Chapter 16: A House Divided

Chapter 16: A House Divided

It was sunset. Dim light shone through the old windows of the room. The orange sky looked quite beautiful, especially with the clouds passing by, providing a nice contrast. This would be an excellent time to take a walk or maybe have some tea, appreciating the small wonders of the world.

However, there’s no time for that. “Come on, pack your things,” There are more pressing matters to be dealt with. “We need to get back as soon as possible.”

Barin and I were back in Ministry Square, where we analyzed all information we had gathered about megaspells and pre-war military facilities. The things we found provided a good picture on how exactly the armed forces were structured and what kind of mentality they had. It wasn’t a very positive one, not from what was written about POW treatment and ethical research. While some of their creations like power armors and energy weapons were indeed very impressive, it was very little to hide the growing repression and militarism of the government, which seemed to focus exclusively on the war effort.

The sections regarding megaspells and other types of WMDs wasn’t very detailed, but it had enough to point us in a new direction. The document had the locations of several military installations on this island, we only need to check them and see if any has what we’re looking for. It sounds easy on the surface, but given the shit he and I needed to go through in order to get these papers, we will probably need more people and resources to ensure success.

“Okay, I already got everything set here; do you remember where I left my helmet?” For that same reason, the two of us are going back to the outpost, to inform Nicolay of all this and discuss our next move. We are currently preparing for the journey back and hopefully we’ll be out of the city before the night sets in.

I shook my head at Barin’s question “Nope, can’t say I have, why don’t you check the closets or something?” I could tell both of us were happy and excited over this accomplishment, enough to ignore the exhaustion from all the energy it took. “It’s amazing how you lose your stuff.”

“Hey! It’s not like we had a lot of time to organize everything, as soon as we arrived you made me dump everything so we could read all this shit we found,” Barin replied, while pointing to the pile of documents on a table. I suppose he’s kinda right, but I still think it was for a good cause. “By the way, how’s your chest doing?”

I felt a light sting of pain, just as he said that. Fighting through the old subway system and falling on a hole had taken a toll on me. Pretty sure I broke a rib, not to count all the other minor wounds on my chest and legs. Wouldn’t be surprised if Akio told me to take a day off, as if I even could.

I brought a hand to my chest. “It hurts a bit, but I can manage, as long as we don’t go around jumping obstacles and fighting dragons or something.”

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “With our luck, do you honestly believe we won’t?”

“Not really…”

Snowdrop and her family had made a few questions when we came back. They were very interested in some of the things we recovered, but understood we needed to keep them. They had also helped with some of the details we couldn’t figure, providing extra information whenever we got confused. Overall, these people were very helpful and it’s nice to know we have someone to rely on. This city might prove itself a useful position to from which we can continue our search.

However, we must also take into account the current situation of the valley. This place is a warzone, with countless armed groups roaming the land. Not to mention the confederacy breathing down on our necks. We cannot afford to get pull down into a long and bloody fight over this land. The sooner we find a way home, the better.

It didn’t took long for us to pack everything. Shame, I’m going to miss having a nice and comfortable room to stay. We left and made our way downstairs. Getting out of the city might prove itself difficult; the memory of what we went through to get inside is still fresh. God, I refuse to go underground again, even if I have to fight my way across an army of raiders.

As we were reaching the main hall, I saw Snowdrop’s father, Frost. The old unicorn walked towards us a quick pace, and I briefly wondered what he wanted, “Excuse me; I know you two are in a hurry, but would you mind to have a word in private?” He asked.

Time was in the essence, but after giving us shelter and access to all those pre-war documents, it's only fair we comply. I shrugged. “I suppose it’s alright, we can spare a few moments,” I looked at Barin, “Go wait for me in the hallway; I’ll see what this is about.”

My friend nodded. “Alright then...” He turned around and left.

With that, I followed Frost. “What's this about?” I asked, “You know we have a long road ahead.”

The two of us walked through the halls of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. He looked at me and spoke, “Do you know the head of the Blackwatch?” The gryphon?

“Shortbeak? Yes, I spoke with him the day I arrived here, why?” I answered, slightly confused.

Frost took a moment to find the right words. “Well, you see, he and I have been discussing a few things, including your presence...” Oh boy, I really don't like where this is going. “As you know, our situation is quite delicade, so he and I were wondering if we could make a few propositions.”

Alright, that doesn't sound particulary bad, but it could mean a lot of things. He's probably being intentionally crypict, hoping to stall me long enough

We went to his office, where I was surprised to see Shortbeak himself sitting on a chair, accompanied by two of his guards. I really hope it isn’t something bad. Without a word, I sat down on another chair and waited. As soon as Frost got to his place, he began speaking.

They both had neutral expressions. I tried to see something else, figure what might be lurking beneath the surface, but it's hard read the faces of two different species. “Okay, so you’re probably wondering why the two of us wanted to talk…”

I nodded. “Yes, especially at this time.”

“Well, the reason why is because we have a proposition for you,” I already know that, and it still doesn’t sound harmful, but I should probably be careful with what I get into.

“What kind of proposal?” I replied, crossing my arms. “You know that I’m very thankful for your hospitality, but keep in mind what I told you about the current state of my comrades back at the headquarters,“ They were both taken aback by that, especially Frost.

Perhaps I was a little too harsh on those words, but it’s the truth, like I’ve already said we can’t afford to jump into unnecessary fights. But I’m getting ahead of myself, I haven’t even heard what they’re proposing, for all I know it could be something harmless.

The gryphon seemed to get annoyed at my words, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. “Look, I’ll just open the game with you; we were hoping to get some mutual cooperation.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What kind of cooperation?”

“Simple, you help us keep the square safe and we will let you have full access to the city and its infrastructure,” I tried to speak out, but Shortbeak didn’t let me. “We know what you said about the state of your people, and that’s why we are offering you this. Each of the ministries is equipped with something you could use like a medical center, a radio tower, water purifiers, workshops and much more,“ That sounds way too good to be true. "Sounds good enough for you?"

“And I'm supposed to believe that?“ I argued. “You're telling me that you would simply open the city for us, no questions asked?“ Part of me liked this idea, and urged me to dismiss my worries. However, it pays to be cautious, even when things look promissing.

"Yes."

"But why? You made it clear of how strict the access to the city is, so I can't help but to doubt that."

"You saw the situation outside, the whole region is tearing itself apart and this city is in the center of it. Like it or not, we need more people to keep this place safe."

"I suppose that makes sense, but how can I even know for sure that you would be willing to do that?"

Shortbeak threw his arms (Talons? Forelegs?) up. “Oh, for Celestia's sake, we let you inside, didn't we? If we had a problem about allowing the rest of your alien friends in we would have put a bullet in your head the moment you came into view!“ Now the guy was pissed off, Frost tried to calm him, but he kept going. “Look, just think for a moment what we're offering, this is the biggest city nearby, anywhere else is at least a week of travel away and I'm offering you the key to it, are you really going to throw that away?“

Shit, he’s right, we could really use all of that. While I doubt they have some of the more technological advanced stuff, we could still use the medical supplies and perhaps even get some spare parts for our weapons and vehicles. Like it or not, the tools inside this place would come handy on the long run. Still, it will come at a price that I don’t know if we can pay.

I looked away. “Alright, but why us? We barely know each other.”

“Why? Because right now we are too deep in a shithole to care about it,” He explained, “We are trapped inside the square, surrounded by hostile gangs while the confederacy slowly advances. There isn’t enough time to be picky, and right now you are the safest bet.”

I let out a sigh and brought a hand to my head. “I… I guess I understand, but even if we do agree, what kind of job are we talking? How exactly are we supposed to secure this region?”

This time, Frost decided to step in. “It doesn’t have to be a full-scale war, if that’s what you’re worried about,” He assured me, “If you can help to keep some of the raider bands in check or simply help defend the less protected areas of the city, it would be enough.”

“...Although we would appreciate if you could help us deal with this Militia and retake some of our farms…” The gryphon added.

