A massive press of bodies flowed around the trio as they moved toward the city walls, all headed for the train station with large bags on their shoulders and in hands, some carrying what looked like laundry bags.

“Why are they all headed for the station?” Sam asked Mukdrekara over the din of the crowd.

“If your home was at risk of becoming the newest front of the Darabadian invasion, wouldn’t you wanna get to safety?” She answered, turning her head over her shoulder briefly to look at him with a quirked brow. “I mean, the Seventh Infantry Regiment is doing the best we can at holding the north and eastern lines, but at the end of the day, we’re outnumbered.”

“Fair, I suppose," replied Sam, digging through his pockets half-heartedly as he followed Kara down the side of the cobblestone road. His hands found a small booklet in his breast pocket, which he quickly drew out.

Inside was a sepia-tone military ID photo, listing him as Samuel Henri Volkjel. Memorizing the name, he quickly scanned through the rest of the available information, including his home city of Etalumarrun.

“Hey Muk-Mu… Kara,” he fumbled, trying getting her attention again, “What’s today’s date?”

“Kara?” She balked before shaking her head once and snorting, “it’s the seventeenth, sir.”

“Ah, of what month?” He asked before face-palming mentally.

“Sir?” She asked, before clearing her throat. “The seventeenth of the third month, sir.”

“Just call me Sam,” he griped. “I meant what I said earlier. Keep calling me sir like that and it’ll go to my head.”

“I… yes si-er, Sam.” She stuttered, before turning back to the road ahead.

Sam panned his gaze around them as they walked through the gates of the clearly medieval city, before realizing that the walls were unlike anything he’d witnessed on Earth. They seemed hewn of enormous, unbroken and untooled chunks of rust-colored granite, polished to a sheen. There wasn’t a single stone or brick lain in the forty-foot high, twenty-foot thick bastion that surrounded the majority of the city.

Inside, cramped multistory buildings packed the tight streets and alleys, many of them boarded up. Most of the shops they passed were closed, and the ones that were open seldom had enough stock to pack their shelves.

“Looks like the city is turning into a ghost town,” muttered Sam, panning his eyes over several reptilian people huddled around a burning garbage can in a nearby alleyway.

“They’re worried about the dragon-riders from Darabad we’ve seen flying over the valley lately,” answered Kara with a small nod, “one or two of them we can handle, but if they push with them like they did in Sulesti, it’s gonna be hard to stop.”

“What actually happened with Sulesti?” Asked Sam, attempting to bluff that he knew what she was talking about, “I know a little, but…”

“Not much to tell, really,” shrugged Kara. “They broke through our lines with dragons, infantry, armor, and magical support. Didn’t stop until they hit the city, and we weren’t prepared.”

“Were you there?” Inquired Sam, passing his eyes over another shuttered up merchant stall.

“No, my older sister was, however.” She was silent for a few steps, before continuing. “She, uh, didn’t survive...”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” stated Sam, just barely stopping himself from comforting her with the fact that he, too, had lost family and friends to war. As a Lieutenant, and with his papers stating he was far younger in this life than when he’d died, it would've sounded false.

“She was a powerful Air-Mage,” Kara responded, “She held the line twenty kilometers north of Sulesti for three days with just her platoon against an entire regiment.”

“Impressive. Sounds like an amazing woman,” comforted Ellie, breaking her minutes-long silence.

“She was.”

Silence fell over the group as they hustled through the eerily silent streets of Gerra. Sam absentmindedly withdrew his rifle from the strap on his pack, pulling up and back on the toggle action to check the chamber. If he wasn’t in friendly territory, he would’ve sincerely been worried about the possibility of ambush from one of the alleys that they passed, but he followed Kara’s confident steps.

Eventually, they made it to another wall within the city, a fire-team of soldiers stationed at the gates.

“Papers?” The tall, green-skinned man in the lead demanded, extending a hand.

Kara extended her hand, passing the man a leather-bound booklet nearly identical to Sam’s identification packet. Extricating his own from his pocket, he waited for the man to finish with Kara.

“Good day, Ms. Coalbelt,” he stated, handing the identification back to Kara.

“You as well Sergeant Trokin,” she replied, stepping past the man and through the gate.

“Good morning Sergeant,” said Sam, handing the man his own ID.

“Good morning Lieutenant!” Replied Trokin, snapping to attention and delivering a crisp salute, “Welcome to Gerra keep!”

“At ease, Sergeant," replied Sam, returning the salute and accepting his documents back.

‘I should’ve been an officer the last go around, shit!’ Sam thought to himself as he joined Kara on the other side of the gate. ‘This is fun!’

When Ellie joined them, they continued inward, now fully surrounded by soldiers going about their usual tasks. Cleaning, doing laundry, weapons maintenance, and even one squad of soldiers being yelled at by a Sergeant while doing push-ups.

Sam snorted at the all-to-familiar sight as he followed his Dwarven guide into a large square building at the center of the keep, nearly being bowled over by a military clerk with a stack of papers in his hands.

The slim, dark skinned youth apologized quickly before scurrying off down a different hall. Sam smirked, and followed Kara further into what turned out to be an operations center, to a large set of double doors.

