I

The Battle Between Worlds

Warning: I am neither a soldier or historian. If any of this seems stupid strategically or tactically, please take that into account.

A glossary for terms will be available at the end of the chapter.

Iunius 16th, 1937 AFSE

8th Brigade's 2nd Company Defensive Line Remnants, Alnus Hill

Octavian R. Hirpinius, Miles, 2nd Company, Royal Army

My ears are ringing. I can hardly see through the smoke from the fires. Where's Titus and Aurelio? I swear they were right next to me… oh. I see Titus! Why is he just lying there? Doesn't he know we have to link up with Centurion Minor Sigilis? As I'm getting up to get Titus on his feet, I see it.

Titus is dead. His guts have been blown out. How did that… I shake my head to clear the fog in my mind. Ah! Now I remember. We were spotted by one of the newly modified Goddamned Pollios. Titus saved my life. Stupid son of a bitch… weren't we supposed to open a thermo after the war? No, can't focus on that now. Gotta find Aurelio.

I think I shouted Aurelio's name… but I can't tell. The ringing in my ears is still there. The smoke clears a little bit, and I think I see the old bitter ass in the alleyway in front of me. He's huddled against one of the walls and rocking. I don't see any injury on him though, so why the fuck is he just sitting there? I picked up Titus's M1895 since I can't find my own rifle. It doesn't take me long to get over to Aurelio.

The old soldier is muttering to himself as he rocks back and forth on his knees. I still don't see any wounds on him. Must be shell shock… or he got hit by a spell from a Reformist mage. Either way, I can't just leave him here. The ringing has gone down a bit so now I can hear the world around me as I'm trying to get Aurelio back on his feet.

Gunfire is being answered with gunfire all around us. I can hear the loud engines of testudines too, one far too close for comfort. If only we had anti-armor… People are screaming and shouting. Grenades are going off, the same with spells being cast.

I put that all out of my mind as I look down at Aurelio.

"Aurelio, come on. We can't stay here. That Pollio or its friends could come any minute. We've already lost Titus… Aurelio? Aurelio, can you even hear me?"

Aurelio does nothing. He doesn't even look at me as he shakes. It's clear to me now that he's gone. The only question now is do I drag him with me, killing precious time for the townspeople, or do I leave him here for the Reformists? I try again… just to see if he really is a lost cause. Again, nothing from the old veteran. I curse under my breath as I leave him. I delude myself with the thought that maybe, just maybe, the Reformists will be kind.

As I walk out from the alleyway, someone shouts at me. I immediately turn and raise Titus's rifle at the shouter and am quite relieved. It's a contubernium of fellow Loyalists. I lower my rifle and jog toward them. When I get close, I see that not all of them are human. Their leader, a Decanus Major, is an elf. Two of the Miles are Bunny Warriors, and another Miles is a siren. The other four are all human. I'm still getting used to that.

Before this civil war began, the number of demi-human troops was quite low. If I remember right the percentage of demi-human troops to human troops was about five or seven percent. That number certainly grew after the Reformists made it clear that they were a Human Only army. When the Purgatios began… suffice to say, half of the Royal Army is now made up of demi-humans.

To be clear, it's not that I don't like demi-humans, it's just that Alnus didn't have a whole lot of demi-humans around. That had led to a lot of tension before the Reformists ever arrived. When we heard about Italica being surrounded, I think the tension started to change from internal to external. We were all worried about the Reformists.

"Your name, Miles," the Decanus Major stated when I arrived.

"Miles Octavian Hirpinius, 2nd Company, Decanus Major."

"Shit, 2nd Company? I thought we were near the 8th Company's line. Where are the rest of you?"

"I'm afraid I'm all that's left. Our line fell an hour ago. Most of 2nd Company is either dead, wounded, or scattered throughout the town. Me and two others were to link up with Centurion Minor Sigilis."

"What happened to the other two?"

"One's dead, killed by a damn Pollio, and the other's gone. Tried to get him moving but he wouldn't budge."

"Go back to the Pollio. Is it still around here?"

"Don't know."

"Fucking perfect. Alright, you said you were to link up with Centurion Minor Sigilis? Seeing as how we don't have any other orders to the contrary, we may as well join you. Lead the way, Miles Hirpinus."

"Yes, Decanus Major!"

9th Company's Defensive Line, Alnus Hill

Vel C. Furius, Centurion, 3rd Cohort, 1st Company, Gladii Praetorii

The defenses are stronger than I expected. Considering the state of the town before the Imperial Army ever arrived, it's truly a wonder they were able to set up such strong defenses.

"Miles Asina, get the radio on my signal," I command to the closest Miles, turning away from the corner of the wall I and my unit are using as cover.

We found out the hard way that the Loyalists had set up a machine gun post when we were chasing a group of traitors. Bastards took out three of my men, one of whom had been the radio operator. We'd need to give covering fire to Asina if I wanted the radio.

"Yes sir!" Asina replied as he came to stand beside me, poised to dash for the radio.

I raise my weapon, the newer M1935 Sub Machine Gun, in preparation as the other men raise their rifles. I count down from five as I hear one of the Miles close the bolt on their rifle. I sweep my hand down before leaning out and firing at the machine gun nest. My Miles follow suit, their rifles going off as fast as they can work the action on their rifles. I see Miles Asina pick up the radio and start sprinting back over. Just as he is about to reach me, his brain is blown out. He trips and tosses the radio at me as what's left of his brain trickles out of the new hole.

I quickly check the radio as it falls at my feet, dragging it into cover before it can get destroyed by the machine gun. Thankfully it isn't damaged. I quickly raise the antenna and begin speaking.

"This is Centurion Furius, requesting support. My men and I are pinned down by a machine gun. Distance is forty pedes from my position, near the market square, over."

"[Centurion Furius, this is Pollio Lucius. We are enroute, ETA two minutes, over.]"

"Understood, out," I reply before turning back to my men, "Two minutes!"

They nodded as another burst from the machine gun nest hit our cover. The two minutes passed by quickly, and I heard a two uncia gun go off. Lucius must have been one of the retrofitted Pollios. Shouts and cries came from the nest before the round hit it.

"[Nest is taken care of, Furius. Happy hunting, out.]"

I grin as I order my men to move forward. As we come out of cover, I can hear groans and coughs coming from the gun position. It would seem these Loyalists are more resilient than I thought. No matter.

"Finish those dogs. We have more important business."

Lars V. Ordius, Miles, 9th Company, Royal Army

I'm coughing and frantically trying to get the dust out of my way. Have to get the gun set back up before the Reformists get up here. Where the fuck did it go? I spot it, and my heart sinks. It's done. The Pollio's gun hit it directly. I can see the remains of the grip and buttstock, and that is it. I searched around for my revolver when a bullet pierces my left leg.

I shriek as I fall to my side, turning to look at who shot me. Tears well up in my eyes as I see the uniform of the Reformist standing above me, sadistic grin on his face as he's pulling the bolt back on his M1895-30 Carbine. The crossed golden spears on his helmet, the golden lapel insignia, the dagger scabbard, and finally the Imperial purple armband on his left arm. He's a member of the Gladii Praetorii. Of course, the fanatics would be here.

I spotted my revolver near the door of the bakery where we'd set up the machine gun. I lunge toward it and am rewarded with a second bullet to my stomach. The Gladii Praetorii is laughing at me as I cough out blood. I struggle to lift my head and to my horror, see a small face peeking out from behind the counter of the bakery. We'd been told the civilians had vacated the area! I'm praying to God that the Gladii Praetorii soldier doesn't spot the child.

He noticed my quick glance and looked into the bakery. The child, Thank God, smartly ducked back as the Reformist fucker peers into the darkened bakery interior. He scoffs before turning back to me and raising his carbine.

"You bought yourself a second or two, Loyalist, but that's it. Now be a good dog and die."

I see the gun go off. I wonder if I'll feel it when I get hit…

Kaeso S. Nazarius, Citizen of Alnus Hill

The gun is so loud. A large hole appears in the good soldier's head, and the bad soldier grumbles to himself as I watch from behind my hiding spot. The bad soldier turns back toward our bakery, and I squeeze further into my hiding spot. I can't see outside now as I pull the door to the bottom cabinet closed. I can still hear the outside though. My breath hitches as I hear the bell on our door ring, indicating the door was opened.

I hear the boots of a soldier go clack clack clack as he looks around. I'm being as quiet as I possibly can. The soldier will shoot me if he finds me. That's what the bad soldiers do to people like me: people who aren't human.

"Might as well grab a snack," the bad soldier mutters to himself as I hear the glass in the display case being shattered.

I hear something rooting around behind me in my hiding spot, but I will not move. Not while the soldier is still there. My eyes go wide as I hear something clatter inside the cabinet. I shakily look up to where the soldier should be if he was just in the display case. It is silent… then I hear his boots again. I start searching for a weapon, something to maybe protect me when the soldier opens the door to my hiding spot. There's nothing.

I feel something warm and fuzzy crawl over my hand, and it takes all of my willpower not to react. The door to the cabinet is pushed open slightly by whatever crawled over my hand. It let in enough light to let me see what it is. It's a large mouse! It's leaving, and I know I can do nothing. As soon as it goes, the soldier will search the cabinet. I shouldn't have come back to the bakery…

My sister was feeling sick, and my parents realized we'd left her medication back at home: our bakery. They were going to head back but the good soldiers stopped them. They said the doctors they brought with them could help my sister. They didn't understand how bad our situation was.

We are not a very well-off family. Our bakery makes barely enough for us to survive. Most of the money we make we save up to pay for my sister's treatment. She'd already been taking half-doses of the medicine because of the war. I thought I could sneak back, find her medicine, and get back without being noticed. The first two parts went off without a hitch. Who's gonna notice a ten-year old walking around, and I'm small enough to sneak through the lines. Now here I am, about to be killed by a bad soldier because I couldn't find the medicine quick enough.

The boots stop next to the cabinet. My heart is pounding in my ears as the soldier just stands there for a moment.

"A Goddamned rat? For fuck's sake…" I hear the soldier mutter as he miraculously turns away. I wait a few more minutes after the bell jingles again. When I'm sure the soldier is gone, I bolt from my hiding spot and toward the evacuation point. Hopefully my family is still there!

Outskirts of Alnus Hill

Caius M. Gracilis, Primus Major, 6th Regiment Commanding Officer, New Imperial Army

"What's the status of our assault? Have we managed to push into the town center?" I ask as I tap my quisquette into the ash tray on my left.

"Unfortunately, the Loyalists are putting up stronger resistance than anticipated. We've managed to break their lines here, here, and here, but the others are still holding out," a Centurion Major, I forget his name, says as he points out points on the map laid out on the table in front of us.

"That's not much. The Legate expected us to be done by now so that we could join the attack on Italica."

"We understand sir, but the problem is they are much more equipped than reports suggested. We're getting multiple new reports of machine gun nests. The machine guns are older models of course, M1880s plus a few M1911s and M1914s, but they positioned them well," another Centurion Major reported.

There's a flurry of activity outside and I raise a hand to halt the report.

"What's going on, Optio Major?"

"Apologies, sir, but there's a messenger here for you. He says it's urgent," Optio Major Tertius says, poking his bald head into our tent.

"Very well, let him in."

"Yes sir."

Tertius pushes a young man into our command tent. The young man is wearing the insignia of the motorized infantry, and wearing a motorcyclist's greatcoat. He quickly salutes in the new "Imperial" style: right arm extended toward me, with palm down and fingers touching while the young man's thumb sticks out to the side. I return a far less rigid and quick salute. Supposedly the new style had been used by the original Saderan Empire, but I was no historian so I could give no opinion on it.

"Speak, Miles."

"Sir, Primus Major Ianuarius sent me to inform you that there are Loyalist Mages in the area. We stumbled upon a group of them south of here, about twenty mille. They had just finished casting a spell, but we have no idea what it was. They burned the scroll they used to cast it. The Primus Major is unsure if he got all of them, and felt it best to warn you."

"And he was right to do so. It may explain some of our setbacks, aside from the machine guns of course."

"They'll be crushed," a voice I had hoped not to hear during this meeting spoke up, "alongside the dregs and old men that make up the Royal Army garrison here."

I turned and glowered at Primus Nicetius; the commanding officer of the Gladii Praetorii unit attached to the 6th Battalion. How I wished I hadn't been ordered to bring him and his fellow fanatics with us. I, like most of the sane officers of the New Imperial Army, despised the GP. They were fanatics of the highest order and oftentimes got good soldiers killed in their devotion to the Emperor.

"Is there anything else, Miles?"

"Most of the testudines will be later than expected. They've engaged a Loyalist unit that was coming here, coming from the southeast. The testudo Unit Centurion Major believed it was better to stop the Loyalist reinforcements from getting here."

"Let me guess: instead of the full contubernium, we're getting half of the requested testudines, besides the ones we already have?"

"No, sir…"

"How many then?"

"Uh… two, Primus Major."

"Two?"

"Yes sir."

"I see. That will be all, Miles. You may return to Ianuarius."

