Published 9/2/23, revised 9/3/23
World Building
In the ‘20s and ‘30s robotics, automation and artificial intelligence became advanced to the point where humanoid robots were a common sight. Robots that mirrored the human physique were referred to as droids. There are strict regulations in place to ensure that droids and AI remain non sapient. If a droid or AI should ever gain self awareness, there are provisions in place to grant it full citizen rights, although this has never happened so far. Droids are also employed by law enforcement and the military.
Droids used by the military are far stronger and more durable than a human being. They are built with a bullet resistant chassis and enhanced servo motors, granting a high degree of agility and resilience. They have built in 360 degree visual, thermal and night vision sensors, giving them uncanny situational awareness; it is virtually impossible to approach a droid undetected. Droids are highly effective in close quarters combat or when a situation is deemed too risky to deploy human soldiers. They are programmed with an enhanced AI, capable of making its own tactical decisions and operating with minimal human input, although they are usually controlled by a human operator when possible.
In 2053, soldiers of the United States Armed Forces were deployed with a pair of tactical glasses known as a tac visor. The tac visor is an augmented reality system that performs a variety of useful functions. Tac visors help soldiers see in obscured conditions, highlight points of interest, provide aim assistance, etc. Tac visors can connect to nearby AIs and droids to receive coordinated tactical information to display to the soldier.
During the African Wars, the United States needed a long range armored transport vehicle to move its soldiers across the vast African landscape. The HV43 Rhino was the solution to this problem. The Rhino is an 8x8 heavy infantry combat transport that comes equipped with a hybrid diesel-electric engine. The interior floor panels can be removed and flipped over to reveal solar panels. This allows the Rhino to recharge its electric batteries in the field, giving it a theoretically unlimited range, at least in terms of fuel.
A Rhino can transport a total of twelve soldiers, an integrated AI and an additional four droids. The command cabin of a Rhino has four seats: a driver, a gunner, an equipment operator, and a commander. Although the integrated AI can perform all of these functions on its own if necessary, there is usually still a full crew in the command cabin. The crew compartment of the Rhino has space for eight soldiers.
The front of the Rhino has an angular flat faced design. The command cabin is located at the front of the vehicle and has six periscopes across the width of the vehicle at different angles. The driver has a 180 degree field of view around the front of the vehicle. Above the command cabin on the left is an active denial system, and on the right, a M4 .50 caliber machine gun. There are two top hatches in the command cabin. One grants the gunner manual access to the .50 caliber machine gun, while the other is located in the center and allows crew members to get a better view of the surrounding area when not in combat. Behind the middle hatch is a laser point defense system. Below the command cabin are the front four wheels.
Behind the front wheels are four exterior droid canopies, two on each side of the vehicle. This allows the Rhino to always carry four easily deployable droids. The canopies are protected by horizontally sliding garage style doors. Between the two droid canopies are several footholds granting access to the top of the vehicle.
An 80 mm cannon is placed slightly behind the droid canopies on the top of the vehicle. The main hatch is located at the rear of the vehicle. Above the main rear hatch is a mortar. The Rhino also has several grenade launchers across its armor plating that can be fitted with grenades, smoke grenades, or tear gas canisters.
[https://static.wixstatic.com/media/51f621_305d567cb786486487d2bc9489799559~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_900,h_642,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/51f621_305d567cb786486487d2bc9489799559~mv2.png][https://pietrooperv.wixsite.com/americangate/chapter-3]
[https://static.wixstatic.com/media/51f621_d1e4e0af44bb4515ba47cc1b1984ef51~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_900,h_384,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/51f621_d1e4e0af44bb4515ba47cc1b1984ef51~mv2.png]
[https://static.wixstatic.com/media/51f621_530a6386c1ef4d76b2b93d197647d854~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_900,h_767,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Rhino%20Iso2.png]
The Rhino also has an assortment of utility features.
* Air and water filtration system
* Exterior loudspeakers
* All wheel steering
* Independant suspension control
* Four top mounted deployable reconnaissance quadcopter drones
* Underside deployment bay for ground reconnaissance drone
* Amphibious propulsion system and inflatable flotation devices
Rhinos come in several specialized variants, similar to the old Stryker vehicles from the late 20th century.
The Abrams X tank was designed by the United States in the early 21st century to replace its aging fleet of Abrams M1A2 tanks. Although the Abrams X was designed with forward thinking principles, technology advanced too rapidly after it was put into service. Advances in technology were infeasible to retrofit into existing Abrams X models. Subsequently, the Abrams X was redesignated as the Abrams X1 and the Abrams X2 began development..
The Abrams X2 was designed during the latter half of the African Wars to incorporate new technology into the United States’ main battle tank. Heavily based on the Abrams X1, the Abrams X2 mainly features a large number of minor improvements to most systems. It was cheaper to build an entirely new tank from scratch than to replace nearly every component on an Abrams X1. One notable change from the X1 was the upgrade to a 130 mm main gun. Given that the Abrams X1 is only slightly inferior to the Abrams X2, both are currently in service.
