Two weeks later.

Two weeks had passed since we were unfrozen. We’ve been briefed, trained and rehabilitated for the mission. But most importantly, my team and I were good to go. My team of four was standing at the end of a corridor that lead through a bunch of rooms lined with soldiers on each side. So much for having a month to prepare, they gave us only two weeks. The 1-kilometer radius surrounding the portal or ‘subspace anomaly’ as they liked to call it had its old suburbs razed and a large facility was made around it with the portal in the middle of it all surrounded by thick walls of tungsten to counter radiation if it ever leaked again.

We were given the latest battle armor the military had. It covered our entire bodies, durable yet gave us a great amount of freedom to maneuver. Flexible but durable armor was rare and I never thought that it would be possible in just a hundred years. The armor fit themselves perfectly into our bodies without any issues whatsoever. The best part was that the armor also stored our guns. The guns did not have a solid structure, instead, they were formed by these nanites. These were flexible buggers that would turn into any gun we wished as long as it had the instructions for it.

Each of our suits was powered by an AI. How intelligent? We would never know until we found ourselves in the field. We were briefed on what to expect. The portal on the other side was actually in a state of flux. Meaning it constantly changed places while our side of the portal was fixed on one position because the scientists somehow managed to stabilize it with some sort of experimental machinery. As of now, the portal lead to a tundra caught in a blizzard.

My team was composed of these fine people.

Yeti, a big guy with a knack for terrain. He was our Terrain specialist for tundra and the arctic while also had experience with forests and mountains. We never questioned his expertise regarding terrain, especially when it came to the arctic. The reason being that his ship got stuck in a storm during a routine patrol in the arctic and the bastard lead the crew through the grueling ice sheets. Though most of the crew did not survive, six made it out to confirm his tale.

Snake, a finely built woman and the most agile and flexible among us all. She was our covert infiltrator and assassin. She could go into the smallest holes and plant a bomb inside the enemy commander’s restroom while he took a shit and the guards won’t even notice. She typically loved using silenced pistols or sniper rifles, depending on her role in the mission or the objective. We don’t know her backstory in its entirety, just that my savior found her stuck in a room full of dead bodies with a bloodied knife in her right hand.

Last but definitely not the least, Diplomat. He was a well-built, intelligent, and devilishly charming gentleman who specialized in the arts of linguistics, seduction, charm, and negotiation. He could blend in within any group as long as he had the necessary camouflage, a master actor in his own right and fluent in almost every language known to man. In regards to his past, we never had the means to determine if what he was telling us were true or fabricated, he was a liar who could manipulate the truth. The only thing we know for sure about him was that he suddenly appeared at my savior’s office and offered his services in exchange for something we did not know.

Our team was called Phoenix but we never really liked the designation, mainly because it was first used as an insult against us by the enemy whenever we’d burn down their capital. I never understood why my savior chose the name. I was their leader, Ghost.

“Alright, Ghost. We’ve been slackin for 89 boring years, it’s time for us to bust some heads!” Yeti was excited but not because he literally wanted to bust some heads but mainly due to the fact the latest report regarding the world beyond the portal region was currently the middle of a blizzard and we have no way of determining when it would end.

“I’d love a blizzard. They will never hear us coming nor will they know if our guns are pointed at their necks and oh, their blood would stain the clear snow” Snake, I could say for certain, just wanted to kill someone.

“Let’s not be in a rush here. Let’s not kill until we are for certain they are a threat to the peace and prosperity we would be giving them” Knowing Diplomat, he would always have something to say in the end.

“But, if we come across another of those green monkeys, Snake, please rip its head off” There we go.

I was never the talkative type. I don’t even remember the last time I spoke. My team here, however, would always understand what I had in mind and execute it but with their own twist. We always loved doing things that suited us but never jeopardized the mission as a whole.

I gestured for us to move forward and all three of them gave me a smile, it was time for us to roll. We walked through the long corridor that lead straight to the portal. Along the way, we were saluted by a line of normal soldiers from both sides of the corridor. That was when I noticed that we were taller than average, or gotten taller from then. It was strange.

We all lowered our visors. The visor was like a computer screen, it showed me the state of my armor and body, the amount of ammo and gadgets I had while still giving me a lot of space to see. The visor also had built-in scanners that scanned whatever was in front of us in seconds. Our armor was soundproof, we could all say want we wanted to and only the four of us could hear it.

“This is Yeti, reporting in”

“This is Snake, reporting in”

“This is Diplomat, Ghost, let’s do this”

[AR-100 Selected]

Millions of nanites came out of my body and swarmed my right hand, after a few seconds I was already holding my rifle.

“That is one way to say yes” Snake said.

And as we neared the entrance to the room where the portal was, the facility decided to announce or arrival.

