***

--- Galo Highway, heading to Elies Forest ---

January 4th, 2026

Lillie Hauroth walks through the camp and set down her bucket of water that she got from a nearby stream. She takes a deep breath. "Damn, it is hot today."

The party's large lizard companion walks right behind her. "Stop complaining," Liz said as he carries two buckets of water.

She looks at him and sticks out her tongue. She then looks to the party slave that they bought in Populis. "Hey boy. Begin boiling the water and start the stew please."

"Don't say please to a slave," Liz said. "You don't want them to think that they are equal otherwise they get funny ideas."

This teenage Human boy stands up and rushes over. "Yes, master." He then grabs her bucket of water and carries it to the fire pit.

"Besides, you know we could have bought a more useful one in Populis," Liz comments.

She crosses her arms and looks up at him. "Yeah, but he was the only cute one and I was the only one who had the money since all of you boys spent it all on girls and drinks. And a fine cook for his age."

Liz looks down at her and gives her a wide eye.

She looks the other away annoyed. "Alright, not all you boys. Still, you men are bad with your money."

"Didn't you buy that dress last week?" Liz asks with a chuckle.

She glares at him and starts yelling. "You don't get to correct me! What I do with my money is my business you prick!" She then crosses her arms and clams down. "Now, where is the boss?"

"Over there doing inventory like always," Liz said.

She frowns hearing that. The party leader Karther Jagith is the man who gave her a job. When she was poor and unemployed, desperate for work, he helped her become an adventure. Knappnai is known for many things. Being the second home of the Gladiator Association and Slave Trade guild, a home trade port between the Empire and The Ticaret Conglomerate. Basically, after many wars between the Empire and the Ticaret Conglomerate, Knappnai became the place for them to pretend to like each other.

But the city is also known for its exotic brothels. While not the most honorable man she ever met, he did allow her to have a life outside of that.

However, she has found that he is lazy. When chores need to be done, he somehow finds a way to get out of it. "Shouldn't he be with Vauo in hunting Deprs?"

Liz sets both buckets down. "I stop caring. I am just happy that we finally have work."

She looks up at him and nods. It has been a month since they had a job. Townsfolk go to a trade or adventure post within a town or city. If they have a task, they pay the guild in advance and post what the job is. It can be in rescuing people from goblins or bandits. Provide security for travelers or just killing monsters. Basically, anything the Imperial Army does not want to do. It is a first come, first serve system.

Right now, they got a job to go to the Elies Forest. The local Elf tribes have been harassing trade along Galo. A local trader has had enough and cannot afford the loss in revenue. It is already bad enough that the war is hurting his business, raiders are the nail in the coffin for a trader.

While the Jagiths party would not take such a job, their level is too high for such a task. Right now, any job is better than none.

"I am going to go clean my sword," She said and walks through the camp.

As she walks to her tent, she humps a song her mother once sang to her before dying by illness.

She sees Gorgth standing there looking out. She grabs her sword and walks over by them. Once she arrives, she slaps him on the back. "Hi big man, how are you doing?"

Gorgth looks down at her and then back out on the highway. "See that, it is the Army."

She looks out and sees a long line of cavalrymen walking by. They set up camp off the highway to avoid. "It looks like it. Are you missing your old days?"

"Somewhat," Gorgth responds. "Those some great times. The men I served with were some of the best. Always felt like we were doing really good things."

"And yet you are with us. It is because of the pay right," She says with a laugh.

Gorgth looks at her. "Those men are fighting for us. We cannot do what we do if they are not fighting. Always remember that."

She blinks. "We do an important job to. While the Army is busy killing some foreigners, we are protecting the people."

"That is what we tell ourselves," Gorgth responds. "If a village is under attack and has no money to pay you. Would you protect them?"

She takes an annoyed breath. "We can't protect the village if we are poor and hungry."

"And there is no way to make a profit if there are no villages left," Gorgth said.

