Dimensional Travels: World at War

Eric grabbed the radio as he stood outside his truck. He looked left and right, down each side of the line.

"Men and women of 6-8. You have done well to hold these lines while our enemies push us to the brink. We have lived in the dirt for one month, waiting with uncertainty while our enemy launched missiles and pushed us back. Today, that ends. Let us fight. Remember the fallen. Fight not just for yourself, but for those to your left and your right. We have been in this world for over a year now. Let’s finally move forward. We have taken it from this Empire each day. Now, let’s give it back."

He paused, taking a deep breath.

"Today is our independence day. Our fourth of July. Our enemy wants us to bow to them, and give up our freedoms. But..."

His eyes darkened as he remembered the words of the emissaries. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"We are Americans. We are soldiers. We will earn our freedom with our own hands. Now... weapons hot. Move forward and let’s take back our mountains."

Thunderous roars answered Eric’s words as Dragons began flying overhead. Fireballs acting like rockets charred the earth. The night sky became illuminated as screams began echoing out in the treeline. Tanks began shooting at enemy locations, the thunk of their rounds bursting through the forest.

The Young Dragons supported the front lines. They each manned .50 cals, supporting the fire line as 6-8 slowly pushed forward. Felicity used her mana vision to call out enemies hiding under ridge lines. "Left, three hundred meters!" She had been training with 6-8 and Jessica for six months before the siege, and was now a force of her own.

She pulled the trigger on her M-2, spotting a cluster of Empire soldiers above them. "Up top! They are hiding in the branches!"

"Roger!" Jessica yelled. "How many?"

"Ten. They are spread out."

Machine gun fire rattled out where Felicity pointed to. Trees were debarked and cut in half as bullets and mana destroyed the forestry behind them. The platoon following Jessica coordinated vectors of fire.

As they pushed forward, Felicity noticed slight tremors of mana. The ground shimmered in front of the platoon, waves of mist rising over the ground. "HALT!" She shouted. "There are mines ther-" her words were cut off as one of the soldiers had mistakenly stepped forward. The entire East line of Phase Line Lima exploded, the ground rushed upwards as Jessica and Felicity were slammed with the shockwave. Vehicles were overturned as the two women landed, groaning as they gained their bearings. "Report!"

There was no response.

Jessica ran to the overturned vehicles. She shook her head as she saw shrapnel embedded inside. She turned to Felicity. "We need to fall back, and link up with my Dad. Let’s find survivors and fall back. If you find a radio, call in what happened."

Felicity nodded. Her eyes widened as she saw the carnage of the now shredded vehicles. She keeled over, hurling.

"FELICITY. MOVE. NOW."

Felicity shook her head and groaned as she got up. Her eyes narrowed as she nodded. "Roger."

Rounds flew from Eric’s rifle as he looked down range. Explosions were exchanged through the treeline, as muzzle flashes illuminated enemy positions. The trees in the vicinity had long since become splinters, leaving a small clearing between Phase Line Lima and the next phase line.

As Eric was beginning to call out further instructions, a large explosion ripped off to his east. The entire east vector of phase line Lima was engulfed, with a shockwave blasting out, pushing Eric against his vehicle. His ears rang as he slumped against his truck. He spit out blood, grabbing the radio. "Echo, Charlie, and Foxtrot, report. What happened?"

The Echo company commander responded. "Master Sergeant, the enemy set up mines on the East Vector. Charlie was caught in the blast. We sustained light casualties. Beginning search and rescue. Will report status shortly."

Eric’s hands became numb as he reloaded his mag. He peeked from the door of his truck, and saw a mana round directly impact the Abrams to his right. His body shook as he could only think of one thing. "Jessica."

He shook his head, gripping his weapon. "Foxtrot, report."

Mia chimed in. "We have sustained no casualties, but two vehicles were damaged partially. They are still mission capable. Will assist Echo in search and Rescue."

As Eric was going to respond, he heard a voice yelling. "INCOMING."

