"Mr. President, I have completed the creation of the subcommittee that will oversee all funding and oversight for affairs regarding our operation on Alagore. Your finding requests a five billion surcharge for combat operations.
Under the present circumstances, I support your administration's decision to deploy the bulk of the 4th Infantry Division to secure their side of the Bridge. However, we are growing concerned about an escalating military build-up against this unknown enemy.
You already know that the War Powers Resolution provides you with sixty days before you are required to withdraw without congressional approval. I am willing to push through an AUMF (authorization for use of military force) within the next week; however, we have conditions. This House will not provide another blind AUMF to the White House for the risk of unintended abuse.
I proposed an AUMF with Vice President John C. Shaw. The United States will be authorized to utilize as many military personnel as necessary to defend the Temple of Indolass. Shaw convinced me of your position that Salva is important to our short— and long-term goals on the alien moon. The defense of Salva and the surrounding areas, including the bulk of the surrounding region, will be included in the authorization. However, operations outside the host region must be negotiated later.
I know you will disagree with this "red tape"; however, this country has had too many use-of-force authorizations for one situation before unintentionally expanding into other theaters. Examples are the War on Terror and the Cartel War in Central America.
I have spoken with Senate Majority Leader Sarah Reed, and they have agreed to take the lead on AUMF oversight, in addition to their foreign relations with these alien civilizations. She understands that the current situation is in flux, with the military forced to respond to unknown circumstances without adhering to traditional structures. However, that grace will not last, as she and I expect a report on how the Pentagon's command structure will be needed so we can properly evaluate, add comments, and allocate proper resources.
We expect consent updates on this developing situation if you wish further funding and material support." - Speaker of the House Nathaniel Trenton
March 13th, 2069 (Military Calendar)
Orlatus, Yuplenia Mountain Range, Verliance Aristocracy
Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore
*****
Watching the two teams secure the enemy's weapons and process the prisoners, Captain Mathew Ryder was still shocked that they had been right about finding their people here. It had been such a gamble, and yet, they had been right. Thrilled that they had reached this base in time to save their people, it would have been only a pyrrhic victory if they had missed half of them.
"I still have to say," King said. "I can't believe the little brat was right."
"That's a good thing," Ryder said. "But we could have gotten here in time to save everyone if I had not been asleep."
Rommel King touched the Captain's shoulder and said, "Sir, shut up and take the win. If we didn't show up when we did, no one would have been saved."
Natilite approached and said, "And let's remember that you won the first engagement against the Unity. A feat that most cannot claim."
"True." Ryder turned to the Valkyrie and said, "How is Assiaya? Is she okay?"
"She's still in the vehicle," Natilite said. "I think she's bored and wants to come outside."
"Nope," Ryder said. "The place might not be secured, and we will leave soon."
"I will see what I can do to speed things up," King said. "There is a good chance that the airship could contact their superiors about what happened."
The Warrant Officer walked away to assist with the prisoner processing. However, Ryder noticed the Templar smirking at him with her right hand on her hip.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, nothing," Natilite said. "Just remembering our conversation when we first met."
Ryder stared at her with confusion. He struggled to recall what they had spoken of, as if it were a lifetime ago. The Captain recalled something about life and helping handle the Salva militia. Still, it came to mind that it related to their current situation.
"And I'm missing something?"
The winged woman crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, sighing with disappointment.
"Men. They hate being nagged, and yet... I am just happy that you are happy."
Wondering what he had done to piss her off, the Captain was thrilled when he heard his name being called, as he wanted to get away as quickly as possible. It was Sergeant Ford who was seeking his attention.
"Excuse me."
"Fine," Natilite said before heading toward her Elvish friend.
Confused by the reaction, Ryder walked toward his Sergeant.
"Everything okay?"
"I could say the same thing to you," Ford said. "It seems like we are both in trouble."
Ryder crossed his arms, already knowing the direction of this conversation.
"Fraeya," Ford said. "She hates me."
"Of course she does," Ryder said. "I want you to understand this, though: you did the right thing. I ordered her not to do what she did; however, I understand why. It is not easy to lose a loved one."
"Greg told me what happened about your wife," Ford said. "I am sorry for your loss."
Ryder looked at the Sergeant, staring into his eyes.
"Thank God every day that you do not understand the feeling."
He then turned and saw Fraeya sitting on a barrel with Natilite beside her, comforting the elf girl.
"Regarding Fraeya, she will hate you for now, but do not stress it. Let the emotions run their course, and in time, she will agree that you were right to stop her."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Have faith. I know it is not easy, but remember, you did the right thing, and at the end of the day, that is all we can hope to do."
Ford glanced down and took a deep breath.
"Thank you, sir."
"Good," Ryder said. "Now, follow me. I must speak with a Colonel."
