop Transport King Ravens escorted by King Raven Gunships and DeeBee Kestrels on the horizon.
"What manner of beasts are they?! Iron pegasi?", Triticus pondered to himself as he and his forces momentarily stopped and looked skyward at the flying beasts of metal in awe and fear. As these flock of iron pegasi soared by, a few of the blue ones approached Triticus and his legion, hovering low in front of them, facing them in plain view.
"How dare these beasts impede our glorious conquest! Archers! Let loose your arrows and slay them!", commanded Triticus, pointing at the Kestrels.
None of the archers could even raise their bows before the Kestrels unleashed hell upon the entire legion.
The combined firepower of three DeeBee Kestrels firing off thousands of 20mm rounds from their rotary cannons and launching dozens of Air-to-Surface missiles quite literally was shredding through the legion and caused utter chaos and panic. Like wheat before a scythe. As Triticus witnessed his legion rapidly and messily be reduced to gibs and red mist before the explosive magic of these metallic monstrosities, he could only look on in utter and soul-shattering horror. This wasn't a battle, this was a massacre. Even with this realization, for Triticus, it was too late to even sound a retreat as the Kestrel's barrage of destruction also consumed him, reducing him and his mount to nothing but a red puddle on the now crater-riddled road.
With all immediate threats neutralized, the Kestrels continued to calculatingly scour the city, raining down death on Imperial formations and knocking wyverns mercilessly out of the sky.
"Incoming arrows! Stay in cover!", JD warned his allies via Tac-Com.
As JD, Del and Fahz along with other Gears were holding position on one of the roads leading to New Embry Square, they fired upon the advancing legions of unidentified hostiles wielding swords, spears, shields and bows.
Using the abandoned vehicles and the buildings on either side of the road as cover, the gears were steadily repelling the hostile force. However, with ammunition being limited, success in repelling the hostile force was uncertain.
"Does anyone have a bloody clue who these wankers are and why they're trying to kill us!?", Fahz asked aloud as he popped heads with his Longshot.
"Shoot first, ask questions later!" JD answered back as he quickly lobbed a frag over his head in cover, blasting apart a tight formation of hostiles.
As Del was firing short controlled bursts of his Enforcer into the hostile formations, he quickly ducked back into cover, just narrowly avoiding a crossbow bolt.
"Baird! We need reinforcements!", Del stated on his Tac-Com.
"You got a Condor loaded with Shepherds, DR-1s, Sentinels and Guardians about to pass by your position, ETA forty seconds", Baird replied.
"What if we don't have forty seconds!?", Fahz asked as he burst open a troll's ugly head with a well-placed shot between the eyes.
"Shut the hell up and just hold em' off!", yelled JD over the cacophony of gun fire as he launched a grenade from his Lancer GL, causing copious amounts of viscera to be thrown around once it found its mark within a cluster of hostiles.
Despite taking devastating amounts of casualties, the oncoming hostiles didn't seem to waver and continued to charge at the Gears in a frenzied and suicidal manner, seemingly stubborn to adapt their strategy to the current situation but an enemy who didn't heed the 'Golden Rule' of the Gears certainly made for easy targets. However, these easy targets kept aggressively pushing in a seemingly never-ending flow.
"Just a few more seconds!" JD called out as he sprayed his Lancer GL into the advancing horde.
Click, click.
"I'm all out!"
"Same here mate!"
"JD, we need to fall back!", Del urged as he emptied his last Enforcer magazine at the enemy.
"Yeah you're right, Gears! Fall back! On me!", JD ordered as he holstered his empty Lancer GL.
As the Gears fell back and with the enemy behind them giving chase, the roaring sound of plane engines could be heard approaching fast.
Before the Gears knew it, a Condor flew overhead while deploying dozens of dodecahedral drop-pods as well as much needed ammunition crates just behind the Gears as they were falling back.
As soon as the drop-pods contacted the ground, they immediately opened up, revealing dozens of Shepherds, DR-1s, Sentinels and Guardians.
No sooner did the DeeBees began acquiring targets and opening fire on the advancing hordes.
