The sun rose over the city of Tokyo, the peaceful calm of the morning broken up by the sound of helicopter blades chopping through the air. The Onorussian forces had set up at Narita Airport, and unlike their operations in Europe the mission in Japan was far more difficult. There had been several heavy earthquakes, roads and bridges had been destroyed or covered in rubble, dams had either broken or overflowed, and there were large cracks in pavement. For Dimitri Adler, who was on his first overseas deployment, it was a sight to see. The wind blew against the young man’s face as he sat in the huey helicopter as it flew at treetop level over the surrounding area, there was a formation of them following behind it.

Their mission today would be to make contact with a couple survivor settlements that had been spotted from the air, as well as bring in a group of Japanese Ground Defense Force troops that had been holding out at a base to the north. Dimitri had luckily been assigned to the mission to bring in the JGDF, they had made radio contact a few days ago, and from what they had said it sounded like they were just about out of supplies. What was more, there was heavy bandit activity around them, it would only be a matter of time before they were overrun. Dimitri watched as the helicopters split off once they reached the outskirts of Tokyo and the buildings became fewer and fewer, replaced by more trees and green plants.

Down below, Dimitri could see a column of trucks and APCs making its way along a road in one direction while refugees streamed towards the city. The young man felt truly bad for some of them, as the Onorussian government vetted refugees carefully. If they didn’t have documents or papers, they would need to be quarantined for half a year before they could be sent through to the otherside. That wasn’t to say they would be mistreated, they’d have access to all the amenities that Onorus could provide, but Dimitri knew that staying in this world was probably not what they wanted.

The helicopter continued flying, flanked on either side by its two companions for the flight. Ahead of them he could make out the silhouette of a chinook, which would be used to evacuate the Japanese defenders. Dimitri sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat, adjusting the ballistic vest that he wore. He looked at his fellow soldiers, some were doing their best to chat over the noise of the helicopter blades, others were checking over their rifles. Troops in Japan had been issued AK-47s, seeing as the climate and terrain were rough and muddy in the summer months that were coming up.

Japan was certainly different from his last posting on the Crystal Empire Border, he found himself enjoying all the green and other colors, and the fact that it wasn’t freezing was another plus. He wouldn’t mind living there once it was recolonized by Onorus. That being said, the man had noticed a lot of strange things here, but he had heard it was like that before the infection had struck. He had watched some of the cartoons that Japan was so famous for, Dimitri couldn’t believe that such shows had once existed. They were good, he would give them credit, but they were also very strange. The man leaned his head back and closed his eyes, listening to the radio chatter as the chinook met up with the three hueys and joined them on the flight north.

The flight lasted an hour and a half before things began to pick up, Dimitri had just managed to nod off when he heard the telltale sound of a bullet pinging off the side of the helicopter. He and the others all sat up, going tense as the pilots began adjusting their course, Dimitri didn’t dare look outside for fear of having his head shot off. Instead he tightened the strap on his kevlar helmet and readied his AK, much like the others were doing.

”We have a hot LZ! Heavy Bandit activity, they’re trying to take the JGDF outpost! You’re going to need to jump!” The pilot announced over the intercom, Dimitri felt a knot form in his stomach. This was his first taste of real combat, he’d been shot at before, but he had never returned fire. The helicopter began lowering its altitude, and Dimitri looked to his commanding officer for guidance. His CO, a captain by the name of Sloan, looked at him and nodded his head simply.

“I know this is going to be first combat for a lot of you, just remember two things. Remember your training, and most importantly… Remember you’re Onorussian Marines! And all the EOL soldiers in hell cannot overrun you! Gott mit uns!”

“GOTT MIT UNS!” Dimitri and the others shouted back, the man felt his blood pulsing faster and faster as he psyched himself up for his first taste of battle. The helicopter was getting even lower, approaching a fortified concrete building with a large grassy courtyard out front which was surrounded by sandbags and fences. Dimitri could see bandits running towards it, they were practically close enough to spit on. The door gunners took advantage of this, opening up on them with their M60s as the helicopter got closer to the ground. The huey stopped when it was just five feet from the ground.

