CHAPTER 02


   It should have been a time to rest relax. Josh Hallowell knew the official duty that both he and his platoon had and, for that matter, all of Delta Company. They spent so much time at a forward firebase, usually pulling patrol missions in The Hurt and, after that, they were replaced by another unlucky platoon so that they could go drink their brains silly, in the rear.  Officially they were on reserve duty while at Seau-Neaut but, it had been really quiet for the last year, so, in reality it was a vacation. Today all of that had changed.
Fortunately, when Lieutenant Grover had found Josh and ordered him to have his guys “jock up” for an actual mission, he had a little time to round and sober up his crew. Unfortunately, Josh was not so sure that most of his guys actually believed this was real and, for that matter, he considered himself in that number. Running drills, or just useless alerts, was not unheard of and most everyone in the platoon thought that was what this was, even when they were on the ready line waiting to board a chopper.
A slow and alarming feeling was washing over Josh. The final straw was when he saw the pilot of the bird waiting for him. Josh knew the guy. He was a Nightstalker, by the name of Cliff Briley, and those guys usually only flew special ops missions. Josh knew he was not going on some special ops raid, so, that meant Cliff was here for only one reason. They were running out of choppers to ferry guys out to the Hurt.
When Lieutenant Grover finally showed up, the kid looked kind of flustered. He was busy trying to get his gear to fit properly and had an arm full of crap that Josh was not even willing to guess about. He also had an eager look on his face and that disturbed Josh more than just a little. The kid was not exactly new but, his one and only trip out into the Hurt was as uneventful as you could ask for. While Josh was thankful, about that trip, it was clear that his platoon leader had been hoping for more.
Josh worded his question carefully and all that Grover had to say about it was, “wish you had stayed at Fort Drumm, Sergeant?”
It was an obvious reference to how Josh had gotten here. He and a handful of guys had volunteered to do temporary duty with the hundred and first. The army seemed to be desperate to get guys to come over here and they also wanted their long timers to get combat experience. This was also a moot point, at the moment. Josh remained respectful, about the comment, even if he did not feel like it. He stayed on business and asked, “no Lieutenant. I’m wondering what we need to tell the platoon. This is a reserve mission and…”
“I got it sergeant,” Grover snapped and, at least, he did as he said he would. He told his platoon that they were reinforcing a patrol that had gotten hit out in the Hurt. When Josh looked at the coordinates he was still wondering if this was real or not. He double checked the location and, sure enough, it was pretty close to the outer perimeter of Uea-au. The egg layers never raided that close to the city. There was just too much artillery, that could rain bad news down on their heads, in that area.
It was only after they were airborne that Josh came to believe this was a real op. In fact, he became even more worried as he digested the facts. The sky was filled with helicopters. There were a lot more up than the ones he had seen near their staging area. They were also being escorted by a large number of Apache gunships. He was counting them up as the reaction force skimmed over the roofs of Uea-au. It was not until they had cleared the city, and someone slapped his helmet, that Josh became really worried.
Several soldiers were pointing back towards town where columns of black smoke were rising into the sky. With the sky being what it was, they were kind of hard to make out but, then came a big flash that was the unmistakable sign of a large explosion. One trooper even commented, over the intercom, “for once I’m glad as hell we ain’t back there.”
Josh snapped at the guy, “shut the fuck up! All of you.” When he got some puzzled looks he told them all, “it’s more like whoever is doing all that waited for us to leave before they got started!” The looks of confusion did not change and, Josh realized, the kid did have a point. They might not have seen the big picture like he did but, they also did not seem to realize what it meant for them. Josh told them without explanation, “we’re going in hot guys. Be ready to rock and roll as soon as we got boots on dirt.”
His warning did not have the effect that he had hoped for and, then, the first tracer round flew past the chopper. A moment later another Blackhawk, in their formation, went down in flames. All of the choppers broke formations and went into radical dives as the first gunships opened up on the centers of enemy fire. They were followed up by strafing and bombing runs from F-16’s that were flying high cover. While there was a general positive reaction, about the retaliation, from the soldiers around Josh, he was a little bit worried.
