Story: Black Dawn - Freedom's Vengeance
Storylink: s/13364295/1/
Category: Gate - Jietai Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Author: JB6156
Authorlink: u/9846195/
Last updated:
Words: 82764
Rating: T
Status: In Progress
Content: Chapter 1 to 15 of 15 chapters
Source:
Summary: Nearly a century of conflict has left the world near the brink of total anarchy and collapse, with America being one of the last few remaining bastions for democracy. Beaten, battered, but unbroken, the world's only superpower soldiers on to keep freedom's light shining for future generations. But her patience and empathy can have limits, what will drive them over the edge...?
*Chapter 1*: IntroAuthor's foreword: Before beginning, I wish to clarify my stance and direction I've decided to take. This work is inspired by the series "Gate: Thus, the JSDF Fought There," and thus contains major plot deviations, and all names are changed to original ones. I've read some other "Gate" fanfics, and I personally feel that many plots are held back, too afraid to get down & dirty and trying too hard to be the good guy. For any progress made in those plots, I felt that many are either incremental at best and misdirected at worst. I've decided to take a more direct approach, one where clear goals are set and the gloves come off.
Disclaimers: Some names used are taken from real-world sources. This work also draws inspiration and elements from various sources including the "Call of Duty" series, Ubisoft's "Ghost Recon," "Splinter Cell," and "Gate: Jietai Kano Chinite, Kaku Tatakaeri" by Takumi Yanai, Electronic Arts, as well as other miscellaneous sources.
I do not own any of these works and all rights go towards their respective owners.
This work will use FantasyNameGeneratos for certain names, Google Translate for various languages, and miscellaneous sites for other various content.
Links to pictures may be provided to provide visual reference.
Gate Black Dawn – Freedom's Vengeance
Introduction
The year is 2104, and World War Three has finally ended. In its wake, the old world order has crumbled, ushering in an era of growing uncertainty and anarchy. And yet, even while the wounds are being licked and the ashes of war still smolder, evil rears its vile head at every available opportunity.
A new age in global terrorism.
A third Cold War.
The emergence of rogue nations.
Old alliances strained to the breaking point, with new ones taking their place.
Even the world's superpower doesn't emerge from the fallout unscathed, with America itself falling victim to regime change, civil war, and revolution.
While the dark side humanity never seems to rest, slivers of hope still shine amidst the darkness of night. Through decades of uneasy peace, fraught with fears of conflict and sporadic flare-ups, humanity can instead focus on rebuilding itself anew. Beaten, battered, but unbroken, mankind has always pulled through and rebuilt itself, and now may finally have the opportunity to right its wrongs.
But time waits for no man, and fate can be a cruel harbinger to those unprepared…
A portal opens up in New Atlimas, and from it, outpoured legions of a medieval army and mystical fantasy creatures; their sole intent: conquest. With their hard-fought-for peace cruelly snatched away, the war-weary troops of the United States have no choice but to bring justice and avenge the fallen.
However, the past century of events has reshaped the very fabrics of society, and not always for the better.
The continuing advancement of robotics continuing to further blur the line between man and machine, with an increasing reliance reducing the need for human soldiers, thus finally breaking humanity's monopoly on war.
Terrorism frighteningly becoming more commonplace, even becoming a de facto, expected aspect of daily life in certain places.
A world ravaged for nearly a century by three different kinds of war. People increasingly finding themselves divided and lacking in sympathy. An unexpected event.
And amidst the maelstrom, a mysterious individual, tormented by his dark and turbulent past, is among those chosen to go once more unto the breach. He must lead others, and himself, as a moral anchor in an apathetic and fractured world.
Could this incident be the final straw for upholding morals, law & order? The final nail in the coffin for diplomacy? Can the United States hold on to its sanity & retain even an inkling of civility towards those that wronged them? Or will the obligating chains of civility be shaken off and the beast be unleashed, fully embracing humanity's dark side to accomplish a greater good…?
Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war…
*Chapter 2*: GlossaryAuthor's note: This work feature a wide variety of equipment and weapons, and many are based on reality and future concepts. I've decided to list them all here for convenience sake and future reference. Some entries may not be mentioned here to due fringe involvement in the novel, while others are mentioned only here.
Equipment/systems
Tactical Communications And Protection System-3 (TCPAS-3): Earbuds that provide hearing protection, communication, and can serve as an acoustic amplifier. Can be used wirelessly and be integrated into the wider network.
military/weapons/a21215/the-us-army-is-pushing-superhuman-hearing-to-soldiers/
SenSys ComCentr4: An upgraded version of the same product. Features a slimmer design and an integrated, independent power supply.
en/revision-introduces-new-tactical-communications-headset-system-at-ausa
Tactical Augmented Reality 2 (TAR2): Tactical protective glasses integrated with networking capabilities giving wearers real-time info of the battlespace.
watch?v=x8p19j8C6VI
Fluid Combat Uniform(FCU): This next-generation set of clothing consists of a jacket and pants. Made from hydrophobic, flame-retardant materials, the uniform's main selling point is the its ability that allow it to automatically or manually change its color scheme to match the surrounding environment. A database of camo schemes is included with a small wristband that's linked to the uniform, allowing the user to control its color scheme. A variant for special forces is comprised of light-bending metamaterials to render the user "invisible." Imbedded with carbon nanotubes that enable the fabric to self-heal.
SecondSkin: Designed to be worn under the FCU and work in conjunction with it, this hydrophobic, flame-retardant form-fitting full body glove features full climate control, embedded muscle fibers for enhanced strength, kinetics gel to absorb blunt force trauma, imbedded meta-materials for camo control in conjunction with the ACU, all built upon a graphene matrix.
extreme/195089-graphene-body-armor-twice-the-stopping-power-of-kevlar-at-a-fraction-of-the-weight
DragonSkin III: A body armor system built on the original premise. Instead of using circular, silicon-carbide disks & laminates, this system utilizes hexagonal graphene disks, with the option of using side inserts, and covers a wider body area than the Interceptor system. Can include shoulder pads and greaves for the legs and arms for additional protection.
wiki/Dragon_Skin
External Operation System 9 (XOS-9) Exosuit (based on "Advanced Warfare" exosuit): The ultimate gold standard of military exoskeleton technology, and standard for the United States military. Powered by a hybrid system of hydrogen fuel cells and a kinetics system that converts motion to power, the suit can be fitted with multiple attachments such as expandable shields, grenade launchers, grappling lines, and can be fitted with graphene plates on the legs, shoulders, and arms for added protection. Usually fitted with a rocket packs for added mobility. Exo Launcher can fire a single 40mm grenade up to 200 meters.
QTX-101 Stryker (appearance of Synaptic): A bipedal, humanoid combat robot, mass-produced to supplement human soldiers. Can be folded and fit into shipping containers for easy transport and deployment. Also commonly referred to as "Grunts."
wiki/General_Purpose_Infantry_Unit
wiki/Synaptic
QTX-309 Reaper: An upgraded version of QH-101 Strykers, featuring an integrated gatling gun and micro-missiles. Because of the higher levels of AI needed to operate, this particular model sometimes displays signs of sentience.
wiki/Experimental_War_Robot-115_
QTX-409i Enhanced Tactical Humanoid 4th Revision: This humanoid robot utilizes a learning optical neural-AI and programmed with a personality construct. This allows the android to observe and learn much like a human, and the personality construct allows much faster integration into any unit. Because of its independence and ability to adapt, this model can be used to command other humanoid combat robots in place of humans.
wiki/E3N_
Munitions
M71 Mk2 Enhanced Tactical Multi-Purpose Grenade (ET-MP): Allows choice of fragmentation and concussion effects, is ambidextrous, and cylindrical-shaped. Frag mode has kill radius of 10m, while concussion mode has a kill radius of 2m and blast radius of 6m. Can be launched from Exo Launcher, single/multiple grenade launcher, or manually.
. .mil/article-amp/175189/picatinny_develops_next_generation_of_hand_grenade
M73 Mk3 9-Bang Flashbang Grenade: Can produce a single flash, or be fully charged to produce nine consecutive detonations. Effective blast radius of 20m. Cylindrical and can be fired from Exo Launcher, single/multiple grenade launchers, or manually.
M75 Mk2A1 Thermobaric Grenade: Fuel air explosive (FAE) grenade, effective radius of 8m. Cylindrical and can be fired from Exo Launcher, single/multiple grenade launcher, or manually.
. .mil/article-amp/175189/picatinny_develops_next_generation_of_hand_grenade
M77 Mk4A2 Thermite Grenade: Used primarily for equipment destruction; can be fitted with a magnetic base plate to stick to metallic surfaces. Is cylindrical and can accommodate an electronic delay fuse for remote detonation.
video/ammunition-and-explosives/grenades/the-thermite-grenade/983538042001
M78 Tear Gas Grenade: Deploys tear gas in a steady stream. The A1 variant quickly disperses a large cloud with a 20m radius. Is cylindrical and can be fired from Exo Launcher, single/multiple grenade launcher, or manually.
M79E2 Mk6 Smoke Grenade: Cylindrical; can deploy a variety of colors in a steady stream; quickly disperses a large cloud with a 20m radius. Can be fired from Exo Launcher, single/multiple grenade launchers, or manually.
M80E3 Mk7 White Phosphorus (Willie Pete/WP) Grenade: Cylindrical; effective radius of 20m. Can be fired from Exo Launcher, single/multiple grenade launcher, or manually.
MAgneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM): Utilizes molten metal propelled by electromagnetic fields to penetrate armor. Can be used on a variety of platforms, such as anti-tank launchers utilized by infantry, tank rounds, or as missile warheads.
en. wiki/MAHEM
.mil/program/magneto-hydrodynamic-explosive-munition
M7027 Mk2E3 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP): This next-gen 120mm tank round combines the effects of High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank (MPAT), Canister, and Obstacle Reduction all into one package. Can be programmed to switch to any mode as needed.
.mil/article/161228/advanced_120mm_round_gives_tank_crews_more_versatility
Small arms:
Due to the advances in firearms technology and materials science, many firearms are constructed mainly from plastics, polycarbonates, carbon fiber, and other composite materials. Munitions are designed to use caseless telescopic bullets as opposed to the classic brass casing. The new norm is to incorporate various electronics such as biometric locks and fire-control computers. While many firearms are refurbished to accommodate new calibers and incorporate new materials, new models are built from the ground up to accommodate the advancements.
military/weapons/a26344516/army-infantry-guns-computerized-fire-control/
military/weapons/a27702571/next-generation-squad-weapon/
IMR3-E2 Integrated Munitions Rifle: A model built on previous version to become the first battlefield rifle to integrate 3D printer technology. Uses canisters of liquid matter to feed the internal computer to begin printing ammo.
(based on "Advanced Warfare" IMR)
EM4E1: The first semi-auto battlefield energy rifle. Uses a miniaturized fusion reactor to generate & fire hardened bolts of condensed energy.
wiki/EPM3
EP31E2: Utilizes similar tech to the EM4E1 but fires a constant beam of directed energy instead of bolts.
wiki/EM1
AE6: Built on the EM4E1 and is the first fully automatic directed energy battlefield weapon.
wiki/AE4
Ground Vehicles:
MGQ-1301 Multi-Purpose Unmanned Tactical Transport (MUTT-3): A basic squad support UGV constructed from composites. Powered by a hybrid electric engine and featuring Reconfigurable Wheel Tracks (RWTs), the MUTT can operate autonomously and carry up to 1000lbs of supplies, or various weapons such as a .50cal machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or minigun. Can be disassembled and carried in a single vehicle.
mobile/vehicle-mounted-rows/general-dynamics-mutt/
military/a21932118/darpa-wheels-become-tank-tracks/
MGQ-1302 GreenFox: A tracked UGV with fully modular system & open architecture design. Medium-sized and can support multiple squads or a platoon. Essentially the MUTT-3's larger cousin.
/themis/
MGQ-1303 WolfCub: An 8x8 wheeled UGV constructs from composites & powered by a hybrid-electric engine, this flatbed can be configured for a wide variety of tasks. Can be configured with tracks. A large UGV used at the platoon level, but can be used for squads.
/en/rheinmetall_defence/systems_and_products/unbemannte_
MGQ-1305 Ripsaw III - EV3F4: Built upon the original and constructed from composites & titanium, this Army tank drone can be operated by one person or unmanned. Used primarily for scouting, security, & convoy protection. Can be fitted with various weapons including mini guns, anti-tank missiles, & smoke grenade dispensers. The amphibious Marine Corps variant, the MGQ-1305A Riptide, includes dual-ducted propellers & a hydroplane to allow rapid and nimble surface navigation.
defensetech/2017/03/21/army-testing-ripsaw-super-tank
Polaris MRZR-E series: A series of ATVs; includes 850, 2x2, 4x4, 6x6 (120mm mortar carrier)
url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiJjsm_76TdAhUCilQKHUhABFMQjB16BAgBEAM&url=https% .com-operations-introduces-mrzr-d2-vehicleψg=AOvVaw1IJNdMeeU10hFGYF0pLTrG&ust=1536271500558516
en-us/sportsman-mv-850/
Dagor-II: A rugged, ultra-light ATV that provides superior mobility for warfighters. Essentially a stripped-down, buggy version of the JLTV. Utilizes a hybrid-electric engine and is constructed from titanium and composites.
en-us/dagor/
Flyer-E: 60 & 72
.lightweight-tactical-vehicles/
HX4 Hoverbike: ("Advanced Warfare" hoverbike)
M1201 Joint Light Tactical Vehicle-II (JLTV-II): The U.S. military's light workhorse & the improvement of the original model. Features a hybrid-electric engine & greater use of composite materials.
en. wiki/Joint_Light_Tactical_Vehicle
M1231 MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV-II): The MRAP version of the JLTV. Shares 80%+ commonality with the JLTV in terms of variants & components.
en. wiki/Oshkosh_M-ATV
M1241-series MRAP: Includes the Category-I M1241 MaxxPro Dash Beyond, Category II Cougar-Plus M1242 4x4 & M1242A 6x6 variants, Category-III M1243 Buffalo-Plus, and M1244 MRAP Recovery Vehicle (MRV). Also included is the M99 Heavy Recovery Vehicle.
wiki/MRAP#Category_I_(MRAP-MRUV)
/engineering/oshkosh_
M6 Spartan: The successor to the Bradley IFV. A fully tracked infantry fighting vehicle capable of carrying 8-10 troops. Built from titanium & composites, features ADAPTIV-II, & protected by an Active Protection System. A hybrid-electric engine gives an increased electrical output, allowing for additional features such as an integrated radar with a radius of 30m. Armed with a 40mm autocannon with autoloader, six pop-up anti-tank missile launchers, smoke grenade dispensers, and a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun.
en. wiki/M3_Bradley
en. wiki/Lynx_(Rheinmetall_armoured_fighting_vehicle)
en-us/feature/adativ-cloak-of-invisibility
M1352 Crusader: The successor to the Stryker vehicle. Built from titanium & composites, and features a double V-hull for protection from mines. Uses similar variants as its predecessor. A Marine variant, the M1352A WaveRider, features twin ducted propellers and a hydroplane, enabling speeds of 30+ knots in the water.
en. wiki/Stryker
en. wiki/Boxer_(armoured_fighting_vehicle)
en. wiki/Patria_AMV#United_States_-_Havoc
M183 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS-II): The successor to the M142.
en. wiki/M142_HIMARS
M290 Multiple Launch Rocket System: The successor to the M270 MLRS. Built from composites and utilizes a hybrid-electric engine.
M1364 Non-Line-Of-Sight Cannon-II (NLOS-C-II): A revitalized version of the original. Built from composites and utilizes a hybrid-electric engine.
/20080202_
M1A5 Abrams: The final variant of the well-known tank. While many upgrades were introduced with the SEP upgrades, it was eventually decided to be integrated those changes would be integrated into the -A3 & -A4 variants. The final -A5 iteration features a lighter 120mm smoothbore cannon, upgraded computing power, improved optics, a more efficient engine, and improved firing range.
M4E2 Fury: The successor to the M1 Abrams tank. Featuring similar armor to its predecessor, but having a hull comprised of titanium and composites, and uses a hydrogen fuel jet engine with 1700 horsepower. Taking inspiration from the T-14 Armata and PL-01, the tank features an unmanned turret with autoloader, ADAPTIV-II camouflage, and Active Protection System.
Aerial assets
RQ-1 NanoFly: A nanobot the size of a mosquito, it's outfitted with a microphone, sensors, can serve as a miniature comms relay (based on nanobot used in "Advanced Warfare" mission "Traffic")
RQ-2 Blue Wasp Nano: A battery-operated micro UAV. Used as a short-range personal sensor
en. wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano
RQ-3 InstantEye Mk-6 GEN3-C2: A greatly improved system than its predecessors. Featuring much faster processing power, shrouded blades for a reduced acoustic signature, greater endurance, and ability to operate autonomously and in swarms.
2018/11/united-states-marine-corps-procures-the-new-instanteye-mk-3-gen5-d1-suas-system/
MQ-231 Swallow Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle:
/lockheeds-various-ucav-concept-remains-intriguing/8
MH-9 Little Hawk: The replacement for the venerable Little Bird. Designed with more low-observable fuselage, no-tail rotor (NOTAR), and shrouded rotors for reduced sound. The MH-9X Stealth Little Bird variant is designed from the ground up with stealth in mind.
en. wiki/MD_Helicopters_MH-6_Little_Bird
/2011/05/25/a-stealth-little-bird/
/projects/littlebirdhelicopter/
wiki/NOTAR
UH-80 Redhawk: The replacement for the venerable BlackHawk and Apache helicopters. Built from lessons learned from the SB-1 Defiant, its built with an all-composite fuselage, folding, five-bladed, all-composite rotors with Blue Edge rotor blades and active vibration control for a reduced acoustic signature, a shrouded pusher prop propeller, retroreflective panels, electronic countermeasures (ECM), and local kW-class directed energy anti-projectile point defense systems. Can carry up to 12 troops in its utility/transport configuration. The AH-88 VenomHawk attack variant has all its weapons stowed internally to increase stealth, such as its underbelly chaingun, and features four side panels to accommodate the missile racks. The UH-86 GhostHawk stealth variant's fuselage is built from the ground up to achieve stealth, and features includes jamming and electronic warfare capabilities.
en. wiki/Sikorsky_SB-1_Defiant
/2016/05/02/five-years-ago-today-the-raid-that-exposed-the-stealth-black-hawk-helicopter/
technology/article/2010-02/video-eurocopter-introduces-silent-rotor-blade-stealth-choppers/
.
V-380 Griffon: A low-observable tiltrotor built on lessons learned from the V-280 Valor. Features retroreflective panels, shrouded, composite rotors with active vibration control, ECM, and local kW-class directed energy anti-projectile point defense systems. Can carry a chaingun or four missiles internally in its underbelly for greater stealth. Can carry up to 14 troops. The AV-380 Black Griffon attack variant can carry a variety of missiles internally in the troop cabin when retrofitted. Built with folding rotors for seaborne operations similar to the V-22 Osprey. The Marine Corps variant has an inverted V-tail.
en. wiki/Bell_V-280_Valor
/2018/08/bell-pushes-v-280-gunship-shipboard-variants-recon-in-works/
V-420 Banshee (based on "Black Ops 3" VTOL): The jet-powered version with a similar design and features of the V-380.
XH-12 Gargoyle (based on Warbird from "Advanced Warfare")
VHX-21 NightOwl (based on Razorback from "Advanced Warfare")
MQ-60 Sparrow: A short-range, stealthy unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) with a combat radius of 300mi. Can carry up to 3,000lbs of weapons. Best used in large swarms.
sites/default/files/styles/ain30_fullwidth_large_ ?itok=PRJv6HOu×tamp=1415796315
MQ-61 Screamer: A stealthy, medium-range UCAV with a combat radius of 500-900mi. Can carry 4,000-7,000lbs of weapons.
. /-PbjTVA8MbHM/WlN_4FLLGmI/AAAAAAAARQE/ARg3DzSpgGslf30D_yH78Uqi60TCf1QYgCLcBGAs/s1600/Kratos_secures_23M_award_for_new_jet_powered_UAV_development_640_
MQ-62 Condor: A stealthy, long-range UCAV with a combat radius of 2500mi. Capable of mi-air refueling. Can carry up to 10,000lbs of weapons. Is capable of carrying high-energy laser/ directed energy weapons (HEL/DEW)
wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AIR_UAV_X-47B_Desert_Illumination_Attack_
FQ-99 NightHawk: A mid-to-long-range UCAV best used in tandem with sixth-generation manned fighter planes.
gallery/60087239/FX-Drone
F-22A1 Raptor & F-35 Lightning II
F-62 StormBreaker: A sixth-generation fighter than can be optionally manned. Features lasers and directed energy weapons, quantum computing, and can be fully autonomous with advanced AI.
wiki/Sixth-generation_jet_fighter
SR-72 (Son of Blackbird): A hypersonic craft capable of joint intelligence, surveillance, & reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions. Top speed is classified, but is capable of speeds of Mach 5
en. wiki/Lockheed_Martin_SR-72
B21 Raider: The replacement for the venerable B2 Stealth Bomber
en. wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-21_Raider
B3 GreyStorm: The successor to the B-52 and B1-B bombers, and built on Lockheed Martin's LRSB Concept. Has an unrefueled range of over 5,000 nautical miles, can go supersonic, has electronic countermeasures, and can be optionally unmanned. Has similar payload capacity to the B1-B. Is affectionally nicknamed the "Gruff."
sites/lorenthompson/2015/03/09/the-air-forces-b-3-bomber-isnt-as-secret-as-it-seems/#7e81636e1a99
/2015/11/tanker-fiasco-again-boeing-lockheed-protest-northrops-lrsb-win/
V-88 StarWing: The U.S.'s primary medium-lift military transport; a quad tiltrotor (QTR). It's fuselage is constructed of composite materials, has a low-observable deign, and its four-bladed, carbon fiber, Blue Edge, foldable rotors feature active vibration control to reduce acoustic signature. Has a max payload of 30 tons & a range of 1300 nautical miles, and is also capable of midair refueling. Variants include the KV-88 Tanker with a fuel capacity of 215,000lbs and is capable of refueling up to 3 aircraft simultaneously.
en. wiki/Bell_Boeing_Quad_TiltRotor
en. wiki/Boeing_KC-46_Pegasus
V-99 StarLight: Built on lessons learned from the StarWing, it replaces the rotor-bladed engines with jet propulsion, giving it 40% greater range and 25% greater carrying capacity.
C-21 StarLifter: The successor to the C-17 Globemaster with a low-observable design. Features six rotating engines, four on the wings & two on the tail, giving the plane VTOL, STOVL, & regular takeoff/landing capabilities. Max payload is 200,000lbs; max self-deplorable range is 2500mi & is capable of midair refueling. Equipped with active camouflage, flare/chaff/active decoy dispensers for stealth & protection. Variants include the EC-21V Sentry AWACS.
wiki/Bus
C-22 Nova: The ultimate ace in the hole for cargo transport and successor to the C-5 Galaxy, this ultra-heavy lift, low-observable aircraft takes inspiration from the An-225. With its eight rotating engines, they allow for VTOL, STOVL, & traditional takeoffs & landings. Has a self-deplorable range of 15,500km and is capable of midair refueling. Equipped with active camouflage, chaff/flare/active decoy dispensers, ECM and local kW-class laser point -defense systems.
en. wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya
wiki/Bus
Naval assets
(Note: All entries here are based on current & future concepts)
SQ-9 SeaLion Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV): A small watercraft is no larger than an average speedboat, and can be configured for a multitude of tasks. Can be fitted with machine guns or nonlethal weapons such as speakers, search and strobe lights. Best used in swarms.
SQ-13 Manatee Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV): The SeaLion's bigger cousin. Can be fitted with a variety of weapons such as torpedoes and small-caliber naval guns.
SSQ-3 Orca Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV): Best suited for mine detection and recon, but if used in combat, best used in swarms. Can carry a single torpedo.
watch?v=qIKmfOWcpzk
SSQ-5 Beluga Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV): The Orca's larger cousin. Can be used for similar roles, but better suited for combat. Can act as a decoy and can carry multiple torpedoes.
/features/boeing-orca-xluuv-unmanned-submarine/
Expeditionary Combat Vehicle III (ECV-3): An amphibious troop transporter used by the Marines, it features a hydroplane allowing water surface speeds of 30+ knots and can carry a full Marine rifle squad. Can be reconfigured to carry up to 2 MUTT UGVs. Armed with either a 30mm cannon, grenade launcher, and 7.62 coaxial machine guns. Includes composite armor, mine-blast protection, and CBRN protection. Comes in P1 Personnel Carrier & C1 Command variants.
en. wiki/Expeditionary_Fighting_Vehicle
.
Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship
Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship
Rhodes-Class DDG-61 Destroyer: The successor to the Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer. Superior in every aspect. Utilizes quantum radar, and is equipped with cloaking technology.
r/WarshipPorn/comments/2rp5tt/1023x553fanmade_concept_art_for_advanced_us_navy/
wiki/Quantum_radar
Riley-class FFG-91 Frigate: The successor to the Ticonderoga-class frigate and taking inspiration from the PLAN Type 055 frigate.
the-war-zone/20160/heres-the-navys-vision-for-a-new-cruiser-to-replace-the-aging-ticonderoga-class
wiki/Type_055_destroyer
Rumbler-class DGQ-2200 Unmanned Destroyer: The first fully autonomous warship the size of a destroyer. A trimaran tumblehome hull with 12 torpedo tubes, two 5-inch stealth guns, and can be configured to accommodate a variety of missiles.
robotic-warship-arms-china-d3000/
Kraken-class DDG-M1 Arsenal Ship: Can carry up to 500+ missiles depending on configuration. Is optionally manned.
military/navy-ships/a26772/china-arsenal-ship/
SeaWolf-III SSQ-41 Drone Mothership: A medium-sized electric sub with a high amount of automation. Can function as a mothership to special forces or unmanned vehicles.
military/navy-ships/a21728744/us-navy-attack-submarine-prototype-200/
military/navy-ships/a24523409/new-submarine-concept-vehicle-smx-31/
America-class Amphibious Assault Ship:
the-war-zone/20201/the-next-america-class-amphibious-assault-ship-will-almost-be-in-a-class-of-its-own
Colombia-class Submarine
Ford-class Aircraft carriers
Afloat Forward Staging Bass: A converted cargo ship with an expanded capacity for transport.
watch?v=1HW75DniAu4
Space assets
Orbital Defense Initiative/Network (O.D.I.N.): A total overhaul of the US military's satellite infrastructure. Utilizes quantum computing to process communications & information flow. Instead of relying solely on large satellites, only a small handful of large, high-orbit satellites serve as the main control and communication hubs with self-defense systems, while medium and smaller-sized satellites in low orbit serve as communication relays and reconnaissance platforms, respectively. The large number of sats used promotes attrition tolerance, so that operations can continue if some are lost.
Tactical High-Orbit Response (T.H.O.R.): A self-contained system with power, control, and weapons. Main weapons consist of either large tungsten rods 20ft long by 1ft wide, missiles, or a gigawatt-class laser. Can hold up to 30 rods
Low-Orbit Kinetic Initiative (L.O.K.I): A scaled down version of the THOR system. Carries only tungsten rods of varying smaller size to allow fire closer to friendly forces without fear of friendly fire.
articles/these-air-force-rods-from-god-could-hit-with-the-force-of-a-nuclear-weapon
wiki/ODIN_Space_Station
wiki/LOKI_Space_Station
*Chapter 3*: TimelinePrelude: Timeline
Disclaimer: Some entries presented are actual events, some are based on real-life events but re-imagined, and others are completely fictional
This storyline is heavily inspired from various sources including, but not limited to, the "Call of Duty" series, EA, and Ubisoft. I do not own any of these all rights go towards their respective owners
1920s:
British physicist Francis William Aston discovers the fusion of hydrogen atoms, proposing the primary system running the Sun
1944:
Joachim Hänsler proposes of Germany's Ordnance Office proposes the first theoretically viable electromagnetic railgun
1945:
August 6 – Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
August 8 – USSR declares war on Japan; Communist government established in North Korea
August 9 – Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
August 14 – Japan surrenders, bringing an end to WW2
September 2 – WW2 officially ends
1946:
January 22 – CIA is formed
March – Winton Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech
December 19 – French forces return to Indochina, First Indochina War begins
1947:
March – Cold War begins
1949:
October 1 – The People's Republic of China is formed by Mao Zedong
1950:
The tokomak, a type of magnetic confinement device for fusion reactors, is proposed by Soviet scientists Andrei Sakharov and Igor Tamm
June 25 – Korean War begins
1952
June 4 – National Security Agency is founded
1953:
July 27 – Korean War ends with ceasefire, but no actual peace treaty is signed; Korean Armistice Treaty is signed; Demilitarized Zone is created
1954:
May 7 – French defeated in Indochina. Cambodia, Laos, North & South Vietnam are left
July 21 – 17th Parallel established between North & South Vietnam
August – January '55 – First Taiwan Strait Crisis
1955:
November 1 – Vietnam War begins; First half, Vietnamese Final Revolution, ends with the expulsion of the French
1961:
August 13 – Berlin Wall is built
August 17-19 – Bay of Pigs Invasion ends in failure
1962:
October 16-28 – Cuban Missile Crisis
1964:
August 4 – Gulf of Tonkin Incident; America enters Vietnamese Civil War
1967:
June 5 – Six-Day War begins
1968:
January 30 – Tet Offensive begins
1969:
July 20 – Apollo 11 lands on the Moon
July 25 – American forces begin withdrawal from Vietnam
1972:
September 5 – Munich Massacre during the Olympic Games
1973:
January 27 – Paris Peace Accords end American involvement in Vietnam
October 6 – Yom Kippur War begins. Israel is attacked by Egypt & Syria; ends in Israeli victory
1975:
April 30 – Vietnamese Civil War ends in Northern victory; Vietnam reunites under communism
1979:
January 16 – The Iranian Revolution ousts the Shah and a theocracy is installed
November 4 – Iranian Hostage Crisis
December 24 – Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
1980s:
May 5 – On the eve of Ramadan, Zaahid al-Mohamad, a disgraced cleric, forms the Greater Islamic Brotherhood, a terror group with the dream of uniting the entirety of the Greater Middle East region into a single caliphate through any means necessary, particularly acts of terror
Ronald Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), AKA "Star Wars," that utilizes lasers as defense against ICBMs
1981:
January 20 – Iranian Hostage Crisis ends
1982:
Mach 5 – The GIB begin attacks on Israeli, U.S., Lebanese, and Iraqi personnel and people living in the Middle East in a bid to unite and drive out all non-Muslims
1983:
October 25 – US invades Grenada to overthrow communist government
1984:
September 20 - Beirut barracks bombing kills 241 U.S. & 58 French peacekeepers
1985:
Hezbollah is officially formed in Lebanon
1986:
The Foresight Institution is founded by Eric Drexler in which manufacturing technology uses a nanofabricator to provide atom-by-atom control of the manufacturing process for any conceivable item
April 26 – Chernobyl Disaster
1989:
February 2 – Soviet forces withdraw completely from Afghanistan
June 4 – Tiananmen Square Massacre
1990:
August 2 – Iraq invade Kuwait, beginning the Persian Gulf War
October 3 – Germany is reunified
1991:
February 28 – Gulf War ends
December 25 – Cold War officially ends
December 26 – USSR dissolves
1993:
October 3 – Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down)
1994:
Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th SFG is formed, AKA Ghost Recon
1995:
July 17 – The British government authorizes its first assassination order since WW2 on Viktor Cheslav, a high-profile Russian arms dealer who was selling spent nuclear fuel rods salvaged from Chernobyl, to Middle Eastern clients. Cheslav is severely wounded & presumed dead
July 21 – 23 March '96 - Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
1997:
March – Viktor Cheslav, Chinese General Secretary Lai Cheng, and Zaahid al-Mohammad meet in secret and agree to consolidate their resources in order to expand their influences in their respective regions of the world. Their alliance is dubbed the Neo-Axis
1999:
Multiple countries worldwide begin aggressively pushing for alternative fuels and green energy
2001:
September 11 – 9/11 terror attacks occur
October 7 – US & NATO forces invade Afghanistan to overthrow Al-Qaeda-supportive government
October 26 – USA PATRIOT Act is signed into law
2002:
August – Due to intense criticism for its failure to revive the economy, Viktor Cheslav, head of the Ultra-Nationalist faction and previously presumed dead, overthrows Vladimir Putin and takes control of the government, imprisoning Putin. His goal is to return Russia to its former Soviet glory. From 2002-2007, he seeks control from former Soviet republics through covert means, often blackmail & sometimes force, eventually gaining control of Ukraine, Belarus, & Kazakhstan, forming the Greater Russian Democratic Union, or GRDU
2003:
March 20 – Iraq War begins
April 9 – Bagdad falls, ending Saddam Hussein's rule
2008:
April 5 – President Cheslav welcomes Georgia into the GRDU after Russian armored divisions cross the border, despite UN patrols attempting to halt the advance. The Georgian government-in-exile issue strong denials from Geneva, along with the U.S., Britain, & Germany
June 26 – the U.S. 1st Armored Division stops the Russian advance in the Baltics
September 1st – The 1st Armored Division wins major victories at Pinsk & Sibiu, and the Russians fall back on all fronts. A potential coup against Cheslav begins to brew in response to the defeat
September 16 – Russian forces have fallen back across the Latvian border, and rumors spread that Cheslav had been placed under house arrest
September 27 – Cheslav is executed by the military, and most of the country is under martial law. Many soldiers refuse to follow orders
October 4 – Centrists in the government start a civil war with the Ultranationalists. Acting Prime Minister Portnov Gerasim privately requests a NATO force to help crush the coup
November 3rd – Despite the Ultranationalists detonating a tactical nuclear bomb west of Moscow, NATO forces break through and secure the Kremlin, ending the war. The conflict becomes known as the Russian Civil War of 2008; later relabeled as the First Russian Civil War. Putin retakes the reins of government
December 6 – Cheslav's right-hand man and prodigy, Aleksander Makarovich, takes the reigns of the Ultranationalist party and vows to fulfill his mentor's dream by any means necessary
2011:
May 2 – Osama bin Laden is killed by Seal Team 6 during Operation: Neptune Spear
December 18 – Iraq War officially ends; U.S. forces are completely withdrawn
2013:
April – Makarovich adopts an aggressively hostile foreign policy towards the United States, resulting in the emergence of a Second Cold War with Russia. Tensions with the U.S. and Russian Loyalists rose to the point of hostility, forcing Putin and other members of the Ultranationalists, to remove Makarovich from the party while trying to improve relations with the U.S. and the Loyalists. Outraged at being removed from the Party, Makarovich vows to kill Putin
April '13 – March '19 – Makarovich commits a wave of terror attacks across Europe; his actions are attributed to the Ultranationalists; Second Cold War begins with Russia
2014:
February – March - Invasion of Ukraine by Russian "Little Green Men"
January – March '18 – Work is done on the Panama Canal to triple its width and double its depth
2015:
January – China begins transforming Mischief Reef into an artificial island; same trend follows in the Spratly Islands, Fiery Cross Reef, Woody Island, and the Paracel Islands, among others. Construction of airfields, military facilities, and emplacements of radars and missiles signal a more aggressive direction; Cold War with China is said to already be underway
May 1 – In a bid to protect themselves and to change the perceived failure of pacifism, in a highly contentious decision, Japan revokes Article 9, officially changing the JSDF into a full-fledged military; volunteer rates surge and development of offensive weapons accelerate
2016:
January 7 – In a landslide decision following claims that North Korea has constructed its first hydrogen bomb, South Korea and Japan choose to develop nuclear weapons, with the aid of the United States
April '17 – March '19 – Makarovich commits a wave of terror attacks across Europe
2017s:
August – Makarovich's terror cells recover a downed American ACS satellite module and analyze it at a mountain base in Kazakhstan
Russia and China strengthen military ties
Predicting an imminent conflict, the Department of Defense enacts a national draft
2018:
January 13 – In order to distract the West from the imminent takeover of Russia, Makarovich's Inner Circle covertly assist Zufar al-Yousef, an ex-general turned terrorist leader, in a coup in Riyadh; it takes one day. The former democratic president Abdul el-Sham is executed on international television.
January 14 – An American USMC invasion force, headed by Lieutenant General Gabriel E. Shields, enters near the Kuwaiti border to eliminate al-Yousef. After raiding a city and finding that he isn't in the TV station that they expected, U.S. intelligence is thrown off
January 15 – American forces clear out most of the western districts of Riyadh, but still don't find al-Yousef. After much coordination, it's concluded that he must've been in the Basra Governorate of Iraq. Another invasion force is setup and assault another large city, but before they could find al-Yousef, they locate an armed nuclear bomb. All forces are ordered withdrawn and bomb squads are sent in, but it's too late; over 40,000 U.S. casualties result from the detonation
February – Immediately after the detonation in Riyadh, terror cells form all across the Middle East, sparking a new wave of insurgency
March – Weighed heavily by the loss of over 40,000 troops under his command, LTG. Shields seeks ways to restore the U.S.'s reputation as a superpower and its military might. He forms Task Force 327, which includes special forces units from many allied nations, to hunt down Makarovich
August – LTG Shields hand-picks US Army Ranger Sergeant Cody Davis and grooms him to be an undercover CIA operative. He is to go undercover in Makarovich's Inner Circle
2021:
March 29 – Makarovich and his Inner Circle, along with STG Davis undercover as Boris Volodin, attack a joint Loyalist-Ultranationalist Russian base, killing all personnel. Afterwards, Davis is killed by Makarovich and his body left to be found
April 1 – Outraged by the apparent American attack on a Russian base, the country declares war. WW3 begins in Europe
April 3 – An American destroyer conducting freedom of navigation operations near the Spratley Islands doesn't respond to Chinese military radio warnings due to interference; the Chinese military attacks due to being too close and perceiving the move as an attack. Although crippled, the ship manages to fire back, killing the Chinese crew that attacked. The Chinese Communist Party declares hostilities; WW3 spreads to the Far East
April 5 – Ultranationalist terrorist attacks occur simultaneously across Europe, crippling defense and throwing allied forces into disarray
April 6 - 13 – In a blitzkrieg attack, Russian forces steamroll across the continent and occupy; Britain barely remain untouched due to air superiority; U.S. & allied forces struggle to survive while surrounded and cut off
May 1 – With the Middle East still in chaos from the widespread insurgency and constant attacks, al-Mohammad announces the creation of a Greater Middle-Eastern Caliphate; WW3 spreads to the Middle East
May 4 – The Iraqi government is completely disbanded and taken over by Sunni extremists; Iraq is labeled a hostile nation
May 13 – Due to the widespread scope of terror attacks in the Middle East, all U.S. forces in the region are ordered to consolidate in Israel
May 27 – Russian and Chinese forces launch a simultaneous surprise invasion on both coasts of the U.S. mainland; early warning fails to detect them
May 28 – Although early warning fails, U.S. military assets, already in a heightened state of alertness, succeed in detecting disturbingly large movement toward their coasts and manage to inflict initial losses
June 1 – Russian and Chinese troops land on both coasts, marking the first time foreign troops invade U.S. soil; American forces are slowly pushed back
2022:
May 12 - Iranian, Palestinian, Syrian, and Iraqi forces attack Israel on all sides; the Golan Heights and the West Bank are taken; but the majority of the invading forces converge on the Israeli capital; Tel Aviv War begins
May 16 – Due to increased military activity, North Korean air defenses mistakenly believe a U.S. fighter patrol violated their airspace and open fire; the patrol is forced to evade
May 17 – In response to the "American imperialistic aggression" as quoted by the North Koreans, Kim Jong Un resumes hostilities & orders an artillery barrage; Seoul suffers minor damage, but not as extensive as many had feared
May 18 – The North Korean army invades the South; Second Korean War begins
June 12 – DPRK forces contest the Southern capital; Battle of Seoul commences
June 17 – The number of North Korean forces proves to be too much to hold back; South Korean and U.S. forces are forced to pull back
July 5 – The IDF & U.S. forces manage to maintain control of Tel Aviv; counteroffensives begin
August 3 – Chinese troops are halted at the Grand Canyon and Russian troops halted at the Mississippi River; U.S. forces consolidate in major cities and are contested
November – U.S. and South Korea forces have been steadily driven back towards major bases and urban centers; they consolidate and strengthen their defenses
2023:
February 17 – U.S. forces, the National Guard, militias and armed citizens consolidate and begin pushing back against the Chinese and Russian forces
April 5 – U.S. and South Korean forces begin pushing back North Korean forces towards the 38th Parallel
2024:
January 14 – All foreign forces have been expelled from the U.S. mainland; periodic attacks continue along the coasts but the lines hold
February 12 – Rebuilding across the nation continues at breakneck speeds; the U.S. switches to a full wartime economy; military recruitment skyrockets
March 3 – The U.S. begins probing attacks from across Alaska, Midway, and NATO's far eastern border
June 25 – Chinese forces attempt to knockout Pearl Harbor and Midway with naval & air attacks, along with ground forces
June 27 – Despite extensive damage, U.S. forces manage to hold the line; Chinese forces are forced to withdraw
October 17 – Second Battle of Seoul commences when South Korea & U.S. forces reach the outskirts
November 9 – Seoul is retaken
November 27 - SpaceX lands its first human colonists on Mars; expansion slowly follows
2025:
February 4 – Instead of launching a blitzkrieg-style attack on the U.S., the PLA instead opts to occupy Pacific territory much like Japan in WW2, albeit to a much more extensive level
April 12 – The U.S. Navy uses unmanned attack boats and submarine hunters for the first time in naval warfare against Chinese submarines still lingering near Midway
June 3 – The USAF uses a squadron of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) completely autonomously along the NATO border against Russian fighter jets, a major milestone in air combat
July 4 – U.S. troop levels reach WW2-era numbers
July 7 – The IDF & U.S. forces expel all hostile forces from Israeli territory
July 13 – IDF forces launch an assault from East Jerusalem to retake the entire city; the Golan Heights are retaken and the West Bank is contested
August – Some U.S. forces consolidate in Australia in preparation for a two-pronged Pacific offensive
October 3 - PLA forces launch a barrage of missiles in preparation for an invasion
October 4 - PLA forces invade Taiwan
October 7 - Battle of Taipei
October 12 - Taiwanese & U.S. forces are forced to pull back; the CCP declare the island "liberated" and install puppet government; Taiwanese and American forces resort to guerilla warfare
2026:
February 3 - South Korean and U.S. forces, bolstered by Japanese reinforcements, consolidate and begin pushing North Korean forces back to the 38th Parallel
May 11 – Allied forces breach the 38th Parallel and begin a counter-invasion; the Chinese PLA does not intervene on North Korea's behalf
June 13 – The U.S. begins a Pacific island-hopping campaign much like in WW2
2027:
January 2 – U.S. forces manage to land reinforcements at Britain and push across the English Channel; multiple landings are made at Normandy, Pas-de-Calais, Portugal, Hamburg, and Sicily
July – Elements of the U.S. Army's 1st Division receive exoskeletons and are used for the first time in combat
August 3 – Armed unmanned ground vehicles are used by U.S. & allied forces in combat in Europe for the first time
September 7 – Numerous smaller islands past Midway have been secured; U.S. and Australian forces land on New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies
2028:
January 1 – Remnants of U.S & allied forces that were previously encircled by the Russian Blitzkrieg manage to retreat to the U.S. forces that have already established beachheads
July 9 – Massive numbers of entrenched Russian occupation forces in Europe slows the U.S. & allied liberation of the continent; the war becomes a war of attrition
July 17 – New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies are liberated
July 29 - Second Battle of Taipei
August 17 - Taipei is liberated
December 3 - All PLA forces are expelled from Taiwan
2029:
January 19 – Madrid, Lisbon, Palermo, and Rome are liberated
February 21 – U.S. forces are halted at the Spanish-French border and at the Alps
March 17 – U.S. forces break through into France
April 23 – U.S. forces break through the Alps
November 5 – Paris is liberated
2030:
March 8 – U.S and allied European forces push through Russian forces entrenched along the Elbe River and push into Germany
November 5 – Berlin is liberated
December 16 – South Korean, U.S., and Japanese forces capture Pyeongyang
December 27 – The Philippines are liberated
2031:
March – Australian, Indonesian, and U.S. forces assist Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma in holding the line against PLA forces
March – With the war not going in their favor and after decades of repression and popular unrest, Chinese citizens begin harboring dissent; fear of revolt racks the CCP
2032:
May 13 – The first viable nuclear fusion reactor is created, ushering in a new age in atomic energy
August – Due to massive investments into green technology and alternative fuels from the U.S. and many countries worldwide, the Earth shows signs of global cooling
October 26 – With the war in Europe progressing painfully slowly and with mounting casualties, U.S. High Command decides to open up a second front on the East; U.S. forces begin an assault from Alaska
November 3 – The border wall along the U.S. – Mexico border is finally completed; additional ports of entry are built
2033:
March 4 – Dissatisfaction with the war's progression begins assimilating among Russian forces, especially on the Western Front; a small unit of Russian forces surrenders to U.S. & E.U. forces and decide to defect
April 17 – News breaks that the oil reserves in many Middle East powerhouses, especially Saudi Arabia, will be depleted in a handful of years; civil unrest begins brewing
July 12 – Beginning to feel the dissent and dissatisfaction, small units of Chinese naval personnel in the Pacific begin to surrender willingly to U.S. & allied forces and state their intentions to defect
2034:
July – U.S., Japanese, and South Korean nuclear warheads strike North Korean mountain bases to obliterate their weapons storage & production facilities; smaller-yield weapons are used to limit radioactive fallout
August 12 – Allied forces capture Pyongyang
August 27 – Kim Jong Un is killed in a bunker by Seal Team 6 and Delta Force
September 8 – With Saudi Arabia in disarray, Iran fires nuclear weapons at the country, as well as Israel; Israel manages to intercept the warheads, but the Saudis do not; further tensions erupt in the Kingdom
September 9 – The U.S. declares hostiles with Iran; American forces remain well outside the Gulf of Aiden and rely on air power to eliminate coastal defenses
December 3 – With Mexico near the brink of collapse due to rampant corruption and civil war with cartels and citizens' militias, Mexican Federal Loyalists, ask the U.S. for assistance, American forces surge south a push to flush out the cartels for good; some critics dub label this as "America's Crimea"
2036:
February – With the Gulf of Aiden secured, U.S. forces launch CHAMP missiles to permanently fry their military electronic infrastructure in Tehran, as well as research, storage, and nuclear facilities
May 19 – The private military corporation Desperado Enforcement is founded by former Army Ranger Tommy Hawkins; multiple U.S. combat veterans sign up. Due to the war beginning to take a large toll on national reserves of manpower, the U.S. government allows PMC operates to bolster its forces
December 16 – Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary are liberated
December 26 – Larger numbers of Russian forces begin defecting en masse
2038:
January 26 – Former US Marine Chris Brownson forms the private maritime security firm Hammerhead Consulting; due to the Pacific campaign taking a large toll on Marine reserves the U.S. government authorizes the firm to bolster their forces in the region
February – Larger numbers of PLA forces begin defecting en masse following a massive counter-propaganda campaign
2039:
February – After decades of being denied their so-called "homeland," Gazans and Hezbollah attack Israel; Israel retaliates, forcing them to "clean house;" Gaza ceases to exist
July 12 – Israel, backed into a corner by Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian forces, and terrorist attacks by proxies, resorts to the "Samson Option," and Israel launches warplanes carrying nuclear-tipped missiles at their capitals except Tehran, while the U.S. fires nuclear weapons at Iranian high-value sites; these countries consequently cease to exist as legitimate states with the exception of Iran
October 4 – A joint Army-Marine special forces unit is formed, code-named "WOLFHOUND"; its mandate is the polar opposite of the Army Special forces; whereas the Green Berets work together with other nations and build them up, this unit carries out long-term missions deep behind enemy lines to dismantle them
2041:
February – The oil reserves in Saudi Arabia finally dry up; civil unrest reaches a breakpoint and the economy begins to spiral downwards
April 12 – U.S., E.U., allied, and Russian forces who defected, manage to capture Moscow; the Ultranationalists withdraw to the eastern regions of Russian to prolong the war
May 3 – The Saudi royal family is assassinated; the Kingdom ceases to function as a legitimate state
2042:
January – The Xinjiang region is liberated and becomes a democracy
March – With U.S., Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese forces with PLA defectors coming from the east and U.S. and allied forces coming from the west, and with the Pacific campaign a failure, the CCP decides to throw its weight towards the south.
