I didn't expect that the first battle I would fight in my deployment there would go down like that.

- Excerpt from A Peacekeeper's Journey

[Welcome - Office of Federal Intelligence]

[Checking OFI Clearance]

[Accesing File - First Battle of Tria]

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The First Battle of Tria - (Classified)

September 29, 2081 - October *, 2081

Order of Battle:

The United Nations of Earth (ONUE Astar Administration)

The United Nations Peacekeeper Corps (18th Counter Terrorism Battalion)

- Centaur Company (Captain Rex Santos)
- Elements of Baseplate Company (Lieutenant Thomas Jones)

Kingdom of Alteria

The Resistance

- Knights of Astar (****** *** *******)

Strength:

UNPC: 274 Infantry, 8 Karambit IFVs, Multiple Hemlats, Multiple Autonomous Drones, and Autonomous Turrets, 4 M40 Mammoth Self-Propelled Artillery.
The Resistance: [Redacted]

Casualties:

UNPC: [Redacted]
THE RESISTANCE: [Redacted]

Result: *** UNPC Personnel ********** by the Knights of Astar to **** the [Redacted].

[Closing File]

[Accesing File - ONUE Forces (2081)]

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ONUE Overall Command: 16th United Nations Expeditionary Force (UNDF and UNPC)

Fourth Expeditionary Army (Mostly in Grand Alliance Territory) - 100,000 UNDF Troops

Fifth Expeditionary Army - 130,000 UNDF Troops

First EHG (Expeditionary Humanitarian Group) - 100,000 UNPC Troops

14th Battlegroup - ** UNSF ships.

[Closing File]

United Nations Occupied Esuvia

Astar - Southern Alteria

ONUE Astar Administration HQ - War Room Alpha

Code Red

"Contact with Tria lost...18th Battalion is requesting retreat..."

"Oh goddammit, another town lost contact...this is getting really bad."

General Fritz Wessel crossed his arms as he watched the situation unfold. Hundreds of villages, dozens of towns, and many more have entirely fallen from the grip of the UNPC.

It looked superbly ugly on the map that back in the days when he was but a kid playing strategy games; he would have called it "border gore" or something along those lines.

All around the Astar Province, red blobs representing Alterian Remnant control were shown, surrounding major bases, towns, and the four Astar cities. The major highways and railroads are still painted UN blue, but the others were already painted red.

NATO symbols littered many holographic screens, especially the main one in the middle. Blue squares representing UN forces held their line in major towns, highways, and other areas still defensible.

All around the map, Diamond shaped symbols representing Alterian forces littered most of the map, as practically the entire countryside fell to Remnant control.

"Whatever those jammers are, they are devastating." The General thought as another UNPC battalion's transmissions to them turned static.

"ETA on the UNDF response?" The general asks his aide, who adjusted his glasses.

"Not yet known, the UNDF is already stretched thin in pacifying the North and other former countries...we most likely will have to wait for reinforcements either directly from Earth or Lethia."

"What about the UNDF in Lethia? Why the hell is the Governor-General still hesitant to send reinforcements? I know the Princess' coronation is already about to be scheduled, but this is ridiculous."

The aide sighs. "That's exactly why, sir, the Governor-General has to deal with his forces being stretched thin like all of us. But he cannot sacrifice the stability of Lethia, especially now that an Esuvian state is being formed over there."

And to make things even worse, just last week, the 14th Battlegroup, the UNSF fleet stationed in Esuvia's orbit, left to resupply in a distant major colony since stable supply lines between the UNE and Esuvia are still primarily nonexistent. To him, the timing of everything that is happening is ridiculous.

The General looks back at the holo screen, musing for the best course of action. Much of the map is marked in light grey, showing areas where long-range electronics are being magically jammed.

A strange new magic, the General thought, before an idea appeared in his head.

"Get me in a direct line with General Williams up north. I need him to contact the OFI."

---
Southern Alteria - Town of Tria

04:00 Hours

"Centaur Actual to Overlord, if any of you still hears us, know that we will fight to the last ammo...out."

"CONTACT!!" UNPC machine guns opened fire in response to a barrage of rifle and machine gun fire coming from the forests. Automatic Rifles held by UNPC foot mobiles also unloaded suppressive fire on the enemy as IFVs unloaded their autocannons.

