The fighting had been intense, hour long battles raged for inches of ground. Despite their weakened defenses, the Onorussians put up a fierce resistance. The invasion had lasted into the night, and news that the Imperatrix had gone missing was spreading like wildfire through both sides of the conflict. As the morning light began to shine over the southern coast the sound of screeching jet engines echoed across the water. The caribou had designed their ships to run aground in order to unload their troops and equipment, it had made securing a beachhead much easier. Despite the success of the landings, the Onorussian Air Force was pounding away at the enemy naval convoy day and night.

Use of Thermo-Arcane weaponry against the Zebra port of Rhymista was out of the question, it was so close to Onorus that residual arcane particles could drift across the Ocean and render the use of any Arcane weaponry or other technology impossible. For aircraft, that would mean a loss of augmented flight controls, for ground troops, the loss of power armor and heavy weapons that were keeping the invaders at bay. The Onorussians had been caught napping, but that didn’t mean they were out of the fight yet. It was true that they could employ Thermo-Arcane weaponry on other cities, but those warheads were being held in reserve for the counter invasion.

For Maria Occisor, it was just like being back on Earth during the EOL war. Over the course of the night she had tried to reach several evacuation stations, but they had been closed or overrun before she could get close. On more than one occasion she had encountered enemy soldiers and managed to sneak past them without much trouble, she was cold, tired, and hungry. She had pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail, and as she crawled through the muddy underbrush of the forest she could hear the sound of machine guns in the distance.

The woman had yet to fire her rifle, but at the moment she was more concerned with keeping her body heat up. It was true that the South was warmer than the North, but during Fall and Winter it became almost just as bitter and cold along the coast as the Frozen North. Her fatigues were alright, but they were no substitute for a wool coat. As she imagined herself getting cozied up in a warm jacket she nearly lost track of her surroundings. She stopped just as she heard a twig snap to the right of her, it was close, far closer than she wanted it to be. Maria sat stock still on the ground, keeping her breath as slow as possible as she listened to the movement off to her right.

She watched quietly as a mare and three teenage boys moved into view holding AK-47s. They wore olive green fatigues and black combat boots, as well as old green metal helmets. Each of the teens wore a purple strip of cloth tied around their upper right arms while the mare of the group had lieutenant bars. Maria let out a relieved sigh before taking a breath. The mare was a pegasus with orange fur and a purple mane, she looked vaguely familiar.

“Hey!” She called out quietly, they turned around with their rifles ready, Maria cautiously pushed herself up onto her knees and held her rifle off to the side. After a couple seconds the group lowered their weapons, allowing Maria to stand up and approach them.

“Madame Imperatrix?” The mare, and likely leader of the group asked, she was in her early twenties by the look of her. Maria stopped in front of them and quietly looked at their armbands, then at the pegasus. “It’s wonderful to see you’re okay, the invaders had been broadcasting you were killed.”

“The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Maria replied with an almost casual tone, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. The teens moved to set up a perimeter while Maria and the Lieutenant conversed. The boys couldn’t have been older than sixteen or seventeen, likely members of ‘The Young Bloods’, the Onorussian version of a militarised ‘Boy Scouts’. “What news can you give me? How far have they penetrated?”

“Last we saw, they’ve set up a foothold on the beaches…” The lieutenant said in a hushed tone as she looked around the area, Maria found herself being brought back to the teens. Two of them were average sized, one was a bean pole, the thinnest one had a red nose that seemed to be running in the cold air, and all three had messy short black hair. “Our lines are three miles east of here. They made me an acting lieutenant for the exercise, didn’t think I’d actually take them into combat. I’m trying to get them back to our lines. ”

“We don’t need to get out.” One of the older teens said, likely just over seventeen from the looks of him. “Right, Imperatrix? Shouldn’t we be staying and fighting?! It’s our duty!” Maria looked at the boy, as did the lieutenant. The mare had an annoyed expression on her face, it was obvious they had had this conversation before.

“Perhaps it is, but your Lieutenant’s duty is to keep you safe, and since she outranks you…” Maria said in her ‘Officer’ tone, she found it did wonders when Altair became uncooperative. The boy ran a hand over his brown hair, appearing somewhat surprised by the answer Maria had given him. Gone was the kind hearted, quiet spoken ‘Mother of Onorus’, she had been replaced by Major Maria Occisor. The Queen of Death. “Three miles isn’t that far, how long have you been travelling?”

“Since last night, the damn zebras have every major road locked down, and the Saddle Arabians have been patrolling the woods looking for troops like us.” The lieutenant said in the same hushed voice, she adjusted the strap of her AK-47. “The Caribou are supervising all of that, they’ve got snipers out in the woods as well.” Maria rubbed her chin quietly, then shivered as the cold air ran across her skin. “We’ve been considering hunkering down for a bit, but I worry that the lines will get further away if we do.”

“I’d say hunker down wherever you can, warm up, get some food, get your bearings.” Maria suggested as she let her rifle hang on the strap over her shoulder, she paused as she heard something odd in the distance. It caught the attention of the Lieutenant, as well as the others. A wailing siren screaming down from the sky. A jericho trumpet, most likely mounted to a Stuka dive bomber.

That could mean only one thing to Maria, her husband had called in the heavy hitters. A division of the Lunar Marines designated as The 88th Assault Division, better known as ‘The Lunar Legion’. Whenever there was a particular position that proved difficult to conquer on the Terran Front, The Lunar Legion was the division called upon. They had cowed the Cartels, crushed the Mafia, and steamrolled a particularly ornery group of slavers in Washington State. Equipped with power armor, heavy tanks, their own mobile artillery pieces and aircraft, they were considered to be the very best. A soldier could train hard for years in preparation for his entrance examination and still fail, even Dominic himself had barely managed to pass the physical strength test.

Maria looked over to the mare and cleared her throat, the pegasus and her squad were listening to the wailing sirens in the distance with uncertainty. When the pegasus didn’t respond Maria put her hand on her shoulder, shaking her out of her trance.