May – India joins the war on the side of the Allies
July – The U.S. begins building lunar bases for future use
2044:
January – March – U.S., allied forces and PLA defectors, capture Beijing and secure the eastern regions of China
April – With the war on the continent all but lost, Chinese Communist remnants move to the central provinces and Mongolia
July – Due to shifting global weather patterns, massive sandstorms threaten to engulf much of the Greater Middle East
August 6 – In a last-ditch attempt to swing the war in their favor, Russia and China Launch nuclear weapons at the U.S. to cripple their production and hit population centers; many are intercepted, but some warheads make it through hitting rural areas
August 7 – The U.S. retaliates with its own nuclear forces, hitting major military production facilities but avoiding population centers
2047:
May 1 – U.S. forces withdraw from their Alaskan offensive, having served their purpose of drawing away resources and acting as a bulwark
November 3 – A special-purpose, paramilitary interdiction unit is created, code-named "Joint Task Force 13," or JTF13; its mission is to serve as a counter-terror unit, and act as a nation-level SWAT when other agencies fail to do so
2051:
May 1 – The surviving leaders of the Neo-Axis Powers surrender; WW3 officially ends
May 18 – With the CCP defeated, Taiwan declares its independence and is officially recognized as a sovereign nation
July 3 – The Eastern Provinces of China are reformed into a democratic nation called the "People's Democratic Republic of China," or PDRC
July 12 – Honk Kong is recognized as an autonomous city within the PDRC
July 17 – Russia is reformed as the "Russian Democratic Federation" with the Loyalists in power
September – Despite continuing holdouts and resistance groups still present in the former North Korea, the Korean peninsula reunites under South Korean control. The nation is renamed the Republic of Unified Korea; Seoul remains the capital for the entire peninsula.
2052:
June – Outraged by the apparent betrayal of their countrymen, the surviving Russian Ultranationalists form their own nation, the Neo-Soviet Union, in the far eastern regions of Russia and in Siberia
July – Following in a similar pattern to the Neo-Soviets, the remnants of the CCP move to the central provinces of China and Mongolia and form the "People's True Republic of China," or PTRC
November 5 – The U.S. initiates a triumvirate with the RDF and PDRC; the relationship becomes known as the "Big Three"
2053:
April – Despite multiple nuclear weapons strikes and engulfing sandstorms, Islamic radicals vow to continue fighting the "infidels" throughout the Middle East to maintain their Greater Middle East Caliphate; the protracted state of conflict is later dubbed the "Forever War"
May – The destruction of several holy sites deeply affects Muslims worldwide; many renounce their faith
July - SpaceX & NASA team up to accelerate space development and begin construction of lunar colonies, a Lunar Gateway port; Mars colonies are expanded, terraforming processes are researched
2057:
February – In the aftermath of WW3, social divisions emerge, particularly among far-left & far-right groups; racial divide continues
March – August – Tit-for-tat confrontations continue between patriots, right-wingers and left-wingers
September 13-19 – Race Riots in New York; elements of the 101st Airborne in riot gear put down the protests; martial law is declared
October – Far-left activists, socialist groups, and far-left politicians threaten to push the country into socialism; militias across the nation consolidate
December 16 – A conservative politician running for president is assassinated by an armed drone; the assailant is identified as a far-left activist and a supporter of socialism
2058:
January – November – Second American Civil War; left-wing groups attempt to bring about the socialist revolution touted by some left-leaning politicians
December 1 – Loyal militias win the 2nd Civil War; the left-wing politicians who suggested the revolution are sentenced to life in prison
December 13 – In anticipation of future events necessitating large numbers of elite special operator individuals, a joint DOD-Homeland Security task force is created, code-named C.O.B.R.A., or "Commando Operations Battalion for Rapid Action"; the unit also contains its own elite sub-unit name "Viper"
2061:
January 11– It's revealed that a U.S. shadow government existed and its goal is to create an "American Empire"; the socialist revolution from the Second Civil War was in fact a ploy to divide the American people prior to the takeover
January 12 – The Posse Comitatus Act is revoked; nationwide martial law is declared
February 14 – The shadow government reveals itself to the world
March – December – The shadow government begins siphoning economic resources from countries worldwide to fuel its war machine
2062:
January – December - Patriotic militias across the nation slowly begin building up their strength to take back their nation
January 17 – Callum Lawrence is installed as the new U.S. "president"
February – Many U.S. military members stay loyal to the government
2063:
January – Militias across the country know they can't take back the country by themselves; they band together, and along with thousands of WW3 veterans, former intelligence operatives, and disgraced politicians, form the singular patriotic army, the "True Patriots"
Febueary – December – Former CIA, FBI, DIA, and NSA operatives loyal to the True Patriots begin a nationwide intelligence-gathering campaign
2064 - 2068:
July 4 – True Patriot members conduct simultaneous attacks across the nation; the Second American revolution begins
2068:
March – Many U.S. military members, disillusioned with the shadow government, decide to defect and join the True Patriots
July 4 – American patriotic militias and military personnel loyal to the Constitution lay siege to the capital
July 12 – True Patriot forces break through and march on Capitol Hill, the White House, and the Pentagon
July 13 – The Pentagon is retaken; all sitting members of Congress are arrested
July 15 – The false president is publicly executed
2069:
January – In order to restore the U.S. government, exiled officials completely abolish the Republican & Democratic Parties, and return to an environment without the two-party system in a bid to start fresh
February – While the U.S. government is reconstituted, the True Patriot's commander steps up as acting-Commander-in-Chief, while disgraced politicians loyal to the True Patriots act as advisors
2070:
July – Although the U.S. sovereignty is restored, many nations are in disarray following the shadow government's exploits
August – November – Corruption within the CIA and many intelligence agencies becomes blatantly apparent; the Great Intelligence Purge removes many individuals deemed as double agents
2071 – 2079:
Despite the U.S.'s best efforts to help their allies, internal distrust of the U.S. begins taking its toll on the governments of those nations; political control in many first-world countries are in question
The Upper Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Uruguay, French Guinea, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela all become failed states
Rogue nations begin to emerge in many of these failed states
Due to deteriorating faith and depleted reserves of manpower, many governments begin turning to PMCs to bolster their forces; multiple private military firms form and the industry thrives
Some PMCs gain enough manpower and weapons to challenge nations; a few begin demanding political influence, as they view that monetary compensation isn't substantial
Several PMCs attempt to topple governments in several nations due to their refusal for political influence; national militaries and other PMCs hired put them down manage to keep the peace
Several other coup attempts by private militaries are successful; they subsequently begin attempting to spread their influence and begin taking on other PMCs
2080:
April 24 – Internal strife in many NATO countries and distrust of the U.S after the 2nd American Revolution reaches a breaking point; the alliance officially disbands
June 28 – Internal incompetence, rampant ineffectiveness, and corruption reaches a critical point; the United Nations organization ceases to exist
2082:
March 15 – In response to global strife, the U.S. forms the Common Democratic Federation, or CDF, to preserve pro-democracy ideals. Many nations, struggling to maintain sovereignty within their borders, pool their economic and military resources into the alliance with the U.S., PDRC, and RDF the leaders with the U.S. the top head
May – Recognizing that Earth may be heading towards another ice age, the CDF take over and massively accelerate existing development of space travel, construction of the Lunar Gateway, and further development of Mars
2084:
January – Far-right extremist radicals in Germany, dissatisfied with being allied to Russia, form the Fourth Reich; their goal is to be free from capitalism, communism, and socialism
March – A German civil war breaks out between the Separatists and Federalists; the CDF support the Federalists while various terror groups support the Separatists covertly
2086:
April – The German Civil War ends with the Federalists coming out on top
2088:
March 27 – The Neo-Soviet Union, PTRC, socialist regimes, rogue nations, and countries with far-left ideology form the Stanislav Accords
August 6 – With the U.S. the only country with enough influence, economic and military might to stand up the new threat, many CDF nations opt to give the U.S. greater control over their politics, as a sort of co-governance
September – The Stanislav Accord nations see the conglomeration of resources and power within the CDF as preparation for future hostilities; the Third Cold War begins
2091:
November 5 – Multiple terror attacks occur simultaneously worldwide; a video manifesto from the perpetrators identify themselves as the "Global Liberation Army," or GLA, in response to what they view as the failure of governments to provide peace, security, & stability for citizens; they subsequently declare a campaign to "liberate people from the tyranny of government"
November 6 – A new era in the Global War on Terror is ushered in; some refer to it as the War on Terror 2.0
December 16 – In response to the new terror threat, a new black-ops counter-terror unit is formed, code-named S.T.R.I.K.E., or "Special Tactical Reserve for Interdictive Key Emergencies"
2095:
April – With the Greater Middle East completely swallowed by the Forever War despite sandstorms, the CDF consider nuking the majority of the Greater Middle East with the exception of Israel
2096 - 2103:
The Lunar Gateway Port is completed
Accelerated research and development is conducted on various space propulsion systems such as ion drives, solar sails, plasma propulsion, continuous fusion reactors, pulsed fusion, antimatter propulsion, and warp drive technology
Stanislav and GLA sleeper cells manage to sneak aboard outgoing rockets and make it through the Lunar Gateway Port and beyond
*Chapter 4*: PreludePrelude: Decent Into Hell
"We are not makers of history. We are made by history"
Martin Luther King Jr.
Humanity.
Out of all the millions of species of life that have ever existed, this singular entity stands apart from all other species deemed "intelligent." Some may say that this trait is not only the ability to adapt and change, but having the intrinsic desire to better their future, to change their environment to suit their needs, and not vice versa.
If one were to try to complete the noble undertaking of grasping the entirety of humanity in its fullest, they would still fall short. This could be owed to what's been said about us over the course of its existence. Some praise its crowning achievements, others lament the horrible atrocities committed in the name of greatness.
And yet, all of them can be true, and all of them can be false. Describing humanity in the simplest of terms would be impossible, but if one were to dare and venture to sum it all up in a single idiom, one of them would be "playing with fire."
While this double-edged sword can give hope and warmth, or destruction and grief, like any weapon or tool, it all depends on how it was used.
A sword is only as good as the one who wields it, after all.
It comes as no surprise that the hands that try to grasp fire will eventually get burned.
"If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable Man must be of learning from experience"
George Bernard Shaw
The end of an era and the dawn of the digital age was akin to wielding a double-edged sword.
One the one hand, people were optimistic that the specter of the Cold War had passed. That the two superpowers that were once willing to annihilate each other and humanity had now seen the futility in completely trying to outdo the other. That the were willing to put the past behind them.
Sadly, as the world would soon find out, reality is often disappointing.
On the flip side, the scourge of war had found new ways to rear its head, namely with terrorism. Whether based on radical religious extremism or taking back territory regarded as rightfully theirs.
Additionally, the flames of war can be nearly impossible to fully extinguish, and old habits die hard, as certain fanatics from a bygone era would rather their era hadn't ended. These individuals still clung to the fact that, somehow, the past empires they loved would be reborn.
The digital age also brought about a flip coin for the future. On the one hand, in connected the world in more ways than what was imaginable. On the other, it provided more ways for others to do harm.
"History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce"
Karl Marx
If people thought that the ushering in of a new century would convince powerful figures that getting revenge requires digging two graves, they soon realized that the vengeful one only brought one shovel.
A good portion of the 21st century was something of a major reminiscence, a throwback to something that was "oh-so-last-century". A major global conflict occurs, the victors divide up the spoils, and a period of suspicion and strife ensues due to two systems' inherent incompatibility with each other.
Many people's fears came to pass during this time as well: World War Three had indeed gone nuclear. Although their wildest fears of it turning into a nuclear Armageddon, ending civilization as we know it and possibly bringing about the demise of the human race didn't come to pass, those abominations were used. Rather than the world being engulfed in hellfire, the number of weapons used was in fact surprisingly limited.
To give credit to both sides, all parties who fired the weapons didn't use them to wipe off their enemy off the face of the Earth and go out in a blaze of glory; no, cooler heads prevailed. Minds set on war, but cooler than most, nonetheless. Rather than just straight-up nuclear annihilation, efforts were made to limit the scope to mainly military targets
Still, the scars left would take years to heal. Never mind the cleanup, the psychological wounds stung just as bad.
This was what some would see as irony, or more rather, poetic justice. The United States, the nation which conceived the idea and gave the world the atom bomb, the only nation to use these weapons in combat up to that point, itself fell victim to the very weapon it created.
How quickly though, do people tend to forget the common interests that once united them. That people only associate with others if it serves their own interests. That people can always find other ways to differentiate and divide themselves from others.
Sometimes it seems like it truly takes an out-of-this-world event to bring us together.
The age-old issues of racism, and the bane of political supremacy, lead to infighting, but the existence of a shadow government brought about the need for unity, and a throwback to a bygone era. One where political systems sought a simpler, straightforward approach, and the end goal was simply to serve the people.
Sadly, the scars of the shadow government would permanently change the geopolitical landscape, and nations had to rely on a "former enemy" to recover and move forward.
"History will be kind to be for I intend to write it"
Winston Churchill
"What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past"
Victor Hugo
The end of a century and the ushering in of a new era was a reality akin to looking into a mirror and beholding Janus.
Towards the past, the failure of completely setting aside differences had led to two global scale conflicts and subsequent cold wars.
Toward the future, there was an ingrained desire that the third time was a charm, and that there wouldn't be a World War Four. The hope that the ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all would not be lost to the desires of a few who were fed up with the system.
Another bright star in there hope lay in the fact that the dream of ten thousand generations had finally been achieved. The dream that mankind could someday live and traverse the heavens among the very stars themselves had finally been achieved. No longer would mankind be constrained by their earthly bounds. They could at last, quite literally, reach for the stars in the quest to fulfill their dreams.
Even so, every coin has two sides, as this hope was coupled with the fact that there was a Third Cold War and a new age in the Global War on Terror.
If there were another global-scale conflict, humanity would truly be reduced to fighting with sticks and stones.
Not to mention that racism & the good old vie for political supremacy were still going strong.
It was here that humanity was at a breakpoint. Either stay on Earth and face an uncertain future.
Or shoot for the stars towards an unknown future.
The challenges that were present, the seemingly infinite possibilities that humanity could achieve amongst the stars, the dangers, toils and quests would truly be out of this world…
A/N: Hello everyone! So I finally got these two chapters up and running. This two chapters may seem a bit much, but I wanted to give backstory and setup the overall atmosphere for the coming story. Whew! Now that these are out of the way, hopefully the story will move along a bit more smoothly. As this is my first major fanfic, feedback is appreciated. Hold on to your seats for the first chapter! Peace out!
*Chapter 5*: Ch1: Shattered Peace Pt 1 - Unwanted WarXXXXXX
Speech Key:
"Hello" – Normal
'Hello' – Normal thoughts
"Hello" – Foreign speech
'Hello' – Foreign thoughts
"Hello"– Normal speech translated into foreign
Disturbance #1
Ch1: Shattered Peace Pt1 – Unwanted War
"You know the real meaning of peace only if you have been through war"
Kosovar
New Atlimas.
A city that took after the spirit of New York.
One of America's jewels in the crown and one of her first megacities.
Despite the city's beauty and economic powerhouse output, the metropolis didn't have the most peaceful of beginnings, nor the most optimistic outlook for the immediate future.
The city was born out of necessity during World War Three, just after Russian and Chinese forces were completely expelled from the U.S. mainland. Many of their major East and West Coast cities were heavily damaged by occupation forces in an attempt to damage the economy, as well as to hamper American forces from using the ports as staging areas and launching points for future counteroffensives.
Additionally, the time it would take to both repair the cities and get them up to full-functioning wartime capacity would take far too long to have any major effect in the future war effort.
So while repairs were fast-tracked on the damaged cities, another option was considered and acted upon: shifting their economic and military assets away from the obvious locations and move them to somewhere benign.
The only question was where to move them to.
On the West Coast, temporary facilities were built at the mouth of the Colombia River in Washington & Oregon; South Bay and Arcata Bay in northern California; and Willapa Bay, Tillamook Bay and North Bay in Washington. These facilities would be instrumental in the Pacific campaign against the PLA Navy, and focused primarily on military output as compared to the East Coast, where the large majority of the economic prosperity came from.
On the East Coast, the decision was made to consolidate the majority of their assets in one location, and the unlikely state of choice ended up rolling some heads: Maine
While this particular state wasn't very developed, it was argued that hostile forces wouldn't target that area because there was virtually nothing of value worth directing military resources at. As their current adversaries were focused elsewhere, Americans on the East Coast could focus their efforts in secret and hit back hard.
With this in mind, facilities converged around major bay areas, mainly from West Penobscot Bay to Winter Harbor. While additional facilities were erected in the surrounding areas, inornate care was taken to preserve the National Parks on Mt Desert Island, despite the fact there was a critical need to accelerate the war effort.
It would be nice to have some natural beauty after the war was won. Not to mention that nature could provide some solace in the midst of the fires of hell.
Despite initial secrecy and operational output, the city was, eventually, and quite expectedly, discovered, and began to become an instant major target for attack on the East Coast. The city did suffer damage from multiple attacks, so much so that the city became a battleground during a major assault, and output was temporarily halted. The scars from that battle would remain for years to come, and more scars would be added from terrorist attacks at the hands of the GLA. Nonetheless, the line held firm and the city continued operating and growing as an economic and military output powerhouse.
As the war in Europe dragged on and the toll began to take its effects, some of the toll began to be felt in the growing city. Many Americans from other cities began migrating there to help maintain the war effort and continue building it up.
In a stroke of what seemed to be poetic justice, many of the people who migrated there were from many of the cities that were previously damaged, especially New York. While those cities were virtually repaired, back in business and repopulated, some of the residents needed additional a place to live. The age-old dilemma of living space.
The "New York spirit" was one of things brought along by the migrating residents. In true "New Yorker" spirit, the citizens took that next step to making their new home their own and owning, christening their home "New Atlimas," and sought to build up some semblances of their old homes.
The spirit of unity wasn't the only brought along either. The influence of spreading outwards and upwards led to some inevitable competition. After the Third World War ended, development skyrocketed, and eventually, skyscrapers large and tall enough to rival those of the former Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Dubai began materializing. The city's population also ballooned to over 25 million residents, making it an economic powerhouse surpassing that of New York, essentially stealing the spotlight.
One of the things that the former New York residents contributed to the building of the city was something that made their city famous: Times Square.
In their new home, they had the idea to bring back some nostalgia and envisioned Central Square to be one of the centerpieces and defining locations of their new home. Like its namesake, it was to be built in the center district of New Atlimas and built similarly to Times Square, albeit on a much larger scale, with wider roads, better digital signage and incorporation of hologram technology as opposed to the large LCD displays.
To put it simply, bigger is better, and this sentiment certainly rang true in this case.
Despite all this, some things just can't be made better with size alone.
New Altimas, Present Day
September 13, 2104
08:43:13
The fact that bigger isn't always better could be said for one particular John Doe who was presently riding the suspension railway on his way towards Central Square. Nobody paid any particular attention to him; he was just another face in the crowd from a city with now over 30 million residents.
Like another other average Joe, he was simply on his way.
Unlike the average Joe, John was no average Joe, and he didn't have any particular destination at Central Square; he was going there simply because he had no other particular destination in mind.
He was dressed in dark grey khaki pants, black undershirt, navy blue checkered flannel shirt, black baseball cap and tinted Oakley shades. It appeared he was bald, but it was hard to tell under the cap. His face appeared somewhat weathered, and was difficult to approximate his age by mere looks. He had a vertical scar from his forehead, down his right eye, and down to his chin, and the entire left side of his face appeared somewhat rougher than the other side.
Then again, perhaps because of the lighting, or because of the shadow cast by his cap atop his downward-facing head, it was difficult to tell.
All in all, his appearance could be passed off as somewhat shady, but he kept his head tilted partially downwards. But behind the shades and unseen to all, his eyes were constantly moving, their gaze relentlessly looking for the slightest detail out of place that would tip him off to danger.
A real gray man.
"Now approaching Central Square, 37 St. Now approaching Central Square, 37 St."
The subway's automated male voice broke John out of his trance and he let out a small sigh. Stepping out, he walked towards the check-out station and swiped his card. The gate opened up and he turned, then walked down the stairway to the streets below.
Upon exiting the station, he looked around and could see the city as it always was; people wandering the streets, the sound of constant chattering and low hum of electric and hybrid vehicles filling the air, acting like nothing ever happened.
Guess that's how civilians cope after the city was smoldering in near-ruin from a major terrorist attack over a decade ago, and the war half a century before that.
The scars of war and of recent attacks were still present throughout city, including Central Square. All he could see and hear was rubble everywhere, cruise missiles slamming into buildings, Russians, Americans, and terrorists at every corner.
Or maybe they do know now. After all, rebuilding was still ongoing even now and people don't just forget how they were invaded and attacked right away. Maybe they just choose to ignore and move on with life.
Lucky bastards.
They don't know what it feels like to slit someone's throat. To see someone get blown to bits or shot dead right in front of you. To watch someone in their final moments through a rifle scope before pulling the trigger. To hold a dying comrade in your arms and watch the life slowly leave them. To have nightmares every f***ing time you try to sleep. To see the faces of the dead every time you close your eyes.
And the worst part? He didn't even have a family to help shoulder the burden he constantly carried. Not a biological one anyway. He had no next of kin. Unless you count an entire nation's military of brothers-and-sisters-in-arms a family.
He grunted at the thought and instead began walking around aimlessly.
Perhaps he could have even some semblance of peace for once in life. Unbeknownst to him, today would change the world forever.
5 miles up, airspace above New Atlimas
September 13, 2104
8:57:03
A Predator C Avenger stealth drone was orbiting the city overhead in a circular orbital pattern on its regular patrol.
As the city was a prime target for attacks, terrorist or otherwise, it was deemed necessary to have certain assets constantly in place. Whereas Americans would be wary and opposed to having surveillance drones over major cities, now they were more accustomed to a world with drones roaming the skies more freely.
While the drone was a fully capable, having been built from the ground up with stealth in mind and capable of being fitted with self-protection systems, its days were numbered. The particular models still flying had also been modified slightly from its original operating specifications, as it was being phased out in favor of more capable, high-end drones, or those optimized for swarm tactics.
For now though, in a security role, this model would do its job just fine.
The drone was outfitted with ARGUS-IS-2 sensors(1), which expanded upon its predecessor's capabilities, having 500 individual sensors, possessed a 3-gigapixel resolution over an area of 50 square kilometers, along with hyperspectral imaging and an integrated AI to handle imaging processing as well as autonomous flight.
Unseen by all, the drone silently flew towards its predetermined path, its actions directed solely upon human instruction and autonomous control, its unrelenting gaze covering every single square foot of the metropolises below for any threats, its sensors simply waiting for a threat to be detected.
And it didn't take long before something mysterious was indeed detected.
[Warning. Unusual electromagnetic activity detected in the vicinity of Central Square. Emergency services alerted. Evacuation order issued for a 10-block radius. Further monitoring in progress.]
Skeptics and critics had long decried the possibility that AI would one day be sued to monitor dissidents and undesirables, or simply rise up and destroy the human race. War and necessity nonetheless drove its inevitable development, and yet the cries continued, albeit to a lesser degree. On this day though, the decision made by the AI in those precious few split-seconds would be credited rather than berated.
Central Square, ground level
At the same time
A little girl was walking with her parents, one of her hands holding her mommy's hand and the other holding her precious teddy bear. Today was going to be a family day until something caught her eye. To her right, at center of Central Square, something looked really strange.
She looked dumbfounded for a few moments until she felt her mom tug on her hand to gain her attention. Having lost interest, she continued along.
Though the girl's attention may had been lost, everybody else's attention was not. Central Square came nearly to a standstill. People and cars stopping in their tracks to see what was the matter. Because at the center was a building that had seemingly materialized out of thin air.
"What the hell?"
"Where did that thing come from?"
"How the f*** did it get here?"
These were but a few of the slew of questions asked by the onlookers amongst themselves.
The structure looked old and the design was reminiscent of ancient Roman times judging by the architecture. And the space in between was pitch black, like it was completely hollow, maybe some kind of opening.
The bystanders didn't have much time to stand and gaze all day though, as evacuation orders sounded on peoples' mobile devices as well as on the surrounding billboards and hologram displays.
Some were a bit irked at the timing, others even annoyed that they didn't have more of a chance to satisfy their curiosity, but most were prompt to follow the instructions. The few who were annoyed would soon be grateful that they had followed the order to do so.
The order did come from defense and security services after all. Plus, many had experienced this kind of thing in city-wide counter-terror drills and when terrorist attacks did occur.
As the crowds were quickly dispersing towards the designated distance and past the forming police lines, and before anyone could ask anymore, a loud flapping sound, prompting the evacuating onlookers to look back, and they all saw something come out.
It was big, had a purple hue, and scaly, and the moment the entirety of its body emerged from the black void within the structure, it let out a hug roar.
Anyone who had played video games or who were familiar with fantasy lore immediately knew what it was.
A dragon…an honest-to-life dragon…and an angry one at that. Its presence was so commanding that the people failed to notice other creatures and soldiers coming through as well.
With a rising scream, the bystanders who were formerly dispersing in an orderly fashion now began to flee in a mass panic.
As John was calmly walking along the streets on the way towards Central Square, he began to notice traffic piling up. Well, it WAS New Atlimas, and there were still construction vehicles moving about for the ongoing repairs, so he just labeled it as another day.
Choosing to ignore it, he just continued on his way. Until he heard screaming. When he turned around to find the source of the commotion, he almost did a double-take and had to jump backwards to hug a nearby storefront to avoid the stampede from the panicked people running past him.
"What the f***?", he muttered in confusion, before he glimpsed the expanding orange plume from an explosion several hundred meters from where Central Square was supposed to be.
His eyes widened in shock. Was this another terrorist attack!? If so, how the hell did they evade detection!? No time for thinking, action now, questions later.
With zero hesitation, and with a lifetime of training and conditioning, his instincts fully kicked in and he raced right towards his destination to assess the situation.
The moment Count Fulbert Giraut stepped through and saw what was on the other side of the Gate, he knew that the Empire could never hope to chew what it had bitten off.
Just look at all of this…structures and buildings that easily dwarfed anything they had at the capital, and they were everywhere, as far as the eye could see. Despite their beauty, he could see that some of these structures were damaged. Just what manner of strange, powerful weapons could wreak such havoc on structures so massive?
Then there were these strange signs with bright moving pictures, and projections in mid-air as if made of light…it could only mean that this strange civilization used magic to such an extent that it was practically ingrained in them…no, rather it formed part of the foundation of their lives.
He could even see many inexplicable, metallic oddities in the streets, their purpose unknown to him. Until he saw people inside them with terrified expressions, apparently trying to control those contraptions, and they moved on their own.
That baffled Giraut. Horseless iron carriages? That was something that was both amazing and intriguing. Did they use magic as well?
Despite his admiration and amazement of this nation's abilities, he didn't want to be here in the first place. He would rather be at home with his young daughter teaching her what it meant to lead Clan Giraut. But he didn't have a choice in the matter.
He could not refuse an order form the emperor himself; otherwise it was treason. A punishment that nobody wanted on their conscience, especially as it meant complete and total destruction of their family lineage, regardless of how deeply rooted it was.
So he took only a force of two thousand men out of five thousand of his total force. He wasn't foolish enough to leave his precious Mylla defenseless. He could never forgive himself if something were to ever happen to her if he came back.
Judging by what he was seeing in front of him and the situation that was unfolding…the prospect of returning seemed grim.
A sentiment that was lost to the General and other soldiers that were now making their way through.
Just then, the order to attack was given and the Imperial soldiers began slaughtering all who stood in their way.
Count Giraut frowned as his own men joined in. He gave strict orders not to prolong the suffering of the people here, and anyone caught raping or committing other heinous acts would be put to death upon their return.
He never believed in violence and intimidation as the solution to most problems. He preferred diplomacy and alliances, not his senselessness.
Seeing the massive pile of bodies beginning to pile up as the panic mounted and the slaughter continued, Count Giraut felt only disgust as some soldiers and the commander of the expedition climbed atop the bodies of men, women, and even children, and impaled their lifeless bodies with the Imperial Flag atop the heap.
"All of you savages, heed our words well! We, the Empire, in the name of his Glorious Imperial Majesty Numerius Pomplilius Augustus, declare the conquest and subjugation of all these lands!" After this bold and rash declaration he ordered to surge forward and send this same message to these savages that they were now under the Empire's rule.
He smiled in satisfaction for a moment before noticing that Count Giraut was standing where he was. "Count Giraut, what are you doing? Why are you not participating in the subjugation of these worthless dogs?"
Count Giraut frowned at that. "Savages? Worthless dogs? My lord, look around you. These structure easily dwarf anything the capital has to offer. If the inhabitants are capable of constructing these, they are not savages."
The General scoffed. "Bah, these man nothing compared to the beauty of the Empire. If anything, they should be grateful that we have come here to rule them."
Letting out a breath, Count Giraut looked forward. "You don't understand, do you? If these people have the ability to construct these titanic structures…I shudder to even think what their army is like."
"IF they resist, that is, we will crush them, as we always do. None can stand against the Empire!" The Imperial Legate arrogantly announced to those around him, before walking off to continue commanding the subjugation.
Count Giraut shook his head before gazing up at the blue sky. "You're wrong. I fear what waists us next is nothing short of frightening."
His words were lost to the arrogant Legate, yet they caused more of a debate than simply brushing off with the other dignitaries who were just now arriving. "Lady Lacinia Fabius Viribus, what say you about these lands, and what of the inhabitants?" Husband Desius, daughter Laria, and son Paulus at her side.
"I do admire the tenacity these people possess if they are able to construct such colossal structures. I would rather learn from them rather than subjugate them. Although I regret bloodshed at first contact, if they continue resistance, then I suppose we should leave it in the hands of the Legate."
Count Giraut was mixed at this. He then turned to another person he knew well. "And what of you, Lady Tanicia del Invicta? What say you?" Her husband Hostus, and her sons Kaeso, Plucus, and Causa decided to relegate their response to her
"I see no merit I what you say. Just because they are able to build bigger structures, doesn't mean that they have a stronger army. If anything, we will obtain more slaves to better our own country." Her husband and eldest son Kaeso shared the same sentiment, as did her other two sons, although her two younger sons did not share the sentiment to the same degree.
Count Giraut could only sigh in resignation. Even his closest friends didn't share the same admiration and fears that he did. The ones that did didn't have the same level of fear.
He worried that it wouldn't be long before the army of this strange land came with the righteous fury of a furious whirlwind, blowing everyone all away. He didn't have to wait long before his fears materialized into truth, quite literally.
John came running opposite the direction of the fleeing mass straight into Central Square. What the hell was going on here!? He was straight-up confused, who the hell were these guys!? How did such a massive enemy force manage to set foot on US soil!?
And why the hell were many creatures look like something straight out of a g*d*mn fantasy novel!?
Right now though, those questions were for later.
He saw a pair of police officers trying to provide cover fire to the fleeing civilians and rushed towards them. "Sir, you have to get out of here! These a$$h*les are killing anyone they can get their hands on!" A young officer, clearly panicking, shouted at him. He must have been a rookie.
"Calm down son! My name is Captain Jason Walker, U.S. Army! I need you to call for backup! Everyone you got and form a layered perimeter!" Walker barked his orders before one was impaled with a spear of all things.
"JERRY!" The other officer shouted in a panic. Not a moment after, another spear impaled his shoulder "AAGGH!" Despite the pain, the rookie managed to hold onto his weapon.
"STAY DOWN! I'M COMING TO YOU!" Walker called out. Keeping his head and shoulders down, he quickly grabbed the spare mags and radio before stuffing them into the lining of his pants.
He then grabbed the pistol from the dead off the dead officers hands and provided cover fire with one hand, while dragging the wounded officer to safety by his vest's rear handle with his other hand.
"GO! GO! KEEP MOVING!" Walker barked to fleeing civilians as he shot multiple hostiles and a pig-looking monstrosity, while the wounded officer gave potshots with his good arm, before both settled behind a building's outcropping crevice a good distance away.
Safe for the moment, Walker could hear approaching sirens in the distance. Good, but they needed to be informed of what they were getting into.
"All police personnel on this net, this is Captain Jason Walker, U.S. Army. The enemy is using primitive bladed weapons, but are highly organized and are utilizing overwhelming numbers. Advise you set up a layered defense from 41st to 53rd Street. Acknowledge, over."
"This is Sergeant Poloski, roger that sir. Any chance you can call the cavalry here?"
"I'm working on it Sergeant! Now call in all available units and get SWAT setup, we're getting chopped up out here!" He didn't wait for a reply before depleting the last of the dead officer's ammunition on some guys that were getting too close.
He then retreated, picking up the wounded officer and moved to another outcrop further back before pulling out his phone and concealed handgun.
"Officer, you stay here and provide cover fire."
"What will you going to do!?"
"Gonna make some calls." He promptly dialed the Emergency Military Channel. As it was ringing, he gave several potshots while the officer did the same.
"This is the Emergency Military Channel, please state your—"
"Captain Jason Walker, U.S. Army, Combined Applications Group, DoD serial number: 96043729! Priority message to any available military and counter-terror units in the AO! Authorization Delta Echo X-ray 90317!" He fired at some Roman look-alike right between the eyes and he dropped dead on the street corner.
"Wait one…got it, I'm seeing the 27th Marine Expeditionary Unit off the coast, Echo Company 2nd Battalion of C.O.B.R.A., and JTF13's Team 4 in the area.
"Patch me through to 'em!"
USS Tarawa – Five miles off the coast
September 13 – 2104
09:11:37
Off the coast was a single America-class amphibious assault ship, several Manatee MUSVs as an escort.
This particular ship was a Flight-II variant, and unlike the Flight-I(2), its well-deck was both slightly expanded, and its flight deck configured to be more efficient, as well as expanded. Additionally, it was powered by a fusion reactor, a first among amphibious assault ships. Of course, its reactor was smaller than those of supercarriers.
It was part of the U.S. Navy's doctrinal shift of solely relying on supercarriers, and instead invest in a distributed firepower strategy, thus rapidly expanding the concept of 'Lightning Carriers' for F-35s. More firepower readily available, and not losing a large portion of airpower if one is sunk. A lesson learned the hard the hard way, despite foresight and preparation. Never put all your eggs into one basket.
Today was just a regular patrol off the coast of New Atlimas and down in the communication center, the crew was carrying out their jobs as normal. Even though the war was over, terrorism remained a major threat, and the specter of the Cold War always loomed. If they learned anything, it was to constantly remain vigilant.
On one of the consoles, an ensign was stretching his shoulders to get relief from fatigue. Waiting for hours can do that to a guy.
Ensign Duncan E. Charles had been at this station since morning but he couldn't really complain. It was a comparatively easy job towards others on the ship. All he had to do was answer any calls that came to the ship. There were some calls but they were regular reports and the like. Those he could just transfer.
Then he received another call. "This is the USS Tarawa."
"USS Tarawa, this is a priority message from an off-duty CAG operator in New Atlimas. Authorization Delta Echo X-ray 90317."
The ensign's eyes widened in surprise. If this is a priority message from an off-duty CAG operator in New Atlimas, it had to be serious. "Patch him through…Caller, this is the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa. Identify yourself."
"This is Capt. Jason Walker! United States Army, Combined Applications Group! DoD number: 96043729!"
Duncan could feel his jaw drop at just who this was. This was Jason Walker, one of the most effective SOF operators with a fearsome, almost mythical yet mysterious reputation, and an unbelievably high body count to match. This guy was practically a legend, the kind that you seriously don't want to f*** with. "Captain, what is your priority message?"
"A large enemy force has appeared out of thin air in the middle of Central Square!"
"That's impossible!" Duncan shouted while standing up, the entire room now staring at him in confusion. "There were no breaches in our defenses, how can an enemy force attack New Atlimas!?" What he said froze the entire room in shock.
"Don't believe me then check the f***ing news! The NAPD's got ground zero encircled but are heavily outnumbered. We need those Marines NOW!" They heard gunfire and screaming in the background during the entire exchange before being abruptly cut off.
"Pete, turn the TV to the news!" Duncan said. Before committing to action, they had to be absolutely certain. But with the screaming and gunfire, heard from the other side…he almost hoped it wasn't a sick joke.
They turned to the news channel and waited. It didn't take long to confirm their worst fears.
"This is Kate Green MSNBC News reporting live from West 41st Street. Not too long ago, a large group of armed men suddenly appeared in the middle of Central Square. We don't know exactly how it happened, but after they appeared, they began killing bystanders indiscriminately." The reporter said as dozens of fleeing civilians ran past her.
Behind her were a group of NAPD officers behind their cars and SWAT with their armored BEARCATs struggling to hold the line. "The NAPD have encircled the area and locked down the area, and as you can see, are struggling to hold the line."
"They're coming!" A fleeing civilian screamed as they ran by and they all saw a wall of shields and grotesque monsters cam marching towards them.
"Oh my g**, Chris, get a shot of them!" Hate said as her partner moved to catch a glimpse of the attackers.
What the US servicemen saw shocked them. It seemed impossible…but there it was…grotesque-looking monsters of all shapes and sizes. Some were even recognized as orcs, ogres, and goblins to anyone familiar with fantasy games.
Their shock was quickly replaced with anger when they saw these creatures killing their civilians.
"Weapons free, cut 'em down!" An officer ordered and the lot opened up on the advancing horde. The sailors watched in satisfaction as those f***ers were mercilessly cut down.
Not long after though, one of those monsters heaved a car and lodged it straight at the cops. "OH MY G—" That was all Kate managed to say before the feed abruptly cut off. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened.
There was a total, dead silence in the communication deck, the sailors needing a moment to let the shock of a lifetime fully sink in. It didn't last long.
"SOMEONE GET THE CAPTAIN!"
Up on the bridge, Captain Aldrich L. James, an old and grizzled veteran, was enjoying his regular cup of coffee and watching the waves roll by. He hadn't felt this peaceful since the end of WW3. He was just a Lieutenant Junior Grade during the waning days of the Pacific Campaign, but had worked up its ranks, taking command when his captain was killed, and even responding to the GLA terror attacks in New Atlimas in '91, now here he was.
He thought it nice to catch that salty air. After all, fresh air does wonders refreshing, but to a true sailor, only the salty air calms their nerves.
"Sir!" One of his subordinates slammed the door open and the captain was slightly startled that he almost spilled his drink.
"G**d*mnit, boy! You almost made me drop my coffee!" Capt. James burst, more than a little annoyed at being disturbed like that"
"I'm sorry sir, but you need to see this." The sailor said with an urgency that made the captain frown.
"What do you mean sailor?"
"A priority call from the mainland, sir. A Captain Jason Walker, US Army Special Forces, has just requested immediate troop deployment within the city. He says it's under attack form a large enemy force!"
James's eyes widened in shock. "What!?" He turned to the mainland and saw dozens of smokestacks rising amid the skyscrapers. It made his blood run cold.
He immediately entered the bridge and saw the monitors and TV screens all showing footage of butchered bodies, burning buildings, and the NAPD trying to fight back against something.
"Patch me through to him!" He immediately went to a console and opened up a link to the STALKER operative. "Capt. Walker, this is Captain James of the USS Tarawa. What the hell is going on there?" everyone on the bridge stopped what they were doing and watched their captain.
"Sir, you need to deploy reinforcements now! A large enemy force appeared out of f***ing nowhere in the middle of Central Square! Sending you a live feed now!"
The main screen faded to black for a moment before connection was reestablished showing the headcam perspective. People were running and screaming right past as Walker led the other officers in holding the line.
"Keep moving! Right side, hostiles getting too close. Keep up the pressure!" He roared as his companions held off the hostiles but a few didn't make and were brutally smashed by some ugly giant.
The giant was then promptly killed with extreme prejudice as its eyes were shot through by what appeared to be high-velocity rounds from an assault rifle.
"What the hell was that!?" An officer shouted before they all saw a lone figure charging through the street with several hostiles close behind. The man staggered for a split second and turned for a moment to face and eliminate the hostiles before running towards the safety of the NAPD and STALKER operative.
"Don't shoot, friendly on your six! Chief Petty Officer Charles Becket, US Navy SEALS! I have no idea what the f*** is going on, but I just killed a g**d*mn dragon on the corner of 42nd Street and 9th Avenue and this f***er just now….Walker!? What are you doing here you old bastard!?
"I could ask the same, I was just trying to have a nice walk until this sh!tshow happened. How 'bout you!?"
"I was hoping to find a bar to spend my weekend off, but as you can see—"
"Yea it's great to have you along for the ride too! Now keep on—holy sh! Look out!" Several hostiles had gotten too close but were quickly dispatched by another man with an assault rifle.
"Check fire, friendly at eight o'clock! 1st Lieutenant Jack Harper, MARSOC Raiders. I'll be damned, Walker, you here too!? Must be some weird streak of luck huh!?"
"Yea it seems that way! Looks like the party's really starting now huh boys!? Now let's shut up and kill some moth**f***ers!
"This is Harper to anyone who's in charge, these enemies are primitive, but extremely high in number! We WILL be overrun in the next hour if we don't receive g** d**n yesterday! The NAPD is setup a perimeter and barricaded themselves in an unused convention center to shelter civilians a couple miles from here but they are running low on men and ammo!" He shouted at Walker before everybody ducked as arrows of all things whizzed by their heads. Then everyone opened up in retaliatory fire.
Once the crew saw exactly what was attacking them, they couldn't help but feel dumbstruck. "What the actual f***?" An ensign muttered in disbelief; summing up the sentiment shared by all.
This…how could this be possible? That sort of thing could only be found on a f***ing book…or the Internet. And yet, here it was, being played out right before them.
"Our position's untenable, everyone fall back NOW! Don't let the enemy swarm you! Defense in depth, go!" Just like, the screen was lost and everyone stood on the bridge in shock. Their country was once again under attack…but by something truly out of this world.
Breaking the silence, Captain James began barking orders." Sound the alert! I want all everything on this ship on the ground and in the air over New Atlimas, NOW!" Not a moment after, an ensign hit the general alert and alarms began blaring all over the ship.
"General quarters, all hands, this is Captain James. This is not a drill! A large enemy force has infiltrated our defenses and is attacking New Atlimas! Contingency protocol Gold Eagle is now in effect!"
With this single command, every crew member, marine, and pilots scrambled to gear up. Within minutes, the flight deck was abuzz with activity. Eight RedHawks, four F-35s and four VenomHawks were loaded for bear with Marines boarding. Down below in the well-deck, multiple ECV-3s and LCACs were loading the heavy armor and additional Marines.
As soon as each asset was ready, they were given clearance to lift off, and they raced hell-bent on riding to the rescue of their embattled comrades.
Walker was frustrated that he wasn't able to provide a longer stream of data to the MEU, but it was all they needed. Twenty-two hundred marines with full support could be enough to help stem the tide, but given the steady stream of hostiles coming their way, he doubted they would be much help alone.
Additional units were needed to help fill in the gaps in the battlespace. Perhaps as a flanking elements or performing surgical tasks. With this in mind he transferred calls to additional units via the Emergency Military Channel and waited for the aforementioned assets to reply
"This is First Lieutenant Marcus Jenkins, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, C.O.B.R.A., callsign Shattered 1. What's going on down there?"
"Jenkins, my men are about in danger of being overrun on the Eastern sector of Central Square! I assume you've heard the news by now!?"
"Oh yeah. We've been watching as soon as that Avenger drone issued the evacuation order. Still having a hard time believing though. Sit tight, we'll be coming in on the North Side. Hopefully that'll take some of the pressure off."
"Appreciate if you did! You'll definitely believe what you see once you get down here!" with that, the conversation was left hanging and another voice cut in.
"Walker, this is First Lieutenant Jax Bennet, JTF13 Team 4, callsign RedCloak 1, standing by for tasking. Anything you need?"
"These guys are swarming us! We could definitely use a helping hand from up above."
"Copy that. We're coming in low and will provide elevated fire support from our choppers. We'll stay on station until further notice. Out."
"Better get both you a$$es here soon, we won' last much longer!" Walker hung up and resumed firing with the other NPAD officers.
Washington, D.C. – The White House
10:03:28
The President of the United States was enjoying a nice glass of bourbon in his office in rare moment of peace. For once he didn't have overwhelming amounts of paperwork piled on his desk or some pressing issue, so he soaked up the quite while he could.
Needless to say, being the most powerful man in the free world carried a gargantuan amount of responsibilities, such as cleaning up the damage from the GLA terror attacks and healing the scars of WW3. Even after fifty years, deep political wounds remained, not to mention the psychological and physical damage that needed repairing, and the cleanup of nuclear fallout.
President Jameson H. Charles was something of an oddity in the political realm. While he was usually portrayed as being aggressive, in reality was more flexible in his policies, and when campaigning he managed to take more of a neutral ground, standing on policies that were neither too far left- or right-winged. It was a well-received break after decades of stagnation with bipartisan races and major parties all vying for dominance.
Under his leadership, the country focused its economy on sciences and the military, in order to secure a long-term future for humanity, and their own country of course. That wasn't to say that the commercial economy was ignored; rather, it was strengthened tenfold. People were instead happy to push towards a common goal rather than point the finger.
Jameson took another sip of his bourbon with a small humming satisfaction; this day couldn't go wrong. Looking back, he would admit he should have known not to tempt fate like that.
Just then, there was knock on the door of his office. "Come in." He announced and the one who came in was General Mason A. Chambers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Ah, General. What a surprise to have you here." Jameson smiled before pouring another glass of bourbon. "Take a seat and have a drink."
Gen. Chambers shook his head. "Thank you, Mr. President, but what I'm about to tell you is of extreme urgency."
The President frowned. "All right…what is it?"
Sir, as of 9:05…New Atlimas found itself under attack by a large, unknown enemy force.
Jameson's eyes widened in shock and he nearly dropped his bourbon glass. "What do you mean New Atlimas is under attack!?" He stood up and looked the general right in the eyes.
"It is as I said, sir. An unknown enemy forces is attacking New Atlimas. How they got through our defense, I don't know. But we NEED to act, NOW." There was an urgency in his eyes and voice that didn't show on his face, but it was obvious. And one could tell he was angry.
Jameson gritted his teeth and almost growled internally. Why…why did this have to happen? Over a century of a state of conflict with two major wars, a multitude of lesser conflicts, and a new age in terrorism isn't enough? They were just wanted peace and rebuild themselves and now…someone dares attack them like this!?
"What is the situation there now?" The barely-contained fury oozing in his tone of voice.
"Unclear. We have unconfirmed reports that the enemy is utilizing overwhelming numbers, but are armed mostly with swords and spears. The 27th MEU has deployed all its assets to assist the NAPD being led by an off-duty Delta operator, and we have a C.O.B.R.A. company and a JTF13 team en-route. They just got an off-duty SEAL and MARSOC operator assisting them. The SEAL mentioned that the police barricaded themselves in an unused convention center for fleeing civilians right before the transmission was cut off. We have a copy of the footage but sir…I admit this is something you have to see to believe."
