1 The Empire's Legend

At the airport, every soldier heading to the battlefield was saying their final goodbyes and sobs to their loved ones. Amidst this emotional scene, Ian, too, stood, clasping his wife and daughter tightly, trying to etch their faces and the feeling of their touch into his memory before departing for the battlefield.

Despite Ian's beaming smile, his wife, Avery, appeared downtrodden. Her face contorted with sniveling sadness. She fought hard to regain her composure, not wanting to appear disheveled or weak in front of her husband and daughter. Avery struggled to hold back her tears, her inner turmoil apparent in the tightness of her grip on Ian's hand as she desperately tried to find the strength to bid him farewell.

"See what happens when you join the military?" Avery's tears flowed freely down her cheeks, wetting her skin as she struggled to contain her emotions. Her palm moved in an attempt to stem the flow of tears.

"You're talking as if something bad will happen to me." Ian's laughter rang out, a brief respite from the heavy atmosphere that surrounded them. He clasped both of Avery's hands tightly in his own, the warmth of their connection spreading through him.

"How can you be joking right now..." Avery timidly spoke, eyes still full of tears.

His gaze drifted down toward the ground, and he noticed his daughter clinging to the hem of her mother's dress. The little girl's expression was one of worry. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she tried to make sense of the somber scene unfolding before her.

Ian's heart ached at the sight of his daughter's anxiety, and he crouched down to her level, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame in a protective embrace.

"Don't worry, my daughter. Your father will be back, I promise." Ian gave a bright smile.

"Promise!" With a sudden burst of childlike innocence, the little girl extended her tiny pinky finger toward her father, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. The uncertainty that had clouded her expression just moments before had dissipated, replaced with a sense of warmth and hope that radiated from her cheerful face.

"Promise." Ian's heart swelled with love as he hooked his own pinky finger around his daughter's, a silent promise passing between them in that fleeting moment.

Seeing her loving family, Avery broke into tears again. "I just can't get over the fact that you're leaving so suddenly."

Ian stood back up, his hands moving to cup Avery's soft, plump cheeks in a tender embrace. He gazed deeply into her eyes, the unspoken words between them filling the air with palpable tension. Without a word, he tilted his head and leaned in, his lips meeting Avery's in a gentle kiss

It took Avery by surprise, but she accepted it and shared the short moment they would be together before they parted.

"Come back safely, dear," Avery spoke as she looked up at Ian.

"Of course."

Despite the confidence in Ian's voice, a sense of unease crept up from deep within his chest, a feeling that gnawed at him even as he spoke the words. It was as if a weight had settled upon him, a heavy burden that he would carry with him into the battlefield.

Three years later.

Ian lay flat on the dry and dusty ground, camouflaged behind a lifeless bush, his body motionless as he peered through his high-powered 10x scope, scanning the terrain with intense focus.

It was a cold winter night. The biting chill whipped Ian's cheeks with sharp gusts of wind, numbing his skin with its icy touch. Undeterred by the harsh weather, he remained motionless.

With his eyes fixed on a faint glimmer in the far-off distance, Ian deftly adjusted the knobs on his scope, fine-tuning its focus.

"This is Raven One. A group of five pick-up trucks is headed this way. Please advise. Over." As he concentrated on his task, he spoke into his radio with a steady voice, the crackling static of the device echoing through the silent night air.

Ian waited a bit, but he received nothing but radio static. He tried contacting his commanding officers again but still received nothing.

"Shit, that's not good." Swearing under his breath, Ian kept his gaze locked on the convoy of pick-up trucks ahead, his scope following their every move with unwavering intensity." E.M. interference, perhaps?"

The convoy of trucks trundled on, kicking up dust clouds in their wake as they rumbled towards an isolated stretch of land. With unwavering focus, Ian tracked their progress through his scope, watching as they finally came to a halt a mere 400 meters from his position.

The distant hum of their engines echoed through the stillness of the landscape.

Ian had situated himself on top of a cliff and camouflaged in white, so he wasn't worried about getting spotted in the dark.

He then noticed something off with the leading truck. Zooming into the passenger side, he saw someone with a black cloth over their head.

"A hostage, perhaps?" Ian mumbled as he observed the situation.

The men from the other trucks exited the vehicles and roughly pulled the hostage out of the truck.

With callous disregard, they shoved the captive to the ground, forcing them to kneel before a looming video camera that stood ominously before them.

"An execution?" Ian asked himself as he watched everything with a raised eyebrow.