“Lieutenant Samuel Volkjel here to see Colonel Heifec for duty assignment.” Kara stated after knocking loudly, stepping back from the double doors.

“Enter!” shouted a gruff masculine voice from the other side.

Kara opened both doors at once, stepping quickly to the side and waving a hand for Samuel to enter. He did as instructed, and found himself in a library with a large table in the center. Around the table stood several men and a woman in military uniforms, all looking up from a map before them.

Stepping into the room, Sam snapped to attention, and delivered a salute to the old man at the head of the table.

“Lieutenant Samuel Vokjel reporting for duty, sir.”

The older officer grunted, and returned the salute.

“No time for customs, son,” he growled, leaning his palms on the table, “I’ll keep this brief and to the point, so get over here.”

Sam quickly speed-walked over to the officer, who pointed at a map with what appeared to be chess pieces placed upon it.

“This is Gerra,” he stated, pointing to the city on the map. “I know you’ve probably seen a map before, but the last Lieutenant command sent me didn’t know his ass from a cronur-beast, and got both himself and his magical support killed.”

Sam nodded. Inexperienced officers had a habit of getting themselves and others killed on the battlefield. The ones that didn’t were often the ones who just did whatever their senior Noncommissioned Officers told them to.

“You’re their replacement, along with Ms. Coalbelt there,” the man stated, his graying handlebar mustache twitching as he briefly sucked on his teeth, “I’m assigning you to take command of Fox company’s third platoon, stationed here in the pass.”

Sam looked to where the older man’s finger was pointing on the map, a small valley visible in the massive northern mountain range that stretched nearly to the ocean.

“We’ve done all we can to fortify the valley,” the Colonel continued, “but unfortunately, the ground's too rocky to dig trenches. We’ve had to settle for a series of small hastily constructed forward fortifications. Command doesn’t want to spare us an Earth-Mage from the east.”

“Understood,” replied Sam, before remembering a detail from earlier, “Ms. Coalbelt informed me that dragon-riders have been seen in the area; do we have any air assets on station?”

“I- ah…” trailed the Colonel, raising his brows, “I’ve been informed that we do have a dragon rider to support Gerra on the way, but it’s unlikely to be of use in the valley.”

“Why not?” Asked Sam, folding his arms across his chest.

“Well, she’s a fire-drake, I’ve been told.” The Colonel shrugged, “Gerra pass is heavily forested, and quite dry this time of year.”

“Perfect,” Stated Sam, grinning predatorily, “Would you consider lending her out to my platoon?”

“Not at the moment,” responded Colonel Heifec, a small grin peeking out the corner of his mouth, “She’s my ace in the hole if they break through the lines to our east. Though, if another becomes available, I’ll see what I can do to send them your way.”

“Very well, sir,” acknowledged Sam, analyzing the map, “Any further instructions?”

“No. Here’s your orders,” stated the grizzled man, handing him an envelope, “Truck to Fox company command leaves in three hours, you’ll meet with Captain Jerrus at the old fort in the mouth of the pass, then hike on foot about ten kilometers to your fortifications with your new second squad. They were lost, along with the previous platoon commander, so a new one has been brought up. Dismissed.”

“Sir,” responded Sam, snapping a crisp salute before rounding the desk and falling in with Kara and Ellie.

“Oh and Lieutenant Volkjel,” Stated the Colonel from behind Sam, who turned to face the man, “Don’t die.”

“Yes sir,” chuckled Sam, amused by the old man’s dry sense of humor. The trio exited the room quickly, heading for the exit of the building. Soon after, they were greeted by sunlight, the earlier fog and clouds beginning to be burnt away by the morning sun. In the distance, a massive mountain range stretched to the sky with snow-capped peaks far above the treeline.

“Well Kara, looks like you’re stuck with me for a while,” Sam stated bluntly as she led him back towards the gate of the keep. He shifted his pack into a more comfortable position and continued. “What should I know about you?”

“I’m a Fire-Mage, taught by the Ducal Academy,” she stated, her shoulders slumping slightly. “My education was cut short when the war started, and they decided they needed me at the front.”

“Meaning?” Asked Sam.

“Meaning,” replied Kara with a deep exhale, “I’m not actually a full Mage. I’m an apprentice, at best. A novice at worst.”

“Still more magic than I can do,” Soothed Sam, imagining all the ways he could employ something like fire magic. “Any edge we can use will come in handy.”

Kara didn’t reply as she led them through the keep gate and back into the city. She led them through a different path than they’d taken in, through somehow more dilapidated and abandoned homes, stores, and warehouses.

“Where are we headed?” Asked Sam as the towering walls of the city became visible once again.

“To the northwest gate, or the ‘Blackstreet’ as it’s known here,” she elucidated, "you came through the east gate, or ‘Spirit Gate’ as the locals call it. The blackstreet has been turned into an impromptu military base while the Seventh Infantry Regiment is operating out of Gerra.”

“The castle isn’t big enough?” Asked Sam, passing a glance to the towering structure behind them.