The president nodded grimly. "General, I don't care how you do it. Just neutralize the threat by any means you deem necessary. Then find out everything you can about them. Whoever they are, they will pay for this."
With his orders received, Gen. Chamber nodded. "Understood, Mr. President. I have troops from the 4th BCT, 3rd Infantry Div.; 4th Cavalry Crusader Brigade; and 3rd BCT, 2nd Armored Div. in the area, as well as a contingent of Stryker androids. With your permission, I'll have them deployed straightaway, and will coordinate under callsign Janus. I'll also activate contingency Golden-Eye-II.
The President nodded. "Do it." And with that, the general left the room to carry out his orders.
With "Golden Eye II,' Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine units would all make simultaneous strike coordinated via live satellite feed. While this was originally designed for battlefield use, a modified version was designed for emergencies such as this. This would be the first time this would actually be used on the homeland. The president and general would personally see that it would be carried out to the letter.
New Atlimas – 32nd Street
10:57:12
Things were not look good at all for Walker, Harper, Becket, and their ragtag team of officers and SWAT. True, they managed to slow these f***ers down and saved the lives of countless fleeing civilians, but there was simply too many of them.
It was like there a literal endless wave of these bastards! They kill one and ten more takes his place. The NAPD managed to completely encircle Central Square in all directions and lock it down, but they were being pushed back by the sheer number of them. That didn't even account for the other three perimeters that had been setup for a ten-block radius.
Walker couldn't help but curse under the pressure. Most of the civilians were already evacuated but they were being pushed back. He could take comfort in the lives he saved but he couldn't think that right now.
From their initial defensive position on 41st Street, they were pushed back all the way to 32nd Street. What was even worse…everyone was running low on ammo.
"There's too many of 'em!' A SWAT officer hollered as they struggled to hold the line. A very hard thing to do when a literal wave of enemies was bearing down on you.
"Just shut the hell up and keep shooting!" Another yelled in response before grabbing a 9-bang flashbang from his vest. "Nine-banger out!' He tossed the cylinder at them and it did the trick, temporarily disorienting and completely halting the enemy advance, even if it was for only a few moments.
All the time they needed to take a breather and fall back to the next defensive line.
When they reached their new defensive line, they dug in. "Ammo count!" Walker ordered as he too checked his M8E2 and only one left for his concealed P226E.
"I'm running low here, sir."
"I got two mags left for my rifle, and three for my sidearm."
"I got eight shells left for the shotgun."
Walker frowned; they were all almost out of ammo. Over his commandeered radio, he could hear chatter about NAPD barely holding each perimeter, designated 'safe zones' but they were dangerously outnumbered and were gradually being beaten back.
If help didn't come soon, they would be overrun and be slaughtered before high noon.
"Okay, how many flashbangs or tear gas you got?" Walker asked.
"Only three flashbangs left and two tear gas canister left, sir."
The Delta operator nodded. The officers could hold out for just a bit longer but it would only buy the brave souls maybe a few minutes of time, time they currently didn't have.
"Becket, Harper, how 'bout you guys?"
"Mag and a half for the rifle. Set in three-burst or semi-auto I'd run dry in about two mikes tops. Pistol has two mags but that's it," admitted replied.
"I'm on my last mag for the rifle and three mags for my handgun," replied Harper.
All three knew, they were growing nervous about their situation. Nodding, Walker returned their attention to where the enemy had seemed to have broken through the tear gas. "All right, get ready here they come."
'G*d*mnit, where's the f***ing cavalry!? We're getting slaughtered out here!'
Back at Central Square, the Imperial Legate was feeling pretty good about himself. His forces have pushed deep into this large city and killed many of these savages.
True, some fought back but were quickly cut down. It just goes to show that one needs to send a clear and brutal message that they should not cross the Empire.
He was at first concerned about initial reports that there was what appeared to be a local militia. They were dressed in black and blue, and wielded strange black staves that flashed light and produced a thunderous sound.
He was even more concerned when he learned that the fire and thunder was accompanied by 'lightning' that tore through his legionaries' armor and shields with ease.
However, these staffs seemed to be only magic, and what's better for him, they apparently had their limits, as after only a few minutes, these militiamen were forced to retreat after he committed much larger forces to crush their resistance.
What's more they had managed to capture a good number of these savages, about sixty at least. They would make good slaves, especially the women. They were of all shapes, sizes, and color, and some were quite exotic. These he planned to 'taste' after purchasing them. For now though, he ordered his men to keep them in caged carriages at the rear, with strict orders not to touch them. Couldn't risk selling damaged goods at the slave market.
"You see, Count Giraut? Your worries were misplaced. These savages are not even worth the time of my army." The Legate said quite smugly.
Count Giraut frowned at this; he knew that he couldn't talk reasonably with the Legate any longer. Instead, he opted to try reasoning any further with his closer friends.
"Lady Lacinia, is this what you hoped for when trying to obtain better craftsmen?"
She let out a small sigh before answering. "I had hoped we could have convinced them in a nonviolent way. Perhaps we could talk to the prisoners we captured."
Her husband Desius nodded in agreement and added his own opinion. "We could instead convince them to beautify our own world in exchange for benevolence. It has worked in the past, maybe it will work now. Perhaps offer them rights and territory in return."
Count Giraut was conflicted over this proposition. "I doubt that would work. First, we violently captured them, and you want to talk to them? They're probably too scared to talk as they are right now. I doubt they wouldn't know much about this strange land out of fear of retaliation."
"They wouldn't have to fear retaliation from whatever they have in this world." Countermanded Lady Tanicia. "They built these structures but their army is yet to be seen. The only thing they would have to fear retaliation form is our army for not telling us the truth. If they refuse to speak, we'll simply torture them until they break and reveal this land's secrets."
"Agreed. If there's tutoring that needs to be done, I'll gladly do it myself." Hostus added. "Perhaps I can have some fun in breaking the women to reveal their secrets." He added with a grin.
Count Giraut sighed. Nobody at this point was having second thoughts about their expedition into this strange new land. Despite being in a city completely foreign to them, everyone save himself had a nagging feeling about this people's true capabilities.
Before he could think any further, he heard a weird whirring noise in the distance. "Do you hear that?"
The Imperial legate nodded. "Yes…it is probably their army. Their pathetic army of cowards finally decides to show itself. It will be a pleasure to crush them."
The whirring noise grew louder and louder that they almost thought it was the wind, until they saw these massive flying creatures…and they were many…they counted at least sixteen.
"What in the name of Rhomir!?" The Imperial Legate uttered, awed at the sight. Were those dragons? If so…why did they appear to be made of metal!?
While everyone else was gaping in awe, only Count Giraut's face was grim. He had a feeling that this was only the vanguard…and that the full force would soon follow.
In the lead RedHawk, Captain Aron Jennings was leading the assault. The trip to the mainland wasn't long, only less than eight minutes. Very good time considering the desperate tone of voice over the radio.
"This is Blueflight Actual of the 27th Marine Expeditionary Unit to all engaged NAPD personnel in the area. I have a full company of Marines and four VenomHawks ready for tasking. Please acknowledge, over."
"Blueflight Actual, this is Sgt. Peters, you have no idea how glad we are to hear ya! The NAPD has encircled Central Square but were hugely outnumbered! Any chance you could lend us a hand!?"
"Roger that. Sit tight, Marines and air support are on the way. Blueflight 1, take two pairs of RedHawks and a VenomHawk support each sector of the encirclement. ArcLight 1 thru 4, provide CAS wherever needed before returning to restock."
"Roger that."
Pairs of RedHawks peeled towards the Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern sectors to drop off their Marines with a Venom gunship in support, while an F-35 strafed each sector to soften up the landing zones to provide breathing room. "Blueflight Actual to all friendly forces South of Central Square, what's your situation, over."
They all waited for a tense moment before the radio crackled in response. "Blueflight Actual, this is Capt. Walker! We need air support now! My guys are nearly of ammo and we can't hold them off any longer! Our position is untenable, marking enemy position with purple smoke! Send everything you got!"
Hearing the urgency, Capt. Jennings knew they had to act fast. "Roger that Captain. Air support's coming, just hold on. Blueflight 3-1 and ArcLight 3, move in on the South side and thin the herd."
"Copy all." A VenomHawk gunship and F-35 raced towards the South and soon enough, they saw purple smoke marking the enemy position.
Back on the ground, Walker and his men were in deep trouble as they fell back. The enemy war charging and they were down tot eh very last of their rounds.
"Where the hell is the g**d*mn air support!?" A SWAT officer yelled, expending his last pistol rounds. "Sh!t! I'm out!"
"Tear gas! Use the tear gas now! "Another yelled before getting skewered through the chest by a thrown spear.
"Pete! You sons of b!tches!"
Walker fired his last round before discarding the empty gun and switching to his pocketknife. If he was going down today, he would be taking ten of these a$$holes with him to hell!
"Capt. Walker, hits is ArcLight 3 and Blueflight 3-1. Advise you run like hell thunder's coming in hot." Finally, air support had arrived and not a moment too soon.
"Everyone hit the deck! Ordnance inbound!" No sooner did they start running like hell, than an F-35 and two RedHawks came in from the South and unleashed hell.
Several Small Diameter Bombs followed by 20mm shells from the F-35 rained down on the enemy, shredding them and blowing them all to pieces. They foolishly tried to raise those flimsy shields of theirs but those shells could penetrate steel-reinforced concrete. They were simply useless.
"Blueflight Actual, ArcLight 3. Area secured, ordnance expended. Returning to rearm. You are cleared to land, over."
"Roger Arclight. Break. All ArcLight elements, expend your ordnance to make room for Blueflight 2 elements. Stay on station to provide close-in ISR, acknowledge, over."
"Understood. Give 'em hell, boys, Arclight 3 is moving out." The F-35 reconfigured into VTOL position, circling around and gaining altitude for the gunships and transports to move in closer to the ground.
"Secure the perimeter!" Capt. Jennings ordered.
"Area clear!"
"Hey! NAPD and several unknowns up ahead! Move up to support!"
The entire Marine formation moved forward to support the cops and spotted several the downed men. It was Walker, Becket, and Harper.
"I'm Capt. Jennings. Which one of you is Capt. Walker?" He asked, wanting to know exactly what kind of enemy they were facing. Who better to ask than the one who initiated and led the defense?
Walker coughed up some dust before raising his arm. "I am, captain. Glad you finally made it." He coughed again before standing up and saluting.
Jennings grinned before returning the gesture. "Hell of job you did there, Captain. You saved lots of lives but I need to know what we're dealing with here."
Walker nodded. "The enemy is primarily ground based with minimal air support. They use overwhelming numbers to overrun our positions. I think we took out a good portion of those f***ers but they just keep coming."
Capt. Jennings nodded. "Armaments?"
"Mostly swords, pears, shields, and bows and arrows." Walker shook his head. I don't know sir, but their gear looks similar to Romans or sh!t. you'll have to ask 1Lt. harper here, he seems to know more than the rest of us."
Capt. Jennings nodded though he really didn't know what to make to it. The enemy was armed only with primitive weapons and looked similar to ancient Romans if what the captain was saying was true. And judging by the corpses…he was inclined to believe this was either a sick joke or a time portal had somehow opened up; he didn't know.
But what the captain did know was that the needed to stop this now to prevent further loss of life.
"Alright Harper, what input do you have here?"
The 1LT snapped a quick salute before giving his sit-rep. "Well sir, I was at the convention center waiting for a friend when all hell broke loose. A lot of people were screaming and running in the streets while scrambling to get away from something. There was such a mass panic that I some people get crushed underfoot if they tripped. I had no idea what was going on until I saw this f***ing dragon and a Roman looking motherf***er riding it fly over my head and skewer a dude. Glad I had my concealed gun and nailed him center mass. After that, I heard that the police were setting up a defense perimeter further up so I decided to help."
Becket nodded in confirmation and interjected to add his own input. "A lot of the one I killed weren't even f***ing human sir. They looked like something straight out of a fantasy game. Pig-like men and ones with large teeth and green, purple, or orange-ish skin. Anyways, after making my way up to the fight, I met up with Harper and Walker here and we've been holding them off since. I noticed a lot of creatures that the Roman guys brought have the same weak points we do. The eyes and inside of the mouth for starters." Once he finished, Capt. Jennings nodded in confirmation.
"Alright, we need to push them back. The rest of our boys should be landing at the docks soon. I also received word that the 4th BCT, 3rd Infantry Div.; 4th Cavalry Crusader Brigade; 3rd BCT, 2nd Armored Div., and Stryker androids are also on their way. Their bringing their full combat power along the main highway into the city to hit the enemy's rear and flanks. The Air Force has also scrambled six F-22As and several dozen UCAVs."
That was the best news all day; plenty of much-needed help was finally on its way. "Walker, Harper, Becket, you still fit for duty?" Jennings inquired.
Walker nodded, loading a fresh mag into his M8E2 rifle, along with Becket and Harper. "Affirmative, Captain."
Both nodded their consent as well when they were handed ammo for their rifles.
"Alright, lets f***ing go! Time to take the fight to them!"
New Atlimas Docks; Highway 1
11:32:48
A few minutes later, the rest of the Marine force made landfall at the docks. The LCACs lowered their ramps to allow the heavy armor to roll off, while ECV-3s took point, their loads of riflemen riding safely inside. Once they were close to the frontline, they would storm out ready to bring the pain.
Overhead, a dozen Griffons flew past, carrying the remainder of the MEU, along with rearmed F-35s loaded for bear.
Meanwhile, along the main highway leading into the city, a long convoy of Crusaders, Spartans, MRAPS, and other heavy armored assets rumbled along at full speed, with additional RedHawks, Venoms, and Banshees overhead.
It truly was a force to be reckoned with. With several brigade combat teams, a MEU, combat androids, and additional security services in support, there was more than enough muscle to crush the would-be invaders.
It was finally time for some payback.
The tide had seemed to change for the Imperial Legate.
While his army had indeed managed to push well into this strange enemy city, killed many savages and captured a few slaves, those things didn't matter to him right now.
What had just hit him was fire from the 'Metal Dragons' from before; they had dropped several iron caskets and spewed out thunder and lightning that decimated his legions like child's play.
Yet even this did not break him out of his arrogant stupor; he thought these just another breed of dragon. "Milord, our frontline cohorts have been wiped out from those 'metal dragons! Our shields and armor is useless in the face of that 'lightning!'" A centurion reported, clearly on the verge of panic.
"Do not falter! Their magic can only hold out for a short time, it seems! Send the rest of our army. Let all our dragons take to the skies! Overwhelm these savages with our sheer numbers!" The Legate rashly commanded. While the enemy was capable of overwhelming magic, able to decimate entire cohorts, it was obvious that it would only last for so long.
"Milord, one of our dragon scouts reported that several dozen strange flying creatures and a long train of horseless iron carriages is approaching the city before he was blown away by fire magic! They appear to be heading towards are flanks and may be the enemy's main force!" Another centurion reported, clearly in a panic.
The Imperial Legate was stunned. He hadn't expected a massive response so quickly. And how were iron carriages able to able to move without horses!? It was a question that was saved for later though. These savages were clearly capable of magic and craftsmanship, so they probably wouldn't invest much into an army anyways. Yet now he was hearing preposterous words that defied all logic. At least, logic from his world.
The Imperial Legate, definitely raising his sword, rallied his men to meet them, determined to right these savages' wrongs to what he deemed right. "Legions, forward to glory!"
The JTF13 Team 4 was one of the first to arrive on scene ahead of the main reinforcing body. And that's when one of the lead choppers made a horrifying discovery.
"Janus Actual, this is RedCloak Actual. I have eyes on civilian prisoners near the enemy staging area! Repeat, they have captured civilians!"
The general's blood ran cold and froze in that moment. Given what the Romans of old had done to those they conquered and captured, it wasn't much of a mystery as to what their own citizens could be put through. Slavery through hard labor beatings, even sex slavery. The mere thought only further emboldened and enraged the general.
Yet he couldn't bring the full wrath of their firepower down on the enemy without endangering his countrymen in the line of fire just yet. They had to be removed first.
"Janus Actual to RedCloak. We cannot, I say again, we CANNOT let them escape with those prisoners! Do what you can o stop them! Ground forces are twelve mikes out. How copy, over." The general then proceeded to contact the rest of the relieve force, ordering them to disperse and take up positions to cut off all possible escape routes before closing in and crushing the enemy.
"Roger Janus Actual, they're not going anywhere. I guarantee it. Out"
With that, the four RedHawks ducked behind several skyscrapers a couple blocks from the enemy staging area to get in as close as possible without being seen. It would be a quick snatch and grab if things went according to plan. Yet with all the noise going on and the enemy's attention focused on what was in front of them, they probably wouldn't have noticed unless they were looking up.
The 42-man team disembarked and ran like hell for the whole two blocks while the choppers stayed on the ground, ready for evacuation. It didn't take long for the team to reach the next corner, around which was the enemy staging point.
Bennet motioned for the team to hold, while he took a peek around the corner. And he didn't like what see saw. "I got eyes on four cages on the sidelines. Looks like our people." He notified the men, his voice barely contained and oozing with anger at the sight of his own countrymen being treated like mere livestock. "Eyes on at least eight hostiles guarding them. They look lax, probably aren't expecting anything."
With that, he ordered the platoon stealthily forward, ready for a quick grab.
In the cages, the citizens were barely containing their trepidations. They were just tourists from around the country. Now they were stuck in hell and were panicking at the thought of being used and abused by foreigners from a literal alien world.
"They're like Romans, right? What's gonna happen to us!?" One woman asked, clearly having panic attack.
"You know that slavery was common in their time, right? Us men would probably get put to hard labor, but as for the women, they were considered unequal and below men, mainly used as birthers for heirs or comfort, so…" He left it hanging as the terrifying historical reality took a moment to settle in. The women would probably be sold off as prostitutes or worse. A fact of reality that shook them deeply.
Then it was that one of the women noticed something. "Hey, over there! Those look like security forces!" The others caught hope in that and looked up with anticipation. The one woman was about to shout but her companion covered her mouth. "Don't shout. Those 'Romans' would probably hear the shout and do something to cripple us and keep us compalcent." He reasoned.
She nodded at the logic. Instead, everyone opted to wave their arms to catch the security officer's attention. They didn't have to try hard.
All eight sentries were silenced by headshots and the JTF13 operatives quickly jogged up before on noticed something critical that would have thrown a monkey-wrench. "Sh!t. These cages have metallic bars and reinforced locks. It's gonna take a few minutes to cut through them." One of the operatives grumbled.
Bennet cursed under his breath. They responded so fast, they didn't think they had to bring along their heavy breaching equipment. Then an idea popped into his head. "Use your grenades. Tape them to the locks as an improvised breacher charge!" He blurted out.
His operatives did just that, and four simultaneous explosions erupted. But fortunately for them, the enemy didn't seem to notice as they were constantly shouting orders to each other in the face of incoming reinforcements.
"Thanks you so much for saving us! We don't know what they would've done to us!" One of the women burst out nearly crying, hugging Bennet.
"All in a day's work ma'am. Come one! Those a$$holes won't wait forever once they find out their prizes are missing! Our choppers are just a couple blocks away from here. We'll leg it from here. Let's go!"
And with that, the team and all the rescued hostages ran from right under the enemy's nose and right into the waiting choppers. "Janus Actual, this is RedCloak Actual. All civilians have been rescued! Repeat, hostages secure!"
That was the best news the general had heard all day. Now his hands were free to play his pieces to their fullest. He almost smirked a feral grin as he gave his next order. "This is Janus Actual to all responding U.S. forces in New Atlimas. Hostages are secured. All elements encircle and destroy! Weapons free!"
Jenkins and his C.O.B.R.A. operatives were barely containing their rage as they tread treaded along.
They had arrived a few blocks ahead of the main U.S. force and were the first ones to begin assessing the carnage left in the aftermath of the enemy advance and what they found was nothing short of ghastly, medieval, savage…no, there were no words to describe the horrors lying in their own streets.
Bodies of their citizens were strewn everywhere. While it did offer a sliver a solace that there were dead enemy 'Romans' as well, that didn't take their eyes away from the multitude of the dead.
Old. Young. Men. Even children. It didn't matter. All had deep, horrific gashes and cuts. Many had their faces forever contorted in fear and pain.
They even saw women and girls with throats slit and stained with a sickly familiar white fluid. It was clear they were abused before being disposed of.
That nearly sent the C.O.B.R.A. operatives over the edge. They were trained to deal with events like near-total collapse of government and anarchy. They knew that in those situations that these sorts of things could happen, but never like this.
After rounding another corner, they found a small unit of their enemy. It seemed like they were a forward scouting unit. The perfect change to play the role of judge, jury, and executioner. "Cut 'em down!" The lead sergeant bellowed. He didn't have to repeat a word as his platoon, fueled by righteous fury, unleashed their hatred into the mangling, flailing bodies of those sick f***s.
Only two survived and they both started flee. It was satisfyingly obvious their faces expressed nothing short of pure horror. Instead of executing them, the operatives opted to let them go and report back of their enemy's true capabilities.
The C.O.B.R.A. operatives didn't have a moment to mourn the loss of their countrymen, ponder on their anger at the brutality, or revel in the satisfaction that they were able to ordain judgement on t heir adversary by their own hands.
They still had a job to do though: push forward and support the counteroffensive. And so they pushed on. The sight of their countrymen stayed with them the entire time, and the rest of the day's events seemed like a blur to them. From that point on, their reality was move forward, enemy spotted, fire, hostile down, repeat. And over. And over again. They didn't bother paying attention to outside transmissions that were coming through.
By now, a flurry of radio chatter was coming in over their headsets as reinforcements came pushed back the horde with a tidal wave of their own. The transmissions came in like a flood as the reinforcements pushed back the advancing horde of invaders with a tidal wave of their own.
"This is Skyrim Flight, flight of three dozen Sparrow UCAVS in airspace. Standing by for tasking."
"Skyrim Flight, this is Blueflight 2-1! We're getting swarmed by flying lizards! It looks like they're tying to gain air superiority and attempting to interfere with our RedHawks! Take 'em out!"
"Roger BlueLight, engaging now. Targets locked, Fox 2. Missiles away."
"This is Rhino 1-3 to all NAPD units in front! Pull back to make room for the main gun!"
"Hostiles front! 100 meters! Switch to Canister!" "Up!' "Fire" "On the way!'
"Badger Actual to all badger elements! Dismount! Dismount! Up to the front Devil Dogs!"
"Aardvark 4-2 to all Aardvark elements! Save your anti-tank missiles for those big ugly f***ers! Use your coax machine guns and forty mike-mike!"
[Stryker combat units coming online…downloading hostile reference data…confirmed…initiating search and destroy]
And thus the Americans fought back with a merciless, unrelenting, righteous fury.
Central Square – Enemy Command Post
12:13:47
XXXXXX
Back at Central Square, it was utter Chaos for the Imperial Troops. The Imperial Legate watched in as droves of his men returned with nearly all their numbers depleted and those who did make it back were shaken to the point of insanity. He listened in near helplessness as a never-ending stream reports came in, none of them good.
"Sire, my cohort encountered a massive iron elephant! When it bellowed fire and thunder, we were blown back and all my companions died instantly with gaping holes in their bodies! I'm the only one who survived!"
"Milord! I lead five cohorts and we encountered only a few dozen men! They were armed with stubby staves and rose massive armored carriages that rained constant lighting upon us! Only myself and a dozen other men survived!"
"General! Our heavy cavalry and archers are having no effect on the enemy and their iron carriages!"
"Sire! Our artillery is barely doing any harm to the enemy! They're destroying them before we can even load!"
"My liege! Our cohorts encountered multiple iron man-golems! They were shaped like men but were much faster and did not behave as men! They were much faster and had blades protruding out of their arms. They mercilessly cut down our legionaries and our magic barely had any effect on them!"
"My Lord, we need to return to the gate! We're being slaughtered here!" Another officer pleaded with him.
The General snarled at the officer and grabbed him by the neck. "We are the Imperial Army. We do not flee from an enemy, we crush them! If you don't want to be executed for treason, you will rally whatever men you can and push back those savages back!" He then threw the officer out of his now-ruined lavish tent and slammed his hands on the table.
This was wrong…these were only savages. They should not even be a challenge…but yet they were killing his men and monsters in droves! Moreover, the few that did manage to come back had told him that these savages commanded massive metal beasts and dragons that were completely invulnerable to their attacks.
The commander in him screamed to withdraw with take whatever spoils they had left back to the capital. But the Imperial in him screamed back to keep fighting. If he defeated and subjugated such a powerful and formidable adversary, his name would be chanted throughout generations.
He wouldn't find out until later that the "spoils" had been rescued right under his nose.
Ultimately…the vain dream of glory proved too tempting for him.
"I told you this would happen." He looked up and saw Count Giraut standing at the entrance of his tent. "It is not too late to withdraw your army"
"No. as long as a man can hold a shield and spear, we will fight. And we will win." He countered adamantly. "We will not surrender to these cowardly dogs."
"We are not surrendering, we are retreateing. Don't you see what's going on out there!? These 'savages' as you so call them command beasts that rule the land and skies! And their soldiers command magic that I have never heard before on a scale we have never seen!"
Before the Imperial Legate could offer a retort, holes were torn from the tent's roof and the table exploded into splinters.
Less than five minutes later, the Marines finally reached Central Square leaving thousands of mangled corpses in their wake and completely surrounded the utterly decimated enemy army. American air power circled continuously in the skies overhead to provide cover to mop up any remaining survivors, and to protect the clearly inured but cheering American civilians.
The Imperial Legate had finally come to his sense only to find that almost his entire force was completely decimated. Only a few had survived but the were on their knees begging for mercy.
Cowards! No shred of Imperial pride!
Unfortunately, mercy that didn't come to some. A few at the front were still holding onto their swords and shields. These were the targets of the otherworlders' magic, as those soldiers raised their strange staves and released fire and thunder, and their lighting tore straight through the shield, armor, and right through their bodies. Other's heads exploded with red, and these were some of the surrendering ones.
And yet…with his army all be destroyed and with no way out…common sense just had a hard time coming to some. He wouldn't allow his men to become victims of some strange magic. He would rather die while taking the enemy to the Underworld with him! Not to die like dogs!
A similar sentiment was shared by Hostus and Kaeso el Invicta, and Desius and Drusus Viribus. They would not let their men's sacrifice be in vain!
They were frightened after witnessing what these soldiers' weapons were capable of. Despite their incredible trepidation, and against their wives' and mothers' protests, tightly grasped the handles on their swords, steeled their nerves, and did the one thing left for them in their minds.
"For the Empire!" The four men charged with abandon, their intent their own. Their demise was the same as the others.
The two women watched helplessly as their husbands and eldest sons tried something so foolhardy, and after it was obvious what those soldiers' weapons were capable of. They could only stare in horror as the men's' heads and bodies spurted red and dropped to the ground lifeless. They shuddered what might happen to them as they watched their loved ones' bodies lay in a gathering pool of their own blood.
Finally…common sense won out for the Imperial Legate. Beside him, Count Giraut was trying to shake off what had just happened earlier and saw most of their men were either dead or dying, and with several men of noble birth killed like common soldiers. And they were all surrounded by faceless men and metal monstrosities.
He couldn't help but be awed by the sight.
He stood up as proudly as he could as the enemy soldiers approached him with their strange and terrifying weapons pointed at them. It pained him to do this but if he wanted to live, along with the nobles, he must. "I am Imperial Legate Octaviuanus Oppius Hosidius of the Valerian Army! I demand that you show me to your—" He didn't get far when his face with the buttstock of an M8E2 rifle.
"On the f***ing ground motherf***er! Don't even think about moving!" A Marine shouted, his helmet's faceplate barely muffling the rage.
As his comrades subdued the remainder of the surrendering enemy forces, many of whom were roughly struck and shoved with their faces to the ground before their hands and arms bound behind their backs. Even then, a few tried to grab out hidden knives and stab the soldiers, but these were quickly killed by others further on the sidelines.
Lady Tanicia witnessed what was happening and it disgusted her. She decided to stand up for the sacrifices of the legionaries, and do something befitting the leading lady of a noble household. She approached the soldiers. "I demand you treat our soldiers with respect! I, Lady Tanicia of House—" She didn't even get to properly introduce herself before she herself met a similar fate. She was surprised at the aggression with which the soldiers struck her and shoved her to the ground and the roughness when they painfully forced her arms behind her back and bound her hands. Her attempt had negotiation had failed.
Lady Lacinia witnessed all this and believed that Tanicia had tried to negotiate for leniency the wrong way. Instead of standing up, she got on her knees. The soldiers treated her not as roughly as Tanicia, but she could still feel the roughness with which they bound her hands behind her back. She could almost sense a barely-contained rage within them.
She looked to her sides and saw the same being done to the other noble dignitaries. Not even the children, nor Tanicia's or even her own, were spared the humiliation of being shoved face-down to the ground, having their arms forced painfully behind their backs, and having their hands bound.
Count Giraut, seeing all this dropping his sword, and promptly was subjected to the same treatment as everyone else. "Don't move or it'll be the last thing you do." He didn't know what this soldier was saying but he surmised the implied order. He did not resist.
For the first time, the Imperial Army was defeated and now was at the mercy of those that they had wronged.
"Janus Actual, this is Blueflight Actual. All hostiles neutralized, situation contained. Area is secured." Get these people some help…please. Some are already beyond help, but I want to minimize further causalities and make their passing as painless as possible. They've suffered enough today."
"Roger BlueFlight. All available emergency personnel are on their way. Feel free to call in military medical support. Help however you can. Command out."
Capt. Jennings sighed before looking around at the carnage and the sheer amount of people that needed helping. It was going to be long day. He looked down at the body of a little girl who had one of her legs chopped off…still clutching her teddy bear in her arms as her eyes were widened in horror. It was the same girl who had first caught a glimpse of the portal.
Jennings almost felt a tear in his eye as he kneeled down and closed her still-open eyes. "I'm sorry, kid."
With what these f***ers did freshly seared into their hearts and minds. The Marines had only one thing mind.
Revenge
"Walker? Where you at? Becket, I thought he was with you?"
"I thought he was with you."
Unbeknownst to Harper and Becket, Walker had long since slipped away from the chaos and back into obscurity. Once quick-reaction troops and security forces had converged at ground zero to assist police, ready to contain and subdue hostile forces, it was clear that further guidance was no longer needed, and he simply vanished.
Like a ghost.
'Pity. And I was just starting to enjoy my first real taste of peace. And this city is great just hanging around in. This day couldn't get any worse….,' he mentally grumbled as he slunk away from the cacophony of sirens that were now beginning to fill the air.
A single sentiment. That cliché sentiment. That thing you say when you feel like you've seen it all. That all the unfortunate events that could've possibly occurred have seemingly already come to pass and that anymore isn't possible.
How sad that sentiment is oft untrue, and that something just as bad, if not worse, is always around the corner, just waiting to happen…
To Be Continued…
Footnotes:
extreme/146909-darpa-shows-off-1-8-gigapixel-surveillance-drone-can-spot-a-terrorist-from-20000-feet/
the-war-zone/20201/the-next-america-class-amphibious-assault-ship-will-almost-be-in-a-class-of-its-own
XXXXXX
*Chapter 6*: Ch2:Shattered Peace Pt2-Troubled WatersDisturbance #2
Ch2: Shattered Peace Pt2 – Troubled Waters
"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace. "
President Theodore Roosevelt, 2 December 1902, second annual message to Congress
Gulf of Maine
September 13, 2014
9:04:17 hrs
Walker's sentiments that the day couldn't get any worse had unfortunately come to pass.
The same Predator C Avenger drone that had picked up the portal opening in Central Square had been instrumental in tracking hostile movements throughout the city, and had provided a full battlefield picture to the incoming reinforcements.
That didn't mean that it could stay on station indefinitely.
With a large number of aerial assets coming on station above New Atlimas, the airspace became more congested as multiple flying lizards, fighter jets, and UCAVs battled it out for air supremacy, the latter also attempting to protect the transports for the forward deployment of first responders.
That meant at its current altitude, the drone risked a mid-air collision with friendly forces.
Moreover, the design of the ARGUS-IS-II sensors meant that it could only provide a full, optimum picture at higher altitude.
Although a second Avenger drone was coming on station to relieve the first due to bingo fuel, having a single asset overhead seemed redundant. The UCAVs, fighters, and warfighters on the ground were all network-linked. That meant each asset was collecting info and sharing it with everyone else.
Still, having an asset overhead to give a singular, overhead picture along with the networked assets below would provide clarity and avoid friendly fire, especially in contested airspace, and congestion when fighting in urban environments.
As the first Avenger drone egressed from the airspace at its current altitude, its ARGUS sensors went into passive mode. With plenty of fresh reinforcements coming in, having a drone overhead in a less-than-optimal condition seemed detrimental.
So, under command from its operators, switched its autonomous control from its previous orbiting circular pattern began the flight back to base.
That didn't mean that it was till tracking and on the lookout for additional threats.
As it began egressing away from New Atlimas airspace to rotate out with the second Avenger, its sensors picked up additional threats.
At first, the operators were somewhat confused. All of their attention had been focused on the mainland and eh cityscape. This time, the sensors were picking up threats not on land, but away from land, over sea. It happened to be directly below its intended flightpath.
[Warning. Additional electromagnetic anomaly detected. Bearing 1-8-7. Distance approximately 5 miles from Southwest Harbor. Naval assets notified.]
Praefecti Oppius Attius Primanus stood at the prow of his ship, considered to be one of the largest in their navy. He was full of optimism about the holy righteousness of his mission.
It was a universally-known fact that the opening of the Holy Gate was a very rare occurrence. Simply being alive at the same time that it occurred was considered a blessing. According to legend, every time it opened, new species or people would come through, and this was the most widely-accepted view of how many species cam to inhabit their world.
The gate would open up every thousand years or so, and only one such disturbance would occur. No one knew how many times in this world's history this natural occurrence had happened before, but only a few times had been recorded throughout their world's civilizations.
But nothing like this had ever happened before.
This time, for the first time in recorded history, nay, the entire world, not one, but TWO holy gates had opened. It was an unprecedent event that wasn't considered even remotely possible, even if all the magic that was known were summoned. It wasn't even an afterthought from the sheer absurdity of the remote possibility.
What's more, their mages had peered into its secrets and confirmed that both of the Gates opened up into the same world, and fairly close to each other to boot.
Many a time, it was taught that every time this natural disturbance would occur, new cultures and peoples would come into the world and precipitate change. Sometimes they would bring new opportunities, sometimes detrimental, other times exploitative.
And yet the pattern remained the same: the Gate opens up, and new strangers come into the world.
But what if the opposite were to occur this time around…?
For centuries prior, the Empire had been expanding ever further and further into their known world. Yet even with all their territory they had conquered, they were still eager to subjugate their own continent, to control everything, and they dreamt everything. Every rock, river, person, all of it. There were few and scant whispers of what kingdoms awaited them past the far fringes of their territories, but they were largely unknown, and most of what was known about them were basically folklore.
Their expansions to conquer the waves had also run into problems. While their navy had crushed all other possible rivals, and even now were in the process of preparing to attack other potential seaborne empires, their ships could not hope to survive the deep oceans beyond their far-flung colonies and territories. Their ships were simply not designed for such feats and the knowledge and skills required for long-distance navigation simply wasn't ready yet.
Again, even fewer and scant whispers of potential other continents and civilizations lying across the blue kept floated about, and the folklore regarding potential civilization was blown even more out of proportions.
Not to mentions myths about sea monsters and other terrors of the deep blue existing. If any dream of full sea conquest were to exist, it would necessitate a massive overhaul of their ships and doctrine to fight like their army, incorporating magic and building new weapons to combat these mythical creatures and terrors.
So for the moment, the Empire had to consolidate their strength for many years before even dreaming to conquer these mysterious lands beyond their current borders. Yet it seemed like providence when TWO gates opened up during the reign of the Empire. This was the only time that the gates had opened up during its existence.
Adding to the interpretation of providence was that it occurred while their nation was currently experiencing trials and trepidations in expanding their borders into truly unknown lands. They could not yet hope to expand in their current state, but perhaps they could do so into worlds unknown first.
If they could conquer the strange world first, it could strengthen their hands and expand their domain without having to conquer within the bounds of their own world's realities. Perhaps even acquire knowledge, weapons, or supplies that could be used to further their dreams of further conquest within their own world.
With this in mind, it was decided to mount an expedition through both gates, sending off the best of both the army and the navy to conquer this strange new world. A surprise invasion by both land and sea was sure to bring victory.
As the ships emerged from the portal and into the blue expanse of this new world, the soldiers and crew of all the ships couldn't help but gape in awe at the sight before them.
A coastal city, or at least, what appeared to be a city, lay several miles before them.
They couldn't make out all the details, but even at this distance, they could tell that this city had many large structures, taller than anything they themselves were capable of building back home. Some of those buildings seemed to touch the very heavens themselves, and the tops of them seemed to reach above the clouds. Not even the Imperial Capital had monuments or anything to offer that could match the sheer magnitude of these colossus structures.
Better yet, the men could not see any enemy ships nearby that could be used to oppose them. It appeared the inhabitants of this world were pacifists, preferring to beautify rather than wage war. Easy pickings for their hardened warriors.
With the prospect of a beauteous, prosperous, and undefended coastal city ripe for the pickings within their grasp, Primanus gave his command. "Sailors and warriors of the Empire! Here lies a city ripe for the taking! Go forth and claim what is rightfully yours! Oarsmen full speed ahead!"
And with that, the flotilla surged forward, unaware they were already being watched.
Six miles off the coast of New Atlimas
September 13, 2014
9:08:27 hrs
USS Normandy 6
Captain Morgan H. Stevens stood at the bridge of his ship, an Afloat Forward Staging Base(1).
U.S. Naval doctrine had taken off in several major directions during World War 3, which shifted away from nearly a century of its accustomed perception. While still utilizing supercarriers as a major component of blue-water power projection, and although their defenses had become much more robust with the addition of directed-energy weapons, it was recognized that they could still be vulnerable, and not be flexible enough to meet global requirements.
One of the ways this was allayed was the construction Berkeley-class ships, which were quickly dubbed so-called "light carriers." These were heavily inspired by Japan's Izumo-class helicopter carriers, and many of these went on to become the mainstay "Lightning carrier" of F-35s, as well as VTOL UCAVs. While America-class amphibious assault ships were once touted as such, the truth was they were better suited towards carrying rotary craft and amphibious troops. They simply weren't designed to permanently support large numbers of F-35s, although they could transport larger groups of them on occasion.
Another way was augmentation through cost-effective means. One of the most common ways was taking cargo ships, the kind used for transporting large numbers of shipping containers, and converting them to instead to carry large numbers of rotary aircraft, troops, equipment, or even UCAVs, turning them into massive sea transports and warehouses. In desperate situations, they could be outfitted with missiles, becoming ad-hoc arsenal ships which could be used in a pinch, rather than relying on those built from the ground up.
The third and most aggressively pursued was the much-touted "Ghost Fleet" initiative. This involved designing and constructing multiple classes of robotic drone ships to augment the fleet's numbers, awareness and offensive capabilities. Taking after the Air Force's "Loyal Wingman" concept, the unmanned ships could be configured with various sensors and weapons, expanding their awareness range and deposits of missiles. This helped to detect enemies further out and allow the crewed ships to focus more of their attention on the bigger threat.
On this particular day, the patrol group consisted of a single AFSB, two Berkeley-class ships, a single Kraken-class arsenal ship, three Rhodes-class destroyers, two Riley-class frigates, a Rumbler-class unmanned destroyer, and four SeaWolf-III drone mothership submarines. There was also a large compliment of SeaLion CUSVs, Manatee MUSVs, and Beluga XLUUVs to act as swarm screeners.
A very formidable group to be sent out on simple patrol duty. Before the "Ghost Fleet' initiative, sending out a patrol of this size would be unthinkable due to the constraint on the number of ships available. Now, with the development of various robotic ships swelling the fleet's numbers and a more flexible naval doctrine, this was considered more routine.
Not to mention remaining ever vigilant against possible attacks. The country's two oceans could no longer protect against outside attacks any longer, after all.
Capt. Stevens sat on the bridge in the captain's chair, a thermos of coffee in hand, looking at the central holographic table (2,3) in front of him and the personal holographic projector to which it was streaming to. The system was capable of receiving and fusing data from all sensors in the fleet, providing a single, comprehensive battlefield picture. So far nothing out of the ordinary.
Until one of the crew notified him of something. "Captain, long-range quantum radar is picking up multiple contacts." Ensign Derick B. Garner spoke up.
"Identify contacts. Are they hostile?"
"Unknown, sir…the signatures are completely different; they aren't matching anything in the database."
"What do you mean, sailor?"
"I mean that whatever it is, it's completely foreign to us. And I don't mean from potential hostile actors. I mean that the contacts aren't made up of common materials, and the shape of the contacts is completely different."
Capt. Stevens hummed to himself as he pondered what this meant. Multiple unknown contacts with completely foreign radar signatures? Although quantum radar was much more precise at picking out a target's shape and certain properties, it didn't provide anything solid like a visual picture did. That left only one option available option.
"Sailor, order one of our SeaLion CSUVs to investigate. I want to get a clear picture."
"Right away, captain." Ensign garner replied. From his station with three panoramic screens, he could easily switch between various tasks. All of the SeaLion CUSVs were ahead of the patrol group in a wedge formation, and a command was sent to one drone on the tip of the wing on the left flank.
This particular drone was outfitted with a medium machinegun, spotlight with dazzlers, a loudspeaker, and high-res camera sensors. The perfect tool for anti-piracy and forward scouting.
The lone boat broke formation and headed off into the direction of the unknown contacts. Its camera began streaming its data back to the bridge's holographic displays, as the entire crew's attention was now on what the drone was seeing.
And what they saw was completely out of their world.
As the drone approached the location of the unknown contacts, everyone could see dozens, even hundreds, of ships appearing on the horizon. Initially, in the first few moments, everyone almost did a double-take at what they were seeing. A flotilla of ships numbering in the hundreds right off the coat of the United States!? How could an adversary move that large a force undetected so close!? There should've been ample warning long before anything happened!
But just before one jumpy sailor was able to sound the alarm, another interjected, allowing the drone to move in closer to visually confirm and allay their fears. It wasn't just the number of ships that was totally out of their world; it was their composition and make-up.
Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that all of the ships were made of wood, and had sails. Honest-to-life sails, of all things! And they also had rows of ours protruding out of both sides. Every single one of these ships. The ships' sails also appeared to have some kind of emblem, a dragon surrounded by a laurel leaf embroidered on their sails. Many also flew a flag that was completely foreign to them. It didn't match anything in their global database.
By now, the crew was completely baffled. Multiple vessels of unknown origin, flying a flag not in any known database, and vessels powered by sails and oars? There were only two options the crew could think up at the moment: that this either some kind of elaborate hoax of epic proportions.
Or the other, which was totally absurd to even consider: that a group had somehow traveled from an alternate dimension.
Theoretical physics and quantum mechanics had come a long ways since the end of the Third World War. With massively accelerated efforts into research and development of space travel and all the since that it required, one of the subjects that was researched was the warp drive. With all the theoretical jargon and whimsical dreams stemming from generations of pop-culture, people were actually beginning to wonder if time travel was closer to feasible.
Before, topics like this would be brushed off as crazy talk, but know, people were actually beginning to seriously consider the bizarre possibility.
If a spacetime anomaly had occurred, was it possible that a group and accidently wound up their world?
If that were the case, then the only way to find out was to make contact and attempt communications.
"Steer the drone closer to the fleet...there, the big, fancy-looking ship in front. Try maneuvering in front of it." Capt. Stevens ordered Ensign Garner.
As the drone moved into position, the camera could see several people on the prow of the ship, including one individual who was dressed in more ornately decorated armor than the others, and sporting a large white cape with a similar dragon emblem as the ones on the sails. Not to mention a different air about him,
Even from a distance and through the eyes of camera lens viewed on a screen, the crew could still sense an overwhelming arrogance emanating from this particular individual.
Typical of a commander at the head of a massive army.
Arrogance aside, Capt. Stevens thought it best not jump to rash conclusions and at least attempt dialogue. He grabbed the microphone for the drone boat's remote speaker. "Greetings, unidentified vessel. This is Captain Morgan H. Stevens of the United States Navy. You are entering waters controlled by the Untied States of America. please identify yourself and state your intentions."
He paused and waited for a response while the crew held their breath in anticipation.
From the prow of his ship, Praefecti Primanus was confident in the prospect of conquest and subjugation of this strange city. So far, none of his scouts or lookouts had reported any other vessels in the area that could potentially oppose them. That had confirmed their initial observations and further strengthened their confidence. While this world's peoples were impressively skilled in architecture, they didn't seem to invest in a strong army or navy.
An easy conquest; not to mention the great skills and slaves that would come with such an endeavor.
Continuing their push forward, a few of their lookouts reported seeing several of their dragons in the far distance in the skies above the city, and even some smoke beginning to rise from within the city.
Primanus smiled at that. It appeared their army had broken through the city's defenses, and was now beginning to subjugate the populace. He could hardly wait to join in the glorious conquest and claim some of the glory for himself.
But it was at that moment that a strange object decide to make its appearance. "Milord, there appears to be movement in front of us." The lookout in the crow's nest called down from above.
'Tch. And I thought there would be nobody to oppose us, although…how did they respond so quickly? Did the mere sight of our armada frighten them into submission? This could be the perfect chance strike the final blow and claim glory in victory.' He thought smugly to himself.
"Sailor, how many enemy vessels are there?" Primanus inquired back.
"I'm looking now milord…it appears to be a single vessel."
That confused yet emboldened the admiral. Only one vessel sent to meet the armada? Could it be that they could be offering their surrender already? "Allow that vessel to approach. I shall accept their surrender myself." The commander arrogantly ordered. He also gave the signal for the fleet to slow its pace.
The fleet did so in order to have a proper meeting with the mystery vessel.
Although once in sight, the sight of the ship was completely foreign to them. It had no sails, no oars, no colors, and most curiously, it didn't have a single man on board.
That completely baffled them. How did it move with no sails or oars? Did it use magic to move? Why wasn't it flying the colors of its nation? And most importantly, where were the crew?
If this vessel was being controlled by magic, then perhaps it could be possible to communicate with the magic user.
The strange vessel appeared to stop in front, and Praefecti Primanus saw this as his chance to accept surrender. However, before he could say anything the ship spoke.
The ship actually spoke. That was something completely alarming to the crew, but Primanus, after a moment of surprise himself, and not understanding the language, assumed it to be a declaration of submission.
"I am Praefecti Oppius Attius Primanus of the Imperial Grand Navy. In the name of our glorious Emperor, I hereby accept your surrender and announce the conquest of this city." He proudly declared and waited for a response.
The vessel did not speak again, nor did it move. He took it as a sign that the user didn't take lightly to his declaration. It could only mean that the magic wielder and his companions intended to resist.
"Very well then. You shall regret the chance of mercy we had so graciously offered. Archers, loose flame arrows! Sink that vessel!" He bellowed, not wanting to appear to be seen as weak by taking time talking to an enemy.
Back on the bridge of USS Normandy 6, the crew watched as the unknown people interacted with their scout. As expected from a civilization that used sails and oars for their ships, seeing a drone boat such as this spurred quite the reaction.
But that wasn't what was holding onto their attention. The aforementioned, well-dressed individual with the white cape replied with some gibberish. Even through the microphone's speakers, the crew could almost sense arrogance dripping from his words.
