The World of Guns: Battle for Hara Port
THE BATTLE FOR HARA PORT.
DAY 51.
RANK: ADMIRAL.
FUNDS: 335,000,000.
Tyler woke on the third day of sailing to find Sally asleep on his chest with Rey snuggled to his side. He smiled as he kissed his girlfriend.
"Good morning Rey. I love you."
"Good morning, Gore. I ove you too."
The pair then hugged their ghostly cutie together.
"Morning Sally! we love you too!"
Poor Sally blushed a deep red at that one as she smiled.
"Morning! yay!"
The lovers chuckled as they took a shower together and retook their spot at the bridge. Keiskue passed the Soldier a pair of binoculars.
"Tai-cho. The enemy has blockaded the port."
Tyler looked through the things and whistled as he traced an immense line of ships from one part of the shore to the other. Hara port having been built into a natrual slope with heavy artillery guns mounted along the ridge in the distance.
"THAT is intense. I love it."
He looked at the line of ships,
"I recognize a few of those vessels. HA. So they DID consolidate their force? Why oh why does that not surprise me? We'll need to break through the ship blockade to reach the shore. any ships entering that ring are in reach of the heavy artillery guns, while their planes are waiting to launch at the drop of a hat. Hm."
He looked at Selena.
"I'll take my plane out this time."
She smirked.
"Show em how it's done up there."
"Absolutely. Alright. Razgriz 1 will lead the formation. We're starting with an air assault on the enemy ships. Then moving to anti artillery while our ships take theirs out. Once the line is breached, move to shore assault. Any questions?"
Not a peep.
"Good. BREAK."
Tyler tossed Rey the binoculars and vaulted down the various ladders and stairs to he catapault that had his unmistakable monowing ready for launch. Wisp tossed him his goggles as he vaulted into the cockpit.
"Make em feel stupid."
Tyler smirked as he slammed the canopy shut and flipped the switches.
"Alright. RAzgriz 1....LAUNCH."
The catapult fired the agile monowing into the sky and the soldier spiraled up into the sky as he smiled.
"I MISSED this feeling."
A whirring was heard as three carriers emptied their decks. Tyler in the lead as he flipped the safeties off his guns while soaring high in the sky.
"Alright. Time to dive into the fireworks."
He threw his plane into a diving corkscrew with a mass of bombs being tossed out of the canopy while the battleship he was diving at tried to bracket him in to no avail. Tyler spun out of his dive into a level out climb as the ship exploded behind him.
"Battleship sunk. Moving to carrier."
Behind him the rest of the pilots were also bringing their best tricks to the table. Planes were fallng from the sky in droves while Tyler danced with three full squadons overhead. Then a massive shadow appeared on the horizon and he smirked.
"Zeppelin sighted. been a while since they brought a blimp to the party. I'll deal with it."
Tyler threw his plane into a spiral turn that had the far less agile biplanes behind him try to copy thre movement.....and crash into each other and explode. The skilled pilot chuckled at that as he flew at the now firing zeppelin. Tyler smirked as he dove under the command gondola and threw a ten pound bomb at the window as he soared by. The blast shattered the thing entirely and utterly crippled it. Then he spun upward into the sky before dropping a pile of bombs onto a crowded machinegun nest. The blast opened a hole in the Zeppelin's skin and Tyler smirked as he flipped the plane around to fire rockets into the hole.
"Annnnd POP."
The blimp exploded into a hellish fireball. Tyler was zipping away from the falling behemoth as it's fiery wreckage landed on a line of heavy artillery pillboxes. The result was a number of guns being silenced entirely. That made the man chuckle as he darted to the surface of the ocean to fire rockets into the hull of an aircraft carrier. The rockets blew several holes in her hull and as he flew over the deck, dropped a few more bombs onto the planes waiting to takeoff.
"THAT'S a dead carrier."
HE checked his remaining ammo.
"Carrier Sukkaku, Ragriz one land and resupply."
The captain was quick.
"Aye-aye Sir! Deck is clear!"
Tyler landed on the deck of the ship with ease in the choppy seas and the resupply was completed in 90 seconds.
"Resupply complete. LAUNCH!"
Tyler was catapulted back into the sky and smirked as he saw a destroyer trading blows with the fleet. He had his plane fly over the centerline of the ship and dropped a set of bombs into the big funnel in the middle. The destroyer was split in half and sank. He chuckled at that as he soared high over the battlefield taking stock of the situation. The Razgriz fleet were making decent headway and had already broken through the blockade to assault the port itself. There were still a large number of NAzerick ships firing on them, but the numbers were dwindling fast. In the sky, NAzerick fighters were being overwhelmed by Razgriz fighter support with regular resupply sorties underway. the line of heavy artillery guns had been hit hard by the falling Zepplin and many were destroyed. Some had been abandoned due to the extreme heat of the spreading flames. Tyler looked down at the sea and smirked as he saw one battleship in the center of a formation being irritating to Heartbreak 1. So he flipped into a dive and dropped a bomb into the massive funnel on her top. He broke off and the explosion set off a chain reaction that Tao's gunners capitalized on with a well aimed salvo. The battleship exploded and Tyler chuckled.
"Now THAT'S what i call teamwork!"
He flew over to where a cluster of enemy ships were pounding a carrier group and did a rocket strafe run that saw the bridges of four ships getting taken out. The carrier group were quick and the cruisers sank the remaining ships while leaving the four crippled for later looting. Tyler then darted up into a Nazerick fighter formation with machineguns firing. He took two planes out before blowing clean through the formation and causing it to break up.
"Razgriz 1, enemy carrier in open, request fire support."
Tyler smirked as Rey's voice was heard.
"roger, Razgriz 2, I see em. enjoy the show."
He did a run along the flight deck of the marked carrier with several well placed bombs and the result was the ship splitting clean in half like someone drove a wedge into the thing. TYler smiled as he saw that was the last aircraft carrier in the enemy fleet.
"Alright. Let's get this done. Selena, any sighting of thr Indominus?"
"None. You think an ambush?"
"That doesn't make any sense though. We'll....OOOOH. Let us blow all our ammo on the fleet here while they sneak around. Okay. I got it."
He pulled into a high climb until he was high over the battlefield. Then he had his binoculars out scanning the sea around them. sure enough.
"I got ten ships moving in from the rear of Heartbreak 1. Indominus is with them. i repeat. The Indominus has taken to the sea. Moving to intercept."
The fleet reacted with Elizabeth and half the ships focusing on the port while tyler and the rest went to deal with the guests. The Indominus was a nearly 1,000 foot long vessel with a near 175 foot tall bridge. She was a deep blue color the entire length of her hull and was bristling with guns. Tyler smiled as he flew at the thing dodging phanalanx fire like it wasn't there to throw a 25 pound bomb threw the window of the bridge. the bomb blew and the ship's cannons were silenced nearly instantly.
"Bridge on the Indominus destroyed. Indominus is crippled everyone. We'll sink the other ships and move to collect."
Rey's voice was heard then.
"The port is under ur control Gore."
"Move to clean up, Rey."
"already on it."
The 9 remaining ships were sunk in rapid succession from the highly skilled Razgriz Fleet's accurate shots. Tyler smiled as the captain of the Indominus was found dead with the remains of the bomb that killed him lodged in his gut.
"Bullseye."
The pamphlet was retrieved and the battle for Hara port won. The fleet put into the newly conqoured port for a HEAVY refit and resupply while the leaders reconvened aboard Elizabeth in the war room. Tyler smiled wildly as he lifted a beer.
"To the people we lost in the previous battles."
They drank deep...
"And to those IDIOTS that are fighting with themselves down on the first floor, I'll say this: THIS IS RAZGRIZ' WORLD! YOU JUST LIVE IN IT! To RAZGRIZ!"
"RAZGRIZ!"
