The War of Old Grudges and New Wounds (Completed)

[Vetega]

Avalon

Aridani stood over a glass table. Images were being played on it. Real-time feeds from Haktiva. Even the video of Daniel saying a big fuck you to him. He did not yell or talk. His rage was absolute. His face was stone. His fists were clenched.
"All Arcadian ships. This is your king. Launch Operation Deathstrike. " he said.

Haktiva

The ships by the beach turned their guns and fired shells into the newly reinforced enemy. The ships farther launched a huge barrage of missiles at the 5th Fleet. Drone fighters swooped over the battlezone and began to pick targets. Arcadian Zeus Tanks fired their guns into the Pagians.

Vetega
New Ixis

12 missiles were fired. They rose straight up into the sky. 12 targets. One was the last Federation stronghold city on Revani. Zion. One was Andryland once more. Three missiles went to Page. The other seven chose their targets at random. They would strike in 7 cities either in Haktiva or Page. Or both.

Bay of New Ixis

The Arcadian Fleet came under sudden attack. The Federation 1st Fleet with it's 500 ships had launched an all or nothing attack on the blockade. At the same time a smaller fleet landed 50 miles north of New Ixis. They unloaded troops and armor while the Arcadians were preoccupied.

Zion
Command Center

Alarms began to ring. David listened to his earpiece.
"Countermeasures are being used, but if it's a FLEIA warhead it won't matter. "
"Incorrect. It's a Centrifuge warhead. They all are. "Aegis replied.

David glanced at Daniel.

Astraeus

Izon looked away from her.
"I know he loved me. I know he did. " he muttered as he looked to the floor.

A tear fell down his face. He punched the wall and left a sizeable dent in the lightweight metal.
"I should have been there. I failed him when he needed me the most. And now David hates me because of the pain I caused. I can't bear this pain. You and Daniel are perfect for each other. He needs to get his head out of his ass and admit that he wants to be with you. Page can survive without an heir. " he said quietly.

He slid down the wall and sat on the floor. He gazed at the ring on his finger. Tristan had given it to him.

Avalon

15 missiles flew into the air. They were all bound for different fleets. The Pagian Fleets, Federation Fleets, and Haktivan Fleets. The next batch of targets were prepared, and the tubes were reloaded.

[Haktiva]

Noveria Team
Zen dragged the body of an Arcadian soldier away into an empty alley as Sohara placed her last bit of explosives on one of the emplacements. Zen rejoined her and the two went further into the camp. They came upon what looked to be a communications center, a large tent surrounded by many smaller ones. Sohara snuck a snake camera under the side of the tent, about ten people were in their, all armed. They snuck around to the front, Zen tossing a rock a ways away to distract the two guards in front. They each took up a position by the entrance, and nodded to each other. With blinding speed and precision they burst through and eliminated each Arcadian, their silencer keeping them from being detected. Sohara grabbed various documents that looked like they would help and signaled for zen to leave. They crawled out from under the back of the tent and headed back to Alex and Spitter's position, eliminating a few more sentries along the way.
Kirava
By the time the Arcadians started firing their ships' cannons, they Haktivans had managed to get a large amount of artillery set up. Almost immediately the crews began lobbing shells toward the Arcadian side of the ruined city. A large amount of helicopter flew in as well, one of them touching down at the field HQ. Off of it stepped Isadore Mendrovski, clad in full military gear. The soldiers saluted as he walked by and into the tent. General Jacob Zedornov saluted and handed him a report. "We are holding them back, but those guns are making it a bit difficult. I've tried to get more air support but most birds are either out of fuel or are too badly damaged to get back into the fight at the moment", he said.
"You and your troops have done well general", Isadore replied, handing him back the report.
"Thank you Sir, but I must say this fight is harder than I expected", Jacob said, a small bit of shame in his voice.
"These Arcadians aren't 'ordinary' fighters. They're genocidal maniacs hell bent on conquering the world. They have nothing to lose, hence one advantage they have over us", Isadore replied reassuringly. Jacob grunted in reply, he didn't like to see his soldiers being killed, much less by the platoon. "I take it those Pagians have been of some help?", Isadore asked.
"They're far from green and they can fight", Jacob replied.
"But they aren't Haktivan", Isadore added, raising an eyebrow at the General's tone.
"No Sir", Jacob replied. Isadore chuckled a bit.
"Well we can show them how to fight the right way, the Haktivan way, just like how we're going to get the Vetegans their country back", Isaodre said, patting the man on the shoulder.

