“Providence,” the sergeant said, “a unique word.”

“What do you think it means?” Corporal Richard asked, “Doesn’t the meaning relate to God or something?”

“Who knows what we’ve just walked into.” Lieutenant Patterson said offering a sleepy grin that was quickly hidden. He gently brushed his uncovered hands against his dirtied pants shedding some dirt that had accumulated on his skin.

“Gentlemen,” Stepping the side was the fireteam’s commanding officer Leccamaradel. She walked straight and her voice was crystal clear as she brushed a hand over what looked to be an engraving on the wall the four stood at observing and deciphering what had been written. “Our priority is to find a way back to Thompson and the others. We have to react to this properly or else we are looking at tampering with something we have yet to understand.”

Moving back in time, Lieutenant Patterson let out a quick sigh as he recalled the conflict against the magical beings, the very same ones that had slaughtered the Kingdom’s soldiers and knights without a second thought, “The Reavers had us there.” He said carefully considering the answer he wanted to provide to this new problem, “If we don’t get mauled upon exiting some portal, who knows what the Federation or the Kingdom will do to us.”

Thinking upon the lieutenant’s warning, the princess quietly examined the word inscribed upon the wall she ran her hand over, her fingers feeling every divot crated in the once pure white surface. The Rangers stood by, waiting with their rifles gently strung across their chests and the rest of their gear sitting somewhat uncomfortably on the baggy olive-drab uniforms they wore provided by the Federation.

“What kind of world have we entered?” Richard whispered not gaining an answer from the others.

“Ma’am, we have some kind of conduit running through the terminals lining the entire room. No idea why they’re running such a thing, but it looks important.” The ever-observant Sergeant Malkovich spoke up as he kept his eyes on a set of tubes running above the four-man group and towards the devices they had found and investigated no less than twenty minutes ago.

Catching the attention of the princess and Rangers, the four slowly moved under the pathway of pipes and tubes. Upon first glance the objects led nowhere, but upon closer examination it was clear that they led to a central point deeper within the open-air room they had entered to escape the void just outside. Straining her eyes, Lecca let mana flow through her body letting her look through a modified view of the things she could see. Though a light pain former at the front of her mind, she kept her mana concentrated, focusing on the current mission to return home, to return to her new family that had accepted her without a second thought.

Having magic felt strange amongst those that were inept. Having Nullification magic was something to give her reason to separate herself from others, yet here she was still.

The men beside her watched the world through man-made lenses. Their ‘goggles’ as they called them that allowed the Rangers to see the world in a new light compared to the rest of society. Patterson had allowed her to put on the goggles that he had, and upon witnessing the information-filled world they saw through the lenses, her beliefs that the men were on par with even the most accomplished of mages through technological and academic ways was now reinforced.

Here she was surrounded by war-harden men. And now she was leading them with her bright magic that guided them towards the next truth to be revealed.

She felt lost in this reality like it was a distant dream or memory. She had to remember that she was wide awake as she marched on into the endless light before her.

“Nothing to see. Where do you think it leads?” Richard casually spouted as he slowed his steps at the rear of the group.

“Wherever it goes that’s where we go. It may be the only way to get out of the void, that or we die here trying to find that fucking haze that brought us here in the first place.” Malkovich answered providing the only logical explanation to what the four were about to get caught up in.

As the group progressed further into the never-ending expanse, Richard hummed as he looked towards the distant and unmeasured ceiling, “I guess.” His voice was soft as his blue eyes traced over what looked to be streams of data, code, and other technological languages ascending from the ground and towards the sky.

“it’s a beautiful sight.” Lecca commented not hoping to receive any reply. Thankfully her wish was granted, and she was left to simply scour the endless sky with her mana-infused eyes. She pondered on why such data flowed to seemingly nowhere, but she kept her thoughts in check as her eyes traced over the pipes above that were slowly converging to the ground.

A small part of her wanted everything to be a dream; she wanted to wake back up in her room within the castle and get excited to help the men she had grown so fondly of tour around the capital city as if nothing had happened.

It was a foolish dream; a dream that would be a nightmare for the men.

“Hey, there it is.”

Catching her attention, Lecca looked over her shoulder towards Richard who had spoken in an unsure voice. Noticing that the princess was looking at him, the corporal nodded his head in the direction that he spoke towards making the silver-haired woman turn around instantly.

For just a moment her eyes widened, then narrowed as she stumbled two steps back, her head feeling the pain she had put on by channeling her magic to her head. Ridding herself of her enhanced vision, Lecca remained silent only forcing out a grunt as the pain in her head subsided; she attempted to take a breath to calm her mind, yet her heart was racing, and her left arm shook and convulsed out of pure nervousness.

