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--- Elies Forest ---

May 24th, 2025

As the fighting inside the fort continues, Lelei walks up to one of the vehicles that are facing the fort. She can hear some of the nearby soldiers talking by some of the vehicles. It sounds like they are commenting about the fighting from inside the fort and how intense it sounds like inside there.

As she watches the fort, one of their Stryker's with a heavy cannon is tearing apart of the keep. Apparently, the strike team requested fire support on the keep. It seemed they were taking heavy arrow fire from there. It is a specular sight to see how efficient the destruction is.

The rapid firing from the Stryker ends as she witnesses two of what they call Javelin missiles hit the outer edges of the keep. After the two explosions from the missile strikes and parts of the keep starts fall apart.

"Hmm… everything seems to be going as planned." She said as a few soldiers to her left fires another Javelin missile at the fort. Its target seems to be a trebuchet that is on the far side of the wall. The missile hits its target, blowing up the device and everyone around it.

That is when she overhears Peterson over the radio. She looks down at a handheld radio that was given to her.

"All units, move to the right flank, contact right. Engage at will, weapons free," Peterson orders

That is when she notices everyone around her pack up and rush to the right side of their position. The three vehicles that they call Stryker and the JLTVs begin to move, most of them going to where their commander said to.

Small arm weapon fire can be heard from that location. As more soldiers arrive at that location, the sound of weapons fire increases.

She decided to rush over there to see if there is anything she can do to help.

"Lelei! What is going on!?" That is Selina over by one of the vehicles, next to Sergeant Alicia while she is talking on the radio.

"Stay there. We are under attack," she said to Selina as she readjusts her combat helmet. Just like Selina, she also was given some protection to wear while in combat.

Once she arrived at the right flank, she could see the Empire forces advancing. There seem to be about four hundred cavalry taking cover in the tree line. For her something seems to be off, the horsemen are not attacking but taking cover. That is not what horses are for though.

That is when she overhears someone yells ‘incoming'. She looks up in the air and sees these two fireballs coming in their direction. As everyone around her breaks for cover, she begins to chant a spell. As she chants, the top of her staff glows bright blue and then she raises it, pointing at the two fireballs.

Two bursts of energy appear from her staff and strike both objects, blowing them up.

Once she finishes her spell she looks around and receives some cheers from the American soldiers, impresses with what she did. It was just a basic spell. For a people who never experience the magic, she guesses the most basic of spells would be impressive to them.

"Thanks kid,” Johnson said. He walks over to her as the fighting starts to pick up again.

"Those were some kind of projectiles," she said looking towards him as he walked up.

"Yeah, kind of figured. Had to come from some artillery piece, which means all of this was preplanned. We are in a trap," Johnson said, thinking out loud.

"I somewhat agree but their attack seems disorganized doesn't it? I mean I'm not a military expert but why are there so few of them and why haven't they properly attacked?" she said as she looks over to the Imperialist lines.

After their failed artillery attack, the Empire cavalry did attempt to charge their lines but was torn apart. However, it just does not seem there was enough Imperial soldiers in the attack. They know how advanced these Americans are so why are they attacking with too few numbers. Their only advantage is number, is it all they could spare?

"I was thinking the same thing. That fort can hold far more then what we are facing. Could just be an undermanned base," Johnson said as he looks at the battle with her. "Either way we have to take out that artillery. Want to come with us?"

She smiles and nods her head. As they begin rushing to where Peterson located, Selina catch up with them. "Lelei!" She said panting for air once she arrives.

"Selina! I said stay there!" she said in a frustrated tone. It is rare for her to express a negative or positive emotion but here, she is angry at her.

"I am sorry but… I am under orders from Alicia,” Selina said as she regains her breath. “She needs both of you now."

"Alicia? What does she want? OK, let's go kid," Johnson said, confused.

The three of them move to the left flank. There are only a few soldiers over here as everyone else is either engaging at the fort or on the right side. Compare to over there, over here seems to be noticeably quiet.

"Lieutenant, over here!" Alicia said, standing by their JLTV.

"Alicia, what are you doing? Going to get in the war?" Johnson asked her as he walks up to her.

"Ahh sir, two things. One, look," Alicia said and then points out. The direction she is pointing to they all can see a large cavalry force organizing around the tree line.

"It is the main force," she said, speaking her mind. "The fighting over there is a distraction."

"That is why they wouldn't fully comment. Sacrificing a small force and hoping that it would overstretch our forces," Johnson finish saying as he realizing what is happening.

Johnson grabs his radio. "Lieutenant Peterson, this is Johnson. I need people on the left side now. Engaging the main army. About to be flanked."

There is a short pause over the radio before Peterson replied. "What? I have no one I can send you right this second. We are taking out their artillery and routing the rest. We can't disengage"

"Well, sir!" Alicia speaks up, interrupting them both. "I was able to find air support. Well, Sarah did."

