-The Gate-
Skies over the Spring Sea
Name: [N/A]
Age: 24
Call sign: Strider-1
Tac name: Trigger
"Strider Squadron, turn back immediately"
"Huh?", Count was confused when the radio transmission came in.
"This doesn't sound good", Said Jaeger. "Trigger, what we doing?", he added and flew closer to my plane.
"I guess we're flying back", I banked right and made a U-Turn towards Tyler Island. Rose-1 started to rant about the incompetence of the Leadership as Long Caster told him what was happening.
"Tyler Island Control. What's happening?", i asked in a bored tone. I expected something like we forgot something or someone but not this. "We're under Attack! We need Air support and we need it NOW!". The voice on the other end sounded urgent. I pushed the throttle all the way forward and engaged the After burner. My fighter screamed with Mach 2 over the sea getting followed closely by the other Striders.
As we approached Tyler Island there was no doubt that someone was attacking. Not only did our Radars pick up multiple signals but we also could see smoke pillars rising into the air. Frantic Radio calls for help from soldiers on the ground where heard.
"Holy shit, looks like Anchor head when we had no IFF", exclaimed Count.
I came closer and was able to see multiple flying objects. Some where hovering and others swooped down and fired something at the ground. First I thought it were Helicopters but I didn't see any Rotors on top. Then i noticed the Tails of these things where moving around. I buzzed one of these things and couldn't trust my eyes.
"Was that a fucking Dragon?!", yelled Húxiān, voicing my thoughts. We flew in formation past the base and saw mayhem erupting underneath us. We saw legions of Soldiers clad in Iron armor with Swords and Shields heading towards our Soldiers. Our soldiers replied to them with machine gun and rifle fire. The medieval soldiers lost ranks after ranks, but for each one our soldiers killed there seemed two others filling the spot.
"Strider Squadron. You have permission to engage all threats in air and on Land. Happy hunting".
"Wilco Control". I said and gave the Striders each a target area. In the far end, where the Mass driver was located there suddenly has appeared something else. It was huge, some kind of Gateway to the unknown. But it didn't matter how big and marvelous it looked, there where still all kinds of medieval soldier pouring out. As i passed them they tried shooting at me with their bows and Arrows but to no avail. I turned and readied my bombs. The weapons bay opened beneath my Raptor and laid free a pair of thousand pound J-DAMs.
"Strider-1 bombs away!", i called over the radio. Each bomb embedded itself into a huge group of soldiers before exploding. The ordinance tor apart ranks of Soldiers and Horses.
"Strider-1 this is Tango-4, good effect on Target", Came an announcement from an Osean Soldier down bellow. "We need you to strafe the same position. We'll take care of the rest".
"Wilco". I answered and brought my Raptor into position. I flew down low and engaged with my M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon. The 20 mike mike rounds tor through the ranks of soldiers. I pulled up and set my sights on a Dragon. [BRRRRT] The 20mm growled and the Dragon was annihilated. I saw a man fall from its back as it tumbled out of the sky.
Meanwhile on the Ground
Tyler Island
Name: Sergeant Kelly Brooks
Age: 33
Call sign: Oscar 2-3
"What the hell is that Thing?!", shouted a Soldier as the ground began to shake. A huge one eyed beast was approaching their position.
"I don't know! Keep shooting it!", ordered Kelly as he fired a Burst of 5.56mm into a enemy soldier.
"It's a minotaur!", yelled another soldier.
"Yo guys, Frag out!" Came the announcement before the grenade was thrown. It landed in a group of enemy soldiers. One of them was curious and picked it up, studying it intensely. Seconds later it blew up and vaporized the man who took it and killed many of his comrades.
Osean and Erusian Soldiers started to cheer, one of them stood up and taunted them. "Fucking Dumbasses. You messed with the wrong-", he got Cut off as his Team Leader pulled him back to cover, just half a second later a barrage of arrows wizzed passed their heads.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed!", he reprimanded him and gave him a slap on his helmet. "Stay the fuck down dimwit!".
"Incoming!". A huge barrage of arrows came from the top down on them.
The soldiers could only stare in fear as the cloud off arrows began raining down on them. Many where hit in their limbs once or twice, others in their necks and chests, others again became pin cushions.
When the barrage ended, call it a miracle, Kelly was hit only once. The arrow lodged itself into his helmet and he had to take it off. But he survived, unlike many Erusians and Oseans. Taking matters into his own hands he picked up the radio and called in for air support. "This is Oscar 2-3, we need CAS and we need it NOW! We are pinned down by excessive arrow fire at the living Quarters. Target the Yellow smoke!".