Peace Makers sprayed their Enforcers into the enemy ranks.
Deadeyes were popping heads with their EMBARs left, right and center.
DR-1s blasted the enemies away with their Overkills.
The Sentinels and Guardians menacingly hovered over the battlefield and rained death with their RL-4 Salvos and Tri-Shots.
The DeeBees carved a bloody path as they pushed the enemy back.
The Imperial soldiers' thin metal armor and wooden shields were no match for the barrage of the DeeBees' supersonic armor piercing projectiles and shape-charge micro-missiles, tearing through them like wet paper.
"Thanks Baird!, we owe you one", JD said in relief over his Tac-Com.
"Yeah, don't mention it.
"Gears, be advised, heavy hostile presence has rendered all roads the evacuation convoy will need to travel through too dangerous. They will need to be cleared out and secured before the convoy can pass through. All roads to be cleared and secured have been marked on your smart maps", Mia announced.
"Settlement Two Civvie Evacuation Two, Electric Fuckin' Boogaloo…", Fahz commented as he loaded up on spare Longshot rounds.
"Like the Swarm wasn't enough of a problem already, now we got literal knights and dragons to deal with", Del stated in frustration as he loaded up on spare Enforcer magazines.
"At least they can't shoot back, not with bullets or explosives anyway", JD commented as he stocked up on Lancer GL magazines and grenades.
As the three finished up on restocking their ammo, the sound of approaching trucks got their attention.
"Fenix!", Lizzie called out.
"Lizzie!", JD called back in acknowledgment.
"You guys alright?", Lizzie asked.
"Yeah, Baird just got us out of a pinch and got us restocked on ammo", Del explained.
"Good, cause' I won't be able to go ahead with the rest of my trucks to evacuate the civvies until the roads ahead are clear of hostiles"
"Yeah, we know. We'll get it done", Fahz stated.
"Hold on, while you're waiting here for us to clear the streets out there, whose gonna be with you to keep the convoy safe?"
"Come on, you really didn't think I'd come out here without backup?", Lizzie stated rhetorically as the the three COG officers noticed a significant number of Gears and DeeBees disembarking from trucks at the rear of the convoy.
"Nice, that's gonna speed things up", Del stated.
"Truck Five Gears and DeeBees, go with Fenix and his squad to clear the roads ahead! Truck Six Gears and DeeBees, stay here with the convoy and defend. Re-embark once we get the go-ahead!", Lizzie ordered.
"Anything else you need before we go?", JD asked.
"Yeah, just one more thing; thanks again for saving me at Settlement Two"
"You know, you could've died that day. If I'd known the Hammer was gonna malfunction like that-"
"Come on, you wiped out the grubs and got me and the evacuees outta there. Besides, nothing ever really goes your way in a fight, especially for us Carmines"
"You're right, it worked out so there's no point in dwelling on it. Okay, I'll radio in the go-ahead once it's clear for you and the trucks to move forward", JD stated before immediately ordering all the present Gears and DeeBees under his command to follow him and assist in clearing the upcoming streets.
"Good luck, Fenix"
"Keep pushing them back and advance!", Landry ordered without shifting focus from his aim as he continued to mow down the invaders with his Lancer.
"Baird? Some support would be nice right about now", Kait requested as she continued to use her Gnasher to blast away any hostiles that got too close.
"All right, what do you want? DR-1 Oppressors or DR-1 Devastators?"
"DR-1 Devastators! We could use some area-of-effect support! They're coming at us in pretty dense groups!", Kait answered.
"Good thinking kid! A Condor is en-route to your position now!"
Bit by bit, the Gears advanced and secured the streets as they mowed down the continuously oncoming waves. Bit by bit, the Gears, especially those fresh out of basic, grew more and more confident in their abilities to push back the enemy, even more so when a certain ex-thrashball player was bringing the pain with them.
"Can't stop the train baby! Woo!", Cole exclaimed as he gunned down dozens of hostiles unfortunate enough to charge him.
"I got enough for all of y'all!"
Despite his current age, Cole still exuded the same youthful and enthusiastic energy he had ever since he first discovered his love for thrashball.
