Joint Base Alnus

With the arrival of the air force, air superiority had basically been secured. Especially with the downing of enemy airpower over what was assumed to be their capital. Everyday for the past couple of months since Talisman took the skies, around the clock patrols to hunt down that massive dragon were established. The airbase itself was nearing completion, with only the larger aircraft hangars needing to go up. Emmeria's allies were even providing aircraft and weapons they needed for their operation, including a few older ISAF E-2C Hawkeye radar aircraft. Despite this, the dragon seemed to have hidden itself away, almost as if it had been scared off by the constant projection of airpower.

Meanwhile on the ground, the recon teams were getting ready for another outing. It had been over a month since they had been off base, and the celebration of Talisman getting his first kills of the war energized the troops for the first few days. Lucky for them, there was indeed a rising need to leave the base. The refugees they had taken on had begun settling, and whilst providing vital data about the Empire and the population that made up this world, they needed to have an establishment of their own. And for a start, they needed to have some trade connections.

Tavaris and his crew were enjoying a rare moment of peace when he was ordered to report to the HQ building. He wouldn't be alone, as Montey was right there with him.

"You want us to do what?" Montey asked the General during the briefing.

"Trade, Lieutenant. I overheard a couple of the locals saying that dragon scales go for very good profit. Plus, it would benefit us to learn how the economy is handled here. Might even be possible for a settlement to form, who knows?" he said. "The best spot would most likely be Italica." He had a map laid out on the table next to him. Tavaris was curious as to what route they would take and looked it over.

"Almost seems like a straight shot down this road… Alright. So, when do we leave?"

"As soon as the locals are done collecting the scales off those dragons." He said. "Then you're free to leave at their discretion."

"I have one question though, just why in the hell do we need a tank to come along with us? Hasn't the Air force basically claimed air superiority?" Montey asked.

"Because we don't know what you could run into out there. You may need that tank. Besides, he's the one in charge of your group." The general gestured to Tavaris, who was still busy looking over the route. "If you have a problem with it, take it up with him. As far as I see it, despite the fact he wrecked a tank, he had good reason to. Not the first time he's done it either."

Tavaris and Montey knew their teams would be excited to hear the news about their next trip out. Upon learning of the potential profit, a few of them decided to go and grab some of the scales for themselves. Tavaris joined in, curious to see what they looked like. The location of the pile of dead dragons was a couple hundred meters to the north of the entrance. The scorched earth reminded him of the first couple of days fighting the Empire, and he didn't realize how many of their dragons they had taken down. The dragons themselves were about the size of a small Cessna, with a wingspan to match.

"Damn, no wonder Talisman managed to bring these things down." He bent down to pick up one of the scales, and to his surprise it felt almost like the armor of a vehicle. Even though the dragon in front of him had been brought down by a Gepard, it had taken a bunch of hits to do so.

"Yo, Taurus! Check it out!" Steven had filled his makeshift sac to the brim with scales. "How much might this make us?"

"A lot, I'm assuming. But maybe you should give half of that to the girls over there." He gestured to the group of three that would accompany them to the city of Italica. "Compared to them, we're living large." Steven sighed. "I never said give it all to them, just a half." Reluctantly, he eventually gave the scales to the locals, at the insistence of Delilah. He kept a couple, just to display in his home once he eventually got back to Gracemeria.

At approximately 0800 hours local time, the force was ready to head out. They had their package, their mission, and their weapons. Tavaris, along with his crew were a bit eager to get going, seeing as they had spent the last couple of weeks cooped up in the base. Delilah and Steven were in their positions, running through their checks one last time before they left. From the top of the Bradley, Tavaris saw the others load onto the M113 and the Humvee.

"1-1 to all vehicles, sound off."

"1-2 copies."

"1-3 copy."

"Alright folks, buckle up. We got a long drive ahead of us, so if anyone needs to go, now's the time." Tavaris stated. He looked back at the other two vehicles awaiting some remark. Nothing came. "So be it. Delilah, start 'er up and get us moving."

"Yes sir." The engine roared to life. After a minute of making sure everything was in order, the convoy of three made their way out of the vehicle depot and onto the road heading directly to Italica. They had quite the drive ahead of them, seeing as it took the helicopters about 30 minutes to get there.

Over on the south end of Alnus, helicopters, tanks and jets conducted a different type of mission.

"Cap, we got enemy troops moving to the north!"