"Oscer 2-3 this is Strider-4, good Copy. Keep your heads low and enjoy the fireworks".
About a minute later Húxiān's F-22 screeched passed them. The enemy soldiers tried to shoot her with arrows but had no hope of doing so. She passed them and dropped a 1000lbs J-Dam on them. Seconds later a huge explosion erupted where the enemy grouping stood.
"Strider-4 good hit. You got these bastards".
"Understood, good luck down there".
When the smoke settled, more of these guys appeared. Now with more minotaurs. Tho before they could get any closer a M1 Abrams rolled passed Kelly and fired it's massive 120mm main gun. The APFSD projectile hit the leading minotaur square in the chest. The Uranium core penetrator flew out of the back of the beast and left behind a gaping hole. The Legionnaires stood there, stunned as the Abrams loader shoved another shell into the breach.
"This is Iron Horse-1, engaging infantry", The voice of the Tank Commander sounded either enthusiastic or he was just plain scared. Either way, the M1 opened up with its Koax machine gun and cut down rows after rows of Legionnaires. The Tank Commander then opened his hatch and proceeded to fire with the roof mounted .50 Cal. More Abrams' joined Iron Horse-1 as they pushed back the Legionaries and their Beast men.
"Move it Soldiers! This is our chance!". Sergeant Brooks yelled to his remaining soldiers. They then jumped out of their cover and followed the Tanks towards the Massive structure that appeared out of no where. Planes buzzed over their heads as their dropped bombs, fired Missiles or strafed with their 20 mike mikes.
09:43 local time, Ground Zero, AKA the Gate
Count Colt Formal is the leading general in this invasion, getting the blessing and a motivational speech by the Emperor himself. The young soldiers would be all hyped up and motivated, the senior Soldiers, veterans that where on many occasions like these would feel motivated as well but they'd keep their cool. Colt was one of them. The Beast men weren't affected at all by the Emperor's speech, they knew they where there for the sole purpose of being cannon fodder. They were the result of one of these Many Conquests, their leaders would either get slain and replaced by an more cooperative individual or their homes would just get completely annihilated by the Imperial soldiers.
The doors of the Gate opened and revealed a black void which led into another world. Colt felt weary about this, never did he cross a Gate into another world, and commit a genocide nonetheless. But either way the Empire needed this, they needed these slaves and resources so Colt composed himself and finally gave the Hand signal. He received an answer in form of a Horn. The army of roughly 55'000 marched on into the Gate. The Beast men behaved oddly as they entered first, even the Wyverns put tantrum before entering the Gate.
Inside the Gate it was pitch Black. The only light sources where either the both exits of the Gate or the lanterns the imperialists brought in. But the light emitted from the torches and lanterns didn't shine as they where familiar with. It was practically eaten up by the blackness.
"Right there men! In front of us lays the Gateway to all the riches and Glory you can imagine!", Colt motivated his men. He heard Cheers roars from the different species, their respective flags where raised in the air.
Exiting the Gate on the other side they where greeted by a sight of destruction. Ruins littered the landscape, craters scattered around the place and People where slowly approaching them.
"For the Empire!", yelled Colt and raised his sword in the air. With that his Army attacked! Men, Women, Children where indiscriminately slaughtered . The Wyverns Swooped down and either bit multiple at ones or the rider impaled the poor soles bellow.
The people they encountered just ran away, none of them fought back, none of them looked like Soldiers, this was odd. Judging by the ruins and the structures one could see further away these people where a advanced species. But no Soldiers. It was most likely these people just fought a War and had no Armies left so they sat here defenseless... this was good. This was too good.
11:00 Local Time, ground Zero
It was about an Hour ago since they started the fight. Many things changed, for example Colt and his generals managed to establish an FOB at the entrance of the superstructure. It was quite a Big one. Wyverns landed and took off all the time, mages filled their powers and Soldiers came and brought back Slaves. All in all the Invasion was going good... weren't there these Popping sounds and Explosions which came closer all the time. At first Colt thought this were his mages, but as the number of Mages went down and the pops and explosions grew Colt knew something was up. Suddenly a Grey arrow shaped flying object flew passed them with a hellish screech and impossible speed. The air thrown up lifted their Tents and nearly everything that wasn't nailed to the ground. Then another one came, that second had three claws that pulled scratches on its tail. Suddenly its belly opened and two long black objects dropped out. On Impact it Exploded in a violent spectacle of Fire and dust. Soldiers and Beast men that where caught in that explosion bust disappeared. They just weren't there anymore. The first arrow turned and made a pass again, but now it also dropped two of these objects and again a company sized group of men and Beast men exploded into nothingness.
