"Good Morning Alnus Hill. Today we got reports from Earth. After the President's speech, many Coalition nations agreed to increase their troop commitments to the Special Region known as Uras. In other news, we have the final casualty count for the Raid on Sadera. Five Army Rangers gave their lives in the raid. We thank them for their serves." – Free Alnus Radio

***

--- Vanguard-Command Briefing Room, Fort Alnus ---

July 10th, 2025

First Lieutenant Sarah Rose currently is at a briefing room with the rest of her other Vanguard Logistical Officers. Since every Ranger team goes out to explore this world, command decided to have someone there to help with the logistics for each team.

All around Sarah are other officers sitting at the desk, all looking forward to this whiteboard.

Lieutenant Colonel Kasen, the head exploration operations in the Special Region. He is not liked by many of the Vanguard teams. He prefers to be a desk manager then being an actual leader. Sarah's team leader and the Lieutenant Colonel have developed a history of not liking each other. Kasen seems to only want to do the bare minimum.

During the Elias Forest Campaign, he rejected the request for air support. Sarah had to take the initiative and ask some contacts she has developed on base to figure something out(1). Later she found out that he did not even look. For that embarrassment, he has placed her on his shit list.

Today he has been talking about the upcoming invasion of the rest of the Elias region. So far, our forces have been using kid gloves on dealing with the enemy. After the presidential address to the nation, that is no longer the case.

Kasen begins pointing to some pictures of the region. There are arrows and other markings, showing targets and directions that our forces are planning on using.

"The bulk of the 1st Cavalry Division and parts from the 101st and 82nd will be pushing down the middle, assisted by French forces. Polish and English forces will be taking the northern villages." Kasen explains.

Everyone in the room is taking notices, analyzing the maps and all facts. Their job will be to inform their team superior of upcoming news and orders. Also, make sure they get all the supplies they need for their mission ready.

"There are three forts we need to take," Kasen said. He moves his hands to point at the three forts. "When the Empire loses these three forts, we will effectually rule over the whole region. The Empire will no longer be able to mobilize an army on our eastern flank. At least for now."

That is when some other male lieutenant raises his hands. "Sir, why don't we just air strike them all?"

That is a good point. Just bombing these forts would be far easier.

Kasen points his pen at Lieutenant April. "Good question. Air support has been approved for the invasion however Stanford wants to lure the enemy out their formations."

Everyone in the briefing knew what he meant by that. The armies of the past like to form up in the open, tightly packed together. It makes sense if you are fighting another enemy who uses the same tactics however, they do not. Their tactics benefit us forces very much.

"However, the last fort is off-limits for direct airstrikes," Kasen said.

That confused everyone.

"Why not sir?" Sarah asked him.

"The locals call this facility Fort Legrath. It has stood for over four hundred years. It can garrison up to a hundred thousand soldiers if needed. We don't expect a force that size but still." Kasen explains, giving her an annoyed look.

"So, why don't we just bomb it then?" Lieutenant Fredrick from Vanguard-4 asked, following up on Sarah's question.

"This fort is the heart of the enemy in the region. There might be a lot of intelligence we can gather from within the fort. In addition, because of the size of the fort, we believe there might be a large population of local civilian prisoners somewhere inside. We don't want to kill them." Kasen explains

Kasen then shows pictures of Fort Legrath, it is massive and tall. Built into a large hill with trees all around it. Many tall towers scattered all around with these thick looking walls.

"Why would they build this beast?" Second Lieutenant Sandy of Vanguard-6.

Kasen looks at the picture and then back at everyone. "We are not one hundred percent sure yet. It was built long ago to protect this region from invasion from the far east. Intel is still investigating that."

"Either way we are still going in. We must take this region so we can move on to Phase Three. Invasion of the southern coastline." Kasen finishes.

Sarah analyzes the upcoming invasion and notices that there no Rangers on the unit lists.

"Sir, I notice that were not in the opening invasion. Where are we being deployed?" Sarah asked him. She is a bit confused about why we are talking about the upcoming campaign if the Rangers do not have an active role in it.

Kasen looks at Hill "Stanford doesn't want your teams employed in the opening phases. After Sadera, he wants to give your team time to rest. The teams who were not in the raid will be deployed as recon assist and doing local patrols."

"Wait, so is he saving us for something?" April asked.

Sarah looks to her right. "Fort Legrath." She struggles to pronounce it. She then looks back at Kasen. "The Lieutenant General going to want us to take that fort."

"Correct. When the time comes, we will be the ones spearheading the assault on that fort." Major Cook explains.

That is when Second Lieutenant Keira Hill speaks. "Sir, what happens to our exploration mission?"

"Those missions are on hold for now. That is until the 10th Mountain appears in force." Kasen said. That news did not go down well for everyone. Their core mission has shifted very quickly in the past few weeks.

"Alright, that will be all for today. Pick up your team assignments before you leave." Kasen said. "Lieutenant Rose please stay behind for a bit."

That shocked her when he asked for her to stay. That would not be the first time, Kasen does not like Sharpe. Kasen is a man who likes to control people and have the final say on thing. Everything must go through his plan.

When everyone got up and left, one of her friend Lieutenant April walks past her, lip saying 'good luck'. Sarah just nods and stands up.

Sarah gets up from the desk and walks over to Kasen. She gives him a salute. "What is it, sir?"