"Yes sir," the Miles replied, saluting once more before turning and exiting the tent.

"So, instead of twenty testudines, we've got twelve. Our strategy will need to be adjusted but not overly much. Have the eleventh and twelfth companies move in to bolster our own forces. And radio the commanding officers already in the town to be on the lookout for mages."

"Of course, Primus Major," a Centurion Major replied immediately before he left the tent.

Evacuation Point #3, 9th Company's Defensive Line, Alnus Hill

Cantia P. Adaucta, Centurion Minor, Mage Corps, 3rd Company, Royal Army

"Incoming!" a voice cried as a chunk of the second story building to my right was blown off. I quickly threw up a magical barrier to keep the chunk from landing on the panicking Alnus evacuees. They frantically move away from the barrier towards the waiting carts, trucks, and whatever else the local garrison had scrounged to get the townspeople out.

I lower the barrier as soon as the last townsperson is out. The chunk falls with a crash. I pay the chunk no mind as I rush to see what blew it off the building. I swear as I catch sight of a Castus Medium testudo. I didn't think the Reformists could get one of those into town. It's three and a half uncia gun was swiveling, and I only now realize I'm standing out in the open. I'm a prime target for that Castus as I'm the only real threat in this town to it. I ducked out of the way as the gun goes off, blowing a massive hole into the building. One more hit and the building is going to collapse and cut off this route for the evacuees.

I rush around the side of the building, drawing my M1931 Handgun Carbine out of its holster in case I run into any Reformist infantry. Can't waste my magic on them. As I rounded the corner of the local bank, I nearly run over a machine gun team. They're lugging an M1880, its ammo, and its water can. They look at me bewildered, and I cannot say that I'm surprised. There aren't supposed to be any mages in the Alnus garrison after all.

"Where the Hell did you come from?" the one I presume is the leader, judging from the Decanus stripe I see on his helmet, asks incredulously.

"Not important right now, Decanus. What is important is the damned Castus on the other side of building," I reply as I lower my carbine.

"A Castus?" another machine gunner, a cat-person from the ears sticking out under his helmet.

"So what do you need from us, ma'am?"

"I need a distraction so I can get close. Think you can do that?"

"We can damn well try. Proculus, Julian, let's get the gun set up in the second story," the Decanus ordered as he hefted the M1880. The two other machine gunners grumbled as they moved past me.

I continued moving alongside the wall as they passed, readying an anti-armor spell. I brought my carbine up again as I got closer to the end of the bank's wall. Military doctrine for testudines was to have one testudo backed by infantry, usually a contubernium or two. I peak around the corner and see more than just the usual two contubernia… there had to be a centuria minor here, meaning at least forty infantrymen for my thirteen-round carbine. They must be using the testudo as cover to get to the evac point.

It'll be a massacre if the testudo gets up there. That Decanus and his machine gun better start that damn distraction soon if they want to keep that from happening. As soon as that thought passed through my head, I heard the telltale sound of an M1880 opening up. Shouts and curses sounded out from the Reformist infantry as they cowered behind the testudo, some returning fire as soon as they got behind it. Bursts from submachine guns and sporadic fire from bolt-action rifles was causing the M1880 to slow down. It was now or never!

I aimed my palm at the testudo and breathed slowly, channeling the spell into my palm. I released the spell as soon as it was ready, the bright green and blue ball shooting away from my palm like a bullet. Some of the Reformist infantry saw the spell coming and started scrambling away from the testudo. Others backed up and started to fire on me, a shot grazing my upper shoulder as I ducked back behind the bank. I started running away from there, knowing that as soon as the testudo went up, the centuria minor would use another route. That left two ways: behind the bank on their left or the thermo on their right. I didn't want to be in front of them when they started coming up the path.

As I raced past, I set up a few traps with my magic. They wouldn't do much more than slow the infantrymen down. It would give me time to set up a defense at the evac point, which in turn would give the Alnus townspeople time to escape. I heard the Castus explode as I passed the bank. That gave me only a few more seconds…

Rounds whizzed past me as I rounded the corner of the second story building. The M1880 was still chattering away up top, which meant they were keeping the infantry from going behind the thermo. My traps started going off as the infantry passed them. I heard more cursing and shouting as I pointed my carbine around the corner, keeping myself behind cover as much as possible, to fire at the infantry. Hopefully my traps will give me enough time to reload before they get up here.

A hand touched my shoulder before I heard the Decanus, who was shouting, "JULIAN IS KEEPING THE BASTARDS PINNED ON THE RIGHT! I CAME DOWN TO SEE IF YOU NEEDED A HAND!"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER ONE, PROCULUS?" I shouted back, my carbine barking.

"HE'S DEAD, FUCKING REFORMIST GOT HIM THROUGH THE EYE!"

"MOURN HIM LATER! MIND GIVING ME A HAND WITH THESE GUYS?"

"SURE, COVER ME!" the Decanus replied, pulling the rifle he'd been carrying off his back. I hadn't seen it before, but then again, I was more concerned about the now-burning testudo.

I kept firing around the corner as he sprinted to the other side, taking cover behind someone's home. He kneeled down and brought his rifle to bear, beginning to fire on the Reformists as I pulled my gun back from around the corner. My magazine was out. I quickly ejected the magazine and slapped a new one in, smacking it once with the palm of my hand to make sure it was in. I then hit the slide release before once again pointing the gun around the corner.

I hear a grunt as one of the rounds from my gun hits an infantrymen. I take a quick peak around the corner, only exposing a bit of my left eye. A lot of the infantry are down, though I can't tell if they're dead or not. There's only five or so still standing. I can see the look on their faces, though, and I can tell easily they're rethinking their strategy. A few more shots from myself and the Decanus solidify that as the infantry turn tail.

"NOW THAT THEY'RE GONE, COULD YOU GO TELL JULIAN TO STOP FIRING THAT DAMN MACHINE GUN?" I shout to the Decanus as I holster the carbine again. He nodded and sprinted back across, rushing past me and into the building. I hear more yelling before the M1880 stops. The Decanus comes back down, his rifle slung on his shoulder.

"Since I'm down a man, mind giving us a hand with the gun? We're supposed to link up with 7th Company's line near the town center."

"From the look of things, that would most likely be for the best."

Evacuation Point #1, 8th Brigade's Main Defensive Line

Lucius M. Rogelius, Primus Major, 8th Brigade Commanding Officer, Royal Army

I watched the next group of civilians get onboard the waiting vehicles with trepidation. Hopefully they'd get out before the Reformists finally got here. The radio reports kept me updated on their progress and in the next hour they'd be right on top of us. They'd have a rough time getting through to us, though. We'd gathered all that we could to create barricades and defensive works, ranging from piled up furniture to dirt-filled sacks. Most of the machine guns our garrison had were here. That meant we had ten M1880s, six M1911s, and four M1914s. Twenty machine guns to hold back the Reformists.

It didn't help matters that they were running low on ammunition. We'd already held three determined assaults back, but this next wave was likely to be backed by testudines. We didn't have enough anti-tank grenades, even with the ones we'd cobbled together. Our best bet against the testudines was the four uncia gun the garrison was issued during the Great War.

It would be good for two or three testudines but that was it. There simply wasn't any ammunition for the thing. Even then, the shells we had for it were old, from back when the Great War began: nineteen-twelve. I took the cap off my head and rubbed it. No matter how I looked at our situation, I could only come up with a single outcome… we weren't going to make it. Alnus will be the 8th Brigade's final action. Not for the first time I wondered if I should have jumped ship.

A friend of mine from the academy had offered me a position in the New Imperial Army just before the Capere. I didn't see the benefit of joining them back then. They were a small movement back in thirty. Maybe if I'd known what was to come…

Thinking more about it though, I still would have refused. My loyalty is to the king and his people, not some little boy with a superiority complex who has delusions of grandeur and his followers. I placed my hat back on my head and started trying to move the evacuation along faster. As I spoke, I heard shouting from the line.

"Primus Major, something's coming!" my second-in-command, Primus Naevia, called as she ran over.

"Anyone have eyes?"

"No one, sir. Visibility is shit. It's the damn smoke."

"Great. Which direction?"

"From the west sir."

"Right, Gun Team Eleven, ready your gun! Be ready to fire on my order!"

"Excuse me, Primus Major?" a man's voice said from behind me, and I turned to look. It was one of the Centurion Minōrēs in charge of peacekeeping the evacuation. If I remembered right, this one was called Sigilis.

"What is it, can't you see we already have a problem?"

"Sorry sir, but it's important."

"Alright, speak quick."

"We're missing a citizen from group six, a dwarf child by the name of Kaeso Nazarius. The family lost sight of him an hour ago."

"'Lost sight of him'? How in the flying fuck do you lose a dwarf?"

"I'm not sure, sir. They mentioned something about their daughter needing medicine and the boy taking off after one of the docs saw 'em."

"Fucking perfect. Missing child, no doubt behind Reformist lines, and we've got something coming at us. God know with the way today is going we'll shoot him on accident," I mutter to myself as I turn back to the line, "Gun Team Eleven, do not fire without my permission. It's possible the incoming unknown is one of our evacuees."

I could hear groans and incredulous noises as I came over to stand behind them, raising my field glasses to see if I could get a better look at whatever was approaching. It took a second until a small figure could be made out through the thick smoke. I narrowed my eyes in an attempt to glean even more details. The figure was carrying something in its hands… it didn't look like a weapon…

"DON'T SHOOT," a young boy's voice cried as the figure raised one of its arms and frantically waved at us, "DON'T SHOOT! I'M NOT A SOLDIER!"

"Shit, hold your fire, it's the missing evacuee," I said to Gun Team Eleven before calling back, "HURRY UP BOY! THE ReformistS COULD BE CLOSE!"

"EAST SIDE!" a voice called as the pair of machine guns facing that direction opened up.

Octavian R. Hirpinius, Miles, 2nd Company, Royal Army

A bullet whizzes past my ear as I go to fire my rifle. Ducking back behind the pair of tables and lounge chair that make up this section of defensive works, I decide it would be better to fire blindly. I fire as fast as I can, which isn't all that fast. I'm not sure if I hit anything as I fire. The only thing I'm sure of is that my fire will at least keep the Reformists' heads down.

The machine gun on my left is still hammering away. I can't see where Decanus Major Censorius has gone, or the others who make up my new contubernium. More rounds strike my cover and I'm forced to pull my rifle back lest it get hit. I don't want to lose my only weapon after all.

"GRENADES! WE NEED GRENADES OVER HERE!" the Miles helping to load the machine gun on my left shouts, and already three M1930s are thrown his way. He looks around for some reason. Can he not see them?

Then it hits me: he can't use them when he's already working with the machine gun. His eyes fall on me, and he starts using his eyes to tell me what to do, pointing them at the grenades and back to me in rapid succession.

"Fuck me…" I mutter as I sling my rifle over my shoulder and rush towards the grenades. I scoop up most, but one still lays in between the machine gun and my former cover. Rounds pepper the ground around the grenade. I look on in fear, waiting for one to pierce the grenade and take us out.

Miraculously, the grenade avoids being hit. I quickly rush out and grab it before more shots can be leveled at it. I nearly got my head blown off in the process of course, but I made it back unscathed.

"ALRIGHT, WHERE DO YOU WANT 'EM?" I ask over the machine gun to the support gunner.

"JUST TOSS 'EM AT THE REFORMISTS," he called back, and when he turned back to the machine gun, I rolled my eyes. I thought this guy had an idea of where they needed to go.

Muttering curses to myself that would make my mother wash my mouth out with soap, I unscrewed the cap from the bottom of the first grenade. I then pulled the ball attached to the grenade's fuse out before tossing it as hard as I could at the oncoming Reformists. Some noticed the grenade and found cover or simply ducked. Others didn't.

The grenade detonated, peppering the walls, ground, and Reformists who hadn't seen it with shrapnel. I see a hand fly towards us, stopping ten pedes away. I busy myself with the next grenade when I hear the main gunner grunt. I spin to look and swear as I catch sight of the man. He's writhing on the ground, hands on his throat, blood welling up between his fingers. The support gunner is already grasping at the paddle trigger.

I finish with the second grenade, stuffing the remaining one in my uniform belt. I already know what to do with the ammo belt. The gun keeps up its deadly chatter, but the more Reformists we cut down, even more take their place. That is when I hear the sound of motors behind me. I glance behind and can't help the relieved smile that appears on my face. The evacuation is finally on the move again. I see the first truck start moving and it quickly goes from zero mille to around sixty in the span of thirty seconds.

Just as it is about to reach the exit we'd prepared before the Reformists arrived; a massive structure seems to materialize in front of it. The design of the structure was very familiar: it was the same kind of architecture in the old capital of the Saderan Empire! This had to be magic of some kind! It didn't help that the opening in the structure was completely dark. Then the truck disappeared through the structure.

I didn't know at the time, but later I learned that this structure wasn't the only one… no, there were five of them, each one at an evacuation point. We found out later it was an attempt to get our people out of the country to somewhere safer. In that moment, though, I had no idea what to think. I was so distracted by the structure that I didn't see the testudo fire at us. Thank God it wasn't a direct hit, or I wouldn't be around anymore. My world went dark as the testudo passed over our position. It was quickly followed by Reformist infantry and GP troops.