Well, none of that sound too difficult and I suppose we could spare a few soldiers. It all depends on how things are going back at the base and if we can keep a steady flow of supplies. This will also require more intel about the region and the people in it. We need to know precisely how powerful our enemies can get and what useful terrain features this region has. All of this must be taken into account.

“I suppose this might be an interesting deal, but I still need to bring this to my superiors since they are the ones who decide,” The pony and the gryphon looked pleased with that. “Depending on how everything go, I think we might be able to help.”

I stood up from the chair. “Now, if there is nothing else, I need to get going.”

Shortbeak nodded. “Yes, that’s all; keep in mind what you can gain from this partnership.”

I left the room and made my way back. This was a lot to think about and part of me was inclined to accept. However, this isn’t my decision to make alone and while these people have been friendly so far, we must always keep an eye open for hidden interests. Well, if they do keep their end of the deal, most of our current problems would solved. The reward could indeed be very good.

I kept thinking about this as I made my way through the corridors of the ministry. Despite the decay of over two centuries, the marble on the floor and wallpaper was still impressive. This must’ve been a rich city before all went down.

Eventually I came out in the main hall, which was mostly empty. However, one of the few people there happened to be Snowdrop. Her long golden mane was easy to spot, even in this large room. She also saw me, and came to closer to talk. Meh, I can spare a few more minutes to say goodbye to her.

“Hey Snow, how are you?” I said. The girl seemed uncomfortable for some reason.

“I’m fine, thanks…” She shuffled a little with her hooves. “So I heard you’re going back?” Now that I think about it, I forgot to tell her about this.

“Yes, I need to inform the rest of the guys about what we discovered,” I could feel she wasn’t very comfortable with this. It’s amazing how close she has gotten ever since I met her. I haven’t seen her talking with a lot of people around here, so maybe she lacks friends. Or maybe it’s all just the result of everything we went through. It’s only natural people get closer after going through this kind of journey. “It shouldn’t take long; I’ll probably be back in a few days.”

She looked away for a moment. “You sure you don’t need any help? I can always go with you.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it; I’ve put you through a lot already.”

Snow raised an eyebrow and seemed to be a little concern about what I said. “Look Alex, don’t worry about what happened, I chose to help you and I knew the risks,” Perhaps I didn’t choose the right words.

“I know that,” I replied. “But still, we can make our way back just fine, there’s no need for you to come.”

“Alright then, if you insist…” Snow clearly wants to come, it’s pretty obvious. These ponies have very expressive faces. Their big eyes and brows are constantly moving, as their mood shifts. There’s also the ears, I’ve begun to notice how they also stand up or go flat depending on how the pony feels. I remember hearing somewhere that horses from earth also did that, wonder if it’s true. I never really had much time to deal with animals before the war.

The tone she used spiked some guilt, but I can’t allow this. Having to worry about Barin and my other comrades is bad enough, I don’t want to add Snowdrop into that. However, I suppose I should try to be a little more polite. “Hey, I’m serious, don’t worry about this…” Come on, I need to salvage this, “I promise I’ll visit you when I’m back.”

She seemed a little better with that. “Okay… thanks Alex.”

“No problem, but now I need to go, there’s a long journey ahead, goodbye,” She nodded, and so we parted ways. She’s a sweet person, and I suppose it’s nice to have her as a friend. I wonder how this might go when we find a way back, would we be able to keep contact? I hope so, it would surely be interesting.

-x-

Have I already told you how the outside of Ministry Square sucks? Well, let me remind you, this place is a shithole. There’s diseases everywhere, due to the complete lack of sanitation. Most people seem to live in the ruins of pre-war buildings, none of them in a safe condition; the rest live in poor slums made up of scrap. Every street we turn has gangs of thieves and junkies watching, just waiting for the next victim. Luckily for Barin and I, our weapons, armor and I suspect our sheer size was enough to stop them from messing with us.

Still, it’s also a sad sight. This reminds me too much of the years I spend in a refugee camp, during my childhood. Just how many people might be dying from the lack of infrastructure? How is it like to raise a child in a place like this? Hell, if what we know is correct, most people here might be suffering from radiation poisoning, since they probably don’t have access to clean water and food supplies.

It’s no wonder why the Militia and other armed groups around here are aggressive and corrupt. That is what a place like this generates . I’ve seen plenty of examples back home; whenever things get difficult there’s always a group that turns into savagery. However, I suppose there’s also those who do their best to help each other and improve the situation. Snowdrop and her family, as well as the Blackwatch to a certain degree are not bad people, as far as I know.

Well, the sooner we are out of here, the better. I don’t want to stay a second more than I have. The two of us continued to move on, further away from the center. We tended to avoid the more crowded areas, hoping to draw less attention. That’s not to say we didn’t have an occasional watcher. However, most of the people we came across quickly hid themselves from us. Understandable, if I lived in a place like this I would also be weary of an unknown figure almost twice your size.

I decided to break the silence. “So, do you think we should accept the deal?” I asked Barin. After I rejoined him, I told everything about what happened.

He wondered for a few moments. “Well, these people do seem very resourceful, so it could be helpful to us…”

“Still, there’s a lot to take into account, like how the local armed groups and the confederacy would react,” I questioned.

Barin nodded. “True, last thing we need is to get dragged off in another war,” Does the possible gains outweigh the losses? I guess it would depend on how much we decide to get involved, maybe if we use a small force and only engage smaller threats we can avoid tensions. “Do we even have the men to spare? We still have to search the whole fucking island for those megaspell chambers, not to mention keeping the outpost secure.”

He’s right, this could be a risky endeavor and we still have to search for the megaspells. But I suppose we can have a better idea once we speak with Captain Nicolay, he will know what to do. There’s a reason we he’s the one leading us, after all.

Eventually we made it out of the populated areas, into the uninhabited ruins of the city. Luckily, we didn’t stumble upon any Militia patrols or anything that could delay our journey. We soon found ourselves once again enjoying a quiet dinner inside an abandoned house. This time, we made sure to check for anyone else nearby.

It was a quiet meal, not much to talk beyond what we’ve already discussed. I enjoyed it nonetheless, quiet company is still better than nothing at all. Before we left the square, Barin and I had decided it might be better to travel at night, to lower the chances of contact and to cover more ground. It might not be safe, but I doubt these ponies have night vision equipment just laying around. Hopefully we can get across without having to kill more confederacy rangers. Once we had finished dinner, we continued our journey.

About an hour later after our brief stop, we found ourselves wondering a narrow street. It looked like a residential area, with little beyond small houses. The sky was clear and the moon was shining over our heads, illuminating the landscape. Now that I think about it, it's always full moon, I don't remenber seeing any different cycles. The moon is also a lot bigger than Earth, it's beautiful. Bet this is what the sky in the desert must look like. I wonder what we would find if we had a telescope, what's this solar system like? Are there other planets? What about the galaxy? God, so many questions...

The night was mostly quiet. Sometimes we heard things far away, but never close enough to bother. As always, there were also a few animals and bugs nearby that we often mistook then for possible threats, which got annoying fast. But other than that, things were going well and we made substantial progress. Sadly, our good fortune eventually came to an end. As we walked further into the ruins, we stumbled upon a new threat.

There was gunshot from somewhere. It hit the dirt besides me, breaking me from my thoughts and making me jump back by instinct. Just as we both stopped, confused of what happened, more bullets were fired on our direction. Our training and experience kicked in as soon as we understood what was happening. “Shit! Get to cover!” I shouted, before being hit in the right shoulder by another bullet. It wasn’t a heavy caliber, so it didn’t got through the armor, probably from a small pistol. Something was shooting at us, and we ran away from the road, towards the ruins.

What began as a quiet walk quickly became a gunfight. As each second passed, the number of gunshots rose.

Just like that, in a few seconds we found ourselves under heavy fire, probably from multiple enemies. “Who the fuck is shooting at us?!” I screamed. Barin and I jumped inside one of the houses. It lacked a roof and was partially destroyed but it was the nearest cover. The darkness of the night allowed us some breathing room, as the enemy had a harder time keeping aim at us. I gave a quick glance outside, spotting nothing but a few muzzle flashes. The walls around us were the only thing separating us from a quick death.

