Cabimas, Venezuela…

Valeria finishes tidying up and goes to see if there’s news, after that she’ll leave for her new part-time job as an assistant manager in a sporting goods store, taking a break from her studies for the time being.

The announcer says, “Breaking news, a train located in Táchira state has been assaulted by the Venezuelan Revolutionary Army, it has been claimed that the guerrilla members wanted to get a hidden stash of weapons inside the train but this is under investigation. Six civilians are reported to have died in the incident. Four national guards and fifty people are wounded, the civilians are safe and under the protection of the military and medical staff are helping the injured. The President vigorously condemns the terrorist strike and promises to deal with the rebellious group accordingly, The VRA claimed the attack as an act of ‘justified uprising’ and they promised more skirmishes in the future, more news at 11:00 pm…”

“Here we go…” Valeria says.

“I wonder where they get their supplies,” Roberth says. “I bet the Red Confederacy is involved, I wouldn’t be surprised if every insurgent group in the world is backed by them.”

“Get their minions to do the dirty work… I’m going to check what’s on social media.” With her laptop, Valeria logs in and scans the virtual communities and networks’ trending topics about the battles that have taken place worldwide. The war is accumulating an extensive number of dead, wounded, missing and prisoners globally.

“The death toll never stops rising, what a mess…” Valeria says.

“I only hope Phrixus never appears on such count,” Roberth says.

“We can only hope… Well, I’m going to work, let’s feed Dixy and Laso and close this place up for today.” Valeria says.

***

Phrixus spends a year being deployed to less-threatening missions and gets the occasional rest, waiting to be sent to the next fight. Eurasia is the land where the bulk of the conflict takes place, often direct fights between the Red Confederacy and The Vanguard of the Atlantic, and lesser frictions by insurgents groups in South and Central America. Right now he is spending his break time at Warren Air Force base, talking regularly with his family and friends.

One day he is called back for duty. He attends a briefing session.

“Pay attention here!” Colonel Ethan Carver points at a location on a world map. “The Red Confederacy is trying to set up a naval blockade in the Korea Strait in an attempt to gain a foothold in one of the central islands to disrupt and sabotage any operations in South Korea and Japan. You will be sent to the last-mentioned country to prevent the enemy from settling in and impede the blockade, your first stop is Torii Station Army Base where you will be assigned to squadrons. Good luck, dismissed.”

***

Many hours later, in Japan…

The airplane lands in Okinawa, from there Phrixus and his fellow soldiers are taken by truck to Torii Station Army Base. Once they arrive they are put in lines to wait for their assignments. Phrixus is told to report to his squadron leader to be transported to the area of operations, so without wasting time he goes to the barracks to meet his superior.

“Captain Yuri Kiyoshi?”

The Captain turns around. “Yes, what is it?” She speaks with a fervent tone.

“I’m Corporal Phrixus, reporting for duty ma’am.”

“Good, as soon as the rest of the group arrives we will depart to the battle zone, any questions?”

“Do we have access to personal equipment, ma’am?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, the VOA has brought some unconventional weaponry and gear, you will get your belongings and supplies at the frontline camp.”

“I have no more questions, thanks.”

“Then wait for the rest of the team.”

In the meantime Phrixus gathers his thoughts, trying to gain a clear idea about what he has learned the last months about what is happening in Venezuela, for friends and family, Roberth and Valeria: the country is slowly but noticeably improving, both economically and in its infrastructure, his friends have part-time jobs but they also take care of his fort and feed his pets and let them go outside since they know when to return and remain safe inside. Phrixus sends them money for their help and for his family too, his parents and sisters are doing well as before; everything over there is going decently so far, which makes Phrixus pleased.

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Regarding the world outside, the war is still restless; the VOA keeps the lead but the Red Confederacy doesn’t waver. He spent his break times resting well and polishing his technical skills to keep them from getting rusty, he never knew when it might come handy, usually the moment you least expect it.

***

3 hours later, somewhere on an island at the Korea Strait, 5:45 pm…

Phrixus arrives in the main camp, there are a lot of soldiers getting armed and preparing supplies for the impending battle. Phrixus gets outfitted for the fight as every soldier does: A standard-issue assault rifle, pistol, two fragmentation grenades, combat knife. Then he gets something that’s only for him: his pollaxe. Captain Yuri Kiyoshi grabs a very large sword on its scabbard, specifically a Nodachi, hinting at the possibility she could be a Superhuman or a Homo Magnar.

After gearing up, Yuri explains the battle plans:

“Listen up, the battlefield is divided into three areas: The Outer Sector, The Inner Sector, and the Key Sector. We are being deployed to the Outer Sector and are to hold the position as long as we can, the reinforcements will arrive in 45 minutes. If the tide turns against us we will retreat to the Sectors behind us but we can’t lose the Key Sector. Hold it by any means. If we fail, and the Red Confederacy manages to control the area, will we have a severe disadvantage in the war. Use everything at your disposal to delay their advancement until our aid arrives, any questions?”

