"How many can you see?"

Hezekiah peered through his binoculars. The cliffside of what the elves called the Palisades gave him a perfect view of the valley below. He was searching for the army but found nothing. They were on top of a Kiote observation post, Unity gathered around with Otaes and Temetet with them.

"It's possible they are already nearing the position of your garrison," said Temetet atop of his Neheyna, "We're too late."

"I know, damn it!" Hezekiah spat out, "We'll never be able to catch up to them in time!"

"Does your base not have any defenses?" Temetet asked.

"We've only begun setting them up yesterday. Just a wall and a few MG nests, if your scouts are right, then there is no way it can hold off against an army of thousands," Quinn sighed. Leaning forward on a rock next to the cliff, "We'll be outnumbered."

Temetet shook his head, "You've given up too easily. What you need is a plan!"

Hezekiah nodded, "Yeah. That's right… what I need is a map. Did either of you happen to bring one?"

"Of course!" Otaes felt around a bag saddled on her back, pulling out a scroll and handing it to him, "We both brought a map. Do as you please with this one."

"Yes! Huge thanks!" Hezekiah exclaimed in glee when he saw it. With a map of the region in his hands, he could now plan what his moves were. The river valley thinned into a peninsula that jutted out into the ocean for a few miles, where the river spilled out into an estuary, surrounding by Barrier islands to the south and a larger barrier island running parallel to the shore.

Judging from where Unity had come, the garrison should be at the southern tip of the peninsula. If the Iscariots were truly trying to attack the garrison, they would have to do so coming from the North at all points. Hezekiah knew they would have to race to catch up to them… but maybe they didn't need to be ahead?

If they could sandwich the Iscariots in from both sides, their army would be too distracted, and they would pop like a pimple. But the only thing is, Unity was only one squad of five people. Even using the turret on the JLTV and their small arms, Unity wouldn't be able to do a whole lot. They needed reinforcements.

Hezekiah knew all of this as he poured over the map, imagining the details in his mind. But the situation only grew more hopeless. Failure here would mean that the Marines would have to retreat through the Portal, and his mission would surely fail, dooming the people of this world. Hezekiah had to think…

He reasoned out the numbers carefully. Acting as a garrison in the base was First Battalion. Only Five hundred soldiers made up First Battalion, and even out of them only about eighty to ninety percent of the soldiers were actual combatant forces.

The Iscariots doubtlessly had either multiple Battalion's worth of soldiers marching or one incredibly large Battalion, with smaller support units flanking it. That would mean that the Iscariots would have about nine hundred soldiers capable of fighting altogether since the logistical staff of their army probably wasn't well-armed. Even with the subtractions, the Iscariots outnumbered the American forces by a landslide. Hezekiah wasn't sure of what the Iscariot magic was capable of, but judging by what the warrior elves had displayed, it must've been powerful.

"What's the game plan, sir?" Flint asked.

"We need reinforcements!" He said, turning to the warrior elves, "You said that your people are experienced in fighting the Iscariots?"

Temetet and Otaes turned to each other, and then back to Hezekiah, "Yes. But even if we recruited our soldiers from the villages, your numerical situation wouldn't improve," said Temetet, "We are good at killing Iscariots, but even we cannot challenge an army of that size head on! Especially not on the plains of the peninsula!"

"Damn it!" Hezekiah said, thinking. No matter what, he would need the Kiote people. They would help, right? "Are you sure you guys can assist us in the battle?" He asked.

Otaes fetched something from her satchel, "Of course," she said while digging through it. From there, she pulled out a small circular object. Like a ring, but it was large and woven out of string. Beads hung from it. On one side, red beads, on the other, blue, "This is the Death Ring for both myself and my brother," Temetet nodded his head in response, she handed it to Hezekiah.

"All the blue beads represent allies lost in the fight against the Imperials. The red is Imperial lives we've taken," Hezekiah's eyes widened as he saw how much the red beads outnumbered the blue. If she was telling the truth, then they weren't joking about their experience against the Iscariots.

"We'll fight them to the last Elf of our tribe!" Said Temetet, "We aren't afraid. They've taken our people as slaves before! They terrorize our world! To fight and even die against them is an honor worth being alive. We'll aid you in your struggle, no matter what it takes!"

Temetet was dead serious, clenching his fist. The hatred that the warrior elves had for the Iscariots was strong. And this mention of…slavery? The hatred was also justified if that was the case, revenge for fallen ancestors, captivated and forced to serve the enemy.

"You don't fear death?" Hezekiah asked.

"No. To die is honorable if you die fighting for the right thing. We are fighting for our allies and the liberation of our people. This is honorable!" Temetet told him.

Hezekiah took a deep breath in and nodded in acceptance. He looked at Otaes and handed back her Death Ring, "Then I need you to go back to your tribe and request that they will raise an army," he walked back over to the map, pointing at the approximate location of the base.

"Tell them to meet us here. My squad will ambush them from behind and divide their attention, to alleviate the pressure off of our base's defenses. You'll come in and keep the pressure going on with close-range combat. They will overestimate our numbers and will send more forces to attack than necessary, allowing our defenses a chance to gun them down. Their morale broken and attention divided, they will have no choice but to retreat!"

"Am I the only one who thinks this is a crazy idea?" Lafayette raised his hand, "Five of us, are going up against thousands of them!"

"The idea isn't to kill them all, Laf," Hezekiah explained, "It's to divert the attention away from the garrison and towards ourselves. Then, the guns of the garrison will be freed up to fire upon the enemy. "

"But… that's a death sentence, sir!" Brian argued, "I mean no offense, but the odds of us pulling this off and then surviving, are one in a billion!"

Hezekiah knew that, he swore he did. He wasn't comfortable with the idea either. But there was no other option, "This is the only way. If Garrison is still as undefended as we left them as, and if the Iscariots are truly hostile, it will only be a matter of time until Garrison falls. We cannot let that happen, and we certainly won't without fighting them." He told Unity.

