Operations that began during the night were something that he appreciated. During the day, he’d rather keep to himself and stay hidden from the world until night fell. The shade that fell over the lands was peaceful, and it kept him sane as he recalled the many nights he spent as a child looking up towards the stars. He was once destined to reach such faraway lights, yet his dreams disappeared as he traded a lab coat for a battle dress uniform, a pencil for a rifle, and a cooled building for the bitter cold nights.

Jacob Green, Private First Class, 75th Ranger Regiment. He remembered his name over-and-over. That alone kept him going for the three weeks he and the other members of his squadron had been on this planet. As a technical and computer savvy person he had always had an unending hunger for information. Due to his nature the majority of people he met left him alone, even his family. He wasn’t one for physical interaction with other people, yet it was human nature that required him to speak to someone even if they would be alienated.

Rustling in his seat, all Green could remember was the final phone call he had with his grandfather. The old man was a quiet person much like himself. He was the only person that could truly understand him, and yet their last call wasn’t even a hello or goodbye.

Beside him was Sergeant Randall, Mike Randall. The NCO had looked over him since he entered the 75th Ranger Regiment, and in turn an almost father-son bond was formed unintentionally. Though he was no more than six years younger than the sergeant, his experiences during their time together; long talks during patrols, stories shared over crappy MREs, and exciting challenges during live-fire exercises were all memories he held fondly.

Unlike before however, Sergeant Randall seemed unnerved for some unknown reason. Compared to the others, only he and Lieutenant Patterson had gotten used to the new environment, and in addition they had received positive reception from the people at the castle, yet it was almost as if a wall of distrust was being built around him. It was almost as if he was forcing himself to adapt to this new world.

Mike had always told him that soldiers were not made to fight wars, but they were created to protect something or someone.

Perhaps his struggle was that everything he once protected was now gone. Forever more he would search for something, yet he would never find it. He had no home, no family, no country. Just himself and his brothers beside him.

“Alright everyone, listen up!” At the front of the room, Captain Thompson, wearing full kit stepped in front with Princess Leccamaradel, and Captain Orwell behind him. The room fell silent as Thompson brought out a map, and a blue marker from his pack.

“I welcome all of you to the kingdom’s campaign against the Demon Lord and his army.” Thompson said as he placed the cap on his marker and stepped aside to let the light shine on the map, “We “Holy Knights” members of the 75th Ranger Regiment are going on a special reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines. Our area of operations is the frontier, and we will be accompanied by the three knights encountered at Bishmark, with Princess-Chieftain Araish leading us.”

“Gentlemen.” Lecca said as she stepped forward. Compared to the earthly colors she had been wearing recently, she was adorned in a loose white skirt with sturdy and tall brown combat boots, with her torso being covered by a puffy white shirt and a well-made leather vest. Her silver hair was tied up in a bun. “I once again thank you for choosing to help us in these uncertain times.”

This comment gained an amused snarl from Sergeant Malkovich and Corporal Richard which she ignored.

“Our intelligence gathered from local recon pickets throughout the frontier has been sketchy at best, so King Aldrecht as tasked all of us to perform a recon mission on the Demon Lord’s armies. This will take up to a month as our secondary objective is to help local settlements with any major problems they may have.”

“As much as I would like to accompany you all to the frontier, I have duties to attend to here at the capital.” Captain Orwell said turning everyone’s attention to him. “Your primary mission is to recon the enemy but be reminded that this is more of a direct support mission to those settlements in the frontier. I don’t know how you people handled dealing with citizens and non-combatants, but I expect you all to uphold the proper values that the kingdom holds as well as your own nations.”

“This is no different from our previous missions in Africa and Hatti.” A tired Thompson said as he drew their attention to the map on the wall. “Weapons will be tight the entire time we traverse the open fields and sandy beaches. By the time we reach our destination, a local contact will help us resupply, but it be best of us to not expend more ammunition than we have available, I.E the 180 give or take another 100 that we all have equaling to around 1360.”

Consciously grabbing one of magazines filled with the ammunition Great Sage George created, Green licked his lips as the men began to gather the bags around them, with Thompson closing the briefing with directions, “Head towards the carriage at the rear entrance in five. Mike, Green, I want you to escort the Princess and her belongings until then.”