Her mind calmed and her disposition recovered at length, though what she watched was something not easily stomached, even by the most prepared.

“We have another ten minutes before we set him down again!”

“They’re still on us!”

“Mike, hold them off! Give us time to get to the jumpers!”

“Rog!”

Taking off the metal helmet that sat atop her head, Lecca watched Sergeant Randall suddenly turn around with his rifle raised. Raindrops dripped off the side of his body and the side of his weapon and soon, gas escaped the barrel and bright flashes lit up the entire room making her flinch at the suddenly resounding roar of gunfire echoing throughout the expansive dead-end she stood in.

She couldn’t see what the sergeant was firing at. His determined face was hidden behind the goggles he wore and the loose scarf that was lent to him by Ryan not a week ago.

“Holy shit,” Patterson mumbled as he reached for the radio sitting on his chest, “Sergeant, Captain, private!” He barked into his transponder, “Someone fucking answer me!”

Silence.

“Hey! Mike!”

Nothing.

“God damnit!”

Patterson’s voice cracked as he screamed at the display before him.

“Mike, what’s your status!?”

Lecca froze as she watched Mike spare a glance to his radio as he dumped another magazine into the dump pouch attached to his left thigh. His face scrunched in frustration as he removed his scarf and spoke directly into his microphone “There’s to many!” Running now, the sergeant kept pace as he looked over his shoulder trying to gauge how many unknown attackers were after him.

“Situation is FUBAR, how close are we!?”

“Not close enough! Switch and I’ll take them!” Baker suddenly responded to the sergeant and the four switched to looking at the display which held the Staff Sergeant springing towards Mike while removing the only smoke grenade he had from his plate carrier.

In controlled bursts, led flew down range and struck unknown hostiles that were quickly closing in on the second fireteam’s position. Lecca watched her men out of the corner of her eye frantically walking around aimlessly looking for some way, for some solution to get back to their brothers stuck in an unwinnable battle.

“I got two casualties over there!” Patterson screamed as he began to frantically look around for a terminal like the one, he had seen earlier, “Sergeant, get me a way out of this place!”

“On it, sir.” Sergeant Malkovich said as he and Richard scrambled around the immediate area looking for a terminal to interface with. Stepping to the side, the men began to spiral from the point where they stood, their footsteps were hidden under the constant scream of gunfire and the harrowing shouts of the Rangers on that side of reality.

Sprinting to one of the pillars, Richard punched it as a display turned on alarming him. “Found it!” He shouted hooking Lecca away from the large displays that showed her Reclaimers being forced into dire circumstances. Step-by-step she ran across the polished, desolate floors, her hair shifted from her sudden movements and came loose from the bun she had it tied in previously. Her helmet laid on the ground settling into place as she finally arrived with the other two Rangers who also bolted to the corporal’s position as soon as he opened his mouth.

“Fucking hell. Wish this was just a damn game.” Richard said as he looked for something that shared a resemblance to a keyboard. He didn’t know what to do until he spotted a button on the side of the pillar; seeing what his subordinate had spotted, Patterson stepped back pulling Malkovich to the side giving enough room to allow the corporal to do what needed to be done. Pressing the button, the young man held his breath as he waited, and soon enough his wishes were answered as a projector emerged from the top of the pillar and displayed a holographic keyboard that was an exact replica to that of one of a typical computer on Earth.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“What?” Malkovich asked flabbergasted.

“Doesn’t matter.” Richard argued as he interfaced with the terminal.

Unsure how to navigate the unknown display presented before him, Richard quickly began to compare to the objects on the screen to that of a typical display of a computer back on Earth. It wasn’t long before he pieced together several similar applications and programs that were shown on the screen, but he made several mistakes that thankfully had no repercussions for the time being.

“Do you see anything?” Patterson asked frantically as he kept instinctually scanning the surrounding area looking for anything to shoot at a moment’s notice. His finger rubbed the side of his carbine as he leaned over Richard’s shoulder to get a better view of what he was trying to do.

“No,” Richard answered, “I don’t understand anything being displayed, but it seems some firewalls, or somebody knows we’re in the system.”

“What?” Patterson barked.

“I said what I said, sir.”

“So, we have someone watching us?” Lecca pieced together turning her head back momentarily to the displays of Mike and the other three Rangers moving swiftly over golden-green fields to seemingly nowhere.

The lieutenant bit his tongue as he shook his head; nothing made sense, and he was a man of logic. It bugged him to no end that he couldn’t find any reason for why the event that led to this discovery had been randomized yet planned. He simply clutched his rifle sling as he turned away and inspected the near by pillars, in which five were moving. His eyes studied the pillars as they slowly converged into a single location. An unsure feeling flowed through his blood and his foot shifted in anxiety Corporal Richard tapped away at the holographic keyboard attempting to find a way out.