“Lieutenant.” She said, the mare nodded and quickly adjusted her uniform. “I’d recommend we start moving now, rather than wait for their patrols to find us?” The mare nodded quickly and gestured with her wing to her squad to get ready to move.

“With all due respect, Ma’am… I think you should be the one to lead us.” The mare said quietly, looking Maria in the eye. “You’re a major, and you’re well… You.” Maria looked at her own fatigues, noting that she still had her rank insignia pinned to the collar. “Please…”

“Alright.” Maria said as she walked forward. “Let’s head east then, if I recall how far I’ve travelled correctly, there should be a hunting lodge near here.” The boys and the mare gripped their rifles and began moving with Maria in a single column. The woman paused and looked over her shoulder at the mare. “What are your names, anyway?” The pegasus was the first to answer, keeping her ears on a swivel.

“I’m Scootaloo.” The mare said, Maria was quiet for a couple seconds before nodding. “The hot head is Vincent, the quiet guy is Carlos, and the guy with the runny nose is Victor, but we call him Snotty.” Maria looked at the boys, recognizing ‘The Hot Head’ as the one that had insisted on staying behind. Carlos was obviously the one that hadn’t spoken at all, and Victor was wiping his nose on his sleeve with an annoyed expression.

“Victor is fine.” Victor said in an annoyed voice, obviously not fond of his nickname. Maria quietly took a look around their surroundings, the sound of gunfire and artillery bombardment in the distance. They were keeping the chatter to a minimum, which Maria was glad for, she wasn’t sure how she would relate to people like these recruits. More importantly, it showed that these recruits were following their training. As they walked Maria noticed that the sound of Jericho Trumpets was getting less and less frequent and the clouds were getting darker overhead. The chill was getting worse, she could see her breath, and she could feel her toes starting to get numb. Knowing that there were snipers in the woods, she fell behind the group and began brushing over their tracks with a tree branch.

Even as it began to snow the five of them soldiered on, through the trees and up the rugged rocky hills. An hour or so passed before they happened upon the lodge that Maria had been searching for, she had stayed there once or twice over the years when on hunting trips by herself. It was a log cabin with a winding driveway that lead off for miles before reaching any major road. A pair of elk antlers were mounted over the front door and the main windows were covered by blinds. Maria rubbed her hands together as she spotted it, knowing it would be warmer inside. Cautiously they approached the lodge, Maria gripped her rifle in her nearly numb hands as they stacked up near the door.

The woman reached towards the door and knocked quickly, pulling her hand away as she stood to the side of the door. After a couple more seconds she knocked again, there was no response. Cautiously Maria turned the knob and pushed the door in, but again nothing happened. When no shots rang out she peeked around, sure enough the lodge was empty and dark. She silently gestured for Scootaloo and her squad to enter, they did so, leaving Maria to cover their tracks before she joined them in the slightly warmer interior.

“Vincent, Carlos, you’re on the first guard shift.” Maria ordered as she moved closer to the group, the cabin was one main room with a kitchen off to the side and an outhouse rather than a regular toilet. The furniture was old, two couches were set up around an old fireplace and covered in blankets. The dining area had a wooden table and two chairs, as well as a vase with dead flowers resting at the center. “Everyone take a blanket and warm up, Victor you take whatever blankets don’t get used, I don’t want that runny nose turning into something else.”

“I’m fine-” Victor began to protest.

“That’s an order, cadet.” Maria said sternly, the boy sighed and grabbed himself two extra blankets before laying down on one of the couches. Maria sat down on a separate couch and undid her boots, then pulled them, as well as her socks, off. Even in the dim light she could see her toes were in need of warming, or she risked frostbite. Her eyes looked over to Scootaloo. “Can you check the drawers in the kitchen for any of those hand warmers? The portable things you keep in a jacket? I also need you to look for a sponge, some water, and pain meds...”

“Yes, ma’am.” Scootaloo said, Maria watched her walk away before taking her blanket and wrapping it around her feet. They weren’t completely numb, but they were getting there. The woman looked at the cadets, Vincent and Carlos had taken the chairs from the dining area and were sitting near the window at the front of the cabin. Each had their rifle leaned against the the wall as they kept an eye on the driveway. The woman’s attention shifted to Victor, who was curled up under the blankets and shivering, his rifle lying on the floor beside the couch. They could’ve started a fire in the fireplace, but smoke might’ve drawn attention from the Caribou.

Scootaloo returned a couple minutes later with ten or so of the heating packs and a bottle of painkillers. Maria supposed that she would have to make do in this case and took the warming packs from Scootaloo.

“Thanks.” Maria said as she activated the first and second packs, then stuffed them down in the blanket near her feet. The woman set the rest of the heating packs on the floor before she began to rub her hands together for warmth once again, Scootaloo let out a tired sigh and sat on the couch beside Maria. “Rest up, Lieutenant. We’ll stick around here for a couple hours, maybe by then our lines will be closer.”

“I’ll try, ma’am.” Scootaloo said as she curled up on the couch and pulled a blanket over her, the room descended into silence as the small group did their best to conserve body heat and rest. Two hours passed, and .he more time they spent there the more it began to really warm up, taking the fierce bite out of the bitter icy chill. The sound of gunfire still echoed in the distance as snow continued to fall faster and faster. Maria’s feet warmed up nicely, allowing her to put her boots back on, of course she slipped a couple heating packs in her boots before sharing the rest with the others.

“M-Major…” Victor said in a shaking voice, breaking the silence. Maria stood up and walked towards the young boy, then took a knee beside him as he huddled under his blanket for warmth. “S-So cold… M-My bones feel like they’re on fire.” Maria rested a hand on his head, her expression remaining as stoic as she could. Humans had gained a very strong immune system, both from the infection and their natural healing factor on Equus. When one of them got sick, they really got sick.

