This chapter was remade and reposted on the 24/03/17
It was a glorious sight.
An enormous army of men, goblins, orcs and other monster, all marching in the same direction. At that moment, nothing was able to stop us, and I was the one leading them, proudly wearing the colors of the Empire.
Our destination was not the Holy Hill of Alnus itself, but the Gate that stood on top of it.
Or rather where this Gate led to. A complete new world that was only waiting to be conquered by our implacable might.
Despite all the experience one can have, there is nothing scarier than the sight of the complete black void in contrast with the white of the stone and the green of the grass. I still wonder if General Lanti ordered me to lead the army to command defense in the case of a retreat, or because he was scared of crossing the Gate.
The thing that embrace you when you step in the darkness is the cold. I couldn't help myself but to shiver despite my heavy armor.
I can't tell how long the walk in itself lasted. We could have walked in between the worlds for hours or even days, the only thing that still reminded us of the passage of time being the tiredness slowly getting to us. Beside me, I could feel the look of my men, worry also starting to appear, their minds probably full of thoughts about their families. In the end, we were just men.
Suddenly, a small, bright, white dot appeared on the black horizon. Everybody knew what it was.
The exit.
The word quickly ran down the army, and worry was soon replaced by excitement of the upcoming battle.
And then we emerged.
The first thing I made, almost by reflex, was to take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the air of this new world. It was rough at first, the air being like full a really thin dust that burnt my throat.
I coughed a little before I started to look at my surroundings. I had to find out as soon as possible where we were, and most importantly from where our enemy could come. It came to the surprise of many that we were actually in the middle of a city. The Gate was in the middle of a large paved plaza that was the crossing point of several streets with a large paved one. It was so large that soldier were able to follow the instructions for their officers while keeping combat formations. The buildings that were all around us were made of grey stone but the roofs looked like they were in the same color as slate. The sides of the plaza were covered by trees, providing shadows for a large crowd that wasn't moving, staring at us. We were close enough to see in their eyes a mix of surprise and confusion, yet no fear.
And then I saw the moving boxes.
Metallic boxes on wheels, coming in many different sizes, shapes and colors, moving without any beast attached to them yet faster than anything we ever seen, and producing loud rumbling noises. I especially noticed a group of boxes in blue and white that were coming our way to block the streets around the plaza. The thing that really got my attention was that on those carriages was painted runes like those on artifact that treasure hunters find in the ruin of the first human settlements. From those carriages, men in strange dark clothes hopped off and while some tried to dissipate the crowd, others were facing us, hiding behind their boxes, holding small objects that I couldn't really see. My heart started to beat even faster as I felt that the start of the battle was coming closer and closer.
And it was at this moment that I saw them, suddenly appearing from behind one street corner.
They were five, wearing a complex uniform dotted in different shades of green and brown, and holding big strange black wands. When they joined the men in dark behind the carriages, four of them knelled behind the vehicles while the last one, who was without a doubt in charge, exchanged a few word with on of the dark. After a few seconds, he took a few steps in the empty space that was separating our line from theirs. And he yelled something.
His language was unknown to me, but also felt familiar in a strange way. Still, it is a fair guess that he wanted us to identify ourselves.
« My name is Lucius Co Palesti, I yelled back, and in the name of our emperor Molt Sol Augustus, I declare the conquest and the annexation of this territory. Surrender and you might be spared. Fight back and you'll die. »
After a few moments of a heavy silence, nobody responded, and more men in green arrived from other streets all around the plaza. We were surrounded, but we had the advantage on the number.
« Well then, I continued while raising my sword above my head, you'll be destroyed. »
The complete silence allowed me to hear the strings of the bows being stretched.
I swung down my sword and, as planned, the archers fired, the dragon riders made their steeds take off and the cavalry, me in point, charged.
The man in green started to step back to the line of iron boxes and yelled something.
And then, thunder struck.
The rider beside me was killed almost immediately, and all the horses stopped in fear. There was still a good distance between us and them, yet they were able to kill us without even moving.
To say that it terrified me on the spot is a clear understatement. I quickly looked all around me only to see my footmen running towards the nearest enemy only to have their blood spilled on the ground without being able to fight back. The only thing I noticed was resistant to this magic was the dragons, but their riders were quickly killed too, meaning that the reptilian beasts were flying away, attacking allies, enemies and people that weren't fighting.
Everything was already lost, and I knew it. I also knew that I couldn't just flee back through the Gate without being called a coward. The only one that could come to me was death and the relief of Emroy's realm. Seeking the most honorable death, I turned back towards the man that had shouted at me, and I charged head on.
It was only him and me, and only one could came out on top.
The man made the thunder stroke again in my direction. My horse fell down and I ended up at his feet. The last thing I remember before passing out was the blue of the sky, white of the stone and the red of the blood.
Blue, white and red. The same color as the banner on the man's shoulder.
Extract of Lucius Co Palesti's diary, written in his cell of Fleury-Mérogis Prison, August 23th 2016
1020 hours – A large Roman temple like structure appear on the Champs Elysées roundabout. The first witnesses to call the police were quickly dismissed, but the high number of calls and the report of a patrol car caused nearby police units to be dispatched to the scene.
1025 hours – An army-sized group started to emerge from the structure as the first police teams and Army patrols arrive on the scene. Start of the evacuation of civilians.
