138 V12 - Chapter 138 Future Paths

***

--- Roma Highway, Fort Alnus ---

January 17th, 2026

Lillie Hauroth is sitting in the back of what these Americans call a truck. The ride has been bumpy, but she was impressed by how fast they traveled.

While she never been to this region her party leader Karther Jagith and Gorgth Braoen have. They said it should have taken four days to get from Valtris, then Atler and then Italica. With what they call a truck, it took less than a day to reach Italica.

For security, these Other Worlders put a Knight from the Rose-Order in the back of what they call a truck with them, to keep an eye. It is a grey hair woman named Panache Fure Kalgi. At first, she thought she was going to act like a spy, but it seems Karther and her have gotten along well.

They stopped at Italica for the night, but Countess Myui refused to let them into her city, forced to stay outside the city by the soldiers. Now they are on the Roma Highway heading to the Other Worlder's base of operations Alnus Hill.

She looks up at Liz, the party lizardman mage. He has his hands together chanting.

Liz looks at her, sensing her. "Is something bothering you?"

"Just thinking," She said. She was pissed when her boy slave was taken from her. No one ever has done that before, and she spent the last two days trying to figure out why. She never was mean to the boy, she never hit him or mistreated him. His role was to take care of the team's domestic roles like cooking, packing, and washing clothes. She got the slave boy to do the team domestic work, so she did not have to do it.

"You are still upset about the boy?" Liz asks. "I know you were fond of the boy but don't trouble yourself over a slave."

"Well, you don't have to wash your stain ridden wrappings, Liz," She said annoyed. "It just makes no sense."

She then feels a pat on her back from Harthdru Falith who is sitting next to her. "Don't worry. Once our business is done here, we will head back home, and everything will be normal."

"Will it though?" She asks. "Maybe we weren't allowed inside Italica but did you see? The rumors of these people are both right and wrong. None of it makes sense."

Shen then looks over to Gorgth. He is the oldest member of the team, she has latched onto him like a father figure, enjoying his input and conversations. She has learned a lot about life and morals from him. She has noticed he has been quiet since getting to Valtris.

"Gorgth, what is on your mind?" She asked

Gorgth looks at her and then everyone else. "I hate everything I see. Did I served twenty years in the Army, protecting six hundred years of history, tradition, and culture for this? I was born in Vatlris. I did not enjoy seeing an enemy flag in my hometown."

She thinks about what he said. She does not hold the same patriotic values as he does but understands where he is coming from. "Scared they are removing everything you hold dear?"

"How can't I?" Gorgth replies. "And look. Italica was once one of the most loyal cities in the Empire. They have always been strange, but they were always loyal. Look how quickly they changed their allegiance. At the same time, I cannot blame them for being forced to be loyal to the enemy, these people have strange weapons."

Gorgth then looks to Panache. "How can you betray the Empire like this? I don't understand why the Princess would do this?"

Panache looks to the big man. "I take it you used to be an Imperial soldier?"

Grogth nods his head. "My last post was on the border with The Ticaret Conglomerate."

"Then you should meet some of the Imperials. Some have defected from Legrath," Panache said.

"More traitors?" Gorgth states angrily.

Panache takes a breath. "I understand what you mean but that is how it is. The Emperor betrayed many of us and forced us to fight for the Other Worlders."

"You don't sound like the Princess," Karther said as he leans in. "It seems like you don't approve of what is happening."

"First my loyalty is to the Princess," Panache states. "We all have been through a lot and I have no ill feelings for these people. I just don't approve of all their values."

"Like what?" She asked.

"The fact that they don't believe in slavery I feel like it is a mistake," Panache said. "Maybe the Empire went too far in the institution, but it is vital for the Empire survival. Their idea of equality through liberty I disagree with. I enjoy being a noblewoman and all the benefits that come with it."

From what she can understand, Panache misses the Elite life in Sadera. Servants taking care of her, being respected because of her station and so on. Everything she once had as a noblewoman is now gone. "If you miss it so much why are you here? Why are you a Knight?"

Panache looks at her. "Because I am loyal to Pina. She is my friend, and I would do anything for her."

"That is not it," Karther said. "You want to be a Knight because of its freedom. You enjoy the luxury of your station, but you enjoy being able to do and go wherever you want. The Princess just offers that."

Panache sits there and thinks about what he said.

"That is why I am here," Karther said. "I became an Adventure because I enjoy the freedom it brings. I can go wherever I want; take any job I want and fuck any prostitute I want. I do not have to answer to any man, noble or peasant. Everywhere I do I am respected."

"These people say they believe in freedom," Panache replies. "But they have rules. You are not going to find any prostitutes here. They think the practice is degrading to women and afraid that children will be abused in the practice."

"My mother worked with the brothels since she was young," She states. "I won't remember what age but young. I do not see the problem; it is a very profitable line of work. I had to do it in my early days until Karther sponsored me(1). I just wanted to see the world."

"I always thought you weren't pretty enough," Harthdru said with a chuckle.

She hears a few of the men start to laugh at what Harthdru said. "Laugh now but let us all remember that if I recall, none of the brothel girls picked you back in Populis. You will just live a sad life knowing you will have no one to clean your clothes."

She chuckles and sees them get embarrassed.

"You people are strange," Panache comments. "Maybe you will fit in here. Everything is strange here."

"Maybe but I just don't understand why the Princess sided with these people," Gorgth said.

"No offense Gorgth but you don't understand the royal life," Panache said. "It is not my place to explain but the Princess worked hard to earn these people's trust. While I do not agree with some of their values, I do believe they mean well and just."

"Meaning well usually results in genocide," Grogth said. "Do you remember Emperor Arogo Astaunins?"

"Who is Arogo?" She asked. She never was interested in history and knows little about the Empire history. Being a street brothel kid, proper education in her early days was limited until she became an Adventurer.

The Adventurer Guild teaches its members how to read, do the math, and with some basic understanding of history. The Guild believes an educated Adventurer is better than an uneducated one. The Guild has standards, and they want to keep that. But deep education is usually reserved for the Elites of society because of how expensive it is.

Panache looks at her and then everyone else. "Arogo was the Emperor two hundred years ago. He tried to take all the farmer's crop and give it to the people for free. He thought it would make him more popular, declaring it a right of the people."

