HITMAN-3-1's vehicle was quiet for the day, save for the sounds of sobering rock music playing from a CD Player, with Kuribayashi processing the first up-close kill she had ever seen, her first headshot, being a boy the same age as Lelei, a girl who was with them. She stared at the floor as the transport trundled along. Meanwhile, Richard, Torres and Itami had agreed to send forward a platoon of Scouts with two Warthogs and a HMMWV that carried an M2 to make sure the next city was clear, all while Richard kept his eye on them via the Drone.
The next city over thankfully had the civilian population on the streets, according to the displays on the Drone. The Marines had taken a preliminary count of the soldiers and Mages they had killed during the battle in the previous town and had come up with about five hundred soldiers, the twenty mages, plus a hundred auxiliary troops, for a total of six-hundred twenty. According to Rory, that was about a standard local Garrison for a smaller region capital.
That didn't explain why there weren't any signs of possible resistance in the villages surrounding the main town, or any signs of the main force, for that fact, but that didn't matter. The UN had already mobilized a task force to garrison the town and surrounding area while the Main Force prepared to fight in synchronization with the UNSC's thrust. This whole plan relied on the UNSC and UN synching somewhat perfectly for the operation to push and RV in the town they were targeting.
"Hey," Torres started.
"Hm?" Richard raised a brow, not taking his eyes off the tablet that was linked to the Wombat drone following their scouts. The troopers had just dismounted and were checking the city's main boulevard. Now, calling this a city, rather than an overstretched town or commune, was a bit of a nice sentiment. It was still a trade center, it seemed, and a place where wary travelers would rest when heading on pilgrimage to the Holy Hill of Alnus, but otherwise?
The Civilians seemed to welcome the UNSC and US Marine scouts with open arms, waving to to them. Torres asked, "Do we have any intel on what the city we're aiming for is called? I wanna know something beyond City 01, City 02, et cetera. We ain't in freakin' Half-Life..." as he started packing the half-empty and empty magazines he had from the previous firefight with 5,56 from one of the cans aboard the transport.
"Anyone know?" he looked to the local girls. Lelei was still processing things herself, while Tuka was tending to her bow and Rory seemed the most content of all. The blood on the blade of her halberd had dried off, surprisingly, but they had managed to get her to clean herself. Tyuule herself was repacking her own magazines with extra AP and tracer ammunition, but she simply gave Richard a sad smile and a shake of the head.
"Italica," Lelei, surprisingly, spoke up. Everyone looked to her, which caused her to explain in a low voice, "I travelled through this place to Coda Village to study under master Cato... It is a bustling trade city, numbering twelve thousand inhabitants. It is also fortified. Walls several meters high surround it... The Formal Family rules over this land. They are kind rulers."
"Or were," Torres murmured, sighing deeply. Once he saw that took the attention of the entire transport, he sighed and explained, "One of the men belonging to the Imperial Army that invaded Ginza identified Count Formal's body before he fucked off with the rest all the way to Guantanamo. Least he identified the helmet, anyways. Fifty cals tore the poor son of a bitch to pieces..." and he lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.
"Oh," Everyone let out the same dispassionate noise.
"Fuck me," Sighed Richard, rubbing his face and looking back down at the tablet. He zoomed in on the leading Scout Vehicle and saw that the sergeant they sent ahead, Tomita, gave a thumbs up to the Wombat. He said absently, but loud enough to be heard by everyone, "Sergeant Tomita just gave us the all-clear signal. HITMAN-3-6, -7 and -8 will be rejoining us soon..."
"Good to know," Kuribayashi noted in a murmur.
"Someone fucking turn off California Dreamin', please," Torres requested, mildly annoyed. Kurata thumbed the button to the CD Player and shut off the music, to which Torres murmured, "Thank you. I was fucked enough by the current situation as it was," before taking a drag out of his cigarette and flicking the ash onto a tin tray from the mess kit as silence fell over the transport again, this time, not backed by music from The Mamas and the Papas, or any music for that matter.
Richard turned toward Tyuule as the girl continued thumbing rounds into a half-empty magazine, then asked her, "You okay?"
"Fine..." She replied, "It's strange..."
"What?" He asked, fully turning to face her. She shrugged and motioned broadly around herself. He chuckled sadly, then nodded, "Yeah, being on board an ancient truck with past variations of our military is strange, but we've made that observation in the past like a dozen times... What else is strange?"
"I don't know, it just... Is." She shrugged and sighed, then leaned back into her seat, "Have you ever thought this possible?"
"That we'd be fighting a war against a Medieval, seemingly Roman-inspired Empire and not immediately hammering the point home by kicking their ass, or that we'd be on an alien planet fully filled with Humans and various exotic species like yours, belonging to the oldest and most interesting of Fantasy books?" Richard smirked, garnering a chuckle out of Tyuule. He shrugged and said, "No, I guess I didn't. On both counts."
She chuckled, then added, "Well, both it is. And I can say the same."
Kuribayashi hummed, then leaned toward Rory and asked in a whisper, "Are they usually like this?"
"Yes," Rory chuckled, "Quite an annoyance if you have known them for some years..."
"I bet," Kuribayashi sighed, then looked at her rifle. Her hands trembled around the weapon as she gripped it, but she knew she'd done the right thing. Had she not put a round through that little bastard, half the unit might've gotten wiped by a fragmentation grenade. She needed to find some way to calm down, because she wasn't about to tell her sister she'd shot a kid. Not yet, anyhow.
Rosie hummed, letting the Lieutenant and Tyuule talk a bit as she plucked her own tablet out of her backpack and looked through the connected Wombat feed. Around them, crop fields spread out as far as the eye could see, all being worked by locals as it seemed. She hummed, noting the small farmhouses around and the paved roads that were the two highways.
Itami kept his eyes on the road, rifle hanging out of the vehicle's window and pointed upward. His finger was away from the trigger, but he kept his hand clasped around the firearm's pistol grip, simply gazing in front and to the side. He hummed, then said to Torres, "Do you think we're close? I'm starting to see a paved road ahead and Kurata's already rattling our teeth."
