Chapter 4: Priority: Fort Alnus
--Senate House, Imperial Capital Sedera--
2 weeks after the Battle of Alnus Hill.
It took the sole survivor of Imperial forces at Alnus Hill a week of nonstop travel to return to the capital, when his horse died from exhaustion he had to rob a horse from an unlucky farmer to continue. He was exhausted and badly hurt from strange wounds that seem to cause by strange magic, which cause him to lose consciousness at the gate of the capital. Under the order of Emperor Molt Sol Augutus, the best Imperial healers treated this soldier for many days that he's finally strong enough to stand before the senate and the Emperor himself and report of what happened at Alnus Hill.
"Impossible! There were 50 elite legions and hundreds of thousand auxiliaries of Trolls, Orce, Goblin and Elves surrounding Alnus Hill" One of the Senators shocked by the story told "They even had 5 Master Mage from Rondel with them, how could they all be killed in a few hours?"
"But it is true my Lords, I saw it with my own eyes" the soldier replies shaken up by the horrible memories "Our men were slaughtered before we could get anywhere near them, our weapons and magic could not harm them"
Two months ago many great generals of the Empire set out along with 500 thousands men and beasts to take the lands beyond the gate. After occupied and fortify the area around Alnus hill, a vanguard of 200 thousand men and beasts lead by General Aurelius Caeso himself went through the gate. When they did not return, the Emperor sent another 400 thousand reinforcement in anticipating of a counter attack from the Other Worlders.
Never before have such a mass troops concentration in the Empire's history, it made of 2/3 of the Imperial Army. When the news from a single survivor that faceless enemy with strange metal beast and magic barriers using magic staffs from the other side of the gate come and annihilate them in merge hours is unfathomable and unbelievable.
"A lot of my friends died for me to bring this news to you my Lords" the soldier continue as he collapse on his knees.
"My Emperor, this man is clearly broken we cannot take his word for the truth" Senator Calvus speaks to Emperor Molt "We must strike back now while the enemy is sitting still".
The Senate Chamber's door swing open as General Tiberius Deusdedit in prestige armor enters. General Aurelius was a highly decorated soldier in the Imperial Army because of his bravery, fighting skill and strength but General Tiberius is famous for his brilliant strategy and tactics in war. The man is also loves by his men for being respectful of even the lowest ranking soldier despite his highborn origin. He wanted to lead the invasion through the gate but Emperor Molt wanted him to stay back to defend the Empire in case of the invasion fail like it did and the enemy counter attack.
"My Emperor" Tiberius kneel in front of Molt with a humble and respecting tone of voice then turn around to the rest of the Senate Chambers "Senators of Sadera!" he speaks in a powerful tone.
"Our scouts just got back moments ago and their report confirmed this man's story, the Imperial forces at Alnus Hill has been wiped out" Tiberius continues and look at Calvus "Senetor Calvus, our legions in the North is keeping the Darklings contained and what left of the Imperial Army is defending Sadera. We cannot attack now"
"Then we draft the peasants, we can muster hundreds of thousand strong in no time!" Senator Calvus shout back. He receives cheer of agreement from the pro-war faction.
"It would take weeks to gather them and even longer to train them the basic, even then do you think they stand a chance against an enemy that wiped out 50 elite legions?" Tiberius feels angry of the arrogance of the pro-war senators but manage to keep his voice calm and respectful, it's all politics.
"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Calvus shouts in frustration.
"Enough!" Emperor Molt voice echo the chamber, which cause the whole Senate to fall silence and listen to him. After a short pause to make sure that everyone pay attention, he continues "You are both correct, we cannot wait for the enemy to strike first but we also are not in the position to make any advance on the enemy"
"My Emperor, you have a plan?" Calvus asks while Tiberius have already guesses what the Emperor next move.
"Tiberius, have your men bring words to our allies and vassals to gather their troops and advance on Alnus Hill, they will keep the enemy busy when we rebuild our legions" Emperor Molt gives his command.
Tiberius bows in front of his Emperor knowing he was right. Emperor Molt wants to send the allies armies to their death so that they cannot rebel against the empire.