1027 hours – Lieutenant Anthony, officer of the 126ème Régiment d'infantrie, tries to establish discussion. The unknown group answers by attacking soldiers and civilians, forcing armed personnel to fire back. First casualties amongst civilians.
1030 hours – Nearby Palais de l'Elysée is placed under lockdown and the President moved to his bunker. Start of an emergency teleconference with the General Staff, the Interior minister and the Defense minister.
1035 hours – Large enemy group enters the Franklin D. Roosevelt subway station.
1040 hours – Mirage 2000 ensuring protection of city airspace confirm presence of hostile air assets, but are unable to engage due to their low altitude. Subway lines 1 and 9 close.
1050 hours – Riot control units arrive on site. Street are evacuated and blocked in a one kilometer radius around the roundabout. Army and Air Force helicopters scramble from various Air Bases to ensure air superiority and provide support.
1100 hours – Arrival of the first wave of reinforcement of the 526ème Régiment du Train coming from Saint-Germain-En-Laye to help contain the enemy to the smallest area possible.
1135 hours – Arrival of a group of four Leclerc tanks of the 6ème Régiment de Cuirassiers from Orléans. Beginning of a counter attack.
1155 hours – Control of the structure is secured, preventing an enemy retreat. Enemy soldiers start to surrender.
1220 hours – Start of the neutralization of the last pockets of resistance in buildings and in the subway. GIGN, BRI and RAID are dispatched to handle situation including hostages.
1500 hours – François Hollande gives a speech on television, calling the event "something that nobody could see coming" and "a true act of barbarism beyond anything that had happened since World War Two." Similar reactions start to arrive from all over the globe.
1700 hours –Large groups of Parisian gather on the Champs-Elysées and on the Place de la République.
1800 hours – Beginning of sanitization operations in secured areas and evacuation of prisoners to temporary camps in the south of Paris.
2200 hours – Army General Staff confirm the area as being "entirely secured".
2230 hours – The total number of casualties is confirmed to be of one hundred and seventy six killed – one hundred and fifty two civilians and twenty four police officers – and more than five hundred seriously injured.
0025 hours – The death of Adjudant Valentin of the 526ème Régiment du Train is confirmed by the Ministry of Defense, making it the first military casualty of the battle.
Hour-by-hour reports of the AFP, August 19th 2016
I come in front of this Assembly of Nations as the leader of a wounded nation. Without any legitimate reason, we have been attacked by an army coming from a land no one knew existed. We still don't know everything about what they are or how did they created that structure, but we are sure of is that they come from a world similar to ours.
We now have to take an important decision, probably the most important decision of this century. What we will do will change history forever, and the ones that will take our places will judge us. So what do we do ? Do we just block that portal and continue living like nothing never happened ? Or do we want the ones that ordered this invasion to be held accountable for their actions ?
This is why I propose to send a Task Force to this other world to track down and make the ones in charge face the consequences. It will also be a tool to send humanitarian aid to what we know is a world still living in the Middle Ages. But be assured that France does not want to keep everything to itself. When the conflict will end, we will hand over the infrastructures to the United Nations that will then decide the policies to follow.
[…]
I only have one thing left to say at this rostrum. This Task Force will the armed wing of an ideal that everybody in this assembly want to see applied.
It will be the hammer of justice. Le Marteau de la Justice.
Extract of President Hollande's speech at the United Nations, August 26th 2016
President Obama announced today that the United States Army will be deployed alongside the French Army as part of the NATO Special Region Task Force.
"France has always been our closest ally, and the United States always help its allies. We stood together and we helped each other through centuries of wars, conflicts and tension, and we will make sure that it remains that way" he said at the White House this morning.
The full detail of the deployment is still unknown, but "it will respect any limit imposed by the French government or the United Nations" according the spokesperson of the Department of Defense.
An anonymous military source said to NBC that the troops will probably consist mainly of motorized infantry and main battle tanks.
Republican candidate Dirrel commented this declaration, saying that "the President has taken a step in the right direction, but we still need more information regarding his policies in this new world to truly react."
According to a recent poll, eighty percent of Americans support the idea of a military deployment to the other side, and sixty eight percent think that the United States should send troops.
However, despite this almost unanimous opinion, some experts still point out the similarities between today's situation and the aftermath of 9/11, saying that the French could be heading right into another Afghanistan war that will stretch in length with small results.
Germany and the United Kingdom also confirmed that troops from their militaries will participate in the initial operation, while other NATO members will help with peacekeeping operations further down the line. Meanwhile Moscow said that it doesn't "condemn this operation", but it "ask the French Government not to be selfish." However, there was no comments coming from Beijing yet.
Extract of , August 30th 2016
Welcome reader to the prologue of "Gate : Opération Marteau de Justice".
This story will be my way to tell the world my version of the GATE story, while giving a bigger part to the point of view of those that are often left out : the locals. It also portray a scenario where the Gate opens in Paris mainly to make the writing easier for me, because I'm French, but also to show to you the capabilities of the French military, which is often ignored or mocked.
A remaster of the first chapters up to Chapter 7 is currently in progress in alternance with monthly new chapters. If those chapters don't have the "This chapter has been updated on the XX/XX/XX", then be advised that the content quality will not be optimal. For more informations, follow on Twitter ( / TheSlyls)
En espérant vous revoir,
Salut !