"Sorry," Voiced the anime-loving Sergeant as he gripped the wheel tightly. Torres looked ahead, then turned back toward Richard, Rosie and the others and hummed. He looked to Itami and shrugged, before wondering if he should consult the non-existent map from his non-existent Special Region navigation kit. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and puffing from the cigarette again.
In the distance, the team heard the thrum of jet engines, presumably from UNSC Air Assets engaging. Far, far away, pillars of smoke arose into the spares clouds like black monoliths. Torres chuckled, then commented, "Looks like the Air Campaign's doing shit... Hey, the local folk..." and pointed at the smoke, "That any familiar city or location, or is it a middle-of-nowhere camp?"
"The latter, I presume," Rory commented, "Wyvern pens."
"Huh. Good fucking riddance," Torres commented, then paused as he looked back at a worried Rosie. The Marine wanted to ask, but the woman walked up to and tapped Richard on the shoulder, before showing him the images. Torres caught a glimpse, too. The town was dead ahead and... Well, it looked worse for wear. Several fires burned, the place had an army encamped a few hundred meters outside its walls and said walls looked like they were manned by peasants.
"Well, shit..." Richard murmured, then switched the radio frequency to convoy Net and spoke, "All HITMAN-3 Elements, 3-1. Halt the convoy, we have a situation at the target town. An Army is arrayed north of the town..." and he saw what seemed to be one of the Defenders yelling at the army. He switched off from thermals and saw that several of the soldiers were mages. "Counting approximately twelve-hundred targets... A hundred are mages."
He paused, then looked ahead and said, "We have an enfilade position. There's a slight hill dead ahead, going through the corn field to our right. Hide our vehicles in there, now. Prep to engage should we need to..." before watching as the entire convoy acknowledged wordlessly, by following the orders and driving through the crop field, with the Abrams maintaining position closest to the Hill if it needed to pop over.
He sighed, then thumbed the tablet and asked, "Shouldn't the Wombat have specialized mics?"
"It should," Rosie nodded, "Can supposedly pick up a pin dropping in a thunderstorm..."
"Let's focus them on the Defenders and the Attackers. Looks like they're having a pretty serious argument," He murmured, then set the device from Thermal Imaging back to normal, revealing that the leader of the defense was a woman with scarlet hair and clad in what looked to be a more slim variation of Imperial armor. Beside her, female knights were set up in position, some with bows and arrows, others with blades drawn, clearly listening to the woman argue with the commander of the enemy army. A Mage.
He switched on the audio intercept feature of the Drone, then listened in to the woman screaming, the machine auto-translating the language from local Latin to English, "Retreat, now, and you may yet see the error in your ways, brothers! We do not seek to shed our own people's blood, but we will if that means defending a domain under the Empire's protection!"
"You should return home, Your Highness! This matter does not concern you! It is between the newly-created Mage Corps and its ordered task! The Emperor needs to hear your reports! He needs you alive! Italica can be rebuilt, but for now it must be destroyed, lest it serve our Enemies in their War against us!" The officer Mage demanded. A young man, seemingly just a couple of years Lelei's senior.
Also, 'your Highness'. A high-ranking Imperial Officer was present? Huh.
She replied angrily, "Your orders are false! None in the Royal Family would have ordained you with such a task, especially against a city as valuable as Italica! This is our link to the South! To the fertile legions and the Holy Hill itself! It is the crossroads by which our grain and goods are delivered through the two great Viaducts, Appia and Dessria! None of my brothers are suicidal enough to order this kind of attack!"
"And yet we have a signed parchment with the orders! One bearing the Imperial sigil saying that the South is lost and we would do better to preserve the Capital and North! So important are these orders, that we would risk fighting even you if it meant we accomplished them!" The man shot back, calm, "We beg of you, your Highness! The Rose Order of Knights must evacuate Italica! We do not wish to harm any of you! Just leave and let us do our task!"
"What of the citizens inside, then!? What of them!?" She demanded, then slammed an armored fist against the stone ramparts and defiantly shouted, "We are not leaving! You will have to pry our charred corpses from the rubble alongside your own dead, you traitor!" before drawing her sword. A short and weak volley of arrows left the walls at her order, some striking the Mages, but most narrowly missing.
Richard thumbed the table's radio system, then looked around and said, "Well. Sounds like there's a small civil war going on..."
"They wanna burn down a city," Torres remarked, "Much as I'd like to say 'let'em', joint command wants this place, doesn't it?" And he shouldered his M4A1. Richard and Itami frowned at the man, nodded, then looked back at the stunned rest of the crew. Henry sighed, then rubbed his forehead and picked up the Radio as he saw Itami now glaring at him. He spoke into the mic, "All HITMAN-3 Victors, HITMAN-3-1... Be prepared to mobilize and secure the town."
"Maybe we should go as a greeting party of a few footsoldiers," Rory suggested, "So that they allow us to reinforce them. Then we can negotiate."
"That might not be such a bad idea..." Tuka said shyly, to which the trio of Lieutenants looked to one-another. It was a decent idea, to have a party of people willing to speak to this 'Highness' that was in the place, as well as her Rose Order. A squadron of knights that was presumably her escort, all three of them thought, completely separate from one-another. Tuka, meanwhile, clarified, "Perhaps we would gain an ally in whom I assume is one of the Princesses."
"Could be useful," Richard conceded.
"It may certainly earn us some favor with the Emperor..." Tyuule hummed, then racked the bolt of her rifle and added, "If he wasn't the one who ordered this, anyways."
"Agreed," Itami nodded, "And we'd be doing the right thing. Saving a town from total destruction," and he smirked. Torres pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyingly sighing, before smiling at his SDF friend and patting him on the shoulder. He and Richard then bumped fists, before Itami said, "I'm guessing we're taking half our squads. Kuribayashi, call up Sergeant Tomita, tell him to pick two others."
"Rosie, call up Ikari and Ivanov. They'll be joining us and Tyuule," Richard ordered, "I'll give a call to KINGDOM. Let'em know we've reached our target area."