Kasen picks up this folder. "Some of your team going on a diplomatic mission."

Sarah takes the folder, confused by his statement. "Another one sir? I don't think Sharpe, or the rest of the team are ready for another one of those. Last mission didn't go down very well(2)."

Kasen looks at her. "I don't care about their options. I give the orders and they carry them out. Besides, this comes directly from the President."

Sarah expected the first part of that reply but the President. That shocked her. She begins reading the file and is surprised by what she reads. She looks back at him. "Earth? Vanguard-7 is heading to Earth. For Rory and Lelei?"

As Sarah reads the document, the mission seems clear. Sharpe will escort Lelei and Rory to Earth and meet the President. The impression that the President wants to meet the head individuals who been helping our forces on this world.

From the impression of the mission file, the President is interested in a private meeting with them. Wanting to meet our allies in this region, before going public. The mission lasts for four days, a day in Philadelphia then heading to an out of the way resort. There we will meet the President and her staff.

"Sharpe going to love this…" She mumbles quietly.

"The President has been enjoying your team circus," Kasen said in a disrespectful tone.

Sarah ignores his insult. He never liked Lelei or Rory, seeing them as a threat. Why though she has not figured out. Probably just because he is lazy and afraid it might make his job harder.

"This is good. They have done a lot for us. Things probably wouldn't have gone this smooth if it weren’t for them," Sarah mentioned, noticing that fact annoyed him. It is the truth, they helped at Italica, Elias Forest and now the Sadera Raid, they deserve a reward like this.

That is when she notices that the rest of the team is not approved to go. Also, the offer is only for Sharpe, Rory, and Lelei. "Sir, I have two questions. Is the team being split up and isn't there an offer for Selina?"

Kasen looks away. "Yes. Lieutenant Johnson will take command until the mission is over."

"What about Selina?" Sarah asked. She knows Sharpe will not take it well if she or any of them are excluded.

"What about her? She is a child, not a soldier. The situation is already inappropriate enough."

"Yes, sir," Sarah said, annoyed by his attitude on this.

Kasen dismissed Sarah. Once she leaves the room she begins to think. When Sharpe finds out about this, he is going to be angry. There is not anyone that can do anything about it. You do not just ask for a meeting with the President, you are requested. The Secret Service takes its job seriously.

"Willington," Sarah said softly, speaking to herself. It would not be professional but maybe he could help. They did just do a joint mission not that long ago and if this assignment came from the President, he must be on the know.

She heads off, heading to the State Department compound.

As Sarah heads there, she passes two of her fellow Vanguard officers. April from Vanguard-2 and Second Lieutenant Fredrick from Vanguard-6.

"Wow, where are you rushing off to," Fredrick asked as Sarah passes him.

Sarah stops and turns around, leady to jolt away. "New mission, need to get things ready."

"Girl, you work way too hard. You are allowing yourself to become a door mate." April said as she chuckles.

Sarah gives them an annoyed look. Seeing that they both back away.

"Hey, it is the truth. I don't care what the rep is, your CO shouldn't dump all that paperwork on you." Fredrick said to her.

"I have a lot of work to do," Sarah said and then walks away, needing to get her task done.

"He's never going to like you like that," April said as Sarah walks away.

That is not the first time she heard her fellow Logistic Officer say things like that. She knows it is coming from a good place but still, gets annoying after a while.

It takes about forty minutes to get to the State Department compound. There she walks in and walks up to the front desk. To her surprise, it is an Alnus native, a blue hair bunny. There also two small fairies flying around, doing random administrative tasked.

She has seen a bunny before but fairies, this is new. There is always something new in this world.

"Can I help you?" The blue bunny asked.

"Yes, I need an appointment for Ambassador Willington," Sarah tells her.

The blue bunny just smirks. "I am sorry, he does not do drop-ins like this. You will need to make an appointment."

Sarah signs after hearing that. "It is important. I was on a mission with him to Sadera. And I have a new mission from the State Department, and I have questions related to it."

The blue bunny looks at her, not fully believing her. But she then shrugs her shoulders and calls over one of the fairies. She then writes down a message and hands it to one of the fairies that fly over. "Can you give this to the Ambassador, please. Thank you."

As the fairy flies away, Sarah looks down and notices a phone. "Is the phone broken?"

"Ahh… I am afraid to use it." The blue bunny said, moving her hand behind her back embarrassed. "It is like dark magic; how can someone hear me when we're not facing each other. It is not natural."

Sarah giggles hearing that, needing that little humor today. She can see how someone from this world see that.

"Please take a seat until we get a response." The blue bunny tells her.

Sarah nods and sits down.

--- Three hours later ---

The three hours have been the most boring three hours of her life. There is not even a television with a show that no one likes to at least pretend to entertain someone.

As when all hope seems lost, Ambassador Willington walks into the lounge. "First Lieutenant Rose. Nice to meet you again."

Hearing her name Sarah jumps right up from her seat. She fixes her uniform and then gives him a salute. "Hello Ambassador, it is nice to meet you again. Thank you for taking the time to meet me."

Willington waves her off. "Please, no salutes in here, especially after what we been through. Now come to my office." He then walks to his office.

Sarah takes a deep breath and follows.

Once there, he sits down in his chair and she follows behind, taking a seat in one of the guest chairs.

