0430 October 8th, 2019 CE

0515 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE

Moston, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent

Aginport isn’t an actual port as the name states. It’s close proximity to the sea gave it that name. The town of Moston, more well known as the “Gateway to Aginport,” is the actual port. There is a main road from the town that leads directly to Aginport which is only a few miles away. Fort Aginport, which is now a steaming pile of rubble, is a few miles east of the town. Civilians are looking out of the town towards the port. Most of the Bem ships of the line had been destroyed by the flying arrows. Now they aren’t looking at the destroyed ships but at the incredible scene that was unfolding in front of their eyes. Many ships and weird flying machines are coming towards them.

In the sea

AAV-7s and MV-22B Ospreys make up the vanguard. Behind them are LCACs and LCUs carrying Humvees, LAV-25s, and M1A1 Abrams. Nick looks through the periscope of the Abrams.

“Once the beach is secured, we are moving up into the town. Be prepared for any hostiles.”

Sergeant Dillian Avery, the gunner, commented on that.

“At least this should be easier than Iraq. No RPGs. No IEDs. Nothing can threaten this baby.”

Private First Class Brian Marks, the loader, piped up.

“Ever heard of Murphy’s Law?”

“Nope.”

“Well, it states that everything that could go wrong will go wrong. I read about it online.”

“Our intel tells us that these guys are only armed with cannons at the most.”

“Our intel tells us jack shit. I have read the history. Bay of Pigs, Pearl Harbor, 9/11.”

Nick hasn’t really listened to what has just been said between Dillian and Brian and interrupts them.

“Get ready boys!”

Near Fort Aginport

The horse rider sent by General Hamond is looking towards the sea. He notices the landings and instantly gets back on his horse.

On the beach

“Forward, Connolly!”

The LCAC had landed and the metal holding back the beast opened.

All around them, there are marines pouring out of AAV-7s and MV-22B Ospreys landing and unloading troops. The beachhead was secured.

“Connolly, get us to the outskirts of the town. We will be followed by LAVs and a couple of other Abrams. Dillian shoot if there are any hostiles. I don’t care if they are armed with swords. Just shoot them cause they will endanger the infantry.”

Nick hoped to God that there isn’t anybody stupid enough to try and attack them. Especially if the said attacker was only armed with a musket.

0450 October 8th, 2019 CE

0525 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE

Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent

The horse rider arrived back to the base of operations at breakneck speeds.

“General! General! Invaders! They are arriving in tanks and aircraft!”

“Where are the reinforcements from Fort Aginport?”

“The entire fort is gone. The same thing to what happened to the Kingdom Palace.”

General Hamond slammed his fist on the table.

“What are the numbers?”

“I don’t know sir… I got back here as soon as I saw their machines. There seem to have been 40 or so aircraft and tanks. Hundreds of soldiers!”

General Hamond wasn’t sure what to do. He had only about a thousand soldiers and guards. Not enough to repel any substantial invasion force. Especially when the enemy had advanced weaponry. General Hamond sighed. This was the capital city, he had to defend it no matter what.

“Gather the troops! We will stop them at the gates of our city! For the kingdom!”

A few minutes earlier

Moston, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent

Nick’s M1A1 Abrams arrives outside of the town. It is awfully quiet.

“Connolly, move slowly forward.”

“Damn these precautions. I can drive full speed towards their city!”

“Slowly!”

Dillian laughs.

“Chill, Connolly. This ain’t the Gulf War.”

The Abrams slowly edges forward as Nick observes the surroundings.

“Seems clear, the infantry can secure the town.”

A few minutes laters

The Abrams situated themselves at the end of the town. The town had already been secured by infantry. Most of the residents are viewing them through partially closed windows and doors. More units are being landed onto the beaches as time went by. Brian snorts.

“Well, that wasn’t much. Could they have already surrendered?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. Back in Iraq, we believed we won when we removed Saddam Hussien. Boy, were we wrong.”

“Enough Iraq references, Dillian. Nick, we got any orders?”

“We will be proceeding forward in a bit, Connolly.”

A few more minutes later

“We are to get to the outskirts of the capital. Abrams, LAVs, and Humvees will follow.”

“Hell yeah! Full speed ahead!”

“Normal speed, Connolly.”

“Aw, no fun,” says Connolly jokingly.

0500 October 8th, 2019 CE

0530 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE

Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent

They are approaching what seemed to be the outskirts of the city. Around them are still plains, but houses could be seen.

Near the houses at the outskirts of Aginport

“The tanks are approaching!”

“Get into formation! Our General’s orders are clear, they shall not pass!”

At the entrance of Aginport on the road that connected it to Moston, two preloaded 3-pounders are suddenly rolled up out of the cover of the houses and onto the street. These cannons were kept in a guard armory in case of a mass uprising.

“Fire!”

One cannonball misses and struck the ground on the left of the tank. Dirt was thrown up into the air where it hit. The second one struck home. Right on the front of the tank. It bounces off like a ping pong ball hitting a paddle.

“Reload! Quickly!”

On each cannon, one of the cannon crew ran to the front of the cannon to clean it with a sponge.

Inside the M1A1 Abrams

“Two cannons spotted!”

“Load M1028.”

“Loaded.”

