"My Lord, what remained of the 1st Group, 55th Order, have reached their mother unity. They are being garrisoned by the town of Ild-idra. They have reported that they had suffered forty-five percent from recent engagements, starting with sieging Salva and defending the Temple of Indolass. It will take time for the Group to resupply for combat. I have commanded them to construct fortifications in the surrounding areas to prepare for this enemy force.

As requested, the other two Orders (20th Order and 52nd Order) are mobilizing. The 20th Order is ready, while the 52nd Order is marching from the north. I am regretful to state, though, that the 52nd will not be in position when you arrive, my Lord, as they were out of position while engaging in Thali'ean raids. A quick redeployment was not possible within this time frame.

I had sent emissaries to most of the towns and City-States, and I can confirm that they all had restated their allegiance to you, My Lord. They had agreed to deploy forces if requested; however, I must state that I have concerns. It is correct that these nobles rejected the Templar, known as Natilite, request to rebel, leaving Salva to do so. What has been bothering me was that, besides Toriffa, none of these nobles approached us about the encounter.

Their loyalty had been established, but I fear that it is not absolute, as they might be waiting to see where the wind blows. I propose we deploy more forces to garrison each of the City-States and towns within Nevali, using the war as a disguise to prevent a possible second rebellion. This would require a large military buildup within the region as it could take an entire Order, or a Brigaton for City-States like Affrooliea and Ellandia.

If you consider the troop level too high at this time, you should garrison at least a Group in each City-State as a show of force. A reminder of who their true ruler is. Expect the Lat and Noble Elf rulers to be loyal to the Verliance Aristocracy; they could maintain their Domains. If they express any other opinion, we will need forces there to 'encourage' them to what could happen if they become disloyal.

This all depends on the coming battle. My recommendations are based on the worst-case example. I still propose deploying additional forces to the City-States as a reminder and crushing any Altaerrie influence of rebellion. These recommendations will not be needed when you crush the Altaerrie at Indolass. Do as you see fit with my proposals." – General Dimitri Magnus, commander of the Magnusv Brigaton. Nevali occupation command.

 

March, 5th, 2048 (military calendar)

Salva, the former Confederacy of Daru'uie

Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore

 

*****

 

Hearing strange voices all around, which Natilite struggled to understand. They were not the usual voices, speaking nonsense over everyday speech. Even the tones were different. Not the sounds of insult of soldiers celebrating their victory over a Templar.

As the conservation advanced, the echoes of the strange voices slowly came to focus. These new voices sounded sweet and concerning, which Natilite did not trust. The war was lost, and Natilite knew their efforts had become fruitless. Either the Bridge was never opened or now lies in the hands of the enemy. This mission was a mistake, and she had paid the price.

Her entire body was in constant pain from having chains drilled into her arms and legs while breaking the wings. The enemy made sure that she couldn't move. According to her nerves, the rest were still in bad shape.

This was not the only time her body suffered this much damage. As a Templar for the Temple of Hevera, her body was redesigned to regenerate after combat. This was usually a positive ability as this allowed Templars to be some of the deadliest and most feared warriors on Alagore. This had the unintended consequence of forcing her captures to continuously torture her to prevent her from building the strength to break free.

Only now did she feel a sudden regenerative with rough her body. The chains were removed, so she assumed the enemy was transporting her somewhere, but she did not feel movement. A sudden poke in her right arm and a chill flew through her veins - a new sense of hydration spread through the arm. Feeling fabric spread over her body, a renewed sense of warmth forms her naked, chilling body. A sensation that she had not thought of for a very long time. For the first time, the Templar body felt relaxed.

A familiar one rose above the rest from all the different voices. The voice drew closer, being surprisingly joyful.

Natilite was forced to close her eyes as the world's brightness blinded her. Being used to living underground for the better part of a month and having forgotten the natural feeling of light pressing against her skin or the wind flowing through her hair.

Hearing a voice beside her, she turned and saw a Lat in strange dark green armor holding her hand. He had a bulky yellow syringe and was injecting whatever was in it into her hand. Above him, she saw a needle in her arm that was attached to two clear liquid bags that had the label IV on them.

Before Natilite could speak, she felt a sudden jolting pain throughout her hand as something probed it.

The man spoke, saying something which she couldn't understand. The tone of the words was frustration, excitement, and confusion simultaneously, which confused the Templar. The fact that he was treating her hand, so she assumed his words were related to her wounds.

Then she heard the man say the name Fraeya. It took her a moment to recall the familiar name, but then she remembered that it was the name of Raegel's daughter.

Turning to the man again, she noticed this man looked like a Lat but could tell he was not from this world. His skin was a lighter brown with black hair. The eyes were brown as well. A rectangular flag with red and white straps was on the man's shoulder. On the corner was a blue box with white stars crammed into it. A representation that she had never seen before.