While the natives' fire was not as overwhelming, it was still devastating. Fast pink and violent magically charged bullets screeched into the UN line, slamming at sandbags, steel, cement, and many other fortifications, either exploding violently like a grenade or burning like a Molotov would, or even straight up magically accelerated at higher velocities.

UN troops mostly shrugged this as they laid low in the cover while returning fire. Occasionally, a direct hit slams into a UNPC soldier, and the only deciding factor of their fate is luck.

One slammed into a soldier firing his rifle, and immediately his personal shield shattered, forcing him to dive into cover. Shocked and definitely going to suffer from trauma, but alive.

Another one is operating a machine gun, suppressing multiple hostile squads attempting to get close to probe them. A shot slammed straight to his face, and unfortunately, whoever fired it had way too much skill and mana and made the bullet travel at ridiculous speeds, at around hypersonic speeds.

He was instantly vaporized.

"THEY HAVE FUCKING RAILGUNS NOW?!" Someone in the BatNet shouted in panic. Gunfire intensified in the direction of the railgun fire. Especially the autonomous turrets, which unloaded hails of gunfire to suppress them, but another hypersonic shot slammed into an unfortunate Karambit IFV in the middle of the road.

The effects were instantaneous, as the hit created a massive hole and destroyed the engine of the IFV. Luckily, it was way too lightly armored, and the bullet passed through the IFV. Still, the vehicle was effectively disabled and is now the equivalent of a glorified bunker.

"This is Centaur 2-1. We are backing off, over." The commander of one of the Karambit IFVs said as his IFV backed off to cover behind a building.

"This is Centaur 2-2. We are also repositioning, over."

The Karambits backed off, leaving the various defensive fortifications on this flank with less armored support. The Hemlats also backed off into cover, not interested in getting hit by whatever that was.

But the Autonomous Turrets and the grunts on the streets, either in hastily constructed bunkers, mg nests, sandbags, other defensive fighting positions, and many even in houses and buildings, continued their defensive fire.

And while they were taking a beating, they were still biting hard. On the outskirts of the town, Draconic guerilla squads found themselves pinned in the gunfire. Some lay dead or bleeding on the ground as the suppressive fire kept them in place. In response, they would fire their magtech bolt rifles, which, while it does not enjoy a high rate of fire, it enjoys magical enhancements, and thus a single or, if unlucky, two shots are more than enough to shatter the shield of the UNPC's Power Armor.

Thirty minutes in, progress was minimal, forcing the Draconic guerillas to retreat under fire. The UNPC took advantage of this, resulting in heavy casualties to the Draconic guerillas.

"All units, Cease Fire." Captain Santos ordered over the BatNet, as the remaining stragglers fled in the darkness. It seems that morning will begin with red skies - and red, blood-stained soil.

...

"So when are we moving out?" Asks Blake from the Hemlat's turret as he looks at the red skies...and, well, the darned fog. At some point, the man even wondered if the atmosphere was poisonous.

"No idea," Reynolds replied, as he silently played a racing game on his tablet, seated in the Driver's seat, almost ignoring the sounds of gunfire in the distance - mainly because he was losing to goddamned bots.

On the left, Jeremy was definitely not sleeping. Behind them, Anderson sat on the left, silently writing, while Katelyn was currently doing the direct opposite on the right side - reading a textbook about magic.

Beside her is Sherry, currently playing with water magic.

"Sherry, can you please stop that?" Katelyn requested politely, already irritated at her sister's antics. She is reading a book, for heaven's sake!

"But I am bored!" The younger lady replied before giving her a toothy grin. "Plus, I'm skilled enough to control it and accidentally splash water at that book of yours anyways."

She then looked at Anderson.

"Not sure about Anderson's little journal, though."

The man responded quickly, closing his book in lightspeed and hiding it.

"Don't you even dare!" He warned, and the young lady laughed in response.

"Hahahaha, you humans are so easy to rile up!" Anderson merely sighed. It seems that this Sherry girl may turn into a bit of an annoyance.

The gunfire in the distance intensified for a while before dying off, followed by a few explosions - probably from the mortars, which ended the sounds of battle.