“You’ve got a bit of a fever, sweetie… I’ll get you some ibuprofen and an ice pack, okay?” Maria watched the boy nod before she stood up and moved towards the painkillers she had left on the couch next to the now sleeping Scootaloo. The woman took the pills and went to the kitchen, there were a couple plastic water bottles near the window, but they were frozen and undrinkable. Maria still grabbed one and moved back towards Victor, resting the frozen bottle on his forehead while giving him two of the pills. “Gotta take these without anything to drink, alright?”

Victor nodded and did his best to swallow the meds, Maria was forced to remember that these weren’t true soldiers. In situation like hers, kid gloves were somewhat necessary. The woman left the bottle on his head to go and grab her blanket, when she returned she put it over Victor. The wool blanket would’ve been enough to get a normal person sweating, but Victor considered to shiver under it.

“Major! Movement on the road!” Vincent shouted from the front of the house, Maria took Victor’s hand and rested it on the bottle.

“Hold that there, alright?” She asked, Victor nodded weakly. Maria stood up and walked to the front of the house, grabbing her rifle along the way. She stopped next to Vincent and Carlos and peeked out the window, sure enough there was movement on the road. The snow was at least six inches deep after only two hours, the trees loomed and creaked overhead. Maria raised her rifle and looked through the scope at the road. “Fuck…” A group of three caribou were coming up the road. “Carlos, wake the lieutenant.” The boy nodded and rushed off to get Scootaloo, meanwhile Maria watched the group get closer.

Maria lowered her rifle and then lowered the blinds to the front of the house, then made sure the other blinds were closed. Thankfully they were, she and Vincent continued watching through a gap in the blinds while the three caribou stopped in front of the lodge and looked around.

“Why don’t we open up on them?” Vincent asked quietly, Maria shook her head.

“Because once we take them down they’ll send more looking…” She whispered back, her eyes glancing over to the couch where Victor was hold the bottle against his head. “We can’t move him, not in this weather… Not safely, at least.” Vincent nodded quietly and looked back out at the three Caribou, they were conversing as they looked around the clearing. The antlers over the door seemed to be a point of conversation, Maria could see one of them rubbing his antlers out of sympathy with the long dead elk. Maria gripped her rifle tightly as Carlos and Scootaloo returned with their own weapons, watching as the three Caribou began to walk towards the door. “Please…. Please… Turn around… Leave…” Maria whispered under her breath as she readied her rifle and pointed it towards the door.

“Come on, Gral. It’s colder here than North Barley.” She heard one of the Caribou complain outside, Maria watched through the gap in the window as the group of three stopped to converse once again. “The Prefect is going to be pissed as it is that we went sight seeing!”

“Aren’t you the least bit curious to see what’s inside?” Asked another Caribou who turned his eyes towards the cabin. “This is a great chance to see their culture before it gets purged.”

“No! I don’t want to go into the death house!” The third Caribou said nervously, rubbing his antlers as he looked up once again at the antlers mounted over the door. “What if there’s some sort of axe murderer in there that’s going to chop our heads off and mount our antlers like that!?”

“Fine…” The curious caribou said begrudgingly, Maria watched as the three of them turned around and began walking back down the road. Once they were out of sight the group let out a relieved sigh, the peace was not to last though, as Maria heard the waterbottle fall to the floor. She stood up and looked towards Victor, her heart pounding faster as she saw him shaking uncontrollably.

“S-S-S-So c-c-c-cold!” She heard Victor whine weakly, Maria and Scootaloo moved towards him, leaving Vincent and Carlos to resume their watch. The woman knelt beside the boy and put a hand on his head.

“He’s burning up!” She said as she looked around the room before turning her attention to Scootaloo. “Open the window in the kitchen, then try and see if you can collect some snow or ice.” Scootaloo nodded quickly and made her way to the kitchen, Maria reached to the wool blankets and pulled them off, causing Victor’s teeth to start chattering louder. “I’m sorry, Victor! We’ve gotta get your temperature down.”

“M-Mom?” Victor said shakily as he reached out aimlessly, Maria gulped down a lump in her throat before she reached out and took his hand. “Mom, I’m scared…” It was clear he was hallucinating, but Maria wasn’t about to let him sit there thinking he was alone.

“You’re gonna be okay…” Maria said, struggling to keep her composure. “You just need to keep being a good trooper, alright? You can do that, can’t you?” Victor nodded weakly, Maria sighed and looked off to the side. It was clear they were going to be in for a rough time.

[♠]

Celestia watched her television in silence, the footage of intense firefights on the ground had been going on for some time. More than a few news helicopters had been shot at or warded away by military aircraft, but that didn’t stop the constant footage from pouring in. The news anchors had been going into detail about how Caribou slavers were rounding all manner of Onorussian citizens and using them as shields against the air force. It was truly disgusting to watch, innocent families being treated as little more than meat shields.

The Crystal Empire was on high alert, tanks were ready to roll at a moment’s notice. The normally chatty Onorussian border guards had become dead silent, locked in their guard houses and watching the snowy wastes for any sign of their latest foe. Celestia felt herself becoming especially heartbroken to see that Maria had seemingly disappeared and was presumed either dead or captured. Footage of the ‘88th Assault Division’ was becoming more and more popular, they had been mobilized all the way from New Liberty and moved across a hundred miles of desert over night, and now it seemed they were ripping the New Axis apart. News that the Caribou had broadcast about the fate of the Imperatrix had only strengthened the resolve of the Onorussian defenders.

Celestia watched more news footage as wounded soldiers limped past a camera woman, bloody bandages covering parts of their eyes or arms. One pegasus carried on a stretcher was desperately clutching his remaining wing while a stump twitched sickeningly on his back. Already the Onorussians had lost more soldiers than the Forty Eight Hour War, numbering somewhere near nine thousand both on the land and sea. The alabaster alicorn closed her eyes, trying to block out the troubling news. As she did, she felt an odd presence in her mind, something she hadn’t felt in nearly eight years.

”L-Luna?” She thought, hoping to get some sort of response. At first there was nothing, but then she heard the faint voice of her sister responding. ”A-Any news?”