The Abrams X2 has similar automation and AI capabilities to the Rhino, capable of functioning without any human input. It has seating within the chassis for a team of two operators. The integrated AI helps the limited crew perform most battlefield functions.
Author’s note: Sorry for the crude nature of the sketch. I am not artistically gifted.
After I came up with the idea for the Abrams X2 tank, I found out that most of the futuristic technologies I envisioned were already built into the real world Abrams X. Pretty cool, right? Here’s a video if you want to learn more. https://youtu.be/ZkTMH5CC62A
This was the inspiration for the Rhino, although it is a fair deal larger than the PARS IV. https://youtu.be/DoRp1Yhr_xg
Chapter 3: The Battle
Rontak Empire, Standard Year 3148, Month of Air, 3rd Day of Psionics (A/3P/3148)
Duremar Plains, 5 kilometers from the portal, 9:00 AM
Lieutenant General Gallor stood just outside his command tent situated on a small hill. In front of him, Gallor had an excellent view of his encampment. He watched as soldiers hurried around the camp, performing their duties and preparing to face the enemy. Gallor felt immense pride in the army he commanded on behalf of Lord Kushmon. He was honored to be chosen to lead the first true battle against the otherworlders.
Rallek had given Gallor the following troops to use in the first battle.
* 20,000 melee infantry
* 5,000 ranged infantry
* 8,000 cavalry
* 2,000 centaur cavalry
* 2,000 minotaurs
* 500 mages
* 150 wyvern knights
With a total of 37,650 soldiers, this was the largest army Gallor had ever personally commanded. He would have preferred to have more wyverns under his command, given the enemy’s strong magic, but 150 was more than what most commanders had at their disposal. Lieutenant General Gallor was supremely confident in his ability to repel the enemy. His army was on call to deploy into line of battle as soon as the enemy army came through the portal.
Gallor’s plan to achieve victory was simple. He would wait until the enemy came through the portal and then assemble his infantry into a tightly packed line formation. Meanwhile, Gallor would launch his wyvern knights to harass the enemy as they came out of the portal. Wyverns were excellent at disrupting formations and causing chaos.
While the enemy is distracted and before they can get their bearings, Gallor would follow up his wyvern assault with a centaur cavalry charge. Cavalry charges were devastating against disorganized units, centaur cavalry doubly so. Then, his 2,000 minotaurs would charge into the enemy to support the centaurs. A centaur charge into a disorganized formation followed by minotaur infantry was a deadly combo very few armies could recover from.
Lastly, Gallor would personally advance with his infantry and finish off whatever remained of the enemy army, taking as many as possible as slaves, as per Lord Kushmon’s directive. Considering the enemy’s alleged magical abilities, casualties among the centaurs and minotaurs would be heavy. But that's what slaves were for; better them than loyal imperial citizens.
United States, June 15th 2053
New York City, Central Park, 10:30 AM
Daniel was checking his gear one last time before the operation began. After his promotion, he was given command of two squads of marines to lead through the anomaly. Whether it was a stroke of luck or pure coincidence, Daniel’s longtime friend, Sergeant Major Benjamin "Benny" Reynolds, was under his command. Daniel and Benny served together in the African Federation, fighting anti-unification extremists. Daniel had never met the rest of his new squadmates, but everything went smoothly in their mission briefing.
Marines and droids moved about the former city park with purpose and determination. Daniel is no exception. He and Benny are walking towards the vehicle convoy on 86th Street, ready to begin their mission.
As they walk towards the vehicle convoy, Daniel notices a young girl, no older than eight or nine, standing alone by the vigil dedicated to the victims of the attack. She was standing there crying; there was grief in her eyes. She clearly lost someone in the attack, perhaps a sibling or parent. It was a tragic sight that solidified Daniel’s resolve; he will make the people responsible pay for what they’ve done.
The parking lot and trees at the north end of The Great Lawn had been demolished to make way for a line of vehicles waiting to go through the anomaly. Spearheading the expedition were 20 Abrams X2 Main Battle Tanks (MBT), followed by 50 HV43 Rhino Heavy Infantry Combat Transports (HICT). Lastly, there were 15 Hwacha Light Missile Support Trucks (LMST) in the rear of the formation. The line of vehicles was arranged into two columns side by side, and stretched all the way to 5th Avenue.
Daniel and Benny boarded their Rhino together. The rest of their squad was already on board. The other squad Daniel commanded was in the Rhino next to theirs, commanded by Second Lieutenant Emily Carter.
For an armored vehicle, Rhinos were comparatively roomy thanks to their large size, but it was still cramped. They made their way past the crew compartment and up to the command cabin.