And that wasn't the only thing; for some reason, the language seemed oddly familiar. "Captain, quantum computing was able to analyze the voice and language patterns, and you're not going to believe this…it actually got a hit." One ensign spoke up from her station.
This got everyone's attention. "What languages did it match up with, sailor?" Inquired Capt. Stevens.
"Sir…analysis shows that the language structure is an eighty percent plus match to Latin."
You could've heard a pin drop at the moment. That revelation had put a monkey-wrench into the entire situation. An unknown people that speaks a language similar to their own!? It was almost too good to be true. They were almost ready to further ties but other events transpired.
While they were gawking at the news of similarities, the crew hadn't noticed that they were just standing around, and that the lead figure had now spoken up again. This time, it seemed that it was hostile, as they saw rows of archers raise their bows and loose fire arrows at their scout. It wouldn't have worked anyhow with the materials it was made out of, but is was clear that they weren't all that friendly.
"Get that drone out of there now! Recall it back to the patrol group! Order all CSUVs to screen that flotilla in front!" Capt. Stevens called out.
The drone retreated, still being pelted with several fire arrows, but it soon sped away to meet up with the rest of its group. It then formed up in a single file with the several dozen other drones in an attempt to turn away the newcomers.
"Let's keep the CUSVs held back for now. We still need eyes on the situation. Launch two Mk. III Fire Scouts!" Capt. Stevens ordered. It wasn't the best idea to throw your full combat power after a minor infraction, after all.
Praefecti Primanus watched the strange vessel retreat in annoyance. Everyone was shocked at how their fire arrows seemed to have not effect on that boat, aside from a few scratches, they were also surprised at how nimble it was in the water and the speed with which it retreated. Not even some of the sea creatures back home were not the fast. But this also probably meant that that the magicians controlling the boat were now frightened at the true strength of their armada.
With his confidence renewed, Praefecti Primanus gave his next orders. "Order all ships into battle formations! Bring up our artillery ships! Have our transports move forward and begin landing troops into that city!" He bellowed.
With a blow of a war horn, the flotilla once again surged forward, a forest of wood and sails moving in perfect concert. The transports, filled to the brim with eager warriors and cavalry, ready to spill barbarian blood and claim booty, slaves, and glory. The artillery crews ready to let loose their ordnance and watch their foes flounder from afar.
As they moved forward, their lookouts reported that there were several other small vessels ahead. When spotted, it appeared that the crews manning them were just ordinary sailors. It appeared that they were just as apprehensive, slightly fearful even, of the approaching armada. Praefecti Primanus grinned as he thought up hi next orders. "Archers, target those puny vessels in front of us! Let them know the true cost of daring to challenge the Empire!"
Five miles off the coast of New Atlimas
9:47:39 hrs
USS Normandy 6
"Captain, Fire Scouts are airborne and is over the target area now." A sailor notified.
"Put it on the main screen."
"Yes sir." It took a few moments for the live feed to come on, and when it did, it took up several holographic displays. It was almost like watching a panoramic theater.
And the pictures from the show were not looking very good. "Captain, sensors are confirming contacts. Current estimates are at seven hundred and rising. There also appears to be many dozens of transports carrying what appears to be infantry and horse riders. High-res sensors are also seeing multiple ships of unknown design." A sailor notified.
Capt. Stevens sucked in his breath at that number. Despite all the missiles carried by their arsenal ship, escorts, and fighter and gunship assets on station, it was going to be challenging, considering ammo constraints. While the main ships could be taken care of, the smaller transports could potentially be a challenge. They were much smaller and a lot less significant than a full-blown warship; was it necessary expending missiles on a relatively benign type of ship? Not to mention that getting in close would mean they would have the protection and support of the surrounding vessels.
As he was pondering how exactly to respond, another sailor spoke up. "Captain! Sensors from the second Fire Scout have picked up several commercial sailboats! The unknown ships are firing incendiary arrows towards them!"
That was the final straw. If those a$$holes thought they could just show up and randomly start attacking unarmed sailors, then they had another thing coming! This had to be nipped in the bud now! They would not let a tragedy to unfold right in front of them and during their patrol!
He grabbed the microphone and switched frequencies to talk over the ship's loudspeakers and other vessels in their group. "This is Capt. Stevens to all personnel in the Normandy 6 patrol group. Numerous unknown vessels spotted approximately five nautical miles north of our position. They are currently attempting incendiary attacks on several unarmed, commercial vessels in the area. All unknowns are now presumed hostile. General quarters, all hands! Man your battle stations!"
Multiple alarms sounded as sailors scrambled to their stations and prepared all their asset complements and weapons.
And thus, the U.S. Navy steamed forward to repel an unknown armada on their own shores.
"Order all SeaLion CSUVs forward in a wedge formation! Use the dazzlers to disorient the enemy and protect those innocent sailors!" Capt. Stevens ordered. He would not have civilian casualties on his hands before his confrontation could even begin!
The several dozen drone boats did just that, roaring in front of the stricken sailboats, their dazzlers stunning the archers and crewmen aboard their foreign vessels, temporarily halting their advance. "Attention sailors. This is the U.S. Navy. Those unknown crafts have inflammatory intent and as such, have been deemed hostile. Please evacuate this area immediately." A sailor relayed to the rescued civilians aboard the sailboats. They didn't hesitate in hastily making the getaway.
"Captain, civilians are secured and are egressing away from the conflict zone! Awaiting orders."
Capt. Stevens grinned. With the noncombatants safely out of harm's way, his hands were free to play all his pieces. It was time to show how the U.S. Navy dealt with bullies harassing their sailors! "Retask all CSUVs for harassment! Use maximum outputs for dazzlers and reconfigure the speakers to play screeching noises! Use the machine guns to try and thin the fleet!" He barked.
As the drone boats began speeding and weaving through the gaps in the ranks of the advancing horde of ships, the dazzlers flashed at their maximum intensity, and the loudspeakers, which were usually used for hailing other individuals, were now blaring unbearably horrendous noises. It was almost amusing for the crew on the bridge of Normandy 6 to watch as multiple streams from the sensors showed up the holo-screens, the discomfort and frustration apparent on their faces.
Their machineguns were also firing continuously as the boats casually sped by. However, the bullets seemed to have little effect on the physical state of the enemy ships aside from unnerving the crew. They must've obviously never encountered the sensation of gunfire before.
Although the swarm attacks had failed to cause significant damage the enemy armada, it was only expected. They had, however, disoriented and unnerved the enemy crews such to the extent that the Fire Scout saw the enemy flotilla's speed dramatically decrease as a result of the harassing attacks.
But this did more than just harry them; it also bought valuable time. Time that was used to bring the defenders fully onto the field. "Recall all CSUVs back into formation, and order all ships full speed ahead! Engage retro-reflective panels, and position our ships to be directly in front of the enemy armada! If they want our city, they'll have to go through us!" Capt. Stevens hollered.
Four miles off the coast of New Atlimas
10:12:39 hrs
Praefecti Primanus was livid.
Not only had his warriors fail to sink several measly boats and kill their crew, which should have been an easy task, multiple boats appeared. These were identical in design to the first vessel that was encountered, and with a booming voice, the would-be victims began sailing away.
Just how powerful were these magicians, to be able to control many vessels at once and be able to communicate with their voices!?
And that wasn't all. It seemed these boats had their own brand of dark magic, flashing bright lights and screeching horrible noises that disoriented his crew. The even had strange, stubby black staves that flashed fire and gave a constant stream of noises like thunder, spewing lightning at his ships. Although he was shocked, the fire staves did not appear to be able to inflict much damage on his ships. It appeared their magic wasn't very powerful and was mainly for show.
Just how did these magic boats work? But as the annoyance wore off and he was about to order his men to attempt to capture at least one of these strange contraptions to study, they all suddenly turned and retreated. Most likely the magicians controlling them were too scared that their magic couldn't inflict significant damage.
That heled him regain his composure and collect himself. Gathering himself, and with a growing desire for petty revenge rising, he was about to bark out his next orders when the lookouts informed him of something.
"Milord, there appears to be movement on the water in front of us, off the starboard bow."
Primanus viewed through his telescope but could see nothing. "Sailor, I do not see anything. Are you certain there is something there?"
"Yes milord. I cannot tell if it is the distance or sunlight, but I suggest moving in closer to get a better look."
He hummed for a moment, considering his next moves. He could not commit if he didn't know anything about a potential enemy fleet. However, the only opposition so far were tiny boats, and these did negligible damage to his fleet. It appeared that this world wasn't capable of constructing true warships.
Ignoring the sighting as a fantasy, he instead ordered the entire forward at an increased speed. There were no other defenders in the area anyway, and there was an entire city of wealth just waiting to be conquered right in front of them.
But as they approached the city, every single sailor and warrior in the fleet received the biggest shock of their lives.
Right in front of them materialized a contingent of ships, almost out of thin air. Did those ships use invisibility magic!? How could their magicians not notice them beforehand!? And how were these ships so large!? Many of them were easily taller and more than most of his own ships! And all of them appeared to be made of metal, how were they able to float!? Did they use magic too!?
"What the hell!? Where did those ships come from!?"
"How are those ships so large, can they fit an entire legion on board!?"
"How will be able to defeat ships that large!?"
The trepidations were shared by the Praefecti as well as the sailors and crew. Yet even the sight of such monstrous ships wasn't enough to faze him. "Sailor and warriors of the Empire, do not falter! There are only a dozen enemy ships, we have hundreds! Overwhelm them with our sheer numbers! Bring up our artillery ships! Use your ship's catapults and ballistae! Let our fire rain true! Forward to glory!"
"Hehe, surprise mother***ers!" That was the sentiment shared by every sailor of the Normandy 6 patrol group as they deactivated their retro-reflective panels right in front of them. It was satisfying to see the reaction on their adversaries' faces at the sight of ships appearing right in front of them.
The enjoyment didn't last long though. Multiple alarms began ringing on several of the larger ships as multiple projectiles came hurtling towards the fleet. It was a barrage of fiery rocks, but it was something that didn't elicit much concern.
At this distance, accuracy from ancient weapons would be abysmally low, and even if some managed to score a lucky hit, it wouldn't do much damage to the reinforced composite hulls. Even then, the self-repairing structure matrix would quickly plug in the gaps.
Still, the automated point defense systems, not being given any stand-down orders, did what they were programmed to do, and multiple SeaRAM-II-E turrets fired their RIM-232 missiles at the offending rocks.
Praefecti Primanus was growing ever more livid and shocked at his situation. He had ordered a full barrage of fire boulders at the enemy fleet, but they had fired off small metal arrows which exploded his boulders in midair!
He was shocked a that; no ship had the ability to have magic of that capability to defend itself! And how were they able to fire its metal arrows with such accuracy!? No ballista, no matter how powerful, had accuracy of that degree!
Yet he steeled himself; just like before with the small boats, this enemy's magic could only last for a certain amount of time; he simply had to outlast that magic. "Order our artillery ships to keep up the fire! All ships keep firing your catapults and ballistae! Order out transports forward! Try to board and capture them if possible! All ships forward, ramming speed"
The boats surged forward, intent on bring these fearsome, mysterious ships down.
"Captain, enemy armada dead in front of us, three nautical miles. They're not slowing down sir." An ensign notified.
Capt. Stevens hummed for a moment. "Order our escort ships; volley fire, five missiles each! Aim for the front and flanks, but avoid the lead ship!" He didn't believe in wholesale slaughter; he instead opted for a show of force. If the enemy didn't capitulate, then his hand was forced.
The three Rhodes-class destroyers and two Riley-class frigates fired their SeaSerpent missiles (4) and the rippled towards the hostile armada. The resulting explosions were nothing short of impressive.
Three miles off the coast of New Atlimas
10:37:12 hrs
Primanus was in a quite conundrum. He had ordered the entire armada to row forwards at ramming speed, while at the same time having them fire their catapults and ballistae. Many of the boulders were being blown apart in midair by the enemy ship's smaller fire arrows. They were also being blown apart by bursts of steady streams of fire that caused numerous small explosions.
What's worse, the lucky few boulders that did manage to land a hit on the enemy ships did not appear to cause significant damage. Rather, the ships themselves appeared to have repaired the damage themselves; did they use regeneration magic!?
Now, it seemed the enemy had decided to counterattack.
"Milord, several of the enemy ships are letting loose magic fire rods!" A lookout excitedly called.
The Praefecti couldn't help but be shocked into awe by the sight. Several of the ships had spewed fire; were they burning themselves? Yet that couldn't be the case, as not a moment later, a large fire arrow rose from within the ship and sped off into the air in an arc. He couldn't help but be mesmerized by the display.
The admiration didn't last long as he realized that the fire rods were traveling towards their fleet at blistering speeds. That's when the first ships near him and on the wings exploded. The ships simply ceased to be, flinging bodies, debris, and water high into the heavens as a great roar of thunder and a great ball of fire consumed them!
"By Rhomir, what the hell was that!?"
He couldn't believe the madness of the situation; those enemy ships were able to fire massive rods of fire from an unthinkable distance and obliterate a warship into oblivion with a single hit!
Yet even this wasn't enough to dissuade him. "Order our transports forward! Let the enemy be occupied with our ranged attacks while our troops make landfall!"
He also decided to finally unleash his trump card. "Order all our dragons skyward! Let them burn the ships to the depths!"
Near the rear of the fleet, and below the large decks of multiple flat-topped ships, the sound of chains clanking, creatures growling, and cages being opened up sounded. From the bellies of these large ships, numerous flying lizards screeched as the spread their wings and as their riders paused for a moment to get a bearing on their surroundings.
Capt. Stevens was observing was hoping that this show of force would convince the enemy of their combat abilities and they would stand down, but that didn't seem to be the case. The enemy flotilla was still moving forward at its full speed and showed no signs of letting up. As he considered where to hit next, another sailor spoke up.
"One of our Fire Scouts picked up movement near the rear of the flotilla, redirecting drone now." An ensign reported.
"Put it up on the main screen." Capt. Stevens ordered. He did so, and they saw what the commotion was about.
Near the rear of the enemy flotilla were twenty large vessels. They were long and flat-topped unlike the rest, and were worryingly similar in size to their own Berkeley-class Lightning carriers. Then they saw multiple hatches on the deck open up, and from the interior emerged numerous flying lizards.
"Radar has confirmed tracking on at least three hundred plus hostile bogeys. Launching countermeasures."
"Get our UCAVs airborne! All ships, weapons free! Fire at will!"
Within minutes, a dozen Swallow UCAVs had taken off and were ready to confront the aerial threats and wreak havoc on the enemy flotilla.
By that time, the patrol group was fully on the offensive, and a flurry of communications continuously flooded over the captain's intercom.
"UCAV has acquiring bogey…target locked…Fox 3, missile away!...splash!"
"Aerial threats identified, firing SM-3-E missiles!"
"Acquiring lock, firing torpedoes…good hit!"
"Don't waste your missiles on the smaller boats! Use the five inch-guns! Load HPV shells (5)!"
And thus, the U.S. Navy fought back like an unrelenting tidal wave there.
"WHAT IS THIS SORCERY!?" Praefecti Primanus screamed in terror as terror reigned all around him.
As far as the eye could see, his ships were erupting into massive balls of fire from the never-ending stream of magic fire arrows from the enemy ships. How did they have such an endless supply!?
That wasn't the only terror that was unfolding. Above him, his strongest weapons, his fabled wyverns, were being erupting in fireballs in a similar manner as the fiery boulders, their mangled, bloody corpses and chunks of meat of both beast and rider rained down into the waters below.
The sea was rapidly becoming a graveyard with all the countless wreckages blocking the path of the unfortunate survivors. So much so that they could hardly maneuver. Not even their most powerful catapults, ballistae, nor even their much-feared artillery ships could hope to match the enemy.
In his despair, Primanus could do the only do the one thing. "CURSE YOU ALL, YOU WRETCHED SAVAGES! CURSE YOU ALL YOU ALL TO—" He was never able to finish his curse as another anti-ship missile struck the side of his ship, erupting into flames and killing him instantly. He would hardly become a footnote of just another casualty in the long list.
Three miles off the coast of New Atlimas
11:02:12 hrs
The battle was finally over.
Capt. Stevens let out a small breath of relief to know that the threat at sea had been dealt with.
"I want RHIB teams to be sent out. Salvage what you can and ensure that are no survivors. If you find any live ones, put 'em out of their misery." It wasn't that he didn't care about their lives. Given the amount of firepower that was directed towards the enemy, it was doubtful anything still breathing would make it to sundown.
It was going to be a long afternoon. During the scuffle at sea, he had also received reports of an enemy incursion inside New Atlimas. His ships had offered fire support whenever it could, but since reinforcements came in quickly, its main focus was at sea.
It also seemed like both the strange army and navy were somehow related and connected, but they didn't know just how.
For now, they had to clean and sort through the huge mess.
Just who the hell were these guys, and what did they want?
Footnotes:
1. watch?v=1HW75DniAu4
2. military/navy-ships/a27631180/star-trek-frigate/
3. technology/2015/08/warship-future-royal-navy/119930/
tomahawk-missiles-to-be-replaced-by-deadlier-nglaw
5. military/weapons/a25804867/us-navy-hvp-heavy-gun-shells-rimpac/
*Chapter 7*: Ch3:AftermathReview Reponses:
Funkymunkz: Don't worry about the dark path, you definitely won't be disappointed. As for the harem and diplomatic path, I'm still undecided, maybe add a twist or something, I don't know yet
KAKYOINOVERHEAVEN: I'm unsure, but maybe I could do a shorter version of this fanfic from a Russian POV, or based on this story, much later in the future, maybe when this current story is finished. Also, the GLA is a fictional terror group, plz check my "Timeline" chapter
Cooldude: You won't be disappointed
Dressyone22: The empire will definitely fall hard from a society fighting war for a century. Also, I'm thinking the soldiers will still be somewhat friendly, just not the naively trusting type of friendly like the JSDF in the anime/manga
"Guest": Don't worry, interrogations are coming up
GREAT CELESTIAL-DRAGON: The gate world will have a different name than Falmart. Also, the women in this story will have quite the spectrum of reactions. And don't worry about the army leaders, they will know true fear
Disturbance #3
Ch3: Aftermath
"The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming"
Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight
September 13, 2104
White House Presidential Emergency Operations Center
12:11:33 hrs
In the hardened underground bunker, President Jameson H. Charles, together with the National Security Council and General Mason A. Chambers were watching live feeds of the unfolding events from their satellites, drones, and whatever news reports from those that were brave or stupid enough to still be amidst the chaos.
After Gen. Chambers had informed him of the surprise attack on New Atlimas, President Charles had summoned the NSC to the situation – although due to such short notice, some of the members could only watch via live video feed – only to find what the actual f*** was going on. Their words could best be summed up as: 'How did a hostile force get onto their shores without them noticing again!?'
The Director of National Intelligence and Director of the CIA, Grace J. Hunter and Leon C. Webb respectively, from their video links, had no answers to this question as they were just as stumped as the rest of the Council. From their departments, there were no security breaches and their satellites did not pick up any sort of hostile force intruding onto US territory.
Besides this bombshell the entire world, especially Europe, was still rebuilding even fifty years after the devastation of World War 3 and no one wanted to start another one – especially since another age in the Global War on Terror and a Third Cold War was already underway.
It wasn't until General Aaron S. Griffiths, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, established a link to the USS Tarawa and got a video transmission from their responding troops and the news channels that they got a clear picture.
What the NSC saw, with the exception of General Griffiths, were left dumbfounded and in shock. The General couldn't blame the members of the NSC when they shook their heads and/or slapped themselves to make sure they weren't seeing things wrong. Gen. Griffiths didn't believe the reports when he first saw them first, after all.
The shock didn't last long though, as President Charles immediately ordered all available units in the area to mobilize full speed and defeat the aggressors.
With the orders given and their forces in full mobilization, all they could do now was let Griffiths coordinate and watch as the troops fought back against the most unusual enemy t invade their soil. While the rest of the NSC was were scrambling to gather and process real-time information coming their way and respond with appropriate commands, President Charles was seething in anger.
Thirteen years; that was how long the country was trying to heal itself. Thirteen years since the major GLA terror attacks catapulted the world into a new era of fear. Thirteen years trying to let the world know even a sliver of hope. The moment everyone finally let their guard down, this happens. But that wasn't what he was angry about.
From the satellites to their drones and the news, it all showed one thing. The enemy was killing his countrymen, and it wasn't a quick death like from a bullet. They were butchering men, women, and children, young and old, regardless of anything, openly in the streets.
He even saw a mother and child being grabbed by this giant creature thing and were eaten. The child was the first to be eaten while the mother screamed and watched helplessly, crying for her child before she herself was eaten and whatever was left of their corpses were tossed aside like common refuse. It was not just this though ad numerous atrocities were being committed openly by these…animals.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, General Griffiths received word that the battle was over and the majority of the enemy force was destroyed and the few survivors had surrendered. All the Security Council breathed a sigh of relief that this crisis was over with. But the president wanted – no, needed to know the hardest information of all: what the losses were.
"General, I want a straight answer." President Charles dreaded the answer to this kind of question, hell, no leader wanted to receive this kind of news, but it must be done. "How many…how many lives were lost in this attack?"
General Griffiths hesitated for several moments as he did some rough estimates before he sighed. "We don't have the exact numbers at this time but if I were to hazard a guess…the attack occurred at around 9:00 hours. It was well within rush hour. The attacks also occurred at the heart of the most congested districts in the city." President Charles closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands at the implication. "I estimate up to five thousand lives lost, most likely more."
The Council was horrified and saddened by the General's estimation. Not less than three hours the attack began, as many as five thousand lives were lost, and that number would most lightly increase once the full casualty count was in. this was one of the worst losses of life in peacetime US history. These losses surpassed those even in the 9/11 attacks, rivals the losses of the attacks in '91 when the GLA made itself known.
Every time that an adversary had committed a cowardly attack on American soil, the nation almost always knew immediately exactly wo had done the deed, and just as quickly responded with fervor and dedication. They all knew who their foe was and acted accordingly.
But this time, they didn't know who their foe was.
Even though the Commander-in-Chief in him screamed to retaliate in full immediately, President Charles knew this wasn't the smart thing to do. They literally had no idea where the hell these attackers had come from and knew next to nothing about them. The only literal lead they had was this strange structure in the middle of Central Square that their Marines were currently aiming their weapons at.
There was no guarantee that the passage though it goes both ways for their troops, and even if it does, there was an almost certain guarantee that there was an even larger enemy force on the other side waiting for them to come though. It was an unnecessary risk that President Charles was not willing to take.
So with a hesitant heart, offensive action had to be held off for now. At least until they knew what they were getting into. "Well…what about our troops? Were there any casualties?" He prayed that none of their defenders had perished; more than enough had been lost already.
Thankfully, the General shook his head. "None, sir. Aside from a couple dozen light injuries, there were no fatalities among our forces. Some of our vehicles and aircraft were also damaged, but not lost in the engagements."
"What about the wounded civilians?"
"Emergency personnel are on the scene with military medics helping out, and more on the way, but from what they're saying…most of them have suffered extreme injuries, sir. I don't think many will make it even with triage going on in the field hospitals set up along the now overcrowded real hospitals. Even one of our hospital ships docked in the harbor is having trouble handling the influx, although we have two more on the way as we speak. There is also untold psychological damage that, frankly, we don't believe any amount of therapy will fix, either."
The president breathed in deeply before letting out a sigh with an audible tone of defeat. He hadn't expected this to happen. Hell, no one could've ever expected to happen! Ancient Romans and creatures found only in fantasy!? This kind of thing only happens in a twisted story!
And yet they were all living in one.
President Charles only wanted a quite term to serve and lead his country. He had hoped that nothing more world-changing would occur as there were already two different kinds of conflict brewing and underway. He only wanted the world know that there were still people willing to fight for freedom and rebuild humanity anew.
Now this happens and all those hopes and dreams were thrown out the window.
He could already imagine the reactions this would trigger worldwide, but especially within his nation. His countrymen were already weary of war and had an increasingly obvious growing apathy. They were also more liberal and detached to the notion of responding with lethal force, especially if used liberally. They would undoubtedly howl for blood.
"General, is this how they got in?" The President pointed to the strange structure as the monitor zoomed in on it. "I don't recall that thing being there the last time I visited, and if it was, it certainly wouldn't be in the middle of a busy intersection."
"Inconclusive at best sir, but there's no other explanation." General Griffiths let out a weary sigh. "I know this may seem hard to believe but if I had to guess, I'd say it was magic which should be impossible but…we've all seen it and our soldiers fought them off our streets and shores. Creatures straight out of fantasy and humans that look like ancient Romans. This is something that no one could've foreseen even I their wildest imaginations."
It was true and the Council had no choice but to accept it. No one could have prepared for something as ludicrous as this. From a realist standpoint, this shouldn't be happening but here it was. They saw the action with their own eyes ad their armed forces fought tooth and nail to subdue the threat. They could do nothing to refute such overwhelming evidence when it was staring them in the face, but like the General said, it was hard to believe.
"Recommendations?" President Charles asked, shaking off his apparent disbelief. He already had idea of what was to be done but he need expert advice on the finer details. The Council began discussing amongst themselves the appropriate course of action.
"Mr. President, as you know we were attacked." The video link of the Secretary of Defense, Daniel B. Knight, began. "Even though our forces managed to easily repel the,. They somehow breached our defense network and early warning systems just like that, they subsequently proceeded to cause heavy damage to property and loss of life. They just appeared out of nowhere and we have no idea way of knowing until it's too late. Since this attack failed, who's to say they might try this again somewhere else? I recommend raising all forces win the continental United States to DEFCON 2, while our overseas forces to DEFCON 3 in anticipation for another attack. At the moment, it's the only real thing we can do."
The rest for the Council wholeheartedly agreed with the SecDef. With how easily they were able to bypass their defense grid and early warning, and the ease with which the enemy appeared, another enemy force could just try the same story in another city and the whole story would start over again. They knew better than to take risks, regardless of how slim the chance.
With the decision unanimous, President Charles nodded his consent. "Agreed; General Griffiths, you have mine and Secretary Knight's authorization. All US forces at home are to be raised to DEFCON 2 and all overseas forces to DEFCON 3. Let's just pray that it doesn't happen."
The General gave a resolute nod. "Yes, Mr. President."
With the order given and sensing that they could do no more the moment, the President scowled and stood up from his chair, hands leaning on the desk.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is an unprovoked attack on our country. They killed many of our citizen and razed much of New Atlimas to the ground. This is an open declaration of war."
The Council had no rebuttal. It didn't matter how small the attack; an unprovoked attack on sovereign soil was tantamount to an act of war. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, the Neo-Axis attack on the homeland, and the GLA attacks on the city years ago, it was happening again now.
"Once things calm down, I will release my formal statement and call for Congress to go to war and apprehend or kill those responsible." President Charles turned to Directors Hunter and Webb. "Directors, you have full authority on h ow you deal with the prisoners, you'll act in conjunction with the military in handling the security and interrogations. They have the answers to the questions we have, and they will tell us, one way or another."
"Understood, Mr. President."
"Good, in the meantime, I think we're done here." The President sighed. "This meeting is adjourned; you all know what to do.
One by one, the members of the National Security Council filed out of the bunker and towards their respective destinations to get to work. General Griffiths to a secure communications terminal to order the Armed forces to the appropriate security levels. Directions Hunter and Webb to make preparations for interrogations and collaboration with the military.
Eventually, only the President remained in the Situation Room, alone and lost in his thoughts. First the Neo-Axis, then the Stanislav Accords, then the GLA, now this? How much punishment could one nation take before it finally snapped?
"Oh G**…what am I going to tell the country?" Or worse yet, what was he going to tell the whole world…?
New Atlimas, Ground Zero
September 13, 2104
12:47:33
There were no words to describe the near-apocalyptic symphony of chaos that was playing out.
Although the battle with the would-be invaders had finally ended, that didn't make things any calmer.
While the many enemy force had been dealt with, security forces and reinforcing troops doing post-battle sweeps ere still clearing out and snuffing out the last pockets of resistance and any unfortunate survivors who had somehow, miraculously survived the initial onslaught.
Rather, the chaos shifted to a different brand.
The piercing, wailing tones of countless emergency vehicles, police, fire, and medical filled the air, their vehicles beginning to clog up the streets. It seemed like every available emergency vehicle had been sent to the scene of disaster, and were even beginning to cause traffic problems with the police and military roadblocks.
Medics, both civilian and military, constantly running around clamoring for medical supplies that even now were beginning to run low.
The overwhelming stench of countless bodies lingered in the air, from American civilians, the 'Romans,' and even the fantasy creatures. So much so that many emergency personnel had begun to don facemasks.
The streets becoming a literal river of blood as it seeped from the countless bodies and onto the pavement from lack of attention thereof; their bodies littering the streets to the point that the black of the streets and the grey of the sidewalks couldn't be seen. These were mostly from the invaders, whose bodies were ignored out of scorn. The Hippocratic Oath was lost on the doctors as their focus was on their own citizens. Sadly, many American would bleed to death where they lay, waiting for their chance at attention.
While EMTs feverishly struggled to save as many American lives as possible, military personnel began picking up bodies to clear the streets. They treated the bodies of their slain citizens with the dignity, placing them in body bags and whatever flags they could dig up and arranged them in neat lines on the sidewalks as they were cleared up. Not so the invaders; their corpses were picked up and unceremoniously tossed into haphazard piles.
And while all this was going on, orders were already coming in from the top to prepare the prisoners for transfer and interrogation. While the troops were guarding the prisoners and during the counterattack, their integrated AI was able to pick up the enemy's speech through distributed microphones and receivers across the troops' equipment and vehicles.
It would be useful for future communications. They didn't have to wait for very long.
"COEUS, what's the progress on the language analysis?"
COEUS was one of the major distributed hive-mind AIs developed by the US military intended for wide-scale use, and was intended mainly for information handling. While they had multiple programs, such as ATHENA for strategy, CECROPS for translation as multi-national cooperation was more paramount than ever, and MARS for tactical combat, it was possible for the individual soldier to have a personalized version of the program. It was capable of adjusting to the individual and acting as somewhat as a personal companion, but was still capable of linking up with the national military network and act in sync.
[Analysis underway. Preliminary samples from during the counterattack indicate an eighty plus percent match in language structure to Latin.]
That completely stunned the gathered soldiers, who heard it through their tactical headsets. An enemy from a literal alien world having a language nearly identical to one of their own, and their own base language at that!?
"COEUS, is it possible to give basic commands at this time?"
[Initial data pool limited at this time. Further exposure and analysis required. Syncing up to CECROPS for further development. Translation program synced to all personnel, program will evolve in real time as development progresses. Recommend using Latin as a substitute at this time.]
That was good news. The sooner they could extract understandable intel from the prisoners, the better the chances were of hitting back at the enemy where it hurt most. Maybe exploit their cultural or lingual understandings.
"Aardvark Actual, this is Overlord." A communication came in from High Command; it was Gen. Griffiths.
"Aardvark Actual here, go ahead."
"Be advised, convoy of transport trucks inbound, ten mikes out. You are to transfer the prisoners to the New Atlimas Silver Stadium for temporary detention. Hold them there until personnel from Central Intelligence arrive. Acknowledge, over."
The lieutenant almost grinned inside. Those guys would have a field day for interrogation on these bastards; he almost felt jealous that they would have all the fun. He would have loved to see the faces on the dignitaries and nobles when that happened. "Aardvark Actual copies all, out. Actual to all elements, prep for transport."
Count Giraut was kneeling forlorn, as were Lady Tanicia, Lady Lacinia, and Legatus Hosidius, along with other survivors and remaining nobles. Their heads had been lowered in shame the entire time. All they could think about was the coming dread of what these people would do with them. They had wronged these strange people after all.
All they could hear and see were the constant chatter of these soldiers as they stood guard, and the alien sounds of emergency vehicle sirens approaching. They saw many brightly-colored horseless carriages with flashing bright lights rush up, and from them, came more people who immediately began helping the wounded inhabitants of this city, although they ignored the Imperial soldiers.
They saw those soldiers treating the bodies dressed in strange clothes with an observable degree of respect, going so far as putting individual bodies into some sort of bags. They were going through the trouble of putting each body into those bags? They could get disease if they handed the bodies in that manner. They were also draping a large cloth over each bag; it had some great design, the same design as those found on each soldier's arm uniform; maybe a flag?
The same couldn't be said for their own, though. The corpses of the Imperial soldiers were simply picked up and tossed into piles; it was clear they had no respect for the Imperial dead. They must have been doing it out of scorn; Count Giraut could almost understand that, they had done the same when they planted that large Imeprial flag.
Lady Tanicia, Legate Hosidius, and another noble watched the display with rising disgust, these soldiers had no respect for Imperial dead! While Tanicia and Hosidius were about to speak out, the noble beat them to it. He tried to stand up from his kneeling position and charge the soldiers, but as soon he shouted, one of the soldiers cast his terrifying magic from his stave and the noble's body dropped dead, blood seeping from his chest and head.
Lady Tanicia and Legate Hosidius tried shouting as well, but remained on their knees; the soldiers guarding them promptly struck their faces, then took out small rags and bound their mouths. It was clear that any form of resistance wasn't tolerated.
Eventually though, the soldiers' demeanor and behavior seemed to have changed somewhat.
Some of the soldiers guarding them seemed to be speaking to each other and preparing for something judging by their body movements, Count Giraut wondered what it could mean. Soon, they heard approaching noises, and in front of them appeared long line of more of those horseless carriages coming into view.
The soldiers guarding them grasped their arms and began standing them up. "On your feet, stand up." The soldier's voices sounded deeper, somehow unnatural, as if a device was altering it. How their voices were changed he didn't know. But more importantly, the words sounded familiar. Although it didn't match entirely with his own language, it sounded almost identical, and he felt he understood the order.
He saw the same being done to the others. "Come on, move it. Move! Now!" Some of the others, notably Tanicia and Hosidius, as well as some of the more prideful of the nobles, were subjected to the rougher treatment and verbal beratement of the soldiers. Some of them tried resisting, but some of the soldiers puled out short, metallic rods which were used to mercilessly beat them into submission. Others pulled out strange devices that generated lightning and paralyzed its victims with a groan and falling to the ground. It was apparent that being exposed to this strange magic was quite painful; the others inwardly grimaced what kind of pain they would experience if they were exposed to it as well.
Soon, all the prisoners were being lined up behind those strange, large iron carriages. "Up. Get in. now." Some of his companions begrudgingly got in, while others hesitated, either out of fear or simply did not take kindly to being ordered around by foreigners. Regardless, those who hesitated were picked up and shoved into the backs of the carriages quite roughly.
Within a few minutes, everyone was loaded into the back of the carriages. Count Giraut was among those in one of the carriages in the rear, and he noticed that a pair of soldiers rode along as well. They were obviously guards.
As the carriages pulled away, Count Giraut couldn't help but notice how smooth they ran, and how much faster they were than their own. He also couldn't help but look out the back and pass countless scenes of destruction that their army had caused, and many strange people running about apparently trying to save the dying.
Since he was sitting next to one of the soldiers, he could see him and his companion in clear detail; it was almost frightening sitting next to an enemy soldier with the power to easily kill multiple opponents, and could do so from a distance. Although he wasn't willing to dare discovering their skills and capabilities up close up the hard way.
He gazed at these otherworldly soldiers, taking in every detail. Their terrifying staves, which he shuddered at the mere sight of, were casually held downwards, although it was clear they were ready to be sued at any time. The foremost detail, he noticed, was that they didn't seem to be wearing any armor, at least not the type he knew, and they were colored with splotches of grey, green, brown, and black. Why were they colored in that fashion? Their clothing and armor seemed to be only cloth; then how were they able to resist sword blows and arrows? Were they infused with magic? On their chest and legs were multiple pouches and many items which he could never hope to identify. They also wore some kind of metal contraption, its design completely alien to him. It was like a metal spider which matched up to their body shapes and fitted to their limbs, attaching to their wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and boots. The rear portions also had various bulges, their design and purpose unknown. Their helmets were also different; instead of having various slits for the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, the helmet covered the entirety of their heads. How could they possibly see or hear out of them if their senses were blocked? Yet, they didn't seemed hindered in the slightest. Overall, these helmets gave a foreboding, faceless appearance. Finally, there were some kind of symbols on their uniform's shoulders. They had patch with a design similar to those he saw being draped over the bodies of the slain otherworld's citizens' bodies, as well as on their metal beasts. Could it be a symbol of their king or a flag?
Finally, after several minutes of staring at the strange soldiers, Count Giraut attempted something none of his companions had thought of. "Greeting, soldiers. I am Count Fulbert Giraut. Would you be willing to enlighten my about your strange weapons and armor?"
A moment of silence. "Silence. No talking." He was a bit taken aback at the abruptness at their response but he didn't protest further. Unknown to him, they were analyzing his language, and learning it at a rapid pace.
If they weren't willing to talk, at least there were other things to look at. These wagons had an interior not unlike their own covered wagons, albeit much more spacious interior, and fashioned out of materials he could not identify, although they appeared to be made of metal. How could a carriage be made of metal yet still remain mobile? And if they did not require horses, how did they move?
These questions filled his head but he didn't dare ask. As they neared their destination, more questions of a different nature came to mind.
New Atlimas Silver Stadium
September 13, 2104
13:42:58
Lady Tanicia held doubts and trepidations to what their destination held in store for them. She was worried they were being sent to the executioner's block for immediate punishment, or the slave markets to completely break it into them that they were defeated, as punishment.
Yet those fears were allayed when the stage carriages stopped, and everyone was roughly hustled out.
Looking around, their destination was something akin to a colosseum, similar in scale to the one in their Capital…nay…it seemed larger in scale to what they achieved. And it appeared it was constructed of metal; just how powerful were these people to have that much metal and sue it to craft a structure of such size!? Were they to be humiliated and paraded in front of the population for sport!?
That couldn't be the case though, as the colosseum was devoid of spectators. The ground was also green; it appeared the field was well-groomed, and had white markings. What kind of spectacles occurred if the ground was so well taken care of?
Those questions wouldn't be answered, however, as they immediately noticed that the entire field was surrounded by a metal barrier of sorts, with towers on the corners and at various intervals, and there were more of those soldiers patrolling and standing guard. And in the center, were numerous metal contraptions. Upon closer approached as goaded by their guards, it became clear that these were cages, not unlike those in slave markets.
Tanicia's fears returned; it seemed like they were to be put up for sale as slaves after all! But those fears were once again put to rest, while another fear took its place.
As they all approached, more of the soldiers approached; some weren't wearing their strange, heavy armor, but instead they were all wearing strange masks that covered their faces, even their eyes weren't visible.
One of them, dressed slightly less than the rest, stood at the head of the group; he must be an officer of sorts. "Everyone, listen up!" He spoke up to the group, the language shockingly understandable, albeit sounding somewhat different. It wasn't harsh, but it was obvious that he held authority and was a driven individual. Like their previous guards, his voice sounded altered, deep and unnatural.
"You are now prisoners of the US military." That put a new kind of fear into the crowd. Many openly grimaced and scowled; they didn't not being treated like this at all.
"You will not be executed now, but if you wish to keep it that way, these are the rules I expect you abide by." Many, especially the Legate, many of the nobles, and the high-borne ladies still weren't accepting of their situation, but if they wished to save their necks, they begrudgingly, silently listened on.
"Here are the rules. Disobey me, you die. You try to escape, you die. You talk back to us without our permission, you die. If you so much as irritate or vex me…you die."
Most of the prisoners grimaced at those rules; it was almost like hoarding cattle! A few nobles and soldiers were immediately outraged and lunged out in a rage., but the lightning magic from the strange hand devices quickly silenced them. The officer walked up and stood over the offenders.
"Already trying to challenge me, boy?" He said; even if his voice was altered, a tone of challenge and taunting was apparent. The noble and soldiers scowled at being treated like this they were nobles! They deserved better treatment than this!
"Look's like it. I guess you'll be a great education to the others. Put these in front of the others! Everyone else, out of my sight!"
The guards then proceeded to roughly guide the prisoners to these cages, while some were still resisting, they received a more brutal treatment courtesy of the soldiers' metal rods and strange lighting magic. Everyone was put into individual cages with only some kind of net over their heads. Before locked up though, the binds on their hands were cut free, so they could at least move.
Meanwhile, the few nobles and soldiers who lunged out earlier were forced to their knees in a circle, in the middle of all the cages, facing towards the other prisoners. Their arms were then chained to poles behind their backs with only some kind of cloth covering propped over their heads. In this setup, their punishment was put on full public display in front of the other prisoners, their faces and suffering apparent to all. A clear message of what disobedience brought.
The prisoners could only fearfully await their fate; they had no prospect of a future now.
As the sun began to set on their first day in this strange new land and city, the guards began placing trays with strange food inside their "cells," along with cups of water. "Eat and drink. You'll need your strength for what's coming."
Lady Lacinia observed this and although still fearful of what the future held, was awed yet confused why the these sodliers would go to these lengths to alleviate their suffering.
However, a few didn't not take kindly to this gesture of kindness, and instead of being grateful, actually took the tray and tossed at the guard in defiance. A big mistake. As immediately afterwards, more of the guards' comrades took out strange bottles in their hands, directed them at the offenders, and from them, materialized a sickly mist with a hissing sound.
"AAAGGHHH! MY EYES! IT SINTGS! IT STINGS!"
"IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"
"MAKE THE STINGING STOP! IT HURTS!"
The other prisoners were terrified at this action; could those bottles contain poison!? "Take him out of his cell! Put him in the circle with the others!" One of the guards yelled over the yelling, seemingly oblivious to the pain.
The offenders were quickly taken out of their cages, and several more poles were set up in the central circle. The offenders were then promptly chained with their arms behind their backs to the pole in a kneeling position. Even then, the guards were still trying to help. "Hold still, this is water. We will wash the sensation out of your eyes."
Finally, after the commotion had settled down, the rest of the prisoners knew that further resistance was pointless.
As the night came on, the prisoners were somewhat surprised as strange lights were showered down on them. It appeared that several large poles with glowing orbs surrounded them, making it almost seem as if it were day. Did they use light magic? Did they use the power or magic of the sun?
Those questions would remain unanswered, as the guards routinely patrolled outside their cages, their blackened, masked silhouettes against the white of the strange lights unnerving enough to silence even the characteristically stubborn among them.
As the prisoners drifted off to a hopeless sleep, under the strange, unrelenting bright lights, the prisoners could only think about their new life as prisoners in a strange new land. Captured and brutalized by the very people they came to conquer and subjugate, their fury would likely know no bounds, as they would likely seek to make sport of them, or worse. They would rather try not to dream what could happen to them.
They never felt the pinprick sensations on their necks as they dreamt of the horrors in the r troubled sleep. They didn't know that their lives were about to become a living hell.
MSNBC News Station
September 14, 2104
23:37:33 hrs
36 HOURS AFTER THE NEW ATLIMAS INCIDENT
New Atlimas ATTACKED! America STUNNED!
"Good evening, this is Julia E. Robertson of MSNBC News. The entire nation is left in a state of utter shock as New Atlimas is put into lockdown by Army, Marine, and Naval units. Just over a day ago, we have learned that New Atlimas had been the site of yet another attempted invasion of an unknown hostile force resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent lives and destruction of property. We now go live to the city where our field reporter, Corey J. Rivers, is covering the incident. Corey, you there?"
The screen then switched to a video link to the skies over New Atlimas in a helicopter.
"Thank you, Julia. Were reporting live in a helicopter and are currently circling over the eastern part half of New Atlimas. This as far as we can get close because the airspace over Central Square is restricted for a whole twenty block radius. As you can see there is nothing but destruction. Buildings in ruins and some still smoldering, cars on fire; Julia, you'd think that it was the Neo-Axis or GLA again. Right now, the Navy has locked down the entire island along with Marine and Army units. I can tell you that the fighting is over and the invaders subdued but according to them, the area is still unsafe due to possible remaining stragglers. Marine and Army units, along with emergency personnel, are instead focused on search and rescue operations for any survivors in the danger zone."
"Corey, is there any word on the survivors? How are they doing?"
Corey sighed. "Julia, most of them are in pretty bad shape when they were being treated. Gruesome details that, for the sake of our viewers, I will not be going into full detail but all I can say is…if the videos we saw on the Internet were real…these people have suffered through hell."
"Thank you, Corey." The live feed was cut and the scene retuned to the news station. "In regards to this surprise attack, the military has gone on high alert, with all forces in the continental United States reported to be mobilizing in anticipation of another attack. We now go live to the White House where the President is about to make an official statement. Reporting in from Washington DC, Samantha L. Steward. Samantha?"
The screen then switched to a video link in the White Houses' James S. Brady Press Briefing Room where dozens of reporters were reporting from their respective news channels.
"Thank you, Julia. We are now live in the White House Briefing Room for the President's official statement for tis surprise attack. White House officials have been particularly tight-lipped regarding this issue and we can only hope that President Charles has the – there he is! The President of the United States has now made his appearance. He is accompanied by Army General Aaron S. Griffiths, Chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff, and is making his way to the podium."
The camera swerved to President Charles as he stood before the podium and their cameras and in indeed, the very eyes of the American public who wanted answers for this.
The President took a deep breath and exhaled before looking back up. "Thank you for coming here today, everybody." He said before motioning for the reporters to sit down, and they did. "My fellow Americans, I know that you have many questions regarding what happened in New Atlimas. I've asked questions along similar lines as well but I can tell you right now…that the United States of America was attacked." He paused for a moment to let it sink in before continuing. "I know that videos have been circulating on the Internet, depicting graphic footage of unbelievable creatures and men dressed as ancient Romans killing Americans in gruesome fashion. All I can say to you that those videos….are indeed true."
As soon as the word left his mouth, the reporters raised their hands, trying to get his attention and spouted a numerous amount of questions. President Charles could see the total disbelief in their eyes and he could only imagine what the nation…what the world was thinking.
Many times, these kinds of videos were just hoaxes, made for simple entertainment or incite a scare from someone…but to hear it was true from the very head of the United States government was a total bombshell.
It took a while but the crowd eventually calmed down. "Yes, you heard it correctly; those things you saw were all authentic. This has been confirmed by the Director of National Intelligence, Mrs. Hunter, General Griffiths, as well as our troops who fought them in New Atlimas. We have captured prisoners and they have been detained and are currently being transported to a secure location. I'll take your questions now."
"Sir, what can you tell us about the state of the prisoners?"
President Charles sighed. "Currently, that is classified information, but I can tell you we will use any methods necessary to find out what they wanted to accomplish in attacking us." The reported nodded as the President motioned for another reporter.
"What are the casualties, sir?"
It was the question Charles dreaded to answer but he knew he had to. Taking a deep breath, he bowed his head. "Unfortunately, the attack occurred when it was rush hour. As of right now the number of dead is five thousand and injured is well over ten thousand."
As expected, the crowd of reporters grew even wilder and Charles could only imagine what the Americans at home were thinking. If he could see them, they were seething in outrage.
When the reporters didn't seem to calm down, the President picked one to speak so that there could be order. That was when the next reporter asked the million dollar question as it were. "Mr. President, how did they get into the United States and is it possible another attack may occur?"
"We aren't entirely sure, but early reports from the officers on the scene reported some kind of strange structure just appeared out of thin air in Central Square. I know this is something that's completely impossible, but we have concrete evidence that we can't refute. Due to this, I have ordered – effective immediately – that all US forces in the Continental United States are to assume Defcon 2 while our overseas forces assume DEFCON 3. If another attack occurs, we will be ready…though I and everybody else hopes it doesn't happen again."