Apprehensive of being escorted by the two men, Princess Lecca was quick to argue against the order, “Captain, I require no escort. I can take care of myself…”

“Sergeant.” Thompson said ignoring their commanding officer, “Make sure she gets here in one piece. Too much has happened to warrant otherwise.”

“Sir.” Mike said as he picked up his pack and threw the straps around his shoulders.

“Mike.” Lecca looked the sergeant in a small hope that he would stand against his superior.

“Sorry Lecca, but it’s safer this way.” He explained as he tapped Green on the shoulder snapping him to alertness. “C’mon PFC, we’ve got a package to deliver.”

Lecca let out a light sneeze as she reluctantly followed behind the two men. Today had been a long day. Between the talk she had with her father the night before, and the concurring planning that had just occurred not a moment ago, she felt drained as she organized her thoughts. Many of the maids and butlers had returned to their quarters for the night, and only the Royal Guardsmen roamed the darkened stone hallways adorned with velvet carpets.

Her eyes flickered to Sergeant Randall. In her time communicating with the man, it was clear he held no loyalty to even those he trusted the most. It was odd. How could one man be so kind and considerate to others, yet there was no place where he could truly rest. His deeds were truly something else compared to what the other Holy Knights contributed.

A sigh escaped her mouth, and her eyelids gently fluttered as the amounting weight from her exhaustion threatened to shut them close. During her time with Mike in Bishmark, she had come to understand him just a little more. At times it was almost if his eyes held no light or emotion, those times were mostly delegated to combat, as he seemingly zoned in on the mission rather anything else. Other times he was as curious as her when it came to things, he didn’t understand such as her Nullification magic, or the knife she always had on her belt.

She wanted him to find a proper haven. She wanted him to find it, even if it meant leaving this reality. Nobody had the chance to ask him about his needs or wants, not even her. He was adapting to this new world, yet between the outsiders and the unknown threat of the kingdom and the Demon Lord, his attention was elsewhere most of the time.

It would take a great pain for him to realize the world around him was not as black and white as he so perceived. Yet this line of thought belonged to Lecca, not him. Perhaps it was her who perceived the world in a different light.

Entering her room, it was obvious that it had been “abandoned”. Any documents that were once scattered on the stained-wooden desk next to her bed were gone, tucked away in a small pocket within one of the two bags she was going to take with her. Combat ready uniforms, and regular civilian clothing were folded neatly inside the other bag.

“You have everything: Clothing, hygiene items, identification?” Mike asked curiously as he picked up the bag that contained the documents.

“Yes.” Lecca said apprehensively.

“What about weapons?” Green suddenly interjected.

“My magic lets me summon weapons at will, and I always have my dagger on me.” She explained as she materialized what looked to be an elongated knife in both of her hands.

The crisp-white blades shimmered in orange glow that came from several candles strung around the room. Blue gems adorned the hilt of the blades, and engravings made of what looked to be silver reflected a small amount of light.

Along with the weapons in both of her hands, her attire made her look like some angel. With an unsure look just peering from the edge of his face, Mike watched as Green simply stared at the woman with his jaw on the floor.

“We should get going.” The sergeant said. “C’mon you two.”

Relenting, the blades dematerialized, and Lecca brushed her hand against her silver hair making it flutter as she quickly followed Mike out of the room, leaving a somewhat dumbfounded Green to follow behind them in silence.

Biting her lip in anticipation, Lecca walked beside Mike in silence while Green trailed behind her. As they walked passed some of the guardsmen on night watch duty, some held ire, distrust, and disgust towards the two Holy Knights, yet there were those, mainly maids and butlers, that admired them with even a pair of two maids giving them their good lucks.

While Mike and Lecca paid no mind, and after giving their regards to those that bothered to address them in a positive manner, it was obvious that Green was taken aback by the warm reception, and to some degree he was basking in the attention as the trip suddenly came to an end.

“Do you think that this world will ever see peace?”