Inside the command cabin, there were four seats: a driver, a gunner, an equipment operator, and a vehicle commander. Benny, as usual, took the driver's seat, while Daniel, being in command of the Rhino, took the command seat behind the driver. The front of the command cabin was lined with periscopes offering 180 degree vision. There were also several computer screens showing camera feed from the exterior of the vehicle.
“It's been awhile since I’ve driven one of these bad boys!” Exclaimed Benny. He loved the Rhino. It was his favorite vehicle. As a heavy equipment specialist, Benny had a great appreciation for the complex engineering that made the Rhino an effective fighting machine.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself Benny.” Said Daniel. “You better not flip us over again, like you did in ‘51.”
“You guys actually flipped a Rhino?” Asked their equipment operator, Second Lieutenant Olivia "Liv" Anderson. “How on Earth did you manage that?”
Usually, the on board AI would take control of the Rhino if the human driver performs any unsafe maneuvers likely to damage or tip the vehicle. Daniel described to Liv how Benny, in his infinite wisdom, decided to disable that precaution under the guise of it hampering his skill as a driver.
Daniel explained the key points of the story to Liv. Back when they were deployed in the African Federation, an over eager Benny accidentally flipped their squad’s Rhino on its side. Their CO was furious, camera footage showed it was a completely preventable accident, and put the entire squad on janitorial duty for a month.
Benny replied to Daniel’s mocking depiction of him with a smug and sarcastic tone. “But now that you’re my CO, I don’t have to worry about getting put on janitorial duty anymore. You wouldn’t do that to little’ol innocent me, would you?”
Daniel and Benny shared a quick laugh before performing a systems check. As Daniel called out systems, Liv confirmed their functionality.
“Engine?”
“Operational.”
“Weapons?”
“Armed and ready.”
“Exterior sensors?”
“Online.”
“Droids?”
“Ready for deployment.”
“Onboard AI?”
This time, the Rhino’s integrated AI responded in an flat artificial feminine voice. “Computer standing by.”
Shortly after Daniel finished the systems check, it was time for the President to make her scheduled address to the nation. Daniel watched from one of the mounted screens in the Rhino’s command cabin as President Bennett walked to the podium and began her address.
“My fellow Americans… On June 5th 2053, the United States fell victim to the most devastating terrorist attack since the Golden Gate bombing of ‘32. 8,423 people were killed in the attack, with many thousands more suffering various degrees of injuries. There are still 942 people unaccounted for. After an extensive search yielding little results, we can only assume that they were abducted against their will and taken through the anomaly. I assure you, I will not rest until every last one of our citizens is safely back home. We do not know who these terrorists are or why they attacked us, but I promise you this: we will hold them accountable for what they’ve done. To the brave men and women who are about to step foot through the anomaly, know that the entire nation stands with you on this day. Serve us with distinction, we shall expect nothing less of you. Good luck and godspeed.”
Following the presidential address, Lieutenant General Reed came on the expedition-wide comm channel.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I am Lieutenant General Reed.” He was speaking from his command Rhino, near the back of the convoy.
“A team of droids have already secured the immediate vicinity around the anomaly, but we still don’t know what we’re up against. Therefore, I suggest you all prepare to be in a firefight the moment we step through the anomaly. The enemy may appear to be primitive, but their non-human combatants are still an unknown threat. I don’t want anyone underestimating them, that's an order. Let’s move out!”
The Rhino was filled with a loud HOO-RAH, followed the hybrid diesel-electric engine roaring to life. The doors to the large metal igloo opened up, and the expeditionary force began moving through to the other side.
While Benny was driving the Rhino in formation towards the anomaly, he turned to Daniel and asked, “Hey, ya got a sec?”
“What's up?” Daniel replied.
“You think they got any cat girls over there?” Benny asked.
“Ugh, men.” Sighed Liv, from the operations seat.
Daniel took a moment to think about it, after all, it was a deeply important question. “Well they got minotaurs and centaurs, so hell, why not cat girls?” Daniel and Benny both laughed. Their quick banter helped alleviate some of the tension from being deployed on a combat mission.
The Rhino then entered the metal igloo and the Rhino in front of them crossed into the anomaly. Daniel could see the brightly swirling pink and purple anomaly through the Rhino’s periscopes. As it got closer and closer, Daniel braced himself, though he wasn't sure for what. Slow and steady, the Rhino entered the anomaly, and the glowing swirls passed right through the vehicle.
Daniel held his arm up to his face to shield his eyes from the brightness of the anomaly. Then, in an instant, it passed. Daniel turned around in his seat to see the wall of colorful swirls quickly passing through the entire length of the vehicle, and then disappear entirely. The entire Rhino was now on the other side. It was an unexpectedly smooth ride.
Turning back to the front, Daniel looked out of the periscopes to see vast grassy plains on his right with a few small rolling hills. On his left there was a flowing river a few kilometers away. Directly ahead was a cluster of vehicles; they fanned out to form a perimeter around the anomaly. As the vehicles in front of him dispersed, the augmented reality display on the periscopes highlighted the enemy encampment. “Hostiles detected.” Said the computer. “Distance: Five point zero-two kilometers.”