Phoenix Squad has arrived at the containment chamber. All personnel, please vacate the premises. I repeat, Phoenix Squad has arrived at the containment chamber. All personnel, please vacate the premises.

The soldiers lined along the corridor all took their guns and left in a hurry. When I pushed the door which led inside, we were greeted not by scientists standing next to their terminals or an audience of important members watching from above behind a glass. No, they were all scurrying off and the mere sight of us frightened them.

The portal was there, it was a huge 3 story behemoth that was circular in shape. Its outline was covered by the experimental device that stabilized the portal. Inside the portal was a wall of raven black, as if it was a black hole that ate light for its breakfast.

“That’s the portal?” Yeti asked with Diplomat giving him a nod.

“Chickens” Snake said while she looked at a young researcher who was running towards one of the exits.

“I wonder how those monkeys in the other world would react when they see us,” Diplomat added.

“The world is a backwards abomination full of supernatural shit. They use swords, bows, crossbows, shields and ‘magic’ or so they call it. But from what we already know, they are no match for us in all respects.” Yuri said.

“I don’t know about that. That ‘magic’ has piqued the interest of the big minds here. It’s one of our side missions to learn about it and send back comprehensive reports regarding it” Snake said as she pulled out a knife and walked in front of me.

“What are you going to do with that knife?” Yeti asked.

“Well, gonna test something”

She then proceeded to throw her knife into the portal. The knife entered the portal as if it was liquid and disappeared from this reality.

“Well, that worked” She commented, pulling out another knife from her suit.

We then walked towards the portal and stood there for a good minute.

“So, this is it? Nobody is going to see us off? A bit disappointing” Diplomat said.

I checked the radar our suits had to see if there was anything surrounding us outside and I was right. The radar picked up more than a thousand soldiers, fifty M2A9 tanks, three apache-glorias and a slew of artillery lined up. They must be anxious that we’d be greeted by an entire enemy army.

“Yeti, would you do the honor?” Snake said as she turned to look at him.

“Letting me take the first step ey? What was it again did the first astronaut say on the moon? One small step for man, one giant blast for humanity?” Yeti replied.

“I doubt the blast part, but we are going in, guns blazing” Diplomat said. The other two laughed while I watched and listened to their banter.

“For peace..” Yuri stepped forward, pulling out his rifle.

“And Harmony..” Snake stepped forward right after, holding a knife on her left hand and a silenced pistol on her right.

“For the betterment of all of humanity” Diplomat pulled out his signature blaster.

And we all ran straight into the portal.

We were immediately greeted by, well, snow. The portal behind then disappeared as soon as we got there, all communications with Earth basically ceased in an instant.

There was no blizzard but the entire landscape was covered in snow as far as we could see. It was night, the skies were clear and painted with stars unmapped and two moons that shined in their full glory. The trees were similar to pine trees but according to our suits, they were alien and not indigenous to Earth. The appearances were uncanny, to say the least.

“We are at a tundra, a pine forest stretches for kilometers and covers a vast swathe of land. My radar is not picking up any civilization for a good twenty-five kilometers” Yeti said, being the first to walk towards the pine trees.

“Hey! Your radar has a wider range than mine, what gives?” Snake complained.

“Maybe because he is our terrain specialist? He does need the upgrade more than us. I bet it came with a price” Diplomat explained.

“It did come with a price, my armor plating is not that thick to the side where my radar is located because, well, my radar is bigger” Yeti confirmed.

“I don’t know if that was a form of boasting or that we should pity you for having a larger radar” Diplomat teased. Yeti chuckled and proceeded to cut down an entire pine tree with just his fists.

The pine tree was cut above the stump and fell. Yeti then scanned the entire log and the leaves.

“The genome for this tree is similar to that of Earth’s pine trees. Everything checks out to be honest except for one thing..” Yeti stopped. He must have found something.

“There are these strange particulates swarming the tree. I have no idea what they are, the scanner can’t identify them either” Yeti pointed out.

We roamed the snowy land throughout the night, calibrating our clocks to the world’s day and night cycle. A strange world, indeed.

-

They’re now in the world. We have lost all contact with them. We could only hope that they find a way to stabilize the portal.

They will, I have faith in them. Their skills and enhancements will go hand in hand.

The lack of communication will be our main concern. We still have limited information regarding that world, I should also point out that the persons responsible for opening the portal in the first place might open another one somewhere in our world. For that reason, we have mobilized a quarter of the reserves.

The resources from that world will not only aid our starving populace but give us breathing room. Imagine this, peace and prosperity in two worlds, we can transport 3 billion there and ease our population troubles here.

Do not forget that there are also other sapient humanoids in that world. They pose a threat and let’s not forget about.. magic.

Pah, let’s see how their supernatural can go against our steal and lead.

Everything, shall be, for the peace and harmony, of all humans.

Agreed.