"I have no idea how but…we'll give it our best shot. If it fails then it's all over. We'll have no choice but to retreat to Earth. And not on acceptable terms. There'll be too many dead" Hezekiah said, "When we get back home, it'll be on the condition that we did a good job out here."

He knew that Unity understood why they had to do this. But nobody was happy about it. Hell, Hezekiah wasn't happy with the plan. He wished there was another way, but this was it. A self-sacrifice to draw attention away from the Garrison.

"I cannot force any of you to do this with me," Hezekiah told them, "But it has to be done. There's no shame in staying here."

He could see Quinn's arm ready to stretch, as his eyes looked up with hope in them. But then, Quinn decided against it. Perhaps seeing what the issue was. Hezekiah knew he was fighting for a lot. But even Quinn knew that giving up was equally as bad, if not worst, than Hezekiah's plan. He must've known.

Nobody else even thought to raise their hands. Not even Brian.

"Thank you," Hezekiah said, "You have a debt of gratitude from myself and the corps. We'll be heroes for this!"

"I don't wanna be a hero, sir," Said Brian, "I just wanna go home."

Soldiers dressed in silver armor glistened in the noon sunlight. Crimson red textile cloth hung around them decoratively, displaying their allegiance to the Iscariot Emperor and the nation at large. There were a thousand of them. Like a sea over the plains of the Albya River Peninsula.

"My God…" Jefferson said as he watched them approach. The drone surveillance might've saved them, as he requested reinforcements from Earth a few hours ago. Urgently. Maybe the Florida National Guard could help repel their attack. If they attack. Though Jefferson doubted that they could do much. If they arrived at all, they would be able to help get the wounded out and assist the retreat back to Florida, while the Marine Corps and FBI worked to destroy the portal and while the CIA eliminated all evidence of its existence.

"There's gotta be thousands of 'em!" Captain Bannon exclaimed. They occupied the freshly built dirt wall that encompassed the rudimentary FOB, grass turf helped it blend in a little better. But it was all but invisible.

"We might be overestimating their capacities. They are dressed in medieval armor, we might still have a huge advantage! Even with our small numbers in comparison," said Newman, as she looked out to the sea of soldiers approaching.

"Yeah, but if those soldiers out there are anything like the wildlife we've encountered thus far, then we can expect a trick up their sleeves. A major one," Said Jefferson, "Officer Davis! Sound the emergency attention alarm! Base wide!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" The officer went off to sound the alarms. Soon, the monotone whirs and bells of the alarms sounded and a voice played on the intercoms:

"EMERGENCY! ATTENTION ALL MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL! REPORT TO SECTOR NORTHERN WALL IMMEDIATELY WITH YOUR LOADOUT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! EMERGENCY…"

The familiar sound of yelling, barking of orders, and general chaos enveloped the base as the Marines got themselves together. There were six companies inside of the 1st Battalion. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot. Five hundred men. Of them, Foxtrot already had ten Marines injured from their expeditions, and all of them were exhausted. Echo company also had their Marines exhausted from their engineer work in putting up these crucial defenses. They weren't at 100%, Jefferson would have to fight to keep them in control.

[Kilo 1] "This is Kilo One in Florida to Eagle Six, The Florida National Guard is inbound with the cavalry. ETA is in about two hours, how copy?"

'Two hours? Seriously?' Jefferson thought.

[Eagle 6] "Eagle six here, I copy. Can't you get them here any quicker?"

[Kilo 1] "Negative sir. They are being mustered as we speak, Presidential orders are to not draw too much attention."

"The fuck?" Bannon swore out, hearing that was twisted, "The fuckin' Feds are delaying our reinforcements?"

"Bannon, I-"

"Tell the sonufabitch that we have soldiers' lives out here on the line! This isn't a game!"

"I understand Bannon! Thank you, but I promise, I have this under control!" Jefferson calmed him down.

[Eagle 6] "I understand that High Command, in all their wisdom, wishes to keep this operation a public secret. But we have the lives of Five-hundred American soldiers on the line here. We're outnumbered two to one! At least! I don't care about the politics, just get them here ASAP!"

[Kilo 1] "Well… I could try and get you a militarized police unit in there within thirty minutes to assist…"

[Eagle 6] "For God's sake, we need trained professionals out here! Not a swat team!"

[Kilo 1] "If I was in your position, I'd take all the help I could get. Federal orders are final, take the SWAT Team or stick it out with five hundred soldiers on your own. That'll be all."

Jefferson sighed. The SWAT units would be of no use at all. Maybe to help out with the wounded, but if this was supposed to be a secret then wouldn't bringing in police impede that even further?

[Eagle 6] "Copy, Kilo. We will not SWAT reinforcements."

[Kilo 1] "Understood. The National Guard will be here within two hours. Kilo One, out."

Jefferson looked out at the army approaching towards them. At this rate, even the SWAT team would arrive late for the battle.

The approaching army slowed down a few hundred meters from in front of Ithaca. Grouping into square formations. Some rode on horses… and others…

"Sir? Are those-"

"Dragons," Jefferson completed Newman's sentence.

He could hear the talk coming from the Marines in the garrison. The dragons were big scaly beasts, thrice the size of a man. They had great large wings, long white horns on their head, and a reddish-hue to their blackened scales. Teeth the size of a man's arm, able to tear a soldier in half in a second.

They were saddled up by equally ferocious-looking warriors, who rode upon the giant beasts with confidence.

A squad of horsemen dressed in completely red armor detached from the rest of the army and rode to the base. Clearly, they were the leaders of the armed forces here. When they came within a few meters of the walls, they stopped and disembarked from their horses. One of the soldiers took off a helmet revealing… fur?

A werewolf-man stood in front of them. Upon closer inspection, Jefferson could see the entire army was made of animal men. Interesting.