[Vetega]

Avalon

Aridani looked at a new map. It was a map of the Federation. On it, there were red dots blinking. 26 to be exact. 26 areas where there were now battles. Arcadian occupied cities were under attack from within. Somehow, they'd gained the courage and the weapons to fight back.
"Report! " he growled.
"24 cities are under attack. The other two sites are military installations. "
"Which one's? "
"Cruik Fortress, second largest base in Vetega and the Vaylin Research Center, former headquarters of the aces known as Dark Riders. "
He rubbed his temples.
"How are we faring? " he asked.
"Fine so far. They don't have a full arsenal of weapons. We're holding them back for now. "
"And New Ixis? "
"The Federation is fighting fiercely to get their city back. If they land any troops, we're screwed. "
He whirled on the man.
"Since when does a lowly aide know of military strategy? "
"This assault has elements from Page and Haktiva as well sir. The same goes for the Astraeus Fleet. Not only do we have to deal with a vengeful Federation, but we have to fight the legendary Haktivan troops and the Pagian forces. All three of these elements are extremely powerful."
Aridani looked out the window.
"I'm elevating your status. You are now my military advisor. What's our next course of action? "
"Allow the Astraeus Fleet to fight our fleet at Haktiva. The reinforcement fleet will be next on their list. Let them fight it if they survive. Pull back our nuclear subs to the open sea. They'll be harder to find. Shorten your ultimatum to 6 hours. "
Aridani was surprised.
"Wow. You should be a general. "
"I only live to serve. "
"Very well. Circulate the necessary orders. Also, I want air superiority established in Haktiva. Use our numbers to our advantage. " he replied.
The man nodded and turned away.
"Wait. What's your name? "
"Vagros Destraud. " he replied then walked away.

Vagros knew that upping the stakes would give the allied forces more of a reason to kill Aridani. He was taking a huge gamble, but he prayed that it would work. Vetega, and the world didn't deserve this madness.


Zion

David lifted a piece of debris off a car door with the help of firefighters. The FLEIA warhead had detonated just above the city.

[Page]

Revani

The latest strike by the Arcadians had Daniel enraged.
"That's it! They will not just die, they will suffer first."

He stormed out of the command center and called his military council to meeting in private. Accessing a special network, he entered his personal confirmation code for an ICBM strike against Avalon. Specially tipped missiles from underground silos in the wilderness of Northern Page rose up, and shot out at ballistic speeds. They would be just a few short minutes from their destination.

Avalon

Ryyth's research had taken the concept of a "smart bomb" to a whole new level, even these high speed ICBM's could enter a controlled slowdown and land in very specific places. In a symbolic show of contempt, one was aimed directly at the very balcony Aridani had stood on when he issued his ultimatum. Of course, he was no longer there, but the show of force was powerful.

The same skyscraper had windows shattered in four different locations all along its height by these projectiles. They did not detonate - rather, they emitted a vapor like tear gas. But simple tear gas this was not.

It mattered nothing whether the inhabitants of the building even had gas masks to put on. Any inch of exposed flesh the gas touched would be ruined within seconds. The skin of the victims began to bubble, and then melt.

More warheads tipped with these chemical weapons hit specific locations throughout Avalon. It was thanks to the insistence of some of Daniel's attendants that only military locations were targeted - had Daniel had his way, the entire city would have been bathed in it.

He may not have been able to kill Aridani right now, but he resolved to leave a scar on him.

Astraeus

Sitting down next to Izon, Ryyth said "It's not just Daniel who has been stubborn. I've been too scared to ask him if things have changed for him. If he was ready to be with me, for real, I never had the courage to ask him. But that will change."

She looked at the ring and said "I remember when you were unconscious, the way Tristan looked at you on the night the two of you met. When the doctor was fixing your head, he said, and I remember this exactly, he said 'Vetegan leader or not, no guy that gorgeous should die so young.'"

Ryyth hugged him and said "And David has grown into the best man he could be, and that's thanks to both his dads."

[Vetega]

Avalon
Aridani laughed.
"So this is Freezing Rain eh? Strong stuff. " he commented as he watched the live feeds.
Vagros nodded in agreement. This was what he had hoped for.
"I suggest you incinerate Revani. " he stated.
"Which part? " Aridani asked.
"All of it. "
Aridani raised an eyebrow.
"You have the potential to be an Arcadian king. Launch the warheads. Destroy the last free Federation land. And thus we will be killing every innocent who dared turn against me. "


New Ixis

7 missiles roared out of their tubes. They soared into the air. Then they turned on Revani. The entire island would be turned to glass by Centrifuge.

Arcadian controlled Vetega

Every missile installation fired at once. Everything from burst missiles, Incendere missiles, nukes, FLEIA warheads and a few Centrifuge missiles flew directly towards page. The Federation had the stockpile large enough to destroy the world several times over.

Astraeus
Izon laughed.
"Gorgeous eh? " he snickered.
"I will always love him. His death has only strengthened one thing I have left in my heart. Rage. David deserves better. Tristan deserved better. The world deserves better. Aridani will die by my hand. I'll make sure that he suffers for a very long time. "
His voice wavered and his red eyes were filled with despair.

Alarms suddenly rang out. Izon listened to Aegis.
"We need to get outside now. " he said.
They ran out on deck. The sky was filled with contrails from the Federation. In the distance there were explosions. That came from Page. Izon turned to his aide.
"I want a status report on Page every 5 minutes. Launch countermeasures into the Arcadian ordinance. Get our aces up there. Shoot as many -"
A Centrifuge warhead strayed off course and detonated 15 miles from the fleet. The blast caused the sea the roll tremendously. The weather was instantly affected.
"Now Taven! " he yelled.

