--- Elies Region, V-22B Osprey ---

November 26th, 2025

Lieutenant Commander Daniel Richman is sitting in his seat, heading to the Elies region. Major General Charles Stanford recalled his unit. His Seal Team-3 just finished a raid in the Alguna kingdom. Why he doesn't know.

"Lieutenant Commander. You want to listen to this. Tune to channel sixty-seven." The pilot says.

He leans forward and looks to the cockpit. He then turns on his NETT system and tunes to that channel, a special forces channel for updates.

Then he hears a report on what has been happening in Elies. He then hears what happen between Vanguard-7 and the leadership of the Elies Legions.

Then he hears something surprises him and doesn't at the same time. The leader of the Ranger unit Vanguard-7, Major Sharpe left to Fortress Legrath alone. Well, with those underage girls that he tags along.

Even though Rory and Lelei have proven themselves in battle, he does not approve of having children or local civilians in battle.

He has never gotten along with Major Sharpe since when he was in Delta Force. Always thought he was too brash and eager. Willing to take to many risks and jump headfirst into situations. However, he knows he would never do something unless he genuinely believes it is the right decision, regardless of how he feels about it.

"Sir, orders?" Vance asks.

He looks forward and sees his second in command asking that.

***

--- Fort Legrath ---

November 26th, 2025

Sharpe fires his rifle, killing this Imperialist soldier. After killing the two that was blocking his way, he reloads his rifle.

"They just keep coming. If I could use…" Pins starts to say.

"I said no! Your sticking with your sword." He responds.

She has been asking to use his sidearm, thinking it would be better. There is no way he is giving someone untrained a firearm.

He finishes reloading and fires two shots, killing this man who was charging. "Down the hall, move!"

He watches as Pina heads down the last hallway. He then reaches to his vests and pulls out a smoke grenade.

He then drops it on the ground, hoping the smoke scares them for a moment.

He rushes back to the balcony where Rory tossed him. Across he sees Lelei waving and Tuka with her bow out.

"Ok, how do we jump across this? It is a dead-end Sharpe." Pina says, annoyed by the situation.

He walks past her. "Tuka! Fire rope over here! Lelei, balance us as we cross!"

Right then this arrow over and he watches it. He takes the rope and ties it to this pole, securing it. He then looks over to Pina. "Go!"

"You are kidding right?" Pina looks at the rope and then back at him.

He gives her a very scary look, enough that it scared her to start walking on the rope.

He can see Lelei on the other side, beginning to use her telekinesis to help Pina balance herself as she walks over.

As Pina gets halfway over, he can hear soldiers running down that hallway. He moves to cover the door and right when he sees them, he puts a round of lead into them.

After taking out three soldiers and noticing they stop, he turns around and sees that Pina is on the other side. He gets up and rushes over the rope.

He can feel Lelei magic helping him stay stable as he crosses the gap. Once on the other side, Pina cuts the rope with her sword.

"Alright, Rory… Rory?" He asks, looking around.

"Rory is gone," Tuka says.

"Yes, she is fighting Taylin right now," Lelei adds.

Hearing that name makes him remember Sadera and fighting him. Two Rangers died and others wounded fighting him. The only reason he is alive is because of the timely intervention of Rory and insane tactics against him.

He knows he needs to find a way out of here but there is no chance they will make it out alive if he loses his big guns. While Rory is strong, he is worried that she might hesitate with Taylin because of their experience.

"What way did they go?"

---

"Ahhh!" Rory screams as she swings her halberd right into Taylin battle-ax.

The impact forces her to jump backward. Right now, they are fighting on this plaza bridge between two sections of the fortress.

Her strategy has been to just keep him away from the others. While Sharpe is clever in overcoming stronger opponents, fighting an Apostle is a whole other level as he would say.

She sees Taylin moving to the right, so she matches him. "What is wrong, getting tired? You never would keep up!"

Taylin continues to move, unfazed by what she said.

When they were 'dating', one thing that always bothered her was how emotionless he was. He would never play her little word games which annoyed her. That should give been a sign however she was so blinded by her ideals and strong will.