The Orc’s didn’t have air cover and, till now that had been a human advantage and it had been a serious one at that. What the pig faces did have, at least it seemed to be, was an unlimited supply of soldiers that they had no trouble throwing on a meat grinder. Josh looked back on the fires that were the result of the air support. Gunships were still pumping rounds into the pyre. Josh wondered how smart that was. Up till now it had been standard practice but, at the moment, it was possible their own airbase was under attack. What happened when those guys ran out of ammo?
It had taken a little under and hour for Josh to go from relaxed, to concerned, to disbelief, to down right fear but, he had managed it. He noticed that only a few of the guys in the chopper had come to the same realization that he had and, just maybe, that was not a bad thing. Josh decided he had to play it calm and make sure that everyone else only saw their platoon sergeant acting like this was going to be over with by the afternoon. As it turned out, it was a wasted effort.


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The loud thunder was familiar to her ear. Angie had been taking a break inside a twisted and gnarly root system that was easily as big as her mother’s house back in Florida. She had been letting the slow drip of water, from a root, refill her water pack. The gnomes were all gone now. She had sent them home. Her elf companion, Cami, had complained about that and, why not? Cami tended to complain about everything these days. Cami did not seem to see the truth of the matter. Angie realized that if she had not sent the Gnomes back to the highlands then they would have gone anyway. They were not stupid and, like Angie, they knew something was wrong. Angie had to look as if she were still giving orders so, telling them to do what they were planning, anyway, made it appear that she was still in charge.
That naturally led to Cami complaining from a different angle, “I don’t see why we didn’t go with them! I’ve never even heard of this many Orc’s! I didn’t even know there were this many!”
It was a conversation that Angie wished to avoid. That was why the thunder was a welcomed diversion. Angie ignored the little elf that looked like a cheerleader turned commando. Angie climbed out of her hole and up to the top of the root where she looked to the sky. There was a small opening in the canopy above her head and soon it was filled with an almost endless stream of helicopters.
When Cami joined her friend she was amazed at how many but,  was not really surprised given what she knew. She was also not that surprised when she heard shooting from nearby. She could not actually see anything but, the elf knew it was close. She also knew the distinctive sound of Orc staff blasts when she heard it. Cami was not so concerned with the proximity or, for that matter, even the Orcs. They had been avoiding them for a few days without much trouble. The Orcs seemed to be less than careful at the moment. They were moving too fast to even search for their own stragglers, let alone anyone else.
What Cami was concerned about was, what proved to be, the exact same thing as Angie. That was why the human girl slid down from her vantage point and began gathering her things. She vocalized her thoughts as she did, “we got to leave, now. A transport that size comes with gunships and I’m pretty sure they’re about to level this place.”
The prophecy proved to be more than true. As they sped out of the area, Angie finally stopped and looked back. Not only was the air support blowing the shit out of that area, they were doing double duty on it. When Cami gave Angie a quizzical look, Angie replied to the Elf, “I guess the Americans know something is wrong now.”
After they continued their journey, Cami finally protested, “if the Americans are smart enough to figure it out then we should be. Why are we going this way Angie?” Cami finally stopped and then stated, “or I should say why are you?”
When Angie noticed she was not being followed, she stopped and looked back at her friend, “I have to do something Cami.”
The elf did not move, “bullshit. I know where you’re headed. You’re going back to that little village down on Highway Nine. You and I both know that place is probably overrun by now.”
Angie waved the girl off, “you want go back to base, go.”
As the human began walking Cami ran up and grabbed her by the arm. When they were both stopped, Cami was very angry, “if you don’t tell me why I’m telling John.”
Angie snarl, “John already knows.”
Cami was insistent, “he doesn’t know everything I do!”
Angie snatched her arm back from the elf and then asked calmly, “ok Cami. What all do you know?” When there was no reply, Angie began walking with a, “thought so.”