He turned to Ryyth.
"We'll arrive at Haktiva in 45 minutes. We need to end this before Aridani decides to fire a Centrifuge warhead at Blood Rock. "

[Page]

Astraeus

"He doesn't know about Blood Rock, even Trajan can't have been shortsighted enough to tell him what it does." Ryyth said. "Still, time isn't on our side and it would be in our best interests to hurry. Now, we may have to direct this at New Ixis as well, since the centrifuge is there. I'm sure your country has weapons' stored all over, but hopefully between Avalon and New Ixis, this device will render their network worthless. It won't kill many civilians, except for collateral damage, but it'll permanently shut off every piece of technology in range from a centrifuge warhead to an ipod."

She received a report in her earpiece and was speechless for a minute.
"Daniel just launched Dark Heat missiles against Avalon. They uhhh, well let's just say everything I invent isn't always so pretty."

Even despite the brief horror of realizing her chemical weapon which was only meant to serve as a deterrent had been used against human being, deep inside Ryyth she was happy, and imagined some of the panicked Aracadians melting as they ran.

She continued to listen to reports and looked at her handheld. "Meanwhile, the Freezing Rain singularities are defending Page from the FLEIA attacks well, though we are still taking immense casualties. Amiindan looks like it's been hit by an earthquake... Andivi's safe, for now. The civilian evacuations to the countryside have been successful, although... this damage is already close to exceeding our Civil War. The Federation and Haktiva are no better off. This will be a long road back to peace, even after those traitors are dead."

Javik's Pass

Pagian gunships had returned to Javik's Pass, though this time without hostile intent. A fleet of 12 helicopters each had a steel cable towing a massive machine hundreds of feet below.

The device itself looked like three massive, interwoven rings, mounted on a platform.
"Where are we landing?" one of the pilots asked.
"They have a lab that's powered by the substance. They'll need to set up conductors and then get the machine working, estimated time about an hour. But we'll need to place it inside the base there."
"Does the base have an open space the size of a football field?" another pilot asked sarcastically.

Even covered from Arcadian fire with maximum protection, landing this monstrosity would not be easy.

[Vetega]

Astraeus

"Taking out New Ixis and Avalon is good, but their guns will work just fine. We'll have that advantage, but they'll already have dug in by now. When we get to that fight, it'll be horrendous for both sides even with Haktiva's help. "

The roar of jet engines and missiles firing told him what he needed to know.
"We got here early. The captain must have ordered engines over capacity for that. Do you wanna fight in the air, which is incredibly dangerous, or fight from here, which is less dangerous. " he said with a familiar glint in his eye.

The Astraeus fleet had arrived guns blazing. The battle was incredibly fierce and the sun was starting to set. A night battle was imminent.


New Ixis

As the sun rose the battle still raged in the bay. However, at the same time the forces that had landed had not moved. They had received orders to stay out of the city. The 1st Fleet then received the same orders. They retreated to the open sea.

[Page]

Javik's Pass

As the Astraeus fleet approached the Arcadian blockade, Ryyth ordered a helicopter transport to the Blood Rock, which flew at the maximum altitude possible in order to avoid enemies.

Meanwhile, the massive device was already being set up. If all went well, the Arcadian's weapons of mass destruction would be neutralized.
Her helicopter landed at the base and Ryyth stepped out escorted by a squad of rangers. They waited outside the gates to be let in. The clock was ticking down.

Revani

The latest strike turned the sky blood red, and everything around the command center need to burn. Though reinforced, even the location of the war leaders was set alight.

"We need to go underground, there isn't time to waste" one of Daniel's bodyguard declared.
"Come on" he told the Haktivan leaders. Then he turned to his attendants and ordered "Get my sister and niece!"

[Haktiva]

Javik's Pass
The Pagian helicopters were lead to a large clearing on the edge of the Blood Rock Mountain, one that would be familiar to some. The soldiers were astounded at the giant piece of technology before them. Max however, seemed indifferent. He held his glasses down as the rotor-wash hit him and his guards.
Kirava
Isadore shook his head as he heard the news. "These foreigners have no sense of mercy", he lamented.
"In their defense it's an effective weapon", Jacob said, looking over his shoulder.
"It's one thing to kill, it's another thing entirely to destroy", Isadore replied.
"Are you having second thoughts about the device", Jacob asked.
"That's more or less a necessary evil, but I doubt they'll learn much from us in the ways of war", Isadore replied.
"So what now?", Jacob asked.
"Now we take our city back before they try and use those terrible weapons here", Isadore said as he walked out of the tent. The artillery barrage provided a shield for the Haktivan forces to regroup, and preparations were made for a massive assault that would hopefully drive back the Arcadians. Isadore picked up his rifle and checked his microphone. He looked around him, hundreds of soldiers were around him, thousands were out in the ruins of the city. Tanks and armored vehicles were finishing their own preparations, thousands of empty ammo cans were piled up. Isadore marched to the forward trech and faced his people. His microphone was connected to every soldier in the city.