Touching his skin, the cold air made him shiver. Patterson rubbed his gloved hands that were slowly turning cold; he hated this, yet there was nothing he could do at the moment but call out to the others once he knew something about the entire situation unfolding every second was off. “Hey!” He shouted gaining everyone’s attention. “Something is happening with those damn pillars!”

Staring at the pillars that the lieutenant pointed out, Lecca’s face shifted into that of suspicion as she watched sparks of energy emerge from the sides of the pillar. Brushing a hand on the pistol she had inherited from Green, she waited, waited for the moment for the energy being released to lead to something. The red lights being eliminated from the pillars shifted to a soft blue as the energy began to form in a circular pattern eventually creating a steady stream of power like that of the portal that was created by the cube she had received from Commander Holt.

Being drawn to the pillars and the soft blue light emerging from the portal, Lecca found herself fighting against the urge to approach. She kept her foot planted on the ground, her head turning in the direction of Richard who had stopped typing and was also looking at the odd sight not far away. “Did you do this?” She asked in a curious and demanding tone. If Richard did activate a portal, then he just gave the best shot for the four of them to escape the void.

Richard gulped as he stabled himself, “N-No.” He forced out unsure if he accidentally activated a program to create the portal. “I didn’t activate anything, but there’s no guarantee that the systems that tried to counter my access did something to cause this.”

Malkovich and Patterson seemed shocked by that confession. “And we’re just supposed to go through there without any explanation!?” Patterson groaned as his eyes flickered between the portal and the large displays showing the now beaten and tired Rangers on the other side. Shaking his head before anyone could answer his question, Patterson motioned his hand, “Get through the portal, I don’t care who opened it!” He ordered taking charge of the situation and providing the best risk to get back to the other side.

“Move it people!” Malkovich followed up realizing Patterson’s intentions. He was the first to break out into a light job towards the portal, his gear shifted on his chest, and his left hand held his rifle in place as the others immediately followed him, the sounds of their boots slamming into the ground repeated over-and-over, and soon enough they would reach the outer limit of the portal with Lecca leading the way.

As the princess was the first to cross the event horizon for the portal, the threshold which would hopefully lead to Thompson and his fireteam, she narrowed her eyes as she pushed against the abnormal feeling that slammed into her body. The magical energy she held fluctuated from the impulse of energy that encapsulated her; it was as if the mana her body created was trying to escape and rip itself from her body through sheer force, yet there was no pain, no suffering. She fought it and won. Now she was standing frozen in place. Her left foot was behind her, in the air. Her right placed on the ground, planted on the ground. Her arms were stuck in a motionless motion, and her hair was strung about from her rigid movements. She couldn’t blink, she couldn’t see, she couldn’t hear.

“Why do you interfere with what the Architects’ want? There is no meaning to what you all are doing: a true calling is based upon the set reality you are confined to. The Forerunners as they call themselves, they are the ones that will carry out the Architects’ orders, you Reclaimers never could.”

“That’s enough. I want to see how they will fight for the Nexus. I want to see how they will break the red bonds that tie them together.”

Two seconds. It took two seconds to cross the threshold of the portal to the other side, back to reality. For the slime moment she crossed the portal, her hand was outstretched onto what felt like a glass mirror. Her reflection was there, yet it wasn’t her. It looked like her former self; her childhood appearances were reflected and distorted in the image, and upon pressing her hand further onto the glass the image shattered leaving only shards of her past to pass by her battered body.

She stood tally. The crisp wind blew through her silver hair.

Blades of tall grass brushed against her legs. Mud from the moist ground collected on her boots.

Looking upon the expansive grounds, Lecca stomached the beautiful sigh before her. The large lake that stretched in the middle of the sprawling hills reflected the distant mountains and the closely planted trees. Groups of deer drank from the shallow portions of the body of water, and flocks of sheep followed birds that flew out from the tree line into the open blue sky.

She looked out towards the world that presented itself to her. Then, she turned on her heels looking behind her, the men she led straight into the portal seemed shaken, but a quiet thankfulness soon overtook their expressions of shock and worry. In the strong wind blades of grass flew in the air and her hair shifted as it was no longer held in place by the helmet she had long left within the void. Peace had yet to arrive over the continent, but she and the others, for this brief second, wished this is what peace would look like.

“How?”

Turning on her heels, Lecca felt the sun warming her back as her and her fireteam’s shadow was casted on four men laying on the ground below the hill she stood on. Only one stood, and he looked directly into her eyes as his mouth was held open with fear, shock, joy, and confusion.