And fresh bottles were drained. Tyler chuckled as the friends recovered from the hard battle before he tugged on the sea floor map and it retracted into a roller.
"Alright. I've received new orders from high command."
HE pulled the map of the third floor down. This was a large area of the Italian alps meets thick German forests. The entire map was covered in a dense white that indicatd snow and Tyler tapped the bottom where a small dot of allied forces sat.
"We've been given new orders to reinforce the garrison here at Glumberg. The name is NOT a pun. It's MISERABLE up there. They've been cut off from the main forces for MONTHS and supplies are at a low point. we'll be rolling out in our tanks and trains for this one. All land based as they have no access to air support for the moment. Nazerick has a VERY strong presence on the entire floor as they're made of their intensely skilled Infantry divisions supported by tanks, armoured cars, and their trains. The goal to get off the floor is to take this."
He tapped a city at the top of the map.
"The capital city of Ainsburg. The capital of the country of Germainia. We take the capital, we'll advance to floor four. which from the reports I have? Is a summer forest in the French region."
Tao nodded.
"Our plan, Tai-cho?"
He sighed.
"for the time being, get a secure foothold on the new floor and collect the reinforcements from floor one. Once we're set we'll start branching out."
Selena nodded.
"Tyler's usual strategy for a new floor is recon first. Get a feel for how the enemy reacts and behaves before he builds his war plan. If the allies are badly supplied, Tyler?"
"I'll need to find out WHY. We're on floor three. We can now start to epect bad commanders, CORRUPTED commanders, and lazy bastards."
Rey blinked.
"Does that mean we'll need to remove them too?"
"Absolutely. We're Razgriz. We're essential to the war effort and all of us have won hundreds of awards and honors in the eyes of high command. NOT including MY closet full of medals and ribbons. We are irreplaceable to the war effort and High command knows it. If WE defect, they lose the war. PERIOD. So we got some weight to throw."
John nodded as he looked at the map.
"what is our first objective?"
"Reach the third floor and make contact with the general. That'll tell me a lot on the state of the war. We'll use Gliepnir for the commanders and the rest will use our tanks. Tao."
"Hy! We have enough tanks and troop carriers to transport the entire force, Tai-cho."
"Good. We'll move out in force.....we have any antiair trucks?"
Tao blinked at this question. Then frowned as she pooled her pamphlets beside his own. Selena chuckled as she saw the HUGE hole in their defenses.
"Wow, Tyler. That is SUCH a classic blunder."
"Oi! WHEN was the last time we faced a PROPERLY SUPPLIED army?"
"THAT is a VERY good point. But hey. Wasn't that the excuse given when Austria got overrun by Germany's mechnized army during the first world war?"
Tyler sighed at the well deserved ribbing.
"At least i caught it."
Tao had a sheepish expression on her face.
"A VERY fortunate catch, Tyler-sama. we will procure the vehicles."
"We'll reorganize the army for mass transport."
He looked at the number of trucks, tanks and armored cars.
"Alright. For every ten trucks, we'll have two antiai trucks guarding them. If we have to pull numbers cause of it, do it. if it turns out we have more antiair then transport, that works too. I will not see this entire army, obliterated by a single squadron."
They nodded and Selena looked over from their funds.
"We have a total of 500,000,000 to use, Tyler."
"MASS upgrade and refit for winter warfare. we'll need winter gear as well. I will not need as much as I can't feel the cold to begin with. Once the army is properly prepared we'll make a mass invasion of the third floor. Timetable is 4 days."
The heads nodded and he looked up from his own collection of pamphlets.
"Alright. Let's get this done."
The group scattered and Tyler went to his room with rey where he flopped on the bed and let out a huge breath. Rey looked at him in concern.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just coming down from that battle."
She smiled and rested her head on his chest.
"Robocop would be jealous."
Sally appeared with a giggle to rest on his chest.
"Hiya Goreleech!"
"Hiya Casper."
"Hey! it's Sally!"
"O I am SOO SORRY! Sally the Ghost Princess!"
"hey!"
They laughed at her redfaced embarrassment and Tyler kissed Rey as he relaxed. The blonde girlfriend smiled warmly and relaxed on his chest. There was a knock on the door and Keiskue was heard.
"Tyler-Sama. There is a report on our allies from Floor one."
Tyler chuckled.
"I'll be right there, Keiskue!."
Rey smiled as her boyfriend got up.
"We need to play hookie for a day."
"Yeah. we kinda do. I love you too, Rey."
Sally was deposited into Rey's arms with a giggle as the Soldier reported to the bridge. Selena smiled as he walked in.
"Word from the rear."
He took the call and found Bridget on the screen.
"What happened now, Bridget?"
She sighed.
"Nazerick attacked the Warring Factions and the result saw them pushed back to the starting area."
"And the effect on US?"
"Well. You and the remainder of the Allies are caught off from new reinforcments due to the fighting inside the city now."
"Jesus Christ."
He sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"Okay. we'll need to pick up the rest of the allied forces before they're wiped out by the idiots."
Bridget nodded.
"There has been a bit of good news on that end Tyler. They were able to secure a fleet of Nazerick ships and are en route as we speak. The ENTIRE force of an extra 750,000 soldiers."
"That plus our 550,000 will give us a total force of 1,300,000 soldiers. With that many on the same page we'll be able to reach floor ten easily. After that it'll be a toss up depending on who's left."
Selena looked at him then.
"okay. Tyler? YOU take a BREAK."
"Hm?"
"I can TELL already. I'll take over for the time being. YOU go BACK to Rey, an d DO NOT come back out until four days pass."
"Uhh."
She smiled.
"Burnout."
"OOOOH. i loved those games."
"So did I. Now. You are on leave until day of the invasion."
He smiled.
"Thanks Selena."
"You're not Iron MAn. OR robocop. Now go take a nap."
He smiled and headed to do just that as Selena took over directing the army. Rey looked at him curiously as he walked back in.
"Alredy?"
"Nah. Selena called for a leave for Burnout."
"Oh. Cool."
Sally giggled as he laid back down.
"It's called SLEEP you idiot! It's NICE!"
"I just got roasted by a ghost. Yup. Naptime."
The girls chuckled at that as he settled on the bed with his girlfriend and his ghostly cutie...and blacked out.
FIVE DAYS LATER.
DAY 56.
RANK: GENERAL.
FUNDS: 10,000,000.
Tyler woke the morning of the fifth day feeling immensely refreshed. He smiled as he felt oddly light and more at ease and with rey asleep beisde him in bed it was not hard to see why. Sally was curled in a ball of cuteness in his arm and he smiled as he kissed Rey awake.
"Morning Gore."
"Morning Rey. Morning Sally."
"Morning Big Brother! Morning Big Sister!"
The couple showered together before Tyler smiled.
"Let's get back to it."
He walked out and to the bridge where Selena was at the wheel discussing the day's plans with the army. Tyler walked up behind the focusing blonde and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked.
"Hi. You're in my spot."
She chuckled at the light in his eyes.
"MUCH better. Stepping aside."
Tyler took the wheel and Keiskue and Tao bowed as he retook command.
"Tyler-Sama."
"Tai-cho. Your orders?"
THe Soldier looked at the map before at Selena.
"Status?"
"Linkup completed, all upgrades completed, all supplies restocked."
"Alright. We are invading floor three. When can we launch?"
Tao stepped forward.
"we can launch NOW Tai-cho. All forces and bullets ready for deployment."
"THe AA trucks?"
"Hy! Ready and fully crewed!"
"Alright. It will be freakin WEIRD to sleep on unmoving dirt again. But let's roll out. Gleipnir?"
Selena smiled.
"Is ready and boiling."
"All leaders will be aboard Gliepnir for the invasion. Once the foothold is secure we will discuss the floor's warplan. BREAK."