The only thing that seemed similar was the armor - only being black and dark green and less stylized. The chest plate covered the entire front – neck to lower stomach. There was an additional section to allow better movement. Other armor sections covering the shoulders and upper and lower arms were clipped together. Their legs were the same as their arms. While each of these sections was independent, unlike most Alagore armor, this gray skeleton-like network connected all the armor plating together. While most armor on this moon had tactical elements such as pouches, holsters, and slits for amulets, the Altaerrie armor had more tactical sections than she had ever seen throughout the suit.

Turning back to the pale green elf girl, Natilite noticed the glowing light of life still within the girl's jewel-like green eyes as the girl moved the silk-like brown hair from her eyes. The clothing is brown and green in nature. The top clothing had elvish designs where the end parts curved besides being straight like human clothing with the edges being green. Over the clothing was leather padding, not meant to deflect projectiles but from magical spells.

For the Valkyrie, it was nice to see someone who was not broken down from recent days and still had joy in life. "Fraeya?"

The man stopped and smiled. He said something that Natilite couldn't understand. He then turned away, calling out.

Hearing footsteps on a wooden surface outside her room, her vision finally became clear enough to understand her surroundings better. Stone walks with wood beams were everything, making up a room. The smell of alcohol from the other room. That was when she realized that she was in a tavern.

"Natilite!" Fraeya stated as she rushed over. "I am so happy that you are alive!"

"What is happening?" Natilite asked.

"It is okay; they are the Altaerrie and are here to help," Fraeya said. "This is Marcos Gonzales; he is the one treating you. He is a healer from their world."

"We have no experience with Valkyries biology," Gonzales said. "This is the best I can do right now. Also, I tried to give you as much privacy and respectability as possible."

She suddenly understood the Altaerrie man -probably from Fraeya having a translation amulet. For the first time since the fall of Salva, she could take a breath and then feel safe, letting go of all the protective walls she was forced to maintain.

"Thank you," Natilite said. "I am just happy that everything was not ill-fated."

Natilite then started setting up, feeling her entire body scream from the pain in addition to the tingling feeling in her wounds.

"Hold on," Gonzales said. "You are in no condition to move. Honestly, I am shocked that you are alive. We had to bolt-cut those chains off your hands. How are you alive after that? I have no idea. The bloodloss alone would kill anyone.

"I told you," Fraeya said. "She is a Templar. They can regenerate."

"I am not saying you're wrong," Gonzales said. "But I prefer a second opinion on that. Everything you said counters everything I know about the physical form."

Natilite found the exchange insightful. Outside of their standard uniform being radically different, they did not have genetically modified warriors like herself in their world.

"I must give you that second opinion, Sir Gonzales," Natilite said. "It is true; my kind has been modified to regenerate quickly from battle." She then laid back down from the pain. While Templars were designed to have accelerated healing abilities, that did not mean we were invincible. She will not admit it; death was closer than she was comfortable with. "I will say it will take time to heal."

Gonzales stood. "We shall see. Either way, you need to heal. The boss will want to talk to you now that you are awake. Excuse me." He then left.

Before Natilite could take a relaxed breath, she heard Fraeya beginning to tell her story about what she saw on Altaerrie. The speech was quick, too quick for her taste as she was still exhausted; however, she allowed the young elf to ramble. The rambling brought some comfort, enjoying the sight of youthfulness and enjoying it being relaxing. While she could follow the chain of events, she was forced to grab the elf's arm softly. "Can you please slow down?"

"I did it again," Fraeya said. "I apologize. I am just so happy you are alive."

Fraeya Holiadon then retold the events on Earth. After a short battle, she and her father were chased to the other world and saved by the Altaerrie.

As the story continued, Natilite noted that Earth had no magic and only one type of Humans, like the Lats. While the other kinds of humans did originate from Altaerrie, they went extinct pre-orlilla times, according to them. The Bridge did not activate as intended because the Altaerrie needed to start it on their end, which nearly sparked a war in which their technology was devoted entirely to the thaumaturgy influence.

The last statement baffled Natilite. While many tools and hardware did not require thaumaturgy, that usually was for low-level technology like hammers, saws, and other effortlessly simple equipment or if the cost was not worth the effort to infuse the two together. Everything else had some degree of thaumaturgy influence within its manufacture – from alchemy, enchantment, manafusion, or Liqtal. The idea that Altaerrie had no concept of these abilities concerned her; however, she decided to withhold judgment as she recalled the man's armor, which was more complex than standard metal plating.

Frraeys suddenly stopped speaking and turned to the door. A man in similar armor walked in. Based on the elf girl's demeanor, this man was important.

"Can she understand me?" the Altaerrie said.

Natilite stared at this man. Unlike the other, this man's skin was closer to hers, pale skin, closer to white than brown. His hair was brown, while his eyes were gray. "This woman can understand you, good sir."

The man chuckled. He then took off his helmet and set it on a wooden table. "Glad to see that you are still alive. For a moment there, it looked like it would be hit or miss. And yes, Fraeya informed me about your ability."

"I will be fine," Natilite said. "Healing potions will aid."

