Alnus Hill; 0300hrs

The tanks were the first to break through the Gate. Tavaris looked through the scope, his eyes having to quickly adjust to it. Nothing was in the scope, nothing but hills that looked eerily similar to the Selumna Peaks back home.

"All tanks, lets get into defensive positions. Artillery units, settle in behind us about 100 meters. Dismount the boys and get a recon team ready. I want eyes on the prize." He looked to his crew, nothing seemed to have changed about them, for Steven becoming a bit twitchy from anxiousness.

"This is Gunner 2, Taurus, check your thermals. Im seeing a lot of activity on there." He heard his fellow commander say.

"Roger, switching to thermals." She was right. The thermal scope was picking up many bodies off in the distance. The thermal signatures rose steeply, as if someone lit off an entire forest. He switched off his thermals and saw that was exactly the case. "Holy mother of God…"

"Enemy army has been spotted. 1500 meters. Requesting permission to fire." He heard the Paladin company commander say. "Gunner 1, do we have permission to engage?"

"Let's get some light on the target first. Fire off a salvo of star shells, then follow up with high explosive rounds." He popped open the hatch and checked the machine gun to make sure it was ready to fire. He could see the soldiers taking up positions next to the tanks, setting up firing positions and heavy machine guns. Even over the engine idling away beneath him, he could hear the shouts and horns of the opposing army. "Alright everyone, we're gonna hit 'em with the big guns and mop up anything that pulls through." He took a deep breath. "Weapons free! Give 'em hell boys and girls!"

"Ranged up! Fire for effect!" The Paladins opened fire on the advancing army. The shells soared through the sky and arched beautifully on target. Four large explosions in the distance confirmed their impacts.

"Good hits, lower range by 50 meters. Steven, ready on the gun?"

"You know it."

"All tanks, I'm marking center with my shot. Fire after my shot lands." Tavaris cocked the machine gun and got ready to fire. "Target Identified. Infantry, 1300 meters front. Fire at will!" The 120mm gun was brought back to life. The brief flash from the muzzle and the crisp crack through the air signaled that a shell was sent downrange. The other tanks followed in rapid succession, followed by the soldiers cleaning up with their machine guns. After about 10 minutes the enemy army was silenced.

"Cease fire, Ceasefire," Tavaris called out. They had fired around 10 rounds into the enemy. The whole battle was a massacre. This was unlike any battle they had fought during the Estovakian war, it was completely one-sided. Something told everyone present that this wouldn't be the last push. They were going to have to fight even more numbers.

Gracemeria Air Base; 1500 hrs…

Talisman had been called to action once again. Fresh off of another patrol over the skies of Gracemeria, he was pulled aside and brought to the office of the General of the Emmerian Air Force.

"Captain Howard, your actions during the war, well what's there to be said that hasn't been already." He said. "You were the Angel that our country needed back then. But we need you now as well..." The Captain nodded in agreement.

"I agree sir. But with our forces on the other side of the gate, we don't need air patrols running through these skies." Talisman had never been much for speaking, but since the war, he had become more and more vocal. And now he had the chance to voice his opinion to the General.

"So what can we do, Talisman? Just sit here and wait for something to happen over there?" He faced the Ace pilot. Now in his thirties, Talisman was definitely getting up there in age for flying. "The engineers are rushing to build a suitable base so that we can efficiently operate our aircraft. And when that day comes, I want you to be squadron leader." Talisman half expected this, as he was also one of the many off-duty pilots who took up arms to repel the invaders days prior. "Unfortunately, this does entail that you'll mainly be flying strike missions and close air support."

"I'm assuming I won't be flying my Echo Eagle." He said, crossing his arms.

"Not initially. We do plan on deploying the Eagles when logistics don't become too much of a burden. We'll have you and your squadron flying A-10s. I'm sure you're familiar with it." It was true, he had flown one a few months prior for an airshow in San Loma.

"I am. But I have one more question, sir."

"Fire away."

"Who's going to fly there first?"