"Sorry for the wait, I was doing the final preparations with the Elbe Kingdom peace treaty," Willington explains. “Getting their Forts to the south of us to surrender and releasing prisoners takes a lot of paperwork.”

"I understand sir. You are a busy man." Sarah said to him.

Willington nods in agreement. "By the way, I never got a chance to tell your team they did a great job on our little diplomatic mission. Maybe it did not go as plan, but they showed our true colors."

Sarah smiles and nods. "I will be happy to tell them. I think they will enjoy that right now."

"Anyway, you are here about the President's request?" Willington asked. "There is no way around this one Miss Rose. When the President calls and for Rory Mercury and Lelei Lalena, you don't say no. Besides, after everything they have done for us, I think it would be good for them to see the country they are fighting for. They have earned it."

"I agree with you on all that. I know Major Sharpe will agree with that statement." Sarah responds.

"So, why are you here then?" Willington asked, not confused about why she is here.

Sarah gets a little nervous. It is not common for a lieutenant to ask a request to a high level, well anything. "Well sir, I believe someone was missed on the mission. Her name is Selina."

"I see. That other girl that was with you in Italica." Willington said, placing his hand on his chin.

"Well, yes sir. She should go to." Sarah tells him. "I know it is not official and she is young, but she is a member of the team. Been with us just as long as Rory and Lelei." She pauses and thinks. "Also, it would mean a lot of my CO."

Willington sits in his chair, slightly annoyed. "I understand. I will do this because of the amazing performance that your team did." He pauses and then continues, slightly pointing his figure at her. "But I want you to go too. Keep them all in line. I know how they all can be."

"Are you sure I should go Ambassador? I have responsibilities here." Sarah said as she rambles.

"Lieutenant Rose, that is my condition," Willington states, making it clear that he means business.

Sarah thinks and nods her head. That condition confuses her greatly, not making much sense. However, all four of them might be a problem all alone on Earth. Rory alone could be a problem keeping out of trouble.

"I accept your condition, sir. I promise to keep them all in line. The mission will stay quiet and diplomatic." Sarah said happily.

Willington nods. "Alright, I should get an answer later this afternoon, tomorrow at the latest. I will see you soon Lieutenant Rose."

Sarah stands up and gives him a thank you nod. She then leaves his office to prepare the mission to Earth.

After Sarah leaves his office, Willington leans back into his chair thinking. "Who the hell removed that girl off the mission list? And why?"

***

--- Akusho, Sadera ---

July 10th, 2025

It has been a few days since the Americans attack Sadera. The information from the Medusa crime family was mostly good. Good enough to be trusted for now.

The representative of the Medusa family said that the Bessara family was going to retake the warehouse during the attack. That attack never came though.

The three CIA agents thought that they were lied to however it is more likely that they got scared seeing the horror at the elite part of the city. Hearing battle and the blaze of battle, they probably got cold feet. The intelligence from the Medusa and the Gonzori family confirmed that.

This worked out better for the Akusho team. After watching and hearing about the high level of casualties from the attack, all but the Bessara family decided it is in their best interest to work with James.

However, they all made it clear that they want Bessara family out of the picture.

All around James can hear weapons fire and guards screaming.

Currently, James's CIA team and the SAS team are storming the Bessara palace. The Marines are staying at the warehouse, wait just in case he needs backup.

As they run up the stairs, going for the third and final floor. Two guards are charging down at them.

P90 fire can be heard and both guards fall dead, rolling down the stairs.

Everyone reaches the door and prepare to breach.

"Sean, Tycen. Open the door." James said. He then points to two SAS soldiers. "You two flash and the rest of us storm."

Right then they do that. Opening the door and blinding everyone inside. James and the other two SAS soldiers’ storm inside and lay waste to everyone who dares challenge them.

"Clear." One of the SAS soldiers’ yells.

"Roger that." James looks around and then sees the head of the family. "Ahh, there you are. I told you to buy my life insurance. Seems silly now doesn't it?"

The man stands up. "Fuck you. You think you won here. One day you will lay dead in the mud as your body is being raped by a ghoul."

James looks at him and then at his Sean. He then looks back at the man. "You have a fucked-up mind, sir." He then aims his P90 and shots the head of the family in the head.

Sean walks up. "Is it over?"

"Yup. Mission complete. We won Akusho now." James answers.

Tycen walks up. "What about the rest of the family? They have to be scattered around."

"I think we should let the rest of the Crime lords deal with them." James turns around and starts walking out of the room. "Let's go, we have work to do."

***

--- Sharpe Apartment, Fort Alnus ---

July 11th, 2025

Since getting Lelei own personal account to the military secured Internet, Lelei has been on it none stop, gathering as much information everything she could. There is more information on this Internet then all the libraries of Rondel. So much wealth of knowledge, her teachers at the Magic Academy would be very jealous.

For two days she barely left Sharpe apartment, wanting to just study everything she could from the computer.

That is when Sharpe walks in. "There you are. I have been looking… well not really."

"Ok," Lelei said, pretty much ignoring him. Getting a little addicted to the computer.

Sharpe has noticed that over the past few days.

She is a smart kid, in his opinion one of the smartest Humans on this base. Maybe in both worlds, which is not that high of a bar if someone thinks about it. Still, he has been concerned this new way of learning might be a little too much for her.

"Lelei, you been in here for two days. Time to get off." Sharpe said.

