2050 January 11th, 2020 CE

0225 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

A few miles out from Andrea

While the Industro IIs try to retreat into the town, the Abrams quickly and efficiently destroy each one of them with 100% accuracy. The Industro IIs tried to return fire but their 40 mm can barely do anything.

A few minutes later

The charred remains of the twelve tanks sit in the forest as the four barely scratched Abrams make their way towards the town.

Andrea

Mercator looks through the window as the sand colored enemy tanks continue towards him.

“Furius, we are getting out of here. Our tanks are gone.”

“Why are we abandoning our position?”

“We don’t have anything to go up against armor. They only had four tanks and they wiped our twelve out in mere minutes. Us infantry can’t do anything against that. Come on now, Furius. I thought you liked running.”

2054 January 11th, 2020 CE

0227 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

Andrea

The platoon of Abrams stop in the town. Machian soldiers are seen further down the street hurrying out of the town.

“It seems like they are making a run for it.”

“Don’t shoot.”

“Come on Nick, they are enemies.”

“Dillian, no. Our job is just to make sure that no enemy soldiers approach. They can run away if they want.”

2116 January 11th, 2020 CE

0238 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

A couple of miles from Andrea

After getting a good distance away from Andrea, the surviving Machian soldiers stop to rest. Furius sighs and looks toward Mercator.

“Where are we even running to this time? We can’t keep this going. Every time the enemy does something, the only thing we do is run. Our infantry regiment doesn’t even exist anymore.”

“We will link up with the reinforcements. We still have a company of infantry with us.”

“They aren’t even part of ours. Can’t we just go home? We have done our duty at the front and done it again in the town. All I want is to be home with my family and be there for my sister’s wedding!”

The other men in their group, all ranked at or lower than corporal, start grumbling in agreement too. They all look towards Mercator, who is the highest-ranked out of them. Mercator sighs a bit.

“Listen, desertion is punishable by execution. If they catch…”

Mercator is cut off by Furius.

“But we don’t even have any assigned unit! They are all gone. Don’t you see! This doesn’t even count as desertion.”

“It does, we are still soldiers. If they find us deserting, we WILL be executed!”

“But have you seen what happened! Have you seen!” Furius points towards Andrea. “The enemy is impossible to beat! If we continue like this we are going to die!”

“That isn’t certain. But what I do know is that IF we desert, we WILL be executed! That’s guaranteed death! Furius, we are fighting this war to protect our families. The enemies are on our land. If we let them through, we will lose everything we hold dear. Our families. Our country. Even our lives!”

“This war was started by the Emperor! It doesn’t concern us commoners!”

“It does! The enemy doesn’t care who is who! As long as we are Machian, they will kill us!”

Furius and Mercator looked at each other tensely. A moment passed before Mercator sighed and turned towards everyone.

“Listen, everyone, I have no power to actually make you all stay. You can leave if you want. But hear this, the moment you leave is the moment that you are not my responsibility. If you are getting executed for desertion, it does not concern me. Those who want to stay, we will regroup with the reinforcements.”

A few men start to go their own ways. Most decide to stay.

“Furius, you going?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

“That is desertion. I actually want to live.”

“Mercator, for almost all my time in the military I have been with you. You are my best friend. I don’t think we can live any longer if we continue like this. I really wish you reconsider.”

Furius stood there looking at Mercator’s determined eyes. A minute passes while both continue to stare at each other. Furius sighs.

“Ugh… fine, I will stay with you. I just can’t abandon you. Come on let’s go.”

Mercator turns towards the others who haven’t left

“Everyone else staying with us?”

One of the men shouts.

“Yeah, we really can’t go anywhere. Our homes are days away.”

0300 January 12th, 2020 CE

0530 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

Andrea

“The Army is taking their damn sweet time getting here. We will be at the enemy capital by now if we didn’t have to wait.”

Nick looks down from his open commander hatch at Uma

“Be patient, we don’t have enough units to actually push deeper. The engineers are also setting up a FOB near the beaches so that’s going to take time too.”

0524 January 12th, 2020 CE

0642 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

In a village, Mercator, Furius, and the remaining soldiers rest.

“Can’t we just commandeer their vehicles?

“For the hundred’s time, no! Furius, we can’t just steal their vehicles!”

“It’s not stealing, we are just borrowing them in the name of the Imperium. We will try to return them afterward.”

“A no is a no.”

“Oh come on. We have been walking for many hours already! Even more people have deserted.”

“We still have a company of men. They haven’t all deserted. We are bound to run into the reinforcements soon. As of now, rest up, we will be walking again soon.”

0612 January 12th, 2020 CE

0706 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

Andrea

“Finally, the Army is here.”

With the infantry taking up positions around the town, the crews can relax out of their tanks. Brian looked at the large amounts of units curiously.

“Wow, that’s a lot of M1A2s. How did they even get here? I thought only the Marines had amphibious assault capabilities.”

Dillian, being the know all of the Iraq War, explains.