“It would be, but it would also be extremely cramped, and you know how much command likes their comfort,” Kara replied with a shrug.

In minutes, they came upon a massive black gate, with at least twenty guards spread from either side, eyeing the passersby with suspicion. After a brief checking of documents, Sam showing the guard his orders, and the guards giving Ellie a more thorough check for some inexplicable reason, they were through and heading to an open courtyard further northwest.

“That must be our new squad!” Stated Ellie excitedly, pointing at a small group of men, and surprisingly, several women standing next to a large covered truck.

‘Lot of fuckin women here,’ thought Sam, seeing that a sizable chunk of the infantrymen around himself were actually women of different races. Primarily, the women were elves, dwarves, and even a nearly seven foot tall lizard-woman that was currently hefting large wooden crates on her muscled shoulders from a truck a short distance away.

“Hey Ellie?” he asked, slowing down from Kara so she wouldn’t hear.

“Yes?” She responded teasingly.

“Why uh…” He trailed, unsure of how to ask the question, “Why are there so many fuckin’ women?”

Ellie snorted and patted him several times on the shoulder roughly as she shook her head.

“Not every race shares your world’s view on women in warfare. In fact, to many, women are the primary hunters and fighters,” she answered, grinning widely at him, “Where I’m from, women were the leaders of my clan, the tenders of the wall, and the hunters sent into the wastes.”

“Wait, you’re not from Earth?” Sam asked, before clenching his teeth and closing his eyes. He’d gone and asked a question before he’d entirely thought it through again. Ellie stared at him for several seconds as if he was denser than the core of a neutron star before she sucked her lips into her mouth and turned her head, clearly trying to not burst into hysterics over his question.

“No,” she answered once she’d regained control. “I’m not from Earth. In fact, this place is closer to my home than yours. Earth is an anomaly among the living worlds, created by a mad god who firmly believed that all other sentient species besides humans didn’t deserve a place within his pantheon.”

“Huh,” replied Sam, his cheeks burning. “That makes sense.”

“It’s okay dear,” stated Ellie with a smirk. “in your defense you were somewhat catapulted into this world with little explanation and time.”

“Is that unusual?” asked Sam, looking back to the path they were supposed to be walking.

“Yes and no,” Ellie replied, making a so-so gesture with her hand, “Really it depends on the god and who they choose as a hero. Many, including Senire, prefer to train and prepare their fighters for their task, but as our mother was somewhat pressed for time, she didn’t get the opportunity.”

“Pressed for time?” asked Sam, furrowing his brow.

“It’s really hard to explain, to be honest.” Ellie said, “Just don’t worry about it and you’ll be better off. We aren’t really supposed to be able to comprehend the… well, greater mysteries of the universe. Besides, you’ve got a squad to meet.”

“Fine,” griped Sam. “But I want to know more later.”

“I’ll do my best to dumb it down!” she answered with a wink and sarcastic salute.

Sam groaned, but continued his walk to the truck. By the time he’d arrived, the squad was formed up in an orderly line with Kara standing at attention at the head of it.

“Ms. Coalbelt,” Sam acknowledged.

“Lieutenant Volkjel."

“Squad,” commanded Sam, briefly snapping to attention, “At ease!”

Following his orders, the small unit waited.

“Alright, I’m new here, so introduce yourself and what your role in the squad is,” ordered Sam, pointing at the first man in the line on the left.

“Sergeant Thomman Noiesjel,” The human man introduced in a thick regional accent. “Marksman and squad leader, sir!”

“Corporal Leah Southbranch,” stated the next soldier in line, a wiry-thin elf with brown hair and blue eyes. “Combat engineer, team lead.”

He forcefully pulled his eyes from the unnervingly pretty alien beauty to the next soldier in line, a large reptilian woman with wide hips, beautiful green and muted golden scales, and honey-colored snake-like eyes.

“Corporal Henfri Razkjek,” the seven foot tall wall of muscle and scales stated with an unnervingly razor-toothed grin. “Team leader and… Whatever you need me to be.”

Sam didn’t miss the undertone of promise in her sentence, and had to work to keep a neutral expression on his face. He briefly turned to Ellie, who wore a subdued smirk on her lips as her eyes twinkled in amusement at his mild panic.

He turned back to his squad of soldiers and made eye contact with the next soldier in line, a stocky dwarf with green and blue tattoos running down his forearms from under his rolled sleeves.

“Lance Corporal Tumrulim Mountainbreaker,” the black-bearded brick of a man stated. “Explosives expert and excavations.”

One by one, the members of his squad introduced themselves. From what he could ascertain, he had a decent number of experienced soldiers making up his NCOs and higher junior enlisted. Nodding as the last man finished, he turned to Kara and Thom, and put on his best ‘commanding officer’ voice.

“Alright, take control of the squad, perform a final gear checklist if you haven’t already done it, and get them ready to roll,” He stated with a small chopping motion. “Sergeant Noiesjel, do you know when our truck is leaving?”

“About two hours, sir," the middle-aged man replied with a nod.

“Good shit,” said Sam. “Carry on.”