“Go! Go! Go!” Sloan ordered loudly, Dimitri and the others leapt from the helicopter and landed with grunts on the ground, rolling to break their falls. The man looked around as the helicopter took off, he moved away as the second huey began lowering to let its own troops off. “First squad on me! Come on!” Dimitri stood up and rushed towards his CO, Sloan was moving towards the sandbags which were being used by a group of people that wore disheveled uniforms. The Onorussians took cover behind the sandbag as bullets flew past their heads and kicked up dust, Sloan looked towards one of the disheveled soldiers who looked like the ranking officer. “Hey! I’m Captain Sloan, Onorussian Globe Corps!” The soldier, a tired looking woman holding a battered rifle looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Do you speak English?!” She stared at him. “Fuck! Okay, Hastings, Jenson, go find their radio operator! They speak English!”

“Yes, sir!” Two of Dimitri’s squad mates replied before taking off down the line, Sloan looked to Dimitri and the others.

“The rest of you, return fire!” Sloan ordered before he popped up over the sandbag and began firing at the incoming horde of bandits, the enemy was armed with various makeshift weapons, as well as firearms that had been looted from police stations and other military bases. Dimitri flipped the fire selector to automatic and rose from behind cover, he took aim at one of the oncoming bandits. His heart was racing as he stared at the man down the sights, his grip was shaking. “Corporal Adler! Fire your weapon! That’s an order!” Adler narrowed his eyes and exhaled like he was taught in training, his finger squeezed the trigger and let fly a burst of fire. The bandit took two bullets to the gut and fell like a sack of potatoes, Dimitri gritted his teeth and began firing again. “That’s it, Corporal! Keep up the fire! You’re doin’ great!”

The bandits seemed to keep coming, rushing out of the trees and grass that surrounded the facility like mad, screaming and shouting in Japanese. Dimitri had been just a boy when the infected had ravaged the world, but he still remembered what the hordes looked like, very similar to these bandits. That’s how he began to see his enemy, and that made it easier for him to pull the trigger. Dimitri heard a pained groan to his left, he dropped behind cover and looked over. To his horror he found one of his squadmates, an earth pony by the name of Cabbage, laying on the ground. Or… What was left of him. His head was practically gone, all Dimitri could do was stare, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.

“Corporal!” Sloan shouted, but Dimitri didn’t answer. Sloan moved closer and was about to start yelling when he saw the look on Dimitri’s face. “Dimitri!” The young man turned towards his commanding officer. “Stay with me, son. You’re keeping us alive! You forget about him for now, get your head back in the game!” Dimitri nodded slowly and turned his attention back to the bandits, holstering his rifle and zoning out. His body was on autopilot, taking shots at the bandits with lethal efficiency, all the while his eyes were wide and distant. The bloody mess burned itself into his mind until it was all that he could see. The howl of jet engines bored its way past the ringing in his ears, his eyes snapped to the horizon as a flight of F4s flew over the tropical tree tops that the Bandits were pouring out of.

Massive plumes of fire erupted as they passed overhead, setting the trees ablaze. Dimitri watched as bandits rushed out of the trees, their clothes and bodies ablaze from the mix of napalm and phosphorus that had been dropped on them. Dimitri could see the survivors beginning to retreat, while the flaming bandits continued staggering towards the firing line, holding their hands above their heads, hoping that surrender would result in some aid with their burns. Dimitri was going to fire at them, to put them out of their misery… But something in his mind snapped, and he lowered his weapon… He stood up, staring at them with a blank expression, watching them burn to charred husks… The smell, the disgusting smell of burning flesh, the crackle of skin and fat… The screams of agony… It surrounded him like a thick fog, penetrating his mind to its very core.

He wasn’t aware of Sloan’s voice at first, not until the man had put his hand on his shoulder and shook him a couple times. Dimitri blinked a couple times and turned to look at the Captain, Sloan could see in the young man’s eyes that he was doing his best to compartmentalize what had just happened. The Captain would’ve normally given Dimitri time to recoup his thoughts, but unfortunately they had a mission to carry out.