“Usually it requires the government hiring privately owned cargo ships. I’m pretty sure we have enough extra cargo ships to transport the entire Army here. Most American cargo ships became useless after being transported to this world. The only thing they can be used for now is transporting heavy stuff around the United State.”

Brian looks towards Nick after nodding.

“Sergeant, what are we going to be doing now?”

“We will be following them. It’s a nonstop road trip to the enemy capital boys!”

0716 January 12th, 2020 CE

0738 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

Mercator, Furius, and the company of soldiers approach the next town. They notice tanks and infantry streaming out of the town.

“Finally, reinforcements!”

Having walked nearly 20 miles, they could only stagger towards their destination. The convoy stopped in front of them. Towards the back, an officer steps out of his vehicle and approaches them.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!”

Mercator breathes out his reply

“Sergeant Mercator Cordus of the 106th Infantry Regiment. We came from Andrea.”

“Captain Brusus Sura. Were you the ones who reported the situation at the front?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you guys were instructed to stay put. The soldier looked towards Mercator and his group. “Where’s the 10th Tank Battalion?”

“We got attacked. The 10th Tank Battalion got destroyed at Andrea.”

“Air attack?”

“No, the enemy has landed.”

“Is this all the survivors?”

“Yes. Can we have a rest, sir? We have been walking for many hours and we are tired.”

“Sure. I will have to inform the Major General.”

A few minutes later

The Captain followed by what seemed to be the Major General headed towards Mercator. Mercator stood and saluted at them.

“At ease. Sergeant, what were the enemy numbers?”

“I saw four tanks.”

“Four tanks? I thought the 10th Tank Battalion still had twelve. How did twelve lose to four?”

“The enemy tanks are much better than ours. When the 10th Tank Battalion tried to engage the enemy’s four tanks, the 10th Tank Battalion was destroyed in a matter of minutes. It didn’t even seem like our tanks did any damage. We had to retreat after the enemy started focusing fire on us.”

“Did the enemies not give chase?”

“No, they stayed put in Andrea.”

The Major General nodded.

“Are your men still able to fight?”

“These aren’t my men seeing that we are just scattered survivors from the various infantry regiments from the front.”

“But can they continue to fight?”

“At our current condition, we can’t walk anymore. Some of us don’t even have our guns.”

“We will give you some of the extra weapons and you can ride on the Industro Is.”

“Understood, sir! Thank you, sir!”

The Machian 6th Army Division consisting of infantry, Industro Is, Industro IIs, and horse-drawn artillery continues down the road.

0808 January 12th, 2020 CE

0804 (Mid Hour) Start 12th, 196 AE

Malaca Hidden Airfield

“We got orders. The bombers need to be dispatched to Andrea and the beach near it.”

“The enemies finally landed?”

“Yep.”

The base comes alive as ground crews start loading the bombers.

Less than 30 minutes later

V formation of bombers and their fighter escorts take to the sky. In another base, the same thing happens.

In the skies above the landing area

In an E-2 Hawkeye, launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a radar operator is staring at a radar screen.

“Holy cow” is his response when hundreds of dots start lighting up on the screen.

USS George Washington

The radar on the Hawkeye is data linked to the ships in the Carrier Strike Groups.

“Uh, Admiral, you have to see this…”

The Vice-Admiral looks at the screen of the radar operator on the ship.

“Get the Super Hornets in the air.”

15 minutes later

Four squadrons of Super Hornets, 44 in total, cruise through the skies towards the horde of enemy aircraft. The Super Hornets burst out of the clouds and into the view of a hundred biplane fighters and bombers.

“Fox Two! Fox Two!”

AIM-9X Sidewinders launch from the wings of the F/A-18s towards the cloud of enemies.

The Maximils biplane fighters speed up in front of the bombers.

“For the Imperium!”

Moments later, explosions occur as the missiles hit the wall of Maximils. Bits of wood, cloth, and metal drop out of the sky as the Maximils formations are decimated.

As the Super Hornets get closer, a hail of bullets is unleashed from each of their 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan, a Gatling-style rotary cannon.

The hail of bullets cut down any of the biplanes in its way like a knife slicing through butter.

The biplane fighters try to return fire by firing their twin mounted AG-2 machine guns but they couldn’t aim fast enough as the enemy planes fly past them at speeds of up to 777 mph.

One of the Super Hornet’s wings accidentally hits the wing of a Maximils. The biplane’s wing, made out of cloth and wood, is instantly ripped and the biplane is sent spiraling into the ground. The Super Hornet’s wing, on the other hand, is completely fine.

The remaining Maximils try to turn around in order to continue engaging the Super Hornets and protect their bombers but the Super Hornets are already coming around to engage them again.

The biplanes are cut apart as the Super Hornets wreak havoc everywhere in the Machian formations. The biplane bombers try to break off in order to escape but are shot down as the Super Hornets zoom past them.

A few minutes later

Inside one of the Super Hornets

“All hostiles are down. We are returning to home plate.”