"Damn, if y'all want autographs so badly, just get in line! Haha!"
"Look out!", exclaimed a Gear as he eliminated a dozen hostiles charging a fellow Gear in the middle of reloading. Cole had noticed this as he continued to take down hostiles in quick succession.
"Haha! That was a good save! It's all about being a team player baby!"
A Gear prepared to toss out a frag to flush out a group of hostiles huddled behind some debris.
"Frag out!"
Before he could toss the grenade, a stray arrow lodged itself in the Gear's exposed jugular, killing him and causing him to drop the grenade dangerously close to Cole. Being too absorbed in his massacre, Cole didn't notice but fortunately Kait did.
"Grenade!", Kait warned as she tackled Cole out of the grenade's lethal range as it detonated.
"Damn, that was a good save too Kait!", Cole stated but very quickly noticed she wasn't even getting off him, let alone responding.
"Kait?", he asked in concern as he got up and carried her limp form behind cover to figure out what was wrong with her.
At first, he thought the blast wave had knocked her out cold but was horrified to find out the real reason she wasn't responding to any of his attempts to bring her back to consciousness. Shrapnel from the grenade fatally embedded itself in the back of her head.
"No, no, no..."
He checked for a pulse on her neck, but he felt nothing. Given the current situation, he was forced to accept the grim reality and continue fighting. Taking her tags, he continued to assist his fellow Gears with vengeance now primarily motivating him.
Soon, the sound of a passing overhead Condor briefly drowned out all sounds of combat and by the time it died down, a number of dodecahedral drop-pods landed close by to the Gears and burst open, revealing DR-1 Devastators.
"About damn time! DR-1s, help us push these guys back! I ain't letting anymore Gears die on my watch today!", Cole ordered.
"Affirmative, all hostiles will be eliminated with extreme prejudice", one of the DR-1 Devastators stated monotonously before it and the rest began to unload Salvo micro-missiles into the ever-advancing waves of hostiles.
"Kait, does your squad need a resupply? I got a Condor ready to fly-by and air drop some ammo on your position", Baird asked via Tac-Com.
"She's KIA, Baird!", Cole radioed back as he continued to mow down the flimsily-armored hostiles with his Lancer.
"What!"
"She's dead, Baird, she's fucking dead!"
Baird remained in silence for a minute before breaking it with a low and barely audible but clearly ominous request.
"Kill em' all…"
"Oh, I'm already doing that!"
"Good"
"Is that Condor with ammo still on its way?"
"Yeah, it's still on its way to you. Make em' pay, Cole"
"Don't worry Baird, the ass-whoopin' Imma bout' to give em' ain't gonna stop till I do, and I'm not planning on stoppin' anytime soon, that's for fucking sure!"
"Good luck trying to kill me!", Clayton yelled out as he fired his Lancer into the approaching hordes, slaughtering dozens of invaders in a matter of seconds.
Out of the corner of his vision, Clayton noticed one of them got lucky enough to get within range to strike him with his sword.
"I have you now! Feel the might of the Empire!"
As he swung his blade downward, Clayton blocked the attack with his chainsaw bayonet, stopping the sword dead in its path with an audible clang, much to Clayton's satisfaction and to the Imperial soldier's horror.
"Big mistake"
Revving up his chainsaw and roaring along with it, Clayton proceeded to rapidly saw straight through the sword and the legionnaire who thought he got the drop on him, causing large amounts of blood and viscera to spray and spill out of the legionnaire's body. The poor quality steel of the sword, the thin metal armor and flimsy leather were no match for the the chainsaw bayonet's tungsten carbide tipped teeth.
"That was fun! Not as fun as killing Grubs, but still pretty fun!", Clayton stated aloud before regrouping with his fellow Gears and continuing to fire into the savage masses with no remorse.
"Keep firing! These guys are just target practice!", Marcus said encouragingly to the Gears around him, as he landed headshot after headshot with his Lancer.
The combined firepower of the Gears and DeeBees pushed the enemies' advance so far back, Legate Quintus was beginning to see the futility of continuing the invasion. He was a strong believer in never surrendering but even he saw that death would be the only thing to greet him if he and his legion persisted, or what was left of them anyway.