“We’ve got contacts!” Yelled Daniel. Then he flipped a switch and opened up the Rhino’s rear hatch and shouted to the marines in the crew compartment. “Deploy! Go go go!”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Two at a time, the marines exited the Rhino, running around the sides of the vehicle, and taking up a defensive position on the ground around the vehicles. They were quickly joined by marines from other Rhinos as well. Daniel turned to Liv and said, “Activate the droids.”
“On it.” Liv replied.
All four armored droid canopies slid open. Four droids jumped out of the vehicle in unison and took up position alongside the marines. Benny lowered the suspension on the Rhino’s front wheels, and raised it on the rear wheels to give the top mounted weapons a better firing arc.
Daniel watched as the enemy rapidly formed into a battle line and a bunch of large flying reptiles took to the skies. Then he thought back to the little girl he saw at the vigil earlier. “This is it.” He said to himself. “Time to make those bastards pay.”
Rontak Empire, Standard Year 3148, Month of Air, 3rd Day of Psionics (A/3P/3148)
Duremar Plains, 5 kilometers from the portal, 11:05 AM
Gallor was in his command tent mentally preparing for the coming battle. He planned to accompany his army into battle to ensure he was close enough to relay orders to his men. Aside from having strong magic abilities, Gallor knew almost nothing about the enemy; he needed to be able to adjust his tactics at a moment’s notice, if necessary.
A messenger runs into Gallor’s tent. “Sir! The enemy has been spotted coming through the portal!”
“Then let us meet them in battle.” He calmly replies.
Gallor walks out of his tent and looks towards the portal. He sees many large beasts coming through, but no infantry yet. Gallor was surprised that the enemy could amass an army like that so quickly. It had only been ten days since the portal was first created. He concluded that the portal must have opened up near a beast taming fortress. “Just as well.” He muttered to himself. “Perhaps some of their beasts will survive to serve the Empire.”
Wasting no time, Gallor orders his infantry and cavalry into formation. Gallor spent the last two days drilling his army for this moment. Every one of his soldiers knew exactly what to do and where to go. The army quickly went from the encampment to the line of battle in a most professional fashion. Gallor had insisted General Rallek give him mostly veteran troops.
“Wyvern knights!” Gallor shouted. “ATTACK!”
Gallor began his army’s advance as 150 wyverns flew into the sky to attack the enemy. By now, the enemy beasts had formed a defensive stance around the portal. Between the beasts, Gallor could see only a puny amount of infantry.
As the wyverns flew overhead, Gallor’s army advanced. The centaur cavalry took off across the grassy plains, heading straight for the enemy. Minotaurs followed a short distance behind. They could run faster than humans, but not quite as fast as cavalry. Lastly, Gallor’s infantry marched slowly towards the enemy.
Gallor wasn’t foolish enough to have his main infantry tire themselves out by running 5 kilometers in heavy armor. He cared little if the minotaurs were too exhausted from running to effectively fight. The intimidation factor alone would help route the enemy. The mere sight of a charging wave of minotaurs was all it took to break an undisciplined army.
Everything was going as planned, but then several streaks of smoke and fire flew into the sky from around the portal. “What the hell are those things?” Gallor asked his officers. The streaks of fire then turned towards his wyverns, and flew forward at an incredible speed.
“They’re headed straight for our wyverns!” Someone shouted.
Gallor watched in horror as, one after another, the streaks of light collided with his wyverns in huge explosions. The wyvern knights saw the danger and tried to evade, but it was no use; every one of the enemy attacks killed a wyvern in a huge fireball. Bits of wyvern meat began to rain from the sky in front of the infantry. The ground was soaked red with wyvern blood falling from the sky.
In mere seconds, his entire wyvern force was destroyed. “We knew their magic was powerful!” Shouted Gallor. “But we must push on! For the Rontak Empire!”
“For the Rontak Empire!” His army shouted back.
Even though he had just lost every single one of his wyverns, Gallor still thought that he would be victorious. The enemy had so little infantry that the wyverns ended up not being necessary. There weren’t any infantry formations to break up, so the cavalry charge would still be effective.
Or so he thought.
In the distance, Gallor saw bursts of fire come from some of the long thin snouts of the enemy war beasts. Unexpectedly, the flames barely traveled past the beasts’ snouts. Gallor was just about to mock the pathetic attempt at fire magic when, out of nowhere, massive explosions engulfed the charging centaurs, followed by two deafening booms. Then the same thing happened again, and again.
Gallor watched his entire cavalry and minotaur charge become engulfed in flames and explosions. There was no way any of them survived, much less continued the charge.
By the time the thick black smoke cleared, Gallor and his infantry reached the site of the explosions. Gallor saw the charred remains of his army laying on the ground. One of Gallor’s nearby officers became sick, and vomited up his breakfast.