To Clot's further dismay, a huge bulk of his force was retreating. It wasn't a controlled retreat like when you want to lure the enemy in a trap. It was a full on retreat like when you're losing. Adding to Colt's fear, iron Elephants rolled over the hill tailed closely by enemy soldiers. They all where completely clad in green and were wielding black staffs. Colt noticed that each time one of these staffs made a popping noise, like the one he heard before, one of his soldiers would collapse. He also noticed that when these staffs would make that noise, a bright flash would appear at the end of it. In his brain there was only one explanation. These soldiers where all Mages. Then the Iron elephants' Nose exploded and emitted a puff of smoke. Seconds later the general area where the Nose was pointing exploded.
"Fight Back men! We can still turn this!". Colt tried his best to keep his men from falling back into the Gate.
"It is Lost mi Lord. We need to Fa-". The imperial soldier was struck by an black staff. Colt first didn't notice but then felt a burning sensation in his stomach, as he looked down he saw a gaping hole of the Soldier's stomach and a clean little hole in his armor.
An Explosion erupted only meters from Colt and threw him and several others to the ground. One of them was Colt's second in command, personally chosen by Prince Zorzal himself, Herm Fule Maio. He was further from the explosion and thus came to his senses faster.
"Herm! Help me!". Colt managed to choke out. To his horror Herm smirked evilly and made a run for it through the Gate. Many Soldiers tried to follow him but where cut down by the Soldiers coming in their iron elephants.
Colt managed to get a hold of himself and opened his eyes once again. Through gritted teeth he exhaled sharply as the wound in his stomach hindered him from fast movement. At this point the fight had died down and the only one's left standing where enemy soldiers.
Colt saw as three of them approached him with their staffs raised and trained at him. He noticed that the pattern of their clothing wasn't the same and the, what he assumed to be flags where also different. The soldier in the middle had a White and blue Flag with stars sowed in a circle on his shoulder. The two flanking him had a red rectangular shape with a, what looked like a rose, in the middle. Inside the rose there where several more stars.
Colt watched as the middle man talked into a black box attached to his chest. He nodded like there was someone in front of him and gave a last response before slamming his boot into Colt's face.
-Counter offensive-
February 7th, 2020
Tyler Island HQ. Interrogation room 3
Osean Intelligence Agency (OIA)
Name: Special agent Klark Hudson
Age: 34
Colt woke up. He was stripped of his armor and clothing he had beneath and wore a blue shirt combined with blue pants. To his surprise he wound in his stomach didn't hurt anymore, so he lifted his shirt and looked at a bandage covering the spot where he had earlier a hole. He looked up again, his eyes needed time to adjust to the bright light shining down on him. He wondered how they'd managed to get that light running, because this didn't look like a torch, more like magic. He tried rubbing his eyes but his hands where restrained by shackles, they where chained to the steel table. He looked over to the right where a Huge Mirror was mounted to the wall. Who needs such a big mirror, he thought to himself as he observed his reflection.
His head hurt suddenly, and then all the memories came flooding in. It hit him hard and fast, the Invasion, the slaughter he witnessed, first on the enemy side then their side. He remembered how his Wyvern Squadron got swatted out of the sky like they where nothing. He remembered a Flying arrow swooping down and dropping something. It had three... scratches on it's tail.
Four soldiers where sitting in the room next to Interrogation room 3 on the other side of the one way mirror and where brainstorming a way to get intel from that guy they picked up near that Gate.
"Should we torture or like threaten him?".
"How?".
"Like threaten to pull out his tongue or, shoot his friend we found next to him".
"Geez, Taylor. You have a twisted fucking mind".
With a distinct hiss the door opened and a man in a 3 piece suite entered the small room.
"Good mornin gentlemen". He greeted and laid his suitcase on the table.
"Who the hell are you?", interrogated the first Soldier.
"The names Hudson. Special agent Klark Hudson of the Osean Intelligence Agency".
"Of course we'd have some OIA boys here". Exclaimed the soldier known as Taylor.