"True I guess," She responds. She has noticed him acting wired a lot recently. When news of this war and hearing that his old Army buddies dying in the thousands, she could tell he wants to help. "Why don't you just reenlist?"

"I am too old," Gorgth said. "My skills as a fighter are not what they use to be. But fighting is the only skill I have so here I am."

"Well, I had no idea we are a second place for you," She said laughing again. "Ok, grandpa. I am not worried. The Empire has survived this long, nothing can destroy it. Sooner or later, they will win. They always do."

She turns around and starts walking away, humming again. "Hey boy! How is the stew? I am hungry."

***

--- Schwars Goat Path, heading to Naiktai ---

January 3rd, 2026

"That is such a stupid idea," Alicia yells over the radio.

"What? I thought you were sick of calling these things JLTV every time." Andrew responds over the radio.

Sharpe lowers his cap. "Here we go again. Those two."

"Yeah well… Warthog just sounds stupid for a military vehicle." Alicia said.

"And yours is any better?" Andrew asks.

"Yes!" Alicia yells. "I think Puma rolls off the tongue easier."

"That is stupid," Andrew responded. "Didn't you see those tusks upfront? What animal has tusks? Not a Puma."

"You put those on before we left base jackass," Alicia comments.

"That is beside the point," Andrew said.

"Ok fine you anime brat!" Alicia said. "Let's just call it Chupithingy then... what is that Mexican lizard thing called again?"

"No one answer," Randy gives a direct order.

There is a moment of silence before Scott spoke next. "Chupacabra."

"Yes!" Alicia says with excitement. "The Chupithingy. What Marvin said!"

"I said call me Scott," Scott said annoyed.

"You have to be kidding me," Andrew comments.

"Of course, the man never accepts a woman's idea," Alicia said, being hyperbolic. "Two different worlds and the same dimwits."

Andrew waits to respond. "At least I am getting laid."

"You son of a bitch!" Alicia yells. "I am going to kill you...."

"Oh, for fuck sakes," Jerry yells over the radio. "Either shut up or fuck you two. Both of you been at it for over an hour."

There is a short silence before Alicia bursts over the radio. "What! What kind of prick would say something like that!"

He reaches out and mutes his vehicle radio for a moment. Leaving crowd control to Sergeant Major Randy Dodson. He already has enough headaches in his own vehicle, but good ones.

Sharpe glances at the driver seat and sees Lelei sitting there driving. "How are you doing Lelei?"

"Please don't talk to me Major," Lelei said. "I am trying to focus on."

He chuckles from that. "Just be gentle with it. Don't fight the steering wheel, work with it. And don't hit Randy vehicle."

"I know Major," Lelei said in an annoyed and nervous voice.

"Roger," He said.

Selina then appears between the two front car seats. "I didn't know you had Chupacabra's on your world. Did you fight them when you were in Mexico?"

He looks down at Selina, shocked by what she said. He then looks up to Lelei. "Really?"

"Yes Major," Lelei said. "Chupacabra’s are monsters who terrorize farmlands. I and my master had to fight them off a few times when we were alone in the forest."

"Yeah," Selina said with a smile. "They are a problem in my country. Mother always said that if you were bad, one will swoop into your room and take you."

He looks at them. "Figures. Go back and sit-down Selina." As she goes back into her seat, he looks into the back.

He sees Tuka as she writes something down. "How are things Tuka?"

"Everything is fine. Working on a new song," Tuka said. "By the way, father was talking about you recently."

"Really?" He responds. "What does he want?"

"He wants to talk to you about how to manage us girls," Tuka said, rolling her eyes. "He thinks you are not properly managing us." She said in air quotes.

He looks at her, completely baffled at what she said. He wants to respond but he cannot think of a word to say. Then he hears Rory burst out laughing.

"Oh, my gods…" Rory laughs and looks to him. "You, able to control us. The idea of that is hysterical."