"I see where this is going," Karther comments. "Let me guess, it destroyed the economy?"

"Correct," Panache replies. "Because he took the food, many farmers went out of business which meant no one was growing more food. For three years people starved until new farmers were able to grow crops."

"And that is how the Mercantile Guild was created," Gorgth said. "And we are seeing the same thing happen again. These people free everyone they see, ending slavery. How will they mine for ore of pick the crops? The prices will spike up and these people will bring another dark age with this fake kindness."

"Maybe," Panache replies. "I don't know the details, but they are trying to take it slow. I do not know; we will see if it works. It is not my place and I trust the Princess."

She leans back and thinks about what was said. She is confused by these Other Worlders, not understanding how they think. In her brief time around then, they seem to do the most illogical things. She looks to her leader Karther and sees some stress in his face. She has always respected him and how he sees things. "Karther, you spent time with their Ambassador. What do you think?"

Kather leans forward as he collects his thoughts. "The Ambassador is an intelligent man; he knew what he was doing. The point of all this was to reestablish our presence here but I do not see the long term. Not just in Alnus and this region but anywhere. One day these people will expand and insert their influence. If the Empire falls then there will be no resistance against the Other Worlders' ways. Then we all will be out of work. Our ways, our life, our freedom will be gone."

"I do recommend keeping those thoughts to yourself," Panache said. "If any of you plot anything against the Princess wishes I will report you."

"I was not plotting anything," Karther said. "I was just pointing out the politics."

She looks away and thinks about what her leader said. Just like everyone in the group, he became an Adventurer because he enjoys the freedom it gives. You are free to go where you want, free what job to take, and free to be who you are.

She looks back at Karther with a smile. "Then we must do this right the first time. We must show we can work together so we can guarantee a future."

"Hey look. We are here," Harthdru said.

She stands up with the rest of her group, holding onto the side railing.

Her eyes widen with amazement as she sees their destination, Fort Alnus.

All around they see the strange metal fencing with trenches and what looks like small box forts made from green and tan bags. Soldiers in all these boxes and hundreds more scattered around the trenches.

This is only the outer defenses. There is this large building at the entrance with soldiers and traders there. Wagons lined up next to the Other Worlders metal wagons. It looks like a check-in station for the passing traders.

But that is not she is amazed at. In the distance, she sees these tall walls, forming a star shaped fortress. There are massive towers all around and more of those small box fortifications. She sees new weapons she has never seen before, long strange, shaped ballista's all around.

She sees one of their flying machines fly to the base from a different direction. It stops and hovers in place and then slowly descent down within the walls. She sees two more of the hovering Wyvern going up and taking off.

"Those are what they call helicopters," Panache said. "I had the same reaction when I first saw them. They are faster and deadlier than Wyverns but less measurable. Some are meant to kill the enemy while others carry soldiers. They are flying wagons."

"Look at that over there," Liz said.

She looks to the left and sees these massive heavy armored wagons driving around. She sees another group of these armored wagons. One of the nearby tanks fires this loud ballista, forcing her to cover her ears. "What are those?" She said in shock.

"Those are called tanks. The Other Worlders version of an armored wagon." Panache said. "The group in front of us is called M1 Abrams. I don't know if the other group they are fighting against are called but they belong to the... Japanese I think."

As they pass on the path, she sees soldiers and travelers standing there watching the event. None of them look scared so it seems like it is some training exercise.

As they drive farther away, she watches as the armored wagons fighting each other. As she watches the exercise, she thinks about what Karther said, she never has seen so much power before.

If her eyes are not lying and if these people are this strong, they might bring stability to these lands. That will put the Guild out of business because there will not be bandits, hordes, criminals to fight. No one will have jobs for the Adventurers forcing them out of work. She is starting to understand why Karther has been so quiet recently, change is coming, and it looks like it will not be good for her line of work.

As the truck moves through the base gate and enters the fort. She and the other Adventurers in the party look around in amazement. Thousands of soldiers moving around. Strange looking equipment all over the place. She usually only sees tall and complex buildings in the major cities but as she looks around, five to ten-story buildings look quite common.

"This is the main base of operations," Panache said. "I believe there are fifty-thousand people here. Everyone else is on other bases throughout the region. But the number has been growing as the war keeps expanding."

Upon the defensive walls, she sees a ramp and their many different metals wagons. She sees similar metal wagons up on the wall. Within the walls, she sees some sections of what looks like a Trebuchet but with a long barrel instead of a rock in the back.

"What are those wagons... I mean vehicles on the wall?" She asked, looking up on the wall.

"The reason why this place is so fortified is that the Americans refuse to allow a second attack on their world," Panache said. "I was listening to some Japanese and English soldiers and they said the last you should ever do is attack the Americans. They flip out when they are attacked."

Panache then looks up. "Those are what they call SHORAD and those on the ground with the long barrel are what they call towed artillery."

"Swords?" Liz asked in confusion. "They don't look like swords."

"Sorry, I mean SHORAD," Panache said. "I don't know what it means but they shoot down dragons and other flying beasts. The ones over there are other tanks and machine-gun bunkers. They have ramps behind the ways to allow vehicles up top if attacked."

"Look around," Vauo said in amazement. "Everything is metal or stone. Nothing is wood."

She looks at Vauo and then around. That is when she notices, almost everything is made from metal. Forging and blacksmithing with require high level of skill in heavy professions. Making armor, swords, anything that requires forging metal. It is complicated and expensive to get weapons and other goods, all being of great value. She cannot believe how common it is with these people.

"Nope," Panache replies. "These people have mastered forging. They can mass produce all different kinds of metals."

"Impressive. So, they can make as much armor as they want?" Liz asked. "Why are they not wearing armor if they can make so many so quickly?"

"Because armor is worthless against their weapons," Panache said. "You are better off fighting them naked. The Rose Knights still wear armor because the Empire uses swords, and we take pride in our uniforms."

"Look over there," Vauo said, pointing in the other direction.

She turns around and sees this large building. She sees thirty-five different flags next to the building. She quickly assumes those are all the countries from the Other World that are here. But then she sees what the Elf said, the famous Gate.

There are stories about the Gate. The gate is large with all these stone pictures and writing all around it.

Legend says that all races of this world once came through a portal like this. Most never believed it, including her. Seeing this makes her wonder how true the old legends are.