“Corporal, I need you to help the wounded JGDF to the chinook. Once you’re done there, help Jenson and the others sure up the defenses.” Sloan ordered, Dimitri nodded quietly, but his eyes were drawn over to the corpse that lay on the ground. “We have to hold this position until reinforcements from Narita arrive.” Sloan snapped his fingers a few times, catching Dimitri’s attention again. “Listen to me. What are you?”

“A Marine…” Dimitri replied.

“What are you!?” Sloan said louder, Dimitri took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

“A Marine!” He shouted, even as he felt his eyes water. Sloan gave him a hard pat on the shoulder.

“Damn right! You are an Onorussian Globe Corps Marine! You’ll get past this, you can get past any damn thing! Gott mit uns!” Sloan said louder, Dimitri nodded, his face becoming more serious. “Now go… I’ll take care of our fallen brother.” Dimitri nodded and slung his rifle over his shoulders, taking off with a new purpose in his step, leaving Sloan and his fallen comrade to carry out his orders. Sloan looked down at Cabbage and knelt down, he pulled one of the dog tags from the stallion’s necklace and tucked it into his pocket. The Captain turned his attention to a nearby tarp and pulled it over, then gently draped it over the body as a sign of respect.

“You were good, son… Real good.” Sloan said as he watched a couple corpsmen coming over with a stretcher. “Rest easy…” The man stood up as the corpsmen began to load the body onto the stretcher, the captain watched around the rest of the field, as similar teams were coming to collect the bodies of the dead. At the end of the battle, a total of four Marines had lost their lives, as well as four JGDF troops. The captain walked towards the building, as he did so he spotted Jenson rushing towards him with a Japanese man in tow, he wore civilian clothes unlike the other soldiers.

“Captain!” Jenson shouted as they got closer. “Sir, I found the radio operator. He’s a civie, he stuck around when the others were evacuated eight years ago.” Sloan turned towards the radio operator and offered a brief bow, it had been part of their pre-deployment briefing to have a basic understanding of the local customs.

“I’m Captain Sloan, Onorussian Globe Corps… Can you interpret for us?” Sloan asked, the man nodded quickly. “Excellent, can you tell me which of the officers here is the commander?”

“My name is Asahi, as for the commander… She is. Her name is Lieutenant Colonel Kiryuin.” The man said as he pointed at the woman that Sloan had first seen, as it turned out she was walking towards the group with a mountain of a man beside her. He was almost as tall as Sloan, and just as muscled. He also appeared younger than the Lieutenant Colonel, leading the Captain to believe that he was the second in command. The two of them stopped in front of the Captain, and Asahi. Asahi spoke to the woman in japanese, gesturing to the Captain a couple times. From the looks of the Lieutenant Colonel’s very large and noticeable eyebrows, she seemed to be annoyed, and yet relieved. She spoke to Asahi, and the man turned to Sloan. “She says she thanks you for your assistance, asking for help from outsiders was not an easy thing to do.”

“Tell her our mission here is to aid survivors in any way we can, we’ll be sure that this facility remains secure.” Sloan replied in an even tone, he watched Asahi translate, and then watched the eyebrows nearly jump off the woman’s face in surprise. The large man grunted and took a step forward, seconds later Jenson had raised his rifle. “Nein!” Sloan ordered, Jenson lowered his weapon. Kiryuin spoke to Asahi in a very irritated voice.

“She says she has no intention of giving up her post.” Asahi said with a bit of a wary expression, Sloan could tell from his face that he knew Kiryuin wasn’t bluffing.

“Tell her that her dedication is admirable, but we’re under orders to take control of this facility as a processing checkpoint for northern refugees.” Sloan said flatly. “Refusing would force refugees to walk even further before they could be processed and carried by truck to safe areas.” Asahi’s eyes widened, he quickly turned to Kiryuin and was about to begin translating. “And tell her… She and her second in command can stay, but we will be evacuating the rest of her troops to Narita Airport.” Asahi nodded once again and translated the message again, Kiryuin’s face softened for a couple seconds before she sighed and spoke quietly.