Barin was already returning fire. He let out a whole magazine in full auto to suppress the enemy and buy us some time. “Come on Alex, we have to get out of here!” There was no time to think or to make out a plan; we were fighting for our lives against an unknown number of enemies. I saw something moving in the corner of my vision, I pointed my rifle and shot a few times. I didn't bother to see if I hit or not, there was no time. We couldn't stay there, or else we might get pinned down and surrounded. The only option is to run and search for a safer place.

The two of us dashed through the ruins while bullets passed way too close for comfort. Our pursuers gave chase, restricting our movement. We spotted more figures coming at us, shooting all around. To each muzzle flash, we tried to fire back. Barin and I climbed through the rubble, moving from building to building. The state of destruction came to our advantage, providing plenty of cover. The enemy had a harder time climbing through obstacles, since they didn't have hands, allowing us to put some distance between us.

I saw something rushing towards me from a pile of bricks, right besides me. I didn't have much time to react as the pony attacked me, hitting me in chest with all his might. The old wall behind me was the only thing preventing me from falling to the ground. With the air pushed out of my lungs, I struggled to raise my weapon and fire. I pulled the trigger once and by sheer luck the bullet found its mark, hitting the pony somewher along the neck. As my enemy fell screaming (or at least trying to, his blood was getting in the way), Barin helped me up and we continued to run for our lives.

We eventually came out at some sort of supermarket or maybe a shopping mall, a big squared structure. Without thinking, we rushed through the parking lot. There was no other choice but to go inside. Passing through piles of old metal carriages and other vehicles, we went in through a collapsed wall. The interior was dark, dusty and silent. There were several stores along the multiple levels of the building, with a single large open area at the center.

“Fuck, any idea of what’s going on?” My friend asked, as we took cover inside a store. “Who are these people?”

I shook my head, drawing deep breaths as I tried to compose myself. “Not a clue, but I think it’s pretty clear they aren’t looking for some tea…” My body still hasn’t recovered from what happened yesterday. I can feel my chest burning and my muscles strained under the sheer effort I’m putting them through. “They probably outnumber us and I doubt we’ll be able to outrun them.”

Barin didn’t look much better, he had also pushed himself to the limit but at least he didn’t suffer any major wounds. “Then what can we do? If we stand and fight we might end up cornered somewhere with no way out,” But it’s not like we have many options, do we? What else could we do this far from our HQ with no support available? Maybe we could try to slow them down or distract them, make them think we’re heading somewhere else.

“We’re also running low on ammo,” He added. “There’s only two frags left and those EMP grenades, as well as about four mags for each of us.”

I let out a long sigh. “Dammit… there’s nothing we can do, we have to find a way to slow them down…”

He locked eyes with me. “What do you propose, then?” I looked away. It’s amazing how things can turn to shit this quickly. This is not how the night should’ve turned out.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to do. My mind was rushing with thoughts, trying to come up with a basic strategy. Simply taking cover and waiting is out of question, we could be overwhelmed and surrounded. There’s not enough ammo for a prolonged fight so this has to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Well, if we can’t use sheer numbers or firepower to our advantage then maybe we should focus on the battlefield. This place is filled with places we can take cover. There’s old furniture, piles of rubble and the stores themselves. An environment with this many corridors, halls and stores could confuse the enemy. They would need to keep an eye out on virtually all directions.

Maybe that’s the best idea, use this place to distract the enemy. Make them confused and then strike hard. But that also means we need to split up, attack them from different directions. I wouldn’t be surprised if the enemy didn’t know exactly how many people are in here and we can use that against them. Yes, one of us could distract them, make them think the two of us are right up front while the other goes around and flank them. If we put our frag grenades to good use, we might have a chance. It isn't much, just a simple ambush tactic, but it could do the trick.

After some more thoughts, I made my decision. “Alright, I have an idea!”

“Well, spill it out, we don’t have long.”

“Okay, the plan is to create a diversion and distract them while one of us flanks the enemy and hit them with grenades. We know they probably outnumber and outgun us, so holding down in some random spot is suicide, our best shot is to hit them hard in one shocking blow, breaking their morale. We need to cause panic and make them confused.”

Barin nodded. “Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, but how exactly are we doing this?”

“Simple, I’ll take cover above this floor and keep an eye on the hole we used to come inside while you take our grenades and hide somewhere on the sides. Once the enemy arrives I’ll draw their attention and give up the ground slowly, make them think they’re winning. Once all of them are here you will go around and hit them in the rear with those frags.”

He didn’t look very impressed, but he accepted nonetheless. “Not the best plan, but I guess we don’t have much of a choice…”

“Yea, now come on, we don’t have long,” We split up; I went to the upper floor while he hid somewhere. I found a hall filled with obstacles that overlooked the entrance. Perfect, from here I could go from to cover to cover as the enemy pushes forward. I gave a last check, making sure my weapons were ready. As expected, our enemy came inside; I could hear them talking as the entered the building.

Instead of firing right away, I decided to wait and see who they were. As they came into view, it became clear they weren’t confederacy troops (as I had been afraid), but just wastelanders. It made me wonder for a second why they were attacking us. Maybe they thought we were raiders or something. No, that doesn’t make much sense, they probably had a chance to see us before firing. Still, no matter what their reasons are, right now talking is out of question, unless I want to risk giving away my position.

While lacking a military level of organization, I’ll admit these people knew what they were doing. Each of the four ponies watched a different place and they tried to stick near cover. They had their weapons at ready and move cautiously. Figuring this was the right time, I took aim at a unicorn wielding a machinegun.

BANG

My first bullet found his chest, penetrating his armor. As he fell, I let out a long burst of rounds, scattering his friends as they tried to take cover. They immediately returned fire at my general direction. Not very accurate, so I guessed they didn’t know for sure where I was. To my surprise, as I aimed once again, I saw one of them dragging the wounded unicorn behind cover. The other two ponies saw me and provided covering fire before I could shoot.

Alright, time to move. With my position compromised, there’s no point in staying here. Keeping my head low, I ran towards a store to my left. The inside was destroyed, and had plenty of cover. Before my enemy could zero my new location, I took aimed and fired. It was hard to keep track of all targets and I did my best to split my shots between each of them.

There was a click, and I noticed my magazine was empty, forcing me to stand down and reload. The enemy pushed forward and I could hear even more of them coming inside. I fired some more blind shots to keep them distracted. They were closer, I could hear them almost clearly now.

I decided to fall back some more. It won’t be long before Barin does his part of our plan and If I expect him to succeed, I need to keep the enemy focused on me. Bullets zipped all around me, punching holes through doors and furniture. I stood up and fired an entire magazine to suppress the enemy, it was barely enough to allow me to move. I only had two mags left and I was beginning to be overwhelmed, a little more and I won’t have anywhere else to fall back.

At this point, my pursuers were almost on my floor; soon I would lose the advantage of high ground. Even with all this fighting, I still wasn’t sure on the exact number of people coming at me. I guessed to be about five, plus the one I injured. How many will I have to kill this time? No matter what we do, it appears the universe is bend on getting more blood on our hands. To be honest, part of me no longer minds that much, not after what we have been through in Europe. Still, I wish I could better avoid situations like this, I feel nothing but disgust at myself for doing this.

Just as I reached my next cover, something on the battle changed. There was a loud bang, followed by a cloud of dust right behind the enemy. That must be Barin. As the second grenade went off, our enemy was utterly confused and disorganized. I could see them through my scope as they tried to reorganize and engage the new threat.

This is the time to press on and brake them. I began to fire quick bursts at them, keeping them suppressed. Barin did the same, and the will of our enemy began to falter. Now the game had changed, we had the upper hand and they were cornered. However, I made a quick decision and decided to just keep them supressed, instead of seeking fatal shots. Yes, they did attacked us, but something inside me wanted to spare them, I just couldn’t take more deaths.