The trucks stop and soldiers come around to let them out. She grabs her bag and jumps out after everyone else.

Once out, she cannot help herself from looking around.

"Enjoying the view?" Princess Piña Co Lada asked as she walked up to them. "Was everything ok Panache?"

Panache smiles and salutes Pina. "Yes, ma'am. I have just been educating them on everything."

As the two Knights talk, she turns around hearing the voice. She sees Gorgth kneel at her presence and then she follows suit. All the other party members kneel at her too.

"Well... it has been a while since this happened," Pina said as she puts her hand behind her head as she figures out how to react.

Gorgth looks up. "You are royalty and shall be treated as such."

"I see..." Pina takes a breath. "Please rise."

"That is the other thing," Panache said. "These people don't like to kneel."

She stands up with the rest of her party. She can tell by Gorgth tone that he is not pleased by Pina's lack of royal manners. But she knows he is a principled man and will give Pina the respect that her title deserves.

"Hamilton here will escort you to Alnus," Pina said.

She tilts her head confused. "I thought we were at Alnus?"

Hamilton walks over. "You are technically correct, but this is the military base. Only the Other Worlders are allowed to move around the military base. There is a civilian town here on the west side of the base."

"Wait, there is a town here?" She asked. "Like a real town like Valtris and Populis? I knew there was a village here but a full town?"

"Correct," Pina said. "It has been growing to the point the town needs to expand outside the defense wall." She then looks to Hamilton. "Hamilton."

Hamilton nods at Pina and then looks at the Adventurers. "I will take you to town. You will be staying there during your visit. Please follow all the rules and laws that are in place. The Alnus Military Police do give some grace for cultural differences, but I highly recommend not crossing the red lines."

"And what are those red lines?" Karther asked.

"You know, slavery, rape, abuse, stealing," Pina answers as she thinks. "Yeah. Trust me, they are nice until you piss them off." She said as she thinks about her experience with Sharpe.

As she listens, she sees this dark brown-haired woman with blue eyes walk up. She has lovely freckles around her face, almost covered by the shadow of this strange-looking hat she is wearing.

Pina looks over to the woman. "Sarah... I mean Captain. What brings you out here?"

"I need to talk to Hamilton Princess," Sarah said. "It is related to Andrew. He is fine but was wounded in combat and he is at the hospital."

She does not know what is going on, but she can see the girl Hamilton's eyes widen. She can tell that she has a romantic interest with this Andrew person. Based on the fact that it was the Other Worlder who bring the news makes her assume Hamilton is with an Other Worlder soldier.

"I understand," Pina said. "I release Hamilton to you."

She watches both walk away and sees the Princess calls another one of her Knights over.

"I am sorry about that," Pina said. "Panache, do you mind taking them around?"

"I don't mind," Panache said. "Please follow me."

She and the rest of the party grabs their luggage and starts to follow the Knight. She can't help herself but look at everything she can.

As they head to the inner gate that cuts the military base from the town, she can see security all the place. Nothing is making sense to her. She has lived within the Empire all her life, never being outside its borders so everything she is seeing right now looks backward.

"This is the most defended fortress I have ever seen," Harthdru comments as she looks around. "No wonder the Empire hasn't been able to take it back."

She looks around and agrees with Harthdru. She has raided many fortresses in her days. Some of them required a full post to assault, taking weeks to breathe because they were well defended. While she does not understand all the equipment she sees,

"That is correct," Panache said. "The Americans took this place in three hours during the night(2). The Empire tried to retake the hill twice(3). Both times the Empire was defeated."

"You say that like you enjoy it," Gorgth stated.

Panache stops and looks at him with a glare. "I don't want to be here. I miss my home in Sadera but the Emperor banished my fellow Knights and more importantly my Princess. I am loyal to Princess Pina and my fellow Knights so I will side with them."

"And yet you said you don't want to be here?" She asked.

Panache looks at her. "So much has changed and I am still loyal to the values of the Empire. This idea that all these groups can just live and love each other all the time. But it is not my place. My place is by the Princess's side and I trust her. Now follow me."

After hearing that she looks over to Gorgth and pats him on the back. "It is ok. Everything will be ok."

Gorgth looks at her and then starts walking again.

She starts to follow the Knight. The town of Alnus is sharply different from any town she has seen before. The first thing she noticed was that there are no slaves, anywhere. No auctions, none following their masters or doing labor work. When they took her slave boy, she assumed they just were taking her property for their use, not anymore when she saw that they were serious on what they said.

The next is the amount of diversity among the non-human races. While the majority is still non-Other Worlder Humans, she sees Elves and Cat-people. She sees a green Siren is one of the Other Worlder security uniforms talking to some children. The humanoid Medusas and Volradens. The biggest shock is seeing a few Warrior Bunnies that are not cuffed or being abused but walking around like normal citizens.

She then glances over to the party leader Karther and wonders what he is thinking. The peace mood in the air must be scaring him. She is trying to figure out what kind of work they can get here. If all of Falmart end up like this, then where do people like him go?

She looks forward and tries to understand this new reality she is seeing.

***

--- Alnus Town ---

January 20th, 2026

Private First-Class Harvey Frost is walking through Alnus. With him is Private First-Class Marvin Scott and Specialist Alicia Moore.

By his side is this little batboy named Jasif Alis. They found Jasif(4) with a group of Imperial youths who were raiding scientists. When they found him he was chained against the wall. From what the scientists said, they were using him as a form of sonar and night vision. That was how they were able to ambush our attack, too bad for them that they were children and not professional soldiers.

When they were securing the camp, the bat attacked and bit Sergeant Andrew Steele in the arm. They later found out that he might be related to the batgirl Mentiv Dor Alis. While the chances are low, he figured it was a better than nothing chance.

When he first met Mentiv(5), she was searching for her younger brother who was taken by the Empire for his abilities(6). The only reason she stops going out is that her wing was broken from her attackers. She would be defenseless if she is attacked again.

At least that is what he said to her. He was worried about her wellbeing and promised if she stayed in Alnus, he would go out and look for her brother.

The truth is that he found Mentiv to be one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen. While he intended well and meant what he said about finding her brother because that is what Major Sharpe would have said, a part of him feels bad for feeling like he took advantage of her. He was not trying to use her brother to look better in her eyes but a part of him hoped that might happen.