Johnson looks at her confused. "What? There isn't any, Sharpe already tried. Lieutenant Colonel Kason said there wasn't any aircraft currently available."

"I asked Sarah to go around the brass to see if anything was happening. It was just a shot in the dark, but she was able to find out that there's a gunship on an evaluation run right now." Alicia replied to both Johnson and Peterson.

She was surprised to hear Alicia say that. She never could imagine going around her superiors at Rondel but in this case, it seems like it was a good thing.

"So? That still is going to take time…," Peterson said before being interrupted by a soldier.

"Here they come!"

"Alicia, contact the gunship and get them over here if they have ammo. Everyone, prepare to fire." Johnson orders.

She watches everyone prepares for the incoming force and then looks at the incoming cavalry. "I have an idea. Hold your fire, trust me." After saying that, she rushes forward so that the Americans are a good distance behind her and inform of the Empire forces.

She could hear them calling out her name, telling her to come back. She ignores them and focus on her plan. Once she thinks she is far enough away, she closes her eyes and begins to chant.

As she chants, slowly there is a glow appearing all around her. She begins to sweat, concentration greatly. A small but intense blaze of wind is forming around her, building up a massive amount of energy. She has been practicing spell casting all her life, being trained by some of the greatest masters in the world. Never she has ever felt this much energy, power moving around her.

As the horsemen get closer, she finishes her chant and open her eyes. A bright bluish form of energy is gathering into her staff. It takes all her strength and knowledge to control this spell.

Once they get close, she pushes her staff towards them and then a massive sonic boom burst towards the hundreds of horsemen. The sound is massively large, louder than any jet could produce. Many of the ones in front of the charge fall off their horses from the blast, holding their ears in pain.

The sudden sonic boom scares not just the Empire soldiers but also the horses, not knowing what just happen. They fly back to the forest.

She watches them run away, at least temporarily. "That actually… worked…" And right then everything goes black as she passes out.

---

The fighting in the fort has been brutal. There must have been hundreds of troops within the fort perimeter, but they were not ready for Sharpe’s command overwhelming firepower. The biggest threat was the archers within the keep. That normally would not be a problem, but they did have good cover.

That was until the keep got hammered from concentrated fire from 30mm and missile fire. Seeing the keep be taken out of the battle, it seemed like the infantry decided to pull out of the courtyard and try to make their stand on the walls and the smaller buildings.

Them retreating is perfectly fine for him. The goal is not to take the fort, just get their man back. After gaining control of the courtyard, they were able to go to the crucifixion area without much resistance.

He, Jerry, and a few other soldiers rush over to the crucifixion area. "Ok Jerry, you’re up." He then looks up at Larson, extremely angry by the sight.

Two soldiers begin trying to take him down but then Jerry, Vanguard-7 yells at them. "Don’t! If we don't do this right, we will do more harm."

He looks at him. "Jerry, we can't just…"

"Major, I got it. Let me do it right. Just keep us covered," Jerry said at him and then looks at Larson. He starts to study Larson to see what the best way is to free him without doing more harm. He orders a few soldiers close by to help.

"Ok, you two. Do everything he said. Your four, watch their six. Randy, you got this?" he tells everyone.

Randy looks up at Larson and then looks at Sharpe. "I got this. No one going to get close."

He feels good knowing that Randy has his back. Randy being a veteran of the War on Terror. He has not known him for long, but he quickly learned you do not want to be on his bad side. He is a veteran of war and that is enough for him.

With that, he rushes back to the other side of the courtyard to where everyone else is. The situation is becoming more stabilize by this point. They have a clear their exit, and the enemy is forced back.

As he moves, an arrow barely miss him. He stops and aims his rifle to the direction of the arrow fire. The shot came from one of the towers on the far side of the wall. Before he could fire, he witnesses Rory jumps on top of the tower and then down it. With her massive Halberd, she slashes the foundation. After that, the tower comes falling to the ground. Moments like this are when he is happy, she is on their team. Once seeing that threat gone, he rushes back to his men.

He rushes to Charles. "They're getting him down now. Going to be a minute."

"Is it bad?" Charles asked, already knowing the answer to his question though.

"Worse. They are lucky were not planning on staying," he said, looking to the other side of the fort.

"Your damn right. No Genève conviction BS(1) here after that." Charles said, venting a little.

That is when they both hear a loud engagement happening on the other side of the wall. They look up and then heading to a staircase.

"Looks like that cavalry came back." Captain Charles said.

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem." Sharpe replied to his commit.

When they get on top of the wall, they and a few other soldiers that were on guard be looking out to their comrades and see the intense engagement. They witness as they move to attack the force and see Trebuchet shoots at their location. A magic shot hit that volley sparking a massive cheer from the soldiers on the wall.

"Hmm… now I see why you keep these kids with you," Charles said to him in a cocky tone.

"What's that supposed to mean Captain?" Sharpe said back to him.

Charles just shrug his shoulders. "Last year you would have found that funny sir."