"Another wonder of this world," the Altaerrie said.

"We already searched the shops here," Fraeya said. "I think the Aristocracy took everything of note. I am sorry, but you must rely on their medicine."

"That is okay," Natilite said. "Whatever their medicine is doing, I believe it is working."

"Fraeya," the Altaerrie said. "Can you go help Rommel with the militia? They are getting antsy."

"I can," Fraeya said. She took a second translation stone and handed it to the Altaerrie man. "Be careful. I only have a few of these left."

The elf girl stood and gave a poor but thrilling imitation of a military salute before leaving the two.

"I am glad that her faith in your people was not misplaced," Natilite said. "By the way, I did not hear your name."

"My name is Captain Mathew Ryder, United States Army, leader of Combat Fire Team-1 - Comanche."

"That is a mouthful," Natilite said as she sat up, holding the blanket over her body to keep herself decent. She realized she couldn't flex her wings and turned back to see them.

"They are broken," Ryder said. "Gonzales patched them up the best he could be. We have no experience in wings on people."

"I got that impression from Fraeya. My wings will heal, but it is the greatest of insults. As a Valkyrie, our wings are a sign of social status. Unable to fly, you are an outcast."

"Luckily, we have no valkyries in my world to judge. Besides, I bet they will return to being beautiful once they heal."

I feel a jolt of pain after an attempted giggle from the statement. "A sense of humor. You are definitely not from here."

"Sorry," Ryder said. "I shouldn't crack jokes right now. I do want to ask why they did that to you. They didn't treat the other militia to such an extreme degree?"

"I take it that your people never encountered a Templar or something like it in your world. While I am not thrilled with what they did, they were smart to do so. Anything less, I would have broken free and slaughtered them all."

"And stripping you naked? Wait, nevermind. Demoralization. Stupid question."

Natilite chuckled before looking at him with a realization. "You saw me?" She then saw the man cheeps rose a little.

"I promise everyone was respectful," Ryder said. "You were saying that you are a Templar. Fraeya wouldn't give us detail, saying that it was not her place to do so. I get that you are an elite warrior, but there is a lot I don't understand."

Natilite smiled at the question. She had never once had someone asked what a Templar was, being common knowledge on Alagore. People might ask for more personal or intimate details, but everyone knew who a Templar was.

"I have never been asked that question before - it feels refreshing. There is more I could explain than the short amount of time we have right now, but in short, we are a force to maintain the balance in the world. We hail from the Temple of Hevera, which we are trained and augmented for years until we are the strongest warriors possible."

"Like your ability to regenerate?"

"Correct. We also have superior strength and infused magical abilities. Once we complete your training, we enforce the will of Tekali and bring peace and stability to the lands."

"And these nations allow this?"

"Again, correct. We are a natural party in politics. The Temple handles political affairs with these nations and works out the logistics of being a Templar. That was, until this war. Now, what do you plan on doing to us?"

"I was wondering how to bring up that issue," Ryder said. "Right now, all of you are under the protection of the United States. At least until we can figure things out."

"What do you mean by that?"

Ryder took a deep breath. "Fraeya gave us the basic details of this war. While my people understand the threat, diving into a global war with people we do not know isn't wise. We only just established a beachhead and see what happens."

A point she had been worried about from the beginning. Why would strangers from another world get involved in a bloody war? This was a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the world, after all. However, Fraeya informed them about the Alagore crisis, and they still came here and were willing to put their lives at risk to protect the people of Salva. At least, that was something she figured.

Deciding not to press the manner, Natilite said, "I do not mean to sound rude, but why are you here, talking with me?"

"Many reasons," Ryder said. "Fraeya couldn't stop talking about you, a little hero worship. And besides, anyone who threw you into a cage like that must be worth meeting. The city leadership is confirmed to be dead, and I could use some help with public relations. If we are going to stay here, we need allies."

Natilite understood what the captain was thinking and was thrilled that he was wise enough to need help.

"I need to get back out there," Ryder said. "Stay here and rest while we secure the area."

Natilite took a deep breath as she pondered her options. The Altaerrie man was correct. She was too weak to do anything of note at the moment. However, she was responsible for these people and helped bridge the people of both worlds. The other reason for Templars was to be a symbol, a positive force the peasants could look upon.

However, with these people being so radically different, she needed to know more before putting her honor, integrity, character, and word on the line with strangers.

"I have one last question, Captain Ryder," Natilite said. She looked up and stared at him directly in the eyes. "Why are you here?"

"That type of question is best for my superior, but in short, we were attacked, so we responded. Because a Bridge opened to another world with so many wonders, there is no way my government would pass that one in a billion-year lifetime. The economic opportunities alone are enough to risk getting involved in some manner. Let alone the scientific knowledge and exploration we can do, and the fact that your world has people is fundamental to the long-term security of my country and sphere of influence. And the concept of magic, that could be a game changer."