"We have lost too many! Retreat! Retreat!"
The remnants of the legion began retreating back to cross the Gate in the hopes of at least making it out alive. The Gears wouldn't give them a chance, giving chase and gunning them down.
Quintus could tolerate the shame of defeat if he could he live to fight another day to redeem himself.
"They're falling back! Shoot to incapacitate! Command wants to interrogate these guys so we need to bring in as many alive as possible!", Marcus ordered loudly.
"You heard the man! Non-lethal shots only!", Clayton yelled out as he proceeded to almost immediately non-fatally brought some down with shots to weakly armored legs and feet.
"What do you mean a 'full retreat'?"
"Milord, three of the four legions we have brought here have been wiped out, we no longer have the numbers t-"
"Retreat is not an option! The Empire has been through much worse and has always come out on top. Low morale must be the problem. I shall join the battle myself then! Come with me, I shall instill confidence in the other legionnaires!"
"Yes Milord, we would be honored to have you fight alongside us"
Without delay, Decimus along with the legionnaire exited the command tent, both mounting their horses and swiftly rode forward into the fray.
"Victory can still be achieved!", stated Decimus confidently as he rode his mount along side the legionnaire.
"The Empire has always seen victory in every campaign I have led! This one will not be any different!"
At his words, the legionnaire felt his spirits soar and his will to fight reinvigorated.
However, what he forgot to take into account was that the campaigns led by Decimus had always ended in victory in their world, not this one.
The Empire was well-versed and experienced in warfare that primarily focused on close-quarters combat with a limited selection of ranged attacks, which meant superior numbers and tight formations alone were enough to secure victory in most cases.
The Empire was in no practical way, shape or form, prepared to take on a highly industrialized and technologically advanced civilization that harnessed the power of gunpowder, radio and advanced robotics to a sophisticated degree that rendered such ancient methodologies "ineffective" to say the least.
In fact, employing such obsolete tactics was a death sentence in of itself. Combined with the lack of information gathering and a general air of arrogance, the Empire lost before they even set foot in New Ephyra.
"I shall be forever remembered in the Empire's history for leading the first successful campaign in another world!"
As he finished that thought, both he and the legionnaire heard a loud bang followed by unbearable pain immediately exploding in their shoulders, knocking them both off their mounts simultaneously.
"We got two of them!"
"Give them a good knock on the head, patch them up and bring them in for interrogation"
"Yes, sir"
Both of them were writhing on the ground in pain, clutching the bloody holes in their shoulders and breathing hard. Decimus could hear someone approaching them but before he could turn his head to look, something hard struck him on the head with the legionnaire accompanying him suffering a strike on the head as well. They were both struck hard enough on the head that they were knocked out cold.
"This is hopeless, we've lost far too many to even keep going, never mind ensuring victory…"
"Your highness, the Empire has been through worse and has always come out victorious!"
"Yes but those victories were against enemies on equal footing with us in terms of weapons, armor and surroundings. Bozes, look around us, we're fighting an enemy wielding powerful magic that is far beyond our understanding and in a place we know absolutely nothing about no less!"
Before Bozes Co Palesti, the Rose Order's second-in-command, could argue further, both Rose Order Knights could hear a stampede along with panicked yelling outside the Rose Order's command tent.
Concerned about it, Princess Piña Co Lada, captain of the Rose Order of Knights, exited the Rose Order Command Tent. Upon exiting the tent, Piña saw Legate Quintus riding towards the Gate.
"Legate Quintus, where are you going?"
"Your highness, we must retreat back across the Gate. With the way things are going, we will surely perish if we stay"
"Agreed. I will begin issuing an order of retreat to the Rose Order and any surviving Imperial soldiers"
"Your highness, we can still fight! So long as we can wield our swords and never surrender-"
"No, Bozes! you will assist me in issuing an order of retreat!"
Bozes didn't dare to further question her superior, even if she was her close friend.
