September 9, 2106 (military calendar)Iv'Lux(transted) 60, 78(Tukyarid calendar)JedSurface of Habitable Candidate 6 ( Tukrayid designation)

  I feel a kick to my leg and wake up, it was Rabbit. The gentle swaying of the krigszug rocked me to sleep. If he’s waking me up then it’s almost time for us to bail and hoof it the rest of the way for our recon.

  While none of us wanted to nor felt the need to have Griffin repced even temporarily we still needed someone in charge and an extra body.

  I got the shit straw mostly because I’ve been running all of his traffic for the st eighty years. As for the body we have Silver. She’s strange and very twitchy.

  “Guess we’re near the bail point let’s get this party started” I say while I stand up and do a final check on my gear.

  I’ve had to forgo heavy weapons as I’m back with the long range radio and an orbit capable designator. Thing is bulky as hell but necessary.

  We all wait a few minutes before the captain radios back “This is your stop it’s getting hot out here so we are not slowing good luck”

  We open a side door and dive out as tracers and other munitions streak past and hit the armor behind us. I tuck and roll looking for physical cover as I’m tossed around.

  after I stop do I find it and tag it. Moments ter we regroup out of sight of the enemy patrol. The ground shakes as several tanks trundle past our hiding spot and I get a good look at what spurred this mission.

  What first surprised me was the size, the thing is massive. The next thing was it’s cannon. It looks like a mix between a Tes coil and a rail catapult system.

  I record plenty of video and pictures for ter. Wraith taps my shoulders and points out one of them firing and the burns and weird-looking cannon suddenly make a lot more sense.

  It’s a two stage weapon, it fires an arc to ionize the air before a slug of metal engulfed in psma follows it. My guess is the ionization helps keep the psma from dissipating too quickly, old nato psma weapons had that issue making them close range weapons.

  Silver comments “An interesting solution to the problem I’d wager the arc cooks electronics too” Her tone almost sounds like she already knows several more practical solutions than what amounts to shooting lightning.

  I gnce around and see the area cleared “Let’s get moving before they come back” We set off at a jog roughly in the direction of the city.

  I’m hoping we find some higher ground so we can get a better look before we level it. Rabbit breaks the silence by asking Silver “What’s it like being a sentinel”

  Her response I feel is typical of her personality “I’d say it’s pretty fun but we also have a lot of responsibilities most of which you’d never guess”

  Wraith surprises us by suggesting “you're supposed to listen to these ‘pilrs’ right” Tanya has said a lot about them even holding what amounts to sermons I’ve gone to a few but it wasn’t for me.

  Silver replies “Actually yes and kill them should it prove necessary” That actually surprises all of us making Barbosa stumble for a second.

  He asks “I could have sworn Tanya said Spero was one so if you decide it’s necessary you’d kill him” Silver shrugs “it’s no light decision and trust me it would be way more difficult than you could possibly imagine”

  All of our curiosity is piqued so I ask the next question “Is that reted to why you're so twitchy” She turns and stares at me for a moment then replies “No... actually. It’s a biological thing”

  After some silence I try to press the issue “care to eborate” Again she shrugs “I guess but it goes without saying no repeating anything. In the previous universe there were Valkyries very simir to the ones from current legends.”

  “Actually the legends exist because of the old universe. Anyway we had a quark of biology where instead of food various drugs and stimutes were consumed making each Valkyrie nearly unkilble and unmatched in combat”

  I pick up on her mention of we “so you're coked right now” She just nods her head. Rabbit then asks “Do any of the other sentinels have weird biology”

  Silver taps her helmet chin thinking “The few I can say is Bear might have once been literal and Kell is 100% original from the old universe”

  I chuckle a little thinking of the big guy that is Bear then thinking of him as a giant talking bear in armor… then I think on the repetition of the old universe.

  “How old is the other universe to to this one” the anticipating stares from the guys tells me they are also very curious.

  “The old universe was ignited prior to this one’s birth. Its burning demise still fuels this universe's expansion”

  That means at least Kell and most certainly the rest of the sentinels and probably Spero and honestly his family are all over eight billion years old.

  …it’s humbling. I spot a hill with a good line of sight inside the city “Over there looks like a good spot” I point out.

  We crest the hill and y down and watch. For several hours we silently watch as dozens of their tanks roll around and thousands of soldiers mill around.

  Not a single Tukyarid to be seen. A while ago a column of battered vehicles returned meaning the krigszug got away.

  “I think all of them are back in the city” I state. Wraith interrupts “Convoy approaching the city let’s let them arrive first”

  After a short while, wraith adds “One of them looks really important better pass it along and hit it now” I nod and radio to Tanya “In position recon complete, looks like HVTs have arrived going to designate now”

  She replies “Roger that I’m putting some SSNMs on it so get ready to run” with that I point the designator at they city and wait.

  Soon the roar of missiles reentering the atmosphere is heard. “Brace for impact” I shout as the city is reduced to irradiated rubble.

  The bst wave washed over us but our rock took the worst of it. I give it some time before I peak out to confirm the destruction.

