ELEVEN AND STRANDED: The Beginning

War on Three Fronts

MCRC made his way back to the cave and takes everyone to join up with Josh and his squadron. They begin advancing north and their deadline for making the rescues is coming closer and closer. They have wasted too much time already. In order to make the deadline and make their rendezvous for extraction they must fight through all of their enemies. However things are about to go down. The first major challenge of their whole journey is coming face to face with all of the Giants at the same time. The battle will be long and will likely result in defeat and the quest will be deemed a failure and all hope will be lost. MCRC "Ender at the ready! Link up in five with the other squadron." Lyn "MC, Maximus come quick." Maximus "Oh dear this is not good. Is that your other squadron?" MCRC "We have to move now if we are going to make our deadline. We must save Rumor Smith and Bailey Jaggers if we are to have any chance at success. Maximus and I will have no choice but to perform a flanking maneuver that will be extremely dangerous. We will both take different sides while the rest of you make the rendezvous with Charlie Squadron." Lyn "MC I cannot let you do that alone, especially since you are the closest thing I have to a father." Ramirez "Maximus." Maximus "Ramirez what are you doing here?" "I have received word of an incoming attack from our good friend Bob." "Iapetus has been an exceptional asset to our cause. He tells us what the plans are that the Titans cook up. Anyway Ramirez you are supposed to be in command of the First Legion right now." "Yes sir, but this was information that just couldn't wait to be reported to you. I had to locate your AO in order to bring you this information. The Titans are going to move south towards Olympus where Camp Half-Blood will defend the city at all costs but most importantly defend Mount Olympus." "Thank you Ramirez now return to your post."

MCRC "Lyn I will allow you to use Ender while I do this flanking maneuver with Maximus. I'm afraid it is the only way we will have a chance. Charlie Squad is trapped in the middle of this and you will lead the others on a straight path to the RV while I flank from the east and Maximus comes in from the North. It may be risky but it might be our only chance. We have to hit from different sides to sandwich our enemy in the middle. Ender will be under your command and should something happen yell Ender return to master and he will come to me then I will be next to you quick and easy." Lyn "Maximus you cannot let him do this." Maximus "I am sorry Lyn but I cannot stop him. It is our only chance, MC and I are the strongest most skillful members present at this current point in time. If we have any chance at all we have no choice but to take huge risks, for the good of the Gods and Olympus we must do this.  MC and I know the risks and we are willing to put it all on the line for the Gods." MCRC "Lyn if you have any respect for the plans of the gods you will lead them into combat and not worry about us. I am the closest thing you have to family and if you value our family bond then you must let me do this otherwise your mom would be mad at me and she would never forgive you.  For the good of your mother and our family bond you must take chances just like Maximus and I."

Maximus " MC if we are to have success we must move now, drop me north of the kill-zone and we will begin.  Light signal fires at various locations in order to make our squadron appear bigger to the enemy.  If we can freak them out a little bit they will be vulnerable to any attack we commence.  MC what are your thoughts on this matter?"  MCRC "My thoughts are neutral, however there may be another way.  A less dangerous way to attack.  You and I are going to be moving solo while the rest keep a concentrated attack which will allow us to take the enemy from behind their own lines.  Our AO is compromised so we have no choice but to move in.  I have received word that a war council has been summoned by the Brotherhood of Assassins as well as the Knights Templar.  The Knights Templar, as you may already know, was involved in the Crusades during mid-evil times when they came across an ancient treasure that contained history dating all the way back before the beginning of the Greek Empire.  Over time this treasure was moved from place to place.  Since the time of the Knights Templar has ended a new organization has arose.  This new organization may prove vital to this war.  The Masons, Knights, Assassins and yes even the legendary Ninth Legion commander, Marcus Flavious Aquila.  These are all organizations and people we are using to our advantage.  With the concentrated assault on the front lines we will have a chance.  The Painted Warriors of the Seal People took out the Ninth Legion from the back to the Eagle itself.  Only seven men escaped the battle alive."

Maximus "MC this is an even more risky move than we initially planned.  We are running out of time, the battle we are facing will likely take hours to come to a close.  That and the Giants are moving in closer to our objective and once they reach it it will be impossible for us to stop the invasion.  If Rumor perishes then we are doomed to defeat.  Evelyn said we had seven days total, today is day six.  We are about to lose her and if that happens we will have no chance against this army of monsters.  If we stall any longer then we will lose the war and it hasn't even started yet."  "Maximus I believe I outrank you."  "Yes sir, you do indeed outrank me, but what you are talking about will make things very interesting and our men will suffer for it."  "Our men can handle themselves, I promoted my best soldier before taking this quest.  He will become even more powerful than you if he plays his cards right.  We need to make this happen and we need to do it now."  "Then we must attack now.  Any further delay and the cause is lost."

Evelyn "Excuse me but I have just received word from my father that the Giants have changed course.  However we have some other issues to deal with.  Rumor has less than ten hours left, if you don't get to her in eight hours then she will perish."  MCRC "Evelyn when did you get here?"  "I sensed trouble and I followed the sense and found you here.  This cave is the only realm in this territory with a failsafe shelter and evacuation tunnels.  One of these tunnel leads to a shrine to my father, the rest are from random areas throughout the Forrests of Old.  The fourth tunnel on the right will bring you out at the ruins which contain Rumor's prison.  It is the fastest way to travel there and only the three original members must go.  Only they can save Rumor.  As for Bailey I'm afraid to tell you that she only has 4 hours left.  I'm surprised she has lasted this long, most people crack after 36 hours and accept their fate but she continues to fight it."  "Which tunnel will take me to her?" "The tenth tunnel on the left." "Maximus and I will flank this squadron and then I will head straight through that damn tunnel and rescue Bailey. Lyn you will take everyone else and concentrate that attack on the front lines. Following our attack Maximus will lead Charlie Squadron to the ruins above land. Ender will follow anyone who possesses the heart of a leader. Once I am in place I will tell Ender to find the true leader of the quest and he will follow you until I call for him to return. I will stay as long as I can but when the timer reaches one hour I will recall Ender and zip through the that tunnel." Lyn "Should I tell Lydia?" "She already knows what she has to do. Tell her which way to go and how long she has. By the time they free Rumor you should be within 5 miles of the ruins where they will be waiting for you." Maximus "MC we must launch now and buy the girls some time. Once the Titans realize where they are it will be too late for them to retreat and they will be forced to surrender."

"Let's move." Lyn tells Lydia about Rumor and how to get to her. Lydia agrees that they must head off on their own. Maximus is in place and lights a signal fire making sure the area is completely clear of fire hazards. He then moves to another spot about 300 yards away and lights a second fire. MCRC is now in place and he sends Ender to Lyn for the frontal assault. The battle begins and everything happens at the same time. Lyn leads the assault on the front lines and links up with Charlie Squadron. They continue pushing the attacks as Maximus and MCRC slowly pick off monster from behind. The timer slowly shrivels down and three hours left before the first casualty.