The leaders followed tyler off their ship and to the train stationwhere the long missed Gleipnir sat on her tracks. Her upgrades having made her engine longer and more bulky but she still had the same overall profile. Tyler climbed into the cab and smiled as he sat at the controls.
"MUCH better. Rey."
"ready."
The larger and improved firebox was opened and coal shoveled in as the rest of the RAzgriz command element loaded aboard the train. Once Selena blew her whistle, Tyler threw the brake and blew Gliepnir's iconic howling whistle. The mighty train pulled out of the station with the rest of the Razgriz army thundering along in their trucks. Tyler smiled as he saw the mighty force approaching the tunnel leading into the third floor.
"There a plow on this thing?"
Rey chuckled.
"Yup. We bought that while you were on break."
"Alright. Gliepnir, going red."
He flipped the light and flooded the tunnel with it's eerie blood red headlamp that illuminated the tunnel for hundreds of meters ahead. Tao's awed voice came over the radio.
"THI is the legendary Gliepnir armoured train? I am HONORED to man her."
Tyler chuckled as he blew the whistle again.
"Gliepnir's one hell of a tiger, Tao. Wait'll we open her guns up. Then she REALLY comes to life."
Rey smiled.
"Tragonia never knew what hit it."
"NOR anything else that we attacked with her."
"HEy, Tyler, ya MIGHT wanna see this."
Selena's voice made him look behind them and he laughed at the trucks and tanks all sporting blood red head lamps.
"THAT is EXACTLY the force I envisioned when i STARTED this mess! RAzgriz LOUD AN PROUD!"
He blew the whistle and the mass of horns made them all laugh as he got blipped. he opened the screen to see Bridget and smiled.
"What up?"
She smiled as his eyes were seen.
"I am relieved you are feeling better, Tyler."
"Thanks bridget. what's the word topside?"
"Well. Balaykia wants a word with you on your ideas for the Warring Factions. Heito does as well."
"We're invading the third floor as we speak. We got a few minutes before the end a the tunnel."
The feeds were brought up and Balaykia smirked as she saw the eerie red headlights.
"Kid you know how to inspire FEAR in people. There's a few trains like that being built as tourist attractions."
"I want one."
Heito chuckled.
"Of course. Now."
Tyler nodded as he looked out the windshield.
"we got maybe fifteen minutes before we reach the third floor, Heito. after that I'll have to reschedule this until we've established ourselves on the floor."
"Understood. The Warring Factions are getting out of control and now we've been cut off from supporting you."
Tyler nodded.
"I heard."
The Russian leader, Balaykia, lit a cigar.
"As the founder of the Alliance, it is a matter of course we seek your word for what to do about this."
Tyler smirked.
"Is Hino available?"
The two leaders blinked, then the blonde russian leader busted up laughing as she guessed his plan.
"Oh my god I love the way you think! A TRADE embargo to ALL the countries involved in the Warring Factions?"
"Yup. Razgriz will NOT aid them OR support them. Oh. And look. We have three of the world's largest producers in the Alliance! I guess they'll need to do something!"
Hino appeared laughing on his own screen.
"Tyler, you are one SCARY kid! What EXACTLY do you suggest?"
"All trade between Razgriz and the Warring Factions' host countries stop as of now. They want our stuff, cut the shit. AND pay triple due to the mess they've made."
Heito laughed.
"A CLASSIC American policy! Japan will adopt the embargo."
And like that the rest of the Alliance made the deal. Queen Elisabeth appeared on her screen next with a chuckle.
"Well played young leader. VERY well played. America will now be all but FORCED to act due to it's precious consumerism being cut off. England is supporting this. And it will very likely lead to war."
Tyler chuckled.
"No. Heito, you still have the football?"
The man blinked.
"On ym GOD WE DO!"
"Yeah. Use THAT. OH. Oh SHIT."
His eyes flashed and Balaykia frowned.
"Destroy our nuclear arsenal."
"Yeeeah. I COMPLETELY forgot about that one."
The Queen of England frowned.
"And the reason for this one?"
"We don't need them."
Tyler sat back on the stool.
"Seriously. we don't need such damaging weaponry. Look what happened to Ukraine. There are better options for weapons aside from the nuclear deterrent."
Heito rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"A new rule for the Alliance?"
"That, and we need to do something about the planet. Seriously. Do YOU wanna see the harp seals go extinct?"
They chuckled at that one and Hino chuckled longer.
"We beat you to this one kid. without the political BULLSHIT of the UN, we've ACTUALLY been able to make progress and change. It'll take a few years to replace the underlaying infrastructure, but we'll do it."
"And they say China is an unreasonable dictatorship."
The leaders chuckled again at THAT dry tone. Hino especially.
"We DO like our rules."
"Ha. Only thing I can think of now for the Alliance is medical progress."
Elisabeth smirked.
"Why o why do I feel this one is going to be dark?"
Tyler shrugged.
"Set up a volunteer hotline for people to sell themselves for medical experimentation. And it be VERY high price. It'll be a way out for those with nothing to life for, those with debts to pay, and yeah."
A unsettling silence fell across the meeting save for Gleipnir's chugging and whistle. Rey looked at him with a mild surprise and he looked at her mildly confused.
"what? It's a good idea."
Balaykia reacted first....and laughed.
"Oh my GOD you are a FASCINATING person Tyler! Create a society that sells itself into medical experimentation for the BETTERMENT of HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, EVERYONE IS EQUAL and TREATED AS SUCH, NO NUKES, and no censorship? So THAT is how humanity evolves?"
Elisabeth sighed deeply at the idea.
"A VERY dark, yet INGENIOUS solution. Devalue human life, to PROGRESS human life. May I ask where the inspiration of this one came from?"
"I know you're not gonna like this. but the Holocaust. We STILL use medical documents and procedures in hospitals the world over from what was learned inside those camps."
Heito sighed deeply at this.
"He speaks truth. A DARK and EVIL truth. I think we would be better off finding a BETTER inspiration for this one, Tyler. JUST to avoid the problems it will bring."
Elizabeth smiled reassuringly now.
"But I DO respect the honesty, Tyler. That one virture is a MOST redeeming quality of yours. And that ability to see the silver lining in ANYTHING is rather frightening."
John appeared from the coal car now and took a spot by the window.
"I heard."
Tyler nodded.
"I will be MORE then happy to talk this out later, John. But right now we're approaching the exit."
The big man nodded.
"I just need one answer."
"Go on."
He looked the younger teenager in the eye.
"Are you a SUPPORTER of that evil?"
"No I am NOT."
John held his gaze for a moment as Tyler had to fight not to keep checking the rails ahead. After a VERY tense moment the Austrian actor nodded.
"We shall discuss this later."
He left and Tyler whistled as he let out a relieved breath.
"JESUS that guy is intense. Okay."
He looked at the leaders.
"we'll reschedule this one for later as we're approaching the exit."
The heads nodded and heito smiled.
"we'll discuss the medical sale then. When we can PROPERLY hash this out with the Alliance."
The screens died and Rey looked at him curiously.
"we've seen a movie or SOMETHING with that right?"
"We have. I'll need to DIG a little, but we have. alright."
The Soldier looked ahead as they approached a small light at the end of the tunnel.
"The light's flickering people. We're going into a snowstorm. Be READY to get stuck."
There was a chuckle and he blew the whistle loud and proud as a deep voice came over the radio.
"Unknown forces approaching the Allied Frontline of Germaine, Identify yourselves!"
Tyler took the radio.
"Razgriz has joined the frey! This is General Goreleech aboard Gliepnir."
The man had a VERY relieved breath.
"Oh THANK GOD. How many are you, Razgriz?"
"1,300,000."
"What?"
"1,300,000 with supplies for the lot."
"We asked for support and they sent an ENTIRE front to reinforce us? And it's the RAZGRIZ detachment? I owe so many people so many beers it's not even funny. Linkup approved!"