The Captain patted the Sergeant on the back and headed to the assembly area. A combination of American and British soldiers guarded the hundred and thirteen freed prisoners as they were being processed. They needed to know who they were bringing back to Salva and how to work out the logistics for getting them back.
Most prisoners seemed to be natives, resistance members, political opponents, or people who opposed the Katra. Only twenty-eight were from Earth. Besides the one Frenchman, the rest were USAM members. Most were American; three were Brits, four were Japanese, and all the non-Americans were civilians, scientists, and engineers.
The Space Force Colonel stood to the side, speaking with Captain Webster. The Brit informed the officer about how they had stormed the base and the situation at Salva. The two men noticed Ryder approaching and acknowledged him.
"It sounds like you guys have been through hell. I am Colonel Robert, head of security."
"Roger that, Colonel. Captain Ryder, CFT-1 of the Minutemen."
"Thank you, Captain," Robert said. "I recall hearing about your team before everything went to hell. I see that you have the elf girl from First Contact."
"That is correct," Ryder said. "We learned early on that the enemy was after her and her father. We were able to prevent the Verliance Aristocracy from getting her, but failed to save the father. The plan was to save him and the rest of the prisoners."
"I figured that out," Robert said. "They loaded them up this morning and were preparing to load us when you attacked. They split us into two groups: priority and non-priority. I think you can figure out who was the priority."
"That is not good," Ryder said. "It means the enemy will gain good insight into us while we know nothing about them."
"Don't think about that right now," Robert said. "We must think about the task at hand. How are we going to get out of here, Captain?"
Ryder stared at the Colonel with confusion.
"Sir? You are not taking command?"
"Not today, Captain," Robert said. "I do not know the tactical and operational situation well enough to lead. You are in command, Captain. I will deal with the prisoners; you two will get us home."
"Roger that, sir."
The two captains saluted the Colonel before he left.
Ryder then turned to the British Captain and asked, "Do you have any ideas how we will move all these people? Not everyone is going to fit on the three Deuces."
"I had a feeling," Webster said. "One of my men noticed a couple of metal wagons made by the office building."
"A metal wagon?"
"That is what I said. I saw a few. We could strap them to our vehicles and pull them. Being metal, they might be sturdy enough."
"Not the worst idea since we came here. It is better than walking, but it will restrict our mobility if we encounter the enemy. They must know what we have done by now."
As the two agreed on the plan, Webster turned toward a pier and said, "When you were captured, did everything seem backward?"
"What do you mean?" Ryder asked.
"I mean," Webster said. "They have lifts powered by gravity, electromagnetic technology, and freaking ships that fly. And yet, they use wagons, their computers would embarrass my great-grandfather, and they ride animals. Everything is made from stone, and their vehicles—while not to be underestimated—still seemed to lack the utility of ours."
Ryder remembered the British officer's points from when he had been a prisoner at Forlace. He noted how much of the layout seemed to be catching up to their technology.
"You are correct. They had gas pipes within the walls, but they wouldn't pass inspection on Earth. The doors were not like you would expect at a military facility. Even the Adventurers who were chasing me were baffled. Their equipment was a mixture of what we had five hundred years ago and what we might have a hundred years from now. I had to run around with one of their circiletum when I was being hunted. One hell of a punch, but I had to bolt-act it after every shot."
Watching the two teams secure the enemy's weapons and process the prisoners, Captain Mathew Ryder was still shocked that they had been right about finding their people here. It had been such a gamble, and yet, they had been right. Thrilled that they had reached this base in time to save their people, it would have been only a pyrrhic victory if they had missed half of them.
"I still have to say," King said. "I can't believe the little brat was right."
"That's a good thing," Ryder said. "But we could have gotten here in time to save everyone if I had not been asleep."
Rommel King touched the Captain's shoulder and said, "Sir, shut up and take the win. If we didn't show up when we did, no one would have been saved."
Natilite approached and said, "And let's remember that you won the first engagement against the Unity. A feat that most cannot claim."
"True." Ryder turned to the Valkyrie and said, "How is Assiaya? Is she okay?"
"She's still in the vehicle," Natilite said. "I think she's bored and wants to come outside."
"Nope," Ryder said. "The place might not be secured, and we will leave soon."
"I will see what I can do to speed things up," King said. "There is a good chance that the airship could contact their superiors about what happened."
The Warrant Officer walked away to assist with the prisoner processing. However, Ryder noticed the Templar smirking at him with her right hand on her hip.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, nothing," Natilite said. "Just remembering our conversation when we first met."
Ryder stared at her with confusion. He struggled to recall what they had spoken of, as if it were a lifetime ago. The Captain recalled something about life and helping handle the Salva militia. Still, it came to mind that it related to their current situation.
"And I'm missing something?"