The guns of the fortress were trained and ready, the Marines waited in anticipation.

"This shit is impossible… they outnumber us heavily, we're gonna get toasted!"

"Grow some balls, they've probably only come to talk."

"Talk? You don't come with a one-thousand strong army just to 'talk'."

"Shut up both of you! Focus ahead!"

A tense silence passed between the base and the army, but it was broken when the wolf spoke.

"An Vu! Al et gome yiko en a Wendover. Harlikan e Iskarot holottes gand!" The wolf spoke in a language completely unfamiliar to the soldiers.

"What? We can't understand you!" Said Jefferson. The wolf seemed to sigh, as he turned to one of his comrades. The other soldiers held up a red stone. Jefferson eyed it to see what they would do with it, slowly putting a hand around his M27 as a precaution.

The stone inside of the soldier's hand began to glow, and a red wave swept through the area. Jefferson at first thought it was an attack, but he felt nothing different. No screams of pain. Nothing. What were they doing?

"This should work now!" Said the Wolf, looking back up at the walled fortification.

"What the hell was that? We can understand him now!" Newman pointed out.

Jefferson figured it must have something to do with that stone… but he couldn't understand how it worked, "Who are you? And what is your purpose here?" He demanded from Wendover. Trying to sound strong, but he didn't want to sound too brave. He had to remember that from appearances alone, he was at a disadvantage.

"I am General Wendover from the Royal Iscariot Army. I'm here to engage in productive dialogue as you have something we want!" Said Wendover, "Who are you?"

"To you, we are Americans."

"Americans?" Wendover asked confusedly.

"Yes sir. We're not from your world. We're from another."

"Ah, I see…" Wendover said, "Then you don't know who we are?"

"Correct."

"On behalf of the Empire, we wish to establish a mutually beneficial relationship. We understand you are new to this area. We can give you protection!"

"And what are we giving you in return?" Jefferson asked… seemingly knowing where this is going.

The wolf smiled, "Well, as an Empire that relies on a tributary system from vassal states, you'd understand that we would request for you to give your allegiance to us. For a fee of course."

Jefferson laughed. It was a nervous laugh, but it sounded confident enough that the other Marines followed in the laughter. Wendover stood there, his ears down, at what seemed to be an embarrassment. His fists clenched. This wasn't going to end well.

"I'm sorry, but you must forgive us, you want us to sign over our independence to people we've just met?" Jefferson asked.

"You inhabit land greatly sought after by the Iscariot Throne. You may not realize it. It is the wish of my King

Jefferson understood. Of course, that'd be the case. The army unsheathed their swords, the dragons spread their wings… it was too late to reverse course. It was too late to stall until Jefferson had the advantage. It was now or never. He had to be strong for his troops. He couldn't cower now. There was no other choice.

"Then we reject. I apologize, but it's not very favorable to us at the moment. Is there anything else we can help you with?" Jefferson asked, trying to sound brave as he got in his last witty remark.

"Yes, you can help us in fact… when your corpses are buried six feet under!" Wendover raised his sword, and a loud rebel yell sounded from the army as it charged forward.

[Eagle Six] "Open Fire!"

"I can hear sounds of gunfire up ahead, sir! We've gotta be getting close," Quinn said from his position atop the turret.

Hezekiah listened for a moment through the sounds of the JLTV, and sure enough, he could hear the familiar popping sounds of gunfire coming from miles away, "Yeah. I hear it! When we get there, we'll spread out and set our positions to make ourselves look more numerous. Quinn, you'll stay on the turret! Got it?"

"Yes sir!" Unity said.

The nerves were getting to everyone, and Hezekiah had to fight to keep his leg from spazzing out. There was significant apprehension about the upcoming battle and whether or not they could meet the challenge. He felt his heart pound inside of its cage, beating against the walls as they approached the scene. The sounds of gunfire only intensified in the background, going from faint and hard to notice, and morphing into the sounds of explosions that could shake the ground. Like fireworks banging overhead. The tree lines began to thin, and the grasslands began to show.

They had arrived. The truck sat on a small hill overlooking the tip of the peninsula. He could see the tracers from bullets whirring only a few miles away. A thick cloud of smoke and gas had enveloped the base. A fire burned, and explosions were plentiful. Red beams of light and energy fields surrounding soldiers were visible even from here, though Hezekiah didn't think those energy weapons were coming from the marines. No… not at all. And even worse, something was flying in the sky with wings. And claws.

"A-a-are those d-dragons?" Brian fearfully asked, looking up through the window. In sheer awe at their size, and ferocity.

"Hezekiah, are you sure about this? We're just one squad after all," Quinn asked him, "If they catch on to the fact that all our attempts to attack their rear is just an illusion, we'll get curbed stomped!"

Hezekiah knew that. In fact, he expected that to happen almost. But what were the other possibilities? Sit back, wait for the elves to reinforce the frontlines, and then attack? That wouldn't be until hours later. And by then, the Marine Corps probably would've already retreated to Earth, leaving Unity behind.

"What other choice do we have? If we sit back and wait for the elves, it'll probably be too late," Hezekiah told him, "It's a catch 22."

"Damn, alright. So this is it, huh?" Flint's voice was hollow, "This is the big one we've been training for."

"Sure is. Sure is…"

Hezekiah could hear another silent prayer coming from Quinn, and Brian himself was saying something. Though he couldn't hear what. He turned to look at the man. Brian couldn't be any older than twenty years. He had a paper out, but from his quick glance, Hezekiah couldn't really tell what it was. Maybe it was a photo? Most likely.

Maybe it was his family?

As they drove into position, a sound came through on the radio. Crackling to life for the first time since they had entered into the forested hillside:

[Eagle 6] "Eagle Six to Kilo One, we are taking heavy fire here! We've already got two marines dead out here on the wall, and if we don't get those reinforcements soon, we will have no choice but fall back! Where the hell is it?"