"Well, my people are more free-spirited because we live very long lives," Tuka explains. "The idea of finding a single partner for life seems pointless. My dad has a reputation for having a woman every day of the week."

"So, your dad has nine girls?" Selina asks.

"Yeah, your father never allowed on Earth," He comments.

"Why is that Major?" Lelei asks.

"Because he will break every pimp law," He responds.

"What is a pimp?" Lelei ask. "It sounds interesting."

Hearing that he places his hand on his forehead and shakes. He has no idea how to explain what wrong with what she said. "...its.... it is usually a dude who is whoring out woman... I... I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Ahh... so a brothel," Lelei said plainly as she drives.

"Your father a pervert Selina," Rory states as she keeps laughing. "You know Jackson. There is Selina, Tuka, Lelei. There is Sarah, the damn Princess, and Pinkie, and Myuute, Alicia and all those other Rose Knights that I will remember their names later. And the best and most attractive of them all, me!" She then points to herself, making sure all the attention is on her. She then shots him a deep glare. "Is that why you drag us around? As your… what is that word that you call a woman private area? Kitty? As your daily kitty… that doesn't sound right."

"No, it is called pussy. Like a pussy cat," Tuka said. "You Other Worlders have strange terms."

"That is fun-," Selina starts to comment but sees her father giving her a 'don't you dare finish that' glare.

He just looks at Rory. He takes a deep breath and looks over to Lelei.

"Don't even start Major," Lelei said without looking.

He looks back and sees all of them staring at him, waiting for an answer. He can see this evil smirk on Rory's face, her eyes are daring him to go down the rabbit hole she trapped him in. "Fuck… no wonder men go to war all the time... I don't get paid enough for this." He then turns around and looks back at the Blue Tracker.

Behind him, he can hear them all giggle. "Selina. Don't listen to Rory. And Tuka, tell your father I am not interested in his advice. I am fine as is."

"Ok, I will tell him," Tuka says with a giggle.

Rory slowly peaks through the gap between the up-front seats, looking at him. "Ahh, you are no fun." She said as she pokes him on the cheek. "Why are you so serious all the time?" She says in that Joker's voice from Batman.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Well for one, that wasn't appropriate. Both Selina and Lelei are here," He states.

"I am not a child Major," Lelei states.

Selina peaks under Rory. "And I was a slave so yeah, I heard a lot of things."

He holds out two fingers. "One, Selina you are my daughter so no. Two, Lelei. Until you answer my question about the meaning of life, you are not ready for that kind of talk."

"What question?" Rory asks.

"Well, you know Sharpe said there are subjects he doesn't want me to learn until I am ready," Lelei said. "I need to figure out the answer to this equation. Is the bird equal to or greater than the word? I have been doing research on it for months now and can't figure it out."

He glances over, trying to keep himself from chuckling. He knows what he did was evil but could not himself. He looks over and sees both Rory and Selina glaring at him. Because of all these movie nights they have had, they know that the reference is from Family Guy.

"You are silly dad…" Selina said as she goes back to her studies.

"Every Thursday kid," He responds.

He then looks out the window and out in the distance.

Selina reappears with her tablet in her hand. "Father, I don't understand this math problem."

He looks down at her tablet and sees the issue. Word math problems, his number one enemy back in school.

Before the left Sarah, she gave him a list of school assignments for her to do while she is away. He agreed, partly brushing it all. He wanted her along on this trip for other reasons. Then he saw the evil side of Sarah, threatening to cut his throat and that was not going to be the real punishment if he did not make sure Selina did her homework.

While it was his idea to make sure Selina is educated, Sarah took it to another level, and it scared him. She threatens with a form of punishment if she came to come without completing her assignments. And she refused to tell him what that punishment.

For some reason, he found Sarah threats far scarier than going head-to-head against Taylin. He is starting to see that being a soldier is far simpler. He does not know why that is though, he gotten many threats in his line of work and never cared.