"It went silent," Sherry pointed out the obvious as she stopped playing with her magic.

"Seems like they repulsed the attack," Blake said aloud from the turret. "Hey Harold, can you please hand over some of my comics down there? I'm dying up here."

He opened the interior door to their trunk and took out the box containing Blake's arsenal of books and comics. But just as he was about to take a cool one, he saw a book with a pink cover. He took the cringy romance novel and handed it to Blake.

Who immediately voiced his protest.

"Hey, what the hell, man! Why'd you give me this?"

"What? It's in your stash?"

"T-this is my girlfriend's thing. That's not even supposed to be there!"

"Well, enjoy your girlfriend's little entertainment paper then." He replied cheekily.

"Screw you, man..." Blake flips through the pages and dies internally.

...

The humans seem to have fortified their little town a bit too well, Hannah mused as she watched her Draconic guerillas retreat in shambles.

It was a simple probing attack, really. The humans foolishly expended obscene munitions to repel her low-rate troops.

Not that she can blame them, the fog her mages created, and with their more powerful detection and recon equipment down or nonexistent, they wouldn't easily know.

Fighting a blind enemy seemed all too easy. It reminded her of the early days of the war when the humans conducted their lightning campaign in Esuvia.

At that time, they were blind, caught in surprise, and utterly outmatched in technological capabilities.

But now, she turned the tables, albeit on a small scale.

Her second in command appears behind her.

"Milady, our Draconic Guerillas suffered...34 deaths. Many more are injured." The Demon Knight informed. Not bad, she thought.

"We should press on, your knights are ready." The Demon Knight suggested, but she had other plans.

"No, just keep preparing yourselves. Get the A and B Companies ready. Order them to keep probing the humans."

...

"19 KIAs, 14 WIAs, one of our Karambit IFVs is down, including four autonomous turrets...and we expended approximately 27% of our available munitions." Lieutenant Jones reported in the war room as the group of officers discussed their course of action.

"This is unsustainable." One sergeant grumbled. He was right. One assault was repulsed after thirty minutes - but with a fourth of their available ammunition used.

"Indeed, any suggestions?" Captain Santos asked as the group of officers discussed their best course of action before Lieutenant Jones thought of something.

"I think I have an idea. A surprise thunder run."

"What? Lieutenant, are you all right in the head?" Captain Santos asked though he felt like he may have a point. A sudden thunder run would allow them to probe and see the enemy's strength and disrupt them. Plus, that's how the UN blitzed through Esuvia three years ago. Perhaps it would work.

"It's risky, but if we pull it off, we may buy extra time by disrupting them and intel to prepare ourselves." He explained, before bringing out six squads, including the three Hemlats that are supposed to break out and their codenames.

"I suggest you send my entire Platoon, Baseplate One. Since you already assigned three of my vehicles to a breakout, I think we should just go all in." The Lieutenant added, and then he pointed at the map in the holo-screen.

"Here on west Tria, we can rush through this road. At 5 klicks, the road divides itself, one going straight to the town of Kloch and the other going down south, but it also has a route back to Tria here. I thus suggest that my six vehicles rush forward, then we split up, where Sergeant Reynolds and Baseplate 1-3 and 1-4 will go straight to Kloch, while I and the rest will rush back to Tria."

The officers and the Captain discussed his suggestion. It was a risky and bold plan, but the rewards it would give were necessary. The conclusion was evident by the end of their five-minute discussion - a Thunder run will be conducted.

...

Six Hemlats drove quickly to the west flank of Tria. All of them were combat-ready, jam-packed with munitions and supplies, especially the three assigned for a breakout.

The plan was simple, once the inevitable enemy attack, the UNPC troops stationed in the left flank would repulse them. Once they inevitably retreat, they will charge like cavalry, running down and gunning down retreating troops.

Or, at least, that's how Lieutenant Jones imagined it. Katelyn had her reservations, but it was not like she had a choice; it was her only way out of this town, after all.

"I still don't get how you can summon a rifle out of nowhere like that," Anderson said, as he kept his gun aimed outside the vehicle, as the Hemlats kept their side windows down.