"Ok." Again, Lelei said as she ignores her. "After this, yeah. Ok."

That just made Sharpe chuckle. Lelei is very mature for her age but at the end of the day, she is still a teenage girl. He walks over and turns off the computer.

Right then the screen goes dark, Lelei presses on the keyboard trying to figure out what just happened. "What happened? It died?"

"Outside. Now." Sharpe said, giving her a direct order.

"But… but…. Fine." Lelei said, still shocked that the computer is off. She gets off from the chair and follows him downstairs.

When they get outside, she covers her eyes. "When did the sun come out?"

"A while ago. Now hop in." Sharpe said. He walks over to the driver seat of the HUMVEE.

Lelei gets in the passenger seat. As the vehicle starts going, she looks to him. Still a little annoyed that he stopped her research project. "Where is everyone else and why am I needed?"

"Rory is doing her Alnus Military Police duties. Selina is tagging along." Sharpe said as he drives. "I have a mission and I need your help to do it. It is an Alpha, Tango, Charlie-Six level mission."

Lelei has an academic mind, always processing everything that someone said to her. Analyzing everything, filtering the details and figure out the proper response. She then looks to him. "You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Every bit," Sharpe said smirking.

"You lie a lot," Lelei said to him.

"Every bit," Sharpe repeats himself, making him chuckle. He then glances at her as he drives, heading off the base. "However, at least I am an honest liar. You know when I am lying."

Lelei has a closed personality. Thanks to her upbringing it has been hard for her to show much emotion. It is rare to see her express a lot of emotion, always staying cool and calm. Sharpe has always enjoyed that, never worried that she is going to do something stupid like Rory and Alicia rushing into battle.

Right then though, she laughs loudly hearing him say that.

"It wasn't that funny," Sharpe said, surprised by her reaction.

"I am sorry. I just needed that." Lelei said. She then notices that they are off the base, heading out into the woods. "So, what are we doing."

"You will see. I saw this place I been wanting to check out. We aren't going far." Sharpe responds with.

That would concern Lelei. She never liked surprises or the unknown. When she was getting lessons from her last master, Cato El Altestan. He always likes to do surprises which scared her. The idea of not knowing has always been a fear.

She thinks to herself, realizing that is probably why she has the urge to learn as much as she can. So, she will not have to be afraid.

Lelei looks to Sharpe as he drives. During the raid on Sadera, she remembers losing her confidence as they went into battle. However, once they met back up and went off to fight Taylin, her fear was gone, and she felt confident in herself. Even though there is this strange surprise mission he won't talk about for some reason, she isn't worried.

It takes about twenty-five minutes of them driving over some rough terrain. They got off the main dirt road a while goes.

They finally reach the location Sharpe told her about, this big meadow.

"We are here," Sharpe said, stopping the HUMVEE.

Lelei looks around, trying to see if there is anything of value. "Is there something here that we need?"

"Nope, I have just been meaning to do this for a while though. Been letting work get in the way." Sharpe said.

To her surprise, he turns off the engine and pulls out the keys.

Then suddenly the car keys get tosses to her. She barely catches them in time, nearly dropping them. After catching them, she looks over to him.

"You’re driving," Sharpe orders. Before she can protest, he gets out of the HUMVEE and starts walking over to the passenger side. He then opens the door.

She gets out. "Are you sure Major?"

Sharpe gives her a nod and a supportive pat on the shoulder. "Get in soldier."

Lelei walks over to the driver seat and hops in.

Sharpe then explains everything she needs to know about the vehicle. How to use the breaks, steer, gas, how speed works and everything else.

"It is scary at first, but it becomes second nature soon enough," Sharpe said, sitting back in his chair. "Just drive away, go slow though. There is nothing around so don't worry about hitting anything."

Lelei takes a deep nervous breath and begins speeding up.

Lelei begins driving the HUMVEE all around the meadow, doing a lot of stops and goes as she gets used to the sensitivity.

"It is ok Lelei, you are doing great. You are doing better than I did."

"I am concentrating Major," Lelei said right at him, trying to focus.

"Roger that," Sharpe responds. As she drives, he begins to see improvement in her driving. Figuring out the fundamentals.

After some time and seeing her get comfortable driving, he looks back to her. "Hey, Lelei. You need to take a break from the computer. It is unhealthy to be on there all the time."

"But there is so much information. I need to learn as much as I can." Lelei said, a little frustrated.

Sharpe sees that fixation in her. Rory informed him before that Lelei has been struggling since the raid on Sadera for some reason. "All that information isn't going anywhere. You can take your time researching."

The HUMVEE suddenly goes over a large rock, making the vehicle wobble a bit.

Once the vehicle stabilized, Lelei replied to Sharpe. "I need to. So, my spells can work as intended."

The truth finally comes out. This is something he feared, everything from our world might too be overwhelming for the people of this world. "Lelei, the knowledge from our world took centuries to find, develop and understand. You can't learn it all in an afternoon."

"I know. I am trying to concentrate on driving." Lelei said, wanting to drop the conversation.

"You're doing great. Don't worry." Sharpe said, trying to reassure her. He does not want to stop the conversation though, clearly seeing something is bothering her.

"You think your new spell didn't work? Colonel Yang disagrees." Sharpe asked her.

Lelei takes a deep breath and looks over to him. "No, my gravity spell didn't work as I intended. It blew up in my face."