Because of Taylin god Idos, which represents stability and tranquility within the cosmos. He gains much of his strength from what Sharpe calls this planet moon Idos, the same name as the god.

He believes that is the world was under one roof than there would be stability. By doing that would not be roaming gangs raiding villages, the dark races would be seduced, and it would be far easier to manage all the kingdoms and city-states if there under one roof.

She thought it was a good idea at the time. The situation was pure anarchy seven hundred years ago, so it was better than nothing.

While she is the Apostle of Emroy, the god of death, war, and insanity, none of that means she is just a blind killer. What she values most of Emroy duties is love. People wouldn't go to war or risk death if they didn't fight for something they loved. Most crimes are acted out of love, trying to support their family. People associate insanity when someone is mentally sick, unable to properly perform on their own. But there is another side of insanity, like facing something dangerous at great risk for yourself for people you want to protect. All that leads back to love.

When she finally saw his true side and realized that he used her deepest motivation against her, love.

Seeing him burst forward, she jumps and flip over, allowing him to travel under her. She lands back on her feet and charges at him.

She swings her weapon, forcing him on the defensive.

She is able to break his defensive stance and she grabs him she then throws him right at the wall.

He hits but lands back on his feet and bushes towards her.

She takes a breath and charges right at him.

Both of their weapons clash in a power struggle, reaching pushing on each other.

"I still can't accept that you choose these Other Worlders over your own people," Taylin says.

"I didn't, there are people that from this world. It is not that black and white." She responds.

Both push harder, forcing both of them to jump backward.

"They are traitors," Taylin says in a cold voice.

"What! For what, for just wanting to live in peace?" She responds.

"While they live in peace, everyone else is suffering. But I guess that is what you want. The Apostle of chaos and insanity," Taylin says.

Hearing that infuriated her. "You prick."

"While you live in isolated and in peace, this world is falling apart. Villages are being felt unguarded and burned. Vassals rebelled against each other. Unrest spreading and the dark races are feeling bold enough to try and reclaim their formal glory," Taylin explains.

He then points his ax to her. "This is because of those people. Their presence is causing all this."

"It was the Empire who invaded them! They are acting in self-defense. You complain about instability and all this destruction, but you refuse to look at the source. The Empire is wrong and needs to be replaced." She yells.

"And yet they are here. They are no longer defending themselves and now trying to destroy everything." Taylin replies.

She shakes her head. "No. Maybe the Empire has brought stability over the centuries but that was built on a lie and oppression."

"And your point?" Taylin responds and pushes forwards.

She jumps back as his ax slammed right where she was at. Right when she lands, she charges at him. Both of their weapons collide with each other.

"My point is you are wrong. You want stability then you are on the wrong side." She says as she pushes against him.

She flips her halberd to the right and then spins around Taylin, slashing his side.

While his battle is immensely powerful in the offensive it is limited in maneuverability. She can use her halberd in more ways.

She turns around to do a second attack.

Taylin places his ax in the ground to push him up, just missing her attack. He falls back to his feet and uses his ax and hits her while her defense is down.

She backs away, placing her hand on her wound. She knows she will be found, the damage is superficial, being an Apostle. The problem is the same rules apply with Taylin. That is why most Apostles stay away from each other.

She looks up at him, trying to think of a way to break through him. What he is saying seems more like pride than principle. He built the Empire and is upset that it is falling apart. "Why do guys have to be prideful all the time."

She raises her halberd and blocks an attack.

"What was that?" Taylin asks as he pulls back and strikes again.

"Is this what it is all about? Your pride? That you found a bigger, stronger and more honorable empire out there in the cosmos. That all your work turned out to be for nothing? You can achieve your desires if you help them." She says.

Saying that seemed to anger him greatly.

Taylin pushes at her and begins attacking very aggressively.

"You question my motives? What have you been doing for the last five hundred years, Rory? Do you think you can redeem yourself from something right before you leave this world? What are you doing?" Taylin says.