[Kilo 1] "Kilo One, your first batch of reinforcements is coming through the portal at any second. Just hold on for another few, we're trying to scramble everything we've got!"

"So I was right… we are outnumbered," Hezekiah said to himself silently. It didn't help his anxiety to know that they were probably grossly outnumbered. But even then, he shut his eyes, and took a deep breath… wondering.

As they approached closer to the battlefield, they could more accurately see it as the battle happened. The Imperial soldiers broke into strict formations. Magicians at the front of the lines had employed the use of a magical energy wall of sorts to block the oncoming bullets, while archers and dragons harassed the Americans behind the wall. The shields, however, were not invincible, slowly going from a bright red color to a depleted-looking grey when the spell wore out. Once the spell wore out, the bullets came through killing up to fifty of the Imperials at a time. All Jefferson had to do was to simply keep firing, they would be able to breakthrough.

But the dragons were making that a problem. They were harassing the soldiers on the wall, and the soldiers couldn't move out of position to adjust their fire against the dragons, as that would risk leaving the scant safety that the wall offered. It was bad enough that the dragons were there, but Unity watched as they fumed volleys of fire down upon the soldiers. The walls offered some protection from it, but it was still enough to ignite clothing and materials. With the soldiers preoccupied with gunning down their largest threat, only a few defenders could focus on the incoming waves of enemy forces preparing for their all-out assault.

Unity closed the distance. They positioned themselves near a dried-up river bed not too far away from the fighting. Hezekiah ordered Lafayette to hold there and then ordered Unity to spread out. They would use the river bed as a natural trench to take defensive positions in. Large bushes covered the sides of the river, and trees flanked their rear. It'd be hard for the Iscariots to pinpoint their exact location, especially if Unity spread out.

When Hezekiah got out, he could feel the heat of the sun on his back, even despite the cold weather. The sounds of gunfire going off only a half-mile away only made the situation worst, as now he started to become desperate. He began rummaging through the equipment on the back of the JLTV to find anything of use that could help keep the Iscariots back. All he could find were two spare SAWs, a grenade belt, medical equipment, and extra ammunition for everything.

An idea formed into his head. If Unity could fire the spare SAWs from two different locations, that'd create an even greater illusion that Unity was bigger than it actually was. He hurriedly rushed through his new plan as he took the two weapons, and handed one over to Brian, "Private Yale! I need you to take this spare weapon and place it within running distance of your position somewhere over there!" Hezekiah pointed down the dirt of the river bed to their right.

"Why?" Brian asked taking the gun in his gloved hands.

"We need to thin the enemy out a little. The only way we're going to do that is if we can convince them that our squad is a bigger threat than we actually are! What I want you to do is alternate between your assigned rifle, and that SAW every five or ten minutes. Run between the two locations, and make sure it is as far as possible," Hezekiah told him. Brian seemed to think it over for a moment, but when he understood, he took his two weapons in either hand and ran down the trench side.

Hezekiah looked on, maybe he should've gotten Flint or Lafayette to do this instead. Not Brian. But Hezekiah couldn't think about the what-ifs. Even though Brian didn't seem to have much experience, he had to pull through. Lafayette and Flint already took their positions further down on the other side of the riverbed, and time was ticking. With a grunt, Hezekiah left the JLTV with Quinn manning the turret. Carrying the SAW and running down the trenches…

"RATATATATAATATA! BANG! BANG-BANG! BOOM!"

"TAKE THAT YOU STUPID FUCKS!" Captain Newman looked over her shoulder to see Bannon firing blindly into the Iscariot lines below. He was manning a Browning emplacement on the wall, shouting over the sounds of the gun letting it rip on the lines below. She could only tell that it was Bannon from his voice which echoed through the Gas Mask he wore over his head. Though, it was impressive that she was able to hear it over everything else. Gunfire, screaming, ordering of commands. It was all so much going on at once.

The Dragons could spew fire and gas. One of Newman's own soldiers had choked to death before the Marines were prepared. They were ill-prepared, caught off guard, and facing the fight of their lives. This was the worst situation they could possibly be in. All they could do was wait.

She crouched over the injured body of a fellow Marine, lying on the floor against the walls of the Ithacan base. Luckily, the Engineers had built a semi-roof that shielded them against the incoming fire. Thankfully. Had it not been for them, the entire wall would've had to retreat and drag the fight into the base proper. Which would most likely not end well.

Newman was busy reloading her gun. She nearly met her end when a fireball had just narrowly missed her face by a few inches. It had shaken her, though she wasn't about to let that put her out of commission. Quickly, she switched magazines and retook her position on the wall to open fire.

The Iscariots, as they were called, were using magical shields to protect their advance. Though the shields were easily broken by the high-octane fire of the Marines. The shields would protect their lines like a holographic image stretched overhead, but the more damage they took the weaker they became. Apparently, the mages behind the shields could only hold back a specific number of attacks, and once it ran out, the bullets were free to fly. Judging by the number of shields she had broken, Newman could conclude that the number of casualties in the Iscariot army was frighteningly high. But even still, one Marine would have to kill five of them to make the fight even. And there were still plenty more to come.

[Newman] "This is Captain Newman to Eagle Six, what the ETA on those reinforcements?"

Newman listened in to the sounds of gunfire over the radio, as Jefferson fumbled for words.

[Eagle 6] "Eagle Six here, our clock is ticking at an hour and a half. We're getting armored reinforcements and mobile artillery on the horn, standby."

Newman sighed as she pulled the trigger, again firing downrange. The mask was unbearably hot. The air inside was terrible. She constantly flinched from having to dodge incoming attacks, and the yelling around her was confusing, to say the least. Now and again, another Lieutenant, Captain, or Sergeant made a rather depressing situational report over the radio, lowering her morale.