Natilite stared at the man, confused by half of what he said. She understood the economic side as it was self-explanatory. If what they told about thaumaturgy were true, then yes, this would be a wonder for his people to research. However, the topic of people made her wonder if there was a grand war or something related to population decline. While not having the strength to inquire on that topic, which was the point of her question, she decided not to address the matter.

"As I said before," Natilite said. "That was a mouthful."

Ryder chuckled. "Just trying to build a sense of trust. What I do know is that we won't leave without a fight. We're pioneers, inventors, warriors, and young. As my people say, we have been to the Moon."

"My apologies, Ryder. What I meant was, why are you here?" Seeing the confused look on the man's face, Natilite clarified, "I will not risk the lives of these people or provide my blessing to strangers until I learn the man behind the armor."

Ryder smirked as he slowly shook his head. "Hackett will like you."

She tilts her head in confusion.

Ryder took a deep breath. He grabbed his helmet and put it on. "To be Frank, I am not sure. I am a soldier to the core, and I love it. But you seem wise enough to know that isn't enough in life. Otherwise, I am just some guy killing for my country."

"You are seeking purpose?"

"No. I am trying to find it again. I had a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning and do what I did. That everything I did, all the crap and death, that was making the world slightly a better place for my family. I got up each morning in a crazy world, knowing everything I did slightly improved the world. Naïve, I know, but it did make my wife proud. But even then, a soldier cannot be everywhere at once."

Ryder took a frustrated breath and then finished strapping his helmet. He stared directly at her. "Let me be clear. Everyone here is under our protection, and heaven or hell, I won't rip that duty away from me. As long as they want it or don't betray us, we got their back."

While it was not the answer Natilite was expecting, it satisfied her as it came from the heart. She was worried that it was something selfish like glory and statue building. She respected the transparency greatly as few men would ever open to such a degree – being very wise or a mighty fool.

"Okay then," Natilite said. "Then I will join you. Give me a moment to dress myself properly."

"You need to rest."

Natilite held her hand out to silence the captain. "The people need to see me during this. They have suffered greatly, and I convinced them to join our cause. I can not abandon them now."

She expected a fight from the man, but to her surprise, the captain agreed to her request.

"If you can stand, meet me outside," Ryder said. "It would send the right message if everyone saw us interacting."

"Thank you for understanding."

Ryder nodded to the Templar and said, "Mam," before exiting the tavern room.

Natilite smirked as she found these Altaerrie far more interesting than she expected. She then reached down and grabbed her armor to dress herself.

 

*****

 

Captain Mathew Ryder stood outside the tent, staring at the sky, fascinated by the multiple moons high above, orbiting a gas giant. It surprised him how close they were to eyesight, able to see surface details when they got close to Alagore, similar to Luna back home. They were about four or five hundred kilometers away if his mental math was correct.

To his interest, he witnessed a volcanic blast as molten lava burst into the sky around one of the moons. The result left a long magma trail miming a slight solar flare before turning into small chunks of rock.

Surprisingly, a second moon followed exceptionally closely to the volcano moon as if they were orbiting each other. This one was blue, looking like an ocean world. Unlike the fire one, this moon fired large bursts of water from some water volcano or super geyser. He could only phantom the amount of water tonnage squirted into the surrounding space, turning into large crystals that impacted the remaining magna trail.

"They are Orgatrash and Kallinth."

Ryder turned and saw the Valkyrie struggling to stand. She was wearing a combination of slick light gray armor with golden lining and a small crystal on her upper chest. Throughout the armor, there were carvings of designs that he could not understand. Still, the shoulder pieces had a symbol - probably being her faction. Like the Aristocracy soldiers they had fought before, there was a sense of tactical design as he saw pouches for ammunition and built-in slots for flechette and amulets. Even the armor only covers the vital areas for protective weapons, with melee as a secondary focus. Many parts of the armor were cropped out to cut unless they waited.

Her armor was not as heavy as the ones he had seen, probably because she was a flier. Speed, weight, and agility would be vital for her species and style of warfare compared to soldiers on the ground.

While the Valkyrie looked in bad shape, Ryder could already see the healing process taking effect. Her wounds were healing as she was no longer dripping blood and had the strength to stand. Besides the signs of battle, he found her attractive. Her natural white and cyan highlights at the tips of her hair. Her eyes were blue, but at the center was a gold ring.

"The moon names?" Ryder asked.

"You were looking at the twin moons, correct? Those are their names. The fire one is Orgatrash, while the water one is Kallinth. They are the twins of Tekali, whose orbits are very close. Even at times, they change places depending on their mood."

"And let me guess, they are known for that because they are always fighting?"

Nailite gave a surprised stare but then smiled. "How did you know?"

"I have two troublemakers in my team who are similar," Ryder replied before staring back at the two moons. "When you called them twins, it now looks like they are fighting."

"That is true. Those two fight like this all the time. Orgatrash is the God of War, while Kallinth is the God of Prosperity. Each being intertwined with the ways of the world."

While many would consider that statement a contradiction, Ryder saw through it. As a soldier, he understood the meaning. You could only achieve peace through war, and war only unfolds after peace—a sense of yin and yang.