She takes a breath and thinks about that. She glares at him and busts forward slashing to his side.

"I know what I am doing Taylin. I do not care what you or any other Apostle or gods think. This world deserves better than what you want to give." She answers and turns around.

"Taylin. There is no point in living if you are just a slave. There might be ordered but without purpose and meaning, without freedom then your dream will never survive." Rory says.

"You sound and talk like them. You have changed. You are becoming them, of their world. You have abandoned your worshippers Rory. Whatever respect I had is gone. They will not offer what you seek. I will kill them and force them back across the Gate." Taylin then raises his ax. "Starting with your friends. I already have beaten them once and you stole their deaths."

She glares at him and then charges forward, angry.

Both flies towards each other and each lands a hit.

Rory lands on the ground and falls on her knee. She looks down and sees that her right leg is half-way cut off. It will heal but it will take a little time.

She pushed herself up and leans on her halberd. She can see Taylin standing there with this deep cut thought his side. He is holding his side and is clearly struggling to balance himself.

"You should have gone for the head, Rory," Taylin says as he starts walking forward.

She rebalances herself and holds out her weapon. Her biggest advantage is her speed and that is limited for the moment. She knows she will just have to fight him head-on now.

"Since you joined them, you have gotten weaker. Softer. The women I remember would haven't hesitated or done this talk to the heart talk. You would have slaughtered anything in your way. They have made you weak," Taylin says.

As she is about to respond, she sees this arrow hit in on the side of the head. It looks strange as the arrow is right between his head.

He looks around, confused about what is going on. Right then he gets hit by this large energy blast. He flies away and hits this wall.

She looks to her right and sees Tuka and Lelei, both of whom just attacked Taylin.

Then she sees Sharpe rushes up to her. "You ok?"

She smiles at his and the other sight. "Always. He is just a pain in the ass."

"Hmm. Roger that." Sharpe says and looks to Taylin.

Princess Pina walks over. "I hope you are ok Rory Mercury."

"Yes, we better go." She says as her legs form back together.

"Don't you even think about it?" Taylin yells as he gets out of the wall.

There is this large shadow suddenly. She turns left and then sees this Wyvern waving over. Then another two flies over.

"It is the Wyvern Corps. They're trying to prevent us from flying away." Pina states.

"We don't have air assist here, why?" Sharpe asks, aiming his rifle at them.

She understands the reason though. They want to keep them from taking Pina. The Americans like to use their flying machines to move around, they must think we came here with an air assault.

A Wyvern is a smaller dragon that has been tamed by the Empire. They are more domesticated like farm animals.

"I see my mystery friend didn't finish you off. I guess I will." Taylin says.

"That is not happening, buddy," Sharpe says.

"Wyvern, feast." Taylin orders as he gets ready to assault.

She jumps in front of Sharpe and Pina. "I will handle him. Try and take care of the dragons."

"Use what? Harsh words?" Tuka asks as she aims at one.

This load roar comes from this Wyvern as it starts to crawl over.

She looks over to the Wyvern, wondering if she should take that one out. She knows she can easily cut the Wyvern head off after a few attacks however that leaves everyone open to an attack by Taylin. She knows he is trying to distract her, using her friends against her.

"Rory, attack the dragon," Sharpe says as he puts away his rifle and pulls out his favorite weapon, his Colt pistol. She sees him change out the magazine from it with a different one.

"You’re kidding right? If I move your dead." She responds.

"I never kid. Tuka and Lelei, cover fire on the others. Break now," Sharpe orders.

She glances back at him and decides to trust him. She pushes to the right and swings at the Wyvern, slashing the side of the. The beast backs up and lets out a painful scream. That only attracted the other two to land nearby.

"OK, not what." She looks back in a panic and sees Taylin charging forward.

Sharpe fires a few rounds at Taylin but to her surprise, Taylin stops where he is at. Taylin starts trying to pat himself as he lets out a painful yell.

Seeing the distraction, she bursts forward and hits Taylin, forcing him back again.