”Tia?” Luna’s voice called back, Celestia nodded to herself as she listened. ”Sister… They haven’t found my herdmate, Maria is still missing.”

”Th-That’s… I’m sorry to hear it.” Celestia thought back, her wing reached out and picked up the remote to turn off the television. All that remained was the sound of the wind against the window of her room and her own slow breathing. In the darkness of her closed eyes, Celestia could almost make out her sister’s face.

”I… I am going to do something… I do not want you to interfere.” Luna’s voice said, she sounded a lot less sure of herself. It was as if the news about Maria had been some sort of cushion in order to soften the even harder blow of whatever Luna was going to say next. ”I am going to defend my subjects with my magic, sister.” Celestia froze, memories of their fight all those years ago raced through her mind. And yet, Celestia knew that she would be doing the same thing if she were in her sister’s place. She quietly ran over her memories of discord and sombra, she hadn’t acted quickly enough. The same could’ve been said for the Onorussians, the only thing was the Onorussians had turned out not to be bad guys.

Do you need my help?” Celestia asked over her mental link, Luna was quiet for nearly a minute, and the alabaster alicorn was worried she had lost the connection.

”Y-You would help us?” Luna’s voice asked in an almost unhearable whisper, Celestia felt her eyes tearing up at the faint glimmer of hope in her sister’s voice.

”As… Everyone has pointed out. I am usually late to act.” Celestia admitted as she laid on the couch in her room, eyes still closed, thoughts still on her sister. ”The cycle has to end here and now… Of course I will help you, Luna. You’re my sister. I love you…”

”I… I love you too, Tia.” Luna sounded on the verge of tears, prompting Celestia to start crying herself. ”We are going to cut off their convoy once and for all… I will see you soon.”

With a gasp, Luna opened her eyes and looked around her room. Altair was still curled up next to her, clutching her tightly as he held his head against her fur. It had been a difficult day for him, and the news that Maria wasn’t coming home yet had lead to him becoming extra clingy. Luna supposed that in Maria’s mind, sacrificing herself like that was the right thing to do, but for a seasoned Princess it was far too bold. Dominic had certainly been beside himself, and now that it turned out things were far from okay he had thrown himself entirely into repelling the enemy invaders. He had ordered his tank be prepared, and undoubtedly had already boarded the freight train that would carry him and his crew to the front.

Luna sighed softly and leaned down to give Altair a kiss on the forehead, this prompted the boy to look up at her with his bloodshot eyes. There were tear stains on his cheeks, and on Luna’s fur, but despite that he was doing his best to remain calm and stoic.

“Are you going to fight too, Mother?” Altair asked as he leaned his head back down against Luna’s side, the alicorn bit her tongue and took a deep breath. She hated having to choose between comforting her son and defeating the enemy, but that was one of the many burdens of her position. The night before had been rough for her, Altair had had many nightmares about Maria and the Caribou, and oddly enough that had been what had pushed her over the edge. She knew that there were many children that would be having nightmares because of the Caribou, as Guardian of Dreams, it was her duty to put an end to that.

“Yes… Sweetie… I am.” Luna finally admitted, she felt Altair’s grip get tighter on her. “If I don’t, the Caribou could keep hurting people and taking them away from their families…”

“I want to come with.” Altair said as he looked up from Luna’s side again, his eyes were tearing up again. Luna shook her head slowly, but that didn’t loosen Altair’s grip. “I want to stop them too! I want them to leave us alone! I can help!”

“You’re too young for this sort of thing, Altair.” Luna said firmly, but Altair refused to let go of Luna and he refused to look away. “I can’t subject you to any more danger.”

“I hate them!” Altair shouted, surprising Luna with how much volume he had managed. What was more, she could see in her son’s eyes that this wasn’t an idle declaration.”I want to help get rid of them! They made mommy have to leave!” Luna sighed quietly and put her wing over Altair, the boy slowly released his grip and buried his head against her neck.

“Shh… Shh…” Luna hushed as she leaned down and gave him a nuzzle, Altair was trembling and it made the alicorn’s blood boil to know that the Caribou had wounded him on an emotional level. “The best thing you can do to help get rid of them is to stay safe…” Luna felt Altair’s grip on her loosen, he sniffled and wiped his nose. “Keep calm, my child…”

“I… I’ll try.” Altair said quietly, Luna sat up and got off of her bed.

“Your Great Aunt Julia will look after you until I get back, okay?” Luna explained, Altair nodded quietly. “I have to go put a stop to this madness…” The mare stood up quietly and hugged Altair, the young boy hugged her tightly.

“Please, can’t you wait a little longer?” Altair said in a needy tone, Luna felt herself conflicted once again. She had to choose between spending time with her son, and spending time flying to the battleground. Reluctantly, the mare sat back down on the bed and nuzzled Altair once again. “Why did she tell them to go without her?”

“She… She was afraid that it would’ve taken too much time…” Luna explained, that was how the soldiers had put it when they had reported the original incident. “She was worried that you would’ve gotten hurt if they had waited any longer. We love you so much, we don’t want to see you hurt, in her mind I’m sure she thought it was the right thing to do…” Altair hugged Luna tighter, burrowing his head against her side.

“W-Why did dad have to go?” Altair asked, his voice muffled by Luna’s fur. The alicorn quietly sighed and rubbed her temples with her wings.

“Your father is the commander of all our soldiers.” Luna explained softly, returning her wing to rest over Altair’s shoulders. “He feels it’s his duty to lead from the front, he won’t order his soldiers to do anything he wouldn’t do himself…” The mare looked to the floor, sighing as she thought that perhaps she was partially responsible for that sense of duty. Perhaps she had taught Dominic too well. “It helps make the soldiers feel better, so they fight better.”

“Are you sure I can’t go with you?” Altair asked as he looked up from Luna’s fur, the mare looked back at him. “I… I want to do my duty too.” Luna shook her head quietly before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the forehead, she pulled away and sighed.

“When you are older… If you really want to follow that path… Then we will teach you.” Luna admitted, she saw a look of determination spread across her son’s face. “But only when you’re older.”