Hearing his XO over the radio requesting his presence, Ryder informed the Templar that they had to return to work.

The two walked through the battered city, Minutemen patrolling the streets or escorting the survivors to the plaza. Medics were at the plaza, treating the wounded while others were passing out MREs.

In addition to the Minutemen, the recent arrival of Rangers started filling the streets. Based on Ryder HUD IFF internal system, it labeled them from the Alpha company, 5th Rangers Battalion. With them, an M30 Archer infantry fighting vehicle was taking a defensive position within the main street. Once the city was taken, Hackett said he would send a company to reinforce their position until a proper unit could occupy the city.

Ryder noticed that the Valkyrie stared at the Archer with awe and shock. She said that she had never seen such a bulky construct before, commenting on how different the weapons of war the Altaerrie were. She expressed how strange and fascinating it is that people could develop such constructs without the influence of thaumaturgy.

"What are your people's plans with Salva?" Natilite asked.

"I think you already know this, but the temple...," Ryder said but stopped as he struggled to remember the temple's name.

"Temple of Indolass."

"Yes. Indolass. As you know, it is not defensible in any meaningful way. We hope to establish a defensive line here to protect our side of the Bridge."

"That is what we tried doing but failed. I am pointing out a slight issue. It seems that you do not have any serious manpower to wage a military campaign."

"Not yet. We are the first wave—a recon force, securing our interest and evaluating the situation. We can only properly respond if we know who we are fighting for. And besides, if things get dicey, a division of soldiers on the other side of the Bridge is ready to mobilize immediately."

"And that is why there are so few of you here?" Natilite asked.

"Yes," Ryder said. "Where we are from, we are considered Special Forces. Some of the most elite soldiers our Arm Forces have to offer. And to be fair, though, I think the enemy was understrength. If they were bunkered down with a proper size, we would have needed a larger force."

"Interesting," Natilite said. "These Special Forces are like Palatini, I assume."

The Comanche captain recalled the word. Fraeya mentioned it during her interrogation, and he did not know the word. Before this operation, he researched the meaning of Palatini and discovered it meant palace troop in Latin, Roman era. It seemed like the word had evolved since then, which was understandable as words changed on Earth. All the card about was that the word implied elite soldiers, similar to special forces.

"I would say yes," Ryder said. "There might be differences, but at the end of the day, we are all elites at what we do."

The two approached the central market plaza, and Ryder saw many city militias noticing the two walking together. However, he was not getting the reaction he had hoped. While some were pleased by the sight, seeing unity over division, others seemed angry at the American presence.

Once they reached the rest of Comanche, Ryder saw his ream organizing the survivors. To his concern, it seemed like tension as he noticed Fraeya flustered. In front of her was the wood elf form before, Varitan Yeldan. Among him were many other types: white and brown elves, a kitsune, two lats, and a new kind of human called Nagel.

Ryder's second in command noticed that he was approached and walked over.

"Sir." King stopped and noticed the woman next to him. "I assume this is the Templar?"

"That is correct," Ryder said. "Rommel King, this is Natilite."

"Rommel King," Natilite said as her tone showed that she was reflecting on his name. "I assumed that your kind also placed their titles before your names. I apologize, Your Highness; I was not prepared to encounter royalty. I assumed this Captain was your people's leader."

The two Comanche soldiers stared at each other with confusion before figuring out what she meant.

"If the situation weren't already tense, I would have enjoyed playing into that," King said. "However, I am not an actual King. My last name is King. I am his second in command."

Natilite then stared at the two before her eyes widened from embarrassment. "Fraeya was correct. You people are confusing. I apologize."

"All good," King said. "I would enjoy being an all-powerful dictator, but then I would have to do officer work."

"That is the same reason why I never embraced a military command," Natilite said after a chuckle.

"Alright, you two, we have a job to do," Ryder said. "What is the issue, Rommel?"

"In short," King said. "They are pissed at us for showing up so late. They blame us for their suffering."

"You're kidding?" Ryder replied.

"I wish I was not," King said. "Fraeya is doing her best, but she is too green. She is not PR, and many don't trust her because she is related to her father. I guess they have buyer's remorse."

"You cannot blame them," Natilite said. "Kallem's forces came here and laid siege to this city. Once they broke through, they were ruthless. It is my fault as I promised if they joined our cause, your people would come and save us, which never happened."

Ryder turned to face the people of Salva and saw their frustration. The situation was different from what he would have preferred. A bar was established before his people even knew these people existed. While that meant they were not honor-bound to commit to those promises, he quickly understood if he refrained from their expectation, he could jeopardize any chance of an alliance, destroying any opportunity his people would have to establish a foothold.

Still, he knew what his mentor, Hackett, would say about the situation. A challenge is still a challenge, regardless of if it was by choice or forced upon you. What mattered was the man within the moment and if the man could rise to the challenge or falter.

"Let me talk to them," Ryder said.