Seeing that Taylin is backed away again, she jumps back to Sharpe. "What did you do?"

".45 ACP HEI Incendiary Ammunition. Fire rounds pretty much. Not as effective as I hoped though," Sharpe answers and looks to the Wyvern that just landed nearby.

She glares at him, annoyed how he keeps putting himself in danger like that. She turns around to face the other Wyvern that is approaching. "I hope you have more tricks up your shirt."

"It is a sleeve, Rory," Lelei corrects her.

"What is up with you people, this is no time to joke?" Pina says, shocked by the bantering.

"Well, Princess. Why don't you order them to stop?" Tuka points out.

"I would have if they weren't trying to kill me." Pina points out.

"Knock it off. Rally up and be ready," Sharpe order.

She looks to her dragon and it roars. The beast reminders her of the second Lord of the Rings, where those two short people faced down a dragon. She then hears more dragon roars coming from above. Glancing up, she sees more flying around. Not just Wyvern but two bigger dragons too.

"Sharpe… orders please?" She says.

She glances at him and sees that he is trying to figure something out.

As the Wyvern approaches, it suddenly blows up.

The blast forcing them all back and fall on the ground.

She sits up, blinking, wondering what just happen. She looks up and sees these two flying fighters fly over.

---

"Nice shot Skull-5." Captain Hannah Anderson says over the radio.

She looks out her cockpit and sees her other three F-15Xs flying passes the fortress.

"Thanks. But there seems to be fifteen Wyvern Corps. Permission to engage?" Skull-5 asks.

She takes a look around. "Do you see our forces?"

"This is Skull-6, I am doing a flyby and I see them down below."

She tilts to the side and looks down. She sees the plaza bridge and sees their friendly forces. "Major Sharpe, Captain Anderson. Do you copy over?"

"Still no responds Captain," Skull-7 says.

"They must not have comms. Ok, relay Seal Team-3 their location. Skulls, engage all airborne targets and cover the Osprey." Anderson orders.

She then pulls to the right and looks forward.

Through her helmet, it locks on to two dragons that are flying over.

The F-15 Eagles, an aircraft from the Cold War. However, the production line was restarted in 2019 with the new version X. The number one problem the Air Force has had with this aircraft is that it is so damn good at what it does. Never lost a battle, carries many missiles and is flies like an angel. It was born for this and Anderson is happy to show the Imperialist Air Force why an Eagle has never lost a battle.

She ends up behind one and fires a missile right at it. Being faster, she flies right to pass the dragon as the missile hits its target.

She looks to her left and sees one of her pilots do a short dodge fight against a dragon and easily killing it.

She pulls left and flies right pass a Wyvern. She finds a new target and gets right behind it.

The Wyvern tries to fly as fast as it can, moving around the towers of the fortress. She smiles as she moves passes a few towers and fires a missile, hitting the Wyvern.

She hits right and flies right back to the aerial battle. "Never stood a chance. Alright boys, mop up and provide as much cover as you can."

As she flies back into the fight, she gets a great view of the battle. Her three other pilots are tearing up the dragons, there only being a few lefts.

"Skull-5. Try to direct The Rangers down below in the right direction." Anderson says.

"How? No comms," Skull-5 asks.

"Use flares. Unless you have another idea." Anderson responds.

---

Sharpe stands up and watches as the F-15 Eagles engage the fortress Wyvern Corps. He then looks to where Taylin was, expecting him to try and sneak attack.

After that last encounter with Taylin, he decided to carry around some .45 ACP HEI Incendiary Ammunitions, just in case. However, he was not expecting to be here at the fortress, so he only has one magazine.

He sees Taylin standing there, looking up. He seems scared, not understanding what is happening. He also seems to be looking around. Last time he was hit hard by a C-130 gunship. He assumes he still has some bad memories from that.

Seeing a chance to escape, he looks to the girls. All of them are standing there, watching the aerial battle. This is the first time they are seeing anything like this before.

For him, he hasn't seen anything like that before, but he has a job to do.