"Watch the road!" Sharpe warns her, glancing out the front window.

Hearing Sharpe say that scares her so she slams on the breaks. "SORRY!"

"All good. All good. My fault, I was distracting you." Sharpe said chuckling. He begins to think about something. Both times she tried to use her magic and our science on the field he was not there. From what everyone told her she complains that the spell did not go as planned.

"Alright, I think this is good," Sharpe said and opens the door. "Hop out. I want to see your new spell."

Lelei's eyes open wide, embarrassed on his request. She does not want to look like a fool in front of him.

Sharpe leaves and walks back to the HUMVEE, looking inside. "Let's go."

Lelei nods her head and walks over to him.

He looks over to her as she stands by his side. "So, what is this famous gravity spell? Run me the details please."

"Well. My goal is to manipulate the gravity around a person or object. I want to be able to increase or decrease the weight of the gravity around my target." Lelei said, thinking about how she wants her spell to be. "That is just the beginning. I got this idea from your man Newton. Everything has an opposite reaction, and I want to use that against my target. Like, be able to use the gravity to slice someone in half or compact them into a ball like by adding more G masses."

As Lelei goes on with the science of what she wants to so, what she said impress and scares Sharpe. It even accurses to him that maybe he should put more limits on what she can see, keep her away from other theories like Coulomb Law and General Relativity if she has not investigated them already. More he thinks about it, he should block anything about the atom and nuclear physics too.

"Ok, ok I understand the point," Sharpe said, wanting her to stop. "Can you show me? I have a theory on why you are struggling."

Lelei looks to him, shaking her head no.

"You can do it. Don't worry about it." He then looks out and sees a tree stump. "Hit that target."

Lelei takes a deep breath and nods. She takes a few steps out, wanting to gain some distance.

She begins that chant again and her staff starts to glow, just like last time.

Sharpe watches and is impressed by what he is seeing. The idea of magic is so foreign to his people he must get bored seeing it in action.

Suddenly, an explosion happens right by Lelei. Sharpe gets flung back a little bit, landing on the ground a few feet away.

He soon gets up and runs up to where Lelei is at. Wanting to make sure she is ok.

She is laying on the ground, a little dirty. Some smoke is disappearing around her. The grass under her is just gone. She caught a little, her face is like after a big sneeze, trying to figure out what just happen.

Seeing that she is ok, Sharpe begins to laugh. "That was epic. And loud."

However though, after she recovers, she is annoyed that her spell did not work again. "I told you."

"All good. Only one way to learn is to try again." Sharpe helps her on her feet, holding her up so she can regain her balance.

"Didn't you have a similar problem when you did that sonic boom spell the first time?" Sharpe asked her. He remembers his team telling him about it. She used it to scare away a horde of cavalrymen.

She nods her head. "I still struggle with it now."

"But you did it to propel that ballista faster. It worked perfectly." Sharpe asked her.

"Well. That time, I was just doing a smaller version of it. Far easier to control." Lelei explains as she coughs a little.

Sharpe listens, nodding his head. He looks over to that tree stump. Some of it seems damage but not directly. He then looks back to her and gets on one knee. "I think I know what is wrong."

Lelei looks at him confused. "When did you learn magic in the last two days?"

"Not at all. Still don't understand it." Sharpe responds and then holds up a figure. "However, fundamentals are universal."

Sharpe then thinks for a moment, gathering his thoughts for his story. "Back in Officer School, I struggled in the beginning. On the field, I was failing to complete my missions. I was getting too distracted on the plan. My mind was thinking about chapter thirty-three when I was in chapter three. I was trying to think about everything and not what was in front of me. As my instructor told me, 'going big is overrated'."

Lelei looks at him. "Ok, but you need to understand everything around you to use a spell."

"Hold on." Sharpe interrupts. "This is just my guess; I can be completely off here. My mistake was that I was not thinking about what was right in front of me. You and I think alike, we are very academic." He then points to his head as he finishes that sentence.

"I think you are trying to do too much. It is not an insult; you need to understand your limits so you can expand them." Sharpe explains, using his hands to help communicate what he is saying. "Now I want you to try again. This time with this…" He stops and looks around. He then picks up a decide size rock. "I want you to do it with this."

Lelei looks at the rock and takes a breath. "Ok."

Sharpe nods and walks away. He places the rock on the ground and then walks away. "Go when ready. Just focus on the rock and nothing else. And only use a little power. No reason to give it everything you got."

Lelei takes her time getting herself ready. She begins her chant again and her staff begins to blow.

Sharpe braces himself for another explosion. This time though small energy glows around the rock.

Slowly the rock lifts in the air and hovers about four and a half feet. Slowly the rock begins to crack from the increased gravity around it and then shatters. Besides the pieces falling back down to the ground, the rock chunks and dust begin to form into a disk, orbiting in a circle.

Sharpe smiles and walks over to Lelei. "Good job." Once he arrives, he gives her a light good job pat on her shoulder.

Lelei just stands there, concentration on the rock. When he pats her on the shoulder, it startles her causing the spell to explode again. This time over by the rock.

After the small explosion, Lelei looks to him. "Stop doing that!"

"Sorry. But good job kid." Sharpe said.

Lelei looks over to where the rock was and then back at Sharpe. "I did it though." She said smiling.