"Good luck," King said.

Ryder headed toward the larger group. At first, he couldn't understand what was being said as he was too far from the translation to take effect. As he drew closer, he started to understand bits and pieces. Based on the tone and wordage, Rommel King was correct; the people were angry.

"Thank god you are here, boss," Barret said. "These people are pissed."

"I got the impression." Ryder stopped in front of Fraeya, standing between her and the militia. He could see that she was about to cry from the negative tension. "You did great, Fraeya; I will take it from here."

"They are blaming me for everything," Fraeya said as she wiped the tears from her cheek.

"It is not your fault," Natilite said. She then turned to the militia. "The men of Salva, you know who I am."

"You are the Templar that led us to this path," a white elf said. "Look what has happened? How many people have died because of this?"

"I know," Natilite said. "I apologize for what had happened, as this was not my intention. However, our Goddess did answer, and here is the Altaerrie."

The Nagal emerged from the crowd and said, "They have come many months late. After we have suffered and died. Our lives are ruined and a faction of what we once were."

Ryder looked toward the man who spoke; he was slightly shorter than him but bulkier. The bulky frame was not from physical superiority like with the vampires but more brawling, either for hunting or physical labor. The face had many lines like an Altaerrie but those lines were more intensified in comparison. To him, the human looked closer to a Neanderthal based on the pictures he grew up seeing.

Seeing that Natilite struggled to calm the militia, he realized reason and logic would not work here. The Templar was correct; these people were tired and angry after what they had been through and needed an outlet for their anger.

Ryder stepped forward and addressed the Nagal. "If you all can understand me, my name is Captain Mathew Ryder of the United States Army or, as you know, the Altaerrie. I understand the situation, but we need to cooperate."

"Why should we cooperate with you?" the Nagal asked. "We fought and died alone. You were not here to aid us as was promised."

Hearing much of the crowd siding with the man, Ryder could see the level of distrust. "You are right to be pissed. My people were the ones who screwed up, but more importantly, I screwed up. Fraeya probably told you we had to find our own Orb to activate the Bridge, but that is only part of it. I was the officer in command who was to protect that Orb."

"We found the Orb on our side of the Bridge, and my unit was ordered to protect it. Our enemies ambushed us, delaying our activation of the Bridge."

The Wood Elf, Varitan Yeldan, worked through the crowds. As the name suggested, his skin was like the bark of a tree. To Ryder's surprise, the male elf's body frame was closer to being feminine in nature compared to the other males within the crowd. It seemed that elves did not have the brawling frame compared to most. Like Fraeya, he had silk-like, long blond hair that stretched to the upper part of his body. The clothing matched the rest of the crowd – being dirty, rags, and wearable.

Once in front of the crowd, Yeldan said, "You are telling me that you are taking responsibility for this disaster?"

"I was in charge, so of course, it is my responsibility," Ryder boldly replied. He then looked out to the rest of the crowd. "But we have a choice right now. We are here now, and the enemy will come back. You stand with us or stand alone."

"How can we trust you?" the Nagal asked. "You cannot bring back all the suffering we went through. All the lives that were lost. Our families-."

Hearing the word family flipped a switch in Ryder's head. He pointed his figure directly at the nagal with rage-full eyes. "Do not lecture me about family. I know you sent your wives and children to a nearby borrian so they remain safe."

The captain then turned again to face the group as he was done talking to the Nagal. "For me, I am a soldier. I have given up time away from my wife. I missed the birthdays, anniversaries, dates, and quality time together that I will never get back because it was my duty to my nation and my people. To fight our enemies and keep them safe. Like my team and I, you did your duty against all odds, protected your loved ones, and succeeded. It might not have been how you wanted, but your city is still standing, your wives and children are alive, and you are standing here. If you want them to live free, we must put the past aside and address the task. Your choice, but regardless, we will make our stand."

Varitan Yeldan nodded and turned to the crowd. "My fellow citizens, the Altaerrie man is correct. For now, we will concede for the task at hand."

Ryder had no idea if his plan worked, but at least the crowd was calming down. He could see anger still in their eyes as this would be a long healing process, but at least a war was not about to start. He turned to the Wood Elf and said, "Thank you for helping tame the militia."

"I did no such thing," Yeldan said.

"Yes, you did," Ryder said. "Ford told me that you were once a political advisor. You know how to redirect the mood of a crowd."

"I am here to serve," Yeldan said. "Nothing more."

Seeing the Wood Elf rejoin the crowd, Ryder took a frustrated breath as everything was not going as Ryder had hoped. He informed them that the situation would be dealt with and to wait until further orders. He then walked away to rejoin his team.

Natilite followed behind and asked, "Was any of that true?"

"What?" Ryder asked.

"About it being your fault," Natilite said. "Is that why everything took so long?"