The train blew out of the tunnel and onto the third floor in gthe midst of a snowstorm. The rails sparked from the transition of warm tunnel to frigid temperatures and Rey whistled as the heat from the firebox kept them warm. But her breath was still visible.
"Damn that's intense."
It was night out and the sky was blotted out by the low hanging stormclouds while all around them were tall, snow covered conifer trees. The land itself was covered in deep drifts that added a mystical feel to the area and Tyler took the radio.
"All units, status?"
A shivering Keiskue was heard.
"It is COOOOOLD Tai-cho. All troops switching to insulated equipment."
"Let's NOBODY freeze to death up here. It's humilating."
They chuckled at that one as they approached a small town with a train station.
"All forces, station ahead. Be ready to disembark and freeze our nuts off."
There was more chuckles as Tyler rolled the powerful locomotive into the station and blew the howling whistle loud and proud. His forces moved to a section of field where they began the ardous task of hacking a respectable camp from the snow and ice. Tyler, Rey, Selena, Wisp, Tao, and Keiskue walked through the town getting a feel for the allied forces on the floor. The first thing Tyler noted was the town itself had maybe forty buildings all told and the troops they DID see were extremely depressed and shivering in thin blankets holding their guns. When the troops saw the unmistakable hats and outfits of Goreleech and Razgriz, a mass of hopeful murmers went through them to the point cheers broke out. Tyler looked at Selena.
"Oh my god these men are on the verge of suicide."
The more experienced soldier nodded grimly.
"Morale is on the verge of breaking entirely. we NEED to see how the general lives."
"If he is in OPULENT splendor and his MEN are like THIS, we are putting in for an IMMEDIATE nonconfidence report with High Command. Jesus CHRIST I was not expecting it to be this bad."
He lit a cigeratte and rey bummed one off him as they approached a three story manor home that served as the HQ for the forces on the floor. Tyler frowned as he saw this.
"NOT a good sign."
The guards at the door shivered as the reinforcements approached.
"Goreleech Sir! General Weisnburg is waiting!"
Tyler nodded.
"Thank yuo Soldier."
The door was opened and the friends walked inside to be met with a blazing warmth from several fireplaces and brightly lit rooms. Tyler frowned hard as he saw the serving staff handing out drinks to officers and high rankers while outside the men were on the verge of freezing to death. He walked through the place wuth thudding boot steps as a girl in a maid outfit led the way. Tyler smiled at her.
"Hi."
She smiled shyly and with a slight blush at being addressed by the war hero. her voice a light soprano.
"Oh my. Um. It is an Honor, Sir Goreleech! I am Siera."
"Nice to meetchya! I-hm?"
He spotted something on her neck and she blushed harder.
"Sir?"
"Yeah. Siera? I need a favor."
She gulped now as they stopped.
"What can i do for you, Sir?"
He tugged the collar of her shirt down around her neck.
"Okay. That's...no. I am not playing this game."
A series of VIVID bruises were seen on her pale skin. Siera gulped as he let her go.
"You missunderstand, Sir Goreleech! it was merely a bit of play!"
"Did you WANT to play?"
"Um."
She looked away at this and he nodded.
"Tell me this. Was it the GENERAL?"
Her voice dropped to a low breath.
"Yes. It was Genera Weisnburg."
"Okay. I see what happened here. You work for Razgriz now, Miss. Go report to our camp to a gorgeous blonde by the name of Taylor. She'll set ya straight."
Siera nodded with a VAST relief in her blue eyes.
"OH thank you! I will be along RIGHT NOW!"
Tyler walked to the doors and threw them open with a bang. The group of large men inside that ran the army jumped as he strode into the room and the largest spluttered as Rey and Selena walked in with the rest.
"How DARE you bring women into this sanctum for MEN you WRETCH-"
"Shut up you fat fuck. We are RAZGRIZ. THAT is MY girlfriend you just insulted."
Selena shoved the radio operater out of the way and Tyler slammed his loaded colt on the table.
"I have seen the disposition of the men, and the staff. And then I come here and see all this finery? Are you kidding me? You. General Weisenburg. Step forward."
The fat man did indeed step forward with outrage in his eyes.
"HOw DARE you? Watch youy tongue you MERC bastard! i-"
"SHut. UP."
Tyler's ice cold and dagger filled voice stopped the larger man dead in his rant.
"I am a MERC, this is true. But I am GENERAL AND AN ADMIRAL in THIS man's army. I have cleared TWO fronts, nearly alone. And you're up here, stuck at the BACK of your front? while your men FREEZE to death and you're RAPING the LOCALS? No. Selena."
"I have coms with High Command."
Tyler took the radio.
"High Command this is General Goreleech requesting immediate command transfer."
The voice on the other end made him chuckle.
"Oi ya rat bastard! what the hell did you do this time?"
"Shove it Frank. These idiots up here in the Germaine Forest."
"OOOh those guys. What of em?"
"The commanders of the forces up here stand accused of rape, abuse of power, negligence, PISSING ME OFF, Derelict of duty, and I can continue. They are accused by MYSELF, and my ENTIRE command structure."
Frank whistled on the other end.
"Oh you REALLY don't like these guys. Alright, Goreleech. I'll push the paperwork through since we KINDA owe you our asses and all. Weisenburg right?"
"Yup."
"eh. That front is a MESS. We'll have a fresh command element on station in the morning."
"And the idiots?"
"WHAT idiots?"
"Ha. Thanks Frank."
The radio went dead and Tyler looked at the now white faced Weisnburg.
"Normally, a firing squad would be your fate. But. well. I got a better idea."
The servinf staff were walked in and Tyler gave them all shotguns.
"These men are hereby relieved of duty, ladies. Would you kindly show them the way to hell?"
The command chain was put to death for their evil and the word was spread to the relieved forces. Tyler then took over tempoary command of the entire allied force on the floor. He unrolled the map and looked at the nearby job board.
"Okay. we need supplies and we need them now. There is a Nazerick supply depot three hours up that road. Tao, take a crew and capture it."
"Yes sir!"
"Keiskue, there is another depot to the south. Same orders."
"It will be done, Tyler Sama."
"Wisp."
"Ditto?"
"No. There is a tank station here along this road. It's a staging ground for assault for the Nazericks. Take a squad and demo it."
"Understood."
Tyler looked at the board and took a three skull job for himself.
"This one is ours. Me, Rey, John, Selena, and Emma. It's an infantry staging ground with a large amount of supplies and material for their war effort. It's a 5 hour ride from here and we'll take the Bis. Everyone else is to pick a squad and take a supply depot up to 9 hours out. If all are taken, reinforce the area and get to work on this town."
The heads nodded and Tyler walked out with his crew. The Bis was refueled and loaded with shells before Tyler climbed into the command hatch. Then they were moving through the snow and storm. John looked at the Soldier behind him.
"You will contact the leaders now?"
"I will."
"Very well."
Tyler made the call and they appeared. Balaykia lit a cigar as she smirked.
"Nicely handled with those pigs."
"I know how to solve a problem."
Helga, the leader of Germany, had a more serious expression.
"We were informed of the debate to take place, Tyler. I would VERY much like you hear your reasoning."
The soldier nodded as he gathered his thought.
"Okay. We were talking about allowing people to sell themselves for medical expermentation. And I got my idea, from the Holocaust."
They nodded and John looked at him.
"Why are you drawing inspiration from such evil?"
TYler sighed.
"Because there is MORE then just EVIL to EVERY event, John. even the birth of a baby, which is SUPPOSED to be a think of beauty, has uglyness to go along with it. And VERY unpleasent truths you just HAVE to accept."
Selena frowned.
"LIke what for example?"
"Fact it hurts like hell? And is MESSY and the kid is expensive."
The women smirked at that list and John sighed.
