On our last night before we were due to leave Lund, and the last night of our shore leave, with Aurora by my side, I paid a visit to the engine crew common room, located in our crew car.

(The engine crew common room wasn't really a room at all, but rather an alcove. It had two couches, a few chairs, a coffee table, a mini fridge filled with sodas, hot dogs, pizza rolls, and other items to keep cool, a card table, and a counter with a sink, a microwave, a hot plate, and a coffee pot, while several drawers and cabinets contained chips, popcorn, boxes of mac and cheese, and tons of other junk food, as well as a few pots, pans, and other cooking utensils for cooking on the hot plate with, and there was even a small oven built into the end of the counter. It was here that most of us who crewed the engine took our breaks. All 3 engine crews had their own crew car, with its own common room).

Inside when I got there were Todd and Alex. Todd was reading a book, and Alex was lying on a couch, listening to his iPod.

"Hey guys."

"Oh, hey Leopard, hey Aurora."

Aurora barked a hello.

I looked up at the clock on the wall. The time showed 9:47pm. Tomorrow, June 2nd, at 7am, our train would pull out; first for Alamo, Nevada, then three days later, we would reach Boulder City. Then we would fight our way to Henderson, and then finally, on June 8th, our attack on Vegas would begin.

I turned back to Alex and Todd. "So, what do you guys think? How much longer will the war last?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno. Most likely, even if we bag Vegas, they'll keep fighting to the last stronghold."

"That's what Don's afraid of too. He's tried to reach out to Demetria and her advisers, but his requests for a meeting, even by Skype, have been ignored."

Todd sat back in his chair. "Hey Leopard?"

"Yeah?"

"Are the rumors true? Did you really meet Demetria face to face?"

I froze. In all honest truth, I had a MAJOR past with Demetria, as well as her older daughter Carla. However, males who had been with the Futas before were sometimes seen as traitors, so I was forced to cook up a story. I then sighed, and repeated that story.

"Yes, the rumors are true. 4 years or so ago, way back when WW6 turned into the Second Cold War, I was captured in South Dakota, and became a janitor at a Futa government building there. One day though, I was walking through the halls moping the floors, when I accidentally bumped into someone.

'Oh, I'm so sorry Mistress! Please forgive me!' I then looked up, and I saw her. There she was, Empress Demetria herself! Dressed in very light, white robes, with her soft brown hair flowing down her back. Her brown eyes never left mine. I was absolutely petrified. No males were even allowed to look at her. I had just committed a capital crime, punishable by death!"

Todd stared at me wide-eyed. "W-what happened then? I mean, obviously you didn't die, as you’re still here, but still, what happened?"

I took a breath before continuing. "Well, for the longest time, nothing happened. However, once her escorts realized that I was looking at their Empress, their GODDESS, they made the move to seize me. However, before they could, Demetria stopped them.

'No', she said softly, 'Do not harm this one. He has done nothing wrong. All are awed by my presence.' I was still looking down at the ground, trembling in fear. Suddenly though, I felt a hand on my chin. Gently, Demetria turned my head upwards until I faced her again.

'Do not be afraid, My Dear. I will not hurt you, nor will I allow anyone else to hurt you. Tell me, what is your name?'

'Um.....S-Scar. My name is Scar.'

'Not anymore, Dear. From henceforth, since I see that you have patches of black fur that resemble spots, you shall be known as “Leopard”.’ She then kissed me gently on the forehead. 'Now go forth Leopard, go forth and enact my will!'

'Um, what is your will, Empress?' I asked her.

'My will is that the floors of this government building should be clean, cleaner than they've ever been! Do you understand?'

I nodded. 'Yes, My Empress, I will obey!' I then got back to work on the floors."

When I finished my story, Alex and Todd stared at me in absolute shock. They had always heard stories of other males who had met Demetria, such as Major Jeff Coleson, Major Don, and Jim, but never anyone like me.

Finally, Alex said, "Wow, um, out of everyone else on this train, I never would have ever guessed that someone like you would have ever met Empress Demetria."

I shrugged. "It was one of those one-in-a-million chance things. I was just in the perfect place at the exact right moment." (I HATED to lie to my good friends, but yet there was no other choice. They COULD NOT know the full truth about my past yet!)

We both talked about this for a while longer. Then, at about 11pm, we all knew that we would have to go to bed, as our train was due to leave at 7am, and we would have to be ready to go before then.