An M1028 canister round flys out of the Abrams tank barrel and struck one of the cannons. Being on the receiving end of an American M1 Abrams is not a good experience. Wise men in the near future of this world will say that.

The canister round explodes into hundreds of high-speed balls that take out both the cannons and their crews. It literally liquified those in its radius.

Dillian seems quite curious about what had just happened.

“I do have to say, much easier than taking out a man holding an RPG. I always wondered how a cannon would fare against modern armor.”

“This is Armadillo One, we ran into an ambush. Two cannons. Threats are neutralized, we are moving.”

After reporting what had just happened, Nick sighed.

“Connolly, forward. Be careful, we have probable hostiles in the city.”

Nick feels worried but at the same time, not worried. It feels natural for him to feel a little jittery in entering an urban area with a tank. Tanks are not meant for urban warfare. His M1A1 isn’t even equipped with TUSK (The Urban Survival Kit). On the other hand, his enemies should have nothing that was capable of stopping the tank.

Aginport, Bem Kingdom, Bem Continent

A few minutes later

“General, the cannons did nothing. The enemy convoy is advancing into the city.”

The General was looking at the map of the city.

“We’ll stop them here and surround them.”

“But General, we only have muskets.”

“We can’t just surrender the city without a fight!”

Outskirts of Aginport

With infantry securing the back, the convoy of M1A1s, LAV-25s, and Humvees moves into the city. Nick is looking through his periscope and tracking everything. The city is like an 18th-century European city. The street is big enough to fit his Abrams quite well. Right now, the streets are empty and the houses have their windows and doors shut. They move at a brisk pace towards the center of the city. Nick hopes that the city would have no more hostiles and that the populace would wisen up to the fact that they probably couldn’t defeat this convoy.

As they move forward, they enter what seemed to be a massive town square… that is full of soldiers.

Further into Aginport

“Stop the tank! Don’t fire!”

“What? Why not?”

“Let’s see what they do.”

“What they do? Nick! They are hostile enemies!”

“Dillian, give them a chance,”

“Give them a chance, are you crazy?!”

“They know they can’t damage the tank with their guns.”

Opposing view

The metal sand-colored beast in front of them came to a stop as if waiting to see what they would do. All of the Bem soldiers have never seen a tank. They only have heard of them and what they looked like. Some looked determined to defend their homes, others trembled a bit.

“Fire!”

They have already loaded their muskets so they raise their rifles to shoot in volley fire. Most of the musket balls fly straight at the tank. They all ping off.

Inside the M1A1 Abrams

“See, they opened fire! Nick!”

“..use the machine guns, I don’t want to cause any collateral with the 120.”

“Got it.”

The M240 7.62 mm machine gun on the coaxial opens up. Flashes come out of the coaxial as Dillian swept right and left using the machine gun. The bullets rip through the unarmored yellow regimental coats of the Bem soldiers. Blood is flung everywhere and soldiers are torn apart.

There is instant panic in the organized lines of Bem soldiers. Never before have they actually seen a weapon that could fire that fast. Many drop their muskets in an attempt to flee faster.

Private Marks sighs.

“Can’t we just shoot in the air to scare them away?”

“You won’t feel bad for them when they are armed with RPGs. Just like in Iraq, give a damn civvy an RPG and there they go murdering your friends” says Dillian as he continues to operate the machine gun.

5 minutes later

The square was deserted of any Bem soldiers. Only the dead remain. There is at least 40 dead. An entire line formation.

0520 October 8th, 2019 CE

0540 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE

A commanding officer who ran the moment his troops were fired upon, is huffing from the running when he got to General Hamond.

“General, we failed…”

“What do you mean ‘we failed’!?”

“We couldn’t stop them.”

“How many men are left? Where are the survivors? There were 500 men at that square!”

“I’m not sure. They had weapons similar to that of what I had read about the Mach. We opened fire once they got into view but we stood no chance. The moment the tank opened fire, our lines were immediately scattered. Their gun tore through an entire line of soldiers!”

“They ran?! Are they still able to regroup?”

The commanding officer shook his head in a hurry.

“I don’t know where they are. The line immediately disintegrated.”

General Hamond didn’t know what to do. The Americans are already en route. Half of his force is already gone. There has been no response from the Machs. He can’t defend the capital anymore.

The only option he has is to retreat.

0535 October 8th, 2019 CE

0547 (Early Hour) End 8th, 195 AE

“Seems like this is the king’s palace”

M1A1 Abrams, LAV-25s, and Humvees roll up around the destroyed Kingdom Palace. There is an extremely wide street that goes around the Kingdom Palace so the convoy could line upon it. Marines disembark from the LAVs and Humvees in order to secure the area. They have secured the political center of the Bem Kingdom.

Elsewhere in Bem

Everywhere in Bem, citizens know that something is happening. Some have witnessed the destruction of a military base, others have heard of the destruction, and most have seen the flying arrows. How in a minute, without notice, and out of nowhere, the bases would just explode. Then the flying arrows came spreading messages of war.

In a minor town in Bem

A man is sitting on a table with his hands holding his hand and looking at a very old book. He then looks up at the sky.

“Dear goddess, are these the demons that you have warned about? Their flying arrows? Their weapons that come out of nowhere? Oh, Goddess! Where is the hero that you have promised?! If these ancient texts are true, you have promised to summon a hero in our time of need! I beg of you, as your devout follower to save humanity!”