GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 2

V21 - Chapter 246 The Archangel

***

--- Jezreel Valley, Israel ---

Date: August 19th, 2026

Speeding through the Levant desert inside a SandCat, Sharpe has been quiet as he listened to Rory and Fredo Donini conversation about history and a quick lesson regarding the Bible and the Age of Hero's.

Among them are their escorts, the Yahalom, an Israel combat engineer's special forces. In addition, with them are Fredo Donini staff, made up of historians and archaeologists.

Feeling a small hand placed on his arm, he saw Rory.

"You have been quiet for three hours. Everything okay?"

"Just thinking," Sharpe said as the jeep bounced. "What do you think of the Middle East so far?"

"Very different than I expected," Rory replied. "I can just feel the energy all around me."

"Feel what?"

"The blood. The sand below us has been soaked with so much blood over the multiple millennia. All the battles, campaigns, and duels. Nations. Empires. All fighting here for one reason or another. The wealth of tales by soldiers who once marched on these lands would be mind-blowing. I wish I could have been there to witness them."

"I think you mean to be part of," Sharpe corrected.

"Well... yeah."

Sharpe shook his head at her perspective, finding it humorous. Imagining this short petite girl fighting alongside the warriors of great, like Hercules, Alexander, Achilles, and more.

He had to agree, witnessing all that history would be amazing. "How much longer until we find the site?"

"We should have been there by now if we weren't going so slow," Fredo Donini said.

"We have to be careful," Harel said. "Rebel factions from Syria like to hide out down here. There are snipers and cells all over the place."

"I thought your Abraham Accords ended the fighting in the region?" Rory asked.

"You cannot end seven thousand years of wars with an Accord," Harel said. "What that did was normalized relations between nations. Not rogue groups."

"It was a positive first step," Sharpe added. "Still, a long way to go through. For everyone."

"The country up north entered a civil war about a decade ago," Sharpe added. "It has never recovered and has become a failed state. It does not help that the remains of the country are in the sights of much geopolitical competition between a dozen nations."

"Wow... same shit, a different planet," Rory mumbled.

As the six-vehicle convoy headed to Armageddon, an anti-material sniper round impacted the hood of the lead SandCat. The vehicle slid to the side and stopped.

The rest of the convoy stopped, and everyone urgently got out as fast as they could, getting behind them for cover. Once the jeeps stopped, limited rifle fire opened against them.

Rory slid over the hood of the SandCat, laughing. "So, this is how it feels?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Harel said. "You are in the line of fire. Get back here before you get shot!"

"That would be a dream come true."

Sharpe turned and told Harel to calm down, that she is fine which confused the Yahalom and civilians.