[Delta 2-1] "This is Sergeant Lake from Delta 2! My C.O. is dead and our squad medic is pinned down! We need backup at the checkpoint! They're killing us over here! I have three casualties in the vicinity, send in reinforcements immediately!"

[Eagle 6] "Hang in there Delta. We have to wait! Give us some time!"

[Delta 2-1] "Sir! We do not have time! They're chewing us out! Our fighting capacity is at fifty percent! Any more losses and we have to pull from the checkpoint and hope our grenades can keep 'em out!"

[Eagle 6] "Dammit! Eagle Six to Kilo One, where the hell are those reinforcements?"

[Kilo 1] "One Hour and ten minutes ETA. Hang in there."

[Eagle 6] "Shit!"

That was the thirtieth casualty today. At least ten deaths plagued the five hundred strong garrison. In comparison to the Iscariot causalities, the deaths the Americans received were most likely minuscule. But in the context of modern combat, this was a terrible performance, to say the least. Newman couldn't dwell too hard on it though, as her gun topped firing and she had to duck behind the wall to reload again.

"Shit!" She cursed out, as she dumped a magazine from her rifle and loaded a new one. On her left, she could feel someone shake her in an attempt to get her attention. Newman looked and saw another Marine waving.

"Captain Newman!" He yelled out, "We've gotta get out of this position, those dragons are about to come in for another-"

"ROOOOAR!" Newman could hear it before she could see it, quickly she positioned herself as low and flat against the wall as possible. She could see the body of the dragon fly like a dart overhead, and disappear behind the half-ceiling that guarded them. But it wasn't before the world immediately around her was set ablaze. Newman saw the soldier who tried to warn her earlier get lit ablaze by the dragon's breath, as he squirmed trying to dissipate the fire. She rushed over to him, pushing him on the floor, and forcing him to roll to get the fires out. When he did so, she turned back to shooting. Aiming now at the dragon that was preparing to come back around.

She steadied her aim and pulled the trigger.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!" She managed to knock both the pilot off of the dragon, and send a few headshots into the dragon's skull. It fell out of the air into the chaos below, and Newman heaved a sigh of relief as she again leaned against the wall. How long until the reinforcements came?

Her radio became ablaze again, and Newman dreaded the conversation that would come. Would it be more of the usual death reports and dreadful news of injuries within the ranks? Would it be another fruitless cry for help? Or a plea to retreat through the portal while they still could?

Instead, a new voice came on the radio.

[Unity Actual] " This is Staff Sergeant Hezekiah Brooks from Foxtrot Company to Actual! We're moving in from the North in a flanking position around the enemy position!"

Unity? From her company? Weren't they supposed to be dead? Newman took the liberty to respond to her own unit. She had questions to ask. Was it really them?

[Foxtrot 6] "This is Captain Newman to Staff Sergeant Brooks. Where are you coming from? Over!"

[Unity] "We were inbound from the North. Our expedition didn't go as planned, and we got stuck. Really long story."

So it was them after all? They are alive? How? Newman had so many questions. But she didn't have time for answers. She just had to get them into position.

[Foxtrot] "Unity! What are you currently engaging in?"

[Unity] "We're taking positions to the North. We're going to try and get the Iscariots' attention to take off the pressure from you guys!"

[Foxtrot] "But you're only a five-man squad. It won't be enough! Besides, they'll be through with you in a heartbeat if they find you!"

[Unity] "I know! We're trying to make ourselves look bigger, but we can only keep up the illusion for so long. We do have reinforcements coming in soon. Give it thirty minutes! Over!"

Reinforcements? In Thirty minutes? What the hell was Brooks talking about? The National Guard wouldn't be here until an hour and ten! Was he high? Before she could talk to him again, Jefferson hopped onto the call.

[Eagle 6] "Unity, I have no clue how you guys managed to stay alive for so long, or how you've managed to get here. But just do whatever it is you think will work. We'll take all the help we can get!"

[Unity] "Copy! Firing now! Brooks out!"

Newman took a look through the hole in the wall to try and spot Unity squad. It took a while, but in the distance… she could see the familiar looks of the bangs of gunfire coming from the North. Not too far away. But there was something weird. The gunfire seemed to be coming from such a large area. Like Unity had at least a platoon's worth of soldiers fighting. But that couldn't be right, there were only five men or so per squad.

And then it struck her. She understood what Sergeant Brooks meant. They were using their spare weapons to try and deceive the enemy, spread out over such a large area gave them the false appearance of having far larger numbers than they actually had. It was a clever tactic, but it still didn't guarantee much of anything. Even if the Iscariots fell for it and sent a company's worth of soldiers to fight, there was no way that Unity alone could hold off their inevitable counter-attack. They'd be killed.

Newman thought about what Brooks had meant by 'reinforcements', what could he have meant by that? She'd have to wait in thirty minutes to see because if not, Unity would be nothing but a bloodstain on the dirt.

"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!" Hezekiah ejected his empty magazine, loaded it, and made the fifty-meter dash to the SAW mounted upon the trench line. He reached it, completely out of breath, and proceeded to dump the entire magazine.

"RATATATATATATATAATATATATATA!" Said the gun, as it told him the story of its life. SAWs were very talkative weapons, and Hezekiah listened to their speech. This one felt particularly violent today and was yelling all sorts of nasty expletives at the enemy on the receiving end. Hezekiah also could feel himself start to lose it. He was almost out of breath, and the short break he received while firing the weapon, was barely enough to get his second wind.

The gun fired its last bullet, and Hezekiah had to go through the painstaking task of reloading it, and then mustering his energy to make the chargeback to his old position. He was pretty fit, as were all Marines. He would be able to make this run under normal circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances. Not only did he have to keep making the 50-meter dash back and forth, each time the ammo depleted and he was forced to reload, but he also had to do it all with the knowledge that if he couldn't keep up, then this whole plan would fail. Quite a large burden.