The winged woman crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, sighing with disappointment.
"Men. They hate being nagged, and yet... I am just happy that you are happy."
Wondering what he had done to piss her off, the Captain was thrilled when he heard his name being called, as he wanted to get away as quickly as possible. It was Sergeant Ford who was seeking his attention.
"Excuse me."
"Fine," Natilite said before heading toward her Elvish friend.
Confused by the reaction, Ryder walked toward his Sergeant.
"Everything okay?"
"I could say the same thing to you," Ford said. "It seems like we are both in trouble."
Ryder crossed his arms, already knowing the direction of this conversation.
"Fraeya," Ford said. "She hates me."
"Of course she does," Ryder said. "I want you to understand this, though: you did the right thing. I ordered her not to do what she did; however, I understand why. It is not easy to lose a loved one."
"Greg told me what happened about your wife," Ford said. "I am sorry for your loss."
Ryder looked at the Sergeant, staring into his eyes.
"Thank God every day that you do not understand the feeling."
He then turned and saw Fraeya sitting on a barrel with Natilite beside her, comforting the elf girl.
"Regarding Fraeya, she will hate you for now, but do not stress it. Let the emotions run their course, and in time, she will agree that you were right to stop her."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Have faith. I know it is not easy, but remember, you did the right thing, and at the end of the day, that is all we can hope to do."
Ford glanced down and took a deep breath.
"Thank you, sir."
"Good," Ryder said. "Now, follow me. I must speak with a Colonel."
The Captain patted the Sergeant on the back and headed to the assembly area. A combination of American and British soldiers guarded the hundred and thirteen freed prisoners as they were being processed. They needed to know who they were bringing back to Salva and how to work out the logistics for getting them back.
Most prisoners seemed to be natives, resistance members, political opponents, or people who opposed the Katra. Only twenty-eight were from Earth. Besides the one Frenchman, the rest were USAM members. Most were American; three were Brits, four were Japanese, and all the non-Americans were civilians, scientists, and engineers.
The Space Force Colonel stood to the side, speaking with Captain Webster. The Brit informed the officer about how they had stormed the base and the situation at Salva. The two men noticed Ryder approaching and acknowledged him.
"It sounds like you guys have been through hell. I am Colonel Robert, head of security."
"Roger that, Colonel. Captain Ryder, CFT-1 of the Minutemen."
"Thank you, Captain," Robert said. "I recall hearing about your team before everything went to hell. I see that you have the elf girl from First Contact."
"That is correct," Ryder said. "We learned early on that the enemy was after her and her father. We were able to prevent the Verliance Aristocracy from getting her, but failed to save the father. The plan was to save him and the rest of the prisoners."
"I figured that out," Robert said. "They loaded them up this morning and were preparing to load us when you attacked. They split us into two groups: priority and non-priority. I think you can figure out who was the priority."
"That is not good," Ryder said. "It means the enemy will gain good insight into us while we know almost nothing about them."
"Don't think about that right now," Robert said. "We must think about the task at hand. How are we going to get out of here, Captain?"
Ryder stared at the Colonel with confusion.
"Sir? You are not taking command?"
"Not today, Captain," Robert said. "I do not know the tactical and operational situation well enough to lead. You are in command, Captain. I will deal with the prisoners; you two will get us home."
"Roger that, sir."
The two captains saluted the Colonel before he left.
Ryder then turned to the British Captain and asked, "Do you have any ideas how we will move all these people? Not everyone is going to fit on the three Deuces."
"I had a feeling," Webster said. "One of my men noticed a couple of metal wagons made by the office building."
"A metal wagon?"
"That is what I said. I saw a few. We could strap them to our vehicles and pull them. Being metal, they might be sturdy enough."
"Not the worst idea since we came here. It is better than walking, but it will restrict our mobility if we encounter the enemy. They must know what we have done by now."
As the two agreed on the plan, Webster turned toward a pier and said, "When you were captured, did everything seem backward?"
"What do you mean?" Ryder asked.
"I mean," Webster said. "They have lifts powered by gravity, electromagnetic technology, and freaking ships that fly. And yet, they use wagons, their computers would embarrass my great-grandfather, and they ride animals. Everything is made from stone, and their vehicles—while not to be underestimated—still seemed to lack the utility of ours. It's like they took pieces of our future, mixed them with pieces of our past, and decided the two belonged together."
Ryder remembered the British officer's points from when he had been a prisoner at Forlace. He noted how much of the layout seemed to be catching up to their technology.
"You are correct. They had gas pipes within the walls, but they wouldn't pass inspection on Earth. The doors were not like you would expect at a military facility. Even the Adventurers who were chasing me were baffled. Their equipment was a mixture of what we had five hundred years ago and what we might have a hundred years from now. I had to run around with one of their circiletum when I was being hunted. One hell of a punch, but I had to bolt-act it after every shot. And yet, they spoke about it as if their way of life was perfectly natural. They don't seem to think they are behind us; they believe they have simply chosen a different path."