After saying goodnight to Alex and Todd though, instead of going directly back to my cabin, I went instead to the Secondary Command Center, located at the front of the car next to my room. After opening the door, I went inside, and turned on the lights.

It had been a while since this command center was last used. In the center of the room was a large digital map, with a number of computer stations for weapons direction and battle assessment close to the walls, as well as several radios and telephones used for battlefield communications. The room also contained a large table and chairs for meetings between the train's officers, complete with a projector for showing pictures and videos on a nearby wall. A grated skylight and 4 windows with bullet-proof glass provided light during the day, while regular electric lights provided light at night, and there were plenty of regular maps on the walls as well.

"Are you in here DELCI?" I asked.

I saw a computer turn on. "Yes, I'm here Sir. I'm here, I'm there, I can be anywhere and everywhere on the train at once! Except for the engine though, that's all manual control."

I nodded. Ever since WW3, DELCI had been our AI. I helped save her from being destroyed in WW4, and she was returned to a base in New York after WW5. She performed calculations for WW6, and once the Battleship Express came into existence, she became a part of the train as well. Now here she was, 17 years old, and still just as young and frisky as always.

"Are you ready to kick some more Futa ass DELCI?"

"You bet I am!", She giggled, "When was I ever not?"

I thought for a second. "I can't really think of a time off of the top of my head, so I'll just take your word for it!"

I then pulled over a chair to one of the consoles, and decided to try something one last time. "Hey DELCI?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Could you try one last time to patch me through to Vegas? I know that it failed in the past, but why not try one last time?"

DELCI wasn't so sure that that was a good idea, but she nevertheless gave it a go. On a secure channel, she basically put me on Skype, direct line to the Luxor Hotel, aka the Imperial Palace, aka the Palace Luxor. To my utter shock, somebody answered!

"Hello? Who is it? What do you want?"

I looked, and sure enough, it was her. She was wearing a sheer white nightie, and nothing underneath. Her long brown hair hung down her back, and she looked rather sleepy. Demetria, the Empress of the Futas, and the one I had once lived with for a time during the Second Cold War.

I took a deep breath. "Hey Mom, it's me."

She looked into the camera with shock. Then she smiled. "Oh, hey Sweetie. How are you doing?"

"Hmm, not too bad; just getting ready to come and see you."

"Oh? And when are you gonna do that?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I guess whenever they tell us to, which will be very soon. You are going to be getting out of there, right Mom?"

Now it was her turn to shrug. "I dunno Sweetie. After all, Mommy has to defend her Empire, or what's left of it. However, I do plan on you 'capturing me' at the end of the battle!"

I laughed a bit. Demetria had always been rather sweet on me. Even though she was old enough to be my mother, she looked like she was in her early 30's. She'd always been like a mom to me since adopting me, even though we were supposed to be enemies. I hadn't seen her in person for several years now, but we still Skyped every now and again. The last time we met in person was in Nebraska, and it was on that night that she promised to do what she could to end the war. Demetria was so kind and benevolent; not like a Futa at all. (Maybe that's because she's a Herm, but that's besides the point!)

I sighed. "Just get to somewhere safe Mom, and I'll come find you when the battle is over. This last one should hopefully take care of most, if not all of the last high-ranking Futa Military officers, leaving only the junior officers, and the military personnel in California, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii."

She smiled. "I hope it will too Sweetie. Anyway, I have to go, but I'll see you again soon!"

"Ok, bye Mom."

"Bye!"

I then hung up. From my pocket, I pulled out a picture of us together. It was taken before WW6 resumed in 2026, and it showed us hugging. We were both nude in the picture, and she looked so beautiful.

"So beautiful. Thank you DELCI."

DELCI seemed to scowl. "You know that I should turn you in for treason, right? Fraternizing with the enemy is a capital offence! However, your efforts have saved lives on both sides, so I guess that I'll let it slide."

I nodded. "I know, so I thank you for not doing that. Anyway, goodnight DELCI."

"Goodnight Sir."

I then left the room, and went next door to my quarters for the night.

Sure enough, the next morning at 5:30am, my alarm went off. After I was up, dressed, and had eaten in the dining car, the time had come to get everything ready to go. We were given our final briefings, and told that we would be briefed one last time when we reached Boulder City.