"I know many of you have been here for quite a while, but anyways... Welcome to Kirava, you are about to be begin the greatest moment of your life. The Arcadians have lost hundreds of tanks and planes. Aridani's brutalized hoards are now advancing towards Citadel over mountains of their own dead bodies. Our ancestors, our nation our great country have given us the task not to let the enemy reach the Hova! And to defend the city of Kirava!", Arcadian shells began to land in the distance as he spoke, their whistle almost drowning out his voice. "FORWARD AGAINST THE ENEMY! UP INTO THE UNFORGIVING BATTLE COMRADES! FOR KIRAVA! FOR OUR GREAT COUNTRY! NOT ONE STEP BACK!", a few more shells landed close to him "DO NOT COUNT DAYS! DO NOT COUNT MILES! COUNT ONLY THE NUMBER OF ARCADIANS YOU HAVE KILLED! KILL THE ARCADIAN, THIS IS YOUR MOTHER'S PRAYER! KILL THE ARCADIAN, THIS IS THE CRY OF YOUR HAKTIVAN EARTH! DO NOT WAVER, DO NOT LET UP! KILL! DEATH TO THE ARCADIAN INVADER!", he shouted.
"DEATH TO THE ARCADIAN INVADER", every single soldier shouted in reply. With that the entire Army rushed over the trenches, every soldier, every machine. Their battle cries could be heard for miles.
The Haktivan troops ahead of the force rushing towards them, found hope in the leader's speech as they continued their bloody engagements.

[Vetega]

Revani

Rayborne went to get them. " David replied.
His clothes were singed. His face was streaked with soot and his hands bled. He had ran into burning buildings to save people. David could hear more air raid sirens going off
"Another wave. "

The building shook as they retreated to the underground shelter.

Astraeus
"They're launching missiles! "
"Countermeasures active! "
"There are hundreds of them! "
"Target location? "Izon asked.
"Javiks Pass. "
Izon frowned. Alarms rang out as a FLEIA warhead was intercepted above them. The ship shook violently and every piece of glass blasted inwards. Hundreds more missiles continued on unabated. The enemy warships raised their guns and fired a smattering of shells would slam into the Pass.

Seraphia Mountain Range
Border to United Warrisons

Aridani leaned over a row of computers. The Allies were building something in Javiks Pass. Whatever it was, it would be annihilated. Avalon was no longer safe for him. He moved his command staff to the city of Uru'baena. The modern city was built mere miles from the ruins of the old city of Isengard. Isengard had been destroyed by a thermonuclear weapon almost 2 decades ago. The government was moved to New Ixis. To this day, the city bears the scars of that war and it's citizens risk radiation poisoning if they stay outdoors for too long.

"Launch as many warheads as you can. They will try to attack us in the future. We will eliminate everything they treasure. "
Vagros clenched his fists. 'Hurry. ' he thought, 'You allies are running out of time. '

All over the Federation, the silos opened once more. This time, nuclear warheads were launched.


Astraeus

Izon picked himself up off of the floor. He stumbled through the debris and dead bodies on the burning bridge. He entered his codes into a terminal.
"Are you sure this will work Aegis? "
"No. " the voice replied.
Izon nodded. He turned the key and hit the button. Every nuclear warhead that was launched from the Federation disarmed and lost power. This did not stop FLEIA, but the Arcadians would not fire another nuke. They thought it was a weapon that could be used multiple times, but it could only be used once. Nuclear winter was avoided. For now. He made his rounds through the bridge determining if anyone was left alive. The captain was dead. There were 5 others that were alive. They all went to tactical control. The Astraeus couldn't move, but it could still fight.
"Ryyth needs to hurry up! " Izon yelled as he fired missiles. L

[Page]

Ryyth entered the room and wasted no time in awe of the machine that was Trajan's monstrosity, which would be their their ironic salvation. The attention of those inside turned to her.

"Ladies and gentleman, comrades. We are fortunate enough tasked with the unique mission of preventing the apocalypse."
The building shook. An aerial battle was overhead. She looked up for a brief second, and then continued.
"The good news, and we certainly hadn't enough of it, is that there is a one hundred percent chance that within a few days from now, the Arcadians will be destroyed. Indeed, the Pagian dead hand system was still functioning quite fine as of one month ago. However there are other factors, like whether the Arcadians will take the entire human species with them to their graves. I would prefer that to not happen, so let's get to work."

She spoke her introduction with the sort of dark humor only a Pagian could appreciate. Then she added "Also, I know your chain of command is very precious to you, though for the next hour I would like to introduce you all to a concept Daniel is very familiar with, which is shutting up and letting the only woman who knows what the hell she is doing make decisions."

Walking up to Max, she smiled. Ryyth had already been briefed on him, though immediately she could see something about him. She shook his hand and said "You aren't a jarhead, no, you have a heart for science, I can see. The preparations shouldn't take long. Did you have any questions about the device?"

