A military transport plane flew across the skies of the Nevada desert. A Section X officer explained to the 15 Phasewalkers sitting across the seats. 

“The Portal opened up in the center of the deserts. After we were made aware, we set up a military base around the Portal and put the entire perimeter under a military zone to deter the media or curious locals. The local forces include a full armored battalion of the U.S. Army. Two National Guard units and a squad of Air Force fighters are ready to move in at a moment’s notice.”

“Do we know if those on the other side can come through the Portal to our world? The locals, I mean.” 

“We don’t know.” The officer shook his head. “One of the things you and your comrade need to find out in the near future.” 

Caity sat there in her seat. There were at least several more hours until the moveout, but she couldn’t help but feel her heart pounding like a hammer in the hands of a veteran ironsmith. Last night, after she returned to base, her parents kept on trying to call her, but after she picked up the first time and heard her parents hysterically telling her to change her mind, she turned off her phone. 

The plane shook from some turbulence. Caity stole a glance at Ryan. She wondered what he was thinking now. In fact, she wondered how his parents reacted to this. Were they happy? Sad? Concerned? Scared? She was curious if Ryan had to go through the same difficulty convincing his parents as she did. 

Slowly, Caity could see a military base coming closer and closer on the horizon. Eventually, the transport landed on a runway. Caity was the third to walk down. As soon as she went outside, she found herself facing a wave of grey looking military bases. Fully armed soldiers in desert camouflage walked around the camp. From time to time, a Humvee would drive by. 

On the horizon, there were yellow deserts as far as her eyes could see. 

“Welcome to Base Thunderbird. All your personal equipment is in those two barracks.” The officer commented quietly as he pointed to a set of barracks a short distance away. 

The 15 Phasewalkers started moving. The first step was getting the proper gadgets they needed. Caity and the other girl, Ava, walked to one designated bunker while the boys went into the other one. Shame. Caity was hoping on seeing what Ryan would be like without his shirt. 

Even Caity herself didn't realize she was so much more courageous than before. At least before she joined Section X, she would never be fine with changing in front of boys. Now, it was just meh…

No need to feel embarrassed when this might be your last day in the world of the mortals. 

Inside the barrack, two sets of gadgets, equipment, and weapons were laid out flat on two tables. Caity quickly discovered which one was hers. How did she know? Well, the only other girl in the expedition, Ava, was a medic. Caity just went straight to the table with the most weapons. 

First of all, there was a green camouflage jacket and a helmet. Caity expertly took off her black t-shirt and pants she brought over from Eagle’s Nest and changed into the set of military attire. The Kevlar went over the jacket, which went over the shirt.  

The first piece of weapon for the Special Forces soldier was a sniper rifle that was half her body in height. As soon as she slid her fingers down the gun barrel, statistics on this piece of weapon popped into her head. M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle. 5-round magazine. Good anti-personnel weapon. It had a silencer attached to the muzzle. 

Caity quietly wrapped the belt on the rifle around her body to carry the weapon on her back. A few more magazines were added into her backpack. That sniper rifle alone was far from sufficient for her as she moved to pick up two more guns. APC9K SMG and Glock 19. Both were intended to use her skills with firearms to its full advantage. This way, she could act as a sniper when needed, as well as transition to middle or short-ranged combatant if the situation demanded. 

She made sure to check all three firearms. A good soldier must know for sure her weapons wouldn’t fail her at the most critical moment.

The two army knives went into their sheath, which was attached to her pants, easily, but it took Caity a while to attach all of the 16 grenades onto her suit. Captain Hemley wanted the squad to be armed with as much firepower as possible. If this wasn’t a squad operation, he might’ve even called for artillery units. 8 of the grenades were non-lethal stun grenades. The higher-ups were insistent on the expedition forces finding someone to bring back through the Portal for questioning.

Caity knew most heroes or heroines should be all rebellious and bitchy to their commanding officers, but she actually quite liked Hemley as the captain of this trip. She knew a little about Hemley’s background. The man’s grandparents were veterans of the Vietnam War. His great-grandfather has fought in WWII. Both of his parents were currently serving in the military. His background was what she expected Ryan’s would be. 

Hemley was a natural leader. He was serious, but not as antisocial as Ryan. Sometimes, he would make a joke or two. More importantly, he was among the top in all classes. If Caity had to put her life into the hands of somebody, it might as well be him.  

With all the preparation done, Caity turned around and moved for the door, but not before she saw the medic of the squad struggling with the straps on her helmet. Caity bit her lips and walked over and helped her sort things out. 

Caity’s fingers brushed through the other girl’s cheeks. As she worked, she couldn’t help but notice how red Ava’s eyes were. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” She thought about it long and hard before offering up a word of advice, “but you shouldn’t be here.” 

Ava was possibly the most unfit member of this trip. In fact, she shouldn’t even be a combat medic. In Caity’s opinion, Ava should be among the non-combatants. Every time a gunshot rang out close to her, she would freeze. Her fitness skills were tragic. The only reason Ava was here must be because of a mistake. 

Caity knew the Phasewalkers weren’t allowed to bail, but if Ava went to the instructors and made her point, then there was no reason for the higher-ups to hold their position and risk letting the whole team fall. 