"But until that time", Major Don told us, "We have work to do, so let's get to it!"

We all did so. Our train was in tip-top fighting shape (aside from still not having the mini phalanx cannon that was supposed to be mounted on the roof of the old pillbox on the front of the train. It was still being tested, and wouldn’t be ready until after the Battle of Vegas), and was currently being resupplied by our faithful supply train, Iron Glory. Iron Glory was a dark-colored, Union Pacific 4-4-0 coal-fired locomotive that dated back to the Wild West Era.

From the very beginning, she had been the supply train for the Battleship Express. She ran coal, water, foodstuffs, ammunition, and other vital supplies, was capable of running blockades, and that engine and its 12 cars had clocked up a grand total of over 4 million miles in their service careers! Iron Glory hooked up behind us for the trip to Boulder City.

Unfortunately, on Track 4 next to us, stood a train all of us wanted to forget about. The engine was Southern Pacific Daylight 4449, and it pulled a war train that consisted of machine guns, mortar launchers, grenade launchers, missile batteries, and a few artillery guns. This train was commanded by Commander Tim Curry, the older brother of Major Don Curry. It was known as the "Wabash Cannonball", and was the most infamous war train, after the Battleship Express of course.

(Why was the Wabash Cannonball so despised? Well, it's because they were dangerous, and not in a good way. Think of it like this; the US Forces are like the Rebel Alliance. We answer to our superiors, and have accountability. Tim and the Wabash crew on the other hand, are like Saw Guerra and his partisans. They answer to no one, and have no accountability. They're basically terrorists with a cool train. Tim and Don were also bitter rivals.)

At exactly 7am, we all pulled out. I was driving the Battleship Express, Lt. Daryl Meers was driving Iron Glory behind us, and behind him came the Wabash Cannonball. Our destination was first Alamo, Nevada, then Boulder City, and then Henderson. Finally, our last stop would be Vegas itself.

At first, everything went smoothly. We pulled out, and there was nothing but us, the trains behind us, and the wide-open desert. Then however, there came a problem. As we rounded a curve, Todd noticed that the Wabash Cannonball was too close to the back of Iron Glory.

He picked up the radio. "Hey! Wabash! You're too close to Iron Glory! You need to back off, now! Go a different route to Boulder City!"

Someone picked up the radio, and was maybe about to say something, but then had the radio snatched from them. An older male voice said, "We acknowledge BE. We're taking a different route. See you in Vegas!"

With that, the train began to dip behind us a bit, before they disappeared over the horizon.

"Huh." Todd muttered. "That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be."

I shook my head. "Don't get your hopes up just yet Todd. They'll be back. The Wabash Cannonball always comes back!"

Todd looked down, and then back up at me. "Hey Leopard, I was wondering, who's going to be driving the train when we arrive in Vegas?"

I sighed. "Not us, unfortunately. Don decided that he wanted Joe, Frank, Carl, and their two guards in the cab."

"Well then, where will we be?"

"Most likely at other posts. I'm hoping to be assigned to the Secondary Command Center."

"Yeah, me too." Alex added. "That way we'll be able to see everything that happened, and if anything goes wrong, we would be able to quickly climb up to the engine and take control, especially considering that there's only two large coal cars, the massive tank car, and the tender in front of our bunk car where the SCC is located."

I nodded, and we all got back to focusing on the job at hand.

The next couple of days were nothing but a blur. After fighting against Futa Air Force units, we managed to arrive in Alamo on June 3rd, almost right on schedule. The city fell by that night, and before we could blink, we were on our way again, and we'd killed maybe another 3,000 Futas to add to our record. Unfortunately though, the tracks from Alamo to Boulder City were positively a highway of death as desperate Futas threw everything that they had at us.

"Keep all weapons online and ready at all times!" Don warned us. "You never know where or when they could strike next!"

Don's words echoed through our heads as we kept fighting. We had to deal with it all; foot-soldiers, tanks, gunships, jet fighters, railroad blockades, artillery guns, missiles, rockets, homemade bombs, mines, the full 9 yards. In fact, it got so bad that all of us were praying to God that our gun barrels didn't melt from constant use, or that the train flew to pieces because of the constant vibrations of seemingly endless gunfire! In fact, when the shifts changed, the Primary Crew came up to the cab first, and then we of Secondary Crew crawled back to the rest of the train, as there wasn't time to stop! We all then manned machine guns, and AA guns, and gave the Futas the works.

"THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO SEE BOYS!!!! SHOW THEM THE AMERICAN FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!!"

"Yeah, Jim's right everyone! Keep going! We DO NOT retreat! We've come WAY too far to fail now!"

Finally though, everything stopped. The Futas had either run out of people and machines to throw at us, or they were saving everything else for Vegas. In total, the numbers were staggering. 255 tanks demolished, with a further 175 disabled. 59 gunships were blown up, and another 55+ damaged. 43 jets were shot down, and 60+ were damaged. 19 railroad blockades were plowed through, 7 damaged sections of tracks were avoided at the last second, 4 explosive-laden Kamikaze trains were stopped or derailed, and an estimated 37,500+ Futa were killed. For us, only 35 crewmen were wounded, 7 seriously. Our train did suffer damage, but considering the odds that were just stacked against us and Iron Glory, what we had just done was absolutely insane.

However, it left us with a haunting question. If the Futas had fought like that now, and they didn't seem to have anything left to lose, what could possibly be waiting for us when we reached Las Vegas?

On June 6th, we finally reached Boulder City. The city itself had already been secured, courtesy of the 3rd Army Division, accompanied by the 7th Marines, and the 5th Air Force; the same groups who had assisted the Night Stalkers with securing the Hoover Dam, and protecting Nellis AFB. The tracks were cleared to Henderson, which was just outside of Vegas.

On that final night, none of us were able to sleep very well. We all knew that we could be attacked at any time. Aurora jumped up on me in my bed, and I held her close.

"It's getting near to the end Aurora, can you feel it?"

She nodded a bit. "Yeah, I can feel it. It's scary."

"I agree. It really is scary, isn't it? We're so close that we can actually see the lights of the Vegas Strip way off in the distance. At any time they could sound General Quarters. Anyway though girl, we should try to get at least a little bit of sleep. After all, tomorrow you can get suited up in your war-suit again. Won't that be fun?"

Aurora yipped softly, but happily.

"Yes it will be. And you know what else?"

Aurora looked at me. "No, what else?"

"We might get to see Mom again. Won't that be nice?"

Aurora looked at me oddly. For most of her life, the only 'mom' that she had ever known was Lilly. Now that she was dead, Aurora could never quite figure out who I was calling "Mom".

"Yes, hopefully Demetria will make it out of that mess alive, and we'll come get her." I then fell asleep on that note.

On the other end of that spectrum, up in her palace, Demetria looked out of a window at the city below her. Most of the city's residents had already been evacuated to California by rail, and her military forces had moved in, and fortified everything.

"It won't work", Demetria said softly to herself. "My son and his unit will come in, and take this city for their own. I'll surrender to him, and let him take me prisoner. Then maybe, just maybe, we'll FINALLY have peace at last!"

Not too far away from Demetria though stood her younger daughter, General Stacy Rikker. Not too long ago, her big sister, General Carla Boudica, one of the fiercest officers the Futas had, was believed to have been killed in the Battle of Austin, in Texas. Now she wanted her revenge. Not for her sister though, (Stacy HATED Carla!) but for her own forces that she lost.

She'd heard what Demetria had said, and she knew that her time had come. "Ok, now that does it." She thought to herself. "My Mom has officially gone senile, and is no longer fit to rule!" She then picked up her radio. "Rey? Rey! Are you there?"

"I'm here Stacy, what is it?"

"I 'hate' to have to be the one to say this, but I'm afraid that Mom has gone senile. She's seemingly preparing to surrender."

"So, um, does this mean.....?"

"Yes! Begin preparations for Operation Fireball! This war of theirs ends tomorrow! For too long those f@#king Americans have been taking back our hard-earned gains, but no more! Their deaths will mark the end of the Male-Rebellion, and the return of the Futas to power!"

"Yes Stacy, right away!"

Stacy then left to go make her own preparations for the upcoming battle.

The next morning, all of us were up at close to 4am. At sunrise, which was close to 6am, we would commence the attack. I got up, used the bathroom, and then got dressed. I pulled on my dark blue tunic, then my darker blue pants with shoulder straps, then my gray knee, elbow, shoulder, shin, chest, back, arm and thigh armor, secured my codpiece to my groin, tied my typical black bandanna around my neck, then pulled on my black boots, fully loaded my ChesterTon M16 rifle and Glock 9mm, and lastly, put on my helmet with goggles.