“She accepts your proposal.” Asahi said with a grin, Sloan smiled and quietly offered his hand to the lieutenant Colonel. The woman stared at him for a few moments, then reluctantly shook it.

“Mister Asahi, it seems we’re going to need an interpreter…” Sloan said as he brought his hand back to his side, he looked at the older gentleman and spoke calmly. “I realize you very likely wish to be evacuated, but you have a rapport with the Lieutenant Colonel here. I would by no means keep you from being evacuated, but if you were to decide to stay, we would more than happily compensate you for your time.”

“I’d be happy to, Captain.” Asahi said, gaining a smile from the captain. Sloan turned to Jenson and cleared his throat.

“Jenson, radio command. Notify them we have secured the position, designate it… Firebase Luna.” The captain ordered, Jenson nodded and moved off to issue the radio message. Sloan looked to the two Japanese officers and looked to Asahi. “I need to ask them about their defenses, as well as what resources they have left.” Asahi nodded, this began a long day’s work of suring up defenses and reinforcing the position. Intelligence reports had made it clear there was a lot more bandits in this area, and they were organized. The odds of another attack that night were increasingly high.

As the sun’s rays began to fade on the horizon Dimitri sat in his newly dug foxhole, his hands trembled as he held a smoldering cigarette between his fingers. He could still hear some of the others digging foxholes, as well as the crunch of boots against dirt as some men patrolled the perimeter. With their reinforcements, they had three platoons in total protecting the Firebase, but Captain Sloan was still the commanding officer of the operation, as he had a better rapport with the former commander. Dimitri’s face was coated with grime, and he still felt like shit, but he was doing his best to continue doing his duty. He looked up when he heard footsteps near his foxhole and spotted one of the perimeter guards walking his intended route. Dimitri was about to return to his cigarette when he heard shouting from above him in the distance, the man dropped his cigarette and stood up.

“Movement on the treeline! At least a hundred plus hostile foot mobiles!” Someone shouted as he ran through the camp.

“Which direction!?” Another shouted.

“Every direction! We’re surrounded!” The man shouted as he continued running to alert the rest of the troops, Dimitri instinctively checked his magazine and found that it was fully loaded. He slipped it back into his rifle and closed his eyes, doing his best to summon up the courage to fight. When he opened his eyes he found himself drawn to the cigarette pack in his breast pocket, he removed it and went to take a fresh smoke, but stopped when he saw the label. The Brand was a popular one, ‘New Liberty Blues’. Pictured on the pack was none other than the Onorussian seal…

Dimitri slipped the pack back into his pocket and narrowed his eyes, flicking the safety off his rifle and taking aim at the tree line as he waited for the order to fire. He knew it would be a long and bloody fight, that much he could tell from his brush with combat earlier that day. Many more would die, but he would do his best to draw strength from his flag… The stories about the Imperator drawing strength from his own flag were well known in the military, and served as the inspiration a young man like Dimitri needed.

“Fix bayonets! Join the firing line!” Sloan shouted in the distance, the order began to be repeated by other officers. Dimitri climbed out of the foxhole and made his way to the perimeter, now secured by barbed wire and sandbags. There were still portions that needed suring up, only so much could be done in one day, but it was still better than nothing. Dimitri pulled his bayonet from his belt and slid it onto the end of his AK-47, securing it tightly and aiming out into the dark treeline. Behind him, near the main three story building of the compound, he heard the telltale thump of a mortar firing. The shell whistled through the air for a second or so before it exploded above the field in a flash of light, the flare hung in the sky, illuminating the massive enemy force that was creeping towards the Firebase. “Open fire!”

The soldiers began firing at the coming horde, shell casings clattered to the ground as bullets and tracer rounds zipped through the air at the bandits. The Bandits began to return fire, using their own varying guns to defend themselves from the Onorussian’s fire. Dimitri looked to his right for a couple seconds and spotted a Machinegun Team firing an M2 Machine Gun, the loud booms of the fifty caliber ammunition echoed for miles. Dimitri turned his attention back to the coming bandits, even as they were cut down they just seemed to keep coming, getting closer and closer to the Onorussian defenses. Dimitri watched as one wounded bandit threw himself onto the barbed wire, acting as a bridge for his comrades to run over.