Torres was already using the short-range on his vest to call up his own squadmates. Rosie offered a nod, then switched over to her own radio. Meanwhile, Richard called out on broad transmit, "FOB KINGDOM, FOB KINGDOM, this is HITMAN-3-1, joint UN-Space Command convoy due east. We have reached the target city on schedule. Be advised:Complications have arisen. An enemy army is preparing to strike at the town, burn it in what I can only assume is Scorched Earth Tactics. Interrogative:Do we have Air Support available?"
"HITMAN-3-1, this is KINGDOM," The Admiral, of all people, replied, "We copy you loud and clear, Lieutenant. Answer to your interrogative:No air support available in your grid location for the time being. We can reassign a Longsword, but it will take some time."
"Shit..." Richard murmured, then replied, "Roger, KINGDOM. Will probably need that ASAP. Came planetside for a visit, sir?"
"I wanted to stretch my legs a bit and feel some solid ground for a change. Don't worry, I'll be back aboard the Vladivostok within the day for you to relay any orbital artillery requests to..." The Admiral explained, seemingly sipping from a cup of coffee during a short pause, then adding, "Though I doubt you'd need a MAC round against a medieval army, correct?"
"Depends on how many mages they're throwing at us, sir," Quipped the Marine, "You did read the transcript of my last report, right?"
"Yes, Lieutenant. Don't worry, we're already undertaking contingencies to combat the rising threat of Mages. Seems the Imperials are trying to adapt to us in some form," The Admiral replied with incredible calm. He let out a short laugh next, "Not like cheap party tricks are gonna kill any more of our men now. And we'll get some payback for the dead."
"Aye, sir... Speaking of Imp Mages, I was about to request permission to assist in the defense of Italica, by the way, so we can take the town whole, rather than a burnt-out husk. That cleared by command?" Richard inquired.
"Doctor Halsey is currently away, talking with the heads of the UNSC and UEG about the little 'Revelation' in regards to Video Game us existing, but she has instructed me to tell you that mission parameters remain the same, no matter the complications. Secure the city... Even if it means you have to kill another bunch of imperial parlor trick users," The Admiral replied, "In layman's terms, Dick, you've got free-fire orders. Anyone that so much as scoffs at you the wrong way, you can light up."
Richard grinned an animalistic grin, while Tyuule nodded her approval. He stated, "Much obliged, KINGDOM. HITMAN-3-1, over and out," and he set the microphone down. He sighed, then leaned back and looked to Rory, Lelei, Tuka and Tyuule, stating, "One thing doesn't fucking add up, though... Why burn this city?" He somewhat demanded. "I get it, important strategic location and the possibility of us setting up a FOB at a crossroads that's important enough to the Imps to warrant this is clearly harrowing for them, but... Why not just evacuate it?"
"Hm," Rory took a moment to think, while Tuka and Lelei shrugged. The Demigoddess Apostle seemed to have something in mind for why this area was being targeted. She hummed, then smiled, "I think I know," Which took everyone's attention toward her. She spoke, calmly, "This city contains one of the last Shrines to the Mother Goddess, the one who birthed all of the Gods and set them free upon this world."
"What?" Richard paused, stunned.
"WHAT!?" The rest of the vehicle barked, shocked. Even Tyuule and the other locals...
Rory cringed, then covered her ears to stifle any future screaming. Yet, none came, so she uncovered them warily.
"There's a mother Goddess..." Rosie seemed dumbfound. She leaned toward Rory and asked, "You didn't tell us this until now... Why?"
Rory shrugged, "None has ever asked and I forgot..." which garnered groans out of the whole UNSC contingent and a giggle out of Tyuule. Rory balked, then defended herself vehemently, "I would like for all of you to live nearly a thousand years and remember absolutely everything, down to the tiniest details, Lieutenant Samuels! I forget some things along the way, especially if I am never asked about them! I know the Mother Goddess exists simply due to Emroy speaking of her during our communions in my early life as an Apostle! And that one of her Shrines is in Italica..."
"Relax," Richard sighed, then rubbed his face, "I wasn't pointing fingers. Nor was Rosie..."
"Hmph," Rory scoffed and pouted, crossing her arms to her chest.
"That still doesn't answer why they would want to burn this place," Tyuule murmured, "Aside from the obvious aforementioned tactical disadvantage it'd be to have to build it back up again for the attackers, meaning us... But an edifice being burned would be an insult to the Gods, lest one of them themselves ordered it... Which would be an even more worrying prospect."
"The Shrine contains many an edifice to the Mother Goddess, as well as some of her knowledge, which was passed down from generation to generation through the Formal Family..." Rory clarified, looking among the ranks, "With the current Countess, the youngest of Count Colt Formal's daughters, being the one who received the blessings of the Shrine, along the blessings of the Family's Patron."
"Well, shit," Torres sighed, tired, "What does this 'knowledge' entail?"
"Many things. Some say it may even contain the secrets to the Gate of the Gods itself," Rory offered, then stood up, "In which case, we may want to move fast if we are to assist the Rose Order in halting the assault intended to ensure the razing of the city," and she walked to the back of the transport, popping the door open and jumping out just as the requested soldiery had come up.
Richard, Torres, Itami and Tyuule exchanged looks, then sighed and stood up as well, dismounting from the vehicle with their selected escorts following them. Richard thumbed his mic and said, "Misfit 1-3, you're our cover. If one of us gets flash-fried, you tear down that fucking wall with extreme prejudice and take the city from the defenders with the rest of HITMAN."
"With pleasure," The tank commander replied as the motors of the turret whirred. It traversed to the left and down, pointed straight at the gate that led inside. The Lieutenant Triumvirate nodded to one-another, then drew their weapons and started marching toward the gate in a staggered column, keeping at least three meters' distance between one-another in case someone cast Fireball against them again.
On the other side, down in the narrow streets of the town, Princess Piña marched under escort from two of her fellow Rose Order Knights. The anger coursing through her veins and mind could not be sated by anything but the head of the bastard who had, under the false pretense of the Royal Family's name, ordered the death of twelve-thousand people and the most bustling and up-and-coming trading city of the Empire.