Finally, their morale broke and they fell back. Barin and I kept firing at them as they got into the open. A few shots found their mark, but my targets were wearing body armor so they weren’t fully effective. One of them was hit on the forelegs, and was dragged away by a unicorn. Eventually, they were out of sight and we were left alone once again in the darkness of the night. I almost collapsed to the floor right there, the adrenaline from the battle still cursed trough my veins and my hands shook. I felt exhausted but fully alert. Some of my muscles hurt, not from wound but from sheer effort.

While this whole affair must’ve lasted less than half an hour, it feels like a whole day. But leaving that aside, we still need to go. As much as I would love to stay here and rest for a little while, those people might come back and we haven’t left the city yet.

“Barin, you still there?” I shouted. My answer came in the form of steps coming my way.

He soon came into view. “Yes, I’m here, you okay there?” I did a quick scan for wounds, finding none. With the exception of some dirt, Barin looked normal.

I shook my head. “I’m tired as fuck, but other than that I’m fine…” I rose to my feet and looked around, “Did we get any of them?”

“Well, I didn’t see any bodies so it’s hard to say,” He replied. “There was a lot of blood, so we probably killed something.”

Not ideal, but there’s nothing we can do now. “Alright, we need get out of here fast, I don’t want to wait and see if they’ll come back, let’s go.”

While we might have won this battle, we are now in a precarious situation. Both of us used a lot of ammunition, plus all of our grenades, leaving us unfit for future engagements. If we stumble upon any other threats or if our previous enemies decide to hunt us down, our only choice will be to run. To make matters worse, there isn’t much we can do about it. Most trade caravans would probably shot first before negotiating and going back to Ministry Square will only delay our journey even more.

I kept thinking on a way to solve this as traveled across the lonely road. The night dragged on and as the hours passed, Barin and I were left with a creepy silence around the ruins of the city. At least we weren’t attacked, and so we managed to reach the end of the city, where we settled for the night. We took cover in an old shop and cycled between sleeping and keeping watch. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was safer. Either our enemy didn’t follow us, or they’re also too tired to do something. In any case, at least we can have a moment of peace. The sun was rising as my final watch ended, Barin assumed from there and allowed me to sleep a few hours. I eagerly laid down and closed my eyes. I had no dreams, I just slipped into utter darkness.

-x-

“So, what do you think that was all about?” Barin asked, as we walked through the open plains.

There were few clouds in the sky. Around us was nothing but dirt and vegetation, and while this place was still mostly empty, there was more life than usual. There were patches of grass in a few places and some trees spread around. This gave the area a warmer atmosphere, not nearly as depressive as the city. It reminds me somewhat of home, much better than the dead road we took when we came.

I shook my head. “No idea, maybe they mistook us for raiders… or perhaps they were some gang who thought we might make an easy prey, could be anything,” Barin and I had be wandering over the last few hours the reasons behind the attack last night. “People around here don’t really need a lot of reasons to shoot each other.”

It was a hot day. I don’t mind, it was nice to feel this once in a while. “Or maybe this was a revenge attack of some sort? They could be part of those refugees we drove away at the clinic, when we first arrived,” It was unlikely, but who knows.

Barin didn’t seem convinced. “What if someone payed them to take us out?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You mean who? The confederacy?” He nodded, “Nah, they might feel threatened by us, but trying to attack us like this would be stupid…”

“You think so?”

I nodded. “They know almost nothing about us, to do something like this would be like kicking a bee hive,” I looked ahead, appreciating the landscape. “Nobody would be stupid enough to attack something without proper knowledge.”

My friend Barin just shrugged. “I guess when you put it that way it doesn’t seem likely, I just hope it doesn’t happen again.”

“Yes, we better keep our eyes open,” I agreed with him. As far as we could tell, our attackers had fled and were not following us, but that still didn’t mean we were safe. There’s also the issue of getting more ammo, we can’t keep walking out in the open like this. If we end up without ammo, we will be easy targets. I'm also carrying the sniper rifle, but it will only be useful if we spot the enemy from afar.

We kept walking for hours without issues. Along the way we passed by rusted vehicles and lonely ruins. There was even a skeleton or two on occasion. Not a single soul in sight. You would think that we might eventually stumble upon a farm or a small village besides the road, especially in a land clearly more fertile. However, I suppose the sheer violence in the region has scared any potential settlers.

To be honest, this is kind of boring. Barin and I didn’t really spoke during this time, so there wasn’t much to do. I wonder how everything is going back home, did anyone noticed our disappearance? Maybe they’re searching for us at this very moment, or perhaps the high command just listed everyone as MIA and moved on. I really hope it isn’t the later, last thing I need is my parents thinking I’m dead or something.

Shit... I hope they're okay, I care about them deeply. My biggest concern is with money, they are both getting old and my father has already retired. In these difficult times people need to be really careful with whatever capital they possess, especially with such a chaotic market and growing inflation. You never know when you might lose your job or when another country will dissolve into anarchy (usually making international stock go into further decline). There's the risk of riots braking out, as well as epidemics and shortages. Little by little, society is braking apart and becoming more similar with this forsaken wasteland.

Well, who knows, maybe the situation isn’t that bad. Maybe things will improve. Even when things look bleak and hopeless, there’s always a chance of everything going back to normal. Still, do I even know what normal is? Most of my life was spend running away from this crisis and trying to survive. Even during the more stable parts, like on my early years back in Russia or the more recent time in Iran were still a far cry from a happy and peaceful life.

Fuck, I shouldn’t be this negative. While there were indeed many dark moments during my life, I still have good memories. I was raised by two loving parents, I have good friends and I was able to study and reach many of my goals. Many people don’t have the same opportunity. Yes, it wasn’t all bad, and I can still dream of getting somewhere better. Once we get back to our world and finish this dammed war, I will keep working and build a better life.

“Hey, did you hear something?” Barin asked, interrupting my thoughts.

Confused by that, I turned to face him. “What do you mean?” I don’t remember hearing anything unusual.

“I don’t know…” He said, narrowing his eyes a little. “I just think I heard something unusual right ahead."

In front of us, the ground was higher, so we couldn’t see what was on the other side. “You sure it wasn’t some animal?”

He thought for a while. “Nope, at least not the critters we have seen so far,” Well, that’s hardly helpful, “I think it’s best if we get off the road for a while, see if there’s anything lurking around…”

I still didn’t believe him, for all I knew it’s probably nothing, but after what happened last night I guessed it would be better to be careful. “Alright, let’s do this, we’ll get somewhere higher and check the area.”

We both scanned our surroundings and moved towards the high ground. I tried to hear unusual noises, which is harder to do so when using a bulky combat helmet (not that I mind, the protection it provides is well worth the setbacks). Because of the denser vegetation, our dark uniforms and body armors stood out easier in this predominantly green environment. Naturally, this means Barin and I need to be extra careful.

Step by step we ascended the hill nearest to us. I began to hear the distinct sound of movement, the dull thuds of feet hitting the ground and foliage. Our position gradually allowed us a longer line of sight that we used to try finding the source of the noise. My heart accelerates, and I grip my weapon tightly, hoping that we don’t end up in another fight. Finally, the two of us reach the top, where we lower ourselves to avoid being spotted.

“Okay, I think we’re dealing with multiple contacts, walking in a slow pace,” I suggested, furrowing my brows as I looked around. “I can’t hear any talking…” There weren’t any clear roads to keep an eye on, and not a single building in sight. They could be anywhere around here. “They wouldn’t be walking on open field, probably sticking to well protected areas…” I kept mumbling.

Meanwhile, Barin was looking to the southwest, to a lower area besides a ridge. He pointed towards a particular spot, “I think I can see something around there,” His words caught my attention and my eyes snapped towards where he was pointing. It was an area covered with rocks, blocked on one side by a ridge and hard to spot.