"Legate Quintus, we shall meet up with you and any survivors across the Gate"
"As you wish your highness, stay safe and may the gods watch over you"
With that, Quintus retreated back across the Gate with his mount at full gallop with what remained of the invasion force.
As both of them were about to go to their horses, Piña noticed the enemy were quickly approaching their position.
"Hurry Bozes, we must go now before-"
Piña was not able to finish her sentence as she and Bozes suddenly heard a loud bang and immediately experienced pain explode in their legs.
Both were on the ground, wailing from the extreme pain, unable to get up and move.
"Is this how we die?….", Piña thought to herself as she clutched her injured leg.
"Do these barbarians know who I am?! How dare they injure a noble lady of House Palesti! You will all suffer for this unforgivable act of insolence!", Bozes yelled out in outrage as she gritted her teeth in excruciating pain and mustered the strength to stand up. Another bang sounded and unbearable pain exploded in her other leg, causing her to once again fall over as she screamed in agony.
When the two looked up again, the enemy had them surrounded, pointing their strange magic staves at them with no possibility of escaping from them.
Before either Piña or Bozes could say anything else, two of the enemy soldiers struck them on the head with the back-end of their weapons, rendering them unconscious.
"Get their wounds patched up and take them in", JD ordered to one of the Gears under his command as he gestured to the now unconscious ornately armored female knights.
"Yes, sir"
"Control, all hostile forces have retreated back into the structure and we've captured a significant number of hostiles for later questioning", JD reported back.
"Solid copy, you have DeeBees coming in shortly to conduct clean-up and reconstruction operations. Report back to COG High Command for debriefing"
"Wilco"
"What do you reckon this thing is then?", Fahz questioned as he motioned to the Gate.
"Hmmm…Del, any hypotheses?", JD asked.
"A gateway or portal to another place?…I know, that sounds like a load of high fantasy bullshit but you saw how those guys just went through it and just disappeared. Command even said this was the same thing they all came out of when it suddenly appeared at New Embry Square earlier today"
"If that's case, then their could be an entire world we don't know anything about just sitting on the other side...", JD pondered as he looked into the pitch-black void of the Gate's entrance.
"Damon, send over some Construction DeeBees to begin construction on a containment site centered on the structure", Landry radioed in.
"Was just about to do that Colonel"
"Outstanding Damon. Gears! Form a defensive perimeter around the structure until the Construction DeeBees arrive!"
With the order given, all Gears and DeeBees present got into position and directed their aim towards the structure's entrance, ready to take down anything hostile that may come through.
Soon more Gears and DeeBees started showing up to assist in watching over the structure's entrance. Cole was among the Gears who showed up.
"Woo! We made them bitches run!"
"Cole?", JD asked as he turned to confirm the source of the familiar voice.
"The one and only! You guys doing alright?"
"Yeah, we're good. Hey, where's Kait? Wasn't she with your squad?", JD asked.
Cole's usual boisterous demeanor quickly shifted to one of extreme somber at the question, at a loss for words on how to respond.
JD knew something was seriously wrong if Cole wasn't his usual self when he asked the question. Then it dawned on him.
"Cole, you aren't saying...no...no, no, no, s-she's not..."
JD's worst fear was confirmed when Cole handed him Kait's COG tags.
JD, Del and Fahz stood there and stared at the COG tags, in wordless horror at the reality that a close friend was no longer with them.
The silence between Cole and the three felt as though it lasted an eternity.
The three stood there and stared at the COG tags, mourning silently.
"Colonel, Construction DeeBees have arrived"
Sure enough, dozens of DeeBees clad in construction colors along with some flat-bed trucks carrying construction materials and tools, had shown up and began constructing the exclusion zone.
"Copy that Damon. Gears! RTB for debriefing"
With that, all Gears present relaxed and began heading back to COG High Command. The combat DeeBees stayed behind to ensure the safety of the Construction units and being later joined by more combat DeeBees to further ensure the construction efforts continue until completion.
"Come on guys, let's go...", Cole said gently as he subtly motioned for JD, Del and Fahz to get going.
"Yeah...", answered Fahz.
"Right, we should get going...", Del responded.