He reached his M27 IAR. Also mounted. He hesitated to fire as he panted, almost taking a breather. But he couldn't take a break for long. He only allowed himself ten seconds to breathe and then proceeded to give a giant "fuck you" to everything in that general direction.

He took a look over the embankment of the trench to see if this was having any effect. To his absolute astonishment, it had. They fell for it like moths to a flame. But the only issue is, Unity's flame wasn't particularly hot as much as it was bright. His plan worked all too well. Two companies worth of soldiers had detached from the assaulting forces and were desperately trying to make their way to Unity's position.

'Oh God,' Hezekiah thought. Five Marines against at least one hundred Imperials. Magical Imperials. Hezekiah knew that the odds weren't in his favor.

[Quinn] "Sir, they are coming in! They're falling for it! When do I start firing the 20 millimeters?" He heard Quinn's voice over the radio.

Unity had one final trick up their sleeves. When the Iscariots closed in, they would use their grenade launchers to bombard their position and halt them in their tracks. As they are pinned down, Unity would switch to their standard weapons and shoot fish in a barrel.

[Hezekiah] "Wait until they close in about 1000 meters off. Then you can fire! Got it?"

[Quinn] "Copy that! But uhh… sir?"

Something in Quinn's voice.

[Hezekiah] "What is it, Sergeant?" Hezekiah asked Quinn.

[Quinn] "Uh. I have the feeling that if the Kiotes don't get here in time… y'know uh…"

[Hezekiah] "Spit it out, Q! I need to keep the channels clear!"

Hezekiah said, rather impatiently. But it was an important channel. He had to alternate between firing the gun and manning his own radio, which was a chore in itself. Though he did feel bad for rushing Quinn. Whatever was on his mind, had to have been important. With Q, it almost always was.

[Quinn] "If the reinforcements don't get here, I'm expecting that we aren't supposed to survive afterward?"

Hezekiah didn't say anything immediately. He knew that Quinn and everyone else in Unity knew the answer to that. How was he supposed to tell him?

He reached to his radio. The bullets in his gun ran out, but he didn't bother reloading it. Instead, he began talking to Quinn.

[Hezekiah] "The reinforcements will come, Q. They will. And even if they don't…"

Hezekiah wished he had stopped talking. But he kept going. He had to motivate his squad somehow, right? Everyone could hear this.

[Hezekiah] "If they don't come, we had no other choice. This is the only way. We'd be fucked if we didn't come here, and fucked if we did."

Hezekiah reloaded his gun. Getting ready to once again abandon his position, and return to the SAW.

[Quinn] "I understand, sir. It was an honor fighting with you."

[Hezekiah] "Likewise, Q. Likewise. Just stay aggressive, don't let up on the fire, and keep those fuckers down! We'll show these guys what happens when they fuck with us!"

[Quinn] "Wilco! Thanks."

Hezekiah closed the call and strapped the radio back on his shoulder. He inhaled the fresh air and ran back to the SAW. Making the fifty-meter dash in his slowest time yet.

He peeked out over the riverbed trench, he could see the Iscariots had their shields up, protecting themselves from Unity's incoming fire barrage. The pressure on the garrison had been majorly alleviated, and now all Unity had to do was keep the incoming threat pinned down until they themselves could get help. All a distraction to redirect the attention to themselves. But he needed to keep them away. Just for a little longer. While their shields were up, the Iscariot forces couldn't move fast at all, only going at a walking pace with the mages doing their magic. But once they felt comfortable enough… they would charge ahead to close the distance.

And then, Hezekiah looked up. Like a thousand birds filling the air, flying through the sky, in an arc through the air, were arrows. Hezekiah had no clue how deadly Iscariot arrows were against Marine Corps body armor at this distance, but he had no intention of finding out.

[Hezekiah] "Unity! Incoming! Get down!"

He yelled out over the radio. The guns from Unity stopped firing periodically, as the soldiers scrambled to get into cover, though Q's turret which was protected from all sides, kept on keeping on.

Hezekiah buried his face into the dirt, arms over his head, in a kneeling position against the walled banks of the riverbed. He closed his eyes, as he heard the frightening whistle of arrows descending upon them.

But they over-shot. Majorly. Whatever Unity was doing, they were doing it well. The Iscariots faaaar overestimated the size that Unity occupied, and the archers wound up firing behind Unity's actual position in an attempt to score a hit on what they perceived as their main body. Only a few arrows landed anywhere near Hezekiah, and he thanked his lucky stars for that.

[Hezekiah] "Unity! Gimme a sitrep!"

[Flint] "Damn it! I'm hit! I'm hit!"

Hezekiah's heart sank. Flint? Damn it! He must not have been injured too badly, as he was still able to communicate!

[Hezekiah] "Flint! Come in, Corporal! Flint! What is your status?"

[Flint] "Argh! Arrow through my shoulder! Fuckers got me good! I can't… I can't move my arm! I'm trying to shoot with my leftie, but I dunno how I'm gonna reload!"

Flint was truly built differently. Shot through the arm with an arrow, possibly bleeding out, and the thing he was worried about, was how he was gonna reload with his left arm. Hezekiah had to admire him for that.

[Hezekiah] "Stay alive, Flint! Brian, you're closest to his position! Move over there, and help him out! Quinn, you cover us with smoke grenades!"

[Quinn] "Wilco, firing smoke!"

Hezekiah didn't hear anything from Brian. He checked the radio again to make sure he was alright.

[Hezekiah] "Brian! Come in! I need you to attend to Flint's injury immediately! Over!"

[Brian] "Uhh, s-sir! I can't move! I'm pinned down."

Pinned down? By what? The Iscariots were stuck reloading their arrows now! What the hell was keeping Brian up?

[Hezekiah] "Brian! Listen to me! You have to move! We have a clearing now, get to Flint's position!"

[Brian] "I'm sorry… I-I can't!"