The only person she could genuinely suspect of such treachery would have been Zorzal. That man had had a bone to pick with the Other-Worlders in the west for the past three years, since he had been humiliated and stripped of an entire army, as well as of his left arm. Yet even he would think twice before approving this kind of insanity. To burn down a city where one of the last vestiges of the so-called 'Mother Goddess' was would have been considered an affront to many of her children, Emroy included.
Gods above, she hated this so much. She faced loyal Imperial citizens in battle, an Army of trained soldiery and magical power while she was backed into a corner with merely her two hundred loyal knights and some five hundred peasants wielding axes, rusted swords and pitchforks. In the alleys, the young woman could see the frightened Militia she had gathered. Some were traders who had wielded weapons before, but against brigands and bandits, not the very might of the Imperial Military and not against a force of this size, backed by the masters of magic from Rondell and her sister-cities.
"By the gods..." Piña murmured, looking ahead at the tall walls. She called, "Beefeater?"
"Yes, milady?" Inquired the short-haired knight on her right flank.
"What is your belief? Can we hold until our messenger gets to father?" The Princess inquired, looking to her. Beefeater hesitated, biting her lower lip, but Piña said to her, "Fear not, old friend. I won't cut out your tongue for telling me any harsh truths... It is not how I raised the Rose Order to be and you should know not to be afraid of me. So, please, speak your mind."
Beefeater sighed, then walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "We will not hold a day without reinforcements, milady... There are ten Centurii outside, belonging to Legio Fourteen 'Caprica'. The Capital's Guard... The most elite soldiers belonging to the Imperial Military and the basis upon which the Emperor wishes to recoup our losses from the Campaign Beyond The Gate. Not to mention Auxiliaries and the Mages of Rondel..."
Piña sighed deeply, feeling the despair in her friend's voice slowly sink its teeth into her own waning heart. She nodded, "I understand... Thank you for your honesty, captain."
Beefeater bowed, her face grave. Piña wondered if they had any hope, in fact, of holding back an assault by the hostile force. The enemy sent for reinforcements as well, some thirty-five hundred more men from the Fourteenth Legion being set to join the battle in the coming few days. Until then, the commander, whom she knew as one of her Father's closest friends, would set up a perimeter, surround the city and lay siege to it properly. And then, there were the strange new Auxiliaries they brought.
She blinked, rubbing her face, then let out another, indignant sigh. She wanted to continue walking toward the central fortress of the city, rest a bit in preparation for the assault, but was stopped by Bozes. The blonde-haired knight ran up to her, armor clinking together, then stopped and gasped for air, leaning forward, her hands on her knees. She spoke through the dry heaving, "Your Highness... New unit spotted... Approaching the south gate..."
Piña nodded and put a hand on Bozes' shoulder, stating, "Calm yourself, Bozes. Go, get some rest... Who are they?"
"Not Imperial troops..." Bozes coughed, then hit herself in the chest twice, lightly. She straightened up, looking the Princess dead in the eyes, "They are wearing the equipment of those your brother has fought. At least, the descriptions match to a degree... I believe some of them may have also fought at Alnus, where the Allied Kingdoms' Armies were near-completely destroyed as per King Duran's word..."
"The Outworlders. Here. Already..." Piña whispered, then covered her mouth as her mind and heart began to race. They were surrounded by two armies, one of which had slaughtered both the troops at Alnus and the ones that had gone through the Gate some time before that. She clenched a fist to her chest as if she tried to still her heart, which she could feel beating through the breast plate of her armor. She shook her head, then said, "How many?"
"Approximately a contubernium, Your Highness, plus some extras," She replied.
"Only something over twenty? Perhaps they are just a scout force..." The Princess almost prayed, "Have they spoken? Made any demands?"
"N-None, so far. They are just at the gate," Bozes hesitated, a bead of sweat dropping from her chin and onto the pavement. Piña had noticed the hesitation in the blonde knight's speech and turned to face her, raising a brow curiously at her. Bozes swallowed her own spit, gathering the courage, "T-They, however, come with the Apostle of Emroy beside them..."
Piña felt her knees grow weak and tremble. If they had the Apostle by their side, then... "The Apostle...?"
Rory the Reaper was known to all. To all. She was the Apostle of the local regions of the Empire... The one woman not to mess with in the grand scheme of one's desire for survival in these semi-hospitable lands, torn asunder by war and civil strife. She did not dare ask how in the Gods' name the Otherworlders had even gotten the woman to align with them. Not until they got to talking.
"They've yet to attack and have only walked up to our Gate," Beefeater suggested, her own voice weak at seeing her Highness's fear heighten, "Perhaps... We can speak to them?"
"And do what, exactly?" Bozes grabbed her by the wrist and whispered to her.
Beefeater shrugged, then suggested with that same grim look as before, "Surrender the city and ourselves... Perhaps they will treat us better than our own, should we choose to do it... They do need this place for any further advances planned into the Empire..."
"I'd rather not become anyone's plaything, Beefeater. Not of our own men, nor of theirs. Damned they be, they took Myui's father and so many others," Bozes shot back, her voice cracking under the combined stress of anger and fear. Beefeater nodded, then patted her on the hand that gripped at her wrist, both a sign to calm down and to loosen said grip, lest she snap her wrist. Piña, however, looked to Beefeater and Bozes.
"... I will talk to them. Come. I am certain Grey already waits for us at the south gate," She stated. Turning to her second escort, a younger knight, she ordered, "Tell the other Knights to prepare for any sort of enemy incursion while we are focused on dealing with the Outworlders. Send for me should the attack begin in earnest, aye?" And she got a nod and a bow from the girl. After the youngster departed, she, Bozes and Beefeater quickly marched down the narrow roads and toward the South Gate.
Indeed, by the time they arrived, a tall man, maybe a head above the Princess and them in height and clad in jet-black armor with a blue cape, stood there, scratching the top of his close-shaven head. He greeted the Princess and her fellow knights with a bow, then said, "Just in time, Your Highness. It seems our new guests are having a discussion outside."