He then looks at the girls. Selina explains the problem with her big joyful smile. Lelei trying to answer the question but overcomplicating the answer. He sees Tuka and Rory talking and giggling about something, probably about boys.

He has learned being a soldier is far simpler in life, but the rewards are far greater with this current situation he has found himself in.

He grabs a pencil and paper and begins explaining the math problem. He took out the hotdogs and buns and switch them with soldiers.

"Anytime you see a problem that doesn't make sense, try to change it into something that makes more sense to you. Replace the hot dogs and buns…"

"Hotdogs!" Rory suddenly asks.

"No," He responds and hears her moan a bit. "As I was saying. Replace both of those that make more sense to you. If you want both sides to be even, how many totals will you need?"

Selina blinks and then looks at what he drew. In the picture, he replaced the word problem example with something else without changing the equation. "I see." She starts drawing as she studies. "I think I got it. One hundred and twenty."

"Very good," He responds and pats her on the head.

"Major," Lelei said.

"What's up Lelei?" He asks her.

"I see dark clouds up ahead," Lelei said.

He looks out and sees dark clouds up ahead. He then grabs the radio. "Sergeant Major, we better find a place to park. Those clouds look bad."

"Roger that," Randy replies. "We passed four farmhouses so far. Maybe we will pass another one."

"Agreed," He responds. "Everyone keeps your eye out."

He then looks to Lelei. "You better pull over. I will drive for now on."

--- two hours later---

Hisiko opens the barn doors and allows the Other Worlders to bring in their big truck. He is impressed with how large their metals wagons are. At first, it looked like it was not going to fit but they said they have sensitive equipment and do not want to risk damage from the rain.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay for the night," Sharpe said.

"Yeah," Randy adds. "Otherwise, we would have been stuck in the mud. This world can have wicked rains."

He nods and waves nervously to them. "It is no problem. You should be thanking my wife. She felt bad that all of you soldiers were out there in the cold without warm food in your bellies." He then walks over and speaks quietly. "Please tell her that her cooking is great. I find it fine, but she will be upset if you soldiers are not happy."

"Of course?" Sharpe asks confused.

Randy on the other hand chuckles. "I understand my followed married man. All wives cooking is amazing, regardless if it is good or not."

He chuckles hearing that, glade that he has something in common with these Other Worlders, even though it just a silly husband thing like that.

When these self-called Rangers stopped at his home and asked if they could take shelter for the night, he was nervous to accept. While King Duran formed an alliance with these people, the stories on how these people destroy the Imperial Army so easily was frightening. So much power, how could they be good?

The stories make these people seem soulless but so far, he has not seen them as these soulless creatures looking for destruction. Normal Humans like him, which he finds strange. His King has said they are brother and arms, but he always assumed that was only because he was defeated in battle. He starts to think that the King might be right.

He looks to Major Sharpe, which he described himself as the leader of this group. "I take it you are not married?"

"No," Sharpe responds. "I am not."

"Yeah, but we will see for how much longer," Randy says with a chuckle. He then looks back at him. "I have a wife and two kids back in the States. Love them."

"That is very nice," He says with a smile. "So, on your world, you have unions with your women too? It is interesting we come from different worlds and yet have similar practices."

"Very interesting," Randy says giving him a pat on the shoulder.

He chuckles, feeling his concerns slipping away. His wife Babora has always had a good sense of people and she is right again. He looks past both soldiers and sees the little girl. He can tell the young blue hair one is a mage, so she has a use. The other young one is Rory Mercury. He heard stories that she serves these Other Worlders but had no idea that she was with this man. Based on her reputation, that has helped settle his fears because she is only an honorable woman.

"May I ask, is that your daughter there Major Sharpe?" He asks. "I saw you two talking when you arrived."

Sharpe turns around and sees Selina helping unload the JLTV with her bag. "Correct."

"Where is her mother? I am surprised that she would allow her to go along with you soldiers. My wife gets nervous when our son leaves the house." He spoke.

