April 4, 2056

"Ms. Lang, is something bothering you?" I ask, noticing the ambassadors' uneasy expression.

She looks away from the window, her gaze catching mine.

"Huh? N-No... I'm just a little anxious is all," she says quietly, reverting her eyes outside.

"There's no need to worry. This region hasn't seen any insurgent activity recently," I inform her, but soon hear a sigh as she turns back to face me.

"No, that's not what I meant," she clarifies, pushing aside a strand of her blond hair from her face. "I just feel like I'm not contributing enough in my talks with the Rams."

I take a moment to think of something to say. I'm not that knowledgeable about the inner politics currently ongoing between The Federation, Rambell, and Atlis, so an answer from me would fall short of her expectations.

"Based on the fact that a full-on conflict hasn't broken out yet, I'd say you're doing something right," I start, thinking to myself if it was a good reply or not, "Besides, you were chosen for this assignment, right? That must mean you were the best Atlis has to offer." I further add.

She laughs a little which must be a good sign right? She eases up a little before turning back to me.

"That's nice hearing that come from you. It's just a lot to handle with everything on my shoulders."

"Hey. One day at a time, right?" I say, holding my fist up towards her.

I see her smile and raise her fist as well, as we bump each other. A small gesture we've been doing for a couple of days now.

With that out of the way, I reach for my radio to deliver the status of the convoy to TOC.

<>

A few seconds pass by before I get a reply.

<>

Strange. There shouldn't be any interference in this area. It could be the dense foliage we're passing through but that's me just assuming. I might be overthinking things, but as precaution, I'll have the boys keep their heads on a swivel.

<>

<>

Switching to a different channel on the radio now, I proceed to check in on all the other vehicles. In total, we have 4 Vic's, 2 of which are Armed with 50. Cal Machine Guns, and with one AFV taking the rear. Personally, I would've liked another Vic and a UAV for reconnaissance for extra support, but Atlis insists that we keep our presence here as small as possible and there was no way Rambell was going to let one of Atlis' spy planes freely fly over their nation. Damn Reds, they act as if we're the enemy. Luckily, we haven't encountered any insurgent cells or rogue bandits.

After making sure everyone's wellbeing was good, I put away the radio and peek into the front seating of my Vic.

"How's it looking up here, Simon?"

He takes a glance at me before continuing to steer the vehicle.

"Nothing so far sir, my guess is that it'll be bumpy sailing till we reach the gate. I'm also thinking about stopping and dropping off Jackson over here if he continues to sing his stupid song," He says as Jackson joins in from the front passenger seat.

"What's wrong with it? Not a fan of Peters, are you?" He smirks.

"Not when you've sung the same song fifty times with that terrible voice of yours," Simon responds annoyingly.

"It's only been forty-two actually. I've kept count."

"I don't care! Just shut up already!"

"Alright, alright. Hey, Taylor, how long till we get there?" Jackson says turning to me now.

"Right now, we're still forty minutes out from reaching the Embassy," I reply.

"Great... we'd be there by now if had a bird to hitch a ride in." He rolls his eyes.

"You know why that's not possible." I reinstate whilst looking up at him, "We're under a no-fly zone after that commercial airplane got shot down a week ago. It's safer to be on the ground now that we know that Insurgents are running around with stingers." Insurgents that, might I add, seemingly can't tell the difference between civilian and military aircraft.

Jackson sighs before acknowledging and returning to face forward. "What a shitshow..."

Backtracking to his question, however, I feel the same way. It would've been a shorter drive but we're sticking to dirt roads through a section of the woods that have been cleared. Insurgents in the area have been taking advantage of the Federation insurrection and have become active in the areas surrounding the provinces. Therefore, making highways too risky to take, especially with a recent IED being discovered being dangerously close to the border with Tyran. I'd rather take bumpy and uneven terrain than a road possibly riddled with explosives ready to go off every fifty feet. I got enough of that already with my time spent deployed in Yegronza.

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I leave the two and return to my seat where I notice the Ambassador writing in her journal. I've noticed she likes to write her thoughts in it once in a while.

"Ms. Lang, if you don't mind me asking. What's your opinion on The Federation?" I ask.

She must've not been prepared for this question because she takes a moment to answer. Her hazel eyes glance around, as if deep in thought before finally speaking.

"Personally, or objectively speaking?"

Guess I should've made that more clear huh?

"Let's go with your own personal thoughts. If that's alright with you of course."

"Well... I still don't fully understand their motives. After the rally bombing that killed their leader, I, with many others, thought that'd be the end of their campaign, but instead, it just seemed to escalate things even more. Protesters are now damaging buildings and Military Storages are being raided." She stops to take a breath. "At this point, I don't think they care about their original goals anymore. It's like they're looking for something more... something like a-"

"Fight?" I finish her sentence.

"Yeah... you could say that," She murmurs.

She stops and goes silent. I know what she's thinking. The potential of a war breaking out between The Republic of Rambell and the (wanting to separate) provinces could have major repercussions... It's pretty much on everyone's minds. It could start a chain reaction within the Nation, and before you know it, Rambell is confronted with an all-out war with itself. That is why we're here, as a third-party nation, in an attempt to de-escalate the rising tensions before it gets out of hand.