"Girls, on me." He orders, taking control of the situation.

"Where do we go?" Lelei asks.

He doesn't know the situation or his people's plans. Are they doing a full-scale assault or is it a ride or is this it?

An F-15 flies remarkably close by and passes this building. It fires its flares.

He looks up at that. Flares are normally used to distract enemy missiles. The only reason he could think of is them trying to tell him to go this way. But that is only a guess. "We go that way."

He heads that direction, making sure they come with him.

They get to the door and Tuka yells that Taylin is coming.

"Get inside." He orders. He aims and fires the remaining incendiary bullets in his magazine. Only three of them hit him.

While they cannot kill him, he knows by Rory that they still feel pain. The burning should distract him long enough for them to getaway.

Seeing that happening, he enters the building, being the last to do so.

"Now what?" Pina asks.

"Just follow me." He says as he puts away his pistol and switches back to his rifle. "Keep moving and stay close."

As he runs, he is trying to figure out the meaning of sudden air support. There is no way command would have sent them just to show off. There offering support for a reason. Unless there just came to confirm if there alive however his radio out.

He sees two paths ahead. "Right!"

He stops and checks the corner. Seeing that it is clear, he makes sure everyone is still together and heads down. He starts to rush down the hallway.

"Have any of you notice that we haven't seen anyone for a bit?" Tuka points out.

"I have to notice that too," Lelei replies.

"Don't talk about it otherwise…" He commands as he turns the corner. "This happens…"

He stops and stands there looking into this large room. The girls stop right behind him and all lookout.

What seems to be a few hundred goblins, orcs and werewolf are all standing there. They turn and look at them.

"Come on…" He says, getting very annoyed by this place.

"Don't quit on us now," Rory says as she grabs his jacket and starts pulling him back down the hallway.

As he is pulled, he grabs a fragmentation grenade and tosses it. "Fire in the hole."

He starts following them as the blast behind him. He hopes that either scared them or delayed them.

He takes a glance back and sees a horde of goblins charging after them.

"When we get to the end of the hall, Lelei fire a blast down the hall. Anything that will slow them down. Everyone else down that another path. Rory take point!" He orders.

Once they get back to where they started, he stops and knees. He switches his M4A1 to auto and empties a clip down the hall.

As he reloads, he looks to Lelei and sees that he has fully chanted her spell.

She then looks to him. "You better move Major."

He backs away and watches her send a tremor down the hallway. He aims and fires a few rounds at any nearby targets. He then looks to Lelei. "Nice job… are you ok?"

She pants and looks to him. "I am not an elf; I can't do magic continuously like this."

Hearing that reminds him of that. "I'm sorry Lelei, pull out."

After going through a few more hallways and a few small skirmishes, they get to this open plaza, assembly area. Right in front of them are two double lines of Imperial soldiers, shields up and moving towards them.

He stops and sees that. Knowing they cannot go back the way they came; decides they have to fight this one out.

"Fan out. Do not allow them to surround us. Engage in my command." He says, standing in the center. "Rory, stay back and engage right when they get close. Lelei, stay behind me and use your magic only if they get through. Tuka, snipe the man in the fancy hat."

"I get yeah," Rory says.

He aims his rifle, planning on trying to break up their formation.

As he pulls the trigger, the Imperial infantry in front of him begins screaming and falling on top of each other as a rain of bullets pours into them. It is just a continues stream of bullets, breaking apart their shields like they are not even there.

He lowers his rifle, not understanding what is happening. He looks up above their position and sees soldiers at the balcony firing down at the Empire.

"Watch out!" A soldier says as two ropes fall.

Then these two soldiers sliding down the ropes and to his surprise, their Navy Seals.

"Seal Team-3?" He asks, moving to them.

"Yes, sir. Were extraction now up the rope." A Seal says. Both of them get into a covering position.

His Special Forces training kicks in and points to the girls. He looks to the ropes and sees two electronic hoists on each rope. That should allow them to climb faster. "Pina, Lelei. You two first." He gathers them and shows them what to do with the hoists.