Once I was done with myself, I then turned my attention to Aurora. After brushing her fur, I then helped her into her "battle suit." Designed specially for her, it basically turned her into a mini killing machine, while almost fully providing her protection. It was the same blue, darker blue, and gray colors of my uniform-armor, and it consisted of a helmet, full body armor, armored legs and boots, tail armor, goggles, and a respirator. For armament, the suit had a mini-gun, as well as an advanced sniper rifle. It also had missiles, grenades, and even a small, (well smallish!) nuclear-tipped projectile, capable of a 1 kiloton yield. Also, the suit also made use of special technology that, in addition to knowing how to handle the weapons, it enabled her to use them, with some help from DELCI of course!

"Are you ready to go now Girl?" I asked her.

"Oh yes!" She said in her usual sultry voice, "Let's go kick some ass in......um, where are we going again Master?"

"We're heading to Las Vegas, although we'll also be taking Henderson as well."

"Oh, ok. Well then, let's go kick some Futa ass in Las Vegas and Henderson!"

I laughed. "I couldn't agree with you more Aurora, let's go!"

Sure enough, just before we were all ready to pull out, Don called us together one last time.

"Ok boys, this is it. Today marks the end. The end of what, I don't know, but the end of something. Today, either the Futas get their backs broken permanently and we get their final surrender, or we liberate Vegas, kill all the Futas, and then finish the drive to the Pacific before we wait for the orders to head up to Canada, and ultimately Alaska." He looked around at all of the faces. "It's been a long road that we've taken together. From Grand Central Station in New York, to our first base in Illinois, to St. Louis, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Branson, Little Rock, Des Moines, New Orleans, St Paul, Minneapolis, Sue Falls, Bismark, Omaha, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Corpus Christie, Denver, Cheyenne, Casper, Butte, Santa Fe, Phoenix, Boise, Salt Lake City, Lund, and everywhere else in between that I missed. We've been there and done that. All of us, together with our train, and other US Armed Forces, we made the IMPOSSIBLE happen!"

We all cheered for that.

"However! NONE of this would have been possible if God had not been with us! Without Him, we would still be slaves of the Futas! He gave us hope, He have us something to fight for! He gave us the strength to overcome our enemies! So, before we go, if you are willing and able, let us say a prayer of thanks."

Don then got down on one knee, and others who prayed to God as well, including myself, all did likewise. After saying a prayer of thanks, as well as praying for protection, and success in our endeavor, we all went to our battle stations.

As previously stated, Big Boy 4009 was to be driven by 1st Engineer Joe Dixon, accompanied by 1st Fireman Frank Otis, 1st Brakeman Carl Vinson, and their two engine guards. Todd, Alex and I were being sent to the Secondary Command Center, and our guards Fred and Andy were stationed at the guns on the roof of the dining car just behind us. (We were the 4th car from the engine, they were 5th). Everyone else got to their stations, and began their final systems checks.

All around us, the Army, Marines, and Air Force were doing likewise. We also got word that our Navy was doing battle with the Futa Navy off of the coasts of Oregon and California, both drawing more attention away from us, as well as cutting off Hawaii. Then, the clock struck 5:45am. Time to move out.

The general in charge of all US Forces, 31 year old General Charles Sumner, then addressed us all. "Ok everyone, now the time has come to move out. Go! Retake Vegas and the surrounding area from these heathens! Make them burn, and remind them that they messed with the wrong country! Now then, cue the music, AND MOVE IT ON OUT!!!!!"

Someone popped in the tape, and everyone got ready to go, and then we moved out.

We arrived on the scene in about 10 minutes, and with the first lights of dawn beginning to show, we all moved into position. It was decided that the Battleship Express would stay outside of the city and provide heavy artillery where needed, and Iron Glory would be backing us. The first ones into the city would be the Marines from the 5th Division, followed by the 7th Army. They would be protected by us, and the Air Force units, which were also conducting bombing missions over Vegas. If all went well, the city would be ours in less than two days. At the sounding of General Quarters, we all scurried to our stations. Todd, Alex and I got to the SCC, and Aurora was with us. Don oversaw everything form the Primary Command Center (PCC), and then a final systems check was performed.