Iunius 16th, 1937 AFSE - June 16th, 2024 C.E.

Evacuation Point #1, 8th Brigade's Main Defensive Line, Alnus - Ginza District, Tokyo, Japan

Cnaeus N. Horatius, Miles Major, 2nd Company, Royal Army

I can't do much but blink as I enter the structure that wasn't there when I started driving. There was a blue light that seemed to come from nowhere but did light up a set path, and seeing as I couldn't go anywhere else, I followed it, and the other trucks followed me. I thought I could hear a noise other than our trucks as we drove. It sounded almost like… laughter? I ignored it. There were more important things right now.

A light started to appear, and I guessed that meant that the exit was close. The light seemed to get even more intense as I got closer and closer to the exit. What could be on the other side? It was only a few minutes more before my truck entered an entirely different world.

June 16th, 2024 C.E.

Ginza District, Tokyo, Japan

Fukaya Mitsu, Student

My mouth hung open as I saw a massive structure form in the center of the intersection. Was this some kind of CGI advert? What were they advertising? All around me, people started gathering to stare at the structure. I looked around the structure face with the hope of finding out who owned or created it. Don't they know how dangerous it could be if it went off when there weren't other people around?

That's when a very old looking truck came screeching out. The truck's tires squealed against the asphalt. Despite the brakes, it was still going quite fast for another minute or two before it stopped completely, leaving tire skid marks on the road. More trucks followed and stopped as well. Various somethings were in the back of each truck. It took me a second to realize that it was people. Disheveled, frightened, dirty people wearing clothes that looked old. One of the doors to the trucks opened and a woman wearing a green metal helmet and a light-gray uniform hopped out. Something was off about her as I watched, and then I noticed it! She had a tail!

"Cnaeus, quid irrumabo agis?! Pedites Reformatores post nos sunt!" the tailed woman shouted, clearly angry.

The first truck's door opened and an olive-skinned man wearing the same uniform stepped out, "Doleo, domina, sed hos populos currere nolui."

"Populus? Quid homines? Quae infernum… es…" the woman began before she looked around and saw us, me in particular. I, not knowing anything better to do, waved, seeing as the traditional bow might be lost on them.

"Ubi in nomine Deorum sumus?" the woman questioned in awe as she looked around. Judging by how they're dressed, I bet they've never seen a television or anything like Ginza.

I decided to take a chance and spoke. "Excuse me, hello?"

Both turned toward me with odd looks on their faces. The woman groaned and laid a palm on her face. The man seemed concerned.

"Profecto stupri homines hic linguam nostram non loquuntur…" the woman started, the man beginning to speak over her, moving his hands along with his words, "Um… an vos omnes recedite? Cito movendum est."

"What's he saying?" someone asked, as another took out a phone and started snapping photos.

I clear my throat and shout "I think they want us to move away. Maybe they're going to let the people in the trucks out?"

"What's going on here?" a new voice asked, and I turn and see a young policeman, hands on his hips.

"I don't-"

I'm cut off as an explosion destroys the last truck. The woman shouts and draws a handgun as shapes start to appear from behind the smoking final truck.

"REFORMATORES!"

Cnaeus N. Horatius, Miles Major, 2nd Company, Royal Army

I watch in horror as Reformist troops charge through the structure, their weapons up and already firing. I fumble for the pistol on my hip when a bullet pierces my shoulder.

"Fuck, I'm hit!"

"Get the trucks moving! GO!" Centurion Major Praetexta shouts as she races back to her truck. The people around us are running, shouting and screaming, and as I struggle to get back to my feet, I see the Reformists firing at them as well as us. They did say they wouldn't discriminate between us and those helping us.

I feel a pair of hands on my arm, and I look up. It's the same girl from before. She's helping me up and back to the truck. I can see some of the other people veering towards the trucks, and the Alnus townspeople are helping as many as they can into the back. The girl quickly runs around the other side of the truck and hops in, helping me up and into the driver's seat.

I curse as I get settled, my shoulder on fire with pain. I turned to the girl and tried my best to ask where I should go, using my injured arm to articulate. "Where am I going?!"

"Kōkyo e mukau! Michi o oshiete ageru yo!" she replied, pointing forward. I nod and shift gears from 'Park' to 'Drive'.

The truck moves fast, and as I look into the rearview mirror, I grimace as I watch the other trucks moving in separate directions. Then I see something worse than just Reformist troops… Reformist testudines are coming out of the structure. I swear loudly and I hear screaming from my right as the girl in the passenger seat sees the testudines.

"Hang on to something!" I shout as I start moving the truck this way and that, hoping to confuse the testudo gunners' aim.

The entire city, given the opulence of the place, is in chaos by the time I can no longer see the structure. Reformist soldiers are running around, shooting the people, who now that I think about it look eerily similar to the Mitai or the Yuang-Shi, without care. Some people, dressed in black and blue uniforms with caps that white and black square patterns, are fighting back with bloody revolvers. Don't they have anything better?

"Koko de sasetsu shite kudasai!" the girl calls, pointing to the left. I do as she says, hoping that wherever we're going will be safe.

Itami Yōji, Second Lieutenant, Japanese Self-Defense Force

Today started out so well. Go to the comiket, get some doujins, call it a day. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't have gotten out of bed. Ginza is in chaos. I have no idea what's going on, but I can definitely hear the gunfire. As I'm helping some lady get on her feet, I notice a policeman firing at something down an alleyway. His gun goes dry and out of the alleyway comes a foreign soldier! I don't recognize the uniform, and what nation still uses bolt-action rifles as main battle rifles?

The soldier is chuckling to himself as he raises the bolt-action, cocking the bolt back and ejecting a spent round. The people behind the officer, a pair of teenage girls, are backing up as the soldier approaches. The officer is frantically trying to reload the .38 he's holding but the soldier is already aiming at him.

"Facere mutuculus," the soldier says simply as he begins to pull the trigger.

I leapt towards the soldier and grab his rifle, jerking it and ruining the soldier's shot. The soldier is cursing at me as he takes one hand off the rifle and grabs at a dagger on his belt. He gets it free as I yank the gun out of his hands, spinning it around and butt-stroking the bastard. A tooth flies out of his mouth as he crumples to the ground, groaning. The soldier shakes his head and lunges toward me with the dagger in his hand in a reverse grip.

I don't even give the soldier a chance as I fire point blank into his stomach. He grunts and the dagger clatters to the ground. I work the action on the rifle as I feel the eyes of the officer and teens on my back. I look back at them and am about to speak when a pair of shots blast the rifle out of my hand.

I turn back to see the skeletal stock of a submachine gun coming at my face. It hits me dead center in the face and breaks my nose. Blood trickles down my face and I know I'm lucky. Any harder and that strike would have killed me.

"Manus sursum vel iterum faciam, culus!" the soldier with the submachine gun says, miming with the gun for me to put my hands up. I do as he says as another pair of soldiers appear.

Both are holding the same bolt-action rifles on us, and the one with the submachine gun is gesturing for me to back up.

"Quam ipse est?" the submachine gunner asks as he watches us. One of the rifle armed soldiers kneels down to the one I shot, and I can already tell the man's dead.

The kneeling soldier shakes his head and stands back up, "Mortuus est, Optio."

"Bastardus, tibi dant pro eo! Aciem contra eum murum!"

Both soldiers reply "Ita domine," before pushing us to the wall behind us. I already know what's about to happen, but what the Hell can I do? There's three people with guns on me and that's not taking into account the three people next to me. I feel my back touch the wall and the soldiers stop moving. All three raise their weapons and all I can do is scowl at them.

"Ignis in mea nota: tres, duo, unu-" the submachine gunner doesn't finish as his head is blown out from behind.

"Quid autem irrumabo?!"

"Diiperdant Fidelis!"

There's a third soldier behind the two riflemen, wearing a different uniform. His uniform is light gray with a green helmet. Maybe he's a soldier from another army? Then again, the uniforms these guys are wearing are similar: dark gray, bordering on black uniforms with the same style helmet painted gray, with the addition of gold spears in the center and a purple armband around their left arms.

With the distraction provided by the new soldier, I rush one of the soldiers, causing further chaos. The soldier next to that tried to turn only to get shot through the side. The third soldier was moving towards me and the soldier, and before he got to us, I kneed the soldier in front of me, causing him to let go of his rifle. When he looked back up, he was cross-eyed as he looked down the barrel of his own gun.

I tried to say the same thing the submachine gunner told me earlier, "Uh…'Manus sursum'!"

The soldier did as he as was told, and I motioned to the policemen. He seemed to understand and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He snapped them around the foreign soldier's wrist and stepped back.

"Where is everyone headed? The Imperial Palace?"

"Yes… where did you learn to move like that?"

"JSDF. I'm second lieutenant Itami Yōji. You?"

"Uh, officer Umeki Taikan, sir!"

"I would ask your name, but I'm betting we don't speak the same language."

The third soldier looked confused, and I took that time to study him. He looked young, barely older than eighteen, and was wearing a cracked thin-framed pair of glasses. He was rather lanky too. The rifle he carried, the same bolt action as the soldiers who'd held us up, looked slightly bigger than him. I had to guess he was around one-hundred eighty-three centimeters. He had olive skin, and his uniform was distinctly western style. There was something stuck in his belt… it looked an awful lot like an old stick grenade.

The soldier seemed to understand and gestured to himself, "Miles Octavian Hirpinius, octavo phalanx, secundus vexillum."

"Yeah, I'm just gonna call you Octavian, 'kay?" I replied, holding up an 'OK' sign. Surprisingly, he nodded.

"Auguror te primum nomen meum uti, ita te Itami appellabo."

"Right. Officer Umeki let's get going to the palace-"

I notice the feeling of something heavy moving this way as I'm talking. Then I hear the engines. Octavian's face has gone pale at this point, and I know my face does the same. There's only one thing I can think of that's that heavy with an engine. Octavian and I seem to call it out at the same time, and though he's using a different language, I think I can tell what it means.

"TANK!"

"TESTUDO!"

Octavian R. Hirpinius, Miles, 2nd Company, Royal Army

I don't know when I woke up, but I know that we had managed to push the Reformists back. It didn't matter much as the fighting was still heavy when me and maybe three contubernia went through. I had no idea how many of the Reformists got through to the other side, and from the look of things before I went through, they were going to get reinforcements when the Reformists broke through again.

Nothing could prepare me for the sights on this side of the structure! It was almost like the Allied Kingdom's capital city. Couldn't remember the name of the place for the life of me but my cousin talked about it constantly in his letters. My wonder at the place ended when the man in front of me dropped. It was utter chaos as the Reformists tore us apart. I got separated in the confusion and found myself wandering around for a time.

It was maybe ten minutes after we came over when I stumbled upon the beginnings of an execution. I acted on instinct then. Rifle to my shoulder, irons on Optio's head, and boom. I barely had time to notice the other two Reformists when my shot blew the Optio's head off. I was sure I was going to die when one of the would-be executed charged in. He fought with the Reformist that had been closest to him. He saved my skin, so it was only natural I do the same when the last Reformist turned on him.

It's just my luck that, after all that, I get found once again by another damn testudo. How the fuck did I become a magnet for the Goddamn things? I turn to the group of civilians and the fighter. I'm guessing the fighter is a former soldier from the way he fought, and another is a policeman, since he clearly isn't a soldier given his equipment, trying to come up with an idea of how to deal with it.

The former soldier, a slender man with scruffy brown hair wearing a bright orange t-shirt with some kind of logo on it, turned to the policeman. "Umeki-san, minkan hito o kyūden ni tsureteitte kudasai!"

"Wakarimashita, Itami shōi!" the officer replied and started ushering the two girls away. Guess that takes those three out of the picture…

"Nē, sono sensha o dō suru ka nanika aidea wa arimasu ka?" the former soldier asked, pointing at where the testudo was coming from. I'm guessing he asked if I had any ideas.

I glance down at the grenade in my uniform belt, then the M1935 on the ground… that might do it!

"Alright, Ee-tom-ee, here's the plan," I start while using my hands to try and help him understand me, "you take that M1935 and distract the testudo, I'll get behind it and drop this into it," I finish while showing him the grenade.

He looks dubious, and I can't necessarily blame him. It's a shitty plan but it's all I could come up with. He seems to think it over. He then picks up the M1935 with a grimace. I guess he couldn't come up with a better plan. The testudo is nearly in view when I point out what I think would be a good place he could use as cover. He grimaces again and then shakes his head. He then points out another spot, one much better. I nod and we move as the barrel of the testudo appears.

Sisen C. Maecius, Centurion Minor, 4th Motorized Company, M1926* Pollio Light Testudo "Lucius"

"Anything?" I ask as Vatia, my loader is speaking with Ravilla, my gunner, over what ammo to use.

My driver/radioman, Dardanus, shook his head before turning his face up to me, "Negative sir. No sign of any resist- wait. There's a group of bodies underneath the bridge in front of us."