“They’re about to breach the perimeter! Prepare for hand to hand combat!” Sloan shouted from his position in a nearby foxhole. More and more wounded bandits followed the example of the first, sacrificing themselves for the good of their brethren. Bandits began to rush towards the sandbags, machine gun fire continued to cut them down, and still they charged on. They screamed and yelled, bellowing out war cries as they swarmed closer and closer. Dimitri could see most of them were armed with crude swords or machetes, and now that they were so much closer, he could also see they all seemed to have green armbands.

Dimitri lowered his rifle’s bayonet in preparation, gritting his teeth as the bandits ran towards him and his comrades, until finally they were too close to be dealt with by firearms. The young man had always thought that bayonet training was a waste of time, but now, he found himself thanking the heavens that he paid attention. He thrust the bayonet forward into the gut of one of the bandits as they hit the firing line, it turned into a brutal melee within seconds. Dimitri pulled the bayonet from the now dead bandit and moved onto another, bashing this one in the face with the butt of his rifle as hard as he could. Sloan watched in awe for only a second or two as his men held the line before he turned to his radio operator.

“We need artillery support!” He shouted, lifting his binoculars and scanning the horizon. The night vision module within and the flare from earlier illuminated the enemy force massing on the horizon. “Radio command! Fire mission, three hundred yards from grid reference one five zero! Load anti-personnel rounds!”

“Roger that!” The Radio operator shouted before picking up the radio next to him. “Iron Rain! Iron Rain! This is Fire Base Luna! We are under siege! Request fire mission, three hundred yards from grid reference one five zero! Anti-Personnel rounds! Danger close!” The radio was filled with static for only a few seconds before a voice replied.

“Copy that Fire Base Luna. Firing for effect.” The voice on the other end announced, Sloan watched the horizon with a nervous expression. The closest artillery was twenty miles away, he hoped that they would be accurate at this distance, as it was nearing the edge of their effective range. He didn’t hear booms over the fighting, but the telltale whistle of artillery shells overhead told him that they weren’t wasting any time. Explosions began to erupt in the targeted area, while the other sides were holding their ground, the bandits seemed to be throwing everything they had at the one strained defensive wall. The Artillery began to have an effect almost immediately. Shards of metal from the steel artillery casings, accompanied by an assortment of small and large ball bearings, ripped through dozens of bandits in gruesome ways.

Dimitri was coated in blood now, he had tossed his rifle to the ground and picked up one of the bandit’s swords. It was less cumbersome than the rifle, and as such, he was able to more effectively defend himself. Even as the ground shook from the artillery and the bandit’s numbers began to thin out, it was an almost impossible task to keep pushing his body. Despite all that, he watched in the fading light of the flare as the bandits that weren’t already engaged began to pull back into the tree line. It felt like he had been slashing and bashing for an eternity, Dimitri’s arms felt like jello, it took all his willpower and strength to keep fighting the seemingly unending hordes. He didn’t dare look for his fellow soldiers, one second of distraction and he knew he would be a dead man.

The man cut down a bandit wielding a baseball bat, then raised the sword he’d taken in preparation for another attacker, only he found that no other attacker came. As the last of the artillery shells landed in the distance, Dimitri found himself standing in front of a pile of dead bandits, his uniform soaked with red, his face splattered, his nostrils overwhelmed by the smell of copper and spent ammunition…

“The enemy is falling back! Reinforce the northern wall and prepare for a counter attack!” Sloan shouted, but no counter attack would come… At least… Not that night. Dimitri eventually was rotated off the line, he carried his rifle over his shoulder as he walked towards an area the men had taken to calling ‘The Slaughterhouse’. It was a part of sidewalk outside the military building where they had brought buckets of water from a nearby stream, men were using them to wash the blood from their faces, hair, and clothes… The result of which left an almost sickening amount of red water on the ground. He stood in line for a chance to cleanse himself of the blood that covered him, it wasn’t until first light that he had his turn.