Low Orbit

The solar powered Pagian defense satellite, linked up to AVA's consciousness, activated. The AI system saw the entire world at once, and processed information in a second like a month of a human thinking. She began to respond to the warheads in orbit, incinerating them, prioritizing them by their likely destination and arrival time.

[Haktiva]

"You should probably tell any nearby pilots to land, just incase something goes wrong", Max replied. "And as for whether or not I'm a 'Jaredhead.....'", he continued, using air quotes. "Well pray we don't come to blows", he said with his usual sly smile. It was true he wasn't very gung-ho, as that was the stereotype of his people, but he went through basic training just like everyone else and intellectuals had to know how to defend themselves.

[Page]

The dogfights in the air raged overhead, but those inside the base with the machine stayed focused on task. There was some technical labor to be done, but Ryyth remained at the console, programming the machine, and completing Joseph Benko's formula.

When it finally activated, it glowed blue lights between the woven steel, and hummed ominously. The ceiling opened to a sky which was still roaring with fighter jets from both sides.

"Alright, this is our moment. We're striking Avalon and New Ixis with two arcs, and strategically hitting three other Arcadian locations. This one..." she pointed out a target on the map to Max "will surge through their entire network. They'll no longer have their warheads, or any tech at all for that matter. Even every single handheld radio and cellphone in this city will become paperweights. This is the moment we turn this war around."

Ryyth gave her speech without the same enthusiasm Daniel would have had. She knew there was no stake in morale here - the weapon would fire; and it would be the end of the Arcadians' genocide. She entered the final confirmation sequence.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the center of the device. Its hum turned into a roar. There was not a bright beam. Instead, small, star-like particles began to ascend slowly, and rotated slowly at first, and then like a maelstrom. The power of it alone was enough to down dozens of jets, both friendly and enemies. The Haktivans had their option to land, but the Pagians knew their duty was to defend this place, and give their lives for that goal if necessary.

In the atmosphere, the particles united, and then descended down at sonic speed towards the Federation. All across Avalon and New Ixis, the lights went out. Many electronic devices burst. Any back up generators had at best a second before they too short circuited and went dead.

[Vetega]

Uru'baena
Aridani roared with anger. He slammed his fist onto the table.
"Still no word from New Ixis or Avalon. We've lost mainland launch capabilities. The only warheads left are in our subs and on board the Archon superdreadnaught, which is currently off grid. "
Aridani frowned. He had one option left.
"We will fight on. They have merely fueled the flames of their destruction. Recall all ships. "
"What about Haktiva? "
"Decimate the city. Our men knew that it would be a one way trip. I want Javiks Pass leveled as well. They still have Freezing Rain, so launch decoys. " he stated.

New Ixis

The troops throughout the city knew what would come next. Every building, every street, every subway tunnel became a fortification. The city had been built to be a fortress. Now it was one again. Light communication and messengers were used. Flares were readied.

Avalon

As the civilians evacuated the dark city, the military forces did the same thing. They dug in deep. They would all die before giving up the city.

Astraeus

Izon raised an eyebrow as the Arcadian Fleet turned away. But it wasn't over yet. Every single Arcadian ship launched missiles. Some missiles came from underwater. Seconds after those were fired, there were massive plumes of water. The Icewraith was destroying each sub as it fired. Each missile deployed countermeasures. In a massive flash of light, the city was hit by everything. Hundreds more missiles headed to Javiks Pass.
"Ryyth! "Izon yelled into his earpiece.
Communication was offline. He focused his mind. This was his last.message using the anchor in his brain.
'Ryyth, you must get to safety. Now. ' Izon yelled as he appeared in her mind.

[Page]

Ryyth's first instinct was to get up and run, however she remembered no one else in the room could see Izon's projection. "There are inbound Arcadian missiles. This whole mountain range could be flattened, we need to get out of here now!" she shouted, getting the attention of the Haktivans.

"Forget the machine, it has served its purpose and can't be saved, let's get to shelter."

[Haktiva]

"Unlikely but better safe than sorry", Max said. "Let's go, essentials only!", he shouted. The staff and soldier grabbed tapes, samples, and any other important items and ran out through the tunnel into the bunker system underneath the mountain.
Kirava
Shoko and her Marines ran like mad through the ruins of the city as they dodged enemy fire. With superior skill, they dropped Arcadian troopers as they ducked between cover. They eventually made their way to an Army position, which was still under heavy fire. Shoko looked over at the soldiers and recognized one of them. With a small grin she gave the signal for suppressing fire and crawled to her position under the cover of collapsed pillars. "Well now if it isn't our favorite Local", she said, almost scaring Amber half to death as she sat next to her as the bullets flew overhead.