“Okay…” Altair stated softly before resting his head against Luna once again, the alicorn curled up around him to give him a bit more comfort. His trembling had come to a halt, and Luna could tell the worst of his fears had been put at ease. Her eyes flicked towards the window, watching as an airship passed the balcony, bound for the Southern Coast. It let out a low howl from its horn as it sailed through the air.

[♠]

Dominic jolted up in his command seat as the whistle of the train engine pierced the air, the brakes were squealing loudly and the distant sound of artillery had become similar to a sort of white noise machine. Eight years had brought a lot of changes to tanks in the Onorussian military. Though T-34-85s were still used as infantry support vehicles, the backbone of the Onorussian’s assault tank divisions was the M60A1 Patton. Dominic had always been partial to it, it got back to a four man crew as opposed to five. The man rubbed his head quietly and looked at his comrades in the tank, they were in varying states of readiness.

The man silently sat up and peaked out the viewfinder, the train was starting to pull into a freight yard where the tanks could be unloaded. From the looks of the overcast sky, it was getting near four in the afternoon. Dominic looked to his watch, confirming his suspicions. He had been notified earlier that Maria hadn’t been found, a load he was unhappy to have on his mind. He couldn’t wrap his head around her staying behind, he supposed in the heat of the moment mistakes could’ve been made. His attention also went towards her even being near the coast, in that regard… He had thought the bulk of the New Axis fleet was in the northern ocean, far away from the southern coast. In theory, Maria and Altair, as well as her newly discovered family members, should’ve been safe… In theory.

Dominic gave himself a hard slap across the face, he was getting sloppy, careless. This attack was eerily reminiscent of Pearl Harbor, he and his staff had thought the Caribou and their allies inferior, both technologically and tactically. Just as America had underestimated the Japanese at the start of the Second World War. If the Caribou were anything near as fanatical as the Japanese, the conflict could stretch out for years. That was prospect that Dominic didn’t want to linger on, the main goal at the moment was to repel the invaders. It could be argued that perhaps him coming to the front was also a poor choice, but Dominic felt it was his duty to lead by example from the front. He also would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power to find Maria, still keeping that promise he had made all those years ago on Earth.

“Gear, Avos, Scribs…” Dominic mumbled as he ran a hand down his face and looked at his crew, Scribs was sitting next to Avos in the Loader’s position. The reporter had found that military life suited him, and as thanks for his service, Dominic had brought him on as part of his tank crew. “What’s our estimated unloading time?” The man steadied himself as the train lurched to a stop.

“We should be one of the first ones unloaded…” Gear said as he looked out the driver’s periscope, watching as soldiers outside moved rapidly to begin unloading the tanks. Dominic stood up and checked over the fifty caliber machine gun that was part of a smaller turret resting atop the main. It was standard in all tanks of that build, providing a better way of suppressing ground troops. He ensured that it was ready before relaxing back into his seat. “Looks like word spread that you were coming, sir. There’s a bunch of guys out there.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.” Dominic said with a nod, he reached over and picked up his peaked officer’s cap. The man placed it squarely on his head. “Wish me luck.” The others nodded as they went about their work, Dominic pushed open the hatch of the tank, allowing the full sound of the outside to pour into the tank. He stood up and looked to the right where the crowd was gathering, then climbed out of the tank and stood atop the turret. “Achtung!” The soldiers snapped to attention, Dominic cleared his throat and stood up straight. “It is good to see you here today!” The man paused, watching the soldiers reaction. “And it will be even better to see you soon breaking through their lines!”

“Ura! Ura! Ura!” The soldiers chanted back loudly.

“We will teach those Axis pigs how to fight!” Dominic shouted louder, doing his best to inspire the troops as more of the tanks were unloaded from the train. He adjusted his stance atop the tank, trying to make himself look even bigger. “They thought they could bully us into submission! They thought we would give way and fall!” The man pointed to the west, towards the front lines. “Today, we will show them that our nation bows to no one!” Dominic drew his sabre from his belt and pointed it towards the sky. “Today, we show them the might of the Onorussian Republic!” Dominic reached down and opened the hatch of his tank as he slipped his sword back into its scabbard. “Get to your vehicles! We go to war!” The assembled soldiers shouted loudly, Dominic sunk back into his seat and closed the hatch.

“Helluva speech, sir… Sounded really good.” Scribs said from his seat, Dominic rubbed his forehead and clenched his eyes for a moment.

“And unoriginal…” The man mumbled. “I needed to say something, so I modified some speech I heard in a video game.” The others shrugged and continued readying the tank to be unloaded from the train. “Forgive me if I’m not in my best improvisational mindset.”

“Still seems to have worked, regardless.” Avos said as she finished sorting the shells one final time, Dominic pulled on his headset over his peaked cap. The others followed suit as they heard the chains holding their tank to the train being undone. Gear reached forward and pulled the starter, causing the engine to rumble to life. Several more minutes passed before Dominic felt the tank rumbling down a ramp and onto the solid earth beside the train, Gear began following signs that pointed to the route tanks for the 88th Assault Division were supposed to take. The area around the road was heavily wooded, and there were reports of Caribou snipers and Hunter-Killer RPG teams lurking about.

Dominic sighed as they continued driving along, looking over his AK-47 that leaned against his seat. It was the same one he had bought on Earth the day after finding Maria, his eternal reminder of his vow to keep fighting until she was safe. With the aid of the 88th Division the Onorussians were staving off the enemy advance and forcing the Caribou into a stalemate, Dominic would be glad to fight alongside the 88th, they followed the way of the Night Warrior as he did.

As the drive dragged on, Dominic found himself thinking more and more about the strategy to win the war. The ultimate goal for repelling the invasion was to destroy the Caribou’s naval capability, the bulk of the Onorussian Naval fleet would arrive within the next two forty eight hours, and Luna had expressed she would be taking up the fight as well. Even the airships that usually patrolled the border of the Frozen North were being brought down to the south, acting as a shield against a possible dragon invasion. Once the Caribou were driven out, Dominic would issue an ultimatum to the individual nations of the New Axis. Surrender or face the brunt of the Onorussian’s Thermo-Arcane Arsenal.