"Our guys or GP?"

"GP, sir."

"Eh. Fuck 'em. Still, let's stop and try to see if we can spot who got them. It'd be a problem when the rest of our guys come through and they get ambushed too."

"Yes sir," Dardanus replies as I feel Lucius stop. I reach over and tap Ravilla on the shoulder.

"Sir?"

"Start turning the turret clockwise. Let's see if we can spot the people who ambushed the trio of idiots out there."

"Of course, sir. Turning right!" Ravilla called as he started spinning the turret's turn crank.

The turret was just starting to move when I heard the rattle of a submachine gun. Someone was shooting. I thought it was one of ours at first, but then the spray of paint chips and sparks hitting Dardanus's face changed my mind.

"Gah! Shit!"

"Where the fuck is that coming from? Vatia!"

"I'm looking, I'm fucking looking!" Vatia called as he looked into the main gun's iron sight, "Dardanus, you good?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. Just got a bunch of paint chips and shit in my eyes. I think the shots came from that weird thermo, about five o'clock."

"Loader, one round, HE."

I saw Vatia place the round into the breach as Ravilla got ready to depress the two uncia gun's trigger pedal. More rounds peppered Lucius, particularly the gun sight, as I watched Ravilla jerk back and blink his eyes.

"Fuck, I can't see! Bastard hit the damn sight and my dumbass blinked! All I can see are massive fucking blotches! Vatia, take over!"

"On it!"

"As soon we're lined up on the thermo, blow the bitch away. Let's see if our friend can survive that!"

"On the way!"

The main gun bucked back as I heard the thermo explode. There was more fire, and I instantly knew the prick had moved. I scowled as I went up to the hatch. The cutouts in it should keep any rounds from getting in. I peered out, trying to find the bastard. I caught sight of him pretty quick.

Our attacker was a scruffy looking local wearing a ridiculous outfit. He was carrying an M1935, most likely taken from the trio out there. He glanced at us out of the corner of his eye and fired a burst, striking the front of Lucius.

"I got him, he's heading to our left!"

"Roger!"

Shoot at my Lucius will you? An HE round up your ass ought to teach you not to fuck with me. I chuckle darkly as the turret begins tracking the prick. That's when I feel the hatch above me open. I turn to look and the barrel of a rifle is jammed into my face. My eyes go wide as I see a familiar face.

I thought I killed this Loyalist back in town! How the fuck is he still alive, the HE round blew him and his friends to pieces! My whole world slows to a crawl as I see his trigger finger start to depress. Oh God. I'm gonna die! I don't even get to cry out as the trigger breaks and I watch in horror as the bullet races down the barrel.

Decius Q. Vatia, Decanus Major, 4th Motorized Company, M1926* Pollio Light Testudo "Lucius"

The crack of a rifle firing is deafening inside our testudo. I turn to look at our top, Maecius, and watch as his body drops like a damn ragdoll, his face a bloody mess. I look up at the open hatch and cry out in terror as a grenade falls on top of Maecius's corpse. I reach for Lucius's second exit as the main hatch is slammed shut.

My finger touches the handle and pushes the hatch down. Are Ravilla and Dardanus behind me? I can't tell as I scramble out of the testudo. I barely make it out when Lucius erupts. The grenade must have set off our remaining rounds. It's burning when I spot the shithead who'd been shooting at us. I reach for the pistol holstered at my hip when I feel something poke the top of my head. I look back and freeze at the rifle pointed right at my face.

"If you want to live past the next few seconds, I'd surrender," the Loyalist soldier holding the M1895 in my face says matter-of-factly. I take my hand away from my pistol and raise both arms above my head. He lowers the rifle down to my chest.

"Smart. Get up!"

I obey and am standing when the submachine gun prick walks up. The Loyalist, a Miles, gestures to the prick. Prick nods, now pointing the submachine gun at me. The Miles snatches my pistol from its holster before he proceeds to stuff it into his uniform belt.

"From now on, when I tell you something," the Miles begins, glancing at my rank stripe, "Decanus Major, you treat it like it's an order from God themselves. You try any funny shit, I'll shoot your dick off. We clear?"

Itami Yōji, Second Lieutenant, Japanese Self-Defense Force

The man wearing a green-gray uniform with a cap nodded emphatically before replying, "Possedi, obtinuit, aliunde rem illam monstrare!"

"Uh, hey, Octavian?" I ask, tapping him on the shoulder while letting the submachine gun hang.

It was a weird design. It seemed familiar, to an extent. It reminded me of a child's poor drawing of the German submachine gun from World War Two looked like. I didn't know its name, since Hellsing Ultimate never mentioned it. Then again that wasn't all that important at the moment for two reasons. Reason one: Japan was being invaded; reason two: the gun was out.

"Ita quid est, Ee-tom-ee?"

I gesture at the submachine gun, it's bolt forward. He instantly knows it's out because it's an open bolt weapon. He glanced at the soldier who'd held it then back to me. I shook my head emphatically. I am not about to root through a dead man's pockets. I might be a hopeless otaku, but even I have standards!

He nods in understanding, and I thank God he didn't push the issue. Then he glances down at the pistol stuffed into his belt. He pulls it back out, checks to make sure it's loaded, then holds the grip out to me, "Hoc tibi opus est?"

"Yep, that works!" I reply as I sling the submachine gun over my shoulder and take the pistol.

The pistol is much more familiar looking. Almost like our Minebea P-9s, but definitely an older style. It's fairly compact which makes sense given who was using it. Tank crews would probably have smaller weaponry, like the submachine gun or this pistol, or even a carbine variant of their main rifle. Speaking of, I point to Octavian's rifle and then the tank. He looks confused. I try again, adding the additional step of holding up a single finger before pointing to the tank.

He gets it but shakes his head no. Figures. He points at that tank before holding out his arms and spreading them outward in a circular motion.

"Let me guess: the grenade destroyed everything in there, so don't bother checking. What about the rifles over there? Should we take them with us?"

Octavian glances at the bodies again, a thoughtful expression on his face. He nodded and gave me an 'OK' sign. He gestured with his rifle to the tanker-turned-prisoner. The prisoner started moving without saying anything. When we got back to the trio, he spoke to the prisoner.

"Licuit Decanus Major, incipias per suas glande manticas. Ee-tom-ee, animum inspicientem?"

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on him," I replied as the two soldiers started scavenging. The prisoner dug through the munition pouches on the two dead riflemen while Octavian picked up the pair of rifles, handing one to me.

I stuck the pistol in my waistband after making sure the safety was on first. Wouldn't want to blow my balls off, would I? I then pulled the back on my new rifle to see if there was a round chambered. Sure enough, there was. If Octavian had been any later…

"I realize I didn't say this earlier, but thanks for saving me and the others. Figured I ought to say that."

"Huh? O vos salvos facite. Ne solliciti sitis. Idem fecisses, si nostras partes inversas esses."

"I'll take that as a 'you're welcome'…"

"Et machina minor tormentarii etiam, podex!" Octavian growled when the prisoner came back over. The prisoner held up a pair of stick magazines with a dull look, "Captisinus."

"Hand 'em over."

The prisoner grumbled slightly before doing just that. I slung my new rifle over my shoulder and grabbed the submachine gun. Once the gun was firmly in my grasp, I depressed the button above the submachine gun's mag well, dropping the empty mag with a clatter. I then inserted the new one and smacked the bottom of it. Had to be sure it was properly seated, before pulling the bolt back.

"Alright, I'm ready to rock and roll! Let's get to the Imperial Palace. That good with you?"

"Dixisti id verbum prius… oh! Vis cum illo 'Ooh-mek-ee' congredi! Duc exercitum."

"Qui irrumabo est 'Ooh-mek-ee'?"

"Nihil tibi curae est. Nunc asinum tuum movere."

"Moveo, moveo…" the prisoner replied, his hands going back above his head as Octavian pointed his rifle at the prisoner's chest.

"Hey, one last thing," I began, turning around to look at the pair before pointing at the prisoner, "Name and rank."

"Huh? Heus, amicus est tuus, scisn' quid velit irrumator?"

"'Watt-ah-shee nah-mm-eye'… ah, tuum nomen et quid ego suspicor, pro dignitate eorum verbum esse."

"Quid autem irrumabo ess-"

"Iustus responde quaestioni Reformator."

"Ugh… Vatia, Decanus Major, sextus cohortus, secundus phalanx, quartus motricium vexillum."

"Non puto quaesisse quos tu cum Vatia damnatos deos cohorti esses."

"Duo verba: facere tu."

That one didn't need translation.

Fukaya Mitsu, Student

"Hiccine me verto?!" the soldier asked as he gestured to the wheel with his injured hand while making a turning motion.

I replied quickly, pointing to a right turn up ahead, "Take that right up there! The palace should be just ahead after that!"

He nodded, and when he turned, I was pressed into the passenger door. I could hear cries of alarm coming from the back as we took the turn. When I caught sight of the palace, my mouth gaped. The doors were closed! Why the Hell did the police keep the doors closed? Didn't they know what was going on out here?

"O facare me in obliquum!" the soldier cried as he slammed on the truck brake. Had he been any slower, we would have run someone over. I think he cursed as he opened his door and ran to the back of the truck.

I opened my door and followed him. As soon as I saw him working on the truck cargo door, I began copying what he did. The door fell open fairly fast.

"Quisque, e! Caput ad aedificationem in fronte!"

The people piled out of the truck and started moving toward the palace. I was about to follow them when I noticed the soldier was still standing there. He was looking behind us. That was when I remembered: the other trucks! He cursed again, I think, and headed back to the truck cab. I followed him again and saw that he was looking for something on the truck cab floor.

"Perduint, ubi deorum irrumabo est exardescere diiperdant?!"

"What are you-" when I spoke, he turned back to me and mimed out a box, "Videsne parvam cistam ligneam ibi?"

"A box? Why do you-"

"Modo id invenio!"

"Alright, alright, I'm looking!"

I ran my arm underneath the seat, trying to make contact with the box he'd been looking for. My hand hit something and knocked it beneath the steering wheel. It was a small wood box with the word "EXARDESCERE" stenciled in black on its front. The soldier exclaimed something before he frantically opened the box, revealing a small pistol and what looked like a weird shotgun shell.

He flicked the pistol open and shoved the shell into the slot. Then I got it. The box contained a flare gun! He pointed the gun upward, and I noticed that the sky had become cloudy. He jerked the trigger and a bright blue light shot out. I guess he was trying to get the other trucks here.

"Come on, we gotta get to the palace!" I called at him, moving toward the palace.

He grimaced as he held onto his bleeding arm and followed after me.

Paulus C. Turpilias, Optio, 8th Company, Royal Army

More shots riddled the truck as we drove through the alien city. I cursed as I shoved a new magazine into one of the few submachine guns the Alnus Garrison had. It was an M1917, a relic from the Great War and not as good as its descendants, the M1935 and M1923.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE EVEN GOING, ERASINUS?" I shouted as I stuck myself and the gun out of the passenger side window, firing a short burst. The burst caught a pair of Reformists as we passed, and they crumpled with drowned out cries.

"I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW! JUST SOMEWHERE THESE BASTARDS AREN'T!"

"WELL DO FUCKING BETTER! WE KEEP RUNNING INTO THEM!"

"I FUCKING KNOW THAT GODDAMN IT!"

"SHIT, JAM!"

"WELL GET THE DAMN THING UNJAMMED!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO DO?! GODDAMN PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT RELIC!"

"WAIT, I THINK I SEE SOMETHING!"

"FUCKING WHAT?! KIND OF FUCKING BUSY WITH THE PEOPLE SHOOTING AT US!"

"IT'S A FLARE, ONE OF OURS!"

"HEAD FOR IT!"

"HANG ON!"

The truck veered toward the flare, jerking me toward Erasinus. I nearly tossed the M1917 from the sheer force of him turning. Thank God I had a good grip on the gun. I pulled the charging handle back and shook the weapon, trying to dislodge the two bullets that were stuck. I smacked the butt of the gun against the truck's console when the shaking didn't work. The bullets came out then, and I leaned back out. I paled when I spotted a testudo coming from behind one of the alien buildings.

"SHIT STEP ON IT, WE GOT A FUCKING GAIUS ON OUR ASS!"

"FUCK ME, HANG ON BACK THERE!"

The Gaius fired once with its two uncia gun, hitting a weird-looking bookstore as we passed it. It then opened up with its coax and driver turret, the rounds missing our truck by a hair's length. I snarled and fired at the damn thing. My shots did nothing, but they felt good nonetheless.

We turned near the end of an intersection and into an utter clusterfuck. The large building we were coming up on was being attacked by a group of Reformist troops. I assumed it was a government building given the flags flying above. They were odd flags to boot. The flag design was an arrangement of white stars on a blue field in the top left corner, with white and red stripes elsewhere. I could see soldiers firing back at the Reformists, with guns I'd never seen before.

They were all black, and they were large. They seemed to be semi-automatic rifles at first. Then I saw one of the soldiers fire a burst from their black rifle. An automatic rifle? I considered what to do for a second before turning the M1917 toward the Reformist attackers.

