Gate: Thus the World Fought There

Final Assault

October 5th, 2022

1500 hours

"We have a unique opportunity to take out the enemy here," Hazama spoke.

In the room, squad leaders from the American and Japanese Units gathered together.

Hazama continued, "The Russians have decided to combine their forces to reinforce their Gate. At this point their sitting ducks."

In the back of the room, Itami and Ramirez were looking at the map of the Russian stronghold.

"Their defenses aren't the best but that doesn't mean that we can expect this operation to be a cake-walk. Also, we have rumors that the Russians have been training the pro-war soldiers in handling weapons, so expect more firepower than usual," Hazama announced, "We're going with another airborne assault on the stronghold."

"But sir, these are the Russians. This place is going to have triple-A emplacements, unlike the capital. Not to mention SAM sites," Ramirez voiced his concern.

Hazama stroked his chin for a couple of moments before saying, "I understand your concern First Lieutenant Ramirez, if you don't want to be in the helo-borne assault, then we'll let you lead the ground assault."

"A two-pronged assault?"

"A helo-borne assault from the East-Southeast and a ground assault from the North-Northeast. The operation commences in three days from now. I want you to tell your teams of this new information."

The unforgettable sound of metal folding chairs grinding on the floor filled my ears. I stared at the map and analyzed the known locations of SAM and triple-A emplacements along with the base's layout.

Red and blue sharpie marks marked certain objectives for each prong. The helo-borne prong was supposed to take the airfield while ground assault takes the enemy headquarters. I stood up from the table and exited the briefing room.

"Ramirez," Itami called to me.

I turned around, "Yeah?"

"I'll join you to take the enemy headquarters."

"We mostly did small-team tactics, you sure you can handle?"

"I think I can. I mean, my team took on the capital after all."

"Yeah, well, I'll see you there. If possible meet at our sleeping quarters at 1900 hours"

 The two had a special assignment compared to everyone else. Their mission was to capture or kill Prince Zorzal. 

(Corporal Ashley)

There were a lot of FNGs in the Special Region. The gun range filled with gunfire from different rifles of different calibers. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ramirez exiting at the main headquarters.

"Cease firing!" I shouted.

My order echoed down the chain as the popping sounds of bullets slowed down to a halt.

"Good job guys, you can take a break now," I informed them, "Take your weapons back to the quartermaster."

All the privates checked their weapons before walking back to the armory. There was chatter about the upcoming assault on the Russian base. Most were excited to finally have a reason to be in the Special Region other than patrols. I managed to catch up to Ramirez outside of our unit's sleeping arrangements.

I asked, "What's got you so down?"

"I need everyone right now."

(Time skip to 1900 hours)

"At 1400 hours tomorrow, all of us in this room are going to board a Black Hawk and infiltrate this part of the base over here," Ramirez explained.

Everyone from the combined Deep Recon Squad 3 was here including the three natives of the Special Region.

"Multiple drone flyovers revealed that all the remaining pro-war senators are either in the main building or in this small annex over here. Not in the Headquarters," Itami continued, "Our job is to clear the building and capture Prince Zorzal if he's there."

"Anything else?" Anderson queried Ramirez.

"Hand Signals only. Remember, the mission is to capture him alive. It's just going to be us until the assault team takes over the base. Trust each other and and let's go in fast and hard. We're going in 12 hours before the main force begins their assault," Ramirez added.

The tarp covering the entrance crinkled for a second and a person in Woodland Camoflauge arrived.

"Your transport is ready," the soldier intervened.

"Okay. Everyone gear up. We're wheels up in 10 mikes," Ramirez stated before standing up.

(25 minutes later)

The whirring of chopper blades filled the air. I knew the mission would come faster than I could have imagined but here we are in the middle of nowhere, heading into the wolf's den.

"Approaching the AO," the helo pilot whispered over the radio.

"Kill the helicopter lights. We're going dark," Itami stated.

Because of the magic people, we managed to find a spell to help us get night vision without the goggles but we won't have any IR lasers. The helicopter engines were slightly muffled but was still recognizable if you were close by.

"We reached the LZ," I stated.

The door gunner slid the door open and attached the fast rope. I saw a thumbs-up and shifted to the rope. Everyone slid down ropes, albeit the natives had to piggy back off of some of our squad members. The ropes dropped onto the lush floor and the whirring of the helicopter blades faded away. Everyone stood still for five minutes until the clearing settled again. I glanced over at Itami and Ramirez.

"Move North-Northwest to the annex and main building," Itami whispered.

We slowly moved to the annex building.

"Tuka, do your thing," Itami ordered.

"Wait, don't do it," Ramirez intervened, "The magic is going to reveal our position."

I heard the ruffling of cloth near me. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Anderson with a small drone.

"Send up the drone, let us know what we're dealing with," Ramirez commanded.

"Gotcha."

The quiet whirring of blades filled my ear. As the drone slowly rose from the ground, the bad news came.

"Shit..."