That effectively ended the argument even if Cami did keep up a half hearted effort all the way to the village. She finally shut up when she knew she had too. Cami knew how to handle herself in the field and Angie knew that the little elf needed no reminder. They both used hand signals as they penetrated the settlement. The closer they got to the highway the more obvious it became that they were wasting their time. Angie even lowered her weapon as she walked out into a common area, fully exposed.
Cami was nervous as she joined her and exclaimed, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Angie casually pointed to a little human woman who was sitting in front of her hovel and stitching, “well if she’s not that concerned I don’t think we need to be.”
The village looked to be abandoned. What was even worse, to Cami at least, was the fact that it had been done so in a hurry. Doors were opened, personal belongings were laying everywhere, and there was not a vehicle or animal in sight. That did make the old woman something of an anomaly, so, Cami joined her friend in questioning the woman who did not seem to take them all that seriously.
Cami’s question was very relevant, or, at least it was to her way of thinking, “where did everybody go?”
That only drew a laugh from the old woman, “where do you think Elf? The Orc came through here about an hour ago.”
That seemed to be about the only answer that they was going to get. Angie suspected why. They had seen an abandoned firebase outside of town, even if they didn’t closely inspect it. Angie knew that it had been manned by the Olyan-Notae, with a stress on the past tense. They had obviously fled with the village or, maybe, even before the humans. It was also only of marginal concern to Angie who told the old woman, “you know why I’m here, don’t you?”
Again, the old woman laughed before breaking out in poor English, “American, you have that funny accent, only one reason.”
Angie snarled, “well?”
The old woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Angie, “you no find what you looking for, today, American. Best you go.”
Cami was starting to get nervous. She was even scared of this human. The fact that the old woman had seen the Orc as they marched through town was bad enough. Everyone else had the sense to run but, this old woman had stayed and she was left alone? It made no sense to Cami. The Orc did not even take prisoners, let alone leave primates to their own devices. What the hell was that about? That was why Cami nervously grabbed her comrade and said, “sounds like good advice to me.”
Angie ignored the elf and almost sounded commanding as she told the old woman, “we need clothes. You know the kind.”
After considering what was said to her, the old woman finally looked to Angie and replied, “I might be able to help.”

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Despite the fact that a clock from back home was near worthless in Feyland, Melanie Wu found it somewhat useful. The Fey, and everyone else here, used those dream catcher things to tell time with. Melanie knew it had something do with the position of Creu-Knas in the sky but, she had yet to figure out how the damn thing actually worked. Like any other American, Melanie was just to accustomed to thinking in terms of days, hours, and months, none of which existed here because this planet was tidally locked to that big thing in the sky. If you wanted an alarm clock, from back home, to work properly then you pretty much had to synch it with another clock. Fortunately, the US military had provided a “Feyland Standard Time” which accomplished that. Melanie just wished it did it a little better.
Another of Melanie’s wishes was that dark and light would synch with the earthly attempt to impose a twenty four hour day. There it failed quite miserably and, as a result, her sleep schedule was as screwed up as Feyland Standard. She yawned when she slapped the alarm quiet and let a few choice words slip from under her breath as she slid out of the bed. The marble floor was cold and she was frantic for the feel her slippers. Melanie had yet to open her eyes and, even if she had, it would have been worthless. The room was probably still too dark for something as convenient as human eye sight. Nothing about this damn universe seemed to be convenient for humans. In many ways, that was a part of why Melanie was here. She wished it was the only reason and, in particular, right now.
Melanie was sure she was still sneering as she stood over her night stand, poured some water from a pitcher, before splashing her face in an attempt to wake up. It was the frantic knocking that finally got her senses aligned. She shuffled to her bedroom door and found that Sergeant Masters was the one behind the noise. He was a former British NCO, and it was probably why Penelope Losmun had appointed him to be Melanie’s caretaker. The guy spoke English which was more than Melanie could say for most of the soldiers that were permanently assigned to guard the Losmun estate. Melanie had found that while English was pretty common in the south, even most elves spoke it, that was not the case up here around Uea-au. The few humans who knew any, at all, usually tried to speak the words in their own sentence structure. It made what they had to say near unintelligible.