"Yup," Sharpe said to her, showing he is proud. "You don't want to overwhelm yourself with our knowledge. You need to limit yourself. Start small and expand from there. None of it is going anywhere, you can assess it anytime."

Sharpe then tries to think about how else he can explain the lesson he wants to teach her. "As I said, just focus on the fundamentals, the basics. Then work your way up. From what I understand about magic, the more you understand the better the spell is. To do that, you need to start small."

Lelei nods all happily that the spell she worked so hard to develop has finally worked in the way she wanted. "I understand. I think I was just got so excited about the possibilities and what I can do. I let it all get to my head. I just wanted to be able to pull my weight and-."

"Don't ever think that Lelei. That is my responsibility." Sharpe said, correcting her. "You, Rory and everyone else have a role on the team. Don't ever feel like you're just an addon. No, you are all a core part of the team. Just worry about developing you. Now let's try again."

Before Lelei could say something, the radio from the HUMVEE begins to speak. "This is Vanguard-Command looking for Vanguard-7 Lead."

Sharpe walks over and picks up the radio, annoyed that someone is trying to contact him on his day off. "This is Vanguard-7 Lead. If you are contacting about that explosion, that was a friendly fire. Don't worry about it. Over."

"Negative, however, that would have been good to know. Major Sharpe, you are needed at the main gate." The man on the other side of the radio said.

"Unless we are under attack this is my day off," Sharpe explains, not happy by the order.

"I understand sir. I am getting reports that you been requested by the Rose Order Knights, Princess Piña Co Lada." The man said.

That name Sharpe was not expected to hear for a good long while. "Ahh fuck."

***

--- Main Gate of Fort Alnus ---

July 11th, 2025

It has been a long journey to get to the American base at Alnus Hill. Princess Piña Co Lada with her comrades of the Rose Order. Her lieutenants are with her, riding by her side as the approach the main gate. Even Knight Gray joined up with them from Italica. Why he was there she does not know but does not seem important right now.

Most of the Knights, including her feel incredibly nervous. They ran into the Other Worlder's outer perimeter and are being escorted by their massive weapons of war. The vehicles that are escorting them are the same as the one's Major Sharpe team been in.

However, as the approach the main base gate, they see these massive, large beasts that make the other vehicle she rode in before looking small. One of their soldiers called the one on the left a Bradley and the one on the right an Abrams. Strange names for armored beasts like these.

If the barrel of these new beasts of vehicles is anything like their smaller rifles they carry, the devastation is unimaginable. That is not the only new weapon of war these people have, there is all different kind of ground vehicles that are appearing. It is clear to Pina that she has yet to see these people true force.

Everything so far has only been a taste of these people's power. Why have they been holding back their power and what are they planning now?

The journey she had plenty of time to think. Trying to figure out why these people did what they did. Thousands of her people died in the city all just to save a few slaves. The peace treaty was so easily tossed away by them just to save some slave girls.

During the ride to Sadera with these people, they talked about how seeking glory is bad and how important it is for a soldier to follow duty. Glory was the major topic between the two, that there is no such thing is glory in war.

Pina thought she understood what they meant and assumed that peace was guaranteed. As long the war ended, they will be happy right? That treaty in Italica proved that theory, they wanted no real demands. They just want to be left alone. They even were willing to give us all our people back.

When Sharpe Rangers shot up the throne room and threw everything away, everything she thought about these people was also tossed out the door. They are so confusing; their actions made no sense. Normally States give up some people as slaves as part of a peace treaty. She was willing to overlook that tradition.

Maybe her brother Zorzal was right(3), these people were just lying to her the whole time. If they truly did not care about glory, then why did they do what they did?

Pina hates to admit it but more she thinks about it the more she things her brother Zorzal must be right. It is the only thing that makes sense now. Even then though, the more she thinks Zorzal is correct, the more her gut tells her he is wrong. Never having this intern divide before in her life.

It is not the time to deal with whatever internal feelings she has. Just like before, she just keeps suppressing her gut feelings on the matter. However, it seems the more she suppresses those feelings, the stronger they become.

Once her people reached the main gate of their base, Pina gets off her horse. Same with Hamilton and her other lieutenants.

Pina walks up to this man at the Gate. She can see they are ready to gun everyone down. She isn't afraid anymore; she just wants answers. Was she being played by him or not?

"Hold it. You are not allowed on base." This soldier tells her.

Pina notices the flag on this soldier's shoulder. It has four red boxes with a white line dividing the red boxes. She learned that these patches are the flags of their countries. This is nothing like the star and strikes the Rangers she rode with and meant at Italica. How many countries are here?

"I am here to speak with Major Sharpe," Pina demands at the soldier.

He looks to his comrade and back at her. "Who? There is a lot of people here."

This annoyed her greatly. Pina always assumed that Sharpe was this great well-known warrior of his people. "He is one of those Rangers called Vanguard." She said, the word coming out strangely.

The man looks confused on how she said her words but then just walks away. He walks up to this booth and grabs one of those black talking boxes. Those boxes allow these people to talk at long distances.

"Tell him Princess Piña Co Lada wants to speak with him," Pina said to that man on the talking box. "I will be waiting."

--- One Hour Later ---

This has been the longest hour of her life. The journey here felt shorter. Her frustration has only gathered as she waited for that man.