Then, an incredibly loud voice came from the enemy army. “This is the United States military. Lower your weapons and cease your advance IMMEDIATELY!”
The enemy voice repeated itself a few times as Gallor and his army stared at the destruction before them. Gallor saw an opportunity to inspire his demoralized men. “They must have used up all their mana! It's a bluff! Keep advancing!”
The army cheered at the realization that the enemy could no longer use their powerful magic.
When the enemy was only two kilometers away, the impossibly loud voice returned. “This is your final warning. Halt NOW or you WILL be fired upon!”
Gallor encouraged his men again. “The enemy sees our army and does not wish to do battle with us! These cowards tremble before our might!” This elicited a loud cheer from his men which soon spread across the entire army. They continued advancing towards the portal, their confidence reinvigorated by their general’s words.
Gallor was sure the enemy had exhausted their mages by now. Their impressive display of magic must have consumed entire crates of mana crystals.
Gallor’s last shred of hope was torn away from him as the long thin snouts of the enemy beasts were momentarily engulfed in flames and smoke, just like before. Moments later, flames and explosions erupted throughout his army.
Through the thick dark smoke, Gallor could see limbs and pieces of men thrown in every direction by the explosions. Gallor couldn’t comprehend what was happening. He had never heard of magic like this before.
Gallor could see some of his mages trying to form protective barriers around themselves and groups of infantry, but it didn't do any good. Gallor watched as a battle mage surrounded by a translucent blue barrier got blown away in a massive explosion.
Gallor could barely hear the terrified screams of his men through the ringing in his ears and the intense sound of continuous explosions. Seeing that there was no other option, Gallor desperately tried to rally his men into a retreat, but it was no use. There was too much noise and chaos for anyone to hear him. Gallor was helpless as more and more of his army succumbed to the enemy’s magic.
At this point, Gallor deeply regretted his decision to lead from the front. Why didn’t he command from a safe distance like any sensible general? His regret did not last long however. Like the rest of his army, Lieutenant General Gallor was quickly killed by 130 mm HE rounds fired from American Abrams X2 tanks.
Rontak Empire’s first offensive: 32,000 dead. Lieutenant General Gallor was killed in action.
Rontak Empire, Standard Year 3148, Month of Air, 3rd Day of Psionics (A/3P/3148)
Duremar Plains, Fort Duremar, 18 kilometers from the portal
General Rallek was meeting with Lieutenant Generals Fomar and Ulmok, finalizing the details of their upcoming deployments. They had received word an hour ago from Gallor’s army via mana comm; the enemy army had emerged through the portal. Lieutenant General Fomar was about to go and lead his army to the portal site when a frantic messenger burst into the war room.
“Forgive me for interrupting generals, but we have received a message from Gallor’s army.”
Rallek was surprised to hear that so soon. They had only received confirmation of the enemy army an hour ago “Has the enemy been defeated already?” He asked the messenger inquisitively.
“No sir. Perhaps you’d better come to the mana comm station and hear this for yourself”
The generals followed the messenger to the mana comm room. Operators were writing down messages from all over the Duremar Province and dispatching runners to the messages’ recipients. All seemed business as usual, except at one station.
One of the mana comm operators was sweating as he profusely wrote down reports as fast as they came in. The three generals followed the messenger from earlier to this station, where they received devastating news.
“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?” Asked a shocked General Rallek.
“S-sir,” The operator stuttered, ”We’ve received a report from… W-whats left of Lieutenant General Gallor’s army. The battle was a complete loss. The entire army was either killed or routed to the countryside.”
Even the usually calm and thoughtful Lieutenant General Ulmok was starting to show visible panic. “You mean there's nothing left? The entire army is gone?”
“T-that is correct, sir.” Answered the mana comm operator.
“And what of Lieutenant General Gallor?” Asked General Rallek.
“There are no reports of Lieutenant General Gallor being among the survivors.”
General Rallek ordered a messenger on standby to call an emergency war meeting. “Summon Lord Kushmon immediately!” He commanded, pointing to another messenger. “We must deal with this catastrophe.”
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Lord Kushmon sat in anguish at the emergency war meeting. After Gallor’s defeat at the hands of the otherworlders, panic gripped the remaining generals. This meeting was even more chaotic and unorganized than the last one. It was basically a shouting match. Lord Kushmon desperately tried to tune out his arguing generals and come up with a viable way of fighting the enemy.
“We have to do something!”
“We should summon reinforcements from the Imperial Army!”
“Gallor’s army was annihilated in less than an hour! The Emperor will have our heads if he learns of such an embarrassing defeat!”
“Their magic is absurd! How are we supposed to fight back against such power?”
“How can anyone wield such powerful magic?”
This went on for some time before Lord Kushmon stood up and used his authority to silence the room. “BE QUIET! All of you!” The chaos immediately died down as people turned towards Lord Kushmon. Lord Kushmon took his seat again and continued speaking, “We clearly underestimated our enemy and their magic. It must not happen again.”