He realized how few times he saw bats within the Empire ranks he figured the odds were good if he ran into one, it would be her brother. As time went on, he realized that he did not plan things out too well.

"Is my sister really here?" Jasif asked again.

"Should be," He said.

"The Captain said she was," Alicia said as her arms around her head, referencing Sarah Rose. "She said your girlfriend took a teaching job."

"She is not my girlfriend," He shoots back. "Don't confuse the kid."

"Come on," Scott said with a chuckle, elbowing him.

"Knock it off," He said in an annoyed tone. He is hoping Mentiv is at the school setting it up for class, that is what Sarah said.

"By the way Scott, why do you prefer people using your last name?" He asked.

"I also wonder that," Alicia asked.

"I have two first names," Scott said. "I prefer going by Scott because it is easier to say in combat."

"The Empire was right," Jasif said.

"What was the Empire right about?" He asked.

"You people are strange," Jasif said.

"Kid... what does the Empire say about us?" Alicia asked, wondering what he had to say.

"Well... they say you people have slaughtered tens of thousands and that you force your woman to fight." Jasif says as he thinks.

Alicia smirks. "Force, funny. But the slaughter part is correct."

"Be nice Alicia," He asked.

"They also say that you force people to work. Have labor camps at Alnus and are oppressing Italica and Elbe. That you go around and steal property from the population and are here to erase our culture and traditions." Jasif also says.

"That is..." Alicia mumbles before being interrupted.

"That's kind of true in a twisted way," Scott finishes for her.

"Yeah," He adds. "When he says it like that it does make us sound like the bad guys."

"What do you mean? So, everything they said is true?" Jasif asked.

"Not like that," He said. "We outlawed slavery a hundred and fifty years ago in our world. So, when the Empire says that we are stealing property they mean we are freeing people from injustice. For example, your sister said that the Empire took you against your will. We consider that evil and is against our laws."

"Yup kid," Alicia said. "That is what the Empire means by erasing your traditions. Kidnapping, slavery, and so on. We consider it all bad."

"Ok," Jasif said and glanced away. He then looks back up to Frost. "So, you've been looking for me?"

"Yeah Jasif," He replies. "It was harder than I thought but yeah."

"I think this is it," Alicia said. "I have to admit, I always saw Sarah as a mamma bear girly girl. But when she has a project on her mind, she goes at it."

He thinks of what Alicia said, that label seems to fit Sarah. A mamma bear is a lady who is close and nice to her children, in this care Vanguard-7. But when a threat appears, she gets extremely aggressive and protective. The more he thinks about it the more Sarah seems to fit that role within the unit.

He looks at this building that was a store before the earthquake. The owner moved his business to a new building, and it was repurposed as an educational center. "Looks nice, let's head inside."

---

Mentiv Dor Alis is standing on a stool trying to set up what they call a whiteboard. "How do you hook this up?"

When she took Sarah, a job offers to help with the educational center, she had doubts. She only planned to give it a try, seeing no other way around it. She got sick of moving to rafter to rafter(7) and was hungry.

She made a good proposal and while the Human women did not know of bat culture, with her broken wing she would not be allowed back to her village. In what her people call the Swestual Arm, the western Swestual Kingdoms of the Dark Races.

Life there can be brutal, you must be strong to survive. While some regions are barbaric, some like her village is more civilized. She planned to get her brother back there safely even though she would be rejected.

With Sarah's offer, she sees an alternative worth exploring. While she is not fond of Humans, she was forced to admit she is starting to enjoy this school thing. She enjoyed decorating this place while Sarah was off doing her soldier stuff.

As she reaches out, about to get the whiteboard on the hook on the wall she hears this scream behind her. "Wow... Ahh!"

She falls on the ground and then the whiteboard falls on top of her. She then pops up rubbing her head. "I was having a nice day until now. The school isn't open, so you better have a good reason for being here!"

She sees three soldiers standing there. It is from Vanguard-7, the group that saved her and brought her here.

Before she starts chewing them out for scaring her and making her fall, she notices this batboy flies around the three Rangers.

Her eyes widen as she realizes who it is. "Wait... Jasif if that you?"

"Mentiv!" Jasif said in shock.

She gets up and rushes over. She then tackles her younger brother and squeezes him as tight as she can. "You are alive!"

"You are killing me!" Jasif says while in pain. But then he hugs his sister.

She starts to cry as she holds him. She then looks up and sees the three Rangers. All three of them are smiling, happy about what happened. The female soldier seems to be crying too.

She smiles at them. "Thank you."

"All good Mentiv," Frost said.

She stands up, now looking at the Other Worlders with a new lens. She went from town to town looking for help and was rejected because of her race. But these people did not judge her.

She indeed got strange looks and people-maintained distance, she now sees it was just because she was different and not because they saw her as evil. Now she understands what Sarah meant by planning here, feeling far more comfortable in raising her brother here then taking him back to her tribe.

"I am sorry, but I have to tell you this," Frost said.

"Tell me what?" She asks as she stands up.

"Your brother was an Imperial soldier fighting against us," Frost said. "During an attack, he bit one of our comrades(8). He is ok, he's going to make a full recovery."

Alicia starts to chuckle. "Don't worry about it batty. He deserves it."

"You two act like siblings," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Guys. I said I will tell her so let me," Frost said.

"Tell me what?" She asked again, getting annoyed. "You are not taking him. I just got him back."

Frost backed up a little waving his hands. "No, no, no. He is yours. There are just some terms right now. As I said he did attack one of our soldiers."

She looks down and sees her brother look down in shame. She looks back at Frost. "Ok..."

Frost pulls out a note and starts reading it. "The US Military is willing to overlook the attack because of his age, that Andrew did not suffer a life-threatening wound, and he won't push for charges and because he was forced against his will to serve the Empire."

Frost then lowers the note and then hands it to her. "You will be considered fully responsible for his actions from now on. He will have to serve two weeks or a total of twenty hours of community service as payment for the attack."

She tilts her head, and her ear flickers a little as she tries to understand what he is saying. "What is community service?"

"It is stupid stuff," Scott said. "Picking up trash, cleaning the park, and helping out wherever is needed. He won't be going to war or anything."