[Page]

"Holy fucking shit... ma'am." Amber exclaimed as she caught sight of Shoko.
She reloaded and peered up over the cover. Immediately, a burst of shots came at them, a spark of debris flying and nicking the side of her left eye. Amber felt the wound and saw a small streak of blood on her hand, but just wiped it off and focused.
"It's a mess here" she said to Shoko. "The Pagians who were killing us just a day ago are mixed in with our ranks. All of the companies are shuffled up. There are few officers around here, everyone is just trying to stay alive. Twice already we've been encircled by the enemy and had to make a break out, this is basically no man's land now. It seems like it's finally quieting down just because most everyone is dead."

A subtle clicking sound could be heard over the cacophony, it was a sound Amber's ear was trained to - the enemy's 50 cal. clicking empty. Before they could reload it, she raised her rifle and fired a perfect burst into an Arcadian soldier who slumped dead over his position, blood pouring out on to the ground.

"Ever since all those planes went down near Javik's pass, the enemy has been in panic mode, I'm not quite sure why. There's fear in their eyes now, and that's not something I've seen up until an hour ago."

The lines were becoming static like trenches, and both sides were nearly about to run out of ammo, but more Pagian soldiers of the 5th flanked from the side to reinforce the Haktivans. The way they moved in resembled a highland charge. Amber could see between the smoke and sparks that this group of thirty or so men had equipped improv bayonettes to their presumably now empty guns.

It reminded Amber of a Pagian Civil War legend that King Daniel had personally led a squad of elite troops against the Lorians in New Ixis, and upon seeing his sister in danger, he decapitated her assailant with a single slice of his dagger. It was why the Lorians called the Pagian King "Bloody Daniel" and had thought him a demon by the end of the war. She did not know if it were true, but she knew the valor the Pagians sought to emulate.

Haktivan valor, she knew, was no less. Only more refined, more tactical, and more patient. Even so, there was something in her heart that made her admire the bloody fury of those men on the battlefield. The first ones in were gunned down by the Arcadians, mostly wielding pistols. But a greater wave swept over the enemy, and furiously stabbed them to death.

More Arcadian units who had flanked behind them emerged from the shadows and charged towards Amber and Shoko, who raised their guns and fired, killing the first ones. Three of the Pagian soldiers charged the Arcadians from the opposite direction. They fought hand to hand and dragged each other to the floor. Meanwhile, the rest of the men of the 5th advanced on the enemy position to the East in a renewed charge.

Amber and Shoko both now had empty guns, and from the carnage one Pagian man rose up. The last two enemy soldiers standing lunged from him. The Pagian man kicked one in the chest who landed on the floor next to Amber. Before he could react, Amber snapped the enemy's neck. The other Arcadian met his end at the Pagian soldier knife which plunged effortlessly through the top of his skull; his helmet had been knocked off in the chaos and the Pagian took the opportunity to drive the blade in like a trench spike.

Exhausted, he sat down on the floor next to Amber and Shoko.
"Comrades... you Haktivan ladies fight with more courage than these Arcadian dogs" he said.
"In the end, those with causes truly worth fighting for prevail." Amber said, thinking of her children. Her Pagian accent had faded significantly after a decade of living in Haktiva, but the soldier noticed it.
"You are a Pagian?" he asked curiously.
"I am a Haktivan. I was born in Page." Amber answered. "My name is Amber Roden."

The soldier shook her hand and introduced himself in return "Sal Karskii, one of the last breathing men of the 5th." He looked at Shoko and said "Our traitor general tricked us into fighting your people. It cost us, but ever since the ceasefire we've been tirelessly holding back the Arcadians. That cost us more. The report I heard an hour ago is that 90% of squads were no longer reporting in, all our gunships and jets are gone, and most of our fleet has sunk off your coast even as Astraeus has arrived to reinforce us."

Sal looked down at his bloody uniform and said "I will die here, of that I am sure. But I will die in your service with the same selflessness your SPECTRE's defended our King, this we have heard about."

Amber suddenly remembered what she wanted to ask Shoko.
"I know you're not with the SPECTRE's anymore, but if my husband is alive or dead, if you know anything, it's been so hard not knowing."

[Haktiva]

Shoko shrugged. "I'm out of the loop, but I can guess they're causing hell behind the lines in Vetega", she said. One of Shoko's Marines ran up to her, a girl who couldn't have been more than eighteen.
"Ma'am, reinforcements are en route", she said, wiping dirt and blood from her head.
"Took 'em long enough", Shoko said.
"Hopefully they'll have some ammo", the girl said.
"Frankly Charlotte, some whiskey would do me just fine", Shoko replied. Charlotte smiled, Shoko was an old soldier now and it was starting to show.

[Vetega]

Haktiva

Izon walked calmly in the middle of a deserted street. Bodies littered the ground. Soldiers from both sides. This had been a large battle. He had a hardened look on his face. He had seen worse than this when he destroyed Arcadia. But the atrocities mankind could commit, himself include, still infuriated him. He drew his two desert eagles and walked quickly. A team of the Royal Guard moved stealthily behind him.