I open my mouth to say something but an explosion from upfront the convoy rocks me forward into the back of the seat. Moments later, gunfire erupts, showering our Vic and impacting the bulletproof windows next to me. Peering outside, I spot the muzzle flashes from our attackers coming from the tree line but can't make out who exactly is firing upon us. Not that it matters; they've caught us in a kill zone, and we need to get out of here fast.

<> I shout into my radio.

<>

After failing to get past the ambush, I order for us to start backing up but that also doesn't work when the AFV gets immobilized by an RPG. With no other choice, I grab my weapon and make my way towards the other door.

"What's going on?" Lang suddenly asks, her voice crackling in fear.

"Stay inside and don't come out!" Is all I say to her as she lies down between the seats.

Opening the door, I step out into the fury of battle where the sounds of bullets whizzing overhead and striking the vehicle's side blare all around me.

"Captain!" I turn to see Jackson at the front of Vic motioning me over.

I keep my head low and make my way towards him as I begin to fire off rounds towards the enemy.

"Jackson, What's our status?" I say to him while still engaging.

"Lead car was taken out by an RPG and we've lost communication with TOC!"

Shit! I knew that interference from earlier was bad news.

Behind me, the immobile AFV pivots its turret and begins opening fire on the tree line, cutting down a few of the attackers behind the tree line. I crouch back down to reload just to watch another one of my men get hit.

"Stay here with Simon. I'm repositioning behind Vic-Three." He nods as I dash to the next Vic. When I arrive, another trooper of mine is on the ground with a pool of blood forming beneath him, with the other three returning fire to the enemy, the gunner on the 50. Cal is also returning fire but not for long. A bullet penetrates through his helmet, killing him instantly as his body slumps over the machine gun.

"Captain, more combatants moving right on the road!" One of my soldiers' yells to me.

"Move the Vics to cover our flanks and get someone back on that fifty!" I order.

The gunfight continues to drag on with more of my soldiers dropping. Peering around the Vic's engine, I spot a figure behind a tree and open fire. My rounds hit their marks as the person falls to the ground. Moving back to cover, I attempt to reload and that's when I hear it. The audible sound of an engine approaching.

"BTR!"

A shout from my right makes me turn to see one of my soldiers gesturing toward the woods where I soon spot the armored vehicle getting in position to fire upon us.

<> I yell into the radio but it's too late, seconds later the AFV along with anyone around it is gunned down.

The armor on the AFV shreds to pieces as blood splatters into the air as mist and stains onto the surrounding ground.

"Fuck!"

With all my men dead now, I begin sprinting back to my original Vic. Nearing the vehicle, I spot Simon and Jackson lying motionless on the ground.

I'm almost there. I reach for the side door but just as I do a bullet tears through my leg and sends me down. I grunt in pain and reach for my wound. Blood soaks through my pants and onto my hands. The gunfire abruptly stops, and through the bottom of the Vic, I see the enemy combatants closing in on my position.

Come on get up! I have to keep moving! If I can get to the driver's seat, just maybe we can get out of here. She has to live. I have to protect her at all costs.

I grit my teeth and begin crawling towards the Vic, trying to reach the side door. The pain grows stronger the more I move but I fight through it. I'm almost there. I bring myself up with all my strength and reach for the handle... only for the enemy to reach me as well.

I'm greeted with a blow to the face from the butt of one of their guns that knocks me back down. I'm soon pinned to the ground as another soldier opens the side door and grabs ahold of the Ambassador. She screams and kicks while I watch in horror as they drag her out of the vehicle.

"Get off of me! Help!"

I try again to push myself up, but I'm immediately sent back down by a foot on my back. I watch them force her onto her knees in front of me as our eyes meet, hers overflowing with tears.

"Ms. Lang..." I struggle to say, "Just do what they say. They won't hurt you." She's crying uncontrollably as I keep telling her it'll be okay.

"Тише! Пёс!" The insurgent on my back shouts before pushing his boot harder into my back.

I gasp for air as my ribs crunch beneath me. I cough up blood, all the while hearing Lang screaming at them to stop.

"достаточно!" The pressure on my back suddenly releases a little and I look up to see another man walking up to me.

He squats in front of me, his grey and olive uniform coming into view. His face is hidden behind a white balaclava. He waits for a second to speak, overlooking me and seemingly analyzing my face.

"Dogs shouldn't stray too far from home..." He says, "And you're a long way from home, my friend."

"What do you want from us? We have no quarrel with you insurgents."

He chuckles at my statement and stands up.

"Insurgents? Have you forgotten why you are in Rambell already?" He asks before walking away towards Lang.

Then it hits me. Their uniforms, weapons, and even that BTR... I knew they looked familiar but only now do I make the connection. It's all old and decommissioned and gear from Rambell... which is usually kept confined in military storages.

"The Federation..." I utter the words. "Why are you doing this?!" I call to him, but he ignores me.

He then pulls out his sidearm and aims it at Ms. Lang's temple.

"Hey! Stop!" I yell. "She's just an ambassador don-" The gunshot cuts me off and Lang soon falls to the ground.

Her eyes roll back into her skull as a stream of blood starts flowing out.

I'm in shock when another soldier steps in front of me and points the barrel of their gun at my forehead. I look up to see the face of my killer, but it's also covered by a balaclava.

"Y-You... have just started a war... have you realized t-this...?" My words choke out as his finger begins to push back the trigger.

But before fully pushing it back, he says one last thing to me.

"We're counting on it."

He squeezes the trigger and before I know it, I'm consumed by the darkness...