"Get me close to that building with the flags!"

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Erasinus blinked but complied, bringing us closer. I checked my magazine as we approached, seeing it was empty again. I pulled the empty mag out and inserted a new one. After this one, I'd only have two left. I leaned out the window once again while racking the bolt back.

Jaime Perez, Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps

A bullet zipped past my ear, forcing me to jerk my head to the side. Thank God it missed!

"Hijo de puta!" I shout at the fucker who I think shot at me, drilling four rounds into him. He grunted and toppled over, his bolt-action rifle falling with a clatter. I still couldn't wrap my mind around that.

We're getting attacked by guys using shit from World War Two: submachine guns, bolt-action rifles, and Goddamn stick grenades! They ain't even wearing any fucking armor! Where the Hell did they come from? Were they the reason why the Japanese were going nuts?

I fired again, blowing a soldier's brain out and coating the guy behind him.

"Grenade!" a fellow Marine shouts before an explosion throws me on my back. My rifle flies out of my hands as I hit the ground, knocking the wind out of me. My ears are ringing badly as a shape is running toward me.

It's one of the bad guys, holding a weird-ass looking MP-40. He's getting close when I see the surprise in his eyes. He must have thought I was dead! He's turning the submachine gun toward me as he moves. My eyes widen as the death held inside the gun comes closer and closer. I try looking around, seeing if any of the other guys are seeing this, but they're busy with other soldiers.

I go for my pistol, and just as I'm about to draw it, the bastard starts shooting. A round hits my shoulder but the rest seem to go all over the place. My eyes had shut when the first-round hit, and when I open them, I see the submachine gunner falling down. A few others are down too, and some are grasping at arms and legs. More are shot down before they start surrendering.

We start corralling them in the embassy lobby. Can't exactly take them anywhere else at the moment. I ask around, trying to figure out how the Hell the bad guys got decimated so fast. I finally get an answer out of a fellow Lance Corporal, Franks.

"You got your ass saved by an honest-to-God drive by! This fucking truck came by and this crazy motherfucker is leaning out of the window with an old-ass SMG. He just sprays the bad guys from behind. Looked like they were headed for the Imperial Palace though."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me. I got no fucking clue."

"Alright you two, quit gossiping and help police this shit. And get someone who knows Latin!"

"Latin?"

"Yeah, these guys are speaking Latin."

"How do you know, Gunny?"

"Take a guess," the Gunnery Sergeant replies, holding up the rosary that was around his neck.

Mettius T. Bodenius, Centurion Major, 3rd Battalion, 9th Company, New Imperial Army

In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have ordered the attack… It seemed like a good idea at the time. Get intel on the Loyalists' new allies. How in God's name would I have known how good they were? My two contubernia were reduced to a handful of uninjured and injured. I was not going to waste their lives.

As I sit against a wooden door in the building, now a prisoner, I study our captors. Their uniform is strange, to be sure. It's not a single color but rather a pattern of colors. Their equipment is much bulkier and the helmets they wear aren't metal. The weapons they carry are another matter entirely. I've never seen anything like them before!

They seem to be a version of automatic rifle, like the ones the Algunans, Mitai, Yuang-Shi, or Qarteni use. Though rather than weighing forty librae, these soldiers carry them like they're as heavy as our carbines. An interesting thing to arm a nation's soldiers with. One of my men hisses in pain before grasping at his leg, one of our captors wrapping a bandage around the man's leg.

"Excuse me?"

I turn sharply at my language being spoken to me by our captors, and I'm surprised by the woman speaking to me. She is obviously not a soldier. She's wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath. The soldier next to her is definitely watching me as she begins to speak again.

"This language yours?"

"Yes."

She says something to the soldier, who nods before gesturing with his rifle for me to get up. I get the message quick.

"Follow."

"Before we do, what of my men?"

She speaks to the soldier again, and he says something back to her.

"Men will be fine. Our… healers… Doctors?"

"Your medics will take care of them?"

"Yes."

"Very well. It's not like I can do much to stop you."

I start following the pair through what looks like an office space. People are frantically moving about, and I know instantly they aren't soldiers either. They must be government staff. We stop at a door. The woman knocks on it, and when it opens, it opens to a nice room. Two men are seated inside. One is a soldier without his helmet, and the other wears the same outfit as the woman.

They gesture to a seat across from them as the woman nervously makes her way to the end of the table near the two men. The other soldier is behind me to my right.

The seated soldier starts speaking, and the woman translates when he is finished, "The… {I guess} Centurion {works}… want to know who you are."

"I am Centurion Major Mettius Bodenius of the New Imperial Army."

"{He says he's a part of the 'New Imperial Army',}" she says to the seated soldier. The other man asks her a question and she nods.

"Why you attack? We do nothing."

"Your country is helping the Loyalists. It's in our policy that anyone helping Loyalists troops or Populist rebels is to be treated as an enemy."

"{He says that we were helping} Loyalists, {which I guess might translate to loyal something or other, and that it is their orders to attack those who would help them. He also thinks we're part of Japan.}"

The soldier behind me snickers and the seated soldier gives him a look. The laughing dies fairly quickly, and the seated soldier speaks to the woman once more.

"We not part of country. We different country. Country you attack is {Japan}. We serve the {United States.}"

"What?"

"This is… {I'm not sure Latin has a word for 'Embassy', but} mission for the {United States}. The mission is this building. Everything outside it is a different country."

"So you mean to say, we attacked a nation unprovoked?"

"Yes."

"Damn it. So I got my men killed for nothing. That's fucking perfect."

"{He's upset. I'm guessing they're not allowed to attack neutral nations. You really think I should ask that? Alright}. What is goal? Why you attack people?"

"What do you mean by 'people'?"

"Not soldiers."

"We haven't?"

"Not you. Others."

When she says that, I understand. Fucking GP bastards.

"The ones attacking the civilians out there are members of the GP."

"'Geh Peh'?"

"Er… Gladii Praetorii. They're fanatics. I'm willing to bet, however, they've co-opted some of our own to help them with their dirty work."

"{He says the ones gunning down Japanese civilians are called 'Praetorian Swords'. They took control of some Imperial units and are having them help. Sirs, from the way they sound, it's almost like they're-}"

The woman doesn't finish as the seated soldier says a single word with such disdain and malice that I feel somewhat afraid. From the way it sounds, it's a name. I commit it to memory to ask about later.

The word he said was "Ess Ess".

Octavian R. Hirpinius, Miles, 2nd Company, Royal Army

When we finally reach where 'Ee-tom-ee' has been leading us, I'm in utter shock. What the fuck is wrong with the police here? Why would they keep the doors to the building shut? There's a group of our trucks nearby, and I can see at least one is unloading the Alnus evacuees. 'Ee-tom-ee' curses in his language and is running to the building.

"Move your ass, Vatia, unless you want me to shoot you and leave here?"

"I'm coming, by God, I'm coming. Why do you insist on shooting me so much?!"

"Jieitai yo hanarero!" 'Ee-tom-ee' constantly shouts as he moves through the crowd toward more police. I shout something similar at the evacuees, getting them to move.

When 'Ee-tom-ee' finally makes it to two policemen standing in a little shack, he looks pissed. I'm guessing these two are the ranking officers here.

"Kyūden no tobirawoakete, hitobito o-chū ni hairenakereba narimasen!"

"Anatahadaredesu ka?!" the older of the two officers questions in annoyance, the younger one looking just as annoyed, "Watashitachi no meirei ni shitagatte kudasai!"

"Vatia, stay by the building if you don't want to be torn apart. 'Ee-tom-ee'!"

"Yah?!"

"The trucks! I'm going to try and make a barrier in case more Reformists get here. I'll see if I can scrounge up some help!"

"Ittai dare-"

"Damatte doa o akero, jieitaida!"

I left 'Ee-tom-ee' there, moving outside and raising my voice, "ANYONE HERE ROYAL ARMY? I NEED A HAND!"

"HERE!"

"WHAT DO YOU NEED?!"

"WE NEED TO MAKE A BARRIER FOR THE CIVILIANS! WE CAN USE THE TRUCKS!"

"GOT IT! ERASINUS, YOU TAKE THE LEFT ONE, I GOT THE ONE NEXT TO IT!"

"I'LL GET THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE!"

As our little group moved toward the trucks, I heard a loud creak as the doors were finally opened. 'Ee-tom-ee' had done it! Another truck was pulling in when we moved the other trucks closer to the main entrance. Soldiers wearing strange armor and shields came out to greet us, and 'Ee-tom-ee' as well as a teenage girl were waiting next to the door. Vatia was being escorted by a pair of officers into the building's courtyard.

"Shinpaishinaidekudasai, senchō, karera wa watashitachi no mikatadesu." 'Ee-tom-ee' said to who I assumed was the leader of the soldiers. He bowed his head slightly. The girl rushed over to one of us, and I had to gape as I saw who it was!

"Cnaeus, you're alive?! I thought you bought it when the line broke!"

"Nearly did, but I got out in time. What about you though? I saw what happened to Titus and Aurelio. I was sure you ended up just like 'em!"

"A Decanus Major and his contubernium found me. We were at Evac Point One when that first truck went through."

"Talk later you two," Centurion Major Praetexta, another 2nd Company survivor, called, "we need to start setting up."

"Centurion Major, allow me. 'Ee-tom-ee'!"

"Torakku o shahei-mono to shite shiyō shimasu. Kimitachi wa tokubetsu kyūshū butai no ana o umete yaru!"

"What did he-"

"He wants us to use the trucks as cover, and the guys with the shields will be joining us. 'Ee-tom-ee', you joining us?"

"Hai! Ne~e, yobi no raifuru wa dōsureba ī no?"

"Hittsu motte ikimasu!" the girl said, snatching a rifle from the former soldier.

"Oioi, iya, anata wa chigaimasu!"

"Zan'nen'na! Sate, kore o dō yatte tsukaeba ī nodeshou ka?"

"Cnaeus, she's your girl."

"Shut it," Cnaeus mumbled as he walked over. He pointed to himself, then the rifle, then the girl. The girl nodded rapidly as she took a position next to him and another armored soldier.

"Hirpinius, you're with me and Optio Turpilias!"

"Understood! 'Ee-tom-ee'!"

"Hai!"

From there, we created a somewhat decent firing line. I was at first worried the soldiers with shields didn't have anything other than those, but they thankfully did. Some of the weapons were unfamiliar, but I can recognize pistols and submachine guns when I see them.

"Zōen wa itsu tōchaku shimasu ka?" 'Ee-tom-ee' asked one of the armored troops next to him.

"Ichigaya kara herikoputā goki ga mōsugu tōchaku suru hazuda. Sore ka saisho no rentai."

"Amerikahito wa dōdesu ka? Karera wa konai nodesu ka?"

"Soreha dekimasen. Karera no taishikan ga kōgeki o ukete imasu. Tadashi, karera wa atode kuru kamo shiremasen."

"You understand a word they're saying?" Optio Turpilias asked, turning to glance at me.

"No idea. I used hand gestures to help him understand me."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

Praetexta stiffened on my right, then shouted "REFORMISTS INBOUND! PREPARE TO FIRE!"

Fukaya Mitsu, Student

I'd never held a rifle before. The soldier I'd been with this whole time, Cnaeus, sped me through a quick course on how to use it. Part of me is wondering if this is all some weird dream or not. I'm still trying to figure it out when dark-gray shapes start appearing across the way. That's when I hear the order to fire, in two different languages.

"FIRE!"

"IACTA!"

The SAT officers armed with grenade launchers fired tear gas at the incoming soldiers first before we followed up with a round of rifle fire. I can't tell if I hit anything as the soldiers hit the tear gas. I see some reaching for something behind them. I watched one bring a small canvas bag around and pull out a gas mask. Other soldiers did the same, and as soon as they brought the masks out, they yanked them over their faces.

It was eerie seeing them move toward us with those masks on. They almost seemed… faceless. I pulled the bolt back on the rifle I held, watching the shot bullet fly out before pushing the bolt forward again. I fired again, and again I was unsure if I hit anyone. I saw a pair moving forward with a large gun and I immediately pointed it out to Cnaeus, and he paled.

"Facere! MACHINA VASA PROTELUM!"

"EDUC EOS ANTEQUAM EXPLICANT!"

Cnaeus fired at the pair, hitting one in the leg. I fired once again and watched the first person I ever shot disappear from sight. More shots peppered the trucks and the SAT members armed with shields.

"SHIT! WHERE THE FUCK IS THE SDF?"

"JUST KEEP HOLDING THEM BACK!"

"TESTUDINES!" one of the soldiers shouted before an explosion rocked the Imperial Palace gate.

I looked at where it came from and felt my body go cold. It was a tank! Smoke drifted away from the tank's barrel, and it started to lower toward the trucks. The gun next to the barrel started to fire, and I felt something slice my cheek. I yelped in pain before I was knocked down by an SAT member. I was about to yell at him to get off me when I saw the blood flowing from his throat!