The whole room gasped when the President announced that the entirety of the Armed Forces were being called into action in anticipation of another surprise attack, but before they could ask more questions, the President had already called Samantha Steward for her question.
She stood and straightened up. "Sir…is this the start of another was for the United States?" That got everyone's attention and they all turned to the President for his answer.
President Charles knew this was another question that had to be answered. If he knew anything about his country, it's that the United States does not take any attack on her people and soil lying down. There was already a high chance the entire population wanted payback.
"Under national and international law, these men and monsters attacked us and killed many of our people with no official declaration of war. Like the Japanese did with Pearl Harbor, this is tantamount to declaring war on the United States; it leaves me no other choice." President Charles lowered his head for a moment before raising it up with a resolute expression. "Under Section 2, Article 3 of the US Constitution, I hereby call an emergency session of Congress in five days to declare a state of war against this new threat. Thank you." With that, the President stepped away from the podium, escorted by the General and his Secret Service agents despite the reporters attempting more questions.
"There you have it, Julia, coming from the President of the United States himself, he confirmed the authenticity of the videos, audio recordings and images about the New Atlimas attack. I…I can't believe it myself…" Samantha shook her head in disbelief before turning back to the camera." Ladies and gentlemen, the President has all but declared that the United States is once again at war against an enemy nobody could've expected, but with the brutal killings of thousands of Americans, this is a choice all Americans will support. Julia?"
The screen switched back to the MSNBC news station.
"Thank you, Samantha. With the entirety of the US Armed Forces called into action to defend against an enemy we have never faced until now, the confirmation of said enemy that we though was mere fiction by the President, and the United States on the brink of war, one has to ask…just what the hell is happening, and how the world is dealing with this new astounding and frightening development.
Oh, the world was reacting all right. What happened in in New Atlimas, as soon as the new broke out, straight-up scared the other nations. If an enemy and the means to simply appear out of nowhere with zero warning, their leaders quickly followed the United States' lead and mobilized their own armies to defend against potential threats.
The world would not have to wait long to bear full witness just what the United States could do when pushed too far, when her patience tested to its limits. The nation was not as merciful as it once was.
*Chapter 8*: Ch3-5: Enter the WolfDisclaimer: Contains elements inspired by the First Order from Star Wars, John-117 from the Halo franchise, Bucky Barns from Captain America: The Winter Solder, Deathstroke and Arkham Knight from DC, Agent 47 from the Hitman series, and the Player from Black Ops 3
I do not own any of these works & all rights go to their respective owners
Disturbance #3.5
Ch3.5: Enter the Wolf
"We live as we dream - alone. While the dream disappears, the life continues painfully…It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice…Even extreme grief may ultimately vent itself in violence - but more generally takes the form of apathy…You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, a flavor of morality in lies – which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world – what I want to forget. "
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
New Atlimas, underground
September 13, 2104
17:33:47 hrs
Amidst the many walls and tunnels of the extensive labyrinth that was the sewer system and underground of New Atlimas, wandered none other than Walker.
After reinforcements had come into hot ready to subdue the threat, he knew that his assistance was no longer needed, and slipped away unnoticed among the pandemonium.
Like a ghost.
It wasn't that he didn't care about doing his duty, it was that given the unit he was part of, his mere involvement in anything was to be kept under the utmost secrecy.
Shaking away the thought, Walker turned to a tiny room where he had placed a dead drop backpack of supplies he had placed several months prior.
He then turned right, proceeding down a familiar set of tunnels he knew well.
During the early days of the city's inception and existence, multiple bunkers were constructed in order to hide the critical war material and production facilities from prying eyes and counter attacks. Eventually, when the city was discovered and subsequently fell to victim to increasing attacks, more bunkers were constructed and interconnected, essentially becoming and underground city unto itself.
And while the war was over, most of the bunkers were filled in, although some remained due to diversion of essential materials to more important projects. Surprisingly, some of the bunkers remained functional due to the independent sustainment systems. A few people even decided to make them their residence, although these were mostly adrenaline junkies, the adventurous types, tunnel explorers, or simply just liked bunkers.
However, even now, there were still some people down here, although that number was miniscule. There were plenty of housing options with the large skyscraper towers, no doubt.
One of the bunker housing complexes that was still operational was located in an isolated sector of the city, yet was still interconnected enough to be able to access the majority of the city, either through the sewer and maintenance tunnels, or the subway systems. It was toward this bunker that Walker had converted into a safehouse, and was currently headed towards.
Once inside, he paused for a moment, taking in the familiar sight he had last left in in. He had difficulty remembering the last time he was holed up in the bunker on assignment, or on the run.
He had been to the city before, but only to the industrial sector and the docks, and whenever he had gone into the city, it was always on assignment. Today had been his once chance of exploring the city in peace, but those hopes were dashed when those damned invaders had come through and his lifetime of training and experience kicked in. By then, he was too lost in his instincts to even think about exploration. When he came to, it was to escape prying eyes and remain anonymous.
Silently letting out a breath at the thought, he secured his weapons before removing his shirt and pants before looking into a mirror. He gazed upon the entirety of his worn body, stroking his stubbly chin and brown-black hair all the while.
His chest, riddled with numerous cuts, slashes, bullet wounds, and tattoos. The entire left portion of his torso had been lost, being only plugged up with artificial muscles and synthetic flesh/muscle hybrid matrix.
His cybernetic left arm, once a product of Neo-Soviet engineering, now a product of the US Cyber Soldier program.
His cybernetic right leg, a product of the same masters.
His natural, remaining leg and arm, heavily damaged with some muscles replaced with synthetic ones.
His lower jaw, now free from the covering of synthetic flesh, revealed an artificial, composite structure 3D-printed not unlike those in anatomy lab models.
He took a moment to use a pocketknife and remove the necrotic, scarred flesh from the left side of his face, revealing a metallic face plate reminiscent of the Terminator. He removed this as well, revealed a cybernetic eye and a facial horror that had eaten away at large portions of the flesh, bone, and muscle underneath. It was something Two-Face would've been proud of, almost like his other self.
He took a moment to look at his back, covered in even more scars than his chest. It too was covered in tattoos, these stemming from Russian folklore about men who choose to become wolves. He also looked upon the reminder, a phantom wolf skull along his whole back that served as the backdrop for all the other tattoos. He took a moment to stare at the cybernetic spine which ran down the length of hos back, reinforcing and essentially replacing its natural counterpart. He also took a moment to look at the tiny computer port hole at the base of his neck, an entry to the piece of hardware in his brain.
He literally had half a brain, the left half being lost due to a terrible accident. Now the left side of his head housed a computerized computer-cortex which hooked up to and enhanced the performance of its biological other half.
He also took a moment to take in the tattoos on his arms and neck. One on his neck had a triangle with a dagger and lightning bolt, with the words "Velocitas, Opprimere, Vionlentia Operandi" arranged in a triangle. The motto and symbol of Delta.
On his upper right arm, although faded, was branded the mark of a howling wolf. The insignia of a certain rogue Russian special forces unit that assisted the Ultranationalists during a coup. It was one of the few things he didn't want anyone else to see.
On his arm and neck, he also had stylized tattoos that, when viewed at a certain angle or controlled via subdermal nanites, depicted dagger and crossed arrows, as well as the dagger and tri-lightning bolt, of the US Army Special forces.
Other tattoos included a black-and-red hissing snake surrounded by downward-inverted eagle wings; the insignia for C.O.B.R.A The final tattoo was a wolf skull holding a dagger in its mouth, with a pair of crossed daggers and an eagle with diamond-shaped, upward spread wings; the insignia for WOLFHOUD.
All in all, he almost looked like some kind of freak hybrid of man and machine, a testament to the rock-solid survivability and will to live. Must be the Russian in him.
Gazing up the near-monstrosity of his appearance, taking in the whole of his image, he sighed dejectedly and went to his small cot of a bed. He drifted off to a troubled sleep as he recounted his life that the New Atlimas incident triggered.
(Insert Soundtrack: Captain America: The Winter Soldier OST 06 - The Winter Soldier
Growing up, Walker's life was nothing short of a living nightmare, a living hell.
He was born between September 13 to December 16. Although his real birthday was never pinpointed, he put down November 16, 2002, as his official birthdate on record. He had an interesting ethnicity, coming from a Ruska Roma tribe with Slavic descent, but he also had Northern European and German ancestry. His real name was Jardani "Alexi" Viktor Yurievich, but as his tumultuous life went on, he acquired an impressive list of aliases to go by.
The lands where his tribe lived in the southernmost fringes of Siberia, and while the remoteness may have protected the tribe for centuries from prying eyes, it did nothing to protect them from the roving desires for the Ultranationalists.
Unbeknownst to the world and even certain members of their own faction, the inner circle of leaders were looking for bodies to supplement their future ranks and keep their movement alive. What better way than to keep their movement alive than by molding their ways onto the pliable minds of children?
And thus began a campaign of abducting children to begin their program of training child soldiers.
Unknown to even the Russians, a hardliner faction of Ultranationalists had in fact surpassed the Americans in certain scientific fields, such as genetic engineering, cryogenics, and neurology, among other fields. The knowledge was obtained through mainly through academic theft and conducting secret, illegal human experiments. These experiments resulted in tech and knowledge leaps and bounds ahead of what the rest of the world had.
The stolen knowledge was then taken to create perfect soldiers loyal only to the Ultranationalists' Inner Circle. All the children were subjected to genetic engineering and augmentation procedures that gave them, among other things, triple muscle mass, bones with the density of steel, superhuman endurance and senses, and enhanced cognitive processing giving the ability to use over ninety percent of their brain. They were implanted with a computer-neurological interface and injected them with nanomachines that the individual could control to give greater augmentations or diminutions to their bodily systems or performance.
And that wasn't all. To ensure loyalty later on, they were brainwashed by being heavily subjected to propaganda lessons, and even during their sleep, speakers in the barrack rooms played quiet, subliminal messages, while a psychotropic gas was introduced via small tubes to ensure further "programing."
To test their loyalty, instructors forced the children to prove themselves in various ways, one of which was executing prisoners. Jardani first held a gun in his hands when he was four; his first kill was at five years of age.
Needless to say, the "training" results yielded child soldiers and child assassins considered superior to normal humans in every aspect.
But they failed in one breaking into one particular child.
Jardani was the unfortunate last survivor of his tribal group as his biological parents were too sickly to care for him. Seeing no other option, she gave him to the Ultranationalists, unwilling to see him die. He was barely four years old.
He had seen some TV pop shows and read a couple of comics about America. That got his mind going and that was where he someday dreamed to travel. It was also the one thing that kept him sane during the conditioning to become a child soldier. He did his utmost to conceal his desire from the instructors as they trained the next generation.
Needless to say, Jardani became a natural-born killer, and rapidly became the group's most prized soldier. An instructor nicknamed him "черный волк," meaning "Black Wolf," after his jet-black hair and prowess. It was a much better name considering the naming scheme that the group used. All the child soldiers were given alpha-numeric designations to erase a sense of individuality; Jardani's designation was XKG-3729.
On one of his missions, Jardani, unhappy wit his life and wanting a new family, went AWOL and found another tiny tribe which was essentially one large family. This didn't last long though, as the Ultranationalist instructors managed to track him down and kill his adoptive mother in front of him. Her last words to him were "Live, my son."
That was the last straw for him. Suppressing his grief, he continued his training until he was strong enough to break free from captivity and escape to the land where he could truly free. He wouldn't have to wait long. During his time, he was forced to join an elite Spetsnaz unit that earned its name from Russian folklore about wolves, becoming quite the efficient operator. Here he earned the nicknames "Merciless" and "Relentless."
With the Third World War in full swing, and Jardani now fifteen years of age, his aging being drastically slowed due to periodic cryogenic freezing in between missions, he was ready for his main assignments, mainly fighting the Americans.
Instead, Jardani saw an escape opportunity, and killed his way to freedom, eliminating many of the program's instructors, taking their stolen scientific research. He also stole massive amounts of data which detailed the entire inner workings of the Ultranationalist-controlled government. He also convinced several technicians familiar with cryogenics to help him once he made it into the States.
Unfortunately, Jardani was tracked by several surviving members of the program, intent on killing him and retrieving the stolen data, and was severely injured in Estonia. He was able to finish off his pursuers, but he was on the verge of death. He was eventually found by the very people he was originally sent to kill. He was discovered half-dead in the snow by a covert American team.
Instead of being finished off, Jardani requested an audience with officials and offered a deal: he would give the information he had stolen, and in return, he wanted American citizenship, and be indoctrinated into the US Special Forces. The officials were understandably hesitant at first, but with the war going badly and needing every advantage they could find, they accepted.
He was also able to convince the officials to remain on ice by the cryogenic specialists from Russia; and thus began his career as an American soldier. He also gave himself the American name Jason Slade Walker; the name Walker being a testament to his early life as something akin to a wandering spirit.
He started out as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne before doing a brief stint in the 101st Airborne. He then tried out for the Green Berets and passed, and also tried out for the 75th Rangers. He then decided to try out for the "Unit," and became a Delta operator. Finally, he was scouted out by Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Special forces Group, the Ghosts. While the designation was still used colloquially, it was now referred to as Task Force: STALKER, or simply GST, Group for Specialized Tactics.
To keep mentally stable, Walker was assigned to the newly-formed 327th Psychological Sustainment Brigade, in order to monitor and maintain his mental health. The lead physician was 1st Lieutenant Anna J. Collins. Because of her demeanor, Walker considered her something of a substitute mother; indeed, she herself was open to the idea of bringing him into her family as her own children had passed away. Sadly, was forced to retire due to ill health and died from myelofibrosis.
Even during the war, the philosophy and makeup of the American Special Operations community was dramatically changing in ways that would shape their forces and become the standard in the post-WW3 era. Due to the increasingly high casualty rates among SOF units and resulting lack of manpower, many units began cross-training. They even allowed candidates to be members of more than one unit. Many units did have similar training regimens and goals, after all.
While Jardani was trying out for various special forces teams, he was deployed around the world, notably in the Middle East. He was a particularly valuable asset as he was essentially black-ops, so he could do much of the dirty work without losing face. It was here that he earned more of his aliases. Some of which included Azrael, Nakir, and his most infamous, Almawt Sharir, the "Black Death."
When the war ended, he wished to be put back under ice, but not before he was outfitted with the new hardware from the US Cyber Soldeir program. With a new Direct Neural Interface, robotic limbs, and nanomachines in his blood, he stayed under, only being thawed out for critical missions for short periods of time. He was able to keep up with world events while frozen under through a constant data flow through his DNI.
On one of his missions in the Third Cold War era, he was sent to an island, alone, to hunt down a rogue Ghost operator and his army of mercenaries. They had wanted to develop tech-based WMDs, as well as using the usual nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons together with the Stanislav Accords and later, the GLA. His success in killing the rogue earned Jardani one of his final monikers, the "Ghost-Killer."
Only recently had he wanted to never be put under ice again and live his life as normally as he could. Biologically speaking, he was only nineteen years old.
Walker stirred from his slumber, staring up at the ash-grey ceiling of his bunker.
He recollected his thoughts about his dream he had. Or rather, the jumbled collection of memories about his past life.
He glanced sideways to the simple clock near the head of his cot. 'Damn, a whole thirty hours. First time in a while since I slept that long. Didn't realize I was that tired.'
He groggily got up and dressed in a simple black shirt and shorts before going to his stored provisions and making himself a simple meal. It was one of the few things he considered luxurious.
He also got out his laptop and inevitably, the news reports about yesterday's incident was the number one cover story. He also witnessed the president making his statement 'Just as expected."
While he was entertaining this thought, the laptop chimed with an encrypted message.
Walker opened it up and his stoic, prepared expression returned. It was from the highest national authorities. He was to report for duty ASAP to receive briefings on the upcoming campaign. Also, he was being promoted. His comrades' testimonies, as well as those from the officers he had assisted, coupled with the fact that he was one of the first to respond, gave ample reason for the move.
Walker sighed internally as he silently dressed back into casual clothing and packed up his laptop, and holstered his concealed weapons.
He secured his safehouse bunker for future use, knowing that he wouldn't be using it for a while.
'No rest for the weary' He silently sighed to himself, as he began his trek from the underwound up to the surface. It was just another day in paradise, time to walk the walk.
*Chapter 9*: Ch4: Welcome to the New WorldA/N: Hey everyone! So I've been reading the comments and some have been waiting for the interrogations. Well, Cooldude and "Guest," this one's for you! As always, feedback is appreciated, it really helps shape my future chapters! Also, I have a couple of public announcements to make.
First off, I'm starting college again, so I won't be able to update regularly or as often. Nonetheless, I'll try to upload whenever I can, so this story isn't dead! I have too much planned for this story just to give up!
Secondly, I feel that many fics either gloss over or don't expand sufficiently on certain aspects of the storyline, such as preparations, the political fallout and citizens' reactions, and buildup to counter-invasion. As a result, it'll be a handful of chapters and a while before we see any retaliatory actions from the Americans. I promise though, once it gets started, the floodgates will be opened, so the wait will be worth it!
Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Peace out!
Disturbance #4
Ch4: Welcome to the New World
"I have looked into the eyes of the worst people on the planet. I have heard their eagerness to convert or kill millions of people in the process…Our actions were necessary, effective, legal, and authorized and helped save lives in America."
James Mitchell, Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorist Trying to Destroy America
Mature content warning: Contains torture scenes
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
47 hours after the New Atlimas Incident
**SPLASH!**
Count Giraut woke up in a jolt as he sputtered and coughed up water. "W-What…?" When his senses cleared up a bit, the Count looked around but could see only darkness surrounding him. "Where…where am I…?" He asked himself, unnerved at not being able to see anything. He tried moving about but found that his hands and feet were locked in place to a chair of sorts.
He tried wiggling himself free but should've known better as these shackles were made of steel. "Damn…General Hosidius! Can anyone hear me!? Is anyone there!?"
"You're awake. Good."
Giraut jolted in surprise and looked about frantically. That voice…it was nothing like he had heard before. It sounded distorted…metallic...even demonic…and given the fact that he was in complete darkness, made him afraid that there was something hiding in the dark.
"W-Who are you!? Show yourself?"
"You will answer our questions truthfully. Do you understand?"
"Step out of the shadows first!" Count Giraut demanded bravely, but this facade was crushed as he felt pain the likes of which he never knew before. "AAAAAGGGHHHHH!" His entire body felt like it was on fire, with hundreds of needles poking at his flesh continuously, all at once. Fortunately for him, after what felt like an eternity, the pain finally stopped and the Count slumped in the chair, head down, and his breathing ragged.
"Do you understand?" The voice asked again, this time in a more forceful manner.
Giraut clenched his fists and eyes shut and groaned. "…Yes." He answered begrudgingly. Whatever they did to him…whatever horrible magic was cast on him…he DID NOT want to experience it again.
"Good. What is your name?"
Seeing as he had no way to escape, and that whoever or whatever this thing was could simply cast the spell again and leave him to die in a horrible way, Giraut decided to cooperate. "…Giraut."
"Give me your full name."
"Count Fulbert Asinius Kaeso Giruat, current head of the Giraut clan." He answered, hoping his title and position meant something here.
"Where were you born?"
Apparently his title and position meant nothing here. Letting out a small sigh, Giraut lifted his head slightly. "Warcester, the birthplace of my family."
Suddenly, the room was flooded with light and Count Giraut was forced to squint due to the intense brightness. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was in an empty room. There was literally nothing else in it, and everything was in white; the floor, the walls, even his clothes were all pure white. There were also no doors or windows within this strange prison, and the more he looked around, the more like he felt he was in an infinite void. It was all very unnerving.
"Do you know why you are here?"
There was that voice again, but the problem was that there was nobody else with him in the room. Giraut was getting really nervous now. There was no one else here! Whatever the voice belonged to must be some kind of demon.
"B-Before I answer that…I must know…where are you…and who are you?"
"I am here, I am there, I am everywhere, but you cannot see me. As for who I am…I'm a representative of an enraged power."
The color drained from Giraut's face as he shook in chair. A representative of an enraged power? was this being an apostle of an enraged and vengeful god? If that were so…he could only imagine the horrors he would suffer at the hands of this being.
"I will repeat my question. Do you know why you are here?"
Giraut swallowed the lump in his throat hard as he tried to remember just what great sin he committed to deserve this. Of course, for a man as kindhearted as him, there were things he did that he wasn't proud of, and he was sure none of them would amount to this kind of punishment unless…
The Count's eyes widened in shock and fear when he realized just what he did to land him in this situation – he had helped the Empire to foolishly invade a very powerful and very advanced civilization.
"I…I-I - "
"Judging by your reaction, I'd day you finally realized why you're here."
"…I'm your prisoner. I'm in the country on the other side of the Gate." Giraut said in grim realization. Out of all the times he had secretly cursed the Empire, he could certainly do so now. Curse the Empire and everything it stood for, for sending over five hundred thousand troops or twenty-five legions to their almost guaranteed deaths and himself and never be able to see his beloved daughter again.
"So you call that strange structure the 'Gate,' huh? Glad to know."
"…What about the others?" Where are the other prisoners?"
"They are not important. The only thing that is important, are the answers to our questions. Why did you attacks the United States of America?"
'The United States of America. So that is the name of this country.' Count Giraut mused to himself. Judging by the name alone, it was a collection of many states under one banner. This meant it was most likely an empire as well, one that dwarfed his own in everything.
The count tried to think of a suitable answer, but for the life of him, Giraut could not just say he had no other choice. Whoever he was talking to would most likely never accept such a weak answer and wouldn't hesitate to double the pain from the magic earlier. Nonetheless, he had to reply quickly.
When he could think of no other answer, he bowed his head in resignation. "…I…had no other choice." He closed his eyes for the pain that would most certainly come, but it never did.
"Serve or die. Is that correct?"
Count Giraut opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head in slight amazement. If eh were being interrogated by Imperial soldiers, he would have been beaten to a literal inch of his life, made to watch as his youngest daughter was raped until her mind broke and his city burned to the ground, all just to get the answer they wanted. He never expected that whoever this is would understand a reason as simple and weak as that.
"…Y-Yes, exactly." The Count nodded. "The consequence for refusing the call of the Emperor was eternal shame upon your family and your titles, riches, and lands would be taken. In some cases, even death. I did not care what would happen to me, but I fear what would happen to my family, so I had no choice but to join."
"…Typical imperial rule. That still doesn't change the fact that you willingly partook in the cold-blooded murder of thousands of innocent lives, and the maiming of thousands more."
Giraut hung his head in shame. "…I do…and nothing I will do or say can change that. I know I will rot in the Underworld for what I have done."
"Don't mind if you do. Let us continue. What can you tell me about – "
"Wait, please, before we continue, I want to know how many of us survived."
"Only about four hundred were taken alive, the rest were mercilessly killed. Now what can you tell me about…"
Count Giraut was unable to continue listening as he was in too much shock at what he heard. Out of over five hundred thousand men and beasts they had brought with them, only four hundred were still alive. It all seemed farfetched but…after seeing those flying metal dragons, massive iron beasts, their strange magic that tore through their heaviest armor with ease…no wonder they were defeated so brutally and easily.
If he were guess, these strange soldiers numbered only a few thousand. Those metal beasts alone could destroy their forces with relative ease, much more if accompanied by a few thousand magic-capable soldiers. Considering that this country was a collection of an unknown number of states…Giraut could only imagine what else his country was capable of – and it frightened him to the core.
"Count Giraut, did you hear me?"
The Count was shaken from his thoughts as he stared at the wall in front of him, seeing as he didn't know where the voice was coming from. "S-Sorry…I was thinking about something else."
"I'll repeat my question. What can you tell me about this Empire of yours. Who are the ones in charge, what's their government like, how much territory, what kinds of terrain, how large their army, etcetera."
It didn't take a genius to know that whatever the United States was planning, it was going to retaliate with fire and fury, the likes of which his world had never seen. Thinking back, Giraut and his family didn't owe the Empire anything.
Clan Giraut was a rather obscure, lower clans within the Empire, and was often harassed for their kindhearted, generous, and open-minded beliefs. Not to mention Fulbert's father and mother were executed under false accusations from a jealous lord. When proved wrong, that lord got away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and the Emperor didn't even pay reparations for the injustice; only one of a plethora of sins the Empire had committed against his family and its people.
After seeing the wonders and horrors of the new world, Giruat knew that if and when the United States crush the Empire, it could bring about a new era of peace for the people. The gods know that they sorely need it, but first, he had to make certain that they were only after those that wronged them, and not destroy everything and everyone they encountered.
Giraut had witnessed what this country was capable of, and although he didn't know the full extent of its capabilities, he had a very good idea that it was only a tiny fraction of their true strength. If that were true, then they had the power to crush the Empire in its entirety many times over. The Count knew that the United States would have every right to though. The Empire didn't show any mercy, so why should the United States?
"Why should I help you? I already know that you will kill me after you get what you need, so why should I bother?" Oh Count Giraut had every intention to sell out the Empire, he just wanted to know how far this nation was willing to go.
"I see." The voice said after a moment. "Very well, maybe others within your family will be more cooperative instead." The Count slightly panicked for a moment but the voice continued. "Before I tell you my answer, I have story I'd like to share with you. Would you care to hear it?"
Count Giraut raised a curious brow before nodding.
"Alright. Oh, before I forget, you're probably wondering what's happening to your friends, huh? Well, if you would direct your attention in front of you…"
He waited for a moment before an entire section of cell walls turned completely black. The Count jumped in surprise, but it soon turned to amazement as the wall turned light blue, and at the center was a blurred out circle with some markings in it.
Giraut could not make what most of these markings were but he could see a bird's head – an eagle by the looks of it – and behind it a shield engraved with stars. It must be this country's coat of arms.
Before he could ask the meanings the wall then showed him various scenes that made him sick to the stomach. It depicted Imperials being tortured in horrendous ways.
One was tied down to a downward tilted table while two men in black poured water on his face that was covered by cloth. Another was screaming in agony for mercy as two individuals held him down while another actually tore his fingernails off. Another screaming as his arm was literally separated by a tool that breathed blue flames. Another was pleading for mercy as a man dressed in dark green held two ravenous looking dogs until they were let looks and were finally set loose on the poor meat bag. There were many more scenes that followed.
The Count averted his eyes, unable to bear the sight any longer.
"Nice sight, isn't it? Your men are getting a welcome fit for kings here, you should be grateful that you're still in one piece…but I have a story I want to share with you. Do you want to hear it?"
Count Giraut shook his head as he tried to shake the memory at the barbarous treatment of his men before answering. "…W-What story…?"
"Well, it's not exactly a story – more like history. Over a century and a half ago, a certain country had the brilliant idea to launch a surprise attack on us quite like yours did. We lost thousands of good men and women, and it nearly crippled us. To our good fortune, however, they made one fatal mistake – they didn't finish what they started. Instead of pressing their attack, they retreated back to their home thinking they could get away with it…they were dead wrong. Even their commander was doubtful of their actions and his words were this: 'I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve.' And fill him with terrible resolve they did. It took some time but when the news spread, the American people cried for revenge, and when we were ready, we mercilessly hunted them down. Across entire oceans, island to island, jungle to jungle, city to city, until all that remained was their home island, and do you know what we did to them?"
Despite the growing fear in him at what he would witness, Count Giraut wanted to know. "W-W-What did you do?"
"We did this."
The various torture scenes disappeared and now depicted the sea at sunset. Giraut could see the outline of an island on the horizon – that must be the nation that attacked them. As he was wondering what would arise, a scene was shown that would be burned into his mind for the rest of his life.
A massive explosion of fire and death engulfed the island. Count Giraut could do nothing but watch in pure horror as the tower of flames rose above the clouds and literally parted the very heavens themselves! (Castle Bravo nuclear test – 1 March 1954)
He could not believe it…this country just destroyed an entire nation in one fell swoop. He barely noticed the color red flood the room as he shook in his chair, unable to take his eyes off such awesome, horrific, destructive power.
This country…this United States of America possessed the power of a damn god! Then came the cold-blooded realization – that the Empire just this country very angry.
The vision ended and the color of the walls, and the light in the room, reverted to white, leaving Giraut a shivering mess, his face drained of color and the little confidence and resistance he had left.
"Now you can see what we can really do; and keep in mind that his was done over a century and a half ago. Plenty of time to…perfect and improve ourselves."
That sent even more chills up the Count's spine. If this was done over a century ago, then he no reason to doubt that they could, and would use it again against another country. Giraut did not know what kind of god would grant these people so much destructive power, but he now knew that the Empire had truly enraged the wrong nation. Nothing, and he meant nothing, could ever hope to stop the United States from their revenge.
With his resolve broken and his spirited shattered, Giraut bowed his head in defeat. "All right…I'll cooperate…I'll tell you everything you want to know…but if you'd let me…I-I'd like to make one request." He now understood that here was absolutely no way the Empire could win against such a powerful force. The Count already accepted his fate, but he wanted his daughter and people out of this war…they were all innocent in this.
"You have no right to ask for anything…but I shall humor you. What is your one request?"
"Please…I beg you, spare my daughter and people from your wrath. I accept whatever punishment you have in store for me, but they are innocent and had no apart in my mistakes. Please, spare them." Giraut would've been begging for mercy on his knees had he not been chained to the chair."
"Your daughter…her name is Myalla, am I right?"
Giraut's eyes widened in shock and fright. "H-How did you - "
"We found a personal letter addressed to that name."
Hearing the brief explanation, he felt a little relieved but his fear for his daughter remained. "Yes…that's her name."
"Giraut, give us what we want and we'll guarantee that your daughter and people won't be harmed. Know this, however, that if they attack first, then our deal is off and we will retaliate."
The Count nodded in understanding. As long as Warcester didn't fight against the United States then his daughters and his people would be fine, but if they do…then at least their deaths would be swift. "I understand."
"Good. Oh, and to ensure cooperation, I would like to propose a deal. Would you like to hear it?"
The prospect of being offered something gave the Count an inkling of hope. "W-What sort of deal?"
"I propose that we use your city as a garrison. We can use it as a base in our campaign against the Empire, and we can protect your daughter for you."
Giraut was conflicted at this. On the one hand the United States was saying they had no problem wiping out his city if they attacked first. On the other, they wanted to garrison their troops in his city, but were also willing to protect his daughter. The though of entrusting your family to foreign soldiers, especially those that wield such power, was unnerving, to say the least. But if he refused, then they could just force their force their way.
"At least show proof that I'm still alive. A letter, perhaps." He hoped they would be lenient enough to accept this small gesture.
"We can allow that. We'll show your people proof that you're still alive when we set foot in the city."
The Count sighed in relief, feeling as if a huge weigh had been taken off his chest. His end of the bargain seemed relatively easy in retrospect. "Thank you for accepting."
"Then let us begin. What can you tell us about your leadership?"
"I-I was once appointed as a legate in charge of a legion. I don't know all the details of the Imperial government but I can tell you the basics. I can also tell you about the land itself, the inhabitants, and general knowledge about our world. Also, I don't know much about the Imperial Army."
"That's fine. Just tell us what you know."
While he was telling everything he knew, in the control center was a collection of CIA agents and military interrogators handling the entire process.
In particular, the agent handling Giraut's interrogation was Special Agent Michelle in charge H. O'Neill. She had hit a goldmine with this one guy and it didn't take much to get him talking, just some live footage of his guys getting roughed up and tell a bit of history.
Sure, she had twisted the facts a little but the Count didn't need the full details. After all, she was just playing simple mind games in trying to scare him.
While he may have been surprisingly easy to crack one nut, others were expectantly harder, and others just plain irritating to deal with, as she would soon find out.
General Hosidius groaned as he shook his head out his slumber. He looked around and his eyes opened in surprise at his new environment.
He noticed that he was no longer in those strange metal cages, but was now surrounded by walls of white. There were also no visible doors or windows. The only things that stood out were his small bed, and his clothes.
He noticed that he was no longer in his grand armor, stained and ruined though it had been, and was now wearing strange garments colored bright orange.
Suddenly a voice rang out. "Good, I see that you are awake. You have questions to answer."
He was shocked at hearing that. The voice sounded deep and unnatural…metallic…even demonic. He was worried for a moment that there was a demon with him in this strange white void of a prison.
But being the Imperial General he was, he would not let such strange and unbefitting accommodations scare him. "I am Imperial Legate Octavianus Oppius Hosidius! I demand that you show yourself!" He said in his most proud and defiant voice he could muster, in order to conceal his inner trepidations.
"Your name is no longer Legate Octavianus Oppius Hosidus. From this point on, you will only be referred to as Prisoner Number Thirteen. You will not speak unless we ask you questions. Do you understand?"
He was completely indignant and livid at that. "I am an Imperial of noble birth! I demand that you give me accommodations befitting of my nobility! And keep that sullen name to yourself! My name was granted in honor!"
"…I see. Too bad for you then." Not a moment later, a portion of the walls opened up. He was surprised at that, and for a split-second, thought they had recognized the gravity of who they were dealing with and decided to let him go.
But that wasn't to be, for as soon as the doors opened, two men came in. One was dressed completely in black, the other in mishmash patterns of green splotches; their eyes were also covered up. They roughly picked him up. "On your feet, maggot!" "Up! Move, now!"
Now he was even more livid. These men were treating him no more than a mere slave! "Get your filthy hands off me! Do you even know who I am!? I'll make sure you'll be sold off to the-!"
He never finished his rants before they even reached the door as the two men struck him in the stomach, forced him to his knees and bound a cloth around his mouth. Despite this, he continue protests, although they were mere noises at this point. After wards, they put a hood around his head that completely blocked his sight.
He could feel the two men drag him by the feet, protesting muffled sounds all the way. After several long moments, the two men stopped, then forced him in a squatting position, and bound his wrists to chains. They also removed the mouth bound and removed the hood. Afterwards, he could see that his hands were chained to the floor, and that he was in an empty room
"You can't just leave me here! I demand a parley! I demand to - " His protests were ignored as the wall shut off leaving him in total darkness. For a moment, he thought he was living a hellish experience. He was about to discover a new kind of hell.
After several moments of silence, an ear-splitting cacophony of sounds, unlike any he heard before, overpowered his ears and filled the room. He could barely discern voices amidst the noise, but it sounded too jumbled to even follow! Just what kind of horrible music was this!? At the same time, multiple lights began flashing unnaturally; how they worked he didn't care to know.
Try as he might, he was unable to escape the squat he was forced into, nor was he able to cover his ears to protect from that horrid music, nor turn his eyes away from the searing, flashing lights!
He screamed to make it stop, but his voice was drowned out by the horrid music filling the room. The echoes made this living hell even more unbearable. He experienced this hell for what felt like hours.
In the control center, Special Agent Michelle was almost grinning as she watched him scream while viewing through the hidden camera. He was probably used to only to harps, trumpets for fanfare, and instruments similar to Roman and medieval times, so he definitely wouldn't have heard of death metal. This would probably shake him up enough.
Lady Lacinia jolted slightly as she felt a pinprick sensation on her neck.
She slowly awoke and tried to move, only to find that her hands and feet were chained to a chair. There was only a metal table in front of her, and appeared there was another chair on the opposite end facing her.
Looking around, she saw that the room all around here was completely grey, there were no windows, and the lighting gave off a particularly eerie feeling.
She jumped slightly when she heard what sounded like a door opening behind her, and in walked a man dressed in strange clothes that were completely black. When he sat down, she could see that he was wearing a kind of mask that covered his face, and his eyes were completely covered as well. All she could see in his eyes was her own reflection.
All in all, he had a very intimidating air about him. The man looked straight at her for a moment before speaking. "What is your name?" She was a bit frightened at that voice. It sounded unnaturally deep, metallic, and demonic.
"My name is Lady Lacinia Fabius Viribus, of House Viribus." Her voice wavered slightly with fear, yet decided to remain calm.
"From this point on, your name is no longer Lacinia. From this point on, you will be referred to only as Prisoner Number Seventeen. Do you understand?" She was taken aback by this change; she wasn't quite ready to accept this abrupt change in identity. Normally, receiving a name, especially in highborn families, having a name bestowed upon you was akin to a ceremony, with the name having meaning. Yet here, it was obvious their captors didn't care about the significance of names, and intended to solidify their current stance as prisoners even further. Despite this, she knew she wasn't in any position to argue; if she wanted to negotiate, she would have to be perceived as being willing. "Yes." She answered the question, nodding.
"Do you have any other family members?" She was surprised they would be inquiring about such matters.
"Yes, although my husband Desius and oldest son Drusus were killed when they tried charging those magic soldiers. Now I only have my daughter Lartia and youngest son Paulus."
"You mentioned you were of House Viribus. Tell me more about it." She inferred that this must be an agent working for the government of the people they tried to conquer; she was right.
"House Viribus is one of the most powerful family clans that controls the Empire, and along with House Invicta, are one of two of the most powerful among the Golden Twelve."
"Golden Twelve?"
"The twelve most powerful family clans within the Empire. They control the majority of the wealth and political powerful. Their bloodlines produce the majority of the nobles and senators, and many of their sons become noble knights. I suppose you could say they're almost a secondary government that governs the Empire."
"You keep referring to the Empire. What is its name?"
"That is its name. The Empire is eternal. Although it does have a name. Valeria. The Valerian Empire."
'So that's their name. That would explain the "V" symbol on those banners.' The interrogator agent thought to himself. Their banner was nearly identical to another empire ages past, one that carried with them the banner which represented the authority of their senate and the people.
Shaking away the thought, the agent moved on. "Why did you attack our country without any declaration of war?"
Her heart sank somewhat at the question, almost as if this agent accusing her personally. Well, she did feel somewhat responsible. "The Emperor wished to expand his domain. He dreams of pushing our bounders further, but cannot yet because they are not yet ready. However, he believed that by conquering another world first, he could acquire knowledge and weapons which he could then use to coquet his own world."
The interrogator was now screaming internally. This emperor thought he could just waltz into another world to conquer it and acquire need supplies and information, just so he could conquer his own world!? Nevertheless, he maintained his composure; good thing his mask hid the surprise on his face and eyes. Yet one thing didn't sit right with him. "If your emperor really was after weapons and knowledge, as you say, why did he also send the ruling heads of the most powerful family clans?"
She felt her heart sink a little more. "He also wanted to spread our culture and language. It was in order to, in his words, educate the barbarians and spread our light to every corner of the world. Although personally, I would have taken the people under my wing and nurture them."
The agent internally smirked, almost laughed, at that prospect. "Well, he obviously failed at that. Perhaps now we have a chance to educate some barbarians and spread our own light to every corner of your world, starting with you and your family."
This was the one thing she feared the most. "Please, I beg of you! The Empire may have wanted to subjugate by force, but I would have instead nurtured and taught you! a mother only wants what's best for her children!" She nearly jumped out of her chair, but the restraints kept her I place
The agent was taken aback; this noble-birth woman seemed to have a motherly approach to spreading culture; she clearly favored a guiding hand approach rather than turning to the sword. He saw this a chance to turn her. "Number Seventeen, tell us what we want to know, and we'll guaranty your safety and that of your children. As a reward for your cooperation, you will be given a white set of prison garments."
She glanced down. She had been so wrapped in in her new environment and the man in black in front of her, it never occurred to her that she was no longer wearing her luxurious, flowing dress, but instead strange, thin garments colored bright orange.
A new thought now entered her mind. "My children, can I see them!? If I can see them, I'll tell you everything you wish to know!"
She jumped as she felt a set of hands lay on her shoulders. She nearly jumped in fright to see another man standing right behind her, this one dressed in mishmash splotches of green. She had been so focused on what was in front of her, she didn't think to look behind her. "Hold up there my lady, I wouldn't be so fast if I were you." His voice had a certain drip of venom as he addressed her in that fashion.
Nonetheless, he opened the door and motioned. Four more guards came in, escorting her two children. "Lartia! Paulus!"
"Mother!" "Mother!" The two tried to move forward and embrance her, but the gaurds held them back.
"As you can see, these two are in perfect condition. Also, their names are no longer Lartia and Paulus. The girl will be referred to as Prisoner Seventeen Dash One, and the boy will be referred to as Prisoner Seventeen Dash Two. For their sakes, I hope you will cooperate."
"Mother, don't do it! Don't betray the Empire!" "She's right! These men will go back on their word!"
"I'm sorry, my children. I have other choice." Her voice almost broke at that, yet remained calm. She never believed her children would have to suffer on her account.
"Don't worry. The three of you can occupy cells close to each other. That way, you can talk to teach other more often. If you cooperate, that is. Your new set of garment is waiting for you in your cell. I look forward to you telling me more." The agent ended in a business-like, even tone.
Still with trepidation, but with a new determination, she nodded her head. "Yes, I understand."
The agent behind her then placed a hood over her head, blocking her vision and muffling her hearing. She felt the restraints on the chair release, and was quickly escorted back to her cell.
Lady Tanicia was not a happy woman at all.
Waking up from a pinprick in her neck, she noticed that she was now dressed in strange garments colored bright orange. She was also sitting in a chair with her hands and feet bound, and sitting across from the table in front of her was a man dressed in mishmash patterns of green. His face was covered by a mask and his eyes were covered.
"Glad your awake. We have business to discuss."
His voice sounded unnaturally deep and metallic, almost like a demon. She was momentarily frightened at the sound; how did his voice sound like that? Nonetheless, she refused to let herself show fear or be intimidate by this faceless coward. She was a noble-borne lady! She would not let herself be pushed around by someone who refused to look at his opponent!
"I am Lady Tanicia del Invicta, of House Invicta! I demand an audience with your leaders for terms of surrender! Maybe then you'll cower like dogs and beg for – AAAGHHHH!"
She felt pain the likes of which she never knew before, it was as if her entire body was on fire and was pierced by hundreds of needles all at once! What sort of horrible magic was this!?
Finally, the pain stopped, and she slumped in her chair, her breathing ragged. "J-J-Just…w-what did you do to me!? Is this how you treat a noble lady!? You expect me to talk just because I'm in pain!? Have you no shame!?"
"Your name is no longer Tanicia. You will be referred to as Prisoner Number Nineteen. You will speak only when we ask you questions, and you will answer. Do you understand?"
"I will not answer when being treated like a dog by faceless cowards! You shall address me as my lady, or my name!"
The agent merely stared at her for a moment. "Very well. Perhaps others will be more willing to talk." He then motioned with his hand, as if gesturing someone to enter. She was somewhat confused at that.
To her shock, a portion of the wall disappeared, and four more similarly dressed men, some in black, entered, but it was who they were escorting that shocked her the most. "Plucus! Cuasa!" it was her two remaining sons.
Their hands were forced above their heads, and were shackled to the wall. The four gaurds then drew out whips and short sticks and proceeded to strike them. "What do you know about the Empire!?" "What are you doing here!?" "Don't you care about your mother!?" "Do you want her to suffer the same fate!?" The gaurds shouted a slew of questions while striking them.
She was livid and horrified at the scene playing out in front of her. Her two sons were being treated as slaves right before her eyes! "What are you doing, you cowards!?"
"You weren't willing to talk, so I thought they would be more cooperative. Maybe they'll take your place instead."
Not several moment after the agent finished, both boys slumped down, their heads bloodied and their demeanor exhausted and beaten. "Pity. I thought they would've lasted longer. Take 'em back to their cells."
The four gaurds then released the shackles, and proceeded to drag the boys by their arms, their legs dragging behind them. They also left a small red trail behind them.
"Are you willing to talk yet?" The faceless green man asked.
Despite the outburst, and although fearing for the lives of her sons, the strength of the Empire reinvigorated her soul. She would not let any sort of show dampen her resolve. "Never."
"Very well." A hood was then draped over her head, and she felt the restraints around her hands and feet loosened, two sets of hands dragged her from the chair. She was being forced to walk for what seemed like a minute before a new sensation occurred.
She was forced to lie down and was once again restrained, but it felt like the bed was slanted, with her head slanted downwards.
Then a new, terrifying sensation came over her. It felt like water was being poured on her face. She didn't know how this was supposed to break her. Then she felt the water deep in her. It felt like she was drowning! Despite this, the water continued to pour for several more terrifying moments. Just as she felt as if she would die, the water stopped pouring, the hood was lifted slightly, and she violently coughed up the water.
"What do you know about the Empire?" The same voice asked, seemingly inconspicuous to her suffering.
After a moment she retorted. "G-G-Go die in the depths of the Underworld." In a somewhat weekend tone.
Without a word, the hood was placed back and the cycle continued for what seemed like an eternity. She lost count of how many times she refused, and how many times the water poured over her. Eventually, they seemed to switch tactics and uncoupled her restraints, instead having two men on either side hold her standing upright and force her head into a large bin.
After what seemed like hours, it stopped, and with her hood still on, was taken to another room. "Are you willing to talk now?"
Despite this, she remained steadfast to the end. "Valeri Invicta." She muttered weakly.
"Step inside. Feet up, now." Not a moment after, she was forced into what felt like a box of sorts, and her hood was removed. The box was barely large enough for her to sit down in, so she was forced to focus her body weigh on her hands. She was essentially standing on her hands.
But that wasn't the worst of the pain. After several moments, she thought she heard a baby crying. That confused her. How would that sound be made here?
Then she remembered. She had another son, a newborn, not long before she was sent on this expedition. Unfortunate, he had to be left behind and left in the care of her servants. She panicked for a moment as they thought these otherworlders had somehow kidnapped her son, but that didn't seem possible.
She couldn't endure this hell, being cramped in a box and feeling the growing urge to comfort her child, wherever he may be. Yet the cries continues, as did her instincts, and her hellish life continued.
"I will never talk to faceless, cowardly dogs! Valeri Invicta!"
"I have nothing to say to cowards who don't even show their faces!"
"I don't have to say anything! Soon, the full might of our legions will come marching down and burn your city to the ground!"
While the interrogations with several high-ranking individuals had gone better than expected, the majority of the rank and file soldiers, officers, and most of the nobles was taking time, to say the least.
It seemed like they had placed their trust in their general, and that they could somehow still win. Well what better way to scare them than to parade him before them?
So all the remaining prisoners, all hooded, were brought to a large, central room with cages set up around a central area. They then had their hoods removed and placed in the cages.
They tried conversing with one another, but didn't much time to, as another hooded individual was brought to the center and had his hood removed. It was Legate Hosidius, and he was till visibly shaken from hours of exposure to that horrible music and flashing lights. Yet there would be no rest for him or anyone.
"Here is your great general, upon whom you have placed your hopes of subjugation. Look at him now! He is completely shaken after being exposed mere music. Do you want the pain to stop, and will you tell everyone that you have been defeated? Will you relieve your suffering and tell us what we want to know?" One guard mockingly proclaimed, other faceless men around him, dressed in black, grey, green, or mishmash combinations of those colors.
Hosidius would never betray his Empire, but more importantly, he would never break in front of those he commanded! He had to remain a symbol of strength and invincibility for the Empire and his men! Otherwise his shame would know no bounds and his men wouldn't fight back!
Unfortunately for him, that was about to happen to him. "I will never stain the name of our glorious Empire in the face of cowardly dogs! Valeri Invicta!"
At this, many tried to let out pained cheers, but quickly silenced when the guards punched Hosidius in the stomach to silence him, and many more clanged on their cages as a warning. Many stopped after being beaten with them prior.
"Is that so. Hear ye, hear ye! This is what shall become of your glorious Empire!" One of the guards mockingly proclaimed. The two gaurds then proceeded to strip Hosidius of his prison garments, leaving him stark naked. He tried covering himself, but the same two gaurds held him there. "Behold, a brigand, who doesn't know when he is beaten." Many of the men's resolve had been shaken; it was apparent on their faces.
"Sit him down there!" They then sat him down on a chair in the enter of all of the prisoners, and one of the guards took out a strange hand device. He then proceed to run it over his head and beard, and to the horror of everyone present, his hair began falling off.