“No ma’am.” Everybody says in unison.

“Then let’s go, we have a fight to win.”

Getting in position and preparing themselves for the upcoming battle, they wait in the deafening silence. It’s mostly an open woodland area surrounded by a thick mist that permeates the field, the only barely audible sounds they hear are the occasional weapon handling or a few insects chirping, but some minutes later those sounds are replaced by mechanical ones, they resonate from afar. From the mist they see outlines of vehicles, many different vehicles ranging from Armored Personnel Carriers to Main Battle Tanks.

The enemy approaches, and in an instant the silence ends with an abrupt fire of artillery from the defensive side, raining destruction upon the enemy march—still they rush forward while losing a few units. As soon as the invading armada gets out of range of the cannons they open fire against the defenders and deploy their infantry.

“Stay still!” Yuri yells. “The Denial Defense Drones should protect us against any explosive ordnance they throw at us!”

She referred to some experimental unmanned aerial drones floating above them. They function as a mobile active protection system against explosives, ranging from grenades to tank shells, using a powerful laser to instantly ignite their explosive payload from afar and causing them to detonate in middle of the air. They could be used to prematurely blow up a grenade worn by an enemy soldier, but at the moment, the drones are effectively able to stop any missiles and tank shells that would have hit them. The need a moment to cooldown, so the drones relocates themselves below the trenches as they are not resistant to bullets. As the enemy infantry begins to advance, they are followed by similar small unmanned aerial vehicles, but with a different purpose; agile and armed with a small caliber gun they shower the trench with gunfire, pinning down and wounding some soldiers, they look as they are self-operated due the fact they don’t evade shots. Many of them are brought down easily but act as a good distraction as the enemy infantry begins to push forward. There is an exchange of fire for both parties, a few vehicles try to get inside the Outer Sector but are destroyed quickly. Some minutes pass, and the soldiers of the Outer Sector are taking a beating.

“Everybody fall back to the Inner Sector, now!” yells Yuri.

Joining forces with the men behind them they resist the enemy offensive but they are slowly getting worn down, some superhuman opponents manage to break through the defenses and get in close combat, bringing down the common troopers easily. Phrixus wields his pollaxe and fights some of them while Yuri with her Nodachi wards off another party, managing to get rid of them among enemy fire. The combat rages on and they fall into a critical situation, they have some wounded troops and a few alive but shaken, pinned down and with no possibility of a safe retreat. Yuri speaks to Phrixus.

“They are getting closer and if we expose ourselves they kill us. Listen quickly, I will give you time to retreat to the Key Sector and you make your last stand, the reinforcements should be here shortly.” She pulls off her dog tags and throws them to Phrixus, then she throws a smoke grenade in front the enemy.”

“What are you trying to…?”

“This is your only chance, don’t waste it!” Yuri unsheathes her sword, charging forward and disappearing through the white cloud.

“Carry the wounded and move to the Key Sector quickly!” yells Phrixus.

All the remaining soldiers move as fast as they can to the last defense zone, while there is a pause in gunfire. Holing up with the rest of the battalion they expect the worst, the last stand only lasted for seven minutes. Finally the reinforcements arrive, friendly aircraft delivering tactical bombardment against enemy positions while additional troops come and push back the attackers. Unable to withstand too much firepower the opponents retreat from the battlefield, ensuring the victory of the VOA side. Phrixus gives a sigh of relief, but holding Yuri Kiyoshi’s dog tags, he knows he will have to bring it to a high-ranking officer to confirm her demise, as he thinks she wouldn’t have survived her heroic blitz.

***

At the debriefing session…

“…we have repelled the enemy invaders’ attempt to establish themselves in the sector, we also suffered moderate casualties during the fight, there are confirmed reports of The Red Confederacy deploying semi-autonomous machines such as the attack drones in the field in many of their operations. We will set up unmanned defenses over the area to guard the coast against any further enemy incursion. You will return to Warren Air Force Base in four hours, dismissed.”

Phrixus doesn’t forget to deliver Yuri’s dog tags to a nearby officer, he hands it over to the commander of the base, handling it with care. “Yuri Kiyoshi gave me these, before she died…”

“When I received the message of a body without dog tags and a Nodachi next to her I didn’t want to believe it, she was a stout and disciplined soldier. I will send a letter of commendation to her family, thank you for bringing me this.” The Japanese officer bows deeply.

Phrixus responds by bowing down in respect, then leaves the room.

***

Three days later, at Warren Air Force Base…

“Back to stand-by mode,” Phrixus says. “Better not be another year of leisure or breezy walk-in-the-park missions.”