He got down, but it was too late. The tank one hundred meters away was hit by a mana round. His vision went white as yet another blast pushed wind rapidly towards him. He was thrown backwards, collapsing as he tried to catch his breath.

He groaned as he felt his chest compress. "Master Sergeant!" A sergeant yelled and tried to run over, but Eric stopped the young man. "STAY. PUT. DO NOT MOVE FROM COVER." He gasped out. Once he realized he was okay, he grabbed another magazine, returning fire on an enemy position he saw firing from a bunker.

While Michael covered him, Eric slumped down behind the armored door of his Humvee. "Echo and Foxtrot, assist in rescuing the wounded. Report when you have accountability."

"Roger."

Llrathel fire continued their barrage. Each round sent mana rounds further lighting up the trees. Sight was blocked by a rain of fire. Radio chatter began bleeding in with each other as each unit moved to position. Eric pulled the trigger on his M4 with cold precision. His mind raced, worrying about mia, but he knew he had to push forward.

Eric yelled out orders from his vehicle. "Delta! Shift fire left. Incoming Llrathels. Target the clearing 1 click out." In the first volley, 6-8 had bought breathing room by breaking past the first line of defense at Phase Line November. Another ball of fire illuminated the loss of a second Abrams, and Eric narrowed his eyes. "We need more Air support!"

Mia came back over the net. "Foxtrot company reporting status of Charlie. Four KIA. Twelve WIA. Twenty four mission capable. Four Abrams recovered."

"Roger."

Michael yelled back. "We need to stabilize the East."

Eric nodded, looking around.

"4-1, send Golf and Hector companies over to reinforce the East vector."

"Roger."

He loaded another magazine, and yelled out to his right.

"Michael! Call for air support. I will call for fires."

Eric called for Milano. "HQ, requesting fires at Phase Line Lima. They set up mana cannons all along the front."

"Affirmative. Request approved. Target acquired."

Michael also called over the radio. " Enemy forces danger close. Requesting air support."

"Copy. Danger close. Clear hot."

Eric then grabbed the radio mic again. "All units, be advised. Danger close fires and air support. Deploy smoke to mark enemy locations."

The forest became a haze of red and grey as Eric looked out at what remained of the treeline. He looked at Michael and shook his head, the battle laying still as the Empire had no clear targeting method.

"Hey, Mike. Ever seen the world around you seem to end?"

The captain looked at Eric with a tilted head and arched eyebrows. "The fuck are you talking about?"

Eric chuckled, grabbing more magazines from the truck. "You’ll see."

"All units, retreat into Phase Line Lima trenches. Prepare for air and artillery support."

Vehicles retreated backwards as Eric and Michael jumped into the trench behind them. The rest of the soldiers on foot followed suit. Once he recieved the green status from all the units he called into the radio again.

"Engage."

Eric looked at Michael, holding his breath as he waited for the blasts. He checked his ammo count, frowning. "I don’t have much ammo left." He grumbled.

Michael shook his head.

"I don’t think we will need more ammo."

Before Eric could respond, whistles echoed overhead. The "Thunks" of paladin fire reverbrated off the treelines as fireballs erupted in front of them. The forest in front of them became a box of craters and fireballs. Eric’s ears rang as the terrain around him was reshaped in real time.

"God have mercy." He muttered calmly.

The battlefield stood silent after the barrage ceased. Eric looked up as he called to Artillery. "Cease fire. ISR confirm enemy status. All units, prepare to engage and push forward."

"Copy. Time to target two minutes."

As Eric reloaded his weapon, he looked over at Michael. "You good, kid?"

Michael trembled as he stood against the wall of the trench. "Seeing it from up close and personal is different from experiencing it from afar. You weren’t kidding." He grumbled, his eyes down at the ground.

Eric nodded, patting the young captain on the back. "After a few times of experiencing it, you get used to it."

Michael looked back at Eric, shaking his head. "I never want to get used to that. You said it would feel like the world is ending. I thought my heart was being ripped out of my chest."