He heard gunfire. He looked to his left at an intersection. It was an Arcadian trench. He turned and walked towards it. His walk turned into a jog. His jog became a run. The Guard ran behind him. They knew to stay out of his way. They opened fire on the trench. Izon ducked into a building to avoid retaliation. As the Arcadians were preoccupied, he ran up to the second story. He saw his exit. He ran forward and jumped through the window. He landed inside the trench. On top of a group of Arcadian Marines.

Izon was dazed, but it had worked. The Marines would have to deal with him before going after Shoko and the others a block away. Izon drew his sword and threw into the head of a man drawing his gun. He brought his Eagles to bear and began to unleash. Then, he ducked behind a burnt out car as they focused their fire on him. The Royal Guard tossed grenades. One Arcadian Marine jumped onto them to save his comrades.

"Admirable. But irrelevant. " he muttered.

Just then, he could hear the explosions from FLEIA warheads hitting Javiks Pass. He took the opportunity to dive out and fire simultaneously. Killing three more. He pulled his sword out of a dead man's head and ducked behind a wall. He sheathed the sword and reloaded.

"Push them towards our allies. " he said into his earpiece.

The Royal Guard pushed forward as if they were animals. If they ran out of ammo, they used debris as weapons. Izon threw a rock into the face of an enemy soldier, which broke his nose. The man fell to his knees. Izon walked up to him and shot him point blank in the face. Blood and brain splattered onto him. He thought nothing of it. The Guard rushed past him as the Arcadians ran in fear. Izon grinned maliciously. The ploy had worked. The Arcadians would run to Shoko's position as if they had seen the devil himself.

[Haktiva]

"Contact front!", Shoko shouted. Her Marines and Amber's fellow troopers opened fire on the Arcadians, cutting them down relatively quickly. "They must be getting desperate", Charlotte said, smoke emanating from her weapon's barrel.
"Surprised this kind of stuff didn't happen sooner, gotta respect them a bit", Shoko said. She noticed the slight bit of confusion and disgust on Amber's face, even though she hid it well enough to fool most. "Soldiers follow the will of the leader, but they can be friends with others if they get the chance. If leaders don't care or respect soldiers anywhere, then this is the result. Our nation is made up of soldiers, so we can be friends with anyone, as long as they don't inject acid into your veins the first time you meet", she said with a wry grin.

With his last bit of strength, one of the Arcadian Marines pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it over the destroyed concrete wall the Haktivans were hiding behind, his last breath leaving him as it landed.
"GRENADE!", Charlotte shouted, as the explosive landed between herself and her comrades. Without hesitating, she dived onto the grenade, smothering it with her body. Two seconds later, the little bomb went off, Charlotte rising and falling with it. Shoko turned to see the body of her comrade broken before her, unmoving. She flipped Charlotte's body over, her torso and uniform singed and bloody, her face bore a content expression. The young girl knew what to do, and found peace.
"Even the best armor has its limits", Shoko said, her voice slightly hollow. She reached around Charlotte's neck and removed one of her dog tags, placing it in her own pocket. "Go to God in peace, for you have seen the end of Humanity's cruelty", Shoko said, sitting back down against the wall.

[Vetega]

Haktivan Party

Izon took this moment to step from behind a pile of rubble. A lot of guns were pointed his way.

"God has nothing to do with this Shoko. " he said gravely.

His gaze came to a rest on Amber. He remembered the night that he had killed everyone but her, resigning her to a fate of despair at what she'd done. It looked as if she had found some peace in being useful. Although, her hand in the kidnapping of his son 10 years ago still pissed him off. He turned his attention to the fight down the street.

"I have a company of Royal Guard closing on this position. They are under orders to kill anything that isn't allied so make sure to make yourselves known when they arrive." He said.

He reloaded his gun and, ignoring the starstruck looks from the Pagian soldiers who'd never seen him before, simply walked through the middle of the street shooting anything that moved. Bodies fell out of windows several stories up after he shot them. His shots had always been scary accurate.

[Page]

Izon no longer frightened Amber, not even the fact that he apparently recognized her. She had thought about how far she had come since their last encounter, the children she would have never had if her life ended that night.

"The Vetegans are late to the party" Amber remarked to Shoko. "The enemy is finally starting to scatter like rats. Soon they'll be off our land and we can chase them back to the depths of theirs."

One of the few surviving Pagian soldiers ran up to the group and said to Sal "Astraeus is sweeping up the Arcadian ships. One of our frigates survived, and it's leaving to rendezvous with the nearest armada. We can merge with the 74th, they're going to do some pathfinding in New Ixis, in preparation for a coalition effort to take back the city."

Sal nodded, he knew that nothing productive would arise from survivor's guilt, it was best to go off to another battle. He smiled at Amber and said "Whether your courage and steel comes from Pagian blood or Haktivan training, it impresses me. Is there anything you wish me to tell your husband if I see him in New Ixis?"

Amber laughed to herself and said "On the off chance that happens, tell him that Benji and Eris are safe, and that I'm still alive. I'm sure he's worried just like I've been."

Sal replied "If such an encounter were fated, then your words I shall convey."
He saluted Shoko and began to walk off.
Amber shouted after him "Wait, one more thing! If you see him, you can tell him he is the most incompetent spy ever."