Randy chuckles at that, relating to that.

"She is my adopted daughter. Her family was murdered, and we took her in." Sharpe said, placing his hand on his hip.

"I see," He said, thanking God that his son has grown up with both of his parents. He turns around. "Naminto, come here."

He watches his twelve-year-old son rushes up. "Yes, papa?"

"Go help those girls there with their stuff," He said and gives his son a pat on the back.

"Yes papa," Naminto says. He then walks off and goes to offer his hand.

He smiles and then looks over to the leader of the Rangers. He suddenly does not look happy. "Is everything ok Major? There isn't much we can offer but my home is open to anything you need."

Randy laughs and pats Sharpe on the shoulder. "Everything is ok Hisiko. He is just a bit overprotective of his little princess. That is all. We are incredibly happy and thank you for everything your family is doing."

He smiles hearing that. He can understand and realizes that the leader must be a new parent if she is adopted. "Major Sharpe, I promise my son will do no courting with your daughter. We are not city folk, so he understands what it means to be a gentleman."

Sharpe looks at him and takes a breath. "I am sorry, I meant no disrespect. I will be clear; we won't be in the way."

He laughs hearing that. "No, let me introduce you to my wife. She wants you to be in the way, it is her way."

Sharpe was about to protest but Randy grabs his hand and lowers it. "Sir, you already lost. If that is what the lady wants, that is what we will do. Twenty years of marriage, trust me on this."

Sharpe looks at him and nods. "Alright, if that is what we are doing then I have an idea. Movie night, I have a perfect idea."

"What is a movie?"

"You will see," Randy said, lightly shaking his head in disbelief but smirking. "So, your wife?"

"Yes, follow me. She wants to meet all of you," He said and then guides them into his home. "Mind the drips on the ceiling. Don't want you to get yet."

The farmhouse seems simple, the main area is like a family room and living room combined. You can walk right into the kitchen. There you can see his wife cooking this meat stew, clearly preparing a massive meal.

He looks around and sees the Rangers being in some bags into the main room, setting them down. "You all can stay down here tonight. And over here is my wife. Babora, say hello."

Babora looks over and smiles. "Hello, those Other Worlders."

"Please, its Rangers or Americans." Sharpe corrects.

"I am sorry," Babora said with a giggle and walks over. "Hisiko, did you thank him?"

"Thank us for what?" Sharpe asks.

He places his hand behind his head, forgetting what his wife wanted to do. "Sorry I forgot. We were having a nice conversation."

Babora glares at him and holds up a wooden spatula. "You never listen to me." She then looks at both Americans. "What my husband was supposed to say is thank you."

Both Randy and Sharpe look at each other and then at her. "Thank us for what? You're helping us." Randy said.

"For fighting the Empire," Babora said. "Someone needed to put them in their place. We had friends who died in the assault against Alnus. The Empire intentionally sent them to their deaths. We will never forgive them for that. The King was smart to place his trust in you people."

"Yes," He adds. "Your people are actually helping us more. This is the least we can do."

He thinks back on that day. When Emperor Molt called upon Elbe Fiefdom to assault the invaders on Alnus(1), Molt knew it was a suicide mission and did not care. He lost his older brother in that attack. At first, he hated these Americans but when King Duran came and explain how the Empire betrayed their loyalty, it became clear who the enemy is.

Being on the northern border of Elbe, he has been worried that the war would come to his house. But it never did, and he has been happy about that.

"Don't worry. We are not going anywhere. The Empire should be no threat to your family ever again." Sharpe said.

---

After a warming dinner with the family and telling some interesting stories about each other worlds with the farm family. They seem to be a nice and warming family of three. It reminds him of his wife and two kids back on Earth. While he misses them, he is glad they are safe there.

During dinner, everyone told stories, some fun, some embarrassing, other war stories on fighting the Empire. Both Hisiko and Babora seem interested in what Earth is life and fascinated by how different Earth is.