"HELP! THIS GUY'S BEEN SHOT!"

"TRY TO STOP THE BLEEDING!"

I frantically ripped a part of my sleeve off and pushed it into the wounded SAT officer's throat. He gurgled and grasped my arm, fear evident in his eyes. Tears fell as I tried to desperately save the man. I heard something clatter to the ground behind. I turned around and watched as one of the soldiers from the other side of the structure fell back. There was a neat little hole just below the start of his hairline. Blood coated the grass and I fought to keep my lunch down when I noticed the blood on my unruined sleeve.

"ERASINUS IMO! FACERE REFORMATORES!"

Something roared overhead but I was too focused on the SAT member. His grip was getting weak and his eyes were growing dim. That was when someone else showed up and held my torn balled up sleeve down on the wound.

"You can stand back, I've got this."

I nodded and went to stand back up. That was when I saw the new person's uniform! It was a member of the JSDF! All around me vehicles appeared as the rotors of helicopters sounded above. I went to pick up my rifle when Cnaeus stopped me. He pointed to my leg. I went pale when I saw the trail of blood flowing from the hole in my shin. How had I not felt that? He came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder before moving me away from the line.

Kurokawa Mari, Staff Sergeant, Japanese Self-Defense Force

As I'm getting out of the Type 96, I noticed a pair moving away from the line of trucks in front of the Imperial Palace gate. One of them is a Japanese woman with a graze on her cheek and a bullet hole in her shin. The other is a soldier in a light-gray uniform and green helmet with a bloody shoulder. I wave them over and the soldier hesitates at first.

"I'm a medic!" I call to them, and the girl nods. She starts trying to walk over and the soldier helps her, though he still seems confused.

I take her other arm as they get close and wait for the APC to fully unload before setting her down on one of the seats. The soldier turns to leave.

"Where do you think you're going? You've been shot!"

"He doesn't speak our language, miss. None of the defenders or attackers do."

"Where did they come from?"

"From the Ginza district. There's a weird structure there. It's how this all started."

"Any other wounded I should worry about?"

"There's an SAT guy who's been shot through the neck. I'm not sure if he's getting help or not."

"Where?"

"In between those two trucks on the left."

I look over and see Kitamura already helping the down SAT member. I smile at the woman after reassuring her that the SAT member is being helped. She sighs in relief as I check her shin wound. There is an exit wound on the back of her leg so no need to worry about getting the bullet out. I start wrapping a bandage around the girl's leg.

"I'm Staff Sergeant Kurokawa Mari. You?"

"Mitsu Fukaya."

"What SDF unit are you with?"

"Oh… I'm not…"

"What?"

"I might… have been swept up in the moment?"

"Foolish girl! You could have been killed!"

"You try not doing anything when you watch those bastards out there killing people for no reason!"

"Estne aliquid mali?" the soldier asked, coming closer.

"What?" the language sounded familiar, but at the moment I was busy with the foolish girl.

"I'm guessing he wants to know if everything's ok. One sec," Mitsu replied before holding up an 'OK' sign. He nodded and backed away.

"Alright, I'm done here… and no more foolishness from you!"

"Fine. See if Cnaeus is alright before you go, please?"

"If Cnaeus is that soldier, I will. You rest."

Mitsu nodded and leaned back against the interior of the APC. I approached Cnaeus and tapped him on his uninjured shoulder.

"Hm? Possumne te adiuvare?"

"I'll be taking a look at that shoulder of yours. Mind sitting in the APC?" I ask, pointing to his shoulder and then the APC.

He nods and holsters a pistol that I hadn't seen before now. He walks over to the APC and sits down, fishing for something from one of his uniform breast pockets. He pulls out a small brown box that's the size of three fingers. He uses his thumb to open the end and shakes out a cigarette of all things. He sticks it in his mouth and starts padding his pockets, probably looking for a lighter. I decided to give him a hand.

"Let me," I tell him as I pull out my own lighter. I'd quit a while ago, but that doesn't mean I'd get rid of the lighter. One never knew when one might need it after all.

He quirked an eyebrow at the lighter before leaning forward slightly. He inhaled twice to light the cigarette before leaning back. He took the cigarette out and blew smoke to the side before looking at me with a grin, "Gratias."

"I guess that means 'thanks'. You're welcome."

Jaime Perez, Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps

"Gear up people, we've got the go ahead," the Gunnery Sergeant from earlier stated.

"To help the Japanese?"

"Yeah. The nosebleeds figured this shit out. The JSDF is coming around to pick us up."

"Rog' Gunny," we all chorused. I figured we were gonna sit this shit out.

"That them?" a Private asked. I could never remember that kid's name.

I did a double take when I saw the old looking truck pull up behind the JSDF APC. The driver of the truck jerked a thumb at the back. Gunny said nothing as a man wearing the same uniform reached a hand down to him. He took it without a word and sat down near the cab of the truck. I guess he was shocked that the JSDF was letting these guys help.

The soldier offered a hand to me next, and I took it. If we were gonna work with these guys might as well try to be nice. We took up most spots on the truck, and I had to wonder why there were only three of these guys. I noticed one of them holding an old-looking submachine gun and remembered he'd saved me.

"Hey Gunny, these guys speak Latin like the others?"

"Why?"

"I think this is the guy who saved my ass earlier!"

"What, you wanna thank him or some shit?"

"Well yeah."

"Alright then," the Gunny began before getting the submachine gunner's attention, "Heus tu. Subordinatus meus gratias agere vult, sed non potest loqui lingua tua."

"Hm," the gunner starts before giving a laugh and replying, "Dic ei quaestio non erat. Semper felix necet Reformatores!"

"He says 'no problem, he's always happy to kill Reformists'."

"Reformists? The fuck is he talking about?"

"The guys we're fighting? Way I understand it is this: they're fucking Nazis. They got their own Goddamn version of the SS too!"

"Which ones are the SS guys?"

"They'll have gold spears on their helmet and purple armbands!"

"Rog'!"

"Hey Gunny, any idea where we're stopping?" another Private, Taylor, asked as the gunner lit a cigarette.

"Somewhere near the 'Enbujo-Dori' street."

"FACERE MEUM!"

"What the shi- OH FUCK, TANK!"

"STOP THE TRUCK!" Gunny calls out as a tank shell whizzes just behind the APC. The truck reverses while the APC stops just ahead. Gunfire erupts as Reformist troops pop up beside the damn tank. Taylor takes a shot to his plate carrier and is thrown forward into the truck bed.

"EVERYONE OUT AND FIND COVER!"

The tank exploded when an Apache flew past. That was that threat taken care of. There were still Reformist troops to deal with though, so can't be all that thankful to the flyboy. I found myself next to the submachine gunner along with Franks, the other soldier like the gunner from the truck, Taylor, a pair of JSDF guys, and one of our Privates. The JSDF guys must have come from the APC.

"Taylor, you good?!"

"Yeah, but my back hurts like shit!"

"Taking a round does that."

"What we do now?" one of the JSDF guys asked as he pulled the bolt back on the Type 20 he's carrying.

"Try and get around them?" Franks asks me, and I nod, tapping the gunner on the shoulder.

"Quid vis? Videsne non me conari non mori?"

I point to him and make a circular motion with my finger, then ending with a thumb being jerked at the Reformists. He grins savagely as he nods. He points to me, Taylor, the other soldier, and one of the JSDF guys.

"Celsus, ducas. Non eris post te. Perge!"

"Ita Optio!" the other soldier, Celsus, says as he moves toward the corner of the café.

"Gunny, we're gonna flank these assholes, think you can cover us?"

"Yeah!"

"Franks, you and the others help him. Be back in a bit!"

"You better not fucking die asshat!"

"I'll be fine!" I call back as I follow the gunner.

Celsus stops at the corner and checks around the corner, jerking back as bullets spray the corner. The gunner cursed himself before turning to me and pointing to my rifle. I nod in understanding as I pass him and go behind Celsus.

"Ok dude, on three!" I say to him, holding up three fingers and shaking my rifle slightly. He nods and gets ready to run, "One, two, three!"

I started firing blindly down the alley, forcing the Reformist at the other end to swear loudly. Celsus sprints across and takes cover behind the wall on that side. He gives me an 'OK' sign before he mimes me shooting more. I nod and continue firing as he slings his rifle. He then pulls a stick grenade out of his belt and unscrews the cap on the bottom of it. He then pulls a string attached to the end of the grenade before tossing it down the alleyway.

The grenade goes off with a whump. Someone cries out from the end of the alleyway. I pie the corner and advance, the soldier on the other side covering me with his rifle. I make it all the down and stop just before the end. I keep my rifle raised before motioning to Celsus. Celsus says something to the others, and I hear them come up. The gunner walks up to my side and gives me a questioning look.

I pull out a grenade and he gets it immediately. He motions for the rest of the team to back up as I let the rifle fall. I pull the pin out and chuck it around the corner.

"DISPLODAR!" a few voices cry before my M67 goes off. Shrieks of pain and agony echo out afterward. We turn the corner and move toward the Reformists firing at the truck.

"FACERE, QUI SUNT ISTI?" a voice calls out from around the next corner. The gunner holds a hand up before pressing himself against the wall. We follow suite.

He thinks to himself for only a second before nodding and holding up his free hand. He holds up three fingers before lowering one. I nod and pass the word back to be ready to go around the corner. Once the last finger goes down, he's moving past the corner fast and I'm right behind him, my M4 going up and pointing at the nearest Reformist. The others are fanning out to our left until we have the entire line of Reformists in our sights.

"Heus Facacaputibus!"

The Reformists turn around and stiffen when they see us. One looks brave and goes to raise his rifle when I put a round through his eye. He crumples backward, and the others raise their hands immediately. I notice one of them has the golden spears on his helmet when I go up to take his weapon. As I'm deciding whether to just shoot the fanatic or break his nose, the gunner is walking up beside me. I turn to him and he's already got the submachine gun at hip-level.

He doesn't hesitate for a second as he lets off a burst from the submachine gun. I look down at the corpse and then back to the gunner. He still has that cigarette between his lips. He raises a hand to it before puffing out a cloud of smoke, "Nimium erat periculosum. Videsne?"

The gunner pointed to a pistol that's partially visible underneath the SS bastard's sleeve. I nod while lowering my rifle.

"Shit, that's the second time you were looking out for me, and I don't even know your name. Might as well change that. Name's Perez," I say as I hold a hand out to him. He glances at it before smirking slightly and grasping it.

"Turpilias."

Itami Yōji, Second Lieutenant, Japanese Self-Defense Force

The Reformatores were being steadily pushed back to the intersection where this whole mess began, which I now knew was Ginza Six-Chome. I was quite the sight. There wasn't exactly time to get me kitted up so I was wearing a hodgepodge of things. In short, I was now running around with a spare Type III vest and Type 88 helmet on top of my outfit, carrying a pistol and submachine gun from another world.

Octavian was still with me but now he was accompanied by an honest-to-God Cat Girl named Praetexta. He kept calling her a Centurion Minor, whatever that was, and seemed to defer to her. She was probably a higher rank than him. It is a little weird that she's also a soldier, given the time period the other world seems to be in. She's carrying the spare rifle I'd taken after we'd destroyed that tank.

We were part of a mixed unit of SDF, SAT, and American Marines. I could only imagine the headaches that were to come from today. I had no doubt the politicians were probably going to send us after the people responsible for killing so many. What I couldn't figure out was the Marines. Why were they allowed to join us? This was a Japanese problem. The Americans didn't interfere with that stuff unless it either A, involved China, Russia, or the North Koreans, or B, affected trade. Maybe they thought they could gain something by helping us out?

As we moved through the district, we passed by scenes that kept reminding me of Hellsing Ultimate. The final episodes in the anime to be more specific. Blood ran down the drains and fires burned in broken-into buildings. Bodies were slumped against some of the buildings and others lay in the road. Casings tinkled and clinked as we walked through the street.

As we passed by a convenience store, I heard sniffling. I stopped to be sure I wasn't hearing things. The sniffling was still there and was coming from the store. I made my way over after whispering to the others. An SAT officer and Octavian were behind me. There was no way to know what was inside the store, so I called out, "Self-Defense Force, call out if you can hear me!"

The sniffling stopped. All was quiet for a few seconds before I could hear muffled voices muttering inside the store. The door opened soon after, and a young man armed with a blood-stained bat stepped out, the bat raised high. He relaxed as soon as he saw me and the SAT guy. He hadn't seen Octavian yet.

"Thank God! We need help, my girlfriend's been shot!"

"Slow down. How many people are in there?"

"Six of us. We hid when the soldiers came by and did… this. We thought they left, but apparently one stayed behind. He came into the store and tried to shoot up the place when he saw us. I… got him though. Would've taken his gun but it went under one of the shelves."

"Where was your girlfriend hit?"

"Her knee. She can't stand up without collapsing."

"Got it. Kitamura!"

"Moving!"

Our medic went inside the store. As he passed a shelving unit, I spotted a lone black boot sticking out from it. Must have been the Reformatores soldier the young man killed.

"Can you tell us anything else? How many there were when they passed? Where were they going?"