--King Duran castle, Elbe Kingdom--
"My Lord, King Duran of Elbe Kingdom, it is time to honor your oath to take up arms and come to the Empire's aid as we defeat a powerful army from another world" the Imperial messenger kneel before Kind Duran "The Emperor promise you riches and lands beyond the gate once we have defeated our enemy".
"Tell the Emperor that Elbe Kingdom will honor her duty to the Empire" King Duran allow the messenger to leave. He continues when the messenger is long gone "Molt want us to invade the land beyond the gate? Something is not right".
"My Lord, this is a great opportunity to bring glory and rich to our kingdom" One of the General speaks up.
King Duran is a war hero to his people, he rule his Kingdom fair and wise. He rose to power during a civil war ignited by the Empire to weaken the Kingdom but under Duran's command the "rebel" army quickly took out the corrupted old king and restore the Kingdom back to peace. Althoug known to be a man of honor, King Duran is no fool that blindly follow orders.
"It would be but knowing Molt he would want to take it all for himself" King Duran pauses and thinks for a moment "Mobilize the troops but I want thorough scout of Alnus Hill and the area around it, contact our spies in the Imperial army to find out what is going on".
King Duran stands up and walk to his highest ranking General, he put his arm on the General's shoulder and look him in the eyes "Very thorough General".
"Yes my Lord, I shall not fail you" the General says as they both nod at each other.
--Somewhere North West of Alnus Hill--
A cloak recon drone is holding position over the camp of the Allies kingdom Army. The exact headcount of 400 567 troops is reported to Fort Alnus via MNet, every movement, military organization and leaders are identified. It appears that an important meeting is taking place and the entire meeting is being recorded by the drone.
King Duran enters the command camp where the Kings of all Allies Kindom are waiting. On his left are the Kings of strongest kingdoms of them all along with Elbe which make up the bulk of the army of Alguna, Mudwan, Tealon and on the right are the kings of 10 other smaller kingdoms.
"Gentleman, our scouts report that the enemy is only about 50 thousand strong and a few hundred metal beasts" King Duran sit down at the head of the table "They are building a wall at an incredible speed but it is not finish, if we strike now our ladders should be enough to get our troops on their walls"
"What about the Imperial army, what are they doing?" King of Alguna asks.
"There's no sign of the Imperial army, only a mass field of Imperial corpse and beasts around Alnus Hill" Kind Duran continue with his intel.
"So the rumor is true, the Other Worlder slaughtered Imperial forces at Alnus Hill" King of Tealon worries "If so, how can we beat such a foe?".
"You cowards, this is a great opportunities for us to take it all for ourselves we out number them almost 10 to 1 even my army alone outnumber them 2 to 1" King of Mudwan slam his fist on the table "I will take Alnus Hill by myself if you weaklings are too scare to do it".
King Duran deep in his thought and then speak up "They send us here to die".
The other kings stopped arguing and turn to Duran "What are you talking about King Duran?".
"Molt sends us here to die, 2/3 of his army was destroyed by the other worlders and now the Imperial Army is too weak to fight back so he fears we will rebel against the Empire and he sends us here to die" King Duran speaks his mind.
The allies kingdoms suddenly split between two side. One side want to attack and claim the glory, the other side want to march home and fortify their borders. With the majority siding with Elbe on marching home, it is settle that they will leave in the morning.
----
Next day.
"Kind Duran, my Lord" a soldier rush into Duran's personal camp while he's preparing for a march back to Elbe "Mudwan and serveral other kingdoms have left for Alnus Hill".
"Stupid bastards" Duran quickly put on his sword "Get my horse and guards ready, tell the other kings I'm going to Alnus Hill with my guards".
Arrive at a high hill, King Duran, and the other Kings that caught up with him and his guards, could see the entire army of Mudwan and other kingdoms marching in formation ready to attack. However, the enemy shows no sign of preparation, no troops forming into formations of any kind, which is odd.