“What the hell even happened to Gallor’s army? How were they defeated so quickly?” Someone shouted.
“All we know is that the enemy unleashed some kind of devastating magical attack.” Replied General Ulmok. “The last message we received said the enemy was advancing to slaughter the routing troops. We haven’t received anything since and no survivors have returned yet, if there are any at all.”
“Archmage Vilintius.” Lord Kushmon addressed, “How many mana crystals do you have in reserve?”
Archmage Vilintius quickly replied, he was just checking the reserve magical supplies when he was summoned to the war room. “We’ve managed to scrounge up seven crates, my Lord. The rest was used to open the portal.”
“Very well.” Said Lord Kushmon, deep in thought. “It is clear that our army cannot withstand the enemy’s magic in a direct confrontation.”
Lord Kushmon paused as he came up with an idea. “Instead, we will have our mages use the remaining mana crystals to create false images of our army. Illusions for the enemy to waste their mana on.” He explained. “Then, once the enemy mana is depleted, we will advance and crush them.” The room nodded in agreement with Lord Kushmon’s strategy. It was a brilliant idea that just might work.
“And what if we run out of mana before the enemy?” Lieutenant General Ulmok asked. He exposed a serious flaw in Lord Kushmon’s plan. If their mages ran out of mana before the otherworlders did, their army would be decimated, just as before.
Lieutenant General Fomar had the solution. “If we arrange our army into a loose and spaced out formation, the enemy’s magic will be less effective.”
“An excellent idea, Lieutenant General Fomar.” Said Lord Kushmon.
Archmage Vilintius chimed in with his input. “Perhaps we should reserve a few crates worth of magic gems for our mages to use to create magical barriers around our army. If the enemy’s mana does indeed last longer than ours, it would be prudent to give our soldiers some protection.”
“A wise suggestion.” General Rallek said. Incorporating Archmage Vilintius’s proposal, General Rallek explained the new plan of attack so far. “We will advance on the portal after the enemy wastes their mana attacking our illusions. Protected by magic shields, our infantry will be in loose formation and only tighten up when they reach the enemy.”
“We should put the new conscripts at the front of our formation.” Said Lieutenant General Ulmok. “The fresh recruits barely know how to wield a sword and won’t be much use in battle. If the enemy’s mana lasts long enough to attack our main army, they are the most expendable.”
“Good thinking, Ulmok.” Replied Lord Kushmon, as he formed a sly grin. “Peasants make excellent human shields.”
Lord Kushmon and the generals shared a laugh. They all came from wealthy noble families and had always looked down on lowly plebeians. A few of the lower ranking officers present at the meeting became slightly agitated by the decision. Some of them had worked their way up through the ranks of the Imperial Army from low birth and did not share their leaders' disregard for the lives of conscripted recruits.
“While we advance with our infantry,” Began Lieutenant General Ulmok, “We should send in a cavalry charge to disrupt the enemy formation.”
Adding onto Ulmok’s idea, Lieutenant General Fomar said, “Simultaneously our wyverns can attack from above and protect our forces from a counter charge while they’re in loose formation.”
The war meeting continued for several more hours as Lord Kushmon and his generals planned the details of their next counter attack. The bulk of the remaining Portal Conquest Army would be devoted to retaking the portal.
* 35,000 shock infantry
* 15,000 ranged infantry
* 10,000 cavalry
* 5,000 centaur cavalry
* 2,000 minotaurs
* 2000 mages
* 400 wyverns
A massive total of 69,400 soldiers would take part in the battle. Lieutenant Generals Ulmok and Fomar would have joint command of the army. Confident in their strategy, the meeting concluded with the generals leaving to prepare the army for the coming battle.
June 17th, 2053
Marine Expeditionary Company, Other Side of the Anomaly
Daniel was sitting in the command cabin of the Rhino, watching as another enemy army marched towards his position. The Rhino’s onboard AI zoomed in with its cameras and identified enemy infantry, minotaurs, centaurs and more of those flying reptiles, displaying the information and video on various computer screens located throughout the command cabin.
Presented with the information on the display screens, Daniel could see that this army was much larger than the one that attacked them previously. The computer calculated that there were approximately 70,000 individual enemy combatants.
Now that Daniel had a chance to get a better look at them, the flying reptiles looked like classic fantasy wyverns, and were slightly larger than a car. Their scales were a glossy dark purple, with the underbelly being slightly pink. Their wings looked to be arms adapted for flight, the Wyverns used them to walk while on the ground. They were armored from head to tail in chain mail, minus the wings, and reinforced by plate armor in essential areas, like the head, neck and underbelly. There was a saddle, holding an enemy soldier, mounted on each of the wyverns just below the neck.
The riders were equipped with full plate armor covering every inch of their body. They looked exactly like medieval knights. The wyvern knights didn’t carry any visible weapons, but there were several satchels arranged around the rider’s saddle. Although the video feed couldn’t see what was inside, Daniel assumed they carried some type of weapons.
