No Easy Roads

The column crept forward at a painful crawl. What should have been a three-day journey was turning into a logistical nightmare. The Bernard Empire's modern war machine—designed for highways and battlefields—was now waging a different kind of war: one against nature itself.

At the front, the 5th Infantry Brigade slogged through the mud, their boots sinking with every step. Soldiers carried AKMs slung over their shoulders, their M69 flak jackets caked in dirt. Behind them, armored personnel carriers (APCs) and trucks struggled to keep pace. The 9th Armored Division's T-72 main battle tanks inched forward, their 41.5-ton frames chewing through the fragile logging trail.

Lieutenant General Eva Cortez watched from her command Humvee, parked on a drier patch of land beside the trail. She ran a gloved hand through her short, dark hair as she listened to the latest status reports.