They go up first and two by two they all get up to the balcony.

Once he gets up there, he sees Lieutenant Commander Daniel. He sees him directing his Seals, getting everyone ready to move out.

"Lieutenant Commander. Fancy seeing you here," He says.

"Fancy? Stuff that sarcastic shit Major. You shouldn't even be here," Daniel says angrily.

"You mean not recovering a vital assist to the war effort? I guess we should let…" He was countering before being stopped.

"Hey! Both of you knock it off until later!" Rory yells at both of them.

He looks at Rory and looks back at Daniel. He sees him look back at him too and both nods.

"Alright…"

"My team, I am in charge here Major. Seals, Package formations. Head to extraction. Dan, Lopez, leave a present." Daniel orders.

---

As the two Seals set up a C4 charge, everyone else moves out. Rory watches as Pina is forced into the center of the pack. The others also get around her as the Seals form a perimeter around them in packs of three. Three teams of three up front and two teams of three behind them, acting as a rear guard.

As they are moving through the halls, she sees the hallway of dead Imperialist bodies. All look very efficiently killed.

"Three o'clock," Sharpe says. Two seals aim and open fires in that direction, neutralizing the soldiers.'

"Two reds, eleven," Daniel says, telling his left team to fire at the two Imperialist soldiers.

"Three Gobs at six o'clock. Tango down." A Seal in the rear says.

As they are moving, she is impressed by the sight of how they are moving. She looks to both Sharpe and Daniel as they walk side by side.

She knows that they hate each other, something about a past mission on Earth that went bad and both blame each other. However, they were able to put that aside for the Sadera raid. She hoped that they moved passed that but seem there both to thickheaded.

She didn't want to intervene back there, but they didn't have time for them to work it out. Sometimes she feels it is her responsibility to make sure Sharpe doesn't make the same mistakes as Taylin did. Letting his pride get ahead of him since he takes his work very seriously and pridefully.

Up ahead she sees these five soldiers rush down the hallways, towards them. But they didn't make it far as the Seals tore them apart. She can feel those souls pour through her body.

She feels warm and the intensity from them as the souls give her a pleasant feeling. If people are dying around her in combat, it gives her an orgasmic feeling unless she fights and slaughters her enemies. She tries to keep herself in check for now.

As she watches both of them, she can't believe how efficiently they are walking together, how they aim their weapons and how little they need to say to communicate with their men. It is not just those two but all of these Seals. How they walk, how they each already know where to aim to maximize efficiency.

While the Rangers are very well trained and some of the toughest soldiers she worked with, this look like they are on a whole new level. She learned a long time ago that Sharpe once was one of these people, at this level. She hasn't seen him work like this before, almost like a natural fit.

As the continue to move through the hallway, passing a trail of dead bodies from when the Seals came down this hallway. Above, she can still hear the fighting outside from the American aircraft. It seems like they are still mopping up the enemy dragons.

"Sir, what is our extraction? How did you even get here?" Sharpe asks.

"V-22 outside Major. Up ahead." Daniel responds.

She hears the front troops fire their weapons, killing another wave. Again, she feels their souls pour through her.

"Oh god, not now." She says as she drops to her knees, somewhat crossing them.

The formation stops and half of them look at her.

"What is going on here? Is she ok?" Daniel asks.

Sharpe turns around and immediately knows what is happening. "God damnit."

"I'm sorry Sharpe, I cannot hold it back. The pleasure. I must… kill." She says in a joyful tone as the intensity starts to overcome her.

"What the fuck is going on here Major?" Daniel asks as he looks towards Sharpe.

She feels embarrassed as Sharpe has to explain what is happening to her.

Sharpe walks over and grabs Rory and forces her onto her feet. "Rory, take point. We are heading to that rooftop. Clear the path."

She was waiting for the order. She starts laughing and charges forward. Up ahead she sees these two archers and three swordsmen. She just gives them a sadistic glare and slashes through them.

---

Sharpe is look up ahead, asking himself how he gets himself into these messes.