"I know. I have been trying to work on…. Wait… why were those shots coming from the forest?" he said realizing something is wrong.

Charles look at him confused but then realize that fact too. "It shouldn't unless… all of this was a trap. They were waiting for us."

"Oh no, I thought I took the hardest job. I expected an attack, but this is far more organized than I expected," he said, speaking out loud.

That is when both hear a soldier give off a warning, about a large cavalry force coming from the right flank. A far larger force than that one that is currently engaging their forces out there.

"Shit, they're going to get flanked," he said as he looks at the events unfolding in front of him. "Charles, you're in command."

Before Charles could say anything, he has already dropped most of his gear and jump down from the wall, using some of the broken cracks and debris to hop down. Once he gets down, he runs as fast as he could to get back to the convoy.

There are some scattered Imperialist soldiers around between him and the convoy. As they attempt to attack him, the enemy soldiers on the wall are picking them off as he rushes back to his comrades.

As he runs, a massive large sound and a tense wind hit him out of no were. His ears are ringing, and he falls on the ground. That sound is the loudest thing he has ever heard.

After adjusting himself for a bit and with sheer force of will, he gets back up and runs back to his men. He passed a few solider and they look confused to see him back. As he runs, he sees his people all recovering from what also hit him. The closest thing he could think of was a sonic boom but far more intense than the ones he witnessed before.

He reaches to Johnson and Alicia by their vehicle. In an exhausted voice, he orders for a situation update.

To his frustration, all of them just look at him, shocked or confused that he is there.

"Sir, where the hell did you come from? How…" Alicia asked, confused about his presence.

He interrupts her. "I said sit-rep," he said panting.

That is when he sees Selina looking over Lelei. She is laying against the vehicle. "What the…"

"She is the ok boss. She is just out cold." Johnson said before he finishes his question.

"Yeah…, she did some kind of spell. It scared the Imperialists away, but it looks like it took everything she had to do it," Alicia adds.

"No, they're coming back. Once they rally together, they are going to hit hard," he said, finally catching his breath and wiping the sweat off his head.

That is when Peterson and a few soldiers rush over to them. They are all wondering what is going on and were surprised to see him back here.

Both lieutenants update him in on what has been happening and agree that this has been set up. The terrain is good for the Empire, they can hide in the forest and attack. They can attack and kill many of them before they can hit but they can only kill so many before they get close. Just like what happens with Vanguard-5.

Holding here means they could attack from all sides, they are not able to concentrate our firepower, besides half of our forces are in the fort. They could move into the fort but that means they have to take it and hold off an attack. The Stryker's are fine while out in the open, but the Infantry are the ones at risk but leaving the JLTV means they lose their mobility.

Running some quick scenarios through his head, he sees them winning all the fights but with heavy causalities. This was supposed to be a rescue mission, not a major engagement.

"Another thing sir. Lieutenant Rose was able to go around Lieutenant Colonel Kasen and found a gunship. It is going through a specs evaluation to determine it is combat-ready or not." Alicia said. "It is on its way, about five minutes. They say they can do one strafe round only though. That's all the ammo they have on board."

He looks at Alicia, a little angry about that news. He is not mad at her but annoyed that he spent the past twenty-four hours trying to get some kind of air support and got stonewalled.

The thing is about the Gate, fighter jets and helicopters can be moved through easily. The problem has been the bigger aircraft, they do not fit through the Gate. Like the AC-130U, the larger aircraft had to be taken apart back on Earth and reassemble here.

He wonders if Kasen did not know the Air Force had some aircraft assembled or he did not bother to asked. He guesses the latter, but politics does not matter right now. Having that gunship, in the beginning, could have been useful but now it seems too late to matter.

That is when he looks back at the fort and then takes a quick look around. Larson was bait for them, all of this has been planned out. They are in their kill zone; they planned to weaken us and then charge into us. Why not let them?

"Sir? What are you thinking?" Alicia asked him. They all can see the wheels turning in his head.

"Alicia, contact Captain Charles, tell them they have to holdout. They should be safe in the fort," he said. “We are going to fall back and get some distance from the enemy cavalry.”

They look at him confused about that order.

"Sir, we should go get them now and pull out," Peterson said as he protests that order.

"Negative,” he said. “They need to stay there for now. We hold here for them to regroup and charge. It should be very soon. Move your men here and here, I want gaps in the lines, so they have a path."

"You have gone crazy, there is no way I am going to give that order," Peterson responses angerly.

Everyone looks at him, wondering if he has lost it. That is when Selina speaks up. "We are baiting, right? Is that your plan?"

They all look at her and then each other.

"Bait for wha… the gunship." Alicia said, snapping her figures.

"They are scattered right now however though if we can get them in the open and close enough, they're dead," Johnson adds.

He nods his head, acknowledging that is his plan. "Picking up the men at the fort will take too long. The biggest threat is the forces out there. Once they start attacking, they fake a retreat. Now give the order." He finishes, a bit annoyed that it is taking this long to follow his orders.