[Hezekiah] "What do you mean, you cant? GET MOVING!"

Hezekiah was practically yelling over the comms. What the hell could Brian be whining about? He hadn't reported any injuries, there was no incoming fire, and Quinn was laying down smoke cover!

He understood that Brian was ill-experienced. But he had a job to do!

[Lafayette] "Sir! I am within Flint's position! I can get him and tend to his wounds! Over!"

[Hezekiah] "Thank you Laf, get Flint out of there and assess his wounds. There is a medkit in the truck! And please… check on Brian!"

[Lafayette] "Yes sir."

The radio comms ended with a click. Just as soon as Hezekiah's gun ran out of ammo again. He was firing through a line of smoke. Unable to see the enemy. But he just needed to keep them pinned down while obscuring the Archers' position. Speaking of which, Hezekiah hadn't seen the volley of arrows in a while… what the hell were the Iscariots doing? Surely they weren't preparing to charge right?

Right?

[Eagle 6] "This is Eagle Six to Unity Actual! I have no clue what the hell you guys are doing out there, but whatever it is, it's working. Please, keep it up. Their shields are split, and I think we've almost killed all of the mages. They have to be close to retreat at any moment! Keep the pressure on them, we're winning!"

Hezekiah didn't respond, he was too preoccupied. But he could hear the hope in Jefferson's usually monotone and brunt voice. Unity had to be doing something right. It was working! Hezekiah's chest swelled with pride as he felt like he had finally done it, he was finally doing something right! Not just himself, but his squad. He was proud of them too, equally as proud. Brian on the other hand… he had no clue what was up with him.

And then he looked up to see the scaly flesh of Dragons overhead. His pride died as soon as he saw it, and fear returned to his heart as if it had never even left to begin with. There were three of them, two appeared to be smaller than the one flying at the center of their trio formation. It seemed as if they were looking for Unity, as they circled overhead.

[Quinn] "I've got hostile uhh… dragon… things… overhead! Do I shoot them?"

Hezekiah couldn't tell if they should. If they were looking for Unity, trying to scout out their actual size, then shooting at them would only expedite that process. Right? But not shooting at them would allow them to find their exact numbers and report back.

Again with the fucking Catch 22. Damned if they do and damned if they do not. Hezekiah hated these. They might as well try to shoot them down.

[Hezekiah] "Bring those sons of bitches down!"

[Quinn] "Yes sir!"

He could hear the turret rev up again and saw the bullets whiz through the sky. He managed to bring one straight out of the sky, as the other small one ducked down to fly towards the ground. Quinn tried his best, but couldn't keep up with its snappy movements. Instead, he turned his attention onto the larger one. It was larger and absorbed more bullets from the previous one. It got close enough to engage.

And it let out a wave of not fire… but gas.

Hezekiah had a gas mask in his pack. He knew what to do.

[Hezekiah] "GAS! GAS! GAS!"

He warned Unity over the radio. And he prayed that they obeyed the instruction. The shooting ceased temporarily in what Hezekiah could only guess was his soldiers putting their masks on.

Hezekiah managed to get his own on in a quick time, even though his arms felt like they weighed a ton from exhaustion. A few seconds later, and a green cloud of toxicity enveloped their position. Hezekiah's vision was blocked, his lenses were quite foggy. But even still, he opened fire on the barely visible shape of the dragon. He had no idea if he hit his shots or not, but no matter, when he tried to refocus to gain a clearer look at the dragon, he couldn't find it.

It didn't matter now. The Iscariots knew where they were. The gas cloud cleared up, and no more gas was deployed, though Hezekiah kept his on just in case. He reloaded his gun, now he didn't even bother trying to run to the other emplacement. Unity got their attention all right. And they knew exactly where they were by now. Did they see through the bluff? Was it over?

"WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!"

'The fuck is that?' Hezekiah asked himself. The sound was coming from the forests behind Unity. Had the Iscariots flanked around them?

Wait. Why were the Iscariots giving their position away by making all of that noise? How did the Iscariots get behind them? When did that happen? Brian might not have been active to keep a watch on their right flank, but even still, someone would've caught sight of Iscariot troop movement.

And then it dawned on him…

Those weren't Iscariots. Not at all.

[Hezekiah] "Unity here. Our reinforcements have arrived!" He said, with a smile on his face.

[Eagle Six] "Reinforcements? Who? Where?"

Hezekiah didn't respond. He turned to his front. When he looked downrange, a burst of red light and fire was coming straight for their position. Quickly Hezekiah ducked down, but the explosion threw him on his back. His vision blurred as the blast threw him on his back. His helmet and body armor absorbed most of the blow, but even still, the shock left his brain feeling like hot paste. His forehead throbbed in pain, and his eyes burned. He couldn't see through his gas mask, as dirt covered the lenses.

[Quinn] "Holy shit! They are engaging us with explosives magical shit! Fuck! Hezekiah, what the hell is going on?"

Hezekiah could hear Quinn's voice in his ear. But he could not respond. His body did not move. It was too much pain.

[Quinn] "Hezekiah? Staff Sergeant Hezekiah, sir! Please come in! Fuck! They got him! Lafayette, what is your situation?"

[Lafayette] "Me and Flint are fine, Quinn! Brian is… he's alive, but when I got him earlier he wasn't moving or shooting. He's in a complete panic right now, I and Flint have spent the past half hour trying to get him up. Other than that, we're all alive!"

[Quinn] "Good. Fuck it, I'm moving out of position to check on Hezekiah! And watch our rear, I think that noise coming from behind are those Raritan guys! And forget about Brian, he's done!"

[Lafayette] "Yes sir!"

So Brian had a panic attack, huh? That's what happened. Hezekiah was pissed at Brian. He was a Marine for god's sake! This was the environment Marines were built for! How the hell did that kid even get out of Bootcamp? To say Hezekiah was disappointed in him, was almost a gratitude. Really, Hezekiah was pissed at him. Almost angry. He couldn't chew him out now, Hezekiah was still reeling from almost being blown up. But if-- when. When Hezekiah got out of this, alive, he'd have a few words with the coward.