  Aaaand it’s all gone. Job well done. Rabbit comments “Did they say if they were going to circle around to pick us up or”

  I radio to the krigszug making sure to not let the guys see I’m on the radio “City’s gone are y’all going to circle round”

  The captain ughs “Sure thing bud keep the area clear and we’ll even slow down”

  Two weeks ter Our team is in the command center with Tanya, Alvin, and Ivan. Plus other officers like Snorble. He's been working his way up. “We need to pressure them more, as is they will envelop the rural Tukyarid center’s robbing us of both food and manpower”

  “Our st strike was effective but we can’t keep using our limited assets. This here” she points at a somewhat remote location “is a Tukyarid manufacturing pnt for mining explosives. I want that pnt secured and running so phase two can commence and we put those explosives to use in more aggressive goril warfare”

  Everyone studies the map. The location is certainly important but geographically speaking it’s inconvenient. Hard to access from the surface and isoted both from us and the bugs. It’s in the middle of nowhere.

  “Archangel I want you guys to recon the area, make contact in person and if possible establish a reliable route for us to retrieve the charges”

  I frown. It’s at least a hundred miles away. Air is likely out of the question. Only a few pilots stayed so we have to keep them a secret for now. The kriegszug would be too obvious.

  That leaves Puma LRVs or going in on foot. “As you all likely have summarized, the most convenient options are out of the question. And because of the terrain being on foot would give you more flexibility”

  “I’ll leave the fine details up to you all you are dismissed or you can stay for the rest of the briefing I don’t really care”

  I gnce at the rest of the guys and they shrug. Knowing the whole picture is nice and sometimes opens up avenues we would have otherwise ignored.

  Seeing that we are staying Tanya continues. “While Archangel secures the charges I need the devil dogs demolition teams working with the Tukyarid training them how to drop a building the right way”

  “Once the charges are secured we’ll have the Tukyarid smuggle them into the occupied cities to their allies and pce the charges, we won’t detonate them until I say so”

  “As for the liquidators you're going to apply some light pressure to hold their attention” Ivan ughs heartily “always the hardest jobs”

  Shortly after the briefing is over and we get our supplies together. We pack a month’s worth of food ammo and other necessities.

  Once night falls we deploy. On the third night as we y in our camp, though camp is being generous as we had no campfire and didn’t set up any bedding or shelter. On this quiet night, Barbosa asks no one in general “How do you think Griffin is doing”

  A thick silence hangs over us for a while. We all know he was captured and we’ve all seen the mess he left behind. He certainly put the fear of man into them.

  Silver is the first to respond “he’ll be fine… kinda” We all look at her to eborate. “So have any of you thought of a family coat of arms”

  I swear every time she opens her mouth I’m just left utterly confused “Or would you all rather be knights to a house”

  I think what’s bothering me most about this evasion she’s doing is it sounds familiar like I heard something about it from Griffin or Tanya.

  Rabbit replies “Meh it’s a knight for me” Wraith replies “Same” Barbosa confidently states “Definitely knight that’s a lot of work otherwise”

  I look at Silver “You found something didn’t you” I say and she shrugs “I got bored and took a peek in some documents and let’s just say it’ll be happening sooner than you think”

  My eyebrows rise “Care to eborate” she taps her helmet chin “I guess it won’t affect anything. So uh yeah the 104th is going to be breaking off and making a kingdom so Tanya has given certain individuals a heads up mainly who she’ll have be founding houses”

  “It seems why she hasn’t told anyone yet is she’s still ironing out some details” I think what’s surprised me more is the fact that Silver just btantly got into Tanya’s private documents more than the fact that Tanya’s actually going through with this idea… though I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising.

  Wraith nods and comments “Going to suck for the spiders I wouldn’t put it past her to use them as bor” I think about that for a moment then shake my head “Maybe but that's assuming they don't do anything else dumb” Rabbit adds “and how we find griffin”

  Silver tilts her head at that “Why would that matter” We all look to rabbit and wraith who would best expin. With Wraith being as quiet as he is it falls to Rabbit “He's practically her brother, yeah griffin literally has no family but even in basic he had her back and gave her respect. It's part of the reason why our squad was the only one to join her after graduation”

  I've never heard any stories about their time in basic. Rabbit sighs and continued “This will be hard for you two to understand but Tanya almost washed out” I choked on some water I was drinking. “What the hell changed? To go from nearly washing out to one of the most respected and feared people in the republic”

  Rabbit shrugged “Beats me I know we all have our own theories but I bet Silver knows” Silver stayed silent for a minute then replied “All she got was a nudge, like we all need from time to time”

  The conversation dies down and we all fall asleep or take watch and cycle through the night. The next day was uneventful, other than being scorching hot outside our armor and dusty as hell. Definitely the right call not to use the pumas.

  The situation changed at what could be called noon as the sun was directly over us. Silver commented “Another ship dropped in” clearly not carrying as much about revealing what the sentinels have and can do with just their armor.

  About a minute ter I see an unencrypted open channel communication on the broadband. The guys look at me so I ask “Do you all see it too” Rabbit nods “The open channel? Yeah” Silver however has stopped walking and I hear her mutter “that wont be good”

  I decided to take a gamble and listen to the open comm. To my surprise, it's a video.

  A video of Griffin.

  A video of Griffin being tortured… in the same moment I feel my blood boil I also realize why Silver said that. “Fuck we need to move and get this done as fast as possible” We break into a sprint and with our armor giving us extra oxygen we can keep the pace and should arrive by nightfall.

  The moral attack was received Unfortunately the reaction was not the desired one. The unflinching resolve of the human forces unbroken despite being entirely cut off for months has somehow grown further with the sight of their friend being mercilessly beaten and cut up while aliens ugh and mock him.