"Good to see you, too, Grey," The girl replied with a smile, then hummed and walked up to the human-sized door in the massive, thick and reinforced wood gate. She pulled aside the cover to the small window in the door and looked out, to see the crowd of some twenty-plus individuals discussing something. Rising higher above them all was, of course, the famed Halberd of the Apostle of War. The figures wore strange clothes that matched the colors of nature to some degree, and each carried a staff made of shine-less metals and many moving parts.
She blinked, shut the porthole and felt her heart rapidly and incessantly start beating. This was not going to be an easy feat, especially since the Priestess of Emroy was present. She tugged at her collar and said, "Perhaps we should call up the Apostle first, so she can introduce us..." before all of them heard a knock on the door and two steps back. The Princess gazed upon the door.
She sighed, then grit her teeth. This was no time to be a coward. The Apostle of Emroy herself was presumably here to judge them fit or unfit. Calmly, Piña marched to the door and opened it gently, revealing a tall man clad in what looked to be clothes the color of the desert. He stood a whole head above her as well and he was stunning to the 19-year-old Warrior Princess.
He smirked and said, "Hello."
And the hand of a friend of his landed on his shoulder. He spoke, "Maybe you should let me forward, Henry. I got the translator."
The man shrugged, then looked to Piña again. The girl simply stared him in his eyes for a moment, which allowed him to flash her a smile before stepping aside. His friend and the Apostle of Emroy approached, with the former greeting, "Hello, Your Highness. My name is Lieutenant Richard Samuels, UNSC Marine Corps. I presume you would know the Apostle of Emroy..."
"Rory Mercury..." She nodded, "Greetings to both of you... And salutations, your Holiness..." and she bowed to Rory.
Rory bowed back and said, "Greetings to you as well, Princess. We wish to speak to you and your fellow defenders about the situation of the city."
"Did... You walk all the way out here, Your Holiness?" Grey inquired. She smiled wryly, then shook her head. Richard jabbed a thumb back and shrugged, before waving the rest of his team forward, each with their weapons at the ready and seemingly tense. They figured it best to allow them passage, seeing as it may have meant an explanation. And possible allies.
Piña stepped aside, motioning for them to enter. The group entered cautiously, their weapons lowered as they did so. And as they filtered into the safety of the walls, Richard whistled as he saw the dirt and pavement and some of the bodies that lay, covered up in tarps, on the sides of the road, as well as the terrified militiamen. Some paused to look at the strange, futuristic figures that had walked in.
Richard commented to Torres, "Well, looks like we're about as welcome here as the Imp soldiers outside are..."
"Sure fuckin' looks like it," The Marine shot back as he scanned the walls. The Rose Knights did have support elements, as it seemed, Bowmen and civilian militias with the basic amenities of civilian life here, including farming tools and axes meant for chopping wood. To be fair, this entire place was surrounded by what seemed to be farmland, so it was only natural that the place was also a farming hub.
"It will be an interesting place to safeguard," Quipped Rory as she and Kuribayashi gazed around, too.
"Indeed..." Lelei nodded, leaning her staff on her shoulder, all while Tuka readied her bow.
Piña walked up to them as well and said, "You seem... Strangely relaxed...?"
"Because we're not here to cause a ruckus," Richard said. He then looked back to their team and asked, "Are we, folks?" and got nothing but shakes of the head. Kurokawa, Tomita, Kurata and Kuribayashi actually seemed relaxed, with the lattermost holding her rifle by the strap and simply looking around. Who knew what she was thinking about? In the meanwhile, Ivanov and Ikari both seemed ready to kick ass and take names, but not of the people inside. Behind them, the Marines' Corpsmen were looking at the multitude of wounded they'd have to take care of.
"Well, not for you or the folks inside," Torres added upon Richard's comment.
Itami joined in and added, "We might actually be able to help," which stunned the girl. She took a moment, then turned around and staggered upon coming face-to-face with Tyuule. The Queen of the Warrior Bunnies greeted the woman in an unknown language, to which the Princess replied in kind. Stunned, she turned to Itami, Richard and Torres, all of whom simply offered wary smiles.
"What did you tell her?" Rosie whispered to Tyuule.
"That it's a surprise to see a member of the Imperial Royal Family here," She replied, which gave Rosie pause.
"... Say what?" The three Lieutenants looked to Piña. She looked back at them, confused at the language, presumably, before Richard noted, "Are you sure, Tyuule?"
"As can be. This is Princess Piña Co Lada, daughter and Princess of the Royal Family and the Empire of Falmart," Tyuule explained, shifting her weapon's position on the chest rig. The entire group paused and looked at the woman. It made sense, in hindsight, seeing as the Imperial Mage referred to her as 'Your Highness', but it was still stunning for Tyuule to so openly declare that.
Richard blinked and said, "Right... Uh, your Highness?"
"Hm?" Piña raised a brow.
"Should we go have a chat inside? I feel like the locals are not particularly happy to see us, either..." Richard requested. The Princess hummed, nodded, then showed them to follow, still processing the fact of Tyuule's presence, seemingly. Richard took to Tyuule's side as they walked down the main road, weapons at the ready, but barrels aimed at the ground. He then asked her, "You two have a history?"
"... We were playmates once upon a time," She nodded, "When the Empire first made contact with my people. Certainly, that was one of our tribes' more mellow periods, wherein we were overpopulated and had to stop producing children. I was born and raised as Queen, while Piña was raised as a Princess. We stopped talking some years before I came to power, however..."
"Right, you did mention you were tributaries for a while," The UNSC Marine replied absently.
"It is a good thing I can help with negotiations," She smiled, "Because of this relationship that has been on the ice for a while, we may get a few extra favors..." and that got Richard to chuckle. He needed to remember that, as much as Tyuule was a soldier, she was also the finest politician in the Warrior Bunny tribes. And she had had the chances to improve her skills through negotiations with UEG representatives.
Pushing through the town and into the central mansion, a massive building that more-so resembled a citadel than a house, the group were greeted by the bulk of the Rose Order Of Knights. Each pounded their right fists into the left side of their plates, greeting the Princess and them, surprisingly. Kuribayashi hummed, watching the Rose Order girls and noting, "Most of'em are chicks..."