"I guess that is fair," She said. She is willing to trust them otherwise they would not have brought her brother back.

"Well, we need to go," Scott said and then looked around. "Interesting place. Reminds me of kindergarten."

She sees the tall, big man named Scott walk out joking about something. She then sees the shorter dark hair man Frost wave to her with a cute smile. She smiles and waves back, feeling embarrassed.

As the two men walk out, she sees the female soldier walk over.

"Nice school," Alicia said as she looked around. "Mamma bear will be pleased." She then looks at her. "You know he likes you. You two will be cute together."

"Why do you say this?" She asked, confused.

"I have my reason," Alicia said and winks at her. "But you two seem cute. Anyway, it was good to see you and your brother back together. If you need anything, just ask. We have your back."

Alicia then pats her on the back and heads out humming.

She watches her walk out of the school. She blinks her eyes confused. "These people are stupid. Cute but stupid." She then looks down at her brother and hugs him again.

***

--- Fort Minick ---

January 20th, 2026

Captain Sarah Rose is at her new desk at the administration center of the newly constructed building. She looks around and sees her staff working on their projects.

When she was promoted to Captain, she became in charge of the new Vanguard Rapid Task Force or nicknamed by a few of the Rangers Sharpe's Rifles. This task force is made up of Vanguard-2, Vanguard-5, and her unit Vanguard-7. This also includes the Rose-Order of Knights and the newly formed Alnus Militia.

Their job is to support the Rangers on the field with up-to-date information and assist coordination.

Right now, she is talking with Captain Wolf. He is taking control of the new Alnus Militia. While Rory is the formal figurehead, Wolf will be the one doing the day-to-day responsibilities.

Wolf is a Volraden, a strong and tall wolf that walks on two legs. To her, his kind reminds her of Werewolves but those are also in this world. While both are similar, the difference she can tell is that Volraden is more rational and less bloodthirsty. They can be civil among other races.

"You want these five to join?" She asked looking at the list. She sees a Warrior Bunny, one of Tuka's High Elves, another is one of Wolf's people and the rest are Human. This brings the total to fifteen new Militia recruits.

"I think they will be promising," Wolf said. "However, I do not have a large pool to draw from. I said that term correctly?"

She smiles and nods. "Yes, Wolf. You used the term properly. And I understand but we are not comfortable in recruiting outside the fort. We can't properly vet them."

"I understand," Wolf said and then stood up. His head bumps into the ceiling and then rubs his head. "You people are short."

She looks at him and giggles. "You're too tall. Alright Wolf, thank you for your help. Start training and if you find any more recruits tell me."

She watches Wolf leave her office and then looks at her computer. She takes a deep breath from the stress. "Damn... this is harder than I thought."

She gets up from her desk and heads out of her office. She walks past Major Sharpe's office which is close to hers. Of course, he is not there. She has found that he really hates being in his office. She starts to wonder if the desk makes him feel old, not as useful or something.

As she walks through her operational building, she sees everyone under her command. One central operational station with four larger screens on the front wall. There are five stations in this large room. Every five stations are meant to support each of their teams but only three of them are in use. The other two are for the Rose Knights and Militia, which are not formally set up yet.

This is a three-story building; the other two bottom floors are other research teams. Because this is a rapid response force and the main exploration group, these research teams' job is to learn as much as they can. Research Earth history and methodology which sometimes mean reading and watching any form of fantasy.

She walks over to Vanguard-2 stations. "How is everything Hill?"

Second Lieutenant Keira Hill is Vanguard-2's Logistical Officer, aiding Johnson's team back to base. She is a blond-haired woman with an attitude but laser focus on her job.

"Everything good Captain," Hill said. "They mopped up the Goblin nest in Alguna, no casualties. I am plotting a path for them. I don't want them to go through the Schwarz Goat Path until it is secured."

"Smart," She replies. "But be careful. Jasis might still be out there."

Hill chuckles hearing that.

"What is so funny?" She asked.

"Sorry ma'am," Hill replies quickly. "I just thought it was funny Captain America got assaulted and it wasn't any of the girls he tags around."

"First it is Major Captain America," She said. "And that is not appropriate. The girls have been a massive help. Let's always remember combat is different when you're in the middle of it."

"I am sorry ma'am," Hill replies and looks up. "We all know what happened with you in Havcristen(9). None of us wants to experience nearly being enslaved like that."

After she was taken by Krysist during the Battle of Combat Outpost Serenity(10). Most soldiers like her and Hill never see combat. They are trained just in case, but the odds are low. After that event most of her colleagues respected her far more, understanding what happened.

After that battle, she was given the Prisoner of War Medal and it helped her become Captain. Having front line experience and she understands how the enemy work and her relations with the native population like Rory and Lelei have been a massive aid in their operations.

Even though she now runs five different logistical teams, Vanguard-7 is still her baby.

"It is all good," She said with a smile. "I am heading out. Contact me if you need anything."

She heads out of the operation room and heads to the elevator. She heads down to the first floor and heads out. In the main lobby, she sees security and other soldiers talking.

She walks past the security checkpoint and heads outside. The building leads right to outside, facing the center of the base. While not as large as Fort Alnus, it is still impressive. Smaller and more efficient for their needs.

The problem operation in Alnus was because of how cramped and scattered everyone was. The Rangers are the primary exploration and strike force in the war but that was getting hard to do as Alnus expanded.

She starts walking, heading to her barracks. One of the benefits of becoming a Captain, she got her own place. In Alnus, she had to share with First Lieutenant April.

As she walks, she senses this vehicle getting closer. She stops and looks and sees this HUMVEE pull up. She looks at it wondering what is going on.

When the window comes down, she sees Selina in a cap with a cat on it. She is wearing sunglasses and to her shock, Selina has a cigar in her mouth.

"What's up, yo Sarah," Selina said, nodding her head smiling.

She looks at Selina and then looks inside. She sees Sharpe sitting in the driver seat. He also has sunglasses on and has a cigar in his mouth. "Are you kidding?"

"What?" Sharpe asked in shock.

"Don't worry Sarah," Selina said. "It is not real. See."

She grabs the cigar and then notices it is just a pretzel rod. She then looks back inside and looks at Sharpe. "You are teaching her bad traits."

Sharpe starts to laugh. "It is all good. We saw you walking out as he was pulling out of the gym. We just wanted to say hi and it was her idea."