"There is no silver lining to that form of evil, Tyler."
"I hate to break it to you, John, but there was. I am NOT arguing the Holocaust was evil and deserves to be forgotten. Actually, that second no. If we forget it happened, it'll happen again."
That made the man nod.
"In that light I cannot disagree. I do not AGREE, but I see your reasoning. The first, however, I do NOT. explain."
"Okay. 6,000,000 people died during that period. This in turn lessened the strain on the world's population and supplies. Same with the loss of life in every war. This is a silver lining in and of itself due to our current problems with overpopulation. Second. The medical and psychological experiements preformed during this period yielded results and knowledge we still use today. Look, bring up documents from medical textbooks and see where they originated from."
Helga sighed at this.
"A point I cannot argue. I will confirm this. We all learned many things during this era of human history. And whether or not we like the way we learned them, we STILL learned them."
Tyler nodded.
"Exactly. Hate where the knowledge came from, all you want. Just DO NOT deny the fact the knowledge came from it."
John crossed his arms as he digested this point.
"I see I may have misunderstood. You did not draw inspiration from the Holocaust per se, more the nature of it."
"For when the rights of a person is lost is when humanity TRULY is able to progress as a species."
Elizabeth let out a long, slow whistle in awe at the dark, nihlistic viewpoint.
"That was dark, wise, and VERY disturbing. And all the more disturbing? You're right. Yet I suspect you chose the Holocaust for another reason."
"Again. The easiest way to polarize an entire room."
John blinked.
"And to open the door for an understanding."
Tyler nodded.
"Or at the VERY least, an agreement to disagree."
The older man nodded approvingly.
"You see the world differently, Tyler. Sometimes that difference leads to some truly beautiful discussions and ideals on what humanity should be, other times it is a window into the very core of what does it mean to be a PERSON. Right now? Right now you are looking at humanity as it truly is, without blinders of ideals or justifications. I can respect this. Yet, I have a question."
Tyler looked at him curiously and John looked him in the eye.
"WHy do you seek inspiration from the most evil people in human history?"
The teenager sighed.
"Because John, there are MORE of them. And they accomplished more then the good guys."
John blinked.
"An example?"
"Ghangis Kan for one."
Hino nodded sagely.
"He WAS a monster that pillaged the land for decades."
Tyler smirked.
"Alexander the Great."
That got a few sighs and the Soldier chuckled.
"George Washington was NOT a good guy. Look at how many native american villages he burned."
Selena chuckled.
"He's got a point. Leaders are not leaders for being nice to their enemies."
John lit a cigar as he considered this.
"He has points I do not argue. Yet i find the fact he keeps returning to the Nazi party and their leader's policies disturbing. Is there a reason for that, Tyler?"
Tyler frowned as he considered the option himself.
"I'm not doing it intentionally. I promise you that. I think....it's just my own ideals resemble or at least echo some of their own. Hmm. I'm not racist or anything like it so...I dunno. Weird feeling."
Selena chuckled.
"I feel like Tyler resonates more with dictators because of his own unyielding personality. Something needs to get down, he GETS it done. Regardless of what he has do to. Is that a GOOD THING? Being assertive is absolutely a good thing. But. Being TOO assertive is NOT. Remember, John, he's only fifteen."
The man blinked at this reminder and Tyler smiled.
"You completely forgot that didn't you?"
John nodded sheepishly himself now.
"I admit. I did indeed. And in THAT LIGHT, i merely see a teenager seeking inspiration from WHOEVER fits the bill of what he needs, regardless of good or evil."
Tyler tilted his head now.
"Now I have a question John."
"Do go on."
"Okay. Why does me being 15 get me a favorable light like that with my inspiration while an older person wouldn't get that mercy? Sorry if I butchered that."
John tilted his head himself now.
"I understand what you're trying to say. And you have a point. Perhaps it is I that was blinded by ideals. Or at the very least hindered. Are you saying you ARE taking inspiration from them?"
Tyler shrugged.
"I'm trying NOT TO. But at the same time, these people are the CLOSEST I have to what I personally believe."
"I see you ARE still young. Seekign inspiration is NEVER a bad thing. So long as you do not seek the WRONG forms of inspiration. If you understand that is."
"I think so. Copying a serial killer's kill techiniques is evil, but taking inspiration from the paintings he did IS good inspiration."
The group smiled at that as John chuckled.
"Polarize the entire room again. I admit I look forward to these now."
"Thanks John. Are we good?"
"We are, Tyler. You draw inspiration from the most odd of places."
Helga nodded as well.
"Indeed he does, John. that is not a bad thing, so long as he does so VERY carefully. Now. Tyler. I will admit the Sales do sound intriguing. yet I fear a slippery slope to human life having NO real worth."
Tyler sighed.
"To be FAIR, Helga? Human life is worthless. ALL life is worthless as it is an EXTREMELY wasteful.....existence? Eh good enough."
The blonde woman chuckled.
"YOU play the scale VERY well."
"There is always another side to a scale. Ignore it, and it'll tip over."
There was a sigh at that one and Heito crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"Now when you say SELL yourself for medical expermentation, what exactly do you mean?"
"We set up a program where you are paid for your body whle still alive. There are numerous are you sure signitures that remind you that you are signing away your rights as a person and you WANT to be treated as a labrat. The payout is extremely high and the money can be sent to whoever you so choose. when a breakthrough is made, ALL subjects used in the tests are immortalized in a wall or something for their sacrifice for the good of humanity."
Balakyia sighed.
"A very dark way to accelerate the medical field and technological fields. We professionals can hash out the exacting details as i feel this could be the push humanity needs to advance."
Elizabeth sighed.
"I see the reasoning. Yet i worry about abuse and exploitation. I see we players of the game will need to discuss this very carefully."
Heito looked to Tyler now.
"Do you have any OTHER suggestions for advancement or items to ADD as a rule?"
"Hmm. THIS one's a STRETCH."
"Oh this oughta be good."
Tyler smiled.
"War in the real world, is hereby illegal, and all warfare MUST be conducted inside a VIDEOGAME like this."
The leaders blinked, then busted up laughing. The Queen reacting first.
"Youa re a VERY fascinatign kid Tyler Yataomo! VERY fascinating indeed! We agree! And to be fair that was kinda WHY we wanted you in the FIRST place."
"Oh. Um. OH."
They laughed at that and Tyler merely shook his head with a sigh.
"Well. Okay. I got nothin."
The leaders chuckled and the meetings for the new rules scheduled. Balakya smirked.
"Oh. America is on the verge of a full scale revolt, Tyler."
"The Embargo?"
"was put into place and prices for household goods has skyrocketed. Congress has adjourned for the month and America was left high and dry as the millonaires in Congress flew to their timeshares across the world for their vacations. If they wait till the end of the month to reconvene, a new depression will overtake the country from lack of goods."
Tyler chuckled.
"Something's gonna give. Either the people will have enough and storm the capital, or Congress get's off it's ass. Hey, Balyakia, see if your crews in the states can't add a little more fuel to this mess."
everyone blinked and Rey poked him.
"Tyler? are you TRYING to cause a revolt?"
"Now i am. America needs this kinda shakeup, Rey. Otherwise it'll collapse. And I'd rather NOT see rock and roll ACTUALLY die."
She sighed and Balyakia smirked.
"What EXACTLY do you have in mind?"
"Spill the beans on how Congress runs a pedo ring. From inside the state building."
She blinked. Then smirked.
"Everyone knows they have one."
"So let's prove it."
"Yes. Let's."
The screens went out and Tyler took a deep drink from a bottle of whiskey.
"I am going to be an alcoholic by the time this game ends."
They chuckled at that as Selena let out a breath.
"THAT one was intense then usual, Tyler. You okay?"
"Yeah. feels WEIRD how it was early morning when we left floor two and now it;s close to midnight here on floor three."