Itaba only smiled, staring at the Comanche Captain as if looking at a child. She then said, "You believe you are safe behind the Bridge. The Domain has grown this far, and it will come to you. And you will cast your freedoms and liberties aside in seeking forgiveness, but it will be too late."
She then waved to the Orc. Egharod pulled out his sword and prepared to strike Ryder down.
While watching the Orc raise his sword, Ryder understood that one swing would kill him, and he was not wearing a battlesuit.
That was when Ryder noticed a red dot on the Orc's shoulder. Before the blade came down, the Orc was shot with a bullet, penetrating his armor. The resulting impact knocked him onto his rear. The Dark Elf's confidence was quickly replaced with fear, and she stepped backward.
Noticing the gravity well from the transport airship above him, the Captain saw two individuals with large shields descending. Seeing his one opportunity to escape, he turned around and ran as fast as possible.
Shrouds and energy bolts impacted around him as a firefight erupted between his people and the Unity. The Akilla that hovered farther back opened fire toward the Captain. A greenish-yellow glow launched from a pod and flew like a missile. It zigzagged through the air, which confused him, since it was guided. However, it was somehow inefficient.
Seeing that the missile was coming, Ryder jumped for cover as it impacted the ground. He flew a short distance before impacting the ground, rolling multiple times before slamming into a pair of small boulders.
Feeling pain throughout his body, Ryder slowly stood up. He saw the two shieldmen assisting their Orc leader and the Priestess. The four hovered up the gravity lift into the Orgat before flying away.
The infantry on the ground started rushing forward, hoping to capture him while the Captain was separated from his people. Not wanting to be retaken as a prisoner, he drew his sidearm and fired a few shots before getting back up and heading toward his people. However, he was stopped by enemy weapons fire and forced to take cover behind the boulder.
Five enemy hostiles charged toward him, carrying staff weapons.
The front two were suddenly killed, forcing the others to stop and seek cover.
Surprised by what had happened, Ryder looked back and saw some of Comanche coming for him. Ford was up front, holding a scutum for protection. Behind him were the Twins, using the scutum as cover while they engaged the enemy hostiles. Among them was Barrett, who provided direction.
When they arrived, Ford took the covering position, facing the enemy. A shroud and two enemy bolts impacted the scutum, glowing slightly from the enchanted crystal at the center of the large shield. The Twins were on each side of the shield, firing into the enemy.
Sergeant First Class Gregory Barrett helped the Captain back onto his feet. "Let's hope this doesn't become a thing, Boss."
"Enjoy the job security," Ryder said. "Let's get out of here."
The Captain and Sergeant First Class got behind Ford's scutum, and the five slowly headed backward. Ryder saw another one of those glowing missiles from the Akilla impact. It hit one of the empty AMTVs, causing it to explode.
As the Akilla hovered forward for an attack run, Ryder noticed a missile fired from a nearby ridgeline, impacting the attack airship from behind. The enemy aircraft exploded in bright flames as it fell to the ground, breaking the enemy formation as they scattered to avoid the debris.
This gave the Comanche soldiers the break they needed, and they all ran back toward their lines. As they drew closer, two AMTVs burst from the forest, their heavy machine guns and grenade launchers firing against the Unity.
"It's Ghost," Barrett said.
"About time," Ford added.
The two Ghost armored vehicles took position by the forest edge, maintaining their fire against the shocked Unity infantry, which was left in disarray by the sudden ambush and the loss of air support. A few enemy warriors could return fire, but it was fruitless because they were trapped in the open.
This did not stop the Unity from attempting to prevent Ryder and his rescuers from escaping. As they fell back to the mountain's base, they opened fire on their position. Being in the open forced them to huddle close behind Ford's scutum as it absorbed energy blasts and shrouds.
With the enemy distracted by Ghost from the left and Comanche and Redcoat from the base of the mountain, Barrett held Ryder up with his arm over his as they made their return. The Captain noticed Ford's scutum shake from a loud noise as an energy blast impacted the shield.
"I don't think it will take much more," Ford said.
"Long enough," Ryder said.
When they returned to the two teams, Ryder saw that Rommel King had already loaded the remaining POVs into the metal wagons and UGV transports, which were starting to head toward Ghost's position. To the Captain's surprise, he saw Natilite holding an M77 designated marksman rifle and firing at the enemy to provide cover.
King noticed his comrades returning and approached. "Welcome back to the living, sir. Everyone's evacuating. We are ready to go."
"Then don't let me hold us up," Ryder said. "Comanche. Load up and roll out!"