Suddenly, from within the Other Worlders' base shoot up to the sky what seem to be thousands of large ballista bolts and then arc down to the position of the Mudwan army. The entire field shake up with blue explosion, and in an instant, the whole army is gone.
"Such power, such powerful magic, King Duran you were right" King of of Tealon says.
"We must send to make peace with them so they don't bring their wrath on us for what Kind of Mudwan did!" King of Alguna turns to King Duran.
"Bring up the yellow flag I will go speak to them, my Kings please join me" King Duran order his guard to bring out a yellow flag.
Yellow is the color of the sun, it is a color of peace and wisdom across the land. Therefore in Special Region, yellow flags indicate surrender.
--Fort Alnus--
"3 enemies approaching with a yellow flag from North West" a marine report through radio.
"Yellow flag? Is that their version of white flag?" another marine asks his officer "do we open fire sir?"
"Negative, General Nguyen ordered to hold fire he's coming out to talk to them" the officer reply.
General Nguyen and Commander Ava with a squad of marine in 2 IFVs ride out to meet with the incoming men on horses. The men stop in an open field and draw their swords then point high to the sky along with their yellow flags. While it would be a sign of aggression on Earth, the UNE has been in contact with different cultures around the galaxy to not foolishly assume other cultures. However, Ava orders the troops to stay guard and weapon ready.
The investigation with POWs from New Ginza Incident allow their language to be translated and uploaded to the language database of the UNE. This allow the TAC suit to translate their speaking and writing language on the field for easier communication with the local.
When the vehicles are close, the men on horse lower their swords and hold them horizontally. General Nguyen orders the IFVs to stop and take Ava with him on foot to meet with these strangers. The 3 men get off their horses still holding the yellow flags high and their sword horizontally in front of them.
"We come to talk peace, we would like to surrender!" King Duran speak while lower his sword on the ground in front of them, the other kings do the same.
"You are King Duran, King of Alguna and King of Tealon? I am General Adam Nguyen, commander of all operations in Special Region, this is Commander Ave Bennett, It's an honor my Kings" General Nguyen says then bow before them.
"You know who we are?" King of Tealon surprises because the General know their names.
"Yes our drones detected you the moment your armies left your castles and have been following you, we know all your plans and troops compositions" Commander Ava explains.
"Drones?" King Duran asks confused "Is that your word for spies?"
"Something like that my King, now if you follow me into the base we will discuss your terms of surrender" General Nguyen finds it amusing, he looks at the horses then continue "You can ride your horse or you can ride the IFVs with us".
The 3 Kings stare at the IFVs for a moment and then look at each other. Understand what his fellow Kings thought, Duran speak up "We will ride on our horses General".
There are 8 gates leading into Fort Alnus, each has a force field and thick KEL blast door. The finished sections of the wall is 20 meters (65.6 feet) tall and 6 meters (20 feet) thick. Inside of the near-finish constructing base is countless Lancer tanks, IFVs, APCs and marines either marching lining up in formations readying to take orders. Construction drones and vehicles buzzing around busy trying to finish constructing the massive bastion fort.
"Your armor" King Duran speaks while following General Nguyen into HQ building "They all look the same and the helmet completely covers your warriors faces, how do they see?"
"Our armor is called Tactical Armor for Combat suit or TAC suit for short has its own sensors that detect the environment around and reconstruct images to display on a holographic screen inside the helmet for our soldiers to see" General Nguyen try to explains as simple as possible "Think of it like the armor has their own eyes and ears and it tells the soldier inside what it sees".
"Is it some short of magical armor?" Duran continues.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" General Nguyen quotes Arthur C. Clarke's words "We have no magic my Kings, Commander Bennett show him".
Ava tab and activate her TAC suit, from the nanobox on her chest the armor starts spreading out and eventually cover her entire body makes her indistinguishable from any other soldiers.
"This is what we call nanotech" Ava speaks as the front of her helmet dematerialized "the TAC offer powerful resistance to all kind of harm in additional to energy shield and has limited self-repair capability".
Before any of the Kings could ask any more questions, they reach the meeting hall. Everyone get inside and take a seat before General Nguyen starts the negotiation.