He was able to take a couple of glances at the Major and saw him studying the interacting from everyone. Like he is taking mental notes on this family. He just chuckles at that already seeing where the ball is rolling.

But when he set up the small portable projector from the laptop, he has been impressed by how he has been able to bridge the cultural and technological gap through media. Right now, everyone is watching the 2002 Ice Age film. A message everyone can understand, family bonds.

The Major made it clear that the talking animals were fake, just for entertainment. While the children's films are not normally his taste, for a people living in ancient Rome times it seems to be an easy transition to more advance technology. Besides a few scenes, there is not anything threatening about it, nor insulting their intelligence.

To his surprise, the house is not as cold as he expected. The fireplace is doing a fine job keeping him and everyone else warm. His biggest annoying thing is all the dripping spots from the ceiling.

As he sits there, Specialist Alicia Moore walks up. "Serge, you might want to address the newbie."

He looks around and notices Sergeant Sofia Everett, the newest member assigned to the team is gone. "Where she goes?"

"She left a while go. She was getting pissed being here and left. I thought she just needed to blow off some steam, but it's been twenty minutes."

He thinks about what she said. Sofia had not had a chance to integrate into the unit, only arriving the day before they left on their mission. Based on the word she has a bad attitude but so far, she has only been quiet, minding her own business.

"Thank you, Alicia. I will take care of it," He said.

"Should I get the Major?" Alicia said.

He looks over and sees Sharpe, surrounded by the girls. He looks back at Alicia. "Not now. If I am not back in twenty, then address it to him."

He then gets up and heads out the back door, so he does not be distracting. As he passes, he didges a few cracks in the ceiling where water is dripping. He gets outside and sees Private First-Class Harvey Frost standing there on guard duty.

"Hey Serge," Frost said.

"Hey Serge," Randy said as he walks up.

Frost at that. "That is strange."

He looks around and can see the rain still coming down hard. It was a good call to call it quits early. "Frost, did you see Sofie?"

"The new girl? Yeah. She is in the JLTV. I think she is still there," Frost answers.

"Thank you. Go inside and enjoy yourself. I will take your shift." He spoke.

"Thanks, Randy. It is freezing out here." Frost said and head inside.

He then walks over to the JLTV and looks inside, not enjoying that he is getting wet again. He opens the door and looks inside, not seeing anyone there. He closes the door annoyed that she is not there. He then looks over to the barn and heads inside.

There he sees Sofie sitting on some hay. "There you are, Private."

Sofie looks up annoyed. "Sergeant Major, is there a problem?"

"Not anymore. You just never returned so Alicia and I got worried." He spoke.

"She needs to mind her own business," Sofie said.

That remark caught him off guard. She does not seem happy. "Look, Alicia is a bit of a firecracker, but she is nice and loyal. You can trust her to have your back. You can come back inside and enjoy yourself."

"Yeah, no thank you," Sofie said, and she stands up. "I rather do patrol."

She starts to walk away but he stops her. He can tell something is wrong, this is not how a soldier should act like. Spending years in the later parts of the Afghanistan War and fighting ISIS in Iraq, he has learned signs to know when one of his subordinates is acting strange.

"Hold on Everett," He said. "What is going on? I know it is a stupid film, but it is paying back the farm family, and in this world, some family heart can go a long way."

Sofie looks up at him. "The movie is stupid but that isn't the issue. I did not ask or wanted to be in this unit. I wanted to be on a team who here to fight, not play around with the enemy."

That took him by surprise. He honestly did not put much thought into what the other Rangers on Earth think of how they are doing. But he never imagines anything negative after everything they had done. Being in the thickest combat, fighting monsters and beings that would make most shits their pants.

"Alright," He said. "Something is clearly on your chest. We joke around a lot but that is mainly to relieve stress. Everything we been through, it is good to let out some steam and laugh." He thinks about that, trying to understand what she meant. "Did one of the girls give you a bad time? Did Rory say something to you?"

