GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 2

V21 - Chapter 249

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--- Alnus Command, Fort Alnus ---

Date: August 24th, 2026

In the war room General Charles Stanford stood at the head of the table. Within him are Colonel John Yang, General Krysist, and Brigadier General Smith of the 82nd Airborne, and Empress Pina. For the better part of a week, they have been analyzing and preparing to strike Darlko and what resources they will need.

"It is a bold plan," Stanford said. "My main concern is a repeat of what happened at Sadera. The first boots on the ground will be cut off without our usual support assist."

"Nothing risked, nothing gained, General," Krysist said. "Boldness is key for victory."

"Unnecessary risk only leads to destruction," Smith responded. "That is how this war started."

"Calm down everyone," Pina said. "We agreed to go on the offensive if Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe found the weapon, which he did. If we wait, then what happened in Sadera and Rondel will happen again on our land."

"No one disagrees, Empress," Smith said. "This city has surprised us twice now and I don't want that to happen to my men. I just don't like being forced into a box. If we start now with this timetable, at most we could deploy a Brigade."

"That assumes the enemy waits that long to open their Gate," Krysist added. "The moment we put warriors on the ground it will accelerate their timetable."

"Everyone understands the danger," Yang said. "The truth is that we don't have many options. Either we go or we sit here and dig in."

"I would like you to go through the plan again," Stanford said. "I want everyone to understand everything before we depart."

Smith pointed to the map where Darlko was located. "To avoid unnecessary danger, we will conduct a combat drop twenty kilometers from the city in this valley here. Infantry, Rangers, and engineers will drop and establish a beachhead. From there, the Engineers will quickly construct a makeshift airfield for our three cargo planes to land and take off. Reinforcements will then be ferried to this FOB so we can strike the city in force. Hopefully we can deploy enough force before the enemy acts."

"Because how close we are to the city we are worried from a counterattack," Yang added. "The paratroopers and rangers will be stuck in a fixed position with no way to retreat if overwhelmed."

"I was wondering, why not build the airfield further away?" Pina asked. "I know you have superior transportation technology. I rode in them on missions with Vanguard-7."

"This wouldn't be a problem if we were on Earth, but we are not," Yang said. "So far in the war we never needed more long-range airlift until now. The problem is, we need to prioritize what we deploy."

"We could deploy more transport for our infantry and be further away," Smith said. "However, we wouldn't have room or time to deploy a platoon of Griffin II MPF or additional Airborne assets. Or if we try to do both then we reduce the amount of infantry."

"You fight with what you have, Empress," Krysist said. "Not with what you want."

"Never truer words," Stanford commented. "We will have to rely on our bomber fleet to weaken and hold back the enemy."

"Speaking of the fleet," Smith replied. "Most of our fleet will be out of range, leaving our few bombers and airlift being the only ones able to reach that far. This damn city is almost on the other side of the continent so if they have air support like what happened in Sadera, the infantry will be on their own."