The commander hated to think in absolutes, but he had to remember that the good of his people and his soldiers came before the good of his enemy. If the New Axis refused to yield, it was them that had condemned their people to death, not him. At least, that’s how Dominic justified it to himself. There was likely to be backlash about the decision, but the reporters could be damned, he’d defy them to do better. Before Dominic’s mind could continue to wander much further, he heard the sound of his radio buzzing.

”Sounds like we’re getting closer, sir.” Gear said, Dominic snapped out of his thoughts. The shelling was louder and more violent, nearly half an hour had passed since they had gotten off the train. Dominic stood up in the turret and pushed open the hatch, looking around as they passed a group of four burning Caribou tanks in a field. There were also three destroyed T-34s that belched black smoke into the sky as they burned, melting the snow around them. The chilly air bit at Dominic’s skin, prompting him to slip back down into the tank.

”Their beams are cutting through the armor like butter! We must withdraw!” Shouted a frantic voice over the radio, Dominic felt himself transported back to the Battle for Denver, watching as a tank was destroyed by an Anti-Tank rocket while the crew cried out for help. He shook his head and steadied himself.

”This is Sturmgeist Power Armor Drop Troops will deploy in two minutes. Another voice said over the radio, Dominic could hear the engines of an C-130 overhead, likely belonging to the 88th Division. The man had tested Power Armor before, and while it was certainly strong, he wasn’t sure he would have the fortitude to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with only a drag chute to slow his fall. Dare muttered a couple things into the radio, notifying the front that they had arrived in the combat area.

”Commander, they’ve given us orders to join a group of tanks preparing to charge their lines.” Gear said over the internal comms, Dominic removed his headset and peaked cap and picked up a helmet resting beside his seat. The man pulled it on and plugged into the internal communications, then switched on to the radio channels, listening to the chatter from the numerous tanks preparing for the assault.

Avos reached over and flicked the combat lighting on, illuminating the inside of the tank with a ghostly red glow. Dominic closed his eyes as the tank continued driving, doing his best to psych himself up for the coming conflict. He thought of all that he stood to lose, his family, his country, everything he had worked for. The man opened his eyes and leaned forward, looking through his command periscope with the vision of a predator.

The line of tanks was ahead, parked near an embankment on the edge of a farmer's field. Their headlights were off, but their outlines were silhouetted against the fires in the distance. The sun was going lower, and with the snow and cloud cover, it was difficult to see.

“Halt.” Dominic ordered, Gear stopped the tank between two other Pattons. Like the Imperator’s tank, they were painted dark grey with a light grey elongated hexagon on the turrets. Dominic activated the radio. “This is Night Eagle. In position.”

“Roger, sir.” The voice of Colonel Iron Eye, an experienced griffon officer, replied over the radio, Dominic continued peeking through his pariscope at the field ahead. ”Across the field is the enemy held village of Little Brook, the Caribou must hold this village in order to maintain their supply routes to their units north and south of here. Are we going to let them keep it?”

”No, sir!” Was the rousing reply from the other members of the 88th, Dominic remained silent as he continued watching the horizon.

”Then let’s begin! Comrades, we will bring glory to Mother Onorus!” Iron Eye shouted over the radio, Dominic could hear the engines of the other tanks revving outside. The sound of three C-130s went almost unheard. Almost.

”This is Sturmgeist. Power Armored Units have deployed!” The radio buzzed, Dominic knew that the caribou were in for a very bad time. He sat up straight as he watched the sky, scanning for those familiar hulking bodies of steel. Sure enough he saw them as they passed through the clouds, each of them being slowed by a solitary crimson drag chute. They were painted black, with thick silver and light blue stripes going up their legs and arms.

Across the field, hunkered down in their foxholes and captured buildings, the combined forces of the New Axis watched in stunned amazement as hulking beasts of steel fell from the sky. The very ground shook when they landed, cracking the snow covered earth. Loud pops echoed from their backs, allowing their crimson red shrouds to fall away. Whirring gears and hissing steam greeted the ears of the Caribou invaders as the eyes of these metal monstrosities glowed red with fury. These hulking behemoths of metal were armed with massive looking weapons, some with more than one barrel. An eerie silence fell over the battlefield, pierced only by the sound of battle in the distance. In an instant, it was shattered by a droning mechanical voice from the largest of the metal monsters.

“We are the guards of the New World Order! While the enemies of the Imperator still draw breath, there can be no peace!” It declared loudly before lowering its multi barreled weapon, the others followed suit, prompting the New Axis troops to snap out of their shock and begin firing their Arcane weapons at the behemoths. To their stunned amazement, the bolts deflected off the armor without leaving much of a scratch. Unlike other power armor suits, the suits of the 88th Division were made of almost completely pure Earth materials and much heavier. Designed for a single purpose. To destroy. Armed with heavy shotguns and gatling guns, they began to tear into the enemy forces.

That was the signal for the tanks to begin their charge, Gear grinder slammed the engine into maximum gear as they tore across the snowy field. Avos and Scribs worked in tandem to fire the main gun relentlessly at the entrenched New Axis forces. Unsurprisingly, the Saddle Arabians were already starting to route from the field. Meanwhile, the Zebras took a different approach. They rushed out towards the power armored forces holding bags filled with explosives, but were cut down before they got very far. The Caribou seemed to be the only ones holding the line, overhead the sound of jet engines signaled that the fighters were on schedule. Dominic was nearly blinded by bright light as a pair of F4 Phantoms streaked down through the clouds and released ethanol bombs over the enemy position.

Her flinched as he saw some of the houses catching fire, for all he knew the Caribou could be holding Maria in one of them. That well of uncertainty just could not be capped as the tank charged onwards, bolts of energy pinged off of the tank. Dominic knew that there were stronger ones in store though, he watched as an enemy arcane cannon fired a bolt towards the tank next to his. The arcane energy discharged on the Earth Material Armor, but the heat of the discharge was what did the damage.