"I will never understand you, Sharpe," Daniel says.

"That honestly makes two of us Daniel." He responds.

The team all hassles down the hallway. Up ahead all they can hear is screaming and yelling as Rory kills everything in their path.

This allowed them to get to the extraction point far quicker.

He sees this open roof plaza that looks like a command observation post. Perfect to be extracted from a helicopter.

He sees the three seals ahead form up into a defensive position and open fire down this hallway.

He rushes past them and stops to the outer door. He turns around and watches as Pina runs pass, then Tuka and then Lelei.

"What are we doing here… wait?" Pina asks as she looks out.

This Seal rushes up and gets on his radio.

Soon enough this V-22 flies pass this tower and come over to them

It slowly moves around and lowers itself into position.

While Lelei is used to it see these things, Pina and Tuka stand there in shock by the marvel of it. It must be an impressive sight if you never have seen them before.

As the V-22 lowers, he looks out and wonders where Rory head off to.

As he thought that, he sees Rory slide down the hallway.

"Rory, were?" He asks.

"RUN! TAYLIN BEHIND ME!" She says urgently.

"Taylin…," Daniel asks, looking confused. His eyes suddenly widen and look to him. "That asshole again?"

He looks to Daniel with a tired look, not knowing what to say.

"Let's load up, everyone forms a line and lay whatever we have in him. All we can do." He advises Daniel.

Daniel looks away and agrees. "EVERYONE LOAD UP!"

He rushes down and helps the girls load up into the helicopter, wanting to make sure none of them get left behind.

He kneels down and fires his rifle, firing at some archers at a nearby tower.

He looks back down the door that leads to that hallway. Taylin burst through it but Rory charges forward and hits him. Both of their weapons collide.

He looks at both Rory and Taylin as they begin to fight. He then looks to the V-22 as it is loading up. He knows there is no way for them to escape if Taylin is that close. They will be sitting suck.

"Shit, what do we do," Daniel asks out loud, seeing the same problem.

He looks at Daniel and then at Taylin. His eyes widen and look inside the V-22.

He gets up and rushes inside. He takes a quick look around and sees an M3E1 Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle strapped to the side of the inner hall. He grabs it and jumps back out.

"Daniel, get inside and tell the pilot to take off." He says.

Daniel looks to him confused. "You're kidding?"

"Not now, do it. Please. Sir." He says.

Daniel takes a breath and rallies his last two Seals. The three then jump inside.

He stands there and watches as the helicopter starts to take off. Quickly he knees down and aims the M3E1.

"Rory!" He yells.

He sees her turn around. Her eyes get wide and scared, seeing what he is holding. She jumps up and he fires the rocket into the hallway portion of the building.

He drops it and stands up, not knowing if he hit Taylin or not.

"Ahh. Ok." Rory says as she looks into the rumble.

This brick springs out as Taylin slowly starts to claim out of the rumble.

"Oh god damnit…" He says.

"Time to go," Rory says.

She then grabs him and pushes herself up. Both of them fly up to form the jump and lands into the back of the V-22. Daniel had the helicopter hovering just high enough for her to reach it.

As they lead, both of them nearly fall backward from being unbalanced. Nearly everyone reaches out and grabs them, pulling them forward.

"Pilot! Get us out of here!" Daniel orders.

As the V-22 starts to fly away, gathering speed, he turns around and looks at the fortress slowly get smaller. Everyone else forms up behind him as they look at the fortress with the sun right behind it.

"My lord, it is massive," Tuka says, impressed by the size.

He then looks down at Rory as she stands by his side.

She looks up at him and smiles. "That was fun."

He chuckles a little bit and pats her on the head. "Alright, shorty."

He then turns around and walks deeper inside of the passenger bay.

"Hey! I am not a shorty!" Rory yells.

He gets to the back area and sits down, now feeling his body want to give out. He looks forward and sees Lieutenant Command Daniel sit down in front of him.

He looks at him and can see all he wants to do is chew him out. But all he can do is nod at him, trying to say thank you. He sees Daniel do the same.