"It all depends on perspective," Ryder replied. "It is too complicated to explain, but we found the orb on another world within our solar system. My orders were to escort it back to Earth so it could activate it. Our enemies attempted to capture it, and we nearly all died. It was my responsibility to protect the Orb, which we did successfully. The travel time would be the same regardless, but if everyone here needed a focal point to focus all their anger on me, then so be it."

"So, you bent the truth," Natilite said. "Interesting. I thought you would be angry for their outbursts."

"I am. But I cannot blame them. They have endured a lot recently and need some outlet to vent. Hopefully, that was enough for them."

"Good insight, Captain. Also, you need to explain this escorting between worlds part to me."

Hearing his radio request his presence again, the captain nodded before walking away. He headed to a makeshift command post where he saw his Air Force Combat Control Team member, Sergeant Charlie Higgins, sitting on a piece of rubble and looking at a laptop. Among them was Rommel King.

"What do you guys need?" Ryder asked.

"Look, sir," King said.

Ryder stood behind Higgins and stared at the screen. He saw the feed from an RQ-13 Phantom deployed to scout the surrounding area. What they saw was an incoming army. Based on the designs, they were the Verliance Aristocracy.

"Damn, that was fast," Ryder thought to himself. The enemy was already mobilizing against them, and it had not been a day yet. They had to be the reinforcements sent before coming into this world.

"Looks like a battalion-size force," King said.

Taking a closer look, Ryder disagreed with his second in command. "I doubt they would be sending such a small force. If I were them, I would be sending a Brigade. Anything larger would be too big to move quickly, and nothing smaller wouldn't be enough to retake Indolass or Salva."

"Charlie," King said. "Try to go deeper. I think I see heavy equipment in the rear."

"Let me try and...," Higgins said before the feed darkened. "Damn. I lost the signal. I think they shot it down."

"Damn is the correct term," Ryder said. "Rommel, get the captains of the other two CFTs here, plus the Alpha Company captain, so that we can plan the defense. Get Barret to take the militia back to Indolass before we are surrounded. I will report the situation to Hackett."

3/05/2048 (military calendar)

Temple of Indolass, the former Confederacy of Daru'uie

Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore

 

*****

 

Standing on the mountainside balcony of Indolass, Colonel William Hacket stared out at the mountainous valley. From his limited view, this region seemed like a large bowl. Mountains far into the distance cut Nevali off from the rest of the world.

Looking closer to home, he saw how horrible their defensive position was—a ridge line to the left that had a perfect advantage point over the Temple. In front were wide enough to allow large formations to pass through, even armor quickly. Their only advantage was that they could focus their firepower in one direction besides dealing with a 360-degree position.

"Not the best place to have a summer home," Smith said.

Turning to Captain Lora Smith, his assistant for the Minutemen, he replied, "No, it is not. I also think it is getting cold here."

"Why do you think that sir?"

"Lack of sunlight compared to Earth. And the mountains are everywhere, trapping the arctic air and clouds."

"Do you think that will be an issue?"

"It would be nice to escape the desert for a while. But we need to prepare. Vehicles will have a lot of time moving around in this mountain terrain. If the enemy has anti-tank weapons, there are infinite places to hide."

"Afghanistan, sir?"

"Or Mexico, Colombia, Philippines, Southern China, name it," Hackett said. "Going to need to rely on Infantry for the time being. On second thought, maybe we might prefer returning to the desert."

"Very funny, sir," Smith said.

"So funny you forget to laugh."

Below, Hackett saw the evolving FOB. Calling it a FOB was closer to charitability than reality as the ground troops created makeshift trenches, sandbag bunkers, barbed wire, and other types of defenses. Some hesco bastions were being built to cover the flanks and to provide some internal structure. Enough until a proper facility could be constructed down the road.

In addition to the Rangers and Minutemen, other units like the Army and NASA Astro Engineers and elements from the Air Force 2nd Weather Group are all part of making this FOB home. This is the first stable step in creating a functional base. It is hard to create campaigns if you don't know what the weather will be.

Seeing the two units set up the primitive style of weather and terrain mapping equipment made the Colonel chuckle. The NGA uses landscape surveying of the surrounding landmass, while the weather team uses different meteorological wind instruments and equipment.

While many of these teams had conducted such operations before on Mars, Luna, and asteroids that needed mapping, they were coming from something other than square one. The critical difference was that they still had the century-old satellite and radar infrastructure these teams went off. Creating a map from scratch has not been attempted since the Second World War. While it can be done, at least until the US military can properly establish itself and create a large enough buffer zone to allow rear assist to develop safely, and if the enemy was clever, they would do everything in their power to prevent it.

"What are they doing?" Smith asked. "I have never seen that equipment before."

"No one has," Hackett said. "It is a hundred-year-old technology. Remember to check your Earth bias, Lora. We don't have satellites above capturing everything we do at a moment's notice. This is how the pre-atomic-era warriors fought. Combat was a line of sight. Anything past that required a lot of energy, time, and logistics to make it all work."

"It sounds like you are excited by this, sir," Smith said.