"I think it was about eight, but I didn't get a good look. We had to hide quick. It sounded like they were chasing those still outside. Oh God, the palace! They-"

"Don't worry, the palace is fine. They're being pushed back. Stay here for a sec, I need to speak with Kitamura."

The young man nodded, allowing me past as the SAT guy tried getting more info. Octavian stood by the door as I went in. He was scanning the streets, probably watching for any incoming Reformatores. Part of me wondered how many were still loose out in the city. Another part, a larger one, told me to focus on what I was doing.

The interior of the store was fairly dark. Thankfully I remembered where the dead Reformatores was. As I stepped over him, I caught a glance at his face, the part that hadn't been destroyed by the bat. The bat had done some serious damage to be sure.

"Christ…" I muttered as I glimpsed the damage, before moving past that to study the dead man's face.

If I had to guess, the man was in his late thirties, early forties. There was a scar that ran from the side of his cheek that extended to his ear lobe. His dented helmet did nothing to hide his dark hair. There was a hint of a stubble on his chin, underneath his thin graying mustache. I didn't see any golden spears on his helmet, so he wasn't like the guys who held me, Umeki, and those two girls at gunpoint.

"Second Lieutenant?" Kitamura's voice cut in, pulling me away from the dead man.

"Huh? Oh, Kitamura, sorry about that. I came in to tell you to escort the civilians back to the palace once you're done here. Once there, see if you can help anyone else in the palace. I know a few had wounds."

"Roger!"

I nodded once and turned to leave, glancing at the body once again before fully exiting. The young man passed me on the way out. I glanced at the SAT guy questioningly.

"The kid says he may have heard a pair of tanks earlier, possibly even another truck."

"Another one? Let me ask Octavian something real quick."

The SAT guy nodded before I turned to Octavian, who was already looking at me.

"Do you know how many trucks went through?

He gave me a confused look before I remembered to mime out the general shape of the trucks. He nodded and thought to himself for a second before he spoke, holding up eight fingers. "Uh... Puto octo aliquet pervenisse antequam huc adveni? Non sum vere certus."

"Okay, eight trucks… and there were five at the palace… that means there's still two out in the city, since from what Fukaya said one got taken out already. We'll need to notify the higher ups to be on the lookout. Could be more help. Maeno!"

"Yes Second Lieutenant?"

"Get on the radio and tell everyone to be on the lookout for two more trucks. Apparently eight came through the structure."

"Roger," she replied, talking into her helmet mic as I went to the head of our little squad.

"Alright everyone, we're going to continue forward! Be on the lookout for two more trucks!" I started, those who spoke English relaying my words to the Americans, "We also need to watch out for more tanks! Have grenades ready to go if we come across one and the flyboys are too busy!"

Some of the group groaned at that, and I couldn't blame them.

Cantia P. Adaucta, Centurion Minor, Mage Corps, 3rd Company, Royal Army

"DAMMIT!" I yelled as a round passed through the truck bed and scraped my leg. It was bad enough when a Reformist testudo knocked our vehicle over, now we're dealing with an entire centuria minor bearing down on us.

The few civilians we were escorting were inside nearby buildings, the occupants letting them in when the truck was flipped. Some of the GP members I saw had tried to fire into the buildings. A fireball stopped them from doing so, followed by a burst from the M1914 Julian and Amulius, the Decanus I'd met in Alnus, had scrounged up at Evac Point One. They hadn't found much ammo for it.

On the plus side, they had gathered a few anti-testudo grenades. Good thing too. My mana still wasn't back up to full strength after the Castus. A few of those took care of our testudo problem. That still left the Reformist infantry to deal with.

"MAG!" Amulius called as he quickly yanked the empty magazine out. He then reached up and took a new mag from Julian. Once the transfer was done, Julian was on his feet and firing an M1935 he'd taken from a dead Reformist. He didn't have many magazines for it either, only carrying five thirty-round magazines.

The short three-to-four round bursts he let off at the approaching centuria minor were slowing them down. The real thing keeping them back, however, was the M1914 and its ridiculous rate of fire. Most light-machine guns made around the same time were usually supposed to be around five or six hundred rounds per minute, not eight hundred.

The only issue was the amount of ammo it consumed. Amulius had started out with over one hundred sixty rounds in four forty-round box magazines, not counting the one already in the gun. I'd always hated that about the M1914s. It's why, back during my time in boot camp as a mage apprentice, I'd stuck to the smaller stuff, like my pistol carbine.

More rounds zipped by. I heard a grunt and looked beside me. Julian was hit! There was a ragged hole in his side, near his forearm. I grabbed hold of the back of his uniform and dragged him away from the edge of the truck. Blood was flowing rapidly from the wound. I sent a short prayer to God before trying to stop the bleeding.

"I NEED A NEW MAG!"

"I CAN'T LET GO OR JULIAN WILL BLEED OUT!"

"DAMMIT! JULIAN, WHERE'S YOUR GUN?!"

"N-near my l-left foot…" Julian responded; his voice already weak from the blood loss.

"WHAT?!"

"NEAR HIS LEFT FOOT!"

Amulius dashed past me and snatched the dropped submachine gun. He took the magazine out, inspected how much was left in it, then slammed it back in the gun. He smacked the bottom to make sure it was seated before letting off a burst. I have no idea if he hit anyone, as I was too focused on Julian.

I heard feet rushing behind me, and I found myself quite calm. A strange feeling to be sure. Then again, considering I was probably going to die when the people moving toward us got here, I guess I just accepted my fate. I never let the pressure off of Julian's wound though. Maybe the Reformist commander would be kind?

I was shocked when I heard the sound of bodies hitting the truck. I looked up and couldn't keep the grin off my face. It was our guys! We might have a chance to survive this yet!

"TERTIUS AND ICILA, GET ON THAT FOURTEEN! VIBIUS, SEE TO HIM!" One of them, a Centurion Major judging from his uniform, called as he came to a stop next to Amulius.

A hand on my shoulder forced me to look back at its owner. I let go as soon as I saw the Rod of Asclepius symbol on his helmet. He quickly opened his medical bag with one hand as he pushed his other hand onto the wound. Julian hissed in pain, but I wasn't worried. He was in far more capable hands than mine.

"YOU A MAGE?"

"YES, BUT MY MANA IS STILL LOW. HAD TO TAKE OUT A CASTUS EARLIER."

"SHIT. DO YOU STILL HAVE A WEAPON?"

"YEAH, BUT I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF AMMO."

"THAT WON'T BE A PROBLEM. WHEN WE CLEAR THESE BASTARDS OUT, PICK ONE OF THEIRS UP. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD, CENTURION MINOR?"

"YES SIR!"

He smirked before issuing signals to a pair of Miles. They had a pair of grenades tucked into their uniform belts. They both nodded and set their weapons on the truck. Both pulled one grenade each and primed them. They then tossed them out toward where the center of the Reformist assault should be. I heard a pair of booms before they were each drowned out by a much louder noise. It was a chopping noise, and my mouth fell open when I looked up at the vehicle making the noise.

The vehicle's body was about half the size, to my eyes anyway, of our Monachus bombers. It was painted with a dissimulare pattern all over. There was, however, a small symbol near the tail of the vehicle. I could only see it from the reflection of the glass on the building to my left. It was a red ball surrounded by a white circle. Perhaps it was a unit insignia? There were three wheels on the vehicle, similar to a plane. That was all that was familiar to me.

The vehicle was obviously a flying one, yet it managed to hover in place. It managed to fly with what looked like large blades in the center and smaller blades at the rear of it. It had a pair of small wings above large cylinders next to what looked like rockets. There was a massive gun underneath the vehicle's cockpit. Our fighting seemed to cease as it hovered there.

"What in the name of God is that thing?" I heard a Reformist say.

Another one snarled before shouting, "It's gotta belong to the Loyalists' allies here! Shoot it down!"

The battle resumed and ended just as quickly. As soon as the Reformists opened fire on the flying vehicle, it shot back. The casings from its gun fell behind us. When I glimpsed the shells that lay on the ground, I was horrified. They were an uncia long and about the same actus across. The street was going to be quite bloody after it stopped shooting, I thought, remembering the time I'd seen bodies torn apart by a point seven uncia gun.

The flying vehicle sped away as quickly as it appeared. My ears began to ring loudly, to the point that I could hear nothing else. The men who had a clear line of sight on the remains of the Reformist forces were slack-jawed. I found myself torn between wanting to see the devastation and staying behind the truck. That indecision left me the only one able to see the approaching vehicles, if not hear them. I felt myself sag in relief. The vehicles clearly didn't belong to the Reformists.

Kurokawa Mari, Staff Sergeant, Japanese Self-Defense Force

The Type 96's ramp lowered, and the scene it revealed was a bloodbath. There was a group of friendly soldiers, Loyalists, if I remembered correctly from what Cnaeus had said. I'd managed to figure out why the language was familiar as he talked. It was only a guess, but if I had to put yen down on it, I'd say it was Latin. Medical school made learning it a necessity. Granted, I can barely remember most of the words, but I can at least speak a little Latin.

It also helps that Cnaeus is still with us. He was in the truck that was trailing behind us, which was carrying a few Marines as well as a pair of SAT members. The majority of the SAT were back at the palace. It was a precautionary measure, in case the Reformatores attacked again. That word didn't translate all that well. If I remembered right, I believed it meant "Nation" or "National", but I could be wrong.

I heard a person moaning, and my instincts as a medic kicked in. I rushed out of the Type 96 and searched for the source. I found the injured person quickly. He was being tended to by a soldier wearing a white armband with a blue Asclepius Rod in the center. Guessing he was the Loyalists' equivalent of a medic, I moved toward him, calling Cnaeus's name.

"{Something you need, ma'am}?" he asked as he came up beside me,

I looked over at him and spoke in broken but hopefully understandable Latin, "{That two. I want help. Tell I healer, yes}?"

"{Right. Be back in a bit ma'am}," he replied as he jogged toward the medic. The two began conversing, and as they did, I glanced at the soldiers who stood around in stupefied awe. I couldn't blame them of course. They'd just seen their enemies get torn apart by a 30mm from a helicopter, which they'd likely never seen before coming to Japan. One of them stood out though.

The woman amongst the group of soldiers was wearing a different uniform. Her uniform seemed like something officers from World War One or Two would wear. It was the same color as the others, but rather than a helmet and normal trousers, she had a peaked cap and a pair of breeches. There was a crown emblem in the center of the cap. Below it was a teal circle. There were strips with that same color on the lapels of her uniform jacket and tie. She was sagging against the overturned truck, watching Cnaeus and the Medic converse.

Speaking of the two, I saw the medic nod before Cnaeus turned and gave an "OK" gesture. I nodded with a smile and hustled over. The man, really more a teenager, was groaning in pain as I got down to the same level as the medic, digging into my own medical supplies.

"{He hit more? Yes? No}?" I started, pulling out a Chest Seal to place on the teen's chest. Hopefully my so-so Latin would be understandable. Thankfully, it was.

"{No}."

"{Good. Wound closed. Blood lost, yes? No}?"

"{Yes, but it wasn't much. You can thank the} Magos {for that}."

"{Good. Hospital close. More help. I lead, yes}?"

"{Yes! Where is the hospital? How many} mille?"

Mille… miles? Since we're going to Clinic N near Showa-dori Avenue… that meant three-fifty meters from here. In miles that would be… "{Point two} Mille."

"{Great! Let's move right away! Bed}!" the Loyalist medic called out before a pair of soldiers near the end of the truck unfolded a stretcher.

"Sergeant Kurokawa?" a JSDF member from the Type 95, Lieutenant Moriya, asked as he noticed us.

"This guy's wounded, sir. We're taking him to Clinic N. It shouldn't take long."

"Copy. ETA?"

"Twenty minutes total. Ten to get there and ten to get back here."

"We can't wait that long. Meet back up with us around the Lazare Diamond Boutique on Chuo-Dori."

"Roger that. See you there, Lieutenant."

"Alright people, we're pushing to the boutique. Heads on a swivel!"

A chorus of "Roger" rang out as I lead the four Loyalists to the clinic.

Lars H. Biticus, Centurion, 7th Company, New Imperial Army

"They're coming back around!" Miles Placus called as the scream of engines shook the buildings surrounding our little group.

"FIND COVER!" I yelled, throwing myself down as the impossibly fast airplane shot overhead once more. Screams and cries sounded out as it fired on us again. I heard a pair of rifles and even an M1935 go off, most likely in an attempt at revenge.

"Cease fire, cease fire! Damn thing's already out of range. Who's still up?"

A Decanus approached, my Optio having been torn to shreds already. We'd been stuck here for the past several minutes. That plane was keeping us pinned here, no doubt to allow it's ground based fellows the opportunity to surround us. Damn it. We should've let the evacuees go. We already had control of the evac area. What was the point of chasing them down and executing them? That was a job for the GP, not us real soldiers.