"Ok, all stations report in. What's your status, over?"

One by one, all stations reported in. From the engine, to the machine guns, to the AA guns, to the missile batteries, missile launchers, 16in guns, railguns, radar stations, drone control stations, and even the missile launchers on the work caboose at the back of the train. We were all ready.

"Just awaiting your orders Don." I reported from the SCC. "Nobody else can fire unless we fire first."

Don took a deep breath, and then smirked. "LIGHT 'EM UP BOYS!!!!"

That was all it took. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for a while after that. All projectile shells and missiles seemed to take an eternity to leave their barrels and launchers, and head off towards their targets. Alex Todd and I had our eyes glued to both the digital maps and computer consoles, and to the thick, bullet-proof glass windows of the SCC, which had just been cleaned during our last refitting and shakedown in Lund.

"Holy Hell! That's some awesome firepower!"

I nodded. "That's why we're the flagship of the RWD Todd, never forget that!"

For a few more minutes, the barrage continued. Then the air and ground units began to move in, and our guns switched to strategic strikes. If a building, fortification, weapon emplacement, or trouble spot needed to be hit, we were all over it like green on beans! Very rapidly, the smoke began to rise from Vegas. There were constant explosions, air-raid sirens wailed, and as we watched, the city seemingly began to go into its death-throes.

"BE, BE, this is Sergeant Carlos of Bay Squad! We're being pinned down by heavy fire coming from the Stratosphere Casino Hotel! The Futas are also using the......um........ Skypod at the top of the Stratosphere Tower next to it as a massive observation/artillery spotting platform! Is there anything that you can do about that, over?"

I picked up the radio. "Sergeant Carlos, this is BE, we read you loud and clear. Tell your boys to keep their heads down, and enjoy the fireworks!"

"Roger that BE!"

I then got in touch with one of our main railguns. "Railgun 1, this is the SCC. It seems that we've got some pesky fire coming from the Stratosphere Casino Hotel, and the Stratosphere Tower next to it is being used as an artillery spotting platform. Can you take care of it, over?"

"SCC, this is Railgun 1, we copy. We have the coordinates, firing now!"

Sure enough, moments later, we felt the shock as a shell was fired. The shell then flew through the air for a minute or so before impacting with its target.

"WOO!!!! BE, this is Sergeant Carlos again, direct hit on the Stratosphere Tower! Whole damn thing collapsed sideways, and flattened the hotel next to it where the fire was coming from! Great job!"

"Thank you Sergeant, glad to be of service! Keep up the good work out there!"

"We will Sir! Bay Squad out!"

About an hour or so later, the battle began to come right to Demetria's doorstep, literally. US Forces were now only a few blocks away from the Imperial Palace, aka the Palace Luxor, aka, the Luxor Hotel. With the battle raging all around them, Demetria, her advisers, her servants, and all others still inside the palace made ready to make their escape. Demetria herself was waiting close to what used to be the hotel's lobby when one of her servants came running.

"My Empress! Come on, we've got to get you out of here! The city is lost!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" Demetria yelled as she ran along after her servant, with others following along behind her.

Their destination was a secret underground train station underneath the Palace where Demetria's private train would take them all farther West. As they ran, the whole building shook from nearby explosions. Windows shattered, chandeliers, railings, picture frames, dishes, ceilings, and other things began to fall down, and the building became more and more unsafe every minute.

"Come on! We have to make it to the train!"

They kept running, but they never made it. Just before they could, a combined hit from our 2nd railguns, and our 2nd 16in. guns slammed into the Luxor, causing a large section of it to collapse.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Everyone screamed as debris fell on top of them.

By the time that the rubble was pulled off of them, 5 advisers, 9 servants, and 3 guards were dead, and a further 9 were wounded. Demetria herself was shockingly unhurt, although completely out cold. As quick as a flash, she and the others, including the wounded, were gently scooped up, and taken down to the basement where the train was waiting.

Once the train was on its way, someone went up further into the train to tell General Stacy what had happened. "So, the Old Bitch bit the dust, and is no longer in command, is she? Well then, before we've wasted any more time, KILL THE AMERICANS CLOSE TO THE PALACE, AND INITIATE OPERATION FIREBALL, NOW!!!!"

"Yes General!"

With that, the worst incident of the war was about to unfold. Trying to kill our soldiers in that area was bad enough, but what happened next was far worse than that.