Ava bit her lips. Her eyes watering again. 

“I joined the Phasewalker project because my mother has cancer, and Section X promised to pay for her treatment. You know, we have a lot of people who are talented at killing, but we barely have any that can heal. I happen to have some talent in treating the wounded. To encourage me to become a combat medic, Section X promised to give my mom the best treatment available. If I tell them I can’t do it…” 

Caity bit her lips. Her hands paused. “That’s unfair.” 

“Actually, that’s really fair.” Ava took back the straps from Caity and gave it another pull to force it onto her head. “Without Section X, my mom’s gonna die for sure. Now, I have a choice. My life for hers.” 

With that being said, she picked up an M4A1 automatic rifle and walked out of the barracks. 

“Choice…” Caity whispered lowly before following the combat medic out the door. 

In a field between the two barracks, the other 13 Phasewalkers were already fully armed and ready. Just one look at their ranks could show how much work Hemley put into the squad. 

Caity and Ryan were Special Forces. They were the spearheads of the squad, and they were the most armed. Sniper rifles. Sub-machine guns. Handguns. As the only medic, Ava only had an M4A1 and a handgun apart from her medical kit. 

4 other Phasewalkers formed up the fire suppressing squad. Two of them had M240 machine guns. Two had M32 Grenade Launchers. In the case of a firefight, their job was to unload as much firepower on the enemy lines as quickly as possible. There might just be four of them, but with proper tactics, they could pin down entire ranks of enemies and mow down anyone who got too close. 

The last 8 Phasewalkers, including Hemley, were infantry. Their weapons were the same as Ava, but they carried much more magazines and hand grenades. 

An officer walked over and handed out a camera to everyone. It was no greater than Caity’s fist. All the Phasewalkers quickly attached the cameras to their helmets. These cameras could record up to 12 hours of video and store it in a local drive. If the higher-ups couldn’t go through the Portal themselves, they would like a peek at the recordings. 

“The vehicles you will be working with are over there.” The officer pointed at the side. There, 3 Humvees were parked in a line. Each vehicle had an M134 Minigun mounted on its back. Each vehicle could hold five men. One behind the gun and four in the car itself. 

Let’s hope those Miniguns were enough to protect her from whatever horror that might lie behind the portal.

For a moment, the field was quiet. The Phasewalkers glanced at each other nervously. Despite all the training they went through, they were still just teenagers. This was an age that should be spent in a classroom, but now, these 15 people were sent to explore a place no one from this world has ever ventured before. 

Caity took a deep breath and gripped onto the SMG holstered to her side. The cold, metal surface reinserted some confidence into her heart. 

“We stick to the plan,” That was when the value of a leader appeared. Captain Hemley stepped in and declared quietly. In this time of doubt, he acted as the beacon. 

The Phasewalkers quickly went to their according vehicles. All the arrangements have been made before they came here. Now, it was just about executing those pre-conceived plans. Ryan and Caity got onto the Humvees in the front or in the back, respectively. The four gunners spread into two groups and mounted the two Humvees on the outside. Hemley and Ava resided in the Humvee in the center. The rest of the spots were filled with infantry. 

The whole idea of this formation was that in the case of an attack, the two Humvees on the two sides could form a defensive line and protect the center Humvee, which held valuable parts of the squad like the commander and the medic. 

Caity found a seat in the passenger’s seat in the front of the car. Before she got into the car, she took off her sniper rifle and rested it by her leg. 

One of the infantry got into the driver’s seat. He turned around and made sure everyone was seated and ready before turning to a radio mounted on the car. More advanced methods of communication needed satellites or relay stations to function effectively. Right now, they had to resort to basic radios. 

“Humvee  1, ready.” 

Responses quickly came. 

“Humvee 2, ready.” That was Captain Hemley speaking. 

“Humvee 3 good to go.” That was the rearguard where Ryan resided in. Caity noted quietly. 

“All units, move out! Bring us to the Portal!” Hemley’s voice echoed through all three vehicles. 

The convoy was tossed into motion. All the drivers have been given a layout of the camp. The officer watched as the three Humvees drove across the camp before finally coming to a stop in front of the portal. 

“Oh my god.” Caity whispered quietly. In front of them, a layer of black screen 50 meters wide and 20 meters tall sat there unapologetically in the middle of the base. She has seen pictures of the Portal, they all have, but this was the first time she has witnessed the magnificent entity that changed all their lives for the very first time. 

She could see multiple firing positions around the portal. There was a reason Section X didn't even try to cover the Portal with a building or something. In the event that something went wrong and those on the other side tried to break out by force, the fact that the Portal was in an open field meant Section X forces could dump down as much ammunition as they wished on the intruders. 

“Expedition Forces.” A voice called out from the radio. All the Phasewalkers recognize it. It was General Kennedy, the Director of Section X. 

“Sir.” Hemley replied immediately. 

General Kennedy was quiet for a moment before suddenly speaking up again. 

“For your country. For your family. For yourself. Do your duty.” 

Without further delay, the three Humvees dived into the darkness of the Portal.