This time the entire enemy army was scattered over a large area. There looked to be a good amount of space between each individual soldier. Heavy artillery would be nowhere near as effective against them this time. The enemy had clearly learned from their mistake of bunching up into tight blocks.
When the enemy was about 4 kilometers away, part of the army advanced ahead of the main body. Lieutenant General Reed again used a loudspeaker to order the enemy to halt their advance.
“This is the United States military. Cease your advance IMMEDIATELY, or you WILL be fired upon!” The outcome was exactly the same as before: the enemy continued their advance undeterred.
They knew that the enemy didn’t speak English, or any other known language for that matter, but it was still worth a shot to give them a warning.
A few minutes after his message, Lieutenant General Reed gave his next order to the expeditionary company. “Let's see if we can turn these bastards around without slaughtering them all. Launch tear gas at the approaching enemy!”
Although it was a war crime to use chemical weapons, tear gas was frequently used by all parties during the African Wars. Given the plethora of terrible atrocities committed during the wars, the non lethal nature of tear gas, and its universal use, tear gas usage was overlooked in the war crimes trials. That was the only excuse most national armies needed to continue equipping themselves with tear gas, even after the end of the African Wars.
The enemy soldiers clearly had no idea how outmatched they were. Despite being the enemy, the attacking soldiers were still people. Many of them probably had families. Daniel realized that they didn’t deserve to be massacred if there was another way to stop them.
Daniel relayed the Lieutenant General’s orders to his gunner, Staff Sergeant Marcus O’Brien. “You heard him, Marcus. Launch tear gas! Send it right up their ass!”
“With pleasure, sir!” Replied Marcus, as he carried out the order.
Canisters of tear gas flew upwards from the Rhino, alongside dozens of canisters launched from other vehicles. They flew in a parabolic arc towards the approaching enemy soldiers. Upon impacting the ground, each canister spewed white smoke. A white cloud formed between the advancing enemy and the Americans.
A few minutes went by before anything happened. Then, Daniel could see vague figures emerging from the cloud of tear gas. The enemy formation was unbroken! They continued their advance, completely unphased by the incapacitating chemicals.
“What the hell?” Exclaimed Daniel. “Are they wearing gas masks?”
“Negative.” Came the reply from the Rhino’s AI as it displayed a zoomed in image of the enemy, their faces clearly visible. The enemy continued marching out of the tear gas towards the defensive perimeter in perfect formation as if the gas wasn't there.
The radio crackled to life as Lieutenant General Reed said, “All units, open fire!”
Having the longest range, the Abrams X2 tanks were the first to fire their weapons, followed by the 80 mm cannons and mortars on the Rhinos. The enemy was still out of effective range for the marines outside though. Dark smoke enveloped the enemy formation as they were decimated by artillery fire.
A few minutes later, Lieutenant General Reed gave the order to cease fire. As the smoke cleared, Daniel could see a handful of enemy soldiers still marching right at him! It was as if they were completely oblivious to the destruction around them.
The tactical display in the Rhino showed that the remaining enemy soldiers were being targeted by marksmen outside. The marksmen fired at the few remaining enemy soldiers. Daniel watched with interest as they shimmered out of existence, like a cloud of gas being swept away by a strong wind.
A few moments later Lieutenant General Reed updated the expeditionary force on what happened. “We’ve analyzed the sensor logs of the enemy formation. They showed no heat signatures.” He explained. “They were decoys! I repeat, they were decoys. Stay alert and be ready for anything.”
“What do you think those decoys were?” Asked Benny. “Some kind of hologram?”
“Beats me.” Replied Liv. “How would an army using swords and spears have access to that sort of technology?”
The marines continued to speculate while they waited for the battle field to clear up. The lingering smoke and tear gas made it impossible to see the real enemy army.
After a few more minutes most of the tear gas and smoke had finally cleared up. Daniel could see the main enemy army again. Suddenly, the enemy’s cavalry began a scattered charge. They were spread out along the front ranks of the enemy infantry in a long line. The enemy also launched their wyverns into the sky. Thermal imaging confirmed these were real targets.
Swarms of surface to air missiles launched from the Hwachas and flew towards the enemy wyverns. Some of the wyverns tried to evade, but the heat seeking missiles each found their target with ease. Unfortunately, there were too many wyverns. Daniel’s display screen showed that only 300 wyverns were killed, leaving 100 left. The Hwachas needed time to reload before they could fire again.
“Reed to all Rhinos. Target the enemy wyverns with your .50 cals.”
Daniel nodded to Marcus and he quickly selected the remaining enemy wyverns as a target. The computer coordinated with other vehicles to avoid overlapping fire and a split second later, it was ready to fire.
A vicious hail of .50 caliber bullets flew out from the vehicles towards the enemy wyverns. The AI controlled turrets did not miss their targets. The wyverns were no match for the armor piercing rounds and fell from the sky in droves. Soon the skies were clear of enemy forces.