"Hey, I ain't complaining," Quipped Ivanov, leaning his MG on his shoulder. He got an elbow in the gut from Ikari and, just as he was about to ask what that was for, she pointed toward Kurokawa, who was seemingly looking at him curiously. He looked to Ikari and asked, "What is it? It's doctor Kurokawa that you're pointing to, Hotshot... And I don't think she cares either."
"Christ," Rosie sighed, then looked to Kurokawa and said, "Men."
Kurokawa chuckled, "Indeed..."
To Ivanov's confusion, Kuribayashi giggled, then sighed and looked around at the wounded and the wary civilians. A young boy, maybe younger than Lelei, looked at her and backed off, scared, as his mother guarded him. Her lips became razor-thin as guilt washed over her and, in an effort to seem less threatening, she lifted her right hand off the grip of her rifle in greeting, waving to him.
He paused, then weakly smiled and waved back, which gave Kuribayashi a reason to finally smile, although the guilt was still pressing down on her conscience as her mind seemingly forced her to remember having to put a bullet through that young mage. Lelei stopped and matched pace with her, then looked to her and asked, "Are you well, Sergeant Kuribayashi...?"
Shino nodded, "I'll be fine... It's war, after all."
"You did the right thing... That was not the Felix I, or my sister knew anymore..." Lelei comforted her.
"You have a sister?" Shino quirked a brow, smiling.
"I do..." Lelei sighed deeply, "And she is a handful..."
Shino chuckled, "Don't I know that feeling..."
"You did mention you had a sister, if I recall correctly? What does she do?" Lelei asked as they entered the mansion's beautiful walls. Shino had begun explaining to Lelei the concept of television and news networks and what exactly it was her sister was doing as a news anchor. Richard, Torres and Itami all overheard the convo in clean Japanese, with Richard being able to pick out words as his translator worked on.
"So," Richard started, looking to Piña and her escorting Knights. She turned to him and he started, "As we said when we first arrived, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness. I'm Lieutenant Richard Samuels, UNSC Marine Corps. The men beside me are Lieutenants Itami Youji, of the Japanese Self-Defense Force," And he motioned to the green-wearing Japanese, who smiled warmly at her, "And Lieutenant Henry Torres, United States Marine Corps. Nice to know not all Imperial Family members are problematic to deal with."
Torres smiled at her, too, though that seemed to give her pause, her cheeks a shade more pinkish red. She spoke, "A pleasure to meet you, gentlemen as well and... My thanks for not kicking us while we were down. I still cannot fathom the fact one of my kin caused all of this..." And she sighed, "This city is a crown jewel of the Empire. That they seek to burn it down, inhabitants and all. The orders must be false."
"Guess you'll figure that one out when you go home, huh?" Richard inquired, their boots clacking against the black-and-white checkerboard marble floor. Paintings of various vistas in all seasons from Spring to Winter lined the left-hand wall, as well as seemingly priceless sculptures made of crystals and gold, sat on beautiful, ornate wooden furniture. Every thirty feet, there was a door leading to a room. Opposite that wall, there were archway-like windows made of thick glass with red velvet curtains and framed by pillars of marble that held up the ceiling.
"I hope so," She stated, "The situation here is grim. Twelve-hundred of our Empire's best soldiers are arrayed outside of the gates of this city, with, according to some of our scouts that managed to slip out, three thousand four-hundred more slated to arrive within the day to reinforce them. They will surround this city and prepare their siege weapons and mages for the assault."
"And, if all goes according to plan in the upcoming chat," Richard started, grinning, "We'll be meeting them with the full firepower of an entire military convoy of mixed UN and UNSC Units..."
She paused, stunned. They would offer themselves in the defense just like that? She understood that they would require the city as a potential future staging area for deeper pushes into the Empire and that, perhaps, she could not stop them, but that they'd so openly offer themselves to defend it and everyone within? She could only ask them, "Why...?"
"Why...?" Richard raised a brow as they stopped.
"Why... Why offer yourselves to defend a town you would capture anyway?" She asked, clearly baffled.
"We don't like seeing Civilians hurt, ma'am," Richard replied, looking her in the eye, "Nor do we like it when potential allies and resting places are destroyed. Imps started this war by killing our people and the UN's and enslaving anyone else. They started this war under the silly pretense that nobody was gonna fight back against what is supposed to be 'Falmart's mightiest military'..." And he grinned dangerously, "Well, that title dropped out of the hands of your Armed Forces almost three years ago, when we landed."
"Cocky," Piña shot back, not backing down from what would have been assumed to be Richard's attempt at a withering stare, "Perhaps we shall see if you speak true when and if this temporary alliance is settled and we prepare to defend against the might of the Fourteenth Legion..." before continuing to lead them forward. Torres hummed, then smirked, to which Richard asked, "You've been staring at her for a while, Henry. Take a fancy to her?"
Torres shrugged, "I dunno, man... She seems interesting, I guess."
Richard grinned, "Really, now?"
"Oh, shut your mouth, Dick," Torres quipped, "Talk to me when you and Tyuule stop pussyfooting around the issue, too."
Itami snorted as Richard and the Warrior Bunny Queen blushed. The rest of the team chuckled as the two seemed to protest, surprising Piña and her friends. Bozes stepped up to the Princess's side and whispered, "They are awfully calm about being faced with almost twenty times their ranks, are they not...?" to which Piña didn't know how to reply. Indeed, they were far too jovial...
She sighed, then cleared her throat and said, "Apologies for interrupting..." and she paused as a female maid with cat ears, a tail and some other minor traits appeared and whispered something into her ear. She sighed, thanked her, then said, "Lady Formal is waiting for us..." then paused as she saw Kurata, the young man's eyes wide as saucers as he looked at the departing maid.
"Fucking god damn..." Torres chuckled.
"An actual catgirl maid..." Whispered Itami, somewhat stunned while Kurata was hyperventilating beside him. The Lieutenant looked back to his fellow SDF member, which caused the man to settle down while the rest of the team yet again let out short giggles. The team marched after the Princess and was greeted by massive oak doors, darkened by paint and guarded by two soldiers bearing the Family Crest of the Formals.