He can see the anger in her eyes fill with rage right when he mentions the girls. He is starting to see what the issue is, he just does not understand why. "I see, you have an issue with the girls?"

"Shut up sir," Sofie said. "I came here to kill aliens, not work with them. It is a massive disrespect to everyone who lost their lives in Philadelphia." She looks at him with much anger.

He looks down at her. "They had nothing to do with it. You are misplacing your anger."

"Don't you give me that Serge," Sofie states. "I was in Philadelphia when it was attacked. I was in the National Guard and we were the first to arrive. I fucken saw everything with my eyes. I saw comrades die fighting those bastards; we were not prepared to fight monsters. What they did to people. They did not care, man, woman, or children. They did everything to everyone. I can't even bring myself to say the things I saw."

Sofie glances away, holding herself back from crying. She then looks back at him angrier. "None of you have no idea what I saw. These aliens are not people, they are monsters. The minute we turn our back they will slaughter us like cattle."

He takes a deep breath as she tells her story. He was not in the Battle of Philadelphia(2). While the military retook the city quickly, the death count was already high. However, he has a particularly good idea of what she saw after being in Falmart for as long as he has.

"Are you done?" He asks. He can see her reaction, not expecting how he responded.

"I am not," Sofie states. "All I wanted to do was come here, be part of the best and kill these motherfuckers. But at Ranger School all I heard about how this unit was kicking ass and taking names. That was cool until I learned you been working with the enemy!"

"Saving those people in Italica, protecting the enemy leadership and even try to find peace with them. Taking in that damn evil demigoddess. Then the blue hair girl and you also have an elf? They are the enemies. Fuck, even the Major adopted one of them." Sofie said. "They burned, enslaved, ate and raped our people. But the Major is running around and saving people those kinds of people. We should be killing them for what they did to us. Now let me go do my portal."

As she starts walking away, he watches her. "Include the farm family? The ones who sheltered us and feed us?"

"The food sucked," Sofie said.

"It was probably a month' worth of food for them," He said, now annoyed. "Private, do not leave this barn."

Sofie stops and turns around. "What? Going to give me the Human Rights talk?"

"No," He said. He already seems where this is going. He has run into soldiers like this before. Full of hate and want blind revenge. He knows the odds of breaking through her bubble is a small chance right now. She will just need to spend some time with the team to learn the truth. "What you experienced in Philadelphia was hell. I understand that."

"You weren't there. You have no idea how I felt. I lost my family in the attack! They went out that day and slaughtered them like dogs." Sofie said with much emotion. "You want me to eat the food by people who murdered my family."

"How long have you been here? In-country?" He asks.

Sofie looks at him confused. "A few days?"

"Exactly," He quickly responds. "We have been here since the beginning. We have seen slaves, people murdered, bought and sold. That adopted girl, when we found her, she was tied to a wagon naked. The only reason this unit is still alive is because of people from this world. Honestly, the only reason we are winning the war is because of people of this world helping us."

"You need to understand who the enemy is," He said. "The enemy isn't in that farmhouse. It is the Empire and anyone else who gets in our way. You don't shoot the cop who came to help you find the criminal. You spend the rest of the night out here and think about that."

He can see she is about to respond but he stops her. "And about our commanding officer, you lay off. You think he is a traitor and weak because he decided to corporate with the locals. What is your priority, Sofie? Do you want to win or just blindly murder everyone? The Major, including me want to win so that never happens again. We have been fighting this conflict for a long time. They have earned their place here. None of them must be here but they want what we want. To bring an end to the Empire."

"Now you are on night duty," He said. "Spend this time thinking about what you said and why you are here. Italica was a risk. We did help our enemy save themselves and now they are an important ally. Same with Elbe. If we cannot make our friends our enemy, everything is lost."

After saying that he walks out of the barn. He did not want to be mean to her, being new. But she acted like she has been with the unit for a long time and thought she could judge everyone.

He heads back inside the house.