Meanwhile, the Abrams X2 tanks began decimating the enemy cavalry with 130 mm HE rounds. Although their automated reloading systems had an impressive rate of fire, the 20 tanks couldn’t destroy the many thousands of enemy cavalry fast enough.
The Rhinos raised their 80 mm cannons into the air, taking aim at the enemy. Additional booms reverberated across the open grassy fields as the 80 mm cannons unleashed four burst shots at the approaching cavalry. The Rhinos also fired their rear mounted mortars, but it still wasn't enough.
The enemy cavalry was remarkably still charging towards them. The smoke and debris in the air around the cavalry became so thick that Daniel couldn't see what was happening, but it was surely a hellscape out there.
Most of the enemy cavalry had been destroyed by now, but a few thousand remained charging towards the marines. They had closed to within one kilometer of the Marines; within the effective range of the ARX-35 assault rifle. The marines and droids on the ground outside the Rhinos and Abrams X2 tanks opened fire.
The high volume of small weapons fire saturated the remaining ranks of the rapidly approaching enemy. More and more enemy cavalry fell before the onslaught of modern weapons until none remained.
Daniel was surprised at how effective the enemy’s tactics were. Their fast and mobile cavalry managed to get uncomfortably close to the defensive perimeter, even under hellish artillery fire. A few minutes passed as Daniel monitored the position of the rest of the enemy army using the Rhino’s thermal imaging sensors. They were still approaching.
The rest of the enemy army emerged from the smoke at a full sprint. It was a suicidal charge across no-man’s-land, reminicent of World War One. Stunned beyond belief, Daniel couldn’t imagine what the enemy was thinking. “Just what exactly do these guys hope to accomplish?” He exclaimed.
Just as they came out of the smoke, large translucent light blue domes appeared around groups of enemy infantry. “What the hell!?” Daniel exclaimed again. “Are those energy shields?” Maybe the enemy’s charge wasn’t as suicidal as he first thought.
“Sure looks like it!” Benny replied.
“How the hell do these guys attacking us with swords and spears have energy shields?” Asked Liv.
Before anyone could add further speculation, the radio crackled to life. “Weapons free! Neutralize all hostiles.” Lieutenant General Reed said with a tone full of urgency.
Despite the Lieutenant General’s order not to underestimate the enemy, they had managed to get within a kilometer of the defensive perimeter. If the enemy’s shields could withstand their weapons, they would pose a real danger to the marines.
As they opened fire on the enemy shields, the translucent light blue domes quickly flickered out of existence after only a few seconds of firing. Apparently, they weren’t powerful enough to go up against modern weapons.
The marine expeditionary force unleashed its full arsenal on the now exposed attacking enemy. The battlefield became a chaotic symphony of bullets, artillery and missiles. Cannons unrelentingly fired shot after shot at the enemy. The AI controlled M4 .50 caliber machine guns on the Rhinos rapidly fired three shot bursts with pinpoint accuracy at the enemy, only to quickly move on to a new target moments later and repeat the process.
Most of the casualties from ancient battles occurred when one of the armies broke formation and routed, rather than the battle itself. The enemy soldiers clearly had it drilled into them to never turn back from the enemy; to always face the battle head on, no matter what the enemy threw at them or how likely they were to die. Each individual soldier believed that they had a better chance of survival if they stood their ground, rather than flee.
Enemy soldiers were massacred by the hundreds, but thousands more took their place. Despite the terrible firepower raining down on them, the enemy soldiers pushed forward.
The active denial system (ADS) mounted on the Rhinos turned away any group infantry that got too close to the defensive perimeter. Over the years, the ADS was refined to perfection. It was able to function flawlessly, without causing any permanent burns from the attacking soldiers’ heavy metal armor. Even the enemy’s unwavering resolve shattered in the face of the overwhelming, but temporary, burning sensation of the active denial system.
The smoke kicked up from all the explosions did little to conceal the enemy’s locations. Thermal sensors on the Abrams tanks and Rhinos relayed the information to the marines and droids allowing them to stay in the fight, even though the enemy was visually concealed. The marine’s tac visors used augmented reality to show them exactly where the enemy soldiers were located in the thick smoke.
The enemy was slowly gaining ground, but it was a battle of attrition, and they were losing badly. For every inch closer they got to the marines, they suffered hundreds of casualties. It was not long before there were too few soldiers remaining to continue any sort of organized attack. What little remained of the army began to waver and route.
After the enemy was neutralized and the remains of the army in full retreat, the Americans moved in to treat any survivors and apprehend POWs. Daniel watched as several medevac Rhinos carried wounded enemy soldiers to the field hospital.
Rontak Empire’s second offensive: 62,000 dead.
Author’s note: Sorry this took so long! On top of being much longer than I anticipated, I also had a really weird quirky bug that wouldn’t let me publish it.