During that time, more of the enemy troops showed up, even more of their heavier armored wagons. Many of the new soldiers have different flag patches, just raising the question of how different people that came across the Gate.

What pissed her off though is seeing people from this world walk up with the Other Worlders. She sees a siren, a bunny, and a few other hybrid creatures here. They have a patch like the Other Worlder soldiers, but it said MP instead of a flag design. Pina has no idea what that even means. She has heard about the people at Alnus, people from this world making a home with the Other Worlders. Seeing it with her own eyes just pisses her off, all that means is that the Empire is not just fighting the Other Worlders but the people of this world too.

The gate opens and she sees Major Sharpe walk towards her. Behind him is that women in blue hair, from Italica. It is amazing how fast all these people became friends with each other. Why could this blue hair peasant and the other peasants here be able to form peace with these people and she could not?

Sharpe walks up to her and then stops, just a short arm's length away. "What is it." He said in an annoyed tone.

"I want to know why you betrayed me," Pina demands, staring right at him.

Sharpe looks at her, baffled by what she just said. "I betrayed you? You are the one who had our people as prisoners. If I recall you ask for me anyway."

"We both know that isn't the true reason. No one would have tossed away a peace treaty in a manner like that for some girl. Especially just for a slave." Pina responds with much passion and fire in her voice.

After hearing that, Lelei just takes a step back away from them.

"What? You must be kidding me. That girl isn't a slave, she is a Human being!" Sharpe said, having a hard time wrapping his head around what Pina saying.

Pina cuts Sharpe off, getting angrier. "Still, you talked about your people do not value glory, only duty. That you fight only because you must. Bull! Shit!" She then points to his chest. "One of your people brought up the fact you have had bloody wars on your world. Even you said your world is stained in blood."

"If you believe in everything you talk about and not repeat history. You wouldn't have tossed away the peace treaty between our people. And thousands of my people would still be alive. Thousands! They also were Humans being!" Pina yells at him, letting everything on her mind out. "Was it your duty to kill all those people just to save a few!? No, you used that slave as an opportunity to continue the war. So, you can march down the roads with all you might." As she vents, her arms are waving around, helping her show her mood.

Sharpe finally had enough. He grabs her right arm tightly and gets her under control. The physical contact shocked her, still not expecting someone who touches someone with royal blood.

When Sharpe grabs her, Hamilton, Beefeater, and Bozes would begin to move to help her. Gray stops them all. "No, this is between them. She needs this." He would not allow them to protest or intervene.

"You want to go down this road princess? Sharpe said, not letting go of her arm. Making sure she knows that she is not in control of the situation. Once he sees that she understands, he tosses her back, letting go.

"You are damn right. I would trade a thousand of your people for one of mine any day of the week." Sharpe bluntly said in his authoritative tone. "Do you want to know? Over one hundred years ago we had the deadliest war in human history. How many people live in Sadera? One, maybe two million?"

"What doesn't that have to do-," Pina asked before being stopped by Sharpe.

"Doesn't matter. Eleven million died in that war." Sharpe states, looking directly at her. "Eleven million dead bodies for what? Everything you and your people represent. All the leaders just wanted to have another war. They believed there was too much peace and that a true man should fight."

Sharpe then points to her. He can see she is struggling to imagine that high of a number. Most would. "The leaders of their empires let their egos and arrogance lead to eleven million deaths. And you know what their egos did. Set the stage for the real biggest war in our history. That is, it. Sounds familiar?"

Pina takes a step back, getting a little afraid of his tone.

"World War Two." Sharpe just said. "Seventy to ninety million people died. All that destruction and death because a few nations thought they had the right to conquer the world for themselves. So, they could commit genocide to races they deem unworthy. A race caste system, now does that sound familiar?"

Pina listens, realizing she has overstepped. The numbers he is telling is overwhelming. She always thought Sadera had a high population but the number of deaths he is talking about is almost more than the entirety of the Empire. Also, she can see the parallels between her Empire and the one he's talking about.

"And then the Cold War," Sharpe said before Pina interrupted him.

"I get it. A lot of people died in your world. How does that-." Pina said before getting interrupted by him now.

"You started this," Sharpe said and then takes a step to her. "Remember, you attacked us. Don't you dare give me your higher standard morality crap. You are no better than the empires of the past. Do you have any idea how many people died in the Cold War, how many people were enslaved? In the name of bettering Humanity? Because they thought they were morally better than everyone else."

Sharpe stops there, taking an angry deep breath. He looks away, to his right, trying to keep a clear head. How did he ever trust this woman in the first place?

Pina stands there and thinks. "Still, you talk about all that death. Implying that the Empire is no different than the Empires of your world. But you still were the one who rejected peace in this world. Regardless, if we attacked you, we wanted peace, I was the one who wanted peace and you were the one who rejected it."

Pina feels some confidence again and gets right into Sharpe's face. "All that death is on your hands. It is your fault that more people are dead. You act like you value life but you’re willing to have thousands, maybe millions of more deaths for one slave!"

Sharpe stands there and listens to everything she just said. It took a lot of effort not to hit her. Once she finished yelling all he can do is think about Selina. "Tell that to a twelve-year-old girl who was forced in the slave trade."

Pina looks at him confused, not understanding why he said that random statement.

He then looks behind her and sees that brown hair girl name Hamilton. He always notices that anywhere Pina is, she is right behind her.