Meanwhile, back on the Battleship Express, none of us had any inkling of what was about to happen. All of us were too busy celebrating our destruction of the Luxor.

"Woohoo!!! That was the Imperial Palace! Now we're showing them who's boss!" Alex cheered.

I cheered as well, hoping all the while that Demetria had made it out safely. Unfortunately, before we could celebrate any further, something horrible happened. Suddenly our alarms started blaring.

"Um, Leopard, what's going on?"

"I don't know Todd. Hopefully nothing too serious!"

Suddenly, we heard a loud screaming sound, and then Don's voice came over the intercom. "HOLY F@#K!!!! STEALTH MISSILES INCOMING!!!!! BRACE, BRACE, BRACE!!!!!!"

We all knew what that meant. Stealth missiles were the worst kind of missile imaginable, as they were capable of evading both radar and scanners. How Don spotted them at all, I'll never know. Sadly, he just didn't spot them in time.

The train was suddenly rocked by a series of extremely violent explosions. All of us in the SCC were knocked off of our feet. Todd hit a wall, Alex slammed his head against the digital map and got knocked unconscious, and I was knocked to the floor, as was Aurora. I managed to maintain consciousness, and jumped to my feet again seconds later, as did Aurora.

However, I then saw Alex and Todd. "Oh gosh! Guys! Are you ok?!"

I could see that both of them were unconscious. Todd was maybe beginning to regain it, and Alex was groaning, indicating that he was still alive. All across the train, alarms continued to blare. Using one of the consoles, I was able to see where the missiles had hit. To my extreme horror, one had collided with the 2nd railguns, but failed to explode. Another hit just in front of the engine, although it missed both it and the tracks. It was the third missile though that did the worst damage. It had hit the PCC, right where Don and Jim were!

Immediately, I radioed back there. "SCC to PCC! Is anyone alive back there, over?!"

At first, nothing. Then I began to hear radio chatter between the PCC and the medical car. I heard Don's voice say, "Code White! I need medial help up here right now! I've got multiple casualties, Jim among them! I repeat, we need help up here now!"

That did it. First Jeff Coleson, then Lilly, and now Jim. In that one moment, I snapped completely, and there was nobody to stop what I was going to do next. Even though I had no confirmation of Jim being dead, I assumed that he was, and swung into action. I knew that the missile silos located underneath the Palace Luxor was the only facility in Vegas that housed launchers for such a weapon. Demetria disapproved of them, so that eliminated her as giving the orders for launch. Stacy was to blame for this, and now she was gonna die!

"This ends, right now!"

I then used a special override, and took control of one of the 1st railguns. The entire gun was under my control, and nothing that the techs inside could do would override my override. I then inputted a special code that summoned a W50 nuclear shell, and loaded it into the gun!

"1st Railgun to SCC, what are you guys doing over there?! Why has a nuclear shell just been loaded?!"

I didn't answer. I also inputted a code that prevented even DELCI from stopping what I was about to do. The shell had a 5 megaton yield (or so I believed), which if true, was the equivalent of 500x the bomb dropped over Hiroshima in WW2. With the railgun techs still screaming at me, I did the unthinkable, and after targeting the launch silos in the basement of the Luxor, aiming not for the Luxor itself, but for the entrance to the launch facility, known as "The Trench" because of its shape, I became the first soldier to launch nuclear ordnance by himself in WW6.

"SHELL AWAY!!!!!" I screamed.

"LEOPARD!!! NOOOOO!!!!" I heard Don scream from the PCC. "YOU HAD NO ORDERS!!!! BUT NOW IT'S TOO LATE!!!! THEY KILLED OUR TROOPS, NOW THEY FRY!!!!!" I then heard Don give the order for all soldiers in Vegas to fall back immediately. They complied, however, our situation was about to get a hell of a lot worse, as wrecking the Battleship Express was just barely the tip of the iceberg for Operation Fireball.

"General Stacy! Nuclear ordinance incoming!!!"

Stacy didn't seemed phased. "As I expected of them Lieutenant. Now then, where is my Mom?"

"She's on the train with us, maybe 2 cars behind us. She's still out cold though."

"And how far away from the palace are we?"

"Eh......maybe a half-mile or so."