In this particular case, Masters was quite clear with his message, “Lady Penelope instructs you to come with me now.”
It was not unexpected. Melanie was up for a reason. Her hazed mind thought this was simply the Losmun version of her alarm clock. They seemed to have a servant for everything that Melanie had an electronic device for. That was why she begged the guy off, “yeah I’m getting ready sergeant. I’ll be down when…”
Melanie’s words were drowned out by the sudden eruption of gunfire. Her windows even rattled and, then, the entire room shook after a flash turned darkness into light. Melanie screamed and began to panic as Masters grabbed her by the arms and calmly stated, “I’m afraid your little trip is out today, ma’am.”
Melanie felt her body overcome with an intense wave of feelings that she could not even describe. She felt nausea in the pit of her stomach and goose bumps raising on her skin. She shivered and felt a deep freeze despite the fact that the air  was really hot. She searched for words like, “what the fuck was that?”
“Now,” Masters said as he pulled her from her bedroom, “we’re under attack.”
“The estate?” Melanie screamed as she was pulled down the stairs. The sight of people rushing by her, and the sounds of war just outside the very building she was in, only added to her confusion. She demanded, “how is that possible? By who? We’re supposed to be safe here!”
The sergeant never answered but, as he pulled Melanie into the main dinning room, the sight of Penelope Losmun dressed in khaki’s, and pulling back the charging handle of an American made Battle Rifle, was enough to make Melanie almost want to feint. The same words kept running through her mind, “what the hell is going on?”
Melanie was overwhelmed to the point of inaction when Master’s released his grip and reported to his boss, “where too Ma’am? I need to get both of you out.”
Penelope had a sneer on her face as she replied, “this is my home Sergeant. I’m not going anywhere. Now I promised my husband and her government that she would be safe. The attack is coming from the road so take her out the backside of the property.” When it was clear the sergeant had no idea what to do after that, Penelope snapped at him, “the Imperial Airbase. The word we received is their defenses are holding. The main attack on the city seems to be falling, mostly, north of the Perfveng River.”
The one thing that Melanie understood was that the Losmun Estate was about as south of Uea-au as you could get. Melanie did not quite get the rest but, she had heard enough to figure a few things out. She then demanded to know, “who is attacking us?”
Penelope tried to calm herself and be motherly. She also had a slight bit of scorn as she replied, “the Orc. The damn elves have all but abandoned us. They’re fleeing south as fast as they can run.”
Masters tried one last attempt at protest, “ma’am, if something…”
Penelope interrupted, standing her ground, “sergeant, with the elves gone we have to defend ourselves. This is not just my home it is also a military command post. Someone has to coordinate our efforts with my husband gone. That falls to me, now do as you are told.”
Suddenly, Melanie realized she was going to be running through the woods in a nightgown and slippers. She wanted to ask to get her clothes but the next explosion ended that. The windows in the room burst, beams fell from the ceiling, furniture flew across the room, and when the dust began to settle, Melanie was somewhere else, coughing on the floor. She was still wiping grit out of her eyes, coughing, and crying as she screamed, “what the hell was that?”
A weak voice replied, “mortars.”
Melanie began feeling through debris as yet another explosion shook the room. Fortunately, this time, it was much further away or, at least, she was guessing that was the case. Her ears were still ringing from the first one. She found Masters under some furniture. He was covered in blood and coughing it up as well. He managed to get out a few words, “zeroed the house. Lady Pen…”
Even if he could not finish those last words, Melanie understood anyway. As people rushed in the room trying to aid the survivors she finally saw Penelope. Her entire body had been ripped apart by glass and splinters. Melanie lost the contents of her stomach at that point. By the time she had recovered, two soldiers were over her and Masters. They lifted her up but, left the Sergeant. When Melanie protested one of them said in heavily accent English, “he dead. We run.” The sounds of shooting was even closer than before. It convinced Melanie that she did not want to argue. She was cut, bruised, and disoriented but, under the circumstances, running was still no problem at all.