Something was moving there, several shapes walking in line. I quickly realized those were probably ponies. Lifting my rifle, I looked through the scope to gather more information. It appeared to be a column of about… twenty people or so, with a few wagons in the middle. There was nothing unusual about them, they could be settlers or merchants. I pointed my scope through the crowd, analyzing them.

Ahead of the main group were a few well-armed bodyguards, I could also see others moving along the flanks and rear. In the main body, near the wagons, didn’t have as many guards and most of the them weren’t carrying heavy weapons, just the occasional pistol and machete. The wagons themselves were covered, so I couldn’t see what was inside. For a brief moment, the memory of what I saw on that slaver base passed through my eyes, but I ignored it.

“Well, looks like we got ourselves a small caravan,” I said. Some of them were chatting and laughing. They are probably heading towards Ministry Square or somewhere around there. Would they be safe? What if they encounter the same group that attacked us? There were a lot of hostile and they were well organized. However… these people are numerous and have many bodyguards. They are also armed; they probably know how to handle themselves in fight… Yes, I suppose even if they find trouble, it won’t be much of an issue.

“Hey, Alex…” Barin called, making me stop my observations.

I lowered my rifle and looked at him. “What is it?” He was also looking at the caravan, with an expression of deep thought.

“What if we…” He struggled to find the right words, “Should we try to buy some ammunition from them?” Well fuck, that’s not something I had thought about. On one hand, we are really low on ammo, and who knows what kind of threats we could encounter on the rest of the way? As I said earlier, the last thing we need is to be pinned down somewhere.

“I mean, they’re right over there and they don’t look like raiders or something…” Barin argued.

He has a point, but that doesn’t mean its safe. Even if they are just normal people, our appearance can still cause issues. It wouldn’t be the first time, and I want to avoid such problems. If things go bad it could escalate to a firefight, I can’t allow this to happen. In addition, we don’t even know if they have the proper ammo for our guns. If they do, it certainly won’t be our standard tungsten core, armor piercing bullets. From what I have learned, these people still used lead for most of their weapons; stuff similar to ours was rare and expensive.

I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t think it’s a good idea, for all we know these people could open fire as soon as they saw us,” Of course, Barin didn’t look very convinced. “We can’t take the risk, you know this.”

“Really? And you would have us keep going until we stumble upon a real fight?” He argued, crossing his arms. “You heard those radio stations, the news on our presence have already spread.”

“That doesn’t mean they trust us; even if they know about us doesn’t mean they will welcome us with open arms.”

This isn’t easy, but I don’t want to cause another incident. We are already out of the city and it shouldn’t take long before we reach a safer territory. If we can just avoid combat for at least a day, everything will be good. Yes, I can see this isn’t ideal, but I think it’s for the best. Besides, it’s not like we’re starving to death or something.

“Come on, you know this isn’t a good idea,” Barin insisted. “You really sure about this?”

Not much, but I think it’s better this way. “Yes, we aren’t that far from our goal, we can make it.”

“Alright then, if that’s what you think…”

-x-

The two of us went past the caravan, continuing our journey. Things were calm throughout the day, which lifted our spirits. We also made a lot of progress and the land became more familiar. We were getting close to the safe zone. Walking all this time was exhausting, we only stopped for a short time to eat and rest. However, being eager to reach the outpost helped us to ignore the discomfort.

The night was beginning to fall now and the last rays of sunlight got lower and lower behind the mountains far away in the west. There wasn’t much to speak and our walk was quiet. There were a few houses in the area, probably abandoned farms. Perhaps we can take shelter for the night inside one of them.

Can’t help but to think about my friends back at our base. It has been days since I last saw them and while Barin’s company was nice, I still miss them. Well, at least they’re alright; nothing to worry about. Funny… back at Europe we could never be too sure, not with the constant threats of artillery or airstrikes, not to mention surprise attacks and ambushes. Sometimes it amazes me how we’ve managed to make it this far… even if not all of us did.

“Maybe we should stop for a while? We’ve been walking for a long time now,” Barin proposed. I suppose there’s no problem, we haven’t seen any movement around so it should be safe.

I searched the ruins around us for something suitable. “Alright, guess we could settle in one of these houses,” I agreed. “Maybe a Barn… somewhere safe.”

My friend pointed to a house about a hundred meters away. It had two floors and an overall large size, it would do for now. “What do you think about that place?”

I shrugged. “Eh, no need to be picky, let’s head there,” and so we did, walking at a lazy pace while casually watching the landscape.

We made it just before night came. The inside wasn’t as bad as I had assumed. While the place clearly hasn’t been habituated for a long time, most things seemed to be in the right place. There was dust and rotten food, but otherwise it was a normal home. Barin and I split up and did a quick search, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

The place had three rooms, a living room, kitchen and a main hall. The two of us decided to stay at the hall, where we had easy access to all rooms and could leave quickly if necessary. We placed our stuff on the ground and laid down, figuring it was time for some well-earned rest. I stared at long faded pictures and paintings on the walls, silently wondering how this place had been during better times. It’s a good home and was probably a wonderful place to live at some point.

I looked away, figuring this might be a good time to have a little snack. “How about we eat something?” I suggested. Barin nodded, and so I searched my bag for food. During our time at Ministry Square, I made sure to take a note at the natives's eating habits. To my surprise, the ponies were not strictly herbivores; most of them don’t mind adding meat to their diets when necessary (the gryphons, as expected, had a meat based diet). I asked Snowdrop once about it and she told me her kind originally didn’t do that, but due to the apocalypse and the consequential lack of farmable land, they began to eat just about anything to survive (even other ponies in some cases).

“Hey Alex, what do you think about these ponies?”

I was caught off guard by the question. “What do you mean?” I stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You know, you think they’re good? How do you see them after all that has happened?” For a second, I wondered why he was asking me this. Guess I never really had the time to discuss this with him.

“I don’t know…” I said, unsure how to respond. “Some of them certainly aren’t the nicest people I’ve met and there’s a whole lot of things I still don’t understand…” Well, Snow and her family were okay, and I suppose I could tolerate Bronze Mirage and that bat pony girl. However, I also remember the raiders I’ve fought and that Militia guy who stopped us at the bridge when we arrived. “I guess they aren’t that different from us, in some ways.”

Barin nodded, while he took another bite from his own food. “True, it’s amazing how strangely similar they are,” He moved a little and crossed his legs. “Tell me… how did you got the blonde one... Snowdrop, to help us?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you wanna know?” I questioned.

He shrugged. “Just curious, these people have a tendency to shot first and ask questions later.”

“Well, it’s quite of a long story,” I began, figuring there was no harm in telling him. “Remember when I had to go out with that EU guy for scouting?” He nodded, “Well, as you probably know, we got into a fight inside an old research facility. At some point, in the chaos, we got separated and I had fight alone to escape. The place was filled with raiders and some sort of security robots killing each other. I was wounded and forced to flee into an underground level, that’s when I met her…”

My friend seemed somewhat intrigued by that. I hadn’t been able to tell him this whole story in detail before. “What was she doing there?” He asked.

I scratched my chin. “Well, she told me she was accompanying a merchant caravan that was ambushed by those same raiders. She ran away but ended up cornered inside that very place we were investigating. Having no weapons, she somehow managed to activate a defense system that unleashed those robots unto us. Before you ask, yes, that was a big problem for us but the girl probably didn’t have a choice…”

I took a deep breath, calmly recalling those memories. “For some reason, when we were facing each other, she decided to drop the gun she had acquired and stand down. I still don’t know why… maybe she figured that fighting wouldn't work and it was better to stand down, or maybe she’s just good natured.”

“To make this short, we ventured through the underground and eventually found a way out. She was able to do that memory spell stuff which thought me their language and I convinced her to come with me, you know the rest.”

His eyebrows were raised. “Shit, that’s a… interesting story, to say the least,” He placed his meal on the floor, “What do you think about her now?”