"My Kings, this device will record everything we say here as proof for our agreement today until official treaty can be discussed" General Nguyen point to a camera at the end of the table and then continue "Now, would you like to hear our terms for your surrender?"
"We are ready to accept your reasonable terms General" King Duran replies fearing for the fate of his family and his people back home, but assuring himself that anything is better than facing the wrath of these other worlders.
"First you are to withdraw your forces near Alnus Hill back to your respective kingdoms, we would like to form an alliance with your kingdoms. Should any of you prefer not to, you are to remain neutral in the war between the United Nations of Earth and the Saderan Empire" General Nguyen speaks his terms as Terra Sphere has enable him to engage in diplomatic with Special Region factions.
"That…That's it?" King of Alguna could not believe what he is hearing "You don't want our tributes? Slaves and lands?"
"You would really leave us alone if we remain neutral?" King of Tealon is also shocked by the General's terms.
"Tell me General, what do you really want? This terms are too lenient and if I haven't seen what you're capable off you would've said you're weak" King Duran looks the General in the eyes trying to figure out any hidden intention.
"King of Alguna and King of Tealon, that is not who we are, we do not forcefully take from orders and slavery is prohibited in our nation" General answer the 2 Kings with a smile and looks over to King Duran "Indeed there's more we want from you should you choose to become our allies. We want intel on the Saderan Empire and access to your spy network within the Imperial army, we also expect you to run military operations against our enemies".
Looking in the eyes of General Nguyen, all Duran could see is the truth in his words. Duran is a wise king who can see through lies and mischief but with all his efforts he could not detect any from the General. The UNE could be lying and strike when the kingdoms lower their guard, but there's no need for them to do that, they could just crush their combine armies like an ant. Therefore, he decides to follow his guts.
"I, King Duran of Elbe Kingdom, accept the United Nations of Earth terms and shall form an alliance with it" Kind Duran stands up and speak loudly.
"I, King of Alguna Kingdom, shall too accept an alliance with the United Nations of Earth" King of Alguna stands up.
"I, King of Tealon Kingdom, wish for Tealon to remain neutral" King of Tealon stands up.
"Very well my kings, this meeting is concluded. I will send my men to escort you back to your camp so you can prepare for your long march back home".
--Fort Alnus, 1 week later, Commander Ava Bennett quarter--
Fort Alnus construction is now completed.
Earth clock is almost midnight, Ava sits on the North side wall and staring into the distance. She hears footsteps behind her as Ashley approaching.
"You're worrying about Admiral Bennett, Commander?" Ashley asks then sit next to Ava.
"She's out there Ash, I cannot rest until I find her" Ava replies with a strong determination in her voice "I must find her, for me and for dad".
Ava's Dad, Admiral William Bennett, died in the war with the Marikar Empire. He was in command of flagship of the 212nd Terra Fleet, HSS Sphere of Terra. His fleet was ordered to lead an assault on one of the Marikar's core systems, the attack went well as UNE's firepower and technology significantly outmatch the Marikar's Horror Fleet. When the battle almost over and the fleet is signaling for transport ships to come in and start the ground assault, the Marikar's reinforcement of an entire Horror Fleet exist FLT jumps. As soon as they arrived, all ships and fighters charged at HSS Sphere of Terra at full speed while unleashing everything they have. While the flaship's shield and armor are powerful and the amount of firepower it took was tremendous, shield started to fail as Marikar's ships ram into its shield then its armor and explode one of after another, many dozen of them.
Admiral William Bennett, did not expect the suiciding tactics from the Marikar's fleet, ordered abandon ship but it was too late. Only a few life pods launch and while it was a minor loss for the UNE, thousands of families including Ava's lost their fathers, mothers, brother, sisters and love ones.
"We are here for you Commander, the 5th SIF got your back" Ashley says as she put a hand on Ava's shoulder "We will get out there, we will find her and everyone and bring them back safely".
"That I have no doubt Ash, thank you" Ave smiles.
"We better get some rest Commander, we have an early briefing in a few hours" Ashley says as the both stands up and walk back to the barrack.
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