Emma chuckled.
"I suppose we will need adjust."
"Sure thing, MAh Witch."
"NEVER do that again, and I will let you live."
He chuckled at her irritation as the oddly duck shaped tank rumbled through the snow. Then the soldier refocused as he looked through the hatch of the tank.
"Alright. we're approaching the depot. Selena. Emma, load shells."
The girls nodded and Tyler pulled his carcano out for tank sniping. Rey smiled as she looked at him.
"what's that thing's level, Tyler?"
"Level 14. one more and I get the scope."
"Cool."
He slid the bolt back as the enemy depot came into view. The place built into a small valley with lines of trucks, tanks, artillery guns, and armoured cars. Tyler smirked as he spotted the white clad NAzerick soldiers all gathered around barrels of fire keeping warm.
"They're utterly unprepared for a hard assault. Alright. I got eyes on the commander in his office. I'll pop em in the face and commence bombardment."
The heads nodded and Tyler sighted the enemy commander's head in the tower that was level with his tank. As he aimed, the door to his office opened up and another man walked in. Tyler smirked and altered his aim before firing. The 6.5mm round tore through the glass of the office, hit the commander in the head and the other man in the chest. His second in command you see. Both men dropped dead and Tyler pulled the bolt back as the tank fired on the groups of soldiers around the barrels. The depot was thrown into instant chaos from the attack with Tyler plugging soldiers from the safety of his hatch. He smiled as he reloaded the ten round magazine.
"I MISSED hunting these idiots like rats."
A round whizzed by his head and he marked it's flight path.
"Hey! I see you!"
He fired into a tree and a sniper fell from the tree with a new hole in his throat.
"FUCK that guy."
Selena chuckled as she fired her 47mm round into an armoured car.
"You hit?"
"Grazed. Bout it though. How's it down there?"
Rey shrugged as she plugged people with her Krag-jorgenson.
"Eh. We're having fun."
TYler looked around the area when he spotted a truck trying to flee.
"Hey we got a runner!"
Emma's cannon fired and the 75mm round slammed into the truck's bed for an instant fireball.
"I got em."
The friends whistled at the clean kill at close to 400 yards.
"Wow, Em, good kill."
She smiled proudly as the friends rolled down into the valley with Tyler keeping watch from the hatch. He looked around the main road before spotting a set of disks on the flat ground.
"MINES!"
The tank stopped on a dime and Tyler took aim with his rifle.
"FUCK them things."
He pulled the trigger and the set of four mines blew a nearly five foot wide 2 foot deep trench in the dirt. Tyler chuckled as he scanned the area again.
"Clever. Clear!"
They rolled cautiously into the depot until they reached the garage. Tyler hopped off the tank and walked inside with his rifle at the ready. The rest of the crew kept watch with the tank as the most experienced soldier they had moved through the building. He climbed the stairs to the commander's room and as he reached the landing he was hit from around the corner with a crudgel. Tyler grunted as a nazerick soldier swung the metal club only to be blocked by the rifle. The man had a look of hate on his face and Tyler smirked.
"Thanks for the amusement. Your buddies were fun to kill."
The man yelled in pained rage and the emotional distraction gifted tyler the upper hand. The skilled hand to hand fighter took a step backward and pivoted. The motion threw the man off balance and allowed Tyler to grab him by the collar, and with ONE HAND, throw him over the railing to the cement floor below. The man screamed before he hit the ground with a spatter and Tyler looked at the bloody mess and whistled.
"Damn. Yeah they ain't gonna get all a him of the cement."
The soldier walked away whistling a merry tune to the now empty commander's office where he found a pile of information on the Nazerick presence in the region. Happy with his haul he looked the dead men over before noting the commander's weapon was a customized Carcano rifle WITH a scope.
"Score!"
He took the weapon and headed back to the tank. Rey smiled as he hopped into the hatch.
"we saw that idiot hit the cement. You good?"
"One good shot to the chops but that's about it. I'm fine I already healed."
They left the depot to be collected by Allied forces to return to the town. As they went tyler removed the looted scope from the rifle and attached it to his own. Selena smiled.
"Now that picture is completed."
"NOW I just need to get the damned thing zero'd correctly. I'll do that next engagement."
The crew returned to the town without issue along with a mass of also returning squads. Tyler had them report t Gleipnir and he smiled at the results.
"We've effectively secured enough supplies for the entire Allied force along with the Town's locals in a mere few hours. The shipments will begin soon. Okay. Statuses?"
Tao smiled.
"We are still well-rested tai-cho. We can continue."
"Okay. Those that chose to fortify the town?"
"They are in good spirits, Tyler-Sama. And forifications are being constructed in a progressive manner."
"Alright. Have the builders swap out for the attackers and we'll get them some action. I;ll look thye board over and go from there."
They nodded and Selena smirked.
"A rotation on action and defense? I like it."
The Soldier looked at the board and noted something.
"There's a two skull job taking an enemy rail station Selena."
The blonde unrolled the map and traced the line.
"Here. Mackina yard. It's a depot for trains and supplies."
"Hmm. Follow the line please."
"Already did. It goes to the capital city of Germaine."
Tyler looked at the rail lines before he smirked.
"We'll do this like we did at sea. This station here, hacknyed. Is in the exact center of the country and has FOUR branch lines that supply the neighboring depots and bases. If we take THAT, we can throw a wrench in the gears of the Nazerick supply chain. THIS ONE is about the railroad. if we control the road, we control the floor. And we have Gleipnir. Alright. I'll take a crew to this railroad station here."
He then tapped one adjacent to it on another branchline.
"Selena, pick a crew and hit this one. Wisp will take her own crew and hit the next one."
Rey smirked.
"I'm with you right?"
"Obviously."
Wisp looked at the named sorties with a smirk.
"Bring back memories?"
"A few. only this time I don't have to hold your hand."
"Fuck you."
"Ya already did. A LOT I might add."
"Cocky prick. I will BEAT you."
He chuckled before looking at Keiskue.
"Keisuke. you pick a crew and hit this station here. This way we'll control a sizable portion of the Nazerick rail system. watch the rails if possible. If we damage them, we'll have to replace them before we can wheel Gleipnir into the city."
"It will be done, Tai-cho."
He looked at Tao.
"You oversee the defenses of the city. I'd like to keep ONE main member of Razgriz leadership in the town at all times if possible. Alright. we'll get this done and rest for a bit. See what the Nazerick's reaction is."
The heads nodded and they scattered. Tyler and Rey grabbed a few soldiers from the army to man the White Elephant. Rey smiled as she took the driving.
"This thing'll be a ghost up here, Gore."
Tyler chuckled as they got moving.
"Why do ya thing I grabbed it?"
The other soldiers chuckled at that one as they rolled along. The Soldier had his newly scoped rifle up in the hatch as he scouted ahead until the railyard came into view.
"Alright people and rey. watch your shots and try not to damage the line."
The alarm went up in the enemy base and a line of tanks were rolled out only for the first one to be split by a 105mm shell fired from the Elephant's cannon. The tank exploded and the reload was completed in seconds as the enemy tanks now had to thead around the husk and provide easy hits. Tyler had the 3X scope putting in work as he sighted enemy head after enemy head and single trigger pulls saw them dropping. He reloaded without breaking scope and smirked as he sighted one brave idiot on a rooftop trying to aim a rocket gun. The bullet hit him in the eye and he fell off the roof. Then a loud whistle went up and Tyler smirked.
"They have a train. Aim for the wheels and draw bars."
The man nodded and rey smirked as she fired her machinegun.
"This'll be interesting."