But… maybe he was being too harsh on him? He was only a kid. Hezekiah had to realize that he felt like pure shit only a few hours ago when his life felt like nothing but pure despair. Maybe Brian was going through the same thing?

'This is no time for sympathy, Brian fucked up when we needed him most! He couldn't get Flint and perform his duty as a medic, that's a major fucking issue!' Hezekiah thought.

He'd talk to Brian alright.

In the meantime, a pissed-off and dazed Hezekiah could hear rushed footsteps coming towards him. The winter Marine camo and m50 gas mask of Quinn appeared in his sight, though he could only make out shattered fragments of a picture, as dirt covered the lenses of Hezekiah's own mask.

Quinn knelt next to him, using his hands to dig Hezekiah out of a blanket of dirt, "Staff Sergeant Brooks! Are you alright? Come on!" He heard Quinn's voice. Hezekiah squirmed to show Quinn that he was still alive and conscious. To that, Quinn held out his hand and Hezekiah took it. He was pulled up, half onto his feet, and half into Quinn's arms. He was then placed to lean against the walls.

Hezekiah's hearing returned, and he could hear the yelling charge of the Kiotes again. Out from behind, a brown and white-clothed figure appeared, holding a spear. A red wrap hung around its head, and candy pink hair stemmed from its head. Coal-black skin…the Warrior Elves had arrived.

They carried spears as they charged into the Iscariot lines. Fearlessly. More of the Warrior Elves appeared, jumping across the trench and charging forward with the might of a rushing wave. He saw a few get blasted by Iscariot magic, and fall to the ground dead. But no matter, another took their place. They went straight ahead.

Quinn held a thumb up, looking at one behind Hezekiah. And from behind, Hezekiah could feel hands on his person. A warm presence filled the area, and he saw a familiar face. Two faces in fact. Otaes and Temetet.

They looked to Quinn quizzically who imitated someone taking his mask off, and then they turned back to Hezekiah. Otaes took her hands and took off Hezekiah's mask. Fresh air filled his face, and his hearing came back fully.

"Ugh, you guys finally showed up?" Hezekiah asked the two. Trying his best to remain cool and collected.

"Just in time!" Said Temetet, "Those Iscariots were getting ready to charge you!"

"From what we saw of the battle, your warriors have fought with unprecedented strength and courage. Especially your squad. You've fought with the strength of a thousand of our warriors!" Said Otaes. Again, Hezekiah couldn't help but let it all get to his head. The compliments were great after he and his squad nearly died fighting. Recognition was the best motivation.

"Is that so?" Hezekiah asked.

"Yes, though our fight isn't over. Nowhere close in fact. But your warriors have done enough," he told Hezekiah, "It'll only take our advance to push them to the point of retreat!"

Hezekiah could see the lines of Warrior Elves collide with the Iscariots. The elves carried tomahawks, swords, spears, anything that could kill. They used their magic to kill at that close distance, though only a minority used the natural magic. Most were skilled in the martial arts. And they dominated in hand-to-hand combat. The Iscariot lines were broken through, and instantly they broke formation and ran.

The sound of trumpets from the Iscariot lines signaled a general retreat….

They had won the battle. Against all odds. They did it.

The Battle of Ithaca

Belligerents: USMC/Kiote Confederacy vs The Iscariot Empire

Deployed units:

500 Marines (USMC), 350 warriors (Kiotes), 1500 Soldiers (Iscariots)

Casualties:

10 Dead, 20 injured (USMC), 30 Dead, 100 injured (Kiote), 500 Dead, 300 injured (Iscariots)

Result: USMC/Kiote Complete Victory.

American presence on the continent is guaranteed, and the Iscariots are forced to retreat from the southern part of the Heartlands, giving up their control. Ithaca is now considered safe, as reinforcements bolster American troop numbers. The Kiote Confederacy and USMC forces based in Ithaca establish friendly diplomatic relations.

"I've heard of a… incident in the magical world? What is it?"

"Well, Mr. President… a native empire of considerable strength engaged our forces. It was a complete victory."

"What are the details?"

"Sir, despite their magical powers, our technology still holds superior in comparison to anything that they have. It's honestly impressive that five hundred of us was able to hold off against an army two times our size, and still only lose thirty soldiers as casualties."

"Only thirty of our soldiers died?"

"No, only ten. The other twenty are injured and out of commission."

"Well, I'll be. Those Marines fight like hell."

"That's what we train 'em for. As long as we have large numbers out there, we will hold the advantage. Despite the losses… this battle might've been the best thing to happen to us so far."

"I've heard reports of politics in the new world. Are they true?"

"Yes, in fact. Some of the belligerents on our side were natives. Apparently, a local warrior nation aided our forces against the Empire. We're currently trying to establish diplomatic contact with them to get more information."

"Good. Good."

"But… if this operation is a secret. What do we do about the casualty reports?"

"Make it so that they died in Korea. I want no reports of a 'fantasy world' leaking out to the public. All casualties sustained in that world will come from Korea."

"And how will we make sure that the South Koreans and allied forces don't catch on to discrepancies of battles that have never happened?"

"…Hmm. Contact the British. We'll work something out between our allies."

"Are you thinking of letting them through?"

"Maybe. We'll need reinforcements, and I don't know how many we ourselves can spare. If we can guarantee their entry into the new world, in exchange for secrecy about the operation, then I'll be open to allow our NATO allies and others through."

"I see. Well, I'll get out a diplomatic team to see what they can do. For now, I think it right that you contact Major Jefferson. His team defied the odds, and according to the reports, some of those Marines pulled off miracles that day."

"I'll put it in my calendar to talk to him. That'll be all."