Mike’s face held a complexion of unnatural looking colors on his waxy pale face. Specs of dirt covered his entire body, and bruises that held a myriad of colors contrasted along with the light bags under his eyes. He could barley keep himself upright as he clutched his left arm, one that had been recently bandaged and covered with a thick layer of dried blood. He was cognizant, he was the only one cognizant amongst the four who laid unconscious, or half-awake on the disturbed grounds they laid to rest on. The sergeant fought off tears in his eyes, and soon he collapsed against the ground with only his right arm outstretched to keep him from face planting.

“Hey!” Malkovich shouted as he and Patterson raced down to the grounds below to check over him.

“Oh my God…”

Turning to Richard’s sudden whisper, Lecca looked at his frozen and fearful expression before tracing his gaze back to the three that rested behind Mike. Her blood froze and her breath hitched as she held it upon setting sights upon the worse of the four that had been locked in combat for only what God knew for how long.

With this new information presented before her, Mike’s smile garnered her attention from the corner of her eye. His smile was not truly genuine and held a bittersweet mixture of honey and ash. His eyes clamped shut as two tears escaped, his breaths were calm, and he soon fell unconscious in Patterson’s and Malkovich’s arms. His arms were limp, and his face still held a pained expression from the reality he had lived through.

“Fuck. Simon’s arm…” Richard forced out trying to not loose his composure a second time, “W-what, what do we do?” The corporal fell to his knees looking in the distance. Bodies of unknown beings, green beings, were strung about, their bodies torn to shreds by the bullets that were expended by the men before they made their last stand just under this final hill.

Moving from where she stood, Lecca carefully walked down the hill directly to Simon. The boy had all his gear long removed and thrown about nearby almost hidden by the tall grass. She knelt and placed her cold left hand onto his head, the warmth from his body was unusual and he was no doubt having a severe fever that was pilled on top of the unfixable damage that had been done to his body. Slowly she turned her head to Staff Sergeant Baker, Captain Thompson, and her partner Sergeant Randall. Those that had made up the Reclaimers were out for the count, their ranks had been severely damaged, and it was clear that her prior conception of them being “Holy Knights” had now been disproved in full; they were all nothing more than men, that is all.

“The mission is a failure.” Patterson said in a strained voice as he checked over the bandage wound on Mike’s left arm.

“We’re screwed man.” Richard cried completely broken, looking at the shattered condition his brothers were in.

“The war hasn’t ended.” Patterson argued, trying to maintain control of his emotions that were threatening to burst free.

“What war!?” Richard screamed shooting up from the ground, “What war are we fighting, this isn’t a war!” His voice broke as tears flowed down his face. His composure was completely lost, “We’re getting our asses handed to us fighting things that we should have no involvement in! I am tired of this world, just let me go back to Earth, we could’ve returned while in the void!”

Silence encapsulated the area. There was no arguing Richard’s opinion, he was completely right.

Lecca’s head fell as she rose from the ground and stepped over to her partner who was now fighting to stay awake. Malkovich moved to the side and allowed her to kneel right next to Mike; a pale white shaky hand extended from her body and caressed the helmet sitting atop the sergeant’s head. She gently pressed the release and took the helmet off letting his short, dark brown hair, shift in the wind.

The weight of Green’s pistol dug into her side. She bit her lip trying to understand why it had occupied her mind twice now; it was almost as if the long dead Ranger wished to tell her to not let anyone else visit the other side, so now with this understanding she would fulfil such a wish and prevent anyone from dying right in front of her while she stood by doing absolutely nothing. The solution of intervening the process of death sounded harrowing and dangerous, yet a valuable lesson would be learned, a lesson of life would be taught, and she be dammed if no one could learn such a truth by her side.

For now, the storm had passed. Judgment had been fulfilled by whatever God sent the Reavers to serve their purpose, and now a clear blue sky was held just above hiding the nighttime stars that would shine once more within time.

With the sun shinning upon the calm blue waters just afar, and the calls of birds flying high above in the healed skies, the silver-haired princess remained silent as she closed her eyes and listened.

Listening to the world that she and humanity occupied, a small buzzing noise far in the distance grew ever louder…

Publicly Available Information: Situation Report—Geographical Information—The Southern Border:

Home to sprawling plains used for agricultural purposes, the people of the southern half enjoy the grand forests, golden fields, and comfortable lakeside properties hidden away from the public eye.

Facing the threat of the monsters and hostile nations beyond the Frontier, the Federation military holds several strongholds along the border allowing OMFS operators and border patrol officers to secure national security. Along with governmental, and local law enforcement personnel securing the border, large groups of civilian-created militias are found not only throughout the southern border, but also the northern and western borders.