Looking perplexed, Sal asked "What does that mean?"
"That is the first thing I ever said to him."
Sal grinned and said "And yet you married him."
"Because he is not a spy, he's a soldier, like we are."

[Haktiva]

A few moments later, the rumbling of tank treads could be heard approaching their position. Crushing or running over the debris along their path, Shepard heavy tanks and Vakarian IFVs drove up to the frontline that Shoko and Amber had basically established. Dozens of soldiers could be seen coming running beside the vehicles, reinforcements had arrived. An extremely tall man, about 6ft ''' approached Shoko and Amber, his collar chevrons marking him as an officer. Aside from his height, the man wore extremely heavy armor, and carried a shield and axe of all things. The shield was obviously bullet-proof, and was decorated in a fiery image of the old god Javik.
"Nice of you to join us Boss", Shoko said in a sarcastic tone.
"Wells we'z thought it was time to show ya gits how real sholjas fight", the man said with a hearty grin. He swung his axe forward and three more men of his stature ran up to him, pounding their weapons on their shield as a salute. Two of these men had axes, others had medium machine guns, modified so that he could hold them with one hand. "Okay boyz, 'erz da plan. Shoot, smash, chop, stomp anyone dat gets in our way", the large men grunted in acknowledgement. Then swung his axe forward and literally smashed through the wall, his men doing the same, letting out a very loud battle cry as they did.

Shoko shook her head, her expression that of annoyance. "Those were the Bad Boyz, one of the Spectre Teams", she said.

[Vetega]

Haktiva

Izon shot the last soldier in the head twice as a Haktivan tank rolled past him. He heard the noise of the Bad Boys from down the street.
"Reminds me of Helen. They would have loved her. " he muttered to himself.
'Enemy ships are retreating. The main Arcadian Fleet has been sighted returning to New Ixis. '
"Good. " he replied into his earpiece, "Make sure the Astraeus is battle ready. The Arcadians have around 3500 ships in the bay of New Ixis alone. I want all warheads armed for launch if necessary. "
'Understood. Also, we've sent some choppers to Javiks Pass. The entire area was damn near flattened. '
"The base? "
'Destroyed. Although there are signs of survivors among the rubble. '
"Extract them. Ryyth has a knack for surviving. Daniel would never forgive me if I left without her. " he stated as he rejoined his squad.

"The Arcadians have fled the battle. Most of them surrendered when they saw the tanks roll in. However, according to the reports I'm getting from Revani, the Arcadians have reestablished their lines of communication by rerouting them through Uru'baena. "
"The ruins? Interesting. They must have built something big enough to boost the signal. It'd have to be underground. " he replied.
Jackson looked unsettled.
"There is that old research base down there. The one that Avalon was designed on before the Lorians destroyed it to get to Aegis. "
Izon frowned. He'd forgotten all about. Tarsus VETA. The base had been a research installation under his father's directives. The base was built for the testing of biological agents. It was also the place where Aegis's prototype, VETA, was built. The whole operation had been shut down the day Izon took the throne. He hated biowarfare.

"Have Aegis pull up the blueprints for the base as soon as we return to Astraeus. I must speak with someone. " he replied.

He walked back down the street towards Shoko's location.
"Shoko, Amber. I have a question. Are you staying here, or coming with the rest of us to New Ixis? " he asked as he approached.

[Page]

Amber told Izon "I am a Haktivan soldier and I will do as I am ordered. But my commanding officer is MIA, I defer that call to Shoko."
She resisted the desire to instantaneously state she would go. She was a soldier with duties. But the thought she could see Max again was a hope that had been at the front of her mind.

Javik's Pass

Ryyth noticed the Vetegan soldiers coming up the mountain. Besides being half way covered in dust and a little sore from being knocked over in one of the hardest blasts, she was unharmed, though a few more minutes of Arcadian bombings might have altered that. She turned to Max and said "I would guess those guys are my escort out of here. Take care, we'll have to save the world again sometime."

She approached the soldiers and said "If I had to guess, I would say that Izon's still on the battlefield sweeping up the enemy. Where are we going?"

Revani

The enemy attack was over for hours now, but it was only now that it was decided it was safe to surface again. The island looked worse than Daniel could have even imagined, it was like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie. Flames were still burning all around them.

He asked his chief attendant for the report from Page.
"It is not good, my Lord. Kiilyyvendrei is mostly destroyed, Avrenon, Andryand's waterfront district. It will take approximately a full third of our intact regiments to restore order and aid the civilian populace. They are deploying now, the rest of our active forces are fully prepared."

Daniel was horrified at the devastation. But he had to focus. He began to give his orders.
"The following brigades will deploy for retaking New Ixis. The 2nd, the 90th, the 16th..." he continued on naming many armadas and airforce groups, and concluding ordering the entire Pagian Ranger Corps to enter the fight.

"We will rebuild, David. We did before" Daniel said to the young Vetegan leader who had done all he could to help others before having to get underground.