"Roger, I see them. Shooter 1 is coming in hot from the south." The Apache was flying low across the terrain, using it to shield the Heli from enemy detection. D-Ray then pulled hard on the stick and increased power, causing the helicopter to pop up to around 400 feet. He nosed over and put the reticle on the target. "Rockets away!" With a squeeze of the trigger, the Hydra rockets flew out their pods and streaked towards the target. The rockets impacted and the helicopter veered off.

"Good hits on target, D-Ray. Shooter 2 is in hot." The air wings had just received their newest shipment of weapons, allowing the fixed and rotor wing units to conduct training sorties. Fuel consumption had also been a major reason to the cut of flight hours. The constant round-the-clock patrols had been a minor oversight, and with the completion of larger fuel storage units new deliveries of fuel had raised the fuel quantity back to optimal levels.

The exercise lasted about an hour and Shooter squadron had completed their training objectives with flying colors, and soon returned to the now fully completed airfield. The engineers had worked extremely hard for it to be completed in a timely manner, alongside the base. The group of helicopters flew over the base, circling it before landing.

"Mighty fine work if I do say so myself." Jackie stated as they made their final approach. "I heard the engineers are gonna head back to Gracemeria to celebrate."

"Sounds nice, Jack. Maybe one of these days we'll get that opportunity." D-Ray brought the helicopter down gently. Once in position, he shut off the engine and relaxed. "I'm just glad we got back in the air."

"Be careful what you wish for, Cap." Jack said, opening the canopy. "We might be back in the air before you know it."

Appia Highway

The journey to Italica was getting longer and longer as the midday sun beamed down from above. Taurus, Steven, and Delilah were enjoying the fresh air as it they rolled down the highway at good pace. In the M113, Montey and his crew were riding stop the APC, talking among themselves and reminiscing about Gracemeria. In the Humvee, the driver, gunner and the three they were escorting enjoyed a much smoother ride. It had been a little more than an hour since leaving Alnus.

"1-3 to 1-1."

"Go ahead."

"Our passengers in the back here want ride aboard the Bradly, is that within your capacity right about now?" Tavaris looked at Steven with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno why you're looking at me, it's your call." He replied.

"1-1 to all vehicles, let's pull over for a minute. Give us some time to stretch out." The convoy came to a stop. Yo everybody's relief, there were no hostiles in sight. Rory Mercury led the group of three, making a beeline to the tank. Tavaris, Steven, and Delilah were stretching their legs out, rifles in hand.

"Not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping for a bit of action." Steven said, leaning against the tank.

"And you wonder why I'm always on your ass…" Delilah said, under her breath. The two carried on their conversation, which almost turned into a shouting match. But a quick look from Tavaris shut that down.

"You two settle down. Last thing I need is for the both of you to be at one another's throats." He cracked open his canteen, followed with lukewarm water, and downed about half of it. He shuddered a little, and nearly jumped when he heard footsteps coming from above him.

"What is this Beast? How do you tame it?" He looked up to see the Lolita girl poking around the TOW launcher.

"Hey! Get away from that! It's dangerous!" The shout seemed to have startled the others poking around the tank, but not Rory. "This isn't a beast. It's metal. Steel." He climbed up the side of it. "And I would appreciate you not messing around with it."

"You best watch your tone, young man~, lest you get on my angry side." She replied. It sent shivers down Tavaris's spine, but she did eventually leave.

"A Tranq." The mage-looking girl said.

"Close, tank." Montey said, walking up. The soldier placed a hand on the mages shoulder. "We've been practicing for the last couple of days back at base. Gotta say she's one hell of a quick learner. She reminds me of my kid."

"Well, if I remember correctly, they'd be about the same age." Tavaris replied. Montey nodded in agreement, solemnly. "Anyways, if you all wanted a quick tour of my tank. Don't just go around poking stuff. Anyways, we should get moving." He gave a wave to the others. "Montey, I may need one of your guys in the back."

"I gotcha. But what about the ladies here? They wanted to ride- "

"Look, we may be heading into combat here and I don't wanna put these girls in any more danger than they've already been in." Tavaris said. "Now go on and mount up. We'll have time to take them around once we make our way back."

"Yes Sir." Montey guided the mage and her friends back to the Humvee, while one of Montey's men, a young man by the name of Rico. He climbed into the back of the tank and closed the rear ramp.

"Ready back here, sir!" Tavaris and his crew were just settling back into their positions. The engines of each vehicle soon came back to life, and the convoy began making their way along the road once again.