It was later that day when new intelligence reports were compiled, and with them came the name of the bandits that had assailed the Onorussian compound. A group known as ‘Shin Bakufu’ was to blame, it roughly translated to ‘The New Shogunate’. A powerful city state located in Aomori, to the North. They had been gradually advancing southward, and due to their knowledge of the land, they had been able to hide their movements from Onorussian aerial reconnaissance. They were a mystery, their leaders, their goals, even their actual size was unknown… At least, for the moment.

As more reinforcements arrived at Fire Base Luna, Dimitri and his fellows were finally allowed a chance to settle in and get some rest. They all knew that this was only the beginning of the fighting, some of them were uncertain about their mission, but others… Like Dimitri… Wanted to see things through to the very end. If Onorus could convince Shin Bakufu to halt its advance southward into Onorussian land claims, then there could hopefully be peace. As Dimitri lay in his cot, staring up at the ceiling of the newly erected tent serving as a barracks, he could hear the sound of huey helicopters flying in the distance, joined by the whine of F4 engines and the rumble of tank treads. A true symphony of destruction, and in all its twisted splendor… It lulled him to sleep.

[♠]

Hinkman sighed as he leaned back in his humvee seat, the fluorescent lights mounted in the ceiling of the Channel Tunnel were making it difficult for him to sleep. He looked out the front window at the convoy of other vehicles rolling through the tunnel, mainly humvees, trucks, and LAVs. The Corps of Engineers had pulled through in getting the power and ventilation systems back online, it was making the move into Europe a lot easier. Apparently, news of the Crescent’s defeat hadn’t reached the other side of the channel, as they were caught completely off guard when Power Armor Units had dropped on their positions. Perhaps they hadn’t taken the messages from their forces in London as seriously as they should’ve.

Whatever the reason, they had a foothold in mainland Europe now, and it wouldn’t be long before the Crescents were wiped out. Hinkman didn’t really care so much about helping the people in this region, at least, not people under the rule of the Crescents. In fact, a lot of people weren’t keen on helping them. Considering the knowledge of what Islamic Extremists had done in the past, and their adeptness at slipping past security personnel, it was no wonder that refugees from this area wouldn’t be relocated to Mainland Onorus, in fact, they wouldn’t be relocated at all. They would have their utilities and services restored, but there was no way that such a dangerous group would ever gain access to Onorus. Thankfully, a heavily guarded tunnel and thousands of miles of well patrolled ocean separated them from any portals with access to Onorus.

Hinkman honestly didn’t care that if it was so-called profiling, as long as it meant Onorus was safe. Onorus came first, always, and if that meant people had to be quarantined then so be it. The man had learned from his time as an intelligence agent that their was truly no ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’, just varying shades of grey. This was something that the Onorussian High Command also realized, as did the citizens back home. He looked down at his rifle and checked the receiver, as usual it was clean and clear of blockages, but it was a good way to change his course of thinking. His mind was drawn mainly to the mission he and his team had been tasked with, more specifically, the lack of one. It seemed that his unit had exceeded the Unit Deployment Threshold, a period of time set by the Onorussian Command to help cut down on combat fatigue. They had logged over a week’s worth of hours in firefights and other combat situations… That meant they were being rotated to serve as security at a forward operating base for a month or so.

To be honest, Hinkman liked the idea of some time away from the front lines, it would save him the hassle of having to deal with false surrenders and suicide bombers. The man couldn’t understand why he felt so apathetic lately, but his theory had to do with a head injury of some kind, or perhaps he was just becoming cynical and cold as he got older. The man could see sunlight up ahead, telling him that they would soon be exiting the tunnel. He had been to Europe a couple times, but never this portion of France. He squinted his eyes as they finally exited the tunnel, revealing just what France looked like Post-Infection. Calais had housed a large concentration of Crescent supporters and soldiers, at least, before they had been wiped out.