Selina looks at Sharpe. "No, it wasn't."

She notices Sharpe wearing a tank top and then looks back to Selina. She has a blue sports bra on, confirming that they were working out at the gym. Since Selina was taken, she wanted to work out more, to get stronger.

"Still. Bad traits!" She said, glaring at him.

Sharpe looks at her and then smiles. "Want a ride?"

Selina looks up at her. "I know you want to."

She looks at them both, just baffled at the two. They are not biologically related, and Sharpe only adopted her not that long ago. They have been together since the beginning of the war, but she cannot believe how similar they both are. The worst part is, she does want a ride and now she cannot be angry. "Yeah..."

She gets in the back and the HUMVEE drives away. The barracks are not that far away but she enjoyed the offer. "You two enjoy yourself?"

"Yes," Selina said. She turns around and peaks through the hole between the two seats. She the slowly lowers her sunglasses. "Today we were lifting, and I went up a new weight!"

She smiles hearing that, happy by her reaction. "That is good Selina."

The HUMVEE stops when they get to the barracks area. Both of their barracks are close together, it was more of a silly ride than a necessity. "Thank you for the long ride."

"That will be ten bucks," Selina said.

"What!?" She asked.

"What?" Selina asked. "I never said this was a free ride."

She looks at the little brat and gets out. As she gets out all she can hear is Selina giggling as she gets out to. "Kids..."

"Hey, dad I will be right back. Stay here," Selina said and then rushes to the barracks.

She stands there confused about what is happening. She watches Selina rush into their place alone. She then looks to Sharpe and he looks slightly nervous. She wonders if this is related to Jasis, Selina being overprotective since she was the one who saved him.

Sharpe looks at her and shrugs. "No idea. She just told me to wait." He waits a moment and takes a breath. "How was the office today?"

"Oh... same old crap," She said. "Sometimes I wish we could go back to Windows Vista. At least that failed to work consistently." Windows Vista was a failed operating system in the early 2000s and has become a meme on failure software.

"Yup," Sharpe comments with a chuckle. "Why I prefer being on the field. Easier to pull a trigger. Still, it is good knowing you are behind the camera."

She looks and him and smiles. She is not smiling because she likes what he said, she does but she is picking up dozens of red flags. Something is going on. Before she can speak up, she sees Sharpe speak again.

"I have a late start tomorrow," Sharpe said. "Want to get something to eat in Alnus? I heard of this steak place that recently opened. Want to check it out?"

She smiles seeing what is going on now. He was trying to ask her out and Selina was helping. She does wonder if Selina knows about her feelings for her father, but she can figure that out later. "Yeah sure. That should be relaxing."

She then glares at him. "You're washing first."

"Oh, come on. I don't smell that bad." Sharpe said as she smelled his arm. He then gets this strange look on his face, confirming what she said. "Ok."

---

When they get to the town of Alnus, Sarah gets out of the HUMVEE. The community looks recently built which is good after the earthquake.

She looks at the steak restaurant sign. It says Bobby Roadhouse.

"Really?" She giggles at the name.

She looks at Sharpe and sees him. "I heard of this place. I heard there's steak from Elbe."

"We shall see," Sharpe said. "Glad to see trade between our people. With the new facility in Philadelphia for trade and places like this. All good improvements."

Both walk inside and see the place is moderately busy. There is a mix of military personnel and natives here. Their greeter is a brown hair Neko. She takes them their table and takes their orders.

Once they both get settled, they take their glass of water and lightly clash them.

"Are you settling well into your new rank?" Sharpe askes.

She thinks about it and looks at him. "Yeah. It was a headache at first, but it is going smoothly. I just wish the new software works as advertised." She then leans back. "How did the mission go?"

"You already know," Sharpe replies. "I sent the report."

She frowns a little and takes a frustrated breath. "I know but I know you were looking forward to that mission for a while. You took a supply run just to get there. All for the girls."

Sharpe nods and smiles. "Yeah. They loved it. You should have seen Lelei. We got into an argument about how the Earth was flat."

She smiles glad that he is opening now. She giggles hearing that. She knew Lelei and the others thought their world was flat. It must have been hard for them to accept it. "How did it go?"

"Lelei pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of Earth. She then talked about the poster in my office. She used both of those to explain how the Earth was flat."

"Wow," She said, impressed that Lelei would have a heated debate with Sharpe. She is glad thought she just does not accept whatever is told, that only leads to indoctrination not education. She one had a teacher in high school who just wanted her students do what she said. She turned out to be a activist and got fired but the damage was done with some of the students. "I am impressed. I never thought of it like that."

She smiles and watches Sharpe go off about the girls and their trip to Camp Galileo. How there was a massive debate about the flat earth topic and then about the rocket going into space. She described their reaction seeing the rocket go up into the clouds and watching on the screen of the camera that was on the rocket, watching the rocket come apart and releasing the satellite.

"That is so adorable," She said.

"Yup," He said. "Glad that happened because the rest of the mission was crap."

She takes a breath and frowns. She knows what he means. Jasis assaulted him and then the team killed Imperial kids. "Another Apostle. Why are they all popping out around here?"

"I have no idea," Sharpe said, thinking about that. "Rory said Apostles usually stay away from each other. They only interact if they need to work together or to fight."

She thinks about her question and leans forward. "Well, these are different times. I bet the reason they are coming here is because of us." She then thinks about that and smiles. "Most likely you."

"Why me?" Sharpe said and then rolled his own eyes. "Stupid question."

"Pretty much," She replies. "First Rory is with you. From what I understand that is not normal. And let's face it, Jackson, you been kicking ass in this war."

"Come on," Sharpe said. "I only made it this far because of everyone around me. I would have never made it this far or still be alive if I were alone."

"I know but it was you who got everyone together," She said. "Just take the credit."

She chuckles at his reaction. He hates being the center of attention off the field but when on the battlefield, he does not mind it. It seems to be a switch when he is fighting. When he fought Krysist, Taylin, and others, he survived to be a smartass in the heat of the moment.

"But yeah. Jasis seems different," She said.

She read the report from Sharpe and Rory talking about her. Rory said Jasis is the Apostle of evil acts. She has a split personality like Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Both sides of her are mentally crazy to the point she talks to herself all the time.