Entering the room as the guards opened it, they were greeted with a relatively small throne room, which bore only a single chair at the head, risen section where the red carpet ended. On each side of the room, there were more maids, catgirls and humans as well. All bowed toward the Princess and guests as they marched in, with the head maid, the eldest woman in the room, smiling at the Princess.
Richard, Torres and Itami were the first to be stunned, looking at the throne from halfway across the small throne room. A young girl, maybe no older than ten or eleven, was sat on the throne, clad in a puffy pink dress with all the frills you'd expect out of a countess's daughter's dress to have. The blue-eyed, ginger-haired girl looked up at Piña and gave her a smile, to which the Princess bowed and smiled back, "Hello, Myui..." before turning to the group in the room, "Ladies and Gentlemen... Behold Countess of the Formal Clan, Myui... The youth of the family and the only one able to take the helm of this place. Also, my youngest cousin..."
"Christ..." Murmured Richard, while Torres averted his gaze and Itami simply stared on. Richard looked to Piña and stated bluntly, "Princess... She's a kid..."
Piña nodded knowingly, "The poor girl lost her father to the Battle Beyond the Gate," and then she looked back at her, "A small regency council was to be set up, to aid her until she comes of age to rule herself, or to marry and bring forth an aid from her husband... But, sadly," She motioned to the outside, "We may not even get the chance to do that now..."
It seemed as though Myui knew not what her older cousin said, simply staring at the unit ahead of them, dumbfound. Richard paused for a moment, looking into the eyes of the kid as she looked into his. He saw the pure, unadulterated fear hiding behind that unfazed blank expression. She almost seemed to be pleading to him, to them as a whole, for help, staring with those big, blue, scared eyes. He sighed, then whispered to Rory and Tyuule, "What's proper etiquette when dealing with Counts and Countesses?"
"Same as with any other high-born noble," Tyuule replied.
"Take a knee, bow and greet them with Your Highness, specifically," Quipped Rory, smiling.
He nodded, then took his helmet off and stepped forward, toward the young girl. The room tensed, the guards and Rose Order Knights already grabbing at their weapons. Richard stowed his own on his back, then got close enough to the podium where the girl was for them to practically be face-to-face. He took a knee, putting a hand on his chest and greeting her with the translator still in his ear, "Greetings, Your Highness... I am Lieutenant Richard Samuels and I am a friend. As are most of my comrades," and he motioned to the back.
She seemed stunned, as did just about everyone else. He smiled at her, choosing to simply be friendly, rather than anything, "We've come to Italica to speak to you and your people, but now that we've seen it under siege... Well, let's just say we decided to help you and your people defend it. Trust us, we're going to make everything fine and peaceful here again, so that no bad people will hurt you, ever."
She blinked, stupefied, then spoke, her voice soft, "Do you promise...?"
"We do," He nodded, then turned back and asked, "Right, folks?"
"Yeah," Torres nodded, smiling.
"Of course. We're your friendly neighborhood UN Force!" Itami grinned. The others gave quick affirmative answers, then bowed to the young girl. She took a moment to process it all, before staring at the Lieutenant again. Tears welled in her eyes, tears of joy, clearly, as she broke protocol for royalty and wrapped her arms around the man's neck in a tight hug, weeping silently on his shoulder.
He patted her on the back, then looked to Piña as the woman giggled, covering her mouth with her hand like you'd see a prissy woman from some of the upper class families do in movies. She spoke, "Well, well, Lieutenant. Not even a day here and you already stole someone's heart... Quite the feat, I must say, especially for a soldier of your rank among the officer corps."
Richard blinked, then heard the laughter of his Marines and of Tyuule, Rory and Tuka. He blinked, looked to Piña and said, "What...?"
"Myui seems to have taken a liking to you, my good sir," She chuckled, with Myui too busy weeping into his shoulder to contradict her. The Lieutenant raised a brow at the comment, then gazed at the young'un that he was comforting. Around him, the maids all stifled laughs, clearly, by the expressions on their faces. It seemed even Torres, Itami and their boys got the jokes once Rosie explained it to them.
He frowned and said, "While I'm flattered, Your Highnesses... I am not into children. That is a fucking capital offense where I come from."
Piña giggled, "Well, she will come of age soon enough, Lieutenant. If you can wait,"
"Thanks," He stated sarcastically, then seemed to glare at Piña, though she and her Knights took it in stride. He gently undid the hug Myui had gotten him in, then stood to his feet and put his helmet on, bowing respectfully and adding in a murmur that only he heard, "I'll think about it if I want Doctor Halsey to fucking castrate me... If she even gets to, before I shoot myself." as he turned and marched toward the mixed unit's advanced scout force. He only stopped midway through, then said, "Your Highness, one more request."
Myui nodded, smiling and wiping away tears. He said, "We'd like to bring the rest of our unit in, including our vehicles."
She nodded approvingly, then looked to the stunned Piña. The woman sighed, then nodded and sent Bozes toward the South Gate. She hadn't known that there were more of them, clearly, but she must've figured out they hadn't walked all the way over here, right? Richard nodded in thanks, then walked up to the crew of Marines and SDF troops as they held back laughter. He said, "Not. A. Fucking. Word. Especially not from the Japanese..." in a low growl toward Itami and Torres, glaring at Itami at that last part.
Tyuule chuckled, then said, "Feisty, are you, Lieutenant? Maybe we should let you and Myui alone?"
"Ew, god, what the fuck, Tyuule..." He shuddered, disgusted, then frowned at her, "I thought you'd have my back on this one, having known me for something over three years now?"
She nodded, still smiling, "Apologies, Richard, but I had to... It was naught but jest, after all... Anyways, shall we go contact the convoy and tell them to move in?"
Richard nodded, then walked out with her and a long-range Radio. Some time later, the group had been divvied up among a series of rooms where they could stay for the evening, with Torres choosing to take a break outside and watch the tank and troops roll in. Sat on the wall, he watched the convoy stream in, led by the Abrams, whose fat ass barely fit through the door.