Stacy smirked. "Hmm, close enough. Now then, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM MOTHERF@#KERS!!!!! WE ALL GO UP IN BLAZING GLORY BITCHES!!!!"

"NO WAIT, WHAT?!?!?!"

But it was too late. With those last words, General Stacy pushed the large red button that she'd been holding, just moments before the nuclear shell hit the launch silos in the Luxor’s basement.

"YEAH!!! DIRECT HIT ON THOSE..........." I saw the large mushroom cloud rising over Vegas from our nuclear shell, but I never got a chance to finish that thought. Just before I could, there suddenly came a blinding white flash of light. "AUGH!!!" I was knocked to the floor.

"DELCI!!!" I screamed as I covered my eyes. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!?!"

"It appears to have been another nuclear detonation Sir!"

I jumped back to my feet, only to witness first one nuclear explosion, and then another, and then another!

I grabbed the radio. "ALL FORCES, VEGAS WAS A TRAP, I REPEAT, VEGAS WAS A TRAP!!!! FALL BACK!!!! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!!"

Suddenly, multiple reports began to come in.

"HELP!!! OH GOD, WE'RE LOSING THE HOOVER DAM!!! MASSIVE CASUALTIES!!!! WE NEED HELP OUT HERE NOW!!!"

"THIS IS NELLIS AFB!!!! NUKES ARE FALLING ALL AROUND US!!!! WE NEED IMMEDIATE AID!!!! WE'RE GONNA GO.........!!!!" And then silence.

"MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!! THIS IS AIR FORCE UNIT 5, WE NEED EVAC NOW!!! DOES ANYONE COPY, OVER?!?!?!"

"BATTLESHIP EXPRESS, THIS IS ARMY UNIT 7! WE HAVE MASSIVE CASUALTIES, AND WE NEED IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE!!!! DO YOU COPY, OVER?!?!"

"WHAT DO WE DO DON?!?!" I screamed back to him.

"WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO, OUR JOBS!!!! TELL JOE TO MAKE FAST TRACKS TO UNIT 7’S LOCATION NOW!!!"

"SIR, YES SIR!!!!"

I then radioed up to the engine. "Joe! Joe, do you read me?!"

"I hear you Leopard! What happened?! What's going on?!"

"A nuclear attack, that's what happened! VEGAS WAS A TRAP!!!!"

"WHAT?!?!?!"

"YES! Now then, Don said that we need to go help Army Unit 7, SO GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!!!!"

"YES SIR!!!"

Very rapidly, the Battleship Express began to move forwards, with Iron Glory coming after us as fast as she could. We had every intention of coming to help Army Unit 7, and we would have too, if Fate hadn't decided to intervene. Fate saw our plight, and decided to save us all...........by sending us into another war zone!

Less than a minute after we'd moved out, from amidst the massive dust-storms caused by the explosions, the screaming howl of the wind, and of course the nuclear fallout, a black mass suddenly appeared out on the tracks ahead of our train. None of us saw it coming, and one minute we were there, and the next, we had vanished. Iron Glory followed us, completely unaware of the fate that we had just met with. We were gone...........for a VERY long time.

"BATTLESHIP EXPRESS!!! WE NEED YOU OUT HERE!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!?!"

*Static*

"BATTLESHIP EXPRESS, PLEASE RESPOND, OVER!!!!"

*Static*

The Battleship Express would never reach Army unit 7, nor would it, or its crew, ever be seen or heard from on Earth for a VERY long time.

Author's Note

Whew! That was one heck of an action-packed chapter wasn't it?! It was also really long, but wasn't it worth the read? Why was it so long, you ask? Well, because I had to get the Battle of Vegas done now, so as to end the chapter with them leaving Earth. It wouldn't fit well to have that happen in the middle of the chapter. I had to have everything transition smoothly, and I wanted to leave you with a cliffhanger! Now you'll HAVE to keep reading if you want to know more! *Evil laughter!*

But in all seriousness, I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and are wanting more. I sank so much time and effort into it, and packed it so full of action, adventure, and danger, that I couldn't think of anything not to enjoy! But, I'll see you all in Chapter 4, where, we arrive in Equestria! How will the Ponies react to the Battleship Express? How will the Zebras and Caribou react to it? Well, stay tuned and you'll find out!

Meanwhile, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story, are always appreciated, and I'll see you all in Chapter 4!

ScarFox out for now!