***

--- Fort Alnus ---

November 28th, 2025

Lieutenant General Charles Stanford is sitting at his temporary desk. He is doing some paperwork until he hears a knock on the door.

"Come in."

He looks up and sees Major Sharpe walks in. "Major."

"Sir, you requested me?"

"Yes, please have a seat."

"Permission to stand sir."

He puts down his pen and leans back in his chair, sizing up Sharpe. He sees a man perfectly at attention. Special Forces type not want to sit down in front of rank like his. "Fine."

"What can I do for you, sir? Got my mission request?" Sharpe asks.

"Yes, and that is why I asked for you." He says as he stands up. "Mission denied."

He can see this disbelief look on his face like he is about to protest.

"Let me explain Major. You just got back from a hell of a mission." He says.

"Just another mission sir."

"No, it is not. Since we first came here you have been at many focal points, Major. I am not here to judge past choices as we are writing the book as we go." He explains.

"I understand sir. But I like to get back on the field. I feel better, combat-ready."

He walks around his desk and then sits at the edge of it. He looks at Sharpe and sees he thinks he is combat-ready.

He has seen this before in soldiers, always pushing and pushing. Sooner or later they push too far and there is no coming back.

He has read Colonel Yang reports at what happens at both times at the fortress, at Combat Outpost Serenity and the arena. All of that in a short period of time. Part of the report explains how he got close to cracking after one of his soldiers was taken.

"I am pulling you and your unit off the front line for a while." He says.

"What sir? This is it; we are about to conquer this region. After everything we have done, we would like to see that." Sharpe explains.

He understands how he must be feeling however he made up his mind. "I understand Sharpe, but you been through enough. The assault on Fort Legrath is on hold for right now until we get a better understanding of the political situation there. Until then, you are on leave and that is an order."

He looks at the young man and smiles a little at his reaction. He can see he wants to protest so badly.

"Bu… ok, sir." Sharpe says, displeased.

He then sits up from the edge of his desk. "Let me explain Sharpe. It is not enough to just be a soldier. If you do not know what you are fighting for then being a soldier is not worth it. They give up the best days of their lives and later on they are washed up with nothing."

"I do not understand sir," Sharpe responds.

"And that is the problem. What I am saying is that you are going to burn yourself out and I can't afford that. You cannot afford that. Take the time to relax and recover. Get your head straight. Spend time with your friends. You have my full permission." He says.

"With all due respect sir but I do not like this special treatment," Sharpe says.

"I know you don't. You SF types are the same. Workhorses." He says as he sits down in his chair.

"Let me explain something Sharpe. You can pay a soldier to fire a gun. You can pay a man to fight in a firefight, but you cannot pay a man to believe in a cause. I enlisted right after 9/11, the day after the towers were hit. The problem was as the war dragged on; people forgot the plot. We did not have the right leaders and examples in place, so the war dragged out aimlessly."

"What I am saying is, regardless if you like it or not. People rely on and trust you. To give you an example, those girls that willing follow you around. You got Wolf to come and help you out when you asked. You got the enemy princess to travel half a continent to just earn your trust. Look, Lieutenant Commander Daniel went in to save you without asking. Point is, in this war, we need examples and good ones. Otherwise, we will lose the plot quickly and American needs to win."

"If it helps, do it for your team and friends. Take the special treatment for them and take the time to think about this conversation. Reflect what has happened over the past few weeks. A lot has happened, and your friends are there for you. It is ok."

He sits there and sees that he got through Sharpe. He has seen his record and is glad he has his expertise on the field. A big reason why he is doing this is because the President has taken a special interest in this man.

He also knows a man can only take so much crap at once and Sharpe has been through a lot recently. A bad habit for someone like him is to just continue fighting, which only adds more on top of that list. He has no interest in allowing that to happen.

"Also, take the girls out and show them how much we care about them. Show them how thankful you are that they are in your life. That they are more than just helpers in our war."

"Ok, sir. Thank you."

He watches as the Major turns around and leaves after being dismissed.