As the humvee made its way towards the city, all he could see was destroyed buildings and concrete for miles. Islamic graffiti had stained the buildings that remained standing, the ruins of a church had been vandalized and nearly completely demolished. The Humvee rolled past a large field, in it rested a large pile of corpses. Several soldiers wearing gas masks stood guard while another drove a bulldozer, pushing more dead bodies onto the pile while several soldiers with flamethrowers stood off to the side, waiting. Pillars of smoke rose from a couple other fields, it seemed those piles had already been completed.

Hinkman looked away from the pile, finding it to be a rather dull sight. He and most of his fellows had no remorse about what was being done, after all, the Crescents and their beliefs were almost identical to those of the Caribou. They would never stop being a thorn in the side of the Onorussian people unless they were completely eradicated. Of course, it sounded cruel, downright diabolical, but it wasn’t like there were plans for mass extermination. At the same time, there weren’t plans to import their ideals either. As the humvee continued driving on it began approaching the old Refugee Relief Area, as well as an area that had once been called ‘The Jungle’.

Now that Onorussian troops had pacified the area, it was being used as the main forward operating base in France. It would be Hinkman’s job to guard this large facility, but since they would soon have hot water and working radios there, it didn’t seem like it would be a bad gig. The Colonel sat up as the vehicles drove through the main gates, passing by two tanks and soldiers in Power Armor. There was also a large plume of smoke on the outskirts, as the personal effects of the former owners were being disposed of. Hinkman caught sight of a body hanging from a light post, a couple of soldiers were looking up at it while two were in the process of cutting it down, there was a sign around the body’s neck written in arabic, one of the last relics of the former occupiers.

A large cloth banner, hand painted by the looks of it, hung from one of the buildings facing the entrance to the camp. Hinkman found himself intrigued by it, as the fabric was white while the paint was red. There were two crosses on the end, and the text in the center read ‘Deus Vult’. Hinkman wasn’t surprised to see a large group of soldiers standing in front of it as some snapped various pictures and photographs. The Humvee drove onwards, passing more buildings, including the Power Armor Depot. It seemed the troops there were also taken by the banner at the front, as the normally matte black armor was now being adorned with red crosses on the sides of the helmets. Hinkman supposed that it would take extremists to defeat extremists.

The humvee eventually came to a stop outside a couple barracks near the fence, a group of engineers were setting up guard towers along the fence, but for the most part it still seemed like the area was secure. Hinkman stepped out of his humvee with the rest of his men, they all stretched and grunted after the long drive. Hinkman didn’t need to give them orders, they knew the drill by now, and so they began unpacking the humvees and moving into their assigned barracks. The man felt compelled to pull on his gasmask as the smell of the local area reached his nose, something he noted many other soldiers doing as well. It gave the soldiers a more intimidating look as they went about their tasks. Unlike the operations taking place in Japan, there was no doubt that the Onorussians were dominating the European Theatre with their ruthless efficiency.

Overhead the sound of horns echoed through the clouds, Hinkman looked towards the sky to spot the source. Cutting through the clouds like the two swords of the Onorussian flag came the massive silhouettes of two airships. The large one Hinkman recognized right away as the ‘Exterminatus’, it’s smaller counterpart was still a force to be reckoned with. The most advanced aerial cruiser in the Onorussian arsenal, capable of launching helicopters, cruise missiles, and all manner of other nasty things… The Prydwyn was making her debut in the skies of Europe. Both ships bristled like porcupines, their very presence would hopefully be enough to help scare the Crescents into submission. Their droning engines were a cacophony that echoed over the landscape for miles, a haunting fanfare for the coming New World Order.

Author's Notes:

I liked doing a chapter solely focused on Earth, it felt like a nice change of pace, and gave me a chance to write two very different opinions on the Onorussian recolonization efforts. The greenhorn soldiers and the hardened veterans, and their varying views on their respective enemies. I might do another chapter like this later down the line, but for now I'll focus more on Dominic and the others. That last part of the chapter actually was kind of inspired by Fallout 4, I always felt like that music would fit better than the one they played when the BoS shows up in the game. I also tried to include a couple references, just for fun...

Anyway... That's all I have for now. Here's your clip of the day, something cute and fuzzy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRf3-JkwqfU&t