"Yeah, let's go...", JD replied as he stowed away Kait's COG tags.
"Where are you taking us!? ladies of our standing deserve to know!"
"Bozes, as much as I loathe being in this situation, It would be wise to not further incur their wrath. We shall find out where they are taking us soon enough"
"Just shut up and just get in the back of the truck with the rest", ordered an irritated enemy soldier as he motioned to the back of the horseless wagon with his staff. With no choice but to comply, they got into the back of the horseless wagon.
"Damn these barbarians, they know not of the proper conduct of true and glorious battle. Princess, what do you suppose they shall do to us now that we are at their mercy?", Bozes asked with indignation still strongly present in her tone.
"Considering what we know about these people, I have no idea. For all we know, they could execute us, torture us for information then execute us or just have their 'way' with us and keep us as concubines..."
"Hey, keep it down back there!", yelled an enemy soldier sitting at the front of the horseless wagon.
"Bozes, we must remain silent. I don't wish to find out what they do to disobedient captives"
Bozes sighed in frustration but complied nonetheless.
As the two now sat in silence in the back of the horseless wagon along with a dozen other captured legionnaires, hearing the constant and loud rumbling sounds it made as it moved, Piña couldn't help but think about all the bizarre things she had witnessed today.
Limbless crossbow-like staves that are somehow capable of 'roaring out death' with small but rapid fiery flashes at their forward-facing end that caused terrible wounds to manifest on and even through targets, especially armored ones, at incredible range. Some even had blades resembling a row of flat metal fangs that growled as they ravenously 'chewed' through armor and flesh, causing the former to throw off sparks and the latter to forcefully spray out blood and viscera.
Horseless wagons of iron traveling at speeds greater than even the fastest horses.
Pegasi and gargoyles of iron not only capable of 'roaring out' death like the enemy's staves but also capable of launching magical flaming arrows that erupted violently on impact, utterly destroying dozens of even the most well-armored warriors at a time.
Men made entirely of metal that unflinchingly dealt death and destruction with their own distinctly different-looking staves.
The impenetrable armor worn by the enemy soldiers.
Would they even be still considered soldiers if they could utilize magic and magical beasts to devastating effect? Did the enemy army consist entirely of mages?
What if everything she saw today wasn't even the enemy's full potential? What if they had weapons in possession that were even more powerful than what they used today?
The destruction and death these people can cause was unlike anything she had ever witnessed. She seriously wondered if there would even be an Empire left after they were done with their campaign of vengeance?
Her blood ran cold at the thought of everyone she loved and cared about perishing at a force that couldn't be stopped.
The prisoners sat in the back of the horseless carriage for a while, giving Piña some time to think about the events that transpired today. Why had the Holy Gate led them here? How were the enemy able to use magic on a massive scale to begin with? What if they had vassal states of comparable strength to call upon should they wish to? So many questions, so little time, especially if imminent execution was a possibility.
The horseless wagon suddenly came to a stop, the loud rumbling sounds it produced abruptly stopping too.
The back doors opened up.
"Alright, get out and follow us", An enemy soldier ordered as he gestured for the POWs to exit the horseless wagon and follow them.
As they were being led to there destination, Piña examined the location and it appeared they had been taken to the foot of a mountain with a large entrance leading into it. When the prisoners entered the mountain, they were led deep into the structure built into it. They traversed through numerous corridors and other interior spaces, the floors of which were made from a material similar to polished marble with the walls being constructed from some kind of extremely smooth stone-like material painted with a perfectly uniform coat of white paint. Instead of torches, all parts of the structure's interior were being brightly lit by glowing squares that lined the ceiling in a consistent pattern. Eventually the captured Imperials reached a large hall of sorts. Piña took note of how rows upon rows of iron doors of a strange design lined the sides of the interior. Assuming all of these doors led to rooms and the rooms were right next to each other for the purpose of keeping a lot people in this structure deep inside the mountain, it meant one thing as she soon came to realize.
"This is a prison..."
(Achievement Unlocked)
(20G - They Came, They Saw, They Didn't Conquer)
(Read Chapter 1)