Sharpe then looks right back at Pina. "How much is she worth?"

The question completely catches Pina off guard, having no idea what he means. Thinking he is referencing that random girl is just brought up.

Sharpe then points to Hamilton. "The girl in the brown hair. How much is she worth?"

Pina looks behind her and looks at Hamilton. For as long as she can remember Hamilton has been by her side. Always there when needed, always trying to encourage her. "Hamilton…?"

Pina looks back to Sharpe, trying to find an answer. Truth is she cannot think of a number, why would she ever sell Hamilton. By law she could if she wanted to but why would she? "But…"

Sharpe lowers his arm and turns around. walks away from a little.

"Wait! We are not finished!" Pina yells. She rushes to him but stops as all the Americans and their allies aimed their rifles at her.

Sharpe stops and turns around, walking right back to her.

Pina looks up at him and can see he knew she could not answer that question. Just the thought of it made her ashamed of herself and begins to tear up.

"Do you know the difference between you and me. Between your people and mine." Sharpe said in an angry but calm tone. "You’re willing to oppress people all around you, enslave them, abuse them, use them for all your desires, whatever. As long as it doesn't happen to you or your 'friends'."

"That's… not…" Pina tries to say something, anything to counter him.

Sharpe just ignores her, fed up with this conversation. "My people value liberty. What that means is people do not have to worry about someone barging into their homes and taking what they want just because. The value of someone's life is not based on something stupid like bloodline or what race they were born as. We are all equal under the law and no one can harm another."

Sharpe places his arms on his hips, thinking deeply about the conversation. "The difference is you not willing to sell your friend, but you are more than happy to sell someone who doesn't know. We will defend the right of someone we never have seen before."

Sharpe takes a deep breath, rubbing his beard. He stops and looks back at her. "Fuck it. I am not a diplomat. You know what really pisses me off about all this."

That comment scares Pina. This entire time he has been holding back? Was this a good idea to come here? All she wanted to be an answer. Not to be humiliated in front of everyone. All she wanted was to save her people… but why?

"When we first meant in Italica, I saw this naive girl. But this girl seems like she had a good heart and the best of intentions. I genuinely thought you cared about your people. That is something I respect from people. People who care for and respect their nation. It is the duty of the leaders of their nations to represent and look after their people. There is nothing else that matters if the State can't do that." He said, tossing his arm to the side in frustration.

"You are right. This is my fault. I put a potential peace over my duty." Sharpe states. "You had my people, and you knew it. We offered over-generous terms at Italica and you took that in bad faith. You thought you could have it all… be the one who made peace with us and give nothing up. You wanted peace without having to earn it."

Pina tries to speak up, wanting to defender herself. But all she found was his figure in front of her face.

"I didn't give you permission to speak." Sharpe just said to her, not having any of it anymore. Not care that she is a princess. "In good faith, we gave you some of your people back. You did not even know we had thousands of your people as prisoners. But you knew you had our people as prisoners and didn't return the favor. And you expected good things to come from that?"

"There are slaves not prisoners. We never agreed in Italica to give over any slave or identify…" Pina counters. Right then all she sees from Sharpe are that same death looking eyes, staring right at her. Right then she feels like she is about to be killed by him.

The blue hair girl walks up and gets between them, slowly pushing Sharpe back. "Calm down Major." She wishes Rory is here right now.

Sharpe takes a few steps back, letting Lelei intervene. He closes his eyes and takes a big breath.

However, though, Sharpe could not let what Pina just said go. He stops and points right at her. "Was it worth it?"

That question confuses Pina again. Not understanding the context. "What was what worth it…?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Sharpe tells her. "You come here expecting what? I am sorry? Fine. I am sorry that I never trusted you. You wanted peace not because it helped your people but because it helped you!"

Lelei stands by his right side, placing her hand on his arm. He was by her side today, helping her figure some things out and now wants to return the favor. Trying to keep him from shooting her or worse.

A short pause in the conversation happens. It is dead silence as everyone stays quiet. Pina stands there in tears, trying to figure out what to say.

"So.., so…" Pina begins to mumble.

"So why did I throw away that peace for a slave girl?" Sharpe asked the question for her. "As long as one of us is oppressed, none of us are free. It is the duty of my people, our servicemen to protect the liberties from all threats, foreign and domestic. That includes you enslaving our people. Not just from my country but any country."

Sharpe thinks for a second and nods his head. "And that also includes anyone from Alnus." He said in a calm but angry voice.

"We are willing to sacrifice as many needed to protect one. Because if that one is oppressed then we all are." Sharpe continues. He knows that is fully true, context matters. Right now, that does not matter to him.

"Ok Sharpe, you made your point," Lelei said, tugging him away.

Before Sharpe walks away, he looks at Pina one last time. "Princess."

Pina looks at him, wondering what else he is going to say.

"Next time I see you. I am going to kill you." Sharpe looks to the Danish troops that are on gate duty. "Get them out of here." He then leaves the area with Lelei.

Pina stands there and watches them go back inside the base. The soldiers around her walk up to her.

"Time to leave Princess." One of the soldiers said.

No words can come out of her mouth. She just turns around and walks to her horse.

As she walks to her horse, she reaches to her upper chest and pulls out this small heart shape medallion. It belongs to her mother before she died in childbirth. Right now, it is the only thing that feels right.