"Helicopters of the Dragon Busters unit are going to be transported across Gate as soon as we get our helipads up and running. For now, you'll be training with the new Garuda Squadron pilot, Colonel Howard. Dismissed." The newly promoted Colonel saluted and left the office. Unlike the war, where everyone was just thrust into it, they would be actively heading into a combat zone. One unlike they've ever seen.

Alnus Hill, 0600hrs…

Tavaris was hauling a heavy sandbag over his shoulder to carry to his tank's position. He along with the engineering units from Vitoze and Gracemeria, as well as the other personnel on station, we're fortifying their position from other potential attacks. A team of soldiers had dug in on either side of the hill, while the heavy armor and artillery were directly in front of the Gate.

"This is bullshit… why don't we just call in our air force and just bomb them into submission. It worked in Bartolomeo and Silvat." Jacobi, Tavaris's loader, stated. Tavaris just scoffed.

"If it was that easy, do you think we'd have something me air cover by now?" he asked.

"Besides, I'd say we have quite the thing going on here. The engineering squads are doing damn fine work so far." He set the sandbag down in front of his now dug-in tank. The base itself had begun to form the basic structure of the symbol of Emmeria's star so that it could be spotted from the air once aircraft do make their way over. Tavaris climbed back into his tank to grab his binoculars, and once acquired, he looked off into the distance. The last few times he had done so, he couldn't see anything but beautiful blue skies and luscious green grass. But this time, he spotted something on the horizon. Many things. He hopped up on top of his tank and began shouting.

"Contacts front! Large number of Contacts Front! Everyone get into position!" Other soldiers and commanders looked downrange to make sure it wasn't a false alarm, but it wasn't. They were getting to the edge of the artillery zones. Engines roared to life while soldiers who had been resting were quickly getting to their firing positions.

"This is Taurus, we're ready to go. All tanks load HESH*!" Jacobi shoved the round I to the breach. Steven was ready with the gun. The paladin units soon opened up as their guns were already zeroed in on the target. It was over in a matter of minutes. An entire army, gone in a series of explosions.

"Cease fire, Ceasefire. All contacts are gone." Tavaris just watched the smoke clear. Nothing but the charred bits of soil marked the impact point of the shells. All was quiet for a few minutes, and everyone remained on alert. A few more hours passed before the next raid.

The second attack was marked by the screech of a dragon from overhead.

"DRAGON! TAKE COVER!"

It wasn't long until it was shredded by one of the VADS**. Whoever this army was, clearly had some sort of air power, but they could be immediately countered by accurate fire from the Gepards and VADS. The second attack lasted for about thirty minutes until the enemy army was silenced once again. Everyone was still a bit shaken as they had endured another attack, and to some, it felt off being this dominant this early into the fight.

"That should be the end of it, 'cause I don't think I can stomach another attack," Delilah said, after the last of the shell had been fired off. "This…this is brutal. We haven't taken a single casualty and they've had to have burned through maybe a couple tens of thousands of soldiers."

"I once heard this from a retired merc. His wingman once said that 'There's no mercy in war, People live and people die, that's all there is to it.'" Tavaris said, almost melancholically. "I'm sure they're gonna attack us again. Probably try and catch us when we're resting." He climbed back into the turret and saw his gunner already laid back in his seat and resting. They had been awake for a while, so some shut-eye would definitely be welcome.

"This is Gunner 1, Gunner 2 you might be taking over watch duty for a bit?"

"Roger Taurus, you go ahead and rest up while you can."

"Thank you, Taurus out."

Gracemeria; 2030hrs…

When the first mission reports from the Unknown Region came in, it almost was unheard of. In just the first couple of days over 60,000 soldiers had been killed while the Emmerians hadn't suffered a single loss.

"Apparently, we're gonna be heading over there in the coming days," D-Ray stated, upon reading the reports. "So, get your scorecard ready." His Co-Pilot just nodded, solemnly realizing what he and his whole squadron are about to go do.

(*High Explosive Squash Head, a type of High explosive round used commonly by Challenger 2 tanks.)

(**Vulcan Air Defense System: A type of Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun built by combing an M113 APC and the Vulcan 20mm cannon.)