He puffed from his cigarette, flicking the ash to the side. He was sat down near the back edge of the wall. No safety railings and about two or three stories up. If he dropped now, he'd paint the fucking pavement a nice new shade of red. He saw the tank park somewhere off to the left, with the crew dismounting. Edward and his boys immediately went to look over the issues of the tank. Torres tossed aside his cig and went down toward them.
"... Gotta be fucking kidding me..." Sighed Edward, rubbing his face. He looked to see Torres and asked, "Henry, are you seeing this shit!?" as he motioned at the char marks on the Abrams's paintjob. Richard appeared, too, with Edward stating, "You fucks better paint the tank! Look at this!" and pointing at the scorch mark on the turret's left cheek, indignantly huffing.
"You drove into that ambush..." Richard shot back, "And it's just a burn mark, man. C'mon."
"Just a fucking burn mark, he says," Edward replied, pinching the brow of his nose, "And a whole five hours of scraping the carbon off. We do field repairs some time, El-Tee."
"I'm aware," He shrugged, then sighed, "Listen, I gotta go. We'll get you a new can of paint when we finish securing this town, alright? We still have defenses to plan until the assholes come in tomorrow, alright?" before marching up to Torres and plucking something out of his pocket. He handed it to the man and pointed at his ears, then said, "Translator. I'm not gonna be the only one talking round here. Already gave one to Youji, so..."
"Thanks, man..." He replied, sliding the device into his ear, "You good?"
"No..." He yawned, "I need a short nap..."
"Go take one in the mansion," Torres said, "Wouldn't want you out of it because of lack of sleep."
"Sound like Kurokawa," He sighed, "I'll go... Get someone to wake me up at seventeen-hundred. Or at least just before the sun sets... I have to go see that Shrine to the Mother, too, and report it to KINGDOM's nerds, apparently..." And he yawned again, before marching out toward the mansion on foot. Edward shook his head, watching the man go, before grabbing something to at least try and clean off some of the carbon from the Fire Spell.
Torres sighed, then walked up toward what seemed to be a tavern. Inside, he caught sight of the Princess as she was nursing an ale, or a beer. Some golden drink with foam on top and placed in a pint form, anyhow. He hummed, then entered the place, before turning on the translator and saying to the barman, "I'll have what the Lady's having..." which garnered the Princess's attention. He looked to her and said, "I didn't expect to see you of all people in a tavern," then sat himself down on the stool next to her by the counter, "I'd have expected you to be having... Lavish meals in the middle of the court, with a bit of wine on the side."
She snorted, "I am afraid that the wineries were emptied long before I came here," and sighed, before sipping from the pint glass, "Lieutenant Torres, correct?"
"Yep. You remembered," He smirked.
"Of course, I would," She shot back, seemingly a little tipsy, "Whilst I have introduced myself broadly to all of you, I shall do so again. I am Princess Piña Co Lada, Imperial Heir and one of the children of Emperor Molt... But, for such a casual setting, feel free to call me Piña. We are both soldiers, after all."
"Yeah. A pleasure," He nodded, "You can call me Henry, then..." And he snorted, "And I have been meaning to ask you about your name..."
"Oh? It is the name given by my father to me, based on the God I was born to follow," She explained.
"... It's also the name of a drink where I come from," He chuckled as he was handed his own pint. He took a sip, of the strangely sweet alcoholic beverage, then looked to the stunned Piña. She blinked, processing the new information somewhat slowly, to which he said, "It's a sweet and alcoholic drink of sorts, based on pineapple, ice and Rum, I believe. Cuban, maybe?"
"The last thing you've said made very little sense to me... But there is a drink named after me in your world...?" She inquired, seemingly staring at him. He chuckled, then nodded and sipped more from his own drink. She took a sip of her own, then tapped her chin and said, "How interesting... You come from the Other Side, no? Of the Gate of the Gods."
"Yes," He nodded, then continued to explain "Was born in this massive, beautiful, if messy country named the United States of America... Then, there's Itami Youji, my friend from Japan, the country your people attacked and got screwed over by," and flashed a grin at the girl. She frowned.
"... We sought to expand," She replied, "Did not expect that there were so many of you... And so dangerous."
"An Empire that keeps expanding's either gonna be crushed under its own weight, or meet a peer rival that will slaughter them due to their overconfidence," He stated, stunning her, before he continued, "At least, that's what history tells me," and chugged a bit of the drink. He hummed, then looked at it and said, "This stuff ain't so bad... Quite the opposite."
"... How do you know what you've said is true?"
"The Empire, or the drink? If it's the latter? I just like the taste. Former? An empire similar to yours existed in our world almost two millennia ago. It collapsed under threats from both without and within," He smirked, "But what did them in was the outside enemies, surprisingly enough. It's one of the two... And yours looks mighty close like it's near its own death."
She sighed, "You do not know our Empire, then."
"I feel like I do," He grinned.
"Want to bet?" She shot back.
"Sure," He chuckled, then looked down at his pants and said, "But all I got is paper money, which is fairly useless here, considering you folks still seem to be running based on actual precious metal coins... If you wanna keep this talk going, you have to pay for the first date and the next series of drinks," and he leaned back against the chair, "If not, well... Whatever. We'll meet at planning the defense."
She blushed, glared at him and slammed some golden coins on the table, stating, "We will take another round, bartender. But bewarned, Henry Torres, if I get bored, I will leave..."
"Deal," He smirked. Well, he'd just secured himself free drinks and a person to actually talk to, which was nice for a change. Torres was a Marine, but he was still in the higher spectrum of smarts among the ranks, like knowing the History of the Roman Empire, the presence of similarities between them and the Falmartians, or the fact that you didn't mess with the (non-existent) E4 Mafia. He also knew not to eat Crayons before a big battle. They gave a nasty case of 'The Shits'.
Itami watched the situation at the bar unfolding, smiling all the while. He had been worried about Henry not actually getting anyone. He just hadn't expected his friend would swing for a Princess, of all people. Doubly so because she was the Princess of the Royal Family commanding the Empire they were currently at war with. It was a fun twist of fate... Meanwhile, the good Japanese Lieutenant himself?
"Lieutenant Itami~..." Rory's sultry voice came from behind him.
Yeah, he had his own issues to deal with...