I crossed my arms at that. “What’s this about?” Barin just shrugged. I thought a little bit about this. Snowdrop was… I friend I guess? Despite some annoying moments, she’s a nice company and I genuinely enjoy talking to her once in a while. Sure, it’s still weird as hell to think about this. I mean, I never had much contact with animals, like dogs or horses, so it’s kind of strange to be friends with something non-human. However, as she has proven repeatedly, aside from her body Snow isn’t any different from normal people. There’s no need to feel awkward about this. “What can I say? We probably would still be hiding in the outpost if it wasn’t for her.”

“I think of Snowdrop as a friend, she has proven herself to be reliable and trustworthy.”

Barin said nothing; he just nodded while finishing the rest of his food. That reminded me of my own meal. On my lap, I noticed I had barely ate the top of the MRE. Already feeling the hunger inside me, I continued to where I stopped. The taste wasn’t very pleasant, but this would keep me alive and healthy. Or at least I hoped, the quality of these things tends to vary.

I decided to break the ongoing silence. “What about you? What do you think about all this?”

Barin gave me a quick glance and smirked. “Heh, a small part of me still thinks this might be just a sick acid trip,” We both chuckled at that, “This whole place is just strange, it kind of reminds me when we arrived in Russia, right before the war…”

I nodded, remembering the first days of service on the motherland. Even though I was born there, after so many years it felt almost alien. I remember being both amazed and slightly scared at seeing the massive glaciers that swallowed entire cities. The blizzards were brutal, we couldn’t stand outside for more than a few seconds before something began to freeze. It felt like being on another planet.

This place… I can see the similarities. The climate is also different from what we’re used to and the land is filled with unique dangers and wonders. In addition, all of us are seen as foreigners at best. At least In Russia we were still inside our coalition. Shit, can’t help but to be homesick when thinking about this. Doesn’t matter, we will make through this.

“I just don’t know, with all this we have seen and all the bullshit we went through… at least in Europe we were certain the fight was over. Here, on the other hand, we don’t even know if we can go back.”

I noticed how his voice took a darker tone at that. “I know how you feel, but we’ll make through, I’m sure of it.”

“What are we doing when we get to the outpost?” Guess he wants to change subject.

“We'll just tell them what we discovered and see what they think about the proposal we got,” I let out a quiet yawn, already feeling tired.

Barin noticed that. “Alright, I’ll get the first watch, try to get some sleep.”

Not going to complain about that. As he picked his rifle, I began to get settled on my temporary bed, which consisted of an old couch. They were made for ponies, not humans, so I didn’t quite fit there. The state of decay added even more to my discomfort. However, it’s still better than sleeping on the ground, so I don’t really care. Hopefully tomorrow things will go smoothly and we can jump into the next objective. God, how I miss my home…

-x-

Sleeping wasn’t easy, not as my mind wondered with so many questions. Throughout the night, I found almost impossible to relax. I felt… conflicted, not really sure on how to proceed. This whole trip was made with the objective of discovering more about what happened to us and if there was any way to revert this; we succeeded to an extent, but it’s clear we’ve barely screeched the surface of whatever is responsible for all this. Just how long will this take? For all I know we could be stranded in here for months… or perhaps even years.

We have been lucky so far, having access to resources and getting in touch with neutral parties willing to help us. There hasn’t been a single death on us, but the more we stay here the higher are the chances. Who knows what else might be stored for us on the long road. At least we aren’t in the dark, we’ve gathered plenty of intel about this place so I suppose we could handle whatever it decides to throw at us.

Anyway, I did managed to get somewhat rested when the sun came, despite my internal debate. Morning went as usual, as we ate a quiet meal and packed our stuff. Within an hour, Barin and I were back outside, continuing our long walk. Shame we have to leave such a good shelter, but I guess that’s life. The cool breeze from these early hours was pleasing, even though I couldn’t feel much beneath all my clothes and armor.

At this point, it would only take a few hours walking to reach friendly territory. Both of us were eager to do so and we rushed through the valley. Step by step, with the sun burning above us and the wind blowing east, we quickly arrived at more familiar land. There was little to no chatting, just the desire to get back and finish our mission.

The valley gave way to the coastal area I had first scouted less than a week ago, a few hours after our arrival. From the high ground, it was already possible to spot the open sea, which made me happy, both for indicating we were close to the outpost and from older memories it brought back. I almost wished I could stop for a second and just admire the scenery, but I knew there was no time for that. Maybe I can spend some time here when we're done, who knows…

Well, the first thing on the list is to tell Nicolay everything we found about megaspells and their possible connection with our arrival. Next, we need to debate whether we should help Ministry Square or not. I’ll probably need to tell him about the Confederacy and the little incidents I caused there… not really looking up for that part. He won’t like this, but he’ll know what to do.

If I do get back on the field I should be more careful in bringing supplies, avoid ending up in the same situation Barin and I found ourselves when we left the city. It would also be better if I relied less on local help and instead tried to bring some of our own soldiers with me. Not just for a matter of trust, but because I don’t wish to put someone like Snowdrop through the kind of dangers we often face.

Guess dismissing most of my unit at the clinic wasn’t a smart idea… I should bring them with me next time, plus whatever troops we can spare. Maybe we can set up a small base somewhere hidden in the city and launch operations from there. It would surely be useful to have a safe house up in that area. That would also allow us to stockpile supplies and equipment, making us better prepared to a wider variety of situations.

That isn’t a bad idea, especially considering I will probably need to spend a long time investigating the city. Having to go back and forth to bring stuff consumes people and precious time we don’t have to spare. The more efficient we can operate, the better.

I continued to think about these issues as we approached the outpost. Little had changed on our absence, with the exception of a few extra defenses around the perimeter and a now working shield envelope around the Titan. I guess the guys at engineering must’ve figured how to turn the power back on. It would be wonderful if I could take a hot shower and watch a movie…

Never thought I would be happy to see this place. I felt my heart tighten as we finally walked inside. This isn’t home, but it’s the closest I got. Memories from the rest of my friends flashed through my mind, and a small part of me wished to go see them right away, but I knew that wasn’t possible. The mission comes first, it’s a priority.

Barin and I quickly made our way through the base. A few familiar faces greeted us on the way, which was nice. The two of us entered the Titan and preceded to search for the captain. Nicolay would probably be overseeing things from the command bridge, as usual, so we headed there. The interior of the ship had been cleaned; looking just like it was before our arrival. Still, I can’t really forget what it was like to wonder this place through darkness and destruction. God that was a shitty day, wasn’t it?

The sounds of idle chatting and the low thud of boots overtook most of the hallways we passed. There was always a lot of movement inside the vessel. After taking a few turns and walking down a few corridors, we arrived at our destination. The doors opened automatically, revealing a crowded room filled with monitors and computers. On the far end, was a single big window showing what was ahead of the Titan.

In the middle of all this, I spotted Nicolay. He looked normal, if not a little bit tired, probably from spending too much time making sure everything is going fine. As if sensing our presence, he turn towards us. His eyes widened a little bit in recognition, before his face became calmer and happier. I could even spot a light smirk tugging his lips.

He motioned us to come forward. We approached him and saluted, which he reciprocated. He then sat down at his chair and waited for us to begin debriefing. Guess it’s the time for some good and bad news. Without any more waiting, we began to speak.

-x-

“So you believe these megaspells might be connected with this whole madness?” The first things we told him were about the more relevant information regarding possible answers to our arrival. In other words, we told him about what we had found regarding megaspells and the pre-war military. Of course, Nicolay was skeptical at first, as it is expected when confronted with something as strange as this. It's not everyday you are told a bunch of magical ponies creating a nuke are the answer behind your problems. Eventually, however, as we gave a more detailed explanation and showed some pieces of evidence, he came around.

“Well, to be honest, there’s still a lot we need to look into to confirm this, but right now it’s the most likely answer,” I told him. The captain had reclined on his chair, in deep thought.

He narrowed his eyes. “Do you think someone could be behind all this? That maybe this wasn’t just bad luck?” I was taken aback by this suggestion. While it did passed through my mind, it’s hard to think any of the groups we saw could operate something as complicated as a reality-bending megaspell. "What if someone intentionally activated this device and caused all this mess?"