Of course, we'd been swept up in the charge through… whatever the fuck that structure was. When I came through, the place we came out to was a damn bloodbath. Leave it to the GP to make a Goddamned mess of things as usual. Didn't help that the trucks were speeding away. We'd had to chase after them with the GP after that. Wherever we went, the GP were right behind us, gunning down civilians and disregarding the ROE from the Algunan Convention. Those rules were put in place for a reason, dammit. We don't need a repeat of the Great War's horrors.

"Third and Fourth contubernia are still up, sir. As for the rest… Second, Fifth, and Sixth are done, and the First are at about fifty percent effective. I don't think we can keep going, sir, not with that damn plane on our asses."

"Unacceptable," a new voice, that of the GP officer in charge of the unit we'd followed, snarled as he approached, "We will not be stopped by a single plane. The Emperor's wishes will be carried out to the letter. I don't care if you and your men have to bleed yourselves dry! We will continue forward."

My eyes narrowed at that. This young fanatic son of whore was willing to waste the lives of my men for what? Killing civilians to satiate the blood lust he thought he could hide behind rhetoric? Fuck that noise. My hand crept down to the holster on my hip and undid the flap over the M1932 inside.

"Centurion Minor?" I asked as I drew the pistol. When he turned, I didn't hesitate. A small pop and the GP officer crumpled. His men were raising their own weapons before they were gunned down by my own men. I wish I could say I felt bad about doing this to my own countrymen, but I'd been fighting my own countrymen for the past four years already.

Populists, Loyalists… now my fellow Reformists. What does that make me, a traitor? If keeping the men under my charge alive is considered treason, then why am I fighting for this new Empire? I signed up to restore the glory of Sadera, not get men killed for a petulant little boy who has issues with his father.

"Is the plane coming back around?"

"Should be any second now."

"Very well. Toss down your weapons, boys. There's no point in getting ourselves slaughtered."

I hoped to God this worked. Hopefully these people understood the concept of surrender. Hard to know since all communication between our guys and us disappeared as soon as we crossed over. I heard the roar of engines once more and flinched, waiting for the maelstrom of bullets to tear us apart. I opened my eyes carefully when the plane shot past overhead. I breathed a sigh of relief before lowering one of my hands to fish for my quisquette pack.

Just as I placed one of them in my mouth, the sound of engines approaching us from our right caused me to toss it on the ground. I stomped it into oblivion before stashing the pack back in my pocket. Didn't need some Loyalist stealing my last pack!

I recognized the truck that stopped a good distance away from us as one of the evacuation trucks, but the men sitting in the back weren't evacuees. A few of them were Loyalist troops. The others, though? I guessed they belonged to this place's military. Odd bunch of uniforms though. Was it three separate branches?

"DON'T SHOOT, WE'RE UNARMED!" I shouted, waving my arms for emphasis. The truck halted a few actus away. The men riding inside hopped out and had their weapons on almost as soon as they'd hit the ground.

One of the soldiers from the truck, wearing a dissimulare patterned uniform and helmet, whistled before speaking, his hands indicating the bodies of the GP around us. The other soldiers shrugged while they approached us. An Optio appeared from the group, holding an M1917 on me in particular. He was smoking his own quisquette.

He glanced at the bodies with a raised eyebrow. "You do this?"

I nodded. He grunted then lowered the submachine gun, motioning towards one of the buildings surrounding us. "Take your men inside that building. I'll be leaving a guard to watch you, so don't try any shit. Celsus!"

"Sir!"

"Watch these guys. Any of 'em pulls some kind of shit, kill 'em. Friendlies should be here soon to help you."

"Yes sir! Alright you lot, into the building! Move!"

I moved towards the building, Celsus keeping his rifle on us. I glanced at the soldiers already moving back to the truck, the Optio in particular. He hoisted the M1935 I'd dropped as he set the M1917 down. He noticed me, or rather the magazine pouches I was wearing, and called out.

I stopped where I was and turned back to him, already knowing what he wanted. Places like Alnus didn't get the latest weaponry due to how far they were down the logistics line. He was going to need some magazines for his new weapon. I undid the belt that held the pouches in place and held it out to him.

"Might as well speed this part up," I said to him as he grasped the belt. He nodded and I let go. We both walked away, and for the first time in a long time, I questioned if I had been on the right side.

Itami Yōji, Second Lieutenant, Japanese Self-Defense Force

We were close. The structure was only a couple of blocks away. My mind began to wonder about what would happen once we'd taken it. I had no doubt we'd be crossing over into the world on the other side, if for no other reason than eliminating a threat that is literally on our doorstep. That would require a lot, and would also most likely take a lot of time to gather. Time that we don't have considering how fast it took for the invaders to make it to the Imperial Palace. Would that mean we'd need to leave a force over there strong enough to support Octavian's people?

At that point, could we be called a Self-Defense Force if we sent troops? Granted, the land is technically a part of Japan, but it's an entire world on the other side. A world that is already advanced enough that given enough time, they'd become as formidable as our world is already. We could never police all that, despite the right-wingers' ideas. That's not even getting into the Americans and their involvement. We can't exactly cut them out of this. They invested their own men into this already, though I still don't know why. Not even the Marines with me knew that.

I pulled the bolt back on the submachine gun, checking to see that it had chambered a round, just so I could think about something else. I couldn't get it out of my head that this gun looked a lot like the submachine guns the FREAKs used during the siege of London. God, I gotta stop watching Hellsing Ultimate. I mean, I'd watched the series over ten times now, but that was because there was nothing else to watch. I'd already watched the other anime I had multiple times.

"Lieutenant Itami!" the voice of a man I despised with a passion called to me. Of all the JSDF, I got saddled with Moriya…

"Moriya. Seen any bad guys lately?" I asked casually as I let go of the submachine gun's bolt handle.

"They're still falling back to Six-Chome. Thankfully, they don't have anymore tanks to throw our way. Bad news is the ones falling back are mostly the fanatics. My guess is they want to keep the structure so they can get reinforcements."

"No shit, captain obvious."

Moriya thankfully either didn't hear my comment or didn't care at this point. He motioned behind him and both his squad and an entirely new force appeared. The new force was all made up of Octavian's people, but my eyes boggled at the sight of a few of them. They were clearly not entirely human.

Two of them had warpaint on their faces, and a pair of long rabbit ears sticking out from a pair of holes in the field caps they wore. There were a pair of kukri-style knives hanging on their hips. I thought I could see small tails sticking out of their uniform trousers too. Another was far more human looking, the only real difference distinguishing him as not human were the long, pointed ears he had. It was clear to me that the soldier was an elf. Another was just like Praetexta, only male this time.

Most of them were armed with either a rifle like the one Octavian carried or a submachine gun like I carried. A pair of them were lugging what looked like a simplified and shorter MG-3. Another, a woman in a very different uniform compared to the rest, was carrying a pistol carbine. I also noticed a few of the stick grenades mixed in here or there amongst that group.

"From what I've heard, the fanatics have the intersection covered from all sides. The plan is that our helicopters soften them up first, before we move in. We'll the mop them up and get everything squared away. We're to act as the first line of defense until a better equipped force gets here."

"Define 'better equipped'."

"Tanks, and a lot more of our guys, and from what I've heard, a few platoons of Marines from Okinawa. They won't get here until later, obviously, but our guys should be enough in the short term."

"Lovely. So we'll have to hold our positions for what, three hours minimum?"

"Most likely."

"And what about these guys? It's their world on the other side. Are we supposed to keep them here?"

"I haven't gotten any orders on what to do with them."

"Great. That's great. This is turning into even more of a clusterfuck than it was already."

Just as Moriya was about to retort, we heard gunfire coming from the intersection. Someone must have gone ahead without waiting! That was when our radios crackled and a new voice spoke.

"[All stations this net, move in! We have friendly elements inside the intersection's center!]"

Lucas Parker, Specialist, California National Guard

The Bradley started firing as soon as it was out of the structure. Thomas went down almost immediately, a bullet blowing his helmet off. I snapped my rifle up and fired twice at the shooter. The man shrieked and toppled over, the rifle in his hands clattering behind him. Our platoon was fanning out across the structure's front while being supported by the poor bastards who'd been holding the damn thing from the other side.

I was still amazed by that. The sheer number of bodies that had littered the defensive works and ground was unreal. It was like I'd stepped into a World War II flick. A good chunk of our guys were still clearing the town on the other side of the structure. That had to be worse than this. There were a lot of bad guys and worse guys around. God only knows how these guys managed to hold the structure after the first time their line got broken.

My radio crackled with the sound of both Japanese and Marine chatter. They were going apeshit for obvious reasons. That didn't stop the guys nearby from joining in the fight though. I watched as a sheer wave of Marines, light gray uniformed troops, JSDF, and fucking Japanese SWAT charge towards us. Helicopters hovered above us. One dude stood out the most from the wave.

He was a slender man with scruffy brown hair wearing civilian clothing, on top of which was a vest and a helmet, firing a submachine gun at the worse guys. Guess the guy had been off-duty when all this shit went down. By the time the rest of our guys were through the structure, the battle was over.

Shouts and cries for medics were mixed in with roars of triumph from the light gray troops. I felt a hand on my shoulder and came face to face with a Marine Lance Corporal.

"How in the Hell did you get here?" he asked, and I noticed the nametag on his uniform said 'Perez'.

"Wait, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"This isn't the only structure."

"What?"

"There's five of them."

After Action Report for "The Battle Between Worlds"

Combatants (Friendly): Royal Army of Sadera, United States Marine Corps, United States National Guard, Japanese Self-Defense Force, Australian Defense Force, Canadian Army, Republic of Korea Army

Combatants (Enemy): New Imperial Army, Gladii Praetorii

Date of Battle: June 16th, 2024 CE (Iunis 16th, 1937 AFSE for the Saderans)

Location: Alnus Town, Kingdom of Sadera; Tokyo, Japan; Los Angeles, California, United States of America; Daegu, Republic of Korea; Brisbane, Australia; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Casualties (Friendly): Royal Army of Sadera: 2,600; US Forces: 345; JSDF: 607; ADF: 200; ROKA: 400; Canadian Army: 500; Civilians (Across Each Nation): 8,571

Casualties (Enemy): New Imperial Army: 10,356; Gladii Praetorii: 4,960

Prisoners: New Imperial Army: 4,201; Gladii Praetorii: 40

Outcome:

-Overwhelming Victory for the Royal Army of Sadera

-Involvement of multiple Earth Nations in the Saderan Civil War

-Escalation of Saderan Civil War

-Outbreak of the First Inter-World War

Coinciding Events:

-Mitai Empire allies with New Saderan Empire, alongside the Urlan Dominion and Qarte

-Rondel Confederation annexed

-Grand Alliance grows increasingly concerned with New Saderan Empire, establishes multiple embargos

-Second Great War draws closer

Glossary

- Centurion Minor = Equivalent to Second Lieutenant Rank

- Miles = Equivalent to Private Rank

- Decanus Major = Equivalent to Specialist Rank

- Purgatio = Cleansing. The Cleansings began in secret in 1931 AFSE, after the formation of the Imperial Reformist Movement, or Reformists, before becoming increasingly public until the August 1935 Coup.

- Centurion = Equivalent to First Lieutenant

- Cohort = An old Saderan military formation, resurrected by the Gladii Praetorii. It is equivalent to a Company in terms of size and strength.

- Gladii Praetorii = Swords of the Praetorians, or Praetorian Swords. Formed in 1928 AFSE after the attempted assassination of then Prince Zorzal El Caeser, the Praetorians were present at every major Reformist rally before the first phase of the Saderan Civil War broke out, in 1933. The Praetorian Swords were established in 1934, in anticipation of the August 1935 Coup.

- Primus Major = Equivalent to Colonel Rank

- Centurion Major = Equivalent to Captain Rank

- quisquette = the Falmartese version of cigarette, first created in 1883 AFSE. Tobacco itself was transferred earlier, around 4 BFSE, when the GATE was summoned by the Gods of the Special Region. The Gods have since ceased interfering with world affairs, though the last appearance of apostles was around 493 AFSE.

- Optio Major = Equivalent to Sergeant Major Rank

- mille = A Saderan measurement, based upon the ancient Roman Mile, which is 0.919 Imperial Miles.

- testudo/testudines = The Falmartese version of Tanks, introduced during the First Great War (1910-1916).

- contubernium/contubernia = Equivalent to a ten-man Squadron

- uncia = A Saderan measurement, based on the ancient Roman Inch, which is 0.971 Imperial inches.

- Decanus = Equivalent to Corporal Rank.

- Optio = Equivalent to Sergeant Rank.

- Capere = The Saderan word for Coup D'etat.

- pedes = A Saderan measurement, equivalent to the ancient Roman foot, which is 0.971 Imperial feet.

- Miles Major = Equivalent to Private First Class.

- Reformator/Reformatores = Reformists.

- dissimulare = Saderan word for Camouflage.

- Thermo = Saderan version of a café.

Please let me know if I missed any.

Author's Note:

Been a minute, huh? Had this idea for a while and finally decided to put it to paper. I will admit I may have gone a bit overboard with it… I will start working on the next chapters of my other works when I can, so most likely it will be another week before the others are updated.