Rory then explains that Jasis reminds her of Fifty Shades of Grey, having a dominatrix personality. She likes to dominate her victims in many ways as she feeds off their soul. While she was impressed that Rory used media to help explain the details, using Sharpe's method in closing the culture gap through media, she is now upset with herself by introducing Rory to her fluff entertainment, fearing that Sharpe might find out.

"Yeah," Sharpe said as he thought. "This was a direct target against me. Thank god for the brat."

"But hey. At least you got some good out of all this. You saved a few kids, and you brought those Dark Elves bandits here." She spoke.

"That was not fun," Sharpe said. "Kid's man. Did Frost get that bat boy to his sister?"

She nods. "Yes. The paperwork went through. Being forced against his will your recommendation helped. I think Frost has a crush on the batgirl. We will see."

"Yeah. I am noticing a trend," Sharpe comments.

She rolls her eyes and laughs. "You just noticed a trend? You should have seen Andrew and Hamilton. I brought Hamilton to him. For ten minutes she chewed him out for worrying her and getting hurt. It was so adorable."

Sharpe nods his head and chuckles. "At first glance, she seems pretty submissive under Pina. But there seems to be a firecracker inside her."

"Yeah," She said.

She looks and sees their cat server bring their food over. It is steak, but it is a blue color. That is normal from the local beef.

As she starts to eat, she looks up at him. "I have been wondering. What are you planning on doing with Yao?"

"What do you mean? She is a bandit and that's it." Sharpe replies as he starts to eat.

She lightly shakes her head by his reply. She has gotten to know him for a long time to know what is going on in his head. It is typically easy for a woman to understand what is going on in a guy's head, but she must admit he was hard. She had to learn to figure out what was going on in his head.

Now she has a good idea after he finally confessed what happened in Mexico(11). After that, he became far more open. That secret was eating him alive and was going to get him killed if she did not let some love in.

Right now, she can see that something is on his mind. The Dark Elf known as Yao said the Flame Dragon almost whipped out her people and knowing him, he is thinking he is responsible in some way. "It is not your fault Jackson. It is war, things happen."

"Still," Sharpe said. "Maybe if we killed it the first time. Our missiles did have an effect, we just were not ready."

She puts down her fork and leans back. "You don't want to go fight that thing?"

Sharpe looks at her and sees her concern. "Not at all. It has left us alone this long and I rather not go pick a fight. I got enough people trying to pick fights with me."

She smiles, glad he is not going glory hunting.

"Still. Maybe we can do something." Sharpe comments.

She smiles hearing that. She has talked to Colonel John Yang, the Ranger commander in Falmart about this. While he will never say it, being too manly to admit it, deep down inside he just wants to help people. She thinks that's why Rory and the others wanted to join him. Why Pina and her Knights wanted to defect and got the Guardian of Legrath and her troops to defect too. But it is his biggest weakness because he will put himself in a dangerous situation.

"I bet the Colonel will want to talk about it later, but I been wondering how Tuka is doing?" She asked. "I noticed you gave her a badge even after what she did."

Sharpe takes a deep breath. "Honestly, I am still pissed. But she deserved it. She did overcome her hatred and saved the day in the end. I cannot complain too much. She just needs to find her place in the team."

"I know," She said. She was surprised that he kept her on the team after that. But everyone deserves to be redeemed.

Sharpe leans forward smiling. "Let me tell you something though. Lelei just continues to impress me."

"Oh god," She said, smirking. "I know what you mean. I do not know how to describe it. She is just so smart."

"Yeah," Sharpe adds. "On the way back, we were helping her work on two new spells. Just some practice and she will become her own gunship."

She takes a calm breath as she collects her thoughts. "I remember when she first came here. Question after question. You had Rory and Selina asking questions, but she just was fascinated by everything."

Sharpe nods and he thinks on that. "I remember after the Siege of Italica(12) she talked to the Princess. In moments she explained our most basic values to Pina and a simple way. She was not just repeating something we said, she understood our ways. It blew me away and she can speak easily."

Sharpe then leans forward and holds out his fork. "She has a rare gift, and I don't mean the god and smartness thing. She is an academic. But she does not speak like an academic. She can tell her ideas in a way the average person can understand. I find that as a rare gift."

"I noticed that too," She said with a smile. "I love it. Seeing her reaction when she discovers something new. Like what you said about the flat earth thing. She does not just accept a fact. She came to that conclusion because she saw pictures on her phone. The poster and other things and she put all those facts together and came to that conclusion. She is a supercomputer."

She smiles and leans back. "I hope she finds a nice boy...." She then sees Sharpe's reaction. He has this overprotective glare, his eyes telling her 'hell no'. "Maybe not..." She mumbles and giggles.

"I think Rory is getting comfortable here now," She said, trying to change the topic.

"Yeah," Sharpe said. "I notice she still detaches herself a bit."

"She is an Apostle," She said.

She thinks about Rory and her past. She has tried to think about what life could be living for nearly a thousand years. She can barely understand ten years out with her own life. A thousand year ago countries like England and France were just establishing themselves and western civilization was just born. The last remnants of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was on its last legs. The United States and the rest of the New World were not even on the radar by the time Rory was born.

"She has taken an interest in you," She said.

"Jealous?" Sharpe responds with a smirk.

That makes her blush and glances away. "No. Based on Taylin and Frayen they seem to be cold and distant. I said it before, but I think she enjoys not having to bear the weight of the world anymore. She can be more herself and feel love."

"I do worry about her though," She said. "After learning about Taylin I always wonder what else she is hiding. You don't live a thousand years with her powers and not make enemies."

"I don't care," Sharpe said as he eats.

She looks at him confused by that statement. "Really?"

"After the raid on Sadera I thought about that question," Sharpe explains. "I agree with your conclusion and I decided it didn't matter. I have no right to judge Rory on her past. Just like Taylin, I will deal with any of it. Any enemies, any rivals whatever. Rory won't have to fear any of it."

"Really?" She asked again, smiling. She finds it funny a mortal man is willing to protect an immortal woman. She remembers Rory telling her that the final decision in her staying was when Sharpe 'saved' her from the helicopter attack in Italica(13). She refused to tell her some special moments, but she never had a mortal risk their lives to protect her. Everyone always assumed she would be fine because she cannot die.