Katelyn kept her gun also aimed outside as they drove through the streets, keeping a decent mana charge on her Model 15 Rifle, one of the best magtech products of her own country, Lethia. And also produced by her dad's company - before the humans acquired it.

"Even if I give you a five-day lecture about it, you won't understand how. But... think of me having my own personal pocket dimension, that's the simplest explanation I could give." She replied.

"I also have mine!" Sherry said as she pulled a cup of tea from a small violet portal that came out of nowhere. Anderson turned to see her smiling and holding the teacup in a ridiculously stable way as the Hemlat continued its stern drive.

"Why do you even have a cup of tea in your - alright, you know what? I'm not even gonna ask." Anderson said, just as the BatNet opened up.

"All units, this is Baseplate One Actual speaking, I know this is a risky mission, but it has to be done. Goodspeed to all of you. Now let's burn some rubber."

---

Outer Defense Ring - West

Tria - Low Visibility

05:22 Hours

Tracer fire lit up the red skies as UNPC forces fired their guns at the attacking Draconic guerillas.

"Move forward!" Shouted a Draconic guerilla, his brown uniform filled with blood as he was shot two times before.

Behind him, two Draconic guerillas set up a machine gun that looked almost like the maxim machine gun of Earth. In moments, the two began laying down suppressive fire to support their assaulting comrades.

One UN searchlight turned and illuminated an entire squad of guerillas in the foggy fields. Immediately, their location was marked red in every HUD of UNPC troopers.

The result was instant, as bullets peppered their location, forcing the group to hide in cover.

"Adjust fire, left, add 50 meters, over. Estimated 20 foot-mobiles in the open."

A Distant boom from the town sounds.

"Shot, over."

"Shot, out."

A Platoon of Draconic guerillas stealthily moved in an area not under fire, advancing through obstacles and barbed wire, determined to reach the UNPC lines.

But a UNPC Observer watched them; his powerful binoculars placed perfectly on his visor.

"Splash, over."

An explosion erupts in the area, killing at least half of the guerillas while the others are left maimed on the ground.

"Splash, out."

The Observer watches the area for a few more seconds, observing the enemy casualties, before speaking again to the BatNet.

"Bravo 4, this O02, end of mission: 20 foot-mobiles liquidated, over."

"O02, this is Bravo 4, end of mission: 20 foot-mobiles liquidated, out."

On the main road heading to the west, six Hemlats parked readily as the troops inside watched the skirmish ended.

"Centaur, this is O03, hostile forces retreating in the west flank, over."

"This is Centaur Actual speaking, O03, we hear you loud and clear. All units cease fire, break."

"Centaur Actual to Baseplate One Actual, you are green to go, over."

"Copy that Centaur Actual, out."

Katelyn channeled her mana to her gun, making it glow violet, as their Hemlat surged forward.

...

The guerillas retreated as their second assault was met by heavy resistance. Not expecting enemy artillery, its presence cracked their morale.

Many troops cursed their luck, but at the very least, the humans didn't seem interested in wasting bullets on retreating troops.

Or, at least, that's what they thought, as suddenly bright lights from a familiar white armored vehicle illuminated the red skies and thick fog.

And then...the angry sounds of machine gun fire.

Word Context/Abbreviations

UNDF (United Nations Space Force) - arguably the most important and most advanced branch of the United Nations Defense Forces, the UNSF is the space force of humanity and acts as the first line of defense against alien threats.

14th Battlegroup - part of the 3rd Fleet of the UNSF that discovered initially - and later conquered Esuvia; the 14th Battlegroup is humanity's main orbital presence in Esuvia. Still, due to supply problems, the 14th leaves Esuvia routinely, both to get repairs and supplies.

Model 15 Rifle - closely resembling rifles of Earth in the 1900s, the Model 15 was the standard issue rifle of the Lethian Imperial Army - before the UNDF crushed them. Still, the rifle is impressive due to its magical integrations. It can fire shots up to 1600 m/s, depending on the mana channeled by the user. Previously produced by Montalet Heavy Industries, the company has since been acquired by SIG Sauer and is being studied and reverse-engineered for human use.

M40 Mammoth - a light SPA utilized by the UNPC for COIN operations.

Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed this little christmas chapter. Merry Christmas everyone!