In that instant, when the men roughly yanked the black cloth from the hostage's head, the gravity of the situation hit Ian with the force of a thunderbolt, sharpening his senses and focusing his mind with laser-like precision.

'The p-princess of the Empire!' Ian shouted in his head. He fixed his position, getting ready to fire his weapon. 'Why is she here?! When did they abduct her?!'

This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Ian was here to eliminate one of his targets, but he didn't expect to run into the princess of his country.

He couldn't mistake it. The beautiful face of the princess was now reduced to this state. Her delicate arms and face bearing the telltale signs of brutal torture. The bruises were a stark reminder of the unspeakable horrors she had endured at the hands of her captors.

Ian tried contacting H.Q. again but was again answered by the humming of dead static.

Ian was now in a terrible situation. If he were to take action without the confirmation of H.Q., he might get executed if something were to happen to the princess, but if he were to do nothing now, the country's future Queen would die, and the blame would fall onto Ian.

After some thinking, Ian concluded that saving the princess would be the best choice. With this, Ian gave himself an chance to settle everything without setting up his own demise.

With that in mind, he immediately made a plan.

Meanwhile...

"What are you planning..." She mumbled as the men took off her gag.

Ignoring the princess's demands, the men moved with callous efficiency, producing a canister of gasoline and pouring its noxious contents over her head.

"Setting up an example." The man pouring the gasoline spoke as he looked down at the girl with disgust.

The girl's face paled as The pungent fumes filled the air, assaulting her nose with their acrid stench. She shivered at the thought of what might just happen to her.

"Is the video camera ready?"

"Anytime." The man behind the camera nodded.

"Well, make sure you scream a lot, princess." The man laughed as he took out his lighter. "People like you should all die."

Just as the man finished his words, the slight numbing and burning sensation took over his whole body then it was all gone. The last thing he saw was the paled and terrified look the princess had on her face.

In a gruesome spectacle of violence, the men encircling the princess fell one by one, their bodies exploding into a crimson mist as each life was snuffed out without mercy. The snow around them was bathed in a sea of red. The lifeless bodies lay scattered like discarded dolls.

In the course of ten seconds, all the men surrounding the princess were on the ground with blood streaming down onto the floor.

The princess then noticed a white smoke cloud slowly engulfing her. She stood back up and looked around with uncertainness.

It was then that the princess heard the soft roar of an electric engine. Then came the motorcycle's headlights, which caused the princess to furrow her eyebrows.

She watched the figure dismount the vehicle and come rushing towards her.

"Your highness! Are you all right?!" She heard the frantic voice coming her way and sighed with relief. For a second, she had thought it was an enemy soldier coming to take her head.

"An imperial soldier..." The princess mumbled as she watched the man free her restraints with his dagger. "I did not expect you to find me so quickly."

"It was by pure luck, Your Highness." The man spoke as he helped her forward. "I am Lieutenant Ian Arison."

"lieutenant Ian Arison I-"

Before the princess could speak any further, Ian stopped her. "Your highness, as safe as it seems right now, it's not, so please get on," Ian said as he patted the passenger seat of his motorcycle.

The princess nodded, swung her legs over the seat, and clutched onto Ian's waist.

Twisting his wrist, Ian flashed through and out of the hazy white smoke. Ian then moved just his eyes and glanced back, and there he saw a bullet hurling towards him, narrowly missing. The snow beside him sprang up and showered on the two.

"Kyaak!" The princess screamed as she held a bit more tightly onto Ian.

'I knew it...' Ian thought inwardly as he looked at the cliff 600 meters away. 'I didn't expect to meet such a skilled sniper here.'

With a sudden roar, Ian shifted the motorcycle into high gear, and the engine revved and blared as Ian reached dangerous speeds.

The wind whipped past him, sending his hair streaming out behind him like a wild banner, as the bike tore through the snow with blistering speed.

Despite the danger and chaos that surrounded him, Ian remained cool and collected, his steady hand guiding the motorcycle with precision and skill, carving a path through the treacherous terrain with ease.

Ian glanced back and sighed in relief. It seemed that the sniper wasn't going to attempt to shoot them at such speeds.

As the barren landscape stretched out before him, Ian eased off the throttle, slowing the motorcycle to a crawl as he approached a desolate forest of gnarled, blackened trees.

If it weren't for the winter, then it would surely be a beautiful sight. Although the forest was stripped naked, the night and camouflage were more than enough for the two to take cover.