"I bet you didn't know this prison had a barber, did you?" The guard asked in a mock caring tone. Hosidius was begone of all pride, now he was completely shamed. Being naked and begin shaved bald was something done to slaves. His hair was something to be glorified, now there it was on the floor. But the shaming wasn't done yet.
When they were finished, the gaurds forced him to stand in front of everyone. "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO LIARS! THIS, IS WHAT WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN TO HAPPEN TO LIARS! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?" One of the gaurds bellowed at the top of his lungs, gesturing at the now-bald Hosidius. The prisoners were taken aback and frighten at the ferocity of his voice. Many had themselves had shouted to their slaves and whores, but never had they achieved the same level of ferocity and drive. "Yes, sir." A few whimpered out of fear. "I DIDN"T HEAR YOU! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?" The same guard repeated, seemingly more ferocious than before. "Yes, sir!" More of the prisoners answered, with more resolution this time.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" The guard asked Hosidius, who was taken aback by the outburst. "Yes, sir." He answered begrudgingly.
As a final insult, it seemed, the guards then forced Hosidius to a squatting position, and made to walk not unlike certain creatures that walk close to the ground. "On your knees. You don't deserve to walk like a man."
The prisoners dejectedly watched as their commander, upon whom they placed their hopes and dreams, their desires of conquest and subjugation, was forced to walk away in such a shameful manner, and finally disappear from view behind a door. It would be the last time many would see him during their continued existence in this hellhole.
Even after he was taken away, even minutes after, a few tried to protest and raised their voices, they truly were stubborn ones.
In response, they heard approaching footsteps, but sounded muffled for some reason. "ERF! ERF! ERF! ERF! ERF!"
They heard what sounded like chanting, but the voices sounded muffled as well. From the same door, appeared multiple men, but these appeared much more intimidating. They carried shields made of some kind of see-through material, and sort sticks. They were also dressed in what appeared to be bulky plates of some kind of black armor. They also had ferocious-looking dogs with them.
They marched in front of the cages of the offenders and formed a shield formation; their marching in step and tactics not unlike their own. "Prisoners, this is your last chance. Cease this behavior and you will be sparred."
Rather than being grateful for a second chance to save themselves from punishments, as they themselves did not do, the offenders instead continues their rantings at the mistreatment of their commander.
Several gaurds on the sides then took out bottles, and from them, emerged a sickly, orange cloud directed towards the prisoners' faces.
"AAAGGHH! MY EYES!" "MY EYES! IT STINGS! IT SITNGS! "MAKE THE PAIN STOP! I CAN'T SEE!"
Not a moment later, the door of the cages were opened, and the black-armored gaurds rammed the prisoners to the floor with their shields, before being beaten with their short sticks. By the time the gaurds were done, the prisoners were nothing but a bloody, unconscious mess.
These were then dragged away to fates unknown. There was truly no hope left for them now.
A/N: Hello everyone! So as you can see, the interrogation methods used are quite effective/brutal depending on your point of view. Some of the methods are made-up, but most are actual techniques the CIA used post-9/11. You can learn more about them here:
watch?v=eZYGuIxEb5A
watch?v=mhtGRzejKAk
the-13-enhanced-interrogation-techniques-the-cia-used-on-detainees-2014-12
us-news/ng-interactive/2017/oct/09/cia-torture-black-site-enhanced-interrogation
*Chapter 10*: Ch5: Make Rome Burn AgainDisturbance #5
Ch5: Make Rome Burn Again
"Where destruction is the motive, unity is dangerous"
Ravi Zacharias
"Good evening, I'm Baily Brown, reporting live with CNN News."
"And I'm Rosie Webster. It's been over sixteen hours since President Charles made his bombshell announcement to the nation and the world, confirming the horrific massacre that took place by the fantasy invaders. The videos on the Internet, which are too graphic to show out of respect to some viewers, give a picture of what to expect from this unexpected enemy."
"That's right. The nation is in total uproar over this new revelation that a fantasy army appeared out of nowhere and began indiscriminate killing everyone hey saw. Although the White House and the intelligence services haven't released a motive as of yet as interrogations are still underway, virtually the entire nation is already calling for blood. As such we go to our field correspondent Spencer Davis, live right now in New York's Times Square. Spencer?"
The screen switched from that of the studio and two reporters to live scenes of demonstrators with signs and bearing many American flags. It seemed as if the entire city had come together to gather in the square in solidarity with their fellow citizens. New Atlimas did take after its parent city, after all.
"Thanks, Rosie. I'm standing here with demonstrators who have come out to show their support for the fallen, and let me just say, the atmosphere is quite polarizing. One the one hand, all show solidarity for their fellow citizens, while at the same time are aggressively calling for a full retaliation against the fantasy invaders. I'm going to try to interview some of them now. Excuse me sir, what's your take on this whole situation?"
The demonstrator in question was dressed in shorts, tank top with the flag, a bonnie hat with the flag, and was carrying a large American flag over his shoulder. "I think that this is crazy. I mean, how many more enemies do we have to fight? We've fought the Russians, Chinese, now the GLA, and now Romans? Come on man, there isn't anyone we haven't fought yet. I wouldn't mind if we just nuked 'em."
Another protestor, a woman with similar attire and also waving a smaller American flag, spoke up next. "That's right! Rome didn't burn in a day, but now we can make that true! The world needs to know that America doesn't tolerate such openly blatant attacks on us! Make Rome burn again!"
At this, the growing crowd seemed to catch on to the phrase, and slowly but surely, the chants began to grow. Soon, the entirety of Times Square was reverberating with the singular desire of the American people. "Make Rome Burn Again!" "Make Rome Burn Again!" "Make Rome Burn Again!"
"As you can see, the crowds have united under this slogan, and it's pretty obvious what they want their government to do in response to this event. I'm Spencer Davis reporting live from Times Square. Rosie, back to you."
The screen switched back to the studio. "Thanks, Spencer. With the overwhelming majority of the nation calling for relation, the hashtag #MakeRomeBurnAgain is trending on social media. Already it's becoming on the number one phrase on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. It's only expected to grow from there. Baily?"
"Thanks Rosie. With the outcry on social media and a nation in uproar, it seems a bygone decision on the course of action the administration will take. One of the main rallying cries is a screenshot from just after the invaders were subdued. It depicts bodies of slain citizens with a foreign flag planted through them. Many people have dramatized this photo with a black and red background and blood, along with the caption, "Remember Central!", as a rallying cry for many. Only time will tell exactly how this will play out. This is s developing story and we'll come back to you shortly."
"Good afternoon, I'm Dylan Bell, reporting live for MSNBC News."
"And I'm Caitlin Hooper. Its now been nineteen hours since President Charles made his statement regarding this horrific massacre. Despite the massive national trends on social media and the rallying cry poster depicting a pile of bodies with a foreign flag planted through them, a few seem opposed to just nuking them, as some demonstrators have suggested. For more on this, we go to our correspondent Tia Albert, reporting live from Sacramento, outside the State Capitol. Tia?"
The screen switched to the sight of a massive crowd gathered outside. "Thank you, Caitlin. I'm standing outside State Capitol where a crowd is protesting Governor Alice Hawkin's calls for a diplomatic approach. The protestors have called him a traitor to the American people for suggesting this, and many are calling for his resignation in response to his suggestions. A few radicals have even suggested he may be an insider to working for the invaders to subvert national authority and unity, only time will – wait, there she is! Governor Hawkins has emerged, she may be making a statement!"
The cameras tried to zoom in, but due to the din of the protestors. Many of the governor's words were drowned out. The reporter was only able to get a rough idea an hour alter after asking members of the crowd.
"Sorry for the delay. It appears that Governor Hawkins has rescinded her statements, and in the face of huge backlash and potential for abdication, has apologized for her previous statements and changed her stance regarding the next course of action. She has confirmed that she is willing to contribute members of the California National Guard to a national task force should the need arise. Reporting live from Sacramento. I'm Tia Albert, back to you."
The screen reverted back to the studio. "Thank you, Tia. So another one is convinced to join the crowd. In related news, in regards to the next course of action, several Congressmen and Congresswomen, as well as several Senators, have received backlash for similar comments. Dylan?"
"Thanks, Caitlin. Several members from both Congress and the Senate are under fire today for suggesting that America's response should be restrained, and a diplomatic approach should be taken instead. They argued that since we're already involved in several global conflicts, this will only put an unnecessary strain on resources. Many citizens have fought back hard they don't have the American people's best interests at heart, and have no respect to the dead. Already, they are receiving calls for their resignation and even death threats. With this much fervor and support for full-blow retaliation, it seems unlikely that the administration will act otherwise. More as this story develops. Signing off."
Bonus Chapter 5.5: The Welcome Continues
"If we have to do enhanced interrogation on terrorists, then I can live with that"
Trent Franks
Mature content warning: Contains torture scenes
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
57 hours after the New Atlimas Incident
Legate Hosidius was sitting forlorn in his cell, sitting on his cot, with a faceless man in black standing over him.
The agent was relentless, always waking him up several hours after falling asleep. By now, he was getting too tired to resist or talk back. Now, the agent was showing him a glowing stone with moving pictures. He was too tired to marvel or wonder how it worked.
"This is showing what's happening around the nation right now. There's words at the bottom so you can read. I think you should know what the nation thinks."
Hosidius was confused at first, but eventually showed a new emotion as the broadcast continued. It was the news segment from before from CNN and MSNBC.
Fear. His eyes actually widened in fear noticeably when it became the extent of the citizens' rage and how fare they were willing to go.
"Care to betray your Empire now? They probably think your dead by now. And the people of this nation want you dead right now. Maybe you can save yourself if you just talk."
It was difficult for him to comprehend that an entire nation could find out so quickly and have such fervent rage. Yet he had seen this before. Many a nation he helped conquer, the people always vowing revenge, to one day overthrow their masters and free themselves.
And they always failed; he personally saw to it. "I won't talk. I've seen people say the same things before, and I've personally put them down. This will be no different." He responded quietly, yet defiantly.
The agent then motioned, and two more came in and draped the hood over his face, and dragged him out.
When they brought him to another room and strapped him the bed. Sacks of gritty, brown material were brought in, and the sacks were opened. They were then slowly poured on his face. Sandboarding was a somewhat new take on an old technique, being reserved for something truly insidious.
As the particles slowly silenced that arrogant general, it extinguished much more than his pride and assumptions of how events would play out. It would take an hour to revive him.
Plucus and Cuasa were shackle with their arms raised above their heads in a freezing cold, pitch-black room, and had their mouths bound.
They had been there for hours, but prior to that, as a result of their refusal to speak, they had been forced to breath salt and had their fingernails pulled out.
Suddenly, the lights came on, and both boys squinted hard. Tanicia came in, blindfolded, bound, and had some kind of muffs that covered both ears. There were five gaurds that accompanied her.
Prior to being brought in, she had been forced to squat in a cold room for an unkown number of hours, her hands shackled to the floor, with an endless track of white noise playing. Before the noise, some male gaurds had made her uncomfortable by whispering some suggestive comments about how they would treat her, with an obvious tone of voice that oozed with sexual desire. It had made her fearful.
Now that she was dragged into the room in front of the two, her headphones still blasting white noise, the gaurds stood around her. The headphones came off, and was immediate followed by a new kind of noise.
"What are you doing here!?"
"Want to talk about the Empire now!?"
"You fool!"
"Your boys are dying because of you!"
"Noble ladies can't be this stupid!"
The barrage of questions broke her out of her mindless stupor. She couldn't think straight for the lack of sleep. But she was focused on one thing and one thing only.
"T-T-T-The Empire…w-will never…be betrayed…by a noble-borne lady…such as myself."
"Oh, the Empire is dying already. Haven't you heard? We used a weapon that burned the gods out of the very heavens themselves." One of the guards blurted out, a tone of mindlessness and knowing, as if it was true.
That put a streak of fear into the three. That was impossible! The Empire couldn't have been destroyed in only a few days! "That can't be true! The Empire could never fall!" All three protested, Tanicia chief among them.
The guard strung up Tanicia by her hands along with her boys and removed the blindfold. "Then maybe you can help it along. They probably won't come to save you anyway."
The gaurds then took out their whips and sticks, surrounded the trio, and the torture continued.
"What do you know about the Empire!?"
While some mothers and their children were suffering from noncompliance, only one set was doing any good.
Lacinia, Lartia, and Paulus were huddled while sitting on a cot in a larger cell.
Because of her cooperation, she and her children were allowed to wear white prison clothes rather than the orange ones. They were also allowed to occupy the same cell. While the children were apprehensive at first, and indignant at first that their mother was selling out the Empire, their fears were somewhat allayed now that the three of them were together.
Presently, they were watching the cell's TV. While they marveled at how this device worked, they were more fascinated at what the message on it was saying.
The words on the bottom was translating what was said, and they were becoming fearful.
It showed images of a nation in outrage, a figurehead asking their senate to declare a state of war, citizens in the streets howling for blood and vengeance, and even politicians being threatened by the commonfolk for their suggestions of diplomatic paths.
The three of them, Lacinia especially, were intrigued yet frightened at the implications. The common people were able to influence and hold sway over those in government? The people themselves able to coordinate amongst each other a national movement? Numerous ethnic groups and races coming together as one?
The possibilities swirled around in her head, and it made her nauseous.
If the people of this nation had this much fervor, were able to come together with such speed and efficiency, and were able to hold sway over government, despite their many racial differences, then they truly were not the barbarians she initially thought they were.
If anything, she herself and those with her were the real barbarians. The ones who really needed to be taught something.
"Mother, what will become of us?" Asked Lartia. "Will we be prisoners forever? Will I be given away as a concubine to some noble?"
Lacinia thought apprehensively at that. "I do not know that, my sweet. Remember, we attacked them first, the otherworlders may not want to soil themselves with those they hate."
"Mother, do you think these, 'Americans,' will be able to defeat the Empire?"
That was the one question that made her question everything she knew. "I've seen many nations say similar things. But if a people such as this can come together…our army was defeated by what seemed only a few hundred, maybe a few thousand magic soldiers. If an entire nation came together, maybe the Empire would be facing tens of thousands…nay, hundreds of thousands of magic soldiers."
The thought seemed far-fetched, but everything seemed to point in that direction. A nation capable of training magic soldiers. Capable of taming and controlling massive metal beasts, completely impervious to anything the Empire could hope to conjure. An enraged people united.
"Maybe the Empire could be wiped out."
*Chapter 11*: Ch6: Land of WolvesReview Responses:
GREAT CELESTIAL-DRAGON: Thx for the psychological warfare comment, I didn't even intend that as it just popped into my head
GunWolf.45: The Russian folklore story of men turning into wolves – the wolves themselves are called "Bodark"; translated literally means "werewolf"
Dressyone22: Significance of white vs. orange jumpsuits - In Guantanamo Bay Prison, detainees wearing orange indicates that they are acting in noncompliance, and are therefore subjected to greater disciplinary measures. White suites means that the detainee is acting cooperatively with instructions, and are therefore granted more privileges, such as a larger cell, additional luxury items such as books and handheld videogames etc., and more time in the recreational area. If they revert back to noncompliant behavior, they're given orange suits, luxury items are confiscated, and restrictions are imposed. So basically a punishment/reward system
Disturbance #6
Ch6: Land of Wolves
"Pride is the mother of arrogance"
Toba Beta
Valera – Imperial Capital
Rapun 06, 1037 IC
10:27:19 hrs
15 days after the Imperial incursion through the Gate (Gate time); 4 days after the New Atlimas incident (Earth time)
Valeria. A city upon twelve hills.
The crown jewel and the seat of power of the mighty Valerian Empire. It was here upon this very stretch of land that the Valerians' ancestors laid the foundations from which the Empire grew to what is was now.
For centuries, this had been the home of the Empire, and atop the highest hill overlooking the city, laid the home of the Emperor himself.
The Imperial Palace is the home of the most powerful man in the Empire, Titus Maximus Augustus. He held early uncontested power in ruling the Empire with only the Imperial Senate having the power to overrule him.
Located around the hill at the foot lay smaller palaces of the Imperial Family, including the South Palace, home of Titus's eldest son and heir apparent, Caecius Atius del Ceaser.
To the North of the Imperial Palace lay the Blue Palace, home of Quintus Suedius del Ceaser. Quintus was Titus's second son from a different woman and was second in line to the throne should anything happen to Caecius.
To the East of the Imperial Palace lay the mansion of Princess Laelia vi Hasidia, Titus's daughter from one of his many concubines. Surprisingly, he recognized her as his legitimate child and placed her tenth in line for succession.
Further to the west of the Imperial Palace was the Imperial Senate building. Located prominently from which it could bee seen by the whole city, and overlooking the Imperial Forum, it was where Imperial Senators and the Emperor met in order to pass new laws and make important decisions. It was nearly identical in design to the Pantheon in Rome, only on a larger scale.
The Imperial Grand Forum itself was built partially against a cliff face that been hewed away. The design as not unlike Trajan's Forum, only larger in scale. It was here that the center of Imperial trade, commerce, libraries, and housed a basilica where laws could be made and cases tried by the common folk.
To the Southeast lay the vault of the Imperial Treasury. The envy of much of the civilized world and one of the symbols of the beating heart of the nation's economy, its massive double doors and interior space housed the lifeblood of the economy, and all of its accumulated wealth. The locking mechanisms on the doors were just as precious a secret as the gold and riches it protected.
To the Southwest lay the Castra Praetoria, the fort which housed the Imperial Praetorian Guard. It was here in this prime location that the Guard could keep watch over their sovereign, and could quickly rush to the Palace when needed.
Near the center of the city lay the Imperial Colosseum. It was hear that many a slave gladiator fight took place. Many a man and beast came to perform, fight, and die for sport, as had been done for centuries. It was also capable of staging mock naval battles. It was fitted with awnings that shaded the spectators from the sun; being designed by sailors, it was quite an igneous fit. A larger cousin of its other in Rome.
Adjacent to the Colosseum was the Imperial Circus Maximus, also larger in scale to its Roman counterpart. Here, chariot racers sped around its elongated ends for fame, glory, and fortune. Although the use of chariots had long since fallen out of favor as a method of warfare by the Imperials, it was still very much used for spectacle and sport.
Surrounding the palaces were the residential and commercial areas of the city. These areas were separated from the Imperial complexes by walls, and each section was also further divided by walls. Every section moved out from the palace in concentric circles.
In the far Southeastern section of the city was the district of Cromerth, a place where crime, rape, and poverty are all common occurrences. The district is ruled by the four major crime families of Cragmoon, Hawkorb, Voidhair, and Ferneye. The district was so bad that even the Imperial Army would think twice before entering, other than to spend some gold and enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.
The city's water supply comes from multiple aqueducts. Several were larger than the others, and all came from multiple directions. In total, thirteen aqueducts supplied the city with its water.
Overall, the architecture of the city had an appearance similar to that of Rome, but also had medieval elements. While major facilities were distinctly Roman, most of the houses and some of the structures, such as the various palaces, were more medieval. In truth, the appearance the city was a unique blend of the two styles.
But for all the city's splendor and grandeur, its epic scale, and rich history, nothing could hide the single gravest sin committed within its hallowed walls as a fact of life. Given its prevalence, it wasn't even considered a sin anymore. Rather, the opposite was almost considered a sin.
For in one of the largest public squares near the center of the city, and in the Grand Forum, where many a politician, solider, or wealthy enough individual traveled to, they were met with rows upon rows of holding areas built only for a single purpose, a practice that was embraced, debated, and shunned throughout human history.
Slavery.
One could argue that it was practically the lifeblood of the Empire's economy next to gold, and that without the slaves, the Empire couldn't have been built into what it was today.
Many of the major slave traders had been expecting an influx of slaves from the Imperial Army's expedition into the new world through the Gate, and even now, even though their deliveries were on overdue, they were still waiting.
They wouldn't find out the cause until their sovereign broke the news much later, and he himself would be in for a shock of the century…nay, their lives.
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall"
Proverbs 16:18
"Once you reach the top, the only way left to go is down"
Darren Bateman
In the main throne room of the Imperial Palace, sat the Emperor himself, Titus Maximus Augustus, was sitting comfortably on his throne as he enjoyed the tranquility the day had so graciously afforded him. There was nobody else save a small contingent of his elite Imperial Praetorian Guards. He tolerated their presence because they know better than to disturb him and they keep quiet.
If Titus was being honest with himself, life as the Emperor was excellent. He held nearly uncontested power with only the Imperial Senate as a whole having the power to challenge his word, but even then, he had the final say in things.
Titus took a deep breath before releasing it, reminiscing about the Valerian Empire's history which spanned over a thousand years – even before the Empire's birth. In the beginning, according to their history, beast-men and demihumans had dominated these lands with the humans cowering in fear. It was almost pitiful to think about it but what could their ancestors do in such a weak state? Then salvation came in the form of Titus's honored ancestor and first emperor of the Valerian Empire, Valero the Great, rallied the humans and waged a victorious war against the non-humans and laid the foundation that would eventually lead to the Empire's birth.
Since then, the Valerian Empire had been the most dominant power of Estran, and is still expanding its borders to this day with various kingdoms and races being subject to their rule, whether they liked it or not.
Titus felt pride in himself that since he assumed the throne, the Empire's power, influence, and territory had grown greatly under his rule. Of course, there were some senators and nobles that disapproved of his methods but he rarely heeded them. They now know that above all else, the Empire took priority and the people came second.
He also knew that even with all that Titus had accomplished, he was still only a mortal man nearing his end. The Emperor released a silent sigh; it was a real shame that even with the use of magic – specifically, necromancy – achieving immortality was nearly impossible. Those who pursued such a feat had received nothing but utter familiar at best, and the wrath of the gods themselves at worst.
Titus may be ambitious but even he knew not to challenge the gods.
It was a tough thought to harbor but he took comfort in the fact that his name would be remembered throughout generations as one of the greatest emperors of all time. Of course, that begged the question of who would succeed him once he passed.
The first and most obvious choice would be his eldest son, Prince Caecius Atius del Ceaser, but he was beginning to doubt this choice. His eldest son was narcissistic, hedonistic, prone to violent outbursts, and had an unrealistic sense of entitlement and need for adoration. The most glaring example being was his useless and completely unnecessary campaign against the Ceacvian, Khirsin, and Elleorus, just to satisfy his carnal desires and ego.
Although it may be water calling the air dry as Titus himself ordered the conquest of much of the continent, but one campaign at a time. Titus was no fool to think that the Empire could take on the whole of Estran at once. As powerful as they had grown, beast-men and demihumans still outnumbered them and were superior when it came to physical attributes and magical abilities. That was why the Emperor knew he had to take his time in the conquest.
What Caecius did was downright foolish in taking on three of the well-known, fierce tribes at the same time even if they were victorious.
On the upside, the Valerians did win in subjugating the majority of those races, but on the downside, it came at a great lost. They lost nearly five legions all because of Caecius's abysmal leadership skills. It was only through the brilliance of one of their most skilled and accomplished commanders, imperial Legate Marcellus Peltrasius Celsus, supreme commander of the Western Legions, that victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat.
If not for him, the Imperial Army's losses would've been even more catastrophic, but instead of being honored, Caecius became jealous of Celsus' success and took credit for his accomplishments, discrediting the General with many officers and some senators supporting the Crown Prince's claims.
This move was not well received by the legions as the men admired Marcellus as a brilliant commander, and some threatened to rise up in arms in defense of Marcellus. Things got so bad that the Emperor himself had to step in and restore order.
In the end, Titus had to strip Marcellus of his position of Imperial Legate and was demoted to rank of Legion Legate. This decision satisfied his son but left the Army with a bitter taste in its mouth, especially since Marcellus's replacement's performance was sub-par, to put it lightly.
Titus felt disappointed in his son. Even though they won a war against three races and subjugated most of them regardless of the losses, due to Caecius's pettiness, he was forces to remove one of his best commanders from his post.
Since then, Caecius showed no improvement whatsoever in his actions, opting instead to f*** his harem of various sex slaves, and wasting away in vices.
If he could, Titus could have Caecius removed as Crown Prince, but who would replace him? Perhaps his second son, Quintus, would make for a suitable heir?
Yes, Quintus would make a far better heir than Caecius. His way of thinking was much like Titus's own – pragmatic, realistic, and Quintus had proven himself as one of the most intelligent members of the Royal family with a particular talent for politics. Well, Titus didn't really trust many people, even those in his inner circle.
His only flaw was his tendency to overthink things almost to the point of paranoia. That could cause problems because his overthinking may lead to many inactions, and his paranoia could lead him to not trusting many people. Well, Titus didn't really trust many people, even those in his inner circle either.
Nevertheless, Quintus was a far more viable candidate than Caecius could ever be, and even though he had four other sons who were still being groomed at the moment, there was still one more who could be even more worthy to take the throne that Quintus – his daughter, Laelia vi Hasidia.
Titus couldn't help an amused smile from forming on his lips. Laelia was born from a concubine named Countess Pisentia whom he met years ago. He could say doubtless that she was one of the most beautiful women he laid eyes on and sought to win her affections, and in their union, she bore him his tenth child, a daughter they named Laelia.
He loved Laelia as much as any father would and did not hesitate to include her into the line of succession, with her tenth in line.
Laelia possessed a keen intellect, though not as potent as Quintus's own; she was incredibly smart and wide beyond her years. She also ahd the rare ability to instill loyalty from various people as well. This quality was most evident when she formed her own order of knights, the Order of the Lily. Titus may consider his daughter's order as a child's fantasy and typically has them serve as honor guards; he couldn't deny that Laelia inspired a group of noble girls that would usually not take up the responsibilities of a knight into a disciplined and highly trained order. He should know; they were trained by some of the skilled and honored knights and warriors, including Marcellus and Gray Co Baria.
These qualities were the marks of a great future leader and Titus felt that out of all his children Laelia would make a fine Empress. If only Caecius shared both of Quintus and Laelia's qualities.
Deciding that he had thought enough about his successor, Titus shook his head lightly and moved to other thoughts. Perhaps consider the newest and probably most important development in his reign.
For the first time in a thousand years, the sacred Gate of Arnfair Hill had opened. And it wasn't just that; a second Gate had opened up on the coast of the Frodmer Ocean. This was the first time in the history of their world that TWO holy Gates had opened. Even though nearly all the inhabitants of Estran viewed the areas around them as sacred ground, Titus saw an opportunity.
He knew the myths concerning the Gate; about how every time the Gate had opened, it leads to a new world. He saw it as a blessing from the gods that the Empire's domain would not only confined to the continent of Estran, but to another world as well. Not to mention that a conquest could yield treasures that could help them expand their domain beyond their continent, an endeavor they were currently having trouble with.
So, with this in mind, Titus took the initiative and sent twenty-five legions numbering over half a million men under the command of Imperial Legate Octavianus Oppius Hosidius, as well as several thousand vessels under the command of Praefecti Oppius Attius Primanus, to conquer the lands and waves and claim them in the name of the Valerian Empire. With the surprise of the attack, the Emperor was sure that their forces would encounter little to no resistance, and even then the confusion wrought from the sudden invasion would allow them time to consolidate their strength, salt their fields, and plant the seeds of the Empire in the wombs of their women. That was nearly two weeks ago, more than enough time to consolidate a foothold beyond the Gate.
Titus would be lying if we was not expecting a messenger detailing success of the campaign. Unknow to the Emperor, he would be reeving a message from his forces beyond the Gate on this day. Alas, it was not one of success, but of total defeat.
Titus was broken from his thoughts when the door to the throne opened. The Imperial Guards tensed up, ready to defend their lord but relaxed when they saw it was the Internal Minister, Vibius Co Salvius.
Of all the people serving in Titus's government, Vibius was probably the only one the Emperor truly trussed and trusted wholly. The Emperor raised a brow when he noticed Vibius's worried expression, but decided against asking about it for now.
"Internal Minister Vibius, to what do I owe this visit?" Titus asked as his retainer kneeled before him once he was close enough.
"Forgive me for disturbing you, your Majesty. But I bring news of utmost importance." The Emperor hummed and waved his hand for Vibius to continue. "A group of soldiers – all in very grave conditions – claiming to be from the expedition force we sent thought the Gate has just arrived, my lord, and they bring grave news. So grave in fact, that it was prudent that you hear it immediately."
Titus frowned at hearing. He was expecting to hear their expeditionary force was doing was making great progress. The Emperor would like to hear some good news and that Hosidius had already secured a sizeable patch of territory as a foothold as anticipated. However, hearing the urgency in Vibius's voice was an indication that something had gone terribly wrong.
"What do they have to say?" The Emperor asked in anticipation.
Vibius nodded as he stood up. "Your Majesty, the entirety of the expeditionary force we sent…has been defeated…Nay, they were slaughtered to the last man."
The Imperial Guards with them stiffened and paled at the news. They could not believe that twenty-five legions of their army and several thousand ships from their navy. Even the normally stoic Emperor Titus widened his eyes at the news. This was indeed a grave matter, and motioned for the Internal Minister to explain in detail.
"According to them, everything was going as expected." Vibius began. "They reached the other side of the Gate and immediately took the offensive, killing anyone that stood in t heir way, taking captives and treasures, and Imperial Legate Hosidus proclaiming dominion over those lands."
Emperor Titus nodded but he could not lose sight of what had truly happened over such honey-glossed words. There had to be more than that.
Seeing that he may continue, the Internal Minister did so. "As our forces were advancing, some took note of these new strange lands. The men told me that all around them they were surrounded by great structures of immense size – some even claiming that many were even grander than our own and they reached as far as the eye could see, with some rising into the very heavens, and even beyond the clouds. Those buildings also employed some kind of light and illusion magic."
Titus frowned more than before. If he could believe what his retainer was saying to him, then this new civilization had the capacity to build massive buildings that dwarfed even the largest structures the Empire has and could use magic on an incredible scale. It seemed that whatever lay beyond the gate was not as savage a civilization like he had expected, and he cursed himself for that.
"What happened next?" Titus urged on.
"The army was making progress but they encountered stiff resistance from what appeared to be militia, but they were few in comparison and our forces were able to push them back with sheer numbers alone. But the strange part is that the opposition wielded strange crossbows or staves that flashed fire and roared thunder, and when used, shot forth lighting that our armor and shields could not defend against. Our forces suffered tremendous casualties in their advance. Even the beast-men fell in the face of these strange weapons."
Now Titus could see how dire the situation ahd been. If he was not mislead, then every member or a substantial number of them at least, of this new civilization, could wiled magic; they could not be a mere militia. He could only imagine how much more powerful their own army was.
"And?"
"Hosidius' forces were able to advance just a few kilometers until the enemy's army came. The men described the vanguard flying over their heads in many great metal birds or dragons." Vibius said, and the Emperor the Imperial Guards looking curiously. "The soldiers say that those iron birds had a distinct sound: their wing beats were like the roars of thunder and whirring of wind, as well as the constant roar of a flame dragon. Some of those iron dragons then turned their attention to our legions and spewed fire and lighting, burning them and many simply disappeared in fireballs of oblivion. Some tried to run but only very few escaped the carnage."
The Emperor clenched his jaw. This new enemy reacted to their surprise attack in a very short amount of time, and what's more, they commanded flying iron monsters that possessed the power to decimate his legions with ease. Just what kind of place did the Gate open up to?
"With the help of those flying iron dragons, our forces were being slaughtered and pushed back. Even our elite dragon knights proved no match for those monstrosities." Vibius said worryingly, a sentiment shared by everyone else. "But before Hosdius could launch a counter-attack, the enemy's army – the survivors speculate that thus is nowhere near their full strength – suddenly appeared, and with them came iron elephants that could spew powerful fire magic that could destroy everything, soldiers with staves that could shred our strongest shields and armor like mere parchment paper, and magic that could decimate entire formations with ease. They even reported iron man-golems, monstrosities that were fashioned not unlike a man, but did not behave as them they had blades protruding out of their arms, could spew fire from their hands, run faster than any many possibly could, and were highly resistant to our own fire and lightning magic. There were even larger iron man-golems that could evidently control the inferior iron man-golems. They reported a single cohort that met only six of these soldiers in battle and when they returned, only four survived, and they were in horrendous condition. Mere minutes later. Most of the legions had already been killed and their iron dragons were attacking the main camp and killing everything that moved, with the enemy's army not far behind. With no other choice left, Hosidius ordered a retreat but before he could, the enemy's army surrounded them." The Internal Minister let out a shaky breath. "Out of overt half a million men we sent in, only thirteen legionaries made it back. With twenty-five legions lost in a single encounter, this is the single most devastating defeat in the Empire's history, your Grace."
As Vibius finished his report, Titus leaned back on his throne as he took it all in. Indeed, losing that many legions soon after an attempted invasion was a devastating and utterly humiliating defeat. With the loss of that many men, their military strength took a very serious blow, and if word got out to the other kingdoms and races, they may see it that the Empire had finally begun to grow weak plan a revolt. He would have to plan accordingly for that eventuality, but for now, he had an even bigger problem to face.
There was no denying it; Titus had tried to invade an extremely powerful civilization. One that could build behemoth structures that reached towards the heavens and beyond the cloud, wield magic of incredible power and at an unparalleled scale, command iron beasts that rules the skies and earth, create golems that behaved not unlike themselves, and who knows what else they could be capable of. If that were so, then Titus had a very serious problem if that civilization decided to retaliate, which was almost certain.
He needed to do something about this and he needed to do it fast before this mysterious and powerful nation began marching to the capital and destroys everything the Empire stands for, and everything he helped create.
Titus then thought of something. "Minister, did you say they aquired captives?" He asked.
The Minister hesitated for a moment before answering. "Yes, my liege, but when the men who escaped tried to take the carts which held them, they discovered that the cages had been damaged and the captives were gone."
Titus grumbled at that. "What of the nobles we sent? What of our navy?"
The Minister's face darkened further. "The soldiers reported that many of the nobles were captured, with some possibly being killed in the final confrontation when the enemy soldiers entered the main camp. As for our navy…" His voice began quivering slightly. "…there were no survivors. All our ships were sunk, and Praefecti Primanus was killed."
Titus was wholly sullen at this point. The ruling heads and nobles were dead or captured, his legions and navy decimated, and not a single captive or spoil of war to show for it. If this were to get out among the imperial populace, many would most certainly howl for blood; for sending their loved ones to a meaningless death. Not to mention the fright with which the enemy decimated the legions with ease. It would make recruitment much harder, considering that that was a necessity for rebuilding towards another attempted invasion through the Gate.
However, there was one silver lining to all this. "Minister, those survivors, have our Grand Arch Mage probe their minds. They might give some additional insight into our enemy's capabilities. Perhaps our mages can discern weakness we can use in our counter-attacks. I expect them to yield results by the time the emergency senatorial session commences in three hours. And make sure to summon Marcellus as well. We may need him for this new enemy."
Vibius bowed. "As you wish, your highness. I will inform Grand Magister Hostus of this new task and send the survivors for mind probing. I will inform the members of the Senate for the emergency session. I will also summon Marcellus personally, as I believe he is currently in the capital."
"Very good." Titus nodded. "You may go, my friend. And arrange for the surviving legionaries to be treated. We need all who can hold a sword in these desperate hours."
"Yes, my lord." And with that, Vibius turned and left the throne room.
The moment Vibius left, the Emperor leaned back on his throne and contemplated this new development. Truly, he had not expected his army and navy to be beaten so easily, but it was a possibility he should have foreseen. As much as he loathes admitting it, he was sure they were many civilizations out there that would be more than a match for his Empire. It was only right to think that because their world was vast and largely unexplored. It stands that his assumption held truth and was one of the reasons why Titus was doing all he could to strengthen the Valerian Empire.
He should've known that this also applied to other worlds as well. Titus made the colossal mistake in underestimating the world beyond the Gate, and now had made an enemy of what seemed like a monster of a country. If he were willing to bet this would be the greatest threat the Empire would ever face.
Titus hummed. 'There is no denying it – war is on the horizon – the likes of which no man, child, or woman in Estran has ever seen before. But no matter what kind of enemy we face, the Empire will stand the victor. As it always has and always will.'
Yes, this would be a war of godly proportions, the war of all wars, but Titus knew that the Empire had the home field advantage, and hundreds of thousands of warriors, nay, even several million, ready to defend to Empire. This new enemy may command monsters of earth and sky, but they had the grace of the gods.
The Valerian Empire will reign victorious and prove why they were the most dominant force of this world or any other world
Eshagian Kingdom capital – Aeredale
Rapun 06, 1037 IC
09:57:13 hrs
Located in the southern portion of the central region of Estran, the kingdom of Eshagia is one of the vassal states of the Empire, and out of all of vassal states, Eshagia is considered the most powerful, with the economic and military power to back that claim. That was why the other vassal states looked at them as their de facto leader.
This history of Eshagia spanned centuries, not long after the founding of the Empire. It all started when a great warrior and commander of the Empire, Decimus the Courageous, led his army and drove their enemies out of that area. Valero the Great was so impressed with his service and loyalty that he have Decimus dominion over that region, which would become the Eshagian kingdom.
The Kingdom had been a staunch supporter for generations, but as the Empire grew, it began abusing its powers over them and the other vassal states. In hindsight, this was to be expected. The Valerians stood unopposed for centuries since its formation centuries ago and its hubris and delusions of invincibility made them arrogant.
Still, that didn't excuse them what they were doing to everyone else.
In the capital city of Aeredale, its current ruler, King Artor Rand Jourdain, stood on the balcony of his throne room. A man in his early 60s, with dark grey hair as well as grey eyes, though he lost his left eye in a battle years ago and now wears an eyepatch.
Despite his age, he was one of the most ferocious warriors alive and a proven military commander. His leadership prowess earned him the title as the Lion of Eshagia, with some even comparing him to the feared Imperial commander, Legion Legate Marcellus Peltrasius Quartinus.
King Jourdain looked over the beautiful sight of his kingdom with contentment. His people were happy and his domain was flourishing, considering the Empire's rule. That was all he ever wanted, really. For his people and lands to flourish but that proves to be difficult with the Valerians meddling in everything and taking almost everything they worked for.
Sometimes, King Jourdain wondered when and how did the Empire turned out like this. Once, the Empire, was formed after Valero the Great united all humans to fight back against their enemies. Since then, the Empire stood for honor, courage, and unity. Now every time he thinks of the Empire, he thinks of oppression, corruption, warmongering, and arrogance.
Of course, this did not mean that every Valerian was like that. There were still some good people there who still lived by those principles, like his oldest and best friend, Count Fulbert Asinius Kaeso Giraut, Marcus Trebatius Venator, Princess Laelia vi Hasidia, and Legion Legate Marcellus Peltrasius Celsus, along with the leaders of the vassal states.
Many times, Jourdain ahd entertained the idea of raising a revolt against the Empire, but every time, he dismissed those thoughts. As celebtrated a commander and warrior he was, he knew the Valerians would defeat them even if all the vassal states were to join through sheer numbers alone.
Not to mention that the Valerians would seek terrible vengeance upon their people for such a treasonous act. Even if the Lion of Eshagia shuddered to think what their soldiers would do to his people and the kinds of atrocities they were capable of. One only needs to look at Caecius' campaigns to get a very clear idea.
Deciding it to be biter to entertain other subjects of thoughts, King Jourdain thought about this new and most interesting development. For the first time in millennia, the Gate had opened once again. If he was honest with himself, the king never thought something like this would happen in his lifetime, and he had seen some weird things in his life.
Like many others, he was curious at to where the Gate would lead, but was also afraid at that prospect. For all he knew, the Gate would lead to some very nasty place where the air was position and everything was out to kill them. So, he decided it was probably best to observe the Gate and watch for anything that came thorough.
Unfortunately, the Valerian Empire didn't share his concerns and had sent an invasion force composed of twenty-five legions and several thousand ships to conquer the lands beyond. King Jourdain couldn't even begin to list the reasons on how this was an incredibly dangerous and foolhardy endeavor, but there was little he could do.
Honestly, he could not care less what the Valerians found there, but he was worried for his friend, Count Giraut. He had heard rumors that he had been called into service and assist in the invasion. He knew Giraut would never do this kinds of thing willingly; he would only do so to keep the Empire off his back.
King Jourdain hoped these rumors were false, but he knew better than cling to false hope. If Giraut died, he would be leaving his daughter and people behind…and who knows what would happen to them without Giraut's leadership.
Just then his attention was called when a messenger came before him and kneeled respectfully. "Forgive me, my lord, but I bring a message bearing Clan Giraut's seal." He presented Jourdain with a letter that indeed bore the seal.
King Jourdain nodded. "Thank you, my boy." He said, taking the letter from the messenger's hand before dismissing him. Once the messenger was out of sigjt, he looked at the letter in his hands.
He had a pretty good feeling about what this letter was going to say and he knew that he would not like it, but it was better to get it over with now. Breaking the seal, and opening the letter, he began to read its message.
Dear King Artor Rand Jourdain,
If you are reading this, then it would mean that I have indeed been called to accompany the Valerians through the Gate. I know when you heard news of the Gate reopening after many generations, you were surprised beyond belief. I admit, felt the same way as well. I would have preferred to stay home with my people and precious Mylla, but we all know what would happen if I refused their summons. My friend, know that I take no pleasure in what I and my men will do. And if anything should happen to me, I beg of you. Please, take care of my preciuous Mylla and my people. They will need someone to lead them and Mylla will need someone to call father again.
My friend, I do not need to tell you that should Titus' little endeavor fails that you and the rest should keep their eyes and ears open. No doubt that by the time this letter reaches you, rumors will have already begun to spread of our success or failure. Do not believe anything Titus tells you at that point. If he asks you assemble your armies and march to Arnfair Hill, then something has gone wrong and needs to take the fall. Keep in mind that this may be a ploy to destroy you somehow. All I ask is for you and everyone to take every detail into account, and not make any hasty or unnecessary conclusions that may endanger you and your peoples.
If all goes well, myself and my men will return home. If not…well, it has been a pleasure knowing you, king Jourdain.
Your friend,
Count Fulbert Asinius Kaeso Giraut
After reading the letter for a second time, Jourdain let out a sigh. His worries ahd been confirmed and Giraut had indeed joined the Valerians on the foolish endeavor, but not on his own volition.
He would pray to the gods that Giraut would come back alive, but in the event that he did not…
On his honor as the king of Eshagia, as a friend and a man, he swore that he would take care of Mylla and Giraut's people. It was the least he could do for him.
Still, Jourdain would take his words to heart. The King of Eshagia would never fully trust the words of Titus even on his best days. Even now, there were rumors going on that a few soldiers returned from the invasion force, but were all in horrible condition.
Jourdain did not know what to make of it but wouldn't dismiss the rumors just yet. He would need to verify this himself though his informants within the Valerian Capital. Of something were to happen, the King Jourdain wanted to know everything about it and share it with is fellow kings. No doubt they would appreciate the news.
Nevertheless…he did not know why but King Jourdain just had this instinctive feeling that things were about to change.
Valeria – Imperial Senate Building
Rapun 06, 1037 IC
13:17:09 hrs
"Pride gets no pleasure out of having more of it than the next man… It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, the pride is gone."
C.S. Lewis
The Valerian Senate is the main legislative body of the Valerian Empire, and has around five hundred active senators, with the Emperor himself present in most sessions. Much like the Senate of the Roman Empire, the Valerian Senate functions as the principle lawmaking body with the Emperor having the final say whether or not the law be made official.
Technically speaking, both the Emperor and the Senate are the two main branches of their government, but in practice, it's the Emperor who holds absolute power. As such, membership into the Senate became a highly sought-after position by most high-borne individuals who craved for prestige and higher social standing rather than an actual desire for the position and its responsibilities. That's why most Senators, save a precious few, were corrupted because they knew that with their position, they were virtually untouchable so long as don't leave any evidence.
One would never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy. Each waiting for an opportunity to fill their pockets even further.
Walking through the halls of the Senate building was a grizzled man in his mid-forties wearing the Valerian legionary armor. He stood an intimidating six foot two inches and had dark brown eyes with the hair to match, although it now had streaks of grey. He also had three scars that ran diagonally down his face.
This was Legion Legate Marcellus Peltrasius Celsus, one of the most respected and capable commanders in the Imperial Army and former commander of former supreme commander of the Western Armies.
Now, because of the actions of that bastard Prince and his ambition, Celsus was stripped of his command and reduced to rank of Legion Legate because he did his f***ing job splendidly and the Prince felt jealous of his accomplishments in his foolhardy war.
Now, he was used to seeing self-entitled f***ers stealing the credit from those who truly deserved it. He should know better; this sort of thing happened on several occasions. This time, however, was something he considered totally unacceptable.
He was soldier of the Empire and had served her loyally, even when the hubris of those in charge slowly strangled the life of the people for their own profit. That gradually made him realize that the wars the Empire had been fighting were not for the sake of unifying the continent under one fair and just rule, but to conquer in the name of glory and tyranny.
It was only after the conquest and subsequent enslavement of most of the Ceacvian, Khirsin, and Elleorus, begin losing faith. If he were asked, that war was totally unnecessary and the cost of those legions, all just to satisfy the Crown Prince's ego and desires for gratification.
Not to mention the atrocities committed by their armies upon the innocent whether they were demihuman or not.
When the battle was over and everything was said and done, Celsus would've been better off just to drink his life away with a few barrels of wine, but instead, was discresited as a coward and an incompetent commander that cost the Army thousands of lives before Prince Caecius came in and straightened things out.
The while thing got even worse when some of the officers supported Prince Caecius' claims. They were most likely promised a large sum of money or a higher position in the Army to secure their cooperation. Whatever the reason, the damage was done to the great commander's reputation with people spitting on his name.
Before things got even more out of hand, Emperor Titus put a stop to the madness because most the Imperial Army, who looked up to Celsus was ready to defend him. In order to appease everyone, Titus had him demoted to the rank of Legion Legate and had him stripped of command.
Just thinking about it made Celsus' blood boil in disgust and anger. He suffered through such humiliations and disgrace because of the actions of a brute of a Crown Prince. If he was honest with himself, Quartinus would like nothing more than to run his sword through that f***er's chest and be done with it. Oh, he know what hat monster does in his free time and it disgusted him. He also blamed the Emperor for not doing anything to curb his son's carnal tendencies.
Because of all this, Celsus had lost all faith in the government, and was only in the Army to serve the Valerian people. It was the only true reason he ahd left to stay around.
Shaking his head, Celsus decided that he could brood about the past later. For now, he was rather interested on why he was summoned here in the first place. The summons were not specific as it only stated that the Emperor ordered him to report to the Senate immediately.
Celsus had half a mind to just tear the summons to pieces, throw them into the fire, and spend the day with his wife and young son. Alas, he knew better than do disobey a direct order from the Emperor and here he was. Still though, he couldn't help but feel curios was a Legion Legate was needed in a Senate hearing.
As he rounded a corner, he spotted an old acquaintance of his. "Greetings, Marcus El Livius. I'm glad to see you here." The middle-aged man with an aged face, dark brown eyes, shoulder-length black hair, and wearing a robe, returned his nod.
"Greetings to you as well Legion Legate Celcus. I wish we had time to talk, but we have even more pressing matters to attend to." He motioned for Celsus to walk with him to the Senate Chambers as he did. "I assume you know what's going on?"
Celsus shook his head. "No, the summons I received did not give me a reason other than the Emperor deamanded it."
Marcus sighed. "It seems they neglected to inform you."
"About what?" Celsus asked with a raised brow.
"You do remember that over a month ago, the Gate had opened again for the first time in centuries?"
Celsus nodded. Like many others, he was also shocked to learn of it. "I do. It was a foolisdh decision to send an invasion to conquer the lands beyond. I also remember being asked to lead them through. I declined…I did not want a repeat of what happened before." He spat out.