The paint was stripped clean, and a piece of spare track that had been laid on the turret as extra armor was glowing. Of course the T-34s Dominic had seen in that field had stood no chance against such a weapon. Dominic was silently uncertain about his own prospects, but there was no time to back out. Even if there was, Dominic would’ve stayed regardless. The tanks continued until they caught up with the power armored troops that were moving towards town. The troops had taken several losses to the Arcane cannons, but now that the tanks were there the attention would hopefully be off them.

The flames of the ethanol bombs burned brightly, sending Caribou crawling out of their foxholes and rolling on the ground. Their fur was soaked in the flaming liquid which was burning with an eerie blue light, the Power Armored troops marched towards the city. Their guns continued to chop away, spewing large spent casings onto the ground. Dominic focussed his periscope on the closest Arcane cannon, a rather angular, almost futuristic looking, contraption.

“Traverse left three hundred and thirty degrees! Angle ten degrees! Range eighty yards!” Dominic ordered, Avos responded by hitting the rotation switch. The turret whined as it rotated, meanwhile Scribs began turning a crank to get the cannon to its appropriate angle. “Load Armor Piercing!” Gear slowed the tank as the other tanks began to roll over scorched Caribou bodies. The Arcane Cannon rotated towards the tank next to Dominic’s. “Fire!”

”On the way!” Avos shouted, the tank cannon boomed and kicked back, sending a round of armor piercing towards the Arcane cannon. Dominic watched through the periscope as the round came in a bit too low and ricocheted off into the air.

”Too low! Bring it up five degrees!” Dominic ordered, the Arcane Cannon glowed blue for a second before a bolt of magic shot out and struck the tank next to Dominic’s a gout of flame erupted as the heat from the impact ignited the ammunition rack. Dominic felt his head smack against the periscope as the explosion rocked his tank. Meanwhile Scirbs slammed another shell into the gun and closed the breach.

”Gun ready!” Avos announced.

“Fire!” Dominic ordered again.

”On the way!” Avos responded, once again firing the gun. The cannon kicked back into the turret as a burst of purple arcane flames erupted from the muzzle. Dominic watched the shell streak towards the Arcane cannon before impacting. The ground shook as the cannon exploded, sending exploded shells and burning body parts cartwheeling along the ground. The man nearly jumped out of his skin as a rather disfigured zebra head landed on the tank in front of his periscope. The tank went over a bump, causing the head to fall off to the side, but Dominic still could feel its eyes boring into him. The man closed his eyes and shook his head, the Caribou were putting up a hell of a fight to maintain control of the village, but Dominic was confident the Onorussian assault would prevail. He just hoped he could keep his composure that long.

[♠]

Jack gritted his teeth as he held the control stick of his P-38 in his hands, he was on the tail of an enemy tri-wing looking to score another kill. The Colonel had been put on the duty of clearing the sky of enemy fighters, and jets were too fast to take on biplanes. It felt good to be back in the seat of his old P-38, the twin engines howling on either side of him as he boomed and zoomed through a furball of confusion in the cloudy skies above New Murmansk. Snow was whizzing past his canopy as he chased his prey through the clouds, other planes would zoom past as well. The pilot of the tri-wing had maneuverability on their side, and unlike the other New Axis flyers, they seemed to be somewhat skilled in the art of flying.

The tri-wing ducked into a thick bank of clouds, Jack decided to not risk going in, he had more speed and it would be difficult to evade if the two clashing pilots chanced a collision. He narrowed his eyes on the clouds, watching for any sign of the other plane. Just as he was about to chance entering the cloud he caught sight of something coming out of the cloud just to his right. The sound of machine guns reached his ears, the plane was certainly close. Jack’s P-38 shuttered as it was raked with bullets, the tri-wing didn’t have to worry about overshooting the P-38 and managed to squeeze off a few more bursts, peppering Jack’s right vertical stabilizer and putting holes in the rear horizontal strut.

The man pulled right on the stick, rolling over and bleeding off airspeed. He leveled off behind the tri-wing and pulled the trigger, bullets streaked forward from his guns and cannons, punishing the enemy plane. Jack’s eyes went wide as he watched the top wing of the tri-wing sheer off and begin flying back at him. The man yanked back on his stick just as the wing scraped the bottom of his fuselage. The man was panting, quickly scanning the skies for the enemy.

Once again he spotted the now biplane, somehow still in tact after losing a third of its lift. Jack rolled back onto its tail, his finger tightening around the trigger. In that instant, he saw the pilot of the enemy plane glance over his shoulder. Fighting in a jet had gotten Jack used to not seeing the face of his opponent, but now he found himself staring into the eyes of the Saddle Arabian, and the Saddle Arabian was staring right back at him. Jack throttled up and pulled up alongside the enemy plane, still staring at the pilot. He was young, with grey fur and a flowing black mane.

Jack noticed that the plane he was flying next to was orange, he hadn’t noticed before. However, he also noticed something else on the side of the plane. Like the skull painted on the nose of his P-38, the Saddle Arabian had an emblem of his own. A chained collar around a pony’s neck. The man’s eyes narrowed, his teeth gritting, for some reason the pony in the Emblem just looked too much like Tig. He throttled back suddenly, catching the Saddle Arabian by surprise. His engines roared like bengal tigers, his blood raced through his veins, even as chunks of the airframe flapped in the wind from the damage. He pulled the trigger, laying down a punishing volley on the enemy plane, wood and canvas caught fire as tracer rounds punched through the cockpit, slaying the young pilot.

Jack found himself laughing as he watched the plane go spiralling out of control, the same eerie ghoulish laugh that had earned him his first nickname. He was smiling too, and he didn’t know why, but for some reason he felt completely fine with himself. The Colonel circled back towards the furball, his eyes shrunk to pinpricks as he sought out his next prey, that eerie chuckle continuing to echo through the cockpit. He locked onto a pair of biplanes trying to evade a P-47, his heart rate shot up higher as he gritted his teeth and zoomed in on his prey. The pilot of the P-47 watched the shot up P-38 get closer, its guns blazing brightly as it sent a flurry of hot lead towards the two biplanes.