The sudden question from Lecca made Green and Mike stop in their places. On the other side of the courtyard, the other Rangers and knights waited for them to approach.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked as he motioned Green to move towards the carriage, in which he obliged and left the two alone.

“I am worried.” Lecca admitted. “I have a fear that when this war against the Demon Lord is over, we will be locked in a never-ending cycle of violence and hate.” Her voice grew weak as the moonlight once again kissed her pale face and silver hair.

Basking in the silence, Mike attempted to find an answer to her question. He was a soldier. He was engineered and molded to fight a war. And that he did, both in Africa, and in Pakistan.

“One cannot stop man from killer one another. It is something that will always happen until we are all dead.” He said confidently. “Though the difference one can make is the decision of what they fight for. It could be family, a lover, children, or the betterment of humanity.”

After a moment of hesitation, Lecca asked a question that made Mike shiver, “What is it you fight for?”

“I don’t know…” Mike answered truthfully as he began to walk towards the carriage with Lecca’s bag in hand. “For myself perhaps?”

He truly did not have an answer. Though he spoke the truth, at this point there was nothing other than himself that he could fight for. Admitting such a stance brought relief and comfort to his mind, yet he did not want to lose himself. Thus, he wanted a matter to keep him busy. The special reconnaissance mission would do just that. Staying out the reach of the kingdom’s government, and just surveying the world would come in handy in the foreseeable future, it was imperative that he survived, yet getting involved in foreign and domesticated issues in this new world was not his forte.

All that mattered was learning more about this new world. Nothing else truly mattered in the grand scheme of things. It was quite simple, he was a soldier lost in a world not of his own, and like Captain Thompson had said, their main priority should be finding a way back to Earth while they tried to not piss off everyone they came across. The latter had been achieved, most of the people they had come across turned out to be friendly. The former was the bigger issue.

Handing Princess Lecca’s bag to Patterson who then swiftly secured it in the undercarriage, he waited for the rest of the Ranger and the three additional knights to climb aboard. Knight Macro looked hesitant as he moved to the front of the carriage, but his face was soon hidden by the big, burly, and silent Malkovich who sat beside him.

Climbing aboard, Mike stopped halfway as he turned to look back at the castle. The moonlight had begun to slip from behind the castle as it rose from the east. Just below one of the many rays of light was the princess who looked at him with a worried expression as a flat palm was settled on her chest, and the other was gripping the handle on the right side of the carriage.

Turning back and climbing into the carriage, a still worried Lecca sat beside him and soon after, a tug came from the front as the driver began to exit the castle grounds. From the stone walls to the paved streets, and finally the growing fields and forest, Mike silently watched as the world around him slipped past. He enjoyed the silence and solitude, the company he had was something he enjoyed and cherished, yet there was never a moment where he did not appreciate a place where all foreign and artificial noise ceased to exist.

Lecca grew tired as her eyelids threaten to shut. She attempted to force herself awake, yet she couldn’t resist against the amassing pressure that had been building in her head and eyelids. In the distance thunder began to boom alerting most in the carriage, but by now the vulnerable silver-haired princess had fallen asleep, her head falling to the right due to gravity.

Finding a new pressure on his left shoulder Mike glanced at the woman next to him. Curiously he checked the other occupants of the carriage, most were asleep.

The cold wind bit his exposed skin. He was once again alone.

Unzipping the backpack on his lap, Mike took out a small tarp that was commonly found and used by most U.S Army soldiers. He unfolded the olive drab tarp and he gently laid over Lecca’s chest. His mind remained clouded as he stared at the never-ending stars in the sky. Unlike before, he no longer stood under them in a field full of blood. Lecca’s soft breath was almost intoxicating as he soon found himself falling under the spell of exhaustion.

He, like her, fell asleep in less than a minute.

Publicly Available Information: Operation to Intercept the Demon Lord’s Armies:

Being several missions launched under the direct command of King Alrecht Spell Shaldrect; one of five missions into the frontier were executed by the Holy Knights: Oliver Thompson, Kevin Patterson, Anthony Richard, Zachary Malkovich, Mike Randall, Jonas Simon, and William Baker. Their primary objective is to commence a reconnaissance operation on the Demon Lord’s army, while supporting local settlements within the frontier.