An armoured steam train was seen leaving the station with machineguns firing from the engine and an artillery car trying to aim. The first 105 shell slammed into the right hand wheel bar and shattered it entirely. The train kept rolling and Tyler spotted the driver. He fired his rifle and the man's head exploded from the lack of defenses on the cab. The second 105 shell slammed into the coal tender and the result was an immense fireball as the flammable coal caught. The train was now coasting and Tyler lifted his panzershreck up and aimed. The 75mm rocket was fired and it penetrated the boiler with a COLLASSAL hiss of steam. The boiler exploded then from the extreme pressures inside and the train derailed into a ditch. The cars followed suit and Tyler chuckled as the remaining troops were put down or surrendered.
"And THAT'S why we put work into Gleipnir's defenses."
The troops chuckled as they looted the camp and returned to the town. Tyler smiled at the results of the first round of raids on the enemy.
"Alright. we are back in business on the floor. We'll rest for a bit and see what these floor three idiots can do."
Rey smiled as the pair laid in their bunk after the meeting.
"Now THIS, feels weird."
He chuckled.
"I feel like I'm still rocking aboard ships. Land sickness is a thing i guess. Weird."
Sally appeared with a giggle.
"SUPER weird! And i like the train big brother!"
They hugged their ghost little sister. Tyler smiled as he stroked Sally's hair and she rested her head on his chest.
"That feels nice."
He smiled and Rey kissed him before resting her head on his shoulder abve the now falling asleep sally. The pink eyed blonde smiled as the ghost fell asleep and pulled a blanket over her.
"She's so sweet."
"She is. I like her."
"Me too. Odd how we met an all."
"Kinda cool having a ghost for a little sister."
Tyler kissed Rey.
"Having you as my girlfriend is better though."
She smiled happily at that as she settled for a nap. Tyler smiled as he joined them.
A few hours later Tyler woke to see Sally had rolled off his chest to burrow into Rey;s comfy bosom and the blonde had wrapped the adorable ghost girl in a full hug. Tyler smiled at this as she snuck out of the warm snd cozy bunk. Rey opened one pearl pink eye and he kissed her. Satisfied, she smiled and her eye closed.
"I trained her well."
The Soldier went to his desk in the command car where Keiskue was laying the report of the recent raids out. The man saluted as Tyler walked over.
"Tyler-Sama. All raids successful."
"Good. Anything of note?"
"These enemies shoot better then their counterparts on floor 2, but not much better, Sir! A few grazes and a few hits, but nothing life threatening."
"Interesting. Rookies?"
"To a man, Tai-cho. These men should NEVER have been trusted to guard such a front. It is my opinion this front is NOT a high prioity for Nazerick."
Tyler frowned at that possibility and opened the thus far filled in map of the gameworld spanning three floors. The sea around the coast of italica, the country itself, and the mountains were colored in as they were active fronts. The rest were merely maps of the countries as would be expected of any respectable modern world. Tyler looked at rhe mountain area of Germaine with a frown.
"That doesn't make any sense, Keiskue. The forest has a direct line to the main coast of Germaine. And beyond the forest itself is Nazerick homeland. If anything, the very best men in the military should be guarding this ground. if the garrison is that inexperienced and green, then a skilled force like ours could literally steamroll their way to the enemy's front door."
The older soldier smiled.
"They could, Tai-cho. Yet, at this point in the war, this front has NOT seen any action, would that be assessment?"
Tyler's eyes flashed.
"OH my FUCKING god it's a TROLL FLOOR. Okay. we need to get on this NOW. we hurry, we can LITERALLY punch our way RIGHT to the next floor."
Tyler snapped his fingers and Rey appeared like fuckin MAGIC.
"What's the sitch?"
"It's a TROLL FLOOR."
The blonde jumped.
"OH my FUCKING god. We need to move."
Tyler flipped a switch on the wall and a wail went up for the army to assemble in their ranks. The rest of the leadership came RUNNING and he tapped the map.
"The floor's a joke. it's MEANT to LOOK scarier then it is. we are launching a fullscale assault with but ONE objective. Get as FAR as we CAN before we encounter ANY stiff resisitence."
Selena blinked at this seemingly suicidal plan.
"YOUR REASONING?"
"Up until this point, WOULD this front have seen ANY serious action TO DATE?"
The soldiers all gasped at this and then smirked as they saw his point. Selena cracked her knuckles.
"THAT is a CLASSIC blunder of ANY wartime leader! NIT reinforcing the homefront properly! Orders?"
"A IRON FIST. All troops load in their tanks. We will BREAK through their lines in a matter of HOURS. I want four seperate divisions around Gleipnir. That train is getting an exercise. Keiskue picked up on it."
The man bowed at the recognition and Tyler loaded his rifle.
"Let's get this done."
He and Rey went to the cab of Gliepnir as the 1,300,000 man force readied for an immediate assault as Bridget appeared on the line.
"we heard. and the generals are all in agreement after reviewing the raids. Those men are HIDEOUSLY green. We're watching."
Tyler nodded as he hit play on the videofeed.
"The point of this operation is to secure as much ground as we can BEFORE the defenses are stablized. Once they are, we go back to the original plan. Watch for mines. Those idiots are kinda clever"
Rey looked outside and noted the storm had only picked up intensity to near blinding conditions.
"Watch your aim and what you're shooting at! Friendly fire is a feature in here."
Tyler nodded.
"Routine flares and spotting grenades people. we got plenty, USE EM. STATUS!"
"Tai-cho! All trucks loaded and ready!"
"Tyler-Sama! All tanks crewed and ready to MOVE out!"
"We're ready, Tyler. Give the order."
The soldier yanked on the whistle.
"RAzgriz....MOVE OUT!"
The powerful train thundered out of the station with the force of several hundred thousand tanks sent up a dull thunder of engines and tracks. Tyler smirked.
"BLOOD LIGHTS....ON!"
And they switched the custom flood lights of blood red that turned the nearby wintery countryside into a red hued HELLSCAPE. Selena vaulted over the rear of the coal tender.
"We got med boxes at the ready and all hands armed with ammo crates."
"spotters?"
"Train alone has three dozen. Every tank as a designated spotter armed with flareguns."
"Infantry?"
"5 medics for a six man squad. Plus the usual spattering. All men are aboard transport trucks. Once we reach a combat zone they'll deploy from the rear while moving."
"Good. Next floor is a summer forest in France. Floor after that is supposed to be world war 2. I DO NOT know which front."
She nodded and Rey looked out the window.
"We're approaching an occupied station!"
"All tanks load shells and watch the tracks. and for GOD'S sake DO NOT hit my train. ya DO, I will load you into a cannon as a present for these idiots. Got it? GOOD."
The soldier set his 1887 lever action shotgun on a peg.
"LIGHT EM UP!"
The thunder from the tank's rain of shells was heard as far away as Tragonia. Since the way the game WORKED was even though they were on different floors, they were still in the same world. Just a different piece of it. The enemy train station was wiped out in ONE salvo from the army and they rolled right on through with Gliepnir smashing through a few rail cars on her way through a yard. Tyler smirked as he saw the boxcars.
"Hey. Someone rig some dynamite to them things. we can use em as railbombs."
A tank rattled up and it's crew loaded the interior with a mass of dynamite and Tylr nodded as he increased speed.
"I'll give a push. They'll catch the car and move it off the main line. When they do, KABOOM."
He pushed the car HARD for a few miles and slowed the train down to a crawl. The car sped away at close to 70 miles an hour down a HILL. Tyler smiled as they got moving after it.
"I love my job."
Rey kissed him as Sally appeared on the coal with a giggle.
"This is FUN!"
The couple smiled at her appearance and Tyler patted her.
"Watch the lead, Caspy."
"Kay!"
Tyler looked out the windshield as they approached the next station as several outposts and depots were captured in the Blitzkrieg style flood attack. Tao reported in from her MK6.
"Tai-cho! No injurie to report and fuel is holding steady!"
"Ammo?"
"Still at near full!"
"Good. it gets to half let the second rank take point."