I opened my mouth but no words came, it took me a moment to formulate an answer. “I-I don’t think so, no, most people around here barely have enough resources to survive, very few would have the knowledge, technical skills or the sheer manpower needed to do this…” Barin didn’t seem so skeptical of that, it was his turn to stare ahead in deep thought.

“I don’t know, those people at Ministry Square seemed well off, and we must also take into account other factions that we know little about,” True, but we haven’t found a single piece of evidence supporting that. “Who knows, maybe some of them just stumbled upon some hidden silo and were somehow able to activate that."

I gave him a flat look. “What are the chances of something like that happening?”

“About the same of being teleported into another planet all the sudden?”

Okay, I suppose he has a point. “You’re not wrong, but…” He gave me a wide grin.

As we were teasing each other, Nicolay let out a sigh and stepped in. “All right, let’s just change topic, we can speculate about this when we find out something more accurate.”

Our talk shifted towards Ministry Square, the Confederacy and other big factions nearby. We spoke about their organization, infrastructure, numbers and just about anything that could be relevant to us. There was also a brief debate if any of them could pose a threat to us, so I spoke about how our brief stay went. That also meant I had tell him about the “incidents” we had with the refugees and the rangers.

Needless to say, the captain was pretty mad about it. He didn’t scream at us (he rarely loses control of his emotions) or anything, he just crossed his arms and stared at us with an expression of utter disappointment. Barin and I were both uncomfortable with that, and I attempted to salvage the situation somewhat. Still, it was clear he didn’t like one bit of how things had turned out. I just hope my mistakes don’t bring any severe consequences.

Nicolay rubbed his eyes “Fucking great… that’s not how things should’ve gone…” I shifted a little in my seat, looking around in an attempt to avoid facing him. “You have been under my command for a while now, Alexander, so I know you didn’t do this on purpose. However, that changes things, this could easily turn into armed resistance to our presence here.”

I let out a long breath and closed my eyes. “I know I screwed up, but I didn’t had much of a choice…” Did I? No matter how much I think about it, I can never reach a conclusion. “Still, I did my best to make up for that and I believe we may have a chance of stablishing a solid relation with Ministry Square,” Of course, I was talking about the deal Shortbeak and Snow’s father had proposed. There was still much to discuss, but it did open the possibility of mutual aid.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, with a raised eyebrow.

I proceeded to tell him everything about the deal. I mentioned how it would be useful to have access to the ministries and how we can use that to expand our search. Nicolay agreed, suggesting how we could trade protection of the city for supplies and raw materials. The conversation got deeper and intense, as the three of us became excited about this. I’ll admit having been somewhat skeptical of the whole thing before this meeting, but the captain pointed out a great deal of benefits this could get us.

There were still a few glaring issues, such as how we were supposed to transport people and supplies back and forth (we couldn’t really raise the whole fucking Titan to do that). How were we supposed to secure the area on a clean and efficient way? This will be hard to do when dealing with those Militia thugs or any other armed factions running around.

“Accepting this could be very beneficial to us, but we must be careful to avoid getting stuck in a long fight,” I said. During this time, the three of us had begun to sketch some plans, trying to come with an acceptable way to do this. “We should also avoid bringing unnecessary attention towards us, it would be best if we only used the minimum of manpower we require to accomplish whatever tasks they need us to do.”

Nicolay and Barin nodded. “True, maybe we could have your own squad plus a few more men? Would ten or twelve people be enough?”

I thought for a while. “Maybe… with a good arsenal and supplies it should be enough,” However, how were we supposed to transport all that? Going on foot would be a waste of time. “Are there any ground vehicles available? Maybe a jeep or a truck?”

The commander shrugged. “Well, given our isolation, I would normally avoid using any of our assets, but given the possibilities here I think we can make an exception.”

“Great, this will make everything much easier,” I said with a smile. Frost and Shortbeak had assured me that they wouldn't ask for anything too complex, so I guessed this should be enough.

“Yes, but I will ask you to be extra careful, we cannot afford to lose vehicles and we also don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

Barin crossed his arms. “With the way things are going on this place, sooner or later we’ll have to pick a side…”

“I’m aware of that, but I still want to avoid that for as long as possible,” The captain turned to face Barin, “Yesterday we lost another crewmen to severe wounds sustained during our arrival, last thing I need is more casualties,” His face took a darker look as he said that. Fucking great, another person who won't be coming back home...

Those words reminded me of Ilya and other comrades I had lost during the war. He’s right, if we want to get everyone home we can’t afford to get too involved with this place. As much as it sucks to see people living in these conditions, we have a greater mission back home. Getting back and finishing this war is our top priority.

-x-

With everything decided, the conversation ended and each of us went our separate ways. Nicolay went organize our new plan, while Barin and I decided to have a well deserve nap. None of my comrades were in the barracks when I got there, which made me slightly lonely, but I that was little to drift me away from my desire to rest for a while. I felt calm, knowing that my job was done, for the moment.

I stayed in my bed for a long time, simply trying to sleep. I succeeded to an extent, no dreams or nightmares, just the usual empty blackness. I don’t know how long I remained there, probably a few hours. When I finally became rested it was already night, and I decided to get up and see how everything was going.

As I rose from my bed, I realized there was almost no movement outside. There was still the constant sound of machinery and I could see a few soldiers wondering, but it was clear this had been a quiet day. Stifling a yawn, I rubbed my eyes and walked to the door. I silently debated whether I should go eat something or search for my friends.

Just as I was about to reach the door, it opened. The familiar face of Dima appeared on the other side. “Hey sergeant!” He greeted me, with a surprised expression. “Didn’t think I would find you here.”

“Hey rookie…” I replied. It was nice to see him; there wasn’t a trace of the insecurity and sadness he had gained after Ilya’s death. I guess these last few days must have been enough to get things right. “Why are you surprised? Didn’t know me and Barin were back?”

He shrugged. “I knew that already, I just thought you would be up and working with the captain or something.”

“Well, we all get tired at some point, even I have a limit.”

Dima nodded. “Guess that’s true… what are you planning on doing for the night?” Good question, I still don’t know for sure.

I scratched my chin in deep thought. Maybe I should give a quick check on the captain, make sure everything is going smoothly, then I’ll just turn in for the night and enjoy whatever free time I have left. “I was thinking about speaking with captain Nicolay and then maybe watch a movie or something… I’ll come find you if I decide to do so.”

“Alright, see you then I guess,” I nodded and moved past him, outside the barracks. I gave a quick glance around and decided to head inside the Titan once more. I decided it was better to check on Nicolay just to make sure everything is going fine. This time, there were much less people inside, and the interior was mostly quiet. I walked straight to the bridge, knowing I would find Nicolay there.

To my surprise, the captain wasn’t there. I asked around to some of the crewmembers and soldiers inside the room. Apparently, he had received a call from our… temporally allies, and was at his personal quarters. I found that strange, it must’ve been something serious. Just hope the Europeans are not wasting our time…

I had never been there personally, but I knew where his quarters were and made my way there. I tried not to think too hard about what this could be. I’m sure it won’t be something bad, probably some extra negotiations on our little agreement. If there was something big going on, I’m sure all of us would be aware of it. I quickly arrived at his door.

“Uh… sir! It’s sergeant Terenti here, do you have a moment?” I called.

It was all quiet for a few moment. “Alexander? Sure, you are just the person I need, come inside.”

I frowned at that answer, but decided not to question it. The door opened, revealing a slightly bigger room. The military doesn’t care much for luxuries, even for officers, but it’s still interesting to notice how Nicolay didn’t received better accommodation than the rest of us. There were a few personal objects scattered throughout the room and some equipment, all of which didn't draw my attention. The man himself was sitting behind a table, which had a computer, some papers and a pen on it. I could hear words being spoken from the computer.

These voices got my attention. They were in English, not Russian. Was he speaking with the EU? As far as I know, everyone in our company knew Russian. “Sergeant, I hate to tell you this, but we have a problem…” Shit.