Marcus chuckled. "Be careful, my friend. The Emperor wouldn't take kindly to your words even if you are our greatest commander."
Celsus brushed the warning aside. Not really caring. "You still have not told me what is going on."
It was now that Marcus' expression turned grim. "A few hours ago, thirteen legionaries, claiming to be from the invasion force from Gate, returned. All were in terrible conditions."
Celsus' expression didn't change. "And?"
"Those legionaries were all that was left of the invasion force."
Celsus stopped mid-step, turned, and looked and Marcus in shock. "What do you mean they were all that were left?"
Marcus sighed. "Even I had the same reaction. Out of the half a million men that began the invasion, only thirteen survived, and all suffered terrible injured. Twenty-five legions were lost in just a few hours. Our fleets fared no better, with all ships lost and no survivors."
Celsus' eyes hardened but was till reeling in shock. Twenty-five legions and several thousand ships were gone just like that if he were to believe what was being told. But how was that possible? What could possibly be capable of destroying that many troops that quickly?
Okay, that was a rhetorical questions. There were many things that could destroy that many troops and even the Imperial Army itself. The dreaded Flame Dragon, for instance, but he doubted there were some beyond the gate…or at least, he hoped so.
"Do you know what caused that?"
"Nothing conclusive yet, but I've heard rumors that they had stumbled upon that were amazing, yet terrifying. But I think we'll find out shortly."
"I hope so."
The two entered the Senate Chambers that were already filled with Senators all chatting about trying to figure out what had happened; no doubt they ahd heard the rumors. At the front of the chamber sat Emperor Titus and to his left, Grand Magister Hostus, both of whom sported troubled expressions.
Celsus took note of that before eh and Marcus took their respective seats. It wasn't long before the Emperor called for silence.
"My friends, I know you are wondering why I have called this meeting, and I know that some of you have heard the rumors. I am here to tell you that we face something that threatens our very way of life." Titus declared, having everyone's full attention. "Over a month ago, we learned that the Gate had reopened for the first time in generations, and we agreed to send an expeditionary force through to bring the inhabitants there under our fair and just rule." At that, Celsus and a few Senators scoffed silently but made not outward expression that they did. "But our noble forces were immediately attacked even after Imperial Legate Hosidius announced their intentions for peace."
Most of the Senators and military officials immediately bought this and were angrily muttering to themselves about getting revenge, but those who knew just what kind of man Titus is were rolling their eyes. He would never go for something that peaceful.
"It is my deepest regret to find out that at the conclusion of this unprovoked surprise attack, twenty-five legions were lost with only thirteen able to make it back home. Our fleet had no survivors." Titus continued and the entire Senate exploded in shock and anger.
Celsus scowled deeply. So it was true that twenty-five legions were lost. He felt sympathy because he knew some of the men there but now he wanted to know just what kind of enemy Titus had foolishly gotten them involved with.
"Your Highness, we cannot let this go unanswered!" An Imperial officer shouted. "We must avenge our fallen and show these barbarians the righteous might of the Empire!" Many Senators shouted their agreements.
Titus held up his hand for silence and everyone quieted down in moments. "Believe me, my friends, I am inclined to agree to avenge our fallen sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands, but we must first find out more about this new enemy." Titus turned to Grand Magister Hostus. "Grand Magister, please share with us what you have uncovered."
Hostus rose from his seat and made his way to the center of the chamber as he chanted for a spell. Once he reached the center, a magic circle formed and the chamber was filled with smoke.
"We face something far greater than anything we have ever faced, Senators." Hostus said as he manipulated the smoke to show a flag with red and white strips, with a collection of starts in its upper left side against a dark blue background. "Thanks to the information I and my fellow mages have aquired, I now know the name of our new adversary, and its flag – the United States of America, a nation of immense power and strength. So much so that their peers consider them a superpower."
Some were curious what that meant. "What does that mean Grand Magister?" A Senator asked.
"When a nation's economy and military power become so great that they con project their influence over their entire world, they are considered a superpower." Hostus explained. "And as of now, America is the only nation beyond the Gate that is considered as such."
That left the chamber shaken. To think that they had attacked a nation of such power and might that they reign supreme over their world. Even Celsus was unnerved at that prospect.
A laugh from on Senator gained everyone's attention. "Bah! This superpower horse sh!t is all nonsense. You make them appear as they're are unstoppable an unbeatable, but I know in my bones that if they come here, we will defeat them and make them pay for their transgressions." Some Senators actually agreed with him.
Hostus looked at him at him with hard eyes before he wordlessly dispersed the image of the flag, and showed them all something that silenced them. It was something that could be described terrible army of dark as the Underworld itself, as a terrible army of men in darkened armor with red eyes and giant monsters marched amidst a city with massive buildings
The Senators shuddered at the carnage that was being shown to them. How a small group of those soldiers massacred fleeing legionaries with their staves. How their metal beasts crushed those that tried to run beneath them. How their metal dragons swooped down and destroyed everything with ease. How metal golems, shaped not unlike a man, moved faster than any human possibly could and killed legionaries with ease with its arm blades, was resistant to their fire and lighting magic, and how some iron man-golems seemed to control the others.
Hostus then showed them a massive metal bird that flew so high in the heavens that they were in awe, before many small objects began raining down towards a very large city below. What happened next made all of them, even Titus, gasp in horror as those small objects exploded by the hundreds and literally burned the city to the ground. The frightening thing was that there appeared to be hundreds of those metal birds swarming the skies.
But the horrors were not done yet. The vision then switched to a single bird flying towards a city. The room almost scoffed at that. Only one bird? Then its belly opened, and another object was dropped. This, however, seemed fatter than the ones before; a few snickered at its appearance. But what happened next was not laughing matter. When it exploded, it seemed as if the sun itself had flashed, and everything was consumed in a massive, rising column of fire that parted the very heavens! A final vision showed a strange machination beyond the blue skies, and from it, dropped a rod that appeared to be metal, and it gained unbelievably high speeds, before impacting deep into the ground and spewing out dirt and dust as if the ground itself was coughing it up.
The visions ended, leaving the room shaking in silent fear, their faces white. "Tell me, Senator, after seeing all that, could you possibly say we can beat them now?" When there was no reply, he continued. "They control beasts and monstrosities capable of untold destruction – their armies sweeping across everything that dare oppose them." Hostus then displayed this army rampaging over a city. "Like a terrible storm, they ravage everything in their path until there is nothing left and we are their next victims."
The Grand Magister dispersed the clouds and momentarily looked at all the Senators who were all effectively frightened into silence before he returned to his seat. He could not blame them, for he too felt untold fear grip his heart when he first saw these monsters in action.
Celsus could feel the sweat pouring down his temples and his heart pounding in his chest. Never had he seen so much destruction of that scale before. This…America was something to be feared, and it had just set its sights on the Empire. He cursed Titus more than ever before for ever thinking that it was a good idea to invade through the Gate!
"My friends…we face the single most dangerous threat our great Empire has ever encountered." Titus spoke as everyone was still scared stiff. "Our freedom, our way of life is at risk. We reached out to them in the name of peace and cooperation and they repaid our offer of friendship by slaughtering our envoys. Now they have set their sights on us and plan to destroy everything we have bled and toiled for. So I ask you…will we allow them?"
As he spoke, the Senators began to fell emboldened by those words. Who did these animals think they were to insult the Empire like this? Did they think that given how powerful they may be that eh Valerians will simply kneel before them like a cowed b!tch? well, they had another thing coming.
With a resounding shout, the Senator cursed these aggressors.
"Emperor Titus, what shall we do?" A senator, Primus Mamilius Vibullius, asked. "We should mobilize our armies at once before they get a chance to cross the Gate!" He said with many voicing their agreement, including Celsus.
He may not agree with almost every single one of the people here, but he knew that they needed to prepare with haste in order to stand a chance. He still blamed Titus for getting them into this mess but he could worry about it later…or when he was dead.
It was here that Marcus decided to voice his opinion. "I may not always agree with Senator Vibullius but he is right. For us to have a fighting chance, we need to act quickly." Like Celsus, he blamed Titus for all this but there was not time for that now. He knew better than to trust Titus but this time, he could not afford a division within the Senate if this was true. He was only going along for the safety of his family, his country, and people. "But who will lead our forces against such an enemy?"
A this, many officers and Senators volunteered for the dauting task. No doubt the fame and glory, not to mention riches that would be bestowed once they defeated the American menace. Celsus crossed his arms, realizing the true reason why he was summoned – Titus wanted him to lead the armies once more.
"I thank you for your willingness to defend our nation against this threat, but I am afraid that we need the very best to command our troops in this war." Titus turned to Celsus with a small smile. "And who better to lead our armies to victory than Legion Legate Celsus."
This decision caused mixed reactions from the Senate. Some actually agreed that Celsus should, lead the armies, but some argued the he should not be given command due to his rank.
Celsus himself was indifferent with the decision. Oh, he would fight, but not for the glory of the Empire, but for the people. In his eyes, the government was too corrupted to be worth saving. He would do what is required of him and no more than that.
"My friends, please." The Emperor said as everyone quieted down. "This is not the time for us to squabble about. I understand your concerns, but I believe Celsus is just the man for this task. After all, he has proven it time and again in the past. Why, he is considered by many as one of the most brilliant commanders in the Army." All of the Senators and military officials, even those that didn't like Celsus, agreed on that and didn't have an argument for it, so Titus continued. "So, to rectify your concerns, I hereby appoint Marcellus Peltrasius Celsus the rank of Consul, and name him the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army." There were many mutterings about that but none raised heir voices in opposition.
Celsus stood up from his seat and bowed. "I thank you for this honor, your highness. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to repel these barbarians and make them pay for their insult." Oh he knew this was an obvious ploy to get back at his good graces, but who was he to deny being an Imperial Legate again.
"Then it is decided." Titus slowly rose from his throne as all eyes laid upon him. "Assemble the army!"
Loud cheers erupted from his proclamation with everyone chanting for war, but Celsus was not in a festive mood. He knew this will be the bloodies war in history…but he had no other choice but to defend his people.
He looked at the Emperor who was soaking up all the cheers from early everyone and scowled. In fact, he wouldn't put is past the Emperor to have fabricated the whole thing to his benefit to get the Senate on his side. 'You act as if you've already won, Titus, but you know as well as I do you've made a very grave mistake. One day, you will regret your actions…we all will.' He silently, grimly thought.
In the coming months, those words would indeed come to fruition.
*Chapter 12*: Ch7: For AnsweredDisturbance #7
Ch7: For Answered
"The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence, it is a subject of inquiry which on no account be neglected."
Sun Tzu
US Capitol Building
September 18, 2104
14:37:21 hrs
It had been six days since the unexpected and horrific incident in New Atlimas that left the nation and the entire world in shock. An enemy numbering in the hundreds of thousands had seemingly appeared out if thin air in the middle of the city, and began indiscriminately slaughtering civilians. Thousands of people were killed and maimed in horrible ways, and millions of dollars' worth of property was 's more, these crime were perpetrated by things that everyone thought was mere fiction.
Monsters and creatures straight out of fantasy were actually real, and confirmed by the president himself, which was another shock to the world.
Now, five days after President Charles requested an emergency session of Congress to declare a state of war, it was time.
All around Capitol Hill, people were abuzz with activity and talk. Hundreds of reports, national and international, converged on the site to cover this for the country and the world to see, as the politicians were talking amongst themselves while they waited for President Jameson to make his long-awaited statement.
The President was currently in his private office, reading his speech over again before sighing and tossing the papers on his desk. The past week had been just horrible. He read and reread the casualty reports once it was finalized, and it made his heart sink and blood boil.
After four days of search and rescue, they finally had a headcount of casualties and President Charles did not like it at all. Seven thousand four hundred and ninety three civilians were killed, and another fifteen thousand six hundred and eighty six were left injured and crippled. Not to mention those who didn't even have a family…their poor souls would be lost to time and history.
It was simply appalling. Such barbarism, such acts of violence, committed against American civilians, on American soil no less.
When the engagement was swiftly put to an end, he had the entire island on lockdown and ordered the Armed Forces to DEFCON 2 in anticipation of another attack. Charles was extremely glad no attack had occurred yet, but he knew more than enough not to let his guard down, so all US forces remained on alert.
Whatever prisoners were captured were handed off to the CIA. They were infamous in getting people to talk, and the President wanted to know why they attacked his country and gave the CIA authority to do what was necessary.
For the bodies of those…creatures, they were handed over to top secret research sites to be examined for potential weaknesses. They would need all the intel they could acquire for the coming war.
It didn't take long for the prisoners to break under the pressure and give them the answer they needed. And the answer completely pi$$ed off the President, Joint Chiefs, and his Cabinet.
It seemed these…men, were part of an empire named the Valerian Empire. They attacked the United States of America just because they can. They attacked US sovereign soil, slaughtered and maimed innocent people…for no other solid reason that they can…
If President Charles said that on national television, then there would be no divisions among the American public in calling for revenge at the slight committed against them. He had every intention to because his countrymen needed to hear the truth.
These bastards thought they could simply just attack the United States, conquer them, bow to their barbaric rule, and get away with it? Well, they were about to find out what happens when you pi$$ off a superpower.
That structure in the middle of Central Square and off the coast were mostly intact, and the entire coast was patrolled by the Coast Guard and elements of the Fourth Fleet, while Central Square was under total lockdown by Army and Marine units. Those stationed at both passages had clear orders: nothing and nobody comes out of there alive.
If something did come through, they had authorization to use deadly force; an order their soldiers would gladly follow to the damn letter.
There was a knock on the door and the President was broken from his train of thoughts. Sitting up clearing his throat and sitting up straight, he replied. "Yes?"
The door opened to reveal one of his aides. "It's time, Mr. President. I suggest you get ready."
"Thank you." He smiled before he closed the door and waited for the President to exit.
'This is it. Show time.' He said to himself and mentally prepared for his speech. He knew the stakes and failure was not an option.
Coming out of his office, Charles met with his aide and security detail as they made their way to Congress. "How are things looking out there?"
"There are a lot of people out there, sir. National and international networks are all here covering it all." The aide replied. "Good luck, sir."
President Charles couldn't help but nod solemnly. "Thank you. let's do this."
When he was given the go signal, President Charles strode out of the chamber and made his way to the podium before Congress as everyone applauded his arrival. He arrived and the applause quieted down.
"Senators and Representatives, it is my distinguished honor of presenting you the President of the United States." The Speaker of the House said as applause rang out again.
When it quieted down, Charles looked at all before him. He never dreamed he would have to give a speech such as this in his career.
"Mr. Vice President. Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Six days ago on September the thirteenth in the god graced year of Twenty-one Oh-Four, the United States of America was once again suddenly and deliberately attacked by an invading enemy force. As you all know, this was not the sort of force we're used to fighting. No, what we faced was something that we thought only existed in our imagination, and yet we all saw it with our own eyes and heard it with our own ears. It is my greatest regret to inform you that seven thousand four hundred and ninety three lives were lost, and another fifteen thousand six hundred and eighty six were left maimed and crippled by these savages."
He bowed his head as he said the last sentence, and shouts of outrage erupted in Congress before they were silenced.
"Over thirteen years ago, the world was once again engulfed in a new era of warfare, and we emerged stronger than ever, and lived in relative peace." He continued with pride before gaining a solemn expression. "But that precious peace was shattered."
He could hear murmuring among the crowds as the President continued. "After we have already endured the flames of war on our own shores, we were once again attacked by an enemy from the unknown. To the families of the and loved ones of those that perished, I extend my deepest condolences and sincerest apologies, as we failed in our duty. I'm afraid this is where the pleasantries end." And just like that, the wet, sorrow-filled eyes were now replaced with a fiery fury. "Just two days ago, I had received a report from our intelligence agencies regarding these assailments, and why did they attack us. Their reason was that they can. They attacked us because they can, and that we would bow down to their sadistic rule like dogs." He almost growled out, and the already enraged crowd was further enraged.
"This blatant and unprovoked attack on our country will not go unanswered! The barbaric and savage treatment of our people will not go unpunished!" He slammed his fists on the podium to prove his point and shouts of agreement echoed from all over Congress.
"This enemy has declared war on us the moment they spilled American blood on American soil." He continued as everyone quieted down. "That is why, today, I stand before you and Congress to ask that we declare a state of war, and bring those responsible her to face the punishments for their actions." Everyone stood up and applauded, but he wasn't finished yet.
"Like we did before, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, when Al-Qaeda brought down the Twin Towers, when the Neo-Axis invaded our shores, and when the GLA attacked us and the world, we will rise again stronger than ever, and we will WIN!"
The crowd's thunderous applause was deafening as President Charles finished his speech and walked off the podium.
This Empire had made the mistake of invading the United States of America. It was time for it to realize that it had struck the eagle and took her chicks from her nest. It was time for it to repay blood with blood, and to feel her talons as they exact judgement.
The eagle may have been bloodied, but nothing can degrade its majesty, nor does it rob it of its strength.
Not when she has been robbed of her chicks.
Not when it's coming for you.
Not when it's coming for vengeance.
*Chapter 13*: Ch8: Know Thine EnemyDisturbance #8
Ch8: Know Thine Enemy
"Know thyself, know thine enemy. A hundred battles, a hundred victories"
Sun Tzu
White House Situation Room
September 19, 2104
09:17:42 hrs
No sooner had President Charles made his rousing delectation, and Congress unanimously approved a state of war, di the United States begin preparing to face the most unusual adversary it had ever faced
Very seldom did they attack in anger, and the only times when they did was when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, when al-Qaeda brought down the World Trade Center, and when the GLA attacked various sites across the US and the world.
Now for the fourth time in is history, the U.S. would fight to avenge the atrocious acts committed upon its citizens against an enemy that either had a ludicrous amount of audacity, or was completely insane to think that they could just attack any nation, anywhere, on a whim. Did they think that they could attack any nation it pleases, burn their homes, slaughter their loved ones, enslave their fellow citizens to do who know what, and expect the people of that land to just bend over and bow to their sadistic regime!?
When the time was right, they would experience the true depths of hell, and the consequences of their actions.
Although they rarely attacked in anger, or struck the first blow, that sentiment was changing.
Many Americans were beginning to feel that for too long, they had allowed outsiders to draw first blood. With the new age in the Global War on Terror, and with plenty of rogue nations and other unsavory factions, they were more open to a much more aggressive approach, and making preemptive strikes. Some people had also said it was poetic justice that America, which created the atomic bomb, fell victim to nuclear attacks just over a century after their inception. They were also more willing to use these weapons with a limited use. The same went for other certain other weapons once limited or banned by the Geneva Conventions; white phosphorous, napalm, and cluster munitions for starters. Many other nations had begun violating the Conventions; some of the rogue nations as terror tactics. not that many civilized nations still tired to abide by the Conventions as much as possible; it was time to level the playing field.
Currently, the United States had more than enough muscle to launch a full-scale counter-invasion. However, High Command new that even with superior firepower, tactics, and weapons, they literally had no idea where the 'Gate' led to. For all they knew, there was an even larger enemy force waiting on the other side for them. That and the fact that the Gate would bottleneck their forces, making them vulnerable to attack while they were in transit.
The U.S. knew far better never to underestimate your enemy, no matter how pathetic the opponent and the power difference may be. The lessons of the Vietnam War, the War on Terror, World War 3, and the Forever War were dark testaments to that.
That was why, after President Charle's official declaration of war, the National Security Council and the Joint Chiefs of Staff convened at the White House to discuss what they've learned about their latest foe in greater detail, the overall strategy for the coming conflict, define the ultimate objectives, preparation of their forces, and other miscellaneous details that could wait until later.
They didn't have to wait long though, as President Charles came into the room. All those present rose from their seats in respect. "Mr. President" They greeted in unison.
"Ladies and gentlemen." President Charles nodded in acknowledgement to them as he sat down, prompting the others to do the same. The president sighed tiredly and everyone could see that he wasn't doing so great over the past few days. He had bags under his eyes, had slightly unkempt hair, and his complexion was a bit paler among other things that could be overtly seen. It would appear he hadn't been getting much sleep with everything going on.
No one could blame him though. No matter who you are, the weight of having to lead a country through a period of strife was taxing, to say the least, even for the most hardened of leaders. "Sorry, had a rough week." He said with a shake of his head. The rest of the Council nodded in understanding; after all, they were in the same boat too.
"All right, let's get this started. Everyone, we are once again at war with an enemy we know next to nothing about, and the only entrances to hostile territory are literally in our own backyard. But before we continue, I'd like to know the status of that so-called 'Gate.' Has anything happened since then?"
General Chambers shook his head. "None so far, sire. We've maintained surveillance on both structures, but so far, nothing. Even so, the palce is on lockdown and nothing is getting through without getting blown to oblivion."
"See that you do. Let's be thankful another one of those things hasn't popped up somewhere. I don't want a repeat of what happened." The President was indeed grateful that so far, there was nothing else of the sort reported. That didn't mean they could breathe any easier now, since even one of those things was one too much.
Strange forces that they could not apprehend were at work and they couldn't afford to be caught with their pants down again the cost would simply be unacceptable.
"I assure you sir, it won't happen again." General Chambers tried to placate the Commander-in-Chief's justified concerns. "Our armed forces stand ready and are patrolling the entire country for any sign of such a phenomenon. If one does pop up, we'll be ready."
Although not much, that at least alleviated Charles's worries somewhat. Assuming it cold happen again, they had no way of detecting where the bastards would come next, so it left little choice than to mobilize the entire military. At the very least, they would be ready in case it happened again.
"Thank you, General." President Charles nodded before turning to the rest of the Council. "Now I understand we have full testimony of at least two of the prisoners, but before we dive into that, what can you tell me about these prisoners?" He asked, looking at his intelligence directors.
"Generally speaking sir, they're a bunch of pricks." Director Hunter said. "Since they woke up all they've been saying was, and I quote, 'The Empire will exact judgement for this, you will regret the day you dare defied our rule, we will enjoy watching you beg for mercy as our armies crush you,' and so on. General Hosidius, the commander of their invasion force, is the worst of them.
Gen. Chambers and the NSC chuckled. "Sounds like you've been busy. Anything useful we found out?"
"There is." The CIA Director nodded. "While most broke easily given what we put them through, some of the more experienced and hardened ones lasted longer…but only by a hair. Ironically, Hosidius was the first to break. Guess he was all bark and no bite."
Director Webb nodded. "Indeed, and they have given us some very interesting information. The most cooperative would be Count Fulbert Asinius Kaeso Giraut, one of the commanders of their party, and Lady Lacinia Fabius Viribus. I believe we know have a basic understanding of the enemy and their world. We've also confiscated maps, books, and various documents from their main camp."
President Charles and the rest of the Council nodded in approval and satisfaction; they already had a considerable amount of potential intel ready to exploit. "Good, what have you found out about this empire?"
At this, Director Hunter came forward to present her findings. "If you would direct your attention to the screen." The Council did so and faced the large screen as she presented an image - a map of a continent.
As the highest ranking and most senior military official in the room, the principle military advisor, and having decades of experience, Gen. Chambers immediately scrutinized the map in detail. "I assume that's the palce where they came from?"
The CIA Director nodded. "This is the map of the continent of Estran from what we've gathered. After analysis, we estimate that the continent as a whole is roughly the size of Eurasia, with most of it under the Empire's control. Our efforts will be focused here." The image highlighted a point. "According to the prisoners, the Gate originated here – Arnfair Hill. It's considered sacred lands by the Valerians and various races there. Judging from the maps and accounts, we believe the terrain is mostly open fields all around."
That got nods of approval from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and unseen to all, internal smirks. Open ground was considered a death sentence for troops in the open unless they had adequate air cover. Here, it would be almost too easy.
Judging from the way the Valerians fought, they may only move forwards or backwards, and utilizing human mass movements would severely limit their speed and flexibility, like the armies of old. Against this, the US could simply run circles around and cut them down from a distance with zero friendly losses.
Realistically, in their world at least, this would be nigh impossible against near-peer nations and terror groups, but now the US was against an adversary a millennia their junior. It was almost pitiful that the Valerian Empire picked a fight with America. Almost.
Another immediate advantage was that the Gate sat atop the hill, meaning the US would immediate have the high ground. History has shown time and again that the side controlling the high ground is practically guaranteed victory. Additionally, it meant that their supply lines would run directly into their base, so even in the off-chance that they get stuck in a siege, they could hold out indefinitely.
Yes, it work out perfectly, but there was just one tiny problem. As dictated by the Laws of War, religious sites were not to be disturbed, meaning that any attack would, by definition, be illegal.
Too bad this was another world though. Many people on Earth hadn't followed those rules very often either since WW3.
"Continue, Director." President Charles said and Director Hunter nodded. She then highlighted various landmarks and locations that could prove useful for future operations.
"As you can see, Arnfair Hill is surrounded by valleys and wooded forests. Here, to the West, and East of their capital is Kamcour Mountain. It's a natural barrier spanning most of the continent from North to South. The main passageway is here. According to the Count, the Valerians have a major fortress there that controls entry; they also consider it the border of their ancestral homeland. Also to the West is the Roselow Rivera major river system spanning nearly the length of the continent, and there are multiple Valerian fortifications protecting the major corssings. To the North of the Hill is Myrefall, a city devoted to the study of magic." She then highlighted multiple points scattered throughout the extent of Valerian control. "These are termed the 'Jewel Cities,' thirty-six of the largest and most prosperous cities in the Empire. They control commerce, trade, and are major supply hubs and rallying points for their Army, and are essentially miniature capitals unto themselves." Everyone made a mental note of that. Director Hunter then highlighted a city further Northwest of Arnfair Hill. "Now, the main prize. Valeria, the Imperial Capital." That got everyone's full attention. "It's approximately nine hundred miles from Arnfair Hill, and is connected to the cities of Windermere and Caister to the Northeast and Southwest, respectively. Both are connected to the Frodmer Sea, suggesting it may have a substantial Navy. The Count has confirmed this, stating that Caister is houses the bulk of their navy. There are also colonies on islands off the East coast of Estran, here, the Loursomin Islands. In the South, past the Briheller Mountains, lies the Huramam Desert, among which lie multiple colonies, and where Valeria is trying to expand. To the Far North, past the Draynola Heights, lies the Caramack region, a place of snowy mountains and frigid, snowy weather. Despite this Valeria is trying to expand there as well, albeit at a much slower pace."
The Council studied the map for several minutes, taking in all the available information at hand. They would not be taking an entire continent filled with who knows what. By now, their objectives were clear – capture those responsible, and take down the Valerian Empire so that it could no longer pose a threat. The US was not out to conquer an entire world; there was nothing there worth wasting the trouble on. They were to go in, complete the job, and get out. Nothing more, nothing less. There were infinite more opportunities on Mars and among the stars to expand humanity's reach, now that space travel was slowly but surely becoming a reality.
President Charles studied the map carefully before setting his eyes on the city of Warcester. He was no military man, but he was wiling to bet if they could take the city, it could serve as a forward base and launching point in the push for Valeria. After all, the map showed it was on the road directly West from Arnfair Hill, through Kamcour Mountain through the aforementioned fortress, and directly to the capital. The city also sat on a crossroads that branched out to other cities in Valerian conquered territory.
"Director, correct me if I'm wrong, but does Warcester hold any strategic value?" The President asked as she zoomed in on the city. "I don't know about you but that city could serve as a forward base. Not to mention it would offer a straight drive to the capital."
Gen. Chambers thought it over and agreed with the President. taking the city would make things easier for further operations in the entire region. Not to mention its obvious location on the crossroads leading to all other major cities in the conquered regions.
"Quite true, Mr. President." Hunter nodded. "While its location alone offers significant strategic value, it's also a major trade center for the conquered regions, as much of the trade passes through. Coincidentally, it's currently under the leadership of Count Giraut, but in the event of his death, leadership falls to his youngest daughter, Mylla Elryria Giraut. According the Count, she'll turn eleven by the end of the month."
Despite being glad of the importance the city held to their cause, they pitied the girl for having such a responsibility thrust upon her at such a young age, and would probably think her father was dead, further adding to the burden. They weren't so naïve as to question their ways, it's just how they worked at the time. The same happened in their world ages past, after all.
Still though, in order to serve their goals, Warcester would have to fall under American control. That would be one of the first steps of the operation.
"What about the Empire itself?" Defense Secretary knight asked. "Do we know its structure of government and military?"
For this, Director Webb took over. "From our understanding, the Valerian Empire is a pre0industrial, militaristic, hegemonic, and autocratic state. Its political structure is very similar to that of Rome and is ruled by and emperor; in this case, Titus Maximus Augustus. According to the Count, he was the one who ordered the attack on Central Square."
The Council narrowed their eyes at the name. Good to know the name of who was the a$$hole who started all this. He would be the number one target to capture.
"Do we have anything on this Emperor Augustus? The Vice President , Taylor G. Woods asked. They all wanted to know exactly who they were dealing with.
"Nothing Substantial, it seems." Director Webb sighed with disappointment. "Most of the prisoners practically worship and revere him. Typical behavior for a monarchy of this scale…But Count Giraut has given us a rundown of him."
The VP nodded and the Council made a note to question if what the Count was saying was trustworthy or not. "He must have known him well, I suppose."
The CIA Director nodded. "I wouldn't say close, but he did deal with him on a few occasions from what he's told; some were unpleasant. Going on that, Augustus is an intelligent and calculating, but also cold, manipulative, and ruthless. His expansionist dreams also knows no end. He has all the makings of a dictator – taking anything he wants through acts of war, territorial expansion, r bullying weaker nations. He's also paranoid, not trusting even his allies as he feels they would betray him at the first chance. This has him opting to rule through fear and force. Although one redeeming fact is that he cares about the overall health of the country, though that doesn't include his people, as he views them as expendable resources.
The Council frowned. Given what they've heard, they were dealing with someone with the militaristic fanaticism and ambition of Adolf Hitler, the ruthless calculation and repression of Joseph Stalin, and the political clout of Mao Zedong. A real personification of the Axis if there ever was one.
Director Hunter continued. "Now while the emperor is the near absolute monarchy, substantial power is also given to the senate. Overall, they function much like ancient Rome. There's also the Golden Twelve, a group of twelve of the most family clans that control the most wealth and power. their bloodlines produce many of the senators, nobles, and noble knights."
The Council nodded in understanding; plenty of pillars to remove.
"Additionally, according to Count Giraut, there are princes and princess, indicating they may have adopted some medieval customs; an odd combination, to say the least."
"And who are these princes and princesses?" President Charles asked.
"From what we've been told, Titus has thirteen children, but have determined that three are of high importance. Princes Caecius and Quintus del Caesar, and Princess Laelia vi Hasidia. First in line for the throne and eldest is Caecius, a nasty piece of work from what the Count says. Second in line is Quintus, and Laelia is the tenth child and tenth in line for the throne. She has a closer relationship with her father than some of the other royals, and also commands her own order of knights, the Order of the Lily. She is also the most tolerable of the royal family and is a friend of the Count, saying she's the one who cares the most for the well-being of the Empire and its inhabitants than the others, and secretly disapproves of the way her father and brother does things."
The President, looked at the Secretary, Gen. Chambers, and then to both Directors who all nodded. They realized that while either some or all of the princes and princess could be captured as leverage, Princess Laelia could be persuaded to help. Ultimately, she would be a priority person of interest.
That didn't mean that it was a necessity, though. Their goal was not regime change.
"What about their military strength?" Gen Chambers asked, wanting to know what they would be faced in the other world.
"Currently, we have little to no intel on their full strength and capabilities, and the only intel we have are the video surveillance recording, which are limited at best." Director Webb sad. "But still, according to Count Giraut, the Valerian military is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, even several million, and that's not even counting those fantasy creatures they have at their disposal. Going by our own assumptions, we estimate their numbers are roughly three million. To add to this, the Count says that the Empire has a saying: 'Every man a legionary.' We can assume this means that every male has at least basic levels of training, and if mobilized, that grand total could be in the tens of millions. And that doesn't even include the total number of troops they can call upon from their vassal states."
The Council frowned, none more so than Gen. Chambers. As if their problems weren't big enough, they now possibly had multiple other countries to contend with as well.
"This just keeps getting better and better." President Charles grumbled; he was not looking forward to fighting an entire continent. "All right, what about them?"
Webb browsed through the documents before finding what he was looking for. "Given this is a continent, there should be more countries. He Count stated that the Empire holds sway over thirty vassal kingdoms, but we only know about five of them. The kingdoms of Eshagia, Dreven, Kreoles, Gaedeca, and the Principality of Araya, all of which are located here, approximately four hundred miles from Arnfair Hill in varying directions."
General Chambers hummed int thought. "How many men can they muster on short notice?"
"Unknown, but Count Giraut stated that the kingdoms were able to raise an army three hundred thousand strong in just under a week." Director Webb said, making everyone recoil in surprise. "We estimate they could throw more at us though possibly up to two million."
That was completely troubling. It was bad enough they had to face an empire with potentially millions of soldiers at their disposal; now they also had to consider its allies who could double that number. If such a thing were to happen, the US would be fighting potentially half the continent.
The General made some quick mental calculations; if this were a modern world, the moment the US made its move against the Empire, then its allies would come running to their aid, thus compounding the situation. Fortunately, this wasn't a modern world, which means that the US had the advantage in every way.
Communications would be extremely slow as they would need to be delivered on horseback or air, and even then it would still take a very long time. By the time the call for help does reach the kingdoms, the General was sure that their forces would be well entrenched. After all, over four hundred miles was a long way to travel by foot and horse, and it would probably take months to fully assemble to full strength, much less to march to the Hill. That didn't even consider the massive logistics and supplies need to sustain an army on the march.
"I hold no delusions on this gentlemen. While I believe that we can hold them off, I cannot, in good conscience, sentence millions of men to die by our hands." President Charles said. "There has to be a different way than wholesale slaughter."
"Are you suggesting we negotiate with them?" Secretary Taylor said incredulously. "We both know that our citizens will never stand for that. It would be political suicide!"
"We must try something. You and both know that this won't be war, this will be a massacre vey time we meet them head on. Were just too advanced and too strong for them by the end of this so-called 'war,' the casualties would be minimal but theirs would be horrifying. I'm not saying we seek peace with the Empire, but maybe we can sway the vassals to back off."
Advisor Woods shook his head. "Easier said than done. They wouldn't believe what we'd say to them, and they'd never break an alliance – it's a matter of honor to them. Unless the Empire does something for the kingdoms to abandon it, we'll be fighting them no matter what we do."
"On the contrary, I think the Empire's been doing that for some quite time now." Director Hunter said with a smirk as the Council turned to her.
President Charles leaned forward. "You have something to share, Director?"
"According to Count Giraut, the Empire had been very harsh on the treatment of its vassal states and people imposing heavy taxes, excessive tribute, forcibly drafting hundreds of men into its army, the like. Not to mention they disregard their own laws if the end results benefits them. There's also discontent within their Senate and has some pretty big opponents, like Marcus El Livius. He and a few others have announced their displeasure about the Empire's unjust conquests. Not to mention the fact they're overly controlling and abusive of their vassal states."
"Or in other words, some big names are discontent with how the Empire is running things." Director Webb concluded.
Secretary Knight drummed his fingers. "So you're saying there's a chance we can turn them against the Empire?"
Director Hunter nodded. "It will be difficult, but we can do it…with the help of Count Giraut and Lady Lacinia." The way she said is made everyone immediately know she had something up her sleeves. They already had an idea what it was though.
President Charles sighed, realizing what Director Hunter was going at. He admitted, it was a viable course of action, but it wouldn't be well-received. "You want me to pardon the Count and thee Lady so they can help us in the field, don't you?"
Before the Director could respond, the Secretary beat her to it. "Absolutely not! He may be giving us valuable intel, but need I remind you he willingly took part in the invasion force that killed thousands, maimed thousands more, and burned millions of dollars' worth of property!? Besides, how can we even trust them anyway!? They could be giving us false information to us for all we know!"
The Council had to admit, the secretary made a valid point. They were trusting the words of a man and woman that were supposed to be their enemies. After all, no one easily betrays their own country just like that. No to mention that nobles tend to say and anything just to save their own skins. The Council turned to Director Hunter to see what her rebuttal was.
"Compelled understandable, but it would seem that Count Giraut has his own share of grievances. When he was a boy, his parents were executed after another lord falsely accused them of treason. When it was found to be false, said lord got a slap on the wrist, and Giraut didn't receive any compensation. Another instance are those he brought in."
That drew some curiosity from the Council. "What do you mean?"
"It appears that Prince Caecius wages a campaign against the races of Ceacvian, Khirsin, and Elleorus. The Caecvian are a race of fierce warrior women with physical attributes of rabbits, the Khirsin are a wolf humanoid race, and the Elleorus are a race of cate peoples."
"And the Valerians waged war on against all three of them? At the same time?" President Charles asked in surprise. "What was their goal in that anyways?"
Director Hunter's expression darkened. "Mainly, this was just to fuel Prince Caecius' ambition. He conquered the three races so they could become slaves, and satisfy his own ego and sadistic and carnal tendencies."
At the mere mention, everyone bristled but kept their words to themselves. There were no words needed to say about its history; they all knew what their ancestors had done. Nevertheless, it left a sour taste in their mouths, especially if these atrocities were committed by some princes who was more than sick in the head.
"Count Giraut despised the notion of slavery and had given some of the survivors pockets of refuge in his lands but it wasn't that simple. He essentially had to buy all of them so the Empire wouldn't hound him. It cost him quite a bit of his fortune." Directors Hunter said. "In return. The three races offered their services as servants, guards, etc."
Despite the technicality of it, the same had been done in their own world during the First Civil War. An admirable thing to do.
"Interesting, this Count seems to be one of the few good apples in a bad bunch."
"Yes, it would seem that way. Those three races would be willing to fight the Valerians the first chance they get, but convincing them that we're there to beat the Empire and give them back their freedom would be difficult if we didn't have Count Giraut with us."
Now the Council saw how Giraut, as well as Lacinia, could be of use to them there, rather than being locked up in some black site prison. It certainly would make things easier, and perhaps could also serve as consultants for them. In exchange, they'd be given a pardon or a reduced sentence at eth very least. That could help entice them to their cause.
"All right, you've made your point." Charles nodded. "We'll proceed with your idea. I have to know, however, the request he undoubtedly had to have in return for his cooperation."
"He did make one request, but a very reasonable one." Director Hunter said.
"And that is?"
"That we spare his daughter and people from our wrath. He would accept any punishment we'd give him as he wants to atone for his sins, but asks in exchange to leave his people in peace. We agreed, but explained to him that should they attack first, we'll retaliate. He accepted."
The rest of the Council nodded. "Quite the honorable man, I'll see to it that Warcester is unharmed once we proceed. As you said though, if they attack us first, we WILL retaliate." Gen Chambers promised.
"That's all he asks. Now back to the vassal states" The Council turned their attention back to the screens. "As stated, the Empire abuses its power and demands heft things from its vassals. While they're obligated to stand in arms when called, given their harsh treatment, they could be persuaded. To return home with the help of the Count."
The Council nodded as Secretary Knight leaned forward. "What about their leaders. Do we have anything on them?"
Director Hunter nodded. '"Yes, King Artor Rand Jourdain of Eshagia, King Vasey Rober of Dreven, King Margrave Arthur of Kreoles, King Hardwin Tiebaut of Gaedeca, and Duke Jeph Paulin of the Principality of Araya. From what we can tell, the Empire has wronged them all in some way, and the leaders of Eshagia and Dreven are close friends with Giraut."
The Council looked at each other; it seemed Count Giraut's usefulness just went up a couple notches. If he can help convince all the other kingdoms to back off, that would be a tremendous help and save plenty of lives.
Seeing this was too good a chance to pass up, President Charles decided he would make a deal with Count Giraut and Lady Lacinia: If they can help them win this war and give credibility to the natives, then they would receive a reduced sentence or their freedoms back.
"What can you tell us about the kings there?" Secretary Knight asked.
"The Count isn't as acquainted with the other kings besides the two. Rober is honorable, yet overconfident, but he cares about his people. Jourdain, however, is a bone-fide warrior king and a seasoned commander, known for his quiet, harsh and intelligent demeanor. Like the others, he also cares about the welfare of his subjects. The three share the belief that the Empire, with its constant waging of wars, was costing them dearly. They fear sooner or later, the Empire will bit off more it can chew."
Gen chambers chuckled. "Well, they were right about that."
"Quite, not to mention the levels of corruption. The three had originally planned a coup to overthrow the Empire, but lacked the manpower and political power to do so."
"So when they do come, we just invite them to negotiations. Doable, but not exactly easy to accomplish." Chambers said.
Director Hunter hummed for a moment. "It wouldn't be easy, true, but its possible. If I remember correctly, in medieval times, it was customary to send emissaries to appeal surrenders and talks. Also, according to Giraut, out of all the kings, Jourdain is the most pragmatic and levelheaded, not to mention his kingdom is the largest and has the largest army. The other vassal states look at him as their de facto leader."
"I see, so there's a chance to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. It seems the Valerian Empire isn't as united as we thought.' President Charles sighed in relief.
"All right, we've established that, what about their military forces?" Secretary Knight asked.
"In terms of their armies, their tactics are very similar to ancient Roman and Medieval armies, though with the obvious inclusion of fantasy creatures. All the kingdoms' militaries are based on the Empire's own, but have developed their own tactics. Eshagia focuses primarily on offense, with heavy infantry and cavalry. Dreven focuses on rapid attacks. Kreoles focuses primarily on defense. Gaedeca's forces focuses on hit-and-run tactics. Not to mention their apparent ability to use…magic."
What the Director said drew surprise from the Council. The number of potential hostile troops and their tactics didn't bother them; it was the magic. That was something nobody on Earth had an idea what to do about. For all they knew, the Valerians possessed a spell rivaling the destructive power of a hydrogen bomb!
"I see…" President Charles muttered. It was indeed troubling they were facing a large enemy force, but they were capable of forces they knew nothing about. If they wished to maintain the advantage, they would have to play smart. "What about those creatures and magic? Do we have any info?"
"Sadly sir, no." Director Hunter said regrettably. "After the battle, the clean-up teams recovered very few intact specimens. With little to nothing to work with, we weren't able to surmise any data from them. Same goes for any of them being able to produce magic. From the prisoners we have, none of them display any kind of magical abilities. If they did, we'd have a big problem."
Charles inwardly cursed. He was hoping that even with small samples, they could get something useful. Now he supposed it was wishful thinking. If they had captured magic-capable individuals, the dangers involved would be immense. After all, no one knew anything outside of media, and it shows it's a very tricky subject. While an obvious loss of intel, perhaps it was for the best.
"I understand, but there has to be something that can give us an edge on these creatures. Weaknesses, how to take them down, their tendencies, how much punishment they can take before getting killed, anything." President Charles said.
Gen. Chambers delivered his own input. "Mr. president, while not much, we do have recordings of the engagements. It should give insight on their creatures and magic users, as well as their army and navy."
Thinking for a moment, Charles nodded. "Better than nothing, I suppose. Alright General, show us."
With permission given, Gen chambers stood from his seat and prepared the various recordings for the presentation. "Recording A, Subject J-0732." The video showed what looked like a wolf humanoid. "This is one of the many common humanoid creatures we faced as you can see, it's stocky, suggesting incredible strength, yet it's also fast. "
The recording showed it running on all fours straight towards a Marine squad, dodging left and right with astonishing agility I order to avoid the lighting. Fortunately, before it could get within striking distance, a lucky bullet tore through its shoulder stunning it for a few seconds; plenty of time for the Marines to riddle it with bullets. "As you can see, these types of humanoids are relatively easy to deal with, but their physical attributes are troublesome; some are agile enough to dodge gunfire, but display little intelligence – opting simply to charge without cover. These are henceforth designated as W-Class Specimens. Now the ones that caused the most problems are shown next."
The next photos of creatures warranted special attention. "Subjects G-4858, O-4857, and D-8495, henceforth referred to as O-1,O-2, and D1-class Specimens, respectively." The first image showed large and muscular humanoids with grey, green, or purplish skin and pig/ape faces. They ahd little to no armor and their weapons were simple wooden clubs, but judging from its size, they were capable of serious damage.
The second image showed an even larger humanoid than the first, but appeared far stronger and more dangerous. Unlike the first, this wore heavy armor and wielded either a large axe or hammer. They could only imagine the havoc these were capable of.
The third was something all recognized: a dragon. There was no need express the danger of a flying, fire-breathing creature. The specimen was shown to be outfitted with armor and was ridden by an enemy soldier, suggesting that this was the enemy's primary aerial asset. How the Valerian managed to tame and train dragons to be ridden on…was both interesting and troubling.
"The first two creatures, I can only guess are orcs and ogres by fantasy lore standards, but regardless, they prove to be a substantial threat. The examples are shown in recordings B and C."
The second recording showed the first creature destroying a car with just one swing of its wooden club, and smashing some fleeing civilians to past. That made the Council bristle in discomfort and anger at the brutality of their countrymen when ap against an Army squad, it just dumbly and slowly lumbered forward. It took six seconds of continuous fire to bring it to its knees, before being finished up by two shots from an MGL-40E, blowing it to chucks.
Even though the beast was killed, the Council couldn't hide their worry.
"Even without armor, the creature's hid can withstand dozens of shots. Though it's quite resilient, it's also dumb and slow, granting our troops time to put more fire downrange. They simply need to keep their distance and use high-powered rounds."
The General then played the third recording. The next creature proved to be quite the brute, hoisting a car and tossing it towards a building like it was nothing. Even worse, it was capable of serious damage, as one blow of its hammer caused the pavement to buckle. When faced against their forces, the armor protected it from bullets, and the Army squad had to fall back to avoid being smashed. Thankfully, a Spartan IFV pulled up and unloaded its 40mm HE rounds, completely obliterating it.
"While similar in appearance, it's far stronger and more vicious, essentially the same thing on steroids. Small arms is essentially useless, and infantry are recommended to fall back and use heavy weaponry."
He then showed the fourth recording which was the dragon. Their attack patterns was pretty straightforward, swooping down on fleeing civilians and attacking with their claws and teeth, as well as allowing its rider to impale wit his lance before taking off to avoid retaliation. Basic hit and run tactics. one was shown harassing an M1A5 Abrams, but its teach, claws, and spears weren't doing anything to the armor. It wasn't until the tank's CROWS-III machine gun swerved and fired. Not expecting that, the creature was peppered with steel and crash-landed, and the Abrams fired a canister round for good measure before moving on.
"As it is an aerial threat, its agile, fierce and trained, and a major threat to our troops without anti-air. Thankfully thug, the ones we've seen haven't displayed the ability to breath fire but I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet. Another note is that small arms are ineffective." To prove his point, the recording continued to show Marines trying to pepper it with bullets, but they just bounced off the scales before it flew off. "As such, I recommend eliminating the rider first and concentrating fire, or using high-caliber weapons or anti-air missiles."
He then showed the last of the major points of his presentation. "The next subject are those mages, Subjects T-5864 and T-5865."
In the recording, it showed on of those mages using some kind of shield to cover the retreating soldier's. The shield was taking copious amounts of fire from small arms and explosives. Though it was holding, the mage keeping it up appeared to be physically strained, and the shield was faltering as the punishment progressed. It wasn't until an Abrams fired into a shell into the shield that the shield was defeated, and the mage was completely gone.
Later in the recording, a second mage was seen conjuring up balls of fire, lighting, and some smoke. It appeared he was manipulating water from the surrounding fire hydrants. Then, one of their approaching armored vehicles' systems seemed to swerve in the mage's direction, and he appeared to be clutching his head in pain. His spells also appeared to go haywire, harming himself and those around him. In the confusion, he was taken down with a headshot.