"Of course," Sharpe said, confused why she asked the same thing. "Apostle or not. She is on my team and when I accepted her on it, I knew I was accepting that unknown responsibility. Whatever she did I will handle it, even the worst of things. She has earned that."

"You know when you first took command of the team, I never saw you as this fatherly man," She said.

She thinks about before the war. Sharpe came out of nowhere and took command. It was not popular, and he was a dick. No one knew he just lost half of his Delta unit and kicked out of the most elite unit in the military. The event gave him PTSD and to this day he struggles to sleep. He was going through all of that alone and he just did not know how to handle it. Everyone just thought he was this abusive jackass.

Besides a few night issues, he has become a strong father figure for the girls.

She thinks back at her home in Wisconsin. Her mom is a housewife and while some think that is degrading, she loved it. She was always there when she and her sister needed her. During the good and bad days.

But she always wanted her dad's approval, which she got. She would do something to make him proud and in return, she got his love and support. During the war she has seen more of her father in Sharpe, becoming that father figure for the girls, something to latch onto and grow themselves. And while he will not always admit it, he loves them all and does not care what anyone thinks.

"Speaking of fatherly I remember when you first brought Selina to Alnus," She said as she thinks back to the early days of the war. "It feels so long ago now. She was barely clothed and shaking. Clinging so close to Rory at the time. Funny now that she clings to you so much."

"Yeah," Sharpe responds. "I never saw that coming. I still do not get why I did it. I just could not let her go. Every pulse in my body said to do it."

She understands why he did it and she believe he knows deep down inside. "Well, it was worth it. She went from a shy little girl to back talking to me with a pretzel cigar in her mouth."

Sharpe begins laughing at that. "No regrets on that one."

She rolls her eyes hearing that. "I mean it. It baffles me how similar you two are. She adores you so much and wants to be you."

Sharpe nods and smiles. "Yup. I know the girls like to have those movie nights, but I think having our private nights help a lot. I think it opened the air for her to feel safe in the beginning."

She giggles hearing that. "Didn't you show her transformers that very first time you two met? That 1980s version too? I always wanted to ask, why that one and not the newer versions?"

"What?" Sharpe asked. "That 80s were epic. We got Topgun, Aliens, Terminator 2, Predator, and Thundercats."

"Boys..." She mumbles.

She thinks about it and smiles. "But I stand with what I said. Remember when we went back to Italica for the peace treaty? She became a woman but the first thing she did was go to you for help."

Sharpe looks at her and slowly lowers his fork. "That was an interesting week. But she has grown a lot. I am happy she feels safe to come to me."

Sharpe then thinks on that and nods his head. "But you do know she adores you a lot."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes," Sharpe replies. "You have been there every step too. She has noticed that, and we were talking about you on the way to Galileo."

She smiles hearing that. She has put a lot of effort into her. At first, it was just helping so Sharpe could focus on his duties while on the battlefield. Slowly, she has grown more attached to her and hoped one day she could fill the mother role in her life. "Really?"

Sharpe nods. "Yeah. She likes you a lot, Sarah. And honestly, I am glad you were there. I never would have been able to handle her and the others if you were not around. I know the people in the back of the line don't get the spotlight, but you really have been the... glue... that kept everything going."

She looks at him smiling. "Glue...?"

"I take that back," Sharpe said.

"Too late," She said chuckling. "I am using that against you for later."

As she smiles, she glances down and then back at him. "Jackson."

"Yeah Sarah?" Sharpe askes.

She takes a deep breath and looks directly into his grey eyes. "Jackson. What is this?"

She did not want to add anything more to her question. She wanted to see how he reacted. If he asked what, then she will assume that maybe he does not have feelings for her. She knows he does but at some time he needs to accept it. But if he hesitates to respond and thinks on his reply like he normally does in a situation she knows the truth. He always hesitates to respond when he fully understands the context of a situation. It is how his brain works, studying everything to form his response.

She sees this lean to the sit and thinks on her question, getting the confirmation that she was hoping.

Sharpe takes a nervous breath and looks back at her. "Speaking of Selina-."

Hearing that she assumes that Sharpe is trying to change the subject. It does upset her, but she puts on a face. "What about her?"

"I know she struggles with her education, but she is far smarter than she lets on," Sharpe said as he takes another breath. "She was asking me what I thought about you. She picked it up easily. She pointed out that I like you."

She looks at him confused. What he is saying turned into something else. "Liked?"

Sharpe looks directly at her. "I love you Sarah(14)."

She sits there not believing he said that. She wanted to hear those words for a long time but at best she expected it was that he liked her.

"I have for a while now," Sharpe said and glanced away. "It fully hit me when I was alone fighting Taylin in Legrath. And I came to terms when we were alone on Italica's wall. When we were alone." He then takes a deep nervous breath. "In one way or another, you have always been by my side and helped me through a lot of personal problems."

"Remember Philadelphia during Christmas(15)?" Sharpe asked but continues. "I can't remember having more fun in my life. Seeing the excitement on the girl's faces. The dinner at home. Even the New Year sports bar date(16)."

"I will never understand why but you were the first to extend their hand even though I was being a dick. I do not know why you were trying to be nice, but you did. The thing is I don't think I am good enough."

"Selina terrifies me because I feel like I am going to screw it up. I always do somehow," He continues, unable to stop himself. "Same with the girls. Everyone around me ends up in a body bag and I just cannot... I would have told you sooner, but I am afraid the longer you're around me the high chance you will-."

"Jackson." She spoke.

"Yes?"

The second she gets his attention she reaches out and grabs him. She pulls him forward and kisses him. "Shut up sir. I love you too."

Reference:

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(1)Chapter 125

(2)Chapter 3

(3)Alnus Military Police

(4)Chapter 8

(5)Chapter 7

(6)Chapter 133

(7)Chapter 51

(8)Chapter 58

(9)Chapter 132

(10)Chapter 133

(11)Chapter 90

(12)Chapter 89

(13)Chapter 52

(14)Chapter 20

(15)Chapter 19

(16)Chapter 40

(17)Chapter 128

(18)Chapter 98-100

(19)Chapter 102

Editor:

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pratomoastan

LucerFier

Support:

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Co-Creative Support: Tomrichman

Discord: https://discord.gg/xe7nNHS