"Now i'll admit, your Ideas weren't that bad but there's still some air upwards". Said Klark with his smug smile.
"And what are you going to do?". Asked the oldest soldier, called Pops by his younger comrades.
"I'll have a friendly chat with him.".
"And if he dosen't bite on?". Traunt, a private first class chimed in.
"Private, you seem to forget i'm OIA. If he doesn't talk... may god help him".
Agent Hudson made his way over to the interrogation room, he was tailed by two armed guards and Mayor Friedland.
The door opened with a Hiss and Colt Formal's head swung over in curiosity, as he saw two men talking with each other. One was completely clad in black with black toned glasses and the other was taller and beefier. They both looked important. They spoke in a language, he's never heard before.
Soon the taller one stepped back and the one in black stepped in, the door behind him closed again. He walked slowly towards the steel table, not losing eye contact a single time. When he reached the table he pulled the chair back emanating a screeching from the steel chair. Colt tried not to show any reaction but failed miserably. His face turned into one of agony until the man Pulled the chair back enough so he could sit.
"I'm Col-". Colt began but got Cut off. To his shock and surprise the man was speaking his language.
"Shut up! You only will talk when i directly ask you a question and you will answer the question with the truth and only the truth. Clear?", Colt nodded dumbstruck. No one ever dared to talk to him or any noble like that. Buu then again he was a mear prisoner now.
"Good", The man's face went from one of arrogance and complete distaste to a friendly one in a second. "My name's Special agent Klark Hudson from the Osean Intelligence Agency. I am here on behalf of the Osean Federation to find out who or what you guys are and why you attacked us. First things first, who are you?".
Colt didn't think he would be stunned any more but he was proven wrong once again as the man now known as Special Agent Klark Hudson stretched out his hand to shake it. Normally shaking hands is something commoners would do but once again, he didn't really have any other choice. He stretched it out as far as the shackles let him and shook hands with Agent Hudson.
"I am Count Colt Formal, head of the Formal clan and Ruler of Itallica". Colt said that with all the confidence he could muster in this situation and puffed out his chest.
"Count, Head of the Formal Clan... interesting. Why did you attack us?", the question came like a bullet.
"Resources, Power, land and slaves".
Hudson choked on his spit at the last reason. Coughing violently he managed to ask, "Slaves?!".
"Yes. Slaves. Don't you have slaves around here?". Hidson was shocked on how easy Colt could ask this. He recomposed himself, "Count Formal, we abolished Slavery decades ago. We have a law, it says: No human can own another Human. Anyways", Hudson rubbed his temple, he definitely wasn't prepared for this.
"How many of you crossed this "Gate"?". Colt thought about it for a second. "55'000 men, beast men and Wyverns crossed the Gate for Power and Glory". Hudson's eyes widened.
"We counted about 50'000 Killed and a little bit less than 5'000 Captured". Colt was taken aback. Never did the Imperial army lose this many of their troops. Not even against the warrior bunnies, and their war was known as one of the bloodiest in the whole Imperial History. Then again, it only where this many because that incompetent idiot Zorzal took the Command. In the end he came out as the winner but he had more than 30'000 dead soldiers on his side.
Seeing the lack of reaction from Colt, Hudson went on with his questioning. "Who ordered this Invasion?".
Colt jumped slightly when the silence was broken. "Uh... Emperor Molt Sol Augustus. He ordered both invasions".
"Both?". Colt muttered something under his breath, he hated when information slipped from him.
"Well...", he began chuckling uncomfortably, "This isn't the only Gate that opened in our world. The emperor sent his troops through both Gates. I have no idea where the other one went, but from what i've heard it was a densely populated place". Now it was Hudson's turn to pale. He turned his head towards the mirror with a stern look on his face. On the other Side Major Friedland was freaking out. There was no safe way to determine the truth of Colt's announcement since their Satellite network wasn't even half way restored yet.
"This isn't good... not at all". Said Hudson, biting his lower lip in deep thought.
"Major, please come in", he suddenly said. Colt was confused, besides him and that Agent Hudson, there wasn't anyone else in there.
Suddenly the door opened again and that beefy man stepped in. "Order the SR-71 fleet to do a complete sweep over the globe. I want every major city checked". Friedland nodded and walked stepped out again.
Hudson turned again to Formal. "Give me 10 hours and we will have verified your claim", with that Hudson stood up and went out.
A/N:
Just to clarify any confusion. Major Friedland is Long Caster