"No. But I do embrace the challenge. While we will not enjoy the same luxuries that we did on Earth, this is not the 1940s. We will adapt, but for now, create a memo and remind everyone here that line-of-sight is the name of the game. Anything more is outside the game. And get NGA to prioritize marking distance markers for the mortars."

"Yes, sir," Smith said.

"And Captain, prepare a mission profile for CFT-4 and 5," Hackett said. "I want them to recon the northern terrain, past the ridge. Maybe we can find a better defensible position there."

After soaking the beauty of this moon one last time, William Hackett left and headed downstairs to join the 5th Rangers, Colonel. "How is everything going?"

"Good," Lieutenant Colonel Barker said. "Alpha Company arrived at Salva an hour ago. I think we officially have taken the city."

"Alright," Hackett said. "It is time to deploy additional assets to fortify the city. I do not like our current position, and if we get pushed here, we are screwed."

"I noticed that myself," Barker said. "I was informed that the brass is still hesitant to deploy regular forces outside of a QRF."

"Hopefully, we won't need them," Hackett said. "ETA on 1st Rangers?"

"There was a delay from bad weather from JBLM," Barker said. "I do have word that the Brits authorized the deployment of an SAS squadron. They should be here in the next few days."

William Hackett wondered when the Commonwealth Union would deploy their assets. The Bridge was discovered in a London Museum warehouse, so excluding them from any arrangement would be hard. As part of a bargain of handing over the device to the Americans, they would become juniors in all matters regarding the portal and the secret Mars facility.

"Then we are going to need more space," Hackett said. "I plan on sending recon teams to the."

The Colonel noticed his assistant approaching while holding a radio.

"Sir, it is Captain Ryder. They have discovered the enemy and Brigade size. They are about to attack the city. Without reinforcements, they will be overrun when the enemy hits the city."

"Brigade?" Barker shockingly said. "Already? We need to move as many forces as possible to Salva."

"Agreed," Hackett said. "If we lose Salva, the enemy will have the high ground. Contact Space Command and request the QRF. That should be enough to hold the city. Tell Ryder to hold as long as he can."

As Hacket gave the order, everyone in the camp heard weapons fire. Not echoes from a faraway battle but within the camp. This confused the Colonel as he thought they were under attack somehow. "Barker, work on the defenses; I will investigate. Smith, get Razorfist to join me."

The Colonel quickly left the command post and rushed toward the sound of weapons fire. He saw the surrounding Rangers just as confused as he was. Hearing another volley of rifle fire, he dashed toward it. Soon enough, Combat Fire Team-4, known as Razorfist, joined him.

Clearly, the base was not under attack by a large force. This made the Colonel wonder what was going on. A failed recon mission by the enemy?

"Captain Hudson," Hackett said. "Any word?"

"No sir," Hudson said. "But the weapons fire came from the north side."

"Once we get there, secure the area," Hackett said.

It did not take long for them to navigate through the hesco bastions. Hackett ordered everyone they passed to focus on their duties and prepare for an attack. When the Colonel and Razorfist reached the sound of battle, all they saw was a squad of Rangers firing at the mountain's northern face.

"Rangers," Hackett said. "Situation report!"

The squad Staff Sergeant turned and said, "Colonel, three unidentified hostiles were seen leaving from within the camp and moving up the mountain. They were climbing quickly, in an inhuman way. We almost miss them."

"I see them," Hudson said. "Barely."

Hackett grabbed his binoculars and zoomed to the highest setting. While the image was blurry, he noticed a humanoid figure quickly crawling over a boulder before disappearing. "And you said they came from here and not some animal?"

"I believe, sir," the Staff Sergeant said. "I did not see them exit from anywhere, but they were moving quickly. Far quicker than anyone could realistically climb and without any equipment."

The first thought was that they were enemy scouts, but assuming what the Staff Sergeant said was true, they were too close. Why would they intently get noticed, as there were plenty of locations, they could hide without being seen?

"What were they doing?" Hudson asked.

That was when Willian Hackett heard Lieutenant Colonel Barker over the radio. "This is Minuteman-Lead."

"Colonel," Barker said. "I was just informed that the Bridge is offline. The two Guardians security personnel and three NASA researchers were found dead by it. I am convinced it was sabotaged by the enemy as a prelude to an attack."

The gravity of the words that Lieutenant Colonel Barker said struck Hackett. Currently, only Fraeya Holiadon knew how to activate the Bridge, and from what he understood, besides her father, no one else knew how the Bridge worked. Now that the Bridge was offline, they were stuck, and there was no way to retreat or request a QRF. With the Verliance Aristocracy army coming, they now have their backs against the wall.

He then realized they would have to abandon Salva as they did not have the manpower to defend it adequately. There was even more time to extract the militia they found here to help with the defense, assuming they had enough firearms to hand out. He will have to order a full retreat, but that will still take time if the enemy is already upon them.

"Hudson," Hackett said. "Go to Salva and extract Fraeya ASAP. I want her to work on reconnecting the Bridge yesterday. Everyone else, prepare for battle."