"Why are we stopping?" The princess asked as she peeked over Ian's shoulder.

"I need to establish coms with H.Q.," Ian replied as he completely stopped the vehicle. "If we don't, then there won't be any help coming. After all, I came here for a completely different reason."

Ian then helped the princess to dismount his motorcycle. He then rolled it into the forest with the princess beside him.

After walking a bit, they finally stopped. The princess slumped down on a nearby rock while Ian took out a giant white tarp from his bag, covered his motorcycle, and added snow on top of everything.

"Your highness, if something goes wrong, then come to this exact place and escape with the motorcycle," Ian spoke as he handed her the keys to the vehicle.

"What about you, Lieutenant Ian? What would happen to you?" She asked.

"I don't know... I can only hope for the best." Ian chuckled with a thin smile.

'To be joking in this kind of situation, he must be a veteran soldier.' The princess thought as she examined Ian.

"Ah, I forgot to mention this is for you," Ian said as he took out his handgun from his holster and handed it over to the young lady. "You would need something to protect yourself with."

"Thank you..." The princess expressed as she looked up at Ian and then asked, "It is rude of me to ask, but are you married?"

Ian looked at her with a raised eyebrow but still answered. "Yes, I am. I also have a daughter back at home."

"Then I really do hope you get back to your family safely." She said with a smile.

Ian nodded, then took out a standard H.A.M. radio from his bag and immediately started to contact H.Q.

"Raven One to H.Q., there has been a change in mission. I repeat, there has been a change in the mission."

After a few seconds of static, a voice came from the radio. "Confirmed. Report."

"Her Royal Highness had been captured, but I have rescued her, H.Q. What are the Royal guards doing? Have they not noticed yet?"

"Raven One, you said her Royle Highness had been captured?"

"Affirmative, she is with me right now. I request an immediate withdrawal."

"Raven One, your request is denied. Stand by until we confirm."

"We can't afford to stand by! The enemy might already be advancing toward us!" Ian's eyes blazed with fury as he let out a shout.

It was then the princess took the radio off Ian's hand. "This is Her Royle highness speaking. I order an immediate withdrawal from this place."

After the princess finished talking, the other line entered radio silence. Finally, after a few seconds, H.Q. responded. "Confirmed, your request has been accepted. Switch R.O.E. from target assassination to hostage rescue protocol."

"Roger, sending coordinates now," Ian spoke as he took back the radio from the princess.

"Received, about 700 seconds until the arrival of evac and escorts.

"700 seconds?! That's too long!" Ian screamed through the radio.

"We cannot do anything. This is the fastest time they can arrive."

"Received..."

"H.Q, Roger. Glory to the Empire."

Receiving those words, Ian turned off the radio and sighed.

"Lieutenant Ian... why did you join the army?" The young lady behind Ian asked.

"Because of my daughter..." Ian answered after a few seconds of silence. "I fight in this war, so my daughter does not nor the future generation."

"You are a good man, Lieutenant Ian." The princess commended. "If something goes wrong, feel free to leave me behind."

Ian stared at her, then laughed, "I cannot do something so stupid. If her highness were to perish now, the Empire would be no more."

The princess didn't say anymore and stayed silent.

Ian then suddenly stood up, looked around into the distance, and crouched back down.

"What's happening?" The princess asked as she also crouched down.

"They're here, the enemy," Ian replied with a sharp look. "Princess, I'm going to need you to hide.

Ian then lifted the tarp covering the motorcycle. She nodded before hiding inside.

"Remember, as long as you don't make a sound; they won't find you."

The princess nodded before giving Ian one last thankful look. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lieutenant Ian."

Ian smiled back at her, then put back the tarp town concealing the princess.

'Ah... I'm sorry, Avery dear... my daughter Ava, I couldn't keep my promise. I'm sorry.'

...

That night of December 2088, a fierce battle took place not too far away from the Empire's eastern border.

After the Imperial's Royal guards failed to notice the disappearance of her royal highness, an Imperial soldier going by the name of Ian Arison single handily rescued the Imperial Princess and fought off an entire company of enemy forces while reinforcements arrived.

Unfortunately, Lieutenant Ian Arison had also perished while fighting for his motherland and future Queen.

Awarded The Legion of Honor, he was honorably sent to a better place. With a total of 943 confirmed kills, 0 unconfirmed kills, and 423 assists, Ian Arison became a legend within the Imperial military.