"1-2 to 1-1."

"Go ahead."

"You got someone riding on the back of your tank, right?" The question caught him off guard for a second. He did indeed have someone in the back.

"Yeah, I got the Specialist back there. Why?"

"You might wanna look behind you, sir." He took a deep breath, preparing for what he might see, and turned to see Rory Mercury leaning on the turret with a quaint little smile on her face. He stared at her for a moment, on the one hand, he was enraged that she wouldn't leave, but on the other hand, he admired her persistence.

"Just don't get in the way. And hold on." The convoy rolled on with everyone now ready for anything to come.

Something did come. Not even having the city in sight, the distinctive smell of fire wafted through the air and into the noses of everyone present. As they drew nearer, the source of the smoke was found. A large smoke plume was rising from their destination. Tavaris had the convoy stop again briefly so that he could assess the situation they may be heading into.

"What do you think happened, Taurus?" Steven asked. The two were passing a pair of binoculars between them to see if they could get a good look at the cause.

"Well, it could be one of two things. Someone either forgot to put out a candle and a blaze spread. Or mor likely… We caused a civil war, and this city was the first to be put under the gun. Or blade in their case." The two looked at each other, then at Rory and back at each other.

"Young lady, you seem to be well known among these people. Would you mind doing us a quick favor once we arrive?" Tavaris asked.

"A favor, hmm? And what do I get in return?"

"You can have him." Steven said, which was quickly met with a swift and retaliatory punch into the arm. "Ow! What the hell man?!"

"Anything but that." Steven gripped his arm, making sure it wasn't too damaged. "I was gonna say I would personally take you to our world once this starts to cool down. Anyways here's the plan." He laid out the plan to Rory, which was to have her, Leilei, and Tuka walk up to the gate with Rico, Montey and himself accompanying them. The rest of the convoy would sit back and set up to retaliate against any hostile action. Rory agreed to the proposition, and he relayed the plan to the other vehicles before they approached the city.

Italica

"Henhouse, Recon group one. We've arrived at the city. Seems like a battle took place here and we're proceeding with caution. Out." Tavaris said over the radio. The message, intended for headquarters to alert them that they had made the trip there safely. Everyone was alert as they approached the eastern gate of the city.

"Eyes up everyone, be ready for anything they might throw at us." He gave a tap on Steven's shoulder. "Gunner, raise the missiles." With a flip of a switch, the twin TOW launchers on the side of the tank rose to their firing position.

"Missiles up."

"Be ready to put them into those turrets if these people wanna test us. Driver, hold here." The tank came to a smooth stop, along with the rest of the convoy. "1-2, take the right side of me, 1-3, take the left." The two vehicles took their positions on the road, and what the soldiers saw was, for all purposes, a wall of steel.

"You all know the plan, let's put it into action." Tavaris grabbed his rifle and climbed out and down the side of the tank, closely followed by Rory and Rico. Tuka, Leilei and Montey linked up with them moments later in front of Bradley. A shout came from atop one of the turrets, which grabbed everyone's attention. Rico began to raise his rifle at the man shouting to them, but Montey stopped him from doing so.

"There's a time and place for everything, Soldier. Now is not that time."

"He wants to know if we're their enemy or not." Rico scoffed. "We nuked them at Alnus for their sorry attempt at invading us." The group began making their way to the wooden door that was still closed shut to them.

"Even still, we can show that we don't just solve our problems by blasting away at them." Tavaris said. Although, he understood the sentiment. Whatever forces are here are part of the same military that killed and maimed many of their fellow countrymen. And now they may have to help them out. Rico approached the door, gave it a couple of knocks, and took a step back. Everyone waited with bated breath for their response. And it would come with a rather warm but sudden welcome from a girl in armor. The door swung open with such swiftness that two out of the three soldiers accompanying the traders had raised their firearms, thinking it was going to be an ambush.

"Welcome! Eh...?!" The girl went from joyful to horrified, as most would be.

"Stand down! Stand Down!" Tavaris said. He sighed and looked at the group who was semi-guarding the door, while not getting too close. "For Christ's sake… I'm sorry about that, young lady. May we come in?"

Thanks for hanging in there everyone. Sorry for the long pause between chapters, but such is life. I just want to say that because of yall, this is my most popular story yet and I'm extremely grateful yall are enjoying it. I've got big plans for this story's direction so I hope yall enjoy the ride and have a great day! :)