“What is it?” I asked in confusion. His face was serious, more than usual.

“Come here and sit beside me, we need to have a word with the EU commander,” He replied, while pointing to a chair. I complied, and as I came around the table, I realized he was indeed speaking with the EU commander and a few other officers (including the Lieutenant, if I’m not mistaken) through a video conference. “Captain, would you please tell the story to the sergeant here?”

On the other side of the screen, the European officer nodded. “A few hours ago we came into hostile contact with what appears to be two separate armed groups,” That information didn’t sound too important, “This happened during the early hours of the day, when one of our patrols went to investigate some movement to the west. However, we lost contact with them and had no word for several hours.”

“This forced the lieutenant here," he continued, while pointing to the man in question, "to lead a search party towards their last known location. After some time, they found the patrol… along with several well-armed and equipped hostiles," Could they be confederacy soldiers? This far from Ministry Square? "Unlike other engagements we’ve had, this time the enemy seemed to be experienced and organized, and while Lieutenant Copper and his unit were able to deal with the enemy, they discovered that most of the patrol had been killed in action…”

When he said that, I realized why this was a serious occasion. For the first time, we have lost soldiers on this soil. My mind began to race with thoughts and questions. It couldn't be the confederacy, but I wasn't aware of any other group that could be considered well armed and trained. There was only the Blackwatch company, but they are stuck inside the city and have asked for our help. They must be something new, a group we haven't heard about.

“Only one soldier survived, and he suffered substantial wounds. After a quick investigation, we found out that the people we fought were originally attacking another group of… power-armored pegasi.”

What the fuck? Now I’m really lost here. I tried to come up with something from what Snowdrop told me, regarding pegasi. As far as I remenber, at no point she mentioned a faction with access to power armor.

“We recovered two bodies of them, both wearing advanced power armor and heavy weapons. In addition, they were both wearing uniforms underneath with similar insignias.”

The man paused for a while, allowing me the process the information. “That’s… quite a lot to take in…” I said. This changes things, whoever these new people are, they are an obvious threat to us. If it wasn’t enough to have this confederacy around, now we got two new factions to worry about. Shit, this means we must be extra careful and make sure our positions are well defended. We should avoid going on the offensive… but then how are we going to carry out our plans?

I suppose a small force, such as the one I plan to use, should be able to keep a low profile. Furthermore, as far as I know there aren’t any of them near Ministry Square, so the area should be safe. Yes, maybe I can still proceed with our plan, as long as I make proper changes. “What exactly is the point of this? You could have just sent a message telling us what happened.”

The man shifted a little and looked away. “Yes… I could have, but I’m not here just to tell you what happened,” He looked me straight in the eyes, “I’m here to see how we are going to strike back.”

I moved away from the screen, to a straight posture. Strike back? But that’s precisely what we don’t want to do. We should, by all means, stay low and wait until we figure out what we are dealing with. Ever since we arrived there was a concensus amongs me, Nicolay and the rest of the PAC officers that we should take a careful and secure aproach to the outside world.

I faced Nicolay with an expression of disbelief. His face showed he also disagreed with the EU captain. What that man was suggesting would put a halt on our plans and make it harder to keep searching for the truth behind our arrival. I tried to form a coherent response, but the rational part of me kept getting blocked by the stream of emotions cursing through me. After all the shit I went through, this guy just throws all progress back to zero…

Right now we have a chance to get a useful ally and an open door to a whole city. Attacking powerful factions such as these would shift our entire effort and would draw too much attention to ourselves. Depending on how costly this becomes, it would make impossible to either continue my investigation or sealing the deal with Ministry Square. I cannot let this happens.

Alright, hold on, maybe I’m being unfair here. As much as I hate this, they didn’t start this mess, they were simply swept inside without choice. We may be enemies, but I can understand that losing some of your soldiers like this is never easy and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people advocating something even more extreme. Looking from their point of view, I can see why they would want to deal with this as quickly as possible, because they were the ones affected by it. Losing several men in a single day has probably made them spooked.

Still, I can’t allow them to just throw us into this hurricane. “Nicolay, what do you think about this?” I asked him in Russian. Hopefully none of the Euros know our language.

He shrugged. “I’m honestly just as lost as you, this goes against much of what we were planning,” He placed a hand on his face and let out a deep breath, “And I also weary of going out to fight like this… I know we need to act against such a obvious threat, but not this quick."

“Yes… I can understand why they want this, but attacking without at least gathering more intelligence is probably a bad idea.”

I decided to try giving a proper reply to our temporary allies. “This is indeed a… very complex situation, but are you sure about striking back like this? Do you even know exactly what we might be getting into?” I tried to sound as friendly as possible, hoping to avoid giving the wrong impression.

They seemed to take it well, and for the first time since this conversation begun, the lieutenant spoke. “We understand this might be somewhat… rushed, but right now we are facing a threat of a much bigger scale,” There was a slight edge in his voice, “We are talking about a band of heavily armed people and an unknown number of power-armored soldiers.”

“Who knows what they might be up to? I agree it would be better to take this more carefully, but you know we can’t allow something like this to go unchecked.”

He… wasn’t wrong, but I was still unconvinced. “Look, I understand what you mean, but what you are suggesting is still very risky…” Shit, how can I figure this? “While it’s true that it might be useful to strike before the enemy does something else, we don’t even know how many could be out there.”

“Sigh… I don’t know if you guys know this already, but I recently managed to make contact with a large city-state not far from here, I also found some information that might be connected to our arrival,” Those words seemed to gather their attention.

The EU captain raised an eyebrow. “What does that has to do with our situation?”

“What I’m saying is that I have a pretty solid mission going and I don’t know if it would be a good idea to throw that away in this effort to counter-attack whomever these people are," I explained. Like it or not, we don't have the resources to do both. Yes, we could have multiple small teams doing separate tasks, but we don't have the manpower to multiple large scale operations such as this. "It could be better if we first tried to discover more about them and gather some local allies."

“Do you agree with him?” The lieutenant asked Nicolay.

“I agree that we should give attention to this new development, but I think it would be best if we focused our efforts on what my sergeant is doing, we don’t have the resources to do both.”

For a brief moment, the lieutenant lost his calm. “What if it were your soldiers out there, getting killed by these people?” His tone was stronger, on the verge of shouting, “Are you saying we should just stand by while our men get attacked?”

I tried to reason with him. “I- No! I’m just saying that we should first take a defensive posture, find out more about our enemy and only then we should act!” Can’t he see reason? I’m trying to cooperate with him, but if he keeps pushing for a reckless attack, there’s no way I can agree. “Our priority needs to be on gathering more resources and finding a way back, not to get dragged down into another war.”

He disagreed with me. “There is no time for that! If we don’t make sure this region is safe we won’t be able to search for answers! We need to do this while we have the power to do so, who knows what might happen later?”

This argument continued for another hour and it got increasingly heated. Nicolay and I stood by our point, saying that it wouldn’t be right to throw ourselves into battle like this. We attempted to show them how beneficial it could be if we managed to get aid from Ministry Square, but the Euros were having none of it. No matter how much we tried, they didn’t backed down, they wanted to act and avenge their fallen comrades. A noble, but very stupid idea.

By the end of this, Captain Nicolay told them that they were free to do what they wanted, but shouldn’t count on PAC support. This led to a cold and tense moment, right before the meeting ended and the video feed was cut. Part of me began to worry about what this could mean to all of us. Hopefully this won’t sour our relations too much. I supposed it was only a matter of time before we diverged on something.

“That lieutenant is sure hotheaded…” The captain commented.

I nodded in agreement. “Yes… and it will probably get him killed at some point.”

“Let’s go, we need to finish the preparations for your next assignment.”

Footnote: 50% to next level

Author's Note

Finally got this chapter done...

I had over 10k words written for months, but because of college stuff and life in general I was unable to finish this until now. Hope you all enjoy, please leave a comment and point out any mistakes.

Next chapter is an interlude and much smaller, so I hope to get it up sooner.