"Although we have no idea on the exact capabilities of their magic, we can ascertain that they can erect energy fields capable of withstanding tremendous abuse. However, the effectiveness of the shield may depend on the user, such as mental strain, concentration, level of experience. Although as an upside, the latter portion that you saw when that mage suddenly clutched his head, it happened because the operator in the armored vehicle inadvertently activated the directed energy weapon system instead of the gun."
That was a surprise to be sure, but welcome one at that. Already having a countermeasure certainly was convenient, even if it was found out by mistake.
The general then proceeded to show other clips and pictures that revealed more about their enemy in greater detail. Although for this, their analytic AI hooked up into historical databases to find out more info.
The rank and file soldiers wore armor that was classified as coat of plates or brigandine armor. While there shields were shaped like scutum shields, they were smaller than their Roman counterparts, and was shown to be used as a secondary bashing weapon. Their helmets reminiscent of the Late Roman ridge-style of helmet, along with a facemask.
Their archers with longbows and large pavise shields, and barriers that appeared to be cheval de frise. A recovered crossbow revelaed a magazine with a capibiltiy of ten to twenty bolts, and am internal mechanism that allowed olts to be reloaded much faster.
Their artillery of wide assortment, including a polybolos mounted on armored war carts. An artillery engine shaped like a trebuchet, with a swinging arm and two hands on the ends, a long row of round stones, and was powered by a chain mechanism provided by man or beast. The chain mechanism allowed near continuous fire of stones as long as there was ammunition.
For their navy, the design for many of their ships was similar to the khelandion, but larger. They had what appeared to be elevated castles amidships for archers, as well as light artillery pieces, ramming prows, and some had a large, circular metal casket out front. One clip briefly showed a ship with the container breath out fire; some of the Council surmised the liquid used was not unlike Greek fire.
There were large ships that matched most closely to a tessarakonteres; how they ship was stable was unknown. More worryingly though, was the large trebuchet that was erected in the rear of the formation. Other similarly-sized ships carried what appeared to be scaling equipment.
The most interesting were those shaped not unlike their light carriers. When zoomed in, a clip showed hatches opening up, and out from inside the ships emerged flying lizards. It was an ad-hoc carrier, albeit for flying creatures rather than aircraft.
But the most damming piece of evidence they were facing an enemy similar to Rome was a banner that was spotted on both the ships and carried by the troops, bearing a familiar inscription: "SPQV."
With the presentation concluded, Gen. Chambers offered his final take. "Now, I know we have every advantage when it comes to tech, tactics, and firepower, the fact remains that we don't know who we're fighting. We will not go in blind; it's what's lead to our previous defeats too many times before." What he said as true; they had the advantage in nearly every aspect, but strength alone doesn't always win battles. While primitive, the Valerian Empire could still pose a threat, IF they could pull together long enough.
They couldn't afford to underestimate their enemy; the same had happened in Vietnam.
"That certainly helps, but it's still not enough." Secretary Knight sighed. "I think that we'd be fighting more than just ogres, orcs, and dragons, or mages. There's most likely more things we don't know about."
That was true, but there was little they could do about that. They would have to get intel directly from the field, and that in itself posed a threat to their forces.
Secretary of State Jackson H. Lewis looked at everyone else, who were deep in thought, before clearing his throat. "Uh, sir, I may have an idea for that, but it sounds pretty dumb." He said as everyone looked at him.
"I think we can agree nothing sounds dumb at this point." Charles sighed. "What do you have in mind?"
"Well…" Lewis cleared his throat. "I can't believe I'm even saying this, but I think we should call the …experts, on this field."
The rest of the Council eyed him curiously "Experts?"
"Yes, like gamers, fantasy writers, anime fans, manga writers, otakus, the like." The Council looked at him wieredly making him sigh. "I know, I know, it sounds stupid, but if we want to know how to take t hose things down effectively, we'd need help to teach our troops to hit where it hurts. While we can agree comparing real life to a book or a game is ludicrous at face value, this is all we really have. We have nothing to lose by getting a second opinion, at the very least."
The Secretary was right; it did sound like a very stupid idea. The idea of a bunch of nerds teaching the most powerful military in the world how to deal with fantasy creatures was…laughable, humiliating even, to say the least. Alas, in a weird way, it made sense.
With all the specimens recovered so badly damaged to the point of uselessness, they had little choice but to call on people who knew the most about them.
"…I guess we don't have much of a choice." President Charles mumbled in amusement.
"Well…at least something that helped lighten the mood here." Director Hunter chuckled. "Am I to assume you approve of this idea, sir?"
"Yes." Charles nodded. "Our options are limited and this is the best we've got right now. Perhaps we can interview the survivors and police officers for their take on how they took them down?"
Director Hunter nodded. "Will do sir. I'll setup an online, public forum for all the fantasy fans to contribute, and that intel will be forwarded to our troops. Perhaps we can also bring in scholars and historians as well? If they're a combination of Rome and Medieval Europe, we can get some deeper insights from them."
The Council nodded at that. Know thine enemy.
"Alright, I can make arrangements for that." The Secretary of State nodded.
The President nodded before turning to Gen. Chambers. "How son can we go in?"
"Soon , sir It's only a matter of assembling our forces. But we would need to send in recon to scout the area and ensure no one is waiting on the other side."
That put a frown on the Council's faces, but it was a necessary move.
But soon, another realization set in. Those gates were the only passageways connecting them to another world, and if there was a way to make them – then they could be unmade.
"Director Hunter, how long would those Gates stay open?" Charles asked.
She paused for a moment. "Exactly how long is unknown, but Count Giraut has stated that the Gate always stays open for at least a century before closing. Although he mentioned rumors that mages in the past were able to extend the length of time it stayed open; they were from Myrefall."
That added a new side objective. Approach the city and attempt to learn magic, or convince some of the locals there to help them out, as a failsafe.
That allayed everyone's trepidations.
President Charles stood up and leaned on the table, his eyes darkened and his voice low, his resolve hardened, and looked at every member of the Council in the eye. "Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen. The American people want blood, and to make their empire burn, and that's exactly what we'll do. This is not a regime change. We aren't looking to win the hearts and minds of the people there. Let me be clear: there is nothing in that world worth fighting for or protecting. Our only goal is to get in, get what we want, and get out. Nothing more, nothing less."
He stood up straight and put his hands together. "If there are no other topics to discuss, then this meeting is adjourned. Gen. Chambers, I want you and the Joint Chiefs to formulate our battle plans. I want them on my desk tomorrow morning eight o'clock sharp."
"Right away, sir. We'll get to it now." And with that, everyone began began filing out of the room.
The eagles had screamed in pain and agony from the iron hand that struck it. Now it was beginning to take flight towards its vengeance.
Bonus Short Chapter 8.5: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
XXXXXX
"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace…so seek peace, but prepare for war. Because war…war never changes"
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
New Atlimas
September 20, 2014
11:37:33 hrs
New Atlimas was buzzing with activity as the might of the American war machine gathered its strength.
Mere days after the Central Square Massacre, as it was now being called, combat engineers had constructed metallic domes to seal off both gates from the rest of the world. The only access came in the form of two massive sliding doors. The one in Central Square was dubbed "Point Ploutonion," while the one off the coast was dubbed "Point River Styx." There were also surrounding facilities constructed to accommodate troops and equipment. Not to mention multiple layers of security, especial the one in Central Square.
Marion International Airport was the largest airport in the city, even larger than LAX. Normally, it was a commercial and international hub. Since the incident though, the airspace was locked down, and the airport was temporarily seized by the military. Now instead of commercial airliners lining the tarmacs, there were only military planes bringing in hundreds of Army troops, thousands of tons of supplies, and all their weapons. Numerous attack helicopters, drones, and various other aircraft were waiting to be disassembled for the trip across. The Air Force was also sending various jets and aircraft in support.
To the North, at the Waheap Railyard, the heavy armor was being shipped in from storage across the States. Abrams, MRAPS, Spartans Crusaders, artillery, MLRS systems, anything that would take multiple trips by air.
In the harbor, a sizeable fleet was gathered. The entirety of the 1st fleet was gathered in the bay. Before, this fleet was never officially designated as a unit; WW3 ahd since changed that. The fleet also had numerous drone boats of the Ghost Fleet augmenting its strength. There were also amphibious assault ships, Afloat Forward Staging Base ships, and Marine Corps units gathering in the harbor along with the Navy.
With this much strength, making "Rome" burn again was going to be child's play.
*Chapter 14*: Ch9: The Chips Are In PlaceA/N: I've been reading the comments lately. It was intention to draw inspiration from others, and combine it my own, to create a work that was a collage of sorts; it was never my intention to steal. I think that somewhere along the line, I unconsciously began gravitating to "World at War V2," so thanks everyone for pointing it out. TheDrkKnight12, thank you for writing the piece that inspired me to write, and I apologize if it seems like plagiarism, and to everyone else. I look forward to continue being inspired.
Continued feedback is appreciated. On to the next chapter!
Review responses:
Fer82: While my Lady Lacinia character may seem similar to Lady Octavia, my character was original; it was my intention to include a female character who was more open-minded; any similarities to others' characters is purely coincidental. As for the name, I was using a name generator and it was the first one that came up
Avro 683 Lancaster: For the mind-probing – I forgot to mention in my story that one of the legionaries stumbled upon a bookstore and found a picture book. It happened to be a history book in Italian
Disturbance #9
Ch9: The Chips Are In Place
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe"
Abraham Lincoln
New Atlimas
September 25, 2104
10:37:42 hrs
The might of the American war machine was nearly finished in gathering its strength for the coming storm.
Recently, all personnel selected for the upcoming counter-invasion formed were given a rather fitting name, and were now designated as Task Force: Vengeance.
They even had two new patches for their uniforms. One was the official insignia for the task force, worn on the right arm below the flag. It depicted a dragon being overpowered and eaten alive by an American Bald Eagle standing over it, and had the word "Vengeance" translated into the otherworld's version of Latin.
The other was a morale patch worn on the left arm. It showed a black skull over a red background, wearing a Late Roman Ridge helmet just like the ones the Valerians were wearing during the incident. Behind the skull were a pair of crossed swords, and across the skull, were three diagonal, bloody claw marks. Surrounding the ghastly intimidating picture were the words "Empire Killers" translated into the otherworld's Latin.
Fitting symbology for what the Americans were about to do, and their only goals in the other world.
As the hours wore on, at Marion International Airport, troops were running drills, conducting checks, and practicing on ad hoc firing range and kill houses setup in the surrounding shrubbery. While they all had plenty of experience from the Third Cold War the New Global War on Terror, and the full dive VR training, it was mostly to keep fresh and pass the time.
In the harbor, a sizeable fleet was gathered. It consisted of a carrier group, elements of the officially reconstituted 1st Fleet and an amphibious invasion force. The centerpiece of the carrier group was the supercarrier USS Donald J. Trump, the last of the Ford-class carriers to be constructed; the Ford-class carriers had completely replaced the Nimitz-class by now. In addition to the full carrier group's ships, Littoral Combat Ships, there were also dozens of ships from the Ghost Fleet, including Rumbler-class unmanned destroyers, a Kraken-class arsenal ship, four SeaWolf-III drone submarines, Manatee MUSVs, Orca UUVs, and Beluga XLUUVs.
The amphibious invasion force consisted of an Afloat Forward Staging Base ship, three America-class amphibious assault ships, and various landing crafts needed for the Marines and their equipment.
Currently though, running drills on the airport's tarmac with various operators, was none other than 1st Lieutenant Walker.
He had no idea what the debriefing and promotion was all about; only that he was to report to the airport immediately. Then he got his answer.
He was being promoted to rank of Major. It was not unheard of to be promoted TWO ranks above your current one, but why was he given the honor? Well, due to the testimonies of numerous police officers and his two friends that fateful day, it had warranted enough reason.
Now for the main reason behind his promotion. He was being appointed the field commander for Task Force: Gravedigger, a unit comprised of various Special Operations Forces units from all branches acting in support of Task Force: Vengeance.
Hangar 6 on the tarmac was located somewhat in obscurity, a bit farther away from where the main terminals were; it was here that JSOC and Gravedigger had setup its temporary command center for the upcoming operation.
It was here that the appointed overall commander of the task force, Lieutenant General Bradley H. Winters, was going over the plans with the overall commander of Task Force: Gravedigger, Vice Admiral Kyle J. Rourke
Winters was a hard man with a reputation of possessing a terrible but slow-burning temper, highly aggressive yet calculating demeanor, and willingness to do whatever it took to win. Not to mention he sometimes tended to take his aggression to higher levels. He was a lieutenant colonel in the 75th Rangers, before becoming the head of US Central Command.
Rourke was a former commander of Seal Team 6. A career frogman, he started out in Team 4 before climbing up the ladder. He was also did a brief stint as the head of JSOC. Like Winters, he was naturally aggressive, but was also highly methodical, intricacy meticulous, and subtle when it came to surgical strikes.
Together, this dynamic duo were like the Yin and Yang of wartime philosophies.
He was also allowed to offer his input on the upcoming overall strategy for this whole operation. When he viewed the plans created by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he felt that the planning had been influenced too much by the American public's desires and was too heavy-handed. Instead, he presented his own battle plan, which effective yet simple in the General's mind.
And the plan was indeed design to be a hammer, not a scalpel. This was the first time in America's history that the nation had employed a total war strategy.
The Air Force would conduct strikes on critical targets, such as communication nodes, troop staging areas, bridges, economic centers, food supplies, and logistic and supply hubs. It was designed to degrade their ability to wage war. After that, they would encircle the Capital in a pincer movement.
One arm, the Army, would push West. The other arm, the Marines, would push East, with fire support from the Navy all the way.
Hammer and anvil.
And all the while, in the skies above, would loiter a multitude of drones, strike aircraft, and half a dozen autonomous 747-8F-E refitted as missile carriers.
If the war planners of Vietnam's Operation: Rollin Thunder and Desert Storm's air campaign could see it, they would be jumping for joy in their graves.
There was another aspect of the planning that didn't go overlooked by the General; that was being the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Although he was given a limited number of warheads, that didn't mean he was to use them freely. It was only if they encountered something that couldn't be defeated conventionally, or in the off-chance the situation became FUBAR.
This war was given the designation of Operation: Bloody Eagle.
He was also going over all the information from that online public forum.
Since Director Hunter put out that online forum for fantasy nerds, many hundreds had come together offering their views and information. There was o much info coming in that the National Security Council was honestly flabbergasted at how much info there was regarding fantasy creatures, and the wide variety of differing info on each. Sorting through and compiling all the data.
Interviews with historians had also gone well; they offered much-needed insight into the various finer details of Roman and Medieval life and culture. Great to know, considering that it the info wasn't publicly available on the Internet, and the only ways to learn was by getting specialized, old books or a doctorate.
Gen. Winters nodded as he read through a page on certain culture aspects. He had never known that before. His musings were interrupted by a knock at his ad hoc door by a Specialist.
"Sir, the two VIPs are here."
Location classified
September 23, 2014
09:47:51 hrs
Lying in bed in one of many prison cells was none other than Count Giraut. He was staring at the ceiling of his cell, contemplating his future.
Ever since he found himself strapped to that chair, in that white void of a room, he had found himself isolated from whoever ahd survived the bloodbath. He pleaded with his captors to let him see but was denied every time.
He let out a silent, dejected breath. The others were probably being subjected to the same things he had gone through and worse. He was sure most would resist, but they would soon find it was pointless.
It could've been worse though. He could have been painfully tortured for the info and left for dead; they certainly possessed the means to do so, but they didn't.
In summary, his imprisonment was fairly comfortable once he cooperated. Clean clothes, a bed, and three meals a day. It was shocked, honestly; he wondered if others were experiencing the same.
Still, this civilized treatment could be a ruse. A ploy to make them complacent or face the alternative – long hours of torture. He admitted, it was cunning as it was creative; the carrot and stick.
The majority of the day consisted of him answering an endless stream of questions. About the Empire, his world, everything there was to know about. He answered honestly, fearing that if he lied he would land in hot water. If there was something he truly didn't know, the interrogators would simply move on.
Strangely, during his interrogations, there was this little thing that spoke in a strange language in a metallic voice every time he spoke. When he asked, they explained that it was a translating device. It still needed work as some words and pronunciations were a bit off at times, but they explained that was learning as it went along. He was stounded nonetheless.
When asked about who else shared grievances about the Empire besides the vassal states, he told of a group of Imperial Senator unhappy with the corruption, chief among them Marcus El Livius. He also told of Legate Marcellus Peltrasius Celsus, the disgraced former commander of the Western Legions, the rumors surrounding his demotion, and the bitterness of those still loyal to him.
There were also questions that were of great interest to them, namely magic, religion, and other races in Estran.
He didn't know much about the former but said that Myrefall was the city to go if they wanted to know more.
For religion, he told them they worshiped a pantheon of many gods, and all about them. The Americans didn't really take any interest until he mentioned the Apostles – mortals chosen by the gods to act as their agents and representatives in the mortal world. Regardless, they didn't believe him until he told them about the infamous Miva Iana, but assured them that despite her homicidal and psychotic tendencies, especially when deliberately angered, she had a strong sense of justice and compassion. However, he advised caution as the Apostles were extremely dangerous and powerful compared to mortals.
For the latter, he gave all he knew, particularly those under his care – the Ceacvian, Khirsin, and Elleorus – and other creatures such as elves, orcs, ogres, goblins, trolls, fairies, sirens, mermaids, and others.
He also told of the threat of the Elder Dragons, particularly the Flame Dragon, which had been terrorizing the land for centuries. He explained that not even entire armies could defeat it but the Americans seemed confident they could kill it.
Well, it was certainly well-placed confidence with the capabilities they possessed, but still, the Flam Dragon was a wild beast, and an intelligence on at that. If they did kill it, then the American would gain much attention and goodwill from the people. On the flip side though, they would also gain unwanted attention from the gods and the Empire.
Not that they were looking for either kind of attention, especially the first. It didn't matter to them.
Eventually, after who knows how long it had been, Count Giraut had no more information left to give and here he was, on his bed. The dreaded thought filled his head that he had outlived is usefulness to the Americans.
He knew what he promised: that he would accept any punishment but that didn't mean he still felt fear. He didn't know what kind of hell awaited him. Would he and the survivors be paraded through the streets of their capital where people would shame them on the way to the gallows? Would they be burned at the stake? Crucified? Flayed alive? Drowned at sea or thrown to sea monsters? Or simply rot in a hole?
All these scenarios played in is mind at it made his mind shiver; the Empire's methods of execution were burial and savage. It wouldn't surprise him if the same was done here.
'Damn you, Titus, damn you to the deepest, darkest, lowest pits of the Underworld.' He thought to himself.
Because of that mad bastard's hungry grab for more land and power, they had infuriated an entire nation. His arrogance, and those that supported him, and countless innocent lives were doomed to the horrors and desolation of war.
A war they had no hope of winning.
Brushing the thoughts aside, he reached under his shirt and pulled out a pendant and smiled softly. It belonged to his late wife how died in childbirth when giving birth to Mylla. He thought the Americans would take it away from him; he begged them to let him keep it, and they surprisingly agreed. A small kindness he would never forget.
He was shaken out of his thoughts when the door to his cell opened and two masked men, one in black and the other in gray, came in. "Giraut, get ready. You have two important meetings." The metallic, garbled voices remained.
He was confused. He had already told everything he knew; there was nothing left for him to say. "What do you mean? Who is it?"
"Just get ready." With slight trepidation, he stood up. He didn't know what they wanted, but…could it be they were taking him to be executed? So soon?
He felt his stomach tighten at the thought but he composed himself. If this was it, he would die with dignity and honor. With that, he held out his hands, and they were immediately cuffed the same was done for his legs.
Now completely shackled, he shuffled out the cell, where two more guards clad in black armor and strange helmets awaited him "Alright, lets go." One said before walking down a dimly lit corridor.
To Giraut, it was unnerving. He had been forced to walk the halls, but it was always with a hood on, so he never caught a glimpse of his surroundings. Now, taking it all in, the dimness, the cold, the silence, save for the sound of boots marching, was completely unnerving.
Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, the two guards opened a door, and entered a chamber. It was sparse and empty, save for several poles emitting a strange light, and an individual he knew all to well.
"Lady Lacinia! You're still alive! And Larita and Paulus as well!"
"Count Giraut! Praise the gods! You're alive as well!"
The fiends would've hugged but the shackles on all of them, and the guards, held them back. It was somewhat a bittersweet reunion.
"Now that you're hear, it's time to explain why you have been summoned." One of the guards started, causing the four to look at him.
"What do you mean?" Inquired Lacinia.
"I'm sure you have heard what has been shown on those walls in your cells. About how are people and leaders are pushing fore retaliation. I'm here to tell you that…we are officially going to war." The guard said evenly.
That put fear into all four of them, none more so than Lacinia. "Please! You can't just go in and kill everyone! That wasn't what you promised!"
"Isn't that what you did to us? Isn't that what you do in all you conquests? We have every right to do so." Another guard mockingly retorted from the sidelines.
It was true, Lacinia was immediately silenced into shame. She had no rebuttal for this.
"But it doesn't have to be that way. And that is why you two have been summoned." Another guard spoke up, attempting to placate their fears. That got Giraut's and Lacinia's attention.
"W-What can we do?" asked Giraut, almost hopeful.
One guard explained. "Our leaders have deemed that you, Count Giraut, and you, Lady Lacinia, are crucial to the coming war effort. To that end, our leaders have decided that in exchange for your eventual freedoms, your task will be to accompany us as we interact with the natives. Your main task will be to convince the vassal kingdoms to either remain neutral or side with us, as well as to give legitimacy to our words with the various races."
The two of them looked stunned, taking in what they had just heard. They were going to be released? And all they had to do was accompany them?
"You truly mean it!? You will set us free!?" Count Giraut jumped up, ecstatic at the revelation.
But Lacinia was more pragmatic about it. "I know you wouldn't just set us free of a whim. What is the caveat?" she inquired.
The guard continued. "To ensure cooperation, Number Seventeen, your children will remain here. And Number Thirteen, once you are done convincing the vassal kingdoms, you will be brought back here. When the war is over, you will be returned to your home city."
They took in this new revelation. Lacinia wasn't sure about leaving her children in a strange land with foreign soldiers, but if she refused, it could further jeopardize their safety.
Count Giraut considered the thought. He may convince the vassal kingdoms to remain neutral, but if strange soldiers suddenly approach them without warning, it could be taken as an act of aggression.
"What if the vassal kingdoms react with hostility? How will they know if I'm alive?"
The guard simply paused for a moment, then motioned with his arm. "Bring them in." He said simply.
The door to the chamber opened again, and form it in shuffled about forty individuals, all shackled, and wearing a mixture of orange and white jumpsuits. They were also wearing black hoods over their heads.
They were then lined up against the wall facing them, and their hoods were removed, one by one. They were among the same men that Count Giraut had brought from his cry guard along with him!
They were clearly ecstatic at seeing him alive, but after a moment, Giraut realized something. "Is this all of them? Where are the others? I brought more than thins along with me." He inquired, fear rising.
"These men say they were part of your guards. They were the only survivors." The guard simply replied.
Giraut's heart sank. His worst fears had comet true. Nearly all of his men had been killed in the ensuring counter-attack. Although to be fair, the Americans were reacting in self-defense, and in anger no doubt. No time to find out the finer details; it wouldn't have mattered anyways.
"You mentioned that the vassal kingdoms should know if you are alive. We want you to choose the most trustworthy among these men as emissaries to send a message ahead to the vassal kingdoms. You may also choose who to send to take a message to Warcrest about our coming arrival."
Now the understood where this was going. He pondered about it for several long minutes. "Those two. They are the strongest among my guards. We have fought side by side several times."
The guard nodded. "Understood. We'll make arrangements for these two. Oh, and one more thing." He added, inclining Giraut's ear. "When the war is over, the remaining men will be allowed to return home along with you."
"Thank you…I have no words for this generosity."
"Think nothing of it. That concludes our business here for today. You will returned to you cells. Be ready, you will leave within several days from now. You will meet up with an ambassador we've chosen who you will be working with."
"We understand." Giraut and Lacinia replied.
There hopes had been somewhat restored. Perhaps there wouldn't be so much needless bloodshed after all.
Valeria – Imperial Army Headquarters
Rapun 10, 1037 IC
17:47:32 hrs
Located near the center of the Imperial Capital was an imposing castle fortress.
This was the Imperial Army Headquarters, the beating heart of the Valerian Army. It was hear that plans for conquest were formulated by the legates, and orders were issued to their legions marching abroad.
There were many alcoves where scribes would write and receive messages.
Areas where dragon messengers, horse messengers, and pigeon carriers could land and deliver their missives.
There were many tables with maps focusing on specific regions of the continent.
And in the War Room, lay a massive, circular table with a map of the entire continent. While not very accurate due to the limitations of the times, it nonetheless gave a rudimentary depiction of major landmarks, roads, cities, and the like. There were also various miniature statues, not unlike those used in chess, scattered about, representing various legions, factions, races, and so on.
And standing over the table under the late no one sun, was none other than Imperial Legate Marcellus Peltrasius Celsus. He was carefully studying the map, specifically, the region around Arnfair Hill.
Immediately after being command of the Army, he dispatched messengers to all the legion commanders about the situation, and ordered them all to prepare for war, and for the Northern Western, and Central legions to march to Warcester.
It would take time though as the Western and northern legions were very far away.
As of now, out of over the one hundred legions of the Army, only the 7th, 9th, 23rd, 41st, and 57th legions had reached the capital. He knew this would happen; even if all the legions scattered about marched nonstop, it would take an estimated four months before the whole army was assembled and another month to march to Arnfair Hill.
To lessen the time, he planned to have all available legions at the moment under the command of Herius an Imperial Legate and Senator, to march straightway and meet up with the armies of the vassal kingdoms. At the very least, they would have a sizeable force.
Celsus did not want someone like Herius leading the legions due to his less than stellar commanding prowess, but his hands were tied. The Senate practically forced him to have Herius to lead as a boost for public morale. He tried resisting and suggesting appointing a better commander, but the political pressure was too much when the Emperor agreed with the proposition.
The Supreme Commander didn't dislike Herius per say; he was generally an amicable fellow, but tended to care about his image. A bit too much for his own good, perhaps. Alas, all he could do was hope for the best.
All in all, it would be five months before the Valerian Army would even be close to fully mobilized and make the march to Arnfair Hill. Time the Supreme Commander knew he did not have.
Celsus narrowed his eyes at Arnfair Hill. If he was to believe the reports from the thirteen survivors, then the Americans were able to mobilize a small yet overwhelming force in just under an hour.
'They responded in less than an hour, and on the same day, no less. I'd be impressed if we weren't at war.' He thought to himself. That was an unbelievably fast response, and that was his biggest problem. The Imperial Army would take months to fully assemble, but the based on the accounts, he estimated the Americans would only need a few weeks to prepare.
He hoped he was wrong. For all he knew, the Americans were already entrenched on Arnfair Hill!
That presented another problem. He spent many a sleepless night, trying to conjure a strategy to defeat the Americans; every terrain, tactic, any advantage he could use. Alas, he could only see one possible outcome for every scenario.
Utter defeat and a sea of bodies.
There was absolutely no way the Imperial Army could face up to the Americans in a head-on fight; they would be killed easily, and he wasn't willing to send his men needlessly to their deaths.
When the and the other commanders convened with the Emperor, and even the crown prince, to present their strategy a few days ago, they wanted to throw every last man and beast they could at the Americans and hope to overwhelm them.
What's worse was their willingness to employ scorched earth tactics. How short sighted could they be!? Naturally, Caecius agreed to it, bloodthirsty tyrant he was.
When Emperor Titus asked Celcus his opinion, he flat-out denied all their plans. Recounting the loss of twenty-five legions, they could not afford to needlessly throw away the lives of their men, and not rely on sheer numbers alone.
As for the scorched earth tactics, Celcus explained that since the Americans have control of the Gate, they would have an unlimited supply chain within their camp. This would render the tactic useless and harm only them instead.
Emperor Titus approved of his reasons and everyone was forced to accept as well. When asked how he would conduct the war instead, Celsus explained his strategy.
The Imperial Army couldn't hope to stand up to the Americans should they gain a foothold on the hill. Therefore, the only chance was to arrive at the hill before the Americans did.
He explained that the Gate, although it was fairly wide, was still narrow, and would thus funnel their forces little by little. Then they would have a fighting chance, though whether it came at a high cost regardless of success.
However, the Imperial Army would take months to assemble and march to Arnfair. Celsus then proposed sending whatever legions they had available first to meet with the vassal states. Hopefully they would be enough to stave off the American invasion while they gathered their strength.
If they failed to stop the Americans from taking the hill, then t hey would only be delaying the inevitable.
Most of the commanders and Caecius mocked Celsus for his plan, calling him a coward for giving up after one battle, but Emperor Titus knew he was right. He had seen what the Americans could do and held no illusions.
However, this also presented an opportunity. The leaders of the vassal states ahd been a thorn in his side for quite some time now and was hearing rumors of possible revolt. He could use this to his advantage.
With that in mind, he approved Celsus' strategy, and told him to do whatever it takes to be victorious. That left Caecius and the other commanders fuming.
Celsus saw and knew the look in Titus' eyes but had no other choice. With the Emperor's approval, he sent missives to all the vassals but was yet to receive a reply.
Just then, the doors to the chamber burst open. "Celsus! Is it true!? Are we really at war!?" The Supreme Commander held back a sigh as he knew whose voice that was. Turing around, he saw two individuals.
One was Laelia vi Hasidia. The other was her older step-brother, Spurius El Cornelius, the sixth child of Titus through a concubine and Celsus' protégé.
To be honest with himself, these were the only members of the Royal Family he got along with.
"I-I'm sorry sir, I tried to stop her." Spurius said, casting a withering glare at his sister, which she ignored.
"Don't bother." Celsus sighed. "We both know she can't be denied if she has set her mind on something. And to answer your question, Milady, yes, we are at war."
Laelia's face darkened. "So it is true…" She mumbled. She had been visiting her mother when she ahd heard the news that the Empire was attacked.
She immediately dropped what she was doing and headed to the capital. She ordered her subordinates to have her Order ready while she went to meet with her father to find out if it was true. By chance, she encountered Spurius, who was on his way to meet with Celsus.
"What kind of enemy are we facing?" Princess Laelia asked.
Celsus' face darkened. "One we can never defeat conventionally. Before you say anything, the entire Senate including your father and I witnessed what our enemy – the Americans – are capable of. Believe when I say – that what we've seen is akin to the Army of Rhomir laying waste to our lands. We would be slaughtered before we could even get near them."
Laelia now knew this was serious beyond words, because she had never seen Celsus so shaken up about something. And he never was this shaken before. "…What's the plan?"
Celsus told the two the strategy he found most reasonable, and when he finished, Spurius voiced his input.
"But, if what you say is true, then the Americans will have already consolidated their foothold at Arnfair long before we're ready. Even if those legions joined with the vassal states, it could take weeks. They could already be entrenched by that time!"
"I know…but realistically, we can't do anything about it. All we can do is pray to the gods for more time and a whole lot of luck. I've already sent a small force to observe the Gate. So far, nothing, thank the gods."
Laelia raised her brow. "You never one for religion, Celsus. What changed?"
He chuckled. "Yes, well, considering our situation, we need all the help we can get."
The three shared a laughing moment before Laelia cleared her throat. "I will go and talk to father. Maybe I can convince him to let me and my Order to help the war effort."
The Supreme Commander shook his head. "I doubt he would allow it. But in the case he does, I want you to ride to Warcester and prepare for the arrival of the legions. I think young Mylla would appreciate the presence of a friend."
The Princess nodded solemnly. Count Giraut was one of the few lords she considered a close friend, and he had been one of her teachers. When she heard of his apparent death, she mourned him, along with Myall, she considered him a second father of sorts.
"…Thank you." And with that, she left to speak with her father.
When Spurius was sure his step-sister was gone, he turned back to Celsus. "…We can never win this…can we?"
Celsus turned back to the large map. "No…we can't. We never will. Many will perish in the coming war. The funny thing is, this could have all been avoided if your father didn't think of sending all those legions and ships through the Gates…but it doesn't matter now."
Spurius hummed. He always knew his would do anything to gain more power, but he was always smart about it, always calculating. Sending all those men and ships through straightway was a huge gamble…one he obviously lost. "Oh, forgive me. I almost forgot." He took out a missive and handed it to Celsus.
He opened it and was pleased that the 11th and 13th Legions from the Central Armies were a day away from the capital, and would arrive in the morning. "Good man, but we still need more men."
Spurious thought for a long several moments, considering their circumstances, before a thought came into his head. One that was ludicrous to even think about.
"…I know this is everything we've been raised by, but…what if we were to negotiate with the Americans? If we could come to an agreement, we could avoid further conflict."
Celsus listened for a stunned moment. "…I wouldn't be against it…But the Senate and the Legates certainly won't agree to it. Besides, we don't even know what the Americans will ask of us. They could demand that we submit to their rule."
Spurius accepted those reasons. "I understand…That is, considering they even want to negotiate."
'Yes…which I doubt will happen."
Marion International Airport – Hangar 6
Septemeber 30, 2104
16:10:32 hrs
[Insert soundtrack: Call of Duty: Ghosts; David Buckley – Ghost Killer]
The American war machine was finally ready to make its first moves.
Since the Gates were secured, drones had been sent in to probe the other side.
They determined that the Gate on Arnfair Hill was indeed a wide and open plain with hills and forested valleys. The air composition and gravity were also virtually identical to Earth's own.
It was slightly freaky, but that didn't concern them.
Although the time differences between the two dimensions hadn't been solidified, it was estimated that by tomorrow at noon, it would be midnight on the other side of the Gate.
Although it wasn't confirmed as of yet, the first teams were ordered to be on standby in case of any time fluctuations.
And leading in the first group was none other than Major Walker.
In addition to being the field commander for Gravedigger, he was given freedom to screen applicants and personally select those he wanted on the teams. Additionally, since they were getting in close with the enemy, he had drilled them relentlessly on miscellaneous backup skills such as swordsmanship, archery, knife-fighting and hand-to-hand combat, with a heavy emphasis of fighting dirty.
Their objectives were special, strategic reconnaissance, infiltration of enemy territory, acquiring any available intel, sabotage, assassination, capture or killing HVTs, and search and destroy.
Perfect jobs for an operator of Walker's experiences in his past lives.
Now, after taking a cold shower and standing in one of the locker rooms in front of the containers housing his gear, he gazed at the nameplate, running his worn hand over it before taking a deep breath and releasing it.
He reached for the combination lock pad and dialed the first number.
Three.
"You could've saved them, you f***ing monster!"
Seven.
"Allah have mercy on us! It's the Black Death! He has come for us!"
Two.
"Your Neo-Soviet DNI, cybernetics, and nanites in your blood have been replaced with American ones. Welcome to the Cyber Soldier Program."
Nine.
"This guy's had white phosphorus on his face! How is he still alive!?"
Zero.
"Live, my son."
Click.
The sound of the mechanism releasing snapped walker form his memories. He didn't notice or feel the single tear that fell from his one good eye. Even then, it wasn't considered "good" now that it was infused with nanites.
Once the container fully opened, he gazed upon all his tactical gear. He let out a tired sigh as he looked down for a moment in silence.
He may not have been born in America but she was still willing to take in a monster such as him, giving him more than he could ever dream and hope for. A place to call home, a family, and something truly worth dying for.
Freedom.
Now, the master which had sheltered the dog was in pain, and the dog was ready to defend the hand that fed and protected it.
For the sake of his country and fellow Americans so mercilessly killed by the Valerians, it was time to once again become a monster and return the favor. He steeled himself before he began to get dressed.
Once garbed in full kit, there was only one thing missing reaching into one of the tiny compartments on the bottom, he took out his signature black skull mask.
To him, it was more than just some cool article of clothing worn by operators. To him, it signified his transformation into another person. Something else. A machine of a man who would to great and terrible things to complete the mission, and this mask was a personification of that. It personified his dark side, a black-hearted monster born out of conflict and bred for war.
This was the true face of the Black Wolf.
he took a deep breath before lowering his head and slowly slid the cloth down. When it was secured, he slowly raised his head and looked into a mirror for a moment.
In his eyes, the little bit of light was gone. There was nothing in them now but ice, fire, and fury.
Walker was gone. Now, there was only Blackwolf.
Footnote: The skull mask mentioned here is Logan's mask from COD:Ghosts
*Chapter 15*: Ch91: Intel Handbook V1Ch9.1: Intel Handbook V1
Below is info regarding the Gate World. All info present is taken from operatives behind enemy lines, intelligence collected in the field, and interrogations from prisoners/high-ranking individuals. Subject to changes and updates.
General: Basic knowledge of the world beyond the Gate
Region X: The colloquial term for the world that lies beyond the Gate. Presence of multiple continents are confirmed but the exact number is currently unknown as they're irrelevant to the current campaign.
Time system: Similar to Earth's own, with 25 hours in a day, 8 days in a week, 13 months and 396 days in a year. Days of the week are Pokius, Fo, Vicius, Frotius, Ats, Syhr, Striht, & Gri in that order. Months are Flytuns, Bledelst, Flakius, Quorst, Flumod, Pupicus, Vlaterk, Jafuht, Rapun, Veimm, Crilo, Vleil, Prask
Estran: The main continent of focus for the campaign. An east-west lying continent with a size similar to Eurasia, measuring a longitudinal length of 11,000km and latitudinal length of 7000km.
Valerian Empire: Also simply known as the Empire, they're the faction responsible for the Central Square Massacre and the main faction we're at war with. As the Imperium dominatus, they've ruled unopposed for over a thousand years, constantly expanding through conquest. The so-called "Valerian Dream" is to rule over the entire of continent of Estran, & they're close to achieving that goal. With 9000km of the continent already under their control they're well on their way toward total domination. They have a saying: "Every man a legionary;" we can assume this means that every male citizen has at least some degree of training. They also have direct control over 30 vassal kingdoms, who provide tribute, supplies, and army conscripts.
Valerian Flag: A purple background bordered in gold with a red cross in the center, as well as a golden dragon in the center. Four golden dragon wings radiate diagonally from the center-point
Individuals: Those deemed vital to the inner workings of the Empire
Titus Maximus Augustus: The Emperor of the Valerian Empire, and the individual directly responsible for ordering the attack on Central Square. Cruel, ambitious, and paranoid, he'll do anything to stay in power… Essentially a dictator with the ruthlessness & efficiency of Joseph Stalin, the zealous military fanaticism of Adolf Hitler, and the political clout of Mao Zedong
Caecius Atius del Ceasar: The eldest son of Gallio's first wife and the Crown Prince. Hedonistic, narcissistic, ruthless, naïve, impulsive, prone to rash outbursts of violence, an incompetent tactician and constantly thirsty for glory and adoration. Owns a number of sex slaves. In combat, favors brute force over subtly. Naively thinks of himself as a master of deception & an expert manipulator.
Quintus Suedius del Ceaser: Titus' second son, and potential replacement for Caecius. Pragmatics and calculating like his father. Has a tendency to overthink things to the point of paranoia.
Spurius El Cornelius: Titus' sixth son. Little is known about him at this time.
Laelia vi Hasidia: The daughter of Cnaeus's favorite concubine, she's her father's fifth child and tenth in line for the throne. Headstrong, independent, but naïve, she believes the Empire will never fall, but can tell when an opponent is too strong, and is willing to bid her time to learn more about her opponent. She also commands her own order of knights, the Order of the Lily, comprised mainly of daughters from noble families, but are mainly regarded as color/honor guards by the Emperor and most of the command staff due to being comprised mainly of women
Vibius Co Salvius: Imperial Prime Minister and personal advisor to the Emperor. Augustus's closest friend and one of the very few people he actually trusts, he also acts as an informant in the Senate who keeps tabs on the current political situation.
Marcus El Livius: Leader of the Pro-Peace faction within the Imperial Senate. Calm-tempered and not one for needless violence, he tends to negotiate and resolve issues through peaceful means.
Lady Lacinia Viribus: The wife of the head of Household Viribus, a Household that prefers a softer approach in the political realm & one of the Golden Twelve, a group of twelve main family clans within the Empire that supplies noble knights, money, and individuals for political power. Her husband Desius Fabius Viribus and eldest son Drusus Fabius Viribus were killed during their capture following the Central Square Massacre, making her the new House head. A quiet individual who negotiates with a commanding mother-like aura, relying on talking through her opponents rather than getting heated up conversationally. Currently held at a CIA black site, designated Prisoner #13, along with her 15- year old daughter Lartia Viribus, designated Prisoner #13-A, and 13-year old son Paulus Fabius Viribus, designated Prisoner #13-B
Lady Tanicia Invicta: The head of Household Invicta, a clan that prefers to enforce their top political strength among the Twelve through military strength and intimidation. Like her Household's namesake, she prefers to drive a hard bargain and make her political opponents bend the knee in negotiations. Her husband Hostus el Invicta and eldest son Kaeso del Invicta were killed during their capture in Central Square. Currently held at a CIA black site, designated Prisoner #17, along with her two remaining sons Plucus Invicta, designated Prisoner #17-A, and Causa el Invicta, designated Prisoner #17-B.
Military: All you need to know about the different types of enemies & war machines encountered
The Imperial army: While is appearance & structure is very Roman-like, much of their weapons, armor, & equipment is actually late-Medieval. Exact size is unknown, but given the total size of their conquests, it's safe to assume the total number, including citizen soldiers, numbers up to several million. Consists of the Army Corps, Wyverns Corps, & Imperial Navy
The Legion: The main unit of the Imperial Army, composed of around 20,000 troops at full strength, and various siege engines. Can be augmented with Auxiliary units ranging from and 200-5,000
Imperial Army Organization: Five legions comprise one Corp; it's currently unknown how many corps there are, but we know that there are at least 100 corps. Several Corps, anywhere from 2-5, form on Army Group headed by an Imperial Legate. Each legion is divided into 10 cohorts. The first cohort numbers 2900 divided into 5 centuries, while the other nine compose 1900 divided into 10 centuries. While the legion is comprised mainly of heavy infantry, it isn't solely compromised of infantry force and instead employs more of a combined arms approach. Each legion also utilizes units of spearmen, pikemen, longbow-men, crossbow men, heavy/light cavalry, various siege weapons as needed, and auxiliary units when needed, but exact ratios of heavy infantry to other units is currently unknown.
Legionary: The standard Imperial soldier. Highly motivated and deadly in large numbers, but discouraged from taking the initiative, their confidence relies entirely on the centurions. Equipped with a medium-sized sword, a scutum smaller than its Roman counterpart, and Brigandine/coat of plates armor.
Optio: The centurion's second-in-command.
Aquilifer (standard bearer): Carries the dragon standard with the Valerian flag, as well as the legion's flag. Eliminating this target will cause great demoralization among the entire legion.
Signifer: Carries each century's standard, which identifies the legion, cohort, & century number, as well as a spear head with various attachments. The standard serves as a rallying point for the century. Eliminate this target to cause confusion.
Cornicen (horn blower): Works hand-in-hand with the signifer, issues auditory commands from the centurion. Elimination of this target will hinder communication within the ranks.
Centurion: Commands a century; these officers instill confidence, discipline & fear within the ranks. Identified as having a read plume on their helmets. Eliminating them will effectively take the entire century out of the fight.
Primus pilus: Commands the 1st century, 1st cohort, and is the most senior centurion in the legion. Designated as priority target of elimination.
Pilus prior: Command the ten 1st centuries in the legion, are the senior centurions in their respective cohorts, and command the entire cohort in battle. Designated as priority targets for elimination.
Legatus legionis (Legion Legate): Commands one legion; usually guarded by 10-20 Praetorian Gaurds.
Legatus vexillatius (Corps Legate): Commands one corps; usually guarded by 50+ Pretorians.
Camp prefect: The quartermaster and commander in charge of camps & fortresses; responsible for the daily routines of forts.
Men-at-arms: Usually protected by plate armor and employs a variety of weapons.
Longbow men: Utilize longbows; have quivers on their backs and left legs. Has a buckler shield, short sword, and dagger as backup.
Crossbow men: Equipped with the single-shot or repeating crossbows. Intact repeating crossbows found after the Central Square Massacre are found to be made of steel and feature a sliding rack which draws back a string allowing multiple shots. Arrows are feed from a gravity-fed magazine that can hold up to 20 bolts; max range is 380 yards. They also carry a pavise shield to provide mobile cover, as well as a short sword.
Archer Eli_: A murmur mentioning something about archers. Unknown at this time.
Cavalry: Armed and armored like the heavy late medieval knights. Use full plate armor with heater shields, lances, and longswords.
Wyvern Corps: Used primarily as scouts, messengers, and are the enemy's primary air asset. Total numbers and organization is unknown, but are estimated to be in the hundreds. Riders use a 20-foot steel lance to allow impaling of victims using predictable, straightforward hit-and-run tactics.
Wyverns: Typically 50-foot long with a 45-foot wingspan, and feature four legs and a pair of wings, strong jaws, and scales resistant to .50 cal rounds. Color scheme of scales is usually a dull purple hue. Recommend eliminating the rider first to cause loss of control, or use anti-tank/anti-material/high caliber/anti-air weapons to deal with them directly.
Mages/Wizards/Warlocks: Whatever you call them, they're the magic users of the Imperial Army. Full extent of abilities are unknown, but have been observed using magic barriers/bubbles to block small arms fire, lighting, fireballs, smoke screens, and manipulating surrounding light to create darkness for concealment. Expect anything; eliminating them immediately is a top priority
Orcs/ogres: Just like what's expected in fantasy lore. Purplish, grey, or green skinned, with a pig/ape face their hides are resistant to bullets. Can wear armor and capable of lifting massive clubs/hammers. Recommend using heavy weaponry
War beasts: Unknown at this time, but
Ballista: Sizes and sizes vary greatly; four-wheeled carroballista can be pulled by horses, the largest is the one talent ballista capable of hurling a 26kg projectile. Max range is beyond 600yds. There are medium-sized siege variants, having a slanted, shielded front which must be pushed and can be kicked to form an ad-hoc barrier
Polybolos: A repeating ballista of varying size. The smallest is usually meant for anti-personal measures and can be mounted on small carts for mobility. Medium-sized versions fire bolts large enough bolts to take down horses
Trebuchet: No explanation needed.
Unknown artillery: Several engines were spotted in surveillance footage. They had a swinging arm with two hook-like mechanisms on either end, and were powered by a turn wheel powered by either man or beast. Included a long tray for circular rocks. Based on video footage, as long as there's a steady supply of ammo, a steady rate of fire can be maintained.
Armored/siege wagons: Sizes & styles vary; can be armored to carry troops, configured to mount various weapons such as ballista & polybolos, or combined to form a sort of IFV.
Imperial Navy: Exact size and organization is unknown, but it's estimated that the Imperial Navy has hundreds to thousands of ships total at its disposal. Style of ships is predicted to be similar to the khelandion, but larger. No other information exists at this time
Miscellaneous
Vassal Kingdoms: There are thirty in total, but currently we only know about five: Eshagia, Dreven, Kreoles, Gaedeca, and the Principality of Araya. No other information exists.
Races: Exact number and types unknown, but there are confirmed orcs/ogres, goblins, elves, fairies, elves, sirens, mermaids, and the Ceacvian, Khirsin, and Elleorus. Information is very limited at this time
Religion: Unknown, but there is a pantheon of gods and goddess with Apostles – mortals chosen to be agents and representatives. Virtually unknown at this time, but we know only of Miva Iana, the Apostle of Rhomir. What Rhomir represents is unknown at this time.
Misc. creatures: Elder Dragons, specifically the Flame Dragon. A monster that's been terrorizing the continent for centuries. Nothing else is known at this time