"Hy!"
The station guards had indeed moved the rogue traincar off the main line and onto a branchline between a set of oil tankers. Tyler smirked as Rey saw this.
"FLIP the switches!"
The levers were thrown and the car exploded with a BANG, the explosion setting off the two tankers either side of it and they went too. The blast taking the enemy force completely by surprise and Tyler smirked as he opened up with Gliepnir's nose mounted machineguns. Nazerick men dropped in rows from the powerful guns as the twin artillery caars made it rain hellfire along with the entire army of tanks. Tyler had a smile on his face as they blew through the yard.
"Selena! Progess!"
The soldier blonde appeared with the map.
"We're about halfway to Hackney yard!"
"Alright. How's the momentum?"
"we are PICKING up speed actually. These men have NO IDEA what is heading their way. Command is paralyzed so far as I can tell."
"Good. we got em on the flatfoot! Now let's PUSH off their feet!"
The cavalcade kept the wave up as the sun came up over the snow-covered landscape. A city appeared ahead and Tyler smirked as he blew the whistle loud and proud with the flood of red light. White flares were seen the VERY next instant from the terrified garrison inside. Rey smiled as she shoveled coal into the boiler.
"Water tank is at 75%!"
"Alright. We're moving on!"
They left the newly allied city behind to continue ahead. Which so happened to take the train into a massive tunnel and the rest of the army had to thread AROUND the tunnel through two VERY tight chokepoints. Tyler frowned at this potentiall nightmarish situation.
"Watch yourselves. Natural bottleneck."
Keiskue was heard.
"Hy! Tai-cho! No contact reported!"
The train pulled out of the tunnel and regrouped with the rest of the force....unharmed. Tyler looked at Rey, now VERY confused.
"What the hell is wrong with these people? That should have been a massecre!"
The pink eyed blonde was RIGHT there with him.
"if those idiots were SERIOUS on HOLDING this line, they would have blockaded that tunnel. ALL the traffic in THREE directions would be filtered through those three access points! we ALL know what a bottleneck can do to an army. A SMALL force would have made sense. Okay, the army doesn't place much importance on the bottleneck. But NOBODY? what the hell?"
Selena appeared and Tyler looked at her with CONFUSION stamped on his forehead.
"What the hell? That tunnel and road shoulda been a deathtrap."
The soldier chuckled as she leaned on the cab.
"It SHOULD HAVE been the place Nazerick STOPPED us in our tracks. that kinda natural bottleneck is KINDA the backbone of any military defensive strategy. We've reports from the flank fringes of MASS retreating and soldiers just DROPPING their guns to run."
"Idiots or morale?"
"Idiots. They were VERY well supplied. even the rank and file had plenty of firebarrels and hot food. These are the RESERVES of the army. The divisions that were NEVER expected to see action, and more kept as meat for the grinder."
"That STILL doesn't make any sense. Even RESERVES know how to defend a line."
"True. if they graduated boot camp."
Tyler blinked at that and looked ahead with new eyes.
"Soooo, if these are boot camp babies, that means."
Rey nodded grimly.
"The next floor is going to be a FIGHT."
"Oh SHIT. Alright. I mean it makes sense. we'll take the capital and hold in it for a bit. Do some floor milking before moving on."
Selena nodded.
"That is a VERY sound decision, Tyler. we'll regain our breath and solidify our strength before another assault like this."
Tyler looked ahead as they came to another railyard. This one too was swept away by the mechnized force and Sally got a headpat, making the happy ghost giggle. The force rolled through more villages and towns without any real resistence and Tyler's uneasiness grew with every easy victory. Rey saw this and smiled as they approached Hackney yard.
"we're good at this. Don't worry."
"Rey. WHERE do we USUALLY hear THOSE EXACT WORDS?"
"OH Shit."
"Yeah."
The soldier looked out the windshield as they approached the near two mile wide yard that serviced the entire region's railways.
"Alright we need scouts! I want an idea of what's going on in there!"
A woman's breathy voice was heard on the radio.
"Commander Razgriz, Specialist Hailey reporting. First tactical sniper assault recon. I have eyes inside the pen."
"what are we dealing with, Hailey?"
"Sir. the ENTIRE yard is in a state of panic. There is NO line of command, there ARE commanders, but NOT a SOUL is listening to them."
"NO sign of discipline?"
"NONE sir. NONE."
"Okay. Have you eyes on the enemy yard commander?"
"I have eyes."
"Can you reach him?"
"I can."
"Take the shot."
A flash was seen in the distance as the round flew from the sniper's barrel.
"Kill confirmed."
"Alright. Nice shot."
"Thank you, Sir."
"SaS?"
"Ha. CSAR actually."
"See Selena when ya got a chance. she'd love to eat-er, see ya again."
Rey smacked him with a smirk.
"Idiot. NO. I want to WATCH, BAD JACKASS, and oh MY god."
Selena appeared with a smirk.
"HAILEY is MARRIED you PRICK."
"Her name?"
"OOOH you are going to be SHOT to death. HER name is TANYA!"
"i like that name."
The blonde soldier groaned at that as Hailey's soft voice came over the radio with amusement.
"So you know? I NEVER miss. And I CAN see you, Tyler."
"wow. An angel of death. I like it."
"That IS my callsign. Deathangel."
"METAL as HELL."
The unseen lady chuckled as she fired again into the yard. Tyler refocused as the armoured force tore into the yard firing at everything that moved. Rey had her rifle up and was dropping people with ease as Tyler manned the train. He poked his head out of the cab to shoot one idiot trying to climb onto the train in the face.
"Get off my train."
He flipped the lever and reaimed at another idiot running in the open with a MMG gun and the blast took him in the chest. Rey smiled as she fitted the 6 rounds into her magazine.
"This is fun."
"Yeah it's always fun shootin fish in a barrel."
The tanks rolled in and the yard surrendered. Tyler nodded.
"resupply and let's keep moving."
The force moved in blocks to the various depots around the yard while the train's water and coal were topped off. Once the force was topped off they got moving again. Tyler smiled as the NPC allied forces swept un behind them to properly secure the area.
"Alright. We've got them on the run. Increase pace."
A few hours later saw the entire force parked outside the capital city of Ainsburg as the remains of the forces on the floor had all barricaded themselves inside the capital city. It being built inside a set of walls like Tragonia and even sat atop a tall slope. Tyler sighed as he rolled the train up the hillside towards the unblocked tunnel.
"A city like this is a natrual fortress. And yet we'll take it like any other city. What a waste."
The forced flooded through the gates of the city and within the hour the city had been fully secured. Tyler sighed again as he parked the train at the station.
"Well. THAT was lame."
He and the leaders gathered in the command car and the Soldier sighed as the fourth floor orders came in.
"We're to advance into the Nazerick Forest and establish a foothold in their land. It's a full invasion so we'll need to break their lines and establish our own. But for the time being we're resupplying and requiping the entire army."
Tao nodded.
"Hy. Wise choice, Tai-cho. We will thoroughly explore the floor as well."
"Good. Caution is the word here everyone. We will say three days. In three days we will advance into floor four. In that time I want you to Rest and prepare as the intel on the new forces all tell of a fanatical zeal."
The heads nodded and he smiled.
"Shame to say we're not having drinks for this one since it wasn't much of a fight. "
They chuckled ad Tyler looked outside to see the sun had reached mid day.
"Well. we'll crash for the day. Get some rest and we'll figure out the floor in dah morning. break."
The leaders split to their tasks as Tyler and Rey went to their bunk. Sally snuggled up between them and Rey smiled at him.
"See, Gore? We're fine."
He held her tightly.
"I'm still worried. it was way too easy."
"Some games screw with their players. You know that. Relax a little."
He sighed with a smile at that and kissed her deeply.
"I love you too, Rey."
She smiled and they settled down for the day?