Jack panted as he watched the two planes spiralling down through the clouds, his eyes felt heavy, he hadn’t slept properly for two nights. The fight was taking its toll on his mind and body, his eyes quietly flicked down to his ammunition counter. He had downed seven planes so far and burned through almost all of his ammo, next to the ammo counter was a picture of Tig that had been taped to the dashboard. Jack quietly sighed and began rolling his plane back towards the fight once again, he was alone in the sky for the first time in a long time. No Sarah, none of his old squadron mates… Just him, his plane, and that picture. A couple biplanes emerged from the clouds beneath and behind his plane, their guns began firing as soon as they spotted him.

Jack was so zoned out he didn’t notice the bullets pinging off of his wings at first, as soon as he did he took evasive action, but oil and fuel were leaking from the right engine and the ailerons were sluggish. Just as he was assessing the damage, another burst of fire came from the distance, raking his cockpit with bullets. He gasped as freezing cold air burst in through the shattered canopy, shards of broken glass lodged themselves in his legs, and a burning sensation in his thigh was almost unbearable.

“T-This is.. Alert One… Wounded and shot up… RTB.” He said, trying to keep himself awake as he began nursing his limping P-38 back towards Onorussian lines. The world around him felt like it was getting more blurry, the spinning dials on his dashboard didn’t seem to make as much sense. One of them was covered in something, the pilot quietly reached out and wiped it away, then looked at his gloved finger to see what it was. Crimson blood stared back at him, he could tell he was cut up pretty bad. Jack’s eyes darted to a mirror he used to check his six o’clock, he could see his face was paler than usual.

For ten agonizing minutes he flew, the clouds were devoid of planes, beautiful and vast, hiding the battle that raged below as the sunset gave its last rays in the distance. Jack took slow deep breaths as he tried to keep his eyes open, his instruments were one step below unreadable, his ears were ringing. The last daylight faded away, and it was only at that point that Jack could see what was going on beneath him. Flashes of light from artillery shells lit up below the clouds, occasionally he could see tracer rounds flying up through the darkness. Snow and freezing air continued to pour into the cockpit, it was the only thing keeping Jack from passing out. Something was buzzing in his ear, he couldn’t quite make it out.

”...One... run...two three… vehicles… by?” A voice spoke into his ear, Jack sat up and focussed, trying to get a fix on what they were saying. ”Say again! Alert One! Runway Two Three is open! Do you need emergency vehicles on standby!”

“Y-Yeah…” Jack said tiredly, looking up through the canopy at the stars, then back down to his dimly lit instruments. The man began to descend, both out of necessity and because he was starting to lean forward on the stick.

”We have you Alert One… Keep coming in like that.” The voice said over the radio, it was the tower, Jack remembered it now. His eyes ached, he just wanted to sleep, for five minutes, that’s all. But the cold snow and air forced him awake once again. Weakly the man reached out and extended his flaps as he dropped through the clouds, doing his best to run over his landing checklist in his head. ”You’re coming in a little hot, Alert One!” Jack throttled back, one of his engines sputtering and shaking as the oil was starting to run low. Ahead of him he could see the landing strip, lit up like a christmas tree while flashing emergency vehicle lights sat at the end of one of the runways.

“Alert… One… Coming in…” Jack said as he gripped the stick with all his might, there was frantic chatter in his ear, but it was blocked once again by the ringing noise. He got lower and lower, his engines protesting as they neared the ground. Jack looked towards the picture of Tig and smiled, he’d be seeing her soon, just as soon as he landed. The man watched spotlights flick on, lighting up troops on the ground, they were waving at him. It was odd they would do that, he didn’t think now was the best time for them to say hello. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the frantic chatter and waving began to make more sense. Unfortunately, Jack was already at the foot of the runway.

”Your gear isn’t down! Wave off! Wave off!” The tower shouted, Jack didn’t have time to comprehend. ”Power! Power Power! Eject! Eject! Eject!” The aircraft landed belly first at almost full speed, skidding along the runway and leaving a trail of sparks and metal in its wake. The leaking fuel and oil found a source of ignition rapidly as the right wing and engine were torn off of the aircraft in a fiery explosion, Jack was bounced around as his plane cartwheeled down the runway before coming to a stop.

Sirens echoed over the tarmac as firetrucks and medics rushed towards the flaming wreckage, the commander of the base was also sprinting towards the crash. Sarah felt her heart pounding harder in her chest than it ever had before, even with her hurt leg she still covered the distance in record time. She arrived at the crash just as they were dousing the flames in foam, medics were rushing a stretcher towards a waiting ambulance. The General rushed towards the ambulance and looked in, watching in stunned shock as the medics worked over… Something. She couldn’t believe that it was Jack, charred black skin, twitching fingers, rubber boot soles melted to its feet… No… That couldn’t be Jack.

Sarah looked back at the crash, but there was no body in the cockpit, her eyes turned back to the ambulance as it took off down the runway with its sirens blaring. The woman put her hands on her head, doing her best to hold her composure. She had been the one to pressure him to come back to Onorus, and even though she couldn’t have predicted such a thing would happen, it didn’t stop her from blaming herself. Sarah quietly turned and looked towards the front lines, watching Artillery flashes in the distance as the ground crews began clearing the runway. It was dark, and cold, and so no one could see the tears rolling down her cheeks. They lasted for only a couple minutes before she wiped her eyes and forced herself to choke back her emotions… She had a military base to run, and no matter how much she wanted to curl up and cry, she had obligations to meet. With a stiff upper lip she began walking back towards the control tower to prepare for the next planes that would need to land.

And so the war went on.

Author's Notes:

Well, here's another one for you lovelies!